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aquilaofarkham · 2 years ago

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Dying Has Never Frightened Us: Intergenerational Trauma, Healing, & the Burden of Legacy in Castlevania

An analytical and interpretation essay that discusses how the concept of family legacy and duty can lead to intergenerational trauma in the Castlevania franchise. Focuses primarily on the Belmont who found strength from his pain by honouring his family’s legacy no matter how heavy it felt or the burden that came with it and the Belmont who found his own strength from the ones he loved and who loved him in return.

☽ Read the full piece here or click the read more for the text only version ☽

THE BURNING NEED FOR RETRIBUTION: INTRODUCTION

The world has trauma. It is deep, collective, spanning its roots over centuries and territories dating back to when the borders of today never existed, and it has largely gone untreated—but not undiscussed.

From children’s cartoons to award winning dramas, trauma has become one of the most common topics for media to discuss, depict, and dissect. It makes sense given the sort of physical and mental gauntlet which society has been through in the past five years. Sometimes even in just the past twenty-four hours. From an uptick in disasters stemming from climate change, the rise of publicised policy brutality, genocide as a result of settler colonisation, new developments coming to light after decades of denial regarding the residential school system in Canada, and of course a global pandemic which is still making ripples. Then there is the recent examination of generational trauma which differs from culture to culture. The open wounds we’ve already left and will be leaving for future age groups.

Seeing how fiction reflects reality and vice versa, it isn’t any wonder that movies, television shows, and video games find ways of processing this worldwide sensation of frustrated ennui along with the need to find answers as to how regular citizens can fix things, including ourselves, when politicians and world leaders cannot. When reality cannot provide satisfying resolutions, when we are left confused and even angrier than before due to the apparent shortcomings of institutions meant to provide relief towards the average person, it’s natural to look towards specific media. Whether for coping mechanisms, validation for this collective and personal trauma, or simply for cathartic release so the emotions don’t have to remain bottled up.

Castlevania , both its original 2017 series and the most recent entry of Castlevania: Nocturne (as well as the video games which the show is inspired by), is no stranger to this popular trend of storytelling and characterisation. Yet this trend also comes with its own controversy. When done with a deft writer’s hand and a layer of empathetic critical thinking, trauma in fiction and how we heal from its intergenerational effects can be a powerful tool in raising awareness in regards to something left forgotten by the larger public or it can allow viewers to look inwards at themselves. Done poorly or with a lack of empathy and taste, then the floodgates open.

But beyond the usual discourse surrounding trauma in fiction (how to portray a “realistic” panic attack, what makes a “good” victim, the problematic connotations of forgiving one’s abuser, etc.), Castlevania has its own things to say about the lingering effects of grief, guilt, and pain over the course of thirty-two episodes (now a fourty episode runtime with the inclusion of Castlevania: Nocturne season one). The series—particularly the first which ran from 2017 to 2021—has now gained a reputation for being one of the darker animated ventures tackling themes of religious corruption, abuse, sexual manipulation, and injustice among many others. The value and thoughtfulness of each depicted theme ranges from being genuinely compelling to delving into mere shock value yet the series is also known for its uplifting ending and cathartic release from such dark themes.

One could write entire dissertations on each complicated character and their developments. From Dracula’s suicidal tendencies as a result of unchecked grief to Isaac’s conflicted redemptive journey beginning with his unflinching loyalty to the king of vampires and ending with him forging down his own path in life. How characters such as Carmilla, consumed by her inner agonies and burning hatred towards the world to the bitter end, was left isolated from her sisters until she was forced to choose the terms of her own death, while others like Alucard, Sypha, and to an extent Hector rose above their individual torments in favour of hope and survival. However, this examination will focus on the series’ titular family of vampire hunters. Namely, the Belmont who found strength from his pain by honouring his family’s legacy no matter how heavy it felt or the burden that came with it and the Belmont who found his own strength from the ones he loved and who loved him in return.

Note: this essay will delve into speculations and purely interpretative hypotheses stemming from the author’s own opinions in regards to how they personally read the presented text. It will also discuss heavy spoilers for the majority of Castlevania games and the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne.

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WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT FOR A CURSE: THE CYCLE OF TRAGEDY IN THE CASTLEVANIA GAMES

This examination begins in the exact same place as the show began with its inspirations and references: the original video games developed and distributed by Konami Group Corporations. It’s easy to get swept up in the notion that because of the technological limitations with video games at the time, the Castlevania games are devoid of story or characterization. Yet even the most bare bones of a story found in the games can still have something to say about the burden of legacy and how trauma left unconfronted has the possibility of tearing down that legacy. The most prominent example being Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , arguably the first game to begin delving into a deeper story and character driven narrative. It follows the events of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood , a game which portrayed its protagonist Richter Belmont as a force of nature in the face of evil, always knowing what to do, what to say, and emerging victorious without so much as breaking a sweat (or candelabra).

In keeping with the time of its release and the landscape of popular media particularly in Japan, Rondo of Blood feels like a traditional 1990s action anime complete with brightly coloured cutscenes and character designs reminiscent of Rumiko Takahashi and Rui Araizumi (despite the usual classic horror elements present in every Castlevania game). This is most evident with Maria Renard, the second playable protagonist who attacks with her own arsenal of magical animals and even has her own upbeat theme music during the credits when players complete the main story in “Maria mode”. Richter also shares many similar personality traits with his counterpart, namely his optimism in the face of danger and the confidence that he will be the hero of this narrative.

Of course all this changed in the direct follow-up to Rondo of Blood , the aforementioned Symphony of the Night . Arguably the new staple of future Castlevania games to come, not only did it change the gameplay and aesthetic, it changed the very core of the characters as well. The game even begins with the same ending as Rondo of Blood where Richter fights and defeats Dracula with the help of Maria. Then during the opening crawl, we discover that during a time skip, Richter has vanished and Maria is searching for him. Surely this will be nothing less than a heroic rescue and the most powerful Belmont of his century will be restored to his rightful pedestal.

Yet for the first half of Symphony of the Night , the player is faced with a sobering realisation—the villain we’re supposed to be fighting, the one responsible for conjuring Dracula’s castle back into existence, is Richter himself. No longer the hero we’ve come to adore and look up to from the previous game. Of course, the player along with new protagonist Alucard both know that something isn’t right; perhaps Richter isn’t in his sound mind or some nefarious force is possessing him to commit evil deeds. But unless the player solves the right puzzles and find the right in-game items, Symphony ends with Alucard putting down Richter like a rabid dog. However, this ending can be avoided and a whole second half of the game is revealed.

Richter’s canonical ending is left ambiguous at best, tragic at worst. He laments over his moment of weakness, claiming the events of the game were his fault despite Alucard’s insistence that confronting Dracula was always going to be inevitable. Still, the tragedy of Richter’s fate and how he is portrayed in Symphony of the Night comes much later, when it’s implied the Belmonts are no longer capable of wielding the fabled Vampire Killer, a leather whip imbued with supernatural properties that has been passed down generation after generation. One mistake and misjudgment left the Belmont legacy in a perpetual long lasting limbo with the titular hunters themselves seemingly disappearing from history as well, leaving others such as the Order of Ecclesia to pick up the fight against Dracula’s eventual resurgence. It isn’t until the height of World War II (the setting of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin ) when the whip’s true potential is finally set free thanks to the actions of Jonathan Morris, a distant relative of the infamous vampire slaying family. However, the only way in which Jonathan can reawaken the Vampire Killer is by defeating a manifestation of the person who last wielded it and also whom the whip abandoned nearly two hundred years prior—Richter Belmont.

Yet players and fans don’t get to see it in the hands of another Belmont until the events of 1999 when Julius Belmont defeats the latest incarnation of Dracula and seals his castle away in a solar eclipse. Even then, he loses his memory until thirty years pass and he’s forced to do battle with Soma Cruz, an innocent transfer student who is also the reincarnation of Dracula. If the protagonist of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow succeeds in defeating the cosmic threat that has awakened his supposed “evil” destiny, then Julius can finally lay down the Vampire Killer in peace (until the sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow , of course). If not, the game ends with Julius keeping his promise to Soma should he lose sight of his human side and let Dracula be reborn once again. In a scene that directly mirrors the beginning of Symphony , Julius enters the castle throne room, Soma throws down his wine goblet, and the screen goes black. The cycle continues anew. Julius has upheld the duty of his family name but at what cost.

The theme of tragedy getting passed down through different generations, permeating from person to person even with those who are not Belmonts, is a staple of later Castlevania games following Symphony of the Night . In some instances, pain and trauma is what jumpstarts the story moving forward. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness begins with its protagonist Hector in a direct parallel to Dracula swearing revenge on the one responsible for the murder of his wife; an ultimatum that follows him every step of the way, fuelling his rage and determination up until the penultimate moment when his goal is within reach. Yet even then he cries out, claiming this “murderous impulse” isn’t truly him—it’s the result of an outside force he himself once aided before defecting before the events of the game.

Something similar occurs in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow , an alternative reimagining of the franchise that while still a topic of division amongst most die hard fans has also seen a resurgence of popularity and reevaluation. It begins with Gabriel Belmont grieving over the death of his own wife (a trope which is unfortunately common amongst the majority of Castlevania titles). This is a wound that follows him throughout his journey until an even more painful and shattering twist regarding Marie Belmont’s demise is revealed to Gabriel later in the game.

However, there is one example from the games that stands above the rest in regards to the sort of damage which generational trauma as a result of familial duty and legacy, upheld to an almost religious degree, can inflict. So much so that even a declaration of retribution can evolve into a generational curse.

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HUNT THE NIGHT: LEON BELMONT & THE MYTH OF FREE WILL

The Castlevania timeline didn’t always have a set beginning. An inciting incident by which all future stories, characters, and inevitable calamities could base themselves off of. Rather it changed from game to game until a definitive origin was settled in 2003 with the release of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence . For at least two games, the starting point was supposed to be with Simon Belmont, making his way through a labyrinth of dark forests and cursed towns, before finally traversing the ever changing fortress in Transylvania to defeat Dracula. He even went as far as to gather the remains and resurrect the eponymous lord of his own choice just to rid himself of another curse entirely.

Castlevania protagonists are always cursed by something. Whether it be the cause of Dracula’s influence, their own actions as seen in Lords of Shadow , a curse of the flesh like how Simon had to tackle his own ailment in Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest , or something else just as common as Dracula’s curse: the burden of honouring a family duty.

A basic yet iconic 1986 entry followed by a sequel that had potential especially with the first appearance of the now famous “Bloody Tears” track but suffered from a rather confusing and lacklustre end product. Then suddenly the starting point for the franchise timeline changed drastically. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse despite the numerical inclusion in its title stands as more of a prequel, detailing the exploits of the Belmont who came before Simon. Not much was altered in the grand scheme of things; the titular vampire hunter still essentially slays Dracula with the help of three other playable characters, said final boss having been driven mad and more violent than ever by humanity’s slight against him. However, not only were the methods by which Dracula is defeated changed but players were given more insight into the sort of burden placed upon the Belmont family name.

When the story of Dracula’s Curse begins, protagonist Trevor Belmont isn’t revered as a legend or hero but rather a blight on larger society who the people only turn to as a last ditch effort against rising evil. The regular god-fearing people of Wallachia now fear the Belmonts and their power (it is also implied that some still feared the barbarian-esque Simon despite his legendary status) so the family is excommunicated. Trevor is forced to enlist three other outcasts—or simply two other fighters, depending on which version of the story you examine—in order to carry out the family business. Even when the rest of the world has shunned them and there are plenty of others just as capable of stopping the forces of evil, a Belmont still has a destiny to fulfil.

Yet once a series has gone on for long enough, things within the established canon are bound to change—again and again. Whether through re-examination in order to line it up better with present day morals and sensibilities, or through good old fashioned retconning in favour of something more interesting, more thought out, or less convoluted. Other times, it’s simply because either the creator or viewers wanted it to happen. In 1997, this occurred with the release of Castlevania Legends on the GameBoy, a prequel to Dracula’s Curse that was meant to serve as the actual origin for the Belmonts, Dracula, and even his son Alucard. Instead of Trevor, the very first Belmont to fight Dracula is now his mother, Sonia Belmont, seventeen years old and already burdened with the glorious purpose of her bloodline.

Sonia is undoubtedly the protagonist of her own story with agency and drive. However, the game ends with a stark reminder of why the Belmonts have a place in the Castlevania universe. The last we see of Sonia in Legends is in the form of an epilogue where she holds her newborn child and states that one day when he’s grown, he will “be praised by all the people as a hero”. Despite her triumph over Dracula—a monumental feat itself—it seems that her purpose in the end (the purpose of most Belmonts other than to forever fight evil in fact) was to merely continue the bloodline so that descendants can carry out a promise made centuries before by another Belmont—someone that neither Simon, Trevor, Julius, or Richter ever knew.

The inevitability of sudden retcons within long-running media was not as kind to Legends as it was to Dracula��s Curse . Because of how the in-game events conflicted with subsequent entries (for example the implication that Trevor is actually the son of Alucard, thus further tying the Belmonts to Dracula through blood as well as duty), both Legends and Sonia were completely removed from the canon timeline. This is merely one reason why the next attempt at creating the definitive origin for the franchise, now a cult favourite among certain subsections of the fan community, was regarded with some animosity. However, twenty years after its release, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is considered by many as an underrated entry. It is certainly the darker title where both the hero and villain stumble through their own hardships yet neither emerges completely victorious by the end.

The opening narration crawl of Lament of Innocence describes the lives of Leon Belmont and Mathias Cronqvist. They spend most of their lives as reflections of each other; one grows into more of a fighter while the second is coveted for his intellect and ambition. Both are valorous, honourable, and products of their own respective plights. Despite his service to the church, Leon is soon systematically stripped of everything save for the clothes on his back because he wouldn’t follow their orders blindly. While Mathias is forced to watch as an uncaring god (the very same god he serves) takes away a figure of pure virtue and love. This figure, Elisabeta Cronqvist who appears to be a splitting image of Dracula’s next deceased wife Lisa Tepes, was the last remaining tie Mathias still had to whatever bit of morality he still feels, which he eventually throws away when deciding to drag his only friend and everything he holds dear into hell alongside him.

The difference is how both men react to those personal horrors and how they let it govern their pasts, presents, and futures not just for themselves but for others who follow after the dust has supposedly settled. Two men, two best friends turned hateful enemies because of an interlinked tragedy. Not only that, but also because of their perspectives, morals, and the way they view a world that is unkind to them. Both were spurred by the death of loved ones, both used it as a conduit, or rather a catalyst for the radically opposing directions in which their choices take them and their families. Leon chooses to struggle onwards towards a world free from darkness and horror despite his pain. Mathias chooses to revel in that very same darkness and pain with a fire that would burn for aeons. In the end, one thing is absolute. A single thing the two men can agree upon as they flee down adverse paths: one of them will destroy the other.

Yet the timeline of Castlevania proves that this choice comes at a great cost for the Belmonts in particular. By the end of Lament of Innocence , Mathias has revealed himself to be the great manipulator pulling the strings behind the scenes. Due to the immense grief he felt over losing Elisabeta to a presumably common illness made untreatable because of the time period’s medical limitations (coupled with his own arrogance and narcissism), Mathias finally becomes Dracula. Dominion over death and even god by has been achieved by doing what Leon’s righteously moral mind cannot comprehend: transforming himself into an immortal creature driven by bloodlust. All he had to do was lie, cheat, and cruelly outsmart everyone else around him. That of course includes Leon as Mathias’ manipulation tactics were also the cause of the mercy killing of Sara Tarantoul, Leon’s fiance, to stop her from turning into a vampire herself. After watching his former friend escape before the sun can rise and disposing of Dracula’s constant right hand man Death, Leon finally feels his anger over such a betrayal boil over. He gives one final message to Mathias, now the new king of the vampires: “This whip and my kinsmen will destroy you someday. From this day on, the Belmont Clan will hunt the night.”

This is how Castlevania: Lament of Innocence ends. Unlike other entries like Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, or Harmony of Dissonance , there is no good, neutral, or bad ending that can be achieved if the player is aware of certain secrets and tricks. There is only one for Leon and Mathias. The inclusion of multiple endings in some Castlevania games versus a singular set ending in others may seem like a small coincidental narrative choice in conjunction with evolving gameplay, but it matters in the case of Lament of Innocence. From the moment Leon enters the castle to rescue his fiance, the wheel has already started turning and his fate is sealed. Mathias has already won and Sara, along with future Belmonts, are already doomed. And Leon’s ultimatum made in the heat of the moment would go on to have repercussions centuries later. “Hunting the night” gave the Belmonts purpose but it also burdened them with that exact purpose. While Dracula deals in curses, so does the Belmont family—a curse of duty that gets passed down throughout the bloodline.

Leon Belmont was of course never malicious or cruel like Mathias was. He never wanted to deliberately curse his family because he suffered and so should they. His choice was made out of anger and retribution. Still, it goes on to affect Simon, Sonia, Julius, and others in drastic yet different ways. Yet in the case of specific Belmonts like Trevor and Richter, we see how this family legacy can have varied consequences in far more detail through the introduction of animation and serialised writing into the Castlevania franchise.

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SOMETHING BETTER THAN A PILE OF RUINS: TREVOR BELMONT & STRENGTH FROM LEGACY

If there’s one thing that Castlevania makes abundantly clear with its four season runtime, it is that trauma does not inherently make people better or more virtuous. We of course see this from the games with Mathias and his personal crusade against god which leads to the complete dissolvement of his closest friendship. Or with Hector and the rage he feels towards his wife’s murderer, who also happens to be his former comrade under Dracula’s employment. Even Leon’s promise to both his friend, now his most despised enemy, and future descendants can also be an example of how gut reactions to pain, grief, and betrayal can have damaging consequences in the long run. This particular dissection of trauma when it affects a survivor negatively and in almost life-altering ways while still giving them a chance at achieving their own method of healing is most apparent with the animated representation of Trevor Belmont.

At its core, the first season of Castlevania airing in July of 2017 with four episodes in total is inspired by the events of Dracula’s Curse with the following seasons taking more from Curse of Darkness along with original story elements. It begins with the brutal execution of Lisa Tepes after she is falsely accused of being a witch. Shortly afterwards, Dracula declares war on all of humanity in an explosion of grief-riddled vengeance (a declaration that is not dissimilar to Mathias’ cursing of god after Elisabeta’s admittedly more natural death). Hundreds of civilians are slaughtered in the capital city Targoviste and hoards of night creatures descend upon more townships across Wallachia.

This would be the perfect opportunity for a Belmont to stand up and fight back except there is one problem: the Belmonts have been eradicated from this world on false grounds of black magic and aiding the vampire lords instead of hunting them—much like how Lisa was slandered and paid the price with her own life.

The only Belmont left surviving is Trevor himself and his introduction does not paint him in the most optimistic or even heroic light. In the midst of being excommunicated by the church, he’s been wandering aimlessly for the past few years while languishing in whatever tavern he stumbles upon. In one particular bar Trevor finds himself in, he overhears the other patrons cursing the Belmonts and blaming them for Dracula’s siege upon humanity. He tries to stay out of it and not bring too much attention to himself until one glance at the family emblem stitched into his shirt breast is enough to ignite an all out skirmish.

Trevor hides his true identity not because he’s ashamed of it, but for his own safety and self preservation. In fact, the opinion he holds of his family is the total opposite from disdain for the sort of legacy they have saddled him with even in death. He reacts strongly to false accusations directed towards the Belmonts, angrily correcting the bar patrons by stating that his family fought monsters. However, he quickly realises he’s said too much and tries saving face by once again detaching himself from possibly being connected to the aforementioned Belmonts.

It’s only when Trevor is backed into a corner and is fresh out of snappy drunk retorts (thanks to a few hard hits to his nether regions) does he finally admit to his real lineage. As mentioned earlier, Trevor finds himself caught up in the first real brawl of the series not because of the pride he feels in himself but the immense pride he feels for his bloodline. All the while, he’s given up trying to hide what he is—a Belmont—and what he was born to do—fight fucking vampires.

Every time Trevor has the opportunity to bring up his bloodline whether in a fight or in conversation, it’s usually spoken with some bravado and weight even when he’s inebriated. However, when visiting the ruins of the Belmont ancestral home in season two and thus directly confronted with what little remains of his family legacy, Trevor loses all that previous bluster and becomes far more contemplative. He doesn’t reveal much of what it was like to actually live as a Belmont, only that it was “fine” and “no one was lonely in this house”. Even when staring up at the portrait of Leon Belmont, he says nothing and instead firmly grips the very weapons which his ancestor must have also wielded.

It’s clear that Trevor feels no shame, bitterness, or lack of respect towards his family history despite the hardships that have come with it. Still, it’s difficult for him to truly accept the duty of being a Belmont and Trevor continually struggles with it over the course of two full seasons. Upon arriving at the ruined city of Gresit which is under constant threat of night creature attacks, Trevor doesn’t seem particularly concerned with the people’s plight or with helping them. He inquires about what’s been happening by speaking with a few local merchants but it’s only in order for him to gain a better picture of the situation that Gresit finds itself in. Otherwise, he’s simply passing through on his way to another tavern, fist fight, sleeping spot, or all three. Until he puts aside his own needs for self-protection in favour of saving an elder Speaker (a fictionalised group of nomads original to the Castlevania show who have made it their mission to help less fortunate communities and pass on their histories via oral tradition) from a potential hate crime committed by two supposed men of the cloth.

This moment acts as a representation of the first chip in Trevor’s carefully maintained armour. During the bar fight, he claimed over and over again that he was a Belmont in both skill and purpose. However, Trevor hasn’t done much to prove such a proclamation. Because of his ennui and poor coping mechanisms due to lingering trauma, he’s been all talk and not a lot of action—until this point. At first he tells himself to walk away, this sort of confrontation doesn’t concern him. Then he remembers where he comes from and uses the very same family heirloom to help someone physically weaker than himself.

Yet when he accompanies the elder back to where the other Speakers have found shelter from the monsters repeatedly demanding their heads as well as future night creature attacks, Trevor’s metaphorical walls are erected back up. He won’t take any part in this eradication of humanity whether as a victim or perpetrator and especially not to stop it. The people of Wallachia made their choice in the unjust murder of Dracula’s innocent wife, they made their choice when they decided to massacre what was left of his family, and the church made their choice when they decided to fight Dracula’s armies themselves without the Belmonts. Why should he lift a finger (or whip) to save the masses?

Despite this nihilistic attitude, Trevor proves to be a poor defeatist. He still desperately wants to protect the Speakers and warns them of an oncoming pogrom planned for them. A massive hate crime fueled by superstition and facilitated by the corrupt Bishop of Gresit which will supposedly save the city from night creature ambushes (this can be interpreted as a direct allegory meant to comment on how minority groups such as Jewish and Romani communities were used as scapegoats during the Mediaeval period). However, the Speakers refuse to budge and decide to face the angry and misled crowds head-on. They instead tell Trevor to leave in their place which, in a burst of frustration, spurs him to finally act like a member of his clan should.

What follows next is one of the most defining moments of the series for Trevor, cementing his place as a Belmont. Another corrupt member of the church demands to know what he could possibly stand to gain from fighting back considering his downtrodden state and the fact that he’s entirely outnumbered. Trevor’s answer is simple: nothing. The Belmonts don’t protect everyday people for any great reward or because of any strong personal ties. They do it because it’s their duty and the right thing to do. Trevor even mirrors something which the elder Speaker told him; a family mantra that encompasses the very purpose of the Belmonts, dating back to Leon: “It’s not the dying that frightens us. It’s never having stood up and fought for you.”

Trevor’s healing journey does not end at this moment. He still has moments of hesitation where someone like Alucard has to forcibly remind him of his place as Belmont, saying he needs to choose whether he’s really the last of a long line of hunters or a drunkard. This leads to a fight sequence that nearly spans the length of an entire episode where Trevor further proves himself by taking on at least three different creatures all with varying degrees of strength, skill, and fortitude. Episode six of season two is the ideal example of not only Trevor’s determination but also his quick thinking. Moments such as him wrapping his cloak around his hand so that it doesn’t get cut while his sword slices through the throat of a minotaur or using a set of sticks to beat against an adversary when his whip is knocked away. Being a Belmont means using one’s intellect (no matter how unconventional it may seem) as well as one’s muscles.

There is also another albeit less violent instance at the start of season three where he still feels the need to hide his surname while in an unfamiliar village. Then there is the revelation that malicious stories about the Belmonts and their supposed demise still circulate amongst rural Wallachian communities. Yet despite coming from a family of old killers (a term Trevor uses before facing off against Death in the final season) his family name remains his strength and the weight of both the Vampire Killer and Morningstar whip keep him grounded rather than burden him. The Belmont name carries such weight throughout the series that by the end, there is strong consideration from Alucard of naming a new township nestled in the shadow of Dracula’s castle after that family.

Trevor deals with his pain and trauma quietly, almost numbing it with the assistance of alcohol and dodging the harder questions regarding what his family was really like. He still finds strength in remembering what the Belmonts are here for despite the tribulations that come with the family name. Hardships that continue and evolve nearly three hundred years later.

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THE THINGS THAT MAKE ME WHO I AM: RICHTER BELMONT & STRENGTH FROM LOVE

Depending on what sort of mood you might find the author of this essay in, their favourite Castlevania game will vary. At the moment, it’s a three way tie between Symphony of the Night for its artistry, Lament of Innocence for its story and characterisation, and Aria of Sorrow for its evolved gameplay. However, one personal decision remains relatively consistent no matter the mood or time of day: Richter Belmont is the author’s favourite Belmont and the inclusion of him in the latest animated adaptation Castlevania: Nocturne has only cemented that fact.

It makes sense from both a narrative and marketing standpoint as to why we’ve suddenly gone from the events of Dracula’s Curse/Curse of Darkness depicted in the previous series all the way three hundred years later to Rondo of Blood . Narratively, Richter and his companion Maria Renard already have a direct link to Alucard through the events of Symphony , which Nocturne will most likely cover and be inspired by in its second season. Marketing wise while also appealing to the largest demographic possible (even those less familiar with the games), amongst more recurring characters like Dracula and Alucard, Richter is arguably one of the most recognisable Castlevania figures right down to his design.

Certain traits and visual motifs of other Belmonts have changed drastically over the years and with each iteration. Meanwhile, from Rondo and Symphony , to Harmony of Despair and the mobile game Grimoire of Souls , to finally Nocturne and the inclusion of Richter as a playable character in the fighting game Super Smash Bros Ultimate , specific elements of Richter never waver. This includes his blue colour scheme, his tousled brown hair, and his iconic white headband. All of which carry over in the first season of Nocturne which not only expands upon Richter’s character first established in Rondo of Blood but also further examines said character.

For example, Richter’s true introduction directly following the downer cold opening is without a doubt the farest cry from Trevor’s. While Trevor’s first scene acted as a sobering depiction of what happens when physically/mentally damaging coping mechanisms mix with unacknowledged grief, Richter’s first fight gets the audience’s blood pumping, complete with a triumphant musical score and a showcase of his skill with the Vampire Killer. Richter is cocky, but not reckless. He’s sarcastic, but not sullen like Trevor was. Because of his upbringing after the death of his mother, filled with positive affirmations, he values the wellbeing of others along with their fighting experience. Yet his confidence does not overshadow his acknowledgement of the family burden. Richter is well aware of how heavy the Belmont legacy and duty can weigh upon an individual’s shoulders along with how closely it can tie itself around a person’s life and their death—a reminder as well as memory which haunts him for nine years.

When Nocturne begins, its first major fight sequence takes place between Richter’s mother Julia Belmont (an original character for the show) and the vampire Olrox, an enemy taken from Symphony of the Night now reimagined as a seductive, complex Indigenous vampire on his own path towards vengeance against the very person who took away the one he loved most in this world—just one of many thematic parallels to the first series, this time referencing Dracula’s motives and justification for his grief. Just when it seems like Julia has the upper hand thanks to her magical prowess, Olrox transforms and ends her life in a swift yet brutal manner. All of which happens right before ten-year-old Richter’s eyes.

Julia was simply doing her duty as a vampire hunter and her life as a Belmont ended the same as most of her ancestors did: in battle while fighting for the life of another. Why then did it hurt Richter most of all? Why does it haunt him well into his early adult years? And why was it seemingly more so than how Trevor’s trauma haunted him? There are two probable answers to this, one being that Richter was only a child, directly confronted by the cause for his mother’s sudden and graphic death with no way of fighting back despite being a Belmont.

In the case of Trevor, although he was a few years older than Richter when his entire family and ancestral home were burned in front of his eyes presumably by the same people they were supposed to be defending, the circumstances which followed them afterwards are vastly different. For nine years Richter was surrounded by those who loved and cared for him whereas Trevor only had himself and the hoards of average Wallachians who hated him because of superstitious rumours and the church’s condemnation. Trevor had over a decade’s worth of experience in becoming desensitised to his pain and trauma, masking it beneath self deprecation and numbing it with alcohol. He wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was a deeply sad and lonely individual until Sypha pointed it out to him.

Despite his bravado and brighter personality than his ancestor, Richter is also an incredibly sad, hurt person who suffers somewhat from tunnel vision. He obviously has empathy and wants to protect people from monsters, vampires, and the like. More so than Trevor did during his introduction before his moment of self-made rehabilitation. However, he doesn’t seem to care much about the revolution itself or what it stands for. He attends Maria’s rally meetings but he doesn’t take active part in them, opting to stay back and keep a watch out for any vampire ambushes. He admits that he doesn’t really listen to Maria’s speeches about liberty, equality, and fraternity. And in the most prominent example of his disillusionment with fighting for a larger righteous cause, when given a revolutionary’s headband, he shoves it into his pocket and mumbles about how tired he is of everything.

This could be interpreted as defeatist if Richter wasn’t already trying so hard to uphold his family duty and maintain a level head. He needs to have a sense of control and almost achieves it until Olrox so casually confronts him in the middle of a battle which Richter and his friends seemed to be winning until they’re forced to flee close behind him. When Richter runs away and emotionally breaks down the moment he’s finally alone, it isn’t because he’s weak or cowardly. On a surface level, it was due to his fear and panic over not being able to face his mother’s killer (someone who has proven to be much, much stronger and more powerful than any Belmont). Yet it was also a form of harsh admission to himself. He couldn’t maintain that aforementioned sense of control and perhaps he never will, not where he is right now at least.

It isn’t until he’s reunited with his grandfather Juste Belmont (long thought to have died, leaving Richter as the final Belmont) that this negative mindset brought on by unresolved trauma begins to shift. In many ways, Juste is another callback to what happened with Trevor. He suffered an immense tragedy in the past and has since spent his entire life drifting from tavern to tavern, avoiding his own grandson and instead leaving him in the care of people far more capable of raising him and instilling better morals within the youngest Belmont.

Other mentor-esque characters appear in Nocturne such as Tera who raised Richter alongside her biological daughter Maria. There is also Cecile, the leader of a Maroon group which Annette joins after escaping slavery. Despite their individual pains, these two women maintain the hope that humanity can be changed and the evils of the world can be defeated. Meanwhile, Juste has thoroughly lost his own hope. He reveals to Richter that “evil will always win” because of how it permeates everything and is far stronger than any Belmont, even the most magically inclined members. No matter how many Draculas, Carmillas, or Lord Ruthvens are defeated, it will always find a way to creep back to the surface whether through the upper class of France or through the very colonisation that nearly wiped out Olrox’s people or enslaved Annette’s family.

One of the first things that Juste says to Richter directly references the sheer weight of the Belmont legacy, all of which culminates within the whip itself. This can also be a reference to the Vampire Killer carrying a living soul as Leon Belmont was only able to awaken its true power by sacrificing Sara Tarantoul. The whip has both a metaphorical and literal weight which the Belmonts must come to terms with.

Yet for Richter, family is maintained not through blood ties, which can easily die out or be abandoned because of generational trauma, but through the people we find and attach ourselves to. Under the immediate threat of losing his found family, all of Richter’s pain and anguish explodes when his magical powers violently return to him in one of the most visually impressive and cathartic moments of Nocturne season one, complete with an orchestral and operatic rendition of “Divine Bloodlines” taken straight from Rondo of Blood as he ties the same headband he nearly discarded earlier around his head. Then once the dust settles and Richter is asked by Juste how he managed to tap back into that great power, he simply responds with the most obvious answer he can come up with: there are people who love him and he loves them in return.

This is reiterated when Richter is reunited with Annette and describes the same revelation when she asks how he was able to regain his magic. Not just a mental revelation but for Richter, it was a physical sensation as well. Just when he believed he had lost everything, something reminded him of all the things worth protecting in his life and all the pain he’s had to endure.

Richter finally donning his iconic white headband is symbolic of not only his decision to actively join the French Revolution but also his revelation that the love he feels for Maria, Annette, and Tera is his own righteous cause. That, to him, is worth defending just as much if not more than the concept of a centuries old curse turned legacy.

—

SLAVES TO OUR FAMILIES' WISHES: CONCLUSION

Richter, both his game depiction and his recent Nocturne iteration, acts as a reflection and subversion of what a Belmont is along with what that family duty means to different members. Trevor found healing from his trauma through his duty. Richter found his healing through love. Of course Trevor loved Sypha and Alucard in his own way, but throughout the entire first series, from the moment he removed his cloak at the end of season one to standing up against Death in the finale, his driving motivation was always to preserve his family’s legacy despite his own shortcomings. The Belmonts were all but gone and Trevor had been exiled, excommunicated, and turned into a societal pariah. Had he given into despair and continued with his vagabond ways, who else would wield the Morningstar, the Vampire Killer, or any of the knowledge cultivated by previous Belmont generations?

But for Richter, family legacy is more of a nebulous concept. It gets mentioned in conversations and we see its varying effects on individuals, but even when Richter is reunited with Juste, the immediate priorities of his found family takes the place of his blood family. This, according to him, makes him a Belmont.

It is also important to consider that we are still only on the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne with season two having been renewed and in production merely a week after its initial premiere. With the reveal of Alucard as a last minute cliffhanger in the penultimate episode, it will be interesting to see how his own characterisation as well as his close tie with both the Belmonts and his own family burden will further develop especially after three hundred years within the show’s timeline. One of the biggest possibilities is that in contrast with his youthful brashness and instability that was the crux of his character in the first series, Alucard might serve as a sort of mentor figure or perhaps his own generational pain will bond him further to Richter and Maria, more so than he was in Symphony of the Night . Then there is the question of whether Richter in the midst of the apparent losses he suffered during the finale of season one will follow down the same path that his video game counterpart did.

In 2020, the author wrote another Castlevania -centric essay which detailed the visual, thematic, and aesthetical shifts of the franchise from its inception during the 1980s all the way to the 2017 adaptation through focusing on how these changes affected Alucard. By the end of that essay, it was mentioned that despite the show being renewed for at least one more season, the overall future of Castlevania remained unknown. This is still the case for now.

Though one can make educated assumptions and theories, there’s no way of knowing what sort of direction season two of Nocturne will take with its themes and characters. This is doubly true for the games themselves. Despite the anticipated releases of the Silent HIll 2 and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remakes, as of now Konami has not revealed any official decisions to remake, rerelease, or produce new Castlevania titles. One can hope that due to the success of both shows along with the anticipation for Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid remakes that something new will be in store for Castlevania in the near future.

Castlevania , both its games and animation adaptations, prove that there is a place in this world for every kind of story. In the last episode of season one airing in July 2017, Alucard states what could very well be the thesis of the entire franchise: “We are all, in the end, slaves to our families’ wishes”. Yet even if we cannot escape the narrative we’ve been latched onto or, for dramatic purposes, cursed with, there are ways in which we can combat it and forge our own healing process.

—

MEDIA REFERENCED

Castlevania (1986)

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1987)

Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989)

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993)

Castlevania Legends (1997)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003)

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005)

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2011)

Castlevania (2017—2021)

Castlevania: Nocturne (2023—)

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania nocturne #trevor belmont #richter belmont #leon belmont #castlevania symphony of the night #my writing #god its been so long since i wrote an actual essay pls be gentle with me.....

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lilhealthybean · 1 year ago

Text

teacher's pet

"If I'm so special, why am I secret?"

tags: jjk and suguru geto

note: au, teacher!geto . want to clarify, you are at college, 21 years old, and he is 26. also this seems more like a hatefic towards him, so sorry, i really love geto.

Bell rang, everyone sighed as they dropped their pens on the table. Suguru stood up from his chair to gaze at all the students, pausing longer on you than on others.

"Class dismissed, please leave now, and I will collect your essays," Suguru said nonchalantly.

Everyone obeyed and exited the classroom.

"Don't leave, y/n, I need to have a little chat with you," he said as you walked past him.

You froze in place, staring at the floor. When you were alone, he approached you, and you could barely move.

“You didn’t answer my call last night,” Suguru said calmly as he gathered all the papers.

You began to assist him.

“I was studying for your exam,” you replied. He chuckled.

The truth was that you were tired of him and the relationship you both had. This affair between you began almost six months ago, when he became your literature teacher for the remainder of the course.

Initially, you were unaware of him, but unfortunately, he was not unaware of you. The moment he walked in and saw you, he knew you would be his and only.

Before you knew it, he orchestrated situations to spend more time alone with you. Just weeks later, he had you under his control.

How could you resist? He was charming, always treating you well. Unlike others your age, he knew how to keep you delusional with his words and actions. Showering you with gifts, weekend road trips, afternoon promenades… Was he even real?

From that point on, you became the teacher’s favorite. Always eager to answer his questions, volunteering for anything he requested, and studying diligently. You craved his approval, no, you depended on it. You were a submissive, manipulated student, and he was well aware of it.

“Darling, you know I couldn't give you the exam; that would be cheating,” he said, lifting your chin to meet his gaze.

You despised how, at first, you mistook his actions for romantic gestures. It dawned on you that they were manifestations of your submission to him and his thirst for power. Avoiding his gaze, you sighed. When did this relationship devolve into a manipulative game devoid of genuine emotion? You cursed your naivety, realizing too late that Geto's feelings for you were shallow, driven solely by a desire for control.

Escape eluded you not due to threats, but because of his cunning ways—his knack for twisting situations, gaslighting you, and ensnaring you in his deceptions. Despite recognizing the situationship, you felt lost without his guidance. Not only lost but you felt alone, since you believed his lies about your college companions inadequacy and your need for his supposed superiority in age, intellect, and greatness.

"Why are you acting like that?" he teased.

"I'm not sure," you replied, distancing yourself.

"I think I know why you resent me," he murmured, grasping your hand. "Is it because of the tutoring session with someone else? You're not like them; you're special."

"If I'm so special, why am I a secret?" you blurted out, instantly regretting it.

Despite his transgressions, you remained attached to him, berating yourself for your foolishness.

"Are you upset because I kept you hidden?" he inquired, taken aback.

You nodded, consumed by humiliation.

"Darling, you're a secret because you're too good to be true," he murmured, planting a gentle kiss on your forehead. "If the authorities found out about us, it would spell trouble. It's not just me who'd suffer; you'd risk expulsion. Is that what you want?"

You shook your head, avoiding his gaze.

"Expulsion would tarnish all your parents' hard work," Suguru continued, his tone persuasive. "Let's face it, you enjoy this arrangement the most, right? Dating someone of your league, not like those monkeys you have as classmates, reaping good grades. It's your call, my dear. Shall we go public and sacrifice all that you and your family have built, jeopardizing your future? Or shall we keep it between us, ensuring your academic success and our continued lovely relationship?"

You swallowed hard, meeting his intense gaze. His captivating appearance clashed with his manipulative ways, momentarily leaving you speechless.

"Perhaps you would consider ending things with me, but then you'd lose the privileges I've granted you in my class. Do you truly believe your grades solely reflect your hard work?" Geto's condescending tone pierced through.

Trapped without an exit, you harbored resentment.

"Let's keep it a secret," you conceded, defeated.

How much longer would you endure this? Until his interest waned?

"You show such maturity for your age; that's why you're my favorite student," Geto remarked. "Now, be a good teacher's pet and leave five minutes after me. Tomorrow, I'll pick your for dinner so dress up decently, alright?"

#jjk #jjk oneshot #jjk angst #jjk x reader #jjk au #jjk imagines #jujutsu kaisen x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu geto #geto suguru #jjk suguru #suguru x reader #geto x reader #jujutsu angst #suguru geto #geto imagines

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starlightsuffered · 9 months ago

Text

Stop Studying

Pairing - Dom!Fem reader X Sub!Regulus Black

Warnings - Smut, oral (male and female receiving), one instance of choking, teasing/edging, bondage, blindfold, slight praising kink, unprotected sex, dom and sub dynamic.

My boy was a whiz at potions. He always got top grades. I was proud of him. However, Slughorn had come up with an essay that challenged even Regulus. He was a procrastinator, because he so often could whip up something deserving of a good mark the night before it was due. I was the anxious sort and had finished my report early.

"Baby, it isn't due for three days," I mumbled into Regulus's neck. "Plus I have a surprise planned for you."

"You aren't making it easy to focus," Regulus retorted. His long hair was a mess of curls from how many times he'd pushed it back and run his hands through it.

"You've been working on it for three hours," I whined, running a hand delicately over his neck, squeezing lightly. He shuddered. We hadn't had sex in about three weeks. School had been too demanding. I couldn't count the times I'd had to touch myself before bed as I thought of him. I wasn't sure if he'd done the same. I missed his body and touch. I'd told him when we were a couple months into dating that I was someone who got reassurance and comfort from regular sex. He'd been happy to oblige, but now I was worried. I knew it was only the stupid essay's fault, but my need of physical touch was creating false narratives in my head. Perhaps he didn't want to touch me.

"Can't you take a little break?" I asked. He just hummed in response, no commitments made.

"Fine," I huffed, sitting down to read my book. Although I was a wizard, I did find a lot of interest in muggle books, especially their fiction. Regulus always thought it was odd how voraciously I would devour these books written by people who didn't even know what magic was.

The characters in the book were finally about to have sex for the first time. I felt a pathetic wave of jealousy over this fictional couple. At least she got to suck her boyfriend off, I couldn't say the same for myself.

I was appalled with myself when I felt hot tears of frustration sting my eyes. I let out a string of curses as I scrubbed at my eyes.

I realized that my boyfriend was finally looking at me. He looked deeply guilty. He pushed his thick dark hair back once more.

"Don't look at me like that," I sniffed.

"Angel, I'm-" he began.

"Don't you dare Regulus Arcturus Black," I snapped. "I did not start crying to manipulate you. I'm sorry, it was just my book."

I didn't want him to feel forced to have sex with me. I couldn't live with myself if he felt like I was making him do this.

"Angel," he was standing now, edging closer.

"Don't look at me like I'm a kicked puppy," I said, my frustration only serving to produce more tears.

"I have been neglecting you."

I just looked down into my hands. I didn't correct him this time. It would have been one thing if he'd just had extra work, but he'd been snappy with me lately. I'd also noticed he'd made time for Quidditch, but couldn't carve out anytime for me. Even during lunch and dinner in the Great Hall I could barely speak to him because his nose was stuck in a study guide for 'Perilous Potions and How to Protect Yourself'.

"Come on, let's do whatever you had planned," he said cheerily, sitting next to me.

"I don't want to force you," I mumbled, using the bookmark he'd bought me from Hogsmede last weekend as an apology for spending the whole trip studying.

"Force me?" Regulus chuckled, his breath ghosting over my neck as I shuddered.

"Do you understand how badly I've missed touching you?" He asked, voice dark and deep, breath still tickling my ear.

"I've never been with anyone who makes me feel the way you do. I can't even explain how my body reacts when you touch me."

"I almost thought you were getting tired of me," I whispered back sheepishly.

"Are you kidding me? Don't be stupid."

"I even wore that tiny skirt to breakfast this morning and you barely looked at me. That hurt Reg, you know I was wearing it for you."

"Oh I noticed," he replied breathily, drawing designs on my exposed thigh. "I read the same sentence over sixteen times because I couldn't focus thinking of you in it. When you left for Transfiguration I had to stay at the table an extra five minutes to get myself together before going to Quidditch Practice."

"Really?" I asked coyly. It wasn't that I exactly wanted to keep him away from his work, but it was nice to hear I'd had that affect on him.

"Yeah, trust me, I haven't stayed away because I want to. I have to get good grades on my N.E.W.Ts, you know how my parents are."

Yes, I did know how his parents were. I suddenly felt a wave of guilt crash over me. He'd probably been stressed out of his mind worried about the abuse he might face if he got a bad mark.

"I'm so sorry Regulus," I said gently. "I didn't think about that."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," he replied and his soft lips met mine. I pulled him closer by his Slytherin tie. He sighed happily into the kiss as I gently licked his bottom lip, asking for entrance.

"I almost forgot how nice your lips feel," Regulus mumbled. I wound my hands in his hair. When we'd first met he'd kept his curls short. It was one of the only ways he would rebel against his parents, keeping it long how I liked it. I tugged on it and he moaned against my mouth. I swallowed the moan, so content to be back in his arms.

"You know what?" I asked in a low voice, licking a stripe up his neck. He shivered at the lude contact. "You've been so bad, ignoring me. I think I should punish you."

"Oh?" Regulus's breath hitched. "What did you have in mind."

I stood up abruptly. I fixed my skirt where Regulus had been toying with the hem. I held out my hand and the wizard below me smirked as he took it. I led him to an empty dorm room.

"Clothes off," my tone changed the second the door was locked. I noted the enthusiastic look on Regulus's face. He knew our roles when it came to the bedroom. I took care of him, I was in charge. Nothing got him more excited than the dynamic shift where I bossed him around. In comparison, nothing made the butterflies collect in my stomach quite like seeing him splayed out, completely at my will.

"What's our safe word?" I asked Reg once he was naked on the bed, his beautiful cock already half hard from his imagination and my tone. Regulus rolled his eyes. He'd never once needed the safe word, but seeing as I liked to spice things up and push him pretty far, I always made sure I reminded him of the word before we started.

"Hinkypunk" he responded, arms crossed like a petulant child.

"Excellent," I responded with a devilish grin as I mumbled "Incarcerous"

Regulus let out a squeak of surprise as ropes bound his ankles and wrists to the bed. Now he was truly on full display. I looked over his pale slender body with approval.

"What is this my girl?" Regulus asked carefully. I hadn't yet told him if was allowed to speak or not so he was treading carefully.

"Punishment," I replied easily. I mumbled another spell and a black blindfold covered my boyfriends gorgeous eyes. He swallowed loudly.

I stuck my wand into my bun for safe keeping and crawled onto the bed next to Regulus. He sensed my presence and licked his lips.

I started with one hand gently on his throat, pressing ever so slightly, however I was too greedy to keep it there long. I had missed his body. I ran my hand from his chest down to his ankles at a excruciatingly slow pace. We'd see how he liked not being able to touch me.

Next came my lips. I sucked on the delicate skin of his throat as my hand explored his abdomen lovingly. I always stopped my hand right before the place he wanted me most.

"C-Can," he cut himself off with a needy sigh as I let the pad of my thumb caress the inside of his thighs.

"Am I allowed to make noise?" he stuttered. Most of the time, I enjoyed hearing every noise my boy had for me, but there were times when I loved the torture of ordering him to keep his mouth shut. Though I'd given no such orders yet, Regulus knew how this game was played. I was in charge, and he'd better ask before becoming a moaning mess. I decided I wanted to hear how wonderful I could I make Regulus feel.

"Of course my love, let me hear exactly how good you feel."

"I used Mufflliato," I whispered into his ear. "Feel free to be as loud as you like."

He groaned as I sucked his earlobe into my mouth. I smirked, letting my lips continue their trail down his body. I left wet kisses all down his neck and chest before flattening my tongue over one of his nipples. He moaned as I rolled the bud with my tongue meanwhile my hand delicately massaged the skin of his thighs. He was breathing heavily as I moved to his next nipple, my hand now delicately squeezing his balls.

"Common, more," he let out the smallest of pleas. I smirked, my plan going just as I had hoped. I removed my hands and mouth from him completely drawing a whine from his pretty lips.

I took my wand out and got rid of his blindfold. He blinked a few times and tried his restraints. They held firm and he pushed out his lower lip in a pout.

"Watch me baby," I said, drawing his eyes to my form.

I placed my wand back in my hair and began to slowly unbutton my top. Regulus was sitting up as well as he could to watch my little show. He licked his lips and held one captive between his teeth as I slid out of my top. I trailed a hand down my body to start removing my skirt.

"Fuuuck, you're so hot baby," Regulus moaned, hips bucking involuntarily. I was pleased to see his cock standing at attention, veins thick and straining, with a clear bead of precum on its head.

I turned around, sliding my panties down and looking at him over my shoulder. He was desperate to touch me, hands flexing open and shut. I wiggled my ass for him as he groaned. I unclasped my bra letting my breasts fall out. I turned around to show him the full effect.

"You've got to let me touch you baby," Regulus pleaded.

"Why?" I queried as I got back onto the bed. "You we're fine going weeks without touching me before. What has changed baby boy?"

"I don't know how I did it," he babbled, pupils huge. "I could never do it again, I could never leave you needy like that again. Let me show you, let me show you how bad I want you."

"Hmm," I took my wand out, a look of hope lighting up Regulus's face. I muttered two incantations quickly back to back. For a moment Regulus was released and he tried to dart towards me but the second spell locked into place, restraining him once again. He whimpered and I chuckled.

"Baaaabe," he groaned.

"Maybe don't date someone who is so good at charms eh?" I smirked. With that I grabbed his cock before he could utter another word. His head fell back in pleasure as I pumped him up and down.

"Ah, ah, ah," I chided, stopping the movements. "You're going to watch everything I do to you. You aren't going to touch me, but you will keep your eyes locked on me. If I see you give your attention to anything else, I stop, understand?"

"Y-yes ma'am," he gulped.

"Good boy," I smiled, caressing his cheek. I took his shaft in my hand again, making sure his eyes were trained on me. I began to move my hand.

"Oh baby, that feels so good," he praised. "Your hands are magic."

I swiped the head of his cock with my thumb everytime I moved up. He was trying to lightly thrust up into my hand now. I pushed his hips down, a silent command for him to keep still. He obeyed and bent down to take him into my mouth. I started with just the tip, popping it in and out of my mouth, tongue swirling around it.

"Merlin's beard, bloody Hell," Regulus's eyes rolled back into his head. I stopped all movements. Regulus looked up in utter terror.

"I'm sorry, y/n, I'm sorry, please don't stop!"

His begging was so pretty I decided to let it go just this once.

"Don't let it happen again," I growled.

"I won-ahhh," he called out pitifully as I took him fully into my mouth. My nose was brushing his stomach and he was muttering curses in multiple languages. I began to work my mouth on him, hollowing out my cheeks, and using as much saliva as I could. I kept my eyes on him the whole time.

He was so pretty, long curls plastered to his head with sweat, puffy pink lips from biting, overblown pupils. I admired the creamy color of his skin, and the purple marks I'd left on his chest and neck. I also enjoyed the way his chest heaved as if he couldn't possibly get enough air into his lungs. His wrists would be raw from pulling at his ties in desperation to touch me.

"Angel, I'm so close," he panted and I immediately took my mouth off him. Regulus let out a wine, scrunching his eyes closed with need.

"I'm going to ride you now pretty boy," I said, barely giving him a warning before I sunk down on him, taking him fully inside me.

"Fucking Hell, holy shit," Regulus could barely get the words out as I bounced once then twice. I took out my wand as I moved, making his bonds disappear. His hands were immediately all over my body. They went from my hair, to my breasts, to my hips, and finally to my ass to help me bounce up and down on his thick cock.

"You feel so good," I praised. "You fill me so well, fuck Reg!"

"What is wrong with me," he moaned. "How did I ever go without you for so long. How did I ever, uhhh, forget about your tight pussy." He was having trouble getting the words out.

I felt pleasure building up inside me. I knew the excitement of watching him get all worked up had made me wet and near the breaking point before he'd even touched me. I was surprised he was lasting as long as he was with all the teasing I'd done.

It came over me like a sudden rainstorm on the Hogwarts grounds. My orgasm rippled through my body like lightning and I was screaming his name.

"Oh fuck," Regulus was gasping for air, enjoying the feeling of my walls tightening around him.

"You're going to make me cum," Regulus called out. I snapped out of my bliss and climbed off him.

"Did I say you could cum?" I asked. It was hard to be intimidating on wobbly legs but it did the trick because Regulus's mouth hung open like a fish, his eyes teary with his denied release.

I looked at his cock. It was nearly purple with desire and so hard it looked painful. He was involuntarily thrusting upward slightly, just to get some sort of relief. He was throbbing with desire, his cock slick with my juices and his precum, making me even more wet than I already was.

"Oh, you make me wait weeks to fuck you, and you think I'm going to let you out of here after just giving me one orgasm?"

I placed my hands on my hips, pushing out my breasts. Regulus couldn't stop licking his lips.

"You're an evil, evil woman," His voice was hoarse from moaning and shouting.

"Oh really?" I chuckled and went over to my underwear, beginning to get redressed.

"No, no! Please!" Regulus was right where I wanted him, begging.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"What can I do," he begged, crawling toward me, cock still hard and waiting.

I pointed down to my heat with a wicked grin.

"You've got to eat out this evil, evil cunt," I said, waving my hips.

"Come here," his voice was dark and gravelly.

"Oh yeah?" I asked. "You'd eat out an evil pussy? Are you sure you want that?"

"Oh, just give me the chance," Regulus smirked.

"Beg," I said, crossing my arms.

"Please baby," Regulus was whiny and impatient and I fucking loved it.

"Let me show you how good I can make you feel. My tongue was made for your pussy. I want you so bad. Please Angel, let me taste you."

I crawled up on the bed again, and placed my pussy over his mouth. He eagerly grabbed my hips and dove into my heat. The pornographic sounds of his tongue in me, darting in and out and circling my clit made me moan. He was so talented with that blessed tongue. I'd nearly forgotten how many skills he had.

I was bucking my hips forward within mere seconds. I unashamedly rode his face. He groaned, sending vibrations through my heat. He alternated from my clit to inside me. I made sure both his hands were on me so I knew he wasn't touching himself. The knot in my stomach was tightening deliciously as his tongue danced between my folds.

"I'm gonna cum baby, keep going, just like that," I urged him on as he gripped my hips tighter as he continued his onslaught.

"Fuuuuuck," I moaned as I came undone for the second time. I removed myself from him and saw a beaming Regulus, mouth shiny with my juices.

"Good?" He asked, I was unsure how he needed reassurance after all the noise I'd just made.

"So good baby," I said leaning down and pressing my mouth to his. My core was heating again as I tasted myself on his tongue.

"Sorry I've been so mean my good boy," I said pushing his hair away from his face. "Time to make it up to you." I promised as I sunk back down on his cock again.

"Thank you," he said, my name rolling off his tongue as if he were saying a prayer. I began to move on him, sure he wouldn't last long with all the edging I'd put him through today. I rocked my hips on him, spelling his name with my body.

Regulus was shouting a mixture of curses as he alternated between begging and thanking me. He was a blabbering mess, hair pointing every direction from my hands. I yanked on his curls as I rode him.

"Ugh, feels so good when you do that," he groaned when I tugged on his ringlets. His nails were going to leave marks on my skin and the thought made me shiver with delight.

"M getting tired," I moaned, barely able to get the words out. Without warning, Regulus flipped us so he was on top and began to snap his hips at a glorious speed. I hadn't thought I'd be able to cum again that day, and yet I could feel myself approaching the precipice of orgasm number three.

"I won't last much longer," Regulus panted, his thrusts becoming sloppy, yet he was still so insanely hard inside me.

"Let it go Regulus, come for me."

That was all he needed. He slammed into me one last time, leaving me seeing stars, and then he was cumming into me with hot spurts. I could hear him calling my name over and over again as he rode out his orgasm. The way his cock twitched inside me threw me over the edge, and I was calling his name as I saw even more stars.

"That. Was. Bloody. Amazing," Regulus panted in my ear after collapsing on top of me. "I don't think it's ever been that good."

"See what you were missing?" I giggled, gently running my fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry for neglecting you love," he said pressing a kiss to my temple.

"I'm assuming, after that, it won't happen again?" I chuckled examining his still blissed out expression.

"Hell no, I'm not going that long without fucking you ever again."

#reader insert #x reader #timothee chalamet #timothee chamalet #timothée chalamet #timothee fanfic #timothee imagine #timothee x reader #timothee x y/n #timothee x you #regulus black nasty #regulus black x reader #regulus black fanfiction #regulus deserved better #regulus black #stop studying #timothée chalamet smut #timothee chalamet smut

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herefortheships · 8 months ago

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What do you think of the Bj and Lydia controversy due to age?

You know, the short answer I have for this is that I do not think it should be an issue that's even brought up anymore. Lydia is now an adult woman in her 50s; plenty of people end up with a partner who is 10+ years older than them, meaning that they would have been a full adult if they would have come across their partner at sixteen. And that's just speaking about the real world; let's not forget Beetlejuice and the characters in that world are all a work of fiction. I don't think the fact that they met when she was a teenager all those years ago should even be an issue to ship it or not. As a matter of fact, people can ship whatever they want. They can even ship it in the first film and it's not an issue... Shipping in itself is inherently innocent. These characters and the situations around them don't even exist, and therefore, whatever you imagine with them, has no effect in the real world. Shipping is no different from a kid grabbing a couple of dolls and making them kiss. It's all in good fun.

Let me tell you, I had written a long freaking essay under this question 😅, but I decided to leave all of that for a separate post. But a few notable points from that essay which I think would be good to include here are the following.

Back in the 90s and early 2000s we had ships with pretty big age gaps on network TV and nobody batted an eye about the age gap (as far as I'm concerned). I'm talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer specifically in this post. This was before social media, but as far as magazines and fandom spaces go, I'm sure the discussions around Buffy's love interests in BTVS centered around which hot vampire was better for Buffy, Angel or Spike. (Even nowadays we see this kind of article, exhibit A). And you don't see these articles starting with disclaimers and trigger warnings, either.

For those who haven't watched BTVS, Angel was around 240-something when he slept with 17 year old Buffy. He slept with her the night she turned 17, by the way; they were already together while she was 16. At the time he was turned into a vampire, Angel was around 26 years old. Angel met Buffy when she was 16, but he was stalking watching Buffy since she was 15:

youtube

Now about Spike. Spike met Buffy when she was 16, but he didn't actually become obsessed with her until she was around 20. Still, they got together and it wasn't ever an issue that he met her when she was a teenager. In Spike's case, he did stick around and interacted with Buffy multiple times before they started dating. In Betelgeuse's case, we know that while he watched Lydia from afar, he never actually managed to interact or even be seen by her during the years they were apart.

A lot of antis throw around the word "grooming" around Beetlebabes; I don't think they understand the meaning of that word. To put it simple, to groom someone is to condition them and emotionally manipulate them for years into a certain behavior, in this context, into falling in love or becoming sexually involved with the groomer. This term, therefore, cannot and will not ever apply to Betelgeuse and Lydia's relationship (it also does not apply to Spuffy, while we're at it). How can it? When they only had a few interactions over 30+ years ago and only met now after all that time.

And about those interactions in the first movie, the fact that Betelgeuse attempted to marry Lydia is attached to an idea of sexual inappropriateness only when that particular idea is projected onto what actually happened in that scene. Objectively, for Betelgeuse, marrying Lydia was a means to an end; there was no sexual or romantic implications in their marriage in that movie.

I believe in the case of Betelgeuse x Lydia versus ships like Buffy x Angel or Buffy x Spike, people are quick to see an issue in one where they never notice an issue in the other for the following reason: While Angel and Spike are hot, young-looking vampires, Betelgeuse is gross and does look like a dead guy. That is literally the difference. Spike and Angel are good-looking hotties; Betelgeuse... I love him lots and he is hot for me, but he is not conventionally attractive. I bet you if Betelgeuse looked like Michael Keaton did playing Bruce Wayne... People wouldn't have an issue that he's lusting after 50-something year old Winona Ryder, (also a hottie herself btw).

Let's add here before I close off this post that both Angel and Spike did objectively horrible things to Buffy when they were soulless (Angel while Buffy was still a minor), and meanwhile Betelgeuse has never harmed Lydia (no, the insta-pregnancy didn't harm her; everything that happened in that scene was an illusion). He didn't even behave inappropriately toward her in the first film when he was wilder and hornier than he is now. And yet shipping Bangel or Spuffy (last I checked lol) isn't widely seen as problematic. I ship Spuffy to the moon and back, and used to ship Bangel as well at some point 🤷🏻‍♀️ and I haven't seen people attacking shippers nor have I seen discussions of these ships being inappropriate (though I'm sure there must be... it's 2024 and the purity culture fandom infection has spread widely), not in the way I see Beetlebabes fans being harassed.

Anyway, I wrote a separate post about this and will post it eventually. This wasn't meant to be this long, but here we are 😅.

#Beetlebabes #anons #anon #anon questions #answers #beetlejuice x Lydia #beetlejuice #Betelgeuse x Lydia #beetlejuice beetlejuice #beetlejuice meta #beetlebabes meta #things i write #in which I'm rambling about Beetlejuice again #Sorry I write such long posts all the time 😅#long post #long post for ts #fandom discourse #just in case

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kyleetryme · 6 months ago

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can you say the whole weeks au storyline so its easier to understand or would that be spoilers?

noo its okay!! ive actually revamped it a lot, bc I realized that SO many of the characters and were a lot ooc--reynolds, maria, laf and shit etc I was a bit. eugghg back then lol ( I chat gptd this )

Washington - president of the US and CEO of Washington law firm

King George lll - king of England and Samuel is bros assistant Alex,aaron,james,thomas - lawyers

John,lee,peggy,reynolds - detectives

laf,herc - spies

Eliza(Washingtons assistant)Angelica,mariah-- evidence and med lab

President George Washington runs a prestigious international detective law firm with the Hamilton cast in various roles. Alexander Hamilton has a secret crush on Aaron Burr, leading to some funny moments before they eventually start dating. While working on a high-profile case against businessman Levi Weeks—accused of murder and massive crimes like tax fraud and mafia dealings—in both the US and UK, and so King George, worried about the money loss in England due to Levi and his frantic assistant, Samuel fly to NYC to help with the case. -- Levi manipulates Reynolds, forcing him to cover up his crimes and blackmailing Mariah into seducing Alex. Alex, trying to clear his name, publishes the Reynolds Pamphlet, a disastrous decision that leads to public backlash. During this time, Phillip and Theo overhear George Eacker badmouthing Alex and the law firm at a playground. Thinking Eacker is just a regular bully, Alex tells Phillip to stand up to him. Phillip does so but gets shot, falling into a coma, which worsens the firm’s public embarrassment and Alex's personal struggles.

The firm is stripped of the case due to the scandal, and a furious Washington fires Alex. Aaron and Eliza are very upset. During this time, detectives Lee and Laurens mysteriously go missing after investigating Levi’s hideout. Determined to redeem himself, Alex investigates Levi on his own, discovering the messages Laurens sent him from Levi's hideout beacause Levi kidnapped them and was going to kill them sometime and Mariah's coercion and uncovering key evidence by writing 51 essays exposing Levi’s crimes. Reynolds finally confesses Levi's schemes, and Aaron catches Levi selling stolen goods. When Levi attempts to kill Aaron, Alex shoots Levi dead in a dramatic confrontation. Though Alex risks arrest, he hands over his evidence, reopening the case for the firm. James and Thomas successfully close the case in court, proving Levi guilty, Aaron Eliza and the firm forgive Alex, James, and Mariah cause in reality, --this all was Levi's complex plan. hamburr is back tg and the police bring Laurens and lee back yay

relationships basically Thomas and James, childhood best friends with lingering tension due to James's ex gf Dolly grow closer as they work together on the case. Dolly, who was actually working for Levi alongside George Eacker and Ariana ("Bullet"), is exposed, leading James to break up with her. Thomas and James secretly root for Alex’s downfall to help their prosecuting side but are unaware of Levi’s role in Alex’s scandal. Washington and King George, once just political allies, develop a romantic relationship--same case for changelica etc while mullette was already the fucking powercouple!!!! Aaron fights Theo sr for custody over Theo jr cause she wasn't treating the kid well and he wins yay In the end, (love Theo sr but in this au we need drama!) the case brings some closer while testing others, but the firm comes out stronger, and Washington rehires Alex as his top lawyer.

timeline: set in present time (2020s or 2024 anything) New York City during the christmas time.

ok this was a WHOLE LOTTA YAP im sorry but I really hope the storyline makes sense whatsoever <3

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hadleysmis · 8 months ago

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There's just so many things I want to say about the 1903 Su Manshu's translation of Les Misérables

It is a unique AU adaptation fanfic translation

I will put some kind of a list of observations that is sorted out, since right now all the information is falling out of my brain like a waterfall at the moment. There's just so many things one person can keep in about this liquid of an information.

If the translation is so different from the original, do we categorise it as a translation or an adaptation? I mean like, e.g. Jean Valjean tries to kill, then successfully robs the writer's political and religious mouthpiece Hero after he releases Jean Valjean from prison, etc.

The whole thing is so wild that "one of the main characters try to assassinate Napoleon but fails and thus dies from suicide" fact is mentioned in the footnote in the paper I'm reading; as if it's the least of our problems, because there's just so much going on.

Su was multilingual, but probably not in French. Instead, he translated from Charles E. Wilbour. And due to it being published in volumes, and it being hard to get by because how fast it sold, he only have access to volume one, apparently.

Even then, he minused Book 1 because it was too praise-y of Christianity via Bishop Myriel.

Oh, did I not mention? He hates Christianity, and he definitely hates the Bishop. That's why he deleted Book 1: it had too many nice things to say about the greedy and hypocritical Bishop.

「When in the English text Valjean asks whether the Bishop would like payment for his stay, the response is:

“No,” said the bishop; “keep your money. How much have you? You said one hundred and nine francs, I think.” (Wilbour, p. 48)

But Su translates:

孟主教果急忙答道：“不然，不然，一定要算饭钱的。你共有多少钱呢？你曾说你有一百零九个银角子。” (Su, p. 58)

Bishop Myriel answered in a hurry as expected, “Yes, yes, of course. You have to pay for your meal. How much money do you have in total? You told me you have one hundred and nine silver coins.”」

(Li Li, Su Manshu’s Adaptation of Les Misérables: The Manipulation of a Bridging Text in an Activist Translation. Translation and Literature. 2022)

Li Li suggests it might've also been because Su wasn't as fluent in English as we thought as well, since there are some misunderstandings of meaning (that bears no political or religious sway) in his translation.

On the topic of translation, there is also an excerpt I would like to share.

Su was writing during the nearing end of Qing Dynasty, and he was against the said Dynasty and thus was a revolutionist. If people were too critical and loud about their thoughts on the governing body and Confucianism, then the ruling class would've prosecuted him.

And thus, he had to cover his tracks and make sure he wasn't caught saying anything incriminating. He did this with his self-insert Ming Nande, and he did it with other contexts such as here:

[Quote:]

「In this moment Nande knew it was the girl that he was worrying about. Then he affectionately held up her slim waist and kissed her several times (This is a western custom, please don't be surprised!)."

这时，男德才知道是他心里所惦记的美人，急忙亲亲热热地用手一把搂住那美人的细腰，连亲了几个嘴（这是西俗，看官别要见疑）」

(Translation by Li Li, 2022)

I will definitely talk about this more at a later date because I have to go to Scotland, so I'm probably going to be travel-stressing xD

Even though I can't share the PDF of the essay paper that I have, I do have the link to a publicly shared webpage by the same author with her summarised thoughts on this translation, so please take a look if you're interested!

#les mis #china #su manshu #translation

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str0yberries · 2 years ago

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Work in progress

After yesterday’s poll, the fifth au was the winning one!! Basically, Aoi is a writer who has been obsessed with true crimes, and so, her work falls under murder mysteries. A dedicated fan takes the credit for her work by accomplishing it for her. Police are unsure who the criminal is, none of them would have ever suspected Chief Minamoto to be responsible for reproducing those horrific scenes. Aoi gets wrongly accused, and Teru is the only one who believes she's innocent. (A lot of backstabbing in this AU, and he obviously manipulates everyone to blame an innocent person by the end of it.)

Here is what I’ve written so far:

Aoi Akane knows three things for certain in this world: socialization drains her until there is nothing left but the typical human flesh and bones, pickled vegetables are the best food in the world unless it's zucchini, and finally, that she’s going to murder whoever decided to spread their virus, making her sick on such a beautiful snowy afternoon. Her mother is away due to society's pressuring need of her in this instant with something called work so she’s been fueling on random things she found in the older lady’s pantry until she seriously wonders if she should simply get this over with and uber eat whatever she was craving. Her throat is growing dry but just the thought of escaping her cocoon of blankets seems more exhausting so instead she contemplates how long she could go without fluids before dying. She’s certainly halfway there by now, the purple haired girl guessed.

Aoi taps her fingers nervously on the couch as her computer lays on her lap. She has one more closing paragraph in her essay before she never has to stress about paying rent again, but she’s been staring at the blinking cursor for over an hour. It’s a summary paragraph for her first book. She’s already done the worst. But he can’t bring herself to concentrate. The date is covered in colorful stickers and the sight makes her stomach acid rises up in her throat. She doesn't want to deal with her assistant or her editor, both of them disgusting her slightly. Her big translucid glasses slide down her nose, she tries to fix them with her index, only to realize her effort was useless as they slid down once more. She gives drinking coffee a chance, hoping it'll cloud her brain instead of sharpening it. It’s a pathetic fail, it brings her back to her boyfriend’s situation. Fingertips fleeing over the rough surface of the leather couch, her earbuds were catching onto each glimpse of sounds. Phone in hand, her fingers traced the screen as she typed away into the research browser, trying to find any solutions to elevate her writing as a way of improving her mood.

#tbhk #akane aoi #aoi akane #jshk #teru minamoto #teruaoi #toilet bound hanako kun #tbhk manga #for the five teruaoi shippers #for legal reasons this is a joke #Writer Aoi au #Dedicated teru #Teru is a little out of character for the purpose of the horror and thriller #I gave this snippet to some of my friends and they fell in love with it

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thehorrortree · 2 years ago

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Deadline: April 1st, 2024 Payment: Royalties Theme: Speculative Fiction about Tarot Tarot cards have long been looked upon as a window to the past and future of human existence. Fortune tellers of old have utilized the power within the cards to advise or warn away inquisitive souls from the potential folly of their choices. What happens when the power of the cards escapes into the realm of humanity with the desire to play out their core intentions on the unsuspecting? A mortal once controlled the power of the past, present, and future. In his innocent desire for companionship, he made a mistake: he got too close to his creation and lost control. The foolish mortal’s artistic magic escaped the confines of the cards and trapped their maker to pursue their magical intent. Walking carnations of the major arcana of the tarot are free to roam and manipulate the mortal world without the constraints of their maker, who has been recreated as The Fool. The Magician, the first excommunicated card, will do anything to free his friend from the confines of art. But can he convince the others to put aside their petty urges and use their magic to help, even if it puts their livelihood at risk? Or have the cards become too accustomed to life in the modern world to allow anything, or anyone, to send them back to a one-dimensional life? The tarot is the only magic left in the mortal world, and they’ve had their way with it for a long time… We’re looking for new, previously unpublished stories that take us on an adventure and leave us wanting more. Genre: Speculative Fiction Word Count: 5,000 – 10,000 Opening Essay by: TBD Edited by: Charity Ayres Anchor Author: TBD Due Date: April 1, 2024 Email submissions to: threeravenspublishing @ gmail dot com with “Tarot” in the subject line Payment: Stories selected for publication in the upcoming Anthology(ies), will receive a percentage of sales divided equally between the contributing authors. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION GUIDELINES We are looking for amazing stories from any genre that are fun to read and will take us on an adventure of epic proportions. Please download our standards template by clicking here ***NOTE*** We publish genre fiction with aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror. If your work does not include one of these aspects, we are less likely to pick up the title unless it is of exceptional quality. What we are NOT currently accepting: Poetry Single-author collections of short stories. Hard and fast rules of what not to send: Fan-fiction: Just simply don’t. It will be immediately deleted or tossed into the recycle bin. Gratuitous Sexuality: (i.e. smut, softcore porn) (Please, we know that there is a market out there for stories in this genre, but it’s not for us. Contact our affiliate, Tanglewood press for submissions in this genre at tanglewoodromance (at) gmail.com Gratuitous Abuse/Violence: While we at Three Ravens Publishing understand that graphic situations can alter or otherwise move the plot forward in ways that the reader may not expect when properly used, these elements should not, however, be the primary focus of the story. (i.e. torture porn). Discrimination: Again, whether racial, religious, social, etc., when used properly as a plot device can become a powerful tool in the authors arsenal, but should in no way become the focus of the story unless you’re writing something along the lines of “Schindler’s List”, “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. And we do understand that to be perfectly accurate, period pieces will contain such things because historically, that is what happened. It’s sad, but it’s the truth. Message Fiction: While we understand that everyone has their own stance on a myriad of subjects that can become very emotional and heated, we will not publish message fiction. Message fiction is defined as: Fiction that attempts to convey a sociopolitical message, as opposed to mere escapism. That being said, message fiction can crop up from many different topics.

The cut and dry of it. If it doesn’t add to the story, don’t do it. If the story itself is a platform for you as the author to get up on your soapbox, then don’t bother submiting the piece, because we don’t want it. Special Note: RPG and game-based stories: We do accept these types of stories; however, your submission may not violate any game’s copy written, or trademarked, content. (refer back to the line above on fan fiction. We do not want it and will not accept it.). As an example, you might have a character running around in one of the popular online multiplayer games. You might want to write a story about your character’s adventures. That, in itself, is fine. Do not mention characters, creatures or the game world itself. Rename them to something of your own creation. We do understand that the muse may strike at any time and that ideas can come from anywhere. So please, before submitting, ensure that what you have submitted will not violate any copyright or trademark laws. Reprints/previously published: We accept previously published works as long as you have the rights and can provide proof (if necessary). Other than that, we really want to see what you have. Payment rates: To be determined at the time of the contract and will be in the range of 50-70% of sales, and competitive with other publishing houses. The hard and fast rules of Submissions: If sending a Query letter, include a full synopsis of the story, the first three chapters as a writing sample and links to your social media pages. Response time may vary. Expect a reply within 9-18 months. We would prefer to see complete manuscripts that have already been somewhat edited by the author. Note: A contract offer will not be made based on a Query alone unless the work is of exceptional quality. Offers, in general, will only be made on completed works. Your submission must include your (Legal) name and your (Publication) name if using one, email address*, postal mailing address, and telephone number on both your cover letter and the first page of the manuscript. Include a plot outline if possible. *Also include links to all of your social media pages Spelling and grammar checkers are great, but they are not foolproof. Review your work for flow and content prior to submitting it. Minimal formatting, please! Indent paragraphs; single or double-spaced text is fine, though we prefer to use 1.15 spacing, with no extra lines between paragraphs; center chapter headers and scene break indicators (###, ***, etc.); use page breaks only at the end of chapters. For emphasis, choose either underline or italics and use it consistently throughout. Use straight quotes and apostrophes, … ., –, etc, no special characters, please! Times Roman 12pt is highly preferred. Make it readable, or we won’t read it. It’s that simple. If something specific requires special formatting then explain it in a cover letter. Please download our standards template by clicking here. Electronic Submissions: Neither disks or thumb drives will be reviewed, so do not send them unless requested. Our preferred method is by electronic submission, but we will accept a printed hardcopy. Attach the manuscript as a Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Any other format will not be considered. Send the manuscript as a single file (do not break it into separate chapter files), so any synopsis and contact info needs to be in the file with your manuscript. NOTE: Any viruses attached to your submission will send your manuscript straight into file-13. (For non-military members, that means the trash can.) Hardcopy Submissions: (for those who cannot submit electronically) Standard manuscript format only: double-spaced, one side of the page only, 1/2″ (i.e., 0.5″) margins on all four sides of the page. We will consider photocopies if they are dark and clear. Title, author (last name only is okay), and page number at the top of each page are mandatory. Include your name, mailing address, and telephone number on the first page.

Hardcopy manuscripts identified as “disposable” will be recycled. Disposable submissions should be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped, letter-sized envelope for our reply (please ensure proper postage has been supplied!). Manuscripts intended to be returned should be accompanied by self-addressed packaging and sufficient postage. We will not be responsible for any manuscripts lost or damaged in the mail. Return packages will not be insured, tracked or otherwise paid for by Three Ravens Publishing. Via: Three Ravens Publishing.

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yuemusings · 2 years ago

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DISTURBING THE READER

A Comparative Looks at Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (LaRocca) & Where Are You, Dear Hear? (Enriquez, trans. McDowell)

*CONTENT WARNINGS*

General Disturbing content, mentions of death (including infants & animals), mentions of suicide/self-harm, abuse & manipulation, brief mention of homophobia, descriptions of GBH, implication of sexual assault/abuse, kink play

*SPOILERS FOR*

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (2021), The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (2009), Saw X (2023), Saw 3D (2010), Happy Death Day (2017), Scream (1996)

It’s hard to say what a ‘good’ disturbing horror is. Is it a story that terrifies you to the point of being unable to sleep? Or one that leaves you feeling disgusted and makes your stomach churn each time you just think about it? Or where you’re left almost in a paralysed state as you’ve been forced to think of a wider picture you don’t have the theological prescription to see? It’s hard to say what a disturbing horror even is because at its core isn’t all horror disturbing? Is Saw more disturbing than a psychological horror like Get Out because it features more gore? Or is Get Out more disturbing because it features more difficult political and social topics? That’s not what we’re discussing in this essay - although I eventually do want to. Here we are discussing the art of doing disturbing horror and more importantly doing it well. I’ll be looking at two short stories for this - Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke from Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke & Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca & Where Are You, Dear Heart? from The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Marianna Enriquez, translated by Megan McDowell.

Subjectivity is the root of a majority of arguments as we’ll all possess differing subjective opinions (for example, there are people who believe the Child’s Play franchise isn’t a masterpiece of modern horror and my subject opinion is that objectively those people are wrong).

But with my discussion of these books I will be heavily relying on my own opinions & readings of the stories as well as looking at the reviews & content other people have made about the books.

So with no further ado, let’s get into it.

I’ve been internally debating horror that sets out to truly disturb since reading Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes. From Waterstones, to the author’s website it’s boasted as a viral TikTok sensation across all of its marketing and that’s more than accurate. The hashtag of the book title has 8.2 million views and the GoodReads page has 42,755 ratings alongside 12,469 reviews.

However, the reason it’s so viral it seems is due to its divisive nature - many preaching the book as far too disturbing, and even relishing in its own disgusting nature. It currently sits at 3 stars on GoodReads.

LaRocca is a fairly new author - the earliest of his work I could find only dated back to 2021 - and is a Bram Stoker Award nominee as well as won a Splatterpunk Award - both for Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. I couldn’t find much on LaRocca except for an interview where they describe their work as “the dark and the absurd filtered through a decidedly queer lens,” as well as citing somewhat controversial films “High Tension, Martyrs, Inside, and A Serbian Film.” as influences due to their “frenetic intensity.” He also cites in this interview and in an afterword of their anthology book that a lack of belief in God he desperately attempted to achieve as well as a desire to fit in with the children around them is a major inspiration and driving emotion behind their writing.

I’d like to preface that I wanted to like Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. I’m a big fan of horror and even more of psychological horror. I went in anticipating perhaps a gory version of Hereditary - another story that relishes in its own shocking macabreness in a way - as both indicated itself as a subset of gothic literature as well as being gory. However, I found I just couldn’t. The first story to greet you at the start of this anthology is the titular (and most ‘popular’) story, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. It’s easy to see why these collections of short stories are named after this specific one as it’s easily the best. The other two stories - The Enchantment and You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over are in my opinion significantly weaker.

Described as a “macabre ballet between two lonely young women”, we follow the rise and horrific fall of an online relationship between two women in a chat room in the 2000’s.

Warnings for spoilers now.

In Things Have Gotten Worse, we’re introduced into this world via an Author’s note - it's not LaRocca speaking in this author’s note however, it’s an in world character who we never see who is reporting on “… the untimely demise of Agnes Petrella.” They assure us of their detachment of the two characters (“… no way affiliated with Zoe Cross’ legal counsel or Agnes Petrella’s surviving family.”) before informing us due to the police report nature of what we’re about to read, “… certain elements of [Zoe and Agnes’] communication have been redacted or censored…”

Off the bat, I really liked this formatting of this story being pulled from a police report. Whilst it was a bit confusing - I had to go back in the book to check if this was indeed an author’s note from LaRocca and if the story was true if so - it wasn’t. It helps to build on the fetish themes as we feel voyeuristic reading these women’s conversations - and every time we see an “[Omitted.]” it reminds us we shouldn’t be seeing this and builds upon the suspense as your mind races; what could possibly be censored in a chat log that already details a masturbation instruction and then a detailed recount of the horrific murder of an infant? A lot of the omitted make sense - like the domain of the emails/ chat rooms the couple use. Almost like the companies didn’t want to be associated with a murder or get involved with a law suit. The framing of the police report that also tells us in the first page that the main character will wind up dead by the end also helps add to that feeling of dread and voyeurism. With every page, you feel yourself walking down a hallway and know no matter how slow or fast you walk (slash read), there’s no way to save Agnes from her fate. It’s a cruel dramatic irony we can’t escape.

Speaking of…

Agnes is a woman on a queer chat forum who lists an antique apple peeler for sale - circa 1897 to be exact - in an eloquent prose that touches on how much the antique peeler means to her family.

This isn’t your regular Facebook marketplace listing. Agnes writes for nearly 3.5 pages about this apple peeler and its history with her Grandmother.

It catches the attention of Zoe Cross, who emails offering to purchase the peeler for her elderly Grandfather due to the possible link to composer Charles Ives. Her email similarly is lavish with familial detail and the two women continue to email, Zoe eventually learning Agnes is financially and physically cut off from her parents due to being a lesbian. Zoe sends Agnes a thousand dollars, taking care of her rent and asking her to keep the apple peeler and not to sell it as it’s her last familial connection. Quickly - quite quickly actually - the two women start instant messaging in a chat room.

About the IMing. Due to the fact this story is the book version of found footage we have no author based description - everything in the book is basically digital based dialogue. World building is hard, especially in such a short space of page without this narrative description, and LaRocca is skilled in giving us just enough to build the world in our head without overloading us with exposition or scene setting. However, I struggle to believe the setting of 2000 - despite the use of a chat room that evokes memories of AOL and MSN, the ‘dialogue’ feels like it was written in the 2020’s. It almost reminds me of the first Fear Street in that regard. I adore the Fear Street movies, but even I have to admit the first one - set in 1994 - doesn’t really feel like it’s set in ‘94. Speaking of, the dialogue is another point of contention. Some of the criticism Things Have Gotten Worse receives relates to the elaborate prose Zoe and Agnes uses - and how it can often be somewhat hard to differentiate between the two voices? In my scriptwriting class at uni, one of the things we were taught is to make sure when writing dialogue, the voices are distinct. Make sure two characters don’t speak too similarly - they need some kind of a unique voice even if they have the same accent as another character. The similar prose styles of Agnes and Zoe does lead to a bit of a difficult time reading - it can take a while to realise who’s speaking, especially with the IM chat logs and when a character sends multiple emails in a row.There’s a take you can stand with that the similar prose between the two suggests why they found each other and were attracted to each other, but I feel like that would be supported more if there was another characters speech we could compare that to - but with the nature of the story and formatting we don’t have that. Even the author’s note uses lavish language and it does still make for a little bit of having to go back and forth to realise who’s actually talking - or, well, typing.

Back in the world of the story, the two’s conversations eventually result in a discussion into some fetishes of Zoe’s. The two enter an online master/slave relationship - Zoe’s demands of Agnes leading to her losing her job and killing a salamander under Zoe’s request.

This escalation of Agnes and Zoe’s relationship and eventual dynamic does kind of come out of nowhere. It’s effective for horror, but outside of the shock value it’s not very effective from a plot point of view.

To her credit, this untimely unaliving of the amphibian does prompt Agnes to leave but she ends up returning to Zoe and the two resume their relationship and dynamic. Agnes’ insistence on wanting a baby leads Zoe to instruct her to purposely contract a tapeworm by eating days old meat. Agnes does indeed contract a tape worm, referring to it as Zoe’s baby and even going as far as to ascribe a gender and name to the parasite.

This part is a point of major criticism shared by people online. A disclaimer, I am not a lesbian myself and therefore cannot be the voice of knowledge on the topic. However, I did some research. I found an article from 2020 that stated lesbian & bisexual women in WLW relationships were more likely to report a pregnancy ending in stillbirth. Lesbian women were more likely to report low birth weight infants and bisexual and lesbian women were more likely to report very preterm births compared to heterosexual women. A lot of queer women in queer relationships struggle with pregnancy and childbirth and as such this plot point has been criticised as a ploy of using something WLW couples actually struggle with as a horror plot point - especially since LaRocca is not a queer women (although they are a queer person I’m not trying to negate their identity). This delves into a larger discussion on representation and who gets to tell certain stories.

When Zoe realises how rapidly Agnes’ physical & mental health is deteriorating, she ceases their master slave contract and cuts communication. Agnes spirals and when she passes the tapeworm she ends up seemingly ending her own life by cutting out her own eyes with the antique apple peeler.

It’s a lot.

Most of all, the narrative feels unnecessarily cruel. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by horror movie villains having clear motives even in the most ridiculous of movies (heck, John Kramer has four throughout the Saw franchise) but I don’t understand why Zoe is insistent on torturing Agnes. (I will note Zoe isn’t an explicit villain but she’s definitely the antagonist to Agnes’ protagonist) Again, the story is short and can only get so much across in its 120 pages but the only explanation resembling a reason for Zoe’s abuse of Agnes is that she’s a domme, but that kind of excuse leads to some uneasy generalisations around kink play and those who engage in it.

Another general criticism I have of the story - and this is an opinion quite a few agree with - when LaRocca’s work isn’t relishing in its own shocking macarbness, it’s kind of boring. Maybe I don’t have the attention span for it, but at certain points I was feeling myself uninterested in what I was reading. This happens less with Things Have Gotten Worse to be fair, but I did find especially in The Enchantment I wasn’t interested and was actively getting frustrated.

And another reason I was getting frustrated was because of my other major criticism - I don’t like any of the characters. I do think this may be on purpose - as implied by LaRocca’s tweet here - “I promise you—reading horror fiction with complex, vile, yes even “problematic” characters will not impact the integrity of your moral character. Not every character in a FICTIONAL book needs to reflect your ethics and values. I will die on this hill because I know I’m right.”.

And, it’s true. Not every character has to be morally good. There are plenty of characters that horror fans love despite their morally dubious or even outright heinous actions. For instance, murderous doll Chucky. Love of my life Amanda Young. John Kramer. There are also morally dubious protagonists in horror, Gale Weathers is seen as narcissistic and power hungry in the Scream franchise, in Happy Death Day, Tree is - for lack of a better word - an asshole to everyone around her at the start of the film. But, at least for myself, my dislike of the characters in LaRocca’s work doesn’t come from a moral high ground. I don’t know who to root for. I simply don’t like any of them. Like I said, this issue is less present in Things Have Gotten Worse but in the other two short stories I genuinely didn’t root for anyone. I didn’t have a reason to. I didn’t have a reason to keep myself engaged in the world of these stories. There’s a reason slashers that set up 2 dimensional meatbags as their only ‘characters’ generally are critiqued and seen as ‘bad.’ If we’re given nothing to root for or relate to, what’s the point? In Scream, heralded as one of the greatest horror movies of all time, nearly every kill we get a chance to get to know the victim that dies and like them - and that’s not even mentioning Sidney who’s one of the best final girls of all time. If we’re not given anything to like or find interesting, what’s the point of the story? What’s the point of us as viewers/readers spending time in this world?

Take, for example, Saw 3D vs Saw X.

I promise I’ll stop mentioning Saw. Actually I can’t promise that.

In Saw X we’re mainly following John Kramer getting revenge on some people who scammed him by promising to cure his cancer. That’s not a spoiler, it was in the trailer. Despite being a morally horrific character, the film is garnering great reviews and people are willing to follow him in the story because we enjoy being around him.

Whilst in Saw 3D, that guy who lies about being in a Saw trap? Fuck that guy. Even though as a dislikeable character we see him getting tortured, we don’t enjoy seeing him getting tortured ‘cause there’s nothing there for us. What’s the point? Maybe this is because LaRocca cites A Serbian Film as an inspiration which is a red flag unto itself. A Serbian Film is once again mindless torture without the plot or any semblance of humanity within the filmmaking.

So, overall, do I hate this book? No. I think it’s an okay/good book depending on how much you agree with what I’ve mentioned. I don’t think it’s a bad book and maybe with a couple more revisions it could’ve been really great. I feel like LaRocca was maybe trying to evoke the delicate torment Black Swan evoked - “a macabre ballet” - but ultimately I feel it’s more aligned to a reddit horror story in its current state.

So can a disturbing horror short story be great?

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed - originally published in Spanish under the title Los Peligros de Fumar en la Cama - is a book I couldn’t help but keep thinking about when reading Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes. Similarly to the latter mentioned book, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is an anthology series composed of several short stories under the genre of psychological & supernatural horror.

Mariana Enriquez is an Argentinian author/journalist. The history and politics of Argentina are easy to see in her writing - especially in several short stories that feature ghostly children and children who return following disappearances. Being born in 1973, Enriquez was young but grew up in the time when “military officials carried out the systematic theft of babies from political dissidents who were detained or often executed and disposed of without a trace.” She describes herself as not “want[ing] to be complicit in any kind of silence; to be timid about horrifying things is dangerous too.” What she knows and what she believes is present in her work. Curiously, she also seems to pride herself in research - asking for clarification and feedback on any male love making scenes from her gay friends. I’d describe Enriquez work as horror that can sicken people that also has a delicateness and preciseness to it - everything is planned.

A story that is reminiscent of the themes of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is the 7th short story in The Dangers of Smoking in Bed; Where Are You, Dear Heart? We follow an unnamed woman who details over only 10 pages her journey with cardiophilia - or a fetish for heartbeats.

Okay, so let’s acknowledge the significant differences between these stories; Things Have Gotten Worse has 121 pages whilst Where Are You, Dear Heart? only has 10 - which fun fact puts Where Are You, Dear Heart? officially in the short story region whilst Things Have Gotten Worse is in the novella territory. Things Have Gotten Worse follows a queer couple whilst the woman’s two partners in Where Are You, Dear Heart? are male. Where Are You, Dear Heart? takes place around the 70’s/80’s but it’s not explicitly made clear and is a more conventional narrative experience compared to the chat logs/emails of Things Have Gotten Worse.

So, why am I comparing these two? I think there’s enough similarities to warrant such. Hear me out! Both books focus on unconventional fetishes - yes cardiophilia is quite unconventional but also the length Zoe wants to control Agnes’ life & actions down to forcing Agnes to kill a small creature for Zoe is a bit more than your typical fetish. Both use this fetishistic relationship as a way to examine our character.

The story opens with a woman detailing seeing an older relative of her friend’s (supposedly the friend’s Dad) penis when she’s a young child as well as very briefly touching on the fact he potentially/more than likely sexually abused her.

I really chose a safe first topic, huh?

Right off the bat with Where are You, Dear Heart? we’re dealing with similarly upsetting themes of someone being taken advantage of. There’s more to be said on that but I’ll touch on that when we get to it. Off the bat Mariana grabs our attention - especially as the narrative voice or narrator - speaks about these incidents so nonchalantly. Similarly to how some victims can end up with amnesia after suffering abuse.

One of the few things our narrator remembers from this man isn’t his name or even his face. It’s the fact he died due to a failed heart operation. That night she scratches an X onto her chest with her nail. She continues to detail that she became attached to a sickly Helen Burns from the novel Jane Eyre - becoming attached because Helen is dying - even going as far as to view the scene where Jane sleeps in Helen’s bed on her last day alive as a love scene (That imagery will return later). She goes on to explore what arouses her even further - as many teenagers going through puberty do - and visits a friend’s brother when she learns he has an inoperable tumour between his heart and lungs believing she could fall in love with him. However, she finds he’s too sick for her to be attracted to him, so satisfies herself with medical books.

I find this plot point of the brother actually a bit funny - not the fact a kid is dying - but it almost seems reminiscent of that cliche of being attracted to the best friend’s brother, this is basically like that! But it’s his cancer that led her to being interested. And with this, we’re invited to view the narrator as a regular teenage girl figuring herself out. Plenty of girls have their first crush be a book character and a friend’s relative - it just so happens she’s not attracted to their looks but their ailments. I really appreciate this framing of our main character - we’re provided context for the fetish in the main storyline and allowed to find a way to relate it to our own lives. It feels like a mature way to handle this idea - it’s not a gruesome spectacle, it's a character study, we’re grounding the character in relatable reality with book crushes and the like.

We continue to experience the narrator developing her sexuality via the medical books she spends all her allowance on - even going as far to refine her interests such as knowing she isn’t a fan of tuberculosis, cancer or the suggested ‘eroticism’ of quietly dying characters in Victorian novels. She clarifies herself as being attracted to cardiovascular disease and purchases a CD that held recordings of different heart beats, murmurs and flutters that pleases her so much she ends up getting rid of the CD due to the power over her as well as makes her realises she’s not interested in traditional sex. She clarifies the moment she ‘lost control’ so to speak was when she found a website where heart beat fetishists could share and indulge in audio recordings of different heartbeats. Even the way she describes her ‘alone time’ is almost medical - brutal and bluntly descriptive to the point I couldn’t put the description in this video without fear of no one ever seeing this blog. I’d highly recommend reading both these books to not only get the full effect of the author’s words but also, make up your own opinion.

It’s a subtle bleed in - pardon the metaphor - of Enriquez showcasing how the fetish is taking over our narrator’s life. Gone are the emotive prose she used to describe the sickly Victorian characters she was attached to. Now she’s taking influence from the medical jargon.

On the heartbeat website, our narrator refrains from communicating, preferring to keep to herself. Until she locates an account where she cannot resist reaching out. Somehow, they live in the same city but choose to ignore the ideas of fate and become enamoured with each other - his sickly heartbeat and her stethoscopes against the world.

“We both knew how it would end, and we didn’t care.”

A statement that builds unto itself, it gives imagery of desperation. I instantly thought of the poster of Blue Valentine - a desperate intimacy between two lovers who no one else understands. It’s curious how the only people that get extended descriptions are the characters our narrator is attracted to or the prominent men in her life. We’re seeing the world through our narrator’s tunnel vision view - similarly to how we only see the world of Things Have Gotten Worse through what Agnes and Zoe give away in their communications. I really focused on the description afforded to this man our narrator becomes enamoured with. He’s described as sick - which isolates him from the rest of the cardiophilia community as they believe he takes things too far by playing with his illness to produce audio recordings. Our narrator also notes that he resembles the man from the start of the story - the friend’s parent with the scar and… penis. With this, I build this image of possibly she’s further being taken advantage of. Throughout, Enriquez doesn’t give any indication to how much time has passed between each event and as such it’s almost like we still have the original young girl in our minds as we read. With this visual reminder of her original abuser and the fact he’s known to their community as someone who takes things too far, it evokes the idea that this man is more sinister than the narrator might be recognising. And it’s a common theme for young inexperienced women in kink to be taken advantage of and I wonder if this is what Enriquez is portraying.

As the cardioplay grows more extreme - experimenting with items ranging from caffeine to drugs - our narrator grows frantic and begins to develop a desire to maim him so as to grow closer to the man and his heart.

“But I think I ended up hating him. Maybe I hated him from the start. Just like I hated the man that made me abnormal, who’d made me sick, with his tired penis in front of the TV, and that beautiful scar.”

The statements about her lover are short and punchy. Whilst the sentences about this original man - the one who now it seems more clear may have indeed sexually abused her in some way (“made me” “with his”) - build upon each other. What’s building? Her rage? Her general emotion? Her regret? I think that’s up to interpretation.

This hatred and association with her previous abuser seemingly influences our narrator to further push this man to his limits. More drugs, holding a bag over his head, even pleasuring herself in a toilet stall when he’s hospitalised due to their play. The story ultimately culminates in her insisting on wanting to see his heart - only referring to the heart as “it.” And he responds that they’re going to need a saw.

The actual line packs a punch, as we fill in the blanks of she is going to cut out his heart to satisfy herself. The ending reminds me of Midsommar - I spoil so many other things in this review of two books - whereas Dani’s ultimate fate is still debated on whether we should say 'good for her!' or 'oh shit, oh no' as she condemns her gaslighting boyfriend to death. In both cases the victim is not a great person but not deserving of being killed in a horrific manner. I believe both endings are using a surface level wrapping of 'good for her' to invite you to wade further into the analysis and realise how the cycle of abuse can lead those who are abused to lash out in retaliation, pain and an attempt to retrieve power.

Whilst not a perfect book objectively, I really adore Enriquez’ stories and the disturbing horror interlaced. As mentioned above, she uses what she knows and more importantly what she can learn from other people’s first hand experiences to create these stories that pull us in and shock us.

In conclusion, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is not a perfect book. The length of the stories have led to criticism of corners being cut and characters lacking development. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is not a bad book - whilst I personally didn’t enjoy reading it I can appreciate the book for what it is and what it was trying to do and I do think LaRocca has talent and the ability to continue in this industry. I’m just a horror fan on the internet with one opinion - you might have a completely different one so please check both of these books out and share your thoughts (be nice about it though please).

So, disturbing horror. We can be disturbed by gore. We can be disturbed by unconventional relationships with wildly imbalanced power dynamics. We can be disturbed by the chat logs between two lonely queer women. We can be disturbed by a young girl discovering her sexuality as it’s not what we’re used to. But what makes a horror truly disturbing? Maybe we’ll find out soon.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SOURCES LaRocca, E. (2022) Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes. London: Titan Books. Pastorella, B. (2021) Meet the writer: Eric Larocca, This Is Horror. Available at: https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/meet-the-writer-eric-larocca/ (Accessed: 13 September 2023). Q&A with author Mariana Enríquez (2017) Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/1c3facd2-28e6-11e7-9ec8-168383da43b7 (Accessed: 13 September 2023). Enriquez, M. (2022) The Dangers of Smoking in Bed: Stories Megan McDowell. Translated by M. McDowell. London: Granta. Cummins, A. (2022) Mariana Enríquez: ‘I don’t want to be complicit in any kind of silence’, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/01/mariana-enriquez-our-share-of-night-i-dont-want-to-be-complicit-in-any-kind-of-silence (Accessed: 13 September 2023). LaRocca, E. @hystericteeth (2023) [Twitter] 5th July. Available at: https://twitter.com/hystericteeth/status/1676404563690045440 (Accessed: 13 September 2023). Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (u.d.) GoodReads. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57876868-things-have-gotten-worse-since-we-last-spoke?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=0KP3oz91cg&rank=1 (Accessed: 18 September 2023). The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (u.d.) GoodReads. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53215250-the-dangers-of-smoking-in-bed?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=yUVz3vAmNQ&rank=1 (Accessed: 18 September 2023). Everett, B.G. et al. (2019) Sexual orientation disparities in pregnancy and infant outcomes, Maternal and child health journal. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6501574/ (Accessed: 25 October 2023). Williamson, K. (1996) Scream [DVD]. United States: Dimension Films. Lobdell, S. (2017) Happy Death Day [DVD]. United States: Blumhouse Productions, Universal Pictures. Melton, P. Dunstan, M. (2010) Saw 3D [DVD]. United States: Twisted Pictures, Lionsgate. Goldfinger, P. Stolberg, J. (2023) Saw X [DVD]. United States: Twisted Pictures, Lionsgate. Graziadei, P. Janiak, L. (2021) Fear Street Part One: 1994 [DVD]. United States: 20th Century Studios, Chernin Entertainment, Netflix. The Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke hashtag on TikTok.

#horror #analysis #horror books #Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke #The Dangers of Smoking in Bed #media criticism #tumblr essay #queer writer

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