the suitcase nature

Hi!

Sorry, I haven't been able to draw anything in a while and there is a big probability that it'll be like this till winter holidays (and after them, if I won't lose any of my jobs, lol).

I have several pretty time demanding jobs rn, and, unfortunately, I don't have enough time to sleep properly and there are no weekends for me now, so drawing is something that stayed in plans for the future that, I hope, will someday come (tbh, I really want to draw again, but all I've managed to find time to do is one almost finished redesign of OC and a couple of weird fandom sketches).

Hope y'all are fine or at least okay in all this hell that happens all over the world this year.

I've never watched Dora the Explorer, but for some reason I believe that she would be lol. Like, she has more experience in weird situations, as far as I can understand? 😂

if dracjon has a million shippers, i'm one of them. if dracjon has 5 shippers, i'm one of them. if dracjon has 1 shipper, that one is me. if dracjon has no shippers, i'm no longer alive. if the world is against dracjon, i'm against the entire world.

Oh, they would have fun talks in couple therapy.

Therapist: And where did you get this scar from?

Jonathan: He scared me shitless and I accidentally cut myself while shaving.

Therapist: Oh... Well, and why do you have this scar, sir?

Dracula: He hit me with a shovel.

Therapist: ...Accidentally?

I've been learning a lot about Bram Stoker of late, and I was wondering if you believed the idea that Jonathan Harker was Bram Stoker's insert of himself and Dracula was a personification of his possible homosexuality/bisexuality?

I mean, there is theories that Bram Stoker based Dracula off either Oscar Wilde or Henry Irving, there is evidence of his potential crush on Henry Irving, from his reviews and the way he described the actor and the fact that people called his relationship with Irving as "all-consuming". There is substantial evidence of either being true (more so than Dracula being based off Vlad the Conqueror) and I wanted to know your thoughts on this idea?

There is evidence of his possible homosexuality, including poems written in his diary, a letter addressed to poet Walt Whitman as well as evidence of him having very close relationships with men. I believe that these ideas influenced and shaped Dracula, but I was wondering if you had thoughts on the matter.

Also, I love your art, it's lovely! Thank you, have a lovely day!

I don't think I can say more than what's already been told here on tumblr by other people in recent months. I love Dracula, but I'm not a scholar and not particularly up to date with details of Bram Stoker's biography research. There are, like, articles and books that touch this question in a much more intricate manner than I'll ever be able to.

My personal opinion though is that these characters are mish-mash of Bram's confusing feelings and experiences and their existance may be based on both desires and fear of these desires, which he may or may not saw and understood in himself (and we can't really take away all the xenophobia, antisemitism, victorian life values and other things that actually also were important parts of these characters' creation process).

Like, as far as I know, we don't have rock solid evidences that he was gay or bi, we have only hints that we can interpret differently. It's always kinda hard with historical personalities, because yeah, quite often "love" means "friends love" and "they lived together" means nothing more.

But I think that he felt a lot and thought a lot about himself and people in certain ways and it obviously influenced Dracula.

In my AU three vampire women are something like Dracula's sworn sisters, who he helped/saved when they were still humans and Dracula himself was human (though they all were magic wielders). They have a serious history with him, but not a romantic one, so they don't see Jonathan as a threat, they are not rivals, but family isn't a right word for a long time too.

The thing is that this history with Dracula made them (rightfully) angry about his irresponsibility and selfishness which brought awful consequences on all of them (Dracula himself included). They are angry at him, they are kinda inbetween desire to see him hurt and caring about him still, so it's hard for them to accept Jonathan, who becomes a little bit of happiness and escapism for Dracula in the castle, while they have none of it.

Like in the book, they try to kill Jonathan when they meet him for the first time, though at this point they don't understand his importance. They rarely meet after, and it's hard for Jonathan to communicate with them, even when they become a little more friendly, because they like to scare him and make him uncomfortable.

They get closer seriously later in England when the Crew of Light has to work with vampires against the common enemy, and sisters are less bitter by this time. Only by the end of it they kinda become this unconventional family with Jonathan.

Honestly, I think that control is such a big part of Dracula as a character that even if you want to make an AU version, you just have to keep this problematic characteristic at least to some degree. Like, control obviously means power for him.

Tbh I planned to start taking commissions this year, but a lot of stuff happened and now I'm not sure if this will ever be possible. Like, currently I have so much work, that I don't have much time even on personal projects.

sdfghjkl thank you

I answered the question of why I ship it here.

To add for "how I see it": only in AUs, one way or another.

In my own AU I go with a more healthy relationship where it's not mostly a play with a toy for Dracula, but actual need of human connection, and for Jonathan this journey and stay in the castle are less frightening than in the book, so he has time and enough nerves to explore his queer side and mysteries which surround him.

Some other people prefer to go a darker way with keeping Dracula his horrific self and making Jonathan unable to resist him. Not really my cup of tea, but to each their own, I don't go there.

If we take book canon, I think he had an absolutely british tantrum of "wait until the person goes away, throw the pillow in the door and than pick it up and put it on its place"

But, on the other hand, it's the first step towards "beat dracula in the face with a shovel" lol