[werwulfz]

Vampires are by nature creatures of deep sensuality. Their origins in literature can be primarily traced back to Carmilla (a story where vampirism is used as a metaphor for homosexuality) and Dracula (a work that reflects the xenophobia of the later Victorian era and forbidden desire). They were literally created to be alluring in a creepy way. Hence I struggle to comprehend why there’s people shocked by the fact that the new Nosferatu is rooted in eroticism.

[werwulfz]

Just saw a clip of Rhaenyra blasting the prophecy to a bunch of peasants in Valyrian for some fucking reason?? May I ask what is this writing?

[flopstat]

akashastat

[gipki]

The pair least likely to share their curly girl routine

[twt-dianjcho]

[ioliravs]

THE ANSWER

[cdtspaceworm]

if she was my queen i would not be damned

[drolta]

Those Who Must Be Kept

[homoquartz]

if you spoke to lestat or louis about your pain, they would say, "your pain? what about MY pain?" but if you spoke about your pain to armand he would say "let me lobotomize you and you will never feel pain again." he has a solution-based mindset and we could all learn from him.

[toobusymakingmyownreality]

And if you told Daniel he'd ask questions that would only make you feel worse. He has problem-making mindset.

[jonsaforeshadowing]

jonsa foreshadowing of the day: sansa’s nonexistent thoughts about jon

[jonsaforeshadowing]

jonsa foreshadowing of the day: jon dreams about having a mother

[werwulfz]

On Vampires and Companionship

As a long time admirer of the vampiric genre, I have often wondered why vampires have managed to have such a persistent hold on the human imagination. After all, every generation seems to reinvent them in some form - whether it be as monsters or lovers or even tragic heroes or all three combined - but beneath each authors interpretation, there are specific themes that remain remarkably consistent. In this post I wish to tackle one of them; companionship.

Immortality is more often than not portrayed as unbearable isolation. The vampire exists outside of the ordinary human life; they watch empires that thought themselves immortal turn to dust in front of their very eyes while they themselves go on living. And while they might sometimes find some temporary place of residence for themselves, they’re eventually always forced to abandon it, because people will naturally grow suspicious if a person remains looking the same for well over 20 or 30 years. To put it simply; if for us mortals death presents the greatest certainty, then for a creature of the night that is unable to become a long term member of the human society, its loneliness is its greatest curse.

I’d say that there is no better example of this than Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles, where loneliness is portrayed as the greatest threat to the existence of the undead. She certainly portrays actual violence and the general passage of time as a major threat, but what is really capable of destroying her vampires above all else is solitude. The much beloved Lestat and Louis still carry the same old passion for one another in spite of the ages of conflict because neither is capable of bearing an eternity alone. And their daughter Claudia was at one point in time a desperate attempt create a family where one shouldn’t exist. Armand and Daniel (a big favourite of mine) eventually come to regard each other as the most extraordinary thing to enter the others lives that they can’t go on without. Even Akasha, an original vampire and arguably the most powerful creature being in existence, seeks companionship. In spite of the fact that she is a being with nearly limitless power and the one that carries the source of all vampiric life in her, she longs for someone to stand behind her as an equal, a lover.

Interestingly, this desire for companionship can also be traced back to the first modern vampiric fiction - The Vampyre by John Polidori - where Lord Ruthven takes Aubrey to travel with him out of the seeming desire for a confidant. In Carmilla, the connection between Laura and Carmilla is described to the reader as something that transcends all ordinary affection. Stoker’s Dracula - undeniably the most famous work of vampiric fiction ever - makes Jonathan the objection of affection that points at a fascination as much as hunger.

Modern vampiric media continues this tradition; in The Vampire Diaries, Klaus becomes captivated by Caroline Forbes because she challenges him in spite of knowing exactly who he is and what is he capable of, time and time again he invites her to leave her ordinary human world behind and see the world through his ancient eyes out of a desire to have someone capable of sharing eternity with him. Likewise, in Sinners, Stack and Mary are able to build a life together that was otherwise denied to them as humans.

Thus, this recurring motif raises a very fascinating question; what does this say about us?

In my humble opinion, vampiric media confronts this age old fear of living an eternity life without ever finding someone who truly understands us. We fear that our thoughts, contradictions and darkest impulses and desires might always remain fundamentally unknowable to everyone around us. And the vampire, by the sole virtue of existing forever, takes the fear to the absolute max. An immortal creature may possess infinite time and powers beyond our imagination, but none of these things will ever compensate for the absence of a genuine connection. Vampires above all seem to seek recognition. Which is perhaps the most human thing imaginable; the desire to be seen as we truly are and not cast away.

The greatest vampire stories portray this idea that intimacy doesn’t come from someone loving an idealised version of ourselves, but from someone encountering us with our worst impulses and thoughts and somehow, choosing to stay. The greatest fear of a vampire is not death, but the fear of being condemned to exist forever without truly being known. And that is one of the reasons for why they continue to fascinate us; they present this idea that somewhere in the vastness that is existence, there is someone who will completely see and choose us.

[just-another-regular-dude]

[nerdmutant]

this inspired me

[whooshsoohw]

It's hilarious that Armand and Daniel are each other's manic pixie dream girl if you think about it.

Armand is Daniel's because Daniel is this cynical, emotionally constipated, lonely journalist who's terrified of living an ordinary life, never making his mark on the world, and never truly mattering to anyone. Then he gets completely mesmerized by one scary, deranged vampire. Next thing you know, he's following him around the world, losing his mind, making increasingly questionable life choices, and eventually begging the vampire to turn him so they can become even more codependent for eternity.

But Daniel is also Armand's.

Armand has spent centuries trapped in the same cycles, playing the same roles, living in a prison of his own making. He's bored to death with Louis, feels rejected and unloved, and has pretty much resigned himself to the idea that this is all there is. Then this loud, nosy human shows up. At first Daniel just seems like a harmless source of entertainment and somewhere to dump a few centuries' worth of pent-up rage. Except Daniel refuses to be intimidated, keeps challenging him, and somehow ends up becoming the most interesting thing that's happened to him in decades.

More importantly, Daniel gives Armand something he's spent his entire life looking for and almost never received: warm, sincere, unconditional love. He also brings him joy, freedom, optimism, and a glimpse of a life that isn't defined by fear, performance, or obligation, things Armand has always struggled to find within himself.

The really endearing part is that if you asked either of them to tell the story of their romance, they'd cast themselves as the boring, lonely, helpless one whose life got completely swept away by the most fascinating, powerful, chaotic, irresistible person they'd ever met. They both worship the other while looking down on themselves. They both see themselves as the ordinary one who got caught in the other's orbit, powerless to resist. They're both convinced they were the NPC until the other one showed up and made them the protagonist.

This dynamic and way of seeing each other, however romantic, is also the source of their main conflict because when Daniel begs Armand for the Dark Gift, Armand tragically refuses. Daniel sees Armand as this extraordinary being he desperately wants to become and spend eternity with, but Armand worships Daniel's humanity so much that all he can think is, "No. You're too good. I won't ruin you by turning you into someone like me."

[devilsminionbby]

[werwulfz]

Potentially unpopular/controversial opinion but akasha&lestat are one of these dynamics with very cool concept but surprisingly underwhelming canonical interpretation. A lot of really good monster stories are built upon the idea that the evil offers you something you secretly want ~ a temptation of your darkest, most repressed parts. I think that it would’ve been more cool if Lestat’s vision of the savage garden aligned with Akasha’s vision for the paradise

[werwulfz]

Absolutely obsessed with how Ellen can never be free from Orlok because she created him. He’s the materialisation of the darkest parts of her nature that she’s trying very hard to suppress and he rots because of it.