#his werewolf ways have beguiled me

[emiliosandozsequence]

the company of wolves (1984) dir. neil jordan

[bunny-dr34ms]

the love fate demands of us - preface

- mystical!txt x angel!reader

summary. Five beings, each an entirely different being from the other, yet bound by the common thread of tragedy that haunted them. Their lives had been marked by the bitterness of existence and only found solace in each other. Then, you appeared, a sweet little thing, willingly giving them the gentle love they had long been denied. They couldn't help their affection for you, taking you in as if you had always been there, a part of them, a heart split six ways.

cw/ tw; f!reader, fae!yeonjun, vampire!soobin, werewolf!beomgyu, wizard!taehyun, elf!kai, fantasy au, royalty au

features; txt, names of other idols that i decide as i go

Preface: A Heart Split Six Ways

The Merciless Prince: he who kills without remorse.

"They will all pay with their worthless lives, I will make sure of it."

"I’ve wandered these lands for eons, yet never have I found anything I yearned to protect so desperately."

"Your blood tastes like ambrosia; if I wanted to drink you dry, you'd let me, wouldn't you."

The Beguiling Fae: he who charms with allure.

"They are unworthy of your beauty; let me show you the heaven angels like you deserve."

"You love me so softly, as if you want nothing more than my heart and soul."

"I crave your innocence, rather, I crave to corrupt that innocence with my own, tainted hands."

The Deviant Werewolf: he who abhors his blood.

"They hurt my princess and for that I shall hunt them one by one, shredding them limb by limb."

"You are the gift that the Moon Goddess bestowed upon me; you are everything I need in this world."

"Let me mark you- I know you want me to just, let me make you mine, I'll go insane if I don't."

The Scheming Wizard: he whose magic deceives.

"They shall learn the consequences of targeting you; my magic will serve as their just retribution."

"All my life, I believed magic was the most powerful force in the world, but you came along and revealed to me that it is love."

"You trust so blindly that I could present you with any potion, and you would drink it without question, leaving me to ponder how far I could push your faith."

The Foolish Elf: he who rejects his power.

"They have no idea how long I have been holding back, yet they dare to touch you?"

"I am so undeserving of your love; I'd bring the whole world to their knees just to be with you.”

"You are so blissfully naive to remain unafraid of me, even as I intend to test your naive kindness to its very limits."

The Forlorn Angel: she who cries for the sinners.

"Love is such a pure and raw essence; why must it be confined by arbitrary rules?"

"I've longed for a feeling like this for as long as I can remember."

"My heart is yours for as long as you desire it, for this is all I am and all I have."

author note: i wasn't sure if i wanted to post this or not but i ended up finishing it up anyway so because chapter 1 is under heavy editing rn. making the mood boards took me the longest....also can you really call this a preface ;;; oh well, enjoy! as always, reblogs, likes, and comments are always appreciated <3

[elenajohansenreads]

Books I Read in 2024

#4 - Fool Moon, by Jim Butcher

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I enjoyed this more than Storm Front mostly because the rules of the setting have already been established so less time is spent in pure exposition; we only get a short but tedious section on the details of brewing the two new potions that Harry will undoubtedly need to survive before the end of the book, and the relevant and interesting bits about the different flavors of werewolf and how they work.

The main plot seemed overly complicated to me, a jumble of which werewolves probably killed which victims, but I'll be forgiving for that because a) I've never been great at figuring out mystery novels, and b) I often complain when the red herrings are too obvious to obscure the real culprit. This story had enough red herrings to get the job done properly, it's my relative lack of genre saavy (and probably the memory issues that sprout from my ADHD) that result in my frustration with mysteries.

The "is the Council going to execute me" subplot that I hated so much from the first novel gets swapped out for a less-than-compelling faux romance subplot with (what I felt was) an incredibly trite sex scene, but honestly, even if I didn't like it, it still felt like an improvement.

Given the current length of the series, I'm genuinely surprised to see not-subtle hints that Karrin Murphy, the cop-frenemy of Harry, is the endgame romantic partner; I'm not shocked it's happening, just that it's happening this early. In my Storm Front review I talked about how clearly this draws from film noir, and most women in that genre are disposable damsels or beguiling femme fatales. Murphy, being a woman and neither of those things, stands out as the clear choice to be a future romantic lover and functional partner in Harry's life, and this arc of their relationship makes it clear that Harry's "chivalry" is something he'll need to grow out of, because Murphy ain't having that. It's rough, but I'm tentatively hopeful.

I still don't love the way Butcher describes his female characters' bodies; I still don't love Harry's chauvinism. But, on the promise that these aspects will improve in time, I'm starting to see how it's possible to love Harry as a deeply flawed but fundamentally good person, with a strange sort of charisma that makes him a compelling protagonist.

[hwanchaesong]

Heyy! I saw your song promt, could I request for a sugestive with a bit of fluffy werewolf yunho with Taylor swift's enchanted???

a/n: heyy~ werewolf!yunho supremacy here 🥲 thank you so much for requesting! 💚 @bikiniholic

👤: ATEEZ Jeong Yunho

📼: Enchanted - Taylor Swift

genre & warnings: suggestive, sprinkle of fluff, angst if you squint, cursing, werewolf!yunho

word count: 894

for anyone who wants to, don't be shy and send me asks based on Prompts Request Song Version. Thank you so much!

If there's one word that can describe what Yunho's feeling right now, it would be spelled as,

'E. M. P. T. Y.'

It's annoying, really, all the teasing that he got for the 2 decades of his single as fuck life while his friends seem to find their mates one by one.

That is why he's kind of confused and aroused at the same time when he found himself hovering over a girl, a human to be exact.

He couldn't control his low growls and blazing eyes, like something inside of him was awoken, your scent driving him insane and he wants nothing more but to dive into you.

On the other hand, you were a whimpering mess under him. You only wanted to pick some berries that you can eat as snacks later in the middle of the night, but you did not expect yourself to be pinned down on the ground of the forest you're at.

You thrashed around with your eyes closed, not having the courage to look at him right in his eyes, the leaves underneath you rustled along with your movement.

"Stop moving." the man above you ordered, your wrists in a tight grip, not allowing you to escape. He leaned in, his nose tickling your neck as he inhaled your scent.

Heaven, a mixture of a newly bought book from a library and smell of grass after the rain, such a pure soul and he couldn't wait to taint you black.

"Baby, look at me." he mumbled, voice husky, beguiling you to slowly open your eyes and glance up at him.

You felt it, definitely, a strong pull towards the man and you suddenly had this strong desire to follow him even afterlife.

It was an open space, there should be plenty of oxygen for the both of you to breathe in, but all air got knocked out of your lungs when he lurched in to kiss you.

Weird, having a make-out session with a stranger under the glaring sunlight with your back pushed on the dirty soil.

Nothing really matters right now for you though, only his tongue that forced its way into your mouth, massaging yours that had you moaning. You felt his hand released your wrists, but you did not make an effort to run away from him. Instead, you wrapped your arms around his neck, your voice barely above a whisper.

"Take me."

He did, and he took you so well that you didn't care one bit even if your clothes were ripped apart, your skin flourishing into purple blemishes as he made your spine tingle.

Soon, after a passionate love-making that turned the both of you into a panting disarray, you learned that his name is Jeong Yunho, that's it, he didn't say that he's a wolf, maybe that's why you almost shit yourself out of fear when he brought you back to his home, big dogs and people alike snarling at you.

Your grandparents have always told you stories about these mythical creatures. Human beings cursed to transform into monsters during the full moon, bloodthirsty beasts who cannot control their lust for murdering people and animals.

They told you that if you ever met one, you should run for your life. You prayed and apologized to your grandmother and grandfather, that instead of fleeing, you decided to give yourself to one of them, going as far as living with the whole pack.

Their behaviour amused you to no end, they were portrayed in the negative light, and now that you had the chance to interact with them, you realized how nice and friendly they are.

Their fierce leader Hongjoong, calm oldest brother Seonghwa, Yeosang the great, Jongho's the youngest who has the prettiest gummy smile you had ever seen, WooSan (as they like to call themselves) is the duo that would either make you laugh or annoy the hell out of you, and Yunho's lanky but considerate bestfriend Mingi.

They treated you so well, accepted you as their own and safeguarded you like a real family would. And you will always thank the deities for giving you the opportunity to live the best life you ever had.

"This is nice." Yunho commented while he cuddles you after after an another groundbreaking intercourse.

"It always have." you chuckled against his skin, a comforting silence hugging the atmosphere that slowly lulled you to sleep.

"Do you love me?"

he asked all of a sudden, jolting your drowsiness out of your body, "Of course I do!"

He smiled, caressing your hair gently, "Good, because I love you too."

Yunho turned his body a bit so he could directly look at your gorgeous face, "Everyday, every night, even if the gods damned us to this ill-fated destiny, I still thank them because they gave me you."

Your heart sped up its rate just a tad bit faster, anticipating what he's going to say next, your eyes wide and glossy.

"Please don't ever leave me for someone else."

There he goes, exposing his garden of fears and insecurities and you're more than willing to trim all of those into assurances and devotion.

"I would never leave you, Yunho, I'll be with you until the very last page of our story. And until then, I shall wait until our sequel will be released and I'd still choose you."

[wordspin-shares]

So, I finally watched the first season of The Rings of Power. It was better than I had anticipated, even though I felt it lacked that kind of magic and finesse in the direction and (most) performances that would make it stand out from generic fantasy works.

I admit it took me some time to realise the creators had merged the timelines pertaining to the forging of the Great Rings and the (pre)Fall of Númenor into a single one. A pity, but a necessary evil, considering there were nearly 2000 years between those two events. And Gandalf’s arrival in Middle-earth happened a lot later, but I digress.

Of course, without significant breaks from lore, making the series would have been more difficult, and it might not have been so interesting (to those unfamiliar with the source material). (See Gil-galad's being able to grant Elves passage to Valinor, his almost wilful ignorance of the dangers in his realm, the subplot of the Elves fading, the justification given for the making of the Three Rings, Galadriel’s going to Númenor, the manner of Gandalf’s arrival in Middle-earth and its aftermath, the whole Sauron subplot)

That aside, I rather liked the series’ attention to detail. Finrod’s wounds on his deathbed, referencing his battle with the werewolf in Taur-in-Gaurhoth; the visual references to the battles of Beleriand; the wings on Elendil’s helmet; the comment about people becoming stars, referencing Eärendil; such little details were quite beautiful and made my nerd self smile like an idiot.  

The visualisation of cities and landscapes was stunning. Lindon, Khazad-dûm and Númenor were suitably breathtaking.

There were some rather nice touches of building on canon material without actually disrupting it, like giving Elendil a daughter and showing his relationship with Isildur. And those pieces of dialogue harking back to Peter Jackson’s trilogy were not bad.

Although a deviation from canon, I very much enjoyed  how Gandalf suffered from memory loss after arriving to Middle-earth, and how that subsequently led to that stunning scene of him doubting his identity in the presence of the mystics. Truly beautiful, a clever way of showing the potential for good and evil present in everyone.

The subplot pertaining to Sauron, although a bit of a mess if seen from canon perspective, was intriguing. I really loved his last scenes with Galadriel. They truly illustrated the beguiling ways for which he was famous during the Second Age. I think that might’ve been my favourite part of the whole season.

The fact that the creators tackled the Silm is a feat in itself, and it will certainly be interesting to see how the next season fares.

[hellreads]

Hello, I just stumble on your blog. Seeing a comment from Wrienne which I also read on AO3, I wanted to ask if you also have AO3 recs..?

hi there darling, of course, I have some recs for you! since you didn’t ask for anything specific let me just share a few faves that you could only read/access on ao3 (I would also recommend you check my ficshelfs and use the ao3 filter to find stories exclusively posted there + i’ll still include wrienne’s works for other readers :3 ) | 🍒

OT7/MULTIPLE MEMBERS

❥ Right of Way by fringesofsanity ➴ Infidelity!AU | Jungkook x Reader x Jimin | Series ➴ In theory, things were simple: your best friend was Jungkook’s girlfriend while your boyfriend, Jimin, was Jungkook’s best friend. In reality, things weren’t always that simple. And mutually exclusive.

❥ The Hills by minlouvre ➴ Vacation/Exes!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Hoseok | Series ➴ A ski trip with old friends sounds like a fun time, right?

when your ex-boyfriend (who you hate but somehow always end up in bed with) and your stepbrother (who you are harboring not-so-secret feelings for) tag along at the last minute, you have a feeling it won’t be an uneventful weekend.

but fun? debatable. that remains to be seen. ❥ A Hundred Percent Human by Wrienne ➴ Hybrid!AU | OT7 x Reader | Series ➴ In which you (reader) are forced to take care of seven hybrids in a twist of fate.

After your estranged mother passes away, you're left with an unwanted will and the heavy burden of responsibility. Although you're desperate not to stray from the familiar path you thought was laid out in front of you with a fully human boyfriend who loves you more than anything, your life is thrown upside down once more after another unfortunate incident (that may or may not have to do with said boyfriend) occurs.

Drunk and down on life, you finally decide to deal with the house and the unsavory business your mother left behind. However, to your shock, you find that seven very different hybrids are included with both the house - and the business. Seven hybrids you never even met before - even less agreed to take care of.

❥ Dead Leaves by Wrienne ➴ Detective/Exes!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Jimin | Series ➴ In which you (reader) are a homicide detective about to face the biggest hurdle both of your career and life.

Married to probably the kindest but most boring man you’ve ever met and living in a town where nothing ever seems to happen means life for you is dull. Dull enough to drive you crazy with boredom and dissatisfaction. However, life changes abruptly when your old boss retires and a new man takes his place - a man you used to love (and sleep very regularly with) more than a decade ago. Especially when your husband comes home smelling of perfume, you’re unable to resist your more carnal urges and dead women start showing up across the city with unnerving frequency. ❥ See Both Sides Like Chanel by minlouvre ➴ FWB/Rich Kids!AU | Namjoon x Reader x Hoseok | One-Shot ➴ You, Namjoon, and Hoseok are inseparable. 

Three best friends that grew up together since you were all in diapers.But lately, Namjoon has been drifting away…

So on his birthday, you and Hoseok remind him just how inseparable the three of you really are.

⤷ or alternatively: a little less twenty-one candles, a little more “touch me”

❥ Love Is A Dog From Hell by yourlocalhoney ➴ FWB/Lovers!AU | Yoongi x Reader x Jungkook | Series ➴ You and Yoongi agreed on being good friends, co-workers, and friends who help each other out under the sheets. What you never agreed on was to catch feelings for each other.

Enter, accidental feelings.

Enter, Jeon Jungkook.

❥ The Uncanny by Sinsirella ➴ Arranged Marriage!AU | Jungkook x Reader x Seokjin x Jimin | Series ➴ (Y/N) is a young girl whose Life turns upside down. One day her mother surprises her with news of her arranged husband, forcing her into her new chaotic lifestyle. Join her journey and experience her new life through her eyes. Will she get along with her husband? Or someone else? What are they hiding? ❥ Seven Deadly Sins by mintedmango ➴ Hell!AU | OT7 x Reader | Series ➴ You stood suddenly, chair being pushed away by the backs of your legs, the rest of the sins standing with you as you looked around in panic. All except Sloth who was out cold in the corner.

“Oh, little pet, indeed, I am still hungry.”

❥ Walk Through The Fire by shellflower ➴ Supernatural!AU | Taehyung x Reader x Jungkook | Series ➴ In a world of supernatural beings, a normal human like yourself always found attraction and wonder towards these creatures. It was your kind heart that led you to become a doctor to treat such people. And it was your kind heart that led you into the arms of a young Alpha wolf who will accidentally force you down a path you were never meant to follow... ❥ Into Temptation by coconutty  ➴ Demon!AU | Taehyung x Reader x Jungkook | Two-Shot ➴ It was just a dare...

❥ Won’t Be Nice by coconutty ➴ Lovers/Poly!AU | Taehyung x Reader x Hoseok | One-Shot ➴ A night by the pool just got interesting...

KIM NAMJOON

❥ Covenant by fringesofsanity ➴ Arranged Marriage!AU | Namjoon x Reader | Series ➴ You are betrothed to Kim Namjoon, the heir of a real estate mogul. To say that it was a fairytale romance would be erroneous. You’re instead loped in the sad tale of the rich and melancholy.

❥ Read You Like A Book by coconutty ➴ University!AU | Namjoon x Reader | One-Shot ➴ Come get an attitude adjustment in the library, courtesy of Namjoon.

KIM SEOKJIN

❥ Éffleurer by @sugaurora / sugalights ➴ Office!AU | Seokjin x Reader | Series ➴ There were always whispers in your office about what secrets Seokjin hid behind his clean image. Now, you knew at least one of them. ❥ The City Comes Alive by minlouvre ➴ Musician/S2L!AU | Seokjin x Reader | Series ➴ Seokjin is a street performer who falls for a girl who is always passing him by. ❥ Seaside Sabbatical by dark_muse_iris ➴ Working Man!AU | Seokjin x Reader | One-Shot ➴ After an accountant in your firm is sent to prison, you are assigned to clean up the mess he left behind. Sorting out your clients’ disastrous business records proves beneficial when you meet the fisherman who teaches you the value of taking a break. ❥ Cake by yeyeniejjung ➴ Yandere/Killer!AU | Seokjin x Reader | Series ➴ "I was always hungry for your love. Just once, I wanted to know what is was like to get my fill of it. I wanted to be fed so much love that I couldn't take it anymore, just once." ❥ The Lord Taketh Away by dark_muse_iris ➴ Medieval/Werewolf!AU | Seokjin x Reader | One-Shot ➴ Every autumn, the dwindling harvest summons fears for the impending winter and its promise of scarcity. For Seokjin and his wife, faith lies in God and their local lord’s generosity to provide what their ailing son needs to survive another year. With each season, however, the lord grows cold-hearted and greedy, squeezing the young family to the brink of despair.

MIN YOONGI

❥ Zelus by SugaAconcept ➴ Lovers/Sugar Daddy!AU | Yoongi x Reader | One-Shot ➴ Yoongi becomes jealous when your close friend Jungkook puts his hands all over you right infront of his face. So, Yoongi decides to make sure you know who you really belong to. ❥ Carpe Diem by fringesofsanity ➴ Idol/Lovers!AU | Yoongi x Reader | Series ➴ Working for the UN, you are tasked to handle the poverty reduction campaign of a certain boy band. A certain rapper from the group however decides to mix business with pleasure.

JUNG HOSEOK

❥ Feel You From The Inside by coconutty  ➴ Idol/Staff!AU | Hoseok x Reader | One-Shot ➴ You've been watching him for months, little did you know, he's been watching you.

❥ As You Are by fringesofsanity ➴ Lovers!AU | Hoseok x Reader | One-Shot ➴ You're not the girl for Jung Hoseok. Him - who was sunshine and daisies and fireworks. You - who were back-alley darkness and used needles and burnt cigarettes. But he doesn't care. And you fucking hate yourself for it.

❥ The Thin Blue Line by bluesxde ➴ Pregnancy/E2L!AU | Hoseok x Reader | Series ➴ One badly-judged fling with Jung Hoseok, the son of a company-rival, leaves you with a little surprise.

PARK JIMIN

❥ His Throne by hseoks ➴ Royalty!AU | Jimin x Reader | Series ➴ You, a maid for the royal family, have sex with the irresistible Prince Park Jimin on his throne.

❥ Ineffable by fringesofsanity ➴ FWB!AU | Jimin x Reader | One-Shot ➴ You’ve only shared your body to Jimin, mostly silent after the act. The one time you decide to bare so much more, you find yourself baring your soul to him, far more than you bargained for.

❥ Blue Side by hoseokiehopie ➴ Ghost/Lovers!AU | Jimin x Reader | One-Shot ➴ You’re all too familiar with the legend that says the dead can walk freely on Halloween. It’s a secret you hold deeply within yourself. When a classmate starts to break down the walls you built so strongly after your boyfriend’s passing, you have to decide if you’re going to remain in the past with the dead, or live among the living.

KIM TAEHYUNG

❥ Effervescence by fringesofsanity ➴ Idol/Fling!AU | Taehyung x Reader | Series ➴ Just like the fizz of a cola on a hot summer’s day, your encounter with Taehyung is short but sparkly sweet.

OR Getting married in three months, you and your girls attend Ultra Miami to cap your single life, a final hurrah of some sort. What you didn’t expect is meeting a beguiling boy with a boxy smile who gives you a festival you’ll forever reminisce.

❥ Minutiae by coconutty ➴ Stalker!AU | Taehyung x Reader | Series ➴ Y/N meets a mysterious and alluring photographer and wants to interview him. Along the way things start getting a bit strange. What happens when you draw the attention of someone who always gets what they want?

❥ Flower Arrangements by iq_biased ➴ Pregnancy/Lovers!AU | Taehyung x Reader | One-Shot ➴ From the moment you met Taehyung, his flourish for life drew you in completely. It wasn’t long before you fell head over heals for the tattoo artist who was so wrong for you, it felt right. But your story hasn’t always been an easy one, and just recently it’s become a whole lot more complicated…

❥ Freaks Forever by yeyeniejjung ➴ Criminal/Psych!AU | Taehyung x Reader | Series ➴ "So tell me, Mister Kim, what's your ideal evening?"

"Ah..full moon, sex and drugs all night."

You are the psychologist to the world's most dangerous criminal, Kim Taehyung. Kim Taehyung is the man solely responsible for some of the most horrific crimes that the world has ever seen, from burglary, drug possession, sexual assaults, to brutal homicides of a total of 37 victims, though there are suspicions that there are more, that range from children to the elderly; both male and female. The two of you form an odd bond between your weekly sessions, causing you to somehow completely miss his blatant manipulation that soon controlled you in every aspect; resulting in his escape from prison and his bloodthirsty ways and eyes to be immediately turned onto you..but will he spare you in the end of the torturous time he keeps you or will your fate be the same as any other past victim of his?

❥ Slow Burn by fringesofsanity ➴ Idol/F2L!AU | Taehyung x Reader | Series  ➴ He was just supposed to be one of those clients. But then he gives you a night you’ll never forget. ❥ Noona by yuu14045 ➴ Neighbors/Lovers!AU | Taehyung x Reader | Series ➴ Taehyung, Jungkook, and Jimin lives in same apartment building. One day Taehyung received a mail for another Kim. She turned out to be Jimin's new neighbor.

❥ Snapped by Kpopyandere ➴ Yandere!AU | Taehyung x Reader | Series ➴ Your relationship with your boyfriend hasn't been going well lately. His twin, Kim Taehyung, decides to take advantage of this.

JEON JUNGKOOK

❥ If You’re Struggling Like I Am by @btssavedmylifeblr / bts_ruined_my_life ➴ Idol/Lovers!AU | Jungkook x Reader | Series ➴ You are hired as a makeup artist for BigHit working with BTS. You are older than all of them, yet, despite your best efforts, you find yourself slowing falling in love with the youngest member.

❥ My Cheating Amnesic Fiancé by Wrienne ➴ Idol/Arranged Marriage!AU | Jungkook x Reader | Series ➴ A series set in our world featuring Reader, the sole heiress of a multibillion-dollar company, and the Bangtan Boys' Golden Maknae - Jeon Jungkook. Mainly a romance, though doused with angst, drama and the twisted ways of fate. ❥ Return by Kpopyandere ➴ Yandere!AU | Jungkook x Reader | Series ➴ As Seokjin's girlfriend, you're off-limits, but Jungkook doesn't see it that way

[allyreads]

fic recommendations

this is a list of few of my favourite fics, check my reblogs for even more fics !!

author recommendations here

search the members’ initials to see what i recommend that isn’t on this list!! (kth for kim taehyung, ick for im changkyun, etc.)

fandoms i read: bts, svt, mx, exo, got7 and nct (so far)

disclaimer:

1. this is not a complete list, i’ll keep adding to it.

2. majority of these contain or are smut

3. very angsty so be careful of your heart

got7:

jaebum:

far from home - @red-exo

a light-hearted read that doesn’t use the most complex of vocabulary yet is able to make me feeeeeel all sort ways. although based on a simple concept, the story will definitely hike JB up your bias list!!

jinyoung:

the noisy neighbours - @chickenkooks

mark:

i want desire (a series) - @taexual

who doesn’t love a good mafia AU! series

bts:

seokjin:

currents - @yeoldontknow

one of the most powerful fanfictions ive ever read. all the revelations at the end…i can’t find any other words to describe how powerful it was.

hoseok:

systems of touch - @yeoldontknow

fuelled by love and sexual tension, this story portrays a rather professional side of jung hoseok and a reader through an artistic storyline.

oceans of gold - @junqkook

always had a soft spot for greek mythology (as mentioned below in yoongi’s) the myth of apollo and hyacinth were incorporated perfectly into this fic i’m obsessed.

jungkook:

policeofficer!jungkook - @nothingatallspecialinanyway

inspired by the music video, it’s a simple and hot piece of writing that portrays the AU!possible sexy side of jeon jungkook

oblivion - @softlyjiminie

demon!AU’s are just the best. this has angst too UGH I LOVE.

young wolf - @junqkook

for game of thrones fanatics ;)

forever and a night - @gukyi

a heartbreaking yet lovely werewolf!JK fic

not quite lovers - @junqkook

a hot ass fic, as expected from yara. in this fic the reader is the CEO rather than the guy. it was a refreshing change of perspective

rottenfolk - @junqkook

faerie jk is rotten alright

after dark - @seokoloqy

the sea & the storm - @jamaisjoons

P E R F E C T I O N honestly. so well written and so well thought out and the concept isn’t like any other im so in love

the turing test - @fortunexkookie

there are so many kook stories that i adore and this is one of them that i read so far. it’s another multi-chapter android!jungkoo; and recommend this story so much it’s so carefully crafted.

the monogamy monologues - @kpopfanfictrash

comedy gold, honestly. it’s so funny and so romantic and an amazing late-night read where you get lost in jungkook’s eyes through the form of words. 

rattled - @taehyungforreal

i know the series just started but i can’t help but fall for single dad!JK and i can’t wait to see how the series progresses

namjoon:

legacy - @mintjoonlep

intro: for her - @jamaisjoons

yoongi:

upgrade - @gukgalore

sorry tae, but i think yoongi has won here in this one

1. hello paradise my name is

2. mint

3. aidoneus, my love - @seokoloqy

i’m a sucker for greek mythology so it’s natural that this whole hades!AU series has got to be one of my favourite yoongi fics

heart haunting - @jamaisjoons

taehyung:

the morning after - @softlyjiminie

i just realised i didn’t list any tae fics when i first created this, but i found one!! this is a short, poetic angst / smut written in a genre i can never ever get bored of: the powerful, lingering feelings for an ex lover

1-800-music-street - @httpjeon

buzzed - @ junqkook

warm - @ httpjeon

i’m seeing a pattern in these fics...roommate!taehyung. there’s something so simple and sweet about this concept. gives me hope that love (and sex) can be exciting even in a domestic setting.

everythingoes - @jamaisjoons

so. fucking. good. OH MY GOD. this fic shook me to the core. unrequited love! angst! new found love! all my fucking favourites i love this fic pls go read it i don’t care if it’s 24k words and it’s 3am just go read it ok thanks bye.

taboo - @jhspetitegf

professor!taehyung oops

jimin:

lovebug - @ httpjeon

rockin’ the coffin - @ junqkook

HOT DAMN (it’s all i can say tbfh)

casual clothes - @httpjeon

faded love - @jamaisjoons

my all time fave genre: angst on divorcées / exes who still love each other. this piece was written to perfection. *chef’s kiss*

bloom - @ jamaisjoons

similar to seungcheol’s fic (listed below), this is also about the hanahaki disease and unrequited love. (my favourite!) i sound like a sadist but i promise i’m not

ot7:

eternal orbit - @interludemoonchild

stumbled across this and spent hours reading this series. every single second was worth it. i love the development of character and relationships between each of them. can’t wait for the next few chapters.

nct:

ten:

mine - @whereisten

demon!ten is seriously what i live for. such a hot, sexy fic i loved it. can’t really say much because you’ve got to read it to truly understand just how one demon can really rid you of your sanity.

lucas:

lovestruck!lucas - @warmau

exo:

baekhyun:

nothing like us - @ohh-baekhyun

enough - @kpopfanfictrash

a heart-clenching, emotional angst that potrayed the falling out of and falling back in love perfectly. alongside that came sensual smut to emphasise the connection AU!baekhyun had with the reader. it’s a lovely piece, everyone should check it out.

behave - @elle-lowriting

dom!baekhyun is just… wow. who knew a five letter, authoratative word could have such an effect. i know, me neither. catch a glimpse of baek’s dominance with this fic!!

light - @writing-exo-things

an extremely creative take on fanfictions, created based off exo’s latest demonic-esque concept. intriguing storylines such as this are then well planned out such as this one right here ^ i really recommend reading a few of her/his works. here’s the masterlist for the whole x-ėxø series. it’s a wonderful concept.

mister - @angstyexo

chen:

i hate you - @soobadnoonecanstopher

similar to far from home (JB’s fic), this piece is based on a rather common idea. this one was an enemies to lovers AU. it’s fun to read a tension-filled relationship that is soon resolved by unexpected ways. in short, this was a blithe and beguiling story.

saudade - @fairyyeols​

a slightly heartbreaking but lovely mixture of angst and fluff

chanyeol:

the dress - @thotantics

black tie - @yeoldontknow

my universe - @sehunniiie

the etymology of us - @8bityeol

bodyguard - @optimizche

junmyeon/suho:

automatic - @exosmutxoxo

( i can’t find the link for this :((( )

jongin/kai:

reunited wrongly - @causekpop

heaven - @fairyyeols

seventeen:

jun:

ashes - @taexual

i knew i had to add this to the list right away after reading it. overall, this is a piece that portrays angst and a deteriorating relationship perfectly.

heat - @guccisvt

if u enjoy werewolf!AU’s and hot sexual tension like i weirdly do, this fic is for you. a little lengthy, but worth every word.

mingyu:

but he didn’t - @pasteluji

i clearly have a thing for angst these days but this fic really crushed my heart. managed to portray everything so well: the situation itself and the perspective of BOTH characters I LOVE IT

seungcheol:

what you can’t have - @guccisvt

unrequited love with a twist

monsta x:

hyungwon:

[lgbtqiahistoricalromance]

LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels with Ghosts, Ghouls, and Gothic themes 2019 - Updated October 17

A list of titles that either came out after the last update in 2018 or were published this year. Many series!

Gentleman Wolf by Joanna Chambers

- An elegant werewolf in Edinburgh…

1788. When Lindsay Somerville, the most elegant werewolf in Paris, learns that the man who held him in abject captivity for decades is on his way to France, intent on recapturing him, he knows he must leave the Continent for his own safety. Lindsay cannot take the risk of being recaptured—he may have been free for a century but he can still feel the ghost of his old chains under his fine clothes.

… on a mission…

While he’s in Edinburgh, Lindsay has been tasked with acquiring the “Naismith Papers”, the writings of a long-dead witchfinder. It should be a straightforward mission—all Lindsay has to do is charm an elderly book collector, Hector Cruikshank. But Cruikshank may not be all he seems, and there are others who want the papers.

… meets his match

As if that were not enough, while tracking down the Naismith Papers, Lindsay meets stubborn architect Drew Nicol. Although the attraction between them is intense, Nicol seems frustratingly determined to resist Lindsay’s advances. Somehow though, Lindsay can’t seem to accept Nicol’s rejection. Is he just moonstruck, or is Nicol bonded to him in ways he doesn’t yet understand?

Note: this is the first book of a duology – the story continues and will complete in the second book, Master Wolf.

A Hidden Beauty by Jamie Craig

- Student of letters, Micah Yardley wants one thing: to meet the poet Jefferson Dering. After hearing his idol speak at Harvard, Micah travels to Jefferson’s home in nearby Wroxham, entertaining visions of discussing poetry over dinner and drinks. What he experiences exceeds anything he ever anticipated. Jefferson finds Micah mesmerizing and passionate, everything he has ever wanted. But after getting caught in a compromising position with another young man a decade earlier, he exiled himself from Boston and from affairs of the heart. Jefferson represses his longing for Micah, but his tumultuous emotions cannot be contained. Micah denies the truth of his desire for Jefferson. Jefferson refuses to act on his passion for Micah. But all it takes is a single kiss in Wroxham's haunted church to change the course of their lives ... and ignite the flame that could fulfill a generations-old promise.

Deosil by Jordan L Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin series finale!!!!)

- Whyborne, Griffin, and their friends have faced down cultists, monsters, and sorcerers. But their greatest challenge is now upon them. On the return voyage from Balefire Manor, Whyborne receives the worst news possible: Widdershins has fallen before the onslaught of the Fideles and their servants. There’s still time to stop the return of the Masters, but that window grows shorter by the hour. Together with Christine and Iskander, Whyborne and Griffin must reach Widdershins to face the ultimate test—and decide the fate of the world, once and for all.

The Ingenious Mechanical Devices series by Kara Jorgensson (bisexual, pansexual, asexual, persons with disabilities, and POC characters in this series!!!)

Book One = The Earl of Brass

- Eilian Sorrell is no stranger to cheating death, but when a dirigible accident costs him his arm, he fears his days of adventuring are over. As the eldest son of the Earl of Dorset, Lord Sorrell knows he will face a bleak future among London's aristocracy unless he can escape. On a quest to return to his old life, Lord Sorrell commissions a prosthetic arm, but the craftsman isn’t quite what he expected.

Fenice Brothers Prosthetics is in trouble. Hadley’s brother is dead, and she is forced to pick up the pieces and finish what he started. When clients begin turning her away, she fears she will fail until she crosses paths with the enigmatic Lord Sorrell. In exchange for a new arm, he offers her a chance at adventure in the deserts of Palestine.

Beneath the Negev’s sand lies something far more precious than potsherds or bones. A long lost crystal city has been found that could change Eilian and Hadley’s world forever, but they aren’t the only ones who know its secrets. Will they make it out alive or will they, too, be buried beneath the desert sands?

Shinigami by Xia Lake

- A coming-of-age love story between an orphan and the heir of the richest family in the Land of Yamato. The human world meets the yōkai in a power struggle for the fate of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu. While he battles to find his own path, Hirotsugu finds solace in a boy who will become his secret friend, then his salvation, and then as they become adults together, the love of his life.

The Sea May Burn by Rose Lerner (Part of the St. Lemeston universe, a f/f retelling of Jane Eyre!!!) COMING SOON!

- Goldengrove’s towers and twisted chimneys rose at the very edge of the peaceful Weald, a stone’s throw from the poisonous marshes and merciless waters of Rye Bay. Young Mary Palethorp had been running wild there, ever since her mother grew too ill to leave her room.

I was the perfect choice to give Mary a good English education: thoroughly respectable and far too plain to tempt her lonely father, Sir Kit, to indiscretion.

I knew better than to trust my new employer with the truth about my past. But knowing better couldn’t stop me from yearning for impossible things: to be Mary’s mother, Sir Kit’s companion, Goldengrove’s mistress.

All that belonged to poor Lady Palethorp. Most of all, I burned to finally catch a glimpse of her.

Surely she could tell me who cut the strings on the guitar I found in the music room, why all the doors in the house were locked after dark, and whose footsteps I heard in the night…

Lost in Time series by AL Lester

Book One = Lost in Time

-  Lew Rogers's life is pleasantly boring until his friend Mira messes with magic she doesn't understand. While searching for her, he's pulled back in time to 1919 by a catastrophic magical accident. As he tries to navigate a strange time and find his friend in the smoky music clubs of Soho, the last thing he needs is Detective Alec Carter suspecting him of murder. London in 1919 is cold, wet, and tired from four years of war. Alec is back in the Metropolitan Police after slogging out his army service on the Western Front. Falling for a suspect in a gruesome murder case is not on his agenda, however attractive he finds the other man. Both men are floundering and out of their depth, struggling to come to terms with feelings they didn't ask for and didn't expect. Both have secrets that could get them arrested or killed. In the middle of a murder investigation that involves wild magic, mysterious creatures, and illegal sexual desire, who is safe to trust?

We Met in Dreams by Rowan McAllister

- In Victorian London, during a prolonged and pernicious fog, fantasy and reality are about to collide—at least in one man’s troubled mind. A childhood fever left Arthur Middleton, Viscount Campden, seeing and hearing things no one else does, afraid of the world outside, and unable to function as a true peer of the realm. To protect him from himself—and to protect others from him—he spends his days heavily medicated and locked in his rooms, and his nights in darkness and solitude, tormented by visions, until a stranger appears. This apparition is different. Fox says he’s a thief and not an entirely good sort of man, yet he returns night after night to ease Arthur’s loneliness without asking for anything in return. Fox might be the key that sets Arthur free, or he might deliver the final blow to Arthur’s tenuous grasp on sanity. Either way, real or imaginary, Arthur needs him too much to care. Fox is only one of the many secrets and specters haunting Campden House, and Arthur will have to face them all in order to live the life of his dreams.

The Clearwater Mysteries by Jackson Marsh

- Book One = Deviant Desires

The Victorian East End lives in fear of the Ripper and his mission to kill rent boys. Silas Hawkins, nineteen and forging a life on the streets could well be the next victim, but when he meets Archer, his life changes forever. Young, attractive and rich, Archer is The Viscount Clearwater, a philanthropist, adventurer and homosexual. When Archer suspects the Ripper is killing to lure him to a confrontation, he risks his reputation and his life to stop the madman's murders. Every man must play his part, including Silas. A mashup of mystery, romance and adventure, Deviant Desire is set in an imaginary London of 1888. The first in an on-going series, it takes the theme of loyalty and friendship in a world where homosexuality is a crime. Secrets must be kept, lovers must be protected, and for Archer and Silas, it marks the start of their biggest adventure - love.

Highland Haunting: A Townsend Halloween Story (The Townsends) by Lily Maxton

- For the past few months, Ian Cameron and Robert Townsend have been settling into their new life together, but when a series of odd events occur at Llynmore Castle, Ian begins to suspect that he's being haunted. The question is, is the spirit malevolent or benevolent? Does it want to harm him or warn him of something to come? As Halloween draws closer, the ghost becomes stronger. Ian and Robert will have to trust each other and trust themselves to find the answers they need before it's too late. *Highland Haunting is 16,000 words and features the main characters from A Scot's Surrender

The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall by Sebastian Nothwell (f/f!!!)

- Heatherhurst Hall

Cumberland, England

1892

American heiress Kit Morgan is heartbroken at the wedding of her dearest school-friend. At her lowest moment, she is rescued from her agonies by the mysterious and alluring Alexandra Cranbrook, sister of a visiting English baronet. Alexandra is beautiful, charming, and effortlessly beguiling. Kit cannot help but fall in love with her.

When Sir Vivian Cranbrook proposes marriage, it seems natural for Kit to accept—if only to live with the woman she desperately loves.

But the Cranbrook’s ancestral home of Heatherhurst Hall is not all it seems. The attic is forbidden. Strange scratching noises echo from within the walls. Wraiths stalk the corridors by night. And worst of all, Alexandra’s love has turned to scorn.

Still, Kit is determined to earn her happily-ever-after and save the Cranbrooks from the horrors of Heatherhurst Hall.

If only she could know Alexandra loved her in return.

~The Haunting of Heatherhurst Hall is a Gothic romance rife with horror and heartache, wherein an American heiress makes an ill-advised marriage to bring herself closer the woman who’s stolen her heart.

Read by Candelight series by Gillian St. Kevern (7 book so far, with m/m and f/f love stories!!!)

- Book One = The Secretary and the Ghost: A Gothic Paranormal Romance

Pip Leighton is in a fix. His sister’s marriage hinges on him staving off the family’s impending financial ruin by taking the job of secretary to Lord Cross, a reclusive man with a temper befitting his name. Developing a passion for his employer was not on the cards. Neither was getting caught up in the deep mystery surrounding Foxwood Court and its resident ghost, but Pip has never been one to shirk a duty. As Pip delves deeper into the past, he discovers that his only hope for a future with Cross may depend on a man long dead—a man with a curious resemblance to himself.

The Gentleman Attraction: a short victorian mm paranormal romance by Connor Peterson

Emerson Mallory never mixes business and pleasure. His eyes might wander but he certainly wouldn’t risk his professional reputation over a tryst. Not even for a silver-haired scoundrel who clearly knows his way around a bedroom and makes his heart race with just one look.

When a flirtatious train ride turns into a weekend in close quarters, Bennet Clarke doesn’t agree that it would be best to leave their attraction at the door. He gave up worrying about human sensibilities the night he became a vampire centuries ago, and right now he wants more than one taste of Emerson’s charm and unnerving ability to see past his cavalier masks.

Their host has a few secrets of their own and a madcap plan that requires Emerson to enlist Bennet’s help. When the inevitable happens, Emerson begins to think that maybe Bennet’s way of looking at things isn’t so bad. Bennet, however, is faced with a dilemma. Keep up the ruse, or confess that Emerson has no idea who he’s gotten involved with.

Amidst the flurry of activity surrounding their host, the two men will have to keep their affair secret, plan a successful party, and decide if forever is too much to ask.

Spellbound: A Paranormal Historical Romance (Magic in Manhattan Book 1) by Allie Therin

- To save Manhattan, they’ll have to save each other first… 1925 New York Arthur Kenzie’s life’s work is protecting the world from the supernatural relics that could destroy it. When an amulet with the power to control the tides is shipped to New York, he must intercept it before it can be used to devastating effects. This time, in order to succeed, he needs a powerful psychometric…and the only one available has sworn off his abilities altogether. Rory Brodigan’s gift comes with great risk. To protect himself, he’s become a recluse, redirecting his magic to find counterfeit antiques. But with the city’s fate hanging in the balance, he can’t force himself to say no. Being with Arthur is dangerous, but Rory’s ever-growing attraction to him begins to make him brave. And as Arthur coaxes him out of seclusion, a magical and emotional bond begins to form. One that proves impossible to break—even when Arthur sacrifices himself to keep Rory safe and Rory must risk everything to save him.

Hayden Thorne is reissuing many of her LGBT romances this year, with some of the most original content in the genre. Many are YA options, but very enjoyable for adults!

Extensive 2018 Halloween List 

Since links have been failing in Tumblr, here is the URL for Halloween 2018: https://lgbtqiahistoricalromance.tumblr.com/post/188457088709/lgbtqiahistoricalromance

[cssns]

Hello again everyone! Please help me welcome @snowbellewells back to this years CSSNS!!!

Tumblr Name 

@snowbellewells​

How long have you been in the CS/OUAT fandom? 

I have been in the OuaT fandom since the summer before season three began. My best friend and I discovered it and pretty much mainlined the first two seasons just in time to join the "Save Henry" mission to Neverland.

When did you start shipping Captain Swan? 

I would say they were on my radar for sheer chemistry all the way back to the beanstalk, but honestly considering them a real potential couple didn't come until about the time she gave him the "You and I, we understand each other" speech at the end of season two, and he then turned his ship around and offered it and his services in going after Henry.

What drew you to this event? 

Well, the simple answer is my online friendship with Krystal and my intense desire to discover and read all of the werewolf!Killian fics there are. ;)  Beyond that though, it led me to so many other great fics of all supernatural varieties, so many new friends, and so much fun!!  (And, over the last two summers, it finally gave me the courage and the push to write the werewolf story of my own that I had rolling around in my brain.)

What inspired your topic? 

My first one shot for this year's event was inspired by a prompt on Tumblr that I just couldn't get out of my head - that an attempt to right something that had a traditional fairy tale tone/feeling to the writing style. The second (which may or may not stay a one shot) is a little less fleshed out in my mind at this point, but the idea really came to me initially from a line in a song.

If you would like to share a snippet/sneak peek/summary of your fic or artwork, please use the space below. 

Once, not-so-very long ago, in a cozy village on the eastern seaboard, a town right up by the ocean waves crashing onto the rocky shores, a rather peculiar story took place. The little burg was quite isolated. Surrounded by the Atlantic on one side and the Maine woods on two others, it almost seemed as though the little place - Storybrooke was its name - had been forgotten by time and the rest of the world. There was, of course, a road in from the south, bu it seemed that very few newcomers ever traveled it; either unable to see, or unconcerned with discovering, its presence.

 Instead, Storybrooke, Maine was quiet and close-knit; the people banded in solidarity by time and trust, just as the houses and shops huddled together against the chill sea air and harsh winter squalls. They were a rough and craggy lot, but will a quaint and beguiling self-reliance and simplicity to them as well. 

All except one of their number, that is. The beautiful woman who lived in the old mansion on the hill at the far edge of town. She was different, an exotic treasure, who had arrived in town and made herself at home some years ago. (Exactly when, no one could recall.) In some ways, she seemed ill-suited to such a small, staid little outpost, and yet, she never appeared dissatisfied. And where the neighborhood gossips and old-timers might have often closed ranks, refusing to accept such a mysterious newcomer, watching suspiciously and whispering behind their hands, she had wormed her way into their good graces.

Who/what have you beta'd before, or is this your first time? Feel free to give as much info as you like. 

I haven't done a lot of beta-ing, but I have had wonderful experiences so far. I beta-read for Melanie (@searchingwardrobes) in last year's CSSNS event, which I THOROUGHLY enjoyed - I felt like I was getting a sneak peek of a much anticipated movie before its release! I also beta-read @darkcolinodonorgasm's Pupstravaganza fic, to my utter delight! I have beta-read a couple other MCs along the way, and I'm thinking I'd have fun being a beta even more often in the future.

What are you looking forward to most about participating in this event? 

All the Discord conversations, ideas, fangirling, and cheering each other on - not to mention all the ideas that flourish there. Really digging into my stories for this summer and making progress. Beta reading for my author this time around (I've only read a few pages so far, and I already can't wait for more of it!)

Marta is one of my very favorite authors in this incredibly talented fandom and is a dear friend as well. I’m so excited that she has more for us this year and can’t wait to see them!!! She will be dropping fic on June 9 and July 5, and betaing for @xhookswenchx​ in the third wave. Everyone go tell her hi and welcome her back to the event!!!

[jawsandbones]

The Evening Red - Chapter Five

Rating: E

Summary: The blighted plague at your feet, and ghosts at your bedside. Those things that go bump in the night? They follow behind you. If only you had someone to protect you. A late-Victorian era re-imagining of Dragon Age Origins.

Pairing: Zevran x Female Warden

AO3 Link: Click Here

Chapter Five: Allegiance

He is a particular presence in this place. It is unlike with Alistair, or with her, where they can easily blend into their surroundings, into a crowd. Zevran does not need to be alone to stand out. He rests a hand on the back of a chair, looks around her flat as she places the revolver on the round table. There’s a scarf hanging around his neck, a white silk thing, and Zevran holds his hat in his other hand. The suit is pressed and clean, stitched to his perfection. King’s Row has made its mark however – his shiny black shoes now have flecks of mud and dirt upon them.

Noya has taken her robe from her bed, wrapped it around her. She pulls it closer now as she takes a seat, leans forward, and crosses her arm over the table. She watches as Zevran slowly turns, taking in all the wretched emptiness of her flat. Then, he pulls the chair out, and takes a seat. He rests his hat upon the table, drapes his scarf over it. As he removes his gloves, plucking fingers one by one, he says, “I had a strange thought today.” He laces his hands together, places them on the table and looks at her intently, without straying.

His hair is pulled back in a fairly loose bun, and wisps of wheat sway by his cheeks. Even the harsh cold lights do nothing to dim how warm he feels. Noya’s fingers play with a loose thread by her elbow. “In our every interaction, you have not shown any fear. It is easy to tell, you see, by the sound of one’s heart. A faster heartbeat gives away the game but yours, ah, yours is very calm. There is only one time it quickened. When you thought I might retaliate against your wolf – what was his name again?” He says, looking to her for the answer.

“Alistair.”

“Yes,” Zevran snaps his fingers together, points at her briefly, before joining his hands together once again. “You were not afraid for yourself, but you were afraid for him. That I might hurt him.”

“Couldn’t it also be that I was afraid he might hurt you?” Zevran’s eyes widen slightly, and he lets out a surprised laugh. As it quickly dies, he leans back, and crosses his legs. He lets a hand fall to rest over his knee. He rocks the chair back and forth, one foot firmly planted on the floor.

“Ah, now, I do not think you are this kind of woman.”

“What kind of woman?”

“Soft-hearted. We have only met briefly while I imagine you and this Alistair are good friends, yes? Your concern and your fear would not be for some stranger,” he says. It’s Noya’s turn to lean back and smile, cross her legs, rest a hand on her knee.

“I don’t think you know me at all,” she says. He chuckles at that, his eyes dropping from hers.

“That is quite true,” he says, fingers playing with the fringe of his scarf. “And you do not know me. Yet, here we are.” A twinge of a smile at the edge of Noya’s lips.

“Here you are,” she says. 

He leaves the scarf alone with a twinge that mirrors hers. “I would like to know you, if you’d let me.” Noya leans forward, elbows on the table, linking her hands together as a bridge to rest her chin upon. “How long has it been since you’ve had a friend?”

“I have friends,” he says with a scoff, “you believe yourself insightful, but you are quite wrong in this.” Noya doesn’t let this deter her.

“Fine, not friends, specifically. People you trust.”

“Ah, now, here is the proper question. I have found that giving your trust to others is a rather foolish way to get yourself killed.” He tilts his chin upwards, suddenly proud of himself, “I have been hunted by many, and caught by none.” Zevran leans forward, fingers touching at the cold barrel of the revolver on the table. “Is this for me?”

“That sounds exhausting,” Noya says as she reaches for the gun, pulls it towards her, and holds it in her lap. “And no, it’s not. I thought you might have been someone else.” He raises an eyebrow.

“Expecting trouble?”

“Yes.” His eyes follow her as she stands, goes to the box on her bed. She places the revolver back inside, closes the lid, and puts the box by her pillow. It will not go far. “I, and a few others, were attacked by blighted.”

“I was wondering of the sick I smelled on you,” he says. As if to confirm it, he takes a deep inhale. She stands near him, one hand flirting at the edge of the table. She allows her other hand to play with the edges of her robe; dark and plain, lined with lace.

“I only had time to wipe off the gore,” she says.

“Strange days when the sick attack those who seek to cure them,” Zevran tells her.

“I can’t help but agree,” she says. Noya lets her hip rest against the edge of the table, and looks towards him. She studies him carefully, from the perfectly curved brows to the lack of stubble on his smooth olive skin. He reaches up, rubs a hand along the jaw.

“Do you see something you enjoy?” He asks as the smile begins to spread across his face.

“All the books I’ve read describe vampires as monstrous, and yet I see nothing monstrous about you.” The smile quickly fades, goes dim and into dark. A cloud hangs above his brows and he looks away from her as his hand falls back to his lap. In those silent seconds, he comes to a certain decision. He feels the fangs grow long in his mouth, press against his lips. Vision intensifies, ears grow to a point, and nails become sharp. He lets it all go, and the tattoos slowly appear on his face. He turns back to her, sclera dark and unnatural quality to the color of his eyes. Bright, almost sick.

To her credit, she does not flinch. Neither does he, when she reaches out. Her fingertips follow the dark lines at the side of his face. “When did you get these?”

“A lifetime ago,” he says.

“Do you have more?”

“Oh yes.” His smile makes a sly return. Her touch drifts, makes its way towards his mouth. She can feel them, just underneath. As she goes to raise his lips, he wraps a hand around her wrist. “As much as I enjoy your lack of fear of me, I less enjoy being examined as though I were some sort of strange animal.”

“You’re right. My apologies. No one deserves to be treated that way,” she says as he lets go of her wrist, and she draws her hand back. “Do they hurt?” He runs a thoughtful tongue over them, and shrugs.

“All of it is rather painless. Did you know that I am quite resistant to cold now? Ah, I remember when those terrible winter days used to bother me. But now?” He looks up at her and grins, “I could chart paths through the most terrible of places.”

“Is it true that vampires are sensitive to fire?”

“It is a most peculiar sensation, not unlike pins and needles. It does give some discomfort, and I would be quite upset if my hair burned off.” He pinches a strand of it, pulls at it, as if to confirm that it is still indeed atop his head.

“And the sun?” she asks.

“It weakens us, yes. Quite spectacularly. It will not kill, but it will wound. Consider vampires hardier humans. There are things which do not touch us, such as age, but enough bullets will be a danger. The myth that we can only be killed by stakes is amusing, but it is more our hearts being pierced which causes the killing. Some have tried the oddest things: knives blessed by the Chantry, water blessed by the Chantry, bullets blessed by the Chantry –” he says nonchalantly, as though he’s simply reciting from a list “– Odd how they always think the Chantry’s blessing will simply solve their problems. Hmm.”

“You’ve been hunted often?” Noya asks. Zevran sighs as he leans back in the chair, spreads out his hands.

“I admit to being a troublemaker in my youth,” he says.

“And now?”  

“Only slightly less so.” They both smile at each other. “What of you?”

“The others would say I’m a troublemaker, I suppose. Although I usually get them out of the trouble that I bring,” she says.

“You have a strange collection of friends. A Chantry sister, a werewolf, and two witches.”

“Strange yes – a strange coincidence. It’s not as though I’d sought them out. It simply… happened to be,” she says.

“Now you consort with a vampire,” Zevran says.

“The only question that remains is if you’ll stay. You could have your own strange collection of friends,” she says. He huffs a laugh at that.

“For now, I come to collect on our deal. More than that – what can I offer but more of my blood? I am not skilled in medicine, or knowledgeable of plague. I do not wish to test your cures, nor do I wish to be experimented upon.”

“Isn’t it enough not to be alone? Hunted? Haven’t you ever wanted to take a breath?”

“That usually ends in tragedy.”

“If you don’t see it through with us, then you won’t know. Perhaps our end is decidedly worthwhile,” Noya says with a smile as she leans back against the table even more, steps slightly closer to him. One shoulder of her robe threatens to fall, and it clings precariously to her.  “Even if it does end tragically, do you truly not remember how comforting it is to be surrounded by people you trust?”

“I remember. I also remember the tragedy which came from my complacency.”

“I see there’s no changing your mind,” she says. He can only smile, shrug. “The blighted also ransacked our research. You say you only have your blood to offer, but you don’t know exactly how valuable that is.” That only makes him frown.

“If this partnership is to continue, then you know what I will ask in return. If the blighted are attacking others, then it will only spread. I do not think it appetizing to drink from someone with a plague. It is also rare, to find a source that a vampire does not need to beguile, trick, or kill afterwards.” He fixes her with a level gaze.

“You know that I’ll agree.” She pulls all her loose, long locks over one shoulder, exposing the jugular of her neck. There isn’t any hesitation in the movement, and she returns his gaze just as evenly. Zevran rises to his feet with ease, and stands before her, the table now biting into the back of her thighs. She tilts her head, closes her eyes.

“You do not think I will hurt you?”

“Does it usually hurt?”

“I do not mean – I’ve been told it is like a pinch – but…” he trails off as she opens her eyes once again. A simple urging, to get on with it. He closes the distance between them, one hand settling on her hip. The other goes to her cheek, while his mouth goes to her neck. She closes her eyes, waits for the pinch, but instead, he plants the kiss lightly. Up and down, moving the neck of her nightgown out of the way. The robe begins to fall, and she catches it with her elbows.

“What are you doing?”

“It is easier,” he murmurs against her skin, “if your blood is pumping quickly.”

“I see.” She takes his hand from her cheek, presses his palm against her breast, over her nightgown. “Then should we have sex?”

“It is entirely up to you,” he says, pulling away from her neck, and they look at each other for a moment. Then, she presses her other hand against his trousers, over his cock.

“I don’t want to be kissed,” she says.

“Ah, but we have before.”

“That was acting.”

“I understand,” he nods. He pulls some of it back. The claws are never helpful, here. The fangs stay, the ears remain, but his eyes soften, sclera returning to white. He puts a hand against her thigh, begins to walk his fingers over her nightgown. Slowly it raises, bunches in his hand. When it’s high enough, he slips a hand underneath, finds that her skin is warm to the touch. He moves his hand from her thigh to her hip, as he rolls her breast in his hand.

Noya reaches for the buttons of his trousers, undoing them one by one. “What do you enjoy?” He asks her.

“Anything,” she says as her hand moves over the outline of his cock, trapped behind his undergarments, “everything.”

“Very specific,” he says as she moves her hands to his shoulder, plants him back down onto the chair. His hard work unraveled, she hikes up her skirts herself as she moves to straddle him. She balances herself on him, a foot on either side, pressing into the floor. She reaches between them, but before she can touch him, he puts a hand at the nape of her neck. “Noya. Wait.” Her fingers curl, and she pulls her hands back to herself. “You are certain this is what you want?”

“Yes,” she says. He nods, and his hands go to rest at her thighs. He moves upwards, in sync with both, wrapping around. His touch moves over the bumps of her spine, while she pulls his cock free of his trousers. Her nightgown against the back of his hand, he moves one around to cup her breast once again. It’s heavy in his hand, and he rolls her nipple between his fingers. He keeps his other hand at her lower back, flat and steady, as she wraps her hand around the base of his cock.

Her head falls against his shoulder, his against hers, the only sound between them being quickening breath. “Should we take precautions?” she asks in a low whisper.

“If you would like. There is no fear of pregnancy between a human and a vampire, if this is what you are concerned about,” he says.

“Mmmm.” Her thumb presses gently against his slit, smearing the wetness down the underside of his cock, and she turns her focus back to masturbating him. His hand moves from her breast, over her belly, to the soft patch of curls at her cunt. The first touch is electric. She sucks in air between her teeth as he begins to gently rub at her clit. One of her legs begin to tremble, after a while, and he eases his touch, moves his fingers through her wet folds. His middle takes a different path, pushes against her entrance. It’s here that she now pulls at his wrist, moves him aside.

“Are you certain? I can do more for you –”

“This is enough,” she says, taking his cock in her hand. She holds him steady as she shifts forward, rolls her cunt against him. She stands on her tip toes, her forehead pressed against his, and searches for her entrance with the head of him. Then, she slowly lowers herself, her hands moving to and clenching into his shoulder. She begins to move her hips, a quick up and down, the floor creaking underneath them.

He holds her hips steady, her nightgown slowly creeping up his arms. The robe is still only held by her elbows, completely gone from her back. It pools around his feet, over his knees. He reaches up, at the nape of her neck again, and pulls her down to him. His nose moves against her collarbone, up to the soft flesh in the crook of her neck. His mouth salivates. His tongue, against her skin. Salt, and something sweeter. Not as sweet as this. Teeth pierce flesh, plunge deep down. “Ah.” It is the only sound she makes. Something of surprise, of the pinch. Blood begins to pour into his mouth, and he grasps her hips tightly. She moves a hand through his hair, undoing the messy bun to do so.

When he stands, he takes her with him with ease. Setting her down onto the table, he never once takes his mouth from her, the taste of her iron filling his senses. She keeps one foot against the floor, the other leg wrapped around him as he takes over the thrusts – deep, heavy, quick in tempo, and without cessation. She holds tightly to him, her hands clenched in fists at the back of his jacket. His eyes are open, pupils wide. The black seeps into his sclera, unable to stop it. His jaw clenches down tighter, bites her harder.  

[nana-71926]

Teaser for ch 4 of my 00Q fic, Of Cats and Dogs

Summary:  As a vampire, Q is an old soul trapped in a young man’s body that will never age. It does his career no favors, and it won’t do to look the way he does in front of a seasoned, unbonded, buck werewolf who’s made it clear that he has a problem with authority. Q’s authority, to be exact.

Additional tags: romance and drama, post-apocalyptic dystopian society, vampire/werewolf bonding, mating rituals; vampire!Q x werewolf!Bond

Author’s Notes: Ugh, this chapter is crawling at snail pace, probably because it will have sexytimes! Wish me luck, and please send the Muse some KO-FI to make her write faster!

His mouth was hideous.

He had always thought so. Especially the melodramatic fangs, which could not be more unfortunate. He could hardly bear to look at himself when he was hungry, and most certainly not immediately after he’d had a blood meal, when the rich metallic taste still clung to his teeth.

So he carried on not looking at himself, and sometimes, he could almost forget his state when he busied himself with work and limited his diet to something he could take in a cup. Yet there would be times when someone might happen by to tempt and beguile him; someone to ultimately remind him that he was monstrous, with a lethal appetite.

So now what was he to do with this? What was he to do with the likes of Bond as he stood in front of him, well inside his personal space, running light, calloused fingers over the soft, supple flesh of his red lips and declaring that he was bloody gorgeous?

>>>Support the Muse with some ko-fi to make her write faster! <<<

[twelvedreamsfortheredqueen]

Vampyr’s Vampires and Their Connections to Previous Vampiric Figures in History: An Analysis

When Outermode interviewed Stéphane Beauverger, narrative director, and Grégory Szucs, art director, of Dontnod, they both spoke of the sexual elements of the vampire as a creature itself, it’s history and mythological roots, and why that within Vampyr, the player is always damned to misfortune no matter their choices. Above all, however, they spoke about their vision for what kind of vampire that Vampyr was meant to represent:

“We wanted to go back to the roots of the vampire figure. The Victorian, tragic, romantic, and adult vampire. Who is very sexual. Who is a very erotic creature, always seducing his prey. I wanted to go back to this gothic vision of that particular character...The vampire is seductive. He knows what he was, who he was, and he’s always trying to remember his love. He’s a quite erotic and sentimental figure, a romantic figure actually.” 

I wanted to dig deeper into this aspect, of exactly what the developers were trying to accomplish with the vampires they presented to us within the game, and most importantly, what type of vampire Jonathan is as well as other characters in the game, and how we got to those kinds of vampires. This will be a pretty long essay, and will only be covering vampire works that I believe Dontnod may have taken some inspiration from (since Vampyr’s inspirations as a whole branch much farther than only vampiric literature), but I will do my best to split it into sections so you can skip around. I also don’t have any kind of formal training in writing essays, so I apologize if anything seems messy or hard to follow! Just send me a PM/ask if anything is off or strange to read. And of course, please message me if you feel there’s something inaccurate or want to share any thoughts! Feel free to respond and add to this essay as you wish!

Be wary of unmarked spoilers! Most of the sections in this essay will discuss Vampyr in length and will be chock-full with them, so do not read the essay if you don’t want the game spoiled or ruined for you (there will also be spoilers of other vampire works, but they will be marked)!

Tagging you, @cursedbethechoice as asked! And a big thank you for helping me with sources and editing!

Here are the sections to skip through with CTRL + F/Scroll to in order: 

I. The History of the Vampire: Background II. The Dichotomies of Vampyr’s Species: Ekon, Skal, Vulkod, Nimrod, Ichor (Ikor), and Disasters III. Credits, Extra Comments, and Sources

I. The History of the Vampire: Background

Before we start any discussion on how Vampyr connects to other vampire works, we first need to establish what a vampire was and most importantly, what it has become in our era and the era during Vampyr‘s  time, which was 1918, and just generally answer the questions: What is a vampire? What were they known as before present times? And what has remained throughout all the years of their interpretation? This section will mostly be re-iterating the history, and will have a little bit of analysis here and there, but it’ll mostly be to help give a general understanding of how the vampire came to be! (*Also note, that vampire works and history are INCREDIBLY long and require their own anthologies to truly go through them all, so I only picked and discussed notable ones, but many more works in vampire history have changed the way we view vampires!). The vampire that we know of is actually very modern compared to the whole history of vampires. Vampires in ancient times were not even referred to as vampires. Ancient vampires were always associated with some sort of ruin, unholy aspects, and said to be the work of Evil or the Devil itself. Vampires are stories of humans, and we as humans are made of blood, so something that rids of that life force, is something that invites death to our door. The majority of cultures in the world have some sort of vampiric variation of a mythological creature: shtriga in Albania, garkains in Australia, jiangshi in China, lamia in Libya.  Many figures or creatures that already existed became vampires in a variation of these myths or shifted into one, the same applied to religious figures. Lilith (or Lilītu)  is the most famous example in Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism), seen as a dangerous woman and demon of the night for denying Adam subservience before Eve, and has existed since the Old Testament in the Bible, from Genesis 1:27, where it was stated that she was born from the same soil Adam was in. Away from Jerusalem, were the kumiho (gumiho) in Korea; wicked, nine-tailed fox spirits that could freely transform, often as beautiful women, in order to seduce men and eat their livers or their hearts.  In the interview I linked above, Beauverger mentions his own ancient vampiric creature, the Greek creature known as a “vrykolakas”  (or vorvolakas or vourdoulakas), which is an example of an ancient vampire creature that spanned to ancient Greece. It is a word derived from the Slavic word “vǎrkolak”, and was known ultimately known as a creature of blood. The Greeks believed that a person would become a vrykolakas if they lived in an unholy manner, were excommunicated from their communities, left buried in unconsecrated (unblessed) ground, or by eating the meat of a sheep that was harmed by a wolf or even a werewolf. This legend spanned from Ancient Greece to the Ottoman Greece periods, the earliest recorded being the Neolithic period at Cyrpus, or circa. 4500–3900/3800 BCE. Vampyr itself actually mentions these creatures within the game:

Full screenshot

Full screenshot

But throughout the eras between ancient times to our modern beliefs, what did these creatures look like, and what abilities did they develop that stuck with us today? Given how unholy they were and believed to be, many of them did not take the shapes of humans, and instead took the shape of monstrous, grotesque beasts. Many creatures could even be compared more to werewolves, and some took shapes that were incomparable altogether. The most modern example of this monstrous look before the evolution to the more humane, walking corpse that we know of, was the old German horror film Nosferatu in 1922, who looked like this. 

Chupacabras, or literally “goat-suckers”, are creatures famously known in parts of the Americas and were first have said to be seen in Puerto Rico, and expanded to Chile and Mexico. “Chupar” means “to suck”, “cabra” means goat, and this refers to how they would often attack and suck the blood of livestock. They’re described in a variety of ways, but all of them remain quite monstrous. 

Jeff Carter, Flickr, 2001.

Some interpretations are much more dog-like, and is one of the many examples of how vampiric creatures have been compared to werewolf or canine-like mythological creatures (many legends often considered the two synonymous, as werewolves were known to have a craving for flesh, and were also seen as damned or cursed).

“Chupacabra” by 000Fesbra000 on Deviantart.

The abilities denoted by these creatures, be they humane or monstrous in appearance, have remained rather consistent throughout folklore. The main key ability would of course, be the ability to consume blood or at least, have their main source of sustenance be from blood. The majority of their abilities came from some malicious and profane force, often victimizing the poor soul through means of brute force, seduction, or by haunting their own bodies. Vampires are creatures of physical and spiritual violation (in the act that they both violate the body by ripping it of its life force, and by spiritually “corrupting” the soul and shaping the victim to a vampire, in many legends). Many succubi and incubi, for instance, are synonymous with vampires due to their legendary notoriety for preying on those in slumber, and because sexuality in many religious was deemed impious outside of marriage. Many ancient cultures considered sleeping to be a moment where one’s dreams held a greater meaning to the Gods (Ancient Egyptians), or that it was reaching a state of pure consciousness (Hinduism). Thus, anything that disrupted such pureness and piety would be something that one could easily deem as demonic and evil. 

The Nightmare, 1781, Johann Heinrich Füssli 

Incubus, c. 1870 - 1879 

To further expand on how incubi and succubi were seen as bastardizations of religious faith, notice the pose the incubus takes in the second image. It is similar to the pose Jesus took during his crucifixion. There is also fire in his right hand and a dagger in his left. The right hand is often associated with salvation and fortune, yet it is being burnt, much like the infinite flames that occur in Hell. The left hand is the sinister hand due to it’s association with evil in the Classical Latin era because of translations; the word “sinister” during this era was synonymous with outright malignancy. It was seen as the hand touched by the Devil. Estries of Jewish mythology were specifically female vampires that were considered identical to succubi. The name is a derivation from the French word “strix” or lit. “night owl”; blessed with haunting beauty and a craving for blood, they were seen as mistresses of the night that fed on the living. Specific legends tell of succubi that would kill pregnant women or babes out of spite and envy, and some would seduce (or rape) men as they slept. Much like many other vampiric creatures, they could take the shape of various animals that are still symbolically associated with vampires—cats, bats, and birds. This seductive and beguiling quality of the vampire we know today came due to the nigh-synonymous association with sexually demonic creatures. The ability of mesmerization we see in modern vampires is also due to this association. From these monstrous depictions, however, as time moved forward along with science, the vampire transitioned into a much more humane form (while the succubi and incubi I mentioned above could take a humane shape, they were rarely depicted as such and were more commonly depicted as eerie beings that simply took the flesh of a human as their skeleton of sorts). This is where the most modern examples start beginning to take shape. European folklore (Western and Eastern) had an intense craze and mass hysteria in the 18th century due to the fear that the dead were now rising from their graves to haunt their loved ones and cause mischief. This craze fascinated and feared many, spreading all across Europe and causing the mass desecration of graves, stalking, and accusing very healthy people as vampiric in this hysteria. Why the hysteria at all? And why was the dead during this time associated with vampires in the first place? Without becoming too grisly in details, this was due to ignorance about the process of human decomposition. Our image of the modern vampire being pale with translucent veins, and lack of breath or heartbeat, is due to this old belief. Early folk beliefs around this time believed that the “swelling” that occurred during the process of death was proof that the corpse was indeed, undead, believing that the swelling was their stomach after feeding on the blood of the living. Remember the ancient vrykolakas that I mentioned? Their features, when not described as lupine, fit this obsession with corpses perfectly.

“They do not decay; instead, they swell and may even attain a "drum-like" form, being very large, they have a ruddy complexion, and are, according to one account, "fresh and gorged with new blood". People with red hair and gray eyes at this time in history were thought to be vampires according to accounts near the region of modern Serbia.“

Corpses that still did not decay were seen as vampires for appearing “healthier” than expected, and holes near the grave, for whatever reason, was seen as a sign of the vampire leaving their coffin and returning. Some even said the corpses had fresh blood on their faces (this is due to that gases that build up in the body, which causes blood to ooze from the mouth and the eyes, and other orifices), or that they felt that throughout the night if they lived near a graveyard with a vampire, that they were being pressed on in their sleep (another allusion to succubi and incubi), or that the work of a poltergeist occurred nearby in malicious ways (vampires were commonly also seen as disturbed spirits; to be technical, the creature did not have to be physical to be considered a vampire—it merely had to feed on blood and be seen as “evil” in some aspect). In reality, this was the result of decomposition either being slowed or naturally occurring at a different rate than expected due to either the condition of the soil or the temperature of the land. The pathology of this presumably unimaginable dilemma in pre-industrial society was explained perfectly through Paul Barber’s work in “Vampires, Burial, and Death”:

This causes the body to look "plump", "well-fed", and "ruddy"—changes that are all the more striking if the person was pale or thin in life. In the Arnold Paole case, an old woman's exhumed corpse was judged by her neighbours to look more plump and healthy than she had ever looked in life. The exuding blood gave the impression that the corpse had recently been engaging in vampiric activity... After death, the skin and gums lose fluids and contract, exposing the roots of the hair, nails, and teeth, even teeth that were concealed in the jaw. This can produce the illusion that the hair, nails, and teeth have grown. At a certain stage, the nails fall off and the skin peels away, as reported in the Blagojevich case—the dermis and nail beds emerging underneath were interpreted as "new skin" and "new nails"...

Even multiple diseases were presumed to be the work of vampires. There is even such a thing as “Clinical vampirism”, which is an obsession with drinking blood (poor Mr. Renfield)! Porphyria was linked with vampiric legends as modern as 1985. Rabies also shared a common connection, because vampires throughout this time period of European hysteria were seen to be weak to garlic and light. Rabies also caused an animal (or person) to have neurological disturbances in their brain that caused them to become hyper-sexual, nocturnal, feral, and most of all: bite others and froth at the mouth with blood; all common traits of a vampire. Bats and wolves also carried Rabies as a disease. Not to also mention real Vampire Bats do exist! Three species specifically exist, the Desmodus rotundus native to the Americas, Diphylla ecaudata native to South America, Central America, and Southern Mexico, and lastly, the Diaemus youngi native to Argentina and Trinidad. These kinds of occurrences truly show how superstition originates from the environment around us and that, in our ignorance, we seek ways to explain what was otherwise seen as fantastical and more importantly: impossible.  With impossibility, comes infatuation.

Now, instead of monsters written in books and told through word of mouth as bedtime stories to haunt us, we were starting to see vampires as something very real through this hysteria. Our own loved ones, reanimated to haunt us and cause mischief, corrupted by the Devil himself. The vampire of this era was now inevitably human, yet horrifically inhuman, but what was once human, is often left behind as something romanticised and mourned over. Romanticism in Europe spanned from the 1800s to the end of the 1850s, alongside it came the revival of the Gothic Era, architecture, and literature, a juxtaposition of movements that focused on what it means to be human, and what it means to face death. We see here the birth of the Penny Dreadful, serial tales of horror that costed you a penny, telling the stories of the supernatural, the underworld, and other thrillers. Here is where we finally get to the modern vampire that we know of and is seen in Vampyr. The modern, romantic, charming, and heartrendingly melancholic vampire of our age originated itself in the work of The Vampyre by John William Polidori in 1819, just 99 years before the events of Vampyr in 1918. Lord Ruthven makes his iconic appearance as one of the first vampires in English literature; a suave, charismatic, and seductive gentleman who is both amorist and deceiver. (THE FOLLOWING BLOCKQUOTE SPOILS THE ENTIRE PLOT OF THE STORY):

“In the story, a young Englishman Aubrey meets Lord Ruthven, a man of mysterious origins who has entered London society. Aubrey accompanies Ruthven to Rome, but leaves him after Ruthven seduces the daughter of a mutual acquaintance. Aubrey travels to Greece where he becomes attracted to Ianthe, an innkeeper's daughter. Ianthe tells Aubrey about the legends of the vampire. Ruthven arrives at the scene and shortly thereafter Ianthe is killed by a vampire. Aubrey does not connect Ruthven with the murder and rejoins him in his travels. The pair are attacked by bandits and Ruthven is mortally wounded. Before he dies, Ruthven makes Aubrey swear an oath that he will not mention his death or anything else he knows about Ruthven for a year and a day. Looking back, Aubrey realizes that everyone who Ruthven met ended up suffering. Aubrey returns to London and is amazed when Ruthven appears shortly thereafter, once again alive. Ruthven reminds Aubrey of his oath to keep his death a secret. Ruthven then begins to seduce Aubrey's sister while Aubrey, helpless to protect his sister, has a nervous breakdown. Ruthven and Aubrey's sister are engaged to marry on the day the oath ends. Aubrey writes a letter to his sister revealing Ruthven's history and dies. The letter does not arrive in time. Ruthven marries Aubrey's sister, kills her on their wedding night, and escapes.”

The short story became immensely popular, due to the clear connections to Lord Byron’s works and the work of a Byronic Hero, arguably the titular character of the Romantic age. Lord Ruthven came decades before Dracula, and was the character who transformed the once atrocious creature of the Devil to a suave man or woman of the night, whom stalks and dotes on his prey before consuming them to their ultimate demise. The vampire from thereon was now a creature of sole temptation, of a now very humane lust and representation of our sins. It held so much influence to the public’s perception of vampirism that the story itself has become a citation when discussing the development of vampiric folklore. It led to an even further vampiric craze all the way to just before the Edwardian Era (Georgian and Regency eras, from 1714 - 1837 and 1811 - 1820 respectively, to the most infamously known Victorian Era 1837 - 1901 of where vampire works were the most prominent, all the way up to the Edwardian Era of 1901 - 1914. Vampyr takes place just at the end of the First World War Era of 1914 - 1918), with works such as the play Le Vampyre in 1820, the opera Der Vampyr  in 1828, Varney the Vampire: Feast of Blood from 1845 - 1847, and the ever famous Dracula in 1897.  Varney the Vampire may seem unknown and foreign compared to the legacy of Dracula, but the 876 page epic itself deserves mention. Many of the major tropes of the vampire we now see was even passed onto Dracula from Sir Francis Varney himself. The image of the vampire with fangs to leave the trademark punctured flesh wound on the neck, attacking a sleeping maiden through a window in the dead of night, hypnotizing others with a mere glance, and of course—bearing unnatural, inhumane strength and prowess. Most importantly, he defines the sympathetic vampire of the Romantic era and ours. One whom despises his condition yet cannot help but succumb and stay slave to it; it is virtually its own archetype and a definitive trait of the Romantic vampire. Several times through the series, Varney attempts suicide only to return in another kind of origin story, immortal and undying, suffering evermore. His vampirism, unlike works that succeed this one, was not granted to him, but rather it was cursed onto him. Only after betraying Oliver Cromwell, a royalist of the English military, and murdering his own son by accident in a fit of rage, the curse was then put upon him. 

This idea that vampirism is a “sin” and only placed upon those who lived an unholy life or committed a great crime is not new, but Varney brought this sympathy and sin to the modern age, and its legacy has remained with us since. The archetype of the sympathetic, self-deprecating vampire finally saw its natal day with Varney.  Of course, Dracula would forever change the face of vampires as we know it, expanding onto the Romanticised image that Lord Ruthven’s and Sir Francis Varney’s legacies left behind with the archetypal vampire of Count Dracula. A charming foreigner from Romania, Transylvania, seeking refuge in London, situated in a decaying castle near the Borgo Pass of the Carpathian Mountains. Unlike the typical depiction of Eastern European folklore of vampires which was that of decaying corpse or spirit that ravaged the lands (strigoi) Dracula was more like Ruthven, boding the proud, aristocratic charm so commonly shared with vampires in modern times. He is nostalgic with Jonathan Harker about his travels, seducing with his knowledge and kindness towards his guests whilst hiding his deep plots of terror beneath the castle walls, three brides, and unbeknownst to Jonathan, begins to haunt the women he holds dearest to him. All of these figures associated vampires with traditionalism, old spirits in youthful forms, and most of all, aristocracy and human gentry (Ekons). 

Dracula also began to make vampires a representation of the greatest sexual sin or forbidden desire of that era, and some saw vampires as downright sexual predators, given their relation to sexual demons (for Dracula, it was a hint to Invasion Literature, of Eastern European men coming to the West to ravage their pure, demure women. For Carmilla (1871), it became a representation for the sexual fear of lesbianism. However, it’s good to note that, overall, the majority of the works from the Victorian Era had a very looming theme regarding vampires and sexuality: that female sexuality above all was seen as forbidden and dangerous. To have them as victims and victims alone is the most purest form of representing them, which is why male vampires are much more popular). 

This archetype that Dracula shaped from both Varney and Ruthven is arguably the most well-known, and now the most shared around the world for our haunting, mysterious image of the vampire. Lord Ruthven birthed the ideal image of the Romantic vampire, Sir Francis Varney expanded upon it, with Count Dracula finalizing its full form, its influence still grasping us today.  For Vampyr, 1897 is not a far cry from 1918, being a mere 21 years after publication; the first edition covers were still being sold during this time period. A copy of the book can actually be seen outside of a bench at Pembroke. Ashbury’s manor also contains an original, signed copy with the same cover.

Full screenshot

Full screenshot

There is one last thing worth noting about vampires, and I believe this aspect is one of the most prevalent in Vampyr, that being, the psychological and psychiatric aspects of a vampire. Vampires are naturally creatures of death, or rather, undeath, and the hysteria that came before and during the Romantic era was very reflective of the psychology of the people at the time concerning this so-called “horror”. That, in some way, the concept of a vampire was a way of seeing a loved one once again with the mourning projecting their loss onto the dead believing that they, too, did not want to die at any cost. This is where the correlation of how a vampire is often seen as a curse or a deal with the Devil; immortality at the price of another life, or immortality at the price of being seen as something accursed for your unworthy and unnatural life, comes to play. This ideal, that the dead do or did not wish to be dead, is where the idea of how vampires come to haunt their loved ones stems from. 

Some even speculate a sexual connotation with this aspect of death, or a “morbid dread” of sorts—desire replaces fear; sadism replaces love; loved people and objects are replaced with strange entities to escape the dread. Some hold a much more simple idea; that the idea of being with a loved one who can never die, allows them to escape their inevitable thanatophobia (fear of death), hoping that their loved ones may turn them to be the same (a scenario which is exactly described by Lady Ashbury, who deems it to be extremely painful to consider). 

The dichotomy of being haunted, cursed, and ultimately damned for all your eternal life, entwined with the Romantic, Gothic ideal of living on forever with those whom you love, to live one’s eternal life with the possibility of eternal solitude and happiness, is the concept which has us all entranced by the horror and love of the modern vampire: To live eternally, you must take the lives of those mortal for eternity. The modern vampire has become the ultimate, Romantic idea of selfishness that we cannot help but become enthralled with, for we feel pity, envy, and love for the vampire.

II. The Dichotomies of Vampyr’s Species: Ekon, Skal, Vulkod, Nimrod, Ichor (Ikor), and Disasters

The species presented in Vampyr are all rather archetypal, but still have their own intricacies when looking at them individually verses looking at them all as just a collective of vampires. So I’m going to try and match them to a specific kind of vampire, overall analyze their influences, themes, and how they are presented within the game!

1. Ekon

The Ekon are the most easy to distinguish, given the characters that represent them and what kind of abilities they have. With their ability to manipulate shadows, hemomancy (blood magic), mesmerization, and perform overall supernatural feats combined with the ability to sense things no mortal can sense and yet, to be able to appear as mortal as ever. The Ekon are, without a doubt, a representation of the Gothic, Romantic vampire, or what we by now consider as the “traditional vampire”. This is easily shown with the characters that inhabit this kind of vampire, both sympathetic and unsympathetic. 

Jonathan struggles with his vampirism throughout the entirety of the game and suffers several moral dilemmas with himself. Even when you play him as evil, one cannot help but feel sympathy for him, as it can easily be seen as him being unable to cope with what he has now become. A good playthrough plays the sympathetic vampire archetype straight, with how he despises his condition and does his best to not succumb to its temptations. He also seeks to heal the people he is meant to feast upon. 

Lady Ashbury is a mentor figure within the game, wise and old in spirit but not in charm or appearance, abstaining from feeding on the living and only gives herself a chance to feed to grant the dying their merciful deaths. Her curse through the Blood of Hate, implanted into her through William Marshal, makes her realize that she is the walking epitome of death and despises herself further, feeling that true death from there is the only key to salvation.

Lower on the moral compass, we get the Ascalon Club, with Lord Redgrave acting as leader of of it in his haughty, blue-blooded manner. Believing himself to be above the “lesser” vampiric races stating Ekon supremacy, (though, he interestingly detests the idea of “purebloods”) intensely stubborn and Gothic, as well as holding onto his antediluvian values. He represents the archetype of the “vampire lord”, and most of all, an eternal struggle between vampires and the world around them, that being—the world around them changes, but the vampire often can never change, let alone escape their origins. Aloyisus also represents this with his bitterness and hatred towards those who are not like him (the wealthy gentry, and most likely later on, mortals). 

Edgar Swansea is arguably one of the most morally ambiguous, as he fully embraces his condition, much like Redgrave does, but for very different reasons. To me, he appears to be a “mad scientist” archetype mixed with an all-too-eager vampire. 

McCullum is an even more ambiguous character. He mentions how he can possibly be the greatest vampire hunter there ever was with his newfound power, but there also appears to be doubt and guilt within him, despite knowing that his vampirism was forced upon him by Jonathan (once more, a circumstantial victim of “sin”). He was also begging for death just before his Turning. Because of this, interpretations can either lead to him becoming Nimrod OR Ekon.

Mary takes a completely darker turn morally, being a representation of how low one can go; a remorseless killer who sees no point any longer in attempting to remain human. Yet, she seeks the most human thing of all—death. Morrigan bearing another scorned woman’s flesh, scarred by grief and now a corrupt soul of what was once an embodiment of empathy and compassion. Mary represents how, for some, the monstrous nature of the vampire cannot come to terms with the kind heart of a human. She represents how quickly this immortal gift turns to a curse.

It appears that Jonathan himself is considered to be of a power lineage because he can efficiently use Blood and Shadow abilities; the Rogue Ekons you begin to see in West End are either solely Blood focused or solely Shadow focused. Blood Ekons are also unable to see you in Shadow Veil, unlike Skals or other mobs that can with their indicating white eyes. This correlates with Jonathan once again, being a chosen figure, even if it comes at the cost of tragedy. 

To inspect deeper, the word “Ekon” has it’s origins in the Greek word, “εἰκών”, and is defined as:

 “An object shaped to resemble the form or appearance of something; likeness, portrait; that which has the same form as something else; that which represents something else in terms of basic forms and features.”

The word itself comes from the word “εικόνα”, or “eikóna”, which means a picture, image, illustration, or some form of portrait. Further back in the etymology leads you to the word “εἰκών”, or “eikṓn”. It also has a second definition, which refers to a religious icon or a religious painting, with synonyms such as:

αγιογραφία (agiografía, “religious painting”) εικόνισμα (eikónisma, “religious icon”) ίνδαλμα (índalma, “cultural icon”)

In English, we have an eerily similar word known as “Eikon”, which is most known specifically for a religious being or figure that is idolized, or at the very least, stands as a representation of something sacred or holy. From all of this, I believe that the was chosen to specifically represent how Ekon walk freely with mortals. As Lord Redgrave himself stated; the Ekon are the only race he knows that is able to blend in and take not only take the shape of a human, but to also mimic the presence of one. @cursedbethechoice summed this idea up nicely:

“In Vampyr’s world, Ekons are simulacra of humans. They look like, talk like, walk like, sound like humans but are are not actually humans themselves.”

Beauverger wanted to go back to the more Gothic roots of the vampire, as well as the seductive, romantic, and particularly erotic charm that the vampire has from the Romantic era. The Gothic roots Vampyr took with it’s presentation (among many other aspects across all the vampires) have to do with the biting itself. In the present day, the most popular type of vampire works involve being able to feed partially from the victim while still keeping them alive. Vampyr most certainly does not have that. The concept itself is actually much younger than Dracula (anything bitten by the Count was instantly turned or became very ill), and the presentation Vampyr gives when it comes to how vampire bites someone, it is to the death, it is actually much more accurate to Gothic vampire works. However, this applies to all species in the game. 

What I want to discuss are the “erotic” aspects presented through Ekons, which both the Ascalon Club and Jonathan himself have perfect examples of to talk about.  In the E3 2017 trailer for Vampyr, there is a scene where a woman (who uses Venus’ NPC model, for... some reason) is being fed upon by Redgrave, surrounded by the other members of the Ascalon Club, all of which are male. 

This image, of a delicate, pure woman being fed on by a male vampire (or multiple, in this case) is an erotic staple of the vampire, seen in multiple works all across vampire media and has existed since even the ancient interpretations of the vampire. For the Ascalon Club specifically, Redgrave states that victims are brought in only for “special occasions”, which could mean many things and could be theorized in quite the variety of ways (either incredibly explicit, or just truly sharing a meal. Another essay topic, maybe?).

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Naturally, since vampires are seen as sexual predators and women are meant to be seen as a virginal, demure maidens, there was nothing more perverse in the Victorian Era than the perversion of the Victorian woman. Even in Carmilla, which is the origin work of the lesbian vampire, she, too, was feeding on a woman that was seen as chaste and unsullied, which was seen as the greater sin than the lesbianism itself. This image also usually invoked the “Death and the Maiden” trope, an erotic trope involving a figure representative of death, often cradling an innocent, youthful woman. Some examples of this would be:

(SOME OF THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ARE NSFW)

“Interview with the Vampire" (1994 film, 1976 book), Anne Rice

“Dracula”, 2010, Anne Yvonne Gilbert

The next example of Vampyr’s Ekons invoking this trope, and being representative of the erotic and seductive outlook Dontnod wanted to share, has to do with a detail I noticed in Jonathan’s worst/most evil ending and in the second worst ending. Specifically, how in the both bad endings you can get, all of his victims shown in the cutscenes are women. Let’s start with the monstrous/most evil one. 

These endings alone deserve their own in-depth essays as to why the only victims we are shown are women. It could have to do with him losing Elisabeth and filling to the void, it could be preference, something much darker, or something else entirely. I believe that this choice to make all of his victims thereon to be women (or at least, appear to be women), is to directly go back to not only the seductive qualities of the vampire, but also to present another theme Beauverger wished to share—the quality of a vampire that seeks to remember what he loves. An image that reeks of decadence and hatred, but also telling of a hollowness that is unyielding and undying as the creature that holds it. Vampires are victim to the world around them changing, for they themselves lie in still, never-changing bodies. Jonathan in this moment, no matter what, is succumbing to his thirst because of his loss. The ending makes you believe there is the slightest bit of chance to the player’s heinous actions, only to tear it away from both you and Jonathan. The woman he loved denied his attempts to accept his own monstrosity, and in retaliation, he shall deny himself love and only seek pleasure, yet forever continue to remember that lost love (alongside that; the first shot of him that we are shown shows him in Paris, the country of love. Hmm...).

This image, of remembering what one has loved and lost, is also present in the second worst ending you can get. Redemption is even more tantalizing in the beginning, but instead of accepting Elisabeth’s choice to put herself to the pyre (in a rather haunting, almost emotionless way), Jonathan is mad with remorse and instead begs for Elisabeth to reconsider. She casts him aside, yet states that she forgives him in the end. We are left with this image:

Rather than this:

This ending is for the most morally ambiguous Reid played throughout the game; it involves him burning the castle down much like the first ending, yet here, a tear is shed a tear for what is lost. He loses Elisabeth in agony and grief, but does not retaliate with hedonism or rage like the most monstrous interpretation of him—he instead retaliates by condemning himself to eternal solitude, feasting still, but instead of filling him with pleasure, it fills him with an even greater void. 

This ending actually feels much more sympathetic to me, as well as much more bittersweet. Notice how he took a painting of Ashbury for himself before burning the castle to nothing. The same sihiloute seen in the worst bad ending is also shown here, which leads me to further believe that no matter which bad ending you get—it is ultimately about the loss of love and condemnation to eternal isolation. Dontnod truly shows us in these endings, what it is like to be an immortal creature with mortal emotions. Eternal suffering piled on by the cost of consuming mortal life that share the same emotions as thee.  Jonathan himself, however, only represents one kind of vampire that I have described, that being the sympathetic, self-deprecating one. A inhumane creature wearing humane flesh. Ekons, according to Dontnod, are considered to be the most “fertile” of vampires, fertile in both emotion and in the physical. The primary target for considering the human condition. They also claim benevolence in vampires, are an “exception”. How true that claim is, depends on how one views it.

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“In Vampyr, Ekons are the most fertile of the blood drinkers, closest to the traditional Vampire figure. Unlike most vampires, Ekons are still able to feel human emotion. Some of them even appear to show benevolence to humanity… but they are the exception...”

What of the others I mentioned above? How do they represent the image that Dontnod wished to show us with the presentation of the Ekon?

Given how Ashbury is Jonathan’s love interest, I feel as if she and him are of the same ilk (putting aside all the complaints of how forced their romance is, anyway). They only become polar opposites if Jonathan takes the completely evil route through the means of the player, where he is much like Mary instead. In that, his own kind soul becomes corrupted because he can no longer cope with the fantastical, yet monstrous being he has become and gives in to his more primal desires as an Ekon. Ashbury is one thing that Jonathan is not, however, and that would be the mentor figure and a message about gender and symbolism within vampire history.

We learn either in the middle or the end of the game that Ashbury was born in 1551; the specific details being these:

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For some context, only very recently have minority groups gained equal social power and standing compared to previous generations in the vast scope of history involving such events. Even in Vampyr’s 1918, women were still fighting for their right to keep their suffrage amongst a variety of other class issues that still plagued Europe and other developed nations. Ashbury, by design, almost appears to outright ignore these things for this era, presumably due to her vast experience throughout each generation and watching women slowly progress. Yet, she’s still self-aware to realize from all this experience that Lord Redgrave’s ideals are backwards and as she says, antediluvian. 

The role of women in the Victorian Era, even under the role of a Queen at the time, was still incredibly kept to the cult of domesticity even, arguably more so than ever as Europe approached it’s industrial, modern age. Anti-sexual ideals ran rampant at the time. The concept of chastity, purity, and the myth of the Victorian woman being the demure “Angel of the House” and nothing more, had made such an impact in such a short amount of time that parts of its influence have lasted well into the First World War Era. Remember, a female vampire is already seen as a corrupt version of a woman, and thus, no longer the perfectly pure Victorian ideal, because vampires are corruptions of sexuality, something that the Victorian era was very keen on scrutinizing to the fullest extent (even if none would dare to admit it).  Here is where Ashbury presents us with another kind of vampire as well, one that is not only a branch into history (akin to Dracula who woo’d guests with tales of bygone ages), but she is also something else; an ironic form of progress for a creature that never grows itself, which is what makes her the perfect mentor figure for Jonathan. She has learned something that Redgrave and other vampires like him have not; she has learned how to change. Something very distinct for the Romantic vampire, where one of the main attractions to such a character, is their haunting love and connection with their past, and due to it, never change. A walking relic in the flesh. We see it when she actively mocks such propositions even when showing her affections for Jonathan:

Sexuality as a concept for vampires has and will forever exist, from the idea of gender roles throughout the eras (as we see with Ashbury and to an extent, Redgrave with his sexist views), as well as various implications, but those deserve it’s own analysis and history section. However, staying on the topic of gender, we veer to another female figure that is much different than the rather pure Ashbury—the tragic figure that is Mary.  Mary is many things. Other than a possible allusion to Bloody Mary, she is, without a doubt, a figure of tragedy, and yet, resembles her older brother very much. After the loss of her son and husband, she seeks Jonathan in a mass grave hoping that he, too, has no succumbed to the insurmountable loss she has been facing, only to face loss herself. We see her full of hatred, anger, and above all, a fatal sadness. She attempts to murder her own brother for what he did to her, even while knowing he was remorseful and attempted to his own life. She releases their mother if Jonathan is played as a moral soul, or slaughters her before Jonathan if she feels that he is now as irredeemable as she.  She represents what Jonathan’s evil end represents and is much like a twin in this way. A compassionate soul twisted into a nightmarish version of what she once was because she cannot believe what sort of monstrosity she has become. Even after Mary goes mad, there is a moment of clarity. A moment of peace, where she contemplates her immortality.

“Don’t you see? This is not me. Flesh that never ages... All nightmare, no dream. Bring it to a close. Let me sleep.”

In that moment, we once again face the very mortal crisis of a vampire. The crisis of living only by killing another. Denied refugee to God’s holy palace. Faced with death all around you, whilst becoming death yourself. A symbolism for insanity, perhaps. That those who are mad now see a very real aspect of the world that Jonathan himself cannot describe nor see. It is quite Lovecraftian—madness through witnessing the reality, be it of one’s world or condition. Vampirism has always been linked with illness, so it would not be unwise to consider the idea that Vampyr is using a very Lovecraftian about it—that madness beseeches enlightenment.

Mary herself is most likely afflicted by the Blood of Hate that once afflicted Ashbury, and simply has succumbed to her immortal vs. mortal crisis—she cannot bare to understand how one could live as a metaphor of death whilst attempting to still remain a symbol of love, hope, and kindness which is why she finds Jonathan’s words useless no matter how he is played. They are no longer humane, they are the inhumane and thus, the evils of the Earth. This is why she only forgives him when he kills her, because she sees only a fragment of kindness from Jonathan when he commits murder because it is now, in her eyes, their true nature. Ekons are merely simulacra of humans, so can one still consider them human at all?

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The vampire is nothing but a symbol of death, no matter how humane their understanding and flesh, and Dontnod tells us well that through the character of Mary, and with the fact that we are able to play Jonathan as a complete monster. Even a moral Jonathan still struggles between his urge to kill, and his duty to heal. Ekons are Romantic, aristocratic, and above all, symbolism for how one’s morality can shift as quickly as their mortality does. 

They must, above all, decide as to how they shall live their immortal lives—decide as to whether they shall become savior, or stalker. 

2. Skal

Skals are curious creatures to place, given how much they vary with behaviour and the capacity to communicate. We have the mobs that are akin to mindless ghouls and mobs, but then there are places like the Skal sewer hideout where we get creatures that, while deformed, are able to communicate and understand who they are. Curiously, too; unlike the Ekon, they are said to feast on vampire blood much more than human blood. According to Ashbury, they are the deformed versions of their makers, the result of carelessness. With the ability to also produce claws, canines, manipulate the shadows, and their own unique ability of producing acidic clouds and blood, they are undoubtedly representatives to how vampirism throughout all mythology had been seen as an illness or pure corruption. However, Ashbury states they are lesser beings, from their abilities to controlling their hunger, so they are not as powerful as Ekons. A calling to the more monstrous interpretations of the vampire before it took the flesh of an alluring, humane visage. Various characters and types represent this dynamic about them, as well as... interesting in-game issues as to their creation.

The most obvious examples are the Rouge Skals and other variations of the mob we hunt and maim endlessly throughout the night. They seem to be lacking any resemblance of their former selves, with the only connection to Ekons being that they have similar abilities. They are mindless ghouls that spread the Skal Epidemic.

Old Bridget is an example of a Skal that is not only somewhat more human in appearance, but has retained her personality and has not succumbed to becoming a mindless ghoul. She was created by an Ekon, curiously, that being Redgrave, but it is unclear as to how. Ashbury states that it is because Redgrave comes from a bloodline that can only produce Skals, but how can this be, then, if Redgrave himself is an Ekon? It was not implied that it was done as an accident since we are told that he intended to have Old Bridget as his immortal wife; that would have fit the theory Ashbury states that Skals are simply the result of careless Turnings (and really, should have instead happened to Mary, in that case). Does the bloodline dilute and produce decayed vampires that are Skals? But Old Bridget is not mindless nor rouge; is she something in between? An Ekon gone wrong, perhaps? 

Sean inevitably goes mad if you leave him be and do not decide to Turn him, which implies that Skals, depending on what they are turned by, do decay mentally. Which may also indicate that a lot of the rouge Skals both outside and in the Sewers Skal sanctuary, all share the same fate because of the Skal Epidemic. There seems to be a sort of “advancement” in the vampire species within the game, however. A Skal can become an Ekon with their blood, but can an Ekon decay to a Skal? He interestingly, also vowed to following the Lord’s way, but we see with Jonathan that one can be attacked by their faith. Yet, Sean easily opens a shrine filled with religious figures which has little effect on him. Are Skals immune to the faith, or is it simply an exception to him?  

Elza Mullaney and the McPhersons are both mini-bosses, but are quite decayed and are considered to be part of the spread of the Skal contagion in the West End. However, the amount of mutation we see still doesn’t detract from the fact they can still talk, and are actually aware of their condition despite becoming completely fueled by rage. They also suggest that Ikors are a mutation of Skals (see more below), alongside all the Ill-Formed Skal mobs you begin to see starting with the West End. 

We can tell that Dontnod clearly wanted them to be the game’s version of a ghoul through the concept art (which also portrayed them as very eldritch), which is an that is not foreign to modern vampire works. A human corrupted through vampire blood is also not new to vampire history at all, given their older depictions representing them as monsters and symbols of disease. Remember my comparison to Rabies? Skals are a good application of such a comparison, with their rabid, mindless flailing, as well their primal thirst for blood and flesh above all else. Even Jonathan himself in his 2015 concept art has a suspiciously Skal-like look. 

Florent Auguy

Some examples of Skals in their earlier works, still appearing very similar as they do in-game:

Adrian Meriabault

We are told that the word Skal means “slave” by various characters and notes, but the etymology of the word goes quite a lot deeper than that. Here is what the game tells us of them:

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The word “slave” has etymology in the Old French word “esclave”, which comes from the Medieval and Late Latin variations of “sclāvus”, Medieval Latin standing for “slave” while Late Latin having the word standing for “Slav” (often due to Slavs being forced into slavery throughout the Middle Ages). While slaves have the first, and most known definition, that being: 

a. (n.1 and adj.): One who is property of, and entirely subject to, another person, whether by capture, purchase, or birth; a servant completely divested of freedom and personal rights. 

This is fitting for the position of the Skal in Vampyr, mentioned above with how they are kept as literal servants and overall, akin to slaves in reality, are seen as lesser by both humans and vampires. However, another interesting definition can be put to a slave, a much more symbolic one of desire, which fits all vampires:

adj. One who has lost the power of resistance; one who surrenders to something.

Beyond the connections to their bloodlust as well as social positions, comes their physical forms. Skals are connected to disease as they are representatives of ghouls, which are often seen in folklore as hulks of decaying flesh that still somehow walk the Earth. Skal, as a word, is incredibly similar to the word “scall”, which is a word to describe a disease of the skin, and “skal“ is actually a variation of this word. Alongside versions such as “scalle”, “skalle”, “skall”, and “scal,” this word (presumably) rooted in Old Norse etymology has much to share about the very visual deformities of the Skal in Vampyr.

adj. A scaly or scabby disease of the skin, esp. of the scalp. dry scall: psoriasis. humid or moist scall: eczema.

This is a clear reference to how they often lose hair on their scalp, as well as the various skin blemishes that plague their skin and are unable to be hidden. An extreme form of eczema, in a way. They are the centerpiece of the epidemic, a plague to be rid of, which all connects to how they are perceived by both humans (the Guard of Priwen in the West End hunt them furiously; leading Skal mobs to them also causes their A.I to attack them over Jonathan; they can also hurt one another), but Dontnod, with the inclusion of characters such as Old Bridget and Sean and all the conscious figures within the sanctuary, clearly wish to tell us that not all who seem monstrous are monstrous, while those who often appear the most human are often more likely to be the most evil, due to how fate likes to play its ironic game. 

Speaking of evil, the origins and etymology of the word “ghoul” also bring up an interesting connections. Ghouls themselves actually originated from Arabic folklore, and became very popular once Arabian Nights, or, One Thousands and One Nights (أَلْف لَيْلَة وَلَيْلَة‎) was translated for the rest of the world to experience. Stemming from the words “غُول - “ghūl”, which comes from from غَالَ - “ghāla”, which means “to seize”, as a reference as to how they take the shape of human bodies. Persian folklore also has a reference to ghouls, named “غول”. A good, historical definition of a Ghoul would be this.

n. or adj. late 18th century: from Arabic ġūl, ‘a desert demon believed to rob graves and devour corpses.’

Skals are said to only feed from the dead, while Ekons must feed from the living; even Nimrods only feed from live vampires. The robbing graves part, however, could be a connection to many things. Ghoul is sometimes seem as a way to mock someone with an intense interest in corpses, mortality, and death. Graverobbers and gravediggers were said to be such. It would also not be too out of the ordinary to imagine that Skals dig through graves in a cemetery to feast on the recent, and decaying, dead. We see an example of this in the game’s art after Mary’s death in a cutscene. 

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One connection to Ekons, strangely enough, is the aspect of disease, but in a venereal (sexual) sense. Given how vampires were not only seen as corrupt vessels that plagued the Earth, but also as the darker half of human sexuality, it isn’t too far too imagine that the very physical skin lesions on Skals are symbolic to venereal diseases. A stretch, perhaps, but the hand lesions shown in the concept art above are very similar to many types of rashes one can get from those types of diseases (given how a lot of images on these things are essentially for shock value, I won’t put up any in this essay out of respect, but if you are curious, here is a link to the Healthline Newsletter showcasing some). They are also unflinchingly similar to the famous 1346 to 1353 Black Death/Bubonic Plague that consumed 1/3rd of the world’s population, crippled Eurasia for the following centuries regarding health, and has continued to stand as the most famous, widespread epidemic up until the Spanish Flu.

With the presence of Skals like Old Bridget, Sean, and the lucid ones we see in the Sewers, it feel as if Skals themselves lie on a scale. Given their canon, humanoid-esque appear, the only inhumane aspect is their decay, but that too varies almost on their lucidity. Sean still looks like Sean, but is beginning to experience a slight necrosis on his face. Old Bridget also has necrosis and has lost her hair, but she looks very humane otherwise. Redgrave is an Ekon that can only produce Skals, Skals that behave more like unfinished Ekons, than Skals. Skals can also become Ekons with enough Ekon blood, “finishing” the process, so to speak. We know that something like this is true due to Dontnod’s cards about Skals and Ashbury’s descriptions of them, of how they are victims by surprise, or that they are somehow “failed” attempts at completing the process into an Ekon (Redgrave also remarks that many willing Turns lead to death because the human body could not survive the process).

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As Usher Talltree states, however, Skals, no matter how humane they are or could be, stand as the lesser, decayed half of the very much undead species of vampire. 

3. Vulkod

Now here is where things get rather dark... on information, that is. We do not know much about the Vulkod other than the accounts of research done by Carl Eldritch and the statements from Lord Redgrave. At this point, we can generally conclude that all vampires appear to share the ability of manipulating blood, having canines, shadow magic, and other dark forces at their disposal. Unlike the Skal, however, they do not appear to be capable of making acidic substances. They do, however, have the ability to appear as large, canine beasts, as well as harbour immense physical strength. They are primal and territorial (much like a wolf), and also unlike the Skal, they still seem to be relatively conscious and capable of speech and intelligence. 

Fergal is the most obvious example, as well as the Sewer Beast. Similar examples are also the Rouge Vulkods you find roaming around in the West End alongside with various other rogue vampire species beyond the Skal.

Large Beasts are most likely the reason why Redgrave states that humans often confuse them for werewolves. However, in the game, we never see a large beast capable of speech or intelligence. Given how Vulkod seem to also be a kind of “decayed” version of vampires alongside the vampiric/bloodline ladder, perhaps this is the most irredeemable version or the most primal version of Vulkod? Newton takes the (blond) shape of one in the sewers, and I believe Oswald does as well, and neither of them seem capable of speaking, but...

If Thelma is murdered, Thomas goes missing and takes the shape of a Large Beast too, yet he also speaks to you during the encounter with him. This could simply be mere consequence of the ludo-narrative nature of Vampyr (in that, the game mechanics often don’t line up with established narrative ones; I blame this on the game’s budget), or perhaps something else entirely about how vampires work, depending on how they are Turned?

Here are the notes Lord Redgrave writes on Vulkod.

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This “exotic”, yet bestial nature of the Vulkod is further emphasized in Carl Eldritch’s notes.

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So what can be garnered from these creatures? They are clearly meant to be an allusion as to how commonly vampires were compared to werewolves due to their similar thirst for blood and flesh. They are arguably described as the most primitive of all the vampire species in the game, but I would argue that such a title would better suit a Skal or Ikor. Their personalities appear to take quite a shift into primal rage, fury, and an increase an aggression. However, they do not appear to be completely red-eyed with rage and are still capable of enough intelligence to utilize their other vampiric abilities, be they in hulking human shape or in their more wolfish, beast shapes. Vulkod as a word, though... appears to be the most fictional, as I cannot personally find any connections to the word. Perhaps due to a misunderstanding of what they were known and confused for? Talltree makes note of such a common mistake, as does Redgrave. What they are confused for, a “Werewolf”, that is, is indeed something we can analyze and begin connections with. 

The etymology of “werewolf” comes from the Old English word “werewulf” (think the Old English tale of Beowulf), with “wer” standing for “man” and “wulf” standing for “wolf”, hence, “man-wolf” or “wolf-man”. The Ancient Greeks had a word for them too: “λυκάνθρωπος lukánthrōpos, or, "wolf-person", as did many other languages (The old, West German Franks had “wariwulf”. Norse figures had multiple words and analogies for wolves and “wolf-men”, but the most popular would be “varúlfur”. Also; like vampires, they, to, have a clinical condition named after lycanthropy). Associated heavily with witchcraft, the Medieval Era, curses, death, cannibalism, Therianthropy (shape-shifting humans in folklore), and symbolism for another primordial sin of the human condition (vampires being primal Lust, werewolves being primal Wrath), the werewolf was very popular throughout the 13th - 17th centuries, but subsided just before the vampire boom of the 18th century (most likely due to the rise of Victorianism, and I suppose necrophilia was more alluring than bestiality). What do all these have to do with Vulkod?  Quite a bit of connections can be made. The most obvious would be their highly aggressive, territorial nature that they develop upon turning. Another obvious connection would be their appearance, their dark, pitch-black skin resembling more the tone of fur given the rest of their physiques, and the Large Beasts are essentially just bi-pedal wolves, the exact definition of what a werewolf looks like in folklore. 

Gabriel Lemaire

Adrian Meribault

The Werewolf or the Cannibal, Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1512

Lyacon Changed into a Wolf, Hendrick Goltzius, 1589

Werewolves, once bitten, have the exact same personality change—as symbols for primordial wrath and a deep, humane rage, it could be said that Vulkod are turned through their own kind of Blood of Hate. Being wronged and dying in anger at some point in their life leads them to becoming a beast, rather than a decayed version of what they are, since Skals are a symbolism of disease, which takes victims unknowingly. Anger is something that is very noticed, and perhaps may BE the only thing they can feel or process anymore.

The Facebook reveals of each species by Dontnod, reveal that the Vulkod can no longer feel emotion. This implies that their primal, irritable nature stems from the fact that they can only feel the most baseless of emotions. Husks of what they are emotionally, but certainly not physically.

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Yet, this still begs the question of what decides the fate of those who are Turned. Is your vampire species forced through bloodline, or is there a more symbolic, emotional bond that occurs in the blood? Vulkod appear to be part of the epidemic, given how we have NPCs that are able to be turned into them rather than mindless Skals, but some become Skals and some do not in this supposed Skal Epidemic. Vulkod, in all their beastly mannerisms, bring forth quite human questions about what true changes occur when one is forced to turn.

4. Nimrod

Nimrod are more fictional concepts in Vampyr, frankly because we never see one until the very end. Much like the Vulkod and the following species I will be speaking about, we have little to go on in terms of in-game lore as to what these things were and are, and if anyone we see is afflicted. However, we do have some historical accounts in the game for Nimrod, as their general premise is that of the self-hating vampire. A vampire hunter that feasts on vampires alone, hunts them actively as their immortal goal, and much like the Ekon, is able to blend in with mortals easily. 

William Marshal is very likely a Nimrod. We see him starve himself, only sustaining himself on Ashbury’s blood, and speaks of how he was touched by the Archangel Gabriel for his “immortal” gift so that he may slay all other impurities in the world. However, the Blood of Hate that consumed him and later Ashbury leads him to becoming a true hunter of his own kind, mourn for what he did to Ashbury, and symbolically die at the hands of another vampire. 

The founder of the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole, Pawl, is revealed to be a Nimrod after completing the True Dragonbane puzzle, which, of course, is both blissfully ironic and incredibly fitting. A self-hating vampire creates a group fully centered on these immortal beings and nothing else. 

McCullum deserves his own place here again. As I said above, he can be either Ekon OR Nimrod depending on how one takes his character down the line. He seems rather accepting of his condition, or at least it’s benefits, at the beginning of his change as we see with Jonathan but who knows how quickly that may change. 

All of these men also imply that, given how Nimrods can blend in with mortals, that Nimrods can only descend from an Ekon, as they are the only species we know of that can mimic human beings the most. Nimrods could essentially just be considered Ekons that commit cannibalization instead. Nothing ingame indicates that their physiology is different from that of an Ekon’s.

No discussions on Nimrods could start without the most sacred letter about them in the game. The note, “Recollection of Paulus Aurelianus”, tells of Pawl, the original founder of the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole.

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This is also another thing in the game that very much deserves it’s own essay, but for Nimrods and vampires as whole, it provides us with some rich information. The story we see here of Pawl is an engaging one, because not only does it give us an idea of just how far back the true history of Vampyr goes and some knowledge into what the original Brotherhood was like. It also shows us a glimpse as to why the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole was birthed in the first place. Usher Talltree speaks of a schism that occurred in the Brotherhood that gave birth to both the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole and the Guard of Priwen. 

If you have Jonathan ask Talltree who the founder of the original Brotherhood was, he will respond like this.

Jonathan will then ask a question about whether or not the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole act as much than just the scholars and academics they claim to be, which leads to this interesting dialogue.

Upon completing his sidequest, “Pandora’s Box”, he gives you a note that speaks about the Brotherhood’s origins which also shed some more light.

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1801 puts us at exactly 117 years ago from 1918. Ashbury makes mention of the first Great Hunt that the Guard of Priwen launched to be about a half a century before the current game’s events; she specifically states 75 years ago. 

This means the first Great Hunt occurred roughly around 1843 (1918 - 75 = 1843). Knowing this and Talltree’s explanation of events, this most likely means that Pawl’s Recollection note was made in 1801 because he mentions one of the split factions of the Brotherhood. This may indicate that Pawl, as one of the first Nimrods to exist, is alive, and since the Brotherhood still hunted at this time, those hunters would of course be outraged to know that one of the founders of the old, original Brotherhood was a vampire. 

There’s a kind of irony in the idea of Nimrods, given the definition of what a Nimrod is in a Biblical sense and how ironically see them as sympathetic. A hunter of his own kind, using his eternity not to feed on the flesh of the living, but to smite the corpses of the undead. Their origins in Vampyr all come from them trying to either eradicate or co-exist with said creatures, but never trying to follow the “true” nature of a vampire. Such extreme ideologies on how vampires should be treated, of course, only lead to the schism we see today. 

It also brings forth McCullum’s conflict and what I believe exemplifies the Nimrod Vampyr means to share, if we were to ever get one in the flesh (because sadly, you do not get to see much of Turned McCullum since it is at the very end of the game). His first instinct when you force him to Turn is to beg for his death, for the one thing that defines an immortal from a mortal, their ability to die and leave this world. We learn that he most likely joined the Guard due to the tragedies that struck his family regarding vampires (interestingly, this is also very telling of his character. Swansea adores his vampirism and sees it as a gift, yet his own family faced the same kind of fate; McCullum uses his immortality to continue hunting vampires, Swansea uses his immortality to continue experimenting with them, and to keep peace).

If you have Jonathan ask him how he is doing with his new immortality, his first answer is how he could imagine himself becoming the greatest vampire hunter there ever was. But he also expresses the realistic concern of the Guard of Priwen; trained hunters who can discern a mortal from an immortal by a mere glimpse, yet his first suggestion is to still consider attempting deceit to remain the leader. Not unlike Pawl, no?

As mentioned prior, the word “Nimrod” has religious connotations; referring to the Hunter Nimrod, a grand king who was reknown for his hunting abilities by Christ, as well as being the great-grandson of Noah, the man who sailed his vessel that is now known as “Noah’s Ark”, during the Book of Genesis’ Great Flood. Nimrod also has connections to the Tower of Babel.

Genesis 10:8-10, King James Version (KJV)

“And Cush begat Nimrod, who began to be mighty in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Wherefore it is said, As Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”  

“And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.”

Usher Talltree’s notes also talk of the Nimrod in this fashion, referencing the mythical nature of the hunter.

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Nimrod’s etymology is not very different; stemming from the late 16th century Hebrew word “Nīmrōḏ” or “נִמְרוֹדֿ”. Nimrods in vampire represent the same fervor that the Biblical Nimrod did, becoming mighty hunters of the same evils that Nimrod saw himself face, yet unlike their Biblical counterpart, they are the embodiment of the evils they so wish to defeat, encapsulating these vampire hunters into their own twisted fate and irony. 

The Nimrod also remind me of another figure that you cannot mention vampire hunters without referencing, the character of Professor Abraham Hellsing from Dracula, the vampire’s sworn enemy and, in many interpretations of the doctor, a vampire hunter turned hunter himself. McCullum is very much the Van Helsing to Jonathan’s Dracula. Not only that, Nimrods are defined in that, they deny the supposed natural instincts of the vampire, using their dark abilities instead to cleanse the world of the evil that vampires represent and spread. Van Helsing’s personality is described in Dracula very thoroughly, and in it, there is a particular line that shares (what I believe) the same ideology and true goal that Nimrods seek.

“...This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats, these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind, work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy.”

— Letter From Dr Seward to Arthur Holmwood, chapter 9,

Nimrods deny their nature by hunting what they are to ensure the betterment and continuing kindness of mankind. In their conquest to deny all that they are, they forever hunt what they have become and what they now hate, never foregoing that cause and perhaps even hoping that, through this endless hunt which they have made themselves slaves too, they may find redemption for themselves and their sins.

5. Ichor (Ikor)

We don’t really see any mobs that are outright labeled as Ichor, and the only real  information we have of them are from Dontnod’s introduction to vampires on Facebook, and one note from Carl Eldritch about their threat. However, I have some theories, given the one thing that discerns them. They appear to be indistinguishable from Skal and otherwise share all their abilities but they have one key difference. That difference being, that they attack with the intent to spread disease, rather than to outright kill. 

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“Meet the Ichors! In Vampyr, Ichors are putrid monstrosities carrying sickness and spreading epidemics, and among the most feared of all blood drinkers. Instead of killing their prey, Ichors seem to prefer infecting their target by bite or touch – turning them into contagious carriers of disease.”

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I believed the Ill-Formed mobs that we see are the Ichor, as they are a mutation that now spreads the contagion through means of touch rather than by direct biting, which is what the Ichor are said to be. Skals may have picked up the mutation from Ichor, the Ichor themselves may just be the Ill-Formed prefix mobs and only kill because the ludo-narrative of the game requires it. Jonathan himself expresses shock as you investigate West End’s source of plague of these creatures after you kill Elza Mullaney, as he believed the epidemic was only transmitted through biting.

There is not much to say on Ichor, other than their curious choice of name. We do know that they are always female, according to reports from Friar Tobias Whittaker, which could mean they are the precursor to Disasters. They represent as much symbolism as the Skals do with their grotesque appearance and as symbols of plague and contagion that haunted all vampires in past generations. Lore-wise, they also appear and act the same, for the most part (even if they prefer not to kill directly, they are still rather violent and just seek death through means of plague regardless). However, The word “ichor” is a far cry from plague, if you look at mythology. “Ichor” is most known for being the name of the fluid that flowed in the veins of Greek Gods. Some comparisons would see it akin to the Precious Blood, or the Blood of Christ, from which one drank at communion. A fluid that was not mortal blood like our own, but rather something of an immortal fluid, and it is often why Communion has us “drink” the Blood of Christ so that we may be blessed by him.

An Iliad verse tells us of this supposed, ethereal fluid.

Iliad V. 339–342[2]    “Blood follow'd, but immortal; ichor pure,    Such as the blest inhabitants of heav'n    May bleed, nectareous; for the Gods eat not    Man's food, nor slake as he with sable wine    Their thirst, thence bloodless and from death exempt.” 

“Ichor” as a concept originated in Classical mythology and the word itself comes from an Ancient Greek, but it’s exact etymology is said to be unknown and lacks a concise theory as to how it was created. Fitting since the word is used to describe something that is already unknown and otherworldly to begin with.  

n. ˈaɪkər/ or /ˈɪkər/; Ancient Greek: ἰχώρ. also mid 17th century “ikhōr“ - The fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods.

Of course, “ichor” has another meaning as well; a medical one involving pathology, even if it’s considered archaic. It is the more fitting connection as it is a direct reference to the plague they carry and how they walk around as decaying corpses with deep mutations and acidic blemishes.

n. pathology - a foul-smelling watery discharge from a wound or ulcer. fetid discharge.

“Fetid” meaning an extremely unpleasant scent, originating from the Latin word “fetidus” or (erroneously) “foetidus”, with “fetid” having its arrival in Late Middle English. This is an obvious correlation to the bleeding ulcers found on the Ill-Formed Skals and even Large Beasts that you encounter much later in the game when the epidemic begins to take a deep hold onto London as the contagion progresses. 

Given the supposed rarity of these creatures according to Carl Eldritch, and Jonathan’s shock when he first begins to encounter them throughout the West End much later in the game, Ichor only appear when plague has spread so rapidly and only after a very long time has passed for mutations to start appearing. This implies that Ichor are a type of “advanced” form of Skal almost, that not only can they have the potential to kill directly with their strength, they also have the potential to cause an epidemic or worsen an epidemic, like we see with the Skal Epidemic, where the plague begins to start spreading by touch alongside the violent biting. 

6. Disasters

Disasters are the ultimate form of the contagion in Vampyr, the embodiment of the Red Queen’s rage and the final result of the Blood of Hate’s influence. They exemplify the eldritch horror of the Red Queen’s influence, only targeting women who have been wronged and have become creatures of ultimate hatred, while Myrddin counters this by Turning men who have a purpose, as champions to resist the utter, perpetual cycle of hatred. Very much real, biblical, and mythological all at once in the Vampyr universe, Disasters are not exactly vampires in their own right, but much like the Ichor, are meant to represent the hatred and the chaos that consumes many vampires. As the sole source of the Skal Epidemic and other tragedies, as well as the main fear of the Guard of Priwen and their reason for commencing Great Hunts to avoid their existence coming into fruition, Disasters act as boogeymen to both vampire and hunters alike. With their eldritch, grotesque appearances and the ability to plague any land or person they touch, much like Brood-mothers, Disasters are Hells that haunt the Earth wearing female flesh. 

Doris Fletcher is the first Disaster you encounter right before you encounter her mother who is also a Disaster, a sad tale of both mother and daughter being scorned. As the greatest actress of her time, her dreams wore torn asunder when she caught the plague from the original Disaster in London, that being her own mother. The infection became a greater, grotesque beast that began to infect the West End. A scorned starlet that was doomed by her own mother’s hatred and bitterness, that being...

Harriet Jones, the original Disaster and start of the Skal Epidemic, caused by Edgar’s experiments and furthered developed her own bitterness and acrid hatred against the world, as well as her own daughter for not visiting her anymore. Jones wanted everyone to suffer for what they did for her, for abandoning her as a sad old woman, and this tragedy developed into London’s Skal Epidemic, all planned by the Red Queen.

Lady Ashbury was the original source of both of these predicaments, however. William Marshall infected Ashbury with the Blood of Hate, and while she believed herself to be cured thereafter with the Tear of Angels, the Blood of Hate’s influence still coursed through her veins and caused her to be what Jonathan described as the “healthy carrier” and true origin of the Skal Epidemic. The Tear only cured the outward symptoms of her hatred and rage, but the condition in her blood never left, which is what made Edgar’s experiment so deadly, unbeknownst to both of them.

Disasters remind me very much about the Biblical “Day of Judgement” told throughout all Abrahamic religions, where the soul is judged based on their sins and virtues, and are chosen for Hell, Purgatory, or Heaven. The variations vary between religions, but overall it is generally a judge of character, of the soul, and how much that soul has escaped their Original Sin at birth. Usually, Judgement Day occurs at death, but what of the creatures of blood like we see? Of immortal beings who now represent death and the Reaper, rather than it’s victims?  Getting into the religious symbolism of Vampyr as well as the mythological concepts behind the Red Queen and Myrddin would require their own book, let alone an essay, so I will focus on the connection I feel matches: the cyclic nature of Disasters. We know that in the past, Disasters have plagued England as well as neighboring nations, with Carl Eldritch telling us of how William Marshall brought one of the first Disasters (due to his Blood of Hate), and how McCullum accuses Swansea and Jonathan of attempting to recreate another Disaster to start a plague of vampires during his boss fight at Pembroke.

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This kind of “Day of Judgement” seems to be something that the Red Queen always brings down upon the land from Stonehenge once her avatar awakens, and Myrddin attempts to fight against his mother’s hatred by making “champions” of his own to protect the land from her wrath. Jonathan succeeds in saving the Red Queen from destruction and kills the Disasters of London, but Myrddin has mentioned that his champions have not always succeeded in their cause, or fail somehow in other ways. such as being unable to even accept their own immortality, or causing their own self-destruction through other means (take Jonathan’s bad endings). 

It seems that Disasters are always inevitable, because hatred and evil within humans are always inevitable, but Myrddin seeks to also show that benevolence and the will to fight are also inevitable parts of the human condition. It is a balance, a Yin-Yang of sorts, with the Red Queen’s Disasters being the much more evil half whilst the Champions of Myrddin being the more benevolent half (to various, ambiguous moral degrees. ‘Good’ in this sense is simply being Turned to save the land, but how they go about it, is the moral ambiguity of it. For instance, no matter how much of a monster you play Jonathan to be, London is going to be saved, but at what cost? In the end, he can save London, but if all the districts are Hostile, overrun, and more mausoleum than city, does that not make him no more greater than a savior to a dead Empire?).

The Blood of Hate was the original “sin” that caused all of this so to speak, but even further back than that, is Pawl’s existence. Is it not impossible to think that a self-hating vampire from 500 A.D, could not already be a precursor to how far and how deep this bloodline follows to William Marshall’s era? Nimrods could arguably be considered the first kinds of Ekons we can actually hold any recollection of, so would it not make sense for the culmination of such hatred in vampires to be a Disaster? The cycle of life, death, and undeath that brings forth nothing but more death and inevitable hatred towards all involved; even if it is a mere cycle contained by Myrddin and the Red Queen’s existence. 

Disasters, much like all vampires, are victim to an ancient, biblical, and mythological circumstance of the human condition, almost as if vampires themselves, are akin to the Original Sin from the Bible—much like Adam during the Fall of man, plaguing all humans thereon with the capacity to sin, vampires represent the ancestral sins of Myrddin and the Red Queen; that all mortals from birth have the capacity to become corrupted, immortal versions of themselves.

Yet, we only see Disasters as scorned women, she-devils in the flesh, and the only mention of Champions are men, be they victorious or as flawed as the Disasters they were born to face. This could be mere preference on both Myrddin and the Red Queen as a just another addition to their long lists of dichotomies between them, or could there be anything deeper with this? Eve was seen as the sinner for speaking to the serpent, as was Lilith when she denied Adam subservience—cursed, scorned women are not new in Biblical verses. Mórrígan, the female figure from Celtic mythology that the Red Queen has been referred as, is a symbol of both war and fate (the Red Queen incites wars with her Disasters, and the fate she produces is cyclic; fate is often something described as everlasting and primordial), as well as a symbol for the Earth and guardian of the people (Myrddin could be this, rather than the Red Queen herself—she incites war, but Myrddin, as a part of “she”, guards the Earth by creating Champions. A metaphor to the hypocritical nature of a vampire that seeks to save others or themselves, perhaps?). 

Many natural disasters are seen to be the work of fate and otherworldly creations as well. Friar Tobias Whitaker, in all his insane ramblings, does hold some truth when he speaks of the Skal Epidemic as the work of the Devil, or as a sort of Armageddon for London’s sins (the earliesr Disaster also occured in 1666; 666 is the trademark number of the Devil. Coincidence?).

An Armageddon is a sort of prophesied “battle of the end times”, and nowadays is used describe a sort of end-of-the-world scenario, not far off the Skal Epidemic’s influence given how much it can take over. Several comparisons of this sort of “primordial” belief about disasters can be made to the Red Queen’s cycle of her own Disasters and the various plagues that come with it.

Isaiah 45:7, English Standard Version (ESV)

7 I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Chronicles 7:13 - 7:14, King James Version (KJV) 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Disasters, above all, are prophecies, a true representation of how vampires plague the hearts of man, of how vampires shall always be seen as nothing more than a courage that must be vanquished by a scourge of equal deadliness. A traditional view of the vampire, but also a very human one—for Disasters do not become Disasters solely due to being infected, they become Disasters once their hearts and souls pass the point of no return. Once more, the vampire lies bare in it’s true form, as a victim of a primordial, circumstantial “sin”, at the behest of the Red Queen. 

After losing all hope for their own humanity, their redemption, their happiness, their love—they plague the Earth, haunting the land as slaves yearning for the most human thing that they, and all vampires, have lost—the gift of mortality. 

III. Credits, Extra Comments, and Sources

CREDITS:

I would first off like to thank @cursedbethechoice for all their help and advice in writing this essay, as well as allowing me to use some of their work for this project. They also helped me access sources I otherwise would not have access too that were incredibly valuable and academic. A lot of this couldn’t have been done without them! Their essays cannot also go without notice, and I really recommend you checking out their blog for their own analysis on the game!

I’d also like to give a shout-out for @orionali, as they helped me with datamining the game and it’s assets, which came in handy multiple times while creating this essay.

EXTRA COMMENTS:

This essay is a whooping 14,293 words long! It took roughly 2 - 3 weeks to complete between my own life busy-ness, procrastination, and research. I assure you, I did not expect it to become this big.

This section is mostly for extra tidbits and comments I wanted to share, as well as some other interesting parts of the game that I feel have some relevance to the essay, but didn’t warrant enough of a reason to be elaborated upon. I ALSO APOLOGIZE to mobile users. sadly, Read Mores don’t block off the content... which sucks.

It is not mentioned in the Ekon section, but they can detect disease according to Edgar’s note in Jonathan’s office. This is why Jonathan is able to see what kind of illnesses people have, and to what degree it has decayed to! (I also imagine he’s able to clearly identify and name them because he’s a doctor). 

Most of the music I listened to while writing this was the official soundtrack.

A vampire can Shadow Jump with a human (or anything) without them falling out of their grasp. 

Vampires really dislike natural substances (because they’re unnatural beings, I suppose?), which explains this, I imagine.

Vampires have obtusely large fangs if this texture is anything to go by.

Pembroke Hospital was overcapacity by hosting more than 300 patients, as revealed if you send the district to Hostility Status. Is this due to Jonathan Embracing the hospital staff, or something else?

The Ascalon Club is wary about the Brotherhood’s traditions.

While writing, I felt like this sometimes.

ALL SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY (in no particular order):

Oxford English Dictionary DONTNOD’s Facebook Page Ernest Jones’ “The Pathology of Morbid Anxiety” - The Journal of Abnormal Psychology (1911) Dr. Elizabeth Miller’s Dracula Homepage "Greek Accounts of the Vrykolakas" by D. Demetracopoulou Leefrom The Journal of American Folklore, No. 54 (1941) "May the Ground Not Receive Thee" An Exploration of the Greek Vrykolakas and His Originsby Inanna Arthen (1998) Bible Gateway’s Versions of the Bible Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality, Paul Barber (1998) Staking Claims: The Vampires of Folklore and Fiction, Paul Barber (1996) Prest, Thomas Preskett. Varney the Vampire; or, The feast of blood. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library Bramstoker.org’s resources The Bryon Society’s resources Dracula (1897), by Bram Stoker Dracula’s Guest and other Weird Stories (1914), by Bram Stoker Deities or Vampires? Hecate and other Blood-Drinking Spirits of Ancient Times, by Ancient-origins.net John Polidori, "The Vampyre" Created by Keffer, Jeremy L, last modified by Goodmundson, Scott D on Dec 17, 2010 The Vampire in Literature - Old and New, University of Iceland, Elísabet Erla Kristjánsdóttir (2014) Did Vampires Not Have Fangs in Movies Until the 1950s?, Brian Cronin, Huffington Post (2015) The Vampire Goes to College: Essays on Teaching with the Undead, Lisa A.Nevárez, Editor. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. The Vampyre, a Tale by John William Polidori (1819) - Arizona State University Merriam-Webster’s Online Dicitionary Wiktionary Catechism of the Catholic Church, The Holy See THE MYTHS OF THE VICTORIAN WOMAN - NY Times WOMAN AND THE DEMON, The Life of a Victorian Myth. By Nina Auerbach. Illustrated. 255 pp. Cambridge, Mass.: JSTOR - Harvard University Press "Penny Dreadful: From True Crime to Fiction > Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert”, PBS.org JSTOR’S Open Academic Resources Adam and Eve, Genesis 2 - 3, Christian Bible Reference Site Adam and Eve, New World Encylopedia The Word "vampire": Its Slavonic Form and Origin, Brian Cooper (2005) The Soul, Evil Spirits, and the Undead: Vampires, Death, and Burial in Jewish Folklore and Law, Penn State University, Saul Epstein and Sara Libby Robinson (2012) The Vampire Myth, Johns Hopkins University Press, James Twitchell (1980) Vampire bats have been caught sucking human blood for the first time, Helena Horton, Telegraph Press (2017) Vampire bat, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA Biblica.com’s bible references Vampires of Capital: Gothic Reflections between Horror and Hope, Amedeo Policante (2010) From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth By Matthew Beresford (2008) Re-masculating the Vampire: Conceptions of Sexuality and the Undead from Rossetti's Proserpine to Meyer's Cullen, Emily Schuck (2013) "Every age has the vampire it needs": Octavia Butler's Vampiric Vision in Fledgling (2008) Coitus Interruptus: Sex, Bram Stoker, and Dracula, Elizabeth Miller, Professor Emerita, Memorial University (2006) Werewolf Legends from Germany, University of Pittsburgh, translated by D.L. Ashlimann (1997 - 2010)  British Library’s list of Penny Dreadfuls, Judith Flanders (2014) The Book of Were-Wolves, by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine), 1834-1924 “Ghoul” - Arabic Mythology, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA The Mythical Ghoul in Arabic Culture, Ahmed Al-Rawi, Rustaq College of Applied Sciences, Sultanate of Oman The White Devil: The Werewolf in European Culture, By Matthew Beresford (2013)  Death and the Maiden - La Mort dans l’Art The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3 rev. ed.)  Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (2009) “Original Sin” in the Cambridge Online Dicitionary “Armageddon” in the Oxford English Dictionary Pslam 51:5 - Biblegateway Porphyria and vampirism: another myth in the making, A. M. Cox (1995) Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead, Bruce A. McClelland (2006)  Porphyria - Mayo Clinic Rabies - Mayo Clinic The Iliad of Homer, Volume 1, translated by William Cowper, ESQ., (1809) The Black Death: Bubonic Plague - Themiddleages.net De-coding the Black Death, BBC.co.uk The etymology of εἰκών in Wikitionary Summary of “The Vampyre” from Wikipedia’s Article The etymology of “Nimrod” in Wikitionary

[auroraphilealis]

just a small list of fic recs

Earlier this morning my friends asked for some fake dating phan AU fics and I realized that making a fic rec list might be a good way to show some appreciation for fanfic author appreciation day!

I don’t have all day free like I wish, so I asked my friends for a few smaller catagories that I could shift through and find a few fics to rec from, that way I can get a good mix of fics for people to enjoy, and find as many authors as possible to thank! 

Of course, I can’t possibly have read every fic out there ever, so if you aren’t on here that’s no like, disrespect to you or anything. Every single person whose ever written and posted a fanfic deserves to be recognized and loved for what they’ve produce for us, so just know that I appreciate every single one of you, on or off this list!

To add to this, I tired to pick some older, or smaller works that people may have not seen before to give the authors a little lift if possible :)

Without further ado, below you’ll find some fic recs and author appreciation below !

Fake Relationship:

Our Threadbare Lies - @ramonaspeaks -  Dan is eighteen years old and newly single. He's ready to come out to his family but he thinks it would be a hell of a lot easier if he had a boyfriend to help him through it.

This is like one of my all time favorite fake relationship fics of all time. Honestly it was so well done and really realistic and the writing is just superb. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve re-read this fic, (as well as most of the authors other works) because it was just so well done, so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to the author for all the hard work they put into it! On top of that, it holds really, really close to 2009 timeline (as we know it) and manages to make things work that might not have worked in their AU if they weren’t so smart about it

Maybe, Possibly - @cafephan -  Phil’s mother is adamant that he should be settling down, so invites one of his turbulent exes to an annual family get-together the following day. In a moment of panic, he tells her he’s already dating someone. With no other options, he turns to Dan.

aldjflkas I fucking love this fic so freaking much. I’ve read it like ten million times. Everytime it shows up on my dash I open it to read it again. It’s just really funny and sweet in a strange way, and captures an essence of dnp that I really enjoy. I like how easy it is for dnp to pretend to be together in this fic, and how easy it is for them to then transition to ACTUALLY being together. It’s the perfect kind of non-dramatic get together fake relationship AU ever and I really, really do love it. Again, massive thank you to the author!

friends dont treat me like you do - @internetakeover (i think i got your @ right) -  Why had Dan agreed to this? Pretending to be Phil’s boyfriend at his ex’s wedding had seemed like a nice idea at first, a way to meet some of Phil’s old university friends while helping him avoid humiliation, but already Dan’s on edge. If Dan allows himself to relax for a day, lets himself watch Phil as much as he wants, touch Phil as much as he wants, carry on their flirtatious banter when normally he’d laugh it off... he’s worried about what Phil might see.

I ended up re-reading this after I stumbled across it again just now hahaha I really love this fic. It’s super cute and a little sappy cause WEDDING FIC but that’s what makes it so worth the read. I love that both Dan and Phil realize how easy their relationship is, and the fact that they’ve technically been dating for a long time and that they love each other. I love that they realize this the way that they do, and it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, so thank you so much to the author <3

Asexuality

Between Us - @winteredspark who doesnt appear to have a tumblr :( - "I think I'm asexual," Dan breathes against the crook of Phil's neck, blinking back tears.There's a pause, then -"Nice to meet you, asexual. I'm Phil," says Phil.

This is the asexual fic that helped me to realize that I’m asexual and that asexuality is a spectrum that isn’t limited to one version or another. I remember leaving a really long thoughtout comment to the author but I can’t not rec it here as well. It’s just such an amazing asexuality fic and it’s a little bit of a different take not it considering the character exists on a different part of the spectrum than most ace fics portray. I will always be grateful to this author for this fic!

let’s save up for something new - @deletablebird -  Phil wakes up shivering the morning of October 19th, 2009. Today is the day he meets Dan. Fluff, 3.5k

I love this author with my whole heart and I’ve read everything they’ve written lol. This is just a really, really cute and lovely take on 2009 with the asexual aspect included and it really made my heart happy, so thank you so so much for this fic!

Theater

Disguises - @ramonaspeaks -  Phil auditions for a play at a local theater and meets Dan, who spends most of his time acting whether he’s on stage or off.

Again, another fic from one of my favorite authors of all time. This is like my actual favorite theater au of all time. I am completely in love with the whole thing. It feels so real, and their characters are so well fleshed out, and each scene is just actually fantastic. I solidly recommend this one and I am soooo thankful to the author for bringing it into existence!

just touched down in london town - @phanetixs - "Hamilton is actually really nice and the plot is very interesting and okay, well, there’s this guy."In which, London is not as bad in the summer, a cute guy dies considerably in Act III and Phil has actually lucked out for once.

Look not only do I stalk all of this authors fics, but this is one of my all time favorites of theirs. They managed to take an idea that almost seems ludicrous and make it into something not only super hot, but super realistic and really, really, really fun. I absolutely adore this fic and I give you all the kudos my wonderful author. Thank you for writing such a wonderful au!

Which as they kiss, consume - @irrevocablys which for some reason it wont tag you :( -  Dan’s an aspiring actor, and Phil’s so over studying Romeo and Juliet.

This was one of my first theater au’s and I truly adore it. its just like got this super cute undertone to it thats incredibly wonderful? I just love the way the characters interact and the ease and flow of the writing <3 thank you for giving us something so beautful

Supernatural Elements

Ride with the moon in the dead of night - @mooksie01 -Phil seriously needs to buy some allergy medicine or something. Or at least open a window next time he performs a demonic ritual. He wouldn't have thought that one little sneeze could've messed up a spell so bad, but now he has a demon on his hands and only six days to get rid of it before he's stuck with it forever....And maybe the demon is acting like a total cinnamon roll, but Phil is positive that it's all just an elaborate ruse.

ajdlsfkjasdlkjfls omfg I love this fic so much. I actually adore fics with supernatural elements in them and this is one of those fics that always stands out to me. It’s just really hilarious and well written and is just overall a fun take on witch phil. I just, i really love it, and I’m so grateful it exists. Thank you wonderful author <3

Reflections of the Heart - @butterflyphil - “Being told to dress up in a dinosaur onesie and have cereal catapulted at your face is a little odd. Waking up to find that you and your best friend have switched bodies? That’s fucking bizarre.”(Or, the multi-chaptered, slightly smutty bodyswap fic that no one asked for. Featuring whiny/annoying!Dan, sassy/beguiling!Phil, unintentional innuendos, intentional innuendos, unnecessary kitchen supplies, and just a pinch of magic).

UHM, THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVE FICS? Lol. I just really freaking love body swap fic and you did such a good job with this fic. it’s honestly just super fun and a little hot and really cute and beautiful overall. I really just, really cant thank you enough for this fic and rec it really really highly!

Vampires & Werewolfs

High - @icandigelvis -  Just the ordinary story of Dan and Phil, except one little detail. Phil isn't human in this one. Expect biting, bickering, playlist live, blood, bad jokes and sex.

ajdslfkjasl listen I love vampire fic and this one is just so good. it’s so true to dnp’s personalities and just like, accurate to who they’d be tbh. And like, the fact that it sticks so close to reality aside from the vampire difference is what makes it even better so thank you so much to the lovely author for writing it. It’s everything I ever needed and more from a vampire fic

Taking Every Chance I’ve Got All - @nagirci - Dan wanted was to get drunk, really. Have a good time, meet a few new people. He didn’t really think about getting involved with someone as dangerous as Phil Lester (someone as cold, as pale and, well, as not alive), and he definitely didn’t think that one trip out to a bar would change his life forever.

This is like a really older fic that’s from one of the first phandom big bangs but it’s one of my first favorite vampire fics of all time as well and it’s just. really good and really well thought and the collaboration work on it is incredibly flawless. I honeslty would tell anyone to read it at any time because it comes together so well

Sharp Teeth - @theshyauthor -  AmazingPhil is a Youtuber and a vampire and according to Dan Howell, he is the nicest person to exist. From their first meeting in 2009 all the way to that one incident in the elevator at the BBC, this is their story.

Again this is just such a good take on 2009 and the reality of dnp with added vampirism tossed in. Plus the author is a beautiful wonderful person and I really enjoy their writing so its a total please go read this kind of fic x3 Thank you darling for writing something so wonderful <3

be sure to ring the doorbell - @frostbittencheeks -  Dan’s a tired sports reporter, Phil’s a friendly vampire with no real sense of boundaries and a propensity for bad Dracula jokes as well as leaving his unconscious victims in Dan’s kitchen. This isn’t how Dan thought courtship goes, but he’ll take it.

Can you tell I love vampire fics? This one is so well done, I literally re-read it constantly. I love the whole idea behind it, specifically the fact that Phil’s version of courtship is literally ridiculous and he doesn’t even think that they need to talk about it hahahaha I just love how funny and adorable it is and it’s just totally worth a few minutes of your time

a puppy sort of love - @symmetricdnp -  Dan's supposedly a werewolf. Phil has doubts.

I honestly want to beg this person to write me more of this fic cause the permise is just that good. There are so few werewolf fics in the phandom, and especially ones that are this cute, thoughout , and well written. I absolutely adore this fic and I totally rec it to all of you. The author is wonderful, thank you so much for writing this fic <3

Blind

It’s the blue of your eyes, and the way you’re scared, love - @glitteraccent Soulmate (Color)! & Blind!Phil  au 

Okay but like this story always sticks out in my memory and I think on it often. It’s one of my all time favorite soulmate au’s and blind au’s, because it was just structured so well and the characters make your heart fall for them really, really fast. I love this author and tumblr wont tag them, but reblog their fic and give them all the love in the world!

[ofheroism]

{chace crawford; cismale; he/him} hey isn’t that JASPER SINCLAIR? the 33 year old WEREWOLF and a song that plays when you see them is ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN by MASKED WOLF. They are known to be BEGUILING and DECEPTIVE. They have been in VALDEZ for HIS ENTIRE LIFE and always remind me of headlights reflected on rainy pavement, an empty glass of scotch, grins that don’t meet your eyes, and expensive cologne. what secrets will they discover?

BASICS

CURRENT ALIAS: jasper elliot sinclair

BIRTH DATE + AGE: november 1, 1989 – 00:00

GENDER: male

PRONOUNS: he/him

ORIENTATION: heterosexual heteroromantic

SPECIES: werewolf (born)

PACK: sinclair

POSITION : delta

ABILITIES: shapeshifting (wolf),  superb physical resilience and remarkable regenerative abilities, enhanced senses of smell, hearing, and sight, supernatural strength, durability, reflexes, and speed.

OCCUPATION: stock portfolio manager at sinclair investments

BIRTHPLACE: valdez, alaska

FAMILY: torrance sinclair - father (born werewolf - pack alpha), evelyn sinclair née dawson - mother (born werewolf), xxx sinclair - older sibling (born werewolf - heir of pack), xxx sinclair - younger sibling (born werewolf), roxanne sinclair née wu - wife (born werewolf)

APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: chace crawford

EYE COLOR: ocean blue

HAIR: light/medium brown

HEIGHT: 6′0″

TATTOOS: none due to werewolf healing.

SCARS/BIRTH MARKS: none due to werewolf healing.

PERSONALITY

ZODIAC: scorpio sun, sagittarius moon, leo rising

MBTI: entp, the debater.

ENNEAGRAM: 8w7, the non-conformist. sexual/self preservation subtype

ALIGNMENT: chaotic neutral

TEMPERAMENT: sanguine

ARCHETYPE: the jester / the prodigal son

ELEMENT: air

ASSOCIATED CHARACTERS: adrian ivashkov, logan huntzberger, derek from the swan princess, jj parker, barney stinson

AESTHETIC: headlights reflected on rainy pavement, an empty glass of scotch, grins that don’t meet your eyes, expensive cologne, designer brands, golden retrievers, lipstick marks on white collars, sleeves rolled up to elbows, crooked ties, perfectly disheveled hair, being the family disappointment.

BIOGRAPHY TW: cheating, murder

JASPER ELLIOT SINCLAIR was born in valdez, alaska to an upper class pair of werewolves, one of three children. the first image that may come to mind is a lively, bustling household, but jasper’s childhood was far from it. the children were not products of love to the scheming duo, but more bargaining chips into securing a legacy. would they grow up to become the second-in-command of the tyler pack, to marry into the alpha’s family, perhaps to ascend to alpha themselves? with three children, they could mold them like clay into whatever future they desired for them.

this is the story of jasper sinclair, a boy who learned the only way to gain control of his own life was to throw it away like all his potential, the guise of insouciance one that melded to his devil-may-care grins alarmingly well.

born the middle child, jasper managed to avoid the absolute brunt of his parent’s scheming ways. one sibling was the golden child, projected to be one of the youngest pack members to be promoted to beta, thanks to their intellect and dedication to honing their abilities, the throne in their sights. the younger sibling was charm incarnate, wrapping everyone around their little finger, destined to enamor their way into the alpha’s family. where did that leave jasper, too easily caught up in daydreams to excel in his classes and one of the only ones in his class yet to show any manifestation of his shifting even at age 16? was he somehow human by a cosmic mistake?

at sixteen, irresponsibility and mischief incarnate, jasper knew a thing or two about flirting with girls, but one in particular had caught his eye. he’d managed to date her for several months, and a young jasper, certain christa was ‘the one’, never shied away from inviting her along with his best friends. his parents tried to discourage the relationship, but that only made jasper more persistent. he’d been banned from a spring break trip due to it being too close to the full moon, but refusing to miss out on adventure, jasper snuck out to drive to friend’s family beach house on the peninsula. why should a full moon that didn’t affect him stop his shenanigans? except... this time, it did. his werewolf gene finally triggered that spring, and jasper was left alone to deal with the shift. hearing him howling out in pain, christa came to find him, and narrowly escaped the large, hungry wolf in his place. 

when he awoke, confusion gave way to horror as jasper realized he was not powerless after all, but that he’d nearly killed his own girlfriend. despite having already discussed spending their lives together like many teenagers certain of the future, christa’s feelings for him took a hard reverse. she refused to forgive him for not telling her, as if she could have been prepared. she swore if he ever came near him again, she’d call the police. the sinclairs were furious but solved the solution by paying christa and her family enough money to disappear and never mention what they’d seen again. it took a couple years, but jasper eventually moved on, dating and eventually proposing the alpha’s only daughter and being promoted to beta. it was exactly the life his parents wanted for him, but he found he actually liked her. 

unfortunately, the sinclair family’s ambition could not be sated. happy with the family’s apparent alliance, the alpha promoted torrance sinclair to second-in-command. soon after his rise in position, the leader of the tyler pack and his eldest child were killed in an attack by another werewolf. the wolf was never identified, but torrance blamed the lunar pack for their leader’s death. jasper’s fianceé accusing him of only making her fall for him so that his family could betray hers. he was unsure what to believe, but she left him no choice by ending things first. torrance convinced the back a young wolf was in no position to lead, that she only blamed him because of her secret loyalties to the lunar pack. it was utter nonsense, and yet torrance was charismatic enough to have the pack eating out of his palm. his now ex-fianceé had lost her family and pack in one week, and her last words to jasper were that he never deserved to be loved by anyone.

the sinclair pack hierarchy shifted quickly, the eldest sinclair sibling named heir to the pack, a loyal family made second-in-command. after following his parents’ every wish, jasper found himself less happy than ever. what good was prestige in a pack he didn’t particularly even care for? was power all that anyone in this damned town wanted? 

in the nearly 15 years since, jasper has given up on going after anything he’d once wanted. he works at his family’s investment company during the day to ‘pay the bills’, as if his father doesn’t finance most of his opulent life.

at night, he street races. one of the main things to bring him joy in life is a fast car. he chases almost anything that brings him adrenaline: a never-ending line of women to ghost, drunk shenanigans with his fellow rich friends, action movies, grand adventures, etc. 

to spite his parents as much as he had the freedom to, jasper and his frenemy of sorts roxanne drunkenly eloped in vegas six months ago. they’d planned to annul the wedding the moment they returned home, but jasper’s father found out first. he was so angry at jasper’s recklessness (and the teeny tiny fact that roxanne was from the lunar pack, the one the sinclair pack believes killed their former leader) that he demoted him to a delta position. for once, jasper felt such a rush of adrenaline, so entertained that he proclaimed his love for roxanne and refused to divorce her. thankfully, out of spite for her own family, she’s agreed. he has no plans to ever commit to anyone again, so he’s not particularly in a hurry to give up the charade. 

top 5 theme songs:

the hills by weeknd

i only **** you when it’s half past five, the only time i’d ever call you mine, i only love it when you touch me, not feel me 

@ my worst by blackbear

but maybe i’m the worst, the worst you ever had, tell you you’re beautiful then stab you in the back 

astronaut in the ocean by masked wolf 

i’ma play her for fun, y’all don’t really know my mental, let me give you the pencil, like a stencil, falling out, in a drought

i mean it by g-eazy 

if i ever said i’m never scared, just know i mean it. if i ever said i ****ed your *****, just know i mean it. – she calls me, i screen it, only ****ing if it’s convenient – yeah listen, i’m telling you, it’s my world, i does what i wish to 

ghost by witt lowry 

“now get your shit together” is what i’m told – used to dream of the top, had nightmares at the bottom – when you feel more like a product than a person, that’s a problem 

His Pinterest board is here.

His Spotify playlist is here.

— CONNECTIONS:

FAMILIAL:

SIBLING - { 0 / 2 } - one older sibling and one younger sibling, one golden child set to inherit the pack and family business one day and one charismatic child, meant to ally with the second-in-command’s family. 

COUSIN - { 0 / ? } - anyone related to either of his parents’ siblings.

PLATONIC:

BEST FRIENDS - { 0 / 2 or 3} - this may not be mutual, but people jasper considers to be his favorite people he’d do anything for

FRENEMIES - { 0 / 3 } - people jasper gets along with at times but also wouldn’t hesitate to laugh at their expense

ROOMMATES - { 1 / 1 } - roxanne sinclair

FRIENDS - { 0 / ? } - jasper is often known to hang out with other rich, arrogant, important people in town, but also has maybe one or two friends that don’t fit into any of those categories that he likes to keep separate from his regular life.

ACQUAINTANCES - { 0 / ? } they’ve met before at a party, around town, etc.

CO-WORKERS - { 0 / ? } - others who work at the investment company

ANTAGONISTIC:

FORMER FRIENDS - { 0 / 2 } people he’s somehow managed to screw over whether on accident or on purpose to prove a point

ENEMIES - { 0 / ? } - did he sleep with their ex/significant other/sister/them and now they hate him? did his general arrogant and careless disposition start it? the possibilities are endless

ROMANTIC:

SPOUSE - { 1 / 1 } - roxanne sinclair - platonic marriage that started as a drunken decision on a vegas trip and was not annulled due to a mutual desire to spite their parents, have been married six months.

EX-FIANCEE - { 0 / 1 } - xxx tyler (pls feel free to change surname!) - the previous alpha’s daughter - she believes jasper father’s killed her father and older sibling to gain the pack and vowed revenge against his family fifteen years ago. he’s sure she’s gotten over that by now... hopefully.

FRIENDS W BENEFITS - { 0 / 2 } - not feeling like he owes a platonic marriage commitment, jasper mostly just hooks up with people out of town to avoid questions. there’s still a couple people he occasionally spends the night with in town because he actually enjoys their company in general too ( i don’t write smut 😂). they either don’t care that he’s married or don’t know? female, any species, 25+

OTHER - feel free to hit me up with any other ideas you have as well !

[funkzpiel]

Do you have a to do list for your writing projects? Can we see?

I do have a to do list. I was keeping it all in a journal, which eventually migrated to my basecamp profile (online calendar/organizer thing). I am more than happy to share it with you! Be forewarned, my inbox is currently 50 messages deep…so there’s at least 50 things on my to-do list. XD It’s not in any specific order.PROMPTS:- 4 Music Prompts from today- Famous!NewtxOblivious(Not Famous)!Graves- Howl, Florence + The Machine - Werewolf!Graves- Multiple Orgasms (Gramander)- Graves in work boots/casual wear + Auror!Squad reactions- Bottom!Graves/Hung!Credence- Graves/Auror!Squad Shenanigans- Vampire!Graves- Newt Enjoying Graves’ Smol-ness Way Too Much >:)- “Are You Limping?”- Grindelwald in a collar- Newt/Percival fight - Cue Sadness when Newt almost Dies in battle- Newt thinks Percival is a magical creature because he sees how his Auror!Squad (and everyone, really) thirsts after him- Dragon!Newt/Dragon!Graves- Chubby Retired!GravesxNewt- Newt has a competency kink; Graves is quite competent - On the Run AU - Gramander (with mpreg!)- Dragon!Newt gives Werewolf!Graves a belly rub (⺣◡⺣)♡*- Gravesx??? (Scar Worship)- Gravesx??? “you’re trembling so much, does the vibrator feel that good?”- Graves w/ a Praise Kink!- “Kindness is a choice. Mercy is a choice. And now I am inclined to choose neither.”- Dragon!Newt teaches Dragon!Graves to fly feat. Graves is afraid of heights (I’m crying!)- “oh, you look so frustrated…” with Dom!Newt and Bottom!Graves- Gramander “Go on, you said you could get away from me. You lose, pet.”- “See? You can’t move at all, you’re completely under my control” gramander with top newt?- “Face down, ass up. This is how I want you.” with Percival?- “You’re going to take all of me, I don’t care if it’s too much.” for Graves- Pilot!Graves x Cocky customer!Grindelwald “Do you want that hot guy be your new daddy?” Grindelwald asks his son, Credence. (I’M STILL CRYING)- During WWI, Percival Graves saves Theseus Scamander by taking a curse intended for him. Theseus returns the favor by performing triage healing to stop the bleeding and getting Percival the hell out of there.- Gramander AU: The Graves family are, secretly, selkies. Newt finds Percival’s stolen sealskin.- Gramander AU, where both Newt and Original!Graves are Grindelwald’s captives - and end up falling in love in the Dark Lord’s dungeon.- add more onto the newt/graves fic where newt gets a crush after graves saves him from the nundu??- May I softly demand for Graves riding Newt and calling him Mummy- Shy!Anon: power bottom!Graves - have him tie Newt up and ride him silly- Shy!Anon: Alpha!Credence’s first time- vampire!gramander AU: how about sire!Newt and fledgling!Graves exploring the bond between them?- Graves struggles with ptsd and depression after being rescued. Newt slowly helps him get better, i.e. talk and smile again.- Can you expand more on that Graves being hopelessly attracted to himself idea?- Graves and Grindelwald being normal actors, Co staring in a movie with dark vibes and Grindelwald being a little TOO MUCH into it during a sex scene. Like. Really too much. Manhandling Graves, grinding down on him. The director thinks it’s good acting on his part, a nice personal touch, and then he has to yell cut and put a stop to this bc wtf. And Graves is just a little bit shocked.- Ghost!Graves living in the same house he died in, and Newt moving in bc it’s cheap. Graves tries to chase him at first but Newt keeps being unimpressed by the supernatural displays so Graves tentatively appears in front of Newt at night, at dinner. Just materializes in the chair in front of Newt while the latter is chewing on his hot dog. Newt has a heart attack but then he’s like “Holy shit, it’s you? You’re… You’re gorgeous!” Newt says excitedly. Graves gawks at him. What?! - Newt doting on Graves (Who doesn’t know how to handle being loved)- Graves is accidentally made young (like, early twenties) during a raid gone wrong and Charles/Oliver take care of him more than ever >:)

PERSONAL PROJECTS:- And The Tag Read Simply: Pretty- Say When (Prequel to above fic)- Merman AU (Grindelgraves)- Pirate AU (Grindelgraves) (Maybe Gramander)- To Die Just A Little (Obscurial Graves) (Gramander)- In Plain Sight (Grindelgraves) (Maybe Gramander)- True Nature of Percival Graves (Grindelgraves)- When You Were Young (Gen)- Fairy!Graves AU- Little Blue Riding Newt- Dark Creature AU (Graves’ Turned Into Werewolf)- The Beguiled AU- Shameless (w/ @fantastic-beasts-smut)…I think that’s everything…XD 

OH WAIT NO I FORGOT - Gangster AU w/ Grindelgramander for @firebyfireNow I think that's everything... xD

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Hi! I am looking for Sterek fics where Derek is a business man. Something about Derek in a suit and Stiles ogling him and more does something to me! Lol! Thanks and happy holidays

Happy Belated Holidays to you! And here’s some Derek in a suit. Which I think we can all agree is a Good Thing. - Anastasia

That Thin Line In and Out of My Bed by fadedhues

(1/1 I 5,611 I Explicit)

“Ow,” Derek says, scowling, rubbing his bicep where Laura hit him.

She retorts, “That’s what happens when you zone out and eye-fuck your new assistant, Derek,” crossing her arms and jutting a hip out.

(aka the one where Derek is a CEO of his family's company; enter Stiles, his new assistant, who happens to be extremely fuckable)

Past Indescretions by The_Muse

(13/? I 9,490 I Not Rated)

He was watching, sea green eyes assessing and piercing through to Stiles very core. If someone had asked the omega what his feelings for Derek Hale were at present he might have answered with nothing at all.

But watching Derek, cool and composed in his dark navy suit, beard trimmed sharply with his beguiling eyes all the more intense, Stiles answer would be that from the core of his being that he would hate no other as intensely as he hated Derek Hale.

-and now the grinning bastard was coming right toward him!

Driving Mr. Derek by I_JustWokeUp

(1/1 I 9,752 I Teen)

Derek no longer has a license to drive. So Laura steps in and hires fresh-out-of-college-with-useless-major Stiles Stilinski to drive him around.

An experiment, also, with intersped images and text.

The Land of Milk and Honey by MereLoup

(1/1 I 12,750 I Explicit)

Derek had followed Peter to many a business dinner. When Peter was trying to woo a client, he pulled out all of the stops. He would spend however much money was necessary to ensure that the client was impressed and felt like the most important person in the world.

Peter Hale had a gift when it came to client relations. Derek had been to just about every five star restaurant in Manhattan, so much so that the shine of expensive business lunches and dinners at exclusive restaurants had begun to wear off just a bit.

All of the safety precautions were a little strange, and they were definitely atypical from the normal places they had attended. Derek wasn’t exactly sure why, but he didn’t really care. Every place had their niche.

But once they passed through those doors, everything made complete sense.

This wasn’t a restaurant at all. It was a bar.

An omega milk bar.

A Deal With The Devil by orphan_account

(1/1 I 14,783 I Explicit)

Alpha billionaire businessman Derek Hale is used to getting anything he wants, he decides he wants Stiles.

Unwind by coffeeinallcaps

(1/1 I 15,407 I Explicit)

Hope you enjoy your present, the text from Erica says. Payment’s taken care of. You can thank me tomorrow.

“So you’re a werewolf, huh,” the guy says when Derek looks up at him again. His gaze drifts down from Derek’s face to the rest of his body, slowly, shamelessly. When it’s traveled back up and their eyes meet again, the corner of the guy’s mouth twitches up into a cocky little half-smile. “I fucking love working with werewolves.” AU in which businessman Derek falls in love with escort Stiles

Stay, Maybe. by toraten

(1/1 I 15,653 I Explicit)

Stiles meets Derek Hale on a business trip and immediately gets attached to the man's surly, overworked attitude. Luckily - surprisingly - the attraction is mutual. Once they get back home Stiles figures that it's at least worth a shot, right? So he asks Derek out.

In which their relationship has a deadline, and Stiles gets more and more anxious the closer that deadline comes.

Hale Hath No Fury Enterprises by Nival_Vixen

(9/? I 28,775 I Mature)

Derek's a billionaire with anxiety and a complete inability to be socially adept in any way, shape, or form (just ask Laura). He only agrees to the dating service because Laura's nagging's worn him down, but then he sees Stiles' video response and agrees to go on a date with him.

Stiles just wants to go on a date (it's been forever and a day since his last one), and he has a thing for this guy's eyes/smile/everything, so he replies to the somewhat personal questions via video. He's surprised that he's asked on a date, but won't turn it down, even if he's just spent the last of his money on clothes to impress said date and probably won't be able to afford dinner.

The Same Old Blood Rush (With A New Touch) by rainsoakedshoes

(13/13 I 29,564 I Explicit)

“Friends with benefits,” Derek stated. “I just happen to be in a position to provide a few more benefits than your usual hook ups.”

***

Derek was an Alpha with a pack and a multi-billion dollar company to take care of. Stiles was a college kid with assignments and student debt to worry about. Neither of them were looking a serious relationship. A one night stand turned into an easy no-strings-attached arrangement. Although nothing is ever as easy or as simple as it first seems.

Mr Hale by SephrinaRose

(26/26 I 52,337 I Teen)

It was only last week that Stiles had been a completely happy college student, laying about and playing Xbox. But, now, only a few short hours later, he was known worldwide as Mr Hale's bitch.

Oh shit indeed.

Or in which...

Stiles is a Columbia college student with photographic memory, who hates people that use and abuse others with their power. One day when he is forced to be in the same room as the King Of DickBags: Mr Hale, of Hale Magazine, he gives him a piece of his mind...only to find that it was a mistake he will regret for the rest of his life.

Or is it?

Kings of the Moonlight by thelogicoftaste

(25/25 I 148,854 I Explicit)

Derek is the newly single father to his only son, Isaac Argent Hale, and he finds himself having to move back to his home town of Beacon Hills to escape the insanity of his ex. It's in the middle of all this upheaval, the crazy mess that his life has become that he meets Stiles.Crazy, beautiful Stiles.

In Treatment by tzzzz

(22/22 I 166,940 I Explicit)

Derek hires Stiles, a professional alpha sex therapist, to help him through his heat.