#daily frustrations

[proficient-in-hoarding-deadlines]

Ughhhhhhh i'm not dead but the uni is working hard to change that. Aren't we supposed to be working on our theses this year?.. Anyway, here's a new proverb i learned recently:

譬えに嘘無し坊主に毛無し Or, as i'd translate it, "[The] proverb isn't lying [as sure as] monks don't have hair". Nothing much to add to that, i just like the comparison, it's very vivid.

[gravesaint]

unfollowing and blocking left right and center because y’all can’t do something as simple as boycotting and leaving your shitty shows at the door

[clownsuu]

Frank/Home anon here, again, with a new idea. we know very little about Home from the mob au, other than hes a god like figure who has immortal control over the family. and we know that Frank is trying to figure out whats happening behind the scenes, and is getting into places he probably isnt supposed to. i know you made a few drawings about Frank and Home meeting, but damn, being faced to face with a GOD has got to fuck you up, not only from their interaction, but the uncanny divinity as well. i like the idea of Frank, not so much falling in line to Homes control, but being so infatuated with him after that he keeps pushing and pushing his luck. imagine fighting against the control for so long, only to be caught because of your own untamable curiosity and need to have questions answered. not only that, but being in the physical presence of an entity whos basically bending reality to their own will? theres a comparison to a moth being drawn to a flame here (or an electric fly buzzer). how do you even recover from something like that, and go back to ordering supplies at your day job? (you dont, lol.) anyhow, you should def drop a few more crumbs of Home lore, to add coal to the train that is my ranting.

Very intriguing very intriguing, that would be the trope of “the most powerful god” x “some weak loser from across the street” HDHDHDH

cw minor spooki

Man art block is REALLY kicking my ass rn-

also a few more crumbs of (mob) Home lore? Well lemme seeeee-

-Home is a entity who works entirely alone (unless otherwise chooses someone)

-He answers to the most weak and vulnerable who calls for him

-he is not a demon (but can be considered a god)

-he is neither defined as good or bad

-Home and Wally are NOT related (home purposely takes a form who’d look like a father to him)

[spider-xan]

Regarding Mina's description of Dracula and why it's problematic, a good starting point would be to read the Wikipedia article for physiognomy, which is the outdated pseudoscience of face reading that is unfortunately rooted in racism, antisemitism, ableism, etc., and was very popular during the Victorian era as a way to judge moral character based on facial features.

So when Mina says 'His face was not a good face', she is not just saying that Dracula is ugly (though concepts of ugliness and beauty are not value-neutral either), but that she can tell that he is evil based on his facial features; note that one of the facial features she singles out is a 'beaky nose', which comes from Cesare Lombroso's idea that among other traits, hawk-like noses are a marker of criminality on the basis of criminals being evolutionary throwbacks who are less evolved than non-criminals; many of these allegedly 'criminal' and 'degenerate' facial features are obviously racialized and not associated with Gentile whiteness, but in opposition to it.

Stoker was definitely interested in physiognomy and uses it as a narrative device to show how certain heroic characters are intelligent, perceptive, and educated on the latest (pseudo)sciences (the modernity theme again) - namely Mina and Van Helsing, but also Jonathan to a lesser degree; we will definitely see this idea come up several more times, including explicit references to Lombroso himself.

It is also important to remember that linking physical appearance and morality still happens today - think about how many people say they can tell someone is a bad person bc they're ugly or that 'People get the face they deserve' where good people age gracefully and bad people age poorly, even though aging has nothing to do with personal character.

[drac-kool-aid]

Seward's bone deep desire to run away from the asylum is not exactly surprising. There have been a lot of really good meta posts about how the return of Van Helsing into his life is the turning point where we see the caring and good side of him and how we can interpret his life as a student in Amersterdam as one of freedom and happiness. How he is part of the tragedy of manners, how strict social expectations allow Dracula to persist, and how they only exacerbate the unhappiness of the characters.

And I think the tragedy of Seward is that, really, he should not be the head of an asylum. It's a job that brings him no joy, and he's BAD at it. We can all recognize that if your first reaction to going back to work is "What if I just leave it all." That isn't a healthy work environment.

Now, in the modern day, the ability to pick and choose a work environment, even to leave one that is damaging your mental health, is a privilege. (IT SHOULDNT BE, but it is). And, although it is definitely reaching crisis levels in modern times, major changes in your career have almost always been difficult (unless you are really rich, or a particular brand of academic in the 17th-18th century, or both).

Seward can't just leave and become a surgeon. To give up the lofty position of "Head of an Asylum" would be unthinkable in the 1890s, especially for a reason like "Being here is basically turning me into the Joker." Like, how would Seward explain that in polite society? Would they accept that reasoning? Would they create salacious gossip if they didn't? Can Seward leave his position without losing a great amount of social capital?

Probably not.

His rise to head of an asylum, as many have pointed out, was meteoric, to say the least. It has afforded him status and respect and also left him deeply, deeply fucked up. And he can't leave!

I think his desperate attempts to quantify Renfield's behaviors into a new mental illness are telling in this regard. Maybe he is too used to having to meet some sort of expectation, and now he thinks this is the logical next step (It's NOT, but I digress). The feeling of having to keep performing above expectations, grasping at straws to do so, and subsequently burning oneself out (as well as others around you) and engaging in unethical practices? Idk. It sounds like something that would happen today. (tbh there are probably a ton of Sewards out there today, as there are still systemic problems within the mental health system that allow for the dehumanizing and abuse of patients).

It doesn't excuse his behavior. Nothing he does to Renfield is excusable, but I think it does explain some of the *why*. He isn't just cruel for cruelty's sake.

So, tldr I guess: I think reading Seward as someone who got stuck on a career path that he realized was unfufilling and that he ends up hating. Social conventions restrict him from just quitting without and a (socially acceptable) good reason to do so, and a lifetime of being regarded as one of the smartest people in the room means he can not allow himself to fail. Unfortunately, this also means he can not admit when his actions or his ideas are wrong when it comes to his job.

(But he can show that uncertainty FOR Lucy, and TO Arthur and Van Helsing, which speaks his trust and love for them)

[see-arcane]

Brammington Stoker: See? This is what happens when you don’t implicitly trust the Good+ Scholarly Authority, No Questions Asked

me, hitting him and Van Helsing with a rolled up newspaper: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU! DON’T!! COMMUNICATE!!!

[fairyrona]

in the middle of chaos that is the arrival of another script I present you fanart of ''everything changes, what a shame'' by andiwriteordie

it's st4 except in mike's pov, which we absolutely love bc it's a need for us to know what's in that boy's head anyways, i love this story so much, i hope i did it justice, please go read it!! it has will!with a gun and a lot of pure love <333

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

Before there is too much criticism of Arthur calling Lucy fat, keep in mind this is in a letter meant to convince Mina that everything is going well.

When Lucy is sick, she's thin. Being fat is a positive thing.

[moeblob]

Lookin' at Askr's injured art and realizing it's basically just him with holes in his spandex........ thank you FEH for this one thing...

(also I normally draw Hrid and his attempts at adopting siblings so happy holidays to Hrid, he gets to be thirsty as a treat.)

[kirby-the-gorb]

[antidiluvianobservatory]

Meanwhile, Dracula on the Demeter:

[proficient-in-hoarding-deadlines]

lmao i think my roommate just invited a friend over to our dorm room at 9pm to have a very loud job interview of some kind

the karma of repeatedly inviting friends to (sometimes also loudly) work together this same room seems to be catching up to me, but still i feel like that was kinda fucked up

[sisaloofafump]

Daily Diana #8

I am going issue by issue through Wonder Woman (1987—) and drawing my favourite outfits on a very vague daily schedule. Today was Issue #8 and it was a struggle. The issue itself is a snapshot of written pieces overtime with little visual storytelling. I decided to draw a solid reference for my Diana and it took a while. The Morpho: Muscled Bodies book by Michel Lauricella was invaluable, though I also drew from a wide range of other references—a process that took a lot of time and mental energy for an overall disappointing result. I'm excited to start the next proper arc tomorrow though. I keep forgetting to draw the lasso :/

Masterlist || Previous || Next

EDIT: I’m adding another drawing that I had done today that wasn’t originally part of DD but I like better and does add to it (OG post has version without bathing suit). honestly today was just not a great art day but the point of a daily challenge includes accepting the lows as well as the highs

Also, some issue panels and the non-clothed version of the artwork below:

[kirbydaily]

guy;s

[cascadiums]

Bram Stoker really made a point of the Count hoarding old money in his bedroom like a dragon, the spoils of war and empire guarded by the upper class, just for his heroes to bribe their way across Europe funded by their inheritance from a revolving door of dying parents, huh

[see-arcane]

After this entry, you know what’s now making me pull my hair out? Other than last year’s frustration over the refusal of any hints from Van Helsing or allowing any sort of aid from anyone but him and Jack? It’s the idea that none of them have pointed out the element of time when Lucy loses blood.

Why always at night, doctors? Why does post-sundown sleep = blood loss? We know Van Helsing has guessed why, but Jack—who has already connected dots with Renfield’s mood swings and their odd hours—hasn’t bothered to truly poke at the situation. How much of a difference might be made if they just suggested a temporary change of sleep schedule (ala Jonathan’s unbitten nocturnal months)?

It wouldn’t be a fix, but it’d be better than just having everyone lose sleep or forcing Lucy to run out the clock every night waiting to doze into a Mystery Hemorrhage.