Doreen Mucklebury

Doreen Mucklebury is a vampire who has spent more than thirty years stubbornly refusing to act like one. Turned at eighteen in 1992 through a chain of supernatural circumstances so ridiculous that respectable vampires refuse to acknowledge it (she was infected by a papercut from a movie poster for Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Keanu Reeves, her celebrity crush). She remains forever caught between immortality and adolescence. While the rest of vampire society cultivates mystery, elegance, and carefully curated gloom, Doreen prefers bright colors, cute outfits, oversized accessories, and anything with little bats on it.

She proudly embraces the self-granted title of Mistress of the Night, despite the fact that nobody seems willing to take it seriously. This is partly because of her relentlessly cheerful personality and partly because her version of "dark vampire aesthetics" usually involves pink ribbons, pastel decorations, and themed coffee drinks. Doreen insists these things are not mutually exclusive.

Unlike many vampires, she has little interest in hunting humans, or even animals. Instead, she satisfies her supernatural cravings by discreetly mixing blood from the local butcher into her iced coffee. She claims the flavor works surprisingly well. Other vampires find this horrifying for reasons that have nothing to do with morality.

The vampire community has never quite known what to do with her. Ancient vampires view her as an embarrassment, younger vampires find her confusing, and nearly all of them wish she would stop showing up to formal gatherings dressed like a cheerful gothic idol. Doreen, meanwhile, remains perfectly comfortable with herself. She likes her appearance, enjoys drawing attention to her outfits, and has never seen any reason to hide simply because other people think vampires should look a certain way.

Though physically frozen at eighteen, Doreen has watched decades pass around her. Friends have grown older, neighborhoods have changed, and many of the places she remembers from her youth have vanished entirely. She still references movies, music, and celebrities from the early 1990s with complete sincerity, occasionally forgetting that the rest of the world has moved on. Beneath her optimism is the quiet reality of someone who has spent decades watching time flow in only one direction.

Fortunately, she rarely faces eternity alone. Among her circle of friends, including her best friend Kaida, Doreen is accepted for exactly who she is: a bubbly immortal disaster with a dramatic title, a questionable diet, and an unwavering belief that darkness could always benefit from a few more pink accents. 🦇💕☕