#and he’s thinking about how his mother read him Frankenstein as a child on the way there

[daydreamerdrew]

excerpt from The Incredible Hulk by Peter David, based on the screenplay by Edward Norton and Zak Penn

#ooh I love this #I love that this book opens by referring to Bruce as ‘the haunted man’ #also just the concept of trying to frame your life as a story appeals to me #but the fact that he’s going to the artic to kill himself #and he’s thinking about how his mother read him Frankenstein as a child on the way there #like Bruce 🥺 #marvel #mcu #incredible hulk 2008 #bruce banner #my posts #books

[toaster-trash]

Volume III Chapter IV/V of the original 1818 text of Frankenstein lives in my brain rent free. I need to rant about Clerval’s death or I’ll loose it. (It’s late and I’m exhausted rn so my ass is NOT as coherent and structured as it could be but fuck it we ball)

“He appeared to be a handsome young man, about five and twenty years of age.” MY PRECIOUS BOY

“(…) having brought the body into her house; it was not cold. They put it into a bed, and rubbed it; and Daniel went to the town for an apothecary, but life was quite gone.” HE MIGHTN’T HAVE BEEN DEAD WHEN THEY FOUND HIM BUT IT WAS TOO LATE

“I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body, I exclaimed, “Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor”——

The human frame could no longer support the agonizing suffering that I endured, and I was carried out of the room in strong convulsions.

A fever succeeded to this. I lay for two months on the point of death (…)” THE WAY VICTOR REACTS TO AND SPIRALS FROM CLERVAL’S DEATH IS SO MUCH MORE SEVERE THAN ANYTHING ELSE THAT HAPPENS TO HIM and it’s also an extremely interesting character study to see what happens when the only person he ever really seemed to have a mutual loving and healthy relationship with gets cut out of the picture – Victor’s had his fevers, he’s wallowed, but he always had Clerval to draw him from his wallowing and to nurse him back to health. So what happens when Clerval’s death is the cause of that anguish? THE DRAMA THE ANGST I love these silly little gothic losers to death but watching Frankenstein grieve over the passing of who was pretty much essentially his lover is fascinating to me and it SHOWS how much Frankenstein adores Clerval through the latter’s death. THE MAGNITUDE OF HIS GRIEF IS A TESTAMENT TO THEIR LOVE oml i can’t rn frfr THEYRE SO GAY AND SO GOTHIC I CAN NOT

“Why did I not die? More miserable than man ever was before, why did I not sink into forgetfulness and rest?” “I thank you; but all that you mention is nothing to me: on the whole earth there is no comfort which I am capable of receiving.” “(…)surely I should have died on the coffin of Henry.” AGAIN Victor’s absolute grief tearing himself up over it

“As my sickness quitted me, I was absorbed by a gloomy and black melancholy, that nothing could dissipate. The image of Clerval was for ever before me, ghastly and murdered.” “Sometimes they were the expressive eyes of Henry, languishing in death, the dark orbs nearly covered by the lids, and the long black lashes that fringed them.” Again what I said about his grief being a testament to their love bro, REMINISCING ABOUT HIS DEAD LOVER AND HIS BEAUTY EVEN IN DEATH WHILE GRIEVING HIM I CANT BRO

“Ah! my father, do not remain in this wretched country; take me where I may forget myself, my existence, and all the world.” HERE’S THE START OF HIM PUSHING AWAY THE MEMORY AND TRYING TO SUPPRESS IT BECAUSE THE GRIEF IS TOO SEVERE and that is SO interesting for how he shifts his tone with Elizabeth and puts up that fake demeanour of wanting to marry her because he thinks it’ll make HER happy even though both of them describe dreading the wedding, also possibly another argument for the legitimacy of reading Clerval and Frankenstein’s relationship as romantic – in order to forget him, he assigns himself to the role given to him as a child by marrying Elizabeth and gives up whatever he hope he had (possibly discouraged from Clerval being murdered as a response to Victor refusing to finish the Bride and subject her to the same fate as him and Elizabeth to the Creature, a pact made without her knowledge or consent, an arranged marriage. Where has spiting that tradition led him? Where has him standing up to the shroud of his mother’s dying wishes, hanging over him the entire novel thus far, led him, by refusing to force the Bride into an arranged marriage with the Creature, as he was with Elizabeth? To the death of the one man he truly loved. So fuck it, right? He can at least “make his dear cousin happy” and not die spiting the one thing he was meant to do – make his mother proud from beyond the grave by marrying Elizabeth.)

“the wind that blew me from the detested shore of Ireland(…)” sorry my country traumatised you bro (I mentioned to one of my teachers while explaining the plot of Frankenstein to them, as you do, that this chapter takes place in Ireland and the “god damn ok” face was priceless)

“I was deceived by no vision, and that Clerval, my friend and dearest companion, had fallen a victim to me and the monster of my creation. I repassed, in my memory, my whole life; my quiet happiness while residing with my family in Geneva, the death of my mother, and my departure for Ingolstadt. I remembered shuddering at the mad enthusiasm that hurried me on to the creation of my hideous enemy, and I called to mind the night during which he first lived. I was unable to pursue the train of thought; a thousand feelings pressed upon me, and I wept bitterly.” HE’S TRYING SO DESPERATELY TO LEAVE IT BEHIND AND TO REPRESS IT but now he’s left Ireland and he’s no longer feverish, the clarity washes over him and he can’t do anything except just lie there and cry over everything that’s happened AND MY POOR LAD HE CANT EVEN CONTINUE BEYOND THE POINT OF THE CREATURES REANIMATION BECAUSE THOSE FEELINGS PRESS DOWN ON HIM AND CROWD HIM AND OVERWHELM HIM AND HE JUST BREAKS INTO SOBS

And what happens after “the night during which he first lived”?

He’s saved from his own downward spiral by Clerval.

What’s he doing now?

Going on a downward spiral.

Where’s Clerval?

Dead.

“Ever since my recovery from the fever I had been in the custom of taking every night a small quantity of laudanum; for it was by means of this drug only that I was enabled to gain the rest necessary for the preservation of life. Oppressed by the recollection of my various misfortunes, I now took a double dose, and soon slept profoundly. But sleep did not afford me respite from thought and misery; my dreams presented a thousand objects that scared me.” And Christ above THIS LINE, not only can he now physically not sleep at night after what happened, but he’s gotten into the habit of drug use over it – which wouldn’t have been too bizarre by Victorian standards, but in the 18th century, laudanum wasn’t administered nearly as liberally and was mostly used for surgery, from what I can find, anyway. Not to mention that fact that he starts double dosing on it as the memories come back to him – his grief starts getting to the point where he’s using drug use in order to cope, but it hardly matters as his torment follows him to sleep.

“We had resolved not to go to London, but to cross the country to Portsmouth, and thence to embark for Havre. I preferred this plan principally because I dreaded to see again those places in which I had enjoyed a few moments of tranquillity with my beloved Clerval. I thought with horror of seeing again those persons whom we had been accustomed to visit together, and who might make inquiries concerning an event, the very remembrance of which made me again feel the pang I endured when I gazed on his lifeless form in the inn at ——.” THIS LINE LIVES IN MY BRAIN. RENT FREE. HOW COULD SHELLEY HAVE CUT THIS OUT OF THE 1831 PUBLICATION THIS IS SO GOLDEN DEAR LORD I ADORE THEM.

“MY BELOVED CLERVAL”

BUT ALSO AGAIN we’ve got Frankenstein trying SO desperately to forget everything, and he knows that he can’t face the people who knew Clerval or he’d break down. And I love the way this version continues on his grief to the next chapter – it’s not done and dropped, its ongoing and it plagues him, and it will plague him as long as he lives. I wonder what would happen if he did go through London, if he did meet those people again. Would things have turned out differently? Would he finally have been given a sense of comfort and clarity through mutual grief, as nobody so far since Henry’s death and for the rest of the book, except the creature, ironically, has grieved for Clerval except for Frankenstein. If he met people who took as fondly to Clerval as he did, at least on meeting him briefly, who would have sympathy towards Victor – would he finally have that space to grieve for him in a healthy way, to be comforted by people who at least vaguely understand a fraction of his anguish?

The way Victor Frankenstein BREAKS after the death of Henry Clerval is one of the most fascinating and endearing parts of the novel that completely lives in my head rent free. He spirals, he becomes ill, he becomes deeply suicidal and depressed, he begins drug misuse – and adaptations have the sheer balls to cut Clerval out of the story altogether.

…..”My beloved Clerval” HELP ME HE ACTUALLY SAID IT I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

#gothic lit #classic literature #gothic literature #frankenstein #goth lit #classic lit #frankenstein weekly #clervalstein #Victor Frankenstein #Henry Clerval #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #frankenstein 1818

[lethalbutterfly]

About the First Kiss

(Spoilers for The Sun and the Star) . . . . . . . So, yeah, I can see why that would strike a lot of people as insensitive. It did me at first, a bit out of place, but the main thing that warmed me up to it is that Nico actually didn’t think it was all that inappropriate. He liked it, and that’s really the main thing that matters. THAT ASIDE-- there are other reasons that I think it works with the narrative and with Nico’s character. For one thing, he’s a spooky little gremlin and having his first kiss in the wake of Jason’s death is honestly kinda Mary Shelley of him (who for those of you who don’t recall, is the author of Frankenstein and is such a hardcore goth she actually lost her virginity on top of her mother’s grave). That’s the first thing I thought of when I first saw a meme about it (before having read it) and now that I have the context, I admit it’s a bit of a reach but I still think it’s a valid association, and one that... is very telling about Nico’s character. Writing about it now I even remember from the Addams’ family, how Gomez and Morticia originally met at a funeral, and Gomez, reminiscing said “You were so beautiful that day, nobody even looked at the corpse” and this is their version of flirting. Nico’s first kiss very much would be... kinda dark. (not to mention that knowing Jason, if his ghost found out he’d probably be high-fiving Nico from beyond the grave and ecstatic for a chance to wingman for him, even in death.) But there’s another thing I’d like to mention-- and this is not why I think the kiss worked, but why I think it could have worked. Because as I was reading the climax, as soon as the Cacodemons were introduced, my mind started racing. Just before it was outright stated, it was starting to become obvious that Nico would have to win them over by offering them freedom, as opposed to Nyx who would just control and restrict them. So how would Nico teach the Cacodemons that they can become whatever they want? By showing them that they’re capable of creating beautiful things, of becoming beautiful things. The beauty not just in but of darkness is, in addition to a running theme in the book is kind of (as I understand it) the core of the goth aesthetic that Nico sports. So, just as his own darkness can show him the memories from which they were created he could show them, maybe even the entire assembled armies of night, other aspects of those same memories. He could have called upon Jealousy and showed them that, acting out of envy for Annabeth’s possession of Percy’s romantic attention, he went and dipped Percy in the Styx, hoping to win him over and steal him away. And that’s dark, but it made Percy indestructible and basically won them the Titan War. He could have called up isolation and shown everyone how, thinking that nobody could accept him, he chose to isolate himself among the ghosts in asphodel, where, surprise, he found his sister and brought her to life. and his loneliness and his rule-breaking and his asocial tendencies are dark, but they brought Hazel into the world, and Hazel is beautiful and powerful and bringing happiness to a lot of people now. and then, last but not least, he could have called on Grief, the one with which he’s most intimately familiar. In the hands of a child of Hades, Grief must surely be a source of incredible energy and power, but it doesn’t have to be a destructive weapon either-- and Nico could show that it was because of his grief that he became closer to Will with their first kiss. Even Grief is capable of creating and becoming something beautiful like that, and while (in my mind) Nico would not implore his demons to become something beautiful if they didn’t want to, it would be important to him that they know they have the option to, that Nyx cannot tell them what they cannot be, just like she can’t tell him or Bob or even Will. Nico accepts and embraces his darkness for whatever it is, not because he is resigned to the fact that he must be dark and miserable, but because he understands that darkness has it’s own beauty (which is the lesson that Will spent most of the book trying to learn, and which Nico already understood but needed to learn to articulate and prove). And Riordan and Oshiro didn’t do that. It was fine the way it was, but I think it could have been just a smidge more if they had ran with this; they had all the pieces in place. But hey, that’s what fanfic is for, right? I’ll probably write a more fleshed-out version of this at some point. I’m also probably going to write another version of parts of The Tower of Nero where the Kiss didn’t happen, and instead Nico found out about Jason’s death, stormed off in a grief-stricken rage, and solos the Triumvirate Holdings HQ himself, trapping it in an impenetrable column of pure darkness that kills nearly everything inside, Nico himself skirting the border between anti-hero and straight up villain. but that’s a story for another discussion.

#Nico DiAngelo #Will Solace #TSatS #The Sun and the Star #The Tower of Nero #Jason Grace #Cocoa Puffs #Cacodemons #Fanfic #(Kinda?) #Bob the titan #Nyx #Rick Riordan #Mark Oshiro #ToA #HoO #PJO #tsats spoilers

[titleleaf]

@rocket-eighty-eight mentioned you on a post “The real saw trap is reading an incredibly wrong...”:

@titleleaf WHERE did you see this red dragon take?!?!!

​Why, here on Tumblr Dot Com, of course! I thought I had it screencapped but I managed to restrain myself from engaging with the original post -- the OP was all of 20 and God knows I made absolutely boneheaded Tumblr posts when I was 20, I make some pretty stupid ones now. Regardless, it had pretty hardcore "hasn't actually read Red Dragon" energy. As you might also expect it was a post gassing up the NBC Hannibal s3 finale, framing Will's participation in the killing of Dolarhyde as him embracing queerness and aligning himself with his true love, Hannibal, rather than his fake comphet love, Molly.

Paraphrased, their interpretation was: "the end of Red Dragon, the book, has Will triumphing over Dolarhyde and successfully saving his wife and child, reaffirming the integrity of heterosexual marriage and exorcising the queer threat that Lecter poses to Will's identity of himself as straight, while the show's s3 finale has the better and more affirming depiction: Will leaving behind his wife and child and going to be with Hannibal and embrace his nature as a killer, showing that he's accepted his true self and what he holds in common with Lecter." Which... all of that aside, that's not remotely what happens in the book Red Dragon!

The ending of the novel is so notoriously downbeat and ambivalent that I have read multiple pieces of academic writing commenting on it, and it's something both film adaptations have felt the need to change. It's a fucking downer. You can't even feel good about Molly killing Dolarhyde because you've seen enough of Dolarhyde as a sympathetic wounded beast to wish that outcome, however inevitable genre conventions make it, could be different. Will's relationship to his stepson is already fatally wounded before Dolarhyde shows up, and Will's marriage is fucking toast -- even as Will's lying in his hospital bed he knows this, that Molly will leave him because of what's happened, and by the time SOTL takes place it certainly seems to have come true. Will's physical and mental well-being have been burned through, and by the next time we hear about him he's a deeply traumatized alcoholic whose face looks like damn Picasso drew it, and, we can assume, very single. Heterosexual love is not enough in this book to save anybody! Not Dolarhyde and Reba, not Will and Molly, not the Leedses, not the Jacobis, not Dolarhyde's mother and her new husband, not even Freddy Lounds and Wendy. Will comes to a fuller understanding of the "vicious urges" within him that humanity more broadly struggles with, not just outliers like Dolarhyde and Lecter, but it's not a comfortable exorcism of the destabilizing threat of violence, the emotional tone remains uneasy and weird. It's a bummer. Nobody is living happily ever after and it's Lecter who gets the last word. (And he's such a bitch about it, too, I'm obsessed.)

My own feelings on how the show does the RD plotline with Dolarhyde in s3 aside (short version: badly) I think people have a tendency to back-project the show's framing of Will and Hannibal's relationship onto the first novel when it doesn't apply. Their relationship in the book is interesting and imo very fun but it's very different because the rest of the canon from which the show will draw to pad it out just does not exist yet -- the show sort of Frankensteins together parts of Clarice's plotlines to make up the difference and while I enjoy the results in isolation Will and Hannibal's relationship dynamic in the show isn't remotely a straightforward translation from book to screen or some kind of more correct, uncensored version of what the book was too timid to show. (Clarice's whole perverse union with Lecter in Hannibal the book follows its own different trajectory, and I can see how people read it as liberating and/or affirming, but uhhhh I'll get back to them on that later.) I don't think the show does the fusion of those two relationships particularly elegantly (or the distribution of other aspects of the Hannibal-Clarice relationship onto other characters' relationships to Hannibal, though it did bring me one of my favorite parts of s3 with Bedelia) but I think it's really muddied people's ability to talk about the actual books (and films) on the merits of what they actually contain versus what they assume they must contain or would like them to contain. It's a hot mess express.

#rocket-eighty-eight #ska reads a thing #ska watches nbc hannibal

[ripeteeth]

for the book asks--15 please! and also 20 if you don't mind a double ask <3

15: recommend and review a book.

Okay, so you KNOW what book you're gonna get for this lmao.

TO EVERYONE OUT THERE, PLEASE READ FRANKENSTEIN BY MARY SHELLEY.

I swear, that book UNHINGED me. I will never be the same. God, fuck, I can't believe I lost my 48-tweet love song to Frankenstein and why everyone should read it, but I cannot believe that at all of 19 years old, she could pack so much pathos and humanity in only 250 pages. It's everything. It's a spoiled terrified young twink brat only just realizing what he has brought into this world, that this squirming, naked, needy thing is his alone. His responsibility. And he flees into the night, a terrified new mother, desperate to pretend it never happened. I cannot ever stop thinking about the fact that she wrote this at 19 years old, all of about 18 months after losing her firstborn infant, who died during the night while Mary slept. How much of herself did Mary see in Victor? In the Creature? I lose my mind at the way Victor and the Creature are seen in popular culture, as this mad old scientist and his lumbering dumb awkward creation, when in reality Victor is all of about 22 at MOST when reanimates the Creature, all up there in his weird creepy attic apartment lab. He's a college dropout. An obsessive mess. And he abandons his child in his son's moment of need.

And the Creature! He's so passionate and eloquent, haunting and wounded. This should be the man who dogs our steps and keeps us up at night. This preternaturally strong man, who is largely impervious to cold and is wicked fast, who had each of his body parts chosen for their special beauty by Victor, but there is something about him, a living corpse with crepey skin and watery eyes, lips as dark as a dead man's, that terrifies everyone he comes in contact with.

And this is the thing!!!! He is not a monster. Look at him, turned out, born into that accursed attic with nothing. He could not yet see. He did not know language or how to defend himself, feed himself, warm himself, care for himself. He was left to die. But he stumbled along, covering himself with a coat he stole from the attic as he fled, naked and cold, and learned to start a fire, to feed himself on berries and plants, he taught himself to speak, read, and write simply by observing - and he observed humans from afar and yearned only to be loved and accepted. To be one of them.

It's such a fundamental, heartbreaking story. It shatters me. It compels me. I can't ever get them out of my head. Two men who damned each other, Victor by denying his creation the very real care and comfort and humanity that he owed to someone he brought into the world, and the Creature who sought to reduce Victor to that same state by killing everyone he loved, so that Victor would be like him, isolated and miserable. Alone.

And yet, even in the end, they're entwined. Victor's death ends the purpose of the Creature's life and he mourns his father-creator, even after all of it. It's such a complicated story of parent-child relationships, of the exploration of new boundary-pushing science, of pseudo-incestuous themes and tones between two men who have knotted themselves up so well into such a perfect tangle, that they can never be picked apart.

20. what are things you look for in a book?

Hmm. Good question.

I like to be fascinated. I love beautiful prose, but I'm particular about it and am not generally fond of it being too precious or purple. I love things with a bit of monstrosity that get into the gross and horrible details of life, like J.G. Ballard's Crash and John Gardner's Grendel, two absolute favorites. I love books that fuck with narrative structure and keep me guessing, like Italo Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler and Julio Cortázar's Hopscotch. I love a certain sense of interiority and confessional voice, like Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body, Olga Tokarczuk's Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, and Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. I love things that make my skin crawl but have a certain compelling beauty, like Patrick Süskind's Perfume: Story of a Murderer. I love a sense of awe and hope and hushed connection, the way Susanna Clarke's Piranesi left me.

#book asks #yo let me tell you about frankenstein i promise it will be real quick #tbh if they'd just fucked that would have saved both their asses #well not victor's ass because you know he picked a huge dick for the creature #rip victor frankenstein's ass you've got a big storm coming

[rosaniruby]

I've just read a few people say victor has daddy issues because he's so desperate to blame someone other than himself and even turns against his loving parent and like... victor hate aside that's actually such a cruel thing to say?? Hearing those stuff I think more and more how people treat victims in real life. No one wants to have 'daddy issues' for their own benefit, because there are no benefits and this is no one's choice.

Just because when you look at the parent and think 'hmm they're so supportive' doesn't mean they don't have terrible flaws, they were like this in the past or abuse isn't happening beneath it.

Like the situation with Alphonse calling his interests 'sad trash'.

You look at victor and him 'ungratefully' mentioning how his father's response wasn't ideal and it could partly be his fault he made the creature, even tho he's been telling us himself, right from the start, how perfect and ideal his parents are!! How dare he!! ; instead of looking at victor and see him understandably, as a human, as a child, feeling overlooked, and sometimes having his feelings diminished and beside that still trying to convince us how his parents were 'perfect!!' and 'never did anything wrong!!' while also showing us they did.

The one moment when he admitted his dad wasn't perfect and yet, at the very same time, kept telling us he WAS perfect. Then which is it? And why Victor words are contradictory?

Because he is an unreliable narrator while we can only know this story through his feelings or even only through what he wants to tell.

The reason why there are two correlating views isn't because he wants to blame him instead of himself like duh for the entirety of the novel he praises him. If he wanted to blame his father for his creation and everything he would have perfect circumstances for it - there not being anyone to deny his claims to Walton and having no actual proof for anything.

It is because even he sometimes couldn't deny he felt hurt.

Victims in real life can talk overly idealistically about their parents, and, even when they mention how they hurt them people think 'it wasn’t as bad as others', when victims say their parents were controlling it's 'at least they paid you attention and clearly did it out of love' when rich kids say their parents were neglectful it's 'well, at least you got everything you wanted and they spoiled you!'

And that is an incredibly cruel thing to say. No one wants to be abused or have bad feelings regarding their parents. That's just not the case. It’s okay to admit when the parent isn't perfect. People, fathers, mothers, do make mistakes. The world won't fall apart if you admit it instead of denying other's feelings.

And so, even if it's just a fiction it makes me feel so uneasy because it shows society's attitude and unawarness.

Everyone always asks the question how the hell Victor Frankenstein turned out like this if he had such a idealistic childchood😱. (Which isn't bad per se, it is supposed to make you wonder.)

And then abandon the thought instead of thinking hmm yeah maybe a person who learned to healthily manage their emotions wouldn't do the things he's done.

#why did it turn out this long #i was supposed to do my homework... #also #i'm not denying victor's father loved him #but most parent who traumatize their children love them in some way as well thats why its so hard #victor frankenstein #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #mary shelly's frankenstein #frankenstein #frankenstein the modern prometheus #the modern prometheus #gothic literature #goth lit #gothic lit #classic literature #classic lit #alphonse frankenstein #me defending victor

[vickyvicarious]

She thanked him in the most ardent terms for his intended services towards her father; and at the same time deeply deplored her own fate.

1818

She thanked him in the most ardent terms for his intended services towards her parent; and at the same time gently deplored her own fate.

1831

There seem to be very few changes between editions in the Creature chapters, and so far it has only been a word or two which don't make much difference in my mind (for example, from later in this chapter, changing "puerile amusements" in 1818 to "infantile amusements" in 1831, or changing "his plans were greatly facilitated" to "his plans were facilitated").

But, while the above quote is also only a two-word change, it feels like one which definitely changes the meaning. 1818 says father as Safie deplores her fate when told she's going to be married off to a stranger. This once again emphasizes the prevalence of a strained fatherly relationship and a child sacrificing their desires to familial duties, a bit more than the shift to the less specific parent does in 1831. It's an odd change, as Safie and her father are meant to be at odds, and he in fact is villainized in some pretty cliche/racist ways throughout the rest of the chapter, so that dimension of their relationship doesn't exactly go away. But while he's still called her father later in the same sentence when she is defying him, it happens later on after he's betrayed the De Laceys. Perhaps the shift to parent is meant to show how she is dedicated to her family as a concept more than this specific man who doesn't deserve it; in a sense, more to the memory of her mother's values which align her with the De Lacey family. It's kinda muddy, though, and I'm not sure how much difference it makes here.

The main change that actually strikes me here is the difference between deeply/gently deploring her fate. In both editions, after spending time with him Safie fairly quickly decides that marrying Felix is okay, actually. And that, in fact, it's the right/desirable thing to do even to the point of running away from her father (though I think you could read it as more her following an honorable course of action/not having many other decent options rather than her necessarily loving him as well). Still, at the beginning Safie was not pleased about the idea. Literally gentling her reaction feels like minimizing her distress in anticipation of this 'he's a good guy' happy ending - meanwhile erasing a sign of Safie's intense emotions, and how they were helpless to the pressure of familial expectation. Once again, something that plays into themes of at the very least the original 1818 Frankenstein family. In this specific circumstance, it also plays into female freedom or lack thereof, and such feminist themes as well.

#frankenstein weekly #1818 vs 1831 #safie

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

When I was in college, I decided to read the origin books of famous stories. It was a choice I did not regret, but I do feel a lot of regrets about how so many characters have become parodies or antithesis of themselves.

The most famous is, of course, the Creature from Frankenstein. Everything related to him and his purpose in the novel has been all but lost to the green bolt-neck of modern times. Never mind how Victor went from creating the creature in a university dorm to owning a castle, a huge laboratory and even having a servant helping him to create the Creature.

The themes of neglectful parents and the cycle of cruelty manifesting in the child are completely gone. Doctor Frankenstein is more than happy to have the Creature as it is and the theme is about creating life in itself being bad.

The book and the popular culture version aren't even the same story. They have completely different messages and characters. Igor is taken from a later stage play and has nothing to do with the novel.

Another great injustice is how Dorian Gray is treated. He is often made much MUCH older and much wiser than he was in the book. Dorian is said to be hundreds of years old, indestructible and his only weakness is seeing his own painting.

None of these details are found in the book. For one, Dorian is a blond and blue-eyed twink and not a tall dark and mysterious brunette. Second, he often looked at his portrait, that is how he knew there was magic afoot. Third and most amusing; Dorian only lasted for maybe 40 years before he got himself killed. And Dorian was by no means indestructible, given he suffered from epic opium withdrawals and was often afraid for his life.

In short, Dorian Gray was an idiot and remained an idiot who could hide his addictions and vices and died an idiot who stabbed his own portrait in anger. The best part has to be, that Dorian accomplished absolutely nothing in his years of glamour. He ruined many lives and left behind nothing but trinkets.

Now, with Dracula Daily letting us meet the cast of the novel, so many assumed tropes from adapted media are shown false. Mina is clearly in love with Jonathan and has no ties to Dracula from a past life. Lucy is not a loose woman, but someone who had three people she truly liked propose to her. Even then, she made her choice very early on and let the other two know of her choice quickly.

I think one of the biggest character changes has to be Shere-Khan from the Jungle Books. You see, while Shere-Khan is a maneater, he is one through no choice of his own. Shere-Khan, nicknamed by his mother as Lungri (the lame one) was born with a deformed paw. This meant he could not hunt prey like a normal tiger and had to resort to eating carrion or humans. As Shere-Khan was basically the laughingstock of the jungle, only Tabaqui the golden jackal was his friend. Both were seen as losers.

Yet, only one adaptation has actually addressed this aspect of Shere-Khan. The rest have entirely removed his disability and so his reason for hunting humans. Often, he is made to be this dangerous and regal predator, which the book Shere-Khan wanted to be but never was.

These are only some characters changed over the years and adaptations. I hope you enjoyed my little showcase of literary history.

#dracula #frankenstein #Dorian Gray #jungle books #ableism // #artist stuff

[happyendingsong]

the more i think about poor things the more i dislike it lol. i think i kept waiting for the horror shoe to drop and it just never came.

when candles says 'it's your body to do with as you wish bella' or whatever i thought it was this really ironic, haunting line to show how trapped she truly is (it's god's body! it's victoria's body! it's candles' body!) and that bella would subvert it by the end. but looking back i think it was intended as a sincere moment to show how decent a guy he is along with his 'your body your choice' slogan shirt and some clap emojis.

it's soooo twisted especially since right before this bella has just met felicity, the Other woman candles and godwin have Also dug up and mangled. i really wanted to learn more about her but she's played for jokes the whole time and belle never gets a second conversation with her. i thought that would've been really fascinating for bella to get an outside perspective on what that early dynamic between her and god|candles looked like but if the last scene is anything to go by it doesn't look like bella has any interest in building a relationship with her. such a wasted opportunity to not explore that.

and candles' response to creating her is just 'we missed you' AUGH ? horrifying! bella calls him and god monsters for it and there's literally no followup. the 'it's your body to do with as you please' bit feels so obviously hollow when like, what happens when bella dies? are they just gonna pluck her brain out again and try again because it bums them out too much? find Another Another girl to do this with? it's soooo fucked and there's such a cool horror thread to follow there but i think they just didnt realise they were writing a horror film? in their frankenstein retelling? god it's so WEIRD

i love the conversation with god where bella talks about being mother and child at once. i wish that's what the movie was about! her relationship with victoria and trying to build an identity from inside her mother's corpse like HELLO . the runtime is so long and it feels like all the interesting stuff is just on the peripherary the whole time, just out of frame. but like we're looking at victoria's face this whole time, hearing her voice! obvs it's not the story they were interested in telling but for Me. the specialest girl alive. i wish they didn't shove that whole plot into the last 20mins, there wasn't any time to really sink their teeth into it then.

i dunno like. even trying to read the film as this bildungsroman exploration of identity and living and life, the final scene just being bella back in her walled garden but now she has her childbride husband and her socialist girlfriend and theyre all drinking martinis. it feels like such a restrictive incurious ending that really soured me on the rest of th movie. All That Shit That Happened Was Fine Actually.

#o #poor things #spoilers under the cut. this is just a quick hashing out of thots -_-🚬 #ive been watching and reading a good few reviews on this film and none are talking about what EYE want to talk about #puts this alongside passengers as films that wouldve rocked my world as horror films but they chose to be stupid instead #me meta #omedia

[the---hermit]

I've been reading Frankenstein lately and I'm simply in love with Mary Shelley's characterisation of Victor and his monster. There's a scene where Victor's monster confronts him and begs him to love and accept him and couldn't help but think how its so similar to mother-child relationships and anxious-avoidant attachment styles.

Hi! FRANKENSTEIN is one of my favourote books ever I am so happy you are enjoying it. The creature is such a complex but understandable creature, and any scene in which he talks about his experiences is so emotional and raw. I perfectly know the scene you are talking about and it grips at my guts everytime in a way I cannot describe with words.

You have no idea how excited I am for you to be enjoying this book for the first time. Once you are done with it you absolutely NEED to tell me your overall opinions about it.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the book just as much 💜🌿

#this books is so dear to me i cannot even explain it #frankenstein #ask #asked #answered #cris speaks #the---hermit

[collectionsofbitsandbops]

Books I think characters would like

Note :this is a work in progress. This is just for fun. Maybe just view this as book recommendations ok. Also I am only putting books I have read on this list. And feel free to add books as well. I love a good book recommendation.

(also let me know if the links work. this is my first time trying this.)

Loki:

East of Eden- A book about brothers and choosing your fate, rather than accepting what people say about you. Also fantastic writing and some of the best descriptions of California I have ever experienced.

Arabian Love Poems- listen, Loki loves poetry. No one does love poetry better than Nizar Kabbani.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous- The chokehold Ocean Vuong has on the English language. Even if the story of a gay immigrant child writing to his mother in a language she cannot read doesn't appeal to Loki (which I think it would), the lyricism of this book would be appealing enough.

My Sister, the Serial Killer- Dark Comedy, I think it would be a light read for Loki, but the story would entertain him for sure.

Wuthering Heights- a) the writing is great. b) the line between love and hate is thin. its the passion that drives them. c) ghosts

The Count of Monte Cristo- Revenge with a flair of dramatics. Totally Loki's style.

Steve:

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland- This book covers complexities in war and also doing what you think is right even if others get hurt, in such an empathetic way. Like the author is clear bad things happen, but explains what drives people to do them and also why it isn't black/white. Also isn't Steve an Irish immigrant or something of that nature. anyway this is the rec that made me want to make this post.

Know my name- I think Steve is really into memoirs and this is one of the best ones I have ever read. Also he would totally be a feminist who fights rapists.

The Picture of Dorian Gray- Irish literature because Steve can now afford to read all the books he wants.

The Outsiders- boys fighting for friends.

Bucky:

The Martian- Bucky is a scifi dude and you can't tell me otherwise. This features isolation, being left behind, and yet your friends choosing to risk it all to save you. Which is basically the modern story of Steve and Bucky, so yea. oh and the sarcasm in this book is through the roof.

Mind of my mind- Scifi and mind control. That's the logic.

The Black God's Drums- this is a novella that has set the standard for all novellas. The story, characters, and world are all so vivid, despite how short the story is. It has the classic, underdog saves the day and I see this being a pick me up for Bucky.

Frankenstein: The story of a monster being created, the creator not taking care/responsibility, and then the monster coming after the creator. I think Bucky would relate to the monster honestly.

Astrophysics for People in a hurry- science yet digestible. This book would totally live on his nightstand.

Bonus:

Set Boundaries, Find Peace- the book I recommend to everyone, bust especially those who need to work on mental health and let's be honest nearly every marvel character needs therapy.

#book recommendations #loki #steve #bucky #marvel needs to pay their therapy #i would tag all the books but i feel lazy at the moment #loki headcanon #bucky headcanon #steve rogers headcanon #all personal headcannons btw #Natalie's reading club

[emilyrox]

“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley Liveblog (Chapters 1-8)

Hey so I never read the original Frankenstein before. My only contact with it up to this point was the OUAT version so...yeah.

I’m required to read this for a class, so I figured instead of taking notes the usual way, I would instead liveblog my thoughts.

Idk if I need to warn about this but, spoilers for Frankenstein I guess?

Enjoy.

~

Introductory Stuff

- Ok reading the back I can tell why my professors picked this book. “Frankenstein not only tells a terrifying story, but also raises profound, disturbing questions about the very nature of life and the place of humankind within the cosmos: What does it mean to be human? What responsibilities do we have to each other? How far can we go in tampering with Nature?”

- If my professors ask one of those as the quiz question on Tuesday I’m going to combust.

- There was a little bio about Mary Shelley’s life. Her life could be it’s own book god damn.

- Apparently Frankenstein was inspired by a dream she had after a friend suggested a ghost story competition.

- Ok I mentioned how one of the questions is “How far can we go in tampering with Nature?” So there was a timeline of events around Mary Shelley’s life. More than 100 years after her death, the sheep Dolly, the first successfully cloned animal, was born. Bro.

The Actual Story

- At first I was like “Oh Victor’s dad adopts Caroline that’s cute! That means she will be his older sister when he’s born :D”

- Then I get hit with “Two years after this event Caroline became his wife.”...hello 9-1-1?

- “There was a considerable difference between the ages of my parents” YEAH, YA THINK???”

- “I was their plaything and their idol, and something better - their child, the innocent and helpless creature bestowed on them from Heaven, whom to bring up to good, and whose future lot was it was in their hands to direct to happiness or misery, according as they fulfilled their duties towards me.” This feels important to me. I know that he later goes on to create the monster, making him Victor’s child in a way. Family is gonna be a theme in this story, isn’t it?

- Alright, protective brother Victor! I’m down for it.

- Victor dropping “””””subtle””””” hints that he has a tragic backstory

- Victor’s Dad: Don’t read Cornelius Agrippa! It’s trash!

- Victor: Well guess what, I’m gonna read it even harder.

- “Wealth was an inferior object; but what glory would attend the discovery, if I could banish disease from the human frame, and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!” - Frankenstein, 1818.

- Me, in 2022, in the middle/aftermath of a pandemic: Yeah I’ve got some bad news for you-

- Victor’s tragic backstory part 1. I knew it would have something to do with Elizabeth, his adoptive sister. I was expecting her to die (though I don’t want her to) but didn’t expect the mother to die instead. At least her death was described as calm, and not painful.

- Professor M. Krempe really just roasted this 17 year old jesus christ

- “I had a contempt for the uses of modern natural philosophy. It was very different when the masters of the science sought immortality and power; such ambition of the inquirer seemed to limit itself to the annihilation of those visions on which my interest in science was chiefly founded.”

- “Such were the professor’s [M. Waldman’s] words - rather let me say such the words of fate, enounced to destroy me...soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much has been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein - more, far more, will I achieve” One school lecture changed his whole world view goddamn.

- “his lecture had removed my prejudices against modern chemists” character development babyyyyyyyyy

- “In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder.”

- So the secret to animating lifeless matter had bad consequences he’s alluding to (kinda obvious given the story we’re reading but aight). But also he tells us he found out the secret to doing this, but is not gonna tell us until later. Boi why you gotta lead us on like that?

- Should’ve started with a smaller creature, my dude. You’re aiming too high.

- He considers if it would be possible to bring the dead back to life, along with animating lifeless matter. I think he wondered this, not just because it’s a somewhat logical question to ask concerning this, but because he may have hoped he could bring his mother back to life. l i s t e n

- Bro you made that shit. That’s your responsibility now my guy.

- Clerval is either gonna die at the hands of the monster, or will be able to help stop it. Idk which, so I’m saying both so I can say I called it.

- Victor stop ignoring your family challenge. I think you’ll pass in this chapter but idk.

- Elizabeth is best adoptive sister/cousin and best girl. You can’t change my mind.

- If this wasn’t a book from the 1800s I would think that Clerval and Victor were gay for each other.

-  Ok idk if I’m reading this wrong but I don’t understand how William died. They explain it but I don’t get it.

- Ok William was murdered. But the muderer is unknown.

- Victor thinks the monster is the murderer. Idk if that’s true. If it is, it’s probably because it’s getting revenge on Victor for ignoring him and running away. If it isn’t, he’s just assuming it is because of how terrifying the monster looks and his bias.

- Hol up. So the monster has been around for two years, and nothing was done about it??? I get Victor was terrified of what he created, but he didn’t think of maybe hunting it down after he recovered from illness? Or telling Clerval of its existence and he could hunt it down? Did he think it would just die if he ignored it??

- Listen gang I didn’t expect this to turn into a murder mystery.

- Rn I’m thinking Justine is innocent, but that doesn’t mean the monster is the one who killed William.

- Ok why did Justine confess? Is she actually guilty, was she bribed, what’s going on?

- Update: her confession was a lie. She was pressured by her confessor into thinking she was guilty. I guess police tactics haven’t changed in the past 200 years.

- “he threatened and menaced, until I almost began to think that I was the monster that he said I was. He threatened excommunication and hell fire in my last moments, if I continued obdurate. Dear lady, I had none to support me; all looked on me as a wretch doomed to ignominy and perdition. What could I do?”

- Parallel between Justine and Frankenstein’s Monster. Victor had abandoned his creation, and had no support, just like Justine. Victor constantly refers to the monster as a “wretch,” which is what everyone now viewed Justine as. The confessor almost convinced Justine she was a monster/murderer, even though she is innocent. This is what makes her confess to being guilty. Everyone thinks she’s a monster, so she acts like she is. The monster Victor created was only deemed a monster based on how it looked. It had not done anything heinous up to that point other than look hideous. Victor treated him like a monster, so, assuming he did kill William, he acted like one.

- “William and Justine, the first hapless victims of my unhallowed arts.” So there are more...(no duh there’s more, there’s like 16 chapters left).

- This seems like a good place to stop for the night.

#frankenstein #frankenstein's monster #frankenstein spoilers #i guess

[heavenlykittens]

THE GIRL WHO MOCKED DEATH

climbing out of the shower, trying not to slip on the tiles as my hair rains water

once it dries halfway i put it in pigtail braids but i stare in the mirror and long for my blonde hair as i put on serums and moisturizers, sprays and balms

i no longer feel like myself even if this is my so called natural hair, i’ve been bleaching it since i was 14 - i can’t believe i’m 26. i feel old. i know older people will laugh but god, i do

being blonde was part of me

my facebook memories mock me with photos where i was thinner, ice blonde, surrounded by friends, not isolated

i barely intend to have online friends anymore, it’s too difficult to trust anybody, about anything. i see you.

but fuck i know my life is amusing (as long as you’re not the one living it)

i ready myself to fall asleep with my only aids, seroquel and king of the hill

i watch my yankee game with my everything/ my partner, lover, other half, life… just missing that ring but fuck it

we’ll marry in court soon, maybe i’ll wear a fancy looking dress, maybe i’ll wear in lingerie disguised as pajamas, who even cares anymore?

but i don’t want to be no kurt and courtney, layne and demri

i desire to live / decided that after my third overdose out of six

i used to think dying would be so simple but i don’t want it i don’t i don’t, it’s peaceful, it is, but i have so much left to do

but it’s so traumatic watching success search for you, find you, family aware you exist, and the only reason my father gives a shit is he’s a tax cheat and i’m the only one who can reveal it - and why shouldn’t i after all he’s taken from me?

the man who terrorized me my whole life and claimed me as a defendant when giving me 200 bucks for my birthday is as if i’ve asked him to give me his credit card and told me to do what i want with it

but i was never a defendant, i’ve never lived with him in my life, never spend more than two nights since i was a child (and poor little me used to beg and sob and throw tantrums not to go, playing sick and sobbing, but still i went just to be screamed at and slapped around)

he made sure i lost every stimulus check i deserved because of his false dependent claim, he promised to give me the money, he didn’t, i could’ve guessed that easily

never dependent on a man who fucked my mother on a staircase of a methadone detox, where it’s a known fact that women are more fertile while coming off heroin- couldn’t even wear a condom

i feel like gum stuck to the bottom of a very expensive shoe owned by someone on wall street, red wine spilled on a white blouse at a pricy dinner party, i’m the red lipstick left smudged on a wealthy man’s collar for his wife to flip out at when he gets home to their townhouse, Louboutons which stepped in shit

I fancied myself an artist, a writer, a poet, a creator of… something

but i’m just a person, wasting the best years of my life and wasting any small talent I had

reading advanced books in second grade is meaningless now of course

my third grade teacher who made me cry in front of my whole class - i’d bring in shirt novels i wrote when i was nine years old - over 100 pages each - and she always said “i can’t wait to see you on the times best sellers list!” she was so serious

I believed such a fairy tale that I was special, but instead I found myself writing pathetic poetry over some variety of males - who am I though?

my complete lack of self esteem and self awareness, lack of knowing my own personal sloth, and always left wondering about all the personalities I stitched together from other incredible, cool, gorgeous, fascinating people, to make… me…

Im both Frankenstein and his Monster

borderline what, borderline what, borderline of what and what? I can’t help but wonder why self medication is so frowned upon i’ve been prescribed dozens of medications and they can’t on a scale of how they made me feel:

1. no feeling or change

2. maybe a little change

3. feeling like im dying or want to die

4. definitely wanting to die

5. no emotions at all

the normalization of homelessness is terrifying too. medication and homelessness. and if you don’t behave, throw you in the psych hospital where they don’t help you at all!

I see these drawings of animals and humans living in harmony, enjoying the outdoors, tea, snacks, loving each other’s company -

but land is money, shelter is money, everything is goddamn money

nepotism disgusts me

some of us will never advance

im nothing special but sometimes I feel a flutter inside me telling me that I’M NOT A NOBODY

nobody is a nobody, really?

my stitches need to come out and I have had nightmares of my skin falling apart and being stitched back together in emergency rooms long before I stabbed myself

I used to not care about dying, not at all, but now i’ve realized…

God, do I want to live, to kiss my soon to be husband, to kiss my cat, kiss my cat, kiss all the animals, create things I love, to feel beautiful

to LIVE, to fucking LIVE

i’m not a stranger, but i’m ink rubbing down the page, claws in my skin, freckles kissed by angels

you and me and an orange cat, a family, yes, that’s a family

a goddamn family!

I want to keep growing, I deserve to keep growing, growth, enlightenment…

maybe I could be a best seller, but I’d be happy just to know anyone read my poetry, maybe related, maybe found themselves in it… maybe felt empowered

I want to feel all the emotions

I do daily

but I want it to be warm, I want it to be wisdom

I want that hug from inside

I want to evolve.

#writings #excuse typos i type this up from my journal

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter. By Theodora Goss. Saga Press, 2017.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: (YA?) historical sci fi/fantasy/mystery

Series: The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #1

Summary: Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: madness, mention of suicide, blood, self-inflicted wounds, animal death, violence

OVERVIEW: This is another book that sat on my TBR for ages. I remember picking it up at a used bookstore solely because I liked the vibes; I'm not usually a fan of books that use characters in the public domain (it feels too close to fanfiction for me), but I thought I'd give it a chance. Overall, my opinion of this book is not glowing. I can see how some readers may like it; it's kind of fun, and a girl group that goes around investigating secret societies has appeal. However, I wasn't very impressed by the writing, and the way the narrarive progressed just wasn't great. So this book gets 2 stars.

WRITING: While I think Goss's prose is fairly clear and easy to read, there were a few features that I personally disliked.

For one, this book is heavy on the expositional dialogue. Characters will speak for whole paragraphs at a time, explaining things so that the story has context.

For two, Goss uses a lot of filter words so that I always felt a little at arm's length. Phrases like "Mary wondered" or "Mary thought" were common, and while they didn't bother me all the time, they did add up.

For three, Goss uses a lot of exclamations and prompts "suspense" with a bunch of questions, which make the book seem aimed at a younger audience. Phrases like "He had swallowed the fly!" and "how tired she was!" felt like they were inserted to spell things out, as well as questions like "but why was she killed?" - as if Goss didn't trust the reader to infer things. I guess maybe this would be ok if the audience is in fact YA (though it's hard to tell - there's nothing definitive that I can find).

And lastly, I just wanted something more out of this book regarding female monstrosity. This may seem like an unfair criticism, but Goss's author's note claims that the idea for this book stemmed from an observation that a lot of 19th century mad scientists in literature were hung up on female monsters. That observation is a good one, but ultimately, I didn't feel like this book really dwelled on the theme of female monstrosity or did anything interesting with it. The book was mostly about all these lady monsters going around and being badass, and even then, they're not really all that monsterous.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Mary Jekyll - daughter of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Henry Jekyll - who is left penniless following the death of her mother. When Mary discovers that her mother had secretly been paying for the care of someone named Hyde - the same name as her father's associate and criminal-at-large - she figures she can turn him in and claim the reward money. However, Mary discovers that Hyde is in fact Diana Hyde - Mr. Hyde's daughter. The two find themselves tangled up in a murder mystery (being investigated by Sherlock Holmes) which leads them to the daughters of other famous scientists: Beatrice Rappiccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein. Together, they seek to uncover a secret society that united their fathers while also exploring what it means to be the progeny of monsters.

There was a lot about this plot that felt fairly whimsical and joyful. I could tell that Goss was enjoying the writing process and those who have read the 19th century stories this book references will surely get a chuckle out of some things.

However, I couldn't help but feel like this book was aimed at a young audience, in part because there wasn't much about the plot itself that was clever. It often felt like Goss was hand-holding a bit too much, and though the characters tell us the girls are smart, they never really do anything exceptional. All of their insights feel obvious if you're familiar with the stories the book is referencing. As a result, this book felt like a Ready Player One but for 19th century Gothic novels - it's mainly enjoyable for the references rather than the story itself. If the audience is a YA one and truly meant to be just a fun 19th century monstrous girl gang, then I guess I can see the appeal. But since I struggled to determine the audience, I'll just have to call it like I see it.

Lastly, this book felt stuffed with unnecessary details. There were quite a few paragraphs about characters eating meals or descriptions of where they were sitting in the room. There were also a lot of explanatory phrases that let the reader know why characters were making decisions or why things were in the world, and dialogue would get long and meandering. I think a lot of these details could have been cut or inferred and the pacing of the plot as a whole would have felt much better.

CHARACTERS: This book primarily focuses on 5 girls, their housekeeper, and Sherlock Holmes and Watson.

There were moments when the characters were charming. Diana Hyde, for example, was feisty and obstinate, and Justine Frankenstein was sweet-natured and timid despite being so strong.

However, I do think the writing style tends to flatten them out, and though I didn't mind their chiding in the "interruptions," I also don't feel like I fully got to know them as people. I think the characterization would have been better if each of the girls grappled with their own identities and with their own concept of monstrosity. While there's a little of that, it's quickly brushed aside and the characters don't so much grow as they have adventurous romps together.

TL;DR: The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter tries to have fun with female monstrosities from the 19th century, but the lackluster mystery and the prose style make this book tedious to read.

[notmuchtoconceal]

This is going nowhere.

I'm spelling it out, but you're not listening,.

Your troubled schooldays. How you're conflicted about marriage. Your denial of death. The unfounded guilt. Abnormal sexuality.

18 years of denial.

A whole universe of fantasy in that thick skull of yours. A skull teeming with agents of repression. Blind children clutching photos in the dark. Pale freaks, goggle-eyed from watching home movies on loop.

The term is complicated grief. But it's simple, isn't it?

A young girl. Her parents don't get along. She blames herself, as all children do. Then daddy dies. What's a girl to do? Deny that daddy died. Denied who daddy was. What seven year old actually knows who their parents are, anyway? So she obsesses and obsesses over this fantasy dad, propping up her make-believe with scraps. Scraps of a happy life that never was. Scraps of a happy life that never existed.

WAKE UP.

Your dad wasn't a hero. He wasn't your knight in shining armor.

[ [

He was a human being. You never knew him. And you never will.

The dad walking around inside your head isn't even a ghost. He never existed. A Frankenstein's monster. A child's fantasy.

But you're alive. Your mother is alive. She's not the monster you make her out to be. You need to live your life. Cheryl.

...

You've been with me for so long.

I always will be.

...

[[[ ]]]]

\ Why did you have to die?

It wasn't my fault.

Someone has to take the blame.

Forget me.

[[[ ]]]

/ Dad.

You are a hero.

The man who died? That wasn't my father.

That isn't who I remember. Those memories are all I have.

You're all I have.

... I'm not even a ghost?

| ((( )))

|

/ ... /

aha haha

sweetie

daddy?

i love my daddy

/ . / You'll be careful...?

Sure.

Harry.

We've said enough. Let's just...

Sweetie, don't film this.

You know this has nothing to do with you.

Even though mom and dad don't love each other anymore, we'll always love you. And we always will.

\ . \

Action.

Come on, girls! Introduce yourselves!

I'm Michelle. And I'm Midwich High's Prom Queen.

And our next star ... ?

haha I'm Lisa. I'm a nurse.

And I'm Harry Mason!

Famous author and seducer of Prom Queens and Nurses!

Can we be in your next book?

Suuuure.

Can you dedicate it to us?

Nope. Dedications are always to my wife and daughter.

It's only fair.

Ahahahahahaha

woooooaaah

\ . \ You piece of shit. When are you gonna bring in some real money.

[ ]

You think your crap is Shakespeare? Your piece of shit novels?

NOBODY EVEN READS THEM!

[ ]

BE A MAN!

COME ON FIGHT BACK!

You're pathetic.

To think I used to hang off your every word!

DICKLESS WASTE OF SPACE

...

.

.

/ . /

, , ,

,

,

What the hell are ya filmin me for?

Am I suppsoed to dance for ya?

ya ya hey hey hey hey

' ] [

GAGH

Be a good girl for daddy, get him another drink, will ya?

NOW

GIMME A DAMN BEER

no i wonder i drink with a family like this...

. ,.

,

.

,

|

This.

This is it?

After all we've said, all we've discussed...

You honestly believe ... that your father was abducted by aliens?

It made more sense when you were talking about cults and demons!

This whole town... It's really a giant spaceship :D

[[[ ]]]

James?

Wrong day again?

See you tomorrow, James.

]]] [[[

One of my couples therapy patients.

Haven't seen his wife in a while...

Where were we?

(woof-woof-woof)

My mother was a bitch.

((( ))) )))((( ((()))

Go on. I'm listening.

[whitegoldtower]

Which of my OCs lays pipe the best?

Easy answer; Silvandrel (Solemnar)

✨Now for the lore drop✨

Silvandrel is his real name, Solemnar is his alias - aliases are a popular choice for a lot of people in his line of work.

He’s a Thalmor Battlemage / Fist

He’s a big boy, standing at almost 8ft tall, and is proficient in Destruction (Lightning), Alteration, One Handed, Speechcraft and (hilariously, given his size) Sneak.

When he’s not out on the battlefield, he’s the Thalmor equivalent of the Sniper on the Roof™️ (I was inspired by this thing I read about “Fists of the Thalmor”), except instead of using marksmanship, he just drops down from his hiding spot and hits his target(s) like a cannonball, armed with a dagger. Y’know like how in AC you can jump from a height and kill from above?

Imagine ya boys Alexios or Bayek, but bigger, scarier, and equipped with claws and fangs.

Yup, he’s a vampire, too. He’s trained to use every part of his physique to his advantage, so you know he’s got that good good.

He’s not exactly the definition of conventionally attractive, and not by Thalmor standards - yes, he’s an Altmer, but unlike your typical poster boy, he’s built like a brick shithouse, has long and messy ashy-grey hair, a crooked nose (from having it broken so many times during battle), yellow cat-like eyes, bat-like ears and a squint in his right eye - the squint is due to a combo of the stress that his magick use puts on his brain and an incident wherein an experimental shock spell backfired and essentially permanently paralysed those eye muscles.

He’s got a bit of a dark backstory - he was born into the Thalmor, and was raised to be nothing more than a weapon. Even at birth, he was deemed a ‘mutant’ and ‘ugly’ due to his size, complexion, and the fact that he was born a vampire. If that’s not bad enough?

He was used as a Guinea pig for magickal experiments conducted by the Thalmor to alter his physical chemistry and the way his brain works to wire him for war.

They didn’t see an innocent child. They saw an opportunity in a monster. If you combine the Winter Soldier with Frankenstein’s Monster, you get Silvandrel.

I’m doing some shady Thalmor quests with him and then kicking him into the Imperial legion. Unfortunately, I don’t think Silvandrel would ever be able to break away from the Thalmor - he’s been brainwashed, traumatised, experimented on, dragged through multiple wars and I think if someone tried to put him in a quiet environment he would literally ✨uninstall life✨.

BUT

If you’re brave (or stupid) enough, he’s a good lay. He has the most impressive control over shock magick (he can make empty soul gems vibrate 👀), he finds primal play therapeutic (he likes to play cat and mouse), and he knows exactly how to please a woman (c’mon, he’s an Agent. Getting into bed with someone is a piece of cake for him).

Take it one step further; make him fall in love with you.

He can be gentle. He can and will learn your routines. He’ll learn what you like and dislike and follow your rules to a T. He’ll open up to you about wanting to be human. He’ll let you hold onto him when he has nightmares. He would die for you, kill for you, live for you, breathe for you, hang on your every word.

You’d have the world’s scariest guard dog in your pocket. You’d be untouchable.

So who’s gonna get him?

Can’t be Elenwen, she sets off his mummy issues. His relationship with her is like Quasimodo’s relationship with Frollo. Or Rapunzel with Mother Gothel. It’s rough. She put him in Proudspire Manor (a gilded cage) specifically to keep an eye on him, and he can’t leave Solitude without her permission or a dossier stating why he’s leaving.

Can’t be Lydia, she’s off on a jolly with Corryn and his gang.

It’s probably going to be Jordis. She’s gonna end up being subjected to how he acts at home, so she’s going to see more of his real personality than anyone else, given that he lives in Proudspire manor, and she’s the Housecarl. Elenwen’s not happy about Silvandrel being housed with a Nord, but she’s unwilling to let him live in a house on his own.

Even more interesting is that Jordis has the potential to be a Blade 👀👀👀

And we know the Thalmor and the Blades are big time enemies.

Perhaps the Blades send Jordis to pose as a Housecarl to spy on Silvandrel, given that he’s one of the Thalmor’s “secret weapons”?

Juicy.

#tesblr #skyrim #skyrim oc #thalmor #lore drop #ramblings #the blades #imperial legion #stormcloak rebellion