#Wrath of Dracula

[georgiacooked]

i wish to know more about the kung fu mina movie. context?

So I'm remembering this through the fog of an entire year, so I may be slightly off with the plot, BUT.

From what I recall, it's basically what would happen if you cut out the entire middle section of Dracula, after Mina sets sail to find Jonathan, and have Mina basically teleport directly to Dracula's castle for the end fight instead.

No suitors, no Lucy, no vampiric Mina. Just Mina and Van Helsing, the Brides, and a muscular bald man as Dracula. Oh, and Jonathan briefly.

Van Helsing teaches Mina how to do Kung Fu. Mina...influtrates Castle Dracula, I think, and Kung-fu fights the Brides. Jonathan pokes his head into frame and promptly dies.

I can't bring myself to be entirely awful to the film, because there was not a single frame of it where we didn't enjoy ourselves, it was obviously made on a small budget, and is 10/10 Halloween cheese. We found it on Amazon, I think. There's a prequel film with Lucy and (two) Suitors, the same Van Helsing actor but a different Mina.

[moviesandmania]

WRATH OF DRACULA (2023) Steve Lawson's female-centric take on Bram Stoker's classic

Wrath of Dracula is a 2023 British action horror film in which Mina Harker embarks on a mission to rescue her husband Jonathan from Castle Dracula, assisted by the mysterious Professor Van Helsing. Written, produced and directed by Steve Lawson (Ripper’s Revenge; The Highwayman; The Fourth Musketeer; Jekyll and Hyde; Bram Stoker’s Van Helsing; Saltwater: The Battle for Ramree Island; The Haunting…

[see-arcane]

NEW CLIPS NEW CLIPS!!! 🦇

[barghesthowls]

Jonathan had his eyes closed when the blonde girl started ''kissing'' him, but his eyes shot open once he felt the Count. Not heard or saw, he felt his wrath in his trance!

[beetlebongos]

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

I hate how in gonna end up reading all these famous classics for no other reason than bungo stray dogs- Anyways, Mina and Lucy were totally a little gay for eachother

[randomfandomisuppose]

My sister’s teacher calls her period “Dracula’s Wrath”.

[gildinbainas]

td #3

﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ aziraphale — visage . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ the angel — visage . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ the angel — in character . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ the angel — isms . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ loki — visage . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ loki — isms . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ loki — in character . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ alucard — visage . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ alucard — isms . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ alucard — in character . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ alucard — vs draculas wrath . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ alucard — vs adrian tepes at your service . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ gaara — visage . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ gaara — isms . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ gaara — in character . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ garra — vs lend me your strength . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ charles xavier — in character . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ charles xavier — vs we need you to hope again . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ olrox — isms . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ olrox — visage . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ atem — in character . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ atem — vs cursed spirit . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ atem — vs your god of egypt . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ atem — vs death has no dominion . ﹂ ʾ . ⭒ ❝ atem — vs transcend .

[schlock-luster-video]

Remembering horror icon John Carradine on the anniversary of his death.

R.I.P. (1906 - 1988)

[thegoatsongs]

#actually it reminds me of his second encounter with the vampire ladies #window over a cliff where he sat in a sleepy haze/trance before suddenly abruptly waking with a cry #he 'started' so maybe he even fell back/down before running away @vickyvicarious

Oh, good catch!

(Yeah and it shows again how aside from him having a nocturnal lifestyle and dreams he couldn't tell if they were real or nightmares, he'd be in danger of getting hypnotized whenever he wandered outside his room at night and Dracula was away.)

Mina, July 26

...that sleep-walkers always go out on roofs of houses and along the edges of cliffs and then get suddenly wakened and fall over with a despairing cry that echoes all over the place.

You know what's funny? A certain someone who has also been struggling with sleep and dreams, and hasn't written in a while, also climbed out of the top of a house, one that is over the edge of an enormous cliff. And he may have fallen over with a despairing cry.

[georgiacooked]

Tonight @fiotrethewey and I are participating in our new favourite pastime of Low Budget Dracula Adaptations. We’ve just discovered Wrath of Dracula, which was released this year. And DEAR LORD.

MINA HARKER LEARNS KUNG FU.

MINA HARKER DOES NOT KNOW WHERE ROMANIA IS.

MINA HARKER IS IN A BUDDY-COP COMEDY WITH VAN HELSING AND WE’RE HERE FOR IT.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Monster, Inc. 4

Warnings: this fic will include elements, some dark, such as age gap, noncon/dubcon, and other untagged triggers. Please take this into account before proceeding. It is up to curate your online consumption safely.

Summary: your boss is an asshole, you know this. But what happens when he turns his wrath upon you? (plus!reader)

Characters: Lloyd Hansen, this reader is known as Missie.

Author’s Note: Please feel free to leave some feedback, reblog, and jump into my asks. I’m always happy to discuss with you and riff on idea. As always, you are cherished and adored! Stay safe, be kind, and treat yourself💜

💼Part of the Bad Bosses AU💼

After a quick Google and a few reviews, you decide on a brand. You pick a box off the shelf. It should do the job as long as you apply it properly. You’re not so worried about yourself. 

Something drops along the edge of your vision and you peek over. A man walks away ignorant of the card left behind. You hurry to scoop it up. 

“Excuse me, sir, you dropped--” You click to a stop in your heels as he faces you. You smile as he mirrors your expression. “Peter!?” 

“Hey, Missie.” His brown eyes beam back at you. “What are the odds?” 

“It’s been so long. Um...” you look down at the card then wiggle it at him. “You dropped this.” 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” 

He accepts the card with a dimple in his cheek. You look at it and realise it’s nothing special. Just a loyalty card from Roasters. It is a great shop. 

“Haven’t heard from you since the paper. You said you’d keep in touch.” He shifts his stance so another customer can squeeze by. 

“Yeah, uh, I meant to. I’ve been really cruddy at keeping up. Work is so busy and--” 

“What’s that for?” He quickly redirects as he points at the box in your hands. “You dye your hair? Wouldn’t guess it.” 

“Oh, no it’s for... my boss,” you giggle. 

“Your boss. Right. I’m sorry, what exactly do you do now?” 

“I’m a PA. My boss is just demanding. That’s all. But it’s good pay and it keeps me on my toes.” 

“Ah, I left the paper too. Started my own photography business.” He explains. 

“I saw that on Insta! I follow you. Your stuff is so good.” 

“You follow me but you don’t message,” he crosses his arms. 

“I’m sorry,” you pout. You rattle the box in your hands. You don’t want to be abrupt but you really can’t keep Mr. Hansen waiting too long and you still need to grab shampoo. 

“We should catch up. How about dinner? What are you doing tonight?” Peter asks. 

“Oh, er, nothing.” 

“Great. How about Zak’s? That old sandwich shop near the paper. I remember your fave; the spicy italian with extra pickles.” He grins triumphantly. 

“Sure, that sounds awesome. Just... send me a message, okay? I gotta get back to my boss.” 

“Sure, don’t let her work you too hard,” he steps out of your way. 

“He,” you correct him. “It’s not hard work, just a lot.” 

You sweep down the aisle and grab a clarifying shampoo on your way to the checkout. Even just a few minutes is too long for Mr. Hansen and in his state, you don’t expect him to be any calmer. All you can hope for is that the remover works out. 

Back at the office, you measure your dread. It won’t be that bad. You can fix this. Maybe. You grabbed some dye too, hoping maybe you might be able to even everything out after. 

You drop your purse on your desk and flit over to Mr. Hansen’s office. You knock and hear him groaning from inside. As you enter, he’s bent over his lap, holding his head. He sits up so fast his chair teeters. He faces your chirpy greeting. 

“Mr. Hansen,” you sing, “I got everything we need.” 

“Why the fuck are you so cheery?” 

As you look at him, like really look at him, you find it hard not to laugh. He really does look awful. He’s not exactly your type but he isn’t too bad most days. The black dye just washes him out. He looks like Dracula if he was in a 70s adult flick. 

“So, we need to wash your hair. I figured we can use your sink. I even grabbed a towel.” 

“You think of everything, don’t you?” He hisses. 

“Sir, I think we can fix your hair.” 

He scowls and stands. He shakes his head and slinks to the en suite bathroom. You follow with the bag of goodies. He looms with arms crossed as you put it on the counter and unpack. 

“You can put the towel around your collar to keep the remover from dripping. Tuck it in to--” 

Before you can finish, his shirt is half unbuttoned. You turn to unbox the remover and peel the seal of the bottle as you quiet. Whatever’s easier, you suppose. He hangs his shirt on the back of the door and comes back to you. You get a glimpse of his chest hair in the mirror. 

“Alright, erm, bend over the sink and we need to wash your hair. How about you put the towel over your eyes--” 

“I can handle it.” He snatches the towel and folders it over his forehead and eyes. He bends over the sink. His broad shoulders strain as his muscles tighten. “Don’t fuck up my hair.” 

You want to tell him you don’t think it can get worse but you know better. You take one of the paper cups from the stack and crank on the faucet.  You feel the temperature before you fill the cup and carefully pour it over his head. You wet all the strands and squirt shampoo onto his hair. You lather it up, scratching his scalp with your nails. 

“Mmmph,” he purrs as your work away. You smile. He’s a bit like a cat. Cranky but manageable. 

You rinse his hair methodically. You make sure not to get any near his face as you use your hand to redirect the water. When you finish, you help him cover his hair with the towel. 

You roll in his chair from the office and have him sit. You rub the moisture of his hair with the towel and drape it around his shoulders. You pull the gloves on and mix up the remover in the bottle then take the comb out of the box. You go to Mr. Hansen as he sits, looking despondent. 

“It fucking reeks,” he wrinkles his nose at the odour. 

“I did warn you but once we rinse it out, you’ll be good as new.” You comb his hair back, then forward, and pull out a thin section. You slather it on precisely as you work through the strands. 

As you pay close attention to your task, you feel the tension ease from him. When you get through the longer pieces on the top of his head, you push the back again. You use your gloved fingers to do his sides, rubbing in the remover on the buzzed stubble. As you do, he closes his eyes and leans into your touch. 

Well, it’s better than him being angry. This might be the most relaxed you’ve ever seen Mr. Hansen. 

[samwisethewitch]

What Non-Pagans Need to Know About Fiction Featuring Pagan Gods

In light of Marvel's Loki show dropping a second season and a new Percy Jackson series on the horizon, I want to say some things about how fandom spaces can be respectful of real-life pagan religion.

Let's get one thing out of the way: literally no one is saying you can't enjoy fiction that uses pagan gods and heroes as characters. No one is saying, "Stop writing stories about our gods." In fact, many ancient cultures wrote fiction about their gods -- look at Greek theater or the Norse Eddas. The act of writing fiction about the gods is not offensive in itself.

But please remember that this is someone's religion.

The gods are not "just archetypes." Their myths are not "just stories." Their personalities are not a matter of artistic interpretation. For many pagans, the gods are very much real in a literal sense. I don't think Thor is a metaphor or a symbol -- for me, Thor is a real, autonomous spiritual being who exists outside of human perceptions of him, and who I have chosen to build a relationship with. Even if you are a hardcore atheist, I would hope you could at least be respectful of the fact that, to many modern pagans, the gods are both very real and very important.

When authors are not respectful of this fact, they reduce the gods, these very real objects of worship, to fictional characters. And here's the thing about fictional characters: they are fundamentally tools for authors to use to draw a desired emotional response from an audience.

Dracula's personality and behavior is wildly different depending on who is writing him, because different authors use Dracula to create different reactions in their audiences. In the 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi, he's equal parts alluring and disturbing, a symbol of America's mixed desire and disdain for foreigners. In Nosferatu, he's more strictly frightening and disgusting. In Francis Ford Coppola's movie, he's a tragic, romantic figure clinging to the last scraps of his humanity. In Netflix's Castlevania, he's an incredibly powerful being who has grown bitter and apathetic in his immortality. All of this is Dracula, and all of it is fine, because Dracula is not and never has been a central figure in anyone's religion.

Let's take a look at what happens when authors give this same treatment to real gods:

In Hellenic polytheism, Apollo is one of the most beloved gods, both historically and today. Apollo loves humanity, and humanity loves him back. He is the god of sunlight and of medicine, but also of poetry and song. He is one of humanity's most consistent defenders when one of the other gods gets wrathful. And while he does have dangerous or wrathful aspects of his own (he's also the god of disease, after all), he's also kind and soft with humanity in a way other gods often aren't, at least in some historic sources.

In the Lore Olympus comic series, Apollo is a villain. He's characterized as an abuser, a manipulator, and a violent man child. LO!Apollo is downright hateful, because the author wants us to hate him. Lore Olympus is a retelling of a myth about an abduction and forced marriage. Lore Olympus is also a romance. In order to get the audience to sympathize with Hades and root for his relationship with Persephone, Rachel Smythe needed to make someone else the villain. Apollo is the most obvious and extreme character assassination in Smythe's work, but several other gods (notably Demeter) also get the asshole makeover to tell the story Smythe wants to tell.

Here's where this becomes a problem: Hellenic polytheism is a fairly small religious community, while Lore Olympus is a massively popular webtoon with 1.3 billion views as of August 2023, print books available from major retailers, a TV adaptation in the works, and a very active online fandom. Rachel Smythe currently has a MUCH bigger platform than any Hellenic polytheism practitioner. Smythe and other authors are shaping how modern culture views the Hellenic gods, and that has a very real impact on their worshipers.

This means "Apollo is an abusive asshole" is becoming a popular take online, and is even creeping into pagan communities. I've personally seen people be harassed for worshiping Apollo because of it. I've seen new pagans and pagan-curious folks who totally misunderstand the roles Apollo, Hades, and Persephone play in the Hellenic pantheon because of Lore Olympus and other modern works of fiction.

There are tons of other examples of this in modern pop culture, but I'll just rattle off a few of the ones that annoy me most: Rick Riordan depicting Ares/Mars as a brutish asshole hyped up on toxic masculinity; Rick Riordan depicting Athena as a mother goddess; Marvel depicting Thor as a dumb jock; Marvel depicting Odin as a cold, uncaring father; DC depicting Ares as purely evil; whatever the fuck the Vikings TV show was trying to do with seidr; the list goes on.

All of these are examples of religious appropriation. Religious appropriation is when sacred symbols are taken out of their original religious context by outsiders, so that the original meaning is lost or changed. It requires a power imbalance -- the person taking the symbols is usually part of a dominant religious culture. In many cases, the person doing the appropriation has a much bigger platform than anyone who has the knowledge to correct them.

When Rick Rioridan or Rachel Smythe totally mischaracterizes a Greek god to tell a story, and then actual Hellenic pagans get harassed for worshiping that god, that's religious appropriation.

Religious appropriation is a real issue. This isn't just pagans being sensitive. To use an extreme example: Richard Wagner and other German Romantic authors in the 19th century used the Norse gods and other Germanic deities as symbols in their work, which was a major influence on Nazi philosophy. Without Wagner, the Nazis would not have latched onto the Norse gods as symbols of their white supremacist agenda. To this day, there are white supremacist groups who claim to worship our gods or who use our religious imagery in their hate movement. We are still reckoning with the misinterpretation of our gods popularized by Wagner and other German Romantics almost 200 years ago.

Again, no one is saying you can't enjoy fiction based on pagan mythology. But there are a few things you can do to help prevent religious appropriation in fandom spaces:

Above all else, be mindful that while this may just be a story to you, it is someone's religion.

Recognize that enjoying fiction based on our gods does not mean you know our gods. You know fictional characters with the same names as our gods, who may or may not be accurate to real-life worship.

Do not argue with or try to correct pagans when we talk about our experience of our gods.

Don't invalidate or belittle pagan worship. Again, this mostly comes down to recognizing that our religion is totally separate from your fandom. We aren't LARPing or playing pretend. Our sacred traditions are real and valid.

If you see other people in your fandom engaging in religious appropriation, point out what they are doing and why it isn't okay.

Please tag your fandom content appropriately on social media. Always tag the show, movie, book, etc. that a post is about in addition to other relevant tags. This allows pagans to block these fandom tags if we don't want to see them and prevents fandom content showing up in religious tags.

For example, if I'm posting about Athena from the Percy Jackson books, I would tag the post #athena #athenapjo #percyjackson #pjo. You get the idea.

And if fiction sparks your interest and you want to learn more about the actual worship of the gods, you can always ask! Most pagans love talking about our gods and trading book recs.

If you are writing fiction based on real mythology, talk to people who worship those gods. Ask them what a respectful portrayal would look like. If possible, include a note in your finished work reminding audiences that it is a work of fiction and not meant to accurately portray these gods.

[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.

[immediatebreakfast]

The silent terror of this entry as Jonathan's attempt to reach out to Mina, and Mr. Hawkins are futile in the hands of the Count. It may be a whole entry, but the constant cuts in between every paragraph makes it feel that Jonathan is waiting for something, anything that would make him unable to write.

It almost feels like Jonathan is waiting for Dracula's wrath to finally descend upon him instead of the abusive mind games. I would even speculate that Jonathan would prefer that (even if it could end up with him dead), instead of being in a state that makes him question his own mind. It's so dire that rhis entry doesn't feel like Jonathan anymore, it's not Jonathan writing about what is happening with his own written cadence, it's Jonathan recording events in paper so he knows that what he lived is real.

When Dracula comes with the two letters, and starts to act, Jonathan doesn't move nor talk for the whole scene. All of the hope for escaping is held in the hands of the man who has been carefully tearing his brain apart for months, Jonathan's last hope is back to the Count... It seems that all of the emotions left him nearly catatonic, unable to do anything else but breathe.

The invansion of privacy as Dracula admited that he opened the letter for Mr. Hawkins, the further isolation as Dracula lied (yes I think he is lying) about how the romani people willingly gave him the letters, the utter rage expressed when Dracula realizes that Jonathan has the actual upper hand on him in a way that doesn't amuse him.

"the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality! It is not signed. Well! so it cannot matter to us."

Then, the inmediate switch of demeanor into a gentleman again, telling Jonathan without words that all of this situation is his fault. If he didn't do that, if he didn't "betray" Dracula with those letters, then maybe Jonathan would still have hope in leaving the castle alive.

"The letter to Hawkins—that I shall, of course, send on, since it is yours. Your letters are sacred to me. Your pardon, my friend, that unknowingly I did break the seal. Will you not cover it again?" 

The Count is nothing but a good host, a remarkable noble, a symbolic upstanding husband, why would Jonathan try to escape, when his death date has already been decided? How outrageous, how ungrateful. No wonder he "has to" lock Jonathan so he is forced to think about what he has done.

[vickyvicarious]

Jonathan's decision to play along today was very difficult to make. But, in the end, it was the right move. He set aside his anger and impulse to rebel... perhaps as much or more out of fear rather than just logic, but we do see his reasoning and it makes sense.

And honestly, I think he pushed his luck nearly to the limit anyways. Look at how Dracula asked. First, he waited a few days after everything that went down with the vampire ladies, perhaps to see if Jonathan would bring up the topic. If Jonathan does, maybe he had plans to lie to him again, to gaslight him about either never sleeping outside of his room, or about Dracula finding him dreaming somewhere else and helping him back to his own bed. Still, Jonathan's reaction to such a lie could very easily force an end to all this pretending. But since he never brings it up at all, Dracula knows he can continue his game. In fact, Jonathan is proving to be a very resilient player, one who has just enough struggle in him to make it more interesting, without being too unmanageable or ever close to actually get away.

Dracula gives Jonathan this 'request' "in the suavest tones" - he's really emphasizing his charm here, being extra friendly as he tries to make Jonathan feel even worse. But then, contrary to what he's seen thus far, Jonathan hesitates.

I would fain have rebelled, but felt that in the present state of things it would be madness to quarrel openly with the Count whilst I am so absolutely in his power; and to refuse would be to excite his suspicion and to arouse his anger. He knows that I know too much, and that I must not live, lest I be dangerous to him; my only chance is to prolong my opportunities. Something may occur which will give me a chance to escape. I saw in his eyes something of that gathering wrath which was manifest when he hurled that fair woman from him. He explained to me that posts were few and uncertain, and that my writing now would ensure ease of mind to my friends; and he assured me with so much impressiveness that he would countermand the later letters, which would be held over at Bistritz until due time in case chance would admit of my prolonging my stay, that to oppose him would have been to create new suspicion.

I think he must have been sitting there making these arguments to himself in real time. Wrestling with his fear and his outrage and possibly losing most of his control over his expression and body language as he did so. And at first, this is fun for Dracula. He wants Jonathan to struggle like this. It's fun to watch. But then, the longer it goes on, the more real becomes the possibility that this will be Jonathan's breaking point. And if it is, if he outright says "no" even this once, then Dracula's entire game is ruined. He's just committed to wanting to keep Jonathan around for another full month. Jonathan passed the test with the other vampires. Dracula has been looking forward to this. How dare he spoil this -

Dracula's rage rises as he finds himself forces to make excuses and be convincing when he likely assumed he no longer needed to put in that much effort. Jonathan finally does agree, but he didn't do so right away. And it's a very fine line, because continuing to do this does in fact make him more interesting and fun in the long run, and thus perhaps allow him to live longer. Maybe after they separate for the evening (morning, being nocturnal) Dracula would actually look back on this moment with indulgent enjoyment. He pushed perhaps right up to the limit of what Dracula would tolerate, but he didn't quite cross it, so the game can continue. But at the same time, pushing like this (or rather, resisting being pushed before giving in) is extremely dangerous in the moment - because in the moment, there's still a chance Jonathan could cross the line. Dracula has a temper and he will take it out on Jonathan if he decides he's had enough.

It's that tightrope again. More of the same. But I just... love imagining this moment. Dracula's sickly-sweet smugness at the start, his utter confidence in his victory once again. And Jonathan - pausing. Saying nothing in response. Thinking it over, taking so long to do so, trying so hard to keep a neutral face but not fully succeeding, maybe keeping his head bowed so his expression can't be seen. Dracula's anger building along with almost a sort of desperation, as he lays out all this bullshit reasoning, maybe losing control of his own tone somewhat as he gets more aggressively vehement. The absolute tension rising, up and up right until the moment Jonathan looks up and agrees, when it suddenly dissipates. But the aftermath lingers, even in Dracula's victory. Even as Jonathan writes the three letters, one after another under Dracula's watchful eye. Dracula takes them from his hand, squeezes his shoulder in ostensible thanks, but such a clear threat. Jonathan's face twitching, a little spasm of fear and despair, at the contact.

It could be SUCH a good scene in an adaptation that emphasized the abusive dynamic here.