>looks inside

"I know my love was different from yours - but it was love, too."

As long as there is still suffering to be had, Jean Valjean cannot die

Jean Valjean has super strength which cannot be depleted by age or his poor ability to look after himself (up to a point)

Once a person has met Cosette, lack of proximity to her will slowly drain their life force

The dead benevolently haunt those they loved while alive (ily ghost!Fantine)

Javert has an incredible ability to recognise potential criminals (read people from lower social classes)

Eponine has the ability to blend into the background but cannot turn this power off

Yoda is hella nurturing and funny. He’s obviously personable. He’s obviously kind. He’s disciplined, but when dealing with people who literally have the power to move and control things at will, discipline and virtue are necessary because truly, with great power comes great responsibility.

People talk all this crap about yoda like - no. Yoda is not a space Jedi “god”. He’s a senior member of the order with tremendous strength and clarity of the force but also one with tremendous kindness and gentleness — when anakin comes to him for help Yoda doesn’t manipulate the truth the way palpatine does, he tells him honestly to let go of all he fears to lose, for Yoda knows that controlling the outcomes of everything is something no one, not Jedi nor Sith, can achieve. Yoda tells Anakin the hard truth because he loves him. Palpatine indulges anakin’s darkest temptations and fears because he wants to use him. People have written Yoda didn’t do enough for anakin etc but what exactly could Yoda have done? Anakin didn’t go into details w/ Yoda over his situation out of fear, which is exactly the trap the Jedi are leery of: fear leads to division and anger and to Anakin keeping his secret from the one Jedi who may have been powerful (in terms of just raw power, like Sidious) enough to help him: Yoda. Yoda as a character is written as doing the best he can, with what he knows. Anakin, in trying to play all angles out of fear, fear which Palpatine manipulated in order to isolate Anakin, set himself up for failure — made possible thanks to the manipulative Sidious trying to force (no pun intended) Anakin into a corner. At every opportunity Sidious tries to stoke Anakin’s fears: fear of losing Padme, of being kicked out of the Jedi, of not being accepted —- and Yoda didn’t know this. Force insight, wisdom, and such are not superpowers, in universe, the force is “living”, you can’t just demand to see the possible future (aka what palp was doing to anakin).

Yoda also makes mistakes, and that’s okay. Yoda isn’t a “perfect guru” - hes just a regular flawed mentor trying to do the best he can, given the stakes. Yoda’s “failure” to stop what happened is a testament to his humility - Yoda knows he is not space god and now the audience knows as well.

Let him be a falliable but good character trying his best to love well.

Annie Stegg Gerard (American, born 1982) Daylight Reverie, 2023

Oil on board 9 x 12 inches

1. You sound like a bot

2. You don't give anything to respond to

Remember Inigo Montoya

Polite Greeting: You will be assimilated.

Relevant personal link: Your biological and technological characteristics will be added to our own.

1. Polite Greeting:

2. Name: I’m Luke Skywalker

3. Personal Relevant Link:

4. Manage Expectations: I’m here to rescue you.

Polite Greeting: "Greetings, Exalted One."

Name + Relevant Personal Link: "I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi knight and friend to captain Solo."

Except Dracula is a story that plays itself straight. The vampire himself is not stupid. He’s possibly the oldest vampire of all which means he upgraded from animal instinct and mindless echoes of past memories to someone who’s regained his critical thinking skills. The story begins because he’s already adapted to how the modern world works now by hiring a solicitor who understands modern laws.

He knows now that he doesn’t have to march into London with an army like he used to; He can just buy property and the laws of London are forced to respect that. Similarly he’s already experimented in and discovered loopholes to vampire rules and limitations; Vampires are bound by the permission of owners so he simply uses his solicitor to buy and own a bunch of properties. If he needs to be invited in, Dracula hypnotizes someone to let him in.

Vampires need to return to their grave every dusk/dawn (whichever comes sooner), which causes their coffin to act as an anchor that limits how far from it they can travel? Dracula simply rations the earth of his grave into fifty coffins and spreads them across London so his range becomes exponentially larger.

All of these things make the story almost come across as a deconstruction and it might just be! It’s just that Dracula the novel became such a trendsetter that people nowadays see it as playing things fully straight. It almost feels as if the novel is written with the idea that readers have a basic understanding of vampires and their rules, so part of the thrill comes in the revelation of how the titular vampire is working around these rules. Likewise I’ve heard it used to be a trope in English literature for a traveler to visit some foreign land with a monster and escape by going home. But here the foreign aspect of the story is just the first (and final) arc; The monster’s plan hinges on coming to the UK itself!

Oh huh! I hadn't realized I didn't post this one here on Tumblr! I finished this study in early March and have plans to have it be one of 3 pieces to go together 🙂‍↕️

In honor of Day of the Dead, here’s a repost of my comic about the San Francisco Columbarium and the man who spent 26 years restoring it.