#(not that dracula really needs it imo but it's nice to see)

[xserpx]

Catching up on Re:Dracula and yesterday's (18th September) episode was, dare I say it, bad. The latter half was OK (though I have beef with Jon Simm being too monotonous), but the first half with the zookeeper drove me nuts. Audio levels all over the place, the disparity between the reporter's crystalline ennunciation and the zookeeper's barely audible mumbling was jarring, and frankly I just really didn't enjoy listening to the zookeeper's weird delivery, which was like Mary from Ghosts trying to be spooky. It didn't work for me at all.

Idk. I like the concept of Re:Dracula, but I'm just really not a fan of the hammy style. "This is spooky so we have to sound spooky" makes it sound too unnatural when it really shouldn't. I wish there was more attention paid to emotion - especially the joy and humour - rather than atmosphere. I want more camaraderie, which is a highlight of the book, but I don't really feel like there's much connection at all being expressed in the audio.

[jisuto]

honest opinion about castlevania judgement? a lot of people hate it (with some good reasons)

Short answer: it's a meh game with good music and nice art

Long answer below the cut:

The criticism is well deserved like the horrible camera and imo needs more attack combos. Some movesets are absolutely painful to use while some are just spam spam spam

Best to play a few rounds with your friends

Story mode wasn't very interesting and cutscene animations are.... low effort to say the least

Characters that stood out to me the most: Aeon, Grant, Cornell, and Shanoa

But I will point out that the hate is too much, especially for a spin-off (can't believe some would compare it to main title?? it's just a silly fighting game that isn't canon at all take it easy jfc) I feel bad for IGA like go play THE ACTUAL SERIES NOT THIS LOL and go touch grass

I really like the artwork since I'm a huge Death Note fan but some designs don't suit the characters (cough Sypha cough) though I'm happy to see Grant have an actual design and personality

Wished Soma was in it since he would make all the timelines worst LOL would love to see Alucard and Dracula have a meltdown, it would make the game 10x better

Has dress up. I LIKE. CAT EARS FOR EVERYONE.

Why is golem playable?? Make him a boss like minotaur AND PUT IN SOMA PLS IT'S NOT EVEN A ROCK WHO GREENLIT THIS

Music is great BLOODY TEARS REMIX IS ABSOLUTE FIRE

Attack animations are nice and some are actual moves from the games

Like half of the character models look good, the rest look sloppily put together in a rush so not equal care was put into each one

Look at the pretty art and music instead

[nfcv-saltmine]

NetflixVania in Nocturne absolutely sucks at writing women. They don't write humans they write Mary Sues.

Maria is only the revolutionary, other than that barely any personality.

Annette is just the girl who belittles Richter and has some passion.

Drolta is only there for fan service and she doesn't even stay loyal to Castlevanias way of writing succubi. She starts off as a sexual character when the others disguised themselves as innocent/pure women ex. Sara and Lisa

Drolta turning out to be a succubus had no shock as it was just wings, horns and hair. In LoI the succubus was cool, she looked demonic and spoilt, like Walter showered her in love and pretty things. Drolta has barely any personality in her design.

They could have gone more ram/sheep like in a more innocent disguise and then in her true form went more goat like and showed her wealth.

Also, side note, they could have utilized her hair texture to hold rings and jewels to show how she's Erzabeths pet. Make her look spoilt and demonic.

At least in og NetflixVania Sypha did develop some what, we saw her make mistakes and how it impacted her (even though she blamed it on Trevor)

I wouldn't say Mary Sues, as this character archetype describes female characters that are too perfect. They don't struggle, they're always right, they're excessively idealized... that's not the case here, IMO.

Maria loses a bird in battle, she loses to Erzsebet (literally loses consciousness. Oh and a few birds, but who cares, it's not like we ever see her bond with her creatures), she doesn't really accomplish anything significant. She's only defined by her hate for the church and by her revolutionary status, but it doesn't make her a Mary Sue, just an annoying character.

Tera doesn't do enough to fail much, but she literally gets turned into a vampire at the end of s1.

Even Annette with her big powers loses her temper wich results in the death of Edouard, and she struggles during battles, and also fail at getting rid of the devil forging machine. The first time she got her ex-slave owner at her mercy, he managed to fly away.

Drolta is stopped by Maria's father when she hurt her, and doesn't challenge him, going for Annette instead, with HIS permission. She struggles quite a bit in the fight against Richter and Maria, end up having her ass handed to her by Richter and the only reason why she didn't lose the fight right then and there is because her vampire mommy arrived just in time. And then she gets stabbed by Alucard with ridiculous ease.

Maybe Erzsebet would qualify as a Mary Sue...? I don't remember ever seeing her struggle. Because the plot need her to be invicible to be "scary" and a real threat, apparently. Hah, those writers clearly did not learn from Games!Dracula. Or from any good villain out there. But eh, she's bound to lose at some point, she's still the villain, after all. So I don't know.

But see, that's why I prefer to call NFCV female characters Girlbosses, instead. They're all supposed to be those big strong female characters that we should thirst over because Stronk, when in reality, they're just rude, assholes, incredibly annoying, "sassy", disrespectful with the need to give attitude to male characters all the time. They're not allowed to be soft and gentle. They're not allowed to be just normal. They're not even allowed to be a little silly, like game!Maria was! She was cute in the games, she had that childish innocence, she was a bit naive, very joyful... and it didn't stop her from kicking ass. And though SoTn!Maria lost some of those traits as she matured, she still grew to be gentle and nurturing and compassionnate. All the while still kicking ass.

But NFCV, OG show and Nocturne alike, refuses to give any of those traits to their female characters. It thinks that, just because it's a "mature show" for "adults", it can't make a female character nice and gentle, or vulnerable for more than five seconds. I mean, it is SO incapable of making their female characters "strong" in a different way for once, that they gave Annette powers! They got rid of everything that made her her, got rid of any plot point where she would become a prisoner (well, they did make her a slave, but one that has already freed herself by the time we see her), and just. Gave her powers, and an effeminate male friend to become the damsel in distress instead (ironically, they did with him what they could've do with Annette, if they hadn't been cowards. Also how feminist and "woke" do you have to be to turn a "damsel in distress" into a "strong woman", and THEN give her damsel in distress role to a male character... THAT YOU PURPOSEFULLY DESIGNED TO BE EFFEMINATE. LIKE. THE GIANT LMAO. GUYS THAT'S JUST MISOGYNY WITH EXTRA STEPS). When, friendly reminder, in the games, Annette wasn't physically strong nor had any powers. But she was mentally and emotionnally strong. She was strong in the way that, despite being at Dracula's utter mercy, powerless to do shit if he tried anything, she still held her ground in front of him. She still resisted him. That's some queen shit right there. Also she almost killed herself just so Dracula wouldn't get what he wanted. Of course I'm not saying that Nocturne should've kept her as just "the girlfriend that gets kidnapped", but they didn't need to completely overwrite her character to make positive changes (same thing for the entire show, actually, but who cares at this point). But they did, and the fans cheered for it, despite being fed the same archetype of female character over and over again.

Now concerning Drolta and her design.... I am a bit ashamed to say it, but I did NOT even register that she was even supposed to be a succubus when I first watched the show. Like, I think I ready smth about her possibly being one, before the show came out... but by the time I watched it, I had completely forgotten about this theory, and even as she transformed, I just thought it was normal vampire transformation stuff. Like, that was part of her unique powers. And the fact she has always been slutty and hot did not help when she turned into her true(?) succubus form and got a new "sexy" outfit. But it's my fault, I'm a game fan, I have come to expect cool unique powers and different forms from my vampires. I should've remembered that they can barely turn into bats in NFCV. I definitely think it would have benefited Drolta to be shown as more innocent-looking and pure at first, clashing her appearance with her dangerous personnality, and THEN being revealed as a slutty succubus. As it is now, it really doesn't change anything whether she's a vampire or not. The only changes are physical features that make her look "cooler". That's all she's there for, to be sexy and cool. That's why they turned her from an old woman to a slutty succubus. Her dynamic with Erzsebet doesn't even make Drolta deserving of looking like her "pet". She's a loyal servant, and that's it. At this point they're nothing more but colleagues, really. (Erzsebet lacks any kind of charisma or beauty anyway, who would wanna be her pet? Without being brainwashed, I mean)

[brxkxnhxxrtsclxb]

with the addams family skuklector release getting closer, i’m excited !!

i decided to do my personal ranking (from faves to least faves) of the skullector dolls :3 (this is solely my opinion so it makes sense if others don’t agree)

1. greta

- i think greta is great and so beautiful !! i love what they did with her and she definitely fits the monster high verse !! plus i adore her little three fingered hands >.<

(hoping to one day be able to get her for a reasonable price. i was aware of the skullectors since the first releases but didn’t think they’d be worth it so that’s my fault T_T)

2. bride of chucky (chucky and tiffany)

- the first set of skullectors i got because i adore chucky and tiffany. i think they’re cute and great :3 i also love how they yassified them to look more monster high. my personal favorite of the two is tiffany. i just love her dress and the pattern of blood splattered hearts is too cute to me♡ also love her black nails. i do wish her beauty mark were a tad bigger. chucky is cute too but i won’t lie, would’ve been nice if he was a manster cuz we need more >.< but overall i’m happy with her too

3. nightmare before christmas (jack and sally)

- like many, i love this movie and anything tim burton. its always spoken to me for some odd reason. jack and sally are too cute imo. i love love sally’s face !! i think the monster high look works well with her♡ also love how long her hair is !! jack is amazing. i love the new mold and i feel he also fits right in the monster high world. he’s a skeleton with a round head. he looks odd and i think that’s what helps him fit in :3 love that they incorporated the spiral hill on his heels

4. addams family (morticia and wednesday)

- oh, the addams family. i’ve been obsessed with the addams family since fifth grade. i won’t lie, i was at first a little bummed out we weren’t getting a couple set with gomez and morticia, but after seeing the reveal of wednesday and morticia, i can’t be mad. they’re really cute imo. love love morticia (her shoes are great imo) and wednesday is a cutie (cousin itt and thing on her heels is a cute detail as well) :3

(maybe it was for the best they didn’t include gomez since mansters barely get any love. i’m afraid they wouldn’t have put as much effort into him >.<)

5. annabelle

- i think annabelle came out really cute. also think they did the same as with the bride of chucky set. they yassified her to fit the monster high verse and i think it works :3 i love her dress, especially the blood drip pattern on the bust area

6. bride of frankenstein (the monster and bride)

- i think this set is really cute despite the bride not actually liking the monster. they look great together and although simple, they match the vibe of the original and monster high to me. love the little ballerina in a beaker detail on the bride’s shoes and the monster being our first manster is great !! just would’ve been nice if he were taller and had some actual hair instead of it being molded since he’s a collector doll. i do love his shoes !!

7. pennywise

- i think she looks good. definitely captured the character well in terms of look, but i do wish she had a more crazed look on her face but overall she’s great for what we got :3 i love her little red ballon and paper boat accessories♡

8. elvira

- she’s cool as a doll, but i have no attachment to the character sadly since she’s such an icon and heard she’s also hilarious (show’s on my watch list). overall. i think she’s really pretty to look at and i think she looks so good in the monster high style. her face just suits it so well !! also love her little dagger belt and think they did her hair so well :3

9. dracula

- love the vibe and black and white with pops of red aspect she has going on, but she’s definitely lower on the list because she’s kind of boring to me. i know the bride of frankenstein set are also more on the plain side, but for some reason dracula wasn’t able to get me T_T her shoes are cool though !! i adore the little detail of opening the coffin heels to reveal a mini bela lugosi inside♡

10. the shining (grady twins)

- not my fave. they’re twins so it’s technically two of the same doll and much like the source material… they’re just there. they’re cute but do not captivate me. i do like that one looks more serious than the other and their shoes are also cute

11. beetlejuice (beetlejuice and lydia)

- not a fan. never liked the way they did beetlejuice. it just doesn’t look right imo and my least favorite of the set is lydia. i don’t like her face, much less her bangs. the shoes on both dolls are cool though. just didn’t like how this set turned out T_T

12. creature from the black lagoon

- the gill-man definitely removed dracula from my least favorites list and bumped up the beetlejuice set in terms of liking them better. wasn’t a fan of the gill-man as soon as i saw her. just doesn’t go well with the rest of the universal monsters skullector line up. while the other three have the distinct black and white with a pop of color aspect to them, the creature is way too saturated (makes less sense since the movie is black and white so it was cool they kept the black and white elements in the previous dolls). head sculpt is cool and i do think it’s creative she got the arm accessories and boots to look like the gill-man’s traits but overall, i do not vibe with her, making her my least favorite

that’s it for me regarding the skullectors !! can’t wait to see the sanderson sisters coming out in september :3 i’m not attached to the characters, they’re cool and funny but i will be skipping the three pack !!

i can’t wait to hear the next rumors of what next year’s skullectors will be >:3

[ladyaster]

I love Order of Ecclesia a ton, I had a resurgence for my love for it at the start of 2021 and it’s been two years since and it never went away. However, I wanna share some love for probably my favorite NPC in the game.

Ecclesia is partly such a great title because of the villagers (it’s also in general a heartwarming, wholesome, tragic work of art that’s also super fun to play through), though sadly aside from Laura (who I do think has a great backstory, though while I do see why people do ship it, I don’t really ship her with Shanoa since I hc Shan as ace/aro (which admittedly is very mild projection as an ace myself but also she just kinda gives those vibes IMO but anyone else’s hcs are valid too) and as such I don’t ship her with anyone, sorryyy) and sometimes Monica (who is a precious baby who needs to be protected, it’s okay cinnabun your dresses are great), they don’t get the love they deserve because they’re all so endearing. Except George, heck him. However, I wanna give special mention in particular to Daniela. The Daniela sidequests are the best ones in the game IMO and they always make me wanna cry. I love how as is we’re getting insight to Shanoa’s talents outside of killing monsters, and as an artist myself I love how it’s drawing of all things, so like post-game we can imagine what she’s doing with her life once everything’s over and she’s just living as an illustrator with three cats. But what gets me is their friendship the whole way through. In general it helps that Daniela is a sweet old lady who offers cake even to Albus, and it turns out she’s a legit Belmont which suddenly makes her the coolest granny ever, but her giving Shanoa that sketchbook not only helps her unlock parts of herself she thought she lost to Dominus (maybe even helping some of her emotions start to regrow), but the way they bond over both the drawings and the locations drawn in them is so bittersweet. From the little things like “oh you’re so talented! Here’s a nice hat for you!” to the deep things like the life and times of one of the last members of a heroic bloodline, it’s wonderful. Even moreso is how Daniela uses the fact she’s lost so many people in her life as well as her possible dementia to help relate to Shanoa better and reassure her that she’s not alone on this difficult path. Heck, she knows as a Belmont what she’s fighting against, and says she’s always welcome to come back and even wants to celebrate her eventual victory against Dracula. They even throw in dialogue reminiscent of that one line from Spirited Away in there and...aaaaa.

Gosh this game hits me in the feels. The epilogue to this game is Shan knocking on Daniela’s door, immediately hugging her when she opens it, and asks with tears still streaming down her face: “Can we have cake, now?” T^T

[beevean]

isaactor hecula isaacula for the bingo? for fun, trevor/grant too

👀

Isaactor:

The divorsties 🥰

I got in an Isaactor mood again after picking up my old WIP, which is funny because the chapter I'm working on is mostly Hector bashing Isaac like the bitter ex that he is :P but yeah. They have a relationship. Not sure what kind of relationship, but they definitely have one. I wish at least one of the prequels fed me more than the smallest of breadcrumbs.

... I'm just weak for that "we're fundamentally incompatible and we are toxic for each other and we are using each other for our deepest selfish needs and yet we are so close that we're part of each other and I can't imagine my life without you" thing that is rotating in my head. Then you add the divorce, and you have a beautiful mess <3

Hecula:

"It's not my OTP," I say, as I squee fangirl-style everytime I see someone fall in hell with me, or even better draw fanart/talk about it. I may be in denial :P

Anyway, yadda yadda, it's abusive, it's gross, it's Problematic™, it hits those very nice tropes that make my brain rot faster than fruit in summer (age gap, abuse of power imbalance, mentor/protégé, manipulation...), IMO it enriches Hector's character arc of finding freedom and agency in the human world, I am utterly fascinated by how Dracula's feelings for Hector are described in Japanese, it's Lenector done right.

(I was about to tick "it would never work in canon but", just to get that bingo, but I can't lie. After all, it's canon and I have proof :P although I admit there is a lot of heavylifting to do here since we know very little of what Hector thought of Dracula pre-betrayal)

Isaacula:

The mirror opposite of Hecula. Isaac adores his Lord and would nullify himself for him, and Dracula is, at best, only mildly amused to have a dog at his beck and call, but won't grant him the Special Treatment that Isaac craves :P I still rotate in my head various possibilities on what Dracula does to Isaac, from completely ignoring him, to only feeding on him but pretty much for necessity, to also using him as a toy but without any sort of fondness, just a way to manipulate him and keeping him happy and compliant.

Sidenote, I find somewhat amusing that Isaac is "merely" Dracula's loyal servant in canon, as in one that simply didn't even think of betraying his Lord, but it's just so, so easy to imagine him as being utterly, selflessly devoted to the point of self-destruction. It's because of the collar and tattoos. Because Isaac has a fantastic character design that tells you everything you need to know about him without anyone explaining it to you. (and personally, I've always loved his line "if you have a good weapon, you use it, don't you?", which just. says a lot about him. my broken boy <3)

And second sidenote, I honestly wonder why any combination of Dracula/Hector/Isaac seems to be so unpopular, even back in the day when people were far less picky regarding ships :\ (N!Isaactor is quite popular, but I haven't found anything for N!Isaacula and N!Hecula. The latter sucks so I understand, but idk, are people really afraid of some good lord/servant ship even when positive like in the former's case?)

Gravor (?)

I see them as fire-forged besties (or "besties" 😏), but I can absolutely see the romantic appeal! Also their relationship is underrated in general because Grant is underrated in general :(

[chasingfictions]

hmm, I love all of your takes so much.....I am trying to think of an opinion we haven't talked about...alright so I've been thinking about how I would have fixed "seeing red" & at least in terms of spike's arc I think I have a decent idea. because I do like the idea that he takes things too far & realizes he needs a soul, like, as a concept. the execution is where they lose me. what if instead spike tried almost successfully to turn buffy into a vampire so they could finally belong together? I think her disgust & horror could've nailed home that he needed to change for him just as well. I've also thought of the idea that he could just successfully kill someone somehow even with the chip & same outcome, but I somewhat do like the idea that for it to be drilled in for him it has to be a specific horrible action against buffy. trying to change her so she can be with him could be the ultimate bad thing he did. idk if that's an opinion so much as an idea for a fic or something lmao but there you have it lol

send me your opinions & I say whether or not I agree

Omg no i truly love this as a fix it???? bc for one thing it Does feel so pointed like, that spike never tries to bite her even once for the whole season when he can hurt her,, like the most he ever says in wrecked is “maybe some day I will bite you” but it’s SO empty as a threat??? like that’s never what he Wants it to be about, and like for all that people (erroneously imo) say s6 spuffy is entirely about spike trying to like, separate buffy from her loved ones and bring her “down to his level” , it’s really not. like he genuinely thinks she would be happier if she acknowledged and embraced her dark side, and ultimately he just wants to see her happy? see- “it’s nice to see you happy, you glow” in hells bells and the way in as you were the second buffy says “and it’s killing me” he stops arguing the breakup or even earlier in life serial “yeah it is [your kind of fun] and your life’s gonna get a lot less confusing when you figure that out”

so to go from entropy onwards where his arc is losing that perspective and becoming so warped in losing her that he decides to try to make her a vampire in a fit of blind desperation? Works with the story intentions for seeing red from a character arc place , doesn’t traumatize actors or audience, AND is kind of gorgeous within his arc of like?????

spike as buffy’s shadow !! spike tries to make buffy a souless vampire and that’s what triggers him to become a souled vampire ???? Bc spike is buffy!!! spikes arc is Buffy’s arc and you have Buffy’s shadow trying to put her back in the grave out of fear and anger??? and then a final episode where Buffy’s shadow goes underground to the cave and buffy is underground in that grave with dawn and they both emerge in this same moment, undead and reborn and re-reborn!!!! Out of the grave!!!! And what does that MEAN??? and sabdkrkfjdb??/?:!:!:

And ALSO fits with the themes that have been circling around since buffy vs dracula??? That buffy vs dracula makes buffys psychosexual longing for vampires explicit and it’s no coincidence that she starts flirting with beating up spike every episode after that episode . Buffy vs Dracula with dracula saying see you want to be like us, you want to be dead, and Buffy rejecting it. Fool for Love with spike saying every slayer has a death wish, you’re just a little bit in love with it, and the way spike IS right, and the subtext of him as a dead man saying that to her is RIFE, but in the end of that episode it’s not death they connect in, but LIFE. Spike shows up to kill her and instead they BREATHE TOGETHER, because of mortal mundane death, because of family, because of empathy. so??? an alternate seeing red could carry out that same throughline that’s been present since season 5 — fuck, since season 1, since nightmares — and once again, it’s a vampire telling buffy you want this you want to be dead. and they’re not wrong , but also they ARE. Buffy wants to be dead but buffy wants to be alive MORE. and her shadow , spike, finally recognizes that in that moment, recognizes that both are true at once, and seeks a soul. Souls as empathy and souls as the complicated stuff of feeling everything to the fullest and this act which lets both truths coexist, that buffy wants to die and buffy wants to live, because spike is dead and will always be dead but he has taken the stuff of life into him with this almost blind faith. (Someone stop me I’m thinking about the fool in the tarot again) ANYWAY. The vampire who sought a soul. The dead man who is so close to life who falls in love with a woman who is so alive and so close to death. spike returning in season 7, still dead, but having sought life, having sought the complication of life and its still working around inside of him. literally once more with feeling, LIFE’s NOT A SONG LIFE ISNT BLISS LIFE IS JUST THIS IT’s LIVING . YOULL GET ALONG. THE PAIN THAT YOU FEEL IT ONLY CAN HEAL BY LIVING. YOU HAVE TO GO ON LIVING, SO ONE OF US IS LIVING.

spike trying to turn buffy into a vampire affirming that!!!! YOU HAVE TO GO ON LIVING. fuck. FUCK. I’m broken rn hi anyway this is CANON and you’re so SMART and I know I already wrote a whole seeing red fix it but I wanna write another one about this or read yours this is so good I’m gonna cry,????? This is canon to me this is so smart HI

[larsafdracas]

seeing as I'm currently reading the heirs of the night books (I'm at book four), I think it's time to do some comparing and ranting hehe.

(Warning: spoilers for the books if you haven't read them yet and plan on doing that.)

things that are different from the show:

– a lot, tbh. Which doesn't mean it's bad! The show is amazing imo, but it's pretty different from the books which is a fact that can't be denied.

– Dracula for example has a lot less appearances, especially in the first three books. Then, he starts to have a bigger and more important role as (main) antagonist.

– a lot of characters from the books aren't in the show, which is very sad. A few others are still there but much younger, for example Luciano who originally was the same age as Alisa, Ivy and Lars.

– speaking of Lars: his name in the books is Franz Leopold de Dracas, nicknamed Leo (fortunately), and he's from Vienna, Austria, like the rest of the Dracas clan. He's an arrogant jerk in the beginning (especially in book one) but gets better. Slightly better. He also used to have a crush on Ivy (they even kissed once), but it didn't last long as soon as he found out she wasn't born as a vampire. He still ends up with Alisa tho. He has dark hair and brown eyes (as far as I remember), so he and Alisa basically swapped appearances (in the books she's blonde with blue eyes).

– and before I forget it; the vampire academy doesn't take place on board of a ship over the span of a few weeks or months (tbh I've kind of forgotten the time line of the show). Instead, every school year is spent in another country with the respective clan. The first year is in Rome with the Nosferas, the second in Ireland with the Lycana, the third in Paris with the Pyras, the fourth is in Vienna with the Dracas, and the fifth is probably in London with the Vyrad. (I'm still at book four, so I'm not completely sure, but seeing as book five is called Vyrad, the chances are pretty good.)

– Nicu and Calvina aren't characters from the books, but they're basically genderbent versions of two other characters I'll mention again later. Seeing as I don't like Nicu that much anyways, it's not that bad of a thing.

– Ivy has silver hair! And Seymour actually is her twin brother. They're the children of a druid, Tara, and Seymour is a werewolf. They got turned into a vampire (Ivy)/werewolf (Seymour) to ensure peace between the vampires and werewolves of Ireland. It's a long story. They're both over a hundred years old btw.

– the Noaidi isn't a book character either.

– oh right and the clans don't need any rubies to possess their powers, they just developed them over time and can easily teach it to other vampires.

Things from the books I wish they'd kept in the show:

– Latona!! I love her so much, and she and Alisa could have bonded over being annoyed by misogyny. (For everyone who hasn't read the books: Latona is basically female Nicu but much more awesome. She's the niece of the vampire hunter Carmelo and falls in love with Malcolm. She also basically has a found family type of relationship with Bram fucking Stoker, yk, the guy who wrote Dracula (and who has a lot of guest appearances in the books).

– the fact that the Dracas are from Vienna. As an Austrian, this deeply offends me.

– the fact that Lars/Leo has drunk human blood before he did that ritual thing that officially made him an adult. (Like, way before. The ritual happens when they're like 17, and the academy started when he was 13, and he'd already drunk it by then.)

– the whole thing with a vampire's body automatically falling asleep at sunrise. unlike in the show, they can't stay awake during the day. It doesn't matter where they are, they just fall over like they just died lol. It isn't called rigor mortis for nothing I guess.

– and, of course, the fact that Leo can fight with a sword and is really good at it. His cousins/relatives, Anna Christina, Karl Philipp and Marie Luise can fight with a sword, too, but Anna Christina is the only one of the three who's as good as Leo.

This ended up being longer than I thought lol. Thank you if you've read all of this! I might reblog this with additions some time later, depending on how much stuff I forgot to say. Until then, bye! Have a nice day!

(And don't forget to drink enough water and eat something. We humans sadly have to do a lot more than vampires to stay healthy.)

[glitchlight]

castlevania s4 thoughts

this is basically a live tweet thread but I didn’t live tweet it because a) spoilers for something fairly fresh and b) [ASSHOLE]’s name is all over this, as he was apparently fired after his role had wrapped up anyways.

the tl;dr for s4 and the whole of the series imo is “Incompetent Writing Well Executed” because there are frankly juvenile editing and pacing mistakes everywhere but the animation, voicework, and design are often exceptional.

i also think it’s constructive for creators to develop a strong editorial eye and to be able to see what the flaws in other works are, and what works well, a lot of my thoughts are specifically tied into that, and also criticism since I basically watched it because I have friends modestly interested in finishing it but not wanting to touch it because of [ASSHOLE]. this contains modest spoilers but a lot of the later plot details i refer to only obliquely.

-boy it doesn't feel great seeing [ASSHOLE]'s name as the first name on the title card. I get giving people their due in writing but you could've had a slighly longer title card to elevate the people who worked on it aside from [ASSHOLE] so we can celebrate them. -you could teach the first half of the first ep as what not to do in setting up plot threads it's that blatantly obvious -lenore and hector are basically different characters from s3 because [ASSHOLE] needed to introduce more intrigue to Carmilla's court. -Women need trauma to be villains hack shit. -must we introduce a morally grey androgynous woman of color badass who doesn't care about the deaths of her allies -fly demon becomes a character just cause people liked his scene lol hack shit -isaac remains easily the best and most interesting character in the series (aside from the problematic elements of his character) -fantasy "i'm blocking your number" scene is funny -Vampire Lady Hot -THEY GENDER FLIPPED GRANT??? -boy the animation budget for episode 4 got slashed for no reason?? it looks way worse than the preceding material. -cool st. germain's back and the girl he's into is literally a voiceless random badass-- the fourth such one this season? [ASSHOLE] is a hack but come the fuck on. - I personally liked the implications St. Germain was from a different physical reality than ours or at least a different timeline (such as with the triangular notebook, which I know was a real thing but serves a different purpose as shorthand in a series when it passes without mention like that) but him being from europe still is boring. - the library dimension is fun but would be less jarring if it weren't so visibly 3D in a series that ostensibly aims to be 2D - Yet Another Nameless WoC Morally Grey Badass Facilitating White Male Plot huh. - I get that we're doing a "St. Germain is of the same as Dracula" plot here and that "in service of love people do terrible things" but it's undercut by how much I hate St. Germain as a character and don't give a shit about him. - also, furthermore, i just straight up hate narratives that have to tell you a villain's motivations in detail by giving them perspective. it's hack shit.   - the infinite corridor is a weird plot element that doesn't really add anything to this story beyond a fabled otherworld and some cool aesthetics. -god lenore you interupted hector last season saying "the real people are talking" and now you care about him?? [ASSHOLE] is an idiot. - this entire series of fights is rendered toothless by remembering alucard can literally control his sword with his mind and is just holding it for plot convienence. - this scene of sypha and trevor both, separately, doing what they do best is a good scene. i've been critical of a lot but this is a good scene. - we're triggering the endgame now? like right now? Carmilla's been in one scene. Like I know the prior seasons have been criticized for being too much set up but this is literally set up into climax already?? - well here's where the money from episode 4 went. - You spent all that time in season 3 setting up the sisterhood and then didn't make them the villains of season 4 huh. Fuck off. That's so fucking stupid. - AND HECTOR AND ISAAC?? YOU HAVE FOUR MORE EPISODES YOU ABSOLUTE CLOWN - I am Russian I am Soldier - Soldier boy having the same rant as carmilla we get it vampires are bad -stock-child-laughing-soundeffect.mp3 - "Of course I'm insane!" "The fuck what now?" is actually a kind of fun line. - [ASSHOLE]'s writing style isn't so much a puzzle box plot, one of many moving parts intricately sliding together, so much as heaps of mud being flung at the page from a half dozen different hands. It all sticks together but it does so messily and only with great violence. - this is just a kaiju -Where did this second vampire army even come from, who the fuck is Dorgon or whatever? Was this written for Carmilla's army then got changed because that would make way more sense than this rando -Boy I'm not comfortable with this slur being thrown around even if it's usage is complicated. -the inversion of the invasion in dracula's castle hall is a nice touch. - they did the op as fight music thing. - ah damn this guy has the same fight gimmick as a character i was gonna do dope though - Sypha continues to have the best fight scenes which makes up for her not having a character arc this season in [ASSHOLE]'s eyes. - That plot twist is okay I guess but it's very funny that he talks like that. And says Fucked Up. - I can't believe that after one of the biggest critiques of season 2 was that there were a bunch of vampire fights with nameless voiceless vampires who don't matter and you don't care about, it ends the exact same way. at least the fights are weirder and better than the kind of lifeless scene in S2. - This trope is so common but still works. - This ending is, par for the course in this adaptation of Castlevania, rather anti-climactic - You had to make the shoutout, and i bet you felt so clever [ASSHOLE] - Is that finale worth it in the end. like hell yeah good animation but fuckin didn’t make a lick of sense. - that bit of cleaning up got me to cry but only because i'm a tender-hearted idiot. - this ending is far too tidy (Hack shit) and the sequel hook is bullshit dumbfuckery. - FEET

[a-deadly-serenade]

overall this season was pretty decent. i have some thots whats new so im gonna share them below the cut if anyone’s interested :)

so!! first off i’ll say that there were a lot of things i did really enjoy from season 4!

the action was super fun as always!! i loved all the crazy enemies and callbacks! the skeleton fight and all those little goblins they kept killing throughout were a nice touch ;) sypha’s use of her powers is INSANE her ice-chainsaw?? her WALL of fire?? electric balls?? come on. and the animation was NICE. i really wanna know who did most of the fight scenes bcuz the style is so different and it just POPS but in a really good way? 

my favorite fight has to be ofc when everyone is REUNITED yes im basic. but the THEME song going off and well, im a whore for sotn references and i CAME when i saw the leap stone ref w the winged cape or when alucard turned into a hoard of batss AND THEN HIS WOLF FORM OOOOHH BABY!!! actually episode 9 is just a straight banger.

STRIGAAA. STRIGA. oh mama i was sweating during that fight. mad kudos to her va for them growlsss

carmilla vs isaac was a lot of fun and i loved the visuals but my hype was instantly ruined when i saw her kill herself 😭but thats smth i’ll complain about later.

not all the lines were bangers, some of sypha’s swearing seemed even a bit too much at times, and it was especially jarring to be having a face-to-face death-math with literal Death and hes acting like a naughty little 5 year old thats just learnt to swear. maybe cut back on the fuck-isms? just a bit? BUT when they hit they did GOOD. “the fuck what now?” yes

ISAAC. you weren’t in this season as much but man do u still shine through. i loved his introduction back in the town where he has his night creatures digging graves and rebuilding the city 😭 and then the conversation he shares w his flyman?? obsessed.

Hector chopping his finger off and giving lenore and carmilla a good ol FUCK YOU!! as he helps isaac. we love to see it

Trevor and Sypha’s “I love you!” “I know.” <3

DEATHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

oh! alucard actually having a story & purpose in the plot? :) luv it love to see it. that being said... the Plot. 

its... ok? it’s kind of split up into 3/4 parts, as the story progresses, one eventually merges with several of the others kind of? cohesively? while leaving the other to sort itself out.

now, i didnt have too many qualms with it, it was pretty straight forward. dracula is going to be resurrected and we have sypha and trevor looking in on it, while alucard helps the nearby village and hector and isaac go on about bringing on their inevitable showdown. however, the way the story was paced and some of the decisions they made... werent so great.

st. germain for example, brought the ENTIRE momentum from the last few episodes to a halt. you have sypha and trevor fighting through heaps and heaps of monsters only to find themselves back in Targoviste where they meet the mysterious Zamfir!! and Alucard!! he’s been asked to help save this village!! all jam-packed with crazy action and animation that leaves you fired up!! and then episode 5 comes to a screeching halt and we spend nearly the entire thing on st. germain’s backstory and explaining his motives for the rest of the season

like. imma be real with you chief: he didnt need to be here lol. you could have just left varney as the main vamp in charge of bringing back big daddy drac and he could reveal to his.. idk henchmen or something that he’s death. but u gotta fill them ten 20 minute slots somehow!! he just fell so flat and unfortunately, a lot of the side-characters suffer from this this season.

i enjoyed great and zamfir, i love their desgins esp, but they really could have been fleshed out more. zamfir is shown as nothing but a spoiled brat the majority of the time she’s on screen but they wait till she’s about to die to try and turn her character around? huh? greta is given a bit more screentime but this sudden confession of feelings in the last episode felt so... huh?? why couldnt she just be dedicated to her people and show that u can love someone w/out necessarily being their partnr? i thot that was her whole thing; taking care of her people. it’s like. where did this come from. they cant have known each other more than a week at most dog 😭

it sucks they dedicated to much time to scenes that didnt really need to be there where we could have gotten this proper development, like maybe have a scene zamfir and sypha connect over struggles they’ve dealt with in the past and that has her open up about how traumatizing dracula’s attack on her city was. u could have expanded upon her role in the court and WHY she worshipped the monarchy so much instead of making it a throwaway gag about her being “crazy”. but why have that when we could instead spend the first 5 minutes of said episode watching a monotonous back-and-forth b/w varney and that big burly russian vampire who’s name im sure mor than 98% of the audience cant even remember? 

just a lot of fat that needed to be trimmed so that the actual MEAT of the story could be slow cooked to perfection. people really arent kidding when they say less is more. 

another big problem i had was there... i dont even know what to call it, re-humanization? redemption? of Lenore. like lmk if im wrong but she manipulated hector, yeah? coerced sex to slip on that ring that binds him to her?? orr whatever weird shit warren’s into. but the way they interacted, ESPECIALLY in their first major scene together was sooo uncomfortable to watch lol at first i thought perhaps hector was only playing along because well. hes enslaved to do her and carmilla’s bidding. but no, he actually LIKES her. he spares her when isaac comes around, he says that he wants to keep her as his own. and in the meantime, lenore finds time to complain to a man that’s been beaten and enslaved how upset it makes her that carmilla got angry at her 😭 or says thats she tired of isaac keeping tabs on her and wants to escape this ‘cage’. to  aman thats literally been imprisoned since youve known him 😭her death is seen as peaceful, calm, they even try and tug at ur heartstrings by swelling this sad, dramatic music as the sun rises. really? LENORE?

and carmilla’s death happened WAYY too early imo. she was the villain for practically 3 seasons and this is how she goes? isaac couldnt get more than a stab at her? his night creatures couldnt take a nibble? HECTOR couldnt even be given a chance to do somethng like come on

the resolution was... strange? it was cute!! and happy!! but i dunno if they really needed to have lisa and vlad coming back, but, like i said; it was cute! definitely not the ending i was expecting. 

i’m glad that they put their focus back on what made the show so much fun and that was the FIGHTS. they definitely helped add some much needed spice to things when scenes started to drag, but im a gal that really luvs a good story and even though reviews were raving that this season helped closed the lid on all the themes theyd been exploring, i just didnt really see that. which isnt necessarily a BAD thing, i knew i wasnt gonna find some deep introspective themes in this hack n slash horror-fantasy, its just what can turn somethng like this from an ok show to a GREAT one. 

in the end, im glad they stopped at this one and im curious to see if they really DO go ahead on making spin-offs. bcuz unfortunately, i will always be down for som new castlevania content

[amuelia]

I'm not sure if you've ever mentioned anything about this but how do you feel about show Roose? I was really sad to see his character get cut so much but I really like his voice,,,,it's a good Roose voice ( also it's CRIMINAL how they took away the Bolton's pink like they don't even wear anything but black in the show 😭😭 ) (( also also I absolutely love your art YOU MAKE SO MUCH GOOD ART OF UNDER APPRECIATED CHARACTERS ITS SO GOOD TO SEE 🥺😭♥️♥️ ))

I think the actor is very handsome and talented! I like reading his Interviews, he seems very intelligent and you can see the thought he put into his character and his scenes. He did a great job with the material he was given, and i think it’s very understandable and professional that he read the first books but then decided to focus his portrayal on the show scripts, because the way they wrote him was too different.

Did you read the books before you started filming? I read the books before I started. Well, I read two of the books, and then I stopped actually. Because the character in the books is very, very different to the character in the show. The core differences were he spoke with a whisper. He never raised his voice. He had no emotion on his face. I remember there's a [line] that joy and laughter were very similar. So you couldn't play that. It's fine if it was the Roose Bolton show, you could do something like that. The character was not written like that at all. So it kind of did me a disservice reading the books. So I put them aside and just concentrated on the character in the scripts. - Michael McElhatton, IGN interview

But also, in the end, what he mentions about the difference is part of why, as a book stan, the show version doesn’t interest me that much; it’s not even about him specifically, but just a general thing all the show characters share. Just like most other characters they adapted, they completely suck the fun out of the character grrm wrote - no leeches, no icy eyes or pale face, no pink house sigil; ending up with a character that pretty much looks and acts like every other dude. I don’t need Roose to look like Dracula (as much as i love it, the long dark hair for example is not book canon, since his hair is never described), but he should be memorable! Instead, i often hear that people new to the show don’t remember his s2 scenes, or mix him up with other regular looking dudes like Stannis, or otherwise don’t remember him. One of grrm’s biggest strengths is how with just a few traits he makes every character memorable and distiguishable; think about any random character and youll probbaly remember at least one “special trait” that sets their appearance or personality apart from the rest. The show completely falls flat in this regard, ironically making it so that the books make better use of the “visual medium” than the show does.

Apart from that, visually the actor is ok; Considering a Dance with Dragons came out at a similar time as the first season and the casting process takes a while, I don’t blame them for leaving out some details of his character descriptions (for example his “ageless” appearance or the small close-set eyes are only mentioned in aDwD). His height (175cm, influenced my hc for the book version) and body type are close to the book, though i wish they’d left him clean-shaven like in s2 for the entire show. He has a bit of a long face which fits with the book’s northmen. He’s no Supermodel but i heard him called handsome frequently, so idk if that fits with the book description “not handsome but not quite plain”; i love interesting faces more than conventionally attractive ones so i can’t really judge objectively. Voice is imo too deep (imdb also calls it “commanding”), i imagine him having more of a mid range voice; and the actor also just talks normally instead of being notably whispery/quiet.

In terms of characterization, as the actor hints at, I do not think they are written very similarly. Roose in the books is a character who is ruled by an underlying fear/anxiety that drives him to, at all times, ensure his own safety and health (I elaborate on this more in this meta); The show version the way i remember it does not show this a lot. He doesn’t have the leeching scene and if he has scenes about being obsessed with health they werent prominent enough for me to remember (maybe the Jaime scene included some book dialogue?). He is serious, but he does not act emotionless to hide his feelings (Though the show scene where he says he doesn’t drink was a nice touch; it is not completely congruent with book canon, but brings across the same idea that he wants to be in control of a situation and his feelings).

For a bigger example: Show!Roose’s characterization in the Red Wedding episode shows him acting very confident and in a great mood, bantering with Cat, and staying in the room the entire time while wearing chainmail; while in the books he barely eats and doesn’t talk to Cat, is shown exchanging threatening glances with Walder, and leaves early to ensure his own safety only to return fully decked out in armor to give Robb the final blow. In the books, imo, you can see that he is stressed out by the situation; because while he planned it very thoroughly with Lothar Frey, it is still a great risk for such a cautious man to take, and he needs to trust that Walder doesn’t backstab him.

Bolton had made a toast to Lord Walder's grandsons when the wedding feast began, pointedly mentioning that Walder and Walder were in the care of his bastard son. From the way the old man had squinted at him, his mouth sucking at the air, Catelyn knew he had heard the unspoken threat.  

They are not necessarily great story-changing differences, but to me still paint a different picture of his character. People always say “oh a character doesnt need to look exactly like the descriptions as long as the actor works for the story, oh you dont need to adapt every little character detail as long as the story is intact”, but do this too much and somewhere along the way you lose what makes the character themselves. The small details and human traits are what makes me love a character, so if those are missing i end up not seeing them as a an adaptation of the same guy, even if the plot is similar. I do think there are scenes in the show where you can see the scriptwriter read the books and put in some of the book characterization, but the general direction of the character is still different.

I also loathe the s2 change that had Arya as Tywin’s cupbearer; it removes one (/two) of Roose’ best chapters and also the one that establishes a lot of his character traits and Red Wedding foreshadowing. The Tywin-Arya scenes are everything wrong with the show; changing scenes arbitrarily to prop up fan-favourite characters (later culminating in stuff the s7 wight hunt), bad “feminism” (like Arya saying “most girls are idiots”), having characters act OOC to be more “likable” or “sympathetic” (like that weird “fatherly” way Tywin acts towards Arya), ignoring how people in that time period and universe act (as if a man like Tywin would even glance at a servant), etc etc... here is a great post on that scene by @turtle-paced.

As far as the post-s3 scenes go I’m not a fan (though i did not rewatch those a lot, so feel free to remind me if i forgot something). i don’t like that they made Ramsay the main character of the plot, with Roose merely as a supporting role side character; the books give Roose a great arc starting in aDwD that imo is needed as a continuation of the Red Wedding plot. They pretty much cut out the Winterfell aDwD story (one of my fave storylines in asoiaf) entirely and replaced it with forgettable scenes. Replacing Jeyne with Sansa not only makes no sense for Littlefinger but also for Roose, since that makes him antagonize the Iron Throne. His death scene was so bad that it makes me hopeful he will have a bigger story in the books, and that they just culled him because they wanted to thin out plots like they did with Mance, Barristan, and Stannis.

Though in the end, while i don’t like the show’s writing and visual direction, i do still thank them for making the Boltons such prominent characters; They seem to have gained a lot of fans through the show, and are regarded as very important characters (i even see them in some “great houses” gifsets). They are of course also important in the books, but not as prominent/central as for example Ramsay was in s6. So even if they are adapted badly (Show Ramsay is especially bad), if they make people interested in their book counterparts, it’s still some sort of a win in my book.

(Also, thank you so much!! Glad you enjoy my art ❤️❤️)

[raggeddypond]

Unpopular opinion, but I personally LOVED the idea of Dracula falling for Agatha. It might be a cliche, but the chemistry with them was there from the beginning. like i was shipping them hard within the first 2 minutes of them interacting. Enemies to lovers is nice ok. They were both curious about the other and had simalirities, both sassy, passionate, smart, wicked even and they understood each other I think. Am I the only one who saw it that way?

They just had SO much potential, I was actually excited for episode 3 being set in modern times until they RUINED it! They really messed up with that episode and I was really upset to see all that potential go down the toilet.

The first two episodes were amazing. The actor who plays Dracula and Van Helsing are both incredible and perfect for the roles imo. It could just have been done a lot better in the end. Like the whole episode 3 needs to be rewritten pls

[roominthecastle]

Thank you for taking the time and typing up your reply, @alma37.

Now I get where you were coming from. You are def much more attached to Zoe than I am. You don’t need to produce any other arguments and “I like it better this way” is a perfectly acceptable answer. And while I don’t believe Agatha’s return is completely at Zoe’s expense -- given that she would have died anyway --, I understand the pain of watching a favorite character used as fodder for another one’s story.

You’ve also raised some interesting points and the exact questions I’ve been pondering myself, so I’m gonna take this opportunity to just unload my thoughts here. Please don’t take this as me trying to talk you out of your opinion or preferences bc I don’t wanna do that.

This is mostly just me trying to explain my preferences to myself.

"after Blood Vessel, as much as Dracula liked her, I could not see him and Agatha together”

oh yes, theirs is an infinitely fucked up dynamic, there is no debating that. they are enemies, so murder attempts come w/ the territory, which is not every shipper’s cup of tea and that’s understandable. However, every relationship involving Dracula is fucked up this way by default since he automatically brings his "inclinations” into it. I guess one could write him already “tamed” and w/ less issues but then it wouldn’t really be him. This is a major thing I love about this show, how they are not afraid to portray him as a full-fledged monster who just keeps coming at you w/ a razor smile -- partly bc he literally can’t help himself. He is a predator who -- to once again quote the commentary -- operates w/ a “torturous sense of fairness” that, to me, echoes the amorality you can observe in the animal kingdom: there is no reasoning with a hungry lion once it’s spotted a zebra; it’s in its nature to hunt prey in order to survive. Empathy or morals don’t factor into this basic conduct.

Dracula has this hard-wired primal drive, too. And Agatha points it out early on when she calls him a beast who doesn’t understand the rules governing its behavior but simply follows them. Of course, he has a point, as well, when he claims he’s more than that. He is. Otherwise, he would just be absolved of all the killing he does, which would feel cheap and unjust and would rob his character of all the fun complexities. Underneath the veneer of a sophisticated nobleman there is a beast, and underneath that grotesque (protective) display are human remains and loads of festering mental health issues. But the only person who bothers to look at these layers and how they inform each other is Agatha. Her equally unyielding drive for knowledge & understanding is the power that allows her to counter him, exert control over him, and tap into his deformed human core in a way nobody else has ever been able to. She does this to save others from him but also to satisfy her own dark fascination, and in the process I think she also comes to feel for him. They reach a level of intimacy that makes this outcome inevitable, imo.

This, in my eyes, makes her pretty much the only person who has any chance at having a more meaningful relationship w/ him that lasts longer than his feeding time. This is also what comes across in Dracula’s indirect advice to Zoe: if she hopes to match him, she will need to conjure Agatha from his blood. He essentially gives her the key to his own destruction (which is also his way out), then retreats and waits. This has the same self-regulating vibe as him convincing himself that his immense supernatural power has ordinary loopholes like needing an invitation to enter or the sunlight. Shame is a control tactic and self-shaming is a form of self-control, albeit a very problematic one. He puts in checks and balances which you wouldn’t do unless deep down you knew you needed to be “checked and balanced” by someone who’s willing to take on the thankless task. He cannot do it, he can’t face himself (he literally smashes mirrors and turns from every reflective surface), but Agatha is willing and able to drag him back into the light.

This is why the parallel to Petruvio & his wife works so well. The design to Dracula’s mind (and therefore the way out) is scattered across time and many myths. Agatha collects these and uses them to lead him out of the prison he’s made for himself, which has its visual parallel in the maps being hidden inside the wife’s portrait.

In other words, I cannot see Dracula with anyone else long term since he sees everyone else as a toy and/or a prey -- a means to an end. That’s how he sees Agatha at first, too, and it takes some time for him to realize that he made a mistake. This delayed realization can also be attributed to his bestial drive that has subdued the rest of him for so long, he really cannot cut through its wiring on his own; he came to exist to continue his existence, and the pointless circularity of this is the biggest trap: despite leaving loopholes, he’s still a prisoner of his own hunger & shame. Feeling for others would make it infinitely more painful but shedding empathy only provides a temporary release. Still, life lived solely for oneself is never fulfilling no matter how long it stretches forward, and the insatiable hunger Dracula feels gels nicely w/ this.

It’s Agatha who breaks the circle when she makes him confront the human origin of all this mess. Once she gets through to him, once she makes him remember, we can witness what Mofftiss call the “beginning of morality” and empathy seeping back into Dracula, and his existence takes on meaning when he chooses to sacrifice his immortality to take away her mortal pain. To me this feels like a direct call-back to the scene where he asks her if she is willing to die to save that terrified child and she tells him she would die to save any terrified child bc “there is a nobler purpose to my life than simply prolonging it.” But Dracula only comes to feel this nobler purpose where Agatha is concerned (baby steps :). He still doesn’t care about anyone else but that could be a juicy problem to tackle next season if there is one. *crosses fingers*

“they needed Agatha to stay human until the end of TDC - but, in that case, why bring her so late in the episode?”

I’m afraid only the writers can answer this one. But my best guess is that there are other characters from the novel -- Lucy especially -- they wanted to play with a little. Since I like them, too, and like how they planted them into this modern setting, I have no problem w/ Agatha taking her sweet time resurrecting. This was also a nice way to show just how bored & lost Dracula is in her absence (side note: him using Tinder as a takeout menu + complaining that he has to exercise now that everything is delivered and doesn’t have to be hunted down will never not be hilarious AF). I have seen a few fans complain about the pacing of ep 3 but I think it provides a nice, strategic contrast to the more dynamic previous episode, again highlighting why Agatha’s presence in his life was so invigorating and how her absence is the opposite -- he is a 500-year old warlord yet his life is now somehow... banal bc he has no worthy match.

“If he really want Agatha so badly, and since Zoe doesn’t come after him (she has other things in mind, understandably), why does he not? To see if his little ply worked? If his dear Agatha is back? The only time Renfield talks about Zoe, Dracula doesn’t seem remotely interested.”

I think he is interested (his suggestion to use bats as surveillance cracks me up every time) and he is waiting. He keeps tabs on the Harker Foundation from a safe distance and, to me, looks rather crestfallen when Renfield tells him that his lady friend (aka Van Helsing aka his “Agatha incubator”) left and seems to have lost all interest in Dracula. I think he expected a different outcome. It’s speculation but I think he expected Zoe to drink his blood (bc it doesn’t come as a surprise later when he notices the changes in her) and expected it to have an effect sooner and time is running out since Zoe is dying. Zoe was supposed to act similarly to the bed of his own native soil (she is a “bed” of Agatha’s DNA) and regenerate Agatha even if it’s temporary. So he is both staying away (survival is still key) and wants her to come after him again -- a delicious contradiction he can’t untangle by himself.

Lack of (threatening) interest, however, is a clear sign that Agatha is not back. If she were, he def wouldn’t have to go and check. She would waste no time seeking him (and indeed she wants to go after him the second she manifests and, as Zoe remarks, Dracula isn’t surprised to find her at his doorstep -- another parallel to ep 1 where it’s Agatha who anticipated him coming for his bride). I think he was waiting for her return just like Agatha was waiting for his in ep 2 (another parallel). It’s Renfield‘s remarks that drive this point home for me as he has a front row seat to what Dracula is like during these 3 months: “I wonder what it is you actually want,” and “What are you doing with your time?” I think it’s no coincidence that both of these questions get answered only w/ Agatha’s return. Dracula basically idles in the meantime. And the fact that it takes Agatha 3 months to properly manifest, when Zoe is the weakest, is def a testament to Zoe’s strength of character. She is a Van Helsing, after all. And they vanquish the monster in the smartest, most elegant way: by making him feel something other than blinding hunger for the first time in centuries.

[possessedartist]

Okay Castlevania Season 3 Thoughts

I’ve been watching it on/off for the past four days since I got busy at points but I just finished it about a hour ago.

(seems like everyone is either shitting on it or liked it lol)

Okay so, it was a fun season as someone who’s played (about half??? ish?????) of the series’ games. There’s a ton of easter eggs and nods, particularly the biggest ones being The Infinite Corridor (of Curse of Darkness fame) and Legion (I’ve only battled them in two games, one being SOTN). I didn’t realize it was Legion until they all started flying up in the air though lol. I’m very much glad that they weren’t all naked though dodndodn. Also the monsters!!! Very good!!!! I loved the Cthulhu one and they even included some of his in game attacks AND THE ANGELS UGHHHHH THEY WERE SO COOL AND THEY HAD THE GAME MUSIC PLAYING TOO

anyways I digress

Okay so plot line wise! I think Issac and Trevor/Sypha’s plotlines were the strongest imo. Just mostly because they both had the most screentime out of the four plotlines.

I don’t think either Alucard’s or Hector’s plotlines were particularly weak (or as weak as people are making them out to be). I think the problem is that since this is a twenty minute episode show, most of the build up shown in their plotlines won’t really pay off until the next season.

Hector is most likely going to go through his Curse of Darkness arc next season, likely whenever Issac launches his assault on the castle- and him being manipulated is the beginning of his arc. He basically realizes at the end of s3 that “Hey, I’m being way too trusting because every single time I place my trust in someone- I get used in the end so I should stop.” And so I think Issac might end up helping Hector unknowingly or unwillingly whenever he reachs Carmilla’s castle but that remains to be seen.

Alucard wise- yeah that sucked but it was needed (though I won’t necessarily agree it should’ve been in that way). I think it’s the beginning of his arc toward the SOTN and later games. The only humans he’s ever known was his mother and Sypha and Trevor and it’s here I’d like to draw a interesting parallel to Sypha and Alucard this season. Both by the end have their expectations betrayed because both unrealistically believe that monsters are bad and humans can never stoop down so low- and are proven very much otherwise by the end of their arcs. Between Castlevania III and SOTN, Alucard is said to have been sleeping the entire time. By SOTN, the only reason he wakes is because something happened in Dracula’s castle. If these are the events that lead up to him putting himself to rest for over a hundred years, I don’t blame the dude.

I’d like to also point to a post I saw earlier drawing parallels between Jesus and Alucard. There’s way too many parallels between them to not say there’s no connection, and that whole post is a good read for anyone interested in it (here’s the link). Anyways, the post points out as of right now, we’re at the point where Jesus is betrayed by his own disciple, Judas gives him the kiss of betrayal, and then Jesus is crucified. Likewise, we have Alucard being betrayed by his own students/disciples, he’s given a kiss of betrayal, and then crucified in literally the same position Jesus was. What happens next in the Bible is Jesus being placed in a tomb (assumed to be dead) and he ‘rests’ for three days and then rises and washes humanity of their sins (very much a brief bad retelling of the Bible but anyways). What’d make the most logical sense is that in Season 4, Alucard lays down to rest only to wake up at the events of Rondo of Blood/SOTN, and then ‘save humanity’ or in this case, Richter- the descendant of the one and only Trevor Belmont- thereby finishing the ‘Jesus Arc.’ While I don’t agree too much on how Ellis went about it, I can see how and why he set up Alucard’s storyline like he did- and it’d be unfair to say that I didn’t see it coming. There’s some really off lines they say at the beginning of the season which already made suspicious of those two, so it’s not exactly like it came out of nowhere- especially given their backstory (though they took it to a extreme I wouldn’t have thought they would).

Other characters wise, god I should’ve seen it coming but I’m sad about the judge character (anyone who follows me knows how into AA I am currently). He seemed so nice, but I realized that was over as soon as he told the monk dude to go to the apple tree because I was like “there’s no way there isn’t a trap for him there.” And then when they showed him falling into the pit, I was like WHELP THAT KID FROM EARLIER IS DEAD. Ugh I hate he’s a serial killer (and may have done more? Don’t want to think about it) and he collects their shoes uGHHH COOL BUT I WISH I KNEW EARLIER I WAS LEGIT GOING TO DRAW THE DUDE BUT IM NOT SURE NOW.

St. Germain was so cool! I loved seeing him (and even more nods to curse of darkness ughhh) and while he wasn’t a time traveller (at least not yet), he was such a treat to watch on screen. I’m very interested to see how he’ll act if he pops up later into the shows timeline, overall he was just a joy to watch on screen interacting with the other characters and I loved watching him talking about snorting mysterious drugs and waking up weeks later not knowing wth happening and of course, the toilet paper.

(Also the lesbian vampires DO own my heart thank you very much)

Anyways!! I didn’t think the season was bad! Still much better than any other plotlines I’ve seen most tv series try to do, so I refuse to say it’s bad writing (at least all of it). I couldn’t tell in Season 2 how this was going to link to any of the later games but I think with the end of Season 3, I’m starting to see how it’s linking together- at least in the way I’m thinking it’ll be. It’s very interesting watching this unfold as someone who’s been playing the games and watching other people losing it especially if they’re unaware of the events of rondo/sotn/ and the games with reincarnated dracula and alucard except now he’s decided to be a secret agent (which I haven’t gotten very far in). I won’t say people are being unfair in saying this was bad, because there are points where I was definitely un-invested, particularly during Alucard’s segments- which I think definitely needed more length and more time dedicated into making the story a lot better than it was- but I do believe despite some of the cons of this season- there was some pros as well.

EDIT: I’d like to also add I don’t think this is the end of St. Germain! If they decide to keep his timetraveling, although Issac and Hector’s roles are basically reversed as of rn, he comes in Curse of Darkness to stop the two from killing eachother so that could also potentially happen in a season 4. Just my thoughts and theories though lol

[veilder]

Castlevania Season 3 was insane and in this essay I will--

Okay, I’ve never made a post on this website before, but here I go cuz Castlevania Season 3 has me just that fucked up. (Everything here is my own opinion, fyi.)

***SPOILER WARNING FROM HERE ON!!***

Okay, so yeah, that was a wild fuckin ride, wasn’t it? First off, while I did very much enjoy this season and I still love the show as a whole very much, this whole thing felt a lot like a setup season. It was a lot of maneuvering the characters into certain places and roles and it was a lot more focused on their emotional development (or regression, yikes!) than it was on a central plot like the first two seasons were. In those, all three mains had a singular goal: destroy Dracula. But now? Well, we’re left in the aftermath. I feel like this season was certainly necessary for where the show seems to want to take things, but yeah, I think I didn’t love it quite as much as the first two. And I think a lot of that stems from just how fractured the main party is. And I’m not just talking about Trevor, Sypha and Alucard, either, even though I consider them the main focal point. Because, building up off of season 2, I would absolutely consider both Hector and Isaac as main characters in this show as well. But after the final confrontation of last season, all of them (save Trevor and Sypha) are scattered. And while they certainly still seem to impact each other somewhat, they never actually... y’know, meet in this season. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Trevor and Sypha’s dynamic and I think they are #RelationshipGoals, but you can certainly feel the absence of Alucard in their scenes. Hell, Trevor remarks on that himself at one point, about how they just... left him behind. About how lonely he must be, shut up all alone in his father’s mausoleum, taking on the duty to protect it because he’s the only one who can... There was a scene in one of the middle episodes (forgive me, I did not mark down which) where Trevor encounters a fox in the forest. And there is a prominent cut to the creature’s golden eyes. And Trevor smiles at it. It just makes me think that he, at least, has been thinking about their wayward companion in his downtime. I’m glad that the showrunners took the time to make sure we all could see that consideration, even in small moments like this, because it really didn’t sit well with me, how they left him all alone at the end of season 2. It’s nice to know that at least Trevor is thinking about him and it makes me hope that we will actually get these three back together in season 4. And along those lines, I think it was very interesting, how ultimately, Isaac’s whole goal in this season was to reach Hector. Literally, that’s all he is doing for all 10 episodes, just travelling across continents to find the man who betrayed Dracula... and to make him pay. But damn if I didn’t absolutely love all of his scenes, too? Isaac has really risen to prominence for me with this season. I could never quite get behind him in season 2, but here? I daresay that he might’ve been my favorite part of this season. All of his interactions, with the old collector man, with the Captain, with the FlysEyes, with Miranda, they were all so varied and philosophical. I really loved how the show delved into such heavy topics with him and fleshed out his personality a bit more. Special shoutout to the Captain who was, imo, absolutely amazing. I honestly hope they meet again, I loved their dynamic so much. But even so, he’s always still focused on Hector. Always moving towards Hector. I like that their story continues to play out from where it left off in season 2, with their fates interwoven like this. I do hope that we’ll get to see a confrontation between them eventually, but God, it would be very unsatisfying right now with Hector’s current situation. Which... Jesus, he is in dire straights, isn’t he? I honestly felt so bad for him throughout this entire season. He has been abused and manipulated so horribly through this whole thing. And yes, maybe he came across as a little naive and, well... dumb for trusting Lenore, but... Honestly, with the way he’s been suffering? Clinging onto those few scraps of kindness she throws him is really his only salvation. He has nothing, literally nothing, not even clothes, when the season begins. He’s been travelling with Carmilla for a month and then is immediately thrown in prison when they finally reach Styria. And God, despite all of that, he still has the gumption to try and attack Lenore at first. To try and trick her into a vulnerable position when vulnerability is his new MO. I was proud of him for trying, for keeping that spirit alive within himself despite his horrible circumstances. And watching as Lenore manipulated him further and further was just... so horrible. Honestly, she probably didn’t even need the slave ring at the end. Hector was so desperate for any sort of love and validation that he almost certainly would’ve happily crafted their legions just to make her happy. He has such a soft soul and it’s always being taken advantage of. His story arc was so fuckin sad and I really need better things for him going forward. And speaking of characters who deserve better... Omg, what did they do to Alucard? Seriously, his entire story arc this season was just... highlighting how devastatingly lonely he is and how he’s not coping very well at all with the aftermath of season 2. And I understand, everything that went down last season and everything he was forced to do, it broke him so completely. He hasn’t really... moved on at all from where we last saw him, weeping his heart out for the family he lost. So what does this show do for him? It lets us think he might be able to find a new family, to find happiness... and then it yanks that away from us in the absolutely worst way. Sumi and Taka had a lot of promise. Their backstories, as slaves for an ancient, powerful Japanese vampire, that was very cool. Their quest to find a mentor, someone to teach them the skills they needed to help liberate their home from the hold these vampires have over them, that is a noble goal. And Alucard sees that in them. He sees their potential to do good. I think he honestly sees a little bit of Trevor and Sypha in them, in the way they want to help, to fight against evil, to better the world. And I think they also... give him someone to cling to. Just someone at all to speak with, to share his day with, to be around? He is so lonely, so hurt, grieving and empty and wishing he wasn’t. They offered him a small glimpse of what happiness could look like. And he took it with both hands. He wanted them there and he wanted to help them and God, even when they have him at their mercy and are trying to kill him, he never condemns them. He still sees the good inside of them. And I wonder if he ignores the brokenness inside of them, too, because it’s a mirror to his own? Either way, the whole story arc was absolutely heartbreaking and it kills me to see Alucard so absolutely crushed by the events of his life. He does not deserve this. And I... really need Trevor and Sypha to come back for him. I think he really needs them, now more than ever. The characters are really who I wanted to talk about, y’know? Yes, I love all the plot setup happening; the Cult of Dracula was unsettling and terrifying; Saint Germain and the Infinite Corridor were honestly spectacular? How did they pull that off so convincingly?; Carmilla, Striga, Morana and Lenore were strangely entertaining for me, even though I very much despised the way Carmilla and Lenore in particular treated Hector. They were a weirdly amusing, kickass lady squad and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of them. (Which I most certainly will); Isaac and his growing horde coming for Styria is bound to be amazing!; I’m assuming that Trevor and Sypha will continue learning more about the Cult as the next season goes and will (hopefully!) get Alucard back with them at some point! (God, he needs his friends so much. >_<) I just... There was so much packed into this season and I overall enjoyed it very much. Special shoutout to the absolutely amazing artwork because holy shit! Some of those still were breathtaking! And while some of the fight scenes I thought were a tad... worse than in previous seasons, some of them were real standouts, too! So yeah, I had a lot of thoughts about this! And I really needed to share them! Looking forward to what comes next! ~Veil P.S. Y’all don’t even know how desperately I want “The Pirate of the Roads” to be Grant Danasty. XD (Will he ever show up? Fingers crossed!)

[caithyra]

Vampire Game Reviews Part 1

This Halloween I sat down and played a bunch of vampire themed games and decided to review them. First up, Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisilova, Dracula: Origin and Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. I might get around to Vampire the Masquerade: Redemption and Dracula: Love Kills in a later post.

I use my own 5-scale gradation in this:

0: Either I couldn’t force myself to finish it, or I was more relieved it was over than anything else. 1: I had no fun, but there might have been something fun in there… maybe…? 2: More bad than good. 3: About evenly good and bad. I actually start having more fun than not. 4: A solid entertainment piece. Has it’s blemishes, but despite that I like it. 5: Almost perfect (perfection is a myth). I had lots of fun and am satisfied.

(Semi-minor spoilers below. Unless you’ve gone quite far into the games, you likely wont suss out what’s happening until it’s happening.)

Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisilova: You’re an investigator for the Hapsburg Empire going to the small town of Kisilova, recently beset by a killer leaving bloodless victims behind them. Rumors of vampires abound. After a series of mishaps the rumors do not feel so farfetched. Especially not when a mysterious, young woman enters the picture.

(Left: The Beginning of the Adventure with our buddy and hint machine. Right: The first of many, many hidden objects screens in this game.)

Okay, it is a point-and-click visual novel adventure thing that’s really short (less than 5 hours, and I think I left the game — and the clock — running for a while at some point), and also cheap. It was enjoyable enough, the music was forgettable but good enough, the graphics nice and atmospheric enough and the story was short and serviceable. The problems mainly came through the game-play; this game relied faaar too heavily on hidden object minigames, and those were unskippable, while all others were skippable after a short while. Fortunately, your partner can give hints to speed things along. As for my final decision in the winter-themed bonus chapter? Well, it was Halloween so I thought “why not?” and that was that for Europe. I always try to pick the most supernatural decision whenever I can lol (see Squirrel Elves in the Witcher franchise, or picking spell-sneaking classes in the Elder Scrolls).

My biggest problem with this game, however, is that I need to resize the resolution on my ultrawide monitor to play it without horizontal stretching distorting the art. The Options menu is seriously lacking in Options (actually, that whole menu is a mess that looks more at home in a Free-to-Play mobile game).

All in all, I generally liked it and its short nature meant that except for the hidden objects minigame, most of it didn’t outstay its welcome and it was really cheap (less than 4€ when I bought it, which is about the right price IMO. I think regular price is something like 9.99€?) so worth it. 3/5.

Dracula: Origin: You are Van Helsing. Yeah. That guy. And you have a missing friend, Harker, who had something to do with Dracula, and you have a pretty friend named Mina who ends up targeted by Dracula and now you must rush across the Old World to save her from a curse.

(Left: Yup, same dev as the Sherlock Holmes games. Middle: Vampires don’t like garlic breath. Right: Dammit Mina, I gave you ONE job. One. Job. All of this slow walking could have been avoided!)

Ah. Frogware. I generally like their Sherlock Holmes games, but this game… It felt more like a waste of my time. Oh, I’m sure there is a good game in there that isn’t a waste of time. Unfortunately, it is hidden behind the biggest time-sinks in the game: Van Helsing walks at half the speed of a normal person at all times and speaks really slowly, in conversations that has no branches, yet they will periodically be interrupted so that you can click on the next topic in the list (that wont reveal the next topic until you’ve listened to the topic listed before it). There’s this scene during a cave in when he says something like “quickly, we must make haste to escape!” and then you click on the exit and he waaaaaaaaalks slooooooooooooowlyyyyyy through it. It certainly doesn’t help that he must cross the entire span of the screen and backtrack locations many times and… AGH! RUN YOU FOOL!!

And, well, Frogware adventure game with its strange clues and non-clues and objects. There’s this bit in the first outdoor area when you have to capture some flies. Now, if you have followed the story logically, you will have a jar and a lid in your inventory. Easy, peasy, just click the flies with the jar, right? Nope. You must find a mourning veil hidden in the cemetery (that is large and that Van Helsing waaaaalks sloooooowlyyyyy through), use it on the flies and then combine the fly-ridden veil with the jar to get a jar of flies (I wont say what for because of spoilers, but, well, I don’t recommend eating during the Cemetery/Mansion part of the story if you have a phobia against bugs). There are also several objects that are basically five pixels on the screen because of the angle we’re viewing them at that we must find to pick up, and on the whole, I had more frustrations than fun with this story. Like, there’s even this puzzle minigame with a picture of Minos, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur and you find thread/string in the same house and wouldn’t you know it! The thread/string has nothing to do with the minigame and the minigame has nothing to do with the legend of the Minotaur!

On top of that, well, lets just say that the Egyptian section has quite a bit of stereotyping (think Victorian stereotypes of Egypt and its people in a modern game. Also, potential racism against white people must be prevented at all costs, including lying to a bereaved family), and when we run into our first, unliving female vampire she of course wears a top made of strips of cloth and a sheer skirt (you’d think a rich vampire’s favorite mistress would own a nice dress at least, but nope), and every woman (including dead of non-vampiric variety) have their beauty commented upon (and, of course, a young, pretty girl’s defilement/death is a tragedy, which is why it is so important to include that she was pretty).

And, well, this game markets itself heavily with Dracula at the forefront, not Van Helsing, yet while Dracula is the main antagonist, he only has a few, brief scenes, which were disappointing. All in all it was a 1/5.

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines: You are a fledgling of one of the Camarilla clans, recently thrust into the secret world hidden by darkness, and more specifically into one of the most fucked cities of the World of Darkness. After your illicit embrace into the undead by your executed sire, the Prince of the City has graciously offered to adopt you, provided you prove yourself worthy to the exacting clan of rulers. Except the prince’s domain is built on quicksand, and this is Los Angeles; the birthplace of the modern Anarchs, and one of the domains of the Kindred of the East, on top of the eternal, political dance all Kindred must dance, and you, baby vampire as you are, have no allies and no clue as how to proceed except to survive.

(Left: Told ya Velvet is a mascot in this game. Middle: Did you know that Mercurio was meant to handle the Voerman sisters and we wouldn’t have to go through sewers and a haunted hotel if he did his job? Right: Apparently the Chinese are masters of Japanese swords and the Ventrue need no neckbones...)

Here’s the thing about VtM:B: It is a very enjoyable game and definitely the definite vampire game out there. It also has no story for your character. “What about the Ankaran Sarcophagus?”, well, your character participates, but it does nothing to answer the questions we are immediately confronted with in the opening of the game: Why would our unknown sire, an upstanding member of Kindred society, break one of the Traditions (pretty much laws set in stone for all Kindred over the entire world) to embrace us? Why would the prince, whose sole job is to uphold the Traditions, then break one of the Traditions and allow the ill-begotten progeny live?

Except for the opening of the game, we never hear from our sire again, nor the questions raised during the opening. And that makes our player character a bit superfluous when any random neonate could serve just as well.

So if not story-telling, what does VtM:B do that makes people sing its praises? In short? Characters and the World. It is incredibly atmospheric and while characters don’t develop (vampires are static by nature in this world, and most characters in the game are entrenched in their places and wont be shaken by some random baby vampire showing up), they are all very distinct and written in different tones. However, if you’re not role-playing as an ignorant fledgling, but meta-playing with some Vampire the Masquerade lore known, you will feel extremely railroaded (if your character had any inkling of who Smiling Jack is in the World of Darkness, they would never believe his coarse but kind uncle-figure thing he’s got going on. Because even before a certain hugely Biblical spoiler got involved, Jack was an imposer, liar, manipulator and mass-murderer who has sired many, many thin-blooded vampires and abandoned them to their fates. There’s a reason why only ignorant neonates like Nines’ gang admires and likes him. What I just said is not a spoiler for the game, btw, because it never comes up because your character is an ignorant fledgling being manipulated and deceived by literally everyone. Maybe Velvet and Bertram don’t, but Velvet might seem so sweet when she convinces you to be her knight because of Presence and acting, and Bertram is a Nossie and they have major secrets within secrets).

And while it is easy to sink into the world of the game and roleplay, thus mitigating the railroading feeling above. This game was clearly written with an audience of White Male Teens in mind. We have Velvet (of the fashion-conscious Toreador clan) show up at the prince’s court in Elysium in only a lacy basque, g-string and thigh high fishnets, tall heels and not as much as a peignoir thrown on top. Yeah, she attends an important society function in her fetish underwear. Then we have the explicit sex life of game cover-girl Jeanette (yeah, the one dressed like a dilapidated school girl), and those two are THE female mascots of the game.

The less said about the Orientalism and the Kindred of the East the better, but that segues into how around the time you reach Chinatown, the game starts losing its luster and strengths. Okay, so if you’re sensitive to that kinda thing, you might notice it a little bit in Hollywood, but by the time Chinatown rolls around, you might notice how it is less immersive and how it starts to feel more and more gamey (specifically, Action gamey), and you get less options that isn’t some variant of “kill it”.

On top of that the game has technical issues if you do not use the fan-made patch (I always use Patch Plus, which restores cut content and quests, as well as ReShade for better anti-aliasing and sharpness), and it still has a few cropping up from time to time. At least it works perfectly well in ultrawide resolutions?

Still it has that charm, and despite its flaws and how I can think of a dozen complaints at the drop of a dime, I still love playing it. So it’s a 4/5 from me.