Line #65 WebAnimation/TheVampair


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_poster_by_chibidondc_da5x5dt.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:She calls me...[[note]]Pictured: Duke (left), and Missi (right)[[/note]]]]
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4	''The Vampair'' is a WebAnimation series made by Daria Cohen, beginning life as her final year film at Skenkar School of Design and Engineering. Centering around a young woman named [[CuteBookworm Missi]] and a vampire lord known only as [[OurVampiresAreDifferent The Duke of Vaults]], each episode explores their relationship and their backstories in the form of [[JukeboxMusical dark cabaret and electroswing music videos]]. The series can be viewed on her [=YouTube=] channel [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2d84LyYy5SYwewbD-WycaEaMhvL7eVox here]].
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6	The first season consists of seven (and a half) episodes, which aired from 2016 to 2021. While looking for an interesting place to sit down and read, college student Missi enters a seemingly abandoned mansion only to find herself in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with the house's vampiric lord. After defeating him, Missi becomes corrupted by the power of his magical cane, turning into a vampire herself and being unwilling to give up her new powers. From then on, the two have an antagonistic back-and-forth, as Missi and the Duke try to best one another.
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8	The second season, currently in progress, covers the Duke's backstory: from the death of his mother as a child to him eventually becoming the powerful vampire he is in the present day.
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10	On November 4th, 2020, Daria released a Multiple Animators Project featuring Duke set to the tune of Voltaire's classic song [[https://youtu.be/zvqbYaFHGSM "When You're Evil"]] as a celebratory milestone for reaching 666K subscribers on [=YouTube=], though this video is non-canon to the rest of the series.
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12	----
13	!!Tropes that appear in these shorts:
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15	* ActionSurvivor: Missi in the first video.
16	* AllThereInTheManual: A lot of information about the characters has come from online comments and live streams.
17	* AlwaysNight: With the exception of the light of dawn [[spoiler: killing Duke]] at the end of the first episode, [[spoiler: and some flash backs of his life when he was still a human]], every scene in the series takes place at night.
18	* ArtifactOfDoom: The Duke’s Staff is a MagicStaff that grants its wielder a variety of magical powers, including conjuring flame, bringing inanimate objects to life, restraining people, conjuring clothes, and firing blasts. It also seems to be cursed, [[CursedWithAwesome turning its owner into a vampire]] as it did to Missi.
19	* AsideGlance: Duke gives one to the audience in almost every episode, be it one of confidence or utter bafflement towards whatever is happening. In general, he's the only one who appears to be aware of the fourth wall.
20	* AttemptedRape: Subverted. While the Duke definitely toys with her, he never actually makes a sexual advance until ''after'' Missi begins her seduction ploy. WordOfGod later confirmed that Duke really thought Missi was completely willing.
21	* AwfulWeddedLife: Missi and Duke are effectively stuck together like a married couple as of "Stuck With You". Missi could leave anytime she wants, but her hatred of Duke and her refusal to give the staff back means she's trapped with him.
22	* BallroomBlitz: "The Showdown," full stop. Goes from a mildly seductive black tie [[TheMasochismTango masochism tango]] into a [[spoiler:full-blown fight scene, with the two trading blows and drawing blood.]]
23	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Possibly. Missi originally snuck into Duke's mansion to read ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. If she was secretly fantasizing about being pursued by a vampire, [[DarkIsEvil The]] [[AristocratsAreEvil Duke]] [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver of]] [[ClassicalMovieVampire Vaults]] was probably not what she had in mind.
24	* BelligerentSexualTension: Duke and Missi seem to develop this dynamic as time goes on, with the two playing increasingly elaborate mind games and trying to one-up the other. It's most pronounced in "The Showdown," where the two swing dance seductively while trying to get the drop on the other, [[spoiler:and their seductive cat-and-mouse game eventually escalates into open violence. The season one finale has the two living together and seemingly starting a budding romance by the end of the episode]].
25	* BisexualVampire: According to WordOfGod, this is a general vampire trait but we have yet to see any evidence of it in the series. The Duke is canonically pansexual, given the fact that he did it with a zombie.
26	** In the MAP "When You're Evil," the Duke gleefully ends up on the bottom of the devil and pokes his ass. Several drawings depict Missi crushing on Dukette (Duke with the infamous Super Crown meme).
27	* BlackAndGreyMorality: The conflict that's kicked off as of "The Resurrection" is between the ObviouslyEvil Duke and the [[spoiler:now-vampire Missi, aka Missi Spiderwebs, who is equally evil. However, Missi was originally just a normal girl who happened to wander into the mansion and was subjected to a game of cat and mouse with an immortal vampire, only managing to kill him through a fortunate case of CueTheSun. Had Duke left her alone, she never would've obtained his cane.]]
28	* BladeRun: In "The Showdown", Duke swings an ax at Missi in an overhand strike, which ends with the ax planted in the ground and Missi standing on top of it before backflip-kicking him in the face.
29	* BringIt: During their dance in "The Showdown", Duke beckons Missi with a finger. Later, during their fight, Missi beckons Duke with a finger while grinning, and he charges at her in a rage.
30	* BroughtDownToBadass: While the Duke is easily curb stomped by Missi without his staff, he is no wimp without it. After all, he was able to ''[[HellHasNewManagement conquer the Underworld]]'' without its use. WordOfGod even confirms that without his staff he is still a vampire and thus has powers of his own.
31	* BuildingOfAdventure: In season 1, the isolated vampire castle which serves as the main setting of the series and the habitat of both protagonists. With the exception of "Land of the Dead" (which mostly takes place in the Greek Underworld), every scene takes place within the castle's room or (in exterior scenes) at a short distance from its door and windows. Due to the two vampire's spells, some of the rooms and stairs have changed appearance (and Missi redecorated the dungeon) but it is always the same building.
32	** Dropped in season 2, because it is focused on Duke's backstory, including before he moves on the castle. Also, a few non-canonical videos doesn't use the castle as the main set.
33	* BullyingADragon: According to WordOfGod, even with the cane, Missi Spiderwebs still isn't as powerful as Duke. She just caught him off guard. Seemingly retconned as of [[spoiler: "The Showdown," where Duke gets a slight drop on Missi but their battle still ends in a stalemate]].
34	* ButtMonkey: Duke is forced into this role in "The Resurrection" after being brought back from the dead. Absolutely ''nothing'' goes right for him.
35	* TheCameo: Music/{{Voltaire}}'s songs are already used for the majority of the animations, but "The Resurrection" and other episodes depict the musician as being the Duke's father.
36	* CastingAShadow: Seemingly one of the powers of the staff. Duke uses some kind of shadow form to chase Missi in "The Night", while Missi uses it to throw Duke through ''several'' doors in "The Resurrection".
37	* ChekhovsGun: The key holding Duke's cape together is [[spoiler: what lets him back into his castle after Missi throws him out.]]
38	* ClusterFBomb: [[spoiler: Missi hits Duke with a major prolonged one]] in "The Resurrection" by virtue of the song choice.
39	** Then there’s Chapter 3.5 which uses the word bitch three times in twenty seconds.
40	* ColorCodedCharacters: Duke is associated with red and Missi with purple.
41	* TheCorruption: Duke's cane is confirmed by WordOfGod to infect anyone who wields it with both immense power and an overwhelming desire to do evil. Chapter 4 shows us just how much it’s messing with Missi’s mind.
42	* {{Crossover}}: [[spoiler:Duke’s sire, Artimis]] originates from [[https://www.youtube.com/@Missmi/videos Missmi's Threnody series]], which is significantly less comedic and more tragic in tone. Duke/Missi's Cane also shows up in that series, but it originated in this one first.
43	* CrossoverCameo: In "When You're Evil", there's a FreezeFrameBonus of the Duke hosting a dinner-party at the 2:02 mark. Several characters from other shows attend: Angel Dust and Alastor from ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'', and Airad, Nim, Alister, and Brier from ''Threnody''.
44	* CueTheRain: [[spoiler: When Duke is thrown out of the castle he formerly owned,]] it immediately starts raining. [[JustifiedTrope Possibly]] due to Missi Spiderwebs' use of magic.
45	* CuttingBackToReality: "The Silent" briefly cuts away from Missi's perspective a couple of times, revealing that something that was just previously shown was all in her head. One is after a chandelier falls, narrowly missing her; the camera switches to the ceiling, showing that the chandelier is still there. Another is just as she's swinging at a portrait of Duke; just before her blow connects, the portrait is shown again, and it's not one of Duke, but of some other guy.
46	* CycleOfRevenge: Duke and Missi just ''cannot'' stop trying to get back at each other for what the other just did to them, with their cat-and-mouse [[TheMasochismTango masochism tango]] finally escalating [[spoiler:into open fighting]] in "The Showdown." [[spoiler:The regretful looks on their faces at the end of "The Showdown" and especially "Speed Draw: After the Showdown" says it all.]]
47	** [[spoiler:Basically PlayedUpToEleven in the season one finale, with Duke and Missi now being stuck together in the castle and seemingly trying to call a ceasefire of sorts. By the end though, they escalate from taunting and arguing with each other over their various actions to outright trying to murder each other with methods ranging from a knife, to a bottle, to [[KillItWithFire fire]]...]]
48	* DateRapeAverted: Missi was able to kill the Duke before he made it to third base.
49	* DeathGlare: Vampire Missi gives several ''extremely'' potent ones in "The Resurrection," helped by her [[RedEyesTakeWarning piercing red eyes]].
50	* DepravedBisexual: WordOfGay claims that the Duke is attracted to both sexes, but in different ways.
51	--> '''Daria:''' Women are for fucking, men are for sucking.
52	** It also claims that Missi was originally straight, only to become bisexual after becoming a vampire, implying that it is a side-effect of the staff, [[InformedAttribute though we've yet to see any evidence of this in the series itself]].
53	* {{Determinator}}: Even before being corrupted, Missi gives this variant of a DeathGlare when she hatches a plan to [[spoiler: kill the Duke.]]
54	* DistractedByTheSexy: Missi manages to outsmart Duke in "The Night" by pretending to fall for his advances, distracting him long enough to bait him into a trap.
55	* TheDoorSlamsYou: Missi does this to The Duke at the end of "The Ressurection."
56	* {{Expy}}: [[VampiresAreRich The Duke]] is obviously a play on Count {{Dracula}} and possibly [[TheBluebeard Ferrara]] in ''My Last Duchess''.
57	* EyeScream: At the end of "The Showdown," [[spoiler:Missi is clutching a bleeding eye. The Season 1 finale reveals he gouged it out, requiring her to wear a patch hidden behind her hair.]]
58	* EvilIsNotAToy: In "The Silent," Missi learns this the hard way [[spoiler:as the staff drives her into unbearable insanity. She discards it in horror, is visibly shaken as she returns to herself, and somberly begins to leave the mansion.]] Then she [[BerserkButton sees Duke]] and [[IgnoredEpiphany ignores the epiphany]].
59	* FangsAreEvil: Before being corrupted by Duke's staff, Missi is a normal woman. After? She sports a nice set of chompers. Duke [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzags]] this, as while he's clearly amoral, he seems more mischievous than malicious.
60	* FlippingTheBird: Missi does this subtly while tapping the piano keys in the third video by way of doing so exclusively with her middle finger.
61	* [[{{Filler}} Filler Episode]]: "Zombie Prostitute" to an extent, as it doesn't directly advance Duke and Missi's game of cat-and-mouse.
62	* FreezeFrameBonus: There are so many little details in these videos. It helps to rewatch the animation at a slower speed. In the first thirty seconds alone of "The Night," Missi is reading ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', with real text from the book, and Duke is changing in front of a mirror despite not having a reflection.
63	* FreudianExcuse: Missi suggests during her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Duke that the reason behind his evil is [[ParentalIssues a subconscious desire to emulate his father]].
64	* FurAgainstFang: Vampires and werewolves are at war, as seen in "A Good Song Never Dies", where Artemis leads vampires in an attack on a bunch of werewolves. When the werewolves realize the vampires are stalking them, they immediately transform and go on the attack.
65	* TheGlassesGottaGo: In the first video, Missi wears NerdGlasses when reading her book. After meeting her, Duke's first actions are to destroy her book, make her glasses magically disappear, and give her a make-over to match his ideas about femininity. Since then, the vampire transformation and power-upgrade of Missi have apparently fixed her eyesight, and she no longer needs glasses to read. In the teaser episode "Oweee", Missi casually reads another book while Duke stares at her from a glass window. She has no problem reading without her glasses and glances towards Duke; watching him from a distance. The bookworm is now a badass but remains a bookworm.
66	** When Missi [[spoiler: breaks free of the staff's control]] during "The Silent," she puts her glasses back on alongside retrieving her bookbag and tying her hair back up. [[spoiler: Moments later, when her lingering bitterness at the sight of Duke [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor prompts her to relapse by reclaiming the staff]]]], she flings them back aside. [[spoiler: But not before a couple quick shots pass between her taking the staff and relinquishing the glasses, [[FreezeFrameBonus giving us the opportunity to see what vampire Missi looks like with her former self's eyewear, bag, and hairdo]].]]
67	* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Duke changes Missi to his liking in their first encounter by giving her purple hair and purple clothes. After Missi becomes a vampire, the change sticks.
68	* HartmanHips: Downplayed, but in "The Silent," Missi is briefly seen in a silky nightie that hugs her figure and it's evident that she has some junk in her trunk. ''Not'' downplayed in "The Showdown," where a whole shot is dedicated to a view of Missi's midsection as she cocks a hand on her side and shakes her hips beckoningly to the rhythm of the music.
69	* HellOfATime: "Land of the Dead." Full stop.
70	* HoneyTrap: How Missi ultimately overcomes Duke in the first video. During their one-sided dance, she spots light peering through a curtain in the hallway they're in and proceeds to play along with his dancing, even giving sultry facial expressions to lure him over to the curtain, and let his guard down. Once she has an opportunity to grab it, she yanks the curtain rope down, and causes light to flood the hallway, and then knocks Duke into it with his cane, frying the elder vampire.
71	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Missi's full height may be 5’7” but her head barely reaches Duke's waist. (Amusingly, Missi still weighs more than [[NoodlePeople Duke]] does.)
72	* HumiliationConga: Duke is subjected to one by Missi in "The Resurrection." He's first taunted with the fact that his cane is now in the hands of his former victim and is given either a GroinAttack or an AssShove when he tries to take it back. He's then kicked down a pit where Missi proceeds to show off just how much control over the cane's power she now has, taunting him all the while, and when he tries to leave she creates a giant shadow construct that plows him through several doors, throwing him down a flight of stairs to the entrance where she personally kicks him out of his own mansion and [[RuleOfThree taunts him one last time]] before slamming the door in his face and knocking him on his ass. To add insult to injury, it immediately starts raining right after (which may or may not ''also'' be Missi's doing).
73	* IgnoredEpiphany: Near the end of "The Silent," Missi learns the hard way that EvilIsNotAToy [[spoiler:as the staff drives her into insanity]]... then she [[BerserkButton sees Duke outside]] and disregards it.
74	* IHateYouVampireDad: Missi implies this to be the case with Duke in "Resurrection". She's only a vampire when she holds his staff, which she only grabbed in self-defense when Duke almost ate and [[DateRapeAverted raped]] her, and she's clearly still furious with how Duke tormented her in "The Night". A lot of her antics over the course of Season 1 amount to lashing out at the vampire who sucked her into his undead world, and this escalates into [[spoiler:a brawl that ends with Missi lopping off one of Duke's thumbs and Duke gouging out one of Missi's eyes. After this, they call a truce]].
75	* InkSuitActor: Duke's appearance was based on Aurelio Voltaire (specifically him circa the album ''BOO HOO''), among other sources.
76	* IronicEcho: Missi mirrors a lot of Duke's moves from "The Night" when she's screwing with him in "The Resurrection."
77	* KnowWhenToFoldEm: In "The Resurrection," when The Duke sees how well Missi has acclimated to the demonic cane and all its power, he realizes he probably won't get anywhere antagonizing her further, and [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere decides to leave]]. Unfortunately for him, Missi won't let him get off that easy.
78	* MasculineLinesFeminineCurves: Duke is drawn with a lot of long lines while Missi is drawn with a lot of round shapes to show the contrast between them.
79	* TheMasochismTango: Duke and Missi, whose increasingly elaborate games of cat-and-mouse alternate between seductive and destructive behavior. It's especially pronounced on Missi's end, [[spoiler:since she can discard the cane and go home any time, but stays so she can keep getting back at The Duke.]] "The Showdown" is almost a literal case, as the two actually do swing dance while trying to mess with and one-up the other. The creator even did some 2021 Valentine's Day Speed Sketches of Duke and Missi to the [[Music/AnEveningWastedWithTomLehrer trope-naming song]]!
80	* MickeyMousing: Duke does this a ''lot'' when he's singing. His NoodlePeople anatomy only furthers this, as he's often bouncing around and slinking across the screen in rhythm to the songs. [[spoiler: Missi bounces and sways to the rhythm too when it's her turn. One has to wonder if that's a side-effect of the cane's power...]]
81	* MilkingTheGiantCow:
82	** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]]. Duke is a vampire and seemingly a man of nobility as a result. He's prone to making these sorts of gestures when speaking, as shown in some of the animation tests Daria has done, and when he's singing, ''he performs''.
83	** Missi doesn't skip a beat getting in on the action post-vampirization. Most notable is the pose she strikes when she and Duke break away from each other in the trailer for "The Showdown," even accompanied by [[RedEyesTakeWarning a flare of her eyes]] for sheer emphasis.
84	* MinimalistCast: The original short features only Duke and Missi, with no other characters. The second short features mostly Duke, with silent cameos from various creatures of the Greek Underworld, and Missi appearing on her own in a short PostCreditsScene. The third film is back to featuring Duke and Missi, with the only other characters being magically-animated gargoyles. Other than the two protagonists, and Missi’s new cat Minose, the series so far has no other recurring characters; the fifth episode features a zombie prostitute by the name of Genevieve, an entire skeleton orchestra, and Missi's sister. Missi's sister and the Underworld crew reappear in brief cameos as of "Stuck With You", Genevieve cameos in "CHUPANDO!", and season two significantly expands the cast. "Raised by Bats" includes the vampires that turned Duke, and various people around the until-then-unseen town, while other videos show Duke as a child, as well as his father. "A Good Song Never Dies" introduces a whole coven of vampires who recruit Duke after he's newly-turned.
85	* MsFanservice: Downplayed. Missi ends up getting a brothel dress within a minute of her experience with Duke, and sports it from then on. And ''boy'' does she sport it well! [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in "The Showdown," where she goes so far as to flash a PantyShot at one point.
86	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: In "The Showdown," after [[spoiler:Duke and Missi's [[TheMasochismTango cat-and-mouse tango]] escalates into open fighting, ending with Duke losing a thumb and Missi losing an eye]], they both look horrified and embarrassed by what they've done, as they stand panting [[spoiler:and bleeding]] on the dance floor. "Stuck with You" has them [[spoiler:call a ceasefire and try living together as a result]].
87	* MysteriousPast:
88	** While Duke is the elder of the two vampires, there is little to no mention of his past in Season 1, other than a mention of his father [[spoiler: who looks like and may very well ''be'' Aurelio Voltaire]]. How he acquired the mystical staff and the mansion is not explained. Averted in Season 2, where multiple entire videos are dedicated to explaining his backstory.
89	** Even less has been explained about Missi's past and why she started out by seeking refuge in an abandoned mansion at nighttime. She was carrying a schoolbag, which hints that she may have been a schoolgirl (supported by an ID card her sister had stating her to be 17), but nothing else is known about her background, other than a prior interest in vampires, given [[Literature/{{Twilight}} the book]] she had with her. Then again, she presumably thought the mansion was abandoned, and what fan of horror literature would be able to resist the urge to read a vampire novel in a seemingly abandoned gothic castle?
90	* MythologyGag:
91	** Duke wears Music/{{Voltaire}}'s signature key pendant, which Voltaire doesn't even take off in the shower. There are also a few more visual references to Voltaire, like pictures of him appearing in the background, and the design of his unicorn pendant appearing on the walls of Duke's castle in "The Night" (for example, at 2:17).
92	** At 2:02 in the "When You're Evil" MAP, animator Dashikibi fills Duke's dinner table with various references. Music/{{Voltaire}}'s portrait is on the back wall and his "zombie prostitute" is at the table. Angel Dust and Alastor from ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' are also at the table (Cohen is one of the animators of the pilot). There are also several characters from ''Threnody''.
93	* NoodlePeople: Duke is exceedingly tall, and his lankiness shows as a result. A lot of his MickeyMousing involves him bouncing his shoulders and swaying his body in place.
94	* OhCrap: In "The Showdown," when The Duke accidentally rips open part of Missi's dress (exposing her bra), he looks instantly shocked and horrified, especially since she [[BerserkButton just becomes even more enraged]].
95	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Getting possessed by dark magic can turn you into one. However, this doesn’t turn Missi into a full vampire [[spoiler: since casting the cane away turned her back to normal. There’s also the fact that sunlight won’t kill her, but it ''does'' hurt like hell for her. In addition, she doesn’t need to sleep in a coffin and seems to still have her reflection]], unlike Duke. [[spoiler: The latter defies this trope, as season 2 episode 2 reveals he was a human turned into a vampire after being bitten by another vampire, the classical way.]]
96	* PayEvilUntoEvil: After being toyed with and made a victim in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WsZ2fUXbZg&index=2&list=PL2d84LyYy5SYwewbD-WycaEaMhvL7eVox&t=0s The Night]]", Missi enacts vengeance against the Duke in "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcy5AUvm7iE&index=5&list=PL2d84LyYy5SYwewbD-WycaEaMhvL7eVox Chapter 3: Resurrection/ A.K.A: Fuck You]]", where she goes to the trouble of returning him from death, him only to beat him around with his own MagicStaff all over the place before evicting him out into the rain from his own castle.
97	* PeoplePuppets: Duke puts Missi on marionette strings when they first meet. [[spoiler: She breaks free]].
98	* PointyEars: Both Duke and Missi have prominent (and rather long) pointy ears in their vampire forms.
99	* PrideBeforeAFall: Duke was ''so'' confident that the girl he'd been terrorizing and toying with would ''of course'' be into him, that it didn't occur to him that she might [[HoneyTrap beckon him]] over by [[TooDumbToLive some curtains]] for [[CueTheSun some other reason]].
100	* PurpleIsPowerful: Missi's power upgrade from human to powerful vampire and magic user is combined with a change of hair color from brown to purple, along with a change of clothes from jeans and a sweater to a purple dress with long, fishnet sleeves.
101	* PurpleIsTheNewBlack: Missi’s whole color scheme as a vampire.
102	* QuestionableConsent: While WordOfGod says Duke thought Missi was willing in "The Night," nevertheless she ''was'' a helpless mortal girl he kept tormenting and wouldn't allow to escape no matter how many times she tried. When she suddenly turned seductive, it's questionable how much consent she ''could'' give since (from her perspective) her actual life depended on getting on his good side. Then again, [[ObviouslyEvil he is an evil vampire]] who likely [[DeliberateValuesDissonance doesn't think about these things]].
103	* RagingStiffie: Duke unexpectedly gets one offscreen when being seduced by Genevieve in "Zombie Prostitute." He's rather embarrassed by it, but she doesn't seem to mind.
104	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The entirety of “The Resurrection” is Missi giving a musical one to Duke, [[spoiler: before proceeding to throw him out of his own house]].
105	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Duke’s color scheme.
106	* RedEyesTakeWarning: Duke has glowing red eyes. Missi gains them too after being corrupted. Even the cane has them.
107	* SanitySlippage: "The Silent" reveals that Missi is going through a severe case of this. In the aftermath of reveling in her powers, her peace is intruded upon when she slowly realizes she's being stalked by apparitions of Duke and a hitherto-unseen collective of small, buglike monsters that make surreptitious attempts on her life. [[spoiler: [[FreezeFrameBonus Viewers paying close attention]] may notice some key inconsistencies in these events; a chandelier that the bugs try to drop on her appears unharmed in a subsequent shot, and when Missi strikes at a painting of Duke with the staff, it's changed to a miscellaneous portrait by the time the blow lands. Eventually, Missi is almost eaten from the inside out by the bugs, and when she throws the staff away in panic, she turns human again, [[{{Hallucinations}} the twisted black-and-white imagery instantly returns to normal, and all the bugs disappear]]. However, after seeing Duke outside, [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor she angrily rushes back and reclaims the staff, turning into a vampire again]].]]
108	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
109	** In "The Resurrection," after it finally sinks in for Duke how well Missi has acclimated to his cane's powers, he decides he's had enough and promptly slinks from the room. Unfortunately for him, Missi has no intention of letting him go that easily.
110	** Season 2 reveals that the Duke pulled this earlier with his life with Artemis and the vampire clan who turned him after seeing their battle with a pack of werewolves, realizing that their war with the werewolves wasn't so different from his own father's crusade against vampires, and he wanted no part of it. The vampires are ''not'' pleased to see him leave.
111	* SealedEvilInACan: {{Implied}} by WordOfGod in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ER4sBCHbgI&t=303s the 5th anniversary Q&A]]. When asked what would happen if the cane were burnt or destroyed, Daria Cohen said it'd be a ''whole'' other can of worms and you should hope it never happens, hinting that there is something far worse inside the cane that ''should not'' be allowed to escape.
112	* SharedUniverse: WordOfGod states that ''[[https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvdxcB2LtEUv2CM_FSrgujwnzgicZ3HLu Threnody]]'' is in the same universe as this series.
113	* SheCleansUpNicely: Missi, while not homely in her ordinary clothes, looks extremely plain. When Duke transforms her clothes into a brothel dress, decks her out with makeup, and changes her hair to purple, however, she looks like a completely different person [[spoiler: even before she becomes a vampire and embraces the look fully]].
114	* ShipTease: Daria has been wholeheartedly encouraging the Duke X Missi shippers. When flat out asked if Missi likes Duke, her response as of Chapter 3 was “Not at the moment, no.”
115	* ShoutOut: {{Music/Voltaire}} gets a lot of love, as four of his songs are used for the shorts, and even when [[spoiler: the third short bucked the trend by using a song by a different artist, [[TheCameo he still appears as a painting of himself]]!]]
116	* SlasherSmile: When first corrupted by the cane, Missi sports one of these. The smile makes a return in TheStinger of "Land of the Dead" when Missi comes upon a spellbook on [[SequelHook resurrections]]. In "The Resurrection" itself, she downgrades them to [[SmugSmiler smug smiles]], representing her adaptation to the cane's power. [[spoiler: And that impression of Missi gaining a handle on things is roundly subverted in "The Silent," where the return of the Slasher Smile underscores what an unstable mental state her embracing of vindictive revenge and the dark powers that facilitate it has left her in.]]
117	** [[spoiler: Duke finally gets his turn in "The Showdown," where one spreads across his face when he has his back turned to Missi and he finally gets the opening he needs to poison her drink.]]
118	* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: Despite both vampires being malicious and rather sadistic, their actions so far are not particularly monstrous. They briefly drink glasses of red liquid (probably blood), but they seem content with spending each night in the castle to which they have both laid claim on. They have twice faced each other in a struggle for dominance, but they have not so far threatened or victimized anyone else. They are not eager to recruit more vampires, and (given their track records so far) may see any other vampire only as a rival to their power. They both behave like [[SmugSuper Smug Supers]] and make it a point to bask in the act of demonstrating their superiority to their chosen rival/opponent, but don't seem to care about anyone or anything else in their world, and don't cause trouble to others. Neither of them looks human anymore, but they remain attractive-looking humanoids.
119	* SmugSmiler:
120	** When Vampire Missi isn't throwing a DeathGlare or SlasherSmile your way, she is invariably doing this (save for in [[spoiler: "The Silent"]]).
121	** Likewise for Duke in the first two episodes. Special shoutout to the moment in "The Night" where he pauses in his singing to simply lean forward on his cane and stare down at his petrified prey before she finds it in her to break into a run, keeping this look on his face all the while.
122	** "The Showdown" is ''all about'' this trope, for both parties.
123	* SoundtrackDissonance: The ending of "The Showdown." The soundtrack remains an upbeat swing number as [[spoiler:Missi and The Duke start savagely attacking each other. The cheerful music fades as they stand there panting and bleeding, looking embarrassed and regretful at what they've done.]]
124	* SpellMyNameWithAThe: Duke's full name is The Duke of Vaults, and many fans refer to him as "The Duke."
125	* StealthPun: At the end of "The Showdown," [[spoiler:it looks like Duke slashed out one of Missi's eyes, and she one of his thumbs. As they stand there panting and bleeding, they both look remorseful for how they let their tempers escalate their feud that far. Missi's eye especially might remind the viewer of the saying, [[TheCycleOfRevenge "an eye for an eye, everyone's blind]]."]]
126	* StrokeTheBeard: The Duke strokes his goatee at the end of "Oweee" as he formulates a plan.
127	* StupidEvil: The Duke was very easily fooled by Missi, reacting in shock when the girl switches from frightened and resistant to being into his advances and getting [[InstantSeduction seduced instantly]], but not suspecting a thing.
128	* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Duke's reaction as Missi's [[CastingAShadow demonic shadow]] is gearing up near the end of "The Resurrection." [[spoiler:He [[OhCrap stares in horror]] and then frantically tries to open the door before being shoved through several walls and out into the lawn.]]
129	* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: "The Silent" shows Missi's [[SanitySlippage unraveling grasp on reality]] from her perspective. A couple of things are shown to be hallucinations via CuttingBackToReality, while other things are ambiguous as to how much they're actually occurring versus being in her head.
130	* TemptingFate: Duke singing about how much power he has in the underworld and how no one can take it from him. Missi Spiderwebs rises to the challenge.
131	* TooDumbToLive:
132	** Missi in "The Night." An in-universe explanation for her choosing an abandoned mansion to read her book in has not yet been given, though one can reasonably deduce that she just thought it would be a cool place to read a vampire novel.
133	** The Duke is a more literal example, as his lack of suspicion that a girl he's been tormenting and who's been trying flee in terror from him ''suddenly'' decides to [[HoneyTrap seduce him]] and lure him over by the curtains, which [[ThePowerOfTheSun gets him fried]].
134	* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Arguably, the whole series.
135	** In "The Night," Duke just couldn't resist tormenting Missi, nor giving in to [[HoneyTrap her advances]] near the end of the video, leading to his demise.
136	** In "Resurrection," Missi just couldn't resist resurrecting Duke, [[spoiler:just to give a TheReasonYouSuck Song and kick him out of his own house]].
137	** In "The Silent," [[spoiler:Missi is ready to discard the demonic staff and return to her normal life, only to see Duke standing outside, give a look of rage, and rashly decide to reclaim the staff and resume tormenting him]].
138	** In "The Showdown," their [[TheMasochismTango masocism tango]] eventually escalates into a [[spoiler:full-blown BallroomBlitz]], with the two looking regretful afterwards that they let their tempers get the better of them.
139	* UndeathlyPallor: Duke and Missi both have chalk-white skin in their vampire forms. Though "Raised by Bats" seems to indicate Duke even as a child looked white as a sheet.
140	* VillainousFaceHold: At one point in "The Night", while forcing Missi to dance with him, Duke tips up her chin with a finger.
141	* WardrobeWound: In "The Showdown", Duke tears away part of Missi's dress with a swing of his ax and she becomes extra enraged, her eyes glowing.
142	* WeakenedByTheLight: In classic vampiric fashion, Missi kills Duke at the end of the first short by pulling open the curtains in the hallway, thus causing all the sunlight to shine in and burning him to ash. Apparently, she was then stuck in that shadowed corner for the rest of the day.
143	* WhosLaughingNow: In "The Resurrection," [[spoiler: Missi has learned how to effectively use Duke's staff, and uses it to assume control of his mansion, even resurrecting the guy just to deny him the joys of living in the underworld]].
144	* WouldHitAGirl: The Duke. Most pronounced in "The Showdown," where he gives as good as he gets as his MasochismTango with Missi escalates. [[spoiler:He strikes her, kicks her, and attacks her with a battle axe. Though she also gets [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale way more hits in]] during said fight.]]
145	* WrongGenreSavvy: Missi snuck into a seemingly abandoned Gothic castle for some atmospheric reading with ''Literature/{{Twilight\|2005}}''. Little did she know, the castle was already occupied by a ClassicalMovieVampire, who is ''[[DarkIsEvil not]]'' friendly or romantic.
146	* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Seconds after killing Duke, Missi acquires his vampire powers, his magical staff (and all associated powers that aren't inherent to being a vampire), a similarly malicious personality, and implicitly the ownership of the vampire castle.

Context WebAnimation / TheVampair