#March 2023 | Dracula by Bram Stoker

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clever plank
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For the month of March, this forum will be for the discussion of the Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Please use proper spoiler tags here so that the experience is not ruined for anyone. Have fun everyone!
And feel free to move to #1080897192363040850 to discuss the book freely when you're done!

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The book is so old it's available here ghostHehe

clever plank
clever plank
robust summit
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I'm already three chapters in, got too excited to start

clever plank
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How are you finding this?

robust summit
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I love the writing style of the book itself, makes me feel like I'm uncovering something myself

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chapter one ||I did find the amount of descriptions of the wolves super annoying though.. I was like "yes I get it, wolves howling and stuff, very spooky lets go"||

clever plank
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So I'll be honest, I often shy away from big books and especially classics cause they feel overwhelming to read cause of the language. Do you think it's really hard to read?

robust summit
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I was actually thinking the same, which is why I started it early in the month. but I'm flying through, only having to look up a couple of words every now and then (but im not native english so that's also why) but the writing style from the first chapters that I've noticed is pretty doable considering the time

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but that could change during the book, so I don't know for sure if this will continue to be this easy

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it's my first read of it so we'll see

clever plank
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Thank you for sharing! That sounds approachable and am inspired to read! It's always nice to know the inception of all the different adaptations

robust summit
cobalt spade
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Is anyone doing the audiobook for this? I think I'm going for the Alan Cumming and Tim Curry version

robust summit
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maybe i'll switch in between

jovial ingot
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There’s a Tim Curry version????? pepemegaSUCC

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That sounds amazing

robust summit
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chapter 4 ||God, the overall tension is immense in each entry. But then it randomly mentions the lizard walk across the walls again from Dracula and I can only see a silly vampire man crawling around in my mind.||

vague shadow
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exams start from Mar 9th so I'll have to start this a bit late

spiral wedge
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Read this probably 10+ years ago so excited to revisit

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Chapter one, ||love the suspense set up of not meeting the count but getting a lot of dread. If just one person spoke to me like the people surrounding Harker, I'd be like NAH CANCEL OUR MEETING||

robust summit
spiral wedge
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Ikr
||He literally translates what they are saying and one of the words is "vampire"...😂 Not sure how sympathetic I'm gonna be||

robust summit
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Chapter 5 ||This whole romance part seems super random out of the blue but the end of the bros just coming together to drink when all three proposed to the same girl, I can't tell if they are genuinely celebrating or had some sort of bet going on on who could get her||

loud jasper
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This is such an outside the box book for me so im really hoping i get to actually finish reading it this month. It’s so long and horror-adjacent which is really out of my comfort zone. But i’m actually from Transylvania so im Excited about that part 😂

robust summit
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Chapter 8 ||the amounts of foreshadowing is getting a bit insane, but still I’m curious to see how it goes. Also I was convinced Jonathan was going to die, not because of how chapter 4 ended, but mostly because of his lackluster decision making skills back in the early chapters. 😂😂 can’t say I’m rooting for the guy||

amber steppe
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I wanted to read it on halloween!

robust summit
amber steppe
robust summit
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Chapter 9 ||I can't for the life of me understand why Mina was not dying of curiosity as to what Jonathan had written in his journal, even if it were a madman's dream. She heard the nurse talk, and was like "yeah, but i love this man so it doesn't matter what happened to him even if it was all a fever dream" and seal his journal up ConfusedNick Maybe this is just how people were back then, but I feel like if it were me I'd read it but with no judgement since whatever happened to him could have been in the past or left some physical evidence. And even if he were a lunatic, I would much rather know than to not know 😂 ||

stuck shuttle
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i read this in highschool and i'll try to reread it and see if my thoughts have changed heheheh

open hazel
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Oo my first book of the month

open hazel
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CHAPTER 1 ||The lady that started crying at him about monsters seemed really sweet, and the people who just held crosses to him seemed nice but I also feel like that gesture can be genuinely weird. Seeing where he is going and the name of this book I'm curious. The scenery sounds absolutely amazing I mean beautiful snowy mountain tops do sound quite a sight, from what I can tell it seems count Dracula is this person's friend as the character has said something about ordering them but as they're in the buggy or cart it seems like he's with a group of people. I think we've just met Dracula and he sounds so cool, having red eyes though would be really scary, I'll update this later... going around and around seems odd like the driver was just waiting for something. I wonder what that driver saw the blue flame might of been a guide for them I also believe all that howling was a large pack of wolves, I agree with the character the wolf incident was strange I for sure they'd get attacked by them but apparently not. OH goodie, they've arrived at this castle in the ruin that seems rather exciting, I did love the descriptor of wolves it made them seem more than just wolves for a split moment. So far the book is a little hard to read but I like it >w<||

open hazel
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CHAPTER 2 ||So they have fully reached this beautiful castle, the driver must have lifted mountains in his spare time if he has that amount of strength /j no I'm not serious but how sounds he does indeed sound very muscly. So that makes more sense he has to explain to Dracula about a piece of land Dracula purchased? I'm also curious if this man has a wife.. he also writes like a damn poet (I know it's a book but this character is rather descriptive). Man the old man must have been the first person to dress all emo if he has room for NO color, OHH we met Drac this sounds fun. I'm still not sure why our character has to stay at this man's house unless Dracula specifically asked for him to arrive which it seems he did. I'm rather curious, wow okay that makes a lot more sense why the character is here because he is boss I believe it's his boss who can't come because of either an illness or disability that he has had for some time now which would make sense why our character needed to arrive here I'm not so used to older writing so do excuse me if I ask the dumbest questions. AHA raises some questions if he has white sharper teeth does that mean his worker also did? maybe they're both vampires or maybe he turned him into a vampire I am not quite sure. It's cool to learn that Dracula doesn't like the sun and he even tells the character this, I also like how nice he is I mean of course he would be he has a guest but it's nice he actually leaves the character meals. So far we learn that there really isn't much in the characters room at all other than a bed and I believe a bathroom, seems our dear friend Dracula is really rich which would explain why he bought another estate in London since he wants to learn the way people actually speak, I bet being alive for so long can be very boxing on to what you learn or can do. It also seems Dracula has a whole library dedicated to learning about England, he also is self conscious about the way he talks which is rather sad.||

formal dune
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the sleeve was ruined a few months ago. my bf bought this randomly with no intentions of reading it, soo I acquired it 😁

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clever plank
formal dune
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the edges of the pages look like they were torn. it's pretty and I'm excited for my 1st time reading

open hazel
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So far I really like the book it has character though I do wonder if Dracula is gay, he doesn't have to be but I swore that was something someone said about him once

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I have a lot more pages of notes on Dracula CHAPTER 2 but my summary of that chapter is I like it.

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CHAPTER 3 ||So our character has found out he's apparently a prisoner, I was not expecting this but I mean maybe it's for a good reason? since our nature has noticed that Dracula is an extraordinary man who when John nicked himself while shaving Dracula literally almost grabbed his neck and we have already been made aware that Dracula cannot be seen in mirrors which explains why there are none in the house, but what I don't get there are no servants in the house... I'm confused why he lied to our character then but that also means Dracula was the driver which is also odd I believe this is because vampires are known to be fast creatures. I think Dracula came from old money and since he is very old it seems he has been through a lot of whatever the country has been through as he is recounting these memories to our character since John asked more about Transylvanian history, which is cool it's nice to learn more about this character as we also know more about the house and the story in general. Not to mention it seems like he can stop wolves? which is so interesting. Currently, Dracula is talking about history seems like he is retelling a certain war I believe. Oh man, that sucks so apparently there is another of Drac's race who sold people into slavery... that doesn't sound very good at all. I'd be mad too if I was Dracula, I wonder if he drinks others' blood since he reacted so strongly against our character when he nicked himself. Oh dang, Dracula really wants to make the character stay for a whole month.. wow that's crazy but I hope they can become good friends or at least something. Well, the character has figured that Dracula is not normal after watching him shimmy his way down the window. So Dracula saved the man from being bitten oh dang O.O ||

robust summit
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Chapter 10 ||I'm having a bit of a struggle separating what we know of vampires present day and what might've been known back when the book was written, but I'm trying my best. Obviously the clues all point to vampire for us in the present day, the garlic, the bats, the flapping, the puncture marks, the mirrors etc. But even disregarding the clues (what are obvious to us now), Van Helsing is the true MVP in this story for me already as he seems to have the critical thinking skills in a horror story wheeze . ||

robust summit
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Chapter 11 ||During that broken window sequence, I had to slam my e-reader shut when the mom snatched the garlic off of Lucy. I felt such a rage oh my god. I really needed a second to recover before continuing. ||

spiral wedge
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Loving ||the change of pace|| at chapter 5

robust summit
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Chapter 13 ||At this point I find it getting a bit strange that Van Helsing does not trust his friend John to tell what he obviously knows but is withholding. Especially since the evidence that he is right on something seems to be piling on.||

robust summit
open hazel
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CHAPTER 6 ||So by now we already know that John has at least killed himself from the roof it seems. I liked that Mina had a chapter with what seemed to be her friend Lucy. The one man is really weird laughing at all of the dead people's suicide is not clearly funny I would agree with Lucy and be rather annoyed with him as well. Lucy and Mina do very much seem in love with their spouses of course Mina does not seem happy since John has not written to her in a month and I do not blame her. She didn't even get a note warning her... It really did seem like John loves her but it also seems these two women are beautiful as Mina got about 3 men asking for her hand if I'm not mistaken, this chapter was extremely hard to follow it kind of felt like they were teleporting into places instead of actually walking or just near places so I might be wrong since I am rather confused by this chapter. Also, whoever that is that likes the spiders are cool I'm not sure if they're roommates or neighbors or even her relative or son. Ew HE ATE THE FLY?? that is so gross okay I understand why she'd want to scold him. This chapter was nice but very confusing I liked it quite alright though. The fly spider guy is super weird he has bird pets but wants a cat to eat them? I mean he also ate a fly and was like "no no it's life" No no it's gross. I don't even dislike that he ate a bug that is not my issue he ate a FLY. Out of all the bugs that really? he seems like he would be an amazing Nation geographic documenter if he loves the circle of life so much. Mina got the "letter" from John and she knows something is wrong... I wonder when she'll realize he is dead. Also Lucy sleep walking must be scary.||

open hazel
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CHAPTER 9 || I have to agree Mina confused me about the journal part.. she has come off as quite weird when in earlier chapters she talked about crying because other men were hitting on her. I can imagine the stress but I could also just be forgetting some details. I'm finding it quite hard to write a more detailed piece of text.. I think Mina didn't maybe want to realize that the love of her life did in fact meet a "monster" since back then I am sure it would be a lot scarier than opposed to today since there weren't as many options as we have now. ||

open hazel
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CHAPTER 10 ||I feel bad for Lucy, I would hate to have others walk in and see me absolutely drained but she got better which is always good >w<. Not to mention the wolf that got out with glass all over its head?? like that would be so scary but it makes sense she does have literal puncture wounds in her neck but hurray she lives. I feel bad to leave this book so suddenly but this book really started strong I actually enjoyed the beginning very much, I just cannot read on I have a terrible headache from trying my hardest and I pushed myself this far. I find it terribly boring. I think the story is enjoyable for the first half and only really on Chapter 5 did I start to dislike the book but I hope the rest of you enjoy reading the series. ||

spiral wedge
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@open hazel your commentary is so funny 😂
its really making me laugh, don't stop!

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||i felt the same way with the bit about the fly - GROSS||

open hazel
robust summit
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Chapter 18 ||Renfield begins to confuse me even more. I can’t tell if he’s just a Dracula fanboy, someone within Dracula’s grasp or an ally to Dracula. Either way, his sudden shift in demeanor when meeting van Helsing, Quincy and Jonathan really felt eerie to me.||

robust summit
open hazel
robust summit
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I ended up buying the book to read additional notes hypeChicken

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robust summit
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Chapter 21 ||God, the haunting descriptions of the Count and how he fed Mina his blood to turn her into a vampire made me just shiver a little.||

languid plank
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Chp 1: ||so jonathan harker got invited to…work for dracula? bad decision. i feel like jonathans gonna be dracula’s victim||

languid plank
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Chp 2: ||this book is the epitome of vampire stereotypes. doesnt eat/drink anything but blood, warded off by holy objects and even cant be seen in mirrors||

languid plank
languid plank
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im finding that the chp divisions r sort of useless

open hazel
languid plank
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Chp 8: ||i’ve read the scene with lucy’s encounter with the vampire somewhere else. i think it was some excerpt from dracula becuz im sure i havent read the whole book before||

languid plank
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uptil chp 13:|| i once read someone calling dracula 'dry' but its actually quite interesting. i mean, all the back and forth with lucy, and now her turning into a vampire? im loving the drama||

jovial ingot
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I started this!! I was worried I had YA and romance book brain rot and wouldn’t be able to understand a classic but it’s an easy read. pepemegaSUCC

Ch. 1: ||Very atmospheric. Love the diary storytelling! I thought maybe I missed something because there’s some backstory missing — like do Dracula and Jonathan have a previous relationship? kirbythink why is he going to see Dracula? But I’m sure that gets explained later. The wolves were very creepy — classic horror is so interesting, because it’s so understated and eerie. Really looking forward to reading more!||

languid plank
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Chp 14:|| is the doctor proposing that lucy drank her own blood through her throat? like how could she even reach her throat with her mouth?||

languid plank
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Chp 18: ||the way mina doesnt even protest when they tell her to stay at home||

languid plank
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Chp 22: ||im sry, i might hv zoned out when they mentioned it, but why r they searching for boxes of dirt?||

robust summit
languid plank
robust summit
languid plank
robust summit
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Chapter 24 ||I find this back and forth of “We shouldn’t let Mina know of our plans” and “She must know everything and come with us” and all that getting a bit exhausting and repetitive. Its been done multiple times now and idk what would be the best choice out of the two but at this point I’m just waiting for her to turn into a vampire 😂 ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 1 🧛‍♂️: || Okay I'm not gonna lie, when I read about the townsfolk flashing crosses at Jonathan, all I could think of was this image ||

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|| Other than that amusing imagery, I like the descriptions so far! Very spooky and eerie! I don't see this boding well for Jonathan, but perhaps I will be wrong. ||

jovial ingot
upbeat lion
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Ch 2: I like how the Count says, || “except where the doors are locked, where of course you will not wish to go” Maybe I’m reading into it too much, but it seems like him saying that instead of “you are not allowed to go” makes it sound that he’s warning him it’s not in his best interests to do so, rather than preventing him outright. Like, Jonathan, you can go there if you want, I won’t stop you, but you might regret it. ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 2: || “The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!” Wow the Count is a little terrifying, to say the least pepeHandsUp ||

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|| I wonder why Jonathan doesn’t just leave at that point ||

formal dune
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is it just me, or is this a tad bit difficult to follow?

languid plank
formal dune
upbeat lion
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Chapter 3: || Vampires arise! Seize the night while it is young cattoHearts Not an actual quote, I just felt like saying it. I love the writing style in Dracula so far. ||

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Ch 4: || “The first should be June 12, the second June 19, and the third June 29.”
”I know now the span of my life. God help me!” Poor Jonathan just wants go home cattoCry ||

naive yoke
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Chapter 6 ||Honestly I did not understand anything the old man said lol but the vibes of such a place sound immaculate and i would love to just spend my days looking out over the sea at the cathedral||

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Chapter 7 ||Big storm. Big big storm. Also kinda messed up with the dead guy on the ship||

robust summit
naive yoke
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||Yeah what dialect is it supposed to be coz i was getting kinda irish/scottish vibes but that sounded quite wrong with the spelling of the words and stuff so idk||

robust summit
naive yoke
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||truly a mystery||

jovial ingot
upbeat lion
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Ch 7: || I wonder if this Demeter’s death had any correlation to Dracula at all. I’m just waiting for him to reappear again since his story is the most engaging so far. ||

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|| At this point, I’m assuming Jonathan’s dead, or he has been bitten and has become a vampire. Not sure if that’s how it works in this book, but it’ll be interesting to see if that’s the case. ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 8: || That scene where Mina is frantically searching for Lucy and then discovers two marks on her throat…she definitely got bitten omg ||

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|| Ooh Jonathan’s alive woops I was hoping I’d hear from him soon. He doesn’t seem to be stuck in the Count’s castle anymore which is good. ||

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|| Ohhh so that’s the point of Dr Seward’s story. I didn’t understandall the mental diagnoses at first. His patient seems to be loyal to Dracula or some other beast/vampire. I can only imagine that’s who his Master is. And the way his strength is compared to that of a monster only makes me more convinced he’s not your typical patient. ||

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Ch 9: || Mina trusting in Jonathan and not wanting to cause him any concern or shock by reading his diary is wholesome, but also a little bit frustrating cattoCry Poor Jonathan has probably gone through hell, and his wife doesn’t have the slightest idea of what happened to him. ||

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|| omg Van Helsing! pepePoggers The name certainly rings a bell. I love connecting all the pop culture references back to this book. I know characters like Van Helsing and Dracula did come from this book after all, but it’s still fun to make the connection nonetheless. I’m interested to see how Helsing plays out in the story, considering the grand role he plays in popular culture as a saviour of sorts. ||

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|| Helsing essentially roasting Dr Seward for not being able to connect with women well is a bit crazy 💀 ||

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Ch 10: || Arthur: “My
life is hers, and I would give the last drop of blood in my body”

Van Helsing: AwkwardMonkey

Dr Seward: ghostHehe ||

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|| It is interesting how neither of the doctors ask Arthur what his blood type is. Incompatible blood transfusions can prove to be quite fatal you know frogWorryseriously ||

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|| “The brave lover, I think, deserve another kiss, which he shall have
presently.”
Why did I half expect Van Helsing to lean in and give Arthur a kiss on the forehead for saving Lucy mikeStare ||

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|| Garlic 🧄 I hope Van Helsing reveals his thoughts to Dr Seward soon. I feel like he definitely knows what’s up with Lucy. ||

upbeat lion
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Chapter 11: || LMAOOOO not Lucy’s mum opening the window and removing the garlic from the room 😭 I just know Van Helsing is furious ||

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|| Mrs Westenra really thought she was helping her daughter kek Poor Van Helsing. Yet another blood transfusion! ||

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ch 11: || Ngl the zookeeper’s dialogue is a little hard to follow cattoCry But I think he saw Dracula didn’t he hmmmmmmm ||

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ch 11: || omg poor Lucy and her mother cattoCry those vampires are relentless ||

upbeat lion
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ch 11: || “Report from Patrick Hennessey, M. D., M. R. C. S. L. K. Q. C. P. I.,
etc., etc., ” dudeeeeee what do all these credentials stand for Flooshed ||

upbeat lion
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ch 11: || It seems like all Renfield does is escape only to get captured again mikeStare He’s like the Joker escaping from Arkham Asylum or something ||

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ch 11: || Lucy is dead! Or at least she seems dead. Van Helsing saying, “Not so; alas! not so. It is only the beginning!” makes me think there’s more to learn about Lucy’s condition. ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 13: || The bloofer lady is Lucy, isn’t it omg I think she became a vampire. ||

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|| And not the Count showing again! Someone stop him smh ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 14: || Lucy’s a vampire frogSip ||

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|| I have to say that I’m really liking Van Helsing’s character so far. He might just be my favourite character in the book. He’s so open minded, wise, kind, and brave. I’m looking forward to seeing how he’ll handle the vampire problem, as it’s been really interesting to follow along with his investigations. ||

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|| It’s also good to know that Jonathan is doing well now. Poor soul was living through a nightmare cattoCry ||

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Ch 15: || “And then we
spend the night, you and I, in the churchyard where Lucy lies.”
Gonna take a guess here and assume that Lucy isn’t dead, her body isn’t inside the tomb when they visit her, and she’s out searching for blood. ||

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ch 15: || “The coffin was empty.” pepeEZ ||

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ch 15: || “(Not delivered)” You better not die Van Helsing frogWorryseriously ||

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|| “May I cut off the head of dead Miss Lucy?” WHY ARE YOU ASKING THAT SO CASUALLY VAN HELSING LMAOOO ||

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|| Did he really expect Arthur to say, “Oh yeah sure go ahead mate” 😭😭😭||

robust summit
upbeat lion
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|| Yeah, and it’s the fact that he steals the spotlight as the hero of this story, when he’s not even the first character introduced to us. Actually, he’s not even the second or the third character. ||

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|| And that goes against what I’m generally used to in books, with the hero of the story usually being introduced first or extremely early in the story. Van Helsing defies that trope peepoPray ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 16: || “But there remains a greater task: to find out the author
of all this our sorrow and to stamp him out. ” HECK YEAH VAN HELSING! It’s time to fight back pepePoggers ||

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|| Can’t wait to find out what happens next. ||

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|| I love how they handled Lucy’s death. Van Helsing going the extra mile to convince Arthur that Lucy was not the same person he knew, and then instilling the courage in him to take the stake himself and drive it through Lucy’s heart, shows how considerate the professor is. He could have easily killed Lucy himself, but out of compassion for Arthur and his great love for Lucy, he knew it was better to earn his trust rather than make him an enemy. ||

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At the rate I’m going with this book, I think it’s likely that I’ll either finish the book this week or early next week woops it’s been a thrill to read so far

jovial ingot
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Ch. 8: ||Ok things are getting creepy ahhhh poor Lucy, she was clearly Dracula’s meal omg interesting how he can take many forms. He was likely the black dog from the ship as well as a bat. I love how atmospherically creepy this is. I’m glad Jonathan is okay, but it sounds like he’s traumatized. Cool how the characters are all coming together. Not sure what to think of Renfield other than he’s clearly a thrall and absolutely nuts||

upbeat lion
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Ch 18: ||“the milk
that is spilt cries not out afterwards”
He means don’t cry over spilt milk right 😭 His way of saying things is so interesting ||

upbeat lion
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ch 18: || Van Helsing, Dr Seward, Mina, Jonathan, Quincey, and Arthur—these are the Avengers pepeCoolNerd ||

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ch 18: || Van Helsing's speech about going into battle against Dracula is sooooo good! It reminds me of Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate in LOTR: Return of the King ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 18: ||“You will, I trust, Dr. Seward, do me the justice to bear in mind, later on, that I did what I could to convince you to-night.” I don’t like Renfield’s words here. It sounds like a grave warning that Dr Seward is going to encounter something that he will deeply regret. At the same time though, I do NOT trust Renfield at all. I’m pretty sure he was in contact with Dracula. ||

formal dune
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i forgot all about this, will jump back in hopefully finishing by the weekend .. looking forward to reading all the spoilers

jovial ingot
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Ikr I wanna read all of evet’s thoughts! pepeReading

formal dune
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chapter 2
|| when Jonathan notices he can't see Draculas reflection and he never sees him eat either .. that shaving scene would freak me out! time to go, lol ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 20: || I’m not exactly sure why Mina isn’t allowed to know about what the anti-vampire gang get up to. ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 21: || Wow, what a chapter! I didn’t expect Renfield to come to Mina’s defence and try and hold the Count back. Renfield honestly came off to me as a bit of a lunatic, but this was a very valiant act of him to do. ||

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|| Unfortunately though, it seems the Count did manage to attack Mina and has bitten her. She may become a vampire like Lucy, but I hope the others can find a cure for her. ||

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|| In a way, it’s good from a story POV that the Count has found out about their plans to defeat him. It makes the stakes a lot higher and all the more interesting to see how this story ends. I think before anything though, they should try and find a cure to Mina’s vampirism if she does indeed have it. ||

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|| And Jonathan being fast asleep was quite unusual. Did he drink the sleeping draught, or did the Count do something to him?||

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Reflecting back on chapter 18 (spoilers for chapter 21): || I think it was good that they didn’t let Renfield out on that day that he was begging them to be released. I think he would have joined the Count by his side, or would have died before meeting Van Helsing if the Count betrayed him. ||

upbeat lion
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ch 22: || Oh, so basically Mina's progression into becoming a vampire depends on how quickly they can kill the Count. ||

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|| "that last night he banqueted heavily" that's a crazy way to say the Count attacked Mina, Van Helsing 😭 ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 22: || Jonathan talking about becoming a vampire as well if Mina does. I get you’re her husband, but c’mon man. Me personally, I wouldn’t like having to drink blood every day to survive. That sucks ||

robust summit
upbeat lion
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Exactly peepoPray

upbeat lion
robust summit
# upbeat lion By the way, I had a question, assuming you’ve finished the book already. Spoiler...

||It's consecrated earth in boxes from Transylvania near his castle. From what me and ravenclaw_bookworm in a discussion earlier gathered is that it is something he needs to stay in proximity to stay alive. I don't think he would die immediately if all the boxes are destroyed but perhaps it has to do with his regenerating powers or something more long term. We were not entirely sure but if he didn't need to be close to the earth, he would've flown all over the world already before so it makes sense it is some sort of life source or something like that and that he goes through the effort of shipping them over the continent to London.||

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The reasonings are not necessarily spelled out so it's a theory

upbeat lion
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Ooh that is an interesting theory! || I just assumed they were beds for him to sleep in because he didn’t want to go through the trouble of buying a coffin or something kek Save money somehow. But with so many boxes, I hardly see why he would need more than one to sleep in, so perhaps you’re on to something ||

robust summit
upbeat lion
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Ch 23: || ooh no way the Count just threw hands with the vampire hunters pepePopcorn I think the Count has to be bluffing about having more boxes. Maybe he’s using that gold to buy or make some more. But yeahhh he’s shaking in his boots now. ||

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|| oh he’s got one more apparently ||

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|| Wait what how was Mina able to pinpoint the location of the earth box just by being hypnotised? Was it because of her blood connection to the Count? Either way, very interesting-this reminds me of a popular fantasy series where something similar happened ||

upbeat lion
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Ch 25: || I love how accepting Mina is of the possibility of death, and how everyone (well, mostly everyone, you can tell Jonathan doesn’t like having this conversation at all as it means accepting that his wife may die cattoCry ) is supportive of her. It’s a really wholesome and humanising moment in a book otherwise driven by vampires, supernatural phenomena, and the like. ||

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|| This enduring love and power of the human spirit is something that I wager Count Dracula himself lacks. He is driven by self-preservation, bloodlust, arrogance, and doesn’t place any value in love or genuine companionship. There is such a great emphasis on the promotion and superiority of himself over others, and it’s such a great contrast to the group of hunters who are very much like a tight-knit family. ||

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Ch 25: || If you really think about it, any of the humans could have easily chosen a different path. They could have chosen not to acknowledge the terrible deeds of the Count, to worry about their own lives, and fear retribution of any kind of they were to directly oppose him. But instead of focusing on themselves, the humans recognised the greater good of protecting humanity from this terrible foe, and are risking their lives to do so. A solicitor, his wife (I forgot if Mina had a job 💀), a lord, Quincey (forgot his job as well), and two doctors—none of them are professional vampire hunters who do this for a living. ||

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|| I do hope they all survive in the end omg ||

vague shadow
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Going to finally start reading it

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Plan on binge reading it all today

vague shadow
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Ch 1: It's okay so far, I'm not used to writing like this so it's a little hard to understand

upbeat lion
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Ch 26: || Approaching the Count’s castle…they’re so close to the end!||

formal dune
upbeat lion
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Finally done pepeDreamy I’ll share my thoughts in the other thread. Happy reading to everyone else pepePoggers

jovial ingot
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This is very pepePopcorn Ch. 18: ||Ok but why is Renfield acting so normal now? Does he vacillate from being under control to being himself? And he’s so ominous about it, too. The hunters are off to investigate Dracula’s house and with Renfield’s last comment I’m nervous for them ahhhh||

vague shadow
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Ch 2: ||This is getting interesting. The story is unfolding pretty quickly I'd say compared to other books I've read. Also, has the narrator's name been mentioned yet? I cannot seem to remember if it was or not.||

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||nvm, how can someone be so freaking dumb. THE CHAPTERS LITERALLY SAY "JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL"||

formal dune
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chapter 4
|| poor Jonathan just wants to get the hell out of there and can't do anything .. when he went to leave and seen the wolves, i felt his sadness in knowing he couldn't leave even though the Count was 'allowing' him to go on 'his own free will' .. not a situation i'd wana be in .. ||

vague shadow
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Ch 3: ||I can't make up my mind as to if the Count is good or evil||

vague shadow
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Ch 4: ||Yup, that guy is most probably dead||

formal dune
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ch 6
|| Renfield eating raw birds 🤮 curious what the cat would have been fed to, if that was the course he was taking, and why? i guess because he's nuts .. all these diary entries 😵‍💫 ||

vague shadow
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Ch 5: ||I'm starting to not like this. There's too many names and I can't remember all of them. Also did this chapter have anything to do with the actual story?||

vague shadow
vague shadow
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I read chapter 6 but forgot everything or I'm having to reread it

vague shadow
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Ch 6: Yeah... I'm totally lost. ||I have no idea who any of these characters are. I kind of understand who Mina is, but that's all||

formal dune
upbeat lion
formal dune
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Renfield interests me the most .. just finished chapter 9 || trying to gather my thoughts on everything as there are so many different diary entries taking place .. Lucy keeps getting me confused where she looks okay then looks awful and they suspect anemia but then her color in her face returns and then she looks bad again .. ||

vague shadow
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I watched a few summaries and now the story is pretty clear to me, and I'm being able to keep up

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now it's starting to feel exciting

formal dune
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oh nice!

vague shadow
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if you want, you can watch the summaries for the chapters you've read

formal dune
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thank you!! ❤️

vague shadow
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it helped me a lot

formal dune
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definitely will because after reading pages im like, wait what just happened lol

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im hoping to finish this on time!

vague shadow
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reading this is making me want to start writing in my diary again

cobalt spade
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I might have to read some summaries as well. I listened to chapters 1-4 whilst I was out shopping and might have missed some of it

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it's structurally well written but I'm not sure on how some of the themes have aged

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I'm assuming it's a product of the times as well but the blocks of text are SO long

vague shadow
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4am and I've only read up till chapter 10

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I'll stay up for as as I can and keep reading it, as I want to finish reading this book by tomorrow

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Ch 10: ||I feel like Van Hellsing is hiding to much. Also I both love and hate that name; watch the anime titled Hellsing Ultimate an you'll know why ||

vague shadow
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Ch 11: ||This mother is going to get Lucy killed!!||

formal dune
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ahh today's the last day to finish right?

robust summit
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tomorrow is the 31st of March, so you have today and tomorrow 🙂

formal dune
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oh right duh there's 31 days 🤦‍♀️ im off fridays and just automatically took today as the last day of the month looking at my schedule lol .. thank you!!

formal dune
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these summaries are soooo helpful thanks again for sharing @vague shadow ! ❤️
im bummed i wasn't able to grasp everything but happy to have better understanding and comprehension to appreciate it more

vague shadow
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it's raining outside, so no need for me to play rain sounds on youtube (not that I was playing it in the first place)

vague shadow
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Ch 14: ||I'm a firm believer of science, but I don't think even I would be as clueless and Jonathan if such things actually happened||

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||Bruh... I messed up the names. I was talking about Seward, not Jonathan||

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Ch 15: ||Seward is soooo stubborn... Just believe what Hellsing says god dammit. I'm enjoying this a lot tho||

vague shadow
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Ch 20: ||Renfield is more interesting that ever. He seems not that important at first, but I wonder if that is actually true or not||

formal dune
vague shadow
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Ch 23: ||This is getting exciting. I didn't expect this to happen. I thought things were going to end in London, but it seems that they're not going to chase Dracula until they've succeeded in ridding him of reality||

upbeat lion
vague shadow
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only 4 more chapter remain, and I am very thrilled to see how it all goes down

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bruh... my bad habit it leaking again. I start talking weirdly, depending the book I'm reading

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"only 4 more chapter remain"........ I don't talk nor type in such way normally. Normally, I'd just say something like, "ahhh... only 4 chaps left"

upbeat lion
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Either way, not long to go! pepePoggers

vague shadow
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Ch 24: ||pepePoggers pepePoggers pepePoggers||

formal dune
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ch 14
|| that relief Jonathan had when his letters were justified, that he was believed and not crazy ❤️ ||

formal dune
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ch 15
|| chop off her head, fill her mouth with garlic, and drive a steak into her body .. geeeeeeze Van Helsing doesn't play around! ||

vague shadow
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Ch 26: Honestly, I don't even want to think or make an assumption, I'll go read the last chapter. Finally, it's time for it all to end

vague shadow
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Ch 27: it's an odd chapter so far (haven't finished reading yet)

vague shadow
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||NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO||

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||JONATHANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY (I'M SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY QUINCEY MORRIS, I JUST NOTICED THAT IT WAS YOU WHO HAD DIED, FORGIVE ME SHITY ADHD ASS BRAIN)||

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||I know that I'd be a lot less believable, and many would complain about it, if everything got resolved without a big loss (I don't count Lucy's death as a "big loss"), but still... why... I don't get why it couldn't have just gotten resolved without any more sufferings and deaths...||

formal dune
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ahh trying to catch up lol

formal dune
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ch 17
|| hmm, Arthur and Mina were oddly comforting each other a lot .. she's a really strong female role in this story, she's like the glue holding everything together ||

formal dune
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ch 18
|| sooo much information! I like how Dracula can turn into mist
the part when the gun went off shooting at the bat, Van Helsing asks "did you hit it? he says he doesn't know then VH continues on the conversation 🤣🤣 ||
ch 19
|| why is Mina so tired???!! ||

formal dune
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3 chapters left!

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I WILL finish today/ last minute