#thebibi answers

[thebibi]

Bram Stoker: Here's a good guy, a more morally grey guy, and a very bad guy. They're all old, tall, commanding, and very strong. I don't have a type.

Bram Stoker Old Man Enjoyer

Also! Like, these three specific characters occupy such iconic parts of the book, it feels very intentional. There is a buff old guy to suit most people's tastes!

#dracula (novel) #dracula daily #r.m. renfield #bram stoker #implied dracula spoilers #abraham van helsing #thebibi answers #renfield

[vergess]

Happy first night of Passover!

Thank you so much!!! <3333

You're actually only the second person to wish this to me (technically you were first but I didn't see it until second haha!) so I really appreciate it.

#Asks #Answered asks #thebibi

[lilvampirepet]

Hi! Your helward fanart is so beautiful! What's your favorite thing about them?

uwaa thank you!! 🥺🥺 im so glad ppl enjoy my helward art

i think my favorite thing about helward is how much they trust each other. yeah theres the whole gangrene bit but outside of that, seward deeply trusts van helsing when he doesnt know what to do and in return van helsing regards seward as a true equal and believes in him. its and im just. flops down. im so weak for them i can barely articulate why lmao

#answered socks #thebibi #smth smth older experienced man/younger less experienced guy is v tasty to me smth smth #its also the (in fics) longing and potentially repressed romantic affection that results in desperation and exploration of power dynamics #that never feels unequal #and im just 🥺🥺🥺 #i just finished reading dracula but my god. talking about them makes me want to reread it #and now i wanna draw more helward ajsksld

[thegoatsongs]

Thanks to @thebibi pointing out that Van Heling went to pray before the meeting, not wanting to repeat his mistake again, and his response to Jack (hushing him from trying to tell Jonathan not to speak to Mina) was because he felt that God answered his prayers with the result (the Harkers to communicate about the needed silence)... yeah I'm convinced that Van Helsing took Mina's reaction to his joke and the Harkers' slip to Despair to heart. He treads more carefully and turns inwards and spiritually when he's unsure.

And that is also why he agreed to Mina and Jonathan coming with no more than a "why?" at first, after listening to Mina's arguments.

#dracula daily #dracula #mina harker #jonathan harker #van helsing

[hualian]

Do you rewrite the subs in your gifs? I'm really impressed. Or have you found a group that softsubs TGCF? Because sometimes the official subs are hard to read 😭

Yes I do 🥺💖 the hardcoded subs are too small to read especially on gifs when I change the colouring and sharpen it, so the subs end up looking even more illegible XD so I always end up rewriting it on the gifs 🤧 I actually haven't heard of a group that softsubs tgcf but that would be great 👀

#thebibi #answered #I'm extremely grateful to haoliners/bilibili for providing subs immediately #but the hardcoded ones really are too hard to read 😭😭 #that's why I like rewriting it :")

[sleepingcrisis]

Thanks @onemoresomething for the tag!!

Rules: Tag people you’d like to catch up with or get to know better!

Favourite colour: when it comes to dressing myself I love dressing in green or brown but in general yellow is my favorite colour I think (honestly the three are interchangeable lol).

Currently Reading: I'm reading the "Handmaids Tail" but fic wise I am reading The Human Condition and 5 minutes a day, for 365 days a year.

Last Song: Bo Burnham: Inside; "That Funny Feeling"

Last Movie: I don't actually watch a ton of movies so probably "Luca" although I have been meaning to watch that movie David Wald promoted on the Sk8 panel so I'll have to give it a watch eventually.

Last series: Just finished binge watching Beastars! Maybe I'll make a post? Honestly it just fuels my puppy Kojiro/Tadashi brain along with fox spirit Kaoru.

Tea or Coffee: Tea! I own so much tea 😌 it has been too hot for the kinds of tea I want to drink though.

Current activity apart from answering this: aside from writing I had been trying to clip my cats claws before answering this... didn't go well 😅

Tag (also if you have already been tagged ignore this 😣): @thebibi @peachy-apocalypse and @chibibinch

No pressure to make your own obviously (nearly forgot to respond myself lol 😂)

#personal

[fujoshicaterpillars]

Tagged by: @thefalconator9000 (thank you for tagging me! :D)

Rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs (wish I’d know that many people lol)

Nickname: people called me by many names but “cat” is fine

Gender: dunno

Sign: cancer I guess

Height: approximately170 cm

Time: 15.43

Birthday: near tanabata

Fave Bands: one ok rock, hitorie

Favorite Solo Artists: aimer, soraru, mafumafu, SIN(th)

Song stuck in my head: dreamin chuchu by emon (it’s vocaloid lol)

Last movie I watched: antman and the wasp

Last show i watched: Whether asobi asobase (very hilarious, totally recommend XD) or My hero academia

When did i create my blog: not sure.....maybe in 2013?

What do i post: my art (seldom, though I should make a link somehow), reblogging posts about fandoms, mostly anime and manga bc I’m a weeb, or just animals/anything I find interesting.

Last thing i goodled: is it googled or doodled? I’ll just say I googled if goodled has meaning or not lol

Do i have other blogs: no

Do i get asks: sometimes and I’m glad lol

Instruments: piano

Why did i choose my url: my friend just said it and I like it combined with how weeb I was then

Following: 300+

Followed by: 200+

Average hours of sleep: 5~7

What i’m wearing: shirt&black pants

Dream job: I seriously still don’t know lmao. A talented programmer I guess.

Dream trip: Japan!+Switzerland also Europe, America, anywhere.

Fave food: sushi

Fave song: so hard lol I can’t pick one soooo 1)watashi no R by kurage-p 2)goodbye by SIN

Last book I read: vatican miracle examiner. Haven’t finished though.

Top 3 fictional universe i wanna join: hmmmm beelzebub? just because I want to see furuichi lol, bnha, and probably barakamon

Tags: (If you’re busy it’s ok though or if you don’t want to it’s ok too)

@mookyhaklungz @cantwejust-be @sakuramar21 @sweetgums @thebibi @cows-quack

#ask

[momtaku]

Part 1 Dear momtaku. I greatly like your analysis but there is something I don't understand. Why do you like Reiner? I feel he is a war criminal. Annie is the proof that it was possible for him to feel compassion and empathy for the eldians in paradise like her (especially for the ones they knew personally). Reiner choosed not to think too much and prefered to suck up the marley elite.

Part 2 And during the battle of shinganshina, he was not that young and ignorant anymore, so the child soldier excuse don’t apply. I feel he feels sorry for himself but still continues to betray his own people the eldians (because now he knows they are just like him). As for a redemption, I don’t feel war criminal should be redeemed on Earth. What do you think?

I’ve always felt compassion for the warriors, but the reveals in recent chapters have assured me that my compassion was not misplaced. I’m going to talk generally before getting to Reiner because I view them all equally - as equally innocent children forced to commit equally horrific crimes, each developing coping mechanisms to deal with their particular brand of hell in a way that made sense to them.

Motivation matters. They were born into a society that viewed them as evil. They were raised with that stigma. They were inducted into the Warrior program between the ages of 5 and 7 where they were further brainwashed. They faced threats against their families and physical abuse if they failed. They, and their entire nation, were led to believe that the devils on Paradis were an apocalyptic threat.

The effects of being a child soldier don’t magically disappear at age 17. Brainwashing that occurs during the most formative years of life cannot be quickly undone.

As older teens, regardless of their feelings for their friends in the 104th, Reiner, Bert and Annie were still operating under the idea that the King of the Walls was going to unleash Titans that would destroy the world. They were fighting for a cause they perceived to be noble and necessary. They were also under the threat that if they failed their operation, they and their families would likely be killed in retribution. 

As far as being war criminals, if they were real people,  no country in our modern world would convict them. Every effort would be made towards rehabilitation.

All of the warriors felt compassion for their friends in the 104th, not just Annie. They just dealt with it differently. Reiner by creating a soldier persona, Annie by staying aloof, Bert by clinging to Reiner. But they were in a no win situation.

I understand some people don’t like Reiner for good reason. His treatment of Falco is alarming. He hasn’t learned from his mistakes. And true, at this point in his life he realizes he’s been manipulated. He sees the bigger picture and is doing nothing to fight against it. He continues moving forward knowing that every step he takes is in the wrong direction.

But I particularly loved the reblog by @thebibi​ in this post:

Reiner is the surviving child soldier in a failed operation the Marleyan government carried out to secure control over the last of the Eldian race.  As a child, all Reiner could think about was being the perfect Marleyan soldier so his family could be together.  As an adult he is looking past that and noticing how fucked up everything is, and that all that loyalty has stripped him of almost everything he’s ever loved. He’s tired, he’s severely depressed, he has major PTSD, and he’s having to choose which brainwashed kid will end his life…. 

These chapters haven’t been about Reiner realizing he’s on the wrong side of the war, its about him realizing there are no good sides at all.

I think Isayama wants us to care about Reiner. He doesn’t shy away from presenting Reiner as someone who is deeply flawed, but by letting us see him in more relaxed situations - like being best dad at the fair and showing us his real affection for the rising warrior kidlets - Isayama is giving us a glimpse of who Reiner could have been had he been born into a different world. It assures me that while Reiner did evil things, he was never an evil person. He’s someone worthy of our compassion. 

I hope this answers your question. Thank you for your ask!

#chatting with friends #reiner braun #warrior trio #child soldiers #marley vs eldia #ladymoiraine #annie leonhardt #berthold hoover

[sweetgums]

it’s about dang time i did one of these again

i got tagged by @channelcherry!! but this is also dedicated to people like @isahnas and @kurtbrussels who have tagged me on these before and i never did them, im so sorry guys, im just forgetful as fuck, but here it is for you too, so thank you all

i’m tagging @kurtbrussels @ubersaur @alicechugstea​@isahnas @chocobito @sakuracards @cows-quack @thebibi @fabelyn​ @kaeshidamashii​ @purple-petrichor​ but as always, no pressure

Name: not exactly a secret but not super advertised either: ana is my real name

Nickname(s): so ‘sweetgums’ doesn’t lend itself to a lot of nicknames, so people just call me by my given name, but you’re welcome to try and make up your own tho haha

Gender: i’mma girl!

Star sign: pisces, i forget what this says about me, but i do like water most out of the other elements

Height: 1.76 m / 5′9′’ according to google

Sexuality: ace ♠️♠️♠️

Hogwarts house: i’ve taken a bunch of online quizzes over the years including pottermore’s and the general consensus was ravenclaw, but recent years have leaned me towards slytherin as well… sounds about right

Average hours of sleep: oh jeez cause of work i tend to have about 6/7 hours of sleep, but i’d much rather they were 9/10

Dog or cat person: i love both cats and dogs, but dogs are the only ones who tend to love me back so dogs it is haha

Blanket you sleep with: i dont really have a blanket i cuddle with thats a favorite… if i had to choose i’d say it’s the comforter im currently sleeping with that has a hugeass tiger print on it. its very warm.

Dream trip: going to spain with @cows-quack to finally meet in person

When I made my blog: may 2011, dang. i remember that first month being super confused about how this site works, but then i found the yugioh fandom and rolled from there lmao.

Followers: i got super popular during the beelzebub craze back in the day, for such a small fandom in any case haha + when i was active on the marble hornets fandom as well (fun times) but nowadays since im not super active in one anymore on tumblr, i havent gotten past 500, im forever stuck on the perpetual 480s

Why I made a Tumblr: because @saltytea told me to!! ahahaha. at the time i hadnt been active in an internet community since gaia online lol for about… 2 years or so? honestly i dont remember how i got my fandom content during that time. but regardless one day saltytea approaches me and is like, yo you should make a tumblr!!! and im like why???? and i didnt really get it at first but as mentioned, i soon found the ygo fandom and the rest is history. im gonna be here forever probably.

Reasons for my url: so i’ve actually answered this before but not included there is the fact that i was like, 20 at the time and on my hipster pretentious phase lmao and also the fact this was basically a rebranding of my internet persona. back in the good old days of gaiaonline i used the username “angel_terra” for my online presence there, deviantart, livejournal, fanfiction etc. and had had it since i was like, 15. but when the opportunity to make a tumblr came by i had decided that username was super nerdy and that i needed a better name to showcase my newfound maturity!! and i, in my recently acquired wisdom, decided ‘sweetgums’ was the perfect choice. its a name that came forward for dubious reasons, but ive become attached to it so im probably gonna keep it for a loooong time still.

#about me

[perfectackeracy]

I’ll do the tag thing. Exceptionally.

Oh well, there’s a reason why I picked that sideblog, but I’m willing to do a rare exception. Only because it’s you.

I was tagged by @all-my-ships-are-snking for the questions thing and by @leapingtitan for the 10 Things About. Let’s begin!

Relationship status: married to my metas and my studies. Love life = non existent.

Favorite colors: olive (duh) and violet.

Pets: I’m a cat owner but cats are only allowed in the familial domain, a place where I’m not currently living at

Last song I’ve listened to: La Mer by Nine Inch Nails, because I’m a sad emo shit.

First fandom: Pokemon and I’m still into it.

Hobbies: writing meta, reading, literally anything that can stimulate my analysis senses, just let me science my way through this world!

Favorite book: It’s been a while I can’t really remember. I don’t have a favorite per se but the latest one was The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir. A really enjoyable read that still demands the reader to acknowledge Feminism 101 before analyzing.

Worst thing I have ever eaten: between the poisoned sausage that made me sick for a week or the fried eggs that gave me an eating disorder for months, I think I’ll pick the latter.

Favourite place: somewhere nice and cozy where I can breathe and feel the wind caressing my face. Any place whose atmosphere is radically different from the city will do. Except places crawled out with bugs.

Now about Nick’s tags...

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

1. I started this blog in April. Around January I was lurking around, then swooped back into a fandom I left since 2014. After several months of lurking, I said fuck it and made a sideblog for that.

2. Speaking of that sideblog, I think I intended to reblog pretty fanarts of my OTP (hi reibert) before going into more general posting. It went slowly into an archive blog of meta posts before I started to write some myself. That was my very first contribution.

3. I only own the first three volumes in French, Answers and Vol. 20 in Japanese. Sorry I haven’t taken the time to go shopping lately. Really reluctant in buying Vol. 21 Special Edition, though.

4. My first ship when I started SnK was Jeankasa. I quickly updated my shipping list since then.

5. Since I created this blog, I made 377 original posts. First time in my life I’ve ever written so much OPs before.

6. My favourite arc is Utgard Castle- what do you mean it’s a known fact?

7. I keep rambling about this fandom I’m neglecting the other ones. Been into One Piece before but you know how each arc at the beginning makes me feel: yawning from the whole setup pattern.

8. I was a proud orphan till mom took me into the metafam. Ever since then, people called me perfectyummycurry. You may not think it’s much of an unusual name, but all I had to do was take it, and then I was given a fine bed and fed meals. 

9. Nick should rather find a dog. It’s more affordable. Or print pics of Jean and stick them to his walls. Even more affordable.

10. More Ymemes for justice?

I tag @josie-theoneandonly, @bertltolt, @autiacora, @thebibi, and anybody who stumbles across this post.

#not snk

[thebibi]

I got an ask about the parallels between the older man/younger man relationships, specifically Dracula/Jonathan, and Van Helsing/Seward in Dracula but since it includes spoilers I'm going to include it under the cut!

What you said about old men having complex relationships with young men in Dracula got me thinking! Dracula is the old man. Young Jonathan comes to him in his land. Then Dracula does the same, and hurts him more. Van Helsing is the old man. Young Jack comes to him in his land. Years later Van Helsing does the same, and helps him more. There's power imbalance between the Count and Jonathan, which the Count exploits to the exptreme. Van Helsing and student Jack had mutual respect and no abuse of power. Dracula fed on Jonathan to restore his own life before the journey, Jack sucked van Helsing's (unclean|) blood to save his life. Due to this, van Helsing owes him a favor and they're bound by mutual love. Dracula is an old man who prays on the young man under his power, van Helsing is a guide and a role model. Funnily, both of them touch the younger man unprompted or barge in, but Dracula is invasive and power establishing, while van Helsing is genuine friendliness and familiarity.

You are so right! But there's another relationship that gets lost in all this: Renfield and Jack's antagonistic relationship. (Dracula Spoilers Below)

I think its interesting how much Jack becomes Renfield's tormentor, as a kind of inverse of what happens to Jonathan in Dracula's castle. Jack's asylum is in fact a large home, similar to a mansion, and he chooses Renfield to obssess over just like how Dracula chooses Jonathan.

In terms of structure I find it really clever that the majority of Jack's interactions and fascination with Renfield happen after Jonathan attempts to escape the castle, and way before Van Helsing enters the story. Its like a pendulum swing, going from Dracula, who is very clearly a predator, to Renfield, who is misunderstood yet enthralled by Dracula, to finally Van Helsing, who is seen as a savior.

Renfield doesn't get any respect for his personal well being and his privacy is compromised because of Jack. I think there is a scene where, after Renfield gets sick from eating the birds, Jack takes his diary and attempts to read it. This reminded me of how Dracula read Jonathan's letters and burned the shorthand written one to Mina. Also, how Renfield attacks and drinks Jack's blood after solitary confinement is reminiscent of how Jonathan attacks Dracula in his coffin, scarring him permanently. They are both lashing out at the abuse they've received.

Then there's Renfield and Van Helsing both being subjected to Jack's study of them. And I honestly believe Renfield reminded Jack of Van Helsing in some way or the other. So there is something to be said of all three relationships. All three old men maintain a level of secrecy from their younger male counterparts, and they all desire to overcome loneliness and become relevant again. For Dracula that's power and conquest, for Renfield, validation and a longer life, and for Van Helsing, to be respected and part of a family again.

I'm sure there are more parallels that others can point out. But these were the ones that I could recall easily.

#dracula (novel) #jack seward #abraham van helsing #renfield #r.m. renfield #jonathan harker #dracula daily #dracula spoilers #dracula meta #thebibi on vampirez #thebibi answers

[vergess]

When I saw your tag for "carrot pie" I was so bewildered for 2 seconds before remembering us Pakistanis also make halwa out of seasonal red carrots so yeah that totally slaps actually!!! This isn't a question but now I'm wondering what carrot pie is like!

I'm not personally familiar with carrot halwa, though I looooove regular halva!!

It's a custard pie, so the filling is about half egg yolks and half steamed, mashed carrot. Plus cardamom, butter and sugar. It's similar to a cross between a pumpkin pie and flan, especially since I like to put a honey glaze on top, similar to flan's caramel.

I'm trying to find a decent recipe online but google is failing me, so I'll probably have to write it out next time I make one!

#Asks #Answered asks #thebibi

[thebibi]

I think Mina Harker and Jack Seward could get along. They both do far seem like oddballs who go "fascinating....." and take notes on a notepad in public.

Yeah, they're very like-minded. However, I have a feeling Mina is more proactive than Jack? Like they'd both observe a bank robbery and go "fascinating..." but Mina is already taking note of which train station the robbers are going towards and calling the police while Jack is like, trying to figure out how they used fear without harming anyone. If that makes sense?

#dracula daily #dracula (novel) #mina harker #jack seward #thebibi answers #dracula spoilers

[thebibi]

Why does every writer look at Dracula and decide "Boring, those characters need to be absolute shitheads and abusive parents instead." (I've seen it happen three times with Jonathan and now twice with Van Helsing).

I think the pushback comes from postmodernist perspectives, which are all about subverting and questioning authority. Which is a valid way to interpret older media, but its become so ubiquitous with modern retellings that there's no nuance anymore.

I also feel like second wave feminism criticized the text and rightfully calls out Van Helsing's sexism, but it flattens all the male characters in the process. So you get more and more stories where Van Helsing and Jonathan are oppressors and Dracula, who represents xenophobic fears, must be sympathetic. Mina is a Victorian woman so she can only be repressed and needing to be sexually liberated.

Nuance is lost, and people just have knee jerk reactions to the text. I think this is why Dracula Daily has been so successful, because you have tons of new readers engaging with the raw text and analysing it with fresh eyes and seeing the multitude of ways Dracula can be interpreted. There is room for characters like Van Helsing and Jonathan to be sympathetic and also problematic.

#dracula daily #dracula (novel) #dracula spoilers #dd spoilers #jonathan harker #abraham van helsing #also not to knock postmodern and 2nd wave feminist readings they are vital movements we need to know about! #thebibi answers #thebibi on vampirez

[thebibi]

Your post has got me thinking again about how Dracula ruins Lucy & Arthur, almost ruins the Harkers but they come through okay by the skin of their teeth... but very much saves both Jack and Van Helsing. Jack is on a downward path here and then he gets his Unselfish Cause and he comes out better for it. He loses sleep and blood and the love of his life and his preconceived notions of masculinity and has a good cry about it and his life is uncontestably better now. Today sees him at a low, standing on a brink - and instead of going over the edge he goes through the fire and it helps. Dracula ruins everything but Jack is in such a bad place here that that's an improvement. That's wild!

Yup! That's why at the beginning of this year's DD, previous readers were arguing how Dracula ruined everyone's lives. And its blatantly untrue. Dracula gives Jack and Van Helsing a second chance at life, which is overwhelmingly positive. They get back in touch with each other, they reaffirm and make new friends, they both learn to rebalance their lives. It also makes them relevant. Van Helsing's obscure knowledge is finally helpful, and he's rewarded with a new found family and adopted grandson. Jack lets go of his prejudices (which will make him a better doctor in the future) and finds love again. And ultimately its all thanks to the worst thing that happened to everyone else.

I'm sure there's something to be said about how Dracula can be interpreted as a positive change in the story, but ironically it has less to do with Mina and more to do with the Victorian medical community....

#dracula daily #dracula (novel) #dracula spoilers #jack seward #abraham van helsing #thebibi answers #animate-mush

[thebibi]

Society has progressed past Van Helsing's genes are super duper special in killing vampires fake lore. Time to adapt some real lore: Van Helsing was friends with Known Danish Queer Hans Christian Andersen.

Honestly one of my favorite shout-outs in the book! Its just so much fun to think about? Like did Van Helsing actually believe in some of Hans Christian Anderson's tales? I mean, if vampires are real, then surely mermaids might be too? Did they actually meet or was Van Helsing a fanboy? Did they date? Etc etc.

#abraham van helsing #dracula (novel) #thebibi answers