Dustbummy - 𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝐿𝑈𝑆𝑇-

i do not want to hear SHIT about how "jinx is a better big sibling than vi and vi sucked." jinx is going to be a good older sister because she had a good older sister end of discussion

We’re so used to the sexual reading of the entire book of Dracula, which takes the sensuality of the early chapters and jams everything that follows it into the same metaphor no matter how poorly it fits, but I feel the segment we’re approaching works much better with a lens of chronic illness and disease.

Vampire legends are inextricably intertwined with disease. Many of them are said to have been birthed by burying victims of disease too soon, who later seem to rise from the dead. But what’s more is that Stoker and his family have deep-seated trauma over disease: his mother had to flee her hometown at the age of 14 because of a horrific cholera epidemic, and Stoker himself was bedridden as a child from an illness that no one could identify.

Found this quote from Irish Historian Mary McGarry:

Bram as an adult asked his mother to write down her memories of the epidemic for him, and he supplemented this using his own historic research of Sligo’s epidemic. Scratching beneath the surface (of this essay), I found parallels with Dracula. [For instance,] Charlotte says cholera enters port towns having traveled by ship, and can travel overland as a mist—just like Dracula, who infects people with his unknown contagion.

I bring this up because a lot of academic analysis insists that Lucy sleepwalking is proof of her being the Slutty Woman archetype that needs to be punished. This suggested symbolism is hilarious when put next to the text saying she inherited it from her father, but I’d like to suggest a different angle from the lens of disease suggested earlier:

Lucy’s sleepwalking is a condition that predates Dracula but makes her an easy target for him to prey on. Through the lens of disease symbolism, she now is someone with chronic illness or disability who is especially vulnerable to infectious disease. This becomes a cross-section of Stoker’s trauma regarding disease: his own mystery illness and his mother fleeing a plague.

To wind down my rambles with a bit of a soapbox, I feel this adds a very poignant layer to the struggle to keep Lucy alive. The COVID pandemic showed a horrifying level of casual ableism vs disabled and immunodeficient individuals, shrugging off their vulnerability and even their deaths with “well COVID only kills them.” There’s something deeply gratifying at seeing the way everyone around Lucy fights to the bitter end to protect her and refuses to just give her up to Dracula, whether it’s Mina physically chasing him away or the suitor squad pouring their blood into her veins or Van Helsing desperately searching for cures. The vulnerable deserve no less than this. They’re not acceptable casualties.

Stop giving me team green propaganda! Istg

Halle Bailey's screen test looks for The Little Mermaid Camille Friend (Ariel's hair designer): A wig going over [Halle's hair] just never looked right. It was more important keeping the look of [Halle] being an African American Ariel and not trying to change her. Halle Bailey: I was just really pleased with Rob Marshall and John DeLuca's decision to keep my natural hair but also add some loose tresses to it so [it looks] more mermaid-y as well. I was really pleased that I got to keep that piece of myself.

Modern day Jinx and Silco would be in the mafia. So I'mma write some mafia jinx! fics later down the line probably.

Omg I just had a thought. Orpheus! Ekko and Eurydice! Jinx. Maybe even Persephone! Jayce and Hades! Viktor. Or if you're REALLY freaky, Persephone! Mel and Hades! Silco

Hello 👋,

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Aziz, and I’m reaching out with a heartfelt plea to help my family find safety and reunite with our mother. 😞

The ongoing war in Gaza has torn my family apart. My mother and newborn sister are stranded in Egypt, while I, along with the rest of my sex family members, am trapped in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. We have not only been separated but have also lost our home and are enduring unimaginable hardships. 💔

Your support can make a difference. Whether by reading our story, donating, or sharing our campaign with others, you can help us reunite, find safety, and start anew. 🙏🕊

Thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your kindness, compassion, and solidarity during this difficult time. ❤🍉

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🍉

"It wouldn't matter if she were Jaehaerys the Conciliator come again, Rhaenyra is a woman."

-Otto Hightower

Did people just forget he said this? It's not about how deserving she is.

I really need some people in this fandom to understand that Rhaenyra could have been the most perfect woman to ever exist and the Greens still would have usurped the throne anyways. Rhaenyra being a "whore", Rhaenyra having bastards, Rhaenyra being so-called "incompetent" were all excuses. If they really cared about any of that, why would they be trying to replace her with a man who sleeps around, has many bastards, and is definitely more incompetent than Rhaenyra ever was?

Like guys the Greens were pushing Aegon as heir before Rhaenyra even had children, before she was even married. It is stated in the book that Alicent and Rhaenyra got along fine until Aegon was born and Alicent immediately turned against her when Viserys didn't name their son his heir. They were already challenging her claim when she was just 10 years old.

Even if we're going by the show's canon, Otto Hightower was plotting to get a half Hightower/Targaryen on the throne before Rhaenyra was even named as heir.

The reasoning for why the Greens did what they did is really quite simple and realistic - they were greedy as hell. Some of their allies of course truly believed a son should come before a daughter but the main motive for the Hightowers was that they wanted someone of their blood to be placed on the throne.

They wanted their blood to be entwined with the most important family in Westeros. They wanted to create a new branch of Targaryens that were half Hightower. It wouldn't have mattered if Rhaenyra was flawed or if she was perfect, they still would have usurped the throne because she was in the way of their plan that was pretty much decades in the making and they would have used any excuse to justify their actions.

I'm just tired of the posts that say "well if Rhaenyra just took her position more serious and if she didn't do this or that then she would have been fine" like no she wouldn't have. You're completely missing the point if you believe this.

BAILEY BASS as CLAUDIA INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE | SEASON ONE (2022 -)