dedederedeconstructivist

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still alive, just caught in the head and the, y'know, world

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rei ayanami

[dedederedeconstructivist]

Next time I get to play with the World of Darkness, so that's always fun. But this time, we dare to ask the question: what if we called post-stoker vampirism Transmissible Human Draculaism?

Vampires, Part 2: Dracula and the Neoclassicals

Below the cut, The Pedant turns its eye to the typical Vampires of most modern worlds - Dracula, and the Common Post-Stoker Vampire. Read on to discover the taxonomy of the Neoclassical Vampire.

No taxonomy of the Vampire can begin without due regard to the 'father of vampires', Dracula. The immortal Impaler, transformed for his bloodthirsty sins into the first or perhaps greatest of his kind, is a recurring motif among the vampire specimens of the Anthropophilic Universes. Sometimes this Dracula is closely related to the historical figure, but more frequently the relationship is strictly nominal. This is perhaps fortunate, as the Pedant has already recorded the historical Vlad Dracula as Homodraco homodraco subsp. dracula - a taxon we will not be changing, as it is clear from the gentleman's name that he was a member of a Draconic lineage that simply, through convergent evolution, resembled Homo sapiens. The draconic status of Dracula has also produced some theories that the vampiric condition is in some way linked to Dragons - a thesis that the Temple's various camps all firmly reject, as it is wholly unevidenced.

Turning to the Vampiric Dracula now, we find in him an elegant type species of the common or 'neoclassical' vampire - not the earliest known description, but certainly the best known. The common vampire is distinguishable from the family of classical protovampires and the more divergent post-Stoker vampires, though it combines certain elements of the former and is largely responsible for the enduring presence - thanks to the well known Universal Ripple Effect of particularly prominent descriptions - of Common Post-Stoker Vampires in other realities.

Dracula and his cognates are immortal beings, originating from a single ancestor cursed by God, who exhibit obligatory and exclusive haemophagia, non-exclusive nocturnal habits, the complete cessation of ordinary metabolism, enhanced senses, and several characteristic supernatural characteristics. They are driven into a largely involuntary slumber during the day, vulnerable to sanctified objects and symbolism, and unable to freely cross running water - negative manifestations of their curse that are balanced by the ability to manipulate the weather, shapeshift into mist and various night creatures (and to control such creatures), and to walk the spaces inbetween. They create further vampires through feeding, with a non-obligatory mutual exchange of blood in Dracula that, in the common post-Stoker vampire, becomes largely necessary.

This, then, is description of the 'neoclassical vampire' type specimen. It is stable, it recurs, and it is capable of reproduction. The tripartite test is fully satisfied, though before we proceed to a formal taxonomization, we must also consider the etiological agent. In the case of Dracula, no specific agent is known - it may only be inferred that it was the product of a combination of black sorcery and divine curse - while in the case of many neoclassical vampire successors, including several Dracula successors, the origin is rendered an explicit divine curse. As this curse is transmissible, we consider it an appropriate subject for nomination as well, and will venture a tentative syndrome name for those who reject the validity of exvitus taxonomy.

Accordingly, we nominate Dracula and the close successor neoclassical vampires as follows, with hierarchical taxa, niche taxa, and mythotaxa in order: Corpusdamnatio (sanguophaga) draculii (that is, Draculas of the genus 'Damned Corpses' and subgenus of 'Blood-Eaters'.) Homo damnatus anthropophagus tenebris (or, 'Damned man who eats men in the shadows') Wampyricus neowampyricus alterphobosmetaphoridae (Neo-Vampire as Metaphor for a Fear of Otherness)

We also briefly note that the Corpusdamnatio genus is a broad category of 'damned/unholy' corpses within the broader Animacorpusidae family, tracing back to the Exvitus Superdomain - things that, having ceased to be alive, are in some way altered sufficiently as to constitute new species for taxonomic purposes. The hierarchical taxonomy of the Exvitus superdomain is wholly unconcerned with 'evolutionary taxonomy' as the entities in question are quite dead, and what evolutionary reproduction occurs is usually tied to the causative agent rather than the host body.

Turning now to that causative agent, we find in the neoclassical vampires a fairly standard presentation. The blood-borne agent does not physically exist as microbe, virus, or particle - it is a metaphysical contagion, tied to the act of symbolic bloodshed and the consumption of lives. It is of a divine origin, and so we tentatively nominate it as follows: Spiritoviria (malefactum) necroanimacotes anthropophagicetes haemovorilales dracularidae draculagenitorus, with the specific Dracula strain being Transmissible Vampirism/Human/Transylvania/Stoker/1898, and with the syndrome name of 'Transmissible Human Draculaism Blood-Curse' or 'Type One Transmissible Vampirism'.

We note that Type One Transmissible Vampirism's exact manifestation differs from case to case. Many lack the difficulty in crossing running water, while others lack the ability to transform into mist or bats. In this respect, we may find in Dracula the fullest expression of the curse and the resulting syndrome, and the true type specimen of the neoclassical vampire.

We note that Count Orlok, while commonly believed to be a Dracula, is in fact a wholly distinct variety of entity, more closely resembling the various Demonic Vampires we will consider in a later instalment. In the next instalment, we will consider the 'Cainite' vampire in some detail - they appear to be the fullest flourishing of the post-Stoker common vampire's diversity, but paradoxically, also the high water mark of the neoclassical vampire's seemingly uncontrollable spread through the Anthropophilic Cluster.

[dedederedeconstructivist]

I regret to inform you all that grey sludge is the noisy killer.

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Let me know if you think there's something missing on the list that simply must be placed on it.

Vampires, Part 1: Definitions and Issues

The taxonomy of the Vampire presents several considerable obstacles - though none of them are insurmountable, and certain of the methodologies of the Universal Pedant are especially helpful in addressing them. In order of severity:

The term 'Vampire' is broadly applied to a broad range of wholly divergent and distinct entities, all unified solely by the combination of broadly humanoid shape and, usually, obligatory haemophagia. Some Vampires are born members of distinct species or subspecies, while others are produced through etiologies of disease, spiritual curse, or divine punishment. Some 'strains' are Human-exclusive, while others are less picky.

Many Vampires are, where the host is concerned, clinically dead.

Most transmissible Vampire phenomena result in minimal phenotypical changes but considerable supernatural abilities - a combination that conventional evolutionary and phylogenetic taxonomies are unable to adequately encapsulate.

These problems are significant, but the innovations of the tripartite taxon scheme - as much as it is anathema to earth-bound taxonomists of the Linnaean traditions - are particularly helpful for addressing both the first and third. Niche and mythotaxa suffer no difficulty in accounting for rampant convergent patterns of niche and behavioural transformation. Similarly, the second issue ceases to be of concern when strict evolutionary taxonomy is abandoned - the purpose of our project being less focused on mapping the tree of life (and unlife) as it is evolutionarily related, as it is in producing a clarifying taxonomic schema. As with the Mutants of the Black Isles, a Vampire will receive a new species (or subspecies) taxa where the following criteria are met:

The Vampire is not a unique entity.

The Vampire's traits are at least relatively consistent and reproducible.

The Vampire is capable of reproduction in some form.

As with the mutant test, the third criteria is the least binding, but so long as two of three are generally present, a given Vampire is eligible to receive a conventional taxa alongside its niche and mythotaxa.

With this out of the way, we may now turn to an initial definition of the Vampire. A Vampire 'properly-so-called' is: An entity that, having begun as an ordinary specimen of its kind, is transformed by an external agent, developing either:

Obligatory haemophagia, OR Obligatory haemophagia AND cannibalistic carnivorism

And also developing at least two of the following:

Luxophobia and/or extreme light sensitivity The cessation or extreme alteration of ordinary metabolic processes Enhanced vision and/or hearing New or adapted feeding apparatus, including modified dentition General spookiness, including but not limited to: hissing, licking, pallor, glowing red eyes, and allergic responses to sanctified iconography.

This definition omits the necessity of reproduction, as several prominent Vampires 'properly so called' do not reproduce directly - those cursed by various Gods, or the product of improper burial rites, for instance. It also makes no comment on lifespan, as while most Vampires are associated with immortality, this is not a necessary quality of the Vampire. For our present purpose, this definition is broadly sufficient, though we will note a very substantial caveat: several distinct types of Vampire of highly distinct classifications fall within it. This is deliberate, as the definition is principally engineered around those specimens that may comfortably sit within the Mythotaxon of Anthropophagae Noctis Sanguiphila, or the night-dwelling blood-loving man-eaters.

In the next installment, we will proceed with specimen examples, working our way down the current list:

Dracula, though we note that Dracula has already been taxonomized as a variety of homodraconis.

The Common Post-Stoker Vampire.

The 'Cainites' of the Dark World, as described by Rein-Hagen et al, 1991.

The Twilight Ones.

Those ones that keep saying 'Gay is in, gay is hot, I want some gay, gay it's gonna be.' We observe that the general category crisis of the monster is routinely transferred to various forms of sexual divergence among Vampires, but do not consider it a necessary quality therein.

The varied forms of Vampire within the Wrightian Worlds. [Aka, the Sims.]

The Vampire of the Elder Scrolls.

The predatory human subspecies first described by Peter Watts.

The wide variety of vampires identified by White and McKenzie-Ray, 2014.

The curious case of 'the Strain'.

The demonological vampires of the so-called 'Whedonverse'.

If you'd like to see an additional specimen taxonomized, please submit it and we will attempt to account for it, taxonomize it, and if necessary, nominate it.

[dedederedeconstructivist]

I guess I'll have to ask @uze-mie, @gleefulchibi, @iowafashionweekbegins, and @robotics5 but if you see this you are also duly tagged.

Challenging you all!

Put your music library on shuffle, then list the first five songs that come up in a poll to let people vote for which one they like the most!

Then tag Tumblr friends to keep the game going!

[dedederedeconstructivist]

That just means you can't see the other two and are in grave danger

being an EVA fan is grating bc i’ll look at rei and go “my beautiful chud daughter” and others will project their momcon fantasies on to her bc of her waifish figure and airy voice. NO!! ELLA ES UN CRITURA!!!

[dedederedeconstructivist]

Vampires won so... i guess we taxonomizing vampires now

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being an EVA fan is grating bc i’ll look at rei and go “my beautiful chud daughter” and others will project their momcon fantasies on to her bc of her waifish figure and airy voice. NO!! ELLA ES UN CRITURA!!!

[dedederedeconstructivist]

I don't care if it's a meme when you just proven you really do believe it.

Queer people can still adhere to homophobic rhetoric, so honestly I don't care at all about your sexuality. And it's pretty weird to joke about a 15 year old genitals, fictional or not.

Your serious take on other characters are pretty weird and ooc in general. Let's leave it at that.

Kaworu retains memories of a past where he barely got to live his life before dying. When he wakes up on the moon in 1.0 he's as much of a teen as he was in the original series for the simple fact that his brain didn't even have time to develop in the short time he was able to live. It's just stuck in a limbo. In 1.0 we also learn that every time Kaworu is brought back to life, he just respawns in a new grown body, just like Rei, so you can't even make the argument that he at least got to live from new born to 15/16 for multiple timelines.

The only circumstance in which I can see your argument working is in 3.0, where everyone else except Shinji got to live 14 years past 2.0 but :

We don't even know if 3.0 Kaworu is the same one we see in 2.0, as in the movie there are multiple hints that point at 2.0 Kaworu dying.

There are too little informations about 3.0 Kaworu life span to draw a clear conclusion, but let's pretend he did live those 14 years :

He was stuck for 14 years in a body that (including his brain) did not grow, with no one to talk to except Rei Q, who had the mind of a new born and was constantly controlled by Gendo.

-Love bombing: the action or practice of lavishing someone with attention or affection, especially in order to influence or manipulate them.-

Funnily enough, Rebuild Kaworu does far less "love bombing" than anime Kaworu (and even then it doesn't fit the definition at all)

Q Kaworu is extremely kind to Shinji, but he still doesn't shy away from telling him the truth about near third impact.

He doesn't hide the truth nor sugar coat it : it was Shinji's fault and he needs to live with the burden of being the cause of so much suffering. After, he provides a solution (which, by the way, would have worked if the Lances weren't swapped) He offers a hand to Shinji in a moment of extreme vulnerability, but he's still able to make decisions that he knows will hurt Shinji in the moment, but will help him get a better understanding of his situation.

To make my point even stronger, there's the fact that the one asking to spend time with the other after the first piano lesson is always Shinji : he's the one waiting for Kaworu near the piano, he's the one who invites him to stargaze, and he's the one that asks him to repair his SDAT.

If it was love bombing, the one solleciting to spend time together in all of these scenarios would be Kaworu. If it was love bombing, Kaworu would've repaired Shinji's SDAT without him even asking, or worse, he would've broken it just to repair it for Shinji.

If it was love bombing, he wouldn't tell the truth about near third impact to Shinji.

and how is he an enabler in this situation ?? An enabler would've just cuddled Shinji telling him that he did nothing wrong.

He got Shinji to get up and do something about the situation Shinji himself caused when all Shinji wanted was to sit on his bed and do nothing. That's not an enabler nor the definition of love bombing.

And about Rei Q : We don't know anything about Q Kaworu and Rei Q relationship, so yours is pretty much just a headcanon. We don't even know why he's working with NERV. All of this could be clarified with the original Quickening, the movie that was never released and was supposed to focus on the 14 years before 3.0

So anything about Q Kaworu's age or his involvement with Rei Q is just speculation.

To top it all off :

Homura Akemi from Madoka Magica experienced multiple timelines out of the undying love she has for Madoka. Is she a groomer ?

Ryo Asuka from Devilman, too, experienced different timelines just to try and prevent Akira Fudo's death. Is he a groomer ?

it's fiction. I don't think the writers thought so hard about its "nefarious" implications when writing about a fairly common romantic trope.

I said it before, and I'll say it again: Sir, this is a Wendy's drive-thru.

[dedederedeconstructivist]

As the despair suddenly rises in me, I turn again to taxonomy. What's next to be taxonomized?

[dedederedeconstructivist]

oh hell yeah I found the aromachemical that can anchor Smell of an Evangelion.

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WWDITS (2019 -2024) I 4.05

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misato on the hellsite

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eva characters exclusively as pixel grip songs: Unit-01: reason to stay

Rei: Double Vision Asuka: Dancing on your Grave Kaworu: Soft Peaks

Gendo: ALPHAPUSSY (I still won't elaborate) Misato: Pursuit

actual eva-thought posting returning soon - the waters are not yet complete, and neither is Food and Nurture.

[dedederedeconstructivist]

Evangelion "Unlike other mecha, this one focuses on the characters" son or "Madoka is a deconstruction of the magical girl genre" daughter