Ealasaid Has a Tumblr

So, the girls' first encounter with Dracula was as terrifying as one can expect when the scene is about an asleep young girl being loomed over by a figure shrouded in shadows as her (also young) friend screams to try and wake her up.

And this is where the misconception of the view between Lucy and Count Dracula sadly starts, yes the novel Dracula tackles some themes of eroticism, but not in the way most mainstream analysis makes it be. This is not a case of "sexual repression into liberation" like some literary analysis try to paint it; when we read the actual text, and the image that it paints, we can interpret this entry through the far more simple (yet terrifying) notion of supposed assault.

The tricky thing is reading how even when nothing sexual happened in the entry, what scares Mina and Lucy is the possibility of this story getting out somehow, and damaging Lucy's reputation as an unmarried young lady.

What happened outside of Mina's view was that the Count took advantage of Lucy's already established sleepwalking state to feed on her, then Mina shows up in a hurry which probably stopped the Count from probably killing Lucy on the churchyard. The aftermath leaves Mina frightened, and Lucy hurt, but both know that victorian society would not focus on their words, but it will focus on Lucy's supposed culpability in a scenario that could easily be twisted into some sort of hidden affair.

He loves crazy speculation (Lucy was fat as a child, Mina is plain and unattractive, et al) and is determined to believe Lucy is a total slut who is horny for and satisfied by Dracula's attacks.

I'm hate-reading Leatherdale again this year and adding even more angry notes. What kills me is that he has some interesting insights here and there but then says something wild and unsupported by the text or something offensive (or both!) and I go back to wanting to throttle him.

As a treat, I'm also reading my annotated Draculas by Leonard Wolf (my mist favorite) and Leslie Klinger (second favorite) as well.

Carb starts your engine, protein keeps it going.

Cookie

Fruit (canned or fresh)

Chips

Piece of bread

Popcorn

Crackers

Easy protein add on:

Nuts

Spoonful of nut butter

Cheese

Roasted chickpea snacks

Glass of milk (dairy or non dairy)

req'd by @ravenite-void

this kinda reminds me of the ethos of mild confusion and mutual support that happened when the two #ftm tags collided, since it stands for both female-to-male and first-time-moms, with an interesting midpoint of folks recording their pregnancy journey as trans men

ah yes, because telling someone that youre nonbinary would prevent them from mutilating you. jesus wept.

Also, in case anyone was worried, rest assured mim the local void is missing no meals

I think the simplest explanation is that basically, you are a witch if you call yourself a witch.

"Witch" is a self identified label.

"Witch" is also a reclaimed term.

It is only very recently and largely in the West (and even then, only in a handful of countries) that the word has gained positive connotations and a cultural space where people are proud to use it as a personal identifier. In MUCH of the rest of the world, it remains, at best, an insult and in some places, a potentially life-threatening accusation.

And it behooves us as modern witches to be aware of the historical use of the terms "witch" and "witchcraft," not just as it applies to witch trials in Europe and North America, but as a colonialist buzzword used to dismiss and demonize indigenous cultural beliefs and practices, and to justify subjugation or destruction of an Other. (See Also: "Heathen" as a derogatory.)

Even if we ONLY examine the aforementioned European and North American witch trials, the victims of those trials were not self-identified witches. That was a label put upon them by the courts and their accusers. Personally, I think the well-known personages from some of the more famous trials would be horrified to learn how inextricably their names are linked with a word that destroyed their lives.

And in a modern sense, even in countries where witchcraft is more accepted, there are plenty of practitioners who choose not to do so publicly for reasons of personal and professional safety.

really good tiktok

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