ladys-maria

[ladys-maria]

This is something I have been thinking about a lot lately, especially after the elections for mayors and city councilors that took place in my country, Brazil, in October of this year. Although we have a left-wing president, our senate and plenary are dominated by the right wing (often extreme) of the previous president. I went to vote with great discouragement, because I saw the cities of my country divided into two sides and because I saw a series of unprepared politicians who use faith for their own privilege and who consequently cause discord, hatred and fear among people who kill themselves for politicians who do not even care about the population after running for office. And so they benefit themselves, they want the people tied to fear and blinded by ignorance!

When will we have peace

The last time Trump won, I wanted to have my US friends to be able to move to Europe, but honestly, the politics here aren't much better either. The whole right wing ideology is growing bigger and bigger here too - the last elections had incredibly high votes for rightwing parties in austria (where I live) and also in Germany. Clearly I can't speak about the other countries, but Italy is having a fascism problem as well. Pretty sure it doesn't look much different in other countries. For many years, I believed we were growing more open minded, supportive of each other, successfully changing human rights for the better. But everything is running backwards. How much louder do we need to be? How much harder do we have to fight for the fucking right to exist? How can people believe they're in charge over other people's lives and decisions? What the fuck, humanity.

[ladys-maria]

I've been wondering since the 6th how Dracula took over practically my entire year and I'm still wandering around waiting for something to happen, but then I remember that next year is about to start and HE'S COMING BACK SOON! It's almost comical this whole situation

Dracula daily is over.

What am I supposed to do with my life now??

[ladys-maria]

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[ladys-maria]

Silly wee Jonathan Harker warmup sketch idk if I’ll ever finish

[ladys-maria]

November 6th - Dracula

I absolutely love the atmosphere here, Jonathan Harker in the shadow of the nightmare Castle in the sunset.

(Art by Angela Barrett in the special Folio Society ed of Dracula)

[ladys-maria]

Just start, just take the first step and everything will flow...

gentle reminder you can rise up from everything. you can recreate yourself. nothing is permanent. you are not stuck. you have choices. you can think new thoughts. you can learn something new. you can create new habits. all that matters is that you decide today and never look back.

[ladys-maria]

Lucy is stronger then me cuz if I would've married Quincy the first 5 seconds after seeing him

[ladys-maria]

This is a Gothic Romance - October 11, Dracula

"I believe that neither I nor anyone else in this world could describe the strange scene that followed - solemn, somber, melancholy, terrible, and yet tender." -- this is how Seward tries to show us the affectionate passion of the Harkers

After everyone makes the promise to Mina about her death, Jonathan asks her:

"Must I also make that promise, my wife?" Mina answers him (this part brings tears to my eyes every time I read it) "You too, my love. And you must not hesitate. You are the one I love most, you are my world. Our souls are united forever and ever, for eternity. Remember, my love, the brave men who in times past killed their wives so that they would not fall into enemy hands. Their hands remained steady, for the women themselves begged to be killed. It is a man's duty, in turbulent times, to those he loves! And, my love, if I must be killed, may it be by the hands of the one who loves me most. (…) If that time comes, I count on Mr. "Van Helsing" to ensure that my husband will keep for the rest of his life the happy memory of having been the one to free me from this terrible curse."

The climax of the scene is when he asks Jonathan to recite the Office of the Dead as a way of keeping his beloved's voice in his memory:

"I would like you to do this for me, my love, because I will carry with me forever the memory of your voice, no matter what happens!"

[ladys-maria]

Dracula and his terrible fashion sense

(By the way, this reminded me of Hotel Transylvania where Dracula wears a hat that doesn't match, but I don't think it was straw)

“That he be all in black, except that he have a hat of straw which suit not him or the time.”

[ladys-maria]

Today is October 4th and I had forgotten about this image

the day dawns babes

[ladys-maria]

Count Dracula: "Hahahahaha! I will make you my thrall, and you will obey me for all eternity!"

Mina, trembling with rage: "Fucker who I am going to dox right this fucking second says what?"

The Count: "What-"

Mina: "I mean this in the nicest, most pitying and pious way: Die <3"

Dracula: "wh--"

Mina: "Jonathan, darling, be sure to show him mercy when you find him in his little dirt box which is currently at sea and fleeing back to his hidey hole castle in the Carpathians <3"

Dracula: "Hang on,"

Jonathan, kukri out: "I named it Mercy <3" 🔪

[ladys-maria]

October 3rd

"As for me, I have already made up my mind. If Mina becomes a vampire, I will not let her enter this unknown and terrible universe alone. I suppose that in ancient times, vampires multiplied in this way: so that their hateful bodies could rest only on holy ground, the holiest love must have recruited many soldiers for its armies."

Could Jonathan be the first potential literary character for the "I would die for her" topic? I swear I have no idea of ​​any classics older than "Dracula" that had a character in his full consciousness take such an action as Harker did for Mina.

[ladys-maria]

Lucy's Wedding

(this is in my language, but it is the wedding date of our dear Lucy Westenra) imagine this day, being marked yesterday, beautiful and sunny with flowers and lots of joy, if it weren't for that damned walking leech

[ladys-maria]

Rereading the Grisha trilogy I find myself wondering, as I go through the chapters of S&S and R&R, would there be a possibility that LB had Zoyalai in mind while creating the first three books? The interactions between both are nothing, we could count on our fingers the times when they are both in the same place or when Zoya asks something and Nikolai answers (and let's not forget when Alina told him who he should marry by putting "a Grisha like Zoya" as an option and he was TOTALLY aware of her presence). Maybe I'm too fascinated with my Zoyalai but I stop every time their names are close together in a paragraph, line by line, on the same page.

[ladys-maria]

Now I can understand why people have a certain obsession with Zoyalina lol Rereading S&S (actually I've already finished it) I realize how obsessed Alina is with Zoya, I dare say that she is more than Nikolai in her entire duology (of course this was just ironic) but it's real she exalts Zoya in a way that makes any feelings she has for Maly seem like a facade.

[ladys-maria]

When I see people fighting with darklina shippers I wonder what they took from the Shadow and Bone trilogy. And I don't mean the basic things like "he's a bad person". I mean the fact the story is at it's core a story on how different people process the struggles of war, and the outcome of their actions while doing so.

I wonder if they understand malina is not the good, healthy ship, but rather the result of two very young orphans who lost everything and everyone else and bonded on an unhealthy level, to the point where Alina is willing to give up parts of herself to fit Mal's insecurities.

It's not meant to be cute and fluffy. It just is. And in that sense, I wonder if they actually look at the darkling as the full character that Leigh worked her butt off to portray, past the "ewwww, this man is problematic". Especially in times like right now, where genocide and "how far is too far when you are responding to aggression" are being openly discussed by everyone.

Sure, it's easy to reduce the darkling to this toxic abuser. It fits a box you can check and not think about it later, but I find that to be a disservice to Leigh. So many of you are old enough to think about what makes a character tick, and the context that the story is giving you, regardless if you find the characters' actions justifiable or not, and I see so little of that nowadays in every fandom. Where is y'all's media literacy? Comprehension skills? The ability to reflect on such a complex universe as is the grishaverse?

People are allowed to ship the two characters that are opposite sides of the same coin, and grieve over the boy the darkling was and the man he could have been, before the weight of war destroyed him.

Alina certainly did.

[ladys-maria]

quando você sair da tempestade, não será mais a mesma pessoa que era quando entrou