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monsterpie · 2 years

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Lore from the Live Action Movie

- The only native snake species to Monster High’s ecosystem is a giant swamp viper but they’re 40 feet long “and tend to bite your head off if you get too close”

- Monster High was built in 1071 to be a safe place for all monsters to be their true selves.

- Frankie’s brain is made up of parts from Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Plato, Elizabeth Feinler, and Alan Turing. Their heart is from a fisherman named Earl. Their spleen is from Shakespeare. Their thigh is from their uncle, Phil Hermiton. Their hand is from Frida Kahlo.

- There was a war in 1320, dubbed “The Great War,” which was significant enough to be studied in Monster History Class.

- There is a book called A Tale of Two Coffins, an allusion to the Charles Dickens book, A Tale of Two Cities.

- Vampires have been at war with witches for centuries.

- The Monster High mascot is the Demons.

- There were many centuries of conflict between dragons and monsters prior to 1375, when the Dragon Treaty of 1375 was created. Causes of conflict between dragons and other monsters: language barriers & no means of communication with remote dragon groups, food scarcity during the middle ages, expansion of human territories forcing dragons to leave their hunting grounds, differing hierarchal systems.

- Dracula, Selena Wolf (Clawdeen’s mom), and Eddy Hyde were all apparently friends prior to Hyde’s half-human heritage being revealed.

- There are nocturnal students who attend night classes at Monster High.

- Zombies (or, at least, Ghoulia) sleep in graveyards, in graves.

- There are students/monsters who eat limbs, like the ones taken from the Monster Biology lab.

- The school is alive. It can respond to questions about where places are, create warnings on the walls made of blood, and decorate dorm rooms for students.

- There are monster-specific snacks, available in the vending machine at Monster High. These include: Stein’s root beer (mascot is a caricature of Victor Frankenstein’s monster, aka Frankie’s dad. The tagline is “It’s electric!” and apparently it is “chunky and delicious,” according to the advertisement), Sour Boos, Sour Gnomes, Ghostitos potato chips (available in both Swamp Water and Brain (?) flavors), Banshee Bites, Stuffed Newt Eyeballs, Full Moon Pie, and Choco-claws.

- Hyde kept meticulous lab journals, all written in code and marked by his signature “clasped hands”.

- In her mortal life, Cleo studied with Heka, god of magic and medicine, and can recognize an incantation that’s in front of her.

- Terrifying Trigonometry is the name of one of the school textbooks and, presumably, the name of one of the classes.

- In the monster world, football is played with a real foot, and after the game the foot is eaten.

#monster high #mh #monsterhigh #mine #lamh #monster high 2022 #monster high the movie

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milkywaydrabbles · 8 months

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He who was found in chains, set free. | III.

Cross posted on AO3, here!

Sunlight shone through the window, rousing you from slumber. It was morning already, huh . That was the best you’ve rested in, well, you couldn’t remember. You don’t remember waking up once after speaking to the angel. Perhaps he casted a spell on you so as to not wake until dawn. No, that’d be silly use of his talents. You weren’t sure what to do next. Slowly you rose from the bed, and decided to trek through the large castle. You were sure he’d be asleep, knowing at the very least his vampiric senses wouldn’t let him in the sunlight (well...) and tried to make it back to the study. You wish you had looked up when following him. But now that you were alone, and very much lost , you took the time to look at your surroundings.

Beautiful, large portraits of different faces hung around the walls. A man with dark, long hair. Pale, and dark, stoic eyes. Must be Dracula... you thought to yourself. You wondered why the blonde had kept them up. Eyes continued to wander, seeing more portraits of either Dracula or people that looked very similar to him. Family, maybe. Odd thinking of vampires with families . And then you saw one of the most ethereal woman you’d ever laid eyes on. Soft, blonde hair, with fair skin and gorgeous eyes. If you thought about it long enough, you’d realize that she very much resembled the vampire that took you in.

But you didn’t think much of it.

You pressed on, forgetting your initial quest of finding the study and instead started taking in the artwork on the walls, wandering aimlessly throughout the halls. Although the castle was a mere shadow of its past grandeur, it was still as remarkable as ever. For you, anything bigger than a barn was remarkable. But this? This was a work of art on its own.

Eventually, by mere miracle , you found yourself in front of a library. You don’t believe it to be the study from last night, but it was a room filled to the brim with books nonetheless. A small smile graced your lips, and you started shuffling towards the shelves. Endless books on different topics--medicine, herbs, history, the human body-- everything . You weren’t sure where to start. This was the first time you’d even seen a book since you taught yourself to read and write when that man fell asleep drunk each night. It was miraculous that he never found your journal and book clearly meant for children. He never really looked hard though, too busy wanting other things from you. You scowled.

Pushing the awful thoughts as far back as you could, you moved further into the library. The shelves were taller than you, so you had to crane your neck to see what else lay on the shelves. You felt a light within you spark. You’d never felt so...grateful, to be alive. To be given the opportunity to even look at these books. Tears filled your waterline, and you blinked them away as best you could, some falling still.

A book piqued your interest, it looked like it was about magic. I can learn magic! A small laugh escaped you, more breath than real laughter. You pushed up, reached as high as you could, grabbing the massive book from its place and sat right there on the ground. This level of reading was much higher than you were used to, so it would take time, but you would try anyways. You flipped the first page, a bit overwhelmed already with how much was on the page but you didn’t care. You finally had knowledge about yourself at your fingertips.

Alucard searched almost frantically trying to find you. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted you, he knew he should have kept you on a chain within the room so you couldn’t escape. And now you were somewhere in this damned castle, probably plotting his demise. You could sense your lies in his bones now, how could I have been so blind! You were faking not knowing about magic. You were going to betray him just as the twins did, you were going to try to kill him, you were--

You were in the library . He heard a small chuckle, so soft that if it weren’t for his Dhampir senses it would have skirted on by in the wind. He made his way to the door as quickly as he could and flung the door open with such aggression it made you drop the book from your hands. Eyes wild and filled with rage, Alucard stormed over and grabbed your arm, uncaring that it was wounded and that you yelled, and hoisted you up. “ What are you doing here? ” He spat.

All panic came tumbling back, all the fear that you rightfully had prior, eyes widening at his actions. You couldn’t breathe, trying to inhale anything into your lungs that felt like they were filled with stone.

“I just--I wanted to--I--”

“Don’t bullshit me.”

Tears flowed freely now, you looked like a deer caught within the jaws of a predator.

“I just wanted to read.”

It escaped you like a sob.

He let go of you, and took a step back.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to read, honest!”

He looked down at the book you had chosen, lying face down now.

It was a beginner book for magic.

Alucard sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. God , he felt embarrassed now for his outlash.

“I’m...” He groaned. “I’m sorry.”

“No,” you wept, and continued. “No, I won’t do it again, I won’t do it anymore, I��m sorry, I’m sorry” Hands gripped onto the length of your skirt for dear life, trembling like a leaf. Your continued ramblings of I’m sorry, please don’t beat me, I won’t do it again, I promise broke Alucard bit by bit the more he looked at you.

You were harmless .

“Hey, listen, you didn’t do anything-” he reached out to try and console you, and the moment his hand reached your shoulder a thick sob bubbled out of your chest and you flinched away, protecting yourself with your hands.

Shit .

Alucard retracted his hand, and slowly moved them up in a defenseless position. Slowly he crouched, and picked up the book you started reading, closing it up and placing it on the table a few feet away.

“Please, please calm down. I’m sorry, it was wrong of me to accuse you.” He talked as loud as he could over your sobs without yelling in fear of scaring you again. He just wanted you to listen . It took some coaxing, and after a bit more quiet sobs you had calmed down just enough to look at him with bleary eyes. Red, puffy, and burning. Your hands slowly went down to your chest, grasping at each other. He needed to be careful approaching you.

“My name is Alucard.” he offered.

You gasped.

“The Alucard? The one who defeated Dracula ?” It was the most emotion outside of fear he had heard from you yet. Filled with curiosity and wonder.

“Just...Alucard. Please.”

You retracted a bit, bowing your head. “Yes, I’m sorry Alucard, forgive me.”

He shook his head. “There’s no need for the formalities, really. It’s okay.”

After quite some time, the two of you headed down to the kitchen. It was the original reason he went to go find you. Give you some breakfast. Before he completely embarrassed himself.

“Eat, I’m sure you haven’t had a proper meal in quite some time.” God, he had no idea.

You wanted to eat everything in sight. It might have been a bit cold now since it took some time to get you down here, but you would never complain. Not with the feast in front of you. Just for breakfast! You couldn’t believe it!

And then you remembered any time you wanted to eat freely back at Gresit.

I eat first, and then you eat my scraps you ungrateful bitch. Never forget who the master of this house is.

The smile was immediately wiped from your face, and you retracted a hand that was reaching for some bread. Hands tucked neatly on your lap, you bit your lip and looked down. Alucard rose a brow.

“Is something wrong?”

You shook your head, “You eat first. You’re the master of this house.” Robotic tone like an automatic response.

This is going to take some time, Alucard grimaced inwardly.

“We eat together. I am the master of this house,” you flinched, “and as such, I want you to eat with me. Understood?” He didn’t like using the very clear trauma against you, but he needed to at least get you to ingest something. Whatever you could handle. You stayed still for a moment, and went back to reach for the piece of bread from before. Slowly, you took a bite and you could have cried all over again from how wonderful it felt to finally eat something not gutted from a mangled up animal which was clearly leftovers from a night creature eating.

“It’s good.” Lips curled up, if only a little, in joy.

“Good, I’m glad.” He nodded, and went about eating his own fill, glancing over to you every now and then to make sure you were eating.

You were slow, taking your time, tasting things little by little seeing how your stomach would react. Eating was hard for someone who hadn’t eaten nutritious meals in years. You felt gluttonous, eating until you were full. You ate slowly, hoping you would be full quicker. You didn’t want to eat all of Alucard’s food, it was rude of you.

“You can eat more, you know. I made this for you.”

Your eyes shot up at him, glassy, threatening to cry.

“ Really? ” Your voice is small, but grateful. He nodded. You said nothing back, but smiled the closest thing to a real smile he’s seen. From there, you ate graciously, still taking your time and making sure your stomach didn’t hurt, but ate until you were full. Different meats, and cheeses, things you’ve never had before. It filled your heart as much as your stomach.

The rest of the morning passed in silence, you returning to the library (he mostly guided you, so as to not get lost again), and pressed on with reading. This time on a chair. Alucard stayed with you, studying on his own. Your brow furrowed, mouthing out words and mumbling under your breath.

“Do you...need help?”

You glanced up, embarrassment filling you. A pink warmth dusted over your cheeks, and your eyes looked anywhere else other than his face. “I uhm...I can’t seem to get this word.” You admitted.

Alucard went over to you and read over your shoulder.

“ An herbology is practical, magic depending on geographical locale. The incantations as depicted in this book will require certain plants, however once mastered can be replaced with surrounding vegetation that grows within your region.”

Ah, that made more sense now.

You repeated some words to yourself, tracing over the letters on the page. Geographical, incantations, vegetation . Those are words you understand, and can now read .

“I’m surprised you know how to read, given your...circumstances.”

You continued thumbing the words, “I taught myself. As best as I could. Some words are...difficult.”

Alucard hummed, and went back to his corner of the room, eyes unable to process the words on the pages anymore.

“Would you like to study more?” You perked up.

“Would you...would you help me?” you sounded hopeful. He nodded. You grinned.

“I would like that very much, Alucard.”

“You know, you never gave me your name.” He was teasing you, smirk curling his lips. Now you felt terribly embarrassed. You bowed your head again, “I’m so sorry.” And then you gave him your name.

He hummed again, repeating it back at you. You felt your heart in your throat. It was the first time someone had said your name without disgust.

“Very well, I have time today. Why don’t we start our studying now, hm?”

#adrian tepes #adrian tepes x reader #alucard (castlevania)#alucard tepes x reader #alucard x reader #alucard tepes #castlevania #castlevania (2017)#castlevania netflix

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misslavenderlady · 4 months

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I'm here with some questions about our girl Bree~!!!

How did she find out they were vamps in the first place? I mean, did she figure most of it put on her own, or did the boys show their true side to her?

And what are the Frogs + Sammy's thoughts on her? If the Frogs know her at least. 👀

CHERRYYYYYY!! This is my first ever ask about Bree!!! I'm so excited! Rest assured, I will have an actual side blog up for her soon but in the meantime I am more than happy to answer any questions about her here

🥺🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

So Bree is a registered nurse, meaning she has plenty of medical knowledge from her studies and experience. It's easy for her to figure out when something is wrong. She met the boys the first night they ever popped into the doctors office she works at. David asked for her to examine his wrist because he crashed his bike while doing a stunt (a little callback to the injury kiefer got before they started filming)

Obviously during the exam Bree noticed there was no pulse in his wrist, and feared something was wrong. She tried to listen for his heartbeat with her stethoscope but found nothing. When she excused herself to get another stethoscope and try again, David and the boys had mysteriously vanished.

They returned again another night. She tried to ask questions, but the boys lead her in circles with their mysterious words (that or they just didn't answer her, opting to just giggle playfully). Dwayne, Paul and Marko all got checkups too. Whether it was asking for a flu shot, getting a cough checked or just making up some disease to get her to touch them, they adored playing games. Each time they did, she found something new wrong. The biggest kicker was when she drew blood at David's request, and was shocked to find the blood was glittery and dark.

She fainted from the shock, and was found and cared for by Michael after she woke up. The boys had left by that point.

At first she thought there had to be some logical explanation. She's a bright woman that values science and research. In a way, she was more fascinated than she was horrified. She thought they were all some kind of medical anomaly. Four boys with an unknown illness.

But then the visits started. Or rather, the "dreams" as she thought they were.

Bree would have moments in the dead of night where she'd hear voices whispering to her. Images of the boys in her room, asking if she wanted to be one of them. To know what they were. They told her to turn away from her medical journal and look more to her beloved monster books. When she awoke, she did just that. She poured over all her favorite stories, particularly Dracula and Camilla. Everything began to make a lot more sense.

At the moment, David and the boys have not outright said what they are, as they're biding their time for the right moment (especially with Michael still a part of their game). But there's this unspoken agreement between them and Bree. A bond made by a shared secret. She knows what they are, but she's not frightened. She's interested. Curious. Attracted to them.

She wants to get to know them more, and they feel the same about her~

Since Michael works at the same doctors office, the other Emersons pop in to say hi to both him and Bree. During the summer Sam and the Frogs come by for the school physicals, which are done by Bree. She thinks Sam is a nice kid, but find the Frog brothers a bit odd. They give her cryptic warnings about monsters and that they suspect the return of vampires they once slayed. When she tries to ask Sam about it, he tells her that Michael isn't very comfortable with sharing that story.

To her, the Emersons are just as mysterious as the Lost Boys. Granted, they're very kind and wonderful to be around, but she wishes they would open up to her. She really likes Michael and he likes her. It breaks her heart to see him and his brother struggling with their demons from the past.

Little does she know that such a thing is more literal in the sense.

In the meantime, she's happy to chat with the kids, so long as they behave. She also gives them stickers as a little gift. They claim they're too old for stickers, but secretly love them.

#tlb insert Bree #tlb self insert #the lost boys #lavender lady rambles #asks

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origami-trust · 8 months

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Dracula, Sept 17th: Lucy's memorandum: "They all four lay helpless on the floor, breathing heavily. The decanter of sherry was on the table half full, but there was a queer, acrid smell about. I was suspicious, and examined the decanter. It smelt of laudanum, and looking on the sideboard, I found that the bottle which mother's doctor uses for her—oh! did use—was empty." Dracula, May 7th, Jonathan's journal: "In the library I found, to my great delight, a vast number of English books...The books were of the most varied kind—history, geography, politics, political economy, botany, geology, law—all relating to England and English life and customs and manners." (I may have said something on this last year but let's go again)

This latest entry is chilling to me, because it seems like a real reversal of technique if the laudanum in the sherry can be credited to the Count. The battle is of Dracula, armed with supernatural and vampiric abilities, against Van Helsing, armed with science, and knowledge, and technology...except that Dracula, in this entry, seems to make use of medical technology as well. (And in the Sept 11th entry, Van Helsing was asked if he were casting a spell!) Lucy immediately notices the unusual smell of the sherry, and deduces that somebody has just dumped the entirety of her mother's laudanum into the sherry.

The idea that Dracula is engaging with these kinds of medicines makes him a scarier foe. He's got both his own abilities and those of the people who would fight him. He's studied English customs so that he can blend in seamlessly but also so that he has knowledge of his prey and how he might manipulate them. He controls animals, he transforms into animals and dust motes...and whether directly or indirectly, also casually makes use of drugs. There's a special horror in the fact that Dracula is armed with so much knowledge - that there's little that could be used against him that would be a surprise, and also that he is fully ready to engage with and act in the modern world.

#dracula #dracula daily #I remember this last year being very surprised that in the same entry #dracula displays so many supernatural abilities #and then also makes use of modern medicine??#weirdly enough tho laudanum I'm pretty sure has a cloying sweet smell - maybe not what I would call 'acrid'#but i might be wrong about that

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cinaed · 2 years

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Someone explain to me why I am getting emotional over railway time tables!

But just remembering this scene between Dracula and Jonathan in the castle:

The lamps were also lit in the study or library, and I found the Count lying on the sofa, reading, of all things in the world, an English Bradshaw’s Guide [a railway timetables and travel guide book]. When I came in he cleared the books and papers from the table; and with him I went into plans and deeds and figures of all sorts. He was interested in everything, and asked me a myriad questions about the place and its surroundings. He clearly had studied beforehand all he could get on the subject of the neighbourhood, for he evidently at the end knew very much more than I did. When I remarked this, he answered:—

“Well, but, my friend, is it not needful that I should? When I go there I shall be all alone, and my friend Harker Jonathan—nay, pardon me, I fall into my country’s habit of putting your patronymic first—my friend Jonathan Harker will not be by my side to correct and aid me. He will be in Exeter, miles away, probably working at papers of the law with my other friend, Peter Hawkins. So!”

And then getting walloped today by Mina’s journal entry, in which her love for Jonathan radiates off the page and she turns memorizing railway schedules as a form of affection rather than Dracula’s obvious intent to learn his new hunting grounds.

"Jonathan will be here at half-past eleven, and you must come to lunch with us and see him then; you could catch the quick 3:34 train, which will leave you at Paddington before eight." [Van Helsing] was surprised at my knowledge of the trains off-hand, but he does not know that I have made up all the trains to and from Exeter, so that I may help Jonathan in case he is in a hurry.

I don’t know, I don’t have anything important to say about it! The unexpected parallels just punched me in the heart today.

#Dracula Daily

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atundratoadstool · 2 years

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What type of disagreements are there among Dracula scholars?

[Spoilers: Mention of not-yet-encountered character, vague allusions to general themes]

I mean, much like scholars in any field studying any author or any text, it's hard to enumerate all the ways that scholars disagree. Being a scholar is always going to being--in some way--about disagreeing with everybody. In the case of Dracula, I also feel scholarship can mean a lot of things. Dracula, like the Sherlock Holmes stories and the works of of Jane Austen, has a rich history as a literary text that just comes with a lot of commentary from fanclubs, independent scholars, collectors, and other people who aren't Ph.Ds publishing in prestigious academic journals. While I'm sure that there are some people who would like to draw some lines and keep some gates as regards who gets to be called a Dracula scholar, I'm not one of them, so some of the disagreements listed below aren't going to apply to every circle of people having Dracula conversations.

One of the bigger things that I think has stirred up disagreement among Dracula scholars/enthusiasts/commentators/adapters is whether or not Count Dracula is meant to be the historical figure Vlad III of Wallachia (often referred to as Vlad the Impaler). While it was insanely popular for a long while to think they were one and the same, people examining Stoker's original papers and sources for the novel noticed at some point that there is virtually no information about Vlad III in Stoker's notes and we don't know how much he read about Vlad III in the sources that mentioned him. The language of the lineage speech also has led many to think that Dracula is better identified with the "Dracula of a later age" than with the Dracula who is clearly alluding to Vlad III.

In a similar vein (pun semi-intended), people love to make bold proclamations saying that Stoker was definitely inspired by X thing and that X character was really based on X real world personage. When he’s not being cast as Vlad III, Dracula is said to have been based on Henry Irving, Franz Liszt, Walt Whitman, Jack the Ripper, and Oscar Wilde. Van Helsing (we’ll meet him later) is definitely Max Mueller or Moriz Benedikt or Gerard van Sweiten or Albert W. Van Renterghem or Edward Dowden or John Freeman Knott. People love to put forth their pet theories about Stoker’s specific inspirations even though there is very little evidence one can use to prove anything.

In terms of analysis, there’s a banquet of interesting scholarship discussing the role of science, religion, technology, nationality, colonialism, racism, disease, and medicine in Dracula, but the interpretive threads for which I think I see the most spirited conversations are those dealing with gender and sexuality. Dracula is a novel that does things that can be read as both tremendously transgressive and tremendously regressive as regards the roles of men and women in society and the bounds of sexual propriety, and there is a lot of discussion as to what to make of that. Stoker is certainly not a feminist (he is explicitly anti-feminist in some of his other writing) but the way he treats men and women in his texts can still be interpreted as bizarrely progressive at points. People in general have a lot of strong reactions to how his characters present in terms of gendered expectations, and--as tumblr has rapidly discovered--the novel is overflowing with language that lends itself to queer readings.

Beyond that, there are a lot of little discussions about where Castle Dracula was physically located, where various literary allusions and one-liners come from, and the other little textual details that nerds love to nerd about. In general though, I think what I’ve written above gives a broad overview of some of the stuff that gets people ready to have some manner of interpretive throw down.

#Bram Stoker #Dracula #Dracula Daily #Dracula spoilers #Vlad III #Dracula Daily asks

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withbroombefore · 3 months

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Okay, so, I super don't have time to do this (I don't think I can argue that it's a valid thesis project for my Arctic and Northern Studies MA, tragically). But imagine:

Dracula Daily-style reading group for polar exploration journals, so we read the first-person accounts of different expeditions. Each one usually takes years, so the real-time element would convey the boredom and/or horror of the passage of time. Ideally this project would include the following:

Multiple journals from the same expedition, to show different perspectives (especially for ones where the parties separated, as with the Winter Journey)

Journals from expeditions where the goals/geography/other specifics overlap

Journals from expeditions with no overlap except for the time they happened, to show what is happening in different regions and how closely everything fits together

Imagine reading about the Jeanette and then later reading about the Karluk crew as they read about the Jeanette while trapped in the same ice drift. Horrifying. Exquisite. What a garbage fire this whole period was.

#polar exploration #arctic #antarctic

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nabanna · 5 months

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Been thinking about Re:Dracula and how it's really difficult to do a truly accurate adaptation without just reading the book word for word in an audio format, and about how two big things I see in movie and other visually based adaptations are how they cut down the plot and they cut down the cast size.

Thinking about one that does it like: Mina, Johnathan, Lucy, Quincey, Van Helsing

Combine roles between Mina and Seward, and between Quincey and Arthur.

Mina is the medical student who studied under Van Helsing (emphasizes her role as the Smart One, lets Van Helsing see her more as an apprentice rather than a child to patronize, also gets in some Victorian gender role drama as Mina is a (highly qualified but still) woman going into a scientific/medical field dominated by men, she doesn't own an asylum though so alas no Renfield... unless... hmm, anyway one reason Jonathan is so eager to get that promotion is to help Mina finish medical school)

Give Quincey Arthur's most notable traits of being rich and having dogs, but also the most important traits of being an American cowboy from Texas who tells stories and plays up the persona for fun. And has a gun. Give Lucy other less important suitors in a flashback or something but make it clear these two Really Have Something

Mina becomes Lucy's best friend and doctor, maybe with Lucy's mother being dismissive of Mina as a woman trying to go into the medical field but accepting of her as an unpaid nurse for Lucy, Mina receives the news about Johnathan while Lucy seems to have gotten better but she asks Lucy's fiance to keep an eye on her just in case, and to contact her old professor if needed.

Harkers get married on the spot as god intended.

While Mina's gone, Van Helsing is unfortunately still a misogynist and doesn't handle Lucy and her mother as well as he could have, Quincey is just deferring to the apparent expert, Lucy dies and proceeds to Bloof, Van Helsing handles that roughly the same way as before but with only one sidekick this time.

Mina and Johnathan return upon receiving the news and Van Helsing tries to convince Mina that vampires are a thing the same way he did with Seward but with more "ah but you don't need to know all that because you're a woman" so she doesn't buy it until she connects the dots with Johnathan's experience and reads his journal, proceeds to tell him everything in there was real and gets Quincey to help them catch up on what happened with Lucy and to catch him up on what Dracula seems to be up to.

They go to Van Helsing for advice, he comes up with an arrangement that keeps Mina busy with something important but "safe" while he and the lads go out breaking and entering. Quincey shoots at a bat, Dracula gets Mina, Johnathan gets his anime transformation, Van Helsing burns Mina with something holy, there's an argument between the guys that gets cut off by Mina breaking down and Johnathan shooing the others out to comfort her, but Quincey sleeps in the hall outside.

Dracula runs away but forgets to turn off Mina's psychic "find your phone" settings, Mina is the Train Fiend, Van Helsing is confronted with how his efforts have led to further pain and realizes maybe they'll be better off if he steps back into a mentor rather than leader role, Quincey arms everyone and takes care of them by throwing money around and trying to be the level headed dependable comforting one, Mina can tell when Dracula is paying attention to her and this is the only time when hypnosis is necessary, the chase happens roughly as in canon.

Mina and Van Helsing go up to the castle to fight the Weird Sisters, maybe it's a bit more active this time, maybe Mina manages to channel Dracula's command in a way that saves them from the girlies but they realize that she's more vampiric than ever and killing Dracula is even more urgent.

Quincey and Johnathan follow Dracula by boat or by horse, whichever one is more exciting. They bond and it's low key kinda bisexual ngl but if anything comes of that it's a promise to talk to Mina once it's all over and they're safe again, they generally plan wistfully for the future, Johnathan feels a chill in sync with when Mina uses the Dracula power, Quincey suggests a spar to practice and get out their energy, maybe to add more interest here one of Dracula's scouts finds them and says there's a group of Dracula's servants that want to be free and will help them fight when they catch up.

The final battle goes a little differently, Mina puts herself in a barrier circle to protect Van Helsing from the possibility of her going vampiric but keeps a gun to provide ranged aid, Quincey and Johnathan roll up to Dracula's entourage and their secret allies back them up in the fight, Mina and Van Helsing provide cover fire and maybe make it seem like there's way more armed reinforcements up here to scare off the servants, the boys tag team Dracula as god intended, the gang reunites.

If I want to be evil and make good on those death flags, then Quincey dies (but not before seeing Mina's recovery and also getting kissed on the cheek by both Harkers at the same time) and the Harkers' first son is named after him. If I want to spare Quincey, then Van Helsing dies and his last moments are spent telling the gang that he's proud of them, and especially telling Mina that she's the brightest student he's ever had and he only wishes he could live to see her success but something about watching over them all from heaven idk. I guess the Harkers would name their first son Abraham then lmao, and maybe I'd give Quincey a lasting injury from the fight so he uses mobility aids in the future, and they'd definitely stay as a close knit trio forever. One might even call them roommates. See the thing is Quincey dying is canon and would bring more proper tragedy but also I don't want to kill him...

#dracula daily #dracula au #mina harker #johnathan harker #quincey morris #lucy westenra #dr van helsing #dracula #my posts #me

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yallemagne · 6 months

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Hmm Mina studying criminology independent of any usefulness to Jonathan (she kept up with his studies on property law instead, and like you said he's a solicitor), kind of reminds me... Jonathan also has no use for ghost stories. Mina though spends paragraphs talking about every spooky legend about her vacation spot. Not every young person researches about girl ghosts in ruins, and invisible mourning bells for their seaside summer break. (Now I also recall she reads an old poem about a buried girl while there? Marmion?). Further, she pokes old men there to tell her more about those. (And gets "oh don't be scared it's all fake! not for young girls like you!" but she keeps pestering). When Mr Swales told her that she and Lucy sit upon a suicide grave, Lucy jumped, disturbed (but resolved to remain there anyway because she likes the seat), while Mina didn't.

Also, she talks of the Vikings sacking a town there during a specific invasion, and this tracks her knowledge about Dracula's historical battles... though I can't decide if the latter is a newer research. But it does show she has an interest in old wars.

So, I feel that maybe she has an affinity for darker subjects in general, both legendary and real life?

um that got long but your post gave me food for thought sorry

Don't be sorry for the long ask. Do you know how long I've been waiting for people to come into my inbox? I have been starved.

Jonathan has no use for ghost stories, but we do see him express curiosity about the local folklore on his trip... too bad no one wanted to talk much about it. Mina's interest in ghost stories is definitely a mix of an affinity for the macabre and her desire to be a lady journalist. She knows Whitby has a lot of rich folklore, so she reasons that the most obvious subject to tackle in her interviews is that.

Marmion! So, I will have to read this poem. I just read the summary so far. Lord Marmion was lusting after this woman, Clara, so in order to gain access to her, he and his nun mistress, Constance, framed her fiancé, Ralph, for treason. Constance hoped playing wing woman would get Marmion to like her more, but he ditched her once Clara joined a convent to escape him, and Constance was walled up for breaking her vows. She got the last laugh when she revealed Marmion's deceit, and Marmion died in battle. It's such delicious drama. I'm sure you could project Dracula onto this poem the same way you can with the Ballad of Lenore (*cough cough* Jonathan is Clara, Mina is Ralph, Constance is Renfield, Marmion is Dracula-- *gets shot*).

Sorry for that aside lol. Mina only briefly mentions it: "Right over the town is the ruin of Whitby Abbey, which was sacked by the Danes, and which is the scene of part of "Marmion," where the girl was built up in the wall.", and I'm like "honey tell us the whole story, would ya?"

Her knowledge of Dracula's military conquests comes from Jonathan's journal, where he interviewed Dracula about his family lineage. That is supplemented with Van Helsing's research done with the help of his friend Arminius. That was not really a personal interest thing, it was homework for killing Dracula.

But once again! Student of life. I don't know if I'd say she believed in any of the ghost stories before (hence her not being worried about the unconsecrated grave of the suicide victim, but Lucy, who is more sensitive, jumping from the seat), but she certainly has an interest in them for how they shape the world around her. She doesn't care for Mr. Swales trying to assure her that none of it is true because she isn't inquiring about the ghosts out of apprehension, she's asking because spooky legends are a part of history! They shape the cultures they are born from and inform the attitudes of the people who come from those cultures.

little bit of spoilers, read November 1:

Later on, we see that she doesn't seem very interested in Eastern European folklore. Now... a lot was going on at the time, but she does rather patronizingly call the locals superstitious. That could just be denial talking. The landscapes? Lovely. The people? Quaint. Their beliefs? Ohhhh, they're soooo irrational, psh. They acted like I was becoming a vampire right in front of them.

She's intrigued by English folklore and history, but she turns up her nose a bit when it comes to the mythology of other places... to be expected from a Victorian, but sad.

#dracula #dracula daily #re: dracula #mina harker #update #people ask me things

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wanderersjournalpod · 10 months

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Meet the cast & crew!

After adding everyone to our website, we figured we'd do an official announcement on here. We've assembled a very talented cast and crew, and we can't wait to bring their work to you!

More about each of them under the cut!

Janet G. (she/her) as Pluto

Janet G. Infinitybal1233 is a goofy little gal and also the voice actor for Pluto. She has done much VA work before, likes to write stories and is a massive railway nerd. She lives in the Netherlands and eats cheese regularly so much cheese yummy yummy. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr, Soundcloud and YouTube under either @infinitybal or @infinitybal1233.

Tal Minear (they/them) as Marigold

Tal is a voice actor, sound designer, and fiction podcast producer who loves swords, cats, and storytelling. They're the creator of Re: Dracula, Sidequesting, What Will Be Here, and several other productions that can be found hiding under rugs and around corners.

Elisabeth Allen (she/her) as Creature

Elisabeth Allen plays Creature in Wanderer’s Journal. She has done live and recorded voice acting, and she spends her spare time working through the many story ideas she has. Elisabeth is based in the US and can be found in the woods making silly noises or on twitter and instagram as @elisabethauthor and @author_m.elisabethallen.

José Machado (he/him) as our Audio Engineer

José Machado is the Audio Engineer on Wanderer's Journal. Audio Designer and Multimedia Artist, he has worked on multiple podcasts, animations and videogames. He loves entertainment of all shapes and sizes, and is based in Portugal. You can find out more on his website.

CJ Tanuan (they/them) as our Graphic Designer

A digital cave lurker, CJ Tanuan is a graphic designer and illustrator with a love for storytelling. When they're not manically drawing late into the night, they can be found listening to a good podcast, roleplaying with friends and raging at video games they're not very good at. They can be found in the murky waters of twitter, tumblr and instagram @jaradraws or contacted professionally through jaradraws.com or [email protected]

Timothy Rafael (he/they) as our Lead Writer

Timothy Rafael is the lead writer on Wanderer's Journal. They're studying film at college, and is particularly interested in script writing. He spends his spare time listening to podcasts, watching movies, and writing. He loves telling stories, and is based in the United States.

Lumi Oakes (they/any) as our Producer

Lumi Oakes is the producer and assistant writer on Wanderer's Journal. They've done voice acting work on other podcasts in the past, and spends their spare time playing TTRPGs and getting needlessly invested in various subjects. They love storytelling in all its forms, and is based in Denmark. You can find them on twitter and tumblr @lumoakes.

If you want to hear more about our cast, crew, and the production overall, subscribe to our newsletter and/or follow us on social media!

#podcast #fiction podcast #audio drama #cast announcement #wanderjournpod #wanderersjournalpod #wanderer's journal #id in alt text

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