c-h4nn

[c-h4nn]

Love your art but can’t lie it feels like you portray Olrox as a lot lighter than he is in the show?

this is a valid critique, and I think part of the reason Olrox could look lighter overall might be bc I do tend to color his hair as brown rather than toward black. I'll adjust that. Another reason is I keep making desaturated/dim pieces, so if you color-pick some of my art, it's rather dark, which has given me some issues with translating the colors from my laptop screen to my phone (where I post from). And I wonder if viewers having to turn up their brightness is also affecting how his skin color is perceived?? Or if having blue light/eye comfort shields on/off affects it? Having them off makes everything lighter/more blue with decreased contrast, and it can strain your eyes anyway.

I do refer to Olrox's canon full-body reference to match his skin color with respect to lighting, but I'll double-check future art across devices with blue light on & off plus CSP's color settings, which I think is prob the issue. I've been devoutly conscious on my end to avoid white-washing & portraying him with Eurocentric features or as stereotypes (e.g., sexualized or demonized), so ty for making me aware that his skin color looks different on other screens LOLLL.

But P.S. I hate to make assumptions, but if I'm the only person you're critiquing abt this and not the many non-Native fanartists who draw him like a white model with a tan.......

[c-h4nn]

holy shit anti-Indigenous racism is so pervasive in castlevania fandom spaces that it's pushing people, including me, a Native person, away from the fandom.

There is so much criticism and outright hatred directed toward Olrox (and his past lover) when the other beloved characters have done far worse throughout the games and shows and have never been brought up like this. These are racist, superficial, speculative, and uneducated claims that I will not deign to expand upon. You don't have to like Olrox as a character. But do not be permissive of racism and bigotry, or else that will be all the fandom consists of.

[c-h4nn]

you cannot talk about the homophobic murder of jonathan joss without including in the conversation that he is indigenous.

american indian men are at the 2nd highest risk of death by murder compared to all other ethnic groups. in their lifetimes, 82% of native men report having experienced domestic violence. yet the overwhelming majority of perpetrators are non-natives (88% of native men and 92% of native women who reported violence said their attacker was non-native). what’s more, tribal governments are often stymied in their attempts to bring justice against non-natives, meaning that many of these cases go unresolved.

this was an intersectional attack. the fact that he is indigenous matters, even if the motivation was homophobic, because it made him even more vulnerable and disposable in the eyes of his killer.

as always, look into MMIWP to learn more, and speak up for us. miigwetch, take care

[c-h4nn]

vampirism is akin to the spread of smallpox and settler-colonialism and Christianity and forced assimilation etc etc

full version under the cut, content warning for depictions of smallpox

[c-h4nn]

For the longest time I thought Sioketa was an actual character and that for some reason no one was talking about him until I actually watched the show and realised he’s an oc😭😭. But nonetheless your art is amazing and I really hope we see Olrox’s past lover in season 3 🙏

LOL thank you this is such an honor, he's like half OC and half whatever I extrapolated from the canon. I've tried not to stray too far from the soul of the few canon details we have to make him feel more real!! (But my many critiques are the basis of my fic, so.)

My goal is to keep spreading the word of Olrox/past lover, and maybe they will actually become more than just passing mentions in the show ... but one can dream ...

[c-h4nn]

saw this book in B&N yesterday and just ordered it from the local lesbian bookstore, its by a fourth generation user of Hand Talk. i had never once heard of or thought about it before (yet another erasure from colonization and occupation) that of course before there was asl, the first nations people across turtle island would come up with some sort of signing system. it was (and still is, though like many native languages is now endangered) utilized for cross tribal communication, storytelling, and use by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. this specific variation is often known as PISL/Plains Indian Sign Language but author Mike Pahsetopah chooses to realign with the original terminology and stresses it was never intended to be translated to English and adds a lot of cultural context.

and it's only one example, this map below shows how many varieties of hand talk / sign languages were being used across pre-colonization turtle island. (stolen from the PISL wiki page)

[c-h4nn]

happy PRIDE i’m here i’m queer and i believe the land should be given back to the proper indigenous stewards.

[c-h4nn]

The winged serpent, Quetzalcōātl, is a key tenet to Olrox's identity as an """Aztec""" (Mēxihcah) man. Quetzalcōātl would have been - and still often is - an integral force in any Mēxihcah person's daily life.

So when Mizrak considers Olrox (and by extension, the winged serpent blatantly representing Quetzalcōātl) to be the embodiment of temptation, sinful, evil, anti-Christian, pagan, etc. - you do realize that this is racism? "He considers Olrox inherently evil for what he is." Part of that is literally for Olrox being Indigenous, not just for being a vampire.

Like, this is exactly the reason why conquistadors and Christian missionaries sought to crush Indigenous beliefs and cultural identity. They thought we were infidels and things to be saved via conversion, and there are whole pervasive stereotypes about Indigenous people being 1. evil, violent savages, and 2. seductive and promiscuous.

It's tragic because it's racist !!

“OLROX IS A SERPENT, AND MIZRAK IS A CHRISTIAN. SO HE’S BOTH A LITERAL TEMPTATION, AND FROM MIZRAK’S CHRISTIAN LENS, THE SYMBOL OF TEMPTATION FROM THE SCRIPTURES. HE CONSIDERS OLROX INHERENTLY EVIL FOR WHAT HE IS, LIKE HOW HE VIEWS HIMSELF BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH. IT’S TRAGIC BUT ALSO HORNY AT THE SAME TIME.”

[c-h4nn]

the main problem i have with america is that nothings old as hell there. i cant be so far away from a castle it damages my aura

[c-h4nn]

Kinda hate when ppl r like “we never should’ve colonized the Americas…imagine how much better things would’ve been if the natives were running it” when like…you don’t know that. Pre-European occupation we were a normal society of people. You should think the Americas shouldn’t have been colonized bc robbery and genocide are bad and shouldn’t happen.

[c-h4nn]

"*X country* should colonize the US! Please nuke the US!"

You all will do anything to not give us our land back huh

[c-h4nn]

Been thinking about Dracula v. Olrox parallels, but also the perpendiculars.

Both characters are powerful vampires who lost the people they loved most and sought retribution for it, but while Dracula tried to destroy the world around him, Olrox (who has already had his world destroyed) stops at going after "the one responsible".

"There are no innocents! Not anymore! Any one of them could have stood up and said: No, we won't behave like animals anymore." - Dracula, S1E1, "Witchbottle"

"Your mama took someone from me I loved, just as much as you loved her. So, she had to die. Oh, I could kill you too. And I will one day. But not tonight." - Olrox, Nocturne S1E1, "A Common Enemy In Evil"

I think about the way the people of Boston were celebrating independence that night and how that compares to the way the Archbishop in Targoviste thought it was a good idea to celebrate the anniversary of Lisa's execution/Dracula's warning—how in both cases Dracula and Olrox are confronted with displays that seem to dismiss or even make a mockery their grief and trauma.

But I also think about the way Julia seemed to be expecting Olrox, versus the way the people of Targoviste seemed to be surprised that Dracula would make his good on his threat and to have believed that they had "defeated evil" that day.

"One year. I gave you one year to make your peace with your God. And what do you do? Celebrate the day you killed my wife. One year I gave you, while I assembled my armies. And now I bring your death. You had your chance." - Dracula, S1E1, 'Witchbottle"

It makes me wonder if Olrox had issued a similar threat to Julia. The man he loved supported the revolutionary cause, and it makes me wonder if Olrox clung to that little morsel of "he almost made me believe in it, too" and was waiting to see how things played out. If American Independence would deliver the promise his lover believed it would. Just as Dracula gave the people of Targoviste one year to recognize the errors of their ways and do better— because Lisa so much believed that people were capable of as much.

It makes me think about the contrast of the Targoviste celebration plainly condemning Dracula and dark magick and evil—the cruelty of Lisa's burning having been the point—versus the way the celebration in Boston erases and ignores the cruel, rotten foundations of colonization by sweeping it under the rug of the ideals of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

"He burned with such passion. About the world, about how the people, "the people", that's how he talked, could win this thing called freedom. Even people like him. People whose land had been stolen, I mean. Like mine was, oh, so long ago. But he fought with them, the revolutionaries. He fought with them. He almost made me believe in it too." - Olrox, Nocturne S1E6, "Guilty Men To be Judged"

And it makes me also think about the contrast of Dracula, whose grief drives him to depression, withdrawal, and suicidal tendencies—versus Olrox, who continues to seek out connection and be driven towards survival at all costs. Despite the grief and trauma of not just losing the man he loved, but witnessing millions of people like him suffer the loss of their entire worlds and ways of life to colonization the same way he did.

I think about Dracula as the classic vampire trope of this unnatural, immortal thing who has overstayed his time in this world, finally accepting the fate of all living things to die in the end—but I think about Olrox as an inversion of this trope: this wonderfully human, passionate thing who is brimming with a will to live despite existing in a world that wants him dead, that wants to bury all evidence that he was ever there at all.

"My boy... I'm- I'm killing my boy. Lisa, I'm killing my boy. We painted this room. We... made these toys. It's our boy, Lisa. Your greatest gift to me... and I'm killing him. I must already be dead..." - Dracula, S2E7, "For Love"

"You're not just a beast consumed by lust for blood. You have a mind which can think and a heart which can love." - Olrox, Nocturne S2E1, "A Living Legend"

I think about how Dracula struggled to live as a man in a society he saw as savagely cruel, versus Olrox who is undeniably 'human' in a society that refuses to see him (and more broadly, anyone like him) as anything but savage (a 'dragon ', a snake, an 'animal who lost its soul').

I think about how despite everything, Olrox is resilient. Olrox endures.

Obviously we don't know the specific circumstances of why Olrox turned his lover, why Julia killed him, etc., and obviously her death was highly traumatic for Richter to witness as a nine year old boy. But if Olrox's arc in a potential S3-4 is to die, then the writer's room is gonna catch these hands. He does not need a redemption arc—certainly not one that effectively echoes, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian". He needs justice.

Like begging on my hands and knees Nocturne writers, please do NOT fuck this up 🥲🔪

[c-h4nn]

In the hoofprints and faraway glimpses of deer, upon the geometric backs of turtles and among the plentiful fish and waterfowl, in the verdant woods spilling with nuts and fruits and flowers, in the warm summer breeze, Olrox could almost see Sioketa, could almost touch him, nearly tasting him in bitter fox grapes.

[c-h4nn]

look I know it’s supposed to be a joke but that “irradiated wasteland” is the unceded homeland of the Paiute and Shoshone peoples and consists of fragile Mojave and Great Basin desert ecosystems that are actively being exploited and destroyed by mining interests who utilize the perception of desert as wasteland to justify their destruction of indigenous lands and communities. the joke's not funny. fuck off with this.

[c-h4nn]

this is a post about how Olrox should be a hell of a lot meaner, all things considered, and my own grievances

documents pictured:

US soldier standing guard over Navajos on the Long Walk

"Brevisima relación de la destrucción de las Indias" by Bartolomé de las Casas, and illustrations of the cruelties used by the Spaniards on the Indians

Lienzo de Tlaxcala

"Arrest of Hillis Hadjo and Homathlemico at St. Mark's"

Excerpt from "The border settlers of northwestern Virginia from 1768 to 1795" by Lucullus McWhorter

The Gnadenhütten Massacre

Papal Bull "Inter Caetera" by Pope Alexander VI

Battle of Tallushatchee

"Protecting the Settlers" in "The Indians of California"

"Buffalo Bill's Last Scalp"

Declaration of Independence, "merciless Indian Savages"

Brigham Young, "I say go & kill them"

Indian Land For Sale

[c-h4nn]

the problem of fandom reducing characters who are women and/or people of colour to sexist/racist stereotypes is definitely aggravated by the fact that a lot of fans simply do not pay very much attention to these characters in the first place then subconsciously paper over the gaps in their perception with things they’ve been culturally conditioned to believe are true about people in the same category as said character

[c-h4nn]

Your interpretation of Olrox’s character is truly beautiful I didn’t realise how nocturne dropped the ball with his character until I read your fics. I feel like they could have given us more than him just sort of lurking around and following Mizrak around. I mean the guy is a 250 year old Aztec(Mexicah) vampire that has lost so much that’s literally a gold mine for character development but no he’s just sort of there but not actually doing anything. Also Sioketa is so precious I doubt we’ll see a 3rd season and even if we do it seems they’ll focus more on Mizrox than Olrox’s actual past but for now we have Sioketa and I love your fics about the two of them!!! 🖤🖤

Thank you!! The show teased such an intriguing relationship with his past lover and then did nothing with it, so I had to take things into my own scheming hands LOL. I've gotten a couple of asks about what I expect to happen with Olrox, and I think you're right that s3 would focus on Olrox/Mizrak more than anything. Because we already know that Olrox's past lover was turned into a vampire by him and then was killed, since Mizrak was turned into a vampire by Olrox, Mizrak will probably then survive. I feel like Olrox's gradually increasing involvement in the plot throughout s1-s2 will be dangerous for him. He intervened and saved Mizrak from death, but maybe Mizrak won't be able to save Olrox ... or something.

And I don't think that Mizrak will be able to wholeheartedly embrace that Olrox is Mēxihcah in one season. His relationship with Olrox will still be founded on the appeal of what Mizrak considers 'sinning' - a repressed Christian man dipping into the danger of an Indigenous, non-Christian, gay man. It's attractive to Mizrak to break the rules. Except that frames Olrox's entire identity as forbidden, immoral, sinful ... which is essentially just how Christians have regarded Indigenous people for 500 years.

Mizrox was honestly a disservice to Olrox's character. We could've seen so much more of where Olrox comes from if he wasn't tied to Mizrak. I think Erzsebet planning to conquer and colonize the world would have been justification enough for Olrox to rebel against the other vampires and get involved in the action. There could've been so many opportunities to better introduce his past and culture - maybe his powers come from an enduring devotion to the Tēteoh, or comparing Erzsebet's brandings to how Cortés enslaved and branded Indigenous people, or glimpses of Olrox's childhood where he learned how to fight and draw upon the divine, or (!!!) showing fond memories of his late lover as further motivation for fighting for the right thing. But this story of Indigenous resilience is watered down with Mizrak because Olrox is busy being his therapist. Writing for Olrox and Sioketa/the past lover allows me to portray them with more cultural accuracy and agency!