#short stories set in Styria

[moonmausoleum]

The True Story of a Vampire by Count Eric Stenbock

"The True Story of a Vampire" by Count Eric Stenbock, published in 1894, is a haunting and evocative tale that delves into the dark allure of vampirism. The story is narrated by an old woman who recounts the tragic events that befell a noble family.

“The True Story of a Vampire” by Count Eric Stenbock, published in 1894, is a haunting and evocative tale that delves into the dark allure of vampirism. The story is narrated by an old woman who recounts the tragic events that befell a noble family when Count Vardalek, a mysterious and charismatic stranger, enters their lives. The Count exudes a sinister charm, gradually insinuating himself into…

[moodsandtenses]

Dracula's Guest: in which a business trip gets off to a rough start

Welcome back to Dracula Daily season! If you want to kick things off a little early this year, why not treat yourself to a read-through of Dracula’s Guest? Cut from the novel in the drafting process (ETA: the specifics of where exactly it fit into the plot of Dracula are a little fuzzy, for complicated reasons), and later published as a separate short story, it takes place today on April 30, also known as Walpurgis Nacht. The whole thing’s available here, thanks to Project Gutenberg.

Some further discussion of this absolute wild ride of a not-quite-canon side trip below:

Dracula’s patented “when in doubt, address the problem with Wolves” strategy gets off to an early start

We join Dracula’s guest - unnamed in the story, but pretty obviously Rough Draft Jonathan Harker - in Munich, on the first leg of his business trip to Transylvania. If this had been part of the finished book, it would have really front-loaded the tension, giving Jonathan a whole Vampire Sidequest to get involved in before he even gets to Transylvania. A few fun facts worth noting here: 

The Dracula Daily community has done a lot to rehabilitate Jonathan Harker’s reputation, restoring his place as a courageous, resourceful vampire hunter and countering the pop-culture image of him as a clueless naif that’s persisted since the early film adaptations. Rough Draft Jonathan, meanwhile…well, he really is a whole lot more Like That. The whole first chunk of “Dracula’s Guest” mostly consists of him cheerfully ignoring a SPECTACULAR parade of red flags: 

Whereupon he burst out into a long story in German and English, so mixed up that I could not quite understand exactly what he said, but roughly I gathered that long ago, hundreds of years, men had died there and been buried in their graves; and sounds were heard under the clay, and when the graves were opened, men and women were found rosy with life, and their mouths red with blood. And so, in haste to save their lives (aye, and their souls!—and here he crossed himself) those who were left fled away to other places, where the living lived, and the dead were dead and not—not something. He was evidently afraid to speak the last words. As he proceeded with his narration, he grew more and more excited. It seemed as if his imagination had got hold of him, and he ended in a perfect paroxysm of fear—white-faced, perspiring, trembling and looking round him, as if expecting that some dreadful presence would manifest itself there in the bright sunshine on the open plain. Finally, in an agony of desperation, he cried: “Walpurgis nacht!” and pointed to the carriage for me to get in. All my English blood rose at this, and, standing back, I said: “You are afraid, Johann—you are afraid. Go home; I shall return alone; the walk will do me good.” The carriage door was open. I took from the seat my oak walking-stick—which I always carry on my holiday excursions—and closed the door, pointing back to Munich, and said, “Go home, Johann—Walpurgis-nacht doesn’t concern Englishmen.”

Abandoned village plagued by rumors of the Un-Dead? Carriage driver crossing himself repeatedly and refusing to go near the place? Even the horses are panicking and trying to get away? Sounds like a lovely place for an afternoon stroll! Sorry, I’m simply too English for foreshadowing. 

(Maybe this is just what comes of being engaged to Mina Murray, goth girl extraordinaire, who will later display the same “when in doubt, make a beeline for the creepiest local ghost stories” approach to vacation planning in Whitby.)

The inscription on the tomb of the vampire that Jonathan 1.0 encounters - who might or might not be one of the Brides of Dracula - identifies her as “COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ, IN STYRIA.” Styria is, of course, the setting of Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1872 vampire novel Carmilla, suggesting a direct connection between the two stories that didn't make it into the final novel.

The tomb is also inscribed with a Russian translation of “The Dead Travel Fast,” the same line from the German gothic ballad Lenore that will later get quoted at Jonathan on his first encounter with Dracula himself. He just cannot get away from that quote (and the gothic heroine narrative parallels inherent therein). 

Jonathan is saved from his nearly-fatal encounter with Countess Dolingen by a very familiar wolf, before being rescued by a search party of soldiers (who are understandably pretty freaked out about the whole affair). The maître d’ of his hotel later reveals to him that he knew to send out a search party thanks to a quietly hilarious telegram from Dracula himself, who’s evidently decided to take proactive steps to protect his guest/investment/snack for later:

Bistritz. Be careful of my guest—his safety is most precious to me. Should aught happen to him, or if he be missed, spare nothing to find him and ensure his safety. He is English and therefore adventurous. There are often dangers from snow and wolves and night. Lose not a moment if you suspect harm to him. I answer your zeal with my fortune.—Dracula.

The whole story is obviously Not Canon as far as Dracula proper is concerned - and in particular, the more oblivious narrator here is a pretty far cry from the Jonathan we've all come to know and love over the past several time loops. But all the same, it's a fascinating look at what could have been, and furnishes some intriguing ingredients for Dracula-adjacent storytelling (thanks to that Carmilla connection in particular). And it is pretty funny to imagine Jonathan going through All That and then just cheerfully getting back to travel-blogging his trip for Mina like absolutely nothing happened. All like, “Well, that was terrifying! Anyway.”

[ilmacore]

✨ Songs that remind me Mahabharata characters (Part 1)✨

Yudhirstira- Copacabana (IZAL)

This part of the song is something that He could say followed by his brothers... Just, his vibes I can explain why...

(translation just of the photo part):

First of all we will make it clear

The pages that matter

Those of open books of nearby lives walls that are forever silent

And to the rest of the world

I sincerely wish of successes in battle

Let's think slowly and love quickly

And let's walk with our heads held high

Bheem - are you ready? (Måneskin)

Simply, inner strength in every single word!

Duryodhan - (Villano Antillo:Brzp) music session 51

Bad bitch vibes... I'll translate this part!!!!! Just a bit of that energy 😌💅🏼

A-a-a vamp, I'm a bloodthirsty

Carmilla of Styria, I am immune to your prayers'

I am the main and you the secondary

I am the principal of this high school

I am the boss and you are the secretary

You are not at the level to be my adversary

Arjuna - La increíble historia del hombre que sabía volar pero no como (The incredible story of the man who knew how to fly but not how-IZAL)

Arjuna's weak moments and not weak ones

~Shine metal, all set, ready to take off They were days of worries And wasted hours fighting anxiety And sitting at the controls of my interstellar capsule Pure nerve, tachycardia and bad vibes The sweat fogs up my visor glass I thought I noticed some creaking Control tells me that I can be calm It is normal to hear so many noises say goodbye to mine The situation does not improve when I listen to my other half To my right Dimitri moving his mouth in his language I don't understand anything when he speaks We shot out, impending doom This ship, a flying undertaker is now my supposed sweet home And when I think all is lost I look through the hatch to infinity The universe speaking in my ear you enjoy the way ~

Karna-De Plata (Rosalía)

Sad song for my sad boy, short, like a last breath of life (I changed Spain for Anga)

When I

When I...

I die

I asked you for an order

What with your braids

What braids of your black hair

Tie my hands

Oh, if love

The one that I have for you

If it was silver

the want

The one that I have for you

If it was silver

Another richer, richer than me

Oh, in Anga there would still be

Nakula-SloMo (Chanel)

Here a video with the translation ;) (a big iconic,divine,yass king energy) also the videoclip is gold...

https://youtu.be/XJ0GNmxK3m4

Sahadev- Wallet (Anoushka Shankar)

Vibes of some anecdotes about someone or himself but, chilling 🥴🥴

RadheKrisnha song- Archie,marry me (alvvays)

Sad af no more objections... You know why...

Draupadi- Talking to the moon (Bruno Mars)

I like crying I know.

And... To be continued in the second part ;)))

Also, if someone want an entire translate of a song, just tell me, I'll do without doubt!

[macgyvertape]

Castlevania kinda had a pacing problem

spoilers for all of Netflix’s Castlevania. I haven’t seen much analysis for the show on tumblr, im honestly curious if discussions I had with irl friends mirror what fandom talks about

tldr: Castlevania seems inconsistently paced from season to season, and within season as well, leads to a lot of characters motivations feeling unclear so characters repeatedly explain why they are doing something while they’re doing it

overview of the seasons:

S1 I know somewhat of a test for Netflix but it has good main trio character establishment and sets the scale of the conflict

s2: pretty complete emotional arc for most characters and resolves the plot of killing Dracula while setting up additional characters to continue the story. Isaac, Hector, Carmilla all established with the audience as characters whose story would continue

honestly I would bet this is the most popular season

S3: s2 did a bit of worldbuilding, but this season really fleshed out the world with both a wide range of locations and exploring the question of “what now, Dracula is dead but vampires and night creatures remain”.

There were basically 4 plot threads: 1) Sypha/Trevor investigating the cult & Saint Germain; 2) Hector & Carmilla (also introducing Lenore, Striga, Morana); 3) Isaac’s journey of revenge & self discovery; 4) Alucard sits around the castle and is betrayed.

overall characters roughly feel like they are in the same place if not worse. A big criticism I saw at the time, which hold up after rewatching this before s4 is nothing felt resolved for the main characters

I would say this season is where the pacing issues start to become apparent, juggling 4 plot threads that lack a central theme or even mutual character connection. If there was a central theme it would be “humans are awful to each other”. The Judge doing Hot Fuzz style murders, The Wizard in the tower, Sumi & Taka

S4: it starts with the same 4 plot threads, though upfront it is made clear that the plot theme is “people are trying to resurrect Dracula”, and the progression of the plot works to resolve unrelated plot threads until the main trio reunites for the boss fights. To me and my friends watching it was obvious that the show would reunite the main trio, the question was how and how far into the run time.

Season 4 is why I’m writing this essay, for the past 2 days I’ve been like, yeah that character sure explained their motives repeatedly maybe with some philosophical discussion, but it’s just such a weird place considering where they were in s3

Alucard’s arc:

Where he was left in season 3, it was after killing people he had trusted in self defense and impaling their corpses. It was clearly meant to parallel Dracula’s dislike of humanity. However overall his character lacked a proactive motivating force.

Honestly the most interesting thing I found in s3 was Alucard clearly misses Sypha and Trevor, however they don’t miss him or refer to him

One reason Sumi & Taka betray Alucard is for the secrets and power of Castlevania. After inviting the village including St Germain who Alucard was warned of into the Castle, Alucard makes 0 effort to secure anything, not even his personal childhood room. Guess he really learned nothing

Discussing St Germain, I think it’s funny that they had a several minute flashback sequence for his lost girlfriend (who doesn’t have a name or a voice actor), to remind the viewer of who he is, and to justify how he’s suddenly back and down for murder.

In s4 there is the call to help the village, and the walk back to the castle is a montage of Alucard opening up to Greta and becoming friendly literally overnight. He laughs off the impaling, and basically all of the darker things he went through in season 3, which has me asking what was the point of his season 3 arc then? 

Honestly writing this I realize the biggest parallel he has with Dracula is the call to action from a bold woman with a dramatic entrance speech which then leads to a romance

Isaac’s arc:

in s3, with all the other themes of “humanity sucks” I was always unsure if the townspeople were meant to appear irrational while attacking a larger force instead of letting him pass through an leave, or him not caring about how he’s provoking them is meant to show his insanity

ive seen the discussion elsewhere, curious about the Discourse here

is s4 Isaac has the whole monologue about how he now has agency but him gaining that agency was his s3 arc. In s4 he’s already at the point of accepting it. By the end of s4 he’s one of those who comes the furthest from his first character appearance to his last.

s4e5 where of Isaac attacking Carmilla in Isaac’s 2nd appearance had him resolving like 4 plot threads at once (Carmilla, Striga& Morana, Hector, and Isaac himself).

but i do wonder if Trevor, Sypha, or Alucard even know any of these people exist. I think not

I was honestly confused if I missed a scene from his dialogue about building something and what is inherent nature, to “My plan has evolved, my plan is now conquest” because he only conquests the one castle and the rest is left unclear

Upon rewatch the connection there is “killing [the wizard] felt just ... I liked that feeling”, so the show says that Isaac in the end attacked Carmilla for the sake of justice and not revenge.

Isaac in his last conversation expresses the theme of s4 “build something new on these old bones, where people can live for the future”

however, his arc honestly feel scenes were cut, and then dialogue was written around it. He’s the only living character who doesn’t show up in the epilogue and the sentient night creature “what if I could empty hell” dialogue was some of the most interesting worldbuilding. Night creatures with sentience and possibility of regaining memories!!!!

The Council of Sisters & Hector’s arc:

oh I’ve already seen s4 discourse about Lenore/Hector while searching for character analysis, a chunk of it seems to be rationalizing the absolute difference between how s3 ended with these characters and s4. It was extremely confusing for me and my friends; wondering if 1) was Hector showing more emotional intelligence than before and putting on a facade to cover up hatred? Nope 2) did more time pass than 6 weeks for there to be some kind stockholm syndrome? No, Hector seems fine to let Lenore kill herself

The slave control ring: played up in the climax of s3 and easily solved s4. s3 Lenore says if he tries to harm them, flee, or take it off it would cause crippling pain, in s4 Hector just easily cuts off his own finger.

for a control ring that they take time to show a version being on the Rebus, it doesn’t do much controlling of Hector

also guess the definition of “do harm” just refers to direct action

Lenore in s4: has no purpose in conquest, has that useless remarked on by multiple characters, is imprisoned, then kills herself after a genre aware philosophical discussion. This essay is long enough, but what the fuck happened to this character who ended s3 clearly physically and sexually abusive? Seriously this was one of the biggest writing changes to the point where she was treating Hector as an equal. Compare her last words in s3 “shh the real people [vampires] are talking”. The change in the relationship is actually something I would have taken being shown, or atleast told of what exactly caused this change other than the vague “you adopted him”

Striga&Morana get the best arc of the Council. 3 scenes: the tent argument, Daybreak armor fight & argument resolution, declaration of feelings and turning away. You could argue Castlevania is plot to be connective tissue between fight scenes, but for all the dialogue about human resistance in different seasons it was nice to see it. Overall the scenes were short but had a lot of showing what their relationship is not just telling,

unlike Carmilla. For as much hyping up as they did with her, and as much power as she had, she only appeared in 2 episodes and no other group except Isaac knew about her military conquest.

the map scene where she states her motive for conquest of wanting to take things from old men is the key example of how characterization became tell not show. How interesting was that monologue compared to the past seasons flashback to her murmuring the old vampire lord, or all her repeated insults of men/man-children that shows how she judges people??

That monologue had to carry the weight of justifying the Sisterhood bonds falling apart as well as why her motivation changed from building a human pen from Styria to Braila to world conquest. I think it did so poorly

Sypha & Trevor

really Sypha & Trevor have the main plot in the show. I checked and post season 1 the only episode they don’t appear in is s4e6, which is entirely devoted to the Isaac, Hector, and Council of Sisterhood arc. Their partnership and adventures are the main plot of the show.

Its easy to see what Trevor’s arc was over the show: coming to peace with the deaths of his family, taking up the mantle of being a Belmont, and starting a new family with Sypha.

With Sypha I actually had to scroll through tv tropes for what is her character arc, and I guess hers is disillusionment from adventure and life outside the speakers? My friends joke that Sypha’s magic is what the plot demands to look cool in a fight, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Tangent: the ending of their arc was easy to guess: as soon as Trevor went to fight the final boss alone I literally said “oh i bet Sypha’s pregnant, Trevor’s doing a heroic sacrifice, theyll use the unexplained magical dagger mcguffin, and 60/40 odds that he goes through an infinite corridor to outright come back vs just the implication he might come back”

I guess my final thought of the show, was overall the SUPER Final Boss got my by surprise. It was a good twist I enjoyed. Not that Death appeared, I had guessed that from the heavy foreshadowing, but I was surprised by who it was, because I had thought I thought the characters involved feeling shoehorned into the plot was just more bad writing. The Alchemist who put St Germain on the path or murder for no discernible motive for helping? Sure gotta move the plot along. New Dracula court member Varney who has a whole introduction with almost every character he meets and banter about his smell? Sure thats basically how all characters talk with a snarky and acerbic voice.

[xserpx]

Top 5 Age of Madness minor/supporting characters?

(These are in no particular order, because there's just way too many amazing characters to choose from. Also I'm only sticking to supporting characters who first showed up in AoM.)

1. Hildi. I love her so much. She is who I'd be in the First Law universe. And if anything happens to her I'll be UPSET.

2. Jappo. I really need more Jappo content in my life. A short story or a novel set in Styria would be ideal, but in any case I would CRY if we ever get a Jappo POV chapter.

3. Stour Nightfall. The Dudley Dursley of the First Law universe. Complete and utter idiot. I adore the Birmingham accent Steven Pacey gives him, it's perfect, and he's such a riot in every scene he's in.

3. Jurand. My sweet, sweet boy. He deserves so much better than Leo, but damn if I don't want to see their reunion in the next book, for better or worse.

4. Judge. She's fucking insane, and it. Is. Glorious.

[heartandsouloc]

OC Character Sheet

2020 UPDATE

Setting: distant future post-post-apocalypse. Tired of the humans ravaging the earth many monsters and magical creatures rose up and took control of the planet to save it. Centuries later, some humans adapted and live side by side with the new supernatural neighbors, but most that survived still live separately in isolated city-states. Times however are threatening to change once again.

Notable Character List

Thaddeus Varni: main character. His mother was elected governess of his human city-state of Waldrand (in modern Austria/Styria) so he’s lived about a good a life as a human could in this world albeit very sheltered and vaguely stressed. He was turned into a vampire accidentally when the city was attacked by the small vampire nation. Now as a monster he cannot return home, his goal now is to become human again and stop the vampire nation from attacking again. The attack also damaged his throat significantly, the bite left him mute and with a large scar. He’s very self conscious about the scar, and especially in the beginning he wears things like scarves or a poncho to cover his neck. He communicates at first with writing on notepads but eventually learns sign language. He goes from very stiff and proper to more loose and expressive as a result of learning sign. A grump with a heart of gold, just wants to sit in his vegetable garden tbh. Thaddeus can be hard to get to know but once you do become his friend he is willing to throw hands with anything for you. He’ll fight anything actually (especially if that thing is much bigger than he is, which is usually the case as he’s rather short and slight). Most likely to eat pizza with a knife and fork. He hates it when people call him Tad. As a vampire he has the ability to shapeshift (his form is a pine marten).

Shahrazad Zargari: An alchemist originally from a city in the Iraq region. Thaddeus meets her while she is telling stories in the street using alchemy to make and animate little figures to go along with her tales. They eventually end up traveling together as she knows the outside magical world much better. As an alchemist she was meant to be traveling the world from town to town to offer services and alchemical medicine but she found she likes telling stories and creating art with alchemy better. Her family doesn’t know about what she’s been doing while traveling and she hopes to keep it that way (such is the life of a liberal arts student). She has a talent for creating golem which she considers friends even if they are only friend shaped empty shells. Shahrazad’s an actual ray of sunshine, most likely to be a studio ghibli protag.

Feliz Guillermo Rivera: a spanish sailor, he lives on a small caravel boat/ house boat named La Foca. He spends most of his days fishing and playing music and movies obnoxiously loud much to the annoyance of whoever he’s docked next to. Feliz makes his living selling fish and offering ferry services on his boat which is how he meets Thaddeus and Shahrazad. He was human but ends up tragically turned into a vampire during their adventures. They all learn to manage it together. Feliz was left with the boat after his parents were killed by a sea monster attack. Because of this Feliz is very attached to the boat and still struggles going out into large open waters instead preferring to stay close to shore. He also developed OCD tendencies as he struggled to cope ie intrusive thoughts and compulsive tendencies to count items and double check things on the boat in an effort to maintain control. He’s learning to manage it better with things like music and jigsaw puzzles. Most likely to eat all the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms. He can play the guitar, ukulele, and the accordion. As a vampire he has the ability to shapeshift (his form is a seal).

Ramon and Concha: This bonded pair are the kobolds/ klabautermann that live with Feliz on the boat the La Foca. They have watched over the family’s boat since the time of Feliz’s grandparents. They consider themselves family, and these two watch over Feliz as if he were their own. As klabautermann they protect the boat, in fact they’re practically are a part of the boat really. Concha tends to help Feliz with the sails or steering. She also likes joining Feliz in his music making, playing the accordion, even though the thing is about the size of her torso. While Concha is very sweet like an old granny, Ramon is much more rough and gruff. He tends to help with the cooking and keeping the ship clean and tending to the mechanics. He likes to take the form of a fire on the stove to cook. 

Hugh Wesley: Hugh was a doctor who was bitten by a vampire he had been treating as a patient. He was chased out of town for being a vampire and spent many years adrift. He found peace with his condition and has been able to reintegrate into society again under the guise of being a normal shapeshifter. He does not have a medical practice anymore, although he’s always willing to provide aide. Instead he owns a flower shop, selling plants from his greenhouse in town. He’s surrounded himself with other vampires who have passed through, confused and lonely as he had been. Although many of the other vampires come and go, several stay, and together they all form a loose sort of coven. As a vampire, he has the ability to shapeshift, Hugh’s form is a black fox.

Ava and Theresa Baumann: They met at university in the UK when Ava was studying spirits and spirit magic while Theresa was a seamstress. The two fell absolutely head over heels about each other, and married. Unfortunately Ava died suddenly and Theresa could not cope. Using Ava’s research she scoured the knowledge she could trying to find a way to save Ava. This eventually led to her finding and beseeching to the Spirit of the Dead. Theresa was able to get the power of necromancy from this spirit ie giving life to the dead, however this did not work on Ava as hoped. Theresa was able to call enough soul energy from the ether to animate Ava’s decayed body and summon Ava’s soul to be present but she could not actually combine Ava’s soul and body since the connection had already been lost. So now Ava’s body is animated, mindless and basically a zombie while her soul lingers as a noncorporeal ghost. So the two can speak to and see each other again but of course it’s not ideal. They just try to manage as best they can, unsure what would happen if Theresa tried to send either Ava’s body or spirit away. The two now live in a secluded cottage surrounded by forest and a large garden. They’re Hugh’s best customers. They have a 30 year old orange cat named Purrsephone.

Antagonists:

Queen Athanasia: Queen of the vampire nation in what was once Greece/ the city of Delphi. Also known by other names like Athanasia the Deathless, or The Dragon, The Great Oracle. She became queen after she lead a coup against her own husband, the old vampire King Ambrose. She is revered for her strength, vision, and powers of fortune telling. She speaks almost exclusively through telepathy (just to flex tbh). She has lost one leg which she has fashioned a prosthetic made of brass with talons on the foot. Vicious and swift, she has high standards for vampires she lets into her society, values strength above all else. While the vampires have drained their own people and the very land of life, she has now taken it upon herself to start moving into new territory for more souls and to Make Vampires Great Again. What’s the point of being an evil queen without world domination anyway? As a vampire, her shapeshift is a barn owl. 

Jan Rostami: When the vampires first started running low on souls to devour, they started demanding sacrifices from villages nearby to the west. Jan, as a sickly unremarkable member of her distinguished family, was volunteered as sacrifice quickly. This broke Jan. When she was faced with the vampires she did not fight back or beg for her life. It surprised them that instead Jan was willing to die rather than live with the shame and disdain. Athanasia offered Jan a chance to be turned and join the vampire ranks instead. Jan’s first act as a vampire was leading the attack on her ungrateful village. She’s reveled in her new strength and Athanasia’s supposed ‘love’ ever since. Jan’s vampire shapeshift is a rabbit

Erik Draugur: Athanasia’s main general and a trusted advisor. Draugur is very tall and thin, almost skeletal looking. A very grave man, but truly comes alive while hunting. He has a tendency to loom about silently over people’s shoulders. Draugur is also the one to generally keep the other vampires in line, especially Jan, whom he has yet to trust since she joined the court. His vampire shapeshift is a pale gray horse. 

Abraham Ruthven: one of the oldest vampires in Athanasia’s court, he was an old Lord that did not want his wealth to outlive him so he allowed himself to be turned. He has not aged well, he looks more waxy and decrepit by the decade. What Abraham lacks in brains, he makes up for in being terribly vicious. He has his moments, which is why Athanasia has seen fit to keep him in the court as a long time advisor. His fangs come from his two front incisors, this gives him a bit of a hissing lisp. His vampire shapeshift is a bat. 

[smalltownfae]

Sharp Ends by Joe Abercrombie

“Sharp Ends” it’s a collection of 13 short stories set in the First Law world and I made this post to remind myself what each short story is about and the rating I gave them.

A Beautiful Bastard

[Kadir, Spring 566]

“The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta.” Rating: 3 stars Comments: I was expecting more out of this. It was fine but it ended too soon. I wanted to see the battle and the moment after that, when they took Glokta. It would also have been interesting to see Glokta change from how he was here to how he was in the first trilogy.

Made a Monster  

[Carleon, Summer 570]

“After years of bloodshed, the idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There’s only one obstacle left – his own lunatic champion.”  Rating: 5 stars Comments: This is the last story in the book and the only one that is out of the chronological order. It should be read at the end if you want the book to end with a bang because it is the best story in it.

Small Kindnesses

[Westport, Autumn 573]

“The hopes of Shevedieh, the best thief in Westport, to turn her back on crime, come crashing down when she finds a huge drunkard sleeping in her doorway. Doing the right thing always comes at a price…”  Rating: 4 stars Comments: I really really liked Shev and she is introduced in this story.

The Fool Jobs 

[East of the Crinna, Autumn 574]

“Curnden Craw has been sent with his dozen to recover a thing from beyond the Crinna. One small problem. No one seems to know what the thing is.” Rating: 2 stars Comments: As soon as I read Craw I started to yawn. I’m sorry but the only one I cared about here was Whirrun. The “Heroes” didn’t really captivate me and I only liked a few characters from that book. The ending of this story was quite good though.

Skipping Town

[The Near Country, Summer 575] 

“Shevedieh and Javre, ill-matched adventurers, find themselves forced to flee yet another self-made disaster.” Rating: 4 stars Comments: The dynamic between Shev and Javre is great.

Hell  

[Dagoska, Spring 576]

“I have seen hell, and it is a great city under siege.’ The fall of Dagoska through the eyes of a young acolyte.” Rating: 3 stars Comments: I only read 2 chapters of “Red Country” yet. Temple is in this one. It was fine.

Two’s Company

[Somewhere in the North, Summer 576]

“Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp, runs into Cracknut Whirrun on a bridge over a remote canyon. Can Shevedieh persuade either of these proud heroes to step aside?” Rating: 4 stars Comments: One of the best stories in this book. I loved everything about it and it was so much fun. I wished Whirrun would have stayed with Shev and Javre for longer.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time 

[Styria, 580]

“Three not entirely innocent bystanders are sucked into the  chaos of Monzcarro Murcatto’s vengeance.” Rating: 4 stars Comments: I liked seeing these characters react to the crazy shit that went down in “Best Served Cold”. It was hilarious for the most part.

Some Desperado 

 [The Near Country, Summer 584]

“There is no honour among thieves when the outlaw Smoke finds herself being hunted down by her own comrades.” Rating: 3 stars Comments: Like I said before, only 2 chapters into “Red Country” but I don’t think I like Shy... I need to keep reading the other book and see if I change my mind about her.

Yesterday, Near a Village Called Barden... 

[Near Barden, Autumn 584]

“Royal Observer Bremer dan Gorst reports to the king on another ugly little skirmish as summer dies in the North.” Rating: 3 stars Comments: Liked it well enough.

Three’s a Crowd 

[Talins, Autumn 587]

“It’s a foolish man who steals from the best thief in Styria, and when Horald the Finger steals her lover, it’s time for Shevedieh to stop running and start fighting. For those who work in the shadows, though, few things are ever quite as they seem…” Rating: 4 stars Comments: I loved the heartfelt moments between Shev and Javre here. It almost made me tear up.

Freedom! 

[Averstock, Summer 590]

“Being an absolutely true account of the liberation of the town of Averstock from the grip of the incorrigible rebel menace by the famous Nicomo Cosca.” Rating: 3 stars Comments: Made me laugh but it was nothing special.

Tough Times All Over 

[Sipani, Spring 592]

“All Carcolf wants is to take her package from here to there, but in the city of fogs and whispers, there are always a dozen other rogues with their own ideas.” Rating: 3 stars Comments: Some parts could have been cutted out because there were too many characters I didn’t care about. I loved the parts with Carcolf, Shev, Javre and Friendly though.

[agentzakura]

Christmas With You

Merry Christmas @1698CreamPuffCutie!!! It’s your Secret Santa here! 

I’ll be honest, this isn’t the fic I originally started for your Secret Santa gift. I’ve always wanted to write domestic Hollstein with kids and my mind kind of went wild with the idea. That fic is still in progress… I still wanted to give you something a little more fluffy today, so hope you like it!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160365

Summary

Christmas at the Hollis house has always been a big deal. Laura is out on location at Styria with her family finishing up her latest journalist piece. She is looking forward to bringing her wife and kids back home to experience a traditional Hollis Christmas. When their employer requests them to stay longer and their flight home is postponed, Laura is heartbroken. Carmilla makes it her mission to give her family a memorable first Christmas away from home.

Christmas Eve

Carmilla woke up to the sound of muffled voices. She could barely hear what they were saying, but she knew something wasn’t right. She sighed looking over at the two tiny humans sleeping next to her. She watched as their chests rose and fell softly and one of her rare genuine smiles started to sneak up on her. They certainly were a lot better when they weren’t running around causing havoc. Moments like this made her grateful given a second chance at life.

The older child, Clara, was like a miniature version of Carmilla’s wife, Laura. She was also tiny in stature, a mess of honey golden curls, framing the soft features of her face. She was her ray of sunshine. Carmilla noticed the little girl twitch a little from a stray strand tickling the tip of her nose. She reached down to tuck her daughter's hair behind her ears and let her fingertips linger on her cheek. She was starting to lose her baby face and her own features were starting to come through.

The younger child, Jean-Paul, had raven-hair like his mother Carmilla.  JP was their little miracle. Carmilla had never thought she would have a chance at carrying a child. She never thought anything would come from her trying. He was a couple of years younger than her sister. It would take some time to see what other physical traits he inherited from his mother. He definitely was already started showing elements of his mother’s personality.

The voices outside the room rose once more starting the youngest child. His face started to turn sour as he cried out, threatening to wake up any minute. A few seconds later, he settled back down having adjusted his position to be comfortable on the bed.

Carmilla breathed a sigh of relief. She kissed them both on the forehead before leaving the bed and steeling herself. She immediately switched from her mother mode. She had a reputation to withhold after all. She went back to her signature grumpy cat face as she exited their bedroom. She closed the door behind her making sure not to slam it.

“Hey… would guys keep it down?" Carmilla grumbled. "Sleeping children in here.” She allowed her eyes to crack open to see Laura having a heated discussion with Mel and Kirsch.

“What happened?” she asked, scanning the room. Laura looked like she was about to break down in tears.

Kirsch looked on Laura with sympathy, but it was Mel who started to explain the situation. “The station wants us to stay here until after the new year,” she sighed. “I guess there is more to the story and they want us on location if any news breaks.”

“But it’s Christmas tomorrow!” Laura cried. “And we’re stuck in Styria again!”

“We should probably stop coming here,” Kirsch whispered after coming to the realization.

It’s true. The last time they were in Styria, they saved the world from the near-apocalypse. One would think they would do anything to prevent them from stepping foot on Austrian soil again. Carmilla tried to persuade Laura to give up on investigating stories elsewhere. Unfortunately, her wife’s sense of justice and the pursuit of truth was unwavering. They had no choice but to follow her. It was courage that helped her become one of the world’s best investigative journalists. 

Mel pursed her lips in response, “Hey, I’m not happy about it either, but there's nothing we can do about it now. They've already changed our tickets. Even if we wanted to, we’d never find a flight back in time.”

Carmilla was still half asleep. The reality of the situation didn't hit her until she started to see the tears roll down her wife’s cheeks. She rushed over to take her into her arms. “Hey, Laura, it’s okay,” she soothed, rubbing her arms as a form of comfort. “We’ll just have to have our own Christmas here. We’ll work it out. We have before. Why is this year such a big deal?”

Laura shook her head, disagreeing, her emotions starting to increase, “It’s just... It would have been their first Christmas and I wanted them to experience the kind I’ve always had with my dad.”

Suddenly, they heard the baby’s cry from the bedroom. Then shortly after Clara’s voice crying softly, “Mom… Mommy!”

“I’ll get them,” Laura sighed and made her way to their bedroom. The brunette’s voice went from sulking to her chipper mom voice.  In a split second, she greeted her children with the biggest smile on her face and closed the door behind her.

“Poor Laura. I don’t blame her…" Kirsch said, mouth full with food, that he managed to find from somewhere in this empty kitchen. "Your kids are missing out on a lot. Things must have been easier for you back then.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know. Christmas in the olden days?

Then the idea hit her and a mischievous smile crept on her face. “C’mon frat boy, you’re coming with me, I’m going to need your help...”

Christmas Eve was pretty uneventful. Carmilla and Kirsch offered to go into town and get take out. They returned a couple of hours later with food from their favorite Indian place. They had also brought home groceries for breakfast in the next morning.

Carmilla tried to act indifferent about it. She claimed she only bought pancake mix because she knew they would be hungry tomorrow. But Laura smiled knowing the exact reason. Her wife would make sure that at the very least she would have her pancake breakfast on Christmas day.

Laura broke the news to their children early in the day.

“No Christmas?!” their little girl exclaimed and pouted for a good minute. Then she forgot about it once when her Aunt Mel started to play with her. The little boy had no clue what was going on and stared back at his mother. For a short while, the brunette pretended she could sense his disappointment. In the end, Laura had to admit she was more disappointed that anyone and went back to sulking.

Christmas Day

Laura took a deep breath before opening her eyes. She was trying to prepare herself for the not so special feeling of this year’s Christmas morning. Before she could move a muscle, she heard the high pitch squeal of her daughter. The young mother immediately jumped out of bed. She looked over and realized the bed was empty. Sheets tucked up on Carmilla’s side and not a child in sight.

The door flew open and the little girl ran to hide behind Laura. “Mommy!!! Uncle Kirsch is trying to get me!” She peeked from behind her mother to see if he was still there.

Kirsch roared in response and she screamed again. She immediately saw an opening ran back between his legs and back into the living room. “Merry Christmas, Laura hottie!!!” he smiled before turning to chase after Clara again.

“Merry Christmas,” the brunette smiled. At least, she was still surrounded by people she loved. Who needs presents? And BBC period specials? And gingerbread… She frowned. Laura did. She lowered her head as she sulked out of the bedroom.

The sweet smell cinnamon from her favorite Christmas pancakes wafted in the air. She inhaled deeply and let out a satisfied sigh. When she opened looked up to greet her wife good morning and thank her for breakfast she stopped in her tracks. She wasn't expecting their house to look so wonderful. It was like living in a picture of one of those cottages nestled at the foot of a mountain. It was elegant in the simplest of ways.

“What is all this?” Laura choked when she was able to breathe again.

“Christmas,” Carmilla winked at her. “For someone who calls herself a Christmas aficionado, I’m a little disappointed.”

“But how… what… where did this all come from?” the brunette continued to stare in disbelief.

The younger woman scanned the room one last time just to make sure it was all real. Their entire living room was covered in decorations. These decorations were not the typical plastic she had grown accustomed back home. These were real fresh pine branches fashioned into wreaths. Each one with clusters of pine cones and bows tied around them. They had socks hanging by the fireplace for their stockings.

There was small spruce still potted and displayed as the table centerpiece. The tree was decorated with handmade ornaments class ornaments of red and silver. Candles were strategically placed throughout the room. They gave off a soft glow and providing a specific kind of ambiance. These simple candles outshine the traditional multi-colored, Christmas lights strung across the room. The tree was not stuffed with presents underneath. Instead, there were a few wooden toys unwrapped under the tree. A set of blocks, carved wooden animals, and Each with handwritten tags with each of the children’s names.

“Well, for some reason, you keep forgetting I’ve lived in eastern Europe for a better part of three centuries. A girl has her ways,” she smiled, flipping one of the pancakes and beckoning Laura to join her by the stove. “I figured if we can’t have a Hollis Christmas this year, I’d show you my version of Christmas.”

“I can’t believe you did all this,” the brunette could feel the tears threatening to come back full force.

Carmilla flashed her half smile, “Laura… You know I never cared for Christmas.” 

“--I know, you think it's stupid, useless and sentimental,” the brunette rolled her eyes.

“But--” the dark-haired woman interjected and put a finger to the brunette’s lips to silence her. “That’s never stopped you before. And I don’t know… Maybe I’ve started to like it too. I never had anyone to share it with like I can with you. If it’s important to you, then I want it to be important to us too.” She stared into Laura’s eyes searching when the brunette was speechless.

“I know it’s not exactly like having Christmas at your dad's" Carmilla continued. She suddenly felt vulnerable and unsure. "But I hope you like it.” She smirked tilting her head to the side. “Maybe it’s a good thing you know? We have the opportunity to create our own traditions as well.”

They smiled and instead of talking, they started inching closer to each other.  The attraction taking over them until they were close enough for their foreheads to be touching. Their hands intertwined with one another and they brought their lips together.

“Merry Christmas, Laura,” Carmilla breathed after the first kiss and came in for another.

“Merry Christmas, Carm,” Laura sighed in return looking deep into her eyes. She reached her hands up into her raven hair and pulled her closer.

They broke apart again when Carmilla felt a smile form on Laura's face. "What?" she asked bewildered.

Laura bit her lip. “Well,” she said with a mischievous chuckle. “You know... You didn’t have to do all this for me…"

The dark-haired woman groaned in anticipation. She knew where this was going but she didn't know how she'd stop it. Instead, she waited.

"I mean, after all, all I want for Christmas is you,” Laura laughed singing the last part.

Carmilla cringed in response, “Okay… Christmas songs. Too far.” She held up her hands to shield herself and shook her head.  The brunette doubled over with laughter. Her wife continued to glare at her and the dark-haired woman muttered, “You’re killin’ Hollis....”

Laura had to admit, they didn't have the perfect Hollis Christmas she had been expecting. But as long as she was with Carmilla, she’d always feel at home and maybe it was time to start their own traditions.

[learnstuffwithme]

Thursday Lesson: Carmilla Prologue & Chapter One

LeFanu, Joseph Sheridan. Carmilla (Illustrated). Edited by Etienne DeForest and Jimmie Ford, Bizzaro Press, 2012.

QotD:

“Lay your hand along that hollow in the bed; someone did lie there, so sure as you did not; the place is still warm.”

Characters:

Dr. Hesselius - writer of a note and essay about Laura’s accounts; also possibly a keyboardist for a metal band

Laura - protagonist; laughably naive rich girl

Laura’s dad - English-born landowner of schloss in Styria following service in Austrian military; has no name

a whole pack of nursemaids

a doctor

a... priest? maybe?

Summary:

Wow, so Bizarro Press is really bad at formatting for Kindle. Anyway...

- Prologue -

So this book is basically Laura’s personal account of Those Weird Few Months in Styria, but it’s framed by narration from ... someone? Le Fanu, maybe? Maybe this makes more sense in the context of In a Glass Darkly, but the prologue appears to be an unnamed person explaining a manuscript package which is already explained by a note and essay from Dr. Hesselius. We also learn that Laura has died since the manuscript was created, which we find out later that she wrote eight years after the events occurred. (The events occurred at age 19.)

- Chapter One -

Here we learn that the protagonist and primary narrator is Laura, who lives in a schloss (castle) with only her dad, her childhood governess and mother-figure (Madame Perrodon), and her “finishing governess” (Mademoiselle De Lafontaine). This huge castle is absolutely desolate of other people... except for servants “or those dependents who occupy rooms in the buildings attached” who apparently do not count as people. She’s definitely extremely lonely and not at all constantly surrounded by people who could lose their livelihoods if they didn’t give her attention on demand.

She assures the reader that despite living in a castle on her father’s pension of “eight or nine hundred [pounds? probably?] a year”, which is a fucking lot back then, that they’re not really rich people, they just chose to live in a poor country. She also assures the reader that even for being a poor country where everything is cheap, the schloss was still a real bargain. I’m sure that’s not a warning sign at all. So yeah, we’re dealing with a massively spoiled and naive rich kid.

It’s so mind bending to read this in the modern era with Laura going on about how the nearest other inhabited schloss is 20 miles away, so she’s super lonely. Like, that is a 10 minute drive at most. If the radio play of Carmilla that I’ve previously listened to is at all loyal, the same General Spielsdorf that lives in that schloss takes forever to correspond with Laura’s dad about anything because of the distance, and it’s like. These two castles would be 5-10 minutes apart from each other with any working modern automobile and a direct road. It’s just... so weird to wrap your brain around. I think maybe this is turning a bit more into a review than a lesson, but I think it’s really important for understanding the context of the novel how totally different Laura’s experience is from almost anyone who would be reading the story today.

There is an inhabited village seven miles “to the left” when looking out from the front door (Laura, you are terrible at directions), but also an abandoned village only three miles westward. (Why is it abandoned? She’ll tell us later.) Again, I’m sure this portends absolutely nothing. Within the abandoned village is a half-ruined little chapel, which is a blatant Chekhov’s Gun if you already know you’re reading a lesbian vampire novel, but like, it actually does work really well as eerie scene setting. I think the weirdness of her rich brat circumstances and the casualness with which she describes everything and the way she constantly reassures the reader that these things are normal and no big deal really undermines how totally creepy this story is. Possibly on purpose?

Finally, we move on to actual memory. The story she relates is that of the first memory in her life that made such an impression on her as to be clearly memorable years later. This memory is that of the incident in which, at the age of six, she was woken up in the middle of the night by an unknown grown-ass women entering her nursery and staring at her from the side of the bed. Laura seems to be of the impression that because it is a young and beautiful grown-ass woman, that this isn’t creepy behavior. Granted, she’s six and apparently has several nursemaids (all of whom have retired for the night), so from her point of view, it’s totally natural for adults to come and go as they please from her room and check up on her. In fact, prior to noticing the woman, Laura had actually started whimpering for attention simply because she had thought there wasn’t anyone in her room at night.

When little Laura fails to scream in terror, the strange woman “caresses” Laura, climbs into bed with her, and draws her close like a teddy bear. The woman continues caressing Laura until Laura is overtaken by calm and falls asleep. She is then woken again when the vampire bites her on the chest (probably above the heart?), and Laura cries out in startled pain. This apparently startles the vampire woman who stares at Laura for a moment, then creeps down to the floor and hides under the bed.

Yeah, Laura, this is totally incidental and hardly worth mentioning. Jfc.

Having caused a stir, Laura’s nurse, nursery maid, and housekeeper all run in to see what is the matter. (Keep in mind, none of these are her governesses, one of which hasn’t even been hired yet. But yet she lives such a solitary life.) They look under the bed and conclude it was only a nightmare until the housekeeper shows the nurse that there is, in fact, a warm hollow in Laura’s bed where an adult had slept next to her. The housekeeper and two servants decide to keep watch in Laura’s room for the rest of the night, and from then on there was always someone keeping watch in her room up until she was fourteen.

The next day, Laura remains terrified and doesn’t want to be left alone, so a doctor is called in to give her calming medicine. Her father interviews the staff and laughs the whole thing off, considering the story impossible. In the end, they decide to gaslight her and tell her that the nursery maid had laid down with her and that the whole biting thing was only a dream. All the same, the nurses later call in “a venerable old man, in a black cassock” with white hair and a “sweet face” to pray over the room and lead Laura and the nursemaids in prayer.

Themes and Concepts:

Feminine Horror - So in college, I learned that there’s apparently this stupid-ass but still useful for analysis purposes dichotomy of “feminine” vs. “masculine” horror. It’s not necessarily an indication of protagonist gender (Though was named such because early horror did tend to follow along those lines.) nor of the intended audience. What it describes is circumstances of the story. In feminine horror, the protagonist finds themselves accosted, their space invaded, or with a need to escape their circumstances, immediately prior to which they had been leading a normal life. In masculine horror, the protagonist is actually the invader, going somewhere they shouldn’t have or otherwise becoming the victim of their own curiosity. 

Carmilla is definitely a classic example of feminine horror, highlighted from the very first chapter. Laura is doing nothing to instigate these circumstances other than living where she’s accessible to vampires. Meanwhile, the monster masquerades as someone trustworthy while invading her space and seducing her before finally attacking her; a plot which will be repeated through the rest of the story in longer form.

The Seductive Monster - The really impactful thing about this story is that when you’re sucked into Laura’s PoV, the vampire is very seductive and empathetic. LeFanu actually does a wonderful job of showing the vampire’s emotional state. It’s not until we step back and realize that a grown-ass woman climbed into bed with a child, conducted intimate gestures, and then bit her that we realize “Oh, wait, this is super fucked up.” And the thing is, this introductory chapter makes the situation all the more horrific because this Laura is six, not nineteen. And yet the way the story is told, the reader is constantly lead away from realizing that something horrifying - as opposed to simply weird - is actually going on. This also makes the introductory chapter (as opposed to the weird prologue) absolutely vital to the story. As Laura struggles to understand Carmilla’s sexual and romantic attention at age 19, the first chapter serves to remind us that this has always been a predator-prey relationship.

Foreshadowing - As mentioned, the whole plot of this one chapter -- innocence and perceived safety, seduction, invasion, attack, and finally action -- really just demonstrates in short what we can expect from the longer plot of the following chapters.