scoobydoo-ghoulschool

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

I know I'm basically riding the band wagon of discovering Chappell Roan right now (which she deserves her music's awesome) but literallylosing y mind over her 2020 single Love Me Anyway as if that isn't the most Buck/Buddie coded sing title ever 😭😭

#I already have a video edit in the works and it's a monster I can't have this sort of inspiration thrown at me right now!!! #Buddie

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

ultimate ceilings buddie edit. this is my magnum opus (also on youtube!)

#hey op I feel like this is the edit that made Oliver Stark cry in the shower #bc I am crying in the shower #9-1-1 #Buddie

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

i do know how it is, oliver. just full-on crying in the shower because of buddie. been there, done that.

#me with the ceilings edit #9-1-1 #Buddie

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

Our good friend Jonathan Harker is getting ready to leave for his business trip, Mina Murray is picking out a new journal, Lucy Westenra is charming a gaggle of smitten suitors, Abraham van Helsing is wrapping up his lectures, and Castle Dracula is prepping the guest room for a very long stay.

Which must mean that Dracula Season is here again!

 ‘Dracula Season’ being a catchall term for the voracious reading, memeing, writing, illustrating, analyzing, and general fun-having that’s ensued since Matt Kirkland’s project, Dracula Daily, caught on with us back in 2022. The Substack had already been running before then, but it sparked a conflagration as time went on and readers old and new to Bram Stoker’s Dracula—the actual novel, not Coppola’s fanfiction—devoured it in a way that scratched an itch none of us knew we had. Stoker wrote the book in epistolary fashion, clumping sections together as needed for the pacing without perfect adherence to chronological order. Matt went ahead and put all the events in order and proceeded to set up a lovely chain of emails that delivered entries on those correlating dates.

This style of organization and pacing turned out to not only make the virtual book club that much easier to engage with, but left space in-between to stew on the story and relate with the characters themselves. Every day of waiting in the book feels weightier when you have to pace and sweat and worry in tandem with poor Jonathan trapped in the castle or Lucy wasting away or Mina running out the clock before she loses the fight for her own humanity. And while we sat with the story or the lulls between Dracula Seasons, some of us found ourselves craving more of that ghastly gothic horror goodness to the point that we figured:

“Well. Why don’t I make something?”

And then we did! Tons of creative works have been churned out in the wake of Dracula Daily’s high. I figured that while we’ve still got a bit of time to wait for May 3rd, we should check out all this new stuff in the meantime. (Plus a handful of neat stuff that just clicks with the Dracula itch overall.)

So, in the interest of Dracula Season pregaming, let’s take a look at…

FICTION

Blood of My Blood – A recent addition to the Dracula Bad Ending AU pile, and definitely one of the most harrowing and addictive group-produced narratives I’ve ever come across, Blood of My Blood is the dramatically gothic currently-WIP work of @ibrithir-was-here and @animate-mush’s devious design. Give or take a heap of other fascinated folks (hello!) adding ideas to put more Horror into the Horrors that our cast has to face. The premise:

The Transylvanian climax went fatally sour and the Harkers were forced to shelter with Dracula himself, including their half-vampire son, Quincey. Cut to two decades later, and Quincey finds himself out in modern London, smitten with Lu, adopted daughter of Arthur and Jack, and diving into certain bloodstained old documents that detail the real history of how his parents came to live in the castle. Said revelations coming not a moment too soon, as a storm is coming for him straight from the Carpathians…

Dracula Daily Sketch Collection – An array of illustrations that captures every entry beat by beat, the Dracula Daily Sketch Collection by Georgia Cook, alias @georgiacooked was dished out over the course of the last Dracula Season. Some of the most fun character designs out there.

Fanfiction Spotlight: BlueCatWriter – With a whopping 99 works devoted to the novel Dracula (so far, the number may have gone up since I blinked), @bluecatwriter is one of the most prolific and talented fanfiction scribblers out there. Romances, nightmares, and overlaps between the two seem to crop up the most, give or take a crossover. Seems fitting that those blue paw prints have contributed to BoMB too.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk – An ongoing comic in which all your favorite characters from the Classics section get together and tackle some perils ranging from the mundane to the monstrous. Started by the amazing @mayhemchicken and posted on @lxgentlefolkcomic, this series is a love letter to beloved Victorian era lit, with a spotlight on the two couples leading the League. Namely, the Harkers, ala Dracula, and the Nortons, ala Sherlock Holmes,’ “A Scandal in Bohemia.” Mina and Irene are the driving investigative and steering forces here, and still deeply in love with their likewise-infatuated husbands, just like in their canons! What a concept! Alan.

Without spoiling the full character list, just know there are going to be a ton of familiar faces roaming around before you finish reading the first arc. Said arc having conveniently wrapped up just a few days ago! Give the comic and its bonus silliness a look if you’re in the mood for a new comfort-adventure epic.

Re: Dracula – Probably the most well-known and incredible thing to come out of the initial Dracula Daily wave. This podcast is a full audio drama that follows the same format as the Substack, with episodes coming out in time with the entries themselves. And it has an unfairly cool soundtrack. They have a Tumblr with @re-dracula, a site and a Patreon to check out before the series kicks up again on May 3rd. (Also, keep an eye out for their next work, an audio drama in the same style with Carmilla.)

The Soldier and the Solicitor – Another treat from @ibrithir-was-here, this one involves a bit of time travel trouble. Quincey Harker has stumbled out of World War I and into the same dark forest where his father once fled for his life…then runs into the man himself, on that same night. Jonathan Harker, young and starved and lost, who has no choice but to trust this stranger while the Weird Sisters are at his heels…despite said stranger having no shadow. It’s a tasty emotional trek, already complete on Tumblr, but now it’s turning into a Webtoon. While Ibrithir is juggling a number of other stories, she’ll be redrawing spruced up versions of the comic and adding a few new scenes as things unfold.

Substack Stack – You know what’s better than one emailed-out public domain book club? A mountain of them. Just. So, so many of them. You’ll see that a lot of these are finished, but some are still ticking along. Either way, they’re all great picks if you’re craving some more old school lit to fill the void between undead emails.

Frankenstein Weekly – Frankenstein

Jekyll and Hyde Weekly – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Voyage of the Nautilus – Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Letters from Watson – Sherlock Holmes

The Invisible Mail – The Invisible Man

Letters from Bunny – E.W. Hornung’s short stories of the eponymous Bunny and Raffles

Letters Regarding Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster short stories, including the novel, Right Ho, Jeeves

…

……

………

…The Beetle Weekly – The Beetle (NOTE: Do Not Read This.)

The Vampyres – A novella I finally wrenched through the gears of self-publication as of March this year. Starring a petite but powerful paranormal cast, The Vampyres, centers on an unscrupulous undead fellow who finds that the revenants of the world are being mowed down by an entity known only as ‘Quinn Morse.’ Between trying to save his neck and figure out where the shadowy bastard came from, the Vampyre in question crosses paths with a new paramour and handy human shield in the form of a grieving Good Samaritan. He’s even polite enough to invite the Vampyre into his home while he’s in dire straits! Surely this will end well. All the info is available here and a little author site is over here.

What Manner of Man – This is the one made for everyone who started out hoping there’d be a real love story with our good friend Jonathan Harker and the Count when he was at his most charismatic. Where that sea of wonders dried up into a mire of horror, What Manner of Man by @stjohnstarling keeps things firmly on the romantic tracks. This Substack stars the letter-writing priest Father Victor E. Ardelian as he finds himself meeting with one enigmatic Lord Alistair Vane. It isn’t long before interest turns into intrigue and intrigue into undead intimacies.

The entire novel has been completed—along with multiple epilogues in the author’s Patreon, allowing readers to choose for themselves just how the uncanny romance plays out in the end—and the Substack now has a number of other gothic goodies piling up in the meantime.  

NONFICTION

Dracula Daily: A Unique Reading Experience: This one comes courtesy of @realwomenofgaming. It’s a short and sweet piece that amounts to a fun snapshot of the entire Dracula Daily ride. A cozy couple-minute read.

‘Dracula Daily’ is the One Substack You Need a Subscription To: Features my favorite Matt Kirkland interview. @mattkirkland, if you’re still floating around on here, thank you for dispatching our vampire newsletter again this year.

Dracula Daily is Tumblr’s hottest new book club: Alright, the ‘new’ part is worn out by now, but this one is still a delightful article to swing back around to. Two years on, this Polygon piece is a time capsule of those early months when people outside our bookworm bubble realized we were all happily receiving letters from our favorite classic gothic horror blorbos.  

“How Mina Murray Became Dracula’s Girlfriend” – Princess Weekes, if you ever read this, thank you, thank you, thank you. I am sending oceans of love and millions of rewatches to your video essay. If you haven’t seen it yet, “How Mina Murray Became Dracula’s Girlfriend” is one of the most refreshing and well-made breakdowns of both the title subject and numerous other issues that have proliferated in the public view of Dracula’s cast and plot as adaptations endlessly warp or outright bastardize the actual novel. An incredibly cathartic watch.  

Literary play gone viral: delight, intertextuality, and challenges to normative interpretations through the digital serialization of Dracula: A mouthful of a title for an even more elaborate article about the Dracula Daily phenomenon. This one is a full-on study that analyzes just what happened within the big bloodsucker book club surge and how its ‘wandering reading practices’ enriched the experience for participants.

 “The Undying Undead: An analysis of the Dracula Daily community for a theory of online community formation and interaction” – We have a thesis on here! Look at that! @sirangelothebestest’s MA thesis used our vampiric book club as the bones for a massive brick of an academic piece that definitely deserves a look.

…And I think I’ll go ahead and cap things here.

This isn’t everything I got recommended, but if I had squashed all of it in here, I think folks’ eyes would start to fall out of their head. I hope you can find something cool to comb through here. Or, if there’s something great I overlooked, tack it onto the list! We’ve got just two weeks to go until we’re off with Mr. Harker. Let’s enjoy our respite before those castle doors close behind us.

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

ok wait, reblog if you’ve cried at least once because of math, doesn’t matter which grade i’m trying to prove something 

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

he's so funny i'm cryingggg

#Well we know Buck's not much of a movie person but I can so see him going on a wikipedia deep dive on queer history and media #he seems like much more of a documentary person so like Paris is Burning and The Celluloid Closet maybe? #Although close proximity to Chim might get him to watch The Birdcage or To Wong Foo

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

Hi! Do you have any BuckTommy fic recs?

Yes I do!💜

Something, everything by rosetterer 25K

(Basically, they get together, go on dates, fall in love, get in accidents, renovate their home, get cats, and eventually, they get engaged. Buck gets everything he has ever wanted.)

Sweet child of mine by jamespearce911 @diazsdimples 3.4K

Buck and Tommy bring their daughter home from the hospital and enjoy their first few hours alone with a newborn baby.

This is what it feels like by ipretendtobesane @usereddie 1.3K

Buck blushes. Always has. Gets flustered easily, ducks his head with a giddy, boyish grin at any compliment. It’s poetic, really, that he’s a firefighter because he flushes bright, fire engine red every time.

Still, though. He’s not sure he’s ever blushed as much as he does with Tommy.

(Fragile) handle with care by rogerzsteven 3.1K @rogerzsteven

Buck gets hurt on a call, Tommy looks after him.

Come and save me from it by devirnis @devirnis 6K

It happens so quickly. One second Evan is grinning exhaustedly at him, and the next thing Tommy knows, Evan’s eyes go wide as what little colour he has left drains from his face. Tommy makes an aborted move towards him, but Evan shoves his chair back from the island and bolts for the bathroom.

BTHB: appendicitis

Hold me on my bad day by disasterbuckdiaz @bidisasterevankinard 1.2K

Tommy had a bad day, has an awful morning he starts as blanket burrito, but his boyfriend’s cuddles make it better

Pancakes, kisses, and a little bit of TLC by theotherlucifer @theotherbuckley (shameless plug) 4.5K

(or Buck wakes up with a chronic pain flare-up the morning after, and Tommy takes care of him)

Explicit fics:

Hot damn! But no holy man by jay (tofupofu) @dadbodbuck 3.5K

It’s not often that Buck gets the opportunity to feel small. And, sure, he likes the aspects of smallness that he’s been given so far—the being held, the big hands on his waist, the way Tommy covers almost all of Buck when he tops—but he wants more. He wants to feel small in other ways.

But he’s not sure how to ask.

Evan, elated and euphoric by brewrosemilk @gayhoediaz 16.5K

For a moment, that’s all that seems to echo inside of Buck’s head, more than ever before; you have a man on top of you, you are kissing a man; you’re touching a man, and he’s touching you, and you like it.

Buck likes it - not just being with Tommy, being with a man - that part is obvious, but he… likes that he likes it. He loves that he likes it. Truthfully, he doesn’t think that he has ever felt more at home in his own body than he does in this very moment.

Teach me how to dance with you by goodbodybuck @prettyboybuckley 8.9K

OR: Buck explores the wonders of gay sex (slowly, with a really patient, sweet Tommy guiding the way and while having a lot of fun)

Okay this was WAY longer than I thought. There’s totally more good fics out there but this list is getting long…. Maybe I’ll make another (feel free to RB with your own recs!!)

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

We’re Leaving YouTube

#You had a $50k wedding??? SO SINCERELY FUCK OFF #I didn't really care before this I'm not spending the money no matter what but like Jesus $50k would have literally paid my college tuition

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

Eddie coming to terms with his sexuality and then coming out to Buck in the most fucked up and romantic way possible - by telling him "I reached for you. I was lying in the street thinking this was it, that I was dying and all I wanted was to touch you one more time".

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

i know we have all been saying this for years but like the reason they haven't talked about the will is because they literally can't. right. there's just no way for them to talk about it without acknowledging why eddie did that and why he kept it from him for so long and why he chose the moment that he did to admit it. because what the hell else is he going to say? genuinely what else is there to say except the truth that they can't acknowledge? and all of that being said . what if now. haha. well. (passes out)

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

Saw a sibling poll and needed to expand it because I fit, like. Mid youngest, youngest in theory only child in practice, and adopted. And I think they all have their own unique parts in the sibling ecosystem.

#I put other but technically youngest middle sibling #The thing is tho my older brothers are my step brothers and they lived with their mom the majority of the time so in my house I was the- #Oldest sibling

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

Why do we say that capitalism must be “dismantled”?

You’ll hear phrases like “Smash the state!” “Eat the rich!” and “Smash capitalism!”

And, yes, of course, but… :)

However relevant those sayings are, our work must be careful, highly organized and above all planned.

Because capitalism and all of its associated systems are not discrete, abstracted entities we can attack independently.

It is a structure, like a complicated machine with many thousands of working parts…

And right now it is connected to absolutely everything.

If we do this… [picks up huge hammer and smashes the machine]

Then a lot of vulnerable people will die.

The machine was built and improved and redesigned and patched over the course of generations. It is very good at its intended purpose, which is ultimately to generate profit.

Every human being alive today relies on the byproducts of the machine to survive, without exception.

The machine’s engineers want it to keep working like it does. In fact, they want to optimise it.

That will kill all remaining life on Earth.

So, we must destroy the machine, quickly and carefully

We must examine its deadly programs and mechanics and replace them with alternatives we built together.

The engineers don’t want us tampering with the machine.

However, we make it run…

So we can make it STOP. Together.

How will YOU help us to safely dismantle the machine?

iww.org

p.s. My computer is on its last legs. If you would like me to draw you a little cartoon and help me get a new computer, learn more at this post.

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

and if you’re comfortable put in the tags how old you are

#Yes 23 #I had to think about it for sec

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

There should be a fanfic writing game called the showrunners challenge where someone writes a story and partway through someone else can play things like "actor leaves after 4000 more words" or "topic now too politically sensitive due to unforeseen world events" or "lost rights to that reference"

#Oh this is so fun #to do #writing

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

god I fucking love strawberries

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

do you have any lawrusso fic recs 👉👈

HELLO i’m sorry for taking so long here we go

i’ll be honest and say that i don’t read fic that much, however here are some favs i’ve read recently

sunny side, shady side by malcifer (i’m so sry idk if this person has a tumblr jfnfbxhd i’m the worst) - it’s a ‘sweep the leg’ music video AU and i’ve enjoyed it a ridiculous amount so far

of course my beloved two steps on the water by @landslided, i think everyone knows i’m obsessed w this one by now <3

i haven’t read it yet but i’m gonna put it here anyways - as soon as i get the chance i’m gonna read objects in motion by @zannolin!! what can i say, i see ‘idiots to lovers’ and i click

[scoobydoo-ghoulschool]

ONE MONTH UNTIL BUCKLEWAY APPRECIATION WEEK!

Prompts can be found HERE

Prompts are not mandatory, nor do they have to be posted on the day assigned in the list. So long as your work (in whatever medium you choose) is buckleway centric, it's allowed!

Be sure to tag #bucklewayappreciationweek AND (if you'd like) you can @ me in the notes of your post just to be safe since sometimes tumblr doesn't like to show all posts in a tag.

If you have any other questions feel free to message me. Happy creating!