Blood and Sunlight

Adapted from a Review-A-Thon 25 Review

Style: Choice-select
Played : 7/18/25
Playtime: 10m, 3 endings

Elsewhere, I have asserted that ‘good vampire’ stories can become prisoners of their own subtext. While I initially felt that knee-jerk here, BnS manages to dodge that trap pretty nimbly. It presents a sympathetic mortal-vampire love affair drama that through small touches defuses most of its potential gotchas. Let me call out three of them. 1. The mortal half of the relationship is aware of and consenting to the relationship. Consent is among the thornier of the subtexts to “good vampire” stories. 2. Vampire lore is offhandedly tweaked, implying these are not vampires as we might understand them, giving us permission to shrug off more confrontive subtext. 3. Bloodlust/feeding is ignored, like completely. It is unclear these vampires feed at all, let alone on people. A lot of this begging the question “why vampires at all?” beyond the most obvious “in service of the Jam theme.”

We are presented with a drama of college-set drunken New Years, cresting to an overnight decision. It is an interesting dynamic. Young adult romantic selfishness, magnified by alcohol, is a super relatable human situation. “I know daylight will agonize you but… HOLD ME!!!” It is a pretty deep cut of human experience and gets hella novelty points. Other than the observation of it though, it felt kind of … slight? I played through three endings, and they all showcased clearer Day After eyes in realistic ways. Meaning the tension in the choice itself was not undercut by unconvincing melodrama, but nor were its stakes meaningful. In daylight, the selfishness of the ask is acknowledged, its outcomes concrete enough, and neither particularly impactful to the overall arc of the relationship.

Brevity is a strong asset here. Yes, you are not getting deep, impactful pathos. You are getting a contained slice of life, showcasing an underserved young relationship dynamic in a precisely realized setting. The three endings I got were all clear, justified, but pretty uniform in long term emotional impact. In, out, novelty on the way, what more you can ask of a short work?

I can’t help but suspect and wonder how much previous work knowledge might enhance this (of which I have none). This is part of an ongoing series with these characters, and my suspicion is that the vampire lore, and the particulars of the relationship, are rounder across them all than on display in this standalone work.

I do humbly suggest that should this “Blood and…” series continue, you will for sure want to include “Blood and Sand.” Blood and Sand: equal parts scotch, cherry liqueur, sweet vermouth and orange juice. Shake with ice, strain, garnish with orange peel. More than the sum of its parts, hopefully a meta-statement on the series!