Backstage: "Therapy" (Patreon)

Backstage for the story Therapy.

I'm not fond of the device in stories where someone, whether a robot, a magical creature or whatever, is compelled to do something against their will because Programming, or Magic, or whatever. I mean, it's one thing to cast a spell on somebody, but when it's an inherent part of who they are, I've always thought it would more likely manifest as emotion. Robots want to obey humans. Vampires want to obey the vampire who sired them.

So I had this idea for a take on vampirism I'd never seen before. Vampires love each other. Siring a vampire forms an emotional bond that feels like that between a parent and a child. Vampires of similar generation feel like siblings or cousins. Etc. It's a lot less dark than you typically get from vampires in fiction, so then I went and put the darkness back in by having the main character have a vampire sire who's an abusive asshole who rewrites reality in his head and then tells everyone else lies about what happened.

Adult children of toxic parents have a lot to deal with, but imagine having to explain to your therapist that you're a vampire in order to explain what the situation you're facing is.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I may combine this universe with other vampire stories I have in mind and have a consistent alternate take on vampires. Or maybe not; these guys don't lend themselves as well to horror.