Story LGBT Vampires: Ideas and a Poll

[DarkledMind]

Hi! So my name is Quin. I'm writing a book. It is basically the Iliad but with vampires and in modern times. I will need help with some basic concepts, getting my ideas put together. Basically I want a support group, people who know the Iliad, or know vampires, or just like the idea.

But I have a huge problem. The Achilles and Patrocles characters will be lovers. But in the original Iliad they both die tragically. But I HATE the tragic gay trope, where if they are gay, they must be tragic. At the same time though, the story might feel incomplete if they get a happy ending. I'm torn! Help me by answering my poll.

Feel free to comment your ideas or elaborations down below!

Here are my current world concepts:
Vampires originate from the union of Lilith and a fallen angel, who managed to escape Hell but could not return to Heaven
These first Vampires are the equivalents to Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Hades.
All other "gods" are the first and second generations of vampires.
Third generation and on are just regular vampires.
The same fallen angel who created vampires also was the sire to an equivalent race, made of light. (Do not know who was the mother. Eve possibly??)
This "race of light" is immortal in the same way vampires are. In fact they can spread and breed like vampires, with blood.
Vampires can feed off of this race of light, and it feels like they are alive again while their blood flows through the vampire's veins. They can even walk in sunlight.
Vampires have practically hunted this race to extinction.
The Helen character is the only pure blood remaining of the race of light.

Plot as of now:
Achilles character is a detective in the prohibition era. He thinks he is about to make a huge alcohol bust when he runs in on a den of vampires, celebrating a visit from the Zeus vampire as well as Thetis. What Achilles thought was wine was actually bottled blood. The Patrocles character suggests they feed from Achilles. Just before Achilles dies, Thetis suggests to Zeus that they should change him. They both give him their blood, making him a vampire Demi God.

The first part of the book focuses on how Achilles and Patrocles go from enemies to friends to lovers, and takes place during the roaring twenties.

The second part of the book starts in modern times, with the capture of Helen. This sparks war between two major vampire clans.

Also Odysseus will be Trans, Agamemnon will possibly be pan.

IF YOU STEAL MY IDEAS THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY. But ask nicely and you can borrow them for roleplays and such.

 

[Blemmigan]

It may be because I like to make my own characters suffer, but I feel as though it would be a bit of a cop-out to shy away from the death, seeing as it's based on other literature. Luckily, Greek/Roman mythology is full of same-sex relationships, whether inferred or outright stated (particularly between two males). All the more so when including the gods and their various lovers. And Hyacinth was hella popular with the guys.

Because of this, if you wished to have several such relationships, you could likely get away with it (if every character in your story has a mythological equivalent), and thus your tragedy would be... one story that didn't end favourably, compared to many that did. But that would likely draw on things not included in the Illiad or the Aeneid (which contains more stories about the conflict, such as the Trojan horse), so would probably involve being very liberal with the source material. Which in my opinion is more fun, but also means that there's less pressure to adhere to events such as Achilles and Patrocles dying. Although Achilles dying is quite a big event, and him being so hugely influenced by Patrocles' death. But if you change that to a metaphorical (of a sort) death like you mentioned, and lots of other things were allegories rather than copies of the myth, then you could probably get away with it <:

...I'm kind of typing as I think, typical. I guess my main feeling is that I'm not a fan of avoiding tragedy that's pre-established, which only makes me sound slightly miserable. But if you write more than one same-sex relationship (even across all your writing), then it's not so much a trope. The idea of giving same-sex couples only happiness just to "balance it out" seems to me as iffy as killing them all off for tradition. But I know, bucking already existing trends. Maybe I'm just saying "write more gays". I don't know.

 

[DarkledMind]

You have some very good points. I guess this will be more about the Trojan war period, than about the Iliad. But it will draw heavily from the Iliad because of the basis of that epic is the story of Achilles' rage.

My plan is though to write a lot of the Greek stories and myths as with vampires, and modernize them. So if this story gets off the ground, I have a lot more room to write other great lovers.

But if I do end it in tragedy there is about a ninety year period where Achilles and Patrocles live in a sort of vampire domestic bliss. I can always write short stories from that, to help satisfy readers.