#it's giving alluring cryptid

[andy-clutterbuck]

Andrew Lincoln behind the scenes of TWD Series Finale photographed by Britt Dvorak

[inga-don-studio]

Work has given me the opportunity to be fired for the funniest/stupidest reason I’ve heard of in a long time (like completely disproportionate to the forbidden deed) and I’m so tempted.

[twizzyburger]

In the Woods

what is that?

part 3!

tags! ❦❀

!!disturbing wording!!

midwestern horror au! cryptid! Ghost x F! reader

Drawn by the sight of antlers peeking through the dense forest, you decide to explore the mysterious woods surrounding the town. As you pass the house in front of yours, a subtle shift in the wind catches your attention, blowing just a little harder in the opposite direction. It's almost as if a whispering warning urges you to reconsider your path. Ignoring the uncanny sensation, you press on, your curiosity fueled by the allure of the forest.

As you venture deeper, the daylight gradually fades, unnoticed in your singular focus on finding the elusive deer. The woods grow darker, and the once-familiar sounds of the town give way to the hushed symphony of rustling leaves and distant echoes. Realizing that you've lost your way, panic sets in. The realization dawns on you that darkness has descended, and the forest, once enchanting, now becomes an impenetrable maze.

Frantically, you look around but all the directions look the same. Suddenly, a chilling sensation runs down your spine as you hear rustling behind you. Your breath catches in your throat, and you strain to identify the source of the sound. There, in the oppressive darkness, a rough, deep breathing noise cuts through the silence. It's an ominous presence, unseen and unknown, lurking just beyond the veil of shadows. Dread clutches at your heart as the realization sinks in – you’re not alone…

Heart pounding, you decide to call out for help, hoping that the sound of your voice will bring someone to your aid. As your pleas echo through the silent woods, the unsettling breathing seems to draw closer. Panic intensifies as you look around, scanning the shadows for any sign of assistance. A snapping sound pierces the air, causing you to freeze in fear.

In the dim light, you catch a glimpse of what seems to be antlers, briefly appearing and disappearing like ethereal specters. Your mind races with confusion as you try to comprehend the surreal sight. Before you can make sense of it, a figure emerges from the darkness – a man wearing a hood, his features obscured. Fear grips you as you lock eyes with the mysterious stranger. The breath catches in your throat as you realize that the antlers were a mere illusion, a disconcerting trick played by the shadows.

The hooded man approaches slowly, and a tense silence envelops the forest. Questions swirl in your mind as you confront the enigmatic presence before you, unsure of the intentions that lie beneath the hood. The air becomes charged with uncertainty, and the once-inviting woods now seem to conceal secrets that are both perplexing and unnerving.

As you let out a trembling breath in the cold, the mist hangs in the air, a visible testament to your fear. The hooded man, though he doesn't reveal his face, takes a step closer, his presence casting an ominous shadow in the dimly lit woods. In a gruff voice, laced with a subtle accent, he breaks the tense silence, "Are you lost?" The question hangs in the frosty air, leaving you to grapple with the uncertainty of this mysterious encounter. Despite the offer of assistance, a shiver runs down your spine, as the hooded figure's intentions remain veiled beneath the concealment of darkness.

With a hesitant nod, you acknowledge the hooded man's offer of guidance. He gestures in a direction with a subtle inclination of his head, signaling for you to follow. As you walk through the dense woods, his silhouette leading the way, you can't shake the feeling of unease. However, a sense of relief washes over you when, after what feels like an eternity, you both emerge from the haunting shadows of the forest.

In the clearing, your house stands bathed in the faint glow of dim lights. The tension eases as you step into the familiarity of your surroundings. The hooded man finally reaches up and pulls his hood down, revealing disheveled dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. A moment of recognition flickers between you, the mysterious stranger now unmasked. The forest has relinquished its hold on the secrets that lingered within, leaving you to grapple with the enigmatic encounter and the lingering questions that accompany the night.

"Thank you..." you breathe, your gratitude palpable in the quiet night air. The hooded man meets your gaze with those intense blue eyes, a silent acknowledgment passing between you.

"Simon,"

he said suddenly, breaking the silence that lingered between you. "I live in this house," he gestured to the dwelling across from yours. You blinked for a moment, the revelation settling in, but then a warm smile graced your lips. "I just moved in... thanks for saving me," you express your gratitude, the shared experience forging an unexpected connection between you and your mysterious neighbor. The night, once fraught with fear, now holds the promise of newfound acquaintances and the potential for unraveling the secrets that enshroud this peculiar town.

Simon's eyes soften, a subtle shift in emotion that goes unnoticed by you. Nevertheless, a genuine smile plays on his lips as you extend an invitation, welcoming him into your home as a token of gratitude for his timely intervention.

Two months had passed since that fateful night, and you couldn't help but notice Simon's increasing presence in your life. He seemed to find reasons to be by your side, a constant companion in this mysterious town. However, his own house remained perpetually dark, and on some nights, you'd discover your window left ajar.

The haunting memories of that night in the woods had kept you from returning, the fear of getting lost lingering in your mind. However, a series of unsettling experiences begin to unfold. In the dead of the night, you wake up to what feels like hands grabbing at you, phantom voices calling and beckoning for you to return to the woods. The very air seems to push you in the direction of the haunting forest, as if an unseen force is compelling you to confront the mysteries that await within its depths.

As dread seizes your senses, you instinctively retreat, seeking safety behind the shelter of a tree. Your breath hastens as you attempt to calm the racing rhythm of your heart. Alas, to your terror, the creature detects your presence. In a swift, unnatural motion, it twists its head at an eerie angle to meet your gaze.

Under the moon's glow, a ghastly sight unfolds—a skull-like mask seems fused to its visage, the pallid, decaying flesh clinging grotesquely to the mask. Antlers jut from the creature's skull, their tips emerging from it’s head. This chilling spectacle immobilizes you as you behold the eerie fusion of death and the supernatural before you. The forest now unveils a repulsive and malevolent entity that stares back at you, its mere presence sending shivers down your spine.

As you stare in horror at the nightmarish being before you, a jolt of recognition races through your veins. Amidst the horrifying features and the terrifying mask, the creature's unmistakable blue eyes cut through the darkness. A surge of disbelief overwhelms you, realizing that these eyes belong to Simon—your neighbor who had always been a steady, reassuring presence in your life. The juxtaposition of the familiar and the monstrous grips you with a blend of dread and bewilderment, as the once-soothing blue eyes now reflect an unearthly malevolence.

“Simon?”

In a strange turn of events, the creature's tousled dirty blonde hair shimmers in the eerie moonlight, and seemingly guided by an unseen force, its bones crack and realign to their original form. Facing you now is Simon, once a source of comfort, but now a disturbing presence. The eerie skull mask remains fused to his skin, a chilling blend of the supernatural and the familiar. The formerly benevolent neighbor has become a being from another realm, forcing you to confront the unsettling truth unfolding deep within the enigmatic woods. Bathed in an otherworldly light from the moon, you confront Simon—formerly known for his piercing blue eyes, now hidden behind a sinister mask that appears to merge with his very flesh.

tag list! @ghostlythots

[brucewaynehater101]

do you have any ideas and lore for cryptids batfam im curious what your take on batfam that are not human or batman is the only human (because batman character is being human) i once found a fic where the batfam (minus bruce and steph cause she wasnt there at the time and i cant remember if Alfred also ) got turned to vampires but still lived normally (i cant remember what the fic name is)

or like if batman was faking being not human what would your take on the idea be

Hmm... I made a post a long time ago about the various creatures I felt would fit each batfam member. If you're looking for cryptid batfam members being based on certain legends or creatures, there's quite a few that would fit each one.

A particularly interesting plot point could be pre-death Jason being human when Dick and Tim are not. Jason gets revived as a wraith, ghoul, zombie, Phoenix, or whatever and his feelings of insecurity/inferiority increase both with his new status and the fact that Tim and Dick are/were Robin as crypids/creatures. Lovely angst.

I find fics where the batfam pretends to be cryptids a delight. I enjoy the chaos, the shenanigans, the engineering, and the schemes. Let them terrify people :)

I prefer fics where the Bats are various types of cryptids/creatures/monsters. While the ones where they are the same are enjoyable, it brings extra when they aren't similar. This is particularly true when the author matches the creature to the batfam member (such as Tim being fae due to his nature of lying, tricking people, and somehow being super alluring [in a friendship like way but also romantic]).

There's two fics I can think of off the top of my head. One of them, the batkids are just creatures. Bruce is human and he adopts them and cherishes them. Each batkid is vastly different (Dick is a type of doll, Jason is part gargoyle/concrete, and Tim is an ancient statue the Drake's unearthed). It was cool seeing how Bruce handled them and their different needs (how each kid "healed" and "ate" was not the same).

Another one has the batkids as more crytpid. Apparently, they are creatures that cause humans to feel so unsettled that they try to hurt or murder them. Bruce fights this instict to give the children love and care.

This fic is a neat one. Basically, the Bats died in various ways and came back to life as cryptids. It's been awhile since I read it, but def recommend

I tried finding those two other fics I mentioned, but a bit tired to go fic hunting.

If you're looking for a specific idea for cryptid batfam, let me know! Any dynamics? Want info on which creatures I think each Bat would be? Want angst?

[ainews]

In recent months, operators of various industries, from banking to retail, have been on high alert for potential fraudsters who may be operating under the guise of the elusive mothman.

This strange cryptid, which has been shrouded in mystery and conspiracy theories for decades, has recently found itself at the center of a new type of scam. Fraudsters are now using the legend and allure of the mothman to deceive unsuspecting victims and make a quick profit.

But why are operators specifically on the lookout for mothman fraudsters? The answer lies in the methods used by these individuals to extract money from their targets.

One of the most common tactics employed by mothman fraudsters is the use of fear and uncertainty. By playing into people's beliefs and anxieties surrounding the supernatural, these scammers are able to manipulate their victims into giving up sensitive information or even money. Many operators are trained to detect these types of tactics and are on constant watch for any suspicious behavior.

Additionally, the enigma and elusiveness of the mothman makes it difficult for authorities to track down and prosecute these fraudsters. This leaves operators with the responsibility of finding and stopping these criminals before they can cause any harm.

Another reason for operators' keen vigilance is the potential financial impact these scams can have on their industries. As more and more people fall victim to mothman fraud, it can lead to a loss of revenue for businesses and banks, as well as damage to their reputation and customer trust.

To combat this growing threat, many companies have implemented stricter security measures and training programs for their employees. This not only helps to prevent fraud but also ensures that customers are aware of the potential dangers and can take precautions to protect themselves.

So, while the prospect of encountering a real-life mothman may seem thrilling to some, operators and businesses are taking the necessary precautions to protect themselves and their customers from those who would use this legendary creature for their own malicious purposes. By staying vigilant and educating the public, they hope to minimize the impact of these mothman fraudsters and keep their industries safe from harm.

[hedonic-sidhe]

Ah, don’t keep them to myself? Love to see a sub who encourages what they want. I’ll be sure to send them as I start to think of more and more. A small read to get you started, the ask game responses really inspired me for this one:

Imagine it’s a Halloween party and everyone is dressed like a big, scary monster. How long would it take until your cock started doing the thinking for you? Bonus points if there’s alcohol and weed at the party.

If you’re already floaty and euphoric from the thought of sitting on a thick cock, imagine finally getting to sink onto one. A monster from the party can’t help themselves but how could they? There’s been a wet needy boy with blush spreading across his body practically begging to have something in him since he walked in.

I think the first one to give in is someone dressed as a werewolf. He could probably smell you from the moment you walked in and it is so alluring. He pulls you onto his lap with his cock still in his pants, using you as a toy to grind against. He’s so big you can feel him though the fabric of both your costumes.

Doesn’t that sound nice? One monster takes you and the rest of the party can already smell how horny you both are. You see necks turning towards you and other cryptids start to gather in front. Vampires, ghouls, orcs, wizards. They’re all here to take their turns with you. Your body is ready and there’s no point hiding it now. You’re gonna be a good boy for them tonight.

- 💕

Oh anon I’m going to need a fainting couch for this one.

I’m absolutely saving this for later.

[waheelawhisperer]

For character opinions Gravel.

God, I love Gravel. On top of being a legitimately valuable unit, she's a fun character.

Gravel's crush on the Doctor is honestly super hilarious to me, because, like... compared to other gachas, or at least the ones I've seen and/or played, Arknights isn't super horny and doesn't go all that hard on the fanservice. Like, yeah, there are plenty of sexy characters and all, but they're more restrained than, like, Fate Grand Order, where almost every character is designed in such a way as to shove as much of their tits and/or ass into the camera as possible and some of the art is practically softcore porn. Sure, we have some outliers like Zofia's E2, but even that is positively restrained by the standards of some of the other gachas out there.

Arknights doesn't have a ton of characters drooling over the player character, either. Yes, there are some, of course there are, this is a gacha game, where a major part of the appeal is the relationships the player can form with the recruitable characters, it makes sense to have some waifu/husbandobait because sex sells and horny players spend money, but Arknights doesn't go overboard with it, and even the characters that clearly want to have sex with the player have well-defined roles in the narrative and distinct, robust relationships with other characters (assuming that the narrative has actually focused on them and they weren't released eons before they were actually relevant to the story, like Platinum).

The characters in Arknights have widely varied relationships with/opinions of the Doctor. Some of them are crushing pretty hard and very open about their feelings (Gravel, Whislash, etc.), some are implied to be into the Doctor but aren't as obvious about it (Skadi, Swire, etc.), others have strong bonds that aren't obviously romantic and can be interpreted as you wish (e.g. Nearl), others view the Doctor as a mentor or a coworker without any romantic implications, some even see the Doctor as a parental figure more than anything, a few don't particularly care for the Doctor one way or the other, and a handful just fucking hate them. Like, don't get me wrong, I am far from unaware of or immune to the allure of a woman who's made it clear that her number one goal in life is to go down on me, but I find the variety of feelings about the player character in Arknights refreshing and like the way the characters feel like they actually exist in the world as their own 3-dimensional people instead of accessories to the player.

And then we have Gravel, who walks in on this weird cryptid person in a mask and a labcoat pouring boiling water in their mouth, and immediately thinks "yup, I want that one" and ruins a pair of panties.

She's just Like That.

Also, she gives kissies. This is very important.

[just-an-aussie-fandom-hermit]

The BatCape

(or: another BatDad moment I dreamed vaguely about because I seem to come up with my best material when I’m unconscious. I imagine this being a blog post made by a Gothamite to a forum or something talking about superheroes.)

Batman’s cape has become local legend amongst the children of Gotham — well, everyone really — but especially children or people who have interacted with Batman as kids over the years and have since grown up.

I mean, how can it not be? It’s bulletproof, it’s waterproof, it acts as a makeshift glider, it’s warm and cozy and heavy. Batman regularly uses it as a substitute shock blanket to give to victims in shock after a crime, or to act as a weighted blanket to calm someone down from a panic attack, or to shield someone from an explosion or a stray bullet, (myself included!). The cape is safe.

Even to the other Bats.

It’s a common sight to see Black Bat, Red Robin/Drake, The Signal or even Nightwing chilling under Batman’s cape at any given time. Sometimes he removes the thing outright to give to them, as he would to a victim of a crime or a medical patient in need of assistance.

Robin always seems hesitant or irritated, but he never refuses the cape. He has been seen clinging to one of Batman’s legs and doing his best to assimilate into the darkness. Witnesses claim that, after making a noise of annoyance, Batman closed his cape further around himself. I guess those Bats really are nocturnal.

Red Robin will just approach and make “grabby hands” at him until he complies. This is usually met with a sigh, but not one of annoyance, more like exasperation. The boy is just perpetually exhausted. Pray for this tired jellybean.

Black Bat has refused it on occasion, simply stating, “dad get cold” (which, side note, is just just adorable)

On the occasions Nightwing accepts the cape, it is either after much prodding (the man’s suit is very skin-tight, which I imagine isn’t very insulative) or he’ll tackle Batman and cling to him like a koala to a eucalyptus tree.

Even Batwoman doesn’t seem immune to the (surely magical) allure of the cape — she has once been sighted taking the thing from Batman outright and then marching off somewhere without so much of an acknowledgement by either party.

(Side note — I see now why so many people are thirsting over our local Cryptid. Have you seen his legs?? His butt?? Legendary.)

Sources have alerted me to one evening when both Spoiler and Red Robin had fallen asleep on someone’s fire escape, so after sending an anonymous tip to BatWatch, eventually Batman swoops in to grab the both of them (individually) and cart them down to the road where he was seen placing them in his car and wrapping them in his cape. A truly wholesome moment on an otherwise bleak night for the witnesses.

Even more surprising was an occurrence close to midday, when Bluebird was seen exiting a McDonald’s only to stop as she was drenched in rain. She must have called for assistance, because soon enough, Batman pops out of a nearby manhole, strides over to where she’s standing and huddles her under his cape before taking off towards the manhole. The entire exchange took less than two minutes, but it’s an event that will surely remain fresh in the memory of witnesses for quite some time.

[ryqoshay]

Putting on Hairs: Dissuasions and Distractions

Primary Pairing: OtosuMoya ShizuKasu Rating: T? Words: ~1.8k AU: Theater, Monster, Cryptid Parent Fic: Putting on Hairs - Post Production Time Frame: Sometime after the main story Event: Fantastic Depature 2022 Event Source: Idol Fanfic Heaven channel on Discord Content Warning: Light descriptions of Noir style violence

---------

Author’s Note: My seventh prompt-agraph entry

Summary: Detective Otosu's first couple days working for Moya are a bit hectic

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Tick. Tick. Tick. Where was that infernal ticking coming from? No sooner than she'd laid down did the noise break into her ears. Augh, this had to be the last straw…

It had been an… interesting day for Otosu Mizu and all she wanted was some well-earned rest.

The day had begun with a mysterious but alluring woman, one Moya Samui, walking into the Otosu Private Investigation Agency office, requesting aid in recovering a family heirloom. Otosu had taken the case and immediately began to reach out to some of her contacts.

While traveling to a local pawn shop, Otosu had realized she was being followed. The driver of the other car was either inept in their abilities to conceal their actions or cared little to hide them. Whatever the reason, Otosu had pulled into the parking lot of a busy shopping center before reaching her intended destination in order to confront the driver. Her pursuer turned out to be another mysterious woman going by the name Kaze Kuki, who attempted persuade her to give the heirloom to her instead of Moya. Otosu had neither declined nor accepted the generous offer and Kaze ended up driving off without further incident.

Then, later in the day, Otosu was attacked by a pair of thugs claiming to be sent by Netsu Kaen, a name Otosu recognized as belonging to the head of the local crime syndicate. They were to rough her up in order to dissuade her from seeking the heirloom at all. Otosu had fended them off, though not without taking a few hits. And while she had not said as such to the goons, she had little intention of abandoning the case.

Finally, she had headed home for the night, having made little tangible progress in her search. She could begin again tomorrow, but for now, she needed to sleep.

Except there was the cursed ticking.

Why was she noticing it so vividly now? It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to the sound of the alarm clock on her nightstand. She glanced at her clock, which was dimly lit by streetlights filtered through her bedroom blinds. Strange, the second hand wasn’t moving.

Wait…

If her clock wasn’t ticking, what was?

Otosu shot back up to a sitting position and began to scan the dimly lit room. Nothing stood out so she closed her eyes to focus on the sound itself. It was coming from below her. Under the bed?

The detective reached over to turn on her bedside lamp before grabbing it and taking it with her as she slid off the mattress. She dropped to her knees and one hand, using the other to guide the lamplight into the darkness.

Otosu’s blood ran cold as she spotted a source of the ticking. A bundle of TNT with an alarm clock strapped to it. The time read 11:59 while the second hand was passing the 9. Was midnight the designated time for detonation?

There was no time for further thought. Otosu grabbed the device and ran to the window. Her apartment was several stories up, so if she timed it right, the bomb would not reach the ground before it detonated. An aerial blast would do less damage than one inside, right?

Otosu silently apologized to her neighbors about to be rudely awakened and threw the device as far as she could. She then turned and dove toward the floor, though unfortunately, not quick enough to avoid being peppered with shards of glass.

---------

“Detective Otosu?”

A voice caused her to stir.

“Detective Otosu?”

She slowly opened her eyes.

“Moya-san?” Otosu asked as her vision focused on her client’s concerned face.

“Do you normally sleep on the floor of your office?”

“No, I just…”

“Oh my, what happened to you?” Moya knelt to inspect the bandaged arm that had slid out from under the blanket.

“There was an… incident back at my apartment.” Otosu decided to remain vague as she sat up.

Moya gasped and quickly covered her mouth in a vain attempt to obscure her surprise.

Otosu looked down to see that her shirt had become partially unbuttoned in her sleep, enough to reveal that her abdomen was similarly wrapped. “It looks worse than it is.” She decided to say.

It wasn’t a lie. Otosu had refused to take the ambulance to the hospital in favor of giving her statement to the police as quickly as possible. However, she had allowed the paramedics to wrap her wounds with bandages and give her a fresh supply to change to later.

Then, exhausted, she had trudged to her office, pulled out a spare futon and finally gotten some sleep. Of course, she hadn’t bothered to bring a replacement set of pajamas and was still wearing the street clothes she had changed into after being bandaged up.

“If you’ll excuse me a moment.” Otosu said as she began to button up her shirt.

“Yes, of course.” Moya stood and turned away.

“So, what brings you here today?” Otosu asked as she crawled off her futon to find her trousers.

“I simply wished to check in on your progress.”

Otosu grunted, a little from the pain caused by stretching her arms out to pull on her suit jacket and a little from irritation at her client’s impatience. “It’s only been a day.” She grumbled.

“I know, I just… Oh, here let me help you with that.”

“Huh?” Otosu tried to step back as Moya approached, but was stopped when she ran into her desk.

Moya gently slid Otosu’s tie from her hand before flipping it over her head. Deft fingers made short work of the knot, but it wasn’t until those fingers gently slid across her collar to turn it back down over the tie that something twisted within Otosu.

It was a feeling she hadn’t felt in years. And while not completely unwelcome, she realized she shouldn’t let it distract her from her work.

“Oh dear, your hair’s a mess.” Moya said, her hands now moving behind Otosu’s head to thread into dark brown strands there. “Where is that lovely ribbon you were wearing yesterday?”

Otosu opened her mouth but found it dry. Fearing her voice would rasp, she closed her mouth and swallowed in an attempt to spread what little moisture was there. “It’s back home.” She managed to get out. “I’ll just wear a hat today.” She motioned to one of her fedoras on the rack by the door but realized Moya probably didn’t notice.

“Hrm, well in any case, why don’t you turn around?” Moya suggested.

“Why?” Despite her question, Otosu found herself turning to face her desk anyway.

“Even with a hat, you still don’t want to leave your hair like this. Let me braid it quick.”

“A-Alright.” Otosu furrowed her eyebrows as she realized she had just stuttered.

Otosu tensed a little as a brush made its way through her hair. Moya chuckled as she noticed the movement while Otosu decided she liked the sound of Moya’s laughter.

A hand landed on Otosu’s shoulder. “Relax.” Moya said softly. “It will just be a moment.”

A moment, yes, that was fine… and yet part of Otosu wanted it to last far longer. However, Moya was true to her word and had the braids done in seconds.

“There. All done.” Moya seemed proud of her work as Otosu turned back toward her. “Now, since there doesn’t seem to be any updates, I suppose the only thing left to do is ensure you have a proper place to stay.”

“Stay? What do you mean?”

“Surely, you don’t intend to stay here until the incident with your place is resolved.”

“I’ll be fine.” Otosu assured.

“If whoever is responsible for that incident knows where you live, surely they know where you work.”

Otosu realized Moya had a point she hadn’t considered the other night. “I’ll find a motel room for the time being.”

“Nonsense, you’ll stay with me.” Moya said, slipping something, very much unsubtly into Otosu’s inner suit pocket. She smiled as her hand slid across the detective’s shirt, causing her to flinch. “I’ll let the concierge know to give you a key when you arrive.”

Moya flashed one final wink before spinning on her toes and sauntering toward the door. Otosu wanted to look away, but found she couldn’t.

“See you tonight, Detective Otosu.” And with that, Moya was gone.

Otosu shook her head to clear it before glancing at the clock. She sighed when she realized how much of the day had already been wasted. Time to get to work.

---------

“I think that’s a wrap for today.” A sleepy voice came from the sheep laying in the front row. With a puff of purple smoke, Kanata changed back to her human form and stretched. “Good job everyone.” The director said before yawning.

Shizuku barely made it to the wing of the stage before Kasumi barreled into her, giggling.

“So, what does Shizuko think of Kasumin’s new braiding technique?” The ash blonde asked. “Ayumu-sensei taught me well, right?”

“She did indeed.” Shizuku agreed, making mental notes to both thank the head of the theater’s hair and makeup department as well as to have her girlfriend brush and braid her hair again sometime other than just rehearsal and performance of this scene. She hadn’t had to act much to portray what Otosu was probably supposed to be feeling and very much wanted to feel that again. Although, “By the way, Kasumi-chan, I don’t remember that part from the script.”

“Yuu decided at the last minute to add it.” Kasumi explained. “And Chika liked it.”

“And the tie?”

“Also Yuu’s idea, but she had to have Setsuna teach me how to tie it. Good thing Kasumin’s a quick learner, right?”

Shizuku couldn’t help smiling at her girlfriend’s continued attempts to fish for praise. Kasumi could be a bit self-centered at times, but it was obvious, even early on, that she preferred Shizuku’s praise over that from anyone else. And of course Shizuku had come to enjoy playing her part in the cycle.

“You did very well.” Shizuku said, reached up to pat the top of the slightly shorter woman’s head.

Kasumi hummed happily and pushed up a little into the taller woman’s palm.

“Will our stars be joining us tonight for dinner?” A voice asked from behind.

“We’ll catch up with you guys in a bit, Nico-san.” Shizuku replied, not needing to turn to see the individual.

“Alright, see you over there. C’mon Maki-chan.”

Whatever the other woman said in response was lost on Shizuku as she returned her focus to the woman still clinging to her.

“We should probably go get changed.” Shizuku decided.

“Mmm… just a little bit longer…” Kasumi hummed as she nuzzled into Shizuku’s shoulder.

Shizuku laughed lightly. “Alright.”

It had only been a dress rehearsal, but success was success. And if Kasumi wanted to celebrate like this for a few more minutes, Shizuku was happy to oblige.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: First off, a quick reminder that in this AU, Kanata is a sleep paralysis demon - she calls herself a somnophore - and is the director of the Putting on Hairs production. I kinda like her as a director, so I'm keeping her in that position for whatever this Detective Noir production ends up being named.

Next, yes, NicoMaki is a thing here, though I didn't bother putting them in the pairing tags at the start as their part is minor here. They were the stars of PoH, though I haven't decided yet what roles they will play for this new production, but they've obviously stuck around after PoH. How many shows have been put on between PoH and this new one, I've no idea yet.

Third, Chika was the primary playwright for the Sonoda Kurosawa Theater for PoH and I see little reason for her to not keep the role, like Kanata with director. I haven't delved too deeply into Yuu's assistance yet, but minor spoilers, she does end up dabbling a little pretty much everywhere in the theater.

Fourth, yeah, I know I gave away the ending of this detective mystery with the first chapter I wrote for this production, but writing scenes out of order as been my modus operandi since I first started posting HtHaN chapters. Also, I've no idea how to write a good mystery, so I'll probably just write little glimpses of this detective play in much the same way as I intend to do with the PoH production when I get back to the main story of this AU. Though at some point, I should probably figure out a way to make mention, in narration, that Shizu records a bunch of voiceover stuff that gets played at various times so the audience can hear what Otosu is thinking. Perhaps a scene dedicated to Shizu's adventures in voice acting is in order?

And finally, Kasu's lack of honorific use with those older than her. While I like the idea of adult, AU Kasu keeping with the "ko" thing with those "her age" - Shizu really only counts via technicality, which I will probably get around to writing at some point - I don't see her calling her fellow adult professionals "-senpai" even if they are older than her and/or have been in acting or theater work longer than her. And it really opens up a whole new can of worms when I try to figure out who might be called what, with the likes of Setsu and Ayu getting into acting at a later date than Kasu and the "third years" not being actors at all. That said, if any Kasu fans want to provide a reasonable argument to the contrary, I am open for discussion.

[wangisking]

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐘

BASICS. FULL    NAME  :  Augustus Alexander Wang  NICKNAME  :  August and Gus ( in general ), Auggie, Ice Prince, and Guggie ( by Aurora ). Aug and Lestat  ( by Jack ),  NAME    MEANINGS  : Augustus is  Latin for  the great / the magnificent.  Alexander is also Latin and means defender of mankind. From what I know, Wang in Chinese means king.  HISTORICAL    CONNECTION ?  : Though, his dad did think of the Roman Emperor Augustus when they named him, they liked the meaning. It seemed to fit him. They weren’t wrong, he was an emperor and he still has that energy.   AGE  :  22. Like Aurora, he can’t age past 22. He wouldn’t have minded either way.    BIRTHDAY  :  5th  April ETHNIC    GROUP  :   Augustus is half Korean and half Brazilian.  NATIONALITY  :   British LANGUAGES  :   fluent  in  English and French. Conversational Latin. Broken Korean. Learning Urdu. SEXUAL    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual ROMANTIC    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual RELATIONSHIP    STATUS  :   Single and doesn’t want to mingle. He had only one serious relationship in the past with Aurora Shams from 2017-2019.  CLASS  :  Upper  class,  Wealthy but not private-jet kind of wealthy.  HOME    TOWN  /  AREA  :  London till he was 10 and Vancouver till he was 17 CURRENT    HOME  :  Los  Angeles PROFESSION  :   Drummer, songwriter, model, and student.    PHYSICAL. HAIR  :  long  and  wavy.  Chestnut brown. Here is an example. It goes down his earlobes in length.    EYES  :  piercing, almond-shaped eyes. Naturally brown, but he wears blue or green contact lenses.  NOSE  :   a Greek nose, straight without bumps. FACE  :  Oblong shaped, sharp and chiseled cheekbones, strong jaw. Masculine features. Example.  LIPS  :  not  full  nor  thin, heart shaped.     COMPLEXION  :  pretty pale. Example is same as the face section.  SCARS  :  one on his chest. TATTOOS  :  a very small ‘10/17′ on his left rib.   PIERCINGS:  earlobes HEIGHT  :  6′5″  or  195cm.   BUILD  :  Inverted triangle. Broad, tapered shoulders. Muscular. Defined, sculpted abs. Long limbs. Broad chest. He was naturally towards the muscular side with broad shoulders and chest. He’s never been on the skinny side. Example one and two   USUAL  HAIR  STYLE  :  he lets his hair do their thing, he styles them a little, but he prefers a messier vibe.  USUAL  FACE  LOOK  :  He looks generally bored. His eyes have a piercing look that seem to be drilling into the person before him. Like he can see right through you. There is an insolent smirk tugging at his lips like he thinks you’re amusing. Almost proud, like he thinks he is above you. There is depth and intensity in his eyes that stare skywards in thought. There is also mischievous, radiant glimmer in his eyes.   USUAL    CLOTHING  :  prince charming meets rockstar. Lots of jackets, darker colors, boots, necklaces and rings. Here is his wardrobe.      PSYCHOLOGY. FEARS  :  claustrophobia and the fear of ending up alone. He always had this creeping feeling that he’d be alone in the end and that he was always meant to be alone.  ASPIRATIONS  :   he doesn’t have any set aspirations. They change every now and then. However, his goals are just to keep his found family happy.  POSITIVE    TRAITS  :  extremely charismatic, intelligent,  academic and studious, alluring and attractive, quick-witted, charming and captivating, articulate and eloquent, adventurous, desirable, analytical, brilliant, friendly, enthusiastic, adaptable, observant, kind, mellow, competent, extremely caring and protective over those closest to him, clever, loyal, clear-headed, confident, humorous, courageous, imaginative and creative, a visionary, refined tastes and manners, daring, dignified, ebullient, deep, remarkable, surprisingly he’s very forgiving, forthright, gallant, logical, gentlemanly and sophisticated, perfectionist, popular, self-reliant, shrewd, witty, suave, curious, and resourceful.    NEGATIVE    TRAITS  :  egocentric, self-obsessed, idle, indifferent, selfish, defiant, arrogant, argumentative, rebellious, kinda lazy, stubborn, distracted, doesn’t really care for morals, blunt, can appear insensitive a lot, is insensitive at times, no filters, can be cold for those he doesn’t care for, emotionally immature, deflects emotions, suppresses his feelings, sorta detached, kinda pessimistic, and unknowingly self-sacrificing because he thinks it’s fair and he deserves it.   MBTI  :  ENTP  (  Ne  dominant,  Ti  auxiliary,  Fe  tertiary,  and  Si  inferior  —  this  means  she  can’t  use  Ni,  Se,  Te,  and  especially  can’t  use  Fi). He  perceives  the  world  by  connecting  dots,  thinking  of  never-ending  possibilities,  looking  for  pieces  of  a  puzzle,  and  finding  meaning  in  abstract.  He  makes  judgments  on  if  what  he  perceives  fits  his  internal  logic.          ZODIAC  :  Aries sun, Gemini rising, Sagittarius moon.  TEMPERAMENT  :  sanguine choleric  ANIMALS  :  parrots and cats because they’re both intelligent but little pieces of shit who enjoy making your life hell.  VICE  :   it’s either his ego or how he ends up detaching himself FAITH  :  currently, he’s Mu.slim. He was born protestant, became an atheist when he was 13, agnostic at 14. Bud.dhist at 15. Taoist at 16. Confucianist at 17. Mu.slim at 19. Doesn't practice it though.     GHOSTS  ?  :  yep.. AFTERLIFE  ?  :   yep REINCARNATION  ?  :  he guesses so. Went  through  it, but doesn’t remember. ALIENS  ?  :  hell yeah. POLITICAL    ALIGNMENT  :  liberal. ECONOMIC    PREFERENCE  :   upper class or upper middle class is good with him.  EDUCATION    LEVEL  :   MSci in Physics from the University of Cambridge. Is opting to specialize in astrophysics soon. FAMILY. FATHER  :  Edward Wang, owner of a chain of fine dining restaurants  MOTHER  :  Elisa Violeta Wang, psychiatrist, deceased  STEP MOTHER :  Chaeyoung Wang, lawyer.  SIBLINGS  :  Cassandra Wang, athlete EXTENDED    FAMILY  :  he is not close with his external family and doesn’t know his birth mother’s family at all. They never wanted him.  FAVOURITES. BOOK  :   Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Galactic Dynamics by James Binney, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Mukarami, Slaughter house Five by Kurt Vonnegut, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. MOVIE  :  Scott Pilgrim vs The World 5    SONGS :  All You Want - Dashboard Prophets, Tokyo Smoke - Cage the Elephant, Where is My Mind? - The Pixies, Sparks - Coldplay, Lithium - Nirvana, and Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra     DEITY  :  none.  Let him argue with one and ask for proof of their deity-ness. HOLIDAY  :  Halloween. It’s dramatic and fun. MONTH  :   October, because he met Aurora and Jack this month in 2017. SEASON  :  spring  and  summer. PLACE  :  he doesn’t have a specific place, but he prefers European architecture.  WEATHER  :  cloudy and windy. Sunny if it isn’t too hot. SOUND  :  drums and percussions, the sound of aurora and jack’s laugh, guitars, violins, the sound of wind roaring, music boxes, and the clinking of bangles and jewelry.  SCENTS  :  sage, rosemary, and damascus roses. TASTES  :  chocolate, strawberries, chilies, and fried food.       FEELS  :   the feeling of hitting the drums, wind in his hair, the cold night air, warm morning sun, grass against his fingertips, silk, and touching long hair.   ANIMALS  :  cats and dogs. NUMBER  :   8 COLORS  :  white, cherry red, pink, maroon, wine red, black, and silver. EXTRA. TALENTS  :  he is an extremely talented drummer, good at guitar and the piano, he is talented at songwriting, composing music, he’s exceptionally good at mathematics and physics, analytical skills, storytelling, knows a lot of facts, near photographic memory because he remembers all important historical events with dates and details, academic writing, and brainstorming ideas.  BAD  AT  :   cooking, not very good at driving because he gets distracted, doing one task at a time, playing videogames, actually listening to what people say, being humble, and actually being a good leader.  TURN    ONS  :  this is a complicated question. He needs a very strong emotional connection to feel sexual attraction towards someone. And he only felt it for one person in his whole life. But, what sparked that attraction was a brilliant mind and the ability to connect with his mind on a very different level. It’s not going to repeat with anyone else.  TURN    OFFS  :  literally everyone else. He’s not sorry, but I am. HOBBIES  :  playing the drums, writing and composing songs, reading, solving problems, listening to music, watching shows, getting people to do weird shit, and annoying people.      AESTHETIC  :  crowns, drums, broken drumming sticks, abstract art, the vast space, chess boards, album cases, thrones, the echoing sound of pianos, Greek sculptures, galaxies and nebulas, early morning sunrise through curtains, libraries, equations scribbled on napkins, empty museums, unmade white sheets, polaroid cameras, conspiracy theories, VHS tapes, antique books, cobblestone alleyways, night skies, cluttered books, calloused fingers, crumpled composition pages, guitar picks, vinyl, telescopes, and planets.      Basically: abstract, chaotic academia, cryptid academia, dark academia, indie, kingcore, light academia, musical academia, science academia, spacecore,   QUOTES  :   it’s weird but i can’t decide which one fits him.  FC  INFO. MAIN    FC  :  victor han  ALT    FC  :  n/a. OLDER    FC  :  he can’t age past 22, so he doesn’t need one. YOUNGER    FC  :  none  yet. VOICE    CLAIM  :  both speaking and singing (his accent is posh British with a slight hint of Canadian) MUN  QUESTIONS. Q1  :    If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what    would  it  be  called ,  what  style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about ?    A1 :  The same answer as Aurora, The Tale of Solis et Lunae that stars him alongside Aurora, Lunae, Jack, and Tate, plus more. A cosmic adventure / fantasy / coming of age / superhero / the reluctant hero / the chosen one.  His role is of Aurora’s best friend and her greatest support in emotional and supernatural dangers. He is the time traveler who ascends time and space, so he often also gives her insight and information like the sage. It’ll  expand across dimensions, worlds, and different states of existence. The scenes would be cinematic with a strong soundtrack. I imagine him to have some scenes like Quick Silver in the X-Men movies.       Q2  :   What would their soundtrack / score sound like  ?     A2  :   He would have a 90s grunge or spacey dream rock sound. It ties in with the end of the last answer because i see him in one of those scenes with 90s grunge or maybe classical music ?    Q3  :      Why did you start writing this character  ? A3  :    I made Augustus just a bit before Aurora. They were a two part deal. I don’t know when it began, I just had this image of a tall, long haired boy with piercing, intelligent eyes who’s a smart-ass and likes being a know-it-all nuisance. This character has been the same since he began in 2019 and refused to change. He was always a drummer, he always had the same fashion sense, the look, Gus was always half-Korean, he always had long fingers he wore rings on, and he was always Aurora’s best friend/partner in crime. He remains unchanged and that's why I wanted to write him. This very vivid image of this boy was something I had to pen down. And just my luck, I found a fc who looks exactly how Gus looked in my head.   Q4  :    What  first  attracted  you  to  this  character  ? A4  :   Augustus is just extraordinary. It’s something I always felt about him and Aurora and I don’t see any of my other characters coming anywhere close to them regardless of how much I spent time on them. But with Augustus, his entire image and looks and personality — down to his wardrobe and jewelry was always so vivid in my head. Like I knew this very chaotically handsome boy who was going to turn the world upside down.  His story is interesting, but what interests me more is his perspective on his story. The way he looks at his life and how he is quiet and doesn’t show his pain. How confused he always is. How much he aches but never seems so. The way he loves but doesn’t say even a quarter of the intensity he feels. And how sometimes he believes he deserves suffering because it makes sense to him. I also love the connections he makes and the way he loves so deeply and profoundly but underneath the surface. His connection, love, fears, and hopes with Aurora and Jack for their respective reasons are extremely beautiful.   Q5  :      Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.  ? A5  :  Augustus is unknowingly self-sabotaging. He let go the only relationship / love in his life that made him feel like real love just because he thought he didn’t deserve it. And because when he was provoked, it made “sense” to him. He bottles his emotions and pain so much despite their intensity. He never shows how much he really cares and really hurts. And how sure he is that he’ll end up alone without friends and that it makes sense to him. Q6  :      What    do    you    have    in    common    with    your    muse  ?   A6  :    Here’s a fun answer, because I bottle my emotions like him. I also interact with the carefree way he does even if I don’t feel peachy. He’s smart and witty and really hot and I don’t even have that going on for me. So, yikes. Only of Gus’ bad things I share.  Q7  :      How  does your muse feel about you  ?   A7  :  Gus loves interacting with people so he’ll definitely show up to annoy me. Maybe, he might think I’m fun to annoy? Or maybe, we’ll have a similar sense of humor. I think he won’t dislike me. Not sure if he’ll like me. I think he’d think I’m funny in a strange sort of way.  Q8  :      What    characters    does    your    muse    have    interesting    interactions  with  ? A8  :    Aurora, first of all. They have this same brain wave-length thing going on where they’re partners in crime and bffs forever more. He knows how she is feeling and what she’s thinking even before she utters it. If she is about to sneeze, he’d get a tissue ready. He can tell if she is hungry or sleepy with one glance. She can do the same, so they sorta have this weird understanding of each other.  Jack is this older brother figure Augustus loves. He won’t admit it, but he kinda wants to make Jack proud of him. He also wants to provide love and care to Jack that he thinks he deserves but never got. They’re his family now and he’ll never be alone or sad again. He annoys Jack a lot but behind it all, he just wants Jack to think he is needed and he belongs. That if he thinks Augustus is reliant on him, then he has this family he has to protect and care for. He can’t stand the thought of Jack feeling unloved, forgotten, alone.  Tida is another one. There’s this great respect and adoration Gus has for him. Almost like he looks up to him in some ways  He also has a lot of hopes and expectations attached. He feels Tida is everything that Gus himself lacks. He is the ideal boyfriend, kindest person, shows his emotions vividly, and is like a warm and cozy blanket personified. He is probably Tida and Aurora’s biggest supporter and first one to know. He can’t be happier than he is that Aurora found someone as good and perfect as Tida.   Taewon is one really fun character. Their two-way frenemy jealousy spans over years and started in Cambridge when they were both in love with the same girl they claimed to be best friends with. Though, trying to be calm, Augustus was constantly provoked and hurt, made to feel inferior and constantly in fear of his relationship being broken by Taewon’s schemes that he couldn’t say out loud. This dark period ended with a fist fight and baggage of guilt they both carry to this day for hurting each other and the one they claimed to love. Today, they’re way past that and frenemies who have funny quips and arguments for each other. They say they dislike each other. But if the lighting is good, one would be the photographer of the other. Q9  :      What    gives    you    inspiration    to    write    your    muse  ? A9  :  Music  helps  me  imagine  scenes  with  perfect  visual  details.  Any  scenes  from  shows  that  remind  me  of  my  storylines. Q10  :      How    long    did    this    take    you    to    complete  ?   A10  :  I don’t remember. It was many days and I didn’t count because it was in bits and pieces.

[aquilaofarkham]

Much like his infamous father, the aesthetic of Alucard has changed tremendously since Castlevania’s start in the 1980s—yet certain things about him never change at all. He began as the mirror image of Dracula; a hark back to the days of masculine Hammer Horror films, Christopher Lee, and Bela Lugosi. Then his image changed dramatically into the androgynous gothic aristocrat most people know him as today. This essay will examine Alucard’s design, the certain artistic and social trends which might have influenced it, and how it has evolved into what it is now.

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

INTRODUCTION

Published in 2017, Carol Dyhouse’s Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire examines how certain cultural trends can influence what women may find attractive or stimulating in a male character. By using popular archetypes such as the Prince Charming, the bad boy, and the tall dark handsome stranger, Dyhouse seeks to explain why these particular men appeal to the largest demographic beyond mere superfluous infatuation. In one chapter titled “Dark Princes, Foreign Powers: Desert Lovers, Outsiders, and Vampires”, she touches upon the fascination most audiences have with moody and darkly seductive vampires. Dyhouse exposits that the reason for this fascination is the inherent dangerous allure of taming someone—or something—so dominating and masculine, perhaps even evil, yet hides their supposed sensitivity behind a Byronic demeanour.

This is simply one example of how the general depiction of vampires in mainstream media has evolved over time. Because the concept itself is as old as the folklore and superstitions it originates from, thus varying from culture to culture, there is no right or wrong way to represent a vampire, desirable or not. The Caribbean Soucouyant is described as a beautiful woman who sheds her skin at night and enters her victims’ bedrooms disguised as an aura of light before consuming their blood. In Ancient Roman mythology there are tales of the Strix, an owl-like creature that comes out at night to drink human blood until it can take no more. Even the Chupacabra, a popular cryptid supposedly first spotted in Puerto Rico, has been referred to as being vampiric because of the way it sucks blood out of goats, leaving behind a dried up corpse.

However, it is a rare thing to find any of these vampires in popular media. Instead, most modern audiences are shown Dyhouse’s vampire: the brooding, masculine alpha male in both appearance and personality. A viewer may wish to be with that character, or they might wish to become just like that character. 

This sort of shift in regards to creating the “ideal” vampire is most evident in how the image of Dracula has been adapted, interpreted, and revamped in order to keep up with changing trends. In Bram Stoker’s original 1897 novel of the same name, Dracula is presented as the ultimate evil; an ancient, almost grotesque devil that ensnares the most unsuspecting victims and slowly corrupts their innocence until they are either subservient to him (Renfield, the three brides) or lost to their own bloodlust (Lucy Westenra). In the end, he can only be defeated through the joined actions of a steadfast if not ragtag group of self-proclaimed vampire hunters that includes a professor, a nobleman, a doctor, and a cowboy. His monstrousness in following adaptations remains, but it is often undercut by attempts to give his character far more pathos than the original source material presents him with. Dracula has become everything: a monster, a lover, a warrior, a lonely soul searching for companionship, a conquerer, a comedian, and of course, the final boss of a thirty-year-old video game franchise.

Which brings us to the topic of this essay; not Dracula per say, but his son. Even if someone has never played a single instalment of Castlevania or watched the ongoing animated Netflix series, it is still most likely that they have heard of or seen the character of Alucard through cultural osmosis thanks to social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and the like. Over the thirty-plus years in which Castlevania has remained within the public’s consciousness, Alucard has become one of the most popular characters of the franchise, if not the most popular. Since his debut as a leading man in the hit game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, he has taken his place beside other protagonists like Simon Belmont, a character who was arguably the face of Castlevania before 1997, the year in which Symphony of the Night was released. Alucard is an iconic component of the series and thanks in part to the mainstream online streaming service Netflix, he is now more present in the public eye than ever before whether through official marketing strategies or fanworks.

It is easy to see why. Alucard’s backstory and current struggles are quite similar to the defining characteristics of the Byronic hero. Being the son of the human doctor Lisa Țepeș, a symbol of goodness and martyrdom in all adaptations, and the lord of all vampires Dracula, Alucard (also referred to by his birth name Adrian Fahrenheit Țepeș) feels constantly torn between the two halves of himself. He maintains his moralistic values towards protecting humanity, despite being forced to make hard decisions, and despite parts of humanity not being kind to him in turn, yet is always tempted by his more monstrous inheritance. The idea of a hero who carries a dark burden while aspiring towards nobility is something that appeals to many audiences. We relate to their struggles, cheer for them when they triumph, and share their pain when they fail. Alucard (as most casual viewers see him) is the very personification of the Carol Dyhouse vampire: mysterious, melancholic, dominating, yet sensitive and striving for compassion. Perceived as a supposed “bad boy” on the surface by people who take him at face value, yet in reality is anything but.

Then there is Alucard’s appearance, an element that is intrinsically tied to how he has been portrayed over the decades and the focus of this essay. Much like his infamous father, the aesthetic of Alucard has changed tremendously since Castlevania’s start in the 1980s—yet certain things about him never change at all. He began as the mirror image of Dracula; a hark back to the days of masculine Hammer Horror films, Christopher Lee, and Bela Lugosi. Then his image changed dramatically into the androgynous gothic aristocrat most people know him as today. This essay will examine Alucard’s design, the certain artistic and social trends which might have influenced it, and how it has evolved into what it is now. Parts will include theoretical, analytical, and hypothetical stances, but it’s overall purpose is to be merely observational.

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What is Castlevania?

We start this examination at the most obvious place, with the most obvious question. Like all franchises, Castlevania has had its peaks, low points, and dry spells. Developed by Konami and directed by Hitoshi Akamatsu, the first instalment was released in 1986 then distributed in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System the following year. Its pixelated gameplay consists of jumping from platform to platform and fighting enemies across eighteen stages all to reach the final boss, Dracula himself. Much like the gameplay, the story of Castlevania is simple. You play as Simon Belmont; a legendary vampire hunter and the only one who can defeat Dracula. His arsenal includes holy water, axes, and throwing daggers among many others, but his most important weapon is a consecrated whip known as the vampire killer, another iconic staple of the Castlevania image.

Due to positive reception from critics and the public alike, Castlevania joined other titles including Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Mega Man as one of the most defining video games of the 1980s. As for the series itself, Castlevania started the first era known by many fans and aficionados as the “Classicvania” phase, which continued until the late 1990s. It was then followed by the “Metroidvania” era, the “3-D Vania” era during the early to mid 2000s, an reboot phase during the early 2010s, and finally a renaissance or “revival” age where a sudden boom in new or re-released Castlevania content helped boost interest and popularity in the franchise. Each of these eras detail how the games changed in terms of gameplay, design, and storytelling. The following timeline gives a general overview of the different phases along with their corresponding dates and instalments.

Classicvania refers to Castlevania games that maintain the original’s simplicity in gameplay, basic storytelling, and pixelated design. In other words, working within the console limitations of the time. They are usually side-scrolling platformers with an emphasis on finding hidden objects and defeating a variety of smaller enemies until the player faces off against the penultimate boss. Following games like Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest and Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse were more ambitious than their predecessor as they both introduced new story elements that offered multiple endings and branching pathways. In Dracula’s Curse, there are four playable characters each with their own unique gameplay. However, the most basic plot of the first game is present within both of these titles . Namely, find Dracula and kill Dracula. Like with The Legend of Zelda’s Link facing off against Ganon or Mario fighting Bowser, the quest to destroy Dracula is the most fundamental aspect to Castlevania. Nearly every game had to end with his defeat. In terms of gameplay, it was all about the journey to Dracula’s castle. 

As video games grew more and more complex leading into the 1990s, Castlevania’s tried and true formula began to mature as well. The series took a drastic turn with the 1997 release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a game which started the Metroidvania phase. This not only refers to the stylistic and gameplay changes of the franchise itself, but also refers to an entire subgenre of video games. Combining key components from Castlevania and Nintendo’s popular science fiction action series Metroid, Metroidvania games emphasize non-linear exploration and more traditional RPG elements including a massive array of collectable weapons, power-ups, character statistics, and armor. Symphony of the Night pioneered this trend while later titles like Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow solidified it. Nowadays, Metroidvanias are common amongst independent developers while garnering critical praise. Hollow Knight, Blasphemous, and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night are just a few examples of modern Metroidvanias that use the formula to create familiar yet still distinct gaming experiences. 

Then came the early to mid 2000s and many video games were perfecting the use of 3-D modelling, free control over the camera, and detailed environments. Similar to what other long-running video game franchises were doing at the time, Castlevania began experimenting with 3-D in 1999 with Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, both developed for the Nintendo 64 console. 64 received moderately positive reviews while the reception for its companion was far more mixed, though with Nintendo 64’s discontinuation in 2002, both games have unfortunately fallen into obscurity. 

A year later, Castlevania returned to 3-D with Castlevania: Lament of Innocence for the Playstation 2. This marked Koji Igarashi’s first foray into 3-D as well as the series’ first ever M-rated instalment. While not the most sophisticated or complex 3-D Vania (or one that manages to hold up over time in terms of graphics), Lament of Innocence was a considerable improvement over 64 and Legacy of Darkness. Other 3-D Vania titles include Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Castlevania: Judgment, and Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP, a remake of the Classicvania game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood which merged 3-D models, environments, and traditional platforming mechanics emblematic of early Castlevania. It is important to note that during this particular era, there were outliers to the changing formula that included Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin and Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, both games which added to the Metroidvania genre. 

Despite many of the aforementioned games becoming cult classics and fan favourites, this was an era in which Castlevania struggled to maintain its relevance, confused by its own identity according to most critics. Attempts to try something original usually fell flat or failed to resonate with audiences and certain callbacks to what worked in the past were met with indifference. 

By the 2010s, the Castlevania brand changed yet again and stirred even more division amongst critics, fans, and casual players. This was not necessarily a dark age for the franchise but it was a strange age; the black sheep of Castlevania. In 2010, Konami released Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, a complete reboot of the series with new gameplay, new characters, and new lore unrelated to previous instalments. The few elements tying it to classic Castlevania games were recurring enemies, platforming, and the return of the iconic whip used as both a weapon and another means of getting from one area to another. Other gameplay features included puzzle-solving, exploration, and hack-and-slash combat. But what makes Lords of Shadow so divisive amongst fans is its story. The player follows Gabriel Belmont, a holy warrior on a quest to save his deceased wife’s soul from Limbo. From that basic plot point, the storyline diverges immensely from previous Castlevania titles, becoming more and more complicated until Gabriel makes the ultimate sacrifice and turns into the very monster that haunted other Belmont heroes for centuries: Dracula. While a dark plot twist and a far cry from the hopeful endings of past games, the concept of a more tortured and reluctant Dracula who was once the hero had already been introduced in older Dracula adaptations (the Francis Ford Coppola directed Dracula being a major example of this trend in media).

Despite strong opinions on how much the story of Lords of Shadow diverged from the original timeline, it was positively received by critics, garnering an overall score of 85 on Metacritic. This prompted Konami to continue with the release of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow—Mirror of Fate and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Mirror of Fate returned to the series’ platforming and side-scrolling roots with stylized 3-D models and cutscenes. It received mixed reviews, as did its successor Lords of Shadow 2. While Mirror of Fate felt more like a classic stand-alone Castlevania with Dracula back as its main antagonist, the return of Simon Belmont, and the inclusion of Alucard, Lords of Shadow 2 carried over plot elements from its two predecessors along with new additions, turning an already complicated story into something more contrived. 

Finally, there came a much needed revival phase for the franchise. Netflix’s adaptation of Castlevania animated by Powerhouse Animation Studios based in Austen, Texas and directed by Samuel Deats and co-directed by Adam Deats aired its first season during July 2017 with four episodes. Season two aired in October 2018 with eight episodes followed by a ten episode third season in March 2020. Season four was announced by Netflix three weeks after the release of season three. The show combines traditional western 2-D animation with elements from Japanese anime and is a loose adaptation of Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse combined with plot details from Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and original story concepts. But the influx of new Castlevania content did not stop with the show. Before the release of season two, Nintendo announced that classic protagonists Simon Belmont and Richter Belmont would join the ever-growing roster of playable characters in their hit fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. With their addition also came the inclusion of iconic Castlevania environments, music, weapons, and supporting characters like Dracula and Alucard. 

During the year-long gap between seasons two and three of the Netflix show, Konami released Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, a side-scrolling platformer and gacha game for mobile devices. The appeal of Grimoire of Souls is the combination of popular Castlevania characters each from a different game in the series interacting with one another along with a near endless supply of collectable weapons, outfits, power-ups, and armor accompanied by new art. Another ongoing endeavor by Konami in partnership with Sony to bring collective awareness back to one of their flagship titles is the re-releasing of past Castlevania games. This began with Castlevania: Requiem, in which buyers received both Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood for the Playstation 4 in 2018. This was followed the next year with the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, a bundle that included a number of Classicvania titles for the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Steam, and Nintendo Switch.

Like Dracula, the Belmonts, and the vampire killer, one other element tying these five eras together is the presence of Alucard and his various forms in each one.

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Masculinity in 1980s Media

When it comes to media and various forms of the liberal arts be it entertainment, fashion, music, etc., we are currently in the middle of a phenomenon known as the thirty year cycle. Patrick Metzgar of The Patterning describes this trend as a pop cultural pattern that is, in his words, “forever obsessed with a nostalgia pendulum that regularly resurfaces things from 30 years ago”. Nowadays, media seems to be fixated with a romanticized view of the 1980s from bold and flashy fashion trends, to current music that relies on the use of synthesizers, to of course visual mass media that capitalizes on pop culture icons of the 80s. This can refer to remakes, reboots, and sequels; the first cinematic chapter of Stephen King’s IT, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and both Ghostbusters remakes are prime examples—but the thirty year cycle can also include original media that is heavily influenced or oversaturated with nostalgia. Netflix’s blockbuster series Stranger Things is this pattern’s biggest and most overt product. 

To further explain how the thirty year cycle works with another example, Star Wars began as a nostalgia trip and emulation of vintage science fiction serials from the 1950s and 60s, the most prominent influence being Flash Gordon. This comparison is partially due to George Lucas’ original attempts to license the Flash Gordon brand before using it as prime inspiration for Star Wars: A New Hope and subsequent sequels. After Lucas sold his production company Lucasfilms to Disney, three more Star Wars films were released, borrowing many aesthetic and story elements from Lucas’ original trilogy while becoming emulations of nostalgia themselves. 

The current influx of Castlevania content could be emblematic of this very same pattern in visual media, being an 80s property itself, but what do we actually remember from the 1980s? Thanks to the thirty year cycle, the general public definitely acknowledges and enjoys all the fun things about the decade. Movie theatres were dominated by the teen flicks of John Hughes, the fantasy genre found a comeback due to the resurgence of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic works along with the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and people were dancing their worries away to the songs of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, and Madonna. Then there were the things that most properties taking part in the thirty year cycle choose to ignore or gloss over, with some exceptions. The rise of child disappearances, prompting the term “stranger danger”, the continuation of satanic panic from the 70s which caused the shutdown and incarceration of hundreds of innocent caretakers, and the deaths of thousands due to President Reagan’s homophobia, conservatism, and inability to act upon the AIDS crisis. 

The 1980s also saw a shift in masculinity and how it was represented towards the public whether through advertising, television, cinema, or music. In M.D. Kibby’s essay Real Men: Representations of Masculinity in 80s Cinema, he reveals that “television columns in the popular press argued that viewers were tired of liberated heroes and longed for the return of the macho leading man” (Kibby, 21). Yet there seemed to be a certain “splitness” to the masculine traits found within fictional characters and public personas; something that tried to deconstruct hyper-masculinity while also reviling in it, particularly when it came to white, cisgendered men. Wendy Somerson further describes this dichotomy: “The white male subject is split. On one hand, he takes up the feminized personality of the victim, but on the other hand, he enacts fantasies of hypermasculinized heroism” (Somerson, 143). Somerson explains how the media played up this juxtaposition of “soft masculinity”, where men are portrayed as victimized, helpless, and childlike. In other words, “soft men who represent a reaction against the traditional sexist ‘Fifties man’ and lack a strong male role model” (Somerson, 143). A sort of self-flagellation or masochism in response to the toxic and patriarchal gender roles of three decades previous. Yet this softening of male representation was automatically seen as traditionally “feminine” and femininity almost always equated to childlike weakness. Then in western media, there came the advent of male madness and the fetishization of violent men. Films like Scarface, Die Hard, and any of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s filmography helped to solidify the wide appeal of these hyper-masculine and “men out of control” tropes which were preceded by Martin Scorcese’s critical and cult favourite Taxi Driver.

There were exceptions to this rule; or at the very least attempted exceptions that only managed to do more harm to the concept of a feminized man while also doubling down on the standard tropes of the decade. One shallow example of this balancing act between femininity and masculinity in 80s western media was the hit crime show Miami Vice and Sonny, a character who is entirely defined by his image. In Kibby’s words, “he is a beautiful consumer image, a position usually reserved for women; and he is in continual conflict with work, that which fundamentally defines him as a man” (Kibby, 21). Therein lies the problematic elements of this characterization. Sonny’s hyper-masculine traits of violence and emotionlessness serve as a reaffirmation of his manufactured maleness towards the audience.

Returning to the subject of Schwarzenegger, his influence on 80s media that continued well into the 90s ties directly to how fantasy evolved during this decade while also drawing upon inspirations from earlier trends. The most notable example is his portrayal of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian in the 1982 film directed by John Milius. Already a classic character from 1930s serials and later comic strips, the movie (while polarizing amongst critics who described it as a “psychopathic Star Wars, stupid and stupefying”) brought the iconic image of a muscle-bound warrior wielding a sword as half-naked women fawn at his feet back into the collective consciousness of many fantasy fans. The character and world of Conan romanticizes the use of violence, strength, and pure might in order to achieve victory. This aesthetic of hyper-masculinity, violence, and sexuality in fantasy art was arguably perfected by the works of Frank Frazetta, a frequent artist for Conan properties. The early Castlevania games drew inspiration from this exact aesthetic for its leading hero Simon Belmont and directly appropriated one of Frazetta’s pieces for the cover of the first game.

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Hammer Horror & Gender

Conan the Barbarian, Frank Frazetta, and similar fantasy icons were just a few influences on the overall feel of 80s Castlevania. Its other major influence harks back to a much earlier and far more gothic trend in media. Castlevania director Hitoshi Akamatsu stated that while the first game was in development, they were inspired by earlier cinematic horror trends and “wanted players to feel like they were in a classic horror movie��. This specific influence forms the very backbone of the Castlevania image. Namely: gothic castles, an atmosphere of constant uncanny dread, and a range of colourful enemies from Frankenstein’s Monster, the Mummy, to of course Dracula. The massive popularity and recognizability of these three characters can be credited to the classic Universal Pictures’ monster movies of the 1930s, but there was another film studio that put its own spin on Dracula and served as another source of inspiration for future Castlevania properties.

The London-based film company Hammer Film Productions was established in 1934 then quickly filed bankruptcy a mere three years later after their films failed to earn back their budget through ticket sales. What saved them was the horror genre itself as their first official title under the ‘Hammer Horror’ brand The Curse of Frankenstein starring Hammer regular Peter Cushing was released in 1957 to enormous profit in both Britain and overseas. With one successful adaptation of a horror legend under their belt, Hammer’s next venture seemed obvious. Dracula (also known by its retitle Horror of Dracula) followed hot off the heels of Frankenstein and once again starred Peter Cushing as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, a much younger and more dashing version of his literary counterpart. Helsing faces off against the titular fanged villain, played by Christopher Lee, whose portrayal of Dracula became the face of Hammer Horror for decades to come. 

Horror of Dracula spawned eight sequels spanning across the 60s and 70s, each dealing with the resurrection or convoluted return of the Prince of Darkness (sound familiar?) Yet these were not the same gothic films pioneered by Universal Studios with fog machines, high melodrama, and disturbingly quiet atmosphere. Christopher Lee’s Dracula and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula are two entirely separate beasts. While nearly identical in design (slicked back hair, long flowing black cape, and a dignified, regal demeanor), Lugosi is subtle, using only his piercing stare as a means of intimidation and power—in the 1930s, smaller details meant bigger scares. For Hammer Horror, when it comes time to show Dracula’s true nature, Lee bares his blood-covered fangs and acts like an animal coveting their prey. Hammer’s overall approach to horror involved bigger production sets, low-cut nightgowns, and bright red blood that contrasted against the muted, desaturated look of each film. And much like the media of 1980, when it came to their characters, the Dracula films fell back on what was expected by society to be ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ while also making slight commentary on those very preconceived traits.

The main theme surrounding each male cast in these films is endangered male authority. Dracula and Van Helsing are without a doubt the most powerful, domineering characters in the story, particularly Helsing. As author Peter Hutchings describes in his book Hammer & Beyond: The British Horror Film, “the figure of the (male) vampire hunter is always one of authority, certainty, and stability (...) he is the only one with enough logical sense to know how to defeat the ultimate evil, thus saving the female characters and weaker male characters from being further victimized” (Hutchings, 124). The key definition here is ‘weaker male characters’. Hammer’s Dracula explores the absolute power of male authority in, yet it also reveals how easily this authority can be weakened. This is shown through the characters of Jonathan Harker and Arthur Holmwood, who differ slightly from how they are portrayed in Stoker’s novel. While Dracula does weaken them both, they manage to join Helsing and defeat the monster through cooperation and teamwork. In fact, it is Harker who lands one of the final killing strikes against Dracula. However, the Jonathan Harker of Hammer’s Dracula is transformed into a vampire against his will and disposed of before the finale. His death, in the words of Hutchings, “underlines the way in which throughout the film masculinity is seen (...) as arrested, in a permanently weakened state” (Hutchings, 117).

This theme of weakened authority extends to Holmwood in a more obvious and unsettling manner. In another deviation from the source material, Lucy Westenra, best friend to Mina Murray and fiancé to Arthur Holmwood, is now Holmwood’s sister and Harker’s fiancé. Lucy’s story still plays out more or less the same way it did in the novel; Dracula routinely drains her of blood until she becomes a vampire, asserting his dominance both physically and mentally. This according to Hutchings is the entirety of Dracula’s plan; a project “to restore male authority over women by taking the latter away from the weak men, establishing himself as the immortal, sole patriarch” (Hutchings, 119). Meanwhile, it is Helsing’s mission to protect men like Arthur Holmwood, yet seems only concerned with establishing his own dominance and does nothing to reestablish Holmwood’s masculinity or authority. Due to the damage done by Dracula and the failings of Helsing, Holmwood never regains this authority, even towards the end when he is forced to murder his own sister. His reaction goes as follows: “as she is staked he clutches his chest, his identification with her at this moment, when she is restored to a passivity which is conventionally feminine, suggesting a femininity within him which the film equates with weakness” (Hutchings, 117).

So Van Helsing succeeds in his mission to defeat his ultimate rival, but Dracula is victorious in his own right. With Jonathan Harker gone, Lucy Holmwood dead, and Arthur Holmwood further emasculated, he succeeds in breaking down previous male power structures while putting himself in their place as the all-powerful, all-dominant male presence. This is the very formula in which early Hammer Dracula films were built upon; “with vampire and vampire hunter mutually defining an endangered male authority, and the woman functioning in part as the site of their struggle (...) forged within and responded to British social reality of the middle and late 1950s” (Hutchings, 123).

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Alucard c. 1989

As for Castlevania’s Dracula, his earliest design takes more from Christopher Lee’s portrayal than from Bela Lugosi or Bram Stoker’s original vision. His appearance on the first ever box art bears a striking resemblance to one of the most famous stills from Horror of Dracula. Even in pixelated form, Dracula’s imposing model is more characteristic of Christopher Lee than Bela Lugosi.

Being his son, it would make logical sense for the first appearance of Alucard in Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse to resemble his father. His 1989 design carries over everything from the slick dark hair, sharp claws, and shapeless long cloak but adds a certain juvenile element—or rather, a more human element. This makes sense in the context of the game’s plot. Despite being the third title, Dracula’s Curse acts as the starting point to the Castlevania timeline (before it was replaced by Castlevania: Legends in 1997, which was then retconned and also replaced by Castlevania: Lament of Innocence in 2003 as the definitive prequel of the series). Set nearly two centuries before Simon Belmont’s time, Dracula’s Curse follows Simon’s ancestor Trevor Belmont as he is called to action by the church to defeat Dracula once he begins a reign of terror across Wallachia, now known as modern day Romania. It is a reluctant decision by the church, since the Belmont family has been exiled due to fear and superstition surrounding their supposed inhuman powers. 

This is one example of how despite the current technological limitations, later Castlevania games were able to add more in-depth story elements little by little beyond “find Dracula, kill Dracula”. This began as early as Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest by giving Simon a much stronger motivation in his mission and the inclusion of multiple endings. The improvements made throughout the Classicvania era were relatively small while further character and story complexities remained either limited or unexplored, but they were improvements nonetheless.

Another example of this slight progress in storytelling was Castlevania 3’s introduction of multiple playable characters each with a unique backstory of their own. The supporting cast includes Sypha Belnades, a powerful sorceress disguised as a humble monk who meets Trevor after he saves her from being frozen in stone by a cyclops, and Grant Danasty, a pirate who fell under Dracula’s influence before Trevor helped him break free from his curse. Then there is of course Adrian Fahrenheit Țepeș who changed his name to Alucard, the opposite of Dracula, as a symbol of rebellion against his tyrannical father. Yet Castlevania was not the first to conceptualize the very character of Alucard; someone who is the son of Dracula and whose name is quite literally the backwards spelling of his fathers’. That idea started with Universal’s 1943 venture Son of Dracula, a sequel to the 1931 classic that unfortunately failed to match the original’s effective atmosphere, scares, and story. In it, Alucard is undoubtedly the villain whereas in Dracula’s Curse, he is one of the heroes. Moral and noble, able to sway Trevor Belmont’s preconceptions of vampiric creatures, and with an odd sympathy for the monster that is his father. Alucard even goes as far as to force himself into an eternal slumber after the defeat of Dracula in order to “purge the world of his own cursed bloodline” (the reason given by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night’s opening narration).

When it comes to design, Castlevania’s Alucard does the curious job of fitting in with the franchises’ established aesthetic yet at the same time, he manages to stand out the most—in fact, all the main characters do. Everyone from Trevor, Sypha, to Grant all look as though they belong in different stories from different genres. Grant’s design is more typical of the classic pirate image one would find in old illustrated editions of Robinson Crusoe’s Treasure Island or in a classic swashbuckler like 1935’s Captain Blood starring Errol Flynn. Sypha might look more at home in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign or an early Legend of Zelda title with a large hood obscuring her facial features, oversized blue robes, and a magical staff all of which are commonplace for a fantasy mage of the 1980s. Trevor’s design is nearly identical to Simon’s right down to the whip, long hair, and barbarian-esque attire which, as mentioned previously, was taken directly from Conan the Barbarian. 

Judging Alucard solely from official character art ranging from posters to other promotional materials, he seems to be the only one who belongs in the gothic horror atmosphere of Dracula’s Curse. As the physically largest and most supernaturally natured of the main cast, he is in almost every way a copy of his father—a young Christopher Lee’s Dracula complete with fangs and cape. Yet his path as a hero within the game’s narrative along with smaller, near missable details in his design (his ingame magenta cape, the styling of his hair in certain official art, and the loose-fitting cravat around his neck) further separates him from the absolute evil and domination that is Dracula. Alucard is a rebel and an outsider, just like Trevor, Sypha, and Grant. In a way, they mirror the same vampire killing troupe from Bram Stoker’s novel; a group of people all from different facets of life who come together to defeat a common foe. 

The son of Dracula also shares similar traits with Hammer’s Van Helsing. Same as the Belmonts (who as vampire hunters are exactly like Helsing in everything except name), Alucard is portrayed as one of the few remaining beacons of masculinity with enough strength, skill, and logical sense who can defeat Dracula, another symbol of patriarchal power. With Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse, we begin to see Alucard’s dual nature in aesthetics that is automatically tied to his characterization; a balance that many Byronic heroes try to strike between masculine domination and moralistic sensitivity and goodness that is often misconstrued as weakly feminine. For now though, especially in appearance, Alucard’s persona takes more from the trends that influenced his allies (namely Trevor and Simon Belmont) and his enemy (Dracula). This of course would change drastically alongside the Castlevania franchise itself come the 1990s.

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Gender Expression & The 1990s Goth Scene

When a person sees or hears the word “gothic”, it conjures up a very specific mental image—dark and stormy nights spent inside an extravagant castle that is host to either a dashing vampire with a thirst for blood, vengeful ghosts of the past come to haunt some unfortunate living soul, or a mad scientist determined to cheat death and bring life to a corpse sewn from various body parts. In other words, a scenario that would be the focus of some Halloween television special or a daring novel from the mid to late Victorian era. Gothicism has had its place in artistic and cultural circles long before the likes of Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and even before Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, a late 18th century novel that arguably started the gothic horror subgenre. 

The term itself originated in 17th century Sweden as a descriptor of the national romanticism concerning the North Germanic Goths, a tribe which occupied much of Medieval Götaland. It was a period of historical revisionism in which the Goths and other Viking tribes were depicted as heroic and heavily romanticised. Yet more than ever before, gothicism is now associated with a highly specific (and in many ways personal) form of artistic and gender expression. It started with the golden age of gothic Medieval architecture that had its revival multiple centuries later during the Victorian era, then morphed into one of the darkest if not melodramatic literary movements, and finally grew a new identity throughout the 1990s. For this portion, we will focus on the gothic aesthetic as it pertains to fashion and music.

Arguably, the advent of the modern goth subculture as it is known nowadays began with the 1979 song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” from Northampton’s own rock troupe Bauhaus. The overall aesthetic of the song, accompanying live performances, and the band itself helped shaped the main themes of current gothicism including, but not limited to, “macabre funeral musical tone and tempo, to lyrical references to the undead, to deep voiced eerie vocals, to a dark twisted form of androgyny in the appearance of the band and most of its following” (Hodkinson, 35-64). This emphasis on physical androgyny in a genre that was predominantly focused on depictions of undeniable masculinity was especially important to the 80s and 90s goth scene. Bauhaus opened the gates in which other goth and post-punk bands gained popularity outside of underground venues, including The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Southern Death Cult. Much like Bauhaus’ “twisted form of androgyny”, these other bands pioneered a romantic yet darkly feminine aesthetic which was then embraced by their fans. It wasn’t until the producer of Joy Division Tony Wilson along with members from Southern Death Cult and U.K. Decay mentioned the word “goth” in passing that this growing musical and aesthetic subculture finally had a name for itself. 

The goth movement of the 1990s became an interesting mesh of nonconformity and individual expression while also emphasising the need for a mutual connection through shared interests and similar aesthetics. Unique social outsiders looking for a sense of community and belonging—not unlike Stoker’s vampire hunting troupe or the main cast of Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse. Paul Hodkinson author of Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture describes the ways in which goths were able to expand their social networking while making the subculture their own. In order to gain further respect and recognition within the community, “they usually sought to select their own individual concoction from the range of acceptable artefacts and themes and also to make subtle additions and adaptations from beyond the established stylistic boundaries” (Hodkinson, 35-64). This was one of the ways in which the goth subculture was able to grow and evolve while maintaining some typical aesthetics. Those aesthetics that had already become gothic staples as far back as classic Victorian horror included crucifixes, bats, and vampires; all of which were presented by young modern goths, as Hodkinson puts it, “sometimes in a tongue-in-cheek self-conscious manner, sometimes not” (Hodkinson, 35-64).

The vampire, as it appeared in visual mass media of the time, was also instrumental to the 90s gothic scene, reinforcing certain physical identifiers such as long dark hair, pale make-up, and sometimes blackened sunglasses. This was especially popular amongst male goths who embodied traditional gothic traits like dark femininity and androgyny, which had already been long established within the subculture. 

As always, television and film did more to reinforce these subcultural trends as recognizable stereotypes, usually in a negative manner, than it did to help people embrace them. In media aimed towards a primarily teenage and young adult demographic, if a character did not possess the traditional traits of a hyper-masculine man, they instead fit into two different molds; either the neurotic geek or the melodramatic, moody goth. However, there were forms of media during the 90s that did manage to embrace and even relish with no sense of irony in the gothic aesthetic. 

Two films which helped to build upon the enthusiasm for the vampire were Francis Ford Coppola’s lavish adaptation of Stoker’s novel titled Bram Stoker’s Dracula starring Gary Oldman in the titular role of Dracula and another adaptation of a more recent gothic favourite among goths, Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. The majority of the male goth scene especially emulated Oldman’s portrayal of Dracula when in the film he transforms into a much younger, more seductive version of himself in order to blend in with society, everything down to the shaded Victorian sunglasses and the long flowing hair; a vision of classic, sleek androgyny combined with an intimidating demeanor without being overly hyper-masculine. 

Primarily taking place during the 18th and 19th century, Interview with the Vampire (the film and the original novel) also encouraged this very same trend, helping to establish European aristocratic elements into the gothic aesthetic; elements such as lace frills, finely tailored petticoats, corsets, and a general aura of delicacy. 

Going back to Hodkinson’s findings, he states that “without actually rendering such categories insignificant, goth had from its very beginnings been characterized by the predominance, for both males and females, of particular kinds of style which would normally be associated with femininity” (Hodkinson, 35-64). However, it is important to acknowledge that the western goth subculture as described in this section, while a haven for various forms of gender expression, placed heavy emphasis on thin, white bodies. Over the years, diversity within the community has been promoted and encouraged, but rarely do we see it as the forefront face of gothicism.

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The Japanese Goth Scene & Ayami Kojima

Modern gothicism was not limited to North America or Europe. In Japan, the subculture had evolved into its own form of self-expression through clothing and music that took inspiration from a variety of 18th and 19th century themes (mostly originating from European countries). Yet despite the numerous western influences, the eastern goth community during the 1990s and early 2000s embraced itself as something unique and wholly Japanese; in other words, different from what was happening within the North American movement at the same time. To refresh the memory, western goth culture focused primarily on the macabre that included completely black, moody wardrobes with an air of dark femininity. Japanese goth culture maintained those feminine traits, but included elements that were far more decadent, frivolous, and played further into the already established aristocratic motifs of gothicism. This created a new fashion subculture known as Gothic Lolita or Goth-Loli (no reference to the Vladimir Nabokov novel Lolita or the themes presented within the text itself). 

In Style Deficit Disorder: Harajuku street fashion, a retrospective on the history of modern Japanese street fashion, the Goth-Loli image is described as “an amalgam of Phantom of the Opera, Alice in Wonderland, and Edgar Allan Poe” (Godoy; Hirakawa, 160). It was an aesthetic that took the western notion of “gothic” to higher levels with a heavier emphasis on opulence and an excessive decorative style—think Gothic meets Baroque meets Rococo. Teresa Younker, author of Lolita: Dreaming, Despairing, Defying, suggests that during the early years of the Gothic Lolita movement, it acted as a form of escapism for many young Japanese individuals searching for a way out of conformity. She states that “rather than dealing with the difficult reality of rapid commercialization, destabilization of society, a rigid social system, and an increasingly body-focused fashion norm, a select group of youth chose to find comfort in the over-the-top imaginary world of lace, frills, bows, tulle, and ribbons”. One pioneer that helped to bring the Goth-Loli image at the forefront of Japanese underground and street fashion the likes of Harajuku was the fashion magazine Gothic & Lolita Bible. Launched in 2001 by Index Communication and Mariko Suzuki, each issue acted as a sort of catalogue book for popular gothic and lolita trends that expanded to art, music, manga, and more. 

According to Style Deficit Disorder, during this time when Gothic & Lolita Bible had helped bring the subculture into a larger collective awareness, the Goth-Loli image became “inspired by a yearning for something romantic overseas (...) and after taking on the “Harajuku Fashion,” ended up travelling overseas, while remaining a slightly strange fashion indigenous to Japan” (Godoy; Hirakawa, 137). Then came KERA Maniac, another magazine launched in 2003 that had “even darker clothing and international style points and references, such as features on the life and art of Lewis Carroll, Japanese ball-jointed dolls, or interviews with icons like Courtney Love” (Godoy; Hirakawa, 140). The fashion trends that both Gothic & Lolita Bible and KERA Maniac focused on also found popularity amongst visual kei bands which were usually all male performers who began sporting the very same ultra-feminine, ultra-aristocratic Goth-Loli brands that were always featured in these magazines. 

Similar to traditional Kabuki theatre, “this visual-kei placed great importance on the gorgeous spectacle created onstage” (Godoy; Hirakawa, 135). One particular visual kei performer of the early 2000s that became Gothic & Lolita Bible’s biggest and most frequent collaborator was Mana. Best known for his musical and fashion career, Mana describes his onstage persona, merging aristocratic goth with elegant gothic lolita, as “either male or female but it is also neither male nor female. It is both devil and angel. The pursuit of a middle ground” (Godoy; Hirakawa, 159).

Opulence, decadence, and femininity with a dark undertone are all apt terms to describe the image of Japanese gothicism during the 90s and early aughts. They are also perfect descriptors of how artist Ayami Kojima changed the face of Castlevania from a franchise inspired by classic horror and fantasy to something more distinct. As a self-taught artist mainly working with acrylics, India ink, and finger smudging among other methods, 1997’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night was Kojima’s first major title as the lead character designer. Over the years she worked on a number of separate video games including Samurai Warriors and Dynasty Warriors, along with other Castlevania titles. Before then, she made a name for herself as a freelance artist mainly working on novel covers and even collaborated with Vampire Hunter D creator Kikuchi Hideyuki for a prequel to his series. Kojima has been dubbed by fans as “the queen of Castlevania” due to her iconic contributions to the franchise. 

Kojima’s influences cover a wide array of themes from the seemingly obvious (classic horror, shounen manga, and East Asian history) to disturbingly eclectic (surgery, body modification, and body horror). It is safe to assume that her resume for Castlevania involves some of her tamer works when compared to what else is featured in her 2010 artbook Santa Lilio Sangre. Yet even when her more personal art pieces rear into the grotesquely unsettling, they always maintain an air of softness and femininity. Kojima is never afraid to show how the surreal, the intense, or the horrifying can also be beautiful. Many of her pieces include details emblematic of gothicism; skulls, bloodied flowers, the abundance of religious motifs, and lavish backgrounds are all commonplace, especially in her Castlevania art. Her models themselves—most often androgynous men with sharp cheekbones, flowing hair, and piercing gazes—look as though they would fit right into a gothic visual kei band or the pages of Gothic & Lolita Bible.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair was the final Castlevania game Kojima worked on, as well as her last game overall. It wasn’t until 2019 when she reappeared with new pieces including promotional artwork for former Castlevania co-worker Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and a collaboration with Japanese musician Kamijo on his newest album. Her work has also appeared in the February 2020 issue of TezuComi, depicting a much lighter and softer side of her aesthetic. Ayami Kojima may have moved onto other projects, but the way in which she forever influenced the Castlevania image is still being drawn upon and emulated to this day.

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Alucard c. 1997

There were actually three versions of Alucard during the 1990s, each of which were products of their time for different reasons. The first example is not only the most well known amongst fans and casual onlookers alike, but it is also the one design of Alucard that manages to stand the test of time. Ayami Kojima redesigned a number of classic Castlevania characters, giving them the gothic androgynous demeanour her art was known for. Most fans will say with some degree of jest that once Kojima joined Konami, Castlevania grew to look less like the masculine power fantasy it started as and more like a bishounen manga. No matter the differing opinions on the overall stylistic change of the series, Kojima’s reimagining of Alucard for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is undoubtedly iconic. His backstory has more or less remained the same, carried over from Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse. After killing his father Dracula, Alucard, unable to fully process his actions or his bloodline, decides to force himself into a centuries long slumber in order to rid the world of his dark powers. Symphony of the Night begins with the Byronic dhampir prince waking up after nearly 300 years have passed once Dracula’s castle mysteriously reappears in close proximity to his resting place. The only difference this time is there seems to be no Belmont to take care of it, unlike previous years when Dracula is resurrected. Determined to finish what was started during the 15th century, the player takes Alucard on a journey throughout the castle, which has now become larger and more challenging than past incarnations.

Despite being somewhat of a direct sequel to Dracula’s Curse, Symphony’s Alucard is not the same dhampir as his 80s counterpart. Gone are any similarities to Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee; now Alucard bears more of a resemblance to Anne Rice’s own literary muse Lestat de Lioncourt from her ongoing Vampire Chronicles. Instead of slicked back dark hair, thick golden locks (which were originally black to match his father) cascade down Alucard’s figure, swaying with his every pixelated movement. Heeled leather boots, a black coat with gold embellishments along with an abnormally large collar underneath a flowing cape, and a high-collared cravat replace the simplistic wardrobe of 80s Alucard—from a traditional, minimalist goth mirroring his father’s masculinity to an extravagant, aristocratic goth with his own intense, almost macabre femininity.

With the early Metroidvanias came the inclusion of detailed character portraits designed by Ayami Kojima which would appear alongside a dialogue box to further establish the illusion of the characters speaking to each other. Symphony of the Night was one of the first titles where players got to see Alucard’s ingame expression and it looked exactly as it did on every piece of promotional poster and artwork. The same piercing glare, furrowed brow, and unshakeable inhuman determination, the sort that is also reflected in his limited mannerisms and character—all of which are displayed upon an immaculate face that rarely if ever smiles. Just by looking at his facial design nearly hidden behind locks of hair that always seems meticulously styled, it is clear that Alucard cannot and will not diverge from his mission. The only moment in the game when his stoic facade breaks completely is when he faces off against the Succubus, who tempts Alucard to give into his vampiric nature by disguising herself as his deceased mother Lisa. Yet even then he sees through her charade and, depending on the player’s ability, quickly disposes of her. 

Despite his delicate feminine features, emotional softness is not one of Alucard’s strongest suits in Symphony. Though for someone in his position, someone who must remain steadfast and succeed in his goal or else fail the rest of humanity, where little else matters, Alucard’s occasional coldness (a trait that would return in recent Castlevania instalments) makes sense. There is a scene near at the climax of the game where he exposits to the other main protagonists Richter Belmont and Maria Renard about how painful it felt to destroy his father a second time, but he reframes it as a lesson about the importance of standing up against evil rather than an admission of his own vulnerability. However, he does choose to stay in the world of mortal humans instead of returning to his coffin (depending on which ending the player achieves).

The second 90s version of Alucard is a curious case of emulation, drawing inspiration from both Kojima’s redesign and other Japanese art styles of the 1990s. Castlevania Legends was released for the Game Boy the exact same year as Symphony of the Night and acted as a prequel to Dracula’s Curse, following its protagonist Sonia Belmont as she traverses through Dracula’s castle alongside Alucard and becomes the first Belmont in history to defeat him. It was then retconned after the release of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence in 2003 due to how its story conflicted with the overall timeline of the series. As with most of the earliest Game Boy titles, the ingame graphics of Legends are held back by the technological limitations, but the box art and subsequent character concepts reveal the game’s aesthetic which seems to take the most inspiration from other Japanese franchises of the decade. The biggest example would be Slayers, a popular comedic fantasy series that included light novels, manga, and anime. Legends Alucard is portrayed in this particular animated style, yet his design itself is very similar to how he looks in Symphony of the Night with only minor exceptions. 

The third and arguably most obscure 90s Alucard comes from the animated children’s show Captain N: The Game Master, a crossover that brought together popular Nintendo characters like Mega Man, Kid Icarus, and Simon Belmont. The episodes were presented as traditional monsters of the week, meaning each one focused on a brand new story or environment usually taken from Nintendo games. One episode that aired in 1993 centered on Castlevania and featured a comedic and parodied version of Alucard. Although the episode took elements from Dracula’s Curse, Alucard was meant to be a stereotypical representation of rebellious 90s youth, i.e. an overemphasis on skateboarding and “radical” culture. A colorful, kid-friendly version of the character that was never meant to be taken seriously; much like the rest of the show.

Out of the three variations, Ayami Kojima’s Alucard is the one that made the biggest and longest lasting impact on Castlevania. Redesigning an iconic franchise or character always comes with its own risks and gambles. In the case of Symphony of Night, the gamble made by Kojima—and by extension Konami and director Koji Igarashi—paid off. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said regarding Alucard’s next major change as a character and an image. 

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Lords of Shadow

“What motivates a man to confront the challenges that most of us would run from?” This is a question put forth by Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, the first attempt by Konami to reinvigorate and inject new life into the Castlevania brand name by completing rebooting the universe. Starting from scratch as it were. Originally, Lords of Shadow seemed to have no connection to the Castlevania franchise. Announced by Konami during a games convention in 2008, this was meant to give more attention and not distract from the upcoming Castlevania: Judgment. However, merely a year later at Electronic Entertainment Expo, it was revealed that Lords of Shadow was in fact the next major step that Konami was taking with Castlevania. From its announcement and early trailers, the game was already generating a healthy amount of media buzz due to its updated graphics, design, and gameplay. Having Konami alumni, video game auteur, and creator of the critically acclaimed Metal Gear series Hideo Kojima attached to the project also helped to generate initial hype for this new phase of Castlevania (though it should be noted that Kojima was only credited as a consultant and advisor for the Lords of Shadow development team). After nearly a decade of near hits, substantial misses, and a lack of focus for the franchise, Castlevania had once again become one of the most highly anticipated upcoming games. To quote gaming news and reviews website GamesRadar+ at the time, “this could be a megaton release”.

And it was—so to speak. As mentioned in previous sections, the first Lords of Shadow did relatively well, garnering critical and commercial success. By November of 2010, nearly one million copies had sold in North America and Europe alone. While not a monumental achievement or a record breaker, Lords of Shadow soon became the highest selling Castlevania game of all time. But enough time has passed since its release and nowadays, fans look back upon this reinvented Castlevania timeline pushed by Konami with mixed feelings, some more negative than others. 

The main criticism is that when it comes to gameplay, environment, and story, Lords of Shadow changed too much from its original source material. Change is not always a terrible thing especially in regards to long-running franchises and Castlevania had already gone through one massive upheaval with Symphony of the Night. Although the difference is how well that dramatic change was executed and how players reacted to it. For many, Lords of Shadow felt less like the game it was supposed to be emulating and more like other action hack-and-slashers of the time. The gameplay didn’t feel like Castlevania, it felt like Devil May Cry. Elements of the story didn’t feel like Castlevania, they felt like God of War. Each boss fight didn’t feel like Castlevania, they felt like Shadow of the Colossus (a frequent comment made by fans). Despite the familiar elements from past games that made their way into this new instalment, for many, Lords of Shadow was too little of Castlevania and too much of everything else that surrounded its development. Meanwhile, the afformented familiar elements seemed like attempts at fanservice in order to make sure that longtime fans felt more at home.

Does the game and its following sequels still hold any merit in terms of aesthetic and story? They do, especially when it comes to its style. Lords of Shadow, its midquel Mirror of Fate, and the sequel Lords of Shadow 2 are not unappealing games to look at. When examining the concept art of characters, enemies, and environments, one could argue that the Lords of Shadow series has some of the most visually striking Castlevania art in the series. The monster designs in particular take on a much grander, ambitious, and menacing presence that take inspiration from various mythological and biblical sources, the best example being Leviathan from Lords of Shadow 2. 

By the 2010s, AAA video games in general were going through a sort of golden age with titles such as Assassin’s Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Red Dead Redemption among many others. Not only were the stories and gameplay mechanics improving by ten folds, so too were the graphical capacities that each game could uphold. Due to technological advancements, Castlevania had the chance to become more detailed and fleshed out than before. The locations of Lords of Shadow and its sequels, which ranged from gothic castles, to modern decrepit cities, to fantastical forests, grew lusher and more opulent while the monsters evolved past the traditional skeletons of the series into far more imposing nightmarish creatures.

The first game along with Mirror of Fate kept themselves fairly grounded in their respective environments. Nearly every character looks as though they firmly belong in the gothic fantasy world they inhabit. Gabriel Belmont and the rest of the Brotherhood of Light are dressed in robes reminiscent of medieval knights (with a few non-historical embellishments) while the vampiric characters of Carmilla and Laura dress in the same manner that typical vampires would. However, a new location known as Castlevania City was introduced in Lords of Shadow 2, modelled after a 21st century metropolitan cityscape. Characters with designs more suited to God of War or Soul Calibur intermingle with NPCs dressed in modern clothing, further highlighting the clash of aesthetics. While this is not the first time Castlevania has featured environments populated with humans, the constant shifting between a dark urban landscape with more science fiction elements than fantasy and the traditional gothic setting of Dracula’s castle can feel like whiplash. 

The Lords of Shadow timeline was an ambitious attempt by Konami to try and give fans a Castlevania experience they had not seen before. New concepts that were previously unexplored or only alluded to in past games were now at the forefront. Yet the liberties that each game took with established Castlevania lore, both in terms of story and design, were perhaps too ambitious. The biggest example is the choice to have the Belmont protagonist turn into Dracula through a combined act of despair and selflessness, but Alucard went through a number of changes as well. Transforming him from the golden-haired aristocrat of the 90s and 2000s into an amalgamation of dark fantasy tropes. 

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Alucard c. 2014

After the success of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Alucard reappeared in a number of following titles, most of which depicted him in his typical black and gold wardrobe. There were exceptions, including Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and its direct sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow where he adopts the alias of Genya Arikado, an agent for a futuristic Japanese organization dedicated to stopping any probable resurrections of Dracula. Because of this need to appear more human and hide his true heritage, Genya’s appearance is simple and possibly one of Ayami Kojima’s most minimalistic character designs; a black suit, shoulder length black hair, and the job is done. In Dawn of Sorrow, Alucard briefly appears as himself, drawn in a less detailed anime style that softens his once intensely stoic expression first seen in Symphony. The next exception is Castlevania: Judgment, a fighting game where characters from separate games and time periods are brought together to face off against one another. Konami brought on Takeshi Obata (who by then was famously known for his work on Death Note) as the lead character designer and in many regards had a similar aesthetic to Ayami Kojima, creating lavish gothic pieces that were heavily detailed and thematic. 

Like Kojima, Obata was given free range to reconceptualize all of the characters appearing in Judgment with little to no remaining motifs from previous designs. This included Alucard, who dons a suit of silver armor and long white hair to match it. Judgment’s Alucard marked a turning point for the character in terms of appearance; a gradual change that was solidified by Lords of Shadow.

This is where things get complicated. While Castlevania could be considered a horror series solely based on its references, aesthetic, and monsters, nearly every iteration whether it comes down to the games or other forms of media tends to veer more towards the dark fantasy genre. Edward James and Farah Mendleson’s Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature describe the distinction between traditional horror and dark fantasy as a genre “whose protagonists believe themselves to inhabit the world of consensual mundane reality and learn otherwise, not by walking through a portal into some other world, or by being devoured or destroyed irrevocably, but by learning to live with new knowledge and sometimes with new flesh” (James; Mendleson, 218). While horror is a genre of despair, directly confronting audience members with the worst of humanity and the supernatural, “the protagonist of dark fantasy comes through that jeopardy to a kind of chastened wisdom” (James; Mendleson, 217). 

Dark fantasy is ultimately a genre of acceptance (i.e. characters accepting a horrible change or embracing the world they have been forcibly thrown into), but it also represents a rejection of traditional tropes implemented by the works of Tolkien or the Brothers Grimm, thus defining itself by that very same act of rejection. An example of this is the theme of failure, which is common in many dark fantasy stories. There are far more unhappy or bittersweet endings than happy ones while the construction of the classic hero’s journey hinges more on all the possible ways in which the protagonist could fail in their quest. 

Going off from this definition, the Lords of Shadow timeline fits squarely into the dark fantasy genre, especially concerning its two leading men. We already know that Gabriel Belmont sacrifices his humanity in order to become Dracula, but what happens to his son borders on a Greek tragedy. Before the “deaths” of Gabriel and Maria, they had a son named Trevor who was immediately taken into the care of the Brotherhood of Light and kept away from his father in order to protect him. Years later when Trevor is an adult with a family of his own, he vows to defeat Dracula for bringing shame and dishonor upon the Belmont bloodline. Yet when their eventual confrontation happens, Dracula easily beats Trevor who, on the verge of death, reveals the truth about his connection to the lord of vampires. In a desperate act of regret, Dracula forces Trevor to drink his blood and places him into a coffin labeled “Alucard” where he will seemingly rest for eternity.

Time passes and Trevor Belmont—now transformed into the vampire Alucard—awakens, just as he did at the beginning of Dracula’s Curse and Symphony of the Night. During his disappearance, his wife Sypha Belnades was killed by Dracula’s creatures, orphaning their son Simon Belmont. The two eventually meet and work together to stop Dracula, but Alucard cannot bring himself to tell Simon the truth.

Despite a well-deserved happy ending in Lords of Shadow 2 (he and his father reconcile before going off to presumably live a peaceful life), the character of Trevor/Alucard is built upon the same themes of failure and learning to accept terrible change found within dark fantasy. His design is especially reminiscent of one of the darkest and most tortured protagonists in the genre, Michael Moorcock’s Elric from his Elric of Melniboné series. First appearing in the June 1961 issue of Science Fantasy, he stands out amongst most sword and sorcery heroes, different from the hypermasculinity of Conan the Barbarian for his embittered personality, philosophical motifs, and memorable design. Elric is constantly described as looking deathly pale with skin “the color of a bleached skull; and the long hair which flows below his shoulders is milk-white” (Moorcock, 3) and a body that needs a steady stream of potions in order to function properly or else he will gradually grow weaker, nearer towards the edge of death—more a corpse than a human being. 

Lords of Shadow Alucard is very much like a walking corpse as well. His long hair is the same milk-white tone as Elrics’, his skin is deprived of any real color, and his open chest outfit reveals a body that is both robust yet emaciated. Moorcock’s Elric was the prototype for many other white haired, pale faced, otherworldly antiheroes in fantasy that came afterwards and the darkly ethereal aesthetic that reflected his constant state of self-loathing and tragedy was the most ideal fit for this new version of Alucard. Both fail as traditional fantasy heroes, both abhor their physical states, yet both learn to embrace it at the same time.

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A Brief History of Modern Animation

Before we move onto the final iteration of Dracula’s son, let us first acquaint ourselves with an artistic medium that has not been fully discussed yet. This essay has gone into detail concerning the aesthetics of video games, fashion, filmmaking, and music, but where does animation fit in? Since 1891’s Pauvre Pierrot, the only surviving short film predating the silent era with 500 individually painted frames, animation has evolved into one of the most expressive, diverse, and groundbreaking art forms of the modern age. There were earlier methods that fit into the animation mold before Pauvre Pierrot including but not limited to shadow play, magic lantern shows, and the phenakistoscope, one of the first devices to use rapid succession in order to make still images look as though they were moving. Throughout the 20th century, with the help of mainstream studios like Warner Bros. and of course Walt Disney, the medium quickly began to encompass a variety of techniques and styles beyond a series of drawings on paper. Some of the more recognizable and unique styles are as followed:

Digital 2-D animation

Digital 3-D animation

Stop-motion

Puppetry

Claymation

Rotoscoping

Motion capture

Cut-out animation

Paint-on-glass

The most common forms used in film and television are traditional hand drawn and digital 3-D, sometimes merged together in the same product. There has been much debate over which animation technique has more artistic merit and is more “authentic” to the medium, but the reality is that there is no singular true form of animation. Each style brings its own advantages, challenges, and all depends on how it is being used to tell a specific story or evoke a feeling within the audience. For example, the 2017 semi-biographical movie Loving Vincent is animated in a nontraditional style with oil paints in order to create the illusion of a Vincent Van Gogh painting that has come to life. As Loving Vincent is about the influential painter himself and his tragic life, this animation technique works to the film’s advantage. If the story had used a more traditional form like 2-D or 3-D, it might not have had the same impact. Another example like the film A Scanner Darkly starring Keanu Reeves uses a somewhat controversial technique known as rotoscoping, which entails tracing over live action scenes in order to give it a realistic yet still animated feel. A Scanner Darkly is a futuristic crime thriller meant to evoke a sense of surrealism and discomfort, making the uncanniness of rotoscoping the perfect fit for its artificial atmosphere. 

Throughout its history, animation has gone through a number of phases corresponding to political, artistic, and historical events such as propaganda shorts from Walt Disney during World War II and the rise of adult-oriented animators who rode the wave of countercultural movements during the late 1960s and early 70s. Animation meant for older audiences was especially coming into its own as most audiences had become more comfortable associating the medium with the family friendly formula perfected by the Disney company. The only other western mainstream animation studio that could stand toe to toe with Disney while also dabbling in mature subject matter at the time was Warner Bros. and its juggernaut Looney Tunes, which even then was mostly relegated to smoking, slapstick violence, and mild suggestive material. Meanwhile, the works of Ralph Bakshi, arguably the father of elevated adult animated features, dealt with everything from dark humor, sexuality, profanity, and complex themes most of which delved into pure shock value and were highly offensive in order to make a statement. There were later exceptions to this approach including Bakshi’s own adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Wizards, and Fire and Ice, a high profile collaboration with Frank Frazetta, in which both films utilized rotoscope animation to create unique, fantasy-based experiences for mature viewers.

With the right amount of funds and creativity, other countries began developing their own animated features with distinct styles that reflected the culture, social norms, and history in which they originated from. The 1960s are referred to as “the rise of Japanese animation”, or as it came to be known worldwide as anime, thanks to iconic characters of the decade like Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, and Speed Racer. The longest running anime with over 7,700 episodes to date is Sazae-san, based on the popular 1940s comic strip of the same name. Western audiences commonly associate modern anime with over the top scenarios, animation, and facial movements while having little to no basis in reality when it comes to either story or character design. 

While the Walt Disney company was steadily losing its monopoly on the animation industry with financial and critical disappointments (making room for other animators like Don Bluth) until it's renaissance during the 1990s, the 1980s turned into a golden age for ambitious, groundbreaking anime projects. Not only were films like Akira, Grave of the Fireflies, Barefoot Gen, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind among many others, appealing to a wide variety of audiences, they were also bold enough to tackle mature, complex subject matter with a certain degree of nuance that complimented each film’s unique but often times bizarre or surreal styles. Akira watches like a violent cyberpunk splatterfest with extreme body horror and juvenile delinquency, yet its borderline exploitative methods serve a larger purpose. Akira takes place in a bleak, dystopian Japan where Tokyo has been rebuilt after its destruction in 1988, setting up an allegorical story that directly confronts government experimentation and the fallout of nuclear warfare.

Artists of all mediums have always influenced one another and the impact that anime has had on western animation continues to this day whether through passing tongue-in-cheek references, taking inspiration from common anime tropes while also depicting them through a western lens, or shows that feature a heavily emulated anime style like Avatar: The Last Airbender and its successor The Legend of Korra. Then there are shows that completely blur the lines between western animation and anime, with the ultimate distinction usually coming down to where it was originally developed (i.e. North America or Japan).

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Alucard c. 2017

The overall aesthetic and image of Netflix’s Castlevania is built upon a number of different influences, the majority of which come from Japanese animation. Executive producer and long time Castlevania fan Adi Shankar has gone on record saying that the show is partially “an homage to those OVAs that I would watch on TV (...) and I was like, “This is beautiful, and it’s an art form”. He has also directly compared the show to those golden age-era ultra violent anime features of the 80s and 90s, including titles such as Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll. Director Samuel Deats, another avid Castlevania fan, has mentioned the long-running manga series Berserk along with its 1997 anime adaptation as one of the animation team’s primary inspirations numerous times, explaining in further detail in a 2017 interview with io9: “I pulled out my ‘I love the Berserk manga, Blade the Immortal’ and all that. That dark fantasy style of storytelling, character design, how gorey it gets… I put together a bunch of drawings and sketches, and a few color images that channeled all of that”.

Watching Castlevania, the aesthetic references to Berserk are obvious. Both series merge together medieval fantasy elements with gruesome horror but they are also similar in their particular animation styles. One director from Korean studio MOI Animation who partnered with Powerhouse Animation collaborated on the feature length film Berserk: The Golden Age—The Egg of the King along with its two sequels. But the biggest inspiration for the design of Castlevania, especially when it comes to its characters, is Ayami Kojima herself. 

From the pre-production phase, the team at Powerhouse knew they wanted Kojima’s art to be the main basis of how the finished product would look and feel. According to Samuel Deats, “In the back of everyone’s heads, we knew that we wanted to heavily reference the style Ayami Kojima used in the Castlevania games. We wanted to bring the same shade-before-image sort of thing”. However, due to the sheer amount of details and embroidered style of Kojima’s aesthetic, many of her original designs had to be simplified into 2-D animated forms (just as they had to be reduced into pixelated form for Symphony of the Night).

Alucard’s animated design is the best example of this simplification process, but it took some trial and error in order to arrive at the finished product. When Castlevania was originally planned as a movie, his design veered closer to the otherworldliness and corpse-like aesthetic of Lords of Shadow Alucard—something that looked as far from a human being let alone a dhampir as possible. Following the years of stifled development until Netflix picked up the project, Powerhouse opted to fall back on Kojima’s artwork for sheer iconography and recognizability. 

On the one hand, animated Alucard’s facial expressions are identical to his game counterpart with the exception of a few liberties taken; same determined scowl, same intensely golden eyes, and same lush eyelashes (there’s even a note from his character sheet specifically stating that they must cast shadows for close-ups). Most of all, the same feminine androgyny of Kojima’s work. But there are just as many omitted details from Alucard’s updated model as there are those that were carried over from the original design. When compared to Symphony of the Night, his wardrobe seems to be severely lacking in excessive ornaments, instead opting for a sleek black coat with simple gold embellishments, knee high boots with a slight heel, and a white shirt with an open v-neckline. Despite these supposedly easy changes and evocation of Kojima’s art style, Alucard is still one of the more difficult characters to animate as stated by Deats: “I mean, Alucard has to be just right. You can’t miss an eyelash on him without it looking weird”. 

For the most part, it shows in the final product. There are moments when the animation goes off model (as is the case with most 2-D animated shows for time and budgetary reasons), but rarely is Alucard drawn from an unflattering angle. The other reason for his change in design is the fact that Castlevania takes place three centuries before the events of Symphony of the Night. Because of the story constraints and console limitations, players were not given an in-depth look at Alucard’s character beyond his quest to defeat Dracula and the guilt he felt afterwards. It would make sense that his demeanor differs from the stoic nature of how he reacts to certain situations three hundred years later. As a result, Alucard is given a toned-down design to reflect what he might have been like as a younger, brasher, and more immature version of himself.

This immaturity and juvenile nature of his visual image comes through in his portrayal. While the show is in its third season, we will primarily focus on season two as when compared to the others, it revolves around Alucard’s personal journey towards an important aspect of his long established character the most; namely, the reason for his rebellion against Dracula and his eventual act of patricide. Because Alucard only appears as a silhouette in episode one then makes his full introduction during the last fifteen minutes of the final episode, season one gives the audience a very limited idea of his character. What we do get from Alucard is the same impression that Symphony of the Night left fans with: someone who is determined, intensely fixated on his goal, and is willing to use any means to accomplish it—even if it involves striking a tentative truce between a vampire hunter and a scholar of magic. Season two expands upon this, showing an Alucard who is soft-spoken, careful in his mannerisms, more feminine than masculine, yet always rises to the occasion whenever he needs to match Trevor Belmont’s own crassness. For all of his grace, Alucard’s high emotions coupled with an unchecked immaturity (especially in the presence of Trevor) show how ill-equipped he is when dealing with human interactions.

One other piece of evidence that adds to this chink in Alucard’s carefully crafted metaphorical armor is the goal of stopping his father. Throughout small interactions and moments of dialogue, the truce struck between him, Trevor, and Sypha eventually develops into more of a friendship, yet Alucard continues to suffer from extreme tunnel vision, going as far as to chastise his two companionships whenever they get too distracted or unfocused from their mission. This character flaw is also touched upon in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls when characters remark upon Alucard’s (otherwise referred in the game as Arikado) overly serious nature. A flaw that does more to unintentionally push others away rather than any attempt to bring them closer to him.

When Alucard finally achieves his goal of killing Dracula, it leaves him feeling hollow. He doesn’t quite know how to fully process this ultimate decision, maintaining a delicate sense of composure on the outside while in the presence of others. It’s only when Alucard is left alone does he allow the emotions of everything that has just happened to overwhelm him in a moment of genuine vulnerability that was only alluded to in previous scenes.

--

Conclusion

Despite the show being renewed for a fourth season, the future of the Castlevania franchise in general remains uncertain. There’s been no talk of any other past games being set for rerelease, Grimoire of Souls continues to make sporadic updates to its gacha system rather than its story mode, and Konami has since chosen to take a step back from developing video games in favour of manufacturing pachislot machines. Symphony of the Night and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night creator Koji Igarashi has mentioned in past interviews that should Konami somehow make a return to Castlevania, he would be willing to direct a new instalment. But at the present time, rumors have remained rumors and there are no signs of a new official Castlevania game in the near future whether developed by Konami or an outside company.

No matter what direction Castlevania takes in the years to come, it seems as though Alucard will always follow it, just as Dracula and the Belmonts will as well. This is his franchise as much as it is theirs thanks to continued fan popularity. He’s taken many forms in the past thirty years and become the visual representation of certain trends, yet one thing about him never changes: he is still Dracula’s son, the opposite of his father. He can be cruel, powerful, cold, and everything else a Byronic hero should be yet he can also reject his masculine inheritance in both character and aesthetic. 

Above all else, the human side of Alucard is greater than the monstrous side.

--

References

Bannister, Matthew. White Boys, White Noise: Masculinities and 1980s Indie Guitar Rock. Burlington: Taylor & Francis, 2017.

Castlevania Wiki | Fandom. https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Castlevania_Wiki

Dyhouse, Carol. Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Godoy, Tiffany; Hirakawa, Takeji. Style Deficit Disorder: Harajuku Street Fashion, Tokyo. San Francisco: Chronicles Books, 2007.

Hodkinson, Paul. Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture. Bloomsbury Fashion Central, 2002.

Hutchings, Peter. Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1993.

James, Edward; Mendlesohn, Farah. The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Kibby, M.D. Real Men: Representations of Masculinity in the Eighties Cinema. Sydney: Western Sydney University Thesis Collection, 1997.

Kojima, Ayami. Santa Lilio Sangre. ToÌ"kyoÌ" : Asukashinsha, 2010.

Metzger, Patrick. “The Nostalgia Pendulum: A Rolling 30-Year Cycle of Pop Culture Trends.” The Patterning. WordPress.com, 2017. https://thepatterning.com/2017/02/13/the-nostalgia-pendulum-a-rolling-30-year-cycle-of-pop-culture-trends/

Moorcock, Michael. Elric of Melniboné. New York: Ace Fantasy, 1987.

Narcisse, Evan. “The Animation Studio That Made Castlevania Explains Why It Was A Dream Project.” io9. Gizmodo, 2017. https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-animation-studio-that-made-castlevania-explains-why-1797476526

Younker, Terasa. “Japanese Lolita: Dreaming, Despairing, Defying.” Standford Journal of East Asian Affairs, 2012, 97-110.

[bonniebird]

Halloween Pranks ~ Halloween 2019

Kol x Reader

Requested by Anon

Prompt:

“It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.”

“If this is a joke, I’ll kill you!”

“Have you seen (Y/N)?” Kol asked Klaus who rolled his eyes and shrugged.

“Why would I know?” Klaus asked.

“Because of your obsession with Caroline. I assumed you would know where her sister is.” Kol pointed out and glanced around.

Klaus scoffed before reluctantly pointing you out across the party. Kol chuckled as he saw you costume.

It was the stereotypical ball gown with puffed sleeves in bright burgundy and black. Spiderweb lace and a high backed collar finished the look. He could almost find it offensive, but on you it was deliciously adorable.

“Why can’t I hang out with you! Mom said to look after me. Everyone knows Stefan is some cryptid so you can’t say you’re making me go away to keep me safe.” You argued as you followed after Caroline.

“Because! Can’t you go and hang out with Jeremey?” She sighed as she spotted Elena and Bonnie waiting for her.

“Oh, sure. Mom wont get mad about me hanging with a drug addict.” You huffed, getting the message that she wanted to ditch you as you stomped off.

“By yourself Darling?” Kol cooed as he followed after you. When you paused and looked round until you spotted him.

“I just wanted some fun on Halloween.” You said, smiling when he approached. Kol had spotted you at the Mikaelson Ball and there was very little anyone had been able to do to stop you two from ‘bumping’ into each other.

“Well, you could always play a trick on Caroline.” Kol pointed out mischievously. He smiled as you gave him a sly glance as if the curious idea of terrorising Caroline was, for a moment, alluring.

“I couldn’t.” you said decisively, though you stared at the floor when you spoke.

“Oh, come now Darling, no need to be shy about it.” Kol practically purred as he stepped closer. “It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” He felt satisfied when you gave him a devious look and nodded. 

***********************************

Caroline hadn’t been kidding when she said New Orleans was more overflowing with supernaturals. Perhaps picking Halloween hadn’t been the best time to visit, not that you were visiting. You’d be sent by Caroline to hunt down on particular spell book. Which would be easier if you weren’t in a city crawling with witches.

Deciding to take advantage of the festivities, you lurked through the areas you thought, the spell book could be hidden. When nightfall began to wrap around the city you started your search. Going through each home and warehouse you’d found. The last home with at the centre of the French Quarter.

Getting in was suspiciously easy. You suspicions were confirmed when a snapping blur of bared fangs and growling caught you by the neck, slamming you into the wall. After a quick challenge you both calmed and you rolled your eyes.

“Kol. Of course. Why are you here?” You asked him and he chuckled.

“What are you doing here darling? This is my home after all.” Kol said not bothering to move away from where he had you pinned.

“Of course. I’m just looking for an old book.” You muttered, sliding away from Kol who was cauht up in admiring in you since he’d last seen you.

“Well, then why didn’t you ask?” He asked before giving you a schevious look. “Unless you really came to have some Halloween fun. I have a few bodies I need help with.”

He stepped away and grinned as you rolled your eyes only for him to yank you along after him. “If this is a joke, I’ll kill you!”

“I think I’ve proven I can defy death.” He said glancing back at you with a wink.

“That’s the real Halloween nightmare.” You muttered, asking him chuckle as he leads you to the nearest bar.

[creative-aj]

TALES

OF

LILLYCO

                                                                                          Made for fun because I have been thinking of this for ages.

            PROLOGUE

Kari Anyu was living a normal life at home, she thought it was perfectly ordinary that her father was the chief of police, and her mother was the mayor of the town of LillyCo. But her friends and acquaintances at school all respected her, she understood, but it was kind of annoying how she always heard what she wanted to hear. She wanted some constructive criticism, not a bunch of requests that chicken wing flavored slushies should be legal. 

She thought of that and asked herself; 

“who the frick would drink something like that?” the other kids in her high school were all very weird, and her gym teacher was a furball of torture. 

She thought back to the time they were at basketball practice, and a student accidentally kicked her in the face with the ball so hard that she fell onto the pavement with a nosebleed and head injury. She was still told to lift weights while her wristbands were tied so tight that her paws were purple. That stuff was normal around here.

First, I will tell you about this said place and how it started.

There were 10 tribes all living together, but the most powerful leader of the light tribe, Amai Shan, decided that they should be split up because the tribes often quarreled a lot. Then, the leader of the dark tribe, Nightblade Kaii, disagreed. Saying that nobody should care about violence because it happens every day. This angered Amai, who everyone else agreed with, she made an announcement, and with a raise of her staff, the tribes were split up into different realms created by magic. The cave realm, the earth realm, the glitch realm, the ice realm, the aqua realm, the flame realm, the galaxy realm, the universe realm, the underground realm, the sky realm, and finally, the overworld. That last realm was empty, Amai, before retreating to her realm, brought in intelligent abnormal creatures, nekos, anthros, kitsune, cryptids, Lycans, paranormalities, and humanlike things with odd abilities. Others moved in, giving the place a name, LillyCo. They then elected a mayor, who made rules to follow. Soon, citizens were getting jobs and education, until there was a disagreement between humans and abnormalities, which created a battle lasting up until this very day. They still dislike each other, but prefer living their own lives….

….for now.

TALES 

OF LILLYCO

                        CHAPTER 1

One day, during Lillycan work hours, an old television with strict labels, DO NOT TURN ON BY ANY MEANS flickered. Static flashed on and off until seven children burst out of the screen. The children looked dirty and scratched up, one girl was bruised and beaten but managed to scramble to her tiny feet. 

“Hey! Is it just me or is this raincoat getting super tight around my chest?” she asked herself.

“Where exactly are we?” asked a boy with a chained foot

“Wherever we are, it’s probably better than that bloodbath of a world!” Another kid sat up and rubbed her eyes.

“Um, sister? You can unbutton that you know.” A girl in an oversized hoodie put a quivering hand near the girl in the yellow raincoat

“BACK!!” she smacked her hand. “Don’t touch me there or I’ll bite you!!”

“Geez! Sorry, Six.”

Hope Anyu stood in shock.

“Wha-... I haven’t seen a surviving child from the Little Nightmares dimension in years! This is impossible, are you holograms?” she asked

“Uh.. no..?” said the coated girl

“Please, children. Introduce yourselves.” said Hope.

“M’kay. Six Mawchild.”

“Seven Mawchild”

“Four Mawchild”

“Flicker Mawchild”

“Noodle Mawchild”

“Ten Mawchild

“And Eleven Mawchild”

“Fascinating!” Said Hope. “Now, you may pass.” The children thanked her and passed into town, Six gave Seven a wet lick with her forked tongues.

“Hey, no biting.” he joked.

The children came to a large building, it looked like a hotel with multiple stories. Six absolutely hated sleeping outside, so she suggested they see about it. The children walked into a beautiful scenery. Paintings on the walls, a golden chandelier, spinning doors, and lots of corridors. Along with a lot of elevators. 

“Whoa!!” Eleven exclaimed, “It’s magnificent!”

“Hello there!” said the lady at the front desk, who appeared to be a humanized calico with the name, ‘Sarah’ on her collar. “Welcome to LillyCo elementary school and dormitory, are you here for a room?” 

“Yes, absolutely!” said Six. 

“Here are your keys then, enjoy your stay!” She handed everyone a card with a barcode and some room numbers on it, and a map of the place. When Six and Seven got into the room they were both placed in, Six fell onto the bed and sighed long and hard, 

“Aaahhh, Sev, have you ever lived somewhere so pampering?”

“Nowhere, not to mention there’s clean air here.” he looked out the window to the blue sky. 

“Yea, the air back in the maw was toxic.” said Six.

“We do NOT speak of it.” Seven grunted in a harsh tone, Six apologized. Suddenly, she felt really tired. 

“Sev, I'm gonna go to bed for a little while.”

“That’s okay, Six. I’ll be meeting with the others downstairs, goodbye, my love.” He kissed her on the cheek and walked out the door.

Six woke up sweating in the hot weather. She felt dizzy and woozy. 

“Darn, it feels like I forgot the AC.” she hopped out of bed, only to see an odd-looking chain necklace on her nightstand. It was linked together firmly with tiny chains, and an upside-down crucifix on it, it looked like a cross with two lines on the bottom. The necklace smoked as if infused with dark energy. “Bizzare,” she said. The dark energy was so alluring to her that she had to put it on. Upon wearing it, the cross shape was oddly heavy, she didn’t seem to mind it though. The smoky substance disappeared and gave Six a tingly feeling in her body. There was no doubt that this piece of jewelry was enchanted, and had strengthened her powers. 

“Oh, you found the thing I see.” said a distorted, familiar voice.

“What do you mean? It was on my nightsta- Gluttony?!” Six turned around to see a girl who looked identical to her, besides her black hair, pale skin, gleaming red eyes, tall horns that stuck straight out of her head, a glowing pentagram on her stomach, and two tails with stingers, one shaped like a heart, the other with a dagger-like end. This girl was once Six’s shadow and a voice in her head. “you look... Different.” Six was quite puzzled.

“So do you! Heck, when was the last time you wore peck-peck shorts and a cropped shirt?” Gluttony smirked. 

“Uh, never but-” Six was interrupted by a scream coming from the room two doors to the left of her. She swung her door open and ran there. She saw Flicker cowering in a corner hiding from a rubber spider on her dresser.

“KILL IT.” she demanded. “KILL IT NOW.” Six could barely hold back her laughter and collapsed. “What are you laughing at, Six?!” Flicker asked in an angry manner.

“That’s fake!!” Six giggled and picked up the spider. “Also, I saw Noodle placing it here.” 

“I need a talk with my brother, thank god it’s not real.” she vanished into thin air.

Seven came back later that night.

“Sorry I was gone for so long,” he said.

“Oh, it’s ok. I was planning on looking for you though.” said Six.

“You mustn't worry about me, dear.” Seven held Six’s hands in his.

“We should sleep now, goodnight.” Six kissed him on the lips and the two fell asleep hugging.

Seven was the first to wake up to an early start, he saw a blue light under a crack in the ceiling dripping water. He investigated the blue light and took the blanket off it. It seemed to be a wet foot brace in the shape of a fish, it smoked with blue energy and oozed water. He wanted to get a closer look at it but ended up taking his chain off quite easily and put on the foot brace where the shackle was. Energy took him over and he felt the brace lock onto him, he raised his hand pointed to the sink to test his water bending skills, but they were stronger than before, this thing was an enchanted charm of power.

“Ah, Nightblade was right. We do really suck at hiding stuff.” said a voice that sounded exactly like Seven. He slowly turned around hearing this. Seven saw a boy with a shadow child mask who looked similar to him, but a darker version, and had small horns and a stinger tail.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Me? Or that freak in the mirror?” asked the stranger.

“You.” Seven corrected him.

“Just call me pride, but I’m basically shadow Seven.” explained the stranger.

“Did I summon you by picking up this thing that won’t come off my foot?” asked Seven.

“Okay, first of all,” said Pride, “You didn’t even try, and second of all, no. you didn’t.”

“Oh, okay. So you’re like that horrible she-demon who tried to eat me alive?” Seven asked.

“You mean Gluttony?” Pride gave Seven a confused look. “No, I’m not like her, but I do like- know what? Nevermind.” he blushed but managed to cover it. Just then, Six awakened. 

“SEVENNN!! IT’S 3:00 IN THE MORNING AND I’M TRYING TO S.L.E.E.P!” she fell back asleep and pulled the blanket over her head. Seven began to sweat profusely.

“Dude, you ok?” asked Pride.

“No.,” said Seven, “She hates it when I wake her up..” 

Later that morning, at about 8:00 MA, Six was reading through a booklet about school when a bell rang. Six and Seven ran out with their school supplies and found their classroom after walking up 10 flights of stairs. 

“Well..” Six panted. “We’re gonna have to do this every weekday.”

“Great.” said Seven, “The last thing I want is to be out of breath before class all the time.”

Chapter 1 of TOC more coming shortly :)

Story by @fennekinstudioz all credit to her

Cast so far:

@fennekinstudioz and me

You still can join so if you do please ask us.

[ritualmichael]

“how long have you been waiting to tell me that?” duncan

(changed the prompt slightly, hope you don’t mind.)

It was your third time going out with Duncan, if you could consider purposefully running into him at the exclusive, extremely overpriced bar that you knew he visited most late nights as “going out”.

Regardless, the previous nights you had spent seated in the leather booth across from the handsome, seemingly older man had been exciting. It might’ve been the drinks he kept ordering for you that made you feel warm and giddy, but there was something undeniably alluring about Duncan.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked you shortly after he beckoned you over to his booth for the first time by sending you a drink at the bar. You noted his expensive taste in the dark liquor in his glass.

“You are one of many rich, nicely dressed guys in this place. You’re not entirely distinct.”

That made him laugh under his breath, nodding his head before knocking back the rest of the liquor in his glass. “I can change that.”

You were on your second drink of the night and could feel the familiar warmth spreading through your body. It made you bolder, you discovered. You would say things your sober self would never actually let out, actually laugh at things no matter how ridiculous you thought you sounded, and you became extremely tactile.

Reaching across the table, you ran your finger over the ring that sat around one of Duncan’s fingers. Right hand, you noted. Thank god.

“What’s it mean?” You asked, eyes lingering on his hands and your fingers tracing over his skin.

“Family heirloom. It could probably buy me ten of these bars,” he said smoothly, letting go of his glass and running his hand along the table towards you, the drag of the metal ring against the surface sending a chill down your spine. 

“I think you could buy ten of these bars regardless,” you teased, running your fingers along the veins of his hand. You struggled to not get distracted by all of the things his hands could do. Have done, but just not to you. Not yet. 

You shook your head a bit, trying to rid yourself of the thoughts. 

“Come here,” Duncan said lowly, making you look up at him as his hand gently, but firmly, wrapped around your wrist. You could feel how red your cheeks were, both from the alcohol and his presence. 

Nodding, you slid out of your side of the booth, drink in your free hand and sat down beside him in the small seat. You silently praised yourself for doing that without looking clumsy and drunk off of only a few drinks. 

His hand went to your thigh, resting on the exposed skin and giving it a small squeeze. You scooted closer to him, pressing into his side and parting you thighs slightly. Bold of you, but you finally had the chance and you were taking it. 

His brow quirked at the motion, looking at you smugly. He finally won you over and he knew it, especially since you weren’t being too discreet. With his free hand, he reached out and tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear before letting his hand rest on your neck, thumb grazing your jaw. The goosebumps on your skin were undeniable. 

Your eyes went to his mouth, the lips that you had watched him run his tongue over or bite down on when he laughed. Without realizing, you wet your own lips and shifted in your seat, making your dress ride up even further on your thighs, revealing more skin to Duncan. 

“Take me home with you,” you breathed out as his hand inched further and further up your thigh, your eyes fluttering as you tried to compose yourself. 

“How long have you been waiting to ask me that?” He teased, voice low to match yours, especially since your faces were a mere foot apart. 

“Shut up and call your driver, Shepherd,” you groaned, dropping your head down on his shoulder and felt him shift next to you, pulling his phone out of his pocket to do as you asked. 

-

tag list since i never write lmao: @dudesorriso @silkyhoneybaby @avesatanaslangdon @lucifer-owns-this-pussy @sodanova @romanoffkittens @heelsamizayn @lovely-langdon @langdonpilots @cryptid-coalition @cherryberryann @omnipotentdemoness @marzipan-romanoff @featherpool-852 @langdonsdemon @slasherloversposts @wroteclassicaly @lxngdonscoven @01-800-mary @mcenziehughes @kylolangdon @kinlovecody @sammythankyou @antichristinq @queencocoakimmie @venusxxlangdon

[fangirltothefullest]

Do you think you could tell me more on each of the fusions personality please? Like what they like to do and what not.

Part of the reason I leave this kind of thing vague is because I like to discover what other people think of the fusions and I don’t want to force you to see them in a little box.

I can give a basic idea of how I personally see them though: 

Decan has a film noir personality: smooth, alluring, but also dark and mysterious and gets flustered easily when Viran is in the room; loves cats, mildly allergic to dogs, completely colour blind and envious of colour-seers because of how the others describe Viran’s eyes. Absolutely smitten with Viran.

Moxie is compassionate and kind and loving, often quiet and always listening and super perceptive; animal lover and shy about being without clothes not because they are insecure but just because they prefer not to be bare. Loves Anvity and Vircei the most.

Vircei is wild but clingy and childish and skittish for loud noises; likes comforts and space but also needy of closeness and physical affection. Not very good at signing ‘I love you’ but will show you by bringing you cool things he found.

Viran is chaotic and anxious and obsessive but excitable and eager; always talking and always with coffee, a bit nihilistic and cynical but also optimistic about his research. Lots of coffee-induced energy but will crash easily. Loves his guinea pigs to death and keeps them extremely loved and has an enormous cage for them to play in but often keeps them out when he;s in his room so they can have fun exploring. Loves researching cryptids for all hours, has insomnia and lives off coffee. Really loves Decan.

Deitton is manipulative and judgmental, never really meaning anything he says and using people. Aloof and easily irritated. Angry a lot but hides it.

Patteit is sweet and helpful and eager to please, wanting to be there for others just as their two halves were there to help protect them. Suffers from PTSD and loud noises or the sight of blood makes them panic. Generally passive and trying their best, has a huge soft spot for Lodec.

Anvity is prissy, royal and elegant but demanding and fiercely protective and possessive. Will cry if he chips a nail and will whine if he wants something that’s just out of reach. Rather lazy unless he absolutely needs to be otherwise. Fashion ho and a slut for attention be it platonic, romantic and sexual. Very sexual as a person and not in the least bit ashamed. Really loves Moxie and Vircei the most.

Creaity is passionate and sunny, eager and excited. He loves very very openly and deeply and literally wears his heart on his chest when he’s extra passionate. The epitome of lawful good, justice means a lot to him and he is always after fairness and equality. Ears and tail are very expressive. Will purr when happy. Loves all of them so much he can;t choose a favourite.

Gancei is quiet and reserved and only talks when there’s something to be gained. Fiercely standoffish and a huge loner and will push people away.

Lodec is openly needy but doesn’t deliberately seek it out, too hesitant about it. Wants to be cared about but often feels like he doesn’t deserve it. Massively insecure but trying very very hard to do good things to feel better and to be accepted. Suffers from PTSD and needs physical comfort when he falls into a panic if he remembers or is reminded of all the stuff he had to do in his world. Really really wants to atone but also secretly afraid he can’t. Lodec really likes Patteit.

Progic is excitable and doesn’t always understand the word ‘no’ when he’s come up with the idea for an invention. Was high key treated like he was stupid so he’s constantly seeking praise for his work (which Moric provides). Very proud of his inventions and very eager to be useful but also will get down if he feels like the others don’t need him. Often pushing himself past his limits and kind of bad at self care. Basically married to Moric.

Moric is a gentle soul, passive in nature. Eager to learn and share his knowledge but also perfectly content to take a back seat to let other people shine. Always proud of the others. Sometimes wonders if he;s even really useful but he’s extremely optimistic so those thoughts don’t generally stick. VERY good listener and always good for offering advice. Tries to make sure the household is always running smoothly so he goes to Moxie to ask about their perceptions a lot. Often Moric and Moxie are in cahoots to make the house a more stable and loving environment. He’s not really one who would seek adventure but goes along for the ride when it comes. Protective and proud house dad, he’ll put your art on the fridge no matter who you are. He has drawings from kids at the library who gave it to him in a folder and cherishes it. Loves children, loves reading stories to them. Very fond of photography! Basically house-husband of Progic. 

These above are basically my official personality headcanons.... HOWEVER, I really like it when I can see people putting a flare on their personalities! 

@heckoffmate gave Progic a kind of chaotic mad scientist energy that I adore! Several people see Vircei as being cute and others see him as being quiet or a little bit depressed and in need of affection, and others gave him the personality where he won’t take any shit from people like Gancei and I ove all of these interpretations.

What I’m saying is, if you’re gonna play around with my fusions then have fun with them. Give them the personalities you’d like to and just sort of play. I have my own ideas about how they act and behave, but don’t see that and think you can’t have fun with them. XD 

[ainews]

Walls, those structures that are built to create a physical boundary, have long been a source of fascination for humans. We have used them to defend ourselves from enemies, to mark our territories, and to provide privacy. But beyond their practical purposes, walls have also served as a means to preserve and protect something much more mysterious and intriguing – cryptids.

Cryptids, also known as creatures of folklore or myth, are said to exist in our world but have remained elusive and hidden from human eyes. These include creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Chupacabra. And while the existence of these beings is highly debated, one thing is certain – walls have played a crucial role in keeping their stories and the allure of their possible existence alive.

Walls have been used for centuries to keep out unwanted visitors and to shield sensitive information or valuable objects. In the context of cryptids, they serve a similar purpose – to protect these creatures from discovery and exploitation. Many cryptids are said to live in remote or inaccessible areas, making it nearly impossible for humans to stumble upon them by accident. However, walls have been strategically built in these areas to keep curious onlookers and potential exploiters at bay.

But walls not only serve as a physical barrier, but they also create a sense of mystery and wonder, which is crucial for the survival of cryptids. The Halcyon nature of walls, denoting a time that was idyllically happy and peaceful, adds to this sense of mystery and nostalgia for a time when these creatures roamed freely without fear of human interference. The very existence of these walls and the need to protect something hidden behind them fuels the imagination and curiosity of those who seek to uncover the secrets they hold.

Moreover, the use of walls as a means of exposition for cryptids adds a layer of authenticity to the lore and legends surrounding these creatures. The idea that there are physical structures and boundaries in place to protect them gives more weight to their existence and adds to the overall intrigue and fascination surrounding them.

In some cases, walls themselves have become part of the legend of certain cryptids. The Great Wall of China, for example, is not only a symbol of ancient Chinese civilization but is also said to have been built to keep out ferocious and mythical creatures from the north. This blending of reality and mythology only adds to the mystique of both the wall and the cryptids it is said to protect.

In conclusion, walls may seem like ordinary objects, but in the context of cryptids, they take on a whole new meaning. They serve not only as physical barriers to protect these creatures but also as a source of intrigue and wonder that keeps their legends alive. So the next time you come across a wall, take a moment to ponder the secrets and mysteries that may be hiding behind it.