#dracula is bad you guys

[another-chaotic-bisexual-vampire]

a great bat, which wheeled round—doubtless attracted by the light, although so dim—and every now and again struck the window with its wings. When I came back to my seat, I found that Lucy had moved slightly, and had torn away the garlic flowers from her throat.

Dracula is hypnotizing Lucy — while still in bat form — to take off her garlic necklace so he can get in and bite her again?? OHHH FUCK THIS GUY

#dracula is bad you guys #dracula #dracula daily #re: dracula #bram stoker #lucy westenra #count dracula #dracula memes #dracula spoilers #dd september 20 #dracula september 20 #september 20

[beevean]

I keep not understanding what exactly are Lenector shippers seeing in their "dynamic". At least they agree that it had poor development, but then what is the appeal?

If you like the abusive, toxic, manipulative, imbalanced, BDSM, "good boy" part of S3, there's none of it in S4. Hector and Lenore talk like good friends, without a hint of their previous sexual tension, unless her puerile dick jokes are what passes as tension now.

If you like them as foils, if you see Lenore as the only person who has ever been kind to Hector, if you think it's romantic that the two want to protect each other in S4, then you have to ignore or justify Lenore's previous physical, mental, emotional and sexual abuse of Hector.

And if the appeal is the "development" (which one of these commenters called "enemies/lovers", literally where, Hector was never Lenore's enemy, he was her victim)... then it sucks majorly. There is no development. There's a switch! Like someone changed the radio station! It's jarring! And there is no good way to fill in the gaps without downplaying the horrible things Lenore did to Hector, or without justifying them because "she only meant well 🥺 it was the best solution 🥺", which makes me want to tear my face off my skull.

In fact... Lenore really didn't develop at all. I talked before about Hector in S4, who regressed to the point where he'd want Dracula back just to feel better about his mistakes and never addresses his apathy towards humanity or his tendency to cling to people who give him scraps of appreciation, but a similar thing happened to Lenore. Remember these wonderful lines:

"Oh, shush, you were having fun."

"I'm sorry for everything you went through."

Lenore doesn't care. She doesn't care that she has hurt Hector, that she has used his feelings to lie to his face and force him into an arrangement he hadn't consented to. She doesn't apologize for her own actions. She doesn't even try to explain herself, only retorting Hector's understandable irritation at the ring against him - "well you got hard, what are you complaining about?". Because that's what relationships are in this show: nothing but "cute" banter meant to camouflage abuse.

Oh, she wants to "protect him"? Big deal. She still doesn't seem him like a person who can be hurt by her actions. She still fits the description of vampiric love Carmilla gave in S2. He's still her pet in her eyes, even if she does nothing with it. Nothing has changed. She has just lost sexual interest in him, because now it's no longer fun to put a leash on him and talk to him like a dog. She got what she wanted, so now there's no point in flirting and being nice to him :)

Lenore is nothing more than a power-hungry coward when you read between the lines, less interested in power over the world (which she dislikes) and more in power over singular people. She's happy to beat Hector to an inch of his life when he's weak and in a cell, to prove that she's not to be underestimated, but when she is in a cage, she won't attempt a damn thing to flee it or protect herself from Isaac. She stops molesting flirting with Hector once he gains more confidence, because flirting for her is a mere weapon to psychologically bend someone to her will. After she "solved Hector's problem", she does nothing but whine because she doesn't know what to do, because she feels useless - her spending time with Hector seems nice on the surface, but it might also be seen as her going to be a brat to the only one willing to tolerate her. And, of course, the dialogue frames her choice to kill herself not as her being horrified at her own nature and what it has lead her to do, because villains in this show get to be painted as tragic without doing the work to earn it (*coughcoughdraculaandisaac*), but as her wanting to flee her cage - her position of powerlessness. Not even spending a few more decades with Hector, the man she supposedly has grown to care about and who only wants her in his life, is worth not being in total control.

And the clincher? This doesn't sound bad for a villain! Selfish and pathetic at the same time, under a veneer of "kindness" or "good intentions": that's interesting! And if this had been intended, good job for not spelling it out like I'm stupid, allowing me to put the pieces together? Problem is, the story and its fans insist that actually Lenore is a great person and she really liked Hector no really they should have stayed together and married each other because aren't they so uwu and 🥺 and why couldn't the story give the abusive rapist a second chance 🥺

And I can't see it. I can't. The deeper I look into this story, the more rot I unearth. And it's definitely not because I don't like unhealthy ships; in fact it's precisely because of it that I think this example is terrible. I haven't even touched other issues such as how I don't care for the power imbalance because I'm prevented from caring for the lump of flesh in the shape of Hector in S3 lol.

And to be honest, the more I see fans complaining about the lack of screentime, the more I suspect that the appeal of Lenector is the same as Trephacard's: you get to make shit up in your head and ignore what the screen shows you. Which sure you can do that, but then the actual story doesn't deserve praise, does it?

#anti netflixvania #i feel weird when i complain when a villain behaves like a horrible person lol #but like. look at the apologism here! #you can't be all 🥺 in my ears trying to convince me that all these pieces of shit (lenore dracula and isaac) are not so bad after all! #commit! character development implies *development* not suddenly asking to be pitied or celebrated #also yeah #lenore thoughts #because there are four characters under her wig and i like to explore all of them lol #she could have been so good guys. i'm so pissed off

[the-crow-binary]

A long time ago, i made a post (that i can no longer find) about this song and how i could imagine it being Sara (as the "mysterious woman") talking to Simon when he was cursed and looking for guidance.

Well, just today, the full official version got released. And it is making my brain work even more. :)

#i am so close to make an animatic you guys have no idea #i want to do one so bad #i want to do a lot of them actually #akumajou dracula #simon belmont #castlevania #simon's quest #sara trantoul

[thebibi]

Ok so now that we've roasted the Van Helsing/Seward clown duo for being extremely obvious while talking about Mina behind her back -- I'm going to switch gears for a second and defend them a little.

See, it's easy for us to roll our eyes at Jack and Van Helsing freaking out over Mina's behaviors, checking her teeth and watching her sleep. It's not subtle at all and Jonathan's anxiety will hit the roof and he might very well maim someone for looking at his wife the wrong way. BUT.

But, I DO think its for the best that Jack and Van Helsing keep these thoughts private and between them for the time being. Because these secret chats may not have been the most productive, and instead served a more emotional outlet rather than a strategic one. And if that's the case, it can be damaging to hear these things out in the open without filter.

We know previously Van Helsing uses Jack as a sounding board, and he is the only person he will break down in front of. At this point, any time the professor has been under stress, he's literally dragged Jack to the nearest room and cried in front of him. So it's possible for Van Helsing this is his way of dealing with the excruciating wait.

For Jack, he doesn't always emote strongly through actions, but rather in his thoughts and observations. We joke that he was pouting because Van Helsing told him to write, but on the other hand, writing will help alleviate some of the stress from Jack as well as put to words what he's been feeling.

Of course, this method of relieving tension isn't perfect. I find it ridiculous that they thought they could examine Mina's sleeping habits and her teeth without scrutiny. Jack's comment about euthanasia is controversial as well, but, isn't the diary meant to be a dumping ground for these impure thoughts? At this moment Mina isn't collecting or transcribing anything.

So, I don't really see these discreet meetings as an overall bad thing. I see them more as safe space to admit their candid feelings in. Not as doctors clinically discussing a case, but just as two best friends unable to do anything else right now but bitch and worry and vent to each other. And they are still waiting for the Czarina Catherine to dock in Varna.

#dracula daily #abraham van helsing #jack seward #john seward #me a van helsing apologist??? its more likely than you think #obviously these guys are issues #too bad therapy wasnt invented yet I think the entire polycule is going to need it #thebibi on vampirez #thebibi post

[cheddertm]

can someone do the Barbie mugshot where Bad is Barbie and Foolish is Ken,,,, idk why but i wanna see it and also bc im right <3

#qsmp #badboyhalo #foolish gamers #like q!bad is learning all the horrors of the island and is terrified for his childs life and the lives of his friends #while q!Foolish is like 'sorry guys i gotta make a dracula castle for a bit but like <3' #also because their dynamic is everything to em its so funny #if you want uhhhh #the binary code monster thing is will ferral #fuck idk how to spell ferrel #anyways barbie au coming out as soon as the movie comes out guys

[gaymber]

okay but dracula thinking that the random mild mannered solicitor who had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with him had died,, after all he disappeared at exactly the time he would have been disposed of

and then coming back to your new home in england (the one he set you up with) only to find some dudes Absolutely Ready To Kill You

and one of them you know hung around renfield

and one of them you might have heard of (if you had any awareness of vampire hunters)

and one of them you know hung around lucy

and one of them Keeps Shooting At You With A Gun Every Time You're In Bat Form

and then one of them comes at you with a knife and youre like wtfwtfwtf whompst and he got a new hairstyle and a new depressive state but Mr. Solicitor?? The Blorbo from my Real Estate Company??

#istg dracula is the worst strategist of all time #but like i need to know if dracula immediately recognised jonathan #or if he went ahh fuck whompst first #because my boy looks Different and Harrowed #i also just love that Professional Vampire Hunter and Cowboy Who Keeps Shooting You feel lower on the threat list than #Real Estate Guy™ #i get why he defenestrated himself that shits wild #dracula #dracula daily #i need pov: dracula so bad #his letters are all addressed to ebony dark'ness dementia raven way #about equivalent states of cognitive functionality between those two

[see-arcane]

i really love your idea of Ghoul for Jonathan it's so good

Thank you! Honestly there are a ton of good monster/cryptid Jonathan ideas out there alongside the 'maybe he's a diet vampire?' theories. The ghoul thing (as I've rambled about before) is born of the whole 'suddenly taking on corpsey coloring' + 'the religious stuff doesn't hurt him and he seems to be All About killing the Count' = 'being generally more eerie and unsettling' = 'freaky creature that hunts the (un)dead and has no known issue with Christian paraphernalia' = that boy seems a bit ghoulish!

And while Dracula absolutely stole a drink the last night in the castle, I've never been 100% on that being a basis for Jonathan being any kind of pseudo vampire born of the Count's nibbling. It'd mean he was tethered to Dracula too, and for a longer period than Mina. But Dracula is shitting bricks enough to run from Jonathan rather than fight him with the kukri in hand. So he clearly suspects something is up with this young man that's worth worrying about. Even when Jonathan had scuttled down the side of the house and was giving chase entirely solo ahead of the others, Dracula never turned to fight him.

Sounds like the kind of thing a walking corpse would do if he knew a ghoul was chasing him with his giant cutlery out.

...But, in hindsight, I can also see a different kind of Semi-Vampire!Jonathan in action here. One that's even more worrisome than Dracula's implied brand of vampire, the Romanian strigoi. Say, the same kind of pallid, washed-out vampires we see in, "The Family of the Vourdalak," by Alexei Tolstoy.

A story which involves vampires who are immune to traditional vampire destruction methods like being staked through the heart, et cetera, and focus obsessively on 'collecting' their loved ones and mercilessly slaughtering anyone else.

As an aside, the eponymous vourdalak vampire (note, more appropriately spelled 'wurdulac', being based on the Russian vampire, but we'll use vourdalak for the gothic lit spelling), Gorcha, is introduced carrying the severed head of a man he was hunting in the mountains.

As another aside, it's implied at the climax that this breed of vampire is bound to their homes/physical location they were turned, meaning the whole village of these washed out, corpse-eyed undead are only a threat to those who enter their territory. Or those who threaten to take away their loved ones.

As another other aside, in, "Dracula's Guest," Stoker's unused prologue to the novel, we see Jonathan come across an undead village in Munich. One that pours out a hoard of vampires from their graves in a wild tide. He blacks out during this; then he wakes to Dracula the Wolf laying on top of him just outside the village's boundary. The story mentions the Wolf licking his throat and the soldiers who find Jonathan notice a mark on his neck.

Now, this could be Dracula taking a first sip long before Mr. Harker gets to the castle; a token for his troubles in keeping the solicitor safe. And maybe that's all it was.

Or else those vampires were not strigoi at all, but something a touch more territorial. Sturdier. Obsessive. Corpse-colored. Driven by love and loathing at their greatest extremes.

The vourdalaks of the short story are shown to need full death for their turning. Jonathan, if he was purely hypothetically bitten by such a vampire before his rescue, would not be at risk of full conversion until the day he died. Certainly not enough to make him an anchored undead bloodsucker. ...But perhaps enough to start suffering some noticeable changes once certain Dracula-shaped stimuli began setting things off.

Which presents the lovely idea of Dracula not just running from a group of vampire hunters, but a group including one very pissed off even worse vampire-in-the-making whose whole deal is 1) Being nigh indestructible and riddled with super strength, 2) Wholly unstoppable when it comes to killing anyone who isn't a loved one; especially someone who just did a great big no-no by biting his wife, and 3) Isn't undead enough to be hampered by the territory rule.

Whether Jonathan's a Semi-Ghoul or a Guaranteed-to-Fuck-You-Up brand of Semi-Vampire, Dracula screwed up regardless, because either way he's now got Gothic Horror Jason Voorhees coming after his head.

#Dracula: You know what maybe it was a bad idea to become this guy's villain origin story after all #jonathan harker #monster jonathan harker #ghoul #vourdalak #wurdulac #vampire jonathan theory #dracula #dracula daily

[technoturian]

Not sorry but Dracula and the vast chasm of difference between the actual book vs. the adaptations is still haunting me. It's like every man with a film budget said "I'm joining the war on toxic masculinity on the side of toxic masculinity"

#Dracula #every time someone likes one of my other Dracula posts I get mad all over again that we don't have 20 Mina and Jonathan movies #like YES the story has some deeply entrenched issues with racism #but you *can* actually drop that and STILL have it be more or less the same story! #turns out the baby-murdering woman-stalking mentally-ill abusing monster still has some reasons to be labeled the bad guy!

[fersrsbizniz]

What I love: seeing the story of Dracula unfold in a different light and making it fresh again for us rereaders

What I am amused by: seeing expectations and theories that either will or won’t come to pass

What I don’t love: seeing people post blatant spoilers in the tag for first time readers

#dracula daily #come on you guys it isn’t that hard to be just a touch more vague #some of you are just flat out telling people who is who and what will be done #where’s the fun in that? #let people theorize and see for themselves #saying I know things will be bad and oooh king laugh are wayyyy different than literal spoilers #I thought there was like a silent agreement we would not spoil a century old book in the dracula daily tag #that’s just reserved for the dracula tag

[achromic-red-dreams-doze-angrily]

the more racist jonathan is the more the jew in me goes "actually? this clearly jewish antisemitic caricature of a vampire SHOULD kill him. he deserves it."

#dracula #dracula daily #THERE'S A BAD GUY HERE AND IT'S NOT DRAC #mood: jewy #dracula retelling where we want dracula to win #i feel like that girl in jojo rabbit who leaned into the conspiracies just to mess with the little nazi boy #like yeah we DO have horns and we DO eat your blood. are you scared? GOOD. YOU SHOULD BE.

[kissmefriendly]

I can’t wait to see what people online are gonna think when Dracula Daily turns from a self-contained psychological horror to an ensemble cast with much larger stakes (aha), mystery solving and a Save The World arc.

#Also all the really bad shit #like when we get there you will know #there already been some rough places in dracula so far but guys - it’s not over at all #either way I’m excited to see what ppl are gonna think #dracula daily #dracula

[another-chaotic-bisexual-vampire]

Somehow Arthur feels very, very close to me. I seem to feel his presence warm about me. 

That's Not Arthur, Babe; That's A Dracula

#dracula is bad you guys #dracula #dracula daily #re: dracula #lucy westenra #dd september 9 #september 9 #dracula september 9 #dracula memes #dracula spoilers

[thefaestolemyname]

Preach it brotha!

#Did not expect a mini-sermon from a scientist trying his hardest not to go mad today #But I got one #Seward's more accurate in his view of God than like half of the Megachurch Pastors down in the States #Crazy America #dracula daily #To be fair Canada ain't doin' too hot for biblically sound preachin' neither #But at least we don't #Actually you know what? #This is not an American slander post #This is a Seward appreciation post #And America's not that bad #You guys have nice mountains

[dread-knight]

Why do you have to write a story for other people to see it I feel like my brain is being stretched in twenty different directions with all the shit I want to make but low energy & not enough time & my own sense of shame makes it so that I’m not doing anything. Gahhh

#Remembered Petrichor and that little story I wanted to do with her…. Baby I have ignored you so hard I’m sorry I promise I still love you- #-ya dumb little freak #There’s also the Carsoro stuff and then the AU with that Sage I posted and I also wanna share dracula bs and like dread knight stuff and aa #Ahhh!! Do you get it!! Why do I have to work a job why can’t I draw little guys. I say knowing in my free time I just decompose watching- #Youtube videos about shit I don’t really care about and playing Isaac for the millionth time in a row #Idk if all rogue likes would be like that for me but Isaac is like. Bad. Edmund I think said he had adhd. That makes sense bc that game is- #-like. The perfect time waster for my brain with its broken ass reward system #My doctor was suprised I wasn’t being treated for my adhd maybe I should bite the bullet and try to see if being on smth for it would make- #-me feel less. Ehhhh #Or at least off antidepressants. Like Christ I feel like water with no ice a lot of the time that can’t be normal #Chatter #I’d say sorry for goign off on a rant but this is my blog I do what I want #I think a big problem is I’m lonely and want irl friends but like. How the fuck do you do that. I was not socialized enough as a puppy #Also I want to. Be open about being Toby but like Christ I’d be jumping in headfirst without even knowing where to begin #I haven’t researched like. Dick or shit about the medical side of it and even just socially transitioning like how the fuck would I explain #Idk. I don’t want to be like. Hated by my own family. I don’t think that would be the case but god. God. I have a fucking anxiety disorder

[isablooo]

I don't understand why some dracula fans act as if the way Stoker writes women isn’t rooted in sexism. Like, it’s okay to like these charas, there’s a lot to like about them, but it’s also undeniable that parts of his writing of female characters and (especially) their relationships with men IS misogynistic. And, I just don’t understand the agenda behind those who deny this??? i know some critics have historically been uncharitable in the way they talk about these female characters but it’s still a book from 1897, so of course it’s going to be rooted in some pretty insidious world views. You can engage with stuff you like critically without having to bend of backwards to pretend it was flawless this whole time. actually.

#why do you want to defend this victorian man so bad #people do this with tolkien's approach to female charas too and I just. I don't get it. #please be realistic guys #people also kinda do this for other bullshit in dracula #del later but I just have to get this out there

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

I think with Dracula I've reached the saturation point of loving it so much that I've ruined my ability to watch any adaptation like I simply have too many strong opinions about all aspects of the story no one who isn't me could come up with a version that hits all my adaptational preferences. I've flown too close to the sun.

#listened to a good chunk of Murray Mysteries again whilst I was cooking my course of a medieval feast #and while I am always grateful for 'it was Jonathan who was bitten' truthers it doesn't make any more sense to exclude Jonathan than Mina #'he's got trauma' fellas you treat trauma differently when the threat is ongoing vs. past and away #*anyway #i could get behind maybe lets keep Jonathan out of like. the dangerous legwork where we might meet the count #but why can't he make phonecalls for the group like??? #besties you're literally just recommending the good ole Victorian rest cure like yeah sit home alone and feel excluded #while you know we're risking our lives :) this will help you heal #like all of these characters should know that this is a bad idea #also murray mysteries you know I think you guys are simply the best dracula adaptation #but where the fuck was Jonathan's visceral despair at realizing his abuser was back and had his claws in him again #like I know you guys were talented enougn to get him there why didn't you