#we love a monster vlad around here

[icedghostlatte-art]

The Little Badger is off limits.

[writefandoms]

Monster

Vlad Dracula Tepes x Reader x Lisa Tepes

Summary: You and Vlad get into a disagreement, and some things are said.

Word Count: 1.5k

A mortal being.

That’s what you were.

No fangs, just blunt canines. No claws, only partially bitten nails. No strength beyond what your human muscles can accomplish.

Knowing the strength of even the lowest of vampires is enough to keep you up at night. One punch is enough to shatter you like the puny human you are.

As mortal as the blonde doctor who has reservation in your heart.

And him. The strongest of all. Vlad Dracula Tepes.

His strength is his own- you know this. But that doesn’t stop the notion of having The Dracula, as your protector, at your side.

He’s beyond any being you’ve ever encountered in your few decades. Never one to get violent around those he holds dear, that doesn’t prevent the small glimpses of power he unconsciously displays.

The love you hold for the vampire and the doctor is too much- overwhelming nearly. It’s hard to be an addition to an already established relationship- the notion of being easily removable isn’t lost on you. A fear that one day you’ll be back in your small cabin in the village of Lupu, all alone- months spent with the doctor and vampire, forgotten. That fear became a reality- one that you have the misfortune to be currently suffering through.

Half empty glass of red wine, in your left hand, and a partially chewed piece of dried goat meat in the other. Slumped over on your worn couch. Never quite felt this low before.

What ifs circle around the room, wondering if anything had been done even the slightest bit differently, perhaps you’d be cuddled between Vlad and Lisa right now.

“That was foolish.” He spits as his heavy steps approach from behind you.

“Dear-” Her attempt to calm him down was cut off by your own agitated voice.

“Foolish? No, what's foolish is your idea of danger!” Facing them now, eyes ablaze locking with Vlad’s. Lisa looks between you both, unsure who she should attempt to soothe first.

“You have no idea what you’re speaking of.”

Rolling your eyes was immature but impossible not to. There was no danger- not real danger anyway. He was the Vlad Dracula Tepes, a man who’s spent nearly his entire existence being hunted and attacked. Danger to him is any living mortal, except for the two standing next to him.

And while he’s overprotective of you and Lisa, taking a trip to visit your parents while he was away, isn’t breaking any laws.

He utters your name, making you reluctantly face him.

“I only wish to keep you safe.”

“Safe? We went to visit my family, Vlad. It was one night away.”

“It’s too dangerous to go out alone while I’m not here.”

“It was the middle of the day!”

“You were to stay in the castle until I returned, like I told you-” Poor word choice. Even Lisa cringes.

He’s Vlad Dracula Tepes, a name he wears with pride, like a cloak that he wraps around you and Lisa. The name alone enough to scare off any sane person, a name alone that keeps you both safe within the walls of his castle.

There are bad people out there- some not sane enough to avoid the castle. Some insane enough to actively seek out your home. And these are the monsters that Vlad fears. He knows he can crush any and all that dare cross him, but he can’t say the same for his two lovers.

Many nights spent snuggled close, bodies melded as one, hearing him whisper his deepest fears. Every night he clutches you both close- too tight- as if every hug might be his last. Human lives are fleeting, this much he knows. Fleeting, fragile, precious.

We’ll be here for as long as Lisa’s remedies keep you going. You remember whispering back to him one night. The warmth from his cold body and the sweet chuckle that left him, put your mind at ease. But did nothing to slacken his hold on you both.

Yet you’re a human being, and wear that with pride as well. Any day now might be the last time you’ll ever witness the sunrise. But isn’t that what makes everyday more special? Being caged away from danger might put Vlad’s mind at ease, but it makes you feel degraded. Something that can’t defend itself.

“Like you told me to? I am not your child nor your pet, Vlad.” Stomping out of the room, a pair of feet right on your heel.

“Of course not, even a child could comprehend a simple command.” It’s bitter and spoken with malice. Intent to hurt. It makes you stop cold.

“Excuse me?” The warning in your voice either goes right over his head, or he chooses to ignore it.

“You cannot fathom what monsters lurk in the shadows out there.”

“Oh I think I can.” Pause, enough time to swallow your next words. “Considering I’m looking at one right now.” Low blow, but spat out in a fit of rage.

If you weren’t so upset, the slight hurt that flashes across his face might have made you cave. Instead you continue stomping away, towards your room.

“What are you doing?” Lisa asks, referring to your haphazard bag packing, grabbing handfuls of clothes and shoving them away.

“Leaving.”

“But dinner is all ready…” Lisa’s sounds worried, scrambling to find the key words to make you stay.

“I lost my appetite.”

Pushing past them, they don’t follow you immediately, allowing you some distance. Once you're at the main door, they stand at the top of the steps.

Neither of them say anything.

That was almost three days ago, and you’ve convinced yourself that this lovely polyamorous relationship was now back down to two. Leaving you back in your empty cottage caring for plants that have been long neglected.

Books lay scattered across your limited floor space and various pieces of furniture.

You don’t remember life being this sad before you met them. It’s as if all you’ve ever known was Vlad and Lisa. Pretty sure that’s not healthy, but it’s true.

The light taps on the door are near vomit inducing, other people are the last thing on your ‘can’t deal with right now’ list.

Even your own parents seemed like too much right now. And once the large silhouette of Vlad’s body was visible from the sheer curtains blocking the window, the nausea was only doubled.

But despite the bile creeping up the back of your throat, the door opens and you greet your familiar visitors.

“Hey…” Is all you can muster, nerves getting the best of you. All the things you wanted to say, words are lost to you. Now that they stand before you, these past few days feel like eternities spent apart. But his voice brings dopamine rushing through you, without any effort.

“Good evening.” Pause. “May we come in?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Lisa rushes in and hugs you, squeezing the life out of you.

“Honey, I’ve missed you.” Pulling away, she tugs lightly at Vlad’s arm, “We’ve missed you.”

Vlad looks almost embarrassed, clearing his throat. “Yes, we have.”

If God were real, he must definitely be cruel. The seconds weigh heavy as you try not to suffocate from how awkward this silence is.

“I’m sor-” “I wante-”

The laugh from you both is genuine, some tensions relieved. But only slightly.

“You first.” You push- curiosity getting the best of you.

“I wanted to ask if you would please come back to the castle.”

Running your hands through your hair helps the sweat that's built up on your palms, but does nothing for the churning in your belly.

“Vlad…”

“If I crossed a line, I apologize.” Just like that.

“Thank you. And I really missed you both too.”

His gaze softens, shoulders relaxing at your declaration. And he practically melts when your hand finds his.

The person before you is no mere man- a being beyond mortal comprehension. An undead vampire longer than he was ever a human. But when he gazes at you with such fondness- you catch a glimpse of the man he used to be. Someone who needs the warm touch of the living, lest he forget he was ever alive.

“Vlad, I can’t find the right words to tell you how sorry I am.” Intertwining his fingers with yours- clutching him close. “I love you so much.”

If he feels the wetness dripping on his hand, he does nothing to show it. Head tilted towards the ground, heavy with shame. “You’re not a monster… You’re kind and brilliant, and- and…” Your sleeve stops the falling tears from wetting both your hands further.

A long clawed finger tilts your head up, admiring the raw emotion on your face.

“I was behaving rather poorly, I understand why you were upset.” Him being so dismissive of your behavior makes you feel even worse. His fear of losing you is preventing him from accepting a proper apology from you.

“My behavior was inexcusable, you don’t deserve any of the hateful things I said to you.” He’s leaning towards you, all you do is stand on your tiptoes to meet his lips. He’s pressing you against his chest, tongue tentatively pressing between your lips.

Lisa’s arms wrap around your waist, her chest to your back. She’s laying quick kisses on your nape, trailing around your neck like an invisible necklace.

Still standing in the small old cottage, but with these two - there’s a new warmth in the room.

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

last night's shower thought that may or may not have been done before but I haven't personally seen it done so I'm gonna write it anyway

so the phandom has dabbled in halfas potentially existing before Danny and Vlad, in the hypothetical million to one chance of 'what if a natural portal opened on top of a human'

gonna take a hard left turn here but we'll circle back I promise, that part will be important later

I love the unreliable narrator aspect of Vlad in TUE but what if Vlad's story about how Dan came to be was completely true, Danny's ghost half really did go absolutely feral as soon as it was torn from him

because even though Vlad says it was his ghost half that corrupted Phantom, in the flashback it was obvious that Phantom had already gone a little wonky before that, considering the acts of actually ripping out Vlad's ghost half and then absorbing it, very weird and out of character

(and I have other headcanons about that but we're ignoring those for now shh)

so the first time Danny was split, it split two of his personality traits that were both dominant at the time, his need to be a hero and protect people, and his need to be a normal teenager just enjoying life

after his family died in TUE tho, his dominant traits would have been more like misery, guilt, and anger, we can guess which one Phantom got

same thing probably happened to Vlad when he was split but we didn't get enough time with future Vlad to get a clear idea on what his dominant traits were, (but I'm gonna guess they were something akin to guilt and spite, spite having been absorbed by Danny and making his whole situation so much worse)

all this to say, what if Pariah Dark was the first known halfa, created by that million to one chance with a natural portal back in the dark ages (or earlier), and he was once, much like Danny, a protector, a hero, keeping a peace between humans and ghosts, whether he also fought a tyrant king for his crown, or was gifted the position by the former king wanted to retire (I kinda like this idea better), he became the ghost king with the support of the ghost populace

but I wanna touch in on the aus people throw around where to become the actual rightful king, Danny has to die

and maybe this is what happened to Pariah Dark, and maybe it was not a 100% consensual affair, maybe the Observants, whether sneakily or by force, somehow managed to separate Pariah from his human half

and in that moment, one of his dominant traits was rage

betrayal by ones he trusted, half of himself stolen from him, his fury was overwhelming, and it was what consumed his ghost half, and began his reign as a tyrant, his human half, whether deliberately or accidental, was killed in the process

this is why the Observants wanted Danny dealt with in TUE, they were seeing history repeating, they didn't care that Clockwork saw an alternate future because they didn't want that alternate future, TUE happened after Reign Storm, they were clinging onto the one excuse they had to get rid of this new halfa before he realised he had a claim to the throne and became the next Pariah Dark

they knew Danny was just as attached to his human half as Pariah was, and they'd seen evidence of that already in Dan, they couldn't have a king who was part human, and they couldn't take his human half from him without dire consequences

so of course their solution was just make him go away

see! in this one particular future he becomes a monster just like we said he would, Clockwork go destroy him, problem solved, good job everybody!

when Danny finds out about all this and presses them on why he has to be a full ghost to rule, assuming it's some mystic law that cannot physically be broken, the Observants are just like

"oh... uh no, technically it's physically possible, it's just... well, it's against tradition"

cue a Danny blowing up

"YOU CAUSED THE ENTIRE PARIAH DARK MESS OVER FUCKING TRADITION?"

"well it would be have been quite embarrassing having someone half alive ruling over the dead"

Danny has to be physically wrangled out of the room by Clockwork before he brings the whole fucking building down

it's completely absurd but the Observants just really feel like the kind of assholes who would stick so rigorously to that kinda shit despite all logic and reason telling them not to

[maverick-werewolf]

Vampire Fact #13 (oh no) - The Importance of Dracula

It's another vampire fact this month! Next month will be a Werewolf Fact again for October, of course, in time for Halloween.

But for now, let's talk about a very important topic when it comes to vampires... the importance of everyone's favorite count: Dracula.

Much like my Werewolf Fact "The Importance of The Wolf Man," this Vampire Fact will discuss the importance of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, published in 1897, and the almost-impossible-to-overstate importance of how it shaped all popular conceptions of vampires afterward - and even retroactively affected vampire legends through scholarship and study.

I want to open by saying that this post is not setting out to discuss the historical context of Dracula itself as a literary work, neither in terms of when/how Bram Stoker wrote it (and to what degree it was influenced by things like Varney the Vampire and John Polidori's The Vampyre), nor in terms of how much it relates to Vlad the Impaler. I am aware of the conversation around Bram Stoker and his work and the many discussions thereof, but that isn't what I'm here to cover today. Right now, I'm focusing only upon the undeniable, massive influence the novel Dracula in itself has had upon vampires in popular culture essentially from the moment it was published all the way until today - and it will continue, as well.

I may, however, talk about all those kind of things in a separate post, as I have spent a great deal of time studying them and even publishing upon them (including an article diving deep into how Polidori doesn't get enough credit overall in vampire study). But more on that later! For now, let's talk about what Dracula did for vampires.

First off, for those unfamiliar with Dracula, you should be. If you enjoy vampires at all and haven't read this book, that's a big blind spot! First of all, you'd enjoy the heck out of it, and second of all, it's the vampire book. That's possibly even worse than having not seen The Wolf Man if you love werewolves (although it's rather hard to say; they're pretty much on par, even if Dracula is considered more important historically, as it's a work of classic literature and movies don't often get that level of respect, which I disagree with).

Tangent. Anyway.

In Dracula, we see the foundational aristocratic, blood-sucking, pale, red-eyed, fanged, clean, finery-wearing vampire with civilized manners (until he suddenly lacks them because he's turned into a monster) - plus he's a count, of course. He lives secluded in his grand castle high in the mountains of Eastern Europe, and he is seeking to rejoin society. Many vampires are/were also influenced by the romantic - twisted or not - angle in the story and Dracula's obsession with one woman. Not everything of Dracula's was picked up by popular culture, of course - primarily what was reused, appearance-wise, were the elements later found in film adaptations. For instance, his white hair and mustache (the latter no doubt influenced by Vlad the Impaler) from the book are generally turned to black hair and clean-shaven, thanks to films that followed. But still, it all started with this book.

The character of Dracula would impact literally all vampires to follow, in some fashion or another. The influence is all-encompassing and undeniable.

Please note that not all of this influence came from the novel Dracula alone - it also comes from ripoffs and adaptations thereof, especially in film, as mentioned. I'm talking things like Nosferatu and all the many Dracula film adaptations thereafter. Some concepts didn't originate in Dracula itself - but they did come from things created from or otherwise heavily influenced by Dracula, so without Dracula, one can easily argue we wouldn't have any of those things, either. Like werewolves with The Wolf Man (1941), a lot of these influences also come from film. Obviously it all originated with the novel and adaptations thereof, however, so the novel deserves the credit, ultimately.

Your average Halloween vampire has the classic Dracula concept; whether one wants to argue it was popularized directly from the book or from later film adaptations, you can't deny the high-collared, well-dressed, tall dark and handsome pale vampire that became ubiquitous in recent decades. You know them, you love them - you've seen them every Halloween and on every bit of vampire merch afterward (except perhaps a few things after the Twilight renaissance, which I also won't cover in this post).

Other than obvious design influences, Dracula and its film adaptations of course influenced the vampire "lore" afterward. Perhaps the biggest impact on vampires is simple: fangs. Vampires in folklore didn't actually have fangs! Dracula completely popularized that. Many more details in the linked post as to where the fangs came from, etc.

What were some other things? Well, other than what I already mentioned, Dracula popularized the association of vampires with various kinds of animals (based in folklore), and it even popularized many concepts about vampire hunters, thanks to the ever-popular Abraham Van Helsing.

What else did it influence? Everything. Weaknesses, as well as how to become a vampire and vampires being a curse that the creature could spread to others, to humans, instead of a demonic being - and even the term "vampire" itself certainly saw a rise in the public eye from Dracula.

In truth, Dracula didn't just influence vampire concepts - it influenced all vampire stories to follow and the entire worlds built around their concepts, both vampires, vampire hunters, the general feel and setting of the stories, the plots themselves - absolutely everything.

Please note too, of course, that Bram Stoker was not a slouch on research. He was very heavily influenced by folklore and elements of history, even if he put his own spin on it and made many additions. The fangs in particular have become just a part of vampires as a whole, concept, image, everything. Without fangs, is a vampire even a vampire these days? Not really, especially in the modern mindset - and let's face it, vampires are made a million times cooler by the fangs.

If you want to read one of Bram Stoker's biggest folkloric inspirations, check out a little book called Transylvanian Superstitions, Scripta Minora by Emily Gerard and Agnes Murgoci. This is a good publication of it, and the one I have always used.

So what do I mean when I say that Dracula retroactively affected vampire legends, study thereof, and scholarship on such matters? Well, it's similar to what happened to werewolves over time. By creating interest in a particular "brand" of vampire, scholars began to scrape and search for legends that fit that "brand." Did they really exist? How many "legends" were retroactively twisted around to suit a scholar's needs/desires and/or how many were just created on the spot from thin air in order to say that the scholar "discovered" a legend wherein, for instance, a vampire has fangs?

This isn't unheard of in scholarship, by any means - especially when it comes to folklore. It's widely known that scholars will do such things, especially when it comes to academic argument. Am I saying I know of any in particular that were spawned from an interest in Dracula?

Not necessarily, but it's certainly true that a lot of scholars and certainly most people in general assume things about Dracula or its spinoffs and adaptations that followed come from folklore, and some even use that when writing their academic work, when in fact they did not. It still pervades across the internet that vampires that don't die in the sunlight are immensely silly and untrue to the folklore. Gosh, how ridiculous! Well, I hate to tell you, but that didn't even originate with Dracula, either, nor did it come from folklore. For more details on where the "burning/dying instantly or quickly in the sunlight" concept for vampires came from, see my previous Vampire Fact on Sunlight.

And that gives you a nice overview, I think! There's so much more to say, but an internet post isn't really the place. I do plan to write some nonfiction publications on this and other topics, because werewolves won't be my only nonfiction books, lemme tell you. Hope you enjoyed the post!

Until next time! But wait, there's more (yes, I really just said that)...

Please be sure to sign up for my brand new free newsletter! You'll get monthly folklore facts (Werewolf Facts, Vampire Facts, and sometimes others in special editions), free fiction, free nonfiction articles, and more, all straight to your inbox! For signing up, you get a free full short story and a free extended preview of my nonfiction book The Werewolf: Past and Future. Don't worry - I won't spam you, and you can unsub whenever you like!

( If you like my blog, be sure to follow me here and elsewhere for more folklore and fiction, including books, especially on werewolves! And please consider donating and/or supporting me on Patreon - not only will you help me keep this blog running, but patrons get cool stuff and rewards in return! Even the lowest tier can vote on upcoming folklore facts. You’ll also find lots more cool stuff [for free] over on my personal website.

maverickwerewolf.com (personal site)  — Patreon — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter — Vampire Fact Masterlist )

[satureja13]

Jeb: “But how did you get here? The last cable car today was the one Ji Ho and I took.” Kiyoshi: “Oh, we walked.”

Giga: “What? All the way up the mountain? But Vlad is blind! How often did he fell then?” Kiyoshi: “Oh just now. He did well. But as closer we came near the tavern, the faster he went... the bloodlust I fear.”

Kiyoshi: “But what are you all doing here anyway? I booked this tavern because no one is ever here - so Vlad can heal a bit - and scares no one ^^’. And the smell of the mixture, you know?” Giga and Jeb: “It was cheap...” Kiyoshi: “By the way - there is a monster roaming around. We should go inside.”

Jeb: “Ok - we are going to keep Ji Ho and Vlad separated. I’ll go upstairs with Ji Ho.”

Giga: “But how are we going to keep Ji Ho safe since we are all stuck here?” Kiyoshi: “We are out and about with the school project anyway. The tavern is huge. Jeb and I will keep Ji Ho safe and you and Jack watch over Vlad.” Jack: “Oh no - do I have to switch to wolf again? -.-” Giga: “Not yet - we will see how it goes.”

Jeb (louder, from the upper seat) : “Plus - the week is over - we can start with the anti-bloodlust-program right away!”

Soundtrack on youtube: The Boys are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy

Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed boys that had been away Haven't changed, had much to say But man, I still think them cats are crazy They were askin' if you were around How you was, where you could be found I told 'em you were livin' downtown Drivin' all the old men crazy

The boys are back in town

From the Beginning   ~  Underwater Love   ~  Latest

[barovianchickenandwaffles]

Barovian Tales: Elven Knights and Summer Misery

So, there I was one quiet Tuesday, wondering if business would pick up when I got a letter.

Usually such letters are bills, notice of collections, lawsuits, or (gulp) a summons to Castle Ravenloft. But this was different. It was a letter from the Dusk Elves of Vallaki.

Dear “Uncle” Oleksii,

We hope this letter finds you well, and that business is good. (Ha, if they only knew) We request your presence at our community as soon as possible. Please cookingware and ingredients, and be prepared for some cooking.

We believe you will find this worth your time.

Warm regards,

Tharivol Moonglow

Huh. Now that’s something. Elves, for some reason, tend not to like my cuisine no matter how much lard I bake into it. They prefer “healthier food” with “more vegetables”.

Further, my short-lived business venture in Sithicus went down in flames (literally) when Elven rebels there rose up in revolt.

So, why now?

Well, a business opportunity is a business opportunity. I packed my gear and set out.

The trip to Vallaki was miserable and creepy.

First, that weird, faceless creature that haunts the outskirts of the village, and sings in a warbly voice, followed me silently for an hour outside town. Shudder.

Then, the old hags selling dream pies had a lemonade stand by the road. I knew better than to consume their wares, but then they insisted I listen to their business presentation. They wanted to sell me membership in a “Vacation Club” with time-allocated property in Kartakas. No thank you. I may have a 4th grade education but I ain’t that dumb.

Thankfully, I didn’t even have to go into Vallaki proper, just the outskirts. Too many bad memories after my betrothed was eaten by an enormous frog monster there.

I pulled my donkey wagon to the elf village just south. It’s about the closest thing to a lovely spot in Barovia (which is saying a lot) and it’s a shame I don’t come more often.

As I approached a tall, thin elf was waiting for me. This must be Tharivol Moonglow.

“Greetings Master Oleksii, and welcome,” he said in a falsetto voice, “please leave your cart here and follow me up the hill.”

I did as requested and we strode up toward the center of the village. “Your timing was impeccable.”

“Oh?” I said, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

There I saw the elf houses arranged in a ring around a common grounds in the middle. At the grounds were two sets of tables, and a makeshift hearth for cooking.

And there, smiling at me smugly was none other than Vlad, owner of Barovian Wieners and Pancakes, my rival.

“Hello Oleksii,” he said.

“Hello Vlad,” I grumbled.

“And hello to both you losers,” said a voice that sent chills down my spine.

I turned and saw him: Rahadin, the right-hand of the Devil Strahd.

“Look if this is about that kickback I sent you last week, I had no idea those coins were slugs. Honest.”

Rahadin chuckled, “we’ll discuss that later,” he said.

I couldn’t hear half of what he said over the creepy aura of screaming voices around him, but as far as I could figure, Rahadin invited us both for a cook-off. Elves don’t usually eat fried chicken, wieners, or hotcakes. Instead, we’d be asked to cook three dishes based on a random selection of ingredients, and the Dusk Elves would be the judges. The winner would have a charter, signed by Strahd himself, to open a shop in Vallaki. Not bad for business.

The ingredients were:

An assortment of vegetables from the Elves

Wheat flour

Salt

Eggs

Spice from some faraway land that smelled of curry.

Dried noodles from another land

Finally, a slab of 100% all-Barovian “mystery meat”

We were given 1 hour to come up with three dishes.

“May the best chef win… me,” taunted Vlad.

“If it turns out anything like your food, I’ll be in Vallaki in no time,” I shot back.

“Yeah, well, in your dreams Oleksii.”

Nice comeback, Vlad.

I stood at my grill and noticed a large glass vial with some kind of oily fluid in it with the words “Vegetable” and “Oil”.

I yelled over to the judges, “is this some kind of joke? Vegetable … oil?”

You haven’t seen a facepalm until you’ve seen an elven facepalm. Better yet, an entire panel of them.

It was a fast, intense hour. I poured my heart and, er, “soul” into my cooking, using my years of experience. My Babusya would have been slightly proud of me. She might have even nodded in acknowledgement.

When at last time was up, we stepped back and offered our dishes to the judges. Vlad was first. He presented some dishes I hadn’t seen before and I was bewildered. Where did he learn to cook such things. The judges chewed thoughtfully, but it was hard to read their faces.

Next was my turn. I lifted the cover on my dishes and was greeted by a gasp from the judges.

“You cooked … waffles … and fried chicken?” inquired Rahadin. To be honest, all I heard was:

(Scream, mumbles) cooked (more screams and mumbles) fried (screams)?”

“Yes?”

“Out of all the ingredients?” said a similarly stunned Tharivol.

“Um, yeah, wasn’t that I was supposed to do?”

I made cabbage waffles with deep-fried mystery meat, dried curry noddle waffles with fried mystery meat, and deep fried turnip waffles with fried mystery meat.

I know, like, 2 recipes only.

Three days later I was back in Barovia without a charter. I got bonus points for somehow converting dried noodles into waffles, but otherwise no win.

Further I managed to ruin the mood of the contest after making a passing joke about needing some lady elves around there to pretty up a “batchelor pad” like their village. Awkward.

When I came back, I learned that Rahadin and his goons had been around and filled my entire office, from floor to ceiling, with metal slugs as “payback”, and my lockbox had been broken into. That’d cost me about three weeks worth of earnings, never mind how long it would take to clean out the office.

Later, I found out that Vlad’s new restaurant went under after some customers were eaten by an enormous frog monster, and the rest were flogged by Baron Vallakovich for not being happy about it.

I sipped my bitter, bland Barovian Chicken and Waffles-brand coffee as I looked out the window thoughtfully.

Just another week in Barovia.

The End

p.s. thanks for all the positive feedback on the last story. It is appreciated. Also check out an older story I wrote last year.

[theleslistuff]

My Headcannon about cores and animal-like ghost/non-human ghost in Danny phantom

So… before I forget it, I gotta write it down like… right now takes deep breath Hear me out As some may know, I absolutely hate with passion the B*tch Hateman take on ghost as "creatures of another dimension" because the same show showed the deaths of some characters like… PoinDexter- incident with bullying/suffocated to death in his own locker that now he hunts Cujo- When Axion labs no longer needed dogs to protect the place, they put down all the dogs, Cujo comes back from death looking for his chewing toy Desiree- heart broken after being exiled by the sultan who was her true love, being taken away from her greatest wishes she now grants everyone their most wanted wishes under a great prize Ember- the series didn´t openly said it but the lyrics of her song say she may have died in a fire after his boyfriend left her and she was chasing her dream of being a great artist so he and everyone can "remember her name", after her death with that mentality her only goal was to have world wide fame that would now give her power The problem comes when Butch tried to modify this in season 3 with him adding elementary powers and more monster-like ghost for him to say "monsters from another dimension"

But!!!, the fandom saves the day with the idea of… cores!! and ghost being all able to shapeshift

For anyone new around here basically cores are the main part of a ghost/soul inside of their chest that can have an elementary power besed of their personality/their death.So far I´ve seen Danny- ice core (because of his chill/brave/risk taking attitude) Danny- lighting core (because of his "death") Vlad- fire core/lighting core (because of his agressive/passionate nature and… yeah his "death")

So far it has been told only ghost with great power can have an elementary core, so it leaves with the question: why do not only halfas have this and we get ghost like Nocturne, Vortex, Undergrowth, The far Frozen and they absolutely look not human if I´m going with the "all ghost are death people"? My headcanon for this is… They used to be human beings but training their power over an element has modified their apearence to adapt to that element! Maybe this can even justify ghost puberty (another headcanon as an excuse for Danny getting fangs or why the hell Vlad looks like a freaking vampire) it would be their cores getting too powerful it starts to modify their body in two ways: Based on obssesion- it would make them look more like something related to their obssesion, like… I like to think for example we got: Vlad- his obssesion being his love for Maddie it would be interpreted as an unhealthy love because he wants to have her more as a trophy, why?, well in the series it has been seen he doesn´t care if she gets hurt by his actions like killing Jack (that would hur her really bad because they have shown to love each other), kidnaping/killing her children (with Jazz in Secret weapons, he was perfectly fine with the chance of having her to fight Danny but when she turned around he was willing to kill her with the nanobots, with Danny… the many times he has tried to kill him to "join" him), he only wants to have her, so I think his core interpretated it as him getting a prey to suck the life out of here more than a partner, so his ghost half would be a vampire.Based on training- this one is the one I mostly came up to, it would imply the ghost not getting focused on their original obsession but instead trying to improve their power they got, especally if they focus on their core, my headcanons with this one are: Undergrowth- He maybe once was an activist trying to protect nature, getting killed by a great coorporation in the process (maybe thats why he instantly took Sam as an apprendice/queen) when he died he at first didn´t wanted revenge because he died in a good cause, that´s when he noticed because for his love of nature he had got the power to make flowers and all kind of plant grow, happy of getting paradise in his own way he would turn his liar into a giant garden, gradually getting better at it with training until his liar turned into a jungle with even sentient plants that behaved like animals (as we saw in urban jungle) finally changing his body showing how he got total control of this power, but maybe getting too focused on his power and looking anyone in te ghost zone had an obsession similar to his, alone and finally thinking his liar was not enough he tries now to overtake other liars for his plants (his children), maybe having a fight with the far Frozen territory (maybe that´s why Frostbite knows about him), even trying his original obssesion protect plants and nature in earth (urban jungle). The far Frozen- unlike Undergrowth who would be like the only one of his kind, Ice cores would be quite common to get because of different reasons leading to… when a ghost with ice core is willing to train it´s power they would either… die (destabilize) from hypothermia (like how Danny almost did) or completly master it, leading to… their bodies would change into the appearence of the far Frozen (maybe that´s also why Frostbite says Danny is more similar to them than from what he thinks) and so, the ghost with trained ice cores can try and go to the Far Frozen territory to ask for guidence or join them (I totally think Danny would go through this if he decides to regularly train his powers as he did through the entire series)

[rc-appreciationweeks]

And your chosen monster is... SHINO-ODORI!

Congratulations to Shino-Odori for winning Halloweekend's Mash or Smash! Sometimes yokai, often hungry, and always adorable, Shino has captured the hearts amongst other things of our voters and won the poll after a very, very close race!

Here are your winners:

🥇 Shino-Odori (Legend of the Willow)

🥈 Vlad Dracula (Dracula: a Love Story)

🥉 Cerberus/Murphy (Rage of the Titans)

We received thousands of votes during this game, an honestly baffling number to the admins. We're thankful for the support and hope you guys enjoyed playing Mash or Smash with us! Stick around and see if we're gonna do more of these in future appreciation weeks 👀

Share your love for the winners, or your monster of choice really, in the comments and reblogs. Until next time!

Voting breakdown under cut

Total number of votes in the finals: 5,208 (insane)

[timelessdp]

Holiday Truce

This year I was @tidehopper gifter

I liked your prompts and I put together the Cujo and the Vlad showed up in dinner. I hope you will like it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43867041

A black and white blurred figure flew in the night sky at Amity Park.

—I can't believe you Cujo! This is a the seventh times in this week to came to the real world, and it's still Tuesday. What could I do with you?-Phantom rolled his eyes.

—Woof Woof! -answered the miniature dog.

—Hey Phantom!- his dad shouted after him. —Can I help you?

—Oh hi Jack! What are you doing outside this time of the day? It is almost midnight.

—You know I always loved the filed trips. And now that we have a truce we can finally work together!

—Sure. But I actually finished for today. Although...

He flew closer to the ground, and stopped in front of the other Hunter.

—I know you don't keep animals. But I think Cujo would be a nice exception. He is a ghost, so he just need some ectoplasm to live peacefully. I would be grateful if I don't need to chase after him every day.

—So do you want me to watch out for your dog?

—Argh... Why do everybody believe that he is my dog?!

—Isn't he yours?

—No, he isn't. So would you like to know him better?

Jack nodded.

Phantom handed Cujo over to his dad.

The ghost licked the man face.

—Be good! -the ghost boy smiled and left alone them.

Danny lied down to his bed as he would be a sack of flour. He immediately felt asleep.

He woke up for somebody licking his face.

—Stooop. I am still not awake -he rubbed his eyes, then he noticed the ghost dog. —I have never thought in my dreams, that you will be the one who wakes me up.

—Woof!- he was wagging his tail.

—Could you go out until I dress up?

—Yip...-whimpered.

—Okay. Okay... At the least stay beside my bed.

Danny finished the morning rutin quickly. Then he went downstairs. Cujo followed him.

—I see you two already like each other -his father said.

—He is very sweet if you know him. I mean Phantom intruduced him to me.

Daniel took his cereal, and started to eat at the kitchen table.

Cujo hopped onto his lap and spilled the milk everywhere.

—Cujo! Bad dog! -Danny put up and put him to the ground. —Stay there- the boy sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. —OMG I will be late- he picked up a toast which had been made by his father. —See ya!

—Bye Danny!

The boy had the luck with the ghost shield on around the Fenton Works.

He had an ordinary school day.

—Danny we should start our History project- Valarie started —Who knows when I will have enough free time again.

—You are right Valarie. Do you want to come over? I think I have never introduced you properly to my parents.

—Maybe because everybody know your parents.

—That is true, but they don't know about you. And I have some books for the project.

—Well I am in.

—Yes! We should order food too. Because I don't want to poison you.

—It takes more than a little ectoplasm. I think most of the population of Amity Park resistant against it.

—Believe me, when I say it isn't a little bit. Last time a ham attacked us.

They reached the Fenton Works very soon. Danny opened the front door just to face with the huge Cujo.

The boy stood as a surprised Pikachu, frozen. Somehow he forgot about him.

Valerei raised her hand with a gun.

—What are this monster doing here?!

—Err... -Danny shook his head. —Phantom left him to us to avoid your kind of problems. It just completely came out of my mind. Cujo be small!

The animal shrinked to a size of a puppy and jumped into Danny's arm.

—He doesn't bite.

—So that means Phantom left his dog to your family.

—He had never been Phantom's dog.

—Woof!-Cujo agreed.

—Do you promise that he won't cause any more difficultness?

—Until the shield is on, Amity is safe from him.

They heard tramples. Cujo jumped down. Danny's mom was that.

—Come inside.

—Alright- the youths agreed.

—Mom I don't know if you have ever met Valerie in the proper way yet.

—You are the Red Huntress. Danny told about you so much. Thank you for your help.

Now it was Valerie, who froze.

—How do you know?

—You have her gun in your hand. And the heigh is the same. Also you just given away yourself.

Danny made a facepalm. As a secret identity would be this easy to tell.

—I should be more careful...

—Do you wanna see our newest arsenal?

—Technically I came to learn with Danny...

—No worries, I will get the books until you get the tour. Be careful.

—It would be fun. Finally somebody who can appreciate our work. My children hate ghost hunting.

Danny just rolled his eyes.

—Ten minute and I will join-he went forwards.

—Can I ask what was the reason to start hunting?

—This little monster -Valarie pointed to Cujo.

—Woof!-the dog stepped onto the girl's leg.

—Leave me alone!-she swung his weapon.

Cujo became a big and growled at her.

—There is no need to attack. Please put your gun down.

She listened to Maddie, and in that moment the dog transformed into a puppy again.

—Long story for short. My dad worked for the axion lab as security. But he wasn't ready for ghost attacks, and this beast ruined his work. We lost everything. I started to work at the Nasty Burger. And one day I got a packet from Vlad Masters and there was a suit. That is how I started hunting. But I don't really care about the engineering.

—But you need to know how to works to use it safely.

—Not really. Since Technus boosted my suit, every piece is like a second skin to me.

—Hmmm... I am curios how high is your ectocontamination. We should check it up in the lab.

— Won't it hurt?

—It isn't dangerous to humans.

—I am not convinced. In regard of everybody in Amity have a higher level, than an average human has.

—That is true.

When they arrived to the lab, Valarie's bracelet started to beeping.

—I gotta go. Tell Danny, I am sorry.

—What is that?-Maddie asked.

—It is a ghost detector.

—Interesting ours haven't shown anything.

—Maybe because it is off? Let me see it. Hi Mr. Fenton!- she greeted the man, who was tinkering something.

—Hi! Maddie give me the torch!

—Right away sugar cube!

The barcalet became quiet.

—It seams like Phantom finished already.

As a soon as she said out loud, the ghost boy showed up.

—Hi Val! What's up Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?

—I am working on the Fenton ghost detector. I don't want to register Cujo as a treat.

—Cool! I caught some ectopus- he stepped beside the portal and flushed the thermos's content. —Have a nice day -Phantom waved then flew up.

—So... Where is the ectocontamination measuring device?

—At the back off the room. Come with me.

The walked beside computers, huge weapons, tubes with colorful substances, weird household utensils.

—There are lots of weird thing.

—It happens when you are an inventor. Oh I found it.

The device looked like a modern thermometer.

Maddie raised up the tool into Valarie's forehead, but before she could start the process Danny appeared and push away her hand.

—Sorry Mom, but you had said if the identity reach rate three in the danger scale the gun part is activating. And It would be a bad idea to use it on Val, before you uninstall that function.

—Ups. You are right. We could check it latter. I am going to repair it. Have fun kids -Maddie left them.

—The last time when she wanted to use it, Jazz was the one who saved me. I shouldn't left you with them.

—I knew the danger of this place...

Danny lowered his voice. He didn't want to his father hear it.

—I ordered Pizza. I know what is your favorite. It is already in the kitchen.

—Then what are we waiting for? I haven't eaten since morning, because of the Lunch Lady.

—Yeah I know.

They went upstairs. Just to find Cujo eating one of the Pizza from the box.

—Bad dog! Why do you want to eat my food? It isn't for you! -He picked up the dog and put down on the floor.

But Cujo didn't listen to him and flew up to the table.

—You don't want the thermos, do you?

Cujo looked at Danny and continued to eat.

—Argh... At the least Val yours is safe- he held out the clear box.

The girl wasn't as soft-hearted as the boy, and she put the dog onto her own thermos.

—You are very thin already. I don't want to you to starve.

—I am not starving. But thanks.

—So where are we should start the project?

—Hmmm... Well we have to stay in the middle ages. And we had got Japan for the project. I don't know. Maybe the Shintoism? I mean our books are highlighting the religions.

—I always loved the Samurais. They are very strong and brave warriors, who are commitment for a case and doesn't stop until they reached it.

—Just like you Red -Danny said moonily.

—It is weird to hear from your mouth. Phantom the only one who call me Red.

—It slipped out my mouth...- he scratched his head.

Valarie leant close to Danny's face.

—You are sus.

—Me why? I didn't do anything!

—And now you are panicking -she rolled her eyes.

—I am not!

Valarie give Danny a peck.

—What a nice couple- Vlad stepped inside the kitchen.

—Vlad what are you doing here?

—This day is the anniversary of the ghost hunting club, and Maddie invited me.

—I didn't know what is missing.

The girl grasped the boy's hand.

—Danny, can we continue this conversation upstairs?

—All right! Vlad I don't want to hear anything about you.

—You won't.

Valarie suddenly opened her thermos.

—Ups my hand is a bit slippy.

Cujo showed up.

—Please pay attention to Vlad- Danny asked from the dog.

—We are playing open cards, Daniel? You are not afraid that our little secret accidentally came into light?

—Vlad Masters. I know your secret. And I think the Fentons would listen to me if I reveal that their "friend" truly a ghost!

—Ghost?! Where?- Jack's voice came from the basement.

—As you have a chance against me, mademoiselle. I know where you live.

—She have my protection. As well Cujo's -Danny showed the scary eyes.—So behave, or leave.

—Hmmm... I see I am not welcomed here. Maybe next time- he disappeared in his pink fog.

—That wasn't a wise move.

—Then it is true - Valerie looked at Danny's eye.

—I didn't want to know this- he looked away. —Plasmius and I have an agreement. Because the knowledge about halfas put in a great risk. The government, the ghost zone. I have too many enemies.

—But you knew my secret all along. It isn't fair.

—My life never was. Sorry to rope into this mess.

—Yowl... Yowl...

—Cujo regrets too.

—Those puppy eyes. I can't believe he is able to do that. We are not friends yet.

—Yowl...

—Sign... So I guess the goth girl and the geek guy, know about this.

—Yes, they are. And my sister Jazz.

—You need to tell your parents too.

—I am not ready.

—Have you ever told somebody?

—No. Everybody figured out themselves.

—Then understandable. Maybe some clue would help and your mother will figure out.

—Nope. Their equipment targeting me since I became a ghost. And they couldn't put the pieces together.

—Before we start to studying let's to collate our timetable, which time is available for us patrolling the city.

—You are a genius!- Danny give a pick onto Val's cheek. —This way we both have enough time to sleep.

—That's the plan.

Jack came up.

—As if I heard Vlad in a moment ago.

—Actually he was here. Just got a call for an urgent conference.

—That is sad. We would have celebrating. Anyway, the ghost detector is finished.

—You are great Dad!

—I check on your mother how the ectomeasuring works.

—Okay.

—So the timetable...

—Oh yes... I almost forgot about it...

[dariaendzhyel]

Вампирские будни

Почему ты полюбил меня?

Vampire everyday life

Why did you love me?

Действия происходят перед беременностью!

Actions come pre-pregnancy!

Daria: Vladdy, it's so beautiful and romantic here!

Vlad: I'm glad you like it.. It's really good here: butterflies fly, birds sing, and in the distance the water murmurs too... And there are no people here, just the two of us.

Daria: Vlad, I've been wanting to ask you for a long time: Why did you love me? Well, or "for what, you fell in love with me?"

Vlad: Hmmm, okay, I'll answer your question, but you will also tell me why you fell in love with me.

Vlad: I fell in love with you for your kindness, for your care for me...

I love you for your eyes and smile, for this warmth that you give me. I like to wake up and realize that next to me is the one who loves me and accepts all my good and bad sides ... Accepts my appearance. You changed a lot of things in my life, I'm glad that I met you ... Thank you you for everything. I love you very much, Daria.

Daria: Oh Vladi, my dear!!! It's so sweet!

Vlad: Really? And it seemed to me that I was talking unrelated nonsense ... Now it's your turn!

Daria: Good!

Daria: I fell in love with you for your actions... Do you remember how at the beginning of our acquaintance, you saved me from a vampire? Then I realized that your soul is pure... A lot of bad things were said about you, but getting to know you better, I realized: You are not a monster, you are just a very lonely vampire who has gone astray... I like your character. With me you are always real. You can laugh, fool around, and if you are in a lot of pain, bad or hard, then you are not afraid to cry when I am around. You know that I will always listen to you and will not say that "tears are for the weak"... You are always open with me, I love you for that.

Daria: I like everything about you: mustache, beard, hair, nose, lips, fangs, arms, fingers, shoulders... EVERYTHING!! I love you for your attitude towards me: you never yelled at me, never threw me on the bed during the woo. You have always been kind to me, kind and caring... I fell in love with you for your hugs and kisses... I can talk about this for a long time.

Vlad: W-Wow! You gave me so many compliments! I.. I love you, Daria!!

Daria: I love you too, Vladdy! Let's get up and go to the lake, why are we all sitting and sitting?

Vlad: Come on, my dear. I don't mind going for a walk.

Daria: Vladdy! We will come back here again? Please!

Vlad: If you want it, then yes, of course! We will come here, take a break from the outside world... It's just the two of us... Me and you, my angel.

[halfagone]

Danny's Obsession

I should really be studying right now, or working on some of my fics, but Danny Phantom has gripped my mind and it is NOT planning on subsiding any time soon, so I need to get it off my chest.

Imagine if Danny's Obsession is Never Changing.

Let me explain:

I love the Phandom's headcanons for Danny's obsession, especially the Protection ones, because those are always so *chef's kiss* but lately I've been thinking about where Danny's head might have been at, especially right after his accident. Plus, what little he knows about ghosts at this point in time.

His parents HATES ghosts. We know that. This is fact. They talk about how they plan on ripping apart Phantom molecule by molecule. But at the very beginning, when Danny is still freshly half-dead, what does he know about ghosts? Well, whatever his parents have told him about them since he was little. Which is... not the most accurate of information, as well all know.

So here's Danny, freshly half-dead, trying to understand what just happened to him, trying to figure out how to get his new powers under wraps (this is before he becomes a hero after defeating the Lunch Lady, of course). He doesn't know what he is, all he knows is that he's not the same anymore. And for a kid who's been told that ghosts are horrible monsters since he was a child, how do you think he would cope with that? Personally, I would try to convince myself that there's nothing wrong me, really. Nothing has changed. It was just a little zap, sure it was really fricking painful, but nothing he can't deal with, y'know? These powers are just from ectocontamination, they'll go away eventually.

But they don't.

And now his parents' equipment keeps on going off around him. And his powers aren't just not going away, but he's getting more of them. And his new life as a secret superhero keeps on getting in the way of his civilian one, and as much as he wants to pretend that everything was the same as before, he can't ignore the people who need help or protection because he's a good kid.

And then he meets Vlad, whose ghost form looks nothing like his human one even if he's just as annoying. But that's easy to write off because Vlad is Vlad, he's an annoying, crazy Froot Loop, he probably just looks that way because he's dramatic af.

And then The Ultimate Enemy happens. And Dan happens. And he can't recognize what his future self has become even though he recognizes himself. That's his hair, his hazmat suit (if modified as he grew up), his memories, his powers.

Danny changed, and he didn't like the person he'd become. But how much of that is Vlad and how much of that is Danny? Can he really blame all of that on Vlad and his influence?

And, depending on the fic and the writer's personal headcanons, Pariah Dark could have been a good king once upon a time. But then, of course, he became too dangerous and they had to lock him away. And, again, if the writer so wishes, and Danny is supposed to become the next Ghost King, how do you think he would react in that situation?

Well, I think he would attribute that to change. To how time and changing circumstances warped him into something dangerous and horrible. And Danny doesn't want to be like that, become that. So he pretends that nothing is wrong, that this is all fine, that really nothing has changed.

And if a ghost's physical state is affected and will change depending on their state of mind or as a psychosomatic response like some authors, that I've seen, headcanon, do you know what that means? That means Danny wouldn't age. Because he's so desperate to pretend that nothing happened to him. And while everyone around him, his friends, his family, grow up and grow old, so long as he's stuck in this frame of mind that just because he's now half-dead doesn't mean he's different. Well... that could cause a lot of problems.

Of course, that also means we could see Danny finally come to terms with some of his trauma, like everything surrounding the Accident, his parents' own prejudices or neglect that have left him feeling cornered or forgotten. And maybe even the acceptance that, yes, he has changed because of his death, but that doesn't mean he's different than before. It just means he can do more. And at the end of the day, he's still that good kid that wanted to help other people, even though he had no obligation to, or because he was responsible for the ghost attacks.

It just means he's a good person. And THAT will never change.

But of course, I like the angsty route ;P

[vaduvaisms]

𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎: mavis carmilla vaduva. 𝚊𝚐𝚎 / 𝚍.𝚘.𝚋: one hundred and twenty-six, november 2nd. 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 / 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜: cis female, she/her. 𝚜𝚎𝚡𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢:  bisexual, biromantic. 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗: transylvania, romania. 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: pit stop waitress. 𝚎𝚍𝚞𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗: home schooled.

𝚣𝚘𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚌: scorpio sun. 𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝:  phlegmatic.  𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚗𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝: true neutral. 𝚖𝚋𝚝𝚒: infj. 𝚑𝚘𝚐𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎: hufflepuff. 

𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢: mavis (hotel translyvania) / 

+ 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚜:   - 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚜: 

╰   *     𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 (trigger warning: death)

mavis’ full bio is linked below. i will just be giving a short run down to catch everyone up to speed. 

mavis was born one hundred and twenty six years ago in transylvania, romania to martha and vlad dracula. they were loving parents and adored their daughter so.

but, tragedy struck and her mother was killed by a bunch of villagers and her father was left to protect his daughter on his own. he did what he saw fit and shut out the human world and locked mavis in. 

she lived behind the walls of his castle which was actually a hotel for monsters. it was an interesting life to say the least but she dreamed of much more. she wanted to be free. 

and one night that dream came true. she met jonathan and she swore she found her zing. he was goofy but he was perfect-- minus the fact he was a human. her father disapproved strongly. but after spending hours talking about his travels around the world she knew what she had to do.

sneaking into her parents room she stole her mother’s daylight amulet and ran away into the night with jonathan to see the world she dreamed about as a child. 

eventually her father forgave her for leaving because he knew that no matter how he tried he could not lock her away for the rest of her life. 

mavis traveled the world for two years with jonathan. they had so much fun together and she was smitten. she truly thought of him as her zing and one and only. 

one day they stumbled upon the city of elias and she never looked back.. this was a place they could call home from their travels. 

╰   *     𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝

currently mavis has been in elias for two years. since we don’t have a jonathan yet i’m going to say for the time being he is traveling without her. mainly because she just loves elias so much and it has become home. 

mavis is working at the pit stop as a waitress. the spooky girl doesn’t really fit the bar’s atmosphere so she stands out a good bit. but don’t let her aesthetics fool you she’s the nicest waitress there. 

she enjoys spending time with her friends and learning about the human world. everywhere she traveled was very different from elias. so, she is learning about all the different beings that inhabit the city. 

she can currently go out in the day time due to her mother’s daylight amulet. gifted to her mother by a witch many years ago. it holds the power to protect her from sunlight and the ability to walk around in the day light. 

while mavis wears the amulet she still uses an umbrella or hood. she’s been this way for decades.. she can’t help it. 

╰   *     𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎

mavis vaduva eventually falls for logan teague in a shocking turn of events. they have three children. two twin boys, harry and henry, and a daughter, darcy, who she loves dearly and spends her life taking care of. 

she worked at the pit stop for a long time until she had the twins and decided to mother them full time. 

╰   *    𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

freddy jones // best friend.

logan teague // frenemies.

marnie piper // spooky friends.

jasper skellington // budding friendship.

╰   *     𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

jonathan loughran // i know this is a most wanted connection but just sitting it here in case.

unlikely friends // someone you just wouldn’t think that mavis would hang out with. someone who is her polar opposite.

pit stop coworkers // someone who watches the twins for her.

enemies // mavis wouldn’t have many but it’d be fun to play out.

pinterest . playlist . edits . full biography .  

[lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks]

Part 2 baby, I'll put these up on my ao3 soon as well so they're in one place together

-------

"Dad... you're dead."

Jack laughed. He probably shouldn't have, Danny seemed to be very genuine in his assessment, and Jack recognised that he should probably take this more seriously. But still, dead?? It was laughable.

"Come on Danny be serious." Danny's face remained stoic, "I'm not dead, I'm right here."

"You're a ghost, dad." Danny's lips were pressed tight, his entire body tense. "You died."

Jack was feeling a little ill at this point, was Danny okay? Was there a ghost messing with his head? He leaned toward Danny and grabbed his hand, it was cold, Danny's hands were always cold.

"Listen to me son, you're not talking sense, there's probably a ghost somewhere tha-"

Danny stood up fast, impossibly fast, his chair skidded behind him and toppled over.

"No! Dad can you just- how did you get to bed last night?" He asked.

Jack hadn't been expecting the question, he'd gone to bed... the usual way right? Like he always did, took a shower, brushed his teeth, got into his pyjamas, kissed his wife goodnight, although for some reason the details felt a little fuzzy.

But before he could answer Danny continued.

"When did we leave the party?"

Party? Jack's brow furrowed, oh the party! It was his 50th, how could he forget his own party, had he had that much to drink?

Oh, oh of course. He'd gotten drunk and done something stupid, said something upsetting. That's why everyone was mad at him, that's why last night was foggy.

Danny kept going, he sounded frustrated, angry, but his voice cracked a little. He was upset, oh boy Jack must have done something truly awful.

"What happened after the toast?"

The toast... He had just blown out the candles on the enormous cake Vlad had bought for him, ah that's right, Vlad had been there! He'd hired the venue, planned the whole party, it had been a surprise.

He had handed him a drink...

Danny asked another question, Jack knew it was the last, it felt heavy and final, it didn't even sound like a question.

"What's the date today."

Jack knew the date, of course he knew the date, it was the day after his birthday why wouldn't he know? He'd never been particularly good with dates but not even he could forget his own birthdate.

He glanced over to the calendar on the wall, just in case, he had a sneaking suspicion this was some kind of a trick question.

Jazz was the one to mark off the days, she used it to keep track of her assignments and her tutoring sessions. Each day would be marked with a tidy little line, not an X because they had 'a negative association with failure' or... something. He didn't really understand a lot of Jazz's ideas.

The days were marked off up to June the 18th... the 18th, it should have been the 10th. His birthday was yesterday, on the 9th, today should be the 10th.

How could he have missed a whole week? Maybe this was a joke, a way to get back at him for getting drunk and embarrassing everyone.

But this... didn't feel like a joke.

Maddie's sobs hadn't felt like a joke, Jazz's silence hadn't felt like a joke.

Danny's eyes gouged into him. Danny had always been an awkward kid, he took after Jack in that way, he was shy when he was young, always had difficulty maintaining eye contact. He had no such difficulty right now. They were so bright, had they always been so bright?

It was unsettling.

Why couldn't Jack remember what happened after the toast...

The drink had tasted strange, bitter. He never particularly liked champagne, he assumed that it was normal. Vlad had been smiling, his teeth were sharp... his eyes...

Danny's hands were clasped together tightly, his knuckles bumping against his lower lip as they shook. His gaze had shifted from Jack's face to the gravy-stained tablecloth.

"You're dead. I'm sorry, I know this is hard, I know you still feel like everything is the same but it isn't. You... you're a ghost, dad. Not the kind you're used to, you're just a haunting spirit right now, nobody can see you, nobody can hear you. You can't interact with anything, not yet."

Danny dropped his hands away from his face and looked at him sadly. Jack felt as though there was more to his expression, but he'd never been particularly good at reading people. Vlad had always been better at that sort of thing, it often felt like Vlad could speak a whole other language Jack simply couldn't understand.

Vlad... something was tickling the back of his mind but he couldn't quite grasp it, like a word on the tip of his tongue.

Vlad had given him a drink. Vlad had smiled. It looked like a real smile, but Jack felt like... there had been something more to it, Jack had never been good at reading people... Vlad had smiled, his teeth were sharp, his eyes... red, they were red.

The champagne was bitter. He could almost still taste it.

Jack jumped to his feet, startling Danny as he balled his hands into fists.

"Vlad." he growled, Danny breathed a sad sigh.

"Yeah, it was Vlad, he-"

"He was overshadowed by a ghost!" Jack roared, "It's still got him doesn't it? Mads is out there looking for-"

"No! Fuck, dad- SIT. DOWN."

Jack sat. Without thought or question. Danny's command was loud, not deafening but loud in a different way, like he'd heard it through not just his ears but his entire body. It reminded him a little of the concerts he and Maddie used to frequent back in their college days, where the music was so loud it vibrated through them, head to toe.

It took him a moment to realise he was shaking, Jack always considered himself fearless, and that was generally true, so true that he almost didn't recognise the feeling as it swept coldly over him.

Danny closed his eyes and rubbed at them in frustration, Jack was almost certain he caught a flash of vibrant green beneath his fingers.

"I'm sorry I... I didn't want to use that- I didn't mean," he sighed heavily. "You just never listen."

He was listening now, if not simply because he felt too shaken to do anything else. His thoughts rattled around trying to piece themselves together, something within him was screaming like he'd just touched a hot surface or a live wire. Danger danger danger danger.

"Vlad wasn't being overshadowed," said Danny, leaning against the kitchen bench, his body almost sagging with exhaustion. "It's... a lot more complicated than that."

"I can't be a ghost." Jack muttered, indignant, "They're monsters, they don't even look human. They don't wake up and hug their wives, they don't want to sit down and eat breakfast with their daughters."

"Not all ghosts are the same." Danny's voice was quiet, it had none of that fierce intensity like before. What was that? It wasn't normal, it definitely wasn't human. Jack glared up at him as a hot flush of rage washed over him.

"How do I know you aren't the ghost. That you haven't done... something to my family, to make them think I'm dead!" Jack growled.

He wanted to stand up, but under Danny's icy stare he felt locked into his seat. His expression was mostly blank, but Jack could see a twitch in his brow and tilt to his lips. He could see it, but he couldn't read it. Ghosts were easier to read than this, ghosts weren't usually very subtle.

"Not all ghosts are the same." Danny repeated, his voice was so quiet now, tentative and fragile.

He walked over to the sink, Jack wanted to get up, wanted to keep his eyes on Danny and the ghost that might be controlling him, but he couldn't seem to make his legs work. The command still rang in his ears. Sit. Down.

"We aren't going to get anywhere like this." Danny filled up a glass of water and placed it in front of Jack. "Pick it up."

It wasn't a command, Danny's expression had softened once more.

"Please."

Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but he did as requested. He could feel the cold glass in his hand, the condensation on his fingers, but as he tried to lift it... the glass remained as it was. His hands simply slipping over it.

He tried again, and again, it wasn't as though it was slippery, or heavy, or even that he couldn't grip it. The glass felt normal, his hands felt normal, the glass just wouldn't... move.

Gritting his teeth in frustration he grabbed the glass and squeezed with all his strength, it didn't break. The water didn't even ripple.

"This is a trick..." said Jack. "It's just a trick..."

Red eyes and a bitter drink, people stood around him, faces blurred. He was falling, someone screamed.

Danny started rooting around in a nearby drawer, he pulled out a ragged newspaper cutout. The ink had run in some spots, he placed it down in front of Jack.

It was an obituary. It was his obituary. Tear stained and rough around the edges, torn from the rest of the paper instead of cut, he skimmed over it, almost unable to take it in.

Jack Jonathan Fenton... age 50... survived by his wife Maddie and two children Danny and Jazz...

There was a list of his degrees, complete and incomplete, engineering, physics, mathematics, it listed the names of his high school and university, his reputation as a local ghost hunter, a blurb about his dedication to his work and his love for his family. Jazz had written it, he could tell. She was so good with words.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, please." Danny's voice cracked, his eyes were bright with tears as he righted the knocked over chair and sat back down across from Jack, gripping his hand tightly.

Vlad leaning over him, Vlad gripping his hand, he was smiling, his teeth were sharp. Glass smashed, he'd dropped the drink. It was bitter.

He could almost still taste it.

"No..."

Maddie running past him in the lab, like he wasn't even there, crying. Jazz at the breakfast table, not seeing not hearing, eyes red and puffy. They hadn't looked at him, not once had they looked at him. They couldn't see him, they really couldn't see him.

But Danny could.

"If... I'm a ghost," the words tasted foul and heavy on his tongue, "and you aren't... why can you see me?"

Danny sighed, still holding tight to Jack's hand.

"It's complicated." he said, staring down at the table.

"Vlad, he did this. I'm..." Jack whispered. "But his eyes were... he was overshadowed. It was a ghost that-."

"He wasn't overshadowed." Danny kept his gaze averted, his expression was hard and cold. "It was the accident with the proto-portal, it changed him. He-"

Danny choked up, tears were slipping from his eyes, he gasped a few unsteady breaths.

"He blamed you, he blamed you and wanted to kill you, he's been trying since the attack at the reunion. I tried to protect you dad I tried I tried I'm sorry, I didn't know about the poison until it was too late I'm sorry, I couldn't get there in time I couldn't-"

Danny's sobs shook his whole body, he buried his head in his arms, shaking hands still clasped around Jack's.

Red eyes, sharp teeth, the reunion...

"The Wisconsin Ghost," how had he not seen it? "He's the Wisconsin Ghost."

Then another thought struck him. He looked at his son like he'd never seen him before, sobbing loudly, painfully, his body wracked with spasms as he choked on every breath. He had been trying to protect him, all this time he had known and was protecting him, alone.

When Jack had been told to sit, compelled to sit, unable to move and paralysed with terror, had he imagined the glint of green in his son's eyes? He knew a ghost with green eyes, who could incapacitate someone with a single terrifying scream, who was mortal enemies with the Wisconsin Ghost, who claimed to be a protector, who looked just like a kid.

Danny had been in the lab that day, when the portal turned itself on.

Had the portal turned itself on?

Jack stood, his legs finally acting of his own accord once more, and he rounded the table to pull his son into a tight hug.

"Oh Danny, it was you, the ghost boy, it was you."

"I'm sorry dad, I'm so sorry." The words wouldn't stop pouring from his lips, tumbling over and over. Jack's chest grew tight from the pain in his voice.

He ran a hand over his son's hair and shushed him gently.

"It's okay Danny-boy, it's not your fault, you did your best. I'm so proud of you son, we should have realised, you did so much all on your own, I'm so proud of you." It was Jack's turn to start blubbering.

"I should have told you." said Danny, voice muffled against Jack's chest.

He and Maddie always talked about all of the things that they would do to Phantom if they had ever caught him, they'd talked about it during family dinners. Danny had sat there listening, the whole time he had been right there listening.

"I... understand why you didn't." said Jack.

Danny had stopped shaking, he pulled away from Jack and wiped his eyes.

"Vlad told mom that he'd been overshadowed, she's been out hunting for the Wisconsin Ghost all week." Danny sniffed, "I wanted to tell her the truth, I wanted to so badly but Vlad he... he said he'd go for Jazz next. Said if he got past me once he could do it again. I couldn't risk it."

Jack had never understood why a ghost would choose to remain tethered, why they couldn't just move on and leave the living to go about their business in peace. He always told himself that when he died he would never return, he would take what was to come with open arms.

But that wasn't what happened. He'd gotten up to start his day as usual, but he was already dead. There had been no choice, and were he given one now, he didn't think he could bring himself to take it.

His family still needed him, how could he leave them behind? It wasn't wrong if he stayed to protect his family, right?

Jack placed a heavy hand on Danny's shoulder, and gently knocked his chin with a large fist.

"Buck up kiddo, I might need to get a handle on this whole bein' a ghost thing but when I do," Jack's voice dropped into a low, dangerous growl and, for just a brief moment, his eyes flashed a vibrant green, "I'm not gonna let him hurt anyone else."

[maxwell-grant]

Having asked your thoughts on designing Frankenstein's daemon, might I now ask your thoughts on bringing Count Dracula from the written word into illustration? (I'm definitely in favour of the 'Hairy Old Mountain Man of Horror pretending he's people' look from the original novel; one of the small tests too many Draculas fail to pass is an absolutely tragic lack of the Evil Beard and/or Wicked Moustache explicitly described by Mr Stoker).

Unlike with Frankenstein, where I think the design needs to be painstakingly thought out in order to achieve the best balance of the creature's traits for horror and tragedy alike, I think with Dracula you can actually just take an approach of "whatever works". Because as I mentioned before, I think much of the appeal and longevity of Dracula is how the character's both a layered villain as well as a shapeshifting narrative force that can be tailored to whatever you want to do with. Granted, there are bad or dissappointing Dracula designs, of course there are, but in regards to the leeway you get for reinterpretation, you get a lot more of it with Dracula than with other literary icons.

Like with Frankenstein, I'm gonna bring up how I'd tackle a less grim, more comedy-centric Dracula first, one that's less a force of horror and more of a charismatic villain, and I think to that end I definitely agree that people are sleeping a lot on the hairy old man barely-passing-off-as-humanoid of the original story. Despite very much loving these performers, I'm actually not a fan of takes that mold Dracula too closely to people who've portrayed him, like Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, partially because I think it's a waste of an opportunity to create your own Dracula design. Since I can't draw (yet), I'll do what I usually do and make a board of images to try and convey some of my thoughts on one way I'd design Dracula.

(Pictured: Kiwi's design for Dracula, Hotel Transylvania concept art, Nandor, Castlevania Dracula, Charles Dance in Dracula Untold, Vladislav, a Transylvanian rug)

I used the images in my other Dracula post and I’ll post it here again because I absolutely adore @kiwibyrd's designs for Dracula and it's main heroes, in particular I love the way it strikes a good balance at making sure Dracula looks distinctly separate from the humans, but not too much that he couldn't conceivably operate in society as just a harmless old man. I also adore the mustache and bushy eyebrows and pointy ears and I think these three are wonderful features to keep on any Dracula design. I'm also very partial to the Hotel Transylvania concept art, even if it makes me incredibly depressed to look at all the great designs they had for Dracula that they threw in the trash because they somehow decided making him look like Adam Sandler was the idea to go with.

I deeply adore What We Do In The Shadows, both the movie and the show, and Jemaine Clement's Vladislav is one of my favorite (maybe even my actual favorite) on-screen Draculas. But I also enjoy Nandor just as much, and I think it's really great that as a character he's completely different from Vlad while also being ostensibly a take on Dracula, and in particular I bring up his Jersey look because "Dracula in common clothing" is a criminally underrated concept for a joke.

As a character, I'm very partial to comedy takes on Dracula that play him up as a decadent aristocratic supervillain, the kind that can get away with talking in third person. I also have this idea for a version of Dracula who dresses ostentatiously in finely-broidered Romanian or Transylvanian patterns, maybe even wearing a rug as a cape, claiming that he's carrying the legacy of his people on his back. And of course he's lying, he's not Vlad Tepes and he's not even Romanian, he is just a parasite pretending to have a history to be proud of, but good luck getting him to admit that. And finally, I'd like this version to be played by Charles Dance, and I consider it a tremendous crime against humanity that he has yet to play Dracula proper even despite being in a film with the character's name on the title.

So that's kinda how I would design a take on Dracula for something more comedic or more based around him as this guest character and personality on-set. Now, if we're talking a more serious version, I think the possibilities increase, and I won't be getting into all of them because I may prefer to keep them to myself, but I'll elaborate a few ideas.

For example, the edition of Dracula I personally own comes with these really scratchy, really creepy B&W illustrations related to the story, that I can't find scanned online so I'm uploading them here so you can look at. They don't necessarily depict the scenes but rather some of the story's moments, like Van Helsing staking Lucy, Renfield in a straightjacket, Dracula as a coachman, and they are more focused on conveying the horror of the concepts at play.

Dracula never looks the same way in any of the illustrations, in fact you kinda have to piece him out of them by trying to find teeth or capes or eyes or bat-features to see where he's hiding this time. In the first, it's the half-man half-bat, in the 2nd, he's the shrieking bat silhouette next to Renfield, and in the latter, he's the gaping jaws and eerily humanoid eyes in the wolf. The effect to me almost feels like if you were to look at a bunch of tv static and then see a humanoid shape form for a split second before everything went back to normal, something like you'd get from Slender Man or other modern creepypastas, and I’ve argued before that Dracula’s form of horror is a very modern one. 

In terms of illustrations of Dracula that keep up the original traits while still pulling off horror, I definitely have to hand it to the one at the left of the image above, drawn by regourso on Deviantart (account deleted at present). Going back to Castlevania’s many takes on Dracula, two in particular that stick out to me would be Castlevania: Judgment’s armored dress Dracula, who’s got this great twisted heart/rose motif going on in his outfit, and Dracula’s final form in SOTN where he just sits in his throne and his cape twists into all these monsters, particularly how it’s depicted by witnesstheabsurd’s depiction. 

I’m not particularly a fan of how Dracula’s “final form” in these games is usually just some big demon, and part of what I like about his final form in SOTN instead is that, while it’s not a particularly challenging final boss, I do find it interesting the idea of us never actually getting to see what Dracula’s true final form looks like, only an ever-shifting pitch-black torrent of teeth and claws and bloody veins pouring out because that’s ultimately what Dracula is and brings to the world.

On the flip-side of the rotten old monster, we have the charming seductor Dracula, and while I’m really not a fan of how various adaptations have convinced people that “the point” of Dracula is that he’s a seductive force and an allegory for Victorian xenophobia and I’m reeeally even less of a fan of adaptations that make Dracula some misunderstood tragic hero (and I think I’ve made rather violently clear my feelings on interpretations that play up a romance between him and Mina), that the seductive force part exists is impossible to deny, so conversely, while on one hand we can have Dracula as the gargantuan whirlwind of predatory violence, we can also go for Dracula as the tantalizing lover.

I’ve seen a lot of opinions proclaiming Frank Langella as the best Dracula because he was the best at actually being seductive while still playing Dracula, although I haven’t yet seen his performances. If I had to point at one picture I look at and do buy for a second the idea of Dracula as a romantic character, it would be that particular still of Raul Julia in the left of the above image. And it’s strange for me to think of Raul Julia as attractive because I mainly associate him with his brilliant comedy performance of M.Bison (I know it’s far from the highlight of his career but, look, I grew up with Street Fighter, I can’t help it) but those eyes are definitely looking pretty convincing to me, if nothing else. 

And I’ve included this still of Sebastian Stan in the right because, during a conversation between me, @krinsbez and @jcogginsa about who could be a good fit for Dracula, jcog suggested Sebastian Stan, partially because he’s Romanian, and I’ve learned recently that Stan was actually interested in playing the character in Blumhouse’s upcoming remake. And you’d think I’d hate this idea  considering how much I don’t care for tragic anti-hero Draculas, but who says that’s what he’d have to play? 

Do you have any idea how much actors, who are traditionally known for heroic or supporting roles, usually LOVE it when you give them a chance to cut loose as the main villain?

I’d want Sebastian Stan to put all of his charm, all of his talent, all of his good looks and etc, into playing the absolute most vicious, bloodthirsty and irredeemable Dracula put on screen. Someone who is exceedingly, eerily good at being a lovable protagonist, who’s all smiles and charming eyes and politeness mannerisms and maybe even a funny accent, and then it isn't as funny when he's flying through your window intent on kidnapping babies to feed to his brides, except he may take a moment or two to do so because he's feeling pretty hungry himself right now.

Now, admittedly this is kind of a lot to juggle in regards to a single character, which is why my answer for questions like these inevitably has to be “depends on what I’m going for”. That being said, if I was going to try and cast someone who I think could both look the part of Dracula, as well as respectively, play “cartoon aristocrat” Dracula, “mercurial embodiment of evil” Dracula, as well as realistically be an attractive, even seductive performer who can charm viewers even as the character descends into horrible villainy, and juggle these performances even?

I think I’d have to go with Mads Mikkelsen. Not specifically because of Hannibal (I actually haven’t watched it yet), although it’s definitely a factor, the thing that actually made me pick him specifically is, other than his looks, his voice, his reputation for playing sinister characters, the fact that he loves the role and wants to play it, or how many people are deeply in love with this man, or that people already joke that he looks like a vampire, was watching him in Another Round, and specifically that glorious final scene where he’s just dancing to his heart’s content and just, moving with such spring in his step and such joyful vitality even though he’s past his mid-fifties, and that was the moment where, in regards to how much you all love this man, I went

And now I am going to add “casting Mads Mikkelsen as a dancing Dracula” to The List of Reasons Why I Became a Filmmaker.

[madametamma]

Selene and Vlad

Vlad grumbled in an angry huff as descended to his lab in ghost form. He had only recently gotten home from his exhausting little adventure in Amity Park where he and the rest of the city were nearly destroyed by Pariah Dark. In his hand he held one of his knock off Fenton Thermoses, made with stolen blue prints.  He uncapped the device and released the being inside into a much bigger containment unit.  A glass box aglow with green electricity.  It would hold the specter while they spoke.

Said specter was young lady.  At least she looked young.  In actuality, she was one of the oldest ghosts Vlad had ever come in contact with. She wore flowing pale robes with a hood that failed to contain her gravity defying locks of hair.  She had three glowing green eyes, or at least the presence of an eye patch told him that she USED to have three. 

She blinked for a few moments to get her barrings. she had never been captured by human tech before.  It was a bit of a dizzying experience.

“We need to talk...” Vlad hissed furiously.

The lady turned to face him, coming back to her senses.  “Hm?  Oh yeah, Totally, totally!” 

Her speech pattern betrayed her age and status.  Unlike her medieval ideas on kings and queens, she believed in staying up to date with trends.  Survival required adaptability.  Not that a ghost like her would need to worry too much about her own personal survival. A core like hers was built like a bomb shelter.  It was her goals that she was determined to keep alive.

“Actually I have a lot to discuss with...” She stopped herself, noticing Vlad’s demeanor.

“What?  You mad?”

“DON’T GIVE ME THAT CLUELESS ACT ANYMORE, SELENE!  I KNOW YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU’VE BEEN LETTING ON!”

The lady was entirely unfazed. “Uh, well yeah, duh.”

Her blaze response threw the half ghost off.  He had know Selene for years, and still her ‘stupidity’ as he put it, could give him pause.  

When Vlad was a younger man, not long after being released from his hospital stay for ecto-acne, and only slightly better at understanding his ghost powers than Daniel was today, he began his research of ghost culture. He happened upon Selene by luck.

She was a chatty little creature.  The type to say more than she should have, but that was good for Vlad.  He loved hearing her ancient secrets slip out of her.  She’d go on about stories of the past; history of the zone, culture, he came to know so many things from her.  The information that peaked his interest the most were about the ring of rage and crown of fire; relicts once owned by kings that could grant the wearer great power. She had slipped up about where to find them and the traps that were set up to protect them, all the while Vlad would play innocent.

“Tell me more.  Just for curiosity’s sake.” Honestly, if it weren’t for the man’s own research backing her claims, he would have never believed a ghost as simple minded as her was member of the royal court; Keeper of the crown and ring.

But after what she had put him through, put both the ghost zone and human world through, it had finally dawned on Vlad that maybe this little monster wasn’t as dumb as she was letting on.

“Never once in any of your tales about the sarcophagus of forever sleep did you happen to mention that Pariah Dark would AWAKEN the very INSTANT it was opened!”  Vlad cut to the chase.

“Yeah it took me a long time to get the story just right.”  She responded with a bubbly smile.

“What?”

“Wellllll... Okay, here’s the thing.  When the king was first sealed up, I tried getting help from other members of the royal court to set him free, but everyone else said it was better to leave him in there. Seemed like I was the only one left that wanted an absolute monarchy where our ruler could do as he liked.  Go figure, m’right? I tried getting him free on my own but I never had the power to accomplish that kinda thing by myself.  Sucks.” 

Selene twirled a lock of hair around a bony finger as Vlad waited impatiently for her to get to the point.

“After a few centuries I came up with the idea that I could get someone else to do it for me.  Recruit some help.  But whenever I got close to someone who might be powerful enough, I, well... I guess I explained it wrong because no one was on board with releasing Pariah dark from the Sarcophagus.  Never gave up though.  Turns out you just have leave bits and pieces out of the story to get people interested.  THEN it was about finding a ghost who would believe me AND was strong enough to accomplish the task.” 

She pointed back to Vlad and squeaked out giddily, “YOU!”

“It’s not possible!” Vlad stamped out in a rage.  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  He had thought this whole time he was using her but in reality, she was just using him.  How could someone as ditzy and brainless as Selene have tricked him?!

“I didn’t think you’d be so mad.  Isn’t this what our whole dynamic is about?  I tell you about ultimate power - leaving out that it’s only for the king.  You tell me that you’re only interested in hearing about said power -leaving out that you want it for yourself.  C’mon.  we’re friends. This is our thing!”  She said bright faced and smiling.

“I- You-”  Vlad stammered out.  He felt absolutely livid and humiliated having been fooled and nearly getting himself killed because of this little rat.

He took a deep breath to calm himself before turning to storm out of the lab in a huff.  “It’s fine! It’s fine!  Everything still turned out okay!  No one died, I now have the exoskeleton, I can use the Fright knight as my ally...”

“Exactly!”  Selene called to him gleefully from her containment unit as the man walked away.  “Everyone got what they wanted!  You have your stuff, and the Ghost zone will have a king again!”

“What do you mean by-”  Vlad was about to ask when he turned back to look at her.  His eyes went large.  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  

Floating above her left hand was the crown of fire in all it’s glory.  In her right hand was the ring of rage.

“It can’t be...”  He gawked.  “How can you have those things?”

“I’m the keeper of the crown and ring.”  She explained nonchalantly.  “I can summon them to my hands anytime I want.”

“YOU COULD DO THAT AT ANY TIME?!!!!!”

“No. Only in the time between the last king’s dethroning and the new king’s crowning.”

Vlad stared on in amazement for a moment before breaking out into a grin.  “GIVE ME THOSE!!!”

Selene cocked her head in confusion.  “Why would I do that?”

The power hungry man paid her no mind.  he opened the door to her cell and snatched the artifacts from her hands.  

He put the ring on his finger and the crown on his head.  For brief instant Vlad could feel it.  Absolute power coursing through him like - ‘POP!’

The artifacts disappeared from Vlad’s possession without a trace, and just like that, the power had vanished.  He turned to his prisoner once more to find that they were back in her hands.

“Yeah, uh these are mine.”  Selene explained. She poked her head out of the cell but made no move to escape.  The thought never occurred to her to do so. 

 “Royal Keeper of the crown and ring and all.  They’ll only STAY on the ruler I coronate.” 

“Then coronate me!”  Vlad demanded, getting fed up with this little idiot’s tricks.”

Selene raised an eyebrow at Vlad as if he was speaking nonsense. “What for?”

 Suddenly it hit her. “OH!  That’s right, explaining how one becomes the ruler of ghosts is one of the things I left out!”

Vlad glared at her, waiting for her to continue.

“You see, in order for a new ghost to be crowned king, certain things gotta happen.

1.) His majesty has to freely and officially choose his successor.  Not many do that though.  It’s like, ‘Hello? Why am I picking someone to come after me when I plan to rule forever?

Anyway 2.) The current monarch has to be completely and utterly destroyed without hope of them returning and have no chosen successor, but then it doesn’t go to a new ghost, it just returns back to whatever monarch lost the crown before that currently still exists. But then I guess that doesn’t really count as being given to a new ghost so I don’t know why I said-”

“What else?!”  Vlad interrupted.

“Oh, yeah, 3.) The final method and the most common way for a ghost to become the new ruler is succession by combat.  You have to challenge his majesty to a one on one duel.  He must accept, and he must wear the crown and ring during the challenge.  You win, you’re the new king.”

“But, but that would make the heir to the throne...” 

Selene waited for the stunned man to finish his sentence.  She didn’t know much about the new heir, but she knew that she would be able to sense it was them when she was in their presence.  

“I originally just wanted to free the great Pariah dark but this works too.  As long as someone can wear the crown, I’m happy.  I’ll support whoever it is. Can you tell me where to find them?  In exchange for your help, I’ll recommend that you be rewarded.”

Suddenly Selene was pushed back into the containment unit.  Vlad slammed the door on her and glared with his most threatening gaze. “You WILL crown me instead...”

“Look, I don’t make the rules.  Take me to the heir, you can challenge them while they’re at full power with the ring and crown.  Then-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Vlad slammed on a button on his console.  painful volts of electricity lit up Selene’s containment unit, sending shock waves through her ectoplasmic system.

“I have ways of getting what I want...”  

-----------------------

It was only a short time later, Vlad turned away from his prisoner.  The man was red in the face; embarrassed after hearing the ghost scream from her torture.  Her screams were not one of pain however.

“Was it good for you too?”  Selene breathily asked, her face aglow with a satisfied smile.

“SHUT UP!” Vlad snapped.  

Turns out Selene was a masochist.  Physical torture would get him no where. He couldn’t threaten to destroy her.  She’d regenerate much too quick for that and she knew that better than he did.  He couldn’t threaten what she loved either.  The only thing she seemed to truly love was the idea of getting a new absolute monarch via the rules.

The man was running out of ideas. Was his only option to allow Daniel to be crowned king and take it from him afterwards?

Sure he could beat the boy in a fight NOW, but if he was powered up by the ring and crown would he still be able to win?  He certainly would never get the crown by convincing the boy to name him his successor.  

The tired billionaire looked at the clock.  It was late and between this and all that had occurred with the release of Pariah Dark, exhaustion hit him hard. He’d need to formulate a plan for his next move but that could wait until tomorrow.

He switched off the lights to the lab, leaving Selene alone in her little cell.

“Helloooo?...  Vlad?.... I gotta crown the new kiii~ iiing!......  Hellooooo?”

[kkachis]

Plz show us the forbidden discord vlad ideas.

so you have wished it, so it shall be *desiree laugh*

edited and expanded from what i posted in discord, but here it is:

while in the real world, the answer to “why does vlad’s ghost form look like that” might be "it was an easy way to code him as a refined asshole villain", in the world of the story, you can make it much more interesting. once you try the fanon of a ghost’s appearance being influenced by their self-image on for size, things get interesting, because it begs the question - why a vampire?

on one level, it's a projection of what he wants to be: vampires are domineering, strong, powerful, terrifying. it's a far cry from his bedbound state in the medical facility, left at the mercy of prodding doctors and nurses who may or may not have had his best interests in mind (given the GIW, or a prototypical version of them, have probably been around long enough for vlad's case to be of interest). if he’s powerful and menacing in his ghost form, that’s as distanced as he can be as the poor case study in room 529.

and about power: vampires lurk in the night. they exert absolute control over their unsuspecting victims, and that’s what everyone else is to vlad: unsuspecting, unknowing. vulnerable, not knowing that any games they play with him don’t follow human rules anymore. power is important for vlad to wield, either as a means to a to fulfill his obsessions or as a goal in and of itself - depends on your take on vlad. there’s also projecting that power to other ghosts to establish himself on the pecking order.

on another level, it's accepting and leaning into the qualities in himself that he perceives as monstrous. the world wants to give him an accident that destroys his humanity? it wants to take away the love of his life and tear apart the few friendships he had? it wants to ruin his degree, to leave him bedbound and his face scarred and his hair forever marked with what had been done to him?

the world wants a freak?

fine. he’ll show them a monster.

vlad is a spiteful bitch. he also doesn’t see himself as a good person by any means. he abuses his powers for his own gain left and right, so it makes sense that if he knowingly leans into being a bad person, his form will match it. he’ll be monstrous in both how he looks and in his behaviour. he knows he’s the bad guy. he knows he's a monster. he owns it. and if he owns it, it can't hurt him.

but on yet another level that vlad doesn't want to acknowledge...

what is a vampire? a lonely thing in a lonely castle. something inhuman. something alone, alone, alone. it's a parasite that relies on other human beings to feed it. what is he, lying around in a hospital, terrifyingly dependent? what is he, flying around and stealing money to line his own pockets? a parasite. a lonely thing in a lonely castle.

lonely dracula in a castle doesn't need friends or lovers, only meals. he’s not exactly unaware of the stories that come with vampires. but it’s not like he wants to face that.

i think that it's most interesting when a character has multiple "levels" of thinking about things. we often don't want to admit everything about how we tick. i find it's especially helpful to break down the "levels" in the thinking of villains, because they usually have the deepest levels of cognitive dissonance and things they don't want to admit. a hero is usually forced to face it and overcome it. a villain tends to get mired in it until they lose themselves. the truth is, all these levels of vlad’s subconscious contribute to his ghost form’s appearance - now the next most interesting question is what do people think is the truth?

vlad is smart and self-aware enough to acknowledge his desire to radiate power. it's the smart thing, arguably - project power to the ghosts, separate his human and ghost half's appearances. amassing power? just the logical thing to do for an ambitious man like him. he will admit that he embraces monstrosity, though that he admits secondarily. he'd rather pretend that he's smart all the way through.

danny probably thinks that the monstrosity is the true place where it comes from - vlad is unrepentantly manipulative and a constant source of terror in his life. projection of power sounds more like an excuse. to danny, embracing the monster within is precisely what delineates himself from plasmius, and why danny looks so much more human.

that third level is what you drag out of vlad kicking and screaming. in those terribly vulnerable moments of introspection, where you're completely honest with yourself for an awful, shitty moment, that's when vlad might just admit why he sees himself as a vampire. there's an insane lonely thing in him, and it never stopped howling. it never stopped begging for warm human hands. it never stopped repulsing him with its weakness. he's not just a monster because he's a bad person - he's a monster because he's pathetic.