I've always thought Margarita would be a beautiful name for a little girl
And her beautiful sister Cosmopolitan
naming my daughter Rum &
hold on post canceled why the fuck did my keyboard recommend this emoji to me
Rum & The Eyeless One
Carmilla Chapter 7: Descending
After Carmilla's bite, Laura's "descending" to the darkness is something that she welcomes and doesn't speak of. She lets herself ''sink'' down into it throughout those weeks of strange dreams.
In fact, she tells no one and relishes in that "not unwelcome possession",
"I felt myself a changed girl. A strange melancholy was stealing over me, a melancholy that I would not have interrupted. Dim thoughts of death began to open, and an idea that I was slowly sinking took gentle, and, somehow, not unwelcome, possession of me. If it was sad, the tone of mind which this induced was also sweet. Whatever it might be, my soul acquiesced in it. I would not admit that I was ill, I would not consent to tell my papa, or to have the doctor sent for.
As Laura "descends", Carmilla grows more and more adoring of her, also not unwelcome:
Carmilla became more devoted to me than ever, and her strange paroxysms of languid adoration more frequent. She used to gloat on me with increasing ardor the more my strength and spirits waned. This always shocked me like a momentary glare of insanity.
Laura is seduced deeper and deeper into that state, until she's even experiencing caresses and kisses giving her convulsions that leave her unconscious,
Sometimes there came a sensation as if a hand was drawn softly along my cheek and neck. Sometimes it was as if warm lips kissed me, and longer and longer and more lovingly as they reached my throat, but there the caress fixed itself. My heart beat faster, my breathing rose and fell rapidly and full drawn; a sobbing, that rose into a sense of strangulation, supervened, and turned into a dreadful convulsion, in which my senses left me and I became unconscious.
This carries on for three weeks and she doesn't feel ill, despite her new languid state from that "descending." She is in a fully seduced state, walking towards the underworld.
Carmilla and Laura at the end of Carmilla
Something to quickly observe is that Le Fanu's main body of work, especially his short prose, is ghost stories, aside from other various undead and evil faerie stories. And in them, when a character thinks they hear someone long gone (just like how Laura's "dreams" were never really just dreams), it is hardly ever their imagination.
man I know carmilla "killed" some "innocent people" but her death scene is so fucking creepy. the way they just drop "the limbs were perfectly flexible, the flesh elastic" to passively say that this group of grown men were poking and prodding at an unconscious teenage girl's body. truly war and hate on planet earth.
Laura and the vampire, from the Carmilla Illuminated Edition, by hirosemaryhello
Welp, my attempt to give the Dracudaughters and Mother a happy moment still kinda went sideways :/ Thats Castle Dracula for you 💔
I fear that my fondness for women and general polyamory has led me to ignore the fact that most people do indeed interpret Lucy as the slut who gets punished for having sex. Instead of the beautiful noblewoman who do stains her beauty because of the attention it gets her. And the “I wish I could marry them all” came from a genuine place of affection but also the distress of having to reject jack and Quincey felt impolite to her. Like noblewomen having multiple suitors was a common thing. So I feel like the projection of the majors archetype on Lucy came from later readings. Because to me, she followed Victorian courting customs to a tee, bemoaned the way her beauty got her attention, genuinely loved all three of her suitors, and it was made clear that all her actions after her death were because of malign influence. Like my partner had this reading and said that bram stoker probably hated women. Which maybe, but he was an Irish progressive, and I didn’t read any particular hatred towards Mina or Lucy; quite the opposite actually. There was the general idea that women are fragile and need to be protected and that their responsibility was emotional labor, but Victorian misogyny isn’t the same as sustain. Idk. What did everyone else think? Because I’m trying really hard to find any condemnation of Lucy for being promiscuous in the text, but I can’t find any. Like it obviously makes an appearance in later adaptations (the 90s film is what caused this train of thought lol), but I never got any of that from the book
(⚠️) Uncensored version undercut. [NSFW and TW (Blood and Nudity)]
Please proceed with caution
I'm curious what's tarot card would you assign to Carmilla and which one to Laura
Hmm.
Well at the beginning of the story Laura’s the fool; she’s not worldly at all, she’s inexperienced, naive even. Though at the end i’d say the chariot reversed. It represents a lack of control and no direction. Fitting to her situation I fear </3 along with three of swords. (Notorious Heartbreak Card. Her scary gf? DEAD. Her father? KEEPING SECRETS FROM HER. She has lots to be broken up about)
Carmilla’s got wheel of fortune I think. It represents cycles of life and can either mean sudden good luck or sudden bad luck- her life is full of both. It can also represent destiny in general- some consider it a soulmates card fun fact- so I think it’s fitting<3 she’s also got death of course. That card represents a great change in one’s life- as she died and literally transformed into a vampire, and wants to do the same to Laura- as well as new beginnings- meeting Laura and falling in love with her!
As for the two of them together well. Do I even need to say the lovers. It’s the passion and connection and soulmates card.
I also think the moon is an interesting choice for them. It’s all about the subconscious and trusting your intuition, and the hiding of the truth. Fits with the two of them and their consistent thematic dreams<3
Strength is also cool for them!!! I mean look at the image
…but it’s about overcoming self-doubt which I think fits Laura, and finding bravery and inner strength. The girlies are bold in their affections for each other, and it took a while for Carmilla to finally start biting Laura. Could be said she had to finally find the willpower to end their little summer honeymoon.
also unfortunately the tower fits the end of the book :( the ‘unexpected tragedy and loss and pain and suffering’ card. You know. :(
I saw very gladly the beautiful face and figure of Carmilla enter the shadowy chapel. I was just about to rise and speak, and nodded smiling, in answer to her peculiarly engaging smile;
Let me just weep on the ground about how this was Laura's reaction to seeing Carmilla even after her suspicions earlier and how clearly she is smitten by her and that this is their very last look before Laura is told to begone to the priest and never behold her again
IT MAKE S ME SO SADDD :((((( SHE LITERALLY LOVED HER SO MUCH MAN ……..
Like. They didn’t even get to speak to each other for the last time. No nothing!!!!! And then Laura’s alone and brooding forever wirh no catharsis no closure!!! Fuck!!!
