Player Name: Danii Character Name: Vlad Dracula Tepes Path to Graduation: Dracula came to the barge half-mad with grief, angry at every human (and honestly everyone) and still in the midst of disordered eating due to his deathwish. But through a few key friendships and a few key events, he's gotten to a place where he takes responsibility not just for the things he's done recently but also for some of the laxness he's indulged in in general during his years in his world.
The first of his major milestones came when Anita got him interested in modern music. It was the beginning of reigniting his curiousity in the world, showing him that there were things to learn and topics to be interested in, as well as being a very good example of people rebelling against and moving away from the church to a more secular society. This was continued via Godric, showing him scientific advances 'refound' by humanity in the future, telling him about great centers of learning, starting up the idea that the world will move forward even if, as far as he can see, it seems to be in an ignorant rut.
There was some backsliding during the statue event, but a few key steps forward happened there too: his discussion with Anita during that made him face what he'd done to his son and gave him someone who understood his grief, and his experience with Pagan helped him get a bit of catharsis by killing the source of Pagan's pain for him. The issues around his grief were finally handled via two big influences: his son coming on board as a warden and his wife speaking to him on 4WD. These gave him some clarity to start approaching what he'd done and how he was going about some things, as well as pushing him through some of his self-destructive impulses and his deathwish. But the big revelation he had came from watching Jacobi's fit with Connor: seeing someone else react to loss the same way he had from the sidelines helped to give him a clear view that helped him see what he himself had turned to in his grief without any excuses or mourning getting in the way. It's a big piece of why he came to regret his attempt to remove humanity, that and seeing the effect it had on Adrian and his relationship with his son in general. Then Anita's discussion of vampires the same way he'd once talked about humans? Nailed that coffin down. The (essentially) word switch was a big wake up call to how little thought really went into his hate.
The disordered eating (and some of his self-hatred issues were dealt with via a discussion with Annie and a few talks with Zagreus. His discussion with Zagreus was also when he started to really see how important and impactful the knowledge that he had really was, that letting people scramble and flail about in ignorance was as much something he could prevent as anything else. He took on other students and each one of those taught him something too: Connor helped by showing him simple kindness by getting the portrait of his family when he noticed that Dracula was missing them, and Rags and some others helped remind him of how much he actually enjoys teaching people.
Nadja was a constant presence in his journey, helping to remind him of who he is and the importance he holds while showing him that vampires can be sympathetic and value love and actually show kindness to each other. It worked in a lot of ways to be a positive reminder of his influence, both in how she treated him and in the impact he had on her. But some of the stories Adrian told him helped as well, showing him how his inaction and the way he'd withdrawn from the world as a power in it instead of being a force for what he believed in had real consequences including on people he loves.
And that has all had results in his actions. He's been trying to take some of the responsibility for the vampires on board off of Godric's shoulders, look out for them. He's been stepping up in cases where things need to get done, looking into options for the vampires on board and going without food as a pointed choice from his position of power (not because he wants to die) without those self destructive impulses ruling him. But his really big step is helping Crozier when he saw him starting to go through alcohol withdrawal. The fact was that he knew how to handle it from a medical standpoint and he knew that the man wouldn't want those he cared about to deal with him during such an ugly time. Instead of handing him off or doing the bare minimum, he decided to help him, help a weak human man who was trying to handle his situation, and he did it because he had the knowledge and he realized that Not Acting When You Have the Means is a kind of evil. One he's tired of living in.
The lesson was completed when he spoke to Zack, told him about the fact that Adrian didn’t want him to come back to their world because of what he’d done, and Zack helped him realize that he can do more than just make amends: he can make things better. Zack’s belief (which mattered a LOT given that he has all of the context that literally no one else has) and his willingness to do that, his want to do that beyond just getting access to his son again? That was honestly his moment of graduation, when he realized both that good has to be an active force, someone who DOES good things, and that if he wants things to get better, to be better, he has to be a part of people doing good. Not only that, but that he can do it, no matter what humanity or anyone else thinks of what he is. That he, ultimately, is the one who chooses, the one who has the means to take a stand. And that doing it is not about satisfying the people around you? But about satisfying yourself, feeling good about who and what you are, and what you bring to the table.
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Character Name: Vlad Dracula Tepes
Path to Graduation: Dracula came to the barge half-mad with grief, angry at every human (and honestly everyone) and still in the midst of disordered eating due to his deathwish. But through a few key friendships and a few key events, he's gotten to a place where he takes responsibility not just for the things he's done recently but also for some of the laxness he's indulged in in general during his years in his world.
The first of his major milestones came when Anita got him interested in modern music. It was the beginning of reigniting his curiousity in the world, showing him that there were things to learn and topics to be interested in, as well as being a very good example of people rebelling against and moving away from the church to a more secular society. This was continued via Godric, showing him scientific advances 'refound' by humanity in the future, telling him about great centers of learning, starting up the idea that the world will move forward even if, as far as he can see, it seems to be in an ignorant rut.
There was some backsliding during the statue event, but a few key steps forward happened there too: his discussion with Anita during that made him face what he'd done to his son and gave him someone who understood his grief, and his experience with Pagan helped him get a bit of catharsis by killing the source of Pagan's pain for him. The issues around his grief were finally handled via two big influences: his son coming on board as a warden and his wife speaking to him on 4WD. These gave him some clarity to start approaching what he'd done and how he was going about some things, as well as pushing him through some of his self-destructive impulses and his deathwish. But the big revelation he had came from watching Jacobi's fit with Connor: seeing someone else react to loss the same way he had from the sidelines helped to give him a clear view that helped him see what he himself had turned to in his grief without any excuses or mourning getting in the way. It's a big piece of why he came to regret his attempt to remove humanity, that and seeing the effect it had on Adrian and his relationship with his son in general. Then Anita's discussion of vampires the same way he'd once talked about humans? Nailed that coffin down. The (essentially) word switch was a big wake up call to how little thought really went into his hate.
The disordered eating (and some of his self-hatred issues were dealt with via a discussion with Annie and a few talks with Zagreus. His discussion with Zagreus was also when he started to really see how important and impactful the knowledge that he had really was, that letting people scramble and flail about in ignorance was as much something he could prevent as anything else. He took on other students and each one of those taught him something too: Connor helped by showing him simple kindness by getting the portrait of his family when he noticed that Dracula was missing them, and Rags and some others helped remind him of how much he actually enjoys teaching people.
Nadja was a constant presence in his journey, helping to remind him of who he is and the importance he holds while showing him that vampires can be sympathetic and value love and actually show kindness to each other. It worked in a lot of ways to be a positive reminder of his influence, both in how she treated him and in the impact he had on her. But some of the stories Adrian told him helped as well, showing him how his inaction and the way he'd withdrawn from the world as a power in it instead of being a force for what he believed in had real consequences including on people he loves.
And that has all had results in his actions. He's been trying to take some of the responsibility for the vampires on board off of Godric's shoulders, look out for them. He's been stepping up in cases where things need to get done, looking into options for the vampires on board and going without food as a pointed choice from his position of power (not because he wants to die) without those self destructive impulses ruling him. But his really big step is helping Crozier when he saw him starting to go through alcohol withdrawal. The fact was that he knew how to handle it from a medical standpoint and he knew that the man wouldn't want those he cared about to deal with him during such an ugly time. Instead of handing him off or doing the bare minimum, he decided to help him, help a weak human man who was trying to handle his situation, and he did it because he had the knowledge and he realized that Not Acting When You Have the Means is a kind of evil. One he's tired of living in.
The lesson was completed when he spoke to Zack, told him about the fact that Adrian didn’t want him to come back to their world because of what he’d done, and Zack helped him realize that he can do more than just make amends: he can make things better. Zack’s belief (which mattered a LOT given that he has all of the context that literally no one else has) and his willingness to do that, his want to do that beyond just getting access to his son again? That was honestly his moment of graduation, when he realized both that good has to be an active force, someone who DOES good things, and that if he wants things to get better, to be better, he has to be a part of people doing good. Not only that, but that he can do it, no matter what humanity or anyone else thinks of what he is. That he, ultimately, is the one who chooses, the one who has the means to take a stand. And that doing it is not about satisfying the people around you? But about satisfying yourself, feeling good about who and what you are, and what you bring to the table.