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Description
So one major reoccurring theme in Meet the Vampires is familial abuse. In particular, there's an aspect of abuse I don't usually see addressed in the rare case that abuse comes up in kids shows (well when it isn't a joke *cough, cough* fairly odd parents *cough, cough*) and that is the way that abuse is often passed down generationally. Now you don't need an abusive figure in a characters life to have some tragic backstory it's fine if you don't go into much depth on why they are the way they are especially since, if done poorly, it can feel like a justification for their abuse rather than an explanation.

In the top panel, we have Vlad and a young Severus, then Severus and a young Clyde followed by an interaction between Clyde and his battle fury.

The battle fury is a sort of magical self-preservation device, an alternate personality shaped by the individual's fears and becomes whatever they think they need to be to ensure their survival. So when Clyde's battle furry repeats back to him a line his father said to him and his grandfather said to his father it says something about the kind of abuse that's been passed down, the whys and the byproduct.

Vladimir developed a narcissistic personality as a way of surviving in a world where everything was stacked against him. He was born into crippling poverty to a single mother and was often abused by a community that treated him and his mother like trash. He would later go on to found an empire through cunning, manipulation, and violence. His ego was a way of ensuring his own safety, he always needed to feel powerful and on top and later in life became paranoid and reclusive when he'd run out of people to fight, there was no ladder left to climb, he was at the top, he won, but it wasn't enough.

Severus eventually developed a deep hatred for his father after years of never being good enough for him and even being put down by Vlad on multiple occasions. Despite this, he still internalized this idea of power equals safety and well as what he considered weakness. He developed a deep-seated distrust of others and fear of abandonment and these things shaped how he raised Clyde.

Clyde's battle fury reflects this idea of what it means to be safe, what it takes to survive. An idea that's been passed down through this family like a damp torch in a dark tunnel.

It's not uncommon for familial abuse to be connected to love. Many abusive parents love their kids and the abuse is a twisted, distorted expression of that love. Vlad loved his son but had a very rigid toxic idea of what it took to survive and tried to prepare his son for the world as he saw it. He also could never let Severus surpass him in anything because as he saw it if he was the one on top he could ensure his son's safety and his own but is Severus was in charge he would have to rely on him and relying on other's was not something Vlad could do.

Severus loved Clyde but a combination of his own paranoia, distrust of people, and that same desire to toughen him up lead to an abusive hot and cold relationship.

Clyde is the one who recognizes the way his dad fucked him up. He knows these ideas are toxic and wrong. But knowing is only the first step. Ending cycles of abuse is hard and it requires making an active conscious effort to change deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and not let your own fear and trauma cloud your judgment when it comes to raising your own kids.

I've not seen many cartoons address parental abuse only 3 really come to mind. Hey Arnold, Avatar, and She-ra. Of the 3 examples, She-ra is my favorite because it was the first time I saw glimpses of that kind of twisted love being represented. Shadow Weaver was abusive but not entirely unloving. She did, at least as much as she had the capacity, love both Adora and Catra. But I don't think she knew how to be a better mother than she was. In her eyes, she was trying to prepare them for the world, in a twisted way she was trying to protect them. I give She-ra major props for that because it's a complicated relationship to portray. Zuko recognizing that his father never loved him and never will is empowering, but watching Shadow Weaver sacrifice herself to save her daughters made me cry. Recognizing that your abuser actually does love you is usually harder than acknowledging that they don't.

Description
So one major reoccurring theme in Meet the Vampires is familial abuse. In particular, there's an aspect of abuse I don't usually see addressed in the rare case that abuse comes up in kids shows (well when it isn't a joke *cough, cough* fairly odd parents *cough, cough*) and that is the way that abuse is often passed down generationally. Now you don't need an abusive figure in a characters life to have some tragic backstory it's fine if you don't go into much depth on why they are the way they are especially since, if done poorly, it can feel like a justification for their abuse rather than an explanation.

In the top panel, we have Vlad and a young Severus, then Severus and a young Clyde followed by an interaction between Clyde and his battle fury.

The battle fury is a sort of magical self-preservation device, an alternate personality shaped by the individual's fears and becomes whatever they think they need to be to ensure their survival. So when Clyde's battle furry repeats back to him a line his father said to him and his grandfather said to his father it says something about the kind of abuse that's been passed down, the whys and the byproduct.

Vladimir developed a narcissistic personality as a way of surviving in a world where everything was stacked against him. He was born into crippling poverty to a single mother and was often abused by a community that treated him and his mother like trash. He would later go on to found an empire through cunning, manipulation, and violence. His ego was a way of ensuring his own safety, he always needed to feel powerful and on top and later in life became paranoid and reclusive when he'd run out of people to fight, there was no ladder left to climb, he was at the top, he won, but it wasn't enough.

Severus eventually developed a deep hatred for his father after years of never being good enough for him and even being put down by Vlad on multiple occasions. Despite this, he still internalized this idea of power equals safety and well as what he considered weakness. He developed a deep-seated distrust of others and fear of abandonment and these things shaped how he raised Clyde.

Clyde's battle fury reflects this idea of what it means to be safe, what it takes to survive. An idea that's been passed down through this family like a damp torch in a dark tunnel.

It's not uncommon for familial abuse to be connected to love. Many abusive parents love their kids and the abuse is a twisted, distorted expression of that love. Vlad loved his son but had a very rigid toxic idea of what it took to survive and tried to prepare his son for the world as he saw it. He also could never let Severus surpass him in anything because as he saw it if he was the one on top he could ensure his son's safety and his own but is Severus was in charge he would have to rely on him and relying on other's was not something Vlad could do.

Severus loved Clyde but a combination of his own paranoia, distrust of people, and that same desire to toughen him up lead to an abusive hot and cold relationship.

Clyde is the one who recognizes the way his dad fucked him up. He knows these ideas are toxic and wrong. But knowing is only the first step. Ending cycles of abuse is hard and it requires making an active conscious effort to change deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and not let your own fear and trauma cloud your judgment when it comes to raising your own kids.

I've not seen many cartoons address parental abuse only 3 really come to mind. Hey Arnold, Avatar, and She-ra. Of the 3 examples, She-ra is my favorite because it was the first time I saw glimpses of that kind of twisted love being represented. Shadow Weaver was abusive but not entirely unloving. She did, at least as much as she had the capacity, love both Adora and Catra. But I don't think she knew how to be a better mother than she was. In her eyes, she was trying to prepare them for the world, in a twisted way she was trying to protect them. I give She-ra major props for that because it's a complicated relationship to portray. Zuko recognizing that his father never loved him and never will is empowering, but watching Shadow Weaver sacrifice herself to save her daughters made me cry. Recognizing that your abuser actually does love you is usually harder than acknowledging that they don't.