The really funny thing (to me) is that you get so many "Louis could fix bloodletting" battle cries, and then the autopilot au comes in swinging with the "how about he makes everything so much worse" steel chair and we all cheered
amd another funny thing is that Legs is so cautious about becoming a very certain kind of monster, and then the autopilot au comes sweeping in with: good news, he ain't gonna be backsliding into his soldier days!
Bad news: he's gonna become an entirely new kind of monster instead, one more akin to the officers he so hated
I watched his (and a few others') first episode a while ago, but never had the time to go further than that. So I am really stoked to binge a few POVs with a very dear friend soon!
[more closeups & yapping below]
General symbolism and details:
1.The bats! This will make more sense as we add more portaits to our little Oakhurst gallery, I promise.
Broadly speaking the two bats symbolise the difference between humans and vampires, as well as the discrepancies between members. The aktive bat [the one on top of the frame] represents the vampires, and the passive bat [the one on the bottom] representing the humans.
At this stage Avid is obviously represented as a human, though the eyes of his bat are open because he knows vampires do, indeed, exist. Residents of oakhurst not knowing of, or simply not believing in vampires, will have it's eyes remaining closed.
2.Their belt buckle and accessories!
Like their earrings, the belt buckle is crafted in the shape of a cross as to further ward off evil. Please note that all his jewelery and accessories made out of metal are made out of silver as additional protection against vampires.
3.Garlic and other wards!
Not a lot I have to yap about here. I just wanted to point out how pretty the garlic turned out in the end (after quite the battle, I tell you!). Avid being Avid can't simply exist without some garlic nearby, making them not only quite undesirable by vampire standarts but also a saving grace for about any stew that needs some added pazzaz!
Other noteable modes of defence are the silver-tipped arrows and the cross shaped stake he chooses to carry with him. We will all gloss over the fact I did not draw a bow, it is simply out of frame somewhere. Trust!
The four horsemen of character representation:
Every character portrait will be accompanied by four icons representing them, their past, and their personality. For Avid they are:
1.A stake, shaped like a cross. A protective weapon and a ward against vampires. Avid is not hunting the vampires in cold blood, first an foremost they are trying to protect themself, their loved ones, as well as the residents of Oakhurst, and the rest of humanity.
2.Bandages. If I am not mistaken, which might very well be proven wrong the next episode I watch, the primary purpose of the bandages wrapped around Avid's neck is to protect them from vampire bites. Though, admittedly, my first thought was him being bandaged as result of some sort of disease...
3.Bulbs of garlic. Another ward against vampires, marking the big 3 complete (I am not counting silver, as he is already covered in silver as is-)
4.An eye reflecting a vampire-turned-bat. An obvious nod to their backstory. It captures not only the moment he witnessed his friend turn into a vampire and attack him, but also reflects on their loss, literally and physically cutting through their form. The sorrow and survivors guilt attatching themself to his soul like tears staining his cheeks forever are also included, as a treat!
This is to say that, while they are undoubtedly traumatised and quite possibly scared of what could happen to themself and the damage he will have to cause, Avid is determinend. His brow is set, he is locked in as can be. They lost one person already, and damn it, I know they will try to make sure noone else will be torn from their humanity and turned into some bloodthirsty beast.
[Imagine how exited I am to see how he reacts once the realisation hits that not all vampires are immediately out for blood, but able to controll themself quite well. What will they do when faced with a friend being uncovered as a vampire, someone he trusts and likes? Ouuuuuhhhh, the intrigue!!!]
Give me strength in the sea, oh, sinner
Be the light that I see when the light has left me
When you hold me, I feel holy
When you kiss me, I
Bleed
- Wine and Wheat, Madds Buckley
I donât think we properly appreciate v!Apoâs quick thinking when cornered at the Crypt
because in this moment of betrayal and terror and rearranging of her worldâ
Apo is still able to react impressively intelligently!!! Notably, sheâs able to rapidly grasp what is it that these murderous blood cultists wantâsomeone to turn.
She runs, yes, like all the others didâbut she doesnât ask for friendship. Doesnât get caught on the fact that vampires are real, even though she was the most skeptical of the 24 hour crew.
Sheâs direct, and correct, and takes back agency even in this horrible torment nexus of a situation.
Apo is actually pretty damn intuitiveâshe sees through bullshit!!! She tries to cut to the heart of things, but is cursed to often fail to express the full extent of what she means. Apo constantly puts effort into communicating with others, and yet this energy is never returned. No one wants to understand Apo as much as Apo wants to understand them.
Watching Owen's pov of Vampires is a wild ride because it switches almost constantly from "this entire world wants me dead and I'm being dragged down by every moment my dying heart beats and I need to get revenge for those I've lost before I go or else I'll never forgive myself" to "I built a blood fountain :3 teehee :3 do you like it :3" and I think that's iconic
I forgot if your requests are only Life series + hermitcraft but i will humbly beg for some v!legundo I miss the old man
Digging through some requests and I absolutely agree, I also dearly miss the old man. Vampires 2 when?/J (decided on throwing Owen in there hope thatâs ok-)
When Doctor Legundo arrived at the pearly gates there was a man still waiting, but Legs was still in pain and even after death pain makes everything secondary. He clutched his chest and clung to the warmth left on his skin from the sun's rays and the warmth left in his dead heart from Cleo's arms around him in a simple hug. One moment he was standing and in the next his knees hit what ever the floor was made of in this strange place.
He did it. They would make it out. After weeks of war and building tension and too many of their few lives lost, they did it.
He did it. He did his best to undo his damage and then he left. Legs laughed. This place was a surprise. It was most likely a figment of his dying mind, but after all of Oakhurst he couldn't help but wonder if this place was something more. He looked up to take in the sights, only to see a man sitting on the front steps before beautiful golden gates.
The man sat watching a place in the open air in front of him. His eyes never wavered from that spot. He wasn't even breathing, but after Oakhurst and death itself that didn't bother Legs. He was barely breathing himself. Each inhale and exhale was merely out of habit. The man glanced over and Legs shuddered with an awful sense of dĂŠjĂ -vu. The man had long white hair, soft face, and too familair clothing.
"Hello?" Legs called, voice rough. The man startled. He hesitated to speak the name he wanted to call out, like it would break what semblance of peace was left in him.
"Hello," the man's voice was quiet and full of grief. "Apologies. I'm usually much better company."
"So I've heard," Legs had to admit he was curious about the man he had heard so little about.
"I didn't realize rumors had spread to the land of the living," the man finally looked away from the spot on the ground.
"I got used to the impossible about two months ago," he joked.
"Well. I might not be waiting here much longer anyway, so let the rumors spread."
"Oh?" A chill ran down his back at the thought that Owen might show up in this place, for this man's vigil to be over.
"I won't bore you with my life story" the man's voice cracked. "It looks like you had an eventful crossing."
"It was peaceful, in the end," Legs admitted. He had allowed himself that one selfish luxary.
"Good. That's good. But the rest wasn't?"
"I have enough blood on my hands. I'll leave it at that."
"And yet you're still here," the man commented. Legs stilled. He had hoped the gates were different from the stories of his youth. "Don't be so surprised. In life we rarely see the whole view."
"If this is what I think it is, I have a feeling I won't be here much longer."
The man smiled and stared at that spot on the floor again. "No. I don't think you will."
Legs almost sighed in relief.
"If you were going down with him you would have already."
"Louis," Legs greeted the man.
"There is someone kind in charge. You only stay here if you ask. They understand that we are not creatures that like waiting in uncertainty."
"And you waited. For him," he added needlessly.
"Am I wrong to love him still?" Louis whispered. Legs shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't think I'm the one you should ask."
"He used to be able to tell the birds apart from their songs along. There was one robin that would only ever eat if Owen was there, watching for foxes."
Owen slammed an axe into his skull. Blood ran down his neck as Owen pinned him to the ground and the stars went dim.
Legundo always did have a temper.
"He killed my town," Louis said, staring at that spot in the distance. "Not a single one was spared from his wrath."
Legs stayed quiet.
"There were children that had never met him, or me, in the town hall as he burned it. Children he would have seen grow up and raise children of their own."
Owen trapping him on the top of the watchtower. The pain of flesh tearing as he ripped his arm from Owen's teeth.
"And he did it for me." Louis's voice was flat, dead. "Try as might I can't hate him for it. I don't love him for it, but I can't bring myself to hate him."
"He talked about you," Legs fought to keep his voice civil.
"And I can't bring myself to hate him for what he did to you."
Trust. It was everything Legs could have asked for, an opportunity to help and bond. All it took was some blood and some pain, small things to offer. In the end it cost him everything.
"He could have been so much more," Louis mourned. "He was so much more than what he was to you. He- he buried himself, his true self when I fell."
"He could have been," Legs reluctantly agreed.
"But he wasn't," Louis finished. "And yet I love him."
Legs' hands began to shake and he closed his eyes. At one point he could have loved Owen. His wit, his strong convictions, his grounded nature. Owen's teeth dug into his neck and tore out the ligaments and muscles so that even that first scar would be gone forever. Suddenly Legundo couldn't take this any longer. His curiousity of who this story of a man was, was overtaken by disgust and horror and grief. It wasn't directed towards the man beside him. These were familiar feelings, how he felt about himself.
"He wasn't always like that."
"But he chose to be, in the end," Legs stood, he felt shaky. Unbalanced.
"And that matters just as much as who we choose to be in the middle," Louis said. Legs blinked, and Louis offered through tears: "He was dragged down in fire and brimstone."
Legundo couldn't tell if it was relief, grief, or grim acceptance that washed over him. He didn't deserve to feel relief when he deserved to be down there with him. Owen did not deserve his grief. Grim acceptance felt too small of an emotion to circle the rage and pain and betrayal that refused to leave his chest.
However, Legundo could leave. Perhaps the wrongness of him walking through those gates would be better than this company.
"I'm sorry," Louis offered.
"It was never your fault," Legs offered. Even the rage in his heart wasn't Louis's fault. Legundo was aware enough to know that.
"Neither was it yours," Louis said.
Legs nodded and turned away, letting Louis believe that for his own sake. The gates didn't swing open magesticly for him. There were no trumpets sounding his entry. There was a simple latch that he lifted as he pushed the gates open himself, like walking out into a fenced garden. The field across from him was wider than he could possibly imagine. Perhaps it was big enough for him to find a piece of lesser paradise, far from anyone it would bother.
Maybe one day Legs would be fine with Owen having his own patch of paradise here, far from him and together with the kind man who would wait for eternity. For now, Legs took a step forward and hoped he never had to relive fangs in his neck ever again.
He left Louis alone to wait by the gate for the next wandering soul to greet him.
dwag the excitement i felt when i saw the autopilot auâźď¸im totally not a sucker for possession in fanfic
had the idea of "hey what if leg's reflection in a mirror was his reflection, despite whatever louis was doing while piloting him" and this came out of it
course theres like no mirrors in oakhurst but still. stilllll uwu. maybe theres a few in the castle tucked away or something. maybe the reflection was normal until legs got turned. maybe only humans can see leg's "real" reflection.
anyways the initial drawing comp idea was from the mirror scene in van helsing, and theres a reference to a historical painting in here too if anybody spots it :D
Took me ages to finish, but @aquinnix made a post that was quite an emotional sucker punch with the concept of Cleo finding the doc's audio logs after everything and I had really wanted to draw something for it.
The post responsible if you want to get your feelings hurt: https://www.tumblr.com/aquinnix/805369142148497408/out-of-everything-cleo-had-been-expecting-to-find
tangentwithtanner
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