#Death (Castlevania)

[cogneartive]

Dracula and the Belmonts should have a relationship like Mario and Bowser where it looks like they want to destroy the other and are bitter enemies but then in their off time they are playing tennis

castlevania if it was good

version without the funny graphics below

[nyxshadowhawk]

Alucard and Death by Nat_Evangelich

[eywadaughter]

"Mephisto" is Death.

A little theory about

Castlevania: Nocturne

Remembering that I will be basing this on what happens in the games of the franchise, even though I am aware that 'Nocturne' deviated a lot from the game's universe!

Anyway, context:

During the second season of Castlevania: Nocturne we are introduced to a truly evil being that Olrox calls "Mephisto" and also "Old Man Coyote"

Little (to say nothing) has been revealed about this being beyond the fact that he searches for the souls of Abbot and Mizrak and that he is influencing Tera.

That said, how do I think this being could be Death itself, defeated by Trevor Belmont in the original series?

Well, let's get to it.

First of all, for those who are not familiar with the games, "Death" is an entity present in practically all Castlevania games, being a servant of Dracula who constantly manipulates events and people in order to bring the King of Demons (Dracula) back and takes advantage of this to make the Belmonts' lives miserable in the process.

"Death" has an even more prominent role in the games "Rondo of Blood" and "Symphony of the Night", which are the basis for Castlevania: Nocturne

The choice to bring Symphony of the Night to the adaptation is not by chance, since it is the first time in the franchise that Alucard has returned since Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and in the series Alucard is a direct link between the previous plot and the current one. That said, it is easy to think that they want to once again enjoy Trevor's final boss, Death.

In the series, Dracula is not the absolute evil that makes Death serve him, but this is not an obstacle for the Netflix plot, since the world lies in a new and grand conflict, the French Revolution, a perfect point for Death to sow his discord amidst so much discord, tragedy and death.

Things get more intense when we stop to analyze the historical facts about the figure of Mephistopheles throughout the ages.

He is a demon, allied with Lucifer, who appeared in the Middle Ages (coincidentally the period in which Trevor and company faced Dracula) and is constantly linked to the tales of the scientist Faust (inspired by the historical figure of the Middle Ages Johann Georg Faust), a man who made a pact with Mephistopheles to obtain youth and also various powers...

And in the series there was a character who lived during the 1400s and who made a pact with an entity, in this case death... Saint Germain.

His outcome in the series, sacrificing himself to save Trevor, is similar to that of Faust in the story.

The title "Old Man Coyote" is more ambiguous and there are several legends about this entity as well, notably in Native American myths, however they are all about the Coyote being a symbol of trickery, lust, etc. etc.

In a world in increasing evolution, where Dracula's genocide is in the past and there is now a conflict between an entire nation and also the forces of evil, in a feud that even involved Egyptian gods and the attempt to bring about an eclipse that would put the entire world under darkness, it is easy to imagine that Death once defeated by Trevor may be returning, through Tera and the hatred of others... It is up to us to hope that, if this is the case, that Richter will be as successful as his ancestor.

[prickly-paprikash]

My favorite little character trait so far in Castlevania Nocturne is Olrox's possessiveness.

Once he marks something as his, it's his whether he even realizes it or not.

We are told, straight up by him, that he turned his lover into a vampire without his partner's say-so. Lenore mentioned the nature of Vampires—the ever-present hunger. This burning desire to grow and consume, consequences be damned. We see this in Erzsebet's obsessive need to become the ruler of all things in existence, so much so that she has fashioned herself as the Messiah. We see this compulsive gluttony in Carmilla and her all-consuming greed; she simply must have it all, because no one else is deserving of the world.

We see it in Godbrand's animalistic, sadistic tendencies when hunting his prey. Chō's demented need to make every kill, every transformation a perverse performance of her monstrous skill.

We definitely see it in Dracula. His anger and wrath, razing kingdoms and laying waste to societies.

There is a gaping maw seemingly inherent in all those turned into Vampires. Humanity's flaws taken to their most extreme conclusions once the Vampiric venom drips through.

Olrox is possessive beyond belief. What is his is his.

He claims he doesn't love Mizrak, but risks exposing himself to Drolta and Erzsebet the second Mizrak's life is in danger.

He cannot let go, just like Vlad. He must get even. With Olrox, at least this thirst for vengeance is balanced by his adherence to what he views as justice, which means he isn't the type to initiate a war in the name of his beloved. Olrox is "An Eye for an Eye" adherent.

It's something that truly intrigues me, because every single named Vampire exhibits this endless hunger.

Even Death, who is considered a type of vampire itself.

Alucard, I think, is free (or at least more in control) because of Lisa's own human nature—the ability to feel satisfaction, as well as her nurturing light. This is only developed further because of Trevor, Sypha and Greta.

Which begs the question: what is Tera's hunger? What is that idea or feeling that'll hook its fangs into her skin and drive her into reckless abandon?

Love for Maria and Richter? The feelings of betrayal against the Abbott? Her hatred of Erzsebet for the murder of her sister?

Another fucking reason why I need SEASON 2 NOW GOD FUCK NETFLIX STOP RENEWING EMILY IN PARIS YOU WACKOS.

[ineedmoretrevorcardcontent]

Pt. 1

Pt. 3

[the-edude]

For the final of DraculaXmas I combined the last few days so we can have a Dracula family Christmas with Dracula, Alucard, Death, and Lisa!

Merry Christmas everyone!

[the-crow-binary]

A Belmont in red, shaking his fist at Death... Throws him a few centuries back. :)

[chibishortdeath]

This is an absolutely ancient flipnote I made in like uh high school probably, but I just realized I’ve never shown any of my animation here yet :O. The meme used absolutely dates it, but yeah eh it’s something, anyway— entire context is Death is telling the rest of the bosses the plans for where they’ll be in the castle, that’s about it 👍

[memoriesofachicken]

A happy blessed 81st birthday to one of my favorite actors of all time: Malcolm McDowell!

[beevean]

13, Deathula :'3

…discreetly.

Death was a phantom in his Master's castle, and that was alright with him.

He was, after all, but the mere servant of his Lord. He cared not for attention or praise from the creature crawing in his Master's realm: what concerned him was assuring Master Dracula's safety.

Demons and humans nearly passed through him, not sparing a glace at him while they genuflected at the sight of their Lord, tiny frames trembling under the sheer awe that his Master emanated.

Only Master Dracula himself had eyes for Death, and that was more than alright with him.

Therefore, no one could stop him from leaning closer to his Master. Closer. Closer, until his teeth nearly touched the hollow of his cheek.

His Master's fleeting smile, before he recomposed his features, reassured him that he understood the intent behind it.

[devileaterjaek]

[inversionimpulse]

honestly I think my favourite bit of Castlevania lore is that Dracula has a magic artifact that, among other things, enables him to summon and control Death

He acquired it through a complex scheme that involved... Death doing what Dracula said to. Which worked because he and Death were already friends back when he was still just a human lashing out against God in his grief. Somehow.

[the-smashor]

If Lisa didn't exist, Dracula and Death (From the games, not the show) would be shipped constantly.

My source for this is that Remilia Scarlet and Sakuya Izayoi from Touhou have the exact same dynamic (Powerful vampire and person who's incredibly loyal to them for no apparent reason) and they're in the Ho Yay section for Touhou on TV Tropes.

[soulshield39]

I’m making a prequel and this is the prologue.

[alpaca-clouds]

Castlevania Season 4

Currently seeing a lot of people watching Castlevania for the first time and being as confused as everyone else once was about season 4 and certain story developments.

Spoilers - Obviously.

The story decisions in question basically show up in all the storylines:

Why is Alucard just okay with everything about having talked to Greta for approximately two hours?

What the fuck is the deal with the entire Targoviste storyline, that kinda goes nowhere?

Why are Hector and Lenore just fine after everything that she did in the end of season 3?

Why was St. Germain so easily corrupted? (And why does his love interest not even get a name or voice lines?)

Why does Carmilla so suddenly go off the deep end?

Why don't the four storylines never meet up, ending the story without the main characters (that is the group of Hector and Isaac, vs the trio) ever meeting?

Why is Varney?

And I mean, we are never going to fully know. But chances are good, that Warren Ellis had thought he would get five seasons to tell his story - instead of only four. Now, we never got confirmation for that, but there are a lot of points speaking for it - most notably just that the last season feels rushed af.

Now, a big question is, why it got then cut down into four seasons. There is a lot of speculation. For once there is of course all the shit coming out about Warren Ellis at the time. So maybe Netflix wanted to cut him off, before all of that came out. There is also the fact, that season 4 went into production in 2020 and we all know what happened in 2020. So chances are, that the show might well have been impacted by the pandemic. There is also the fact, that Ellis was allegedly in general hard to work with for some people. Another fact. And, lastly, it might just have been a Netflix thing, even though we are getting Nocturne. (You know... *cries in Inside Job and DeadEnd*)

There is also the fact, that a lot of folks harrassed Netflix and the creators about everything season 3. Especially the Alucard scene and what happened to Hector. And if we look at Rise of Skywalker, we know it would not have been the first and only time that fans harassing a studio got them to backpaddle on story decisions.

But I think a lot of writing decisions for the most part can be explained with simple Story Economy under the idea that Ellis had if not calculated for five seasons, then at least for more episodes in that last season.

I have often heard people talk about "But why are Alucard, Trevor and Sypha even there?", because it is very clear that for the most parts season 3 and 4 are very much the story of Hector, Isaac and the Styria sisters. With everything else kinda feeling more like an obligation. (Even though, unpopular opinion: I do like both the Alucard and the Lindenfeld storylines in season 3.) And this is very noticable in season 4 of course. The entire Varney thing comes out of nowhere. St. Germain's Face-Heel-Turn comes out of nowhere. Death comes out of nowhere.

The simple answer is, of course, that the main trio is the main trio and it would probably not have been within the contract with Netflix or Konami or whoever to write them out. Not to mention that, yes, Alucard is probably half the reason some viewers are there. Hence, they needed a storyline.

Now, again, I am mostly just speculating. But I do assume that at some point the plan has been to pitch Carmilla against the main characters. It would not have been surprising to me, if the original plan was to have her slowly go off the deep end in season 4, have her make a deal with Death and maybe give her a redemption arc in season 5 (because she feels like a too well developed character for the development in season 4 being the original plan).

But given the "end it with season 4" and "main trio has to do stuff, because main trio" requirements that had probably have to be met, a lot of decisions make sense.

Why does Alucard get over his trauma within hours of meeting Greta? Well, because there was no time for him to have a proper recovery arc, before he had to be there for a finale to happen. Maybe, too, because of the harassment and some fans not wanting to see Alucard in a position of weakness.

What is the deal with Targoviste? Mostly just to give Trevor and Sypha something to do, before they could join for the finale. Also to introduce Varney.

Why is Varney? Because there was no character, who would believably get into "making a deal with Death" within just one season. Hence he was just a tool to bring Death into the plot. (Which kinda makes sense, given Death is a main antagonist in several of the games.)

Why are Hector and Lenore just fine? Because here, too, there was no time for a proper recovery arc. Also, maybe, because a lot of people got angry, too, about Hector being put into the position of weakness. So it was just swept aside.

Why does Carmilla go off the deep end so quickly? Because there was no time for a proper corruption arc either. But she needed to be the bad guy for that storyline, because otherwise there would not have been a proper finale for the entire Styria storyline, as it was unable to reconnect to the Wallachia storyline.

And why is St. Germain so easily corrupted? I would assume because some executive decision had been made that he had to be put into the season.

The thing is really, that if you just look at it logically, the plot points kinda make sense - but because they are so rushed, they do not feel right. And of course this does kinda ruin a lot of it, because the ending is what matters a lot in stories.

Now, personally, I am mostly fine with where all the arcs end. I personally am fine with the ending of building a village around the castle. I am fine with Isaac taking over Styria. I am fine with Dracula and Lisa coming back from the dead. And yes, I am fine with Lenore dying. But it does feel rushed and I do not like how the plot gets there.

Most of all, I wished that there was a bit more emotional fallout from season 3. I definitely do not like how Alucard is just suddenly fine - or how Hector and Lenore are suddenly fine. It does feel emotionally... unfullfilling. *sighs*

But nothing to do about it now.

What I am getting at with this ramble: I do not think that Ellis (who is a horrible human being, but also a pretty good writer) has suddenly forgotten how to write stuff. I mostly just think that there was a lot of Drama going on behind the scenes. Partly because Ellis is a bad human, but also because of pandemic being pandemic.

[askvarneyakadeath]

Um Death your zipper's down.

"The fuck's a zipper? And why's it down? Gotta cheer your zipper up a bit it sounds like, get it a beer or something. I don't know, alcohol fixes most of humanity's problems apparently."