#this really is just me realizing my vampire obsessions have gone too far btw

[twelvedreamsfortheredqueen]

Vampyr’s Vampires and Their Connections to Previous Vampiric Figures in History: An Analysis

When Outermode interviewed Stéphane Beauverger, narrative director, and Grégory Szucs, art director, of Dontnod, they both spoke of the sexual elements of the vampire as a creature itself, it’s history and mythological roots, and why that within Vampyr, the player is always damned to misfortune no matter their choices. Above all, however, they spoke about their vision for what kind of vampire that Vampyr was meant to represent:

“We wanted to go back to the roots of the vampire figure. The Victorian, tragic, romantic, and adult vampire. Who is very sexual. Who is a very erotic creature, always seducing his prey. I wanted to go back to this gothic vision of that particular character...The vampire is seductive. He knows what he was, who he was, and he’s always trying to remember his love. He’s a quite erotic and sentimental figure, a romantic figure actually.” 

I wanted to dig deeper into this aspect, of exactly what the developers were trying to accomplish with the vampires they presented to us within the game, and most importantly, what type of vampire Jonathan is as well as other characters in the game, and how we got to those kinds of vampires. This will be a pretty long essay, and will only be covering vampire works that I believe Dontnod may have taken some inspiration from (since Vampyr’s inspirations as a whole branch much farther than only vampiric literature), but I will do my best to split it into sections so you can skip around. I also don’t have any kind of formal training in writing essays, so I apologize if anything seems messy or hard to follow! Just send me a PM/ask if anything is off or strange to read. And of course, please message me if you feel there’s something inaccurate or want to share any thoughts! Feel free to respond and add to this essay as you wish!

Be wary of unmarked spoilers! Most of the sections in this essay will discuss Vampyr in length and will be chock-full with them, so do not read the essay if you don’t want the game spoiled or ruined for you (there will also be spoilers of other vampire works, but they will be marked)!

Tagging you, @cursedbethechoice as asked! And a big thank you for helping me with sources and editing!

Here are the sections to skip through with CTRL + F/Scroll to in order: 

I. The History of the Vampire: Background II. The Dichotomies of Vampyr’s Species: Ekon, Skal, Vulkod, Nimrod, Ichor (Ikor), and Disasters III. Credits, Extra Comments, and Sources

I. The History of the Vampire: Background

Before we start any discussion on how Vampyr connects to other vampire works, we first need to establish what a vampire was and most importantly, what it has become in our era and the era during Vampyr‘s  time, which was 1918, and just generally answer the questions: What is a vampire? What were they known as before present times? And what has remained throughout all the years of their interpretation? This section will mostly be re-iterating the history, and will have a little bit of analysis here and there, but it’ll mostly be to help give a general understanding of how the vampire came to be! (*Also note, that vampire works and history are INCREDIBLY long and require their own anthologies to truly go through them all, so I only picked and discussed notable ones, but many more works in vampire history have changed the way we view vampires!). The vampire that we know of is actually very modern compared to the whole history of vampires. Vampires in ancient times were not even referred to as vampires. Ancient vampires were always associated with some sort of ruin, unholy aspects, and said to be the work of Evil or the Devil itself. Vampires are stories of humans, and we as humans are made of blood, so something that rids of that life force, is something that invites death to our door. The majority of cultures in the world have some sort of vampiric variation of a mythological creature: shtriga in Albania, garkains in Australia, jiangshi in China, lamia in Libya.  Many figures or creatures that already existed became vampires in a variation of these myths or shifted into one, the same applied to religious figures. Lilith (or Lilītu)  is the most famous example in Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism), seen as a dangerous woman and demon of the night for denying Adam subservience before Eve, and has existed since the Old Testament in the Bible, from Genesis 1:27, where it was stated that she was born from the same soil Adam was in. Away from Jerusalem, were the kumiho (gumiho) in Korea; wicked, nine-tailed fox spirits that could freely transform, often as beautiful women, in order to seduce men and eat their livers or their hearts.  In the interview I linked above, Beauverger mentions his own ancient vampiric creature, the Greek creature known as a “vrykolakas”  (or vorvolakas or vourdoulakas), which is an example of an ancient vampire creature that spanned to ancient Greece. It is a word derived from the Slavic word “vǎrkolak”, and was known ultimately known as a creature of blood. The Greeks believed that a person would become a vrykolakas if they lived in an unholy manner, were excommunicated from their communities, left buried in unconsecrated (unblessed) ground, or by eating the meat of a sheep that was harmed by a wolf or even a werewolf. This legend spanned from Ancient Greece to the Ottoman Greece periods, the earliest recorded being the Neolithic period at Cyrpus, or circa. 4500–3900/3800 BCE. Vampyr itself actually mentions these creatures within the game:

Full screenshot

Full screenshot

But throughout the eras between ancient times to our modern beliefs, what did these creatures look like, and what abilities did they develop that stuck with us today? Given how unholy they were and believed to be, many of them did not take the shapes of humans, and instead took the shape of monstrous, grotesque beasts. Many creatures could even be compared more to werewolves, and some took shapes that were incomparable altogether. The most modern example of this monstrous look before the evolution to the more humane, walking corpse that we know of, was the old German horror film Nosferatu in 1922, who looked like this. 

Chupacabras, or literally “goat-suckers”, are creatures famously known in parts of the Americas and were first have said to be seen in Puerto Rico, and expanded to Chile and Mexico. “Chupar” means “to suck”, “cabra” means goat, and this refers to how they would often attack and suck the blood of livestock. They’re described in a variety of ways, but all of them remain quite monstrous. 

Jeff Carter, Flickr, 2001.

Some interpretations are much more dog-like, and is one of the many examples of how vampiric creatures have been compared to werewolf or canine-like mythological creatures (many legends often considered the two synonymous, as werewolves were known to have a craving for flesh, and were also seen as damned or cursed).

“Chupacabra” by 000Fesbra000 on Deviantart.

The abilities denoted by these creatures, be they humane or monstrous in appearance, have remained rather consistent throughout folklore. The main key ability would of course, be the ability to consume blood or at least, have their main source of sustenance be from blood. The majority of their abilities came from some malicious and profane force, often victimizing the poor soul through means of brute force, seduction, or by haunting their own bodies. Vampires are creatures of physical and spiritual violation (in the act that they both violate the body by ripping it of its life force, and by spiritually “corrupting” the soul and shaping the victim to a vampire, in many legends). Many succubi and incubi, for instance, are synonymous with vampires due to their legendary notoriety for preying on those in slumber, and because sexuality in many religious was deemed impious outside of marriage. Many ancient cultures considered sleeping to be a moment where one’s dreams held a greater meaning to the Gods (Ancient Egyptians), or that it was reaching a state of pure consciousness (Hinduism). Thus, anything that disrupted such pureness and piety would be something that one could easily deem as demonic and evil. 

The Nightmare, 1781, Johann Heinrich Füssli 

Incubus, c. 1870 - 1879 

To further expand on how incubi and succubi were seen as bastardizations of religious faith, notice the pose the incubus takes in the second image. It is similar to the pose Jesus took during his crucifixion. There is also fire in his right hand and a dagger in his left. The right hand is often associated with salvation and fortune, yet it is being burnt, much like the infinite flames that occur in Hell. The left hand is the sinister hand due to it’s association with evil in the Classical Latin era because of translations; the word “sinister” during this era was synonymous with outright malignancy. It was seen as the hand touched by the Devil. Estries of Jewish mythology were specifically female vampires that were considered identical to succubi. The name is a derivation from the French word “strix” or lit. “night owl”; blessed with haunting beauty and a craving for blood, they were seen as mistresses of the night that fed on the living. Specific legends tell of succubi that would kill pregnant women or babes out of spite and envy, and some would seduce (or rape) men as they slept. Much like many other vampiric creatures, they could take the shape of various animals that are still symbolically associated with vampires—cats, bats, and birds. This seductive and beguiling quality of the vampire we know today came due to the nigh-synonymous association with sexually demonic creatures. The ability of mesmerization we see in modern vampires is also due to this association. From these monstrous depictions, however, as time moved forward along with science, the vampire transitioned into a much more humane form (while the succubi and incubi I mentioned above could take a humane shape, they were rarely depicted as such and were more commonly depicted as eerie beings that simply took the flesh of a human as their skeleton of sorts). This is where the most modern examples start beginning to take shape. European folklore (Western and Eastern) had an intense craze and mass hysteria in the 18th century due to the fear that the dead were now rising from their graves to haunt their loved ones and cause mischief. This craze fascinated and feared many, spreading all across Europe and causing the mass desecration of graves, stalking, and accusing very healthy people as vampiric in this hysteria. Why the hysteria at all? And why was the dead during this time associated with vampires in the first place? Without becoming too grisly in details, this was due to ignorance about the process of human decomposition. Our image of the modern vampire being pale with translucent veins, and lack of breath or heartbeat, is due to this old belief. Early folk beliefs around this time believed that the “swelling” that occurred during the process of death was proof that the corpse was indeed, undead, believing that the swelling was their stomach after feeding on the blood of the living. Remember the ancient vrykolakas that I mentioned? Their features, when not described as lupine, fit this obsession with corpses perfectly.

“They do not decay; instead, they swell and may even attain a "drum-like" form, being very large, they have a ruddy complexion, and are, according to one account, "fresh and gorged with new blood". People with red hair and gray eyes at this time in history were thought to be vampires according to accounts near the region of modern Serbia.“

Corpses that still did not decay were seen as vampires for appearing “healthier” than expected, and holes near the grave, for whatever reason, was seen as a sign of the vampire leaving their coffin and returning. Some even said the corpses had fresh blood on their faces (this is due to that gases that build up in the body, which causes blood to ooze from the mouth and the eyes, and other orifices), or that they felt that throughout the night if they lived near a graveyard with a vampire, that they were being pressed on in their sleep (another allusion to succubi and incubi), or that the work of a poltergeist occurred nearby in malicious ways (vampires were commonly also seen as disturbed spirits; to be technical, the creature did not have to be physical to be considered a vampire—it merely had to feed on blood and be seen as “evil” in some aspect). In reality, this was the result of decomposition either being slowed or naturally occurring at a different rate than expected due to either the condition of the soil or the temperature of the land. The pathology of this presumably unimaginable dilemma in pre-industrial society was explained perfectly through Paul Barber’s work in “Vampires, Burial, and Death”:

This causes the body to look "plump", "well-fed", and "ruddy"—changes that are all the more striking if the person was pale or thin in life. In the Arnold Paole case, an old woman's exhumed corpse was judged by her neighbours to look more plump and healthy than she had ever looked in life. The exuding blood gave the impression that the corpse had recently been engaging in vampiric activity... After death, the skin and gums lose fluids and contract, exposing the roots of the hair, nails, and teeth, even teeth that were concealed in the jaw. This can produce the illusion that the hair, nails, and teeth have grown. At a certain stage, the nails fall off and the skin peels away, as reported in the Blagojevich case—the dermis and nail beds emerging underneath were interpreted as "new skin" and "new nails"...

Even multiple diseases were presumed to be the work of vampires. There is even such a thing as “Clinical vampirism”, which is an obsession with drinking blood (poor Mr. Renfield)! Porphyria was linked with vampiric legends as modern as 1985. Rabies also shared a common connection, because vampires throughout this time period of European hysteria were seen to be weak to garlic and light. Rabies also caused an animal (or person) to have neurological disturbances in their brain that caused them to become hyper-sexual, nocturnal, feral, and most of all: bite others and froth at the mouth with blood; all common traits of a vampire. Bats and wolves also carried Rabies as a disease. Not to also mention real Vampire Bats do exist! Three species specifically exist, the Desmodus rotundus native to the Americas, Diphylla ecaudata native to South America, Central America, and Southern Mexico, and lastly, the Diaemus youngi native to Argentina and Trinidad. These kinds of occurrences truly show how superstition originates from the environment around us and that, in our ignorance, we seek ways to explain what was otherwise seen as fantastical and more importantly: impossible.  With impossibility, comes infatuation.

Now, instead of monsters written in books and told through word of mouth as bedtime stories to haunt us, we were starting to see vampires as something very real through this hysteria. Our own loved ones, reanimated to haunt us and cause mischief, corrupted by the Devil himself. The vampire of this era was now inevitably human, yet horrifically inhuman, but what was once human, is often left behind as something romanticised and mourned over. Romanticism in Europe spanned from the 1800s to the end of the 1850s, alongside it came the revival of the Gothic Era, architecture, and literature, a juxtaposition of movements that focused on what it means to be human, and what it means to face death. We see here the birth of the Penny Dreadful, serial tales of horror that costed you a penny, telling the stories of the supernatural, the underworld, and other thrillers. Here is where we finally get to the modern vampire that we know of and is seen in Vampyr. The modern, romantic, charming, and heartrendingly melancholic vampire of our age originated itself in the work of The Vampyre by John William Polidori in 1819, just 99 years before the events of Vampyr in 1918. Lord Ruthven makes his iconic appearance as one of the first vampires in English literature; a suave, charismatic, and seductive gentleman who is both amorist and deceiver. (THE FOLLOWING BLOCKQUOTE SPOILS THE ENTIRE PLOT OF THE STORY):

“In the story, a young Englishman Aubrey meets Lord Ruthven, a man of mysterious origins who has entered London society. Aubrey accompanies Ruthven to Rome, but leaves him after Ruthven seduces the daughter of a mutual acquaintance. Aubrey travels to Greece where he becomes attracted to Ianthe, an innkeeper's daughter. Ianthe tells Aubrey about the legends of the vampire. Ruthven arrives at the scene and shortly thereafter Ianthe is killed by a vampire. Aubrey does not connect Ruthven with the murder and rejoins him in his travels. The pair are attacked by bandits and Ruthven is mortally wounded. Before he dies, Ruthven makes Aubrey swear an oath that he will not mention his death or anything else he knows about Ruthven for a year and a day. Looking back, Aubrey realizes that everyone who Ruthven met ended up suffering. Aubrey returns to London and is amazed when Ruthven appears shortly thereafter, once again alive. Ruthven reminds Aubrey of his oath to keep his death a secret. Ruthven then begins to seduce Aubrey's sister while Aubrey, helpless to protect his sister, has a nervous breakdown. Ruthven and Aubrey's sister are engaged to marry on the day the oath ends. Aubrey writes a letter to his sister revealing Ruthven's history and dies. The letter does not arrive in time. Ruthven marries Aubrey's sister, kills her on their wedding night, and escapes.”

The short story became immensely popular, due to the clear connections to Lord Byron’s works and the work of a Byronic Hero, arguably the titular character of the Romantic age. Lord Ruthven came decades before Dracula, and was the character who transformed the once atrocious creature of the Devil to a suave man or woman of the night, whom stalks and dotes on his prey before consuming them to their ultimate demise. The vampire from thereon was now a creature of sole temptation, of a now very humane lust and representation of our sins. It held so much influence to the public’s perception of vampirism that the story itself has become a citation when discussing the development of vampiric folklore. It led to an even further vampiric craze all the way to just before the Edwardian Era (Georgian and Regency eras, from 1714 - 1837 and 1811 - 1820 respectively, to the most infamously known Victorian Era 1837 - 1901 of where vampire works were the most prominent, all the way up to the Edwardian Era of 1901 - 1914. Vampyr takes place just at the end of the First World War Era of 1914 - 1918), with works such as the play Le Vampyre in 1820, the opera Der Vampyr  in 1828, Varney the Vampire: Feast of Blood from 1845 - 1847, and the ever famous Dracula in 1897.  Varney the Vampire may seem unknown and foreign compared to the legacy of Dracula, but the 876 page epic itself deserves mention. Many of the major tropes of the vampire we now see was even passed onto Dracula from Sir Francis Varney himself. The image of the vampire with fangs to leave the trademark punctured flesh wound on the neck, attacking a sleeping maiden through a window in the dead of night, hypnotizing others with a mere glance, and of course—bearing unnatural, inhumane strength and prowess. Most importantly, he defines the sympathetic vampire of the Romantic era and ours. One whom despises his condition yet cannot help but succumb and stay slave to it; it is virtually its own archetype and a definitive trait of the Romantic vampire. Several times through the series, Varney attempts suicide only to return in another kind of origin story, immortal and undying, suffering evermore. His vampirism, unlike works that succeed this one, was not granted to him, but rather it was cursed onto him. Only after betraying Oliver Cromwell, a royalist of the English military, and murdering his own son by accident in a fit of rage, the curse was then put upon him. 

This idea that vampirism is a “sin” and only placed upon those who lived an unholy life or committed a great crime is not new, but Varney brought this sympathy and sin to the modern age, and its legacy has remained with us since. The archetype of the sympathetic, self-deprecating vampire finally saw its natal day with Varney.  Of course, Dracula would forever change the face of vampires as we know it, expanding onto the Romanticised image that Lord Ruthven’s and Sir Francis Varney’s legacies left behind with the archetypal vampire of Count Dracula. A charming foreigner from Romania, Transylvania, seeking refuge in London, situated in a decaying castle near the Borgo Pass of the Carpathian Mountains. Unlike the typical depiction of Eastern European folklore of vampires which was that of decaying corpse or spirit that ravaged the lands (strigoi) Dracula was more like Ruthven, boding the proud, aristocratic charm so commonly shared with vampires in modern times. He is nostalgic with Jonathan Harker about his travels, seducing with his knowledge and kindness towards his guests whilst hiding his deep plots of terror beneath the castle walls, three brides, and unbeknownst to Jonathan, begins to haunt the women he holds dearest to him. All of these figures associated vampires with traditionalism, old spirits in youthful forms, and most of all, aristocracy and human gentry (Ekons). 

Dracula also began to make vampires a representation of the greatest sexual sin or forbidden desire of that era, and some saw vampires as downright sexual predators, given their relation to sexual demons (for Dracula, it was a hint to Invasion Literature, of Eastern European men coming to the West to ravage their pure, demure women. For Carmilla (1871), it became a representation for the sexual fear of lesbianism. However, it’s good to note that, overall, the majority of the works from the Victorian Era had a very looming theme regarding vampires and sexuality: that female sexuality above all was seen as forbidden and dangerous. To have them as victims and victims alone is the most purest form of representing them, which is why male vampires are much more popular). 

This archetype that Dracula shaped from both Varney and Ruthven is arguably the most well-known, and now the most shared around the world for our haunting, mysterious image of the vampire. Lord Ruthven birthed the ideal image of the Romantic vampire, Sir Francis Varney expanded upon it, with Count Dracula finalizing its full form, its influence still grasping us today.  For Vampyr, 1897 is not a far cry from 1918, being a mere 21 years after publication; the first edition covers were still being sold during this time period. A copy of the book can actually be seen outside of a bench at Pembroke. Ashbury’s manor also contains an original, signed copy with the same cover.

Full screenshot

Full screenshot

There is one last thing worth noting about vampires, and I believe this aspect is one of the most prevalent in Vampyr, that being, the psychological and psychiatric aspects of a vampire. Vampires are naturally creatures of death, or rather, undeath, and the hysteria that came before and during the Romantic era was very reflective of the psychology of the people at the time concerning this so-called “horror”. That, in some way, the concept of a vampire was a way of seeing a loved one once again with the mourning projecting their loss onto the dead believing that they, too, did not want to die at any cost. This is where the correlation of how a vampire is often seen as a curse or a deal with the Devil; immortality at the price of another life, or immortality at the price of being seen as something accursed for your unworthy and unnatural life, comes to play. This ideal, that the dead do or did not wish to be dead, is where the idea of how vampires come to haunt their loved ones stems from. 

Some even speculate a sexual connotation with this aspect of death, or a “morbid dread” of sorts—desire replaces fear; sadism replaces love; loved people and objects are replaced with strange entities to escape the dread. Some hold a much more simple idea; that the idea of being with a loved one who can never die, allows them to escape their inevitable thanatophobia (fear of death), hoping that their loved ones may turn them to be the same (a scenario which is exactly described by Lady Ashbury, who deems it to be extremely painful to consider). 

The dichotomy of being haunted, cursed, and ultimately damned for all your eternal life, entwined with the Romantic, Gothic ideal of living on forever with those whom you love, to live one’s eternal life with the possibility of eternal solitude and happiness, is the concept which has us all entranced by the horror and love of the modern vampire: To live eternally, you must take the lives of those mortal for eternity. The modern vampire has become the ultimate, Romantic idea of selfishness that we cannot help but become enthralled with, for we feel pity, envy, and love for the vampire.

II. The Dichotomies of Vampyr’s Species: Ekon, Skal, Vulkod, Nimrod, Ichor (Ikor), and Disasters

The species presented in Vampyr are all rather archetypal, but still have their own intricacies when looking at them individually verses looking at them all as just a collective of vampires. So I’m going to try and match them to a specific kind of vampire, overall analyze their influences, themes, and how they are presented within the game!

1. Ekon

The Ekon are the most easy to distinguish, given the characters that represent them and what kind of abilities they have. With their ability to manipulate shadows, hemomancy (blood magic), mesmerization, and perform overall supernatural feats combined with the ability to sense things no mortal can sense and yet, to be able to appear as mortal as ever. The Ekon are, without a doubt, a representation of the Gothic, Romantic vampire, or what we by now consider as the “traditional vampire”. This is easily shown with the characters that inhabit this kind of vampire, both sympathetic and unsympathetic. 

Jonathan struggles with his vampirism throughout the entirety of the game and suffers several moral dilemmas with himself. Even when you play him as evil, one cannot help but feel sympathy for him, as it can easily be seen as him being unable to cope with what he has now become. A good playthrough plays the sympathetic vampire archetype straight, with how he despises his condition and does his best to not succumb to its temptations. He also seeks to heal the people he is meant to feast upon. 

Lady Ashbury is a mentor figure within the game, wise and old in spirit but not in charm or appearance, abstaining from feeding on the living and only gives herself a chance to feed to grant the dying their merciful deaths. Her curse through the Blood of Hate, implanted into her through William Marshal, makes her realize that she is the walking epitome of death and despises herself further, feeling that true death from there is the only key to salvation.

Lower on the moral compass, we get the Ascalon Club, with Lord Redgrave acting as leader of of it in his haughty, blue-blooded manner. Believing himself to be above the “lesser” vampiric races stating Ekon supremacy, (though, he interestingly detests the idea of “purebloods”) intensely stubborn and Gothic, as well as holding onto his antediluvian values. He represents the archetype of the “vampire lord”, and most of all, an eternal struggle between vampires and the world around them, that being—the world around them changes, but the vampire often can never change, let alone escape their origins. Aloyisus also represents this with his bitterness and hatred towards those who are not like him (the wealthy gentry, and most likely later on, mortals). 

Edgar Swansea is arguably one of the most morally ambiguous, as he fully embraces his condition, much like Redgrave does, but for very different reasons. To me, he appears to be a “mad scientist” archetype mixed with an all-too-eager vampire. 

McCullum is an even more ambiguous character. He mentions how he can possibly be the greatest vampire hunter there ever was with his newfound power, but there also appears to be doubt and guilt within him, despite knowing that his vampirism was forced upon him by Jonathan (once more, a circumstantial victim of “sin”). He was also begging for death just before his Turning. Because of this, interpretations can either lead to him becoming Nimrod OR Ekon.

Mary takes a completely darker turn morally, being a representation of how low one can go; a remorseless killer who sees no point any longer in attempting to remain human. Yet, she seeks the most human thing of all—death. Morrigan bearing another scorned woman’s flesh, scarred by grief and now a corrupt soul of what was once an embodiment of empathy and compassion. Mary represents how, for some, the monstrous nature of the vampire cannot come to terms with the kind heart of a human. She represents how quickly this immortal gift turns to a curse.

It appears that Jonathan himself is considered to be of a power lineage because he can efficiently use Blood and Shadow abilities; the Rogue Ekons you begin to see in West End are either solely Blood focused or solely Shadow focused. Blood Ekons are also unable to see you in Shadow Veil, unlike Skals or other mobs that can with their indicating white eyes. This correlates with Jonathan once again, being a chosen figure, even if it comes at the cost of tragedy. 

To inspect deeper, the word “Ekon” has it’s origins in the Greek word, “εἰκών”, and is defined as:

 “An object shaped to resemble the form or appearance of something; likeness, portrait; that which has the same form as something else; that which represents something else in terms of basic forms and features.”

The word itself comes from the word “εικόνα”, or “eikóna”, which means a picture, image, illustration, or some form of portrait. Further back in the etymology leads you to the word “εἰκών”, or “eikṓn”. It also has a second definition, which refers to a religious icon or a religious painting, with synonyms such as:

αγιογραφία (agiografía, “religious painting”) εικόνισμα (eikónisma, “religious icon”) ίνδαλμα (índalma, “cultural icon”)

In English, we have an eerily similar word known as “Eikon”, which is most known specifically for a religious being or figure that is idolized, or at the very least, stands as a representation of something sacred or holy. From all of this, I believe that the was chosen to specifically represent how Ekon walk freely with mortals. As Lord Redgrave himself stated; the Ekon are the only race he knows that is able to blend in and take not only take the shape of a human, but to also mimic the presence of one. @cursedbethechoice summed this idea up nicely:

“In Vampyr’s world, Ekons are simulacra of humans. They look like, talk like, walk like, sound like humans but are are not actually humans themselves.”

Beauverger wanted to go back to the more Gothic roots of the vampire, as well as the seductive, romantic, and particularly erotic charm that the vampire has from the Romantic era. The Gothic roots Vampyr took with it’s presentation (among many other aspects across all the vampires) have to do with the biting itself. In the present day, the most popular type of vampire works involve being able to feed partially from the victim while still keeping them alive. Vampyr most certainly does not have that. The concept itself is actually much younger than Dracula (anything bitten by the Count was instantly turned or became very ill), and the presentation Vampyr gives when it comes to how vampire bites someone, it is to the death, it is actually much more accurate to Gothic vampire works. However, this applies to all species in the game. 

What I want to discuss are the “erotic” aspects presented through Ekons, which both the Ascalon Club and Jonathan himself have perfect examples of to talk about.  In the E3 2017 trailer for Vampyr, there is a scene where a woman (who uses Venus’ NPC model, for... some reason) is being fed upon by Redgrave, surrounded by the other members of the Ascalon Club, all of which are male. 

This image, of a delicate, pure woman being fed on by a male vampire (or multiple, in this case) is an erotic staple of the vampire, seen in multiple works all across vampire media and has existed since even the ancient interpretations of the vampire. For the Ascalon Club specifically, Redgrave states that victims are brought in only for “special occasions”, which could mean many things and could be theorized in quite the variety of ways (either incredibly explicit, or just truly sharing a meal. Another essay topic, maybe?).

Full screenshot

Naturally, since vampires are seen as sexual predators and women are meant to be seen as a virginal, demure maidens, there was nothing more perverse in the Victorian Era than the perversion of the Victorian woman. Even in Carmilla, which is the origin work of the lesbian vampire, she, too, was feeding on a woman that was seen as chaste and unsullied, which was seen as the greater sin than the lesbianism itself. This image also usually invoked the “Death and the Maiden” trope, an erotic trope involving a figure representative of death, often cradling an innocent, youthful woman. Some examples of this would be:

(SOME OF THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ARE NSFW)

“Interview with the Vampire" (1994 film, 1976 book), Anne Rice

“Dracula”, 2010, Anne Yvonne Gilbert

The next example of Vampyr’s Ekons invoking this trope, and being representative of the erotic and seductive outlook Dontnod wanted to share, has to do with a detail I noticed in Jonathan’s worst/most evil ending and in the second worst ending. Specifically, how in the both bad endings you can get, all of his victims shown in the cutscenes are women. Let’s start with the monstrous/most evil one. 

These endings alone deserve their own in-depth essays as to why the only victims we are shown are women. It could have to do with him losing Elisabeth and filling to the void, it could be preference, something much darker, or something else entirely. I believe that this choice to make all of his victims thereon to be women (or at least, appear to be women), is to directly go back to not only the seductive qualities of the vampire, but also to present another theme Beauverger wished to share—the quality of a vampire that seeks to remember what he loves. An image that reeks of decadence and hatred, but also telling of a hollowness that is unyielding and undying as the creature that holds it. Vampires are victim to the world around them changing, for they themselves lie in still, never-changing bodies. Jonathan in this moment, no matter what, is succumbing to his thirst because of his loss. The ending makes you believe there is the slightest bit of chance to the player’s heinous actions, only to tear it away from both you and Jonathan. The woman he loved denied his attempts to accept his own monstrosity, and in retaliation, he shall deny himself love and only seek pleasure, yet forever continue to remember that lost love (alongside that; the first shot of him that we are shown shows him in Paris, the country of love. Hmm...).

This image, of remembering what one has loved and lost, is also present in the second worst ending you can get. Redemption is even more tantalizing in the beginning, but instead of accepting Elisabeth’s choice to put herself to the pyre (in a rather haunting, almost emotionless way), Jonathan is mad with remorse and instead begs for Elisabeth to reconsider. She casts him aside, yet states that she forgives him in the end. We are left with this image:

Rather than this:

This ending is for the most morally ambiguous Reid played throughout the game; it involves him burning the castle down much like the first ending, yet here, a tear is shed a tear for what is lost. He loses Elisabeth in agony and grief, but does not retaliate with hedonism or rage like the most monstrous interpretation of him—he instead retaliates by condemning himself to eternal solitude, feasting still, but instead of filling him with pleasure, it fills him with an even greater void. 

This ending actually feels much more sympathetic to me, as well as much more bittersweet. Notice how he took a painting of Ashbury for himself before burning the castle to nothing. The same sihiloute seen in the worst bad ending is also shown here, which leads me to further believe that no matter which bad ending you get—it is ultimately about the loss of love and condemnation to eternal isolation. Dontnod truly shows us in these endings, what it is like to be an immortal creature with mortal emotions. Eternal suffering piled on by the cost of consuming mortal life that share the same emotions as thee.  Jonathan himself, however, only represents one kind of vampire that I have described, that being the sympathetic, self-deprecating one. A inhumane creature wearing humane flesh. Ekons, according to Dontnod, are considered to be the most “fertile” of vampires, fertile in both emotion and in the physical. The primary target for considering the human condition. They also claim benevolence in vampires, are an “exception”. How true that claim is, depends on how one views it.

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“In Vampyr, Ekons are the most fertile of the blood drinkers, closest to the traditional Vampire figure. Unlike most vampires, Ekons are still able to feel human emotion. Some of them even appear to show benevolence to humanity… but they are the exception...”

What of the others I mentioned above? How do they represent the image that Dontnod wished to show us with the presentation of the Ekon?

Given how Ashbury is Jonathan’s love interest, I feel as if she and him are of the same ilk (putting aside all the complaints of how forced their romance is, anyway). They only become polar opposites if Jonathan takes the completely evil route through the means of the player, where he is much like Mary instead. In that, his own kind soul becomes corrupted because he can no longer cope with the fantastical, yet monstrous being he has become and gives in to his more primal desires as an Ekon. Ashbury is one thing that Jonathan is not, however, and that would be the mentor figure and a message about gender and symbolism within vampire history.

We learn either in the middle or the end of the game that Ashbury was born in 1551; the specific details being these:

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For some context, only very recently have minority groups gained equal social power and standing compared to previous generations in the vast scope of history involving such events. Even in Vampyr’s 1918, women were still fighting for their right to keep their suffrage amongst a variety of other class issues that still plagued Europe and other developed nations. Ashbury, by design, almost appears to outright ignore these things for this era, presumably due to her vast experience throughout each generation and watching women slowly progress. Yet, she’s still self-aware to realize from all this experience that Lord Redgrave’s ideals are backwards and as she says, antediluvian. 

The role of women in the Victorian Era, even under the role of a Queen at the time, was still incredibly kept to the cult of domesticity even, arguably more so than ever as Europe approached it’s industrial, modern age. Anti-sexual ideals ran rampant at the time. The concept of chastity, purity, and the myth of the Victorian woman being the demure “Angel of the House” and nothing more, had made such an impact in such a short amount of time that parts of its influence have lasted well into the First World War Era. Remember, a female vampire is already seen as a corrupt version of a woman, and thus, no longer the perfectly pure Victorian ideal, because vampires are corruptions of sexuality, something that the Victorian era was very keen on scrutinizing to the fullest extent (even if none would dare to admit it).  Here is where Ashbury presents us with another kind of vampire as well, one that is not only a branch into history (akin to Dracula who woo’d guests with tales of bygone ages), but she is also something else; an ironic form of progress for a creature that never grows itself, which is what makes her the perfect mentor figure for Jonathan. She has learned something that Redgrave and other vampires like him have not; she has learned how to change. Something very distinct for the Romantic vampire, where one of the main attractions to such a character, is their haunting love and connection with their past, and due to it, never change. A walking relic in the flesh. We see it when she actively mocks such propositions even when showing her affections for Jonathan:

Sexuality as a concept for vampires has and will forever exist, from the idea of gender roles throughout the eras (as we see with Ashbury and to an extent, Redgrave with his sexist views), as well as various implications, but those deserve it’s own analysis and history section. However, staying on the topic of gender, we veer to another female figure that is much different than the rather pure Ashbury—the tragic figure that is Mary.  Mary is many things. Other than a possible allusion to Bloody Mary, she is, without a doubt, a figure of tragedy, and yet, resembles her older brother very much. After the loss of her son and husband, she seeks Jonathan in a mass grave hoping that he, too, has no succumbed to the insurmountable loss she has been facing, only to face loss herself. We see her full of hatred, anger, and above all, a fatal sadness. She attempts to murder her own brother for what he did to her, even while knowing he was remorseful and attempted to his own life. She releases their mother if Jonathan is played as a moral soul, or slaughters her before Jonathan if she feels that he is now as irredeemable as she.  She represents what Jonathan’s evil end represents and is much like a twin in this way. A compassionate soul twisted into a nightmarish version of what she once was because she cannot believe what sort of monstrosity she has become. Even after Mary goes mad, there is a moment of clarity. A moment of peace, where she contemplates her immortality.

“Don’t you see? This is not me. Flesh that never ages... All nightmare, no dream. Bring it to a close. Let me sleep.”

In that moment, we once again face the very mortal crisis of a vampire. The crisis of living only by killing another. Denied refugee to God’s holy palace. Faced with death all around you, whilst becoming death yourself. A symbolism for insanity, perhaps. That those who are mad now see a very real aspect of the world that Jonathan himself cannot describe nor see. It is quite Lovecraftian—madness through witnessing the reality, be it of one’s world or condition. Vampirism has always been linked with illness, so it would not be unwise to consider the idea that Vampyr is using a very Lovecraftian about it—that madness beseeches enlightenment.

Mary herself is most likely afflicted by the Blood of Hate that once afflicted Ashbury, and simply has succumbed to her immortal vs. mortal crisis—she cannot bare to understand how one could live as a metaphor of death whilst attempting to still remain a symbol of love, hope, and kindness which is why she finds Jonathan’s words useless no matter how he is played. They are no longer humane, they are the inhumane and thus, the evils of the Earth. This is why she only forgives him when he kills her, because she sees only a fragment of kindness from Jonathan when he commits murder because it is now, in her eyes, their true nature. Ekons are merely simulacra of humans, so can one still consider them human at all?

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The vampire is nothing but a symbol of death, no matter how humane their understanding and flesh, and Dontnod tells us well that through the character of Mary, and with the fact that we are able to play Jonathan as a complete monster. Even a moral Jonathan still struggles between his urge to kill, and his duty to heal. Ekons are Romantic, aristocratic, and above all, symbolism for how one’s morality can shift as quickly as their mortality does. 

They must, above all, decide as to how they shall live their immortal lives—decide as to whether they shall become savior, or stalker. 

2. Skal

Skals are curious creatures to place, given how much they vary with behaviour and the capacity to communicate. We have the mobs that are akin to mindless ghouls and mobs, but then there are places like the Skal sewer hideout where we get creatures that, while deformed, are able to communicate and understand who they are. Curiously, too; unlike the Ekon, they are said to feast on vampire blood much more than human blood. According to Ashbury, they are the deformed versions of their makers, the result of carelessness. With the ability to also produce claws, canines, manipulate the shadows, and their own unique ability of producing acidic clouds and blood, they are undoubtedly representatives to how vampirism throughout all mythology had been seen as an illness or pure corruption. However, Ashbury states they are lesser beings, from their abilities to controlling their hunger, so they are not as powerful as Ekons. A calling to the more monstrous interpretations of the vampire before it took the flesh of an alluring, humane visage. Various characters and types represent this dynamic about them, as well as... interesting in-game issues as to their creation.

The most obvious examples are the Rouge Skals and other variations of the mob we hunt and maim endlessly throughout the night. They seem to be lacking any resemblance of their former selves, with the only connection to Ekons being that they have similar abilities. They are mindless ghouls that spread the Skal Epidemic.

Old Bridget is an example of a Skal that is not only somewhat more human in appearance, but has retained her personality and has not succumbed to becoming a mindless ghoul. She was created by an Ekon, curiously, that being Redgrave, but it is unclear as to how. Ashbury states that it is because Redgrave comes from a bloodline that can only produce Skals, but how can this be, then, if Redgrave himself is an Ekon? It was not implied that it was done as an accident since we are told that he intended to have Old Bridget as his immortal wife; that would have fit the theory Ashbury states that Skals are simply the result of careless Turnings (and really, should have instead happened to Mary, in that case). Does the bloodline dilute and produce decayed vampires that are Skals? But Old Bridget is not mindless nor rouge; is she something in between? An Ekon gone wrong, perhaps? 

Sean inevitably goes mad if you leave him be and do not decide to Turn him, which implies that Skals, depending on what they are turned by, do decay mentally. Which may also indicate that a lot of the rouge Skals both outside and in the Sewers Skal sanctuary, all share the same fate because of the Skal Epidemic. There seems to be a sort of “advancement” in the vampire species within the game, however. A Skal can become an Ekon with their blood, but can an Ekon decay to a Skal? He interestingly, also vowed to following the Lord’s way, but we see with Jonathan that one can be attacked by their faith. Yet, Sean easily opens a shrine filled with religious figures which has little effect on him. Are Skals immune to the faith, or is it simply an exception to him?  

Elza Mullaney and the McPhersons are both mini-bosses, but are quite decayed and are considered to be part of the spread of the Skal contagion in the West End. However, the amount of mutation we see still doesn’t detract from the fact they can still talk, and are actually aware of their condition despite becoming completely fueled by rage. They also suggest that Ikors are a mutation of Skals (see more below), alongside all the Ill-Formed Skal mobs you begin to see starting with the West End. 

We can tell that Dontnod clearly wanted them to be the game’s version of a ghoul through the concept art (which also portrayed them as very eldritch), which is an that is not foreign to modern vampire works. A human corrupted through vampire blood is also not new to vampire history at all, given their older depictions representing them as monsters and symbols of disease. Remember my comparison to Rabies? Skals are a good application of such a comparison, with their rabid, mindless flailing, as well their primal thirst for blood and flesh above all else. Even Jonathan himself in his 2015 concept art has a suspiciously Skal-like look. 

Florent Auguy

Some examples of Skals in their earlier works, still appearing very similar as they do in-game:

Adrian Meriabault

We are told that the word Skal means “slave” by various characters and notes, but the etymology of the word goes quite a lot deeper than that. Here is what the game tells us of them:

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The word “slave” has etymology in the Old French word “esclave”, which comes from the Medieval and Late Latin variations of “sclāvus”, Medieval Latin standing for “slave” while Late Latin having the word standing for “Slav” (often due to Slavs being forced into slavery throughout the Middle Ages). While slaves have the first, and most known definition, that being: 

a. (n.1 and adj.): One who is property of, and entirely subject to, another person, whether by capture, purchase, or birth; a servant completely divested of freedom and personal rights. 

This is fitting for the position of the Skal in Vampyr, mentioned above with how they are kept as literal servants and overall, akin to slaves in reality, are seen as lesser by both humans and vampires. However, another interesting definition can be put to a slave, a much more symbolic one of desire, which fits all vampires:

adj. One who has lost the power of resistance; one who surrenders to something.

Beyond the connections to their bloodlust as well as social positions, comes their physical forms. Skals are connected to disease as they are representatives of ghouls, which are often seen in folklore as hulks of decaying flesh that still somehow walk the Earth. Skal, as a word, is incredibly similar to the word “scall”, which is a word to describe a disease of the skin, and “skal“ is actually a variation of this word. Alongside versions such as “scalle”, “skalle”, “skall”, and “scal,” this word (presumably) rooted in Old Norse etymology has much to share about the very visual deformities of the Skal in Vampyr.

adj. A scaly or scabby disease of the skin, esp. of the scalp. dry scall: psoriasis. humid or moist scall: eczema.

This is a clear reference to how they often lose hair on their scalp, as well as the various skin blemishes that plague their skin and are unable to be hidden. An extreme form of eczema, in a way. They are the centerpiece of the epidemic, a plague to be rid of, which all connects to how they are perceived by both humans (the Guard of Priwen in the West End hunt them furiously; leading Skal mobs to them also causes their A.I to attack them over Jonathan; they can also hurt one another), but Dontnod, with the inclusion of characters such as Old Bridget and Sean and all the conscious figures within the sanctuary, clearly wish to tell us that not all who seem monstrous are monstrous, while those who often appear the most human are often more likely to be the most evil, due to how fate likes to play its ironic game. 

Speaking of evil, the origins and etymology of the word “ghoul” also bring up an interesting connections. Ghouls themselves actually originated from Arabic folklore, and became very popular once Arabian Nights, or, One Thousands and One Nights (أَلْف لَيْلَة وَلَيْلَة‎) was translated for the rest of the world to experience. Stemming from the words “غُول - “ghūl”, which comes from from غَالَ - “ghāla”, which means “to seize”, as a reference as to how they take the shape of human bodies. Persian folklore also has a reference to ghouls, named “غول”. A good, historical definition of a Ghoul would be this.

n. or adj. late 18th century: from Arabic ġūl, ‘a desert demon believed to rob graves and devour corpses.’

Skals are said to only feed from the dead, while Ekons must feed from the living; even Nimrods only feed from live vampires. The robbing graves part, however, could be a connection to many things. Ghoul is sometimes seem as a way to mock someone with an intense interest in corpses, mortality, and death. Graverobbers and gravediggers were said to be such. It would also not be too out of the ordinary to imagine that Skals dig through graves in a cemetery to feast on the recent, and decaying, dead. We see an example of this in the game’s art after Mary’s death in a cutscene. 

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One connection to Ekons, strangely enough, is the aspect of disease, but in a venereal (sexual) sense. Given how vampires were not only seen as corrupt vessels that plagued the Earth, but also as the darker half of human sexuality, it isn’t too far too imagine that the very physical skin lesions on Skals are symbolic to venereal diseases. A stretch, perhaps, but the hand lesions shown in the concept art above are very similar to many types of rashes one can get from those types of diseases (given how a lot of images on these things are essentially for shock value, I won’t put up any in this essay out of respect, but if you are curious, here is a link to the Healthline Newsletter showcasing some). They are also unflinchingly similar to the famous 1346 to 1353 Black Death/Bubonic Plague that consumed 1/3rd of the world’s population, crippled Eurasia for the following centuries regarding health, and has continued to stand as the most famous, widespread epidemic up until the Spanish Flu.

With the presence of Skals like Old Bridget, Sean, and the lucid ones we see in the Sewers, it feel as if Skals themselves lie on a scale. Given their canon, humanoid-esque appear, the only inhumane aspect is their decay, but that too varies almost on their lucidity. Sean still looks like Sean, but is beginning to experience a slight necrosis on his face. Old Bridget also has necrosis and has lost her hair, but she looks very humane otherwise. Redgrave is an Ekon that can only produce Skals, Skals that behave more like unfinished Ekons, than Skals. Skals can also become Ekons with enough Ekon blood, “finishing” the process, so to speak. We know that something like this is true due to Dontnod’s cards about Skals and Ashbury’s descriptions of them, of how they are victims by surprise, or that they are somehow “failed” attempts at completing the process into an Ekon (Redgrave also remarks that many willing Turns lead to death because the human body could not survive the process).

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As Usher Talltree states, however, Skals, no matter how humane they are or could be, stand as the lesser, decayed half of the very much undead species of vampire. 

3. Vulkod

Now here is where things get rather dark... on information, that is. We do not know much about the Vulkod other than the accounts of research done by Carl Eldritch and the statements from Lord Redgrave. At this point, we can generally conclude that all vampires appear to share the ability of manipulating blood, having canines, shadow magic, and other dark forces at their disposal. Unlike the Skal, however, they do not appear to be capable of making acidic substances. They do, however, have the ability to appear as large, canine beasts, as well as harbour immense physical strength. They are primal and territorial (much like a wolf), and also unlike the Skal, they still seem to be relatively conscious and capable of speech and intelligence. 

Fergal is the most obvious example, as well as the Sewer Beast. Similar examples are also the Rouge Vulkods you find roaming around in the West End alongside with various other rogue vampire species beyond the Skal.

Large Beasts are most likely the reason why Redgrave states that humans often confuse them for werewolves. However, in the game, we never see a large beast capable of speech or intelligence. Given how Vulkod seem to also be a kind of “decayed” version of vampires alongside the vampiric/bloodline ladder, perhaps this is the most irredeemable version or the most primal version of Vulkod? Newton takes the (blond) shape of one in the sewers, and I believe Oswald does as well, and neither of them seem capable of speaking, but...

If Thelma is murdered, Thomas goes missing and takes the shape of a Large Beast too, yet he also speaks to you during the encounter with him. This could simply be mere consequence of the ludo-narrative nature of Vampyr (in that, the game mechanics often don’t line up with established narrative ones; I blame this on the game’s budget), or perhaps something else entirely about how vampires work, depending on how they are Turned?

Here are the notes Lord Redgrave writes on Vulkod.

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This “exotic”, yet bestial nature of the Vulkod is further emphasized in Carl Eldritch’s notes.

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So what can be garnered from these creatures? They are clearly meant to be an allusion as to how commonly vampires were compared to werewolves due to their similar thirst for blood and flesh. They are arguably described as the most primitive of all the vampire species in the game, but I would argue that such a title would better suit a Skal or Ikor. Their personalities appear to take quite a shift into primal rage, fury, and an increase an aggression. However, they do not appear to be completely red-eyed with rage and are still capable of enough intelligence to utilize their other vampiric abilities, be they in hulking human shape or in their more wolfish, beast shapes. Vulkod as a word, though... appears to be the most fictional, as I cannot personally find any connections to the word. Perhaps due to a misunderstanding of what they were known and confused for? Talltree makes note of such a common mistake, as does Redgrave. What they are confused for, a “Werewolf”, that is, is indeed something we can analyze and begin connections with. 

The etymology of “werewolf” comes from the Old English word “werewulf” (think the Old English tale of Beowulf), with “wer” standing for “man” and “wulf” standing for “wolf”, hence, “man-wolf” or “wolf-man”. The Ancient Greeks had a word for them too: “λυκάνθρωπος lukánthrōpos, or, "wolf-person", as did many other languages (The old, West German Franks had “wariwulf”. Norse figures had multiple words and analogies for wolves and “wolf-men”, but the most popular would be “varúlfur”. Also; like vampires, they, to, have a clinical condition named after lycanthropy). Associated heavily with witchcraft, the Medieval Era, curses, death, cannibalism, Therianthropy (shape-shifting humans in folklore), and symbolism for another primordial sin of the human condition (vampires being primal Lust, werewolves being primal Wrath), the werewolf was very popular throughout the 13th - 17th centuries, but subsided just before the vampire boom of the 18th century (most likely due to the rise of Victorianism, and I suppose necrophilia was more alluring than bestiality). What do all these have to do with Vulkod?  Quite a bit of connections can be made. The most obvious would be their highly aggressive, territorial nature that they develop upon turning. Another obvious connection would be their appearance, their dark, pitch-black skin resembling more the tone of fur given the rest of their physiques, and the Large Beasts are essentially just bi-pedal wolves, the exact definition of what a werewolf looks like in folklore. 

Gabriel Lemaire

Adrian Meribault

The Werewolf or the Cannibal, Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 1512

Lyacon Changed into a Wolf, Hendrick Goltzius, 1589

Werewolves, once bitten, have the exact same personality change—as symbols for primordial wrath and a deep, humane rage, it could be said that Vulkod are turned through their own kind of Blood of Hate. Being wronged and dying in anger at some point in their life leads them to becoming a beast, rather than a decayed version of what they are, since Skals are a symbolism of disease, which takes victims unknowingly. Anger is something that is very noticed, and perhaps may BE the only thing they can feel or process anymore.

The Facebook reveals of each species by Dontnod, reveal that the Vulkod can no longer feel emotion. This implies that their primal, irritable nature stems from the fact that they can only feel the most baseless of emotions. Husks of what they are emotionally, but certainly not physically.

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Yet, this still begs the question of what decides the fate of those who are Turned. Is your vampire species forced through bloodline, or is there a more symbolic, emotional bond that occurs in the blood? Vulkod appear to be part of the epidemic, given how we have NPCs that are able to be turned into them rather than mindless Skals, but some become Skals and some do not in this supposed Skal Epidemic. Vulkod, in all their beastly mannerisms, bring forth quite human questions about what true changes occur when one is forced to turn.

4. Nimrod

Nimrod are more fictional concepts in Vampyr, frankly because we never see one until the very end. Much like the Vulkod and the following species I will be speaking about, we have little to go on in terms of in-game lore as to what these things were and are, and if anyone we see is afflicted. However, we do have some historical accounts in the game for Nimrod, as their general premise is that of the self-hating vampire. A vampire hunter that feasts on vampires alone, hunts them actively as their immortal goal, and much like the Ekon, is able to blend in with mortals easily. 

William Marshal is very likely a Nimrod. We see him starve himself, only sustaining himself on Ashbury’s blood, and speaks of how he was touched by the Archangel Gabriel for his “immortal” gift so that he may slay all other impurities in the world. However, the Blood of Hate that consumed him and later Ashbury leads him to becoming a true hunter of his own kind, mourn for what he did to Ashbury, and symbolically die at the hands of another vampire. 

The founder of the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole, Pawl, is revealed to be a Nimrod after completing the True Dragonbane puzzle, which, of course, is both blissfully ironic and incredibly fitting. A self-hating vampire creates a group fully centered on these immortal beings and nothing else. 

McCullum deserves his own place here again. As I said above, he can be either Ekon OR Nimrod depending on how one takes his character down the line. He seems rather accepting of his condition, or at least it’s benefits, at the beginning of his change as we see with Jonathan but who knows how quickly that may change. 

All of these men also imply that, given how Nimrods can blend in with mortals, that Nimrods can only descend from an Ekon, as they are the only species we know of that can mimic human beings the most. Nimrods could essentially just be considered Ekons that commit cannibalization instead. Nothing ingame indicates that their physiology is different from that of an Ekon’s.

No discussions on Nimrods could start without the most sacred letter about them in the game. The note, “Recollection of Paulus Aurelianus”, tells of Pawl, the original founder of the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole.

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This is also another thing in the game that very much deserves it’s own essay, but for Nimrods and vampires as whole, it provides us with some rich information. The story we see here of Pawl is an engaging one, because not only does it give us an idea of just how far back the true history of Vampyr goes and some knowledge into what the original Brotherhood was like. It also shows us a glimpse as to why the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole was birthed in the first place. Usher Talltree speaks of a schism that occurred in the Brotherhood that gave birth to both the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole and the Guard of Priwen. 

If you have Jonathan ask Talltree who the founder of the original Brotherhood was, he will respond like this.

Jonathan will then ask a question about whether or not the Brotherhood of Saint Paul’s Stole act as much than just the scholars and academics they claim to be, which leads to this interesting dialogue.

Upon completing his sidequest, “Pandora’s Box”, he gives you a note that speaks about the Brotherhood’s origins which also shed some more light.

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1801 puts us at exactly 117 years ago from 1918. Ashbury makes mention of the first Great Hunt that the Guard of Priwen launched to be about a half a century before the current game’s events; she specifically states 75 years ago. 

This means the first Great Hunt occurred roughly around 1843 (1918 - 75 = 1843). Knowing this and Talltree’s explanation of events, this most likely means that Pawl’s Recollection note was made in 1801 because he mentions one of the split factions of the Brotherhood. This may indicate that Pawl, as one of the first Nimrods to exist, is alive, and since the Brotherhood still hunted at this time, those hunters would of course be outraged to know that one of the founders of the old, original Brotherhood was a vampire. 

There’s a kind of irony in the idea of Nimrods, given the definition of what a Nimrod is in a Biblical sense and how ironically see them as sympathetic. A hunter of his own kind, using his eternity not to feed on the flesh of the living, but to smite the corpses of the undead. Their origins in Vampyr all come from them trying to either eradicate or co-exist with said creatures, but never trying to follow the “true” nature of a vampire. Such extreme ideologies on how vampires should be treated, of course, only lead to the schism we see today. 

It also brings forth McCullum’s conflict and what I believe exemplifies the Nimrod Vampyr means to share, if we were to ever get one in the flesh (because sadly, you do not get to see much of Turned McCullum since it is at the very end of the game). His first instinct when you force him to Turn is to beg for his death, for the one thing that defines an immortal from a mortal, their ability to die and leave this world. We learn that he most likely joined the Guard due to the tragedies that struck his family regarding vampires (interestingly, this is also very telling of his character. Swansea adores his vampirism and sees it as a gift, yet his own family faced the same kind of fate; McCullum uses his immortality to continue hunting vampires, Swansea uses his immortality to continue experimenting with them, and to keep peace).

If you have Jonathan ask him how he is doing with his new immortality, his first answer is how he could imagine himself becoming the greatest vampire hunter there ever was. But he also expresses the realistic concern of the Guard of Priwen; trained hunters who can discern a mortal from an immortal by a mere glimpse, yet his first suggestion is to still consider attempting deceit to remain the leader. Not unlike Pawl, no?

As mentioned prior, the word “Nimrod” has religious connotations; referring to the Hunter Nimrod, a grand king who was reknown for his hunting abilities by Christ, as well as being the great-grandson of Noah, the man who sailed his vessel that is now known as “Noah’s Ark”, during the Book of Genesis’ Great Flood. Nimrod also has connections to the Tower of Babel.

Genesis 10:8-10, King James Version (KJV)

“And Cush begat Nimrod, who began to be mighty in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Wherefore it is said, As Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”  

“And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.”

Usher Talltree’s notes also talk of the Nimrod in this fashion, referencing the mythical nature of the hunter.

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Nimrod’s etymology is not very different; stemming from the late 16th century Hebrew word “Nīmrōḏ” or “נִמְרוֹדֿ”. Nimrods in vampire represent the same fervor that the Biblical Nimrod did, becoming mighty hunters of the same evils that Nimrod saw himself face, yet unlike their Biblical counterpart, they are the embodiment of the evils they so wish to defeat, encapsulating these vampire hunters into their own twisted fate and irony. 

The Nimrod also remind me of another figure that you cannot mention vampire hunters without referencing, the character of Professor Abraham Hellsing from Dracula, the vampire’s sworn enemy and, in many interpretations of the doctor, a vampire hunter turned hunter himself. McCullum is very much the Van Helsing to Jonathan’s Dracula. Not only that, Nimrods are defined in that, they deny the supposed natural instincts of the vampire, using their dark abilities instead to cleanse the world of the evil that vampires represent and spread. Van Helsing’s personality is described in Dracula very thoroughly, and in it, there is a particular line that shares (what I believe) the same ideology and true goal that Nimrods seek.

“...This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats, these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind, work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy.”

— Letter From Dr Seward to Arthur Holmwood, chapter 9,

Nimrods deny their nature by hunting what they are to ensure the betterment and continuing kindness of mankind. In their conquest to deny all that they are, they forever hunt what they have become and what they now hate, never foregoing that cause and perhaps even hoping that, through this endless hunt which they have made themselves slaves too, they may find redemption for themselves and their sins.

5. Ichor (Ikor)

We don’t really see any mobs that are outright labeled as Ichor, and the only real  information we have of them are from Dontnod’s introduction to vampires on Facebook, and one note from Carl Eldritch about their threat. However, I have some theories, given the one thing that discerns them. They appear to be indistinguishable from Skal and otherwise share all their abilities but they have one key difference. That difference being, that they attack with the intent to spread disease, rather than to outright kill. 

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“Meet the Ichors! In Vampyr, Ichors are putrid monstrosities carrying sickness and spreading epidemics, and among the most feared of all blood drinkers. Instead of killing their prey, Ichors seem to prefer infecting their target by bite or touch – turning them into contagious carriers of disease.”

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I believed the Ill-Formed mobs that we see are the Ichor, as they are a mutation that now spreads the contagion through means of touch rather than by direct biting, which is what the Ichor are said to be. Skals may have picked up the mutation from Ichor, the Ichor themselves may just be the Ill-Formed prefix mobs and only kill because the ludo-narrative of the game requires it. Jonathan himself expresses shock as you investigate West End’s source of plague of these creatures after you kill Elza Mullaney, as he believed the epidemic was only transmitted through biting.

There is not much to say on Ichor, other than their curious choice of name. We do know that they are always female, according to reports from Friar Tobias Whittaker, which could mean they are the precursor to Disasters. They represent as much symbolism as the Skals do with their grotesque appearance and as symbols of plague and contagion that haunted all vampires in past generations. Lore-wise, they also appear and act the same, for the most part (even if they prefer not to kill directly, they are still rather violent and just seek death through means of plague regardless). However, The word “ichor” is a far cry from plague, if you look at mythology. “Ichor” is most known for being the name of the fluid that flowed in the veins of Greek Gods. Some comparisons would see it akin to the Precious Blood, or the Blood of Christ, from which one drank at communion. A fluid that was not mortal blood like our own, but rather something of an immortal fluid, and it is often why Communion has us “drink” the Blood of Christ so that we may be blessed by him.

An Iliad verse tells us of this supposed, ethereal fluid.

Iliad V. 339–342[2]    “Blood follow'd, but immortal; ichor pure,    Such as the blest inhabitants of heav'n    May bleed, nectareous; for the Gods eat not    Man's food, nor slake as he with sable wine    Their thirst, thence bloodless and from death exempt.” 

“Ichor” as a concept originated in Classical mythology and the word itself comes from an Ancient Greek, but it’s exact etymology is said to be unknown and lacks a concise theory as to how it was created. Fitting since the word is used to describe something that is already unknown and otherworldly to begin with.  

n. ˈaɪkər/ or /ˈɪkər/; Ancient Greek: ἰχώρ. also mid 17th century “ikhōr“ - The fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods.

Of course, “ichor” has another meaning as well; a medical one involving pathology, even if it’s considered archaic. It is the more fitting connection as it is a direct reference to the plague they carry and how they walk around as decaying corpses with deep mutations and acidic blemishes.

n. pathology - a foul-smelling watery discharge from a wound or ulcer. fetid discharge.

“Fetid” meaning an extremely unpleasant scent, originating from the Latin word “fetidus” or (erroneously) “foetidus”, with “fetid” having its arrival in Late Middle English. This is an obvious correlation to the bleeding ulcers found on the Ill-Formed Skals and even Large Beasts that you encounter much later in the game when the epidemic begins to take a deep hold onto London as the contagion progresses. 

Given the supposed rarity of these creatures according to Carl Eldritch, and Jonathan’s shock when he first begins to encounter them throughout the West End much later in the game, Ichor only appear when plague has spread so rapidly and only after a very long time has passed for mutations to start appearing. This implies that Ichor are a type of “advanced” form of Skal almost, that not only can they have the potential to kill directly with their strength, they also have the potential to cause an epidemic or worsen an epidemic, like we see with the Skal Epidemic, where the plague begins to start spreading by touch alongside the violent biting. 

6. Disasters

Disasters are the ultimate form of the contagion in Vampyr, the embodiment of the Red Queen’s rage and the final result of the Blood of Hate’s influence. They exemplify the eldritch horror of the Red Queen’s influence, only targeting women who have been wronged and have become creatures of ultimate hatred, while Myrddin counters this by Turning men who have a purpose, as champions to resist the utter, perpetual cycle of hatred. Very much real, biblical, and mythological all at once in the Vampyr universe, Disasters are not exactly vampires in their own right, but much like the Ichor, are meant to represent the hatred and the chaos that consumes many vampires. As the sole source of the Skal Epidemic and other tragedies, as well as the main fear of the Guard of Priwen and their reason for commencing Great Hunts to avoid their existence coming into fruition, Disasters act as boogeymen to both vampire and hunters alike. With their eldritch, grotesque appearances and the ability to plague any land or person they touch, much like Brood-mothers, Disasters are Hells that haunt the Earth wearing female flesh. 

Doris Fletcher is the first Disaster you encounter right before you encounter her mother who is also a Disaster, a sad tale of both mother and daughter being scorned. As the greatest actress of her time, her dreams wore torn asunder when she caught the plague from the original Disaster in London, that being her own mother. The infection became a greater, grotesque beast that began to infect the West End. A scorned starlet that was doomed by her own mother’s hatred and bitterness, that being...

Harriet Jones, the original Disaster and start of the Skal Epidemic, caused by Edgar’s experiments and furthered developed her own bitterness and acrid hatred against the world, as well as her own daughter for not visiting her anymore. Jones wanted everyone to suffer for what they did for her, for abandoning her as a sad old woman, and this tragedy developed into London’s Skal Epidemic, all planned by the Red Queen.

Lady Ashbury was the original source of both of these predicaments, however. William Marshall infected Ashbury with the Blood of Hate, and while she believed herself to be cured thereafter with the Tear of Angels, the Blood of Hate’s influence still coursed through her veins and caused her to be what Jonathan described as the “healthy carrier” and true origin of the Skal Epidemic. The Tear only cured the outward symptoms of her hatred and rage, but the condition in her blood never left, which is what made Edgar’s experiment so deadly, unbeknownst to both of them.

Disasters remind me very much about the Biblical “Day of Judgement” told throughout all Abrahamic religions, where the soul is judged based on their sins and virtues, and are chosen for Hell, Purgatory, or Heaven. The variations vary between religions, but overall it is generally a judge of character, of the soul, and how much that soul has escaped their Original Sin at birth. Usually, Judgement Day occurs at death, but what of the creatures of blood like we see? Of immortal beings who now represent death and the Reaper, rather than it’s victims?  Getting into the religious symbolism of Vampyr as well as the mythological concepts behind the Red Queen and Myrddin would require their own book, let alone an essay, so I will focus on the connection I feel matches: the cyclic nature of Disasters. We know that in the past, Disasters have plagued England as well as neighboring nations, with Carl Eldritch telling us of how William Marshall brought one of the first Disasters (due to his Blood of Hate), and how McCullum accuses Swansea and Jonathan of attempting to recreate another Disaster to start a plague of vampires during his boss fight at Pembroke.

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This kind of “Day of Judgement” seems to be something that the Red Queen always brings down upon the land from Stonehenge once her avatar awakens, and Myrddin attempts to fight against his mother’s hatred by making “champions” of his own to protect the land from her wrath. Jonathan succeeds in saving the Red Queen from destruction and kills the Disasters of London, but Myrddin has mentioned that his champions have not always succeeded in their cause, or fail somehow in other ways. such as being unable to even accept their own immortality, or causing their own self-destruction through other means (take Jonathan’s bad endings). 

It seems that Disasters are always inevitable, because hatred and evil within humans are always inevitable, but Myrddin seeks to also show that benevolence and the will to fight are also inevitable parts of the human condition. It is a balance, a Yin-Yang of sorts, with the Red Queen’s Disasters being the much more evil half whilst the Champions of Myrddin being the more benevolent half (to various, ambiguous moral degrees. ‘Good’ in this sense is simply being Turned to save the land, but how they go about it, is the moral ambiguity of it. For instance, no matter how much of a monster you play Jonathan to be, London is going to be saved, but at what cost? In the end, he can save London, but if all the districts are Hostile, overrun, and more mausoleum than city, does that not make him no more greater than a savior to a dead Empire?).

The Blood of Hate was the original “sin” that caused all of this so to speak, but even further back than that, is Pawl’s existence. Is it not impossible to think that a self-hating vampire from 500 A.D, could not already be a precursor to how far and how deep this bloodline follows to William Marshall’s era? Nimrods could arguably be considered the first kinds of Ekons we can actually hold any recollection of, so would it not make sense for the culmination of such hatred in vampires to be a Disaster? The cycle of life, death, and undeath that brings forth nothing but more death and inevitable hatred towards all involved; even if it is a mere cycle contained by Myrddin and the Red Queen’s existence. 

Disasters, much like all vampires, are victim to an ancient, biblical, and mythological circumstance of the human condition, almost as if vampires themselves, are akin to the Original Sin from the Bible—much like Adam during the Fall of man, plaguing all humans thereon with the capacity to sin, vampires represent the ancestral sins of Myrddin and the Red Queen; that all mortals from birth have the capacity to become corrupted, immortal versions of themselves.

Yet, we only see Disasters as scorned women, she-devils in the flesh, and the only mention of Champions are men, be they victorious or as flawed as the Disasters they were born to face. This could be mere preference on both Myrddin and the Red Queen as a just another addition to their long lists of dichotomies between them, or could there be anything deeper with this? Eve was seen as the sinner for speaking to the serpent, as was Lilith when she denied Adam subservience—cursed, scorned women are not new in Biblical verses. Mórrígan, the female figure from Celtic mythology that the Red Queen has been referred as, is a symbol of both war and fate (the Red Queen incites wars with her Disasters, and the fate she produces is cyclic; fate is often something described as everlasting and primordial), as well as a symbol for the Earth and guardian of the people (Myrddin could be this, rather than the Red Queen herself—she incites war, but Myrddin, as a part of “she”, guards the Earth by creating Champions. A metaphor to the hypocritical nature of a vampire that seeks to save others or themselves, perhaps?). 

Many natural disasters are seen to be the work of fate and otherworldly creations as well. Friar Tobias Whitaker, in all his insane ramblings, does hold some truth when he speaks of the Skal Epidemic as the work of the Devil, or as a sort of Armageddon for London’s sins (the earliesr Disaster also occured in 1666; 666 is the trademark number of the Devil. Coincidence?).

An Armageddon is a sort of prophesied “battle of the end times”, and nowadays is used describe a sort of end-of-the-world scenario, not far off the Skal Epidemic’s influence given how much it can take over. Several comparisons of this sort of “primordial” belief about disasters can be made to the Red Queen’s cycle of her own Disasters and the various plagues that come with it.

Isaiah 45:7, English Standard Version (ESV)

7 I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Chronicles 7:13 - 7:14, King James Version (KJV) 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Disasters, above all, are prophecies, a true representation of how vampires plague the hearts of man, of how vampires shall always be seen as nothing more than a courage that must be vanquished by a scourge of equal deadliness. A traditional view of the vampire, but also a very human one—for Disasters do not become Disasters solely due to being infected, they become Disasters once their hearts and souls pass the point of no return. Once more, the vampire lies bare in it’s true form, as a victim of a primordial, circumstantial “sin”, at the behest of the Red Queen. 

After losing all hope for their own humanity, their redemption, their happiness, their love—they plague the Earth, haunting the land as slaves yearning for the most human thing that they, and all vampires, have lost—the gift of mortality. 

III. Credits, Extra Comments, and Sources

CREDITS:

I would first off like to thank @cursedbethechoice for all their help and advice in writing this essay, as well as allowing me to use some of their work for this project. They also helped me access sources I otherwise would not have access too that were incredibly valuable and academic. A lot of this couldn’t have been done without them! Their essays cannot also go without notice, and I really recommend you checking out their blog for their own analysis on the game!

I’d also like to give a shout-out for @orionali, as they helped me with datamining the game and it’s assets, which came in handy multiple times while creating this essay.

EXTRA COMMENTS:

This essay is a whooping 14,293 words long! It took roughly 2 - 3 weeks to complete between my own life busy-ness, procrastination, and research. I assure you, I did not expect it to become this big.

This section is mostly for extra tidbits and comments I wanted to share, as well as some other interesting parts of the game that I feel have some relevance to the essay, but didn’t warrant enough of a reason to be elaborated upon. I ALSO APOLOGIZE to mobile users. sadly, Read Mores don’t block off the content... which sucks.

It is not mentioned in the Ekon section, but they can detect disease according to Edgar’s note in Jonathan’s office. This is why Jonathan is able to see what kind of illnesses people have, and to what degree it has decayed to! (I also imagine he’s able to clearly identify and name them because he’s a doctor). 

Most of the music I listened to while writing this was the official soundtrack.

A vampire can Shadow Jump with a human (or anything) without them falling out of their grasp. 

Vampires really dislike natural substances (because they’re unnatural beings, I suppose?), which explains this, I imagine.

Vampires have obtusely large fangs if this texture is anything to go by.

Pembroke Hospital was overcapacity by hosting more than 300 patients, as revealed if you send the district to Hostility Status. Is this due to Jonathan Embracing the hospital staff, or something else?

The Ascalon Club is wary about the Brotherhood’s traditions.

While writing, I felt like this sometimes.

ALL SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY (in no particular order):

Oxford English Dictionary DONTNOD’s Facebook Page Ernest Jones’ “The Pathology of Morbid Anxiety” - The Journal of Abnormal Psychology (1911) Dr. Elizabeth Miller’s Dracula Homepage "Greek Accounts of the Vrykolakas" by D. Demetracopoulou Leefrom The Journal of American Folklore, No. 54 (1941) "May the Ground Not Receive Thee" An Exploration of the Greek Vrykolakas and His Originsby Inanna Arthen (1998) Bible Gateway’s Versions of the Bible Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality, Paul Barber (1998) Staking Claims: The Vampires of Folklore and Fiction, Paul Barber (1996) Prest, Thomas Preskett. Varney the Vampire; or, The feast of blood. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library Bramstoker.org’s resources The Bryon Society’s resources Dracula (1897), by Bram Stoker Dracula’s Guest and other Weird Stories (1914), by Bram Stoker Deities or Vampires? Hecate and other Blood-Drinking Spirits of Ancient Times, by Ancient-origins.net John Polidori, "The Vampyre" Created by Keffer, Jeremy L, last modified by Goodmundson, Scott D on Dec 17, 2010 The Vampire in Literature - Old and New, University of Iceland, Elísabet Erla Kristjánsdóttir (2014) Did Vampires Not Have Fangs in Movies Until the 1950s?, Brian Cronin, Huffington Post (2015) The Vampire Goes to College: Essays on Teaching with the Undead, Lisa A.Nevárez, Editor. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. The Vampyre, a Tale by John William Polidori (1819) - Arizona State University Merriam-Webster’s Online Dicitionary Wiktionary Catechism of the Catholic Church, The Holy See THE MYTHS OF THE VICTORIAN WOMAN - NY Times WOMAN AND THE DEMON, The Life of a Victorian Myth. By Nina Auerbach. Illustrated. 255 pp. Cambridge, Mass.: JSTOR - Harvard University Press "Penny Dreadful: From True Crime to Fiction > Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert”, PBS.org JSTOR’S Open Academic Resources Adam and Eve, Genesis 2 - 3, Christian Bible Reference Site Adam and Eve, New World Encylopedia The Word "vampire": Its Slavonic Form and Origin, Brian Cooper (2005) The Soul, Evil Spirits, and the Undead: Vampires, Death, and Burial in Jewish Folklore and Law, Penn State University, Saul Epstein and Sara Libby Robinson (2012) The Vampire Myth, Johns Hopkins University Press, James Twitchell (1980) Vampire bats have been caught sucking human blood for the first time, Helena Horton, Telegraph Press (2017) Vampire bat, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA Biblica.com’s bible references Vampires of Capital: Gothic Reflections between Horror and Hope, Amedeo Policante (2010) From Demons to Dracula: The Creation of the Modern Vampire Myth By Matthew Beresford (2008) Re-masculating the Vampire: Conceptions of Sexuality and the Undead from Rossetti's Proserpine to Meyer's Cullen, Emily Schuck (2013) "Every age has the vampire it needs": Octavia Butler's Vampiric Vision in Fledgling (2008) Coitus Interruptus: Sex, Bram Stoker, and Dracula, Elizabeth Miller, Professor Emerita, Memorial University (2006) Werewolf Legends from Germany, University of Pittsburgh, translated by D.L. Ashlimann (1997 - 2010)  British Library’s list of Penny Dreadfuls, Judith Flanders (2014) The Book of Were-Wolves, by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine), 1834-1924 “Ghoul” - Arabic Mythology, ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA The Mythical Ghoul in Arabic Culture, Ahmed Al-Rawi, Rustaq College of Applied Sciences, Sultanate of Oman The White Devil: The Werewolf in European Culture, By Matthew Beresford (2013)  Death and the Maiden - La Mort dans l’Art The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3 rev. ed.)  Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone (2009) “Original Sin” in the Cambridge Online Dicitionary “Armageddon” in the Oxford English Dictionary Pslam 51:5 - Biblegateway Porphyria and vampirism: another myth in the making, A. M. Cox (1995) Slayers and Their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Dead, Bruce A. McClelland (2006)  Porphyria - Mayo Clinic Rabies - Mayo Clinic The Iliad of Homer, Volume 1, translated by William Cowper, ESQ., (1809) The Black Death: Bubonic Plague - Themiddleages.net De-coding the Black Death, BBC.co.uk The etymology of εἰκών in Wikitionary Summary of “The Vampyre” from Wikipedia’s Article The etymology of “Nimrod” in Wikitionary

[laufire]

I love when I win XDD. Ok, so, let's see: Eleanor Shellstrop, Lizzie Saltzman, Rosita from WEarp, Alisson Argent (one of my best friends was an Alisson stan in rl, and I used to be sick of hearing how awesome she was), Cersei Lannister and Echo from T100

EleanorShellstrop

This is thefirst time I really stop to think of Eleanor this way and… huh. I think she’s aVimes, which is not exactly what I would’ve expected xD (I guess it makessense, because a few Eleanor/Tony parallels had already ~pinged my radar lol).

There’s asimilar tired cynicism, just walking ahead in life with this sense ofnothing-really-matters, despite clearly being dissatisfied about it on somelevel (Vimes is a lot more self-aware than Eleanor, for one). Both have a “wakeup call” later in life when it’s (almost) too late, and after that you get tosee them taking charge, indignant about the faults of the system, etc. I evensee parallels between the Eleanor-Michael and Vimes-Vetinari dynamics (thisunofficial “mentor”, and how they transform each other’s worldviews).

LizzieSaltzman

The obviousone is Caroline, duh, and ofc there’s plenty of Caroline in her lol. But Ithink I see some Lana too? It’s not as obvious, it’s not really about anything she’ssaid or done just… a vibe. Maybe it’s just the actress, idk. I haven’t put myfinger on it, I’ll tell you if/when I do :P

Also, herresentment over the Alaric-Hope situation is very, very Jason with Bruce-Dicklol.

RositaBustillos

A Jason. Nodoubt in my mind. First, she’s a nerd (science nerd and not literature nerd,but still). And ofc, how her “origins” separate her from the core clan (Batfam/TeamEarp), put her at odds with them, make her feel she’s expendable for them (and she’sright here, unlike Jason). All culminating with her crossing A Line that breaksher relationship with them.

AllisonArgent

(I feel foryour friend lol. Allison’s death literally changed the way I get invested incharacters & shows xDD)

She’sALWAYS reminded me of Lana. Always. A Lana with a rushed arc, that met thetragic ended Lana avoided (most of the Lana types I’ve met so far had tragicendings, while Lana, original Tragedy Girl, swiftly avoided it lol). “Dark” arcincluded (and I guess Gerard would be her Lionel, sorta? It’s been a long timesince I watched these shows lol). Clark/Lana and Allison/Scott have a lot incommon too, imo. That Magic & destructive power of that first, True Love.Allison’s and Lana’s fears about being “weak”, the pressure they felt to bePerfect™. My bby girls.

CerseiLannister

If therewas ever a cautionary tale for how bad things could’ve gone for Caroline… I knowthis is an extremely controversial opinion, but I don’t think people realizedhow terrible SC would’ve ended for her, if it wasn’t for Klaus appearing andtransforming how the writers felt about SE. But Caroline stuck with a guy sheused to hero-worship but that was still obsessed with his past love, who hecouldn’t have for some reason, and in turn mistreated her? INCREDIBLE LIKELY,imo (Mellie Grant is another example for this, like I’ve told you).

ETA: after a conversation in the tags, I want to say it here (so it can be read by everyone), that Rhaegar=Stefan and Robert=Matt is a perfect parallel too xDD

Butbasically, yeah. The “dreams” they had when it came to men & how they wereshattered, the mean streak present in both from early on, the ambition andhunger. How they grasped power (vampirism for Caroline) and didn’t let go.Their approach to soft vs. hard power strikes me as similar too.

Echo kom Azgeda

I do see bothCaroline and Jason in her. From Caroline, her quick thinking, the leaps oflogic they make (T100’s s6 main plot is basically Katherine-in-Elena’sbody-snatch situation lol, and Echo figured out in two seconds flat once shestumbled into the first inconsistence –which I predicted. I literally said “Echo had to be absent from this episode because she would’ve figured out in two seconds flat”, and what do you, next episode she does just that xD–, just like Caroline did. It reminded meof how Caroline figured out the DE sire-bond too). Their willingness to carryout Tough Choices, how they cling to a notion of Their People.

BTW,recently there was an Echo Appreciation Week, and while I was making thosegifsets I noticed Echo sorta reminds me of Lizzie LMFAO. Something about the actresses’ expressions, body language etc. Plus there’s this AMAZING scene whereEcho just walks up to a guy and stabs him in the stomach with a sword, saying “Hesitationis death”, and while editing it I kept remember when Lizzie just walked up andstabbed Landon without a second thought xD. As a bonus? Landon’s body died, buthe could come back because he’s a Phoenix. The dude Echo stabbed is abody-snatcher, so while that body died, his chip could be put on someone else (also,Echo used said cheap as leverage against his mother. She makes me proud

With Jasonthere’s how they were made to take someone else’s name/mantel as children, howshe made that Her Identity, how her leader let her down & banished her whenhe thought she’d gone “too far”. How she keeps reinventing herself. The arc isout of order, but the emotional beats are so there. I guess Queen Nia could beher Talia too, thankfully without the sex xDD. And the way the conflict betweenher and Raven in s5 (aka Echo wanting to kill a dude Raven was getting investedon for valid strategic reasons xD) is not dissimilar to Dick and Jason’s dynamic imo(Echo at least is not alone being the Morally Dubious One Pushing For Murder AsA Solution in her new family! Murphy reminds me a lot of Jason too. So doesEmori. LOL).

[weeaboo-horror-stories]

I am bisexual.

When I was in the 4th grade, at age 11, I met this really cute girl. She was about, what, 4'6 ft tall? She was actually my classmate, but I was always socially awkward. It's a long story, but we eventually became friends. She was REALLY smart and hardworking (in our school, if you're an honor student, you're REAALLY smart.) while i was lazy and average. Of course, back then we were still children. (Btw let's refer to her as "Maki" instead) We both loved anime, and we were total weebs. At that time, I was obsessed with Hetalia. I influenced her to watch it, she was a shugo chara fan. Anddd so she also got addicted.

Anyway, I was pretty fond of drawing, and people saluted me for my skills. Maki worshipped me like a God no im sERIOUS and called me "sensei", because i gave her lots of tips. She overestimated me too much. To the point where she neglected her studies just to talk to me. Although, I myself did not notice that. She always told me that she never had a true friend, and I was her first friend. She always told me that she loved me, and that we will forever be friends until we die. 

Her mother started to notice the big drop of our grades, and blamed me for it. She also started talking back to her, although Maki said that she did that back before we were friends.

Fifth and sixth grade came by, (i am from asia, 6th grade is our last year in gradeschool, but we still remain at the same school.) and her mother's anger at me grew, for Maki's behavior became "worse", as Maki explained. She forbid her to see me, and I was hurt. But she still constantly followed me, we were inseparable. 

Her mother even asked for a transfer of section in 6th grade, just for her to get away from me. But that didn't work either.

I didn't understand, she still remained an honor student, so what's wrong? I was hurt.

So one day, I confronted her. I wasn't rude, if that's what you're thinking. But she screamed at me and demanded at me to leave her daughter alone right in front of the school's catholic church. She called me a demon. Everyone in the school was looking at her with shame, and looking at me with pity. I shaked the tears off, I didn't want her to see me cry. I left afterwards in tears, it wouldn't stop. The only thing that cheered me up was a friend that went with me in the car (because no driver). She was my childhood friend (first friend too. We've been friends for almost 12 years) let's refer to her as Aka.

I never realized I was bisexual until freshman year came. But that's where the real thing comes.

At that time, the school year was ending, and I told her that maybe we should be apart

I had two reasons for saying that.

One, is because I didn't want her to get hurt anymore. Her mother abuses her. It just hurts me to see her hurt, and yet still smile. 

Two, is because I felt odd. I think about her everytime, I go nuts when I don't get to talk to her for a day. I felt so crazy that I didn't know what it was. I had a crush on a boy back then at 4th grade, but the feeling was different somehow. I was so confused. 

When I told her to break it for the 3rd time, we did. But afterwards, we came by again. She told me that she was so sad. I didn't know what to feel, so I smiled at it. It was March. 

My weeaboo phase ended at that month.

I started to watch different things like the vampire diaries...etc.

Afterwards, I have come to the thought that I had feelings for her, so I told her that we should be acquaintances starting our first year of highschool.

When we found out the people we will be classmates with, I told her to be friends with a certain person (lets call her Eli?)

And so she did.

But, I realized how jealous I was after nearly a month.

She made a bunch of friends, while I...made nothing. But that's not why I was jealous

I was jealous because I wasn't with her everyday like we used to, it's not the same anymore. I felt ignored. So I sent her a message. And she answered with

"Heya~ Recieved ur text but ddnt recive load, im NOT trying to ignore you though, i thought we were aquaintances and yes i knew u helped me a lot and i appreciate u for that but you dnt hav d right to tell me whether to make friends or not, because we have our own lives n i do wat i want when i wanna do it n i wanna make friends so what? I actually did make lots this first few weeks of school already. Plus i dont think we can relate to each other anymore.. I love hetalia & anime still but u've gone out of d fandom n went to TVD n PLL, im not really interested in that though,sorry.I still belive dat anime could be real while u think their jst living in ur comp screen. Im not trying to judge ur opinions because i respect ur opinions owo scouting is actually fun though, its not boring nor tiering at all, its pretty fun >w< i luv it. Believe it or not i still miss you but i dont think we can relate. I hav 2 study everyday n night, my grades matter to me, so please dnt say im trying to ignore u by not going to fb, i jst hav 2 study thats y. I cant be on here all the time n i barely hav time to get on here because im trying to make up for my failing ones.. n my phone dsnt lyk recieving load idk y. btw i sti believe my friends wnt leave me and yeah thats all i gotta say bye see u :)"

I felt offended..somehow

So I confronted her, told her that I wanted us to be friends again. But she didn't want to, for she already got a new set of friends. And of course, I wanted to cry. But I didn't want to show it. 

I wanted to shout.��

There was another message, it was her apologizing for offending me. Of course, I didn't see that message. But I confronted her the day before, I think she was offended. No...she IS offended. I felt baddd 

I don't want to reveal anything else, but I sent her a total of 20+ apology messages through deviantart and facebook from July to March of 2014. 

I was seenzoned, and there was so reply.

I cried every night.

I felt so obsessed, stalking her through every site.

I was friends with Eli, and I asked her about what Maki thinks of me. She said that Maki didn't want to talk about it, but she disliked me. Ouch. 

Although, Eli DID say that Maki had an older brother and an older sister who was married, but I knew those were big lies. She only had one sister, which was younger than her. I can't believe she lied, she wasnt the type of person to lie.

At January of 2014, I met a guy from the higher batch (can we call him vans). He made me realize that I was bisexual, that I loved Maki.

So, at April of 2014, I sent her my last message. I even confessed to her that I had a crush on her.

But at October (or so) I sent her another message through deviantart, admitting all faults.

I didn't expect her to reply, but when I checked my deviantart page again, she replied.

I'm too lazy to look up what she said, but she said that she forgave me, asked me how I was, and all. But she sent another message that said that we couldnt be together again, but we are good now.

I was so happy that I cried, screamed, and burried myself in the pillow. Literally. 

Until now, at sophomore year, I still see her. We're still not classmates, and our classrooms are far from each other, but each time I see her..my heart still tends to ache.

We are from different clubs (she is from the english club, while I am from the art club. If the art club wasn't so full, I think we would've been clubmates.)

Next school year, I have a horrible feeling that we will be classmates, due to the fact that I am pretty sure we took the art course. Our school will sort us by course next year, and I'm not sure what I will do if I were to be her classmate once more. Will I breakdown and cry in front of her? Or smile at her, and fall for her all over again? It's not fair. I still want to see her. 

I hope her mother will accept me one day, and I will be able to be close to her once again. I am okay with being "just friends", I just don't want to be apart from her. I hope she understands. 

Maki, if you're reading this, thank you. Thank you for letting me experience being loved, feeling loved. I'm sorry for being such a horrible person back then. Thank you so much.