This is to explain about my fic. I recommend reading it first:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Because I put several Easter eggs, references, and other things you may didn't notice on the first reading.
I try to be careful here, with how/what I write - especially as I'm speaking about religious and culture I'm not a part of. Also, please consider that I don't speak Spanish and that English is a second language for me.
However, I tried to learn and educate myself. I tried looking for mexican writers, and looking more for what PEOPLE said, instead of researchers.
If I wronged anything, please let me know! I'm open to fixing and learning.
Short bits:
1. "His mom's culture" - I HC Katherine Todd as For this fic (and several others) I went with Mexican, because it worked better with my ideas.
2. "Santa Muerte" - Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death). Some celebrate her day on August 15th.
3. "Catrina" - refer to "La Calavera Catrina" ("The Dapper [female] Skull"). Hispanic version of Katherine.
4. "there are more things on heaven and earth"
5. Abchanchu.
6. la Llorona
7. wak-wak
8. Camazotz + "getting his head turned to a basketball"
9. "Say hi to the big guy for me"
10. He met his mother
11. "He wakes up... 6 months and 5 days later"
More detailed:
2. "As Señora de la Noche ("Lady of the Night"), she is often invoked by those exposed to the dangers of working at night, such as taxi drivers, bar owners, police, soldiers, and prostitutes. As such, devotees believe she can protect against assaults, accidents, gun violence, and all types of violent death."...
"Santa Muerte also has a saint's day, which varies from shrine to shrine. The most prominent is November 1... Others celebrate her day on August 15."
Another reason I focused on Santa Muerta was her being very important to the "lower classes". It works well with the way I see this universe and Urban fantasy. It actually got so long, I had to make it into a whole post.
3. "Catrina" is a version of 'Katherine' - that also means pure, unsullied. I HC her as an immigrant, and therefore wasn't probably originally called "Katherine" - but started using it in USA, as she try to 'blend in', or just as a preferred "mistaken name".
4. Shakespeare quote!
4.5. "crime ally attracts all sorts of beings" - I have a separate post about the worldbuilding.
5. Abchanchu - "a legendary Bolivian vampire who shapeshifts into the form of a helpless, elderly traveler. When a passerby offers to help him, Abchanchu victimizes him and drinks his blood" (wiki)
6. la Llorona - ("The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer") is a Mexican mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam near bodies of water mourning her children whom she drowned because they had no food.
7. wak-wak - "a vampiric, bird-like creature in Philippine mythology. It is said to snatch humans at night as prey".
Honestly? The moment I read about it, I was like - "yea, it's perfect for the worldbuilding". Why wouldn't people believe Batman is a wakwak? We have here the vampire features (bat), but also birdy, "snatch humans at night", cryptid.
(Another bonus? Remind me of the word "Witwat". If you read my fic "Witwat and the Jin" you understand why I associate it with Batman)
8. Camazotz - In the Late Post-Classic Maya mythology of the Popol Vuh, Camazotz is a bat spirit at the service of the lords of the underworld. Camazotz means "death bat" in the Kʼicheʼ language. In Mesoamerica generally, the bat is often associated with night, death, and sacrifice.
Do I have to explain?
*8. "getting his head turned to a basketball" - there's a story where the Maya hero-twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque go to the underworld. They have to stay for the night in 'the house of bats' and hide themselves inside their weapons. Hunahpu stuck his head out to see if it's day, and one of the bats snatch his head and hang it as a ball for the gods to play with.
(I hope I'm not too wrong here).
So, 1- kids like disgusting things. 2 - think about Kid!Jason, who grew up with this story in his head, being taken away by The Bat to HIS HOUSE. (He was probably terrified af).
9. "Say hi to the big guy for me" - a quote from the Joker. I built a tiny parallel here - it's the last thing he here before he dies (Joker) and before he re-lives (His mom).
10. I sort of use it as an anthropomorphism - I don't go into religion here. I see it as - faith and beliefs and community can turn into something. I see it as one face of Death, but also different. idk. I hope it's understandable.
11. Jason died on April 26/7th. He comes back to life on October 31/November 1st - AKA Día de los Muertos. But, as I understand, Mexican tradition has 2 days - November 1st honors the souls of children (día de los angelitos), and November 2nd remembers the souls of adults.
So - Jason, on the edge of adulthood, comes back to life on the day of the angels, but crawls out of his grave on the day of the adults.
[better explanation:
Angels on Earth November 1, 2020 Today is Día de los Angelitos or Day of the Little Angels. It’s the lesser known day 1 associated with the
and with photos: https://danestrom.com/dia-de-los-angelitos-remembering-children-day-dead/ ]
In Bolivian folklore, the abchanchu is a shape-shifting creature with vampiric tendencies. This creature frequently finds its victims by pretending to be a helpless old man; when somebody stops to help, that is when the abchanchu strikes. It is not written if it had a particular sort of favored victim.
Not much is known about its true form, or if it really even has one. In some regional lore, the abchanchu is more of a malevolent spirit instead of a flesh-and-blood vampire. In its spiritual form, the abchanchu has been blamed for anything from fires to floods.
There's really only one real reason that the abchanchu sticks out to me, aside from the fact that I think Jareth reads as a little vampiric in nature, and that is the disguise the abchanchu is known for.
Jareth's blind beggar disguise is meant to catch Sarah and Hoggle off guard, and he is certainly able to startle them when he reveals himself. While he doesn't immedeately then chow down, there is some posturing before the eventual attack with the Cleaners.
Is the abchanchu a perfect fit for Jareth? Definitely not. But it could open up some interesting new ways of looking at the Glitter King himself.
The abchanchu pretends to be a kindly old man who loses his way. His well-meaning, helpful victims are either stricken with a fatal disease or are sucked dry of their blood while they are asleep.
Text from The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters (Checkmark Books, 2005) by Rosemary Guiley
Bolivian vampire. The abchanchu pretends to be a kindly old man who loses his way. His well meaning, helpful victims are whether stricken with a fatal disease or are sucked dry off their blood while they are asleep.
Bolivian vampire. The abchanchu pretends to be a kindly old man who loses his way. His well meaning, helpful victims are whether stricken with a fatal disease or are sucked dry off their blood while they are asleep.
Abchanchu: Bolivian- It would take on the form of an helpless elderly traveler, asking for directions or a place to stay. When people would stop and offer the creature help it would grasp them and feast on their blood, or he would drink your blood at night. If anyone survives, they will wake up the next day with a fatal disease. If he is trying to find a place to stay, he is said to appear at a house on a stormy night.
