#but i want him to know we love his portrayal of Armand

[ejfarm]

I'm literally shaking like a chihuahua because yesterday I went full fan girling in Instagram and might have tagged Assad Zaman in one of those stories AND HE HAD SEEN THEM ALL and now I'm slightly embarrassed but also so in love and completely out of my mind😱😭🥰

[nalyra-dreaming]

hi!! before i ask my question i just want to say i ADORE your blog. your analyses are so interesting and genuine and i love reading them.

my question is pertaining to armand in the show. in the show they have him coming from a muslim background. what impact or bearing do you think this will have on the portrayal of les innocents?

sorry if this is worded strangely i wasnt sure how to word this 😅

Hey!

So glad you like! *hugs*

And all good, I think I know what you mean^^

Okay, so, back when the show aired someone (unfortunately I couldn't find the post, but if someone remembers who and has that post...?) remarked that the prayer Armand was shown to do was slightly wrong. I am not Muslim, so that did not click for me, but there was a discussion about it.

Now I believe Assad would know how to do that prayer and I think the show doing it just a bit wrong might be another hint. I think Armand is probably converting. Has converted. Wants to convert. We'll see.

The area Armand is from was heavily contended back then. It will be interesting to see if they give him a muslim original background or a christian one, because depending on how they spin it, it might change the character story (of being captured and sold as a (sex) slave) a bit. I believe they will keep that part of the story, because Armand can be seen to react to Daniel's flippant "save it for the rent boy".

But, either way, he was eventually picked up by Marius, and educated in Venice (I don't think they'll change that). I do think that the rest of it (the attack on Marius and him, the capture by Santino and the Children of Satan etc) will then play out no matter the underlying religion he had.

And eventually... he will be sent to lead the coven under Les Innocents.

Now the show has shifted Lestat's turning into the time of the "Reign of Terror", to 1794. That is important, because then Lestat cannot have encountered Armand and the coven under Les Innocents, because Les Innocents was closed in 1785 and that closing of the cemetery plays a part in the story.

Lestat will have to encounter the coven somewhere else already. And they still will need to relocate, or are prompted to relocate through the events with Lestat.

So I think... the muslim part (if originally his religion or not) might not play that much into the Les Innocents part after all. Because the importance of Les Innocents has been somewhat removed through the time shift already, and I also think that Armand was never the big believer in the cause. Oh he led his coven, true, he followed the rules. Enforced them. But believe? In the sense of the word?

I think Armand held onto it all because there was nothing else to hold onto for a long, long time.

In the books the events of Memnoch are a kind of wake up call for Armand. IF Lestat is really in his coma in modern Dubai, as theorized after some kind of Memnoch-type event, then that wake up call might have happened there as well.

And Armand might have decided to convert / return to his (chosen?) religion.

To return to the portrayal of Les Innocents: I think the coven under Les Innocents will have happened, and will be mentioned. We know there will be someone called "Andrei" in s2, so we might get a flashback to Armand as a child. I think Les Innocents might be a flashback like this. Who knows, maybe they went with the bones into the catacombs after.

(Or, of course, the show ignores the cemetery being relocated, buttttt they've been so good with these RL events so far? I doubt it.)

So these are my thoughts on this. Hope it makes sense! :))

[fenicenera83]

One aspect of Marius’ portrayal I absolutely don’t agree with is the idea that he’s “a jealous man.” He’s arrogant and cowardly and rigid and his fear gets ugly and violent but is he really jealous? I think Armand more prone to jealousy than he is to be honest. Marius is just afraid of his own replaceability but I feel like he’s too generous to be truly jealous.

The only correct thing you say is that Marius is not jealous, and it is true, Armand is the one who is jealous. And that Marius is generous. Marius is not cowardly, again, you cannot judge Marius for his choice toward Armand, and only for that and call him a coward. Marius single-handedly carried the burden of Akasha and Enkil on his shoulders, protected them, and allowed all vampires to live their immortality free and unburdened, even those who knew of their existence. He sacrificed himself and his immortality so that there would be no danger to other vampires. So much so that loneliness almost killed him. This spirit of sacrifice and dedication to duty are admirable things that show that Marius is not cowardly at all. He has made his mistakes, like all of Anne's characters, but Marius's mistakes are often dictated by his too much love, too intensely or of his pride.Marius is not arrogant, he is a custodian of immense knowledge, of a time that will never return, a philosopher, a scholar, a man who relies on reason because he cannot understand the movements of his heart. And this not knowing fills him with doubts and uncertainties. He is a man of his time, an ancient Roman, who nevertheless follows the course of history, who does not stop but continues to seek and to want to understand the world and human beings. He is a changing man who is fascinated by the new ideas of the Renaissance, who embraces them enthusiastically, man the center of the world, but who comes to close himself off in the face of the cruelty of men.In the modern era made up of wonders, and new ideas that can change the world, cruelty and injustice seem to prevail in his eyes instead. An arrogant man would never have the heart and open-mindedness of Marius. And do you say rigid? Marius yes can be rigid, but only if it is necessary, otherwise he is made of love and tenderness, Marius is sarcastic, he is funny, disheveled but perfect at the same time. He is not that cold and courtly figure that many people insist on seeing. Marius has immense tenderness and a dedicated spirit turned to the knowledge and beauty of the world.Marius is full of vivacity, of spirit, even if he is melancholy, even if he is serious and posed, with impeccable manners. Marius is much much more, than those labels they want to attach to him simply because he is so complex and peculiar that we don't stop to take a good look at him, he is simply stiff and arrogant.... No! He is not! Please open your eyes to the wonderful character that Marius is. The real one, Anne's, not the one your friend or Wikipedia told you. Marius is one of the deepest, most beautiful and complex characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Marius is much more than the surface that many want to give him.

[licncourt]

I swear it's not for starting discourse or anything of the sort. But I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show now that the first season has ended (and we have a more global view of the first season) regarding the plot, the reveals at the end, the characterisation of our fang family, the themes etc. I find your book metas very interesting and what you shared so far has been well structured and refreshing.

thoughts on the finale?

Oof, apologies for the wait, but I think I've gathered myself sufficiently. Thank you so much for reading my rambling!! It's so flattering to know that people care about what I have to say! I'll throw out everything I can think of now, but I'll rb with more if I think of anything else later.

I also want to preface this by saying it really seems like we're missing a lot of context and plot developments from s2 that will affect everything we saw in s1 quite a bit, but I'm just going to take this season at face value for now.

I thought the costuming, SFX, and cinematography was wonderful in the finale. It made me sad that my enjoyment of the show has been so ruined because it was stunning and really scratched the period drama itch I'd been missing with the era change. Claudia in particular looked gorgeous and the gore was really fun and well executed.

Overall, I'm very disappointed in Lestat and Claudia's relationship portrayal/arc. Like I've mentioned before, the tragic impact of Claudia's attack on Lestat is so lessened if they never had the bond of father and daughter in the first place. It rings so hollow when we never saw Lestat LOVE Claudia, adore her and want her with his whole soul before slowly succumbing to his own trauma and perpetuating the cycle of abuse. Book Lestat WANTS to fix things with his daughter, he trusts her without hesitation and that's what makes it so brutal when she quite literally stabs him in the back, but at the same time you feel her pain and her rage. We lose that in the show. They're just enemies, plain and simple. There's no agony of betrayal and broken family without love there first and it does both Lestat and Claudia, originally very complex characters, a disservice. Family, the good and the bad, is at the heart of IWTV and without Lestat and Claudia, that's largely lost.

The pacing of the episode was a bit strange to me. I felt like too much time was spent on the party planning aspect rather than the dissolution of the family dynamic and crescendo of tension. I get that they wanted a longer episode for the finale, but I don't think it justified that extra fifteen-ish minutes.

I think the fucky memory thing was better utilized in ep 7 than it has been up to this point, and given what we know of Armand's mind gift from the books, I think it would make a lot of sense that he had something to do with that. That would be my preference in general because otherwise I feel like we're delving into victim blaming territory with the implications of this take on an unreliable narrator. I thought the implementation of the whole concept was clunky, but this was the best moment it had.

The sort of tableaux of Louis slitting Lestat's throat and then the flashback of crying over his body was also fantastic, so striking and emotional. Again, Sam and Jacob are such good actors with great chemistry, so it's really a shame about the everything.

All my thoughts on ep 5 (and 6) stand. Nothing from the last episode changed my opinions on how that played out and I can't think of anything that would. I won't harp on my issues with the characterization that stem from these episodes, but they definitely carried over into the finale.

I liked the Armand reveal! I think it was fun how they dropped hints and Easter eggs for book fans all season in regards to his identity. Enrichment for the vampirefuckers. Assad definitely captures the Weird Little Guy energy but also the incredibly sinister overtones we expect from Armand. My only concern is that Armand will be treated the same way as Lestat and turned into a one-dimensional monster that they can never properly redeem. If they go the route of making him a new diabolical abuser for Louis who we're supposed to forgive, I'll chew glass.

NO SWAMPSTAT??? Honestly very disappointed. As funny as putting that bitch in the trash is, it doesn't hit the same as Lestat getting gnawed on by an alligator. Lord knows AMC Lestat deserves the death roll.

This is completely inconsequential, but I have to mention how forced that namedrop of Those Who Must Be Kept was. That was so clumsy and stupid that it made me laugh out loud in what was supposed to be a very tense moment.

The handling of the racial aspect of Louis' character was so good in the first four episodes and even in parts of the finale that it made eps 5 and 6 that much harder to swallow. I'm honestly baffled at how horrible and insensitive that was out of nowhere before everything went back to normal. I'm sad that was ruined before it could have its full impact. Louis and Jacob Anderson deserved better.

Daniel had a lot of great moments, but I feel like his dialogue was too obviously viewer insert and on the nose a lot of times. I also found myself soured to him after his comments about Claudia in ep 5. Still, he has good chemistry with Armand from what we saw and I'd like to see more of them together going forward.

[sangcreole]

for the ask meme (I'm usually such an embarrassment sending you stuff bc I don't realize it's RP specific I haven't been online long enough rip but I don't think this is):

I LOVE YOUR PORTRAYAL OF LOUIS SO SO SO MUCH YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT'S BECOME CANON TO ME. Louis can be rather tricky for me to get a grasp on, but honestly you just bring him fully to life in a way I wish Anne had! Girl, you have me reading Loustat because I love your Louis so much, that is my be-all end-all compliment. Like YES, ASHLEY'S LOUIS IS THE ONE WHO CRIPPLED LESTAT AND ENSLAVED ARMAND 🤧 Sometimes someone just speaks on/through a character so beautifully you can't help but fall in love with them too. 🖤

P.S. - goes without saying but your A/L kitten thread was a highlight of a very dark winter for me and I think about it a lot because y'all are just so so talented and it's an absolute delight to follow along, we are truly blessed in the year 2023 🙏🏻

「   ASK MEME :   HOW’S MY PORTRAYAL?   」

SOBBING okay sorry I may or may not have selfishly kept this in my inbox to get me through the week, (and also because I wanted to get some more writing done before answering this so I could feel Worthy) but asdfgfhghbjsednkgr this means so much to me!!!!!

Louis is super tricky for me as well, especially since we don't really get much of his POV outside of IWTV so pretty much everything that I write just feels like me throwing darts in the dark lmfao but I love him so so so much and it just makes me happy to know that that love is infectious enough to reach the most brilliant and devout armand girlies LOL!!

[artemiseamoon]

I’m comfort rewatching IWTV and just My God. I was so weary going in but I’m so inlove with this adaption. I’m glued to my tv again like the first time.

As a bi person with Louisiana creole ancestry, Louis being a gay creole black man just made this story so much more personal, it amplifies this world for me.

I didn’t even like book Louis, always been a Lestat gal (yes yes I know he’s problematic, a pretty package of red flags and yes he’s crazy.) (and yes I adored TC as Lestat, otherwise eww to TC) I appreciate both portrayals of Lestat, and the differences. I love them both.

This adaption and Jacob have made me like a character I previously didn’t care for at all. Except for when he says Armand is the love of his life cause come on 🙄 stop lying Louis. BP as Louis in the 90s was pretty to look at, def ultimate emo goth pretty boy but he always felt like he didn’t want to be there to me. Learning later he didn’t made so much sense.

And Sam as Lestat 😍💐💐💐💐

I didn’t care for book or movie Daniel, he was annoying esp in the movie, but older Daniel in the show ??? Fucking perfect. I love that choice and hope we see more flashbacks of him younger.

I loved KD as Claudia, even if I didn’t agree with Claudia as a character at certain points, but Bailey sky rocketed that character to the fucking moon for me. Standing ovation girl. Why can’t you come back for s2????? 😩😩😩

I first came upon Anne Rice as a teen, reread my favs over the years since then. Secretly wrote fics (anyone around at that time will understand why) I was totally wrapped up in the late 90s craze with my friends. Now, at 39, I have this version and it’s a gift I didn’t know I needed and never imagined I’d get.

Plus this version gave me Lily, so thank you. And I can finally use my long time obsession with Storyville in writing. 😁

Love love love this. Minus that one episode but it was via Claudia POV , who hates Lestat and sees him as a monster, so I’m pretending that didn’t happen like that. 🙈

No we do not talk about that other movie here. Only the soundtrack and Aaliyah as Akasha exist, the rest never happened. That soundtrack is 🔥 tho, I still listen to it.

[honeyandpineapple]

Okay, so, about Marius.

This post will contain potentially triggering content including child abuse, child rape, and grooming. I will leave out all the triggering af quotes from the book, but if you’ve read it, you know.

The short version is that Armand’s sire Marius was an abusive piece of shit, and Armand has some difficulty accepting that what happened was abuse (but it definitely was, Anne.)

I will also say ahead of the cut that I am a survivor (although my situation was not as extreme as Armand’s), and that does influence my portrayal of him. This is also why it’s important to me not to cut out what happened to Armand completely. I am actually very grateful to the show for including a version of Armand that I can enjoy without having to wade through the triggering stuff in the books.

Here is how I’m handling Marius until we see what the show does about it:

I am keeping what Marius did to Armand, starting when he was fourteen. What I’m cutting is the romanticization.

Armand’s life was so horrible up to the point that Marius took him in that he did not recognize what Marius did to him as abusive. Even in modern times, Armand is extremely uncomfortable acknowledging what happened to him, and will try to downplay it. He will not openly tell anyone exactly what happened to him at what age. (Louis probably knows a little bit, but not everything or the extent of it.)

Particularly sensitive topics would be: That Marius stripped him of his identity (changing his name, making him forget his native language), that they shared a bed while Armand was only 14, that his feelings toward Marius are complicated and some of them feel like love, that Marius lost interest in him as he aged, that Armand felt a kind of relief when he thought Marius was dead.

What I won’t do: 

I will never write anything romantic about Armand and Marius. Armand is traumatized by it, and therefore there may be some allusions to that trauma. But it wasn’t really love, and even if Armand is confused about it, I will not portray it as love.

I won’t write any of the actual events out. Armand might talk about what happened (if we discuss it ooc first), but there will never be a flashback or a scene of describing anything in detail.

I will not mention his history at all if you’re not comfortable with it, but it does influence who he is.

I will not portray his trauma as the reason that he does evil things. It’s not. There are obviously long-term psychological effects from what happened to him, but he chooses to do terrible things.

I will not follow anyone who ships Marius with Armand. I will probably block you. You do you, but I don’t want to see it.

If you have any questions or feel like we should discuss this prior to any threads, please let me know! It shouldn’t come up directly very often, but I felt like I needed to address it.

[multimuse-rp-archived]

So apparently I have 500 followers now?!? I seriously cannot thank you guys enough! I’m so grateful for every single one of you! I never expected this blog to become what it is today. I just... thank you guys so much!

I’m going to do what a lot of other people do and give a shoutout to some specific people - I love you guys so much!

@jaimelannisterthings you were the first person I ever interacted with on my Tyrion blog. I was so nervous, especially because your writing was just AMAZING! But you’ve stuck with me from the start, and I’m so incredibly grateful for your friendship! You’re the best!

@the-stark-queen you are so sweet! You’ve always made me feel good about myself, and your portrayal of Sansa is just... *chef’s kiss* I cannot thank you enough for sticking by my side and being an amazing supporter through thick and thin!

@severityforgreatness you are seriously amazing! I love you and your writing so much! I don’t even have the words to describe it lol. But seriously, you’re incredible and one of my best friends on here! I’m so happy we get to write together and chat ooc!

@rosefromdeath where do I even start? You’re such a talented writer, and never forget it! Anyone who says otherwise is a complete fool. You’re super sweet, and I cherish all our interactions! I can’t wait to keep writing with you!

@boltxnbastard again, I just have to tell you that your portrayal of Ramsay is literally... I can’t even describe how good it is! You are also such a sweet person! Please always remember that your writing is the best of the best! Love ya!

@dumbthink / @hitundo I love your characters so much! I love our interactions, and I love the chaos that comes out of them lol. Honestly, those chaotic threads are probably some of my favorite ones to write because I can just have so much fun with them! Lol seriously though, you’re amazing, and I’m so glad we’ve became friends and interacted a bunch!

@timidstrcngth Peeta and Valerie literally give me so much life! And you’re such a nice person! I’m so glad we can both obsess over our muses and interactions and stuff! Valerie is precious and adorable and I love her so much! Peeta is incomplete without her lol. Here’s to many more awesome and cute interactions!

@amurderbutnotacrime / @wouldntlastfiveminutes we haven’t written together for a super long time, but we have a ton of awesome threads! Not many people write Beth as good as you do! And we all know Rio needs his Beth ;) thank you so much for being such an amazing writing partner! I can’t wait to see where our threads take us!

@dragvnflare I’m not even sure where to start! The way you portray Dany is so amazing, and you’re such a sweet person! I love talking to you ic and ooc. You were one of the ones that has been with me since my Tyrion blog, and I can’t thank you enough for sticking with me always!

@gangfrnd we have barely interacted, but ever since I finished watching good girls, I’ve admired your blog! I was a little nervous to approach you just because your portrayal is SO good, and I was afraid mine didn’t even compare xD but you seem like such a nice person, and your writing is amazing! Let’s definitely write more! Rio for life!

@silvcrignis / @dcusrclicta you are seriously amazing! I love your muses, I love our interactions, and I love our ooc chats! I’m looking forward to more interactions with you and your amazing muses in the future! Love ya!

@thegoodandthegreat you and I can literally obsess over ships and muses and, well, everything! It’s just so nice to be able to talk with someone who’s as excited as I am when it comes to our threads and fandoms and stuff! You’re such a sweet person, and I can’t get enough of our interactions!

@fxntasmagoria okay, I seriously love the way you write Zoe! I can tell you’ve put a ton of thought into her character, and I just think she’s amazing! Then again, all of your muses are amazing lol. I love interacting with you! We haven’t talked too much ooc, but you seem super nice! Hit me up anytime!

@galaxysought you and your muses are so amazing! I love every single one of our interactions, whether it’s with on my block muses, game of thrones muses, or anything else! Speaking of which, I’m so glad you watched on my block! Lol it’s such a good show! Anyway, you’re super sweet and super talented, and I’ll always be grateful for your friendship!

@legends-and-savages I’ve been writing with you for a long time, and you’ve honestly given me a lot of inspiration! I’ll look at some of your other threads and read them, too, just because I love your writing! You’re also super nice ooc, though we haven’t talked a ton. I’d love to write more, so I’ll probably be sending a lot of memes xD feel free to do the same! <3

@betweenthesinnersandthesaints I wrote with you back when you had Brienne on a single muse blog, and I’m so happy you have a multi now! All of your muses are portrayed soooo well! Also, I never thought I shipped Harry and Luna too much, but I do now! ;) hit me up for memes and plotting anytime!

@saltxwolf okay I know we haven’t interacted in a while, but your Theon portrayal is literal perfection! I also just love interacting with you ooc because you’re so easy to talk to, and you’re so sweet! Let’s keep in touch - I’d love to chat with you and write with you more! <3

@gloryxfades / @ladyxredxwolf I absolutely love the way you write Sansa! She’s a complicated character, and I feel like you really understand her! You’re super talented, and I love chatting ooc with you too! Crossovers are always welcome ;) love ya!

@prophecyfated when I first got into reign roleplaying and added my reign muses, your blog was the first I noticed! The way you write francis is just... *chef’s kiss* and I honestly sometimes read some of your other threads just for the quality content! Lol listen, I admire you so much, and I can’t wait to write with you more!

@ladystaarliing ahhhhh you are so incredibly sweet! I love Sarah (especially with Tyrion LOL), and I miss interacting with you! I’ll definitely try to be more active on my tyrion blog from now on so I can send you shippy memes and stuff! They’re adorable lol and you’re such a talented writer!

@villainouspassion where do I begin? I love the way you write your muses, and the way they interact with each other lol. I love it when you post those things about “muse moods” XD I think it’s entertaining to read some of your other threads, too! But listen, you’re an amazing writer, and I’d love to interact with you more again! Hmu for plotting or send memes anytime!

@armandlucienduval / @winewhiskeybloodandchocolate holy shit I can actually tag you! Lmfao. But in all seriousness, you’re an amazing person, and Armand is the best! I can’t get enough of him lol. You can talk to me anytime, whether you’re doing well or not, I’ll always be here for you!

@getlostsqdwrd we’ve interacted a bit. Not overly, but a bit. And honestly? Your muses and the way you write them? Perfection! I can’t get enough of them! You’re also just really nice ooc and a great person to talk to! I would love more interactions, so feel free to send meme spam and/or hmu to plot! <3

@starlessyonder I had so much fun playing among us with you! Our discord group is amazing lol. You’re also a super good writer and a really sweet person! I can’t wait to write with you even more - and kill you in among us lol

@smokedanced we haven’t interacted a ton, but your writing style and muses are so amazing! You’re so talented! I love getting meme spammed so feel free to do it again xD and I’ll do the same for you! Or, if you want to plot, message me! I’d love more interactions with you!

@itwcntsurviveme raven is literally my favorite character on the 100, and I have to say that nobody else can quite capture her voice like you can! I remember being so honored when you followed me back lol. I’d love more interactions with you, so hit me up anytime to plot or send memes! We stan Raven forever!

@reformed-serial-killer damon is such a hard character to write for me tbh, and I often refer to your portrayal of him to help me when I’m not feeling his muse as much! You’ve put so much thought into writing him, and it pays off 100%! You’re extremely talented, and I would love to write with you more! <3

@xchxsingcxrsx / @jxime-lxnnister you were one of the first people to ever write with me on my Tyrion blog, and I love that you’ve continued to stick with me through my vast number of blogs! Lol seriously, thank you so much for being so talented and always willing to try different things in our threads!

@blackroselovesyou you’re so sweet! Whenever I talk to you ooc, you’re always so incredibly nice and open to new ideas/interactions between muses! I love writing with you so much, and I miss the times when we had more threads! Things have been crazy lately, but come to me to plot and/or send memes anytime!

@musenssang it’s been a long time since our last interactions, and I miss you! You’re always so sweet, and your muses are awesome! You’re such a talented writer. Never forget that! I can’t wait for us to interact even more!

@thecrxmxnal we’ve hardly interacted, but I smile every time you pop up on my dash! It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Breakfast Club, but you’re really tempting me to watch it again! Lol. In all seriousness, you’re a really good writer, and I’m really excited for more interactions with you!

@thxwxlf your oc is the literal definition of a badass! I love her! I can tell you’ve put a ton of thought into her character, and it pays off! You’re an amazing writer, and I can’t wait for us to continue to make awesome threads!

@santagabriela I’m really not sure if you’re active anymore, but I couldn’t leave you out! I love your portray of Gabriela, and I think she’s amazing! I really miss our interactions. You’re super talented and really sweet ooc! Feel free to IM me anytime!

@tricksterreformed Gabriel and bobby give me life xD no but seriously, the way you write him is sooooo good! I’ll check out some of your other threads sometimes just for fun! I smile whenever I see you on the dash because you just bring such good vibes! Let’s write more! <3

@damnstory we really haven’t interacted much yet, but I have admired your blog from the start! Your portrayal of Bellamy is *chef’s kiss* amazing! Feel free to message me anytime to plot and/or send me memes! Can’t wait to interact with you more!

I feel like I’m definitely forgetting people lol. But seriously, I love each and every one of you! All of you are welcome to send me memes, reply to my opens, chat with me ooc, plot with me... anything you need, I’ve got you! Stay positive, and stay awesome! Happy writing!

[starstruckteacup]

Cottagecore Films (pt. 11)

A Little Princess (1995)

starring Liesel Matthews, Liam Cunningham, Vanessa Chester, Eleanor Bron

synopsis

I was extremely disappointed in this film, to put it lightly. The story itself was beautiful, but that is thanks exclusively to the novel on which it was based. The movie itself utterly failed to convey the magic and timelessness of the book. The acting was flat, emotionless, and forced at every point, from every actor (except for maybe Cunningham, but he was absent for half of it). One would think a gaggle of girls would have some form of natural chemistry, whether pulling them together or apart, but not a single child actor portrayed even the remotest semblance of a relationship to another. (Note: I describe in my review of Pan’s Labyrinth what quality acting from a child looks like, for reference.) Even Matthews and Cunningham could not pass a believable father-daughter relationship, despite the story being about that. As far as emotional acting, the adults were just as bad as the children. They couldn’t even feign a single moment of joy, sadness, or anger, regardless of the context. I actually laughed for the entire scene during which Sara nearly died because of how bad the acting from the adults was. At least Chester seemed somewhat worried; Bron and the nameless police officers stood around so vacantly it looked like they forgot what was happening. I really was appalled by the abysmal acting, especially when so much was handed to them in the story. I want to preface my next point by saying that yes, I know computer animation was still a work in progress in the 90s. But this was horrifyingly awful. I have never once, not in my entire life, seen CGI as terrible as the monster in Sara’s stories. I nearly gave up on the entire movie within the first five minutes because of that monster. And it kept showing up, which absolutely ruined whatever favor I tried to hold for this movie. If you don’t have the budget, which this film clearly didn’t, don’t try to animate a monster. It’s that simple. I wish I had more words for it but it was truly so atrocious that I’m at a loss. Any good will I hold for this movie is due to my fondness for the story (no credit to the film), the settings (while not exceptional, they were fairly pretty), and Liam Cunningham’s acting. 2/10

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

TW: blood, mild gore, torture, racism against indigenous people

starring Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Abbie Cornish, Jordi Mollà, Samantha Morton

This film is the sequel to Elizabeth (1998) (see part 10 of my film reviews), which continues the story of Queen Elizabeth I as her rule progresses. Tensions between Catholic Spain and Protestant England grow ever greater, escalating to treasonous plots and assassination attempts. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and King Philip II of Spain conspire to depose Elizabeth and place Mary on the throne, restoring Catholicism as the national religion. Even as these events lead to war between the two superpowers, the court provides no sense of stability as new faces and new stresses surround the Virgin Queen. She forms a strong friendship with the pirate Walter Raleigh upon his return trip from the New World, where he seeks to establish colonies under the English flag. However, his stay is extended greatly when Elizabeth’s selfishness and pride take over, and are only broken down in the face of battle when she puts him at the forefront of the British navy. Outnumbered, Elizabeth will need Raleigh’s loyalty and cunning, along with the unwavering loyalty of her people, if they wish to survive the Spanish onslaught.

While still a drama, this film proved to be much more war-oriented than its predecessor, but I’m not sure it did either as well. I liked the deeper look this film gave us into the Elizabeth’s mind, especially with her social and emotional conflicts. They remind us that she is still human, despite the somewhat cold appearance the first film gave her at the end. She is more mature, and even more prideful, but there’s still a limit to what she can take as a person. I think the first film gave a better portrayal of her complicated mind, but this was a solid continuation of what years of ruling can do. I also liked how much detail they put into Raleigh’s character, which the first film didn’t do as well with its secondary characters. We got to know more about him, even if he did still feel somewhat surface-level. I think the dramatic aspects could have felt more high-stakes than they did, especially for the characters who were actually in danger. Even though so many characters were actively committing treason, I only felt that level of tension with one: Mary Stuart. Her death was particularly elegant and laden with symbolism, and even though I knew the outcome historically the scene still delivered the anxiety it was meant to. The others simply didn’t have the same delivery. Even the assassination attempt didn’t project any kind of concern, regardless of one’s historical knowledge. The war focus was a fairly different take than the first had, which I appreciated. The film established a strong balance between the tensions in England, Scotland, and Spain, and did a good job making the stakes very clear for each group. Given the uncritically positive stance on England that this film takes, I would have expected the film to villainize Spain a little more to form a stronger dichotomy between the two rulers, but Spain was presented rather neutrally to the audience. The Spanish ruler and nobles didn’t have much character, despite being the antagonist. As for that uncritical positivity regarding England, I do have a bit more to say. Although to an extent it makes sense that the film would lean in favor of England, given its content and the point of view from which the story is told, it became overbearing at times. England could do no wrong in this film, despite children dying in battle, indigenous people being humiliated and dehumanized for show, talk about slavery, and a complete disregard for the suffering of non-white and non-Protestant groups. In contrast, the first film heavily criticized England, from Mary of Guise shaming Elizabeth for sending young children to war, to Elizabeth frowning upon Walsingham’s torture methods (granted she never stopped them, but she didn’t approve as readily as she did in this film), and so on. Although England in truth did all of these things without rebuke, the film could have handled it more gracefully and came across less like propaganda, at the very least. 5/10

Loving Vincent (2017)

TW: suicide (action offscreen, death onscreen)

Sensory Warning: movement of the impressionistic paintings can be very disorienting for those with sensory processing difficulties. I had to break from watching multiple times so as not to become ill.

starring Douglas Booth, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jerome Flynn, Robert Gulaczyk

This fully hand-painted animated film follows Armand Roulin, a young man with a severe temper, on his way to deliver Vincent Van Gogh’s last letter to a living recipient. When he reaches the town where Vincent died, he begins speaking to a variety of villagers with their own stories about the artist, and their own theories about how he died. Armand tries to piece the puzzle together, wondering if the death was not a suicide as claimed, but rather something more sinister.

This film was spectacularly breathtaking. The amount of work that went into painting every scene was awe-inspiring, and definitely sets the bar high for any other films of its kind. The team of artists that created this film represented Van Gogh’s unique art style exquisitely through their loving application of oil-based paints, and truly brought to life the emotion he put into his works. I wish I hadn’t struggled so much with the constant movement, as I feel I would have been able to appreciate the film in its entirety better, but as it was I struggled to pay attention to the story because the art style consumed too much of my sensory processing capabilities. As for the story, I thought it was interesting, but I found it lacking despite the incredible artwork. Foremost, after some cursory research, I discovered that the homicide theory on which this film was based was only acknowledge by one individual, and spurned by hundreds of others. Although the film leaves the verdict open-ended, both to Roulin and to the audience, the story itself seemed to lean into the homicide theory, then completely give up on it with no resolution, so it came across as fairly noncommittal. I won’t argue for or against the theory, as I don’t know nearly enough about Van Gogh to assert an opinion, but I’m somewhat unsettled by the amount of weight it gave to it without any kind of evidentiary support, only to dump it as if the writers changed their mind themselves. The pacing was also slow for a murder mystery, which is basically what the story turned out to be. I would much have preferred the film to cover Vincent’s life, or even the days/weeks leading up to his death, instead of only featuring him in other people’s flashbacks. This kind of existential impressionism should capture the life of its creator, not the mundane views of people who didn’t understand him or even hated him. There wasn’t anything wrong with the film, per se, but I wish the writing was given as much love as the art was. 7/10

Part 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

[thenightling]

The several times protagonists have secretly kept slaves

Please note:  This is not a “Call out” post.  It is not meant to shame anyone or tell anyone that their favorite characters are problematic.  Many of these characters come from cultures that are slave based (Ancient Greece / Ancient Nordic / Medical Fantasy) and realistically many of these characters simply would not know any better, in regard to what they do, even though, yes, there were people even in those eras and cultures that were anti-slavery.  

This post is partly to remind us that even otherwise good characters can be seriously flawed and also show how often film and TV writers have written slave portrayals while making careful effort to not call it slavery...

Now on with the list...

1.     Faeries:

Sorry to spoil your view of sparkling pretty pixies but faeries (in folklore) are usually a slave culture.  In most folklore faeries will lure away humans (often children) and promise them immortality as one of them, at the price of their freedom.  Fae have a caste system and usually these humans turned into fae are kept as slaves.

A.   Mab currently owns Harry Dresden in The Dresden Files novels.

B.  In Lost Girl, the character of Lauren was literally owned by the Light Fae, and made to wear a pendant that showed her status as a slave of the Light Faeries.

C.   In the original folklore Puck was actually Oberon’s slave and this is how he is usually portrayed in pop culture.  In some lore he is the bastard son of Oberon and a human woman and Oberon decided to keep him as his slave.  

D.  in Disney’s Gargoyles Puck IS portrayed as Oberon’s slave.  The word “servant” is a favorite stand in for slave in Disney properties but it’s very clear he is a slave.  He wears manacle bracer cuffs similar to the Genie’s in Aladdin, which were the physical representation of the Genie’s enslavement.  

And Oberon literally says (in the Gargoyles episode called The Gathering) “My queen comes and goes as she pleases.   Puck is another matter.  He forgets that he is MINE to command.”  

E.   In the original Midsummer Night’s Dream play by William Shakespeare, Titania and Oberon are arguing over who gets a certain boy and what they intend to do with him.

F.   In Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Titania seduces Shakepseare’s son into eating faery fruit and later takes him as her slave.  

G.  Also in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Titania gives Nuala (a faery woman) to Morpheus to use as a slave.  Morpheus is very reluctant to accept this gift as he does not condone slavery.  

F.  Rumplestiltskin has no qualms about slavery in the TV show Once Upon a Time.  Granted The Enchanted Forest does appear to be a slave culture and Rumplestiltskin is a kind of imp.   So there may be some faery-like instincts even though he dislikes faeries.

G.  The Black Faery in Once Upon a Time keeps child slaves for the duration of their lives.     

H.   The poem The Stolen Child by William Butler Yeats is about a child being enticed away to be a faery.  The fae honestly think it is better to serve as a faery slave for all eternity than to be human.

I. The Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti depicts goblins trying to entice human girls with their enchanted fruit, which ensnare you to them.

J.   In the movie Maleficent, the shapeshifter (formerly just raven) named Diaval promises to be Maleficent’s servant in return for her having saved his life.   Disney has a habit of using the word “Servant” in place of slave, as we established with Puck.  Welcome to another “servant” of Disney lore where the word “servant” is being used in place of another s word.  Much like Puck in Disney’s Gargoyles this “servant” isn’t paid and is seen, by all the characters, as being owned by Maleficent.  Granted, Diaval’s enslavement does seem to be willing.  

He also seems to be in love with Maleficent so this could delve into a whole different kind of enslavement besides the “unpaid servant” version.  

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2.    The slavery in Once Upon a Time:

The Disney Fairy Tale / Soap Opera (It was a prime time drama but that WAS a soap opera.  Don’t be offended by the term.  It was a decent one) aired on ABC from 2011 until 2018.     

A.  There is one off-handed scene where a castle guard mistakes Hook (who is in disguise) as a common slave.  This makes it clear that The Enchanted Forest (at last in Regina’s castle is a slave culture.   

B.  When Rumplestiltskin agrees to help Belle’s father deal with the war in episode 12 of season 1 (Skin Deep), it’s in exchange for his daughter.  Rumple considers her his property. The word “servant” is used repeatedly but this is very blatantly a slave situation until he releases her.    The only argument against calling it a slave culture is that she volunteered for it and her father was paid in the aid in the war.  But that can arguably be semi-willing enslavement and that her father was paid for her.  She was purchased.  Note: He does ultimately release her though.  And he falls in love with her.

Note: Rumplestiltskin, himself, is a slave to whomever possesses the magical dagger that gave him his powers. 

C.   Regina kept Graham (the sheriff of season 1 of Once Upon a Time) as her slave.  Regina genuinely held his heart and could kill him at her whim if he didn’t obey her.  And she did ultimately kill him. The writers downplayed this heavily later when they wanted the audience to see Regina as reformed and heroic.

D.  During the Once Upon a Time musical episode in season 6, Snow White and Charming agree to pay Hook for transportation to Regina’s castle (which they never needed before...)  That payment?  They would give him Rumplestiltskin, whom they held prisoner at the time. 

 Not only is this enslavement, it’s amplified to far, far worse since they were standing right there while Hook was literally singing about planning to skin him alive.  They were giving away someone at their mercy, for transportation they don’t need, knowing perfectly well that he would be killed slowly and painfully.  And they didn’t even falter for a second or think twice about their own plan or have a moment of conscience.  (God, I hate those later seasons...)

E.   The Black Faery keeps child slaves that she raises into enslavement.  Granted she was a villain so this is kind of predictable.  

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3.  Aquaman:

A.  Aquaman is an interesting one.  Thanks to Crisis of Infinite Earths in the mid-1980s this was reconned but there was a storyline in the Aquaman comics where a coup rose up against Aquaman and wanted to instigate a war with another underwater kingdom.  Aquaman thwarted this coup and then... gave all the men involved (and there were a lot!) to the kingdom they almost went to war with, to use at their leisure as slaves...

B.   Atlantis’s culture is based on Ancient Greece with some medieval attributes.  It’s glossed over but this entails slavery.

C.   In DC Universe online, the MMORPG, when you play out “Story mode” there is a mission where The Atlantians are trying to enslave humans in the Suicide Slum in Metropolis. It is true that this is the direct result of Circe manipulating Arthur (Aquaman) but he already had slavers and magical equipment specifically for transforming humans into water breathing merpeople so that they cannot escape their underwater captivity.   

Just imagine the awkward conversations in The Watchtower when the other DC heroes like Wonder Woman and Superman confront him on having an elaborate and obviously long-ready plan for enslaving humans. 

 Note: Another gloomy fact, you never can rescue everyone who gets enslaved and there are simply too many NPCs scattered around the slum.   So you know at least some got taken.

Wonder Woman’s own culture is based on Ancient Greece but as far as I can tell Themyscira does not have slavery whereas Atlantis does.

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4.  Thor:

Let’s be blunt.  Vikings were a slave culture.  Asgard in Marvel comics and in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) seems to have evolved to medieval Europe but it is still a culture of slavery.

1.  According to Marvel comics lore, all the myths are true. There is myth where (after one of the children is tricked into accidentally laming one of Thor’s goats) two farm children are taken as Thor’s “servants” (slaves).  They are made immortal servants of the Aesir (Asgardians) but they’re still slaves.   

2.   In the comics it’s much more blunt that there are slaves in Asgard.

3. There is a deleted scene in Thor (the first movie) where Loki messes with a castle “servant.”  Note: Norse Viking culture almost never had actual paid servants.  Even the Skalds (storytellers) were slaves.)

(Image of a viking Skald AKA a Storyteller.   

4.   In Thor: Tales of Asgard, the character of Algrim (A Drow AKA a Dark Elf), was the tutor of young Thor and Loki.  He is a ‘servant” of Odin and deeply resents his status of unwilling / unpaid “servant” as the Asgardians spin the situation that he was essentially shown mercy and given shelter and position within Asgard (be it an inescapable one.)   This is probably one of the first instances of Marvel dancing around the word slave, which gets poked fun at in Thor: Ragnarok.   

5.  Loki (who is the protagonist of this particular story) sleeps with a concubine slave in Marvel Knights: Blood Brothers.

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5.  The Vampire Marius:

Anne Rice’s writing is no stranger to slavery.   

A.  Armand was purchased by Marius by slavers in the late middle ages / early renaissance period and though he served as apprentice he was owned by Marius, whom he casually referred to as his master.

B. Later, in Interview with the vampire, Armand kept a slave boy of his own, whom slept in a literal gilded cage, and was often used as a snack by the theatre vampires.   It’s believed the boy eventually died. 

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5.   Aladdin:

This one is pretty obvious.  Anyone who owns the magick lamp has the genie as their slave.  This one is actually addressed, more or less, in story.  But the only character who actually uses the word “slave” to describe the situation is the villain Jafar.  Well, at least he’s honest...

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6.   Stardust:

In the novel Stardust (and film adaptation) the protagonist, Tristran (Tristan) attempts to capture the anthropomorphisized star to give to the woman he is infatuated with, as a giftl.  

Even after he learned the star was a sentient human-like being he still wanted to deliver her as a gift.   Fortunately things ultimately turned out very different.  

Tristan’s own mother had been enslaved by a witch.  

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7.  Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

A. Though Morpheus is firmly against slavery he has many subjects who identify as his servants and I do not think there is a method of payment in The Dreaming.  And it’s not as if they can quit.

B.   Titania takes Shakespeare’s son to be her personal slave.

C.  Puck was Oberon’s slave and he escapes from his master during a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream during an issue of Sandman. 

D.   During the storyline, Sandman: Season of Mists, Titania gives Nuala (a faery woman) to Morpheus as a gift.  Morpheus is against slavery and Titania knows it.  The implication is she hopes he will not accept the gift as an excuse for the faeries to see this as a slight against them, as an excuse for retaliation - as at the time various supernatural beings wanted the key to Hell, which Morpheus had just obtained.

Morpheus refused to give Nuala any commands and simply allowed her to stay in the castle.   Later when the faeries came to reclaim her in Sandman: The Kindly Ones, Morpheus enchanted her necklace so that she could call to him for a boon of any kind as payment for her service to him, as a means to make the situation not enslavement.

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 8.   Dracula:

This should be a no brainer but since there are some stories where Dracula is the protagonist people tend to forget Dracula has slaves.  Historically Vlad III of Wallachia did NOT like the idea of the Ottomans taking his own people as slaves but as a vampire he keeps the occasional personal slave, such as Renfield.

Renfield is semi-willing even though he fears his master.  He was promised immortality in exchange for his eternal service as Dracula’s slaves and in some depictions such as Love at First Bite, this clearly is the case.

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[theragamuffininitiative]

☕️ the scarlet pumpernickel concert cast (I gave up trying to get autocorrect to work for me there)

They're doing it wrong.

I'm still super excited the concert is happening but none of the people I imagined for parts got them. I have nothing against any of the people they picked, I actually love them, I just....don't think they're right. And sure, sure, it's a concert and not a full performance but if you've seen any clips of the previous concerts....they do a lot of scenework and characterization and casting is important and they were so good in past years. I hope to be gladly surprised by this one. We'll soon see!

But back to the tea.

I'm just gonna throw out SOME of the dozens of names I've thought of for the principle roles:

I didn't want Norm to be Chauvelin because he's already been Javert and the two characters are similar enough, I just feel like his performance might not be anything new?

For Chauvelin I would have loved to see someone with a commanding presence who is known for their heroic portrayals: Steven Pasquale or Norbert Leo Butz, or someone younger like Joshua Henry (cast him in everything though ok, he probably would be a good Pimpernel too). A little part of me would even say Jeremy Jordan, but maybe I just want to hear him sing "Falcon in the Dive."

As for Marguerite, Laura Osnes can sing/play anything and anyone and slay it and I will adore her, but she wasn't my first choice. Jessie Mueller, Nicolete Robinson (wow the Waitress cast represents), or Jessica Vosk I think all would have been excellent.

If Jessie was M though, I'd need JJ as Percy because Goals....also because I just want to hear him sing "Prayer." I'm a simple girl.

If Nicolette was M, I would want Jordan Fisher to play her brother Armand. And if she wasn't M I might still want him there lol 😊 Edit: ohmygosh Jelani Alladin would also be amazing opposite Nicolette?? I love him, and he does the charming young hero character so well. He and Jordan would do completely different performances but both excellent.

I want Douglas Sills. Give me a Douglas cameo. He deserves it. We deserve it. The Prince of Wales? Ohmyword he would be so great. Not really a big singing role but it would make me so happy.

TSP ensemble alumni Sutton Foster could come back too. I think she'd make a decent Marie, but I honestly don't know that character's performance in the show very well.

Now.

As for Percy.

Do you know the heart attack I had of joy when the first batch of cast announcements for the concert came out and it was a picture and headline of Laura and Corey? And then my utter disappointment that they cast him as Armand - Armand - instead of the lead? Corey Cott I firmly believe would be a Magnificent Percy Blakeney. Think about him belting "Prayer." Think about him nailing that sob at the end. Think about him twirling across the stage in a ridiculous colorful coattails. Think about him dueting with Laura, or Jessie, or Nicolete or Jessica. Think about him dueling Chauvelin. Think ABOUT HIM IN THE DISGUISES PERCY WEARS. KDKSJDBDKD THINK ABOUT HIM SINGING THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL SONG AND BEING SO SILLY AND PRETENTIOUS AND DOING THE /LAUGHS/ OH.MY.WORD.

Ogmskdjskdndkdk I want it so much I'm going to cry about it now.

Uh, so after him, my picks were Aaron Tveit (would. nail. it.) and Santino Fontana (solid Percy, has the chops for it). I was even ok with thinking it would be Gavin Creel.

Anyways.

They did it wrong and I'm pretty sure I will still adore every single second of content I can scrape up of it when it happens.

But yeah. That's the tea.