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Hello, my name is The Demon. Imagine me sitting in my dark circle and everything is dark like Dracula’s castle and the bone chandelier is swaying above and everyone is hunched on dark purple cushions around the blood pentagram we made from our stab wounds from stabbing each other. Around me are Paul no longer standing.
He’s in black fishnets with a black corset on his black ripped shirt with bell sleeves that make him look like a bat when he opens his arms not to mention the black net top he’s wearing under it with a spiked collar and black gloves with spiders attached. He’s also wearing leather short shorts with his goth boots.
Dark Bloody Cat is a romantic goth he’s wearing a red lace cravat with a Victorian vest that’s black and a white shirt underneath and lots of facial piercings. We all have bat's nest hair (all our hair is dead we killed it from excess hairspray) except our friend, I never Ace anything (we’ll shorten that to UnAce) who can’t afford much. He's poor. We’re currently listening to Bela Lugosi is dead, as we do every morning we wake up and do our Latin satanic chants!
We started drinking human blood. Suddenly, we got a phone call. We hate modern technology so we have a phone from the 1920s we put our leftover money into getting over the past 5 years. I got up, shambled over with my arms outstretched in front of me like I’m doing to monster mash and plugged in the phone. On the tv there’s playing Elvira mistress of the dark.
I answer the phone.
“Hello…” Says a dark and creepy voice.
He chuckle. My voice was dark and creepier. His was husky. “Uh, no.” I reply, “You think you can scare a goth?” Suddenly he shrieked then hung up.
“Who was it?” Asked Dark Bloody Cat. I looked over and scowled because that’s how we smile for all you dumb normies.
“Um. It’s another prank caller.” I scoffed.
Paul No Longer Standing stood up, he finished drawing his human blood pentagram on his chest. “Did you hear the new single Asylum Party released?” He grumbled.
“Yesterday yeah.” I nodded.
“That was back in 198-”
We looked at Ace with our wide eyed piercing gazes with dark contact lenses telling him to shut up before flashing our fake vampire teeth.
“Go to your coffin.” I growled. My eyes darkened
Ace slumped away. “Life I so miserable.” I stated, shrugging to the others. "I feel the darknening darkness inside me the night calls to me so I can be alone from earth's freaks in the solitude in my dark mind..."
“I know right.” Everyone agreed with me and then clapped with our long dark fingernails. Mine were just overgrown. I walked down the purple and crimson hallways with black arabesque designs splattered everywhere and blood dripping all over the floor from a leak in the roof.
The mansion smelled like black mold. I opened the window. “Sick!” I announced, leaning out and staring at the container of blood pudding. I flickered UnAce’s serving off the flower pot filled with wilted dead flowers and animal bones, humming Happy house while I watched it twirl onto someone’s head as they walked past the apartment building.
I closed the door and the blinks and the window because if anyone saw the state of the apartment they’d call the landlord immediately and get us evicted which we absolutely cannot afford because then how else are we going to afford our obscenely expensive costume makeup from specialty stores and our clothes also from specialty stores where you have to pay with a literal arm or leg?? Come on, be honest. It’s not like they sell that shit in Walmart but the coverage is terrible and caused me to break out!!! I was thrifting once and had the police called on me so I'm banned from every thrift store but that's a story for another day.
Do you REALLY expect me to wear what makes me break out?
I was nodding off to Sonbahar by Shepastaway when we got a phone call. Oh my god do you know who it was? I’ll let you guess.
Paul Never Standing was standing shaking in his boots crying with the phone in hand and the cord tight. “I’d bring it to you but I can’t!” He sobbed. I walked over thinking about vampires and darkness all around and the surrounding solitude grimacing but that darkness put my soul at peace like this deep peace like washing over me type peace like you breathe in and you're just savoring the night in the night with no worries even though it was too light and my eyelids were red FUCK HUMANS FOR NEEDING LIGHT TO SEE I'll adjust my NIGHT VISION ISWEAR, with my fists clenched before I snatched the phone, accidentally unplugging it. Dark Bloody Cat had to plug it back up and teach me to redial.
“Hello?” He scowled, “Who is this?” In my deep gravelly voice kinda straining me to use.
“Hi!” A happy voice answered.
Ugh, (conventional) happiness. I wanted to turn away, cross my arms and let the shadows embrace me. A sliver of sun peeked through the window which Paul shut.
“Since you guys are THE goths, you know, can you rate my music taste? Everyone says you guys have the best to.. maybe you can help?”
“Sure. We have Darkwave from Post punk, in that is Coldwave, Shoegaze, Deathrock, Romantic, Industrial, Ethereal and more.. personally, I’m more of an Ethereal wave enjoyer myself I like Love Spirals downwards, Cocteau twins—especially! And uh, um..” I snapped my fingers as many times as you said a demon’s name to summon it or like a werewolf howling to the moon, “Uh….”
“Take your time!” They chirped.
“.. Erm… you know, black tape for a blue girl!” I rambled, “And uh..”
Dark Cat and Paul looked at each other. “Demon.” Paul put his hand on my shoulder, softening, “I know you’re not as knowledgeable in ethereal wave as you want to let on.” He reassured, “I know you’re more of a death rocker so stay true to you, to what you know, and claim your love when you immerse yourself like a zombie in the night. No sunlight. You know?” My soul felt that.
“I love sunlight!” The caller sang.
I furrowed by brows so hard my forehead veins popped. Tears, blackened by my eyeliner and eye shadow drooled down my cheeks, ruining the crosses I painted.
“Fine.” My shoulders jerked as I sniffled violently, “This is more of a mix but try SHEPASTAWAY, Acid bats, Bauhaus of course-”
“Oh I love Bauhaus!” The person exclaimed, “But uh—I listen to them, SHEPASTAWAY, Selofan, Twin tribes, Linnea Aspera, Boy Harsher, the cure, Christian death—I don’t like the cure very much-”
“YOU DON’T LIKE THE CURE??” I scoffed.
“No, but I love Joy Division and Siouxxsie and the banshees. I’m a huge void vision fan. Do you know Staccato Du Mal?”
“Er. No.” I blushed. But you couldn’t see it under my white makeup.
“-If you want to hear distortion like you’re dying you know,” Passion filled their voice, “And like no one is coming to save you but your emotions are muddled by your fleeting consciousness paired with regret like a shadow as you sink then god you have to listen to them-It feels so raw, so animalistic!”
I grimaced. “Sure. I will.”
I felt a spiritual connection between us. Our souls plugged together. In that moment, I heard, I saw their grimace. “Are you goth?” I asked.
“No.. I don’t dress it, so I’m not-” My heart drained of blood.
“Wait.” I said, putting up my hand, “Goth isn’t a clothing subculture. It’s a music subculture. A feeling.”
“What?”
“It isn’t limited to fashion.”
“So you’re saying I can just say I’m goth?”
“DO you feel it?” My voice grew powerful.
“YES I FEEL IT!” They replied.
“THEN WELCOME TO THE RITUAL!”
Red light boomed from the phone. “Hello?”
“Good job, my son.” Said Satan from the other end in his dark grungy voice, “You’ve spread my message.”
“OH BATS!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO I”M PAGANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!” Dark Cat lit on fire.
“I’m speaking for darkness, don’t worry.” Satan reassured, “But we’re all proud of you. Thank you for doing my bidding.”
I woke up later in a hospital
