Some Headshots I Did For A Frankenstein Assignment

finally sharing my classic shoujo memes with the public (cheers erupt from my crowd of adoring fans)

that still gives us 500 years

just think: the original story was called The Prince and the Raven

but it became Princess Tutu’s story in the end

‘cause at the start it’s like “Once upon a time there was a man who died…” they don’t even talk about who Princess Tutu is until the 2nd ep

THE TITLE IS META

THE WHOLE FUCKING SHOW IS META THE TITLE IS FORESHADOWING

i need sleep

Keep saying this but I loooove how relationships are talked about and portrayed in Demian (1919). Like. To an insane degree that I can barely put into words. It bothers me how overlooked it is sometimes? People always have a tendency to shove fictional relationships into very cramped, defined little boxes and then fight over the plastic label.

The way relationships are seen in Demian is one of the main reasons why I hold this book so close to my heart, because it was the first time I saw my thoughts put into words that I could analyze and study. That and the whole premise of how growing up in a religiously oppressive environment disguised with love and purity will inevitably affect how you process your feelings toward others... Makes me relate to Sinclair a lot. And it feels like a gross oversimplification to restrict his feelings as platonic or romantic.

I've talked about how I see Demian and Eva as extremely related entities before, how they are essentially the same. But I think their distinction as physical characters is very useful for the storytelling and symbolism. As I see it, Demian (the book) is all about love. It's not just about finding love in someone else but also finding love in yourself, in what you do and where you are in your life. This might be more of a personal interpretation, but to me, Eva represents a very, very specific feeling, in a way it's a culmination, a point where you finally stop to think and say to yourself "maybe I am okay. This is what okay feels like to me". Freudian influence aside... The motherly themes hit me really hard for this very reason:

When I read how Sinclair slowly fell out with his family, it spoke of a very specific experience. A very specific realization. "This deal isn't that of a bad friendship or acquaintance. I won't have a second chance. Simply because of how I was born, where I was born, there are human experiences that I'll never be able to know, and I am powerless to change that", you cannot choose your family, your mother, right? It's what you get, and you see around you what could've been but never was, and it makes you feel weak.

That's why Frau Eva is such an important figure. Because that is when Sinclair finds his family again, in a way. Why should blood matter so much? Sure, there's a biological connection, it's also been studied that romantic relationships reach their "high" during their earlier days due to hormones and neurotransmitters, right, "love at first sight", but those will eventually cease production as all does. It is your choice to nurture that relationship and to cherish it, to keep and to care for it. Blood does not matter, home is a person and it's right next to me, right now. I think that is what Frau Eva is, as a whole. And allowing that feeling to coexist with the platonic and the romantic is very important as I see it. One of the main problems of this motherly dynamic is the power difference, what makes Sinclair struggle in his childhood is the constant sensation of being watched, of being subjected to severe judgement. Frau Eva is supposed to remove that factor, she listens and she welcomes any thought or idea, there isn't fear of rejection or punishment, that's what makes it feel "like home". That was, kind of, the last step to reach the fulfillment Sinclair needed. I see Eva as the "destination" of this whole thing.

And Demian, he is the journey. One of the biggest mistakes one can make is to dismiss the process and work that goes into an achievement, because it is important. There is no Eva without Demian, they are intrinsic by nature. And journey is something that never leaves you. Even when Sinclair reaches his destination, he never stops caring about Demian. He visits Eva and he visits Demian, even if he has to walk through horrible weather, he speaks of his dreams to them, and he sits at the table and eats with them. Because during your journey you gain so many things you never expected, and at the end of the road, they become part of your fulfillment and needs as much as the main achievement is.

What Sinclair obtains from Demian and Eva, and everything in between them, is a unique relationship, deeply fulfilling, trusting, reassuring, a place where you know you can come to, even when you're at your lowest. Eva capitalizes on the genuine care, nurturing qualities, but Demian, too is a mentor, although I find falconer to be a better comparison. He helps the sparrowhawk grow its clipped wings, but in turn, he shall not stop it from flying, only the bird itself can choose to return the falconer's affections. But at the end of the day, all the falconer wishes for is to see him take flight. Sinclair obtains everything: friendship, camaraderie, acceptance, relief of a deep rooted guilt, no judgement for his human desires, the care and trust he lost from his mother, and something to look forward to after waking up in the mornings.

At the end of the book, Sinclair is separated from both of them, as I've said, they are intrinsic. But of course, they don't fully leave. As I see it, the kiss being from Eva means that your achievement is and will always be a sweet thought. Something you hold dear, that you can think of to comfort yourself. But Demian is there to deliver it and to fix Sinclair's wounds because journey is experience. It is what strengthens you and gives you the tools to face future endeavors. And it feels safe... You are finally safe within yourself.

But what about the scary factor, though? Because that is present too in both Demian and Eva (which I happen to really enjoy, as well). As always, I think it's a balance. It's good to know fear, it's a human emotion like any other. But the fear that radiates from them is more... Animal-like. The fear Sinclair once felt was a deep rooted terror that was born from something divine. You're being watched. You're being judged. You're wrong. You're a sinner. That's scary. Because it's telling you that the danger comes from yourself. When you see a beast staring into you, you don't feel self conscious, you don't feel repulsed, you feel the most natural shape that fear has. Beautiful things are scary. A snake can be scary. The stars can be scary. But it's not their fault, and it's not your fault either, it's just how it's meant to be. Because all feelings —love, anger, fear, sadness— and more, they are all important, they are all natural. But natural feelings can be beautiful. Artificial feelings make you fear something you've never witnessed, they make your stomach churn at the thought of yourself and they make you cry for something you haven't done. And most people around you live holding onto relationships that are, fundamentally, held by artificial feelings.

That is... Most of what I interpret from this book. And, god. It feels more like the book read me and not the other way around. I think I've truly found a bigger respite in art thanks to this novel. I have wanted to see the same beauty in the naturally grotesque... Learn about myself until rotting, flesh, maggots become just as beautiful and full of meaning as spring rivers and flowering plains, and for anger and fear to turn into something I can love and cherish like I do my inner child. Although they, too, have surely grown up.

That's it. I wanna play toysssss

Going about my life like a gothic lit character (frequent naps and despair.)

Sir Gawain be like:

my dealer: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “laudanum-dosed wine at the villa diodati on lake geneva in 1816” 😳 you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯

me: yeah whatever i don’t feel shit

5 minutes later: dude i swear i just saw mary shelley and claire clairmont talking about reanimation and vampires with lord byron

my buddy percy pacing: dr. john polidori is plotting against us and my wifes nipples have been replaced by eyeballs

I'm not convinced that Kaze to Ki no Uta is that cut in dry in it's relationship to pedophilia and sexual assault. I think it's obvious that Gilbert's relationships with older men are supposed to be interpreted as unhealthy and self-destructive. We're supposed to think that's tragic and want for Gilbert to experience more healthy connections with people. I mean, his relationship with Serge banks on the reader feeling that way. But Takemiya is a weird pervert lady, and she actually does write plenty of stories with much older dudes sleeping with much younger boys that aren't particularly interested in unpacking the morality of such a thing. I dare say she's fujoing out about it, and I don't think Kaze Ki's exempt from that.

There is an aestheticism to Gilbert's relationship with Auguste that is meant to compel a certain kind of reader. It's that codependency, its that Gilbert is the only person Auguste ever shares his wounds with. Auguste made Gilbert because he needed Gilbert. A lot of the ways Auguste grooms Gilbert is his own fucked up way of saving himself. He genuinely believes hes doing whats best on some level, and I think he really does care about Gilbert. It's very stimulating!!! I can understand why there are people who are more interested in that dynamic than what Gilbert has with Serge. I mean, JUNE magazine, (of which Takemiya was a major contributor) is full of similar dynamics.

Side tangent: Kaze Ki's much more light-hearted cousin, Mari to Shingo is incredibly flippant about pederasty. Mari fucking loses his virginity to one of his dad's business partners when he's 14 and literally no one cares. Mari's just like "i guess I must be gay for that, I never thought about it before." In fact, Mari keeps sleeping with the guy no problem after returning to Europe. I bring this up because I think historical context is important and I think MariShin is really funny for pulling shit like that....

Serge and Auguste aren't as different as they seem on the surface. We want to see Gilbert and Serge happy together, but what Serge envisions as healthy for Gilbert is rooted in his own selfish desires. If Serge can "fix" Gilbert, he can perceive himself as noble. We have to remember that Serge is someone who got very little love and support growing up. He freaks out when Gilbert is called dirty because he was seen as dirty and lesser for his background. He sees himself in Gilbert and wants to save him because of that. (God, Utena really is daytime television Kazeki) To some degree, Serge is on the same level as all of Gilbert's "suitors."

I think its kind of dumb to analyze media in an effort to glean to moral standing of an author. It kind of takes away from the fun. Taboo themes in media are always erotic because the content is always meant to shock the reader to some degree. People like the danger.

you know what. she deserves her own post