#wanna try to read carmilla too

[fertbutt]

watched the first ep of iwtv last night and i am a changed man. Like holy hell. I knew it was a gay show going in but i thought it was like, NBC Hannibal type gay where like theyre definitely gay but they never like, kiss or have sex on screen. Nay! Not true they have sex a lot! I dont even want to watch the rest because I know everything is going to get so horrible and id rather just believe that louis and lestat are just vampire boyfriends in love forever but i know that is not happening.

[deeply-unserious-fellow]

I've made. S o m a n y. Attempts at analyzing Vox's relationship with the fuckin Angel & Val bullshit. So many. But they always come out sounding like fucking word salad. So instead, I'm going to try making a bulleted list of all the different pieces of evidence I've gathered, and then simply not draw a conclusion because I don't fUCKING KNOW-

Vox does not like Angel

Vox seemed excited at the prospect of Angel quitting(despite knowing he physically can't?)

Like his eyes *literally* lit up he was so excited(the same way Velvette's did when she was yelling about wrist ruffles & Carmilla's did during Whatever It Takes)

Saying "Angel quit?" could've been him joking, but between his expression, tone of voice, and the context surrounding the line, I don't think that's the case?

That line is weird as fuck man...

There are two reasons Vox doesn't like Angel: Val constantly freaking the fuck out over minor Angel-related things & he's probably jelous of how much space Angel takes up in Val's brain

Vox does not seem to care for Angel's well being, probably viewing him as nothing more then a cash cow

I say "seem" and "probably" because it IS significantly more likely that Vox doesn't give a shit, but we haven't seen Angel & Vox interacting one on one yet, so there's still a chance I could be wrong and Vox does care in some capacity? Again significantly more likely he doesn't I'm just trying to cover all my bases here

Which speaking of- we don't know how Angel feels about Vox at all? Like aside from Vox's cameo in Poison(Angel's pseudo-dream sequence), we don't actually get Angel's perspective on Vox. Ever.

Like I'd assume Angel doesn't LIKE him just by virtue of his relationship with Val but there's no real way to tell?

Vox(seemingly) hasn't done anything to deal with Val's weird issues with Angel

He probably can't get rid of Angel entirely because of the loss in profits

But he also hasn't attempted to limit Angel's ability to leave the studio or anything, and he hasn't done anything to Val that might discourage his irrational behavior

He's actually pretty hands off when it comes to all of the other Vees' shit just like. In general. The only time we see him interfering is when Val is destroying Velvette's stuff

Vox doesn't seem to give a shit that Angel moved out of the studio

Like he isn't even happy about it just true neutrality-

He only STARTS caring when Val starts threatening to shoot up a building about it(read: when his image is now on the line)

The look Vox gives Angel in Poison just kind of proves he. Doesn't like Angel. And is kissing(but appearently not dating???) Valentino.

The fact that the blood drips, which are usually on the left side of his mouth, are coming off of the right instead during this scene FEELS important but that's another topic entirely so I won't go into it here

Also, as stated before, Poison is a pseudo-dream sequence, so this scene might be less about how Vox views Angel and more about how Angel views Vox

But if that's the case, I cannot for the life of me decipher what the fuck Angel feels about Vox from this one shot so it's pretty much useless for now 💀💀💀

Alright that's it. I tried my best to be impartial and just write down what we know about the characters while also pointing out any gaps in information we might have, but if you think I'm being too generous or too harsh with any of these bullets and feel the need to tell me, PLEASE be nice about it and also use tone indicators. I don't wanna sound like a whiney baby or whatever the fuck but I genuinely cannot handle feeling like a stranger is yelling at me rn and tone indicators help me a LOT in that department.

[theories-and-theorems]

Yellow!

I have a thought about Carmilla (Hazbin Hotel) & her daughters from before this most recent extermination

So prior to Frank learning about Carmilla killing the angel and Vaggie confronting her about it, it seems like NO ONE else knew about how angels could be killed by their own weapons (not even Zestial who she clearly cares about deeply)

Which is probably the reason she and her daughters got cornered in the first place which led to her killing said angel

If no one knows, she can't send her people out to gather the weapons on her behalf because then someone might get wise

Which means she (+ her daughters) have to do it themselves because why else would they be out and about, all the other overlords hide away with their top people and I imagine someone as tough, successful, wealthy, influential as her must also have the means to do so

Thus, most likely, they were out there personally on purpose because they were gathering whatever angelic weapons they could without anyone else finding out

Meaning Carmilla's need to keep secrets is what put her children in danger (& leads to multiple plot lines in the story)

I just think if I'm right, it's interesting that she would let her daughters join her over trusting some of her people since she is so protective of them

Idk maybe I'm reading too much into it, what do you think?

Yellow back!

This actually makes so much sense because like you said why else would they go out during the EXTERMINATION??? It’s not like the angels care about the overlords, Adam himself didn’t recognize the overlords he interacted with which means their only power over the situation is by creating a safe space to ride out the extermination

And yet they aren’t hiding despite Carmilla absolutely having the means or (I’m sure Zestial would house them if for some reason she didn’t which I doubt but still)

And if we combine this with the other theory I personally enjoy about Carmilla being a fallen Angel, it’s possible that the angelic weapons ability to hurt the angels isn’t the only secret she was trying to keep

If she’s going out DURING the extermination to gather weapons/materials it’s probably to reduce the chance that others can get access to the weapons themselves

And we could say it’s because weapons are her territory and she doesn’t want anyone to get a chance to encroach on it / doesn’t want people to know it’s power to prevent people coming at her for her stash? but it COULD also be her wanting to keep away any suspicions about her and her knowledge about these weapons

Being a fallen Angel is probably not something you wanna be Hell (unless you’re a Morningstar or possibly one of the seven(?) - was that confirmed or is that still a head cannon?)

I can’t imagine there would be very many possible other reasons why she would risk it and more importantly risk it with her daughters

Of course, we could both be over thinking and it could be something like their shelter got destroyed (though I’d be disappointed if it was simply that!)

I’m definitely intrigued to learn more about her and her secrets and why she was out and about during the extermination & to see if your theory is right!

[jacksdinonuggets]

Ooh I got an idea! Sera comes to the hotel after everything went down to see how it's doing but when charlie and vaggie heard she was coming they got really stressed. Vaggie ended up regressing and Charlie called Camilla but she's running late so she's trying to show sera around and take care of Vaggie but she ends up slipping too. When carmilla finally arrives she sees Sera playing with a regressed Charlie and Vaggie.

Sure! it's a bit longer too

Charlie sat in an armchair with a letter in her hands. It was from Sera. she hesitated opening it, scared about what would be inside. She knew she should just rip the bandaid off and open it but it was still scary after everything that went down.

Finally, after a few minutes of staring and contemplating, she opened it and began to read. It was long but to sum it all up, the seraphim, Sera would be coming down to the hotel in 3 hours to check in with how they were doing and talk about the fight. Once she read two more times, she sighed and put her head in her hands. Finally, she got up.

“Alright, everyone! Group meeting!” She yelled on the intercom. Everyone came to the lobby within a few minutes and Charlie got up onto the makeshift stage thing they had.

“Okay, Everyone, in three hours, the seraphim will be coming down here to check in on the hotel and talk about the battle. We need to get this place in order!” Charlie announced. 

Vaggie’s heart dropped. Sera would be coming here? She would have to see again after everything that happened? She allowed Lute to brutally torture her as she fell. What if she’ll bring lute to do that again?!

After everyone scrambled to get the hotel cleaned up and ready, Vaggie was pacing her and Charlie’s bedroom. This whole situation was really stressing her out.

“Vaggie? Why aren’t you helping the others?” Charlie asked, walking into the room.

Vaggie didn’t respond, just kept wearing a hole into the ground. Charlie sighed and stepped into her path and put her hands on her shoulders. The fallen angel looked shocked that Charlie was there, obviously too caught up in her own thoughts.

“Hey, sweetie, are you okay?” She asked.

“N-no,” Vaggie answered, “Sera is coming in 3 hours and I’m really freaking out!” 

Charlie shushed and rubbed her back. She kissed her forehead, trying to calm her baby girl down.

“They’re not going to do anything, okay? They just want to talk,” She told her. 

“You pwomise?” Charlie noticed the lisp in the girl’s voice. Crap, she was little. That wasn’t very good because Charlie was also feeling little. The situation was stressing her out too but she didn’t tell her, knowing it would be more important for Vaggie to regress because she’s mainly involuntary. 

“Yes, baby girl, I promise,” Charlie held out her pinky and Vaggie wrapped her’s around it. 

“How old are you feeling?” 

“Thwee,” she answered. Charlie let out a sigh of relief in her head. Vaggie wasn’t in babyspace. She was luckily feeling older than her usual age range. But Charlie knew she would likely slip more.

So she quickly got Vaggie changed to avoid any accidents and also put her in some cute shortalls and a ponytail.

“Alright sweetie, you wanna play a game?” Charlie asked. She nodded happily

“How about we play the clean up game?” Although Vaggie was a bit disappointed with the game but went along with it. Mainly because Charlie promised her a lollipop and a sticker. However, as it came closer and closer to the time, Charlie realized it wouldn’t be the best idea to have Vaggie around in case heaven wasn’t supportive of littles. So she pulled out her phone and called Carmilla. The phone rang and rang until she put to voice mail. She tried again. And then again. And eventually Carmilla picked up.

“Charlie, if its an emergency, call your father, I’m in a meeting,” She finally picked up the phone.

“I’m sorry, but the seraphim will be coming in a 30 minutes and i need you to watch Vaggie while i talk with her,” Charlie explained. She heard a sigh over the phone.

“I’ll be there in 90 minutes, okay? Can you take care of her until then?” Carmilla asked.

“I’ll try, thank you,” and with that, Charlie hung up. 

Vaggie had regressed further, about 2 years old now. Charlie just hoped that was as far as she would slip, because she did not think she could take care of a baby while talking with the Seraphim.

Eventually, the doorbell rang. Charlie went over to the door with Vaggie by her hip and opened it.

“Princess Charlotte Morningstar, it is nice to see that the hotel and you are doing well,” Sera greeted, “Is your partner okay?”

“Oh, Vaggie? Yeah, she was just pretty stressed out about this meeting and slipped into littlespace, I couldn’t find a babysitter in time. I hope it’s okay that she tags along with us, she has a bit of separation anxiety,” she explained a bit nervously

“It’s fine, when Emily was younger, I had to deal with her in meetings. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve taken care of this little one here while she was regressed.” Sera told her, smiling at Vaggie. The girl smiled back, remembering that one time.

“Aw, well, then let's get started. Would you like a tour of the new hotel?” Charlie asked, leading her inside.

“A tour would be great, thank you,” 

As Charlie led her through the hotel, talking about her plans for redemption and how it could really work and her ideas to help them, her arms got very tired of holding Vaggie. She tried to set her down but Vaggie whimpered and stuck her arms up, wanting to be held again. The girl’s little antics really made Charlie want to slip too.

“Sweetie, my arms are tired, you can walk for a little bit,” She told her. Vaggie stomped her foot. Just when Charlie was about to talk again, Vaggie was lifted up. Sera had picked her up and set her chin on her shoulder.

“You don’t have to carry her,” Charlie said.

“It’s fine, princess, It’s been awhile since i’ve held her, it feels kind of nice,” She told her.

“Alright, thank you,” 

Around 30 minutes later, the tour was finished. Charlie was so worried about her impression, that she had involuntarily slipped. She started to suck on her thumb as Sera sat down on the couch and she sat down in an armchair.

“Are you alright, princess?” Sera asked.

“Huh? Y-yeah, of couwse!” 

Sera sighed, “Are you feeling little too?” 

Charlie looked down at her lap and nodded. Sera wasn’t planning on taking care of two little’s today but it wouldn’t do any good if she forced Charlie to be big. Besides, they could reschedule the meeting.

“How about you go grab some you and Vaggie’s toys and you guys can play here,” She offered. Charlie smiled and ran upstairs to grab some of her toys while Sera rocked Vaggie in her arms. She returned with her and Vaggie’s stuffies as well as an extra one too, with a bag of blocks. 

When she offered a stuffy to sera, the angel was a bit taken back. Charlie wanted her to play with them? She wasn’t quite used to it but nonetheless, she joined them.

As they were playing, the door to the hotel burst open and the weapons dealer ran inside. She was about to start apologizing for being late but was a bit in shock when she saw the Seraphim, playing with stuffies with both Charlie and Vaggie.

“Aww,” She let out a coo.

“Who are you?” Sera asked.

“I’m Carmilla Carmine, one of Vaggies caregivers.” she explained.

“Did Charlie call you?” The Seraphim asked.

“Yeah, she did,” 

“Well, then you can help me take care of these two. Can you fill up Charlie’s sippy and Vaggie’s bottle?” She handed the items to Carmilla to go fill up. She returned a few moments later with the sippy cup full of apple juice and a bottle full of strawberry milk.

“Thank you,” Sera thanked her, feeding the children.

Although this meeting wasn’t expected, it wasn’t exactly unpleasant.

[signedkoko]

Hihihihi! Can I get a parental/platonic parent matchup for hazbin hotel?

Im a cancer, around 14-15 years of age, and have short brown hair. I'm around 4'9-5'6 ft.

Around people I don't know I'm super nice and kind, usually complimenting my my way into a friendship with most people. I like to draw and read horror book, (I.E coraline, the man in the basement, dread end, etc).

I am mostly known around school as a kid who gives most of the time, buying goods for kids who can't at lunch, sitting with lonely kids, etc. I try my best to stay out of fights, and most times I don't initiate them.

At home, however, I can be loud and tired at the same time. I'll be like: "SO GUESS WHAT HAPPENED AT SC- I'm tired ima go nap" and I'm also the peacemaker of the family, being the youngest.

My fashion usually varies from vampire goth to grunge. I mostly wear vampire goth outside of home, but at school I wear grunge cuz if I wear vampire goth I'll get bullied.

Thats all! I'm sorry if I didn't provide enough info! Make sure to take care of yourself ♡

You got…Emily | Carmilla | Vox!

Your best friend is Emily! Ever since the two of you met, you've always gotten along. She really likes your drawings and tries to read what you read, but she finds them a bit scary and will usually depend on you summarizing things for her so she doesn't have to go through any of the gruesome parts. She is probably very scared and very intrigued with Coraline.

Emily agrees that you are one of the sweetest people she's ever met; she never feels judged around you and always gets her thirst for adventure quenched with all the media you show her. Your style is so cool to her, she might even ask if you can help her do some gothy vampire looks.

Expect quite serene days spent having fun without worry. Emily will always be there to defend you, and she probably has a billion questions to ask you at all times.

X

One figure who would take you in is Carmilla Carmine. She already has two daughters whom she adores deeply, and so she has a lot of experience with teens and teaches them all they need to know.

Your fashion probably just matches her looks, and she is more than happy to help you pick out a proper, well-rounded wardrobe that not only suits exactly what you like but also matches her a little bit. Lots of red and grayscale clothing.

Carmilla reads a lot, usually with a glass of red wine, and she makes certain to keep a section of her bookshelf for you, full of books she thinks you might like. She's the type to read all of them in advance, so when you finish, you can talk to her about them to your heart's desire.

Expect a protective but free household; you and her other daughters are held to her highest standard, and anything your heart wishes, she will do her best to achieve. You are always welcome to join the family business, too.

X

Another parental figure you may have is Vox! Vox never planned to have kids or take any in; no, he probably thinks he hates kids! But there's an exception for everything.

He probably sneaks you into the V's tower after finding you alone, and he's already committed to getting you cleaned up and warm because, man, what is this kid doing all alone in hell? He can't just—well, he can't just leave you out there, can he?

The more time you spend together, the more he considers you his daughter. You have your own room that he's always bringing things into. He's the type to just knock until you let him in and then give you some random thing he got you. Single slice of pizza, hot chocolate—hey, look how fast he can solve a Rubics cube. Wanna play with this new drone I'm prototyping? I found the book you wanted!

Oh yeah, the fridge is covered in your drawings. Even if they're digital, he has a little digital screen that has a slideshow of your work, and he does his best to show interest in any hobby you pick up.

If he ever hears you say you won't do something because you'd be bullied, he would probably hand you a taser and money to go indulge in what you like and zap the shit out of anyone who pokes fun at you.

He's not a very good parent in terms of morals, but he won't let anyone hurt you or shame you. He would get Velvette herself to help you find your style and would probably bar Valentino from ever EVER meeting you.

Expect a lot of movie nights together, trying all his new technology first, and getting every ounce of support. You'll never be alone, and you'll always be safe because, unless you ask him not to, he's always checking in on you.

Author’s Note - I actually could not pick, I had so many ideas!! So I went for one friend and two (separate) parental figures! I hope thats okay, I was literally ranting to my friends all night about the indeas I got lmaooo

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

Some books I read lately:

I don't read as much as I used to, so enjoy this selection

Babel

Such a good book. Such an experience.

I've seen people voice an opinion that they couldn't relate to the protagonist, but I can't agree. My school is trying to kill me (figuratively) too.

Still, it was weird seeing myself the most as the story's antagonist. Made me think.

Likewise, it was weird reading book that had the quote of "the act of translation is an act of violence" in translation, but I think I did the right choice. The text is a bit dense and I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much in english.

The book itself is dark academia, but not as in "vaguely gothic surrounding & really hot academic rival," but as in "your school made you who you are today and destroyed you in the process; it's using you for your language and your heritage and it won't stop taking and you should be grateful, everything is so much better now, isn't it?"

Every Exquisite Thing

A modern day take on Dorian Gray. I've been thinking about getting this book for quite some time, and I'm so glad I did.

It's about teenage girls in the age of social media, which makes it about a thousand percent more reletable than Dorian "I own ten editions of the same book in different colours so it matches my outfit and judge people for expressing basic human emotions, oh woe is me" Gray.

...yeah I wanna punch him <3

Anyway. The book has great Aesthetic and themes.

Acting school and "one must siffer for beauty" and fur coats and parent-child relationship and a thing that fits my extremely specific definition of hate sex. (Yeah, they're lesbians. It's Dorian Gray retelling)

Mexican Gothic

A great horror story from the first half of last century. (So, obviously, great Aesthetic)

The thing that gets the main heroine in trouble is familiar love and there's nothing she could have done differently.

She's also like, "My future partner must be of the highest standards", and then she sees the wet cat personified youngest son of the family her cousin married into (he's actually very sweet, tried to help her), and goes: "... actually nevermind, I want that one"

(...yeah, nothing bonds two people together as a bit of arson)

The Villain-thing is simultaneously a cult and fungi.

Fungi scares me normally, so this works.

The Thousand Floor series

Yeah it's not my first time reading this, but I adore this series.

It's set in future, which is mostly used for extra bling, and one boy has an illegal home-made Quantum computer in his brain. He uses this solely to flirt with girls better.

There's murder and excelent relationships drama.

Relationships drama as in "I accidentally killed one of my best friends in drug-induced mania cos I thought she was having an affair with my dad but she was actually my step-sister and now I'm blackmailing three people over this and fuck, one of them is kinda hot".

(once again, fits my extremely specific definition of hate sex)

There's also a con artist<3

Carmilla

Bought this at seven in the evening from a cheap books bookstore, but, c'mon. Lesbian vampires.

Mona's guide to defensive baking

This was such a cute read, it feels like a really inovative fairytale. Another book from the author, Nettle and Bone, feels the same.

It's about kids and there's magic and corrupt goverment and the animal sidekick is a sourdough starter <3

House of Hunger

More lesbian vampires, yay!

And probably my favourite read in very long time. I didn't plan to buy it, but I read a random excerp at the bookstore and the book gripped me in such a way I bought it. And read it in two days.

There's not a lot of explicit worldbuilding, but there IS worldbuilding: in the way the air tastes, in how the clothes feel against her skin. (I mean, she gets history lessons but she finds them insanely boring, so we really do not get the worldbuilding beyond bare bones on need to know basis for her)

And the relationships!! The shadow of family, the friendships, the obsession!!

...and as for the love interest/villain, imagine Ianthe Tridentaria and you're free to go. I love her. Both of them.

DNF/Hate reads <3

For when I need to persuade myself that chemistry cannot deal me THAT much psychic damage <3

Crave

By god. Please. It's Twilight but on Alaska and the author ain't mormon so MC is allowed to be horny on main.

We all know this.

So PLEASE, stop mysteriously repeating "Careful, something might bite you here"

The book refuses to tell the heroine there's supernatural shit for 150 pages even though we all know it. From the summary. And the marketing.

...also, there's were-dragons. I don't know what's going on either.

But yeah this was great for reading the most ridiculous passages to my roommate and laughing over it. Very bonding.

Crave 2

No I cannot be bothered to learn the title.

In the first two chapters, girlie has no idea wtf happened (x months long coma & amnesia), like four different people refuse to tell her, and she manages to remind us no less than five times that yes, Jaxon Vega is still hot.

Yes, that spelling is a crime too.

... I'd like to know what does the author have against Prague. That's kinda unrelated but still.

Fourth Wing

Yeah fine it's better written that Crave (the bar is in hell), but this book made me read "I cling to leaf-tipped limbs of the tree" in english version. (The word you're looking for is BRANCH.)

The translator used "branch", which, massive kudos to her, improved readability by like seventy percent by that alone.

Still, the characters talk like therapy (derogatory) and insist on telling worldbuilding in THE most ridiculous ways.

I'd give redeeming points for dragons but I didn't get to them before "leaf-tipped limbs of the tree", so, hard luck ✨

School for Good and Evil

...yeah that's mostly my fault for reading out of intended age group, but.

SIR, that's your STUDENT. STOP. Please.

That said, there's like. A lot of innuendos for a middle grade book.

Rhapsody

If I had a nickel for every YA book that has "an ancient bat-winged fae king" as the love interest, I'd probably be fucking rich.

Also, the MC is a siren and the book is "dark romance". She did NOT claw anyone to death nor drown anyone and I feel like I should be financially compensated for that.

[gctchell]

𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐈'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑!

tagged by: @jizzlords thank you, my darling! 🖤

tagging: you, if you see this. tag me so I can peep.

alias / name:  red!

birthday: march 23rd.

zodiac sign: aries.

height: 5'1''. what's up lucifer i think we see eye-to-eye.

hobbies: love roleplaying, love writing, love diving into character psychology and obsessing over that shit. love drawing when I can, and driving when I get to, along with gaming. re-entering my continuous obsession with vtm:b lol.

favorite color: black and burgundy.

favorite book: it changes as i read more. palette is kind of clean atm, don't got a fav. finished and enjoyed "in the company of witches" by auralee wallace recently tho, and currently getting into "the historian" by elizabeth kostova, "interview with the vampire" by anne rice, and "the exorcist's house" by nick roberts. and "wuthering heights".

last song:  storytime by nightwish.

last film / show: hook (1991) / x-men '97 (SO GOOD)

inspiration: for niffty, it's her pilot self that i'm primarily using which i've just built on for a few years now. looking at those 1950s diners, old cars, and listening to the music from the time helps, too! for stella, it's listening to 10 hour long videos of snowstorms and within temptation, along with the fact awkward moms who mean well, love their kids more than anything, and are trying their best are not really all-too present in media like the dad counterparts are. i wanna write that for her. for lilith, it's reading what her followers have to say about her as well as the books they've recommended for getting to know her more personally, rolled in with morticia addams (carolyn jones & catherine zeta-jones). to boot, there's also my love for the gothic, vampires, nightwish, and experience from my days of playing jessica rabbit. also listening to sea ambience, crashing and washing waves. for carmilla, it's the paranoia of tammy's death scene (blood and death in that link), the pain, perseverance and elegance of ballet, some of the energy from "the hacienda" by isbaela cañas, and just staring at her scenes and analyzing them in my little mind palace.

story behind url: i was sitting here trying to think of a quick url and i was like 'wouldn't it be cool if gotohell was available' .. this variation was. :)

fun fact about me: i've always wanted to be a stormchaser ever since i was a kid. also, i own two daggers, three katanas, two swords, one machete and an iridescent pocket knife, and a crossbow. loading crossbows is harder than you think. need some strength for that.

[portokali]

13 + 16 for the book asks!

OHH SPICYY I LIKE

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

hmm i wanted to do top 5 but there are only 4 i feel are really noteworthy:

-bunny by mona awad. not necessarily bad, not necessarily good. i did not enjoy most of the reading experience and mostly just wanted it to be over, but i'm not sure if it's because i was simply uncomfortable reading a thriller/horror novel or if it really was kinda insufferable. it def had insufferable elements, and i feel that every book that tries to be a satire of pretentious academic settings has the element of the insufferable in its design.. it's a don't wanna beat them, dont wanna join them kinda deal the way i see them. not really my thing, but i had heard it was going to be weird and intriguing and it definitely was.. but still, i was unsure what to think of it at the end and the reading experience was so stressful to me that i don't really want to go back and try to get to the heart of the matter.. so it's behind me now!

-babel by r. f. kuang. this book is also not necessarily a bad book. i just feel that it had a delicious potential in its themes (oh god..) but it was kinda uninterested in exploring its own potential.. too much is revealed to the reader in exposition too soon instead of the secrets and peculiarities of the world being gradually revealed, which imo makes it a poorly written fantasy. i also found the pacing to be poor, it was a long book and it still felt rushed to me. it did have its moments though and the writing was way easier to digest in its whole.

-carmilla by sheridan le fanu. now we're crossing into actually bad territory. this is a reread, but my first time reading it in english and not in translation. nope, i still think it's bad! outside of its role in canonizing the vampire, and the lesbian vampire at that, it's just not a good read to my eyes! dont even waste time coming over to revoke my lesbian card for speaking on this, i'll had it over willingly idgaf <3

-hex by rebecca dinerstein knight. if you've never heard of this book before, keep it this way is my advice.. yo... it's bad.... niche book club pick that we all ended up regretting. at least it was short and i could knock down the audiobook in a day, but at what cost! it still sucked! an actually poorly written and insufferable book.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

i understand why it's hyped and loved, but in terms of a book not living up to my expectations, babel

in terms of me liking a book (series, in this case) but for my own reasons removed from the reason everyone else recced it to me for, the locked tomb series

[willow-lark]

ok wait im so dumb i also wanna know about your original story idea too if that's ok 😭

heyhey!! omg thank you ahh!! ok so a couple weeks ago i sat down & was like. i need to get back into writing original fiction (i haven't written any since 2020) & brush up on my plotting/worldbuilding/ long-form prose skills. and then for some reason i decided to handwrite it 😭 (which was. a decision. BUT i haven't caved 2 typing it yet bc i always get distracted on my laptop...which honestly might be part of why fantasy au pt 2 is so delayed ripppp) so far it's going well! i'm a bit behind on my wc goal but life happens :/ i'm literally always on the phone with one of my irl writer friends being like HOW DO I WRITE I DON'T REMEMBER HOW TO DO THIS lmaoooo. ANYWAYS it's a historical/semi-fantasy love story (which might turn into a tragedy, i haven't decided which way i want to end it >:D) between these two girls who are forcibly separated for reasons they don't understand and struggle to get back to each other. and also there are vampires. except the only vampire fiction i've ever actually read is carmilla (i'm trying to read dracula i signed up for dracula daily i sWEAR) but i have no idea what i'm doing there either 🥲

it's been quite fun so far though!! :D

[godza]

the selfish machines remaster sucks bc they switched up disasterology and thats a sin. you cannot mess up the song of my senior year. fun fact: the entire time i read frankenstein i listened to that song. it certainly set the stage. i miss frankenstein it was so good. best classic ive read but i havent read many. i tried to read carmilla but i got bored right before the reveal. i didnt want her to die even though she was slowly killing whatshername but gayly. i find it hilarious when ppl call carmilla good rep like girl you have not read the book! i need to read more classics. maybe ill try alice, i have a super old copy from my great grandma that im afraid to touch since it might fall apart. i also wanna read flowers for algernon but i know the whole story. i also need to finish jane eyre and read pride and prejudice. wait throw all of that out crime and punishment should be next on the list since i loved victors mind unraveling. i guess i need to read the iliad too? i should finish little women. agh books!!!!

[sannehale]

LETS GOOO

1) How many books on the 2024 list have you already read?

Only 3 (not counting my own recs) - 10 from the 2023 list

2) Were any already on your TBR/radar? Which ones?

Quite a few: I, Robot, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Carmilla, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries 

3) What genre or category do you want to read more in?

I have been going through a bit of a sci-fi phase, so some of those recs are really speaking to me. It has been quite a while since I read something qualifying as horror, so maybe this is the right time to try that again?

4) Which book has your favorite cover?

I really love this edition of tress of the emerald sea, especially because I know how gorgeous the letter bound edition is

5) What’s your favorite book or author that someone else recced?

oohh that is too difficult because I loved all three books that I read that someone else recommended (coraline, the secret history, tuck everlasting)

6) What’s the #1 factor that makes you add a book to your TBR?

i love any book that tries to explore what makes us human / what it means to be human

7) Choose one book from the list to hollow out and hide a murder weapon in. Why that one?

gideon the ninth - it looks so murdery!!

8) What are your picks for Summer Reading 2024? (Don’t worry, you’re allowed to change these!)

Just fyi - I am not picking books that were already on my TBR-list because I really wanna discover some new books through all of your recs. Sooooo:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

My Heart is a Chainsaw

My Year of Rest and Relaxation 

Animorphs #1 The Invasion

To Be Taught, If Fortunate

In Other Lands

Happy reading everyone!!!

Get tagged, BBC! 🎠

Peep the 2024 summer reading reclist (SG | Listchallenge), then answer the questions below! (Hard mode: include the 2023 list)

1) How many books on the 2024 list have you already read?

2) Were any already on your TBR/radar? Which ones?

3) What genre or category do you want to read more in?

4) Which book has your favorite cover?

5) What’s your favorite book or author that someone else recced?

6) What’s the #1 factor that makes you add a book to your TBR?

7) Choose one book from the list to hollow out and hide a murder weapon in. Why that one?

8) What are your picks for Summer Reading 2024? (Don’t worry, you’re allowed to change these!)

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged 🌟

More info | Join the challenge on Storygraph

[snowbatsims]

VAMPIRE INTERMISSION #1

Let's see what these immortal dorks have been up to since the last time I was posting about their shenanigans.

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this will be a soft continuation of the previous vampire shenanigans I used to post here! You don't need to have read them, it has mostly been played as a vampire sitcom anyway, but the past events of that game are still canon to this world.

Don't worry though, I'll provide enough context for you to know what's going on. See, sometimes I wanna play my vampires too, and since they're immortal they'll always exist alongside the legacy :3 ]

Without further ado, let's look into whatever they're up to at the given moment.

Rune has been keeping up his piano skills.

Einarr has been relearning his knitting and embroidery. totally not because i haven't really played in this savefile since before they introduced these skills to the game, nooo

Morten.... decided to quit their job at the culinary career. They had been promoted a bit too much, forcing them to work in the daytime hours, which... obviously doesn't work for him anymore. Due to the whole vampire thing and all.

Meanwhile, Bat just slept through the entire day, as vampires sometimes do, especially ones with day phobia. You'll see him later.

-------

LATER.......

While Einarr was gone fishing at his night job, the younger three decided to go check up on the kid they raised once:

Kvikindi, the alien-vampire.

MORTEN: hiiiii so good to see you again!! KVIKINDI: what's up!!! MORTEN: the- KVIKINDI: .... and don't say the ceiling. MORTEN: you know me too well

Since the last time we saw her, she has gone to college, she has gotten married to Lilith Pleasant, moved to Forgotten Hollow, and now they have two kids. That's all the context you need.

It has been a few years.

CARMILLA: i don't remember ever seeing you around here. BAT: yeah. CARMILLA: that's it? that's all you've got to say? BAT: yeah

MORTEN: so this is one of your kids? KVIKINDI: sure is. kanaya, this is mort, say hello! KANAYA: hewwo KVIKINDI: are you trying to look human again? MORTEN: ??? KVIKINDI: it's fine, uncle morty is safe~ KVIKINDI: you can show your true self

KVIK: see! isn't she adorable? MORT: "uncle morty"..??? KVIK: well yeah. you don't exactly pass for a grandpa. MORT: grandpa??? oh jeesh. have i already been a vampire for this long?? how old am i even...

MORT: i could have sworn i only became a vampire last year. i'm still in my early twenties... KVIKINDI: nice try! i'm in my late twenties. MORT: what

MORT: man, the passage of time is weird.

MORT: she's so adorable though!! so small and green.... MORT: i didn't know you decided to read homestuck though. KVIK: huh? MORT: you didn't? KVIK: i just named her after myself. that's my middle name. MORT: ....oh my god. this is my fault. KANAYA: weh MORT: you wanna go back on the floor? sure thing.

KANAYA: 😂 MORTEN: should i read you a little book? KANAYA: bah!! KVIKINDI: alright, i trust you to entertain her somehow. i gotta-

KVIKINDI: crap. it's already happeŇƗŇǤ,

MORTEN: wait, what's... oh no.

MORTEN: OH NO............... KVIKINDI: β€ΔỮŦ¥β€ΔỮŦ¥β€ΔỮŦ¥β€ΔỮŦ¥β€ΔỮŦ¥β€ΔỮŦ¥

MORTEN: WHAT!! i thought we cured you!!! we literally went through all of that back in strangerville some time ago, hey-- RUNE QUIT PLAYING RUNE: huh? MORTEN: KVIKKI'S BEEN POSSESSED AGAIN RUNE: wait, what???

RUNE: kvikindi? you there? not this again...

KVIKINDI: ŞỮβΜƗŦ ŦØ ΜØŦĦ€Ř ¥ØỮ ŴƗŁŁ RUNE: OH HELL NO.

KVIKINDI: ΜØŦĦ€Ř Ş€€Ş ΔŁŁ. ΜØŦĦ€Ř ƗŞ ĦΔƤƤ¥ ŦØ Ş€€ ¥ØỮ RUNE: i can't believe i have to get you another cure. how did this happen??? i thought we killed the mother plant???? KVIKINDI: βƗŦ€βƗŦ€βƗŦ€βƗŦ€βƗŦ€βƗŦ€ RUNE: actually, i should go ask your wife, maybe she knows. KVIKINDI: ŦĦ€ ƤŁΔŇ€ Ø₣ ĆŘΔŞĦ ŞΜ€ŁŁŞ ŁƗҜ€ ƤƗŞŞ Ø₣ ĐØǤŞ MORTEN: ... and i should distract the child.

CONTINUE ->

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

thinking about how the first fanfic i ever remember reading was this carmilla au where carmilla was a miserable musician with a drug addiction and an abusive mother/manager and laura a little journalist who asked her for an interview and how it compares to my general interpretation of yaz and 13

[uglypastels]

can you please do a part 2 to that blurb of eddie catching reader reading a dnd guide??! like with them going to his place or somewhere remote to make her character sheet or something and they get to talking and bonding and its all fluff!!

yess!! sorry it took me so long to write this haha. i absolutely love this story tho, and it still might need more but hey, let me know if you want it. i also didn´t include much of the character making since idk what you would actually wanna be, so leaving that up for interpretation mostly. PART 1

no explicit warnings. swearing. angry parents at the end.

Eddie Munson requests open // support your local writers and reblog+comment

Chapter 2: Carmilla

You drove up slowly over the gravel, looking for the trailer that Eddie had described. “White and old as shit, like the rest of them, but we got a little porch going on up-front, with a brown couch. So just look for that.” And look for the brown couch, you did. You found it too, at the end of the road. There were maybe two other trailers next to it, completing the neighbourhood. You could hear a dog barking behind you when you got out of your car. 

Eddie must have heard you arrive, which would have been hard not to do since the car's noise on the road was most likely audible through the entire street. He opened the door wide for you as you neared the steps. 

‘Welcome, my fair maiden,’ He announced dramatically, ‘to my castle.’

You didn’t even bother pushing back the smile it brought to your face. Eddie let you walk inside. The trailer was, expectedly, small, but it had an incredible cosiness to it. It was messy in a lived-in way, and you could see that he had made an effort in his last-minute cleaning before your arrival. The pile next to the sofa, covered with an old blanket, was somewhat telling, and the dishes in the sink looked like they were quickly thrown in there. 

‘So, we can sit here, or in my room, whatever.’ He was still trying to finish up his tidying up, grabbing shirts from all around him. 

‘I’m dying to know what Eddie Munson’s room looks like,’ you admitted, so he led the way. You had no expectations of what it would be. In reality, it could be anything between a Satanic ritualist’s dungeon and your little sister’s play tearoom. What you walked into was… pretty much a typical teenage boy’s bedroom. Messy, a bit dark as his blinds were shut, posters plastered all over the walls. He had piles of books next to his bed, some you recognised, some you didn’t. It was your immediate go-to. Maybe a bit too excited, you sat down on the ground to inspect his collection of paperbacks. 

‘You’ve read Carmilla?’ You looked up at him.

‘Of course.’ Eddie sat down on his bed, the old springs creaked under his weight, ‘I got nothing against Stoker, but this is like, ten times better.’ 

‘I know, right!’ You practically squealed out before continuing your research. It was mostly fantasy and horror, with some books you also recognised to come from your English Lit curriculum. Once satisfied with that, you looked more around you, and your eye immediately caught the sight of a beautiful red guitar. It was hanging between two shelves next to his bed, almost sparkling in the room's dim light. 

‘You play?’ Perhaps it was a dumb question, but Eddie didn’t mind.

‘Yeah, got a band and everything. We play at the Hideout on Tuesdays.’ 

‘Oh, I’ve been there,’ you admitted but immediately realised that maybe you shouldn’t have. But Eddie didn’t miss anything. Instead, he looked at you, eyes wide open in amazement. 

‘You? y/n? Go to a dump like the Hideout? No way!’ He laughed. Not in a mocking manner, more in his usual enthusiastic and slightly chaotically unkempt way of energy. A spark in his eyes lit up, going unnoticed by you, though, about yet another shared interest between the two of you.

‘Why wouldn’t I?’ You sat down next to him, challenging him on his accusations against your character. 

‘You’re just so… you.’ He had leaned back on his elbow, so you mirrored his movements. ‘But you keep surprising me, so I’d say anything is possible.’ His voice had turned soft, intimate, sincere. It made heat rise up to your cheeks and made you turn to look away from his big brown doe eyes.

‘Right, so how does this whole thing work?’ You cleared your throat after a second, sitting up straight, trying to get the conversation back on track to what you had actually come for in the first place. Mostly, so your heart would stop beating so loud. 

‘It’s not difficult, but might take a while, depending on how thorough you want to be– and in my experience, the deeper you go, the better,’ he walked away to search through some of his stuff in a cupboard. As he did, you looked around a bit more and noticed the pair of handcuffs hanging casually on a nail in the wall. You quickly looked away, just to see Eddie turn back to you, a sheet of paper in hand. He must have had it prepared, you thought, considering how quickly he had made it appear. 

‘Here,’ he handed it to you. The sheet of paper was covered in little boxes and lines for you to fill in, making it look like a test you had not studied for, but Eddie had you covered. ‘I know it looks like much, but we’re just gonna go one by one. Start with your own name, on top.’ He handed you a pen. 

‘I get points for writing my name down?’ you smiled, remembering what your middle school teachers used to say before a quiz. 

‘Oh, for sure,’ Eddie grinned and watched you write down your name– well, tried to write it down. Holding the paper on your knee made it crumble up under the weight of the pen. So, Eddie quickly bent down under his bed and pulled out a thick folder– the same one you had seen him with in the drama room– and handed it to you. You placed the paper on top, which was much better to write on. 

‘We could get you to pick a name now, but I think it will be easier, unless you have one already, to do all the other stuff first. That way you’ll have a better idea of who you are, so the name will fit better.’ That sounded fair to you. ‘So we can start with race and class. You read about those, I assume?’

‘Uhh, yeah. Class is like your occupation, right? And race is like… a species?’ 

‘Yeah, exactly,’ Eddie smiled, and it quickly urged you on to join in. it was just that type of infectious laugh that he had. And it was pretty. That was the only word that you found fit to it. Pretty. The way he would look down at the mattress when you tried to make eye contact, and the dimples in his cheeks appeared, it made your stomach fill up with wild butterflies. You tried to control them, but it was hard when he was sitting so close to you. The only thing between you was that folder and the piece of paper. 

‘Do you remember the different classes? Did something stand out to you while you were reading?’ 

‘I think I kind of want to be a Thief,’ you considered, ‘What do you think?’ 

‘I’m just your guide through the vast unknown, milady,’ he waved his hands around mystically, ‘I can’t tell you what to do or not to do… unless you’re about to make some really dumb choices– but it’s up to you.’

His comment made you burst out laughing, and it didn’t really stop after that. You continued on filling up the spaces on your page, bringing your character to life. Eddie explained any term to you that you had not come across in your research. He helped you with tough choices, giving you the pros and cons lists of both sides. Just like that, hours went by. You hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed until you noticed the blackness behind the curtains. A panicked gasp escaped you.

‘Shit. My parents will kill me. I told them I would be home for dinner.’ The curses didn’t stop coming out of your mouth. How could you not have realised what time it was? 

You got up quickly and folded the page a few times so it would fit in your pocket. You had to get home, like right now, preferably, ten minutes ago.

‘I’m sorry- Thank you so much for everything, Eddie. I really had a great time.’ you rushed past him, too quick to let him say anything in response, but did leave a kiss on his cheek. It had been a spur-of-the-moment instinct. A moment filled with anxiety-fuelled adrenaline. Only once you were standing at your car door did it go through you what you had actually done. Had you just kissed him?

And then you turned around, and he was standing right behind you. 

‘You really got to stop running away from me.’ Well, he hadn’t been right behind you but was leaning against the railing of the steps at the trailer’s front door. Even in the evening darkness, you could see he was smirking at you. 

‘I know, I feel like a broken record,’ you laughed. You had your hand on the car door, and everything in your body told you to get in and drive home. It wasn’t that late yet, maybe your parents wouldn’t be too mad? But you stayed. You watched as Eddie walked over to you. 

‘Just don’t let it happen again, ok?’ He said once really standing in front of you. ‘I like you way too much to watch you walk away from me.’ And he leaned in. For a second you thought he would kiss you. A figment of your imagination even made you think that you felt his lips against yours, but that wasn’t true. It would be too good– no, what the hell. 

Eddie leaned over you to grab the car door and opened it for you. 

‘Your carriage awaits.’ 

‘Thanks,’ you said, now way too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. 

Any other night if you would have missed your curfew, you would have been filled with panic over your parents’ reaction, but not that night. You drove him with your head in the clouds. All you could think about was Eddie and how his breath tasted so sweet. Like those caramel candies, the ones he had offered you that one time in class. You had almost, actually completely, forgotten about that day but it brought it all back. 

It was a minuscule moment, a bit silly probably, and you couldn’t imagine him remembering any of it since it had happened months ago.

You were in Miss Click’s class, dozing off while someone was giving a presentation about god knows what. It was dark in the room, the only light source being the projector and the heat from outside was slowly creeping into the room, making it very easy for you to start to doze off. 

Psst, you heard coming from next to you suddenly, want one? And next thing you know, someone held up a hand full of golden wrapped sweets in front of you. You looked over to see Eddie, he had already been chewing on one, his big eyes nudging you on to take his offer. 

You can take two if you want, he whispered, and you remembered since you had been late that morning and been starving ever since you woke up. The lovely result of skipping breakfast. With a thankful smile, you grabbed two sweets and popped them in your mouth, savouring them throughout the rest of the class. 

The next time you spoke to him was in the drama classroom. 

But as you drove into your driveway, you realised that that had also been the moment that you had fallen for Eddie Munson. That was all it took. A small act of kindness led you on to start feeling an unconscious connection, that didn’t even brew properly until now. 

You grabbed the character sheet out of your pocket and looked at it, smiling like an idiot. For once you couldn’t wait to go to school next Monday, as that would mean you got to see Eddie again. Maybe you could even sit at their table? 

Although, that would be weird. What would your friends think? What would the Hellfire Club think? They had no idea who you were. Because how could you know that in the last week, they had spent all their lunch periods keeping Eddie from staring at you. It was enough that he was called The Freak, no need to add Creep to that now. They were waiting for you to join the club, even if only if it meant that, with you there, Eddie wouldn’t feel the compulsion to constantly talk about how pretty you were. 

How could you possibly know all that?  

You folded the paper up again, and stepped out of the car–

‘y/n! Where the hell were you?’ The front door of your house smashed open, revealing your angry mother, awaiting an explanation as to why you had been over two hours late.

part 3

Leave a review behind!

-----

tagging: @stydia-4-ever (per request)

[arthur-lesters-scarred-throat]

Tagged by: @nonbinarytoast

Rules: answer plus tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with

Favourite colour: Night Vale purple, wine red

Last song: last listened to: Far From Paradise - Scarlet's Remains. Last sung: prooobably Aphrodite, Your Electric Sexiness - Human Zoo (but the ver with Will Wood). What I want to hear as I die: Elysian Fields - The Mechanisms

Currently reading: Welcome to Night Vale novel. Very slowly. On and off for about 2 years now. I am Not Good at books. Also very slowly reading Carmilla. I keep forgetting about that too whoopsies

Currently Watching: Nothing, but once I finish all the Podcasts I wanna Listen to I'll be Watching classic dr who. Wait im gonna use this question for podcasts actually. Currently Listening to second citadel and relistening to Junoverse penumbra podcast, and up next is SAYER

Currently craving: To be in a fictional universe. So so badly.

Coffee or tea: Right now coffee but i live laugh LOVE lapsang souchong and also Basic British Tea™ is alright

Any hobby you would like to try: Play the guitar or violin or piano or maybe a one-man band thing idk

Any discipline you'll follow during the Olympics: Wha. No idea i dont pay attention to that

Any AU you're plotting for: too many. way too many. Mechs meet Penumbra Junoverse meet Doctor Who, the Aurora Ruby Seven and TARDIS become best friends or girlfriends or smth. Malevolent and TMA crossover. I have too many of these. Mechs!Jon aus my beloved too <3 and VAST!JON !!!!! Ourghh wtnv gravity falls crossover. Actually wtnv aus where the whole Mother Lauren thing is solved better and Carlos isnt as one dimensional. Sorry i have Thoughts about wtnv lately i love the podcast soo much but cmon Finknor.

No pressure tags: Anyone who wants to make one of these. Feed me with Knowledge about yourself, o' internet Stranger

Get to know me tag game

Tagged by: @watchful-crown 

Rules: answer plus tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with

Favorite color: the purple and blue you get just before sunset and the green in the trees as the sun goes through the leaves.

Last song: last listened to: feast or famine — merge worship. Last sung: red wine supernova — Chappell Roan. What I want to hear as I die: the moss — cosmos sheldrake.

Currently reading: Dracula — Bram Stoker (alternatively, “how much trauma could a Jonathan get if a Jonathan could get trauma”)

Currently watching: Dungen Meshi (not the English dub, I’m not a monster)

Currently craving: My house. I’m in Chicago. I do not live in Chicago. I need my dog. GET ME MY DOG.

Coffee or tea: never had neither. The closest I’ve gotten was a mocktail made with redbull. You know what I realized? CAFFEINE HAS NO EFFECT ON ME. I AM IMUNE.

Any hobby you would like to try: I’m sewing my first dress when I get home :)

Any discipline you’ll follow during the Olympics: I don’t follow the Olympics but I pray for all gymnasts. Godspeed that woman who went outside of the box on the mat. Godspeed.

Any AU you’re plotting for: currently writing a TMA/ Spider-Man crossover fic so that’s happening (also I have a malevolent Royalty/dragon trainer AU) (yes Faroe still dies)

No pressure tags: @ace-in-a-very-distressing-hole @s4m4m4-kh4lid @wistfxlwishes @arthur-lesters-pinky-finger @arthur-lesters-scarred-throat @arthur-lesters-intestines @arthur-lesters-prefrontal-cortex @arthur-lesters-coccyx @arthur-lesters-partner

[a-little-slice-of-fandom]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Irish-ness of Dracula, if you wanna ramble about it!

(Okay I just want to apologise for how long this took to answer because I know it’s been sitting in my inbox for over a month but..depression and work happened and I just didn’t have the time or energy to complete it. I seriously do apologise for this but I hope you enjoy the post anyway!)

So the first thing I need to clear up is this: the concept of a monster or a demon that feeds upon the life force of humans is not limited to one singular culture or folklore. In fact, this core concept is a wider cultural phenomenon and variations of it exist across both countries and continents. And no one country can take sole credit for the this core concept of vampires. Anyone who tries to claim otherwise either doesn’t know much about vampires or is intentionally being disingenuous. There can be cultural variations that are specific to certain folklores (and to just blatantly steal these would be cultural appropriation), but the main idea of vampires exists across a wide range of folklores and no singular person, group of people or culture can take credit for the creation of vampires.

However, arguably it was the work of Bram Stoker that aided in the solidification of the concept of Vampires that we know today. While there were other authors from a wide range of nationalities who wrote about Vampires before Stoker (including John William Polidori who wrote the Vampyre in 1819)...Dracula is the best known. (Now I personally believe that’s because Dracula is an absolutely banging novel, although I do concede that the prevalence of adaptations of Dracula from the 1920’s to today helps keep Dracula in the forefront of audiences minds.) In addition, it’s important to remember that Stoker was inspired by another Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, who wrote the novel Carmilla. As far as I know, Le Fanu and Stoker actually worked together on a magazine!

Another thing I think that needs clarification is the common belief that Stoker heavily/religiously based Dracula on the historical figure Vlad the Impailer. This is heavily debated by scholars. While there’s an obvious, undeniable similarity between the names of these two...the similarities start to wain after this, with only small similarities between the two and there’s even literal contradictions between the history of Vlad the Impailer and Dracula’s history in the novel. In fact, there’s not much indication that Stoker based the character Dracula off Vlad the Impailer, or even that he had a working knowledge of Vlad the Impailer beyond the name. In all 124 pages of his notes, there’s nothing to indicate that Stoker’s inspiration for Dracula came from Vlad the Impailer.

(Plus Dracula in the novel wasn’t even originally called Dracula...he was called Count Wampyr in the original drafts of the novel and this was only changed, from what I can gather, in the last couple of drafts.)

In fact, I’d personally argue that that connection between Vlad the Impailer and Dracula is actually something that’s been retroactively added by other artists, for example the 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” heavily leaned into this idea that Dracula and Vald the Impailer were one in the same, and as time has progressed people assume that these elements were in the original novel when that’s simply untrue! Stoker didn’t write that! It’s a retroactive addition by other artists that’s just assumed by the masses to be canon. This phenomenon is actually super interesting and it’s absolutely not limited to Stoker’s novel Dracula/the modern day perception of Dracula (another example would be Mary Shelley’s version of Frankenstein versus the modern day perception Frankenstein). I’m not sure if there’s a word for what this is, but I like the term “cultural canon”, where something that’s been added in by other artists has become as good as canon within the minds of the masses and as such is ingrained within the cultural perception of something, despite it having no basis within the original piece or even directly contradicting what is in canon.

(Now I’ll absolutely concede that Stoker taking the name of a historical figure and possibly their likeness from another country and making them into a literal monster is something that should be discussed. I don’t know how Vlad the Impailer is viewed within Romania - whether he’s viewed positively or negatively or a mixture - but regardless he was a historical figure and Stoker did eventually use that name for his own creative purposes. Again, Stoker didn’t say that Dracula and Vlad the Impailer were the same person, that’s other artists doing, but there’s still issues with Stoker that needs to be discussed)

Now, I’ve seen people talk about how Stoker took a lot of inspiration from the Baltic folklore surrounding vampires for his novel, but I don’t really know this folklore very well and therefore I don’t feel like I’m qualified to discuss it. If anyone is more well versed in this topic wants to add to this post then they’re more than welcome to! I don’t deny that Stoker too inspiration from places other than Ireland (like the novel is set in Whitby) but I just feel like people over hype the relation between stokers Dracula and Vlad the Impailer.

Now, onto the Irish mythology side!

So the most obvious inspiration for Dracula comes from the story of Abhartach. here is a link to an actual, respectable retelling of the story of Abhartach which I’d highly recommend people read (it’s really not that long) but the key points go as follows:

There was this Irish chieftain called Abhartach, who was really cruel and the townsfolk didn’t really like him. So, the townsfolk and another cheiftain (known as Cathain) banded together to kill Abhartach. They did succeed in killing him (yay), however, Abhartach just sort of...rose from the dead and began another reign of terror (not yay). However, Abhartach needed to be sustained by blood and required a bowlful every day to sustain his energy. Cathain comes back and kills Abhartach once again, but Abhartach rises from the dead once more and now needs more blood. Abhartach is only banished when Cathain uses a word made from yew wood and wounds Abhartach with it. Abhartach is buried upside down with a grant stone over the grave to stop Abhartach rising once again.

Sound familiar? The similarities between Abhartach and Dracula are undeniable! Yes, there’s some differences between the two but the core story here is almost identical. I could totally reword that paragraph, omitting the names, and it would be indistinguishable from a short summary of Dracula! Even the way that the main characters find out about the wooden weapon that can kill the monster is similar, as both Jonathan and Cathain go to wiser and older members of their community to learn more.

(Also please mythology blogs don’t come for me I know my retelling was an incredible oversimplification but I’m writing on my iPad and my thumbs are starting to hurt. People have wrote full papers on the similarities between Dracula and Abhartach and there’s so many more people more qualified than me, I’m just an 18 year old trying to make a fun and interesting tumblr post. Again, if anyone wants add anything like extra sources or more information or even to point out my mistakes then I more than welcome the additions)

Another piece of folklore that’s also said to have inspired Dracula is the Dearg Due. Now there’s multiple different versions of the tale, but the version I have heard goes like this:

There’s a noble woman who wants to marry a penniless peasant boy, but her dad disapproves and wants her to marry another man who is much richer. The rich man and the noble woman were eventually married but the woman didn’t love the rich man. In retaliation, the rich man locked the woman in a windowless castle where she starved to death. The woman was buried by the locals who took pity on her, but because she was buried hungry she came back to life and drank the blood of her father and her husband as revenge. The version I heard says that the dearg due now basically wanders ireland drinking the blood of men who have hurt or wronged women (as one should) but there’s other endings to the story.

(Again is anyone has a reliable source they want to share then please feel free to add!)

So this is another Irish piece of folklore that clearly includes some elements that we now associate with vampires. Now people (including Wikipedia) claim that this story was specifically what Stoker based Dracula on, and while I definitely think that Stoker was aware of this story and took inspiration from it, I personally think that the Dearg Due inspired the concept of Dracula’s wives more than Dracula himself.

However the key point still stands: Stoker was likely aware of these legends and even the most staunchly anti-Irish person would have to concede that there’s similarities between all three stories. And very rarely are these similarities discussed in classes about Dracula...which I feel is a real disservice. I don’t think students should have to have an intense knowledge of Irish mythology (my knowledge is spotty at best) nor do I think it should be an exam question...but even a brief acknowledgment of “hey, Stoker was inspired by these stories and you can clearly see similarities between them” would be nice. Moreover, it further solidifies my original argument that Stoker was, at least to some extent, Irish and that his Irishness inherently influenced his work.

Also...the social context of what was going on in Ireland in this period can’t be ignored! Again, while Stoker did spend time in both England and Romania, he spent a lot of his life in Ireland and therefore would have known what was going on in his own country.

Dracula was published in 1897, which is exactly 50 years after the worst year of the Irish Famine/ The Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór. Now I don’t have time to do a whole history of the Great Hunger but the effects of the famine were greatly exacerbated by the horrific mismanagement of Ireland by the British government and the British system of ruling in Ireland. How many people died during the famine isn’t clear, but we do know that the population of Ireland at the time was 8 million and the population today is 6 million...200 years later and we still haven’t recovered. So while we all like to joke about the fact that Stoker wrote about an unfeeling member of the aristocracy literally feeding off others with no remorse and basically ruining their lives...are we really going to pretend that there isn’t social commentary there? Scholars specifically think that Stoker was commenting on the absentee landlords (basically British aristocrats who owned land in Ireland but didn’t live there and as such didn’t care about the well being of their tenants) who would often have tenants forced off the land when they couldn’t pay rent...despite the fact that their tenenants were already starving and had no money because their only source of food and income failed.

(I’m not being shady by the way, I also love to joke about the social implications of Dracula, but I feel like people forget that the jokes have actual points behind them)

There was also a cholera epidemic in Ireland in 1832 which is generally accepted to be one of Stoker’s biggest inspirations. You can read more about the epidemic here if you wish, but I’ll summarise what I feel are the key points. Not only was Stoker’s mother from county Sligo and lived through this cholera epidemic, but Stoker also asked her to write down her memories of the epidemic and used her accounts to aid in his research of the cholera epidemic. Now the fact that he was actively researching this should indicate that it would influence his work, especially considering the situation in county Sligo was incredibly morbid. There’s accounts of the 20 carpenters in Sligo town being unable to make enough coffins to keep up with the amount of people dying, resulting in hundreds of dead bodies just lying on the street. However, the most horrific account from this epidemic was the stories of terrified nurses placing cholera patients into mass graves while they were still alive. Stoker himself literally stated that Dracula was “inspired by the idea of someone being buried before they were fully dead”. So while at first there seems to be very little relation between the novel and a medical epidemic, it quickly becomes clear that Stoker’s fascination with this historical event influenced his writing.

My overall point is that Stoker’s irishness inherently influenced his writing. Writers don’t write in their own little bubble, divorced from the world around them, their views and work are shaped by their position in society and their upbringing (it’s why I dislike death of the author as a literary theory). So when people try to claim that Dracula is a piece of British literature...it indicates either a lack of understanding of the context in which Stoker was writing in or a wilful ignorance founded on colonialist ideas. His influences are so obvious to me as an Irish woman but they rarely get discussed, and even if they are it’s seen as overreaching! To call Dracula British literature and to ignore the inherent Irishness of the novel does a great disservice to Stoker!

Anyways I really hope you enjoyed this discussion my love! Once again I apologise for how long this took to write. Also I’m sorry if this comes off as argumentative or anything, that absolutely wasn’t my intention, I just have a particular style of writing long posts haha.