#die kaiserin (2022)

[archduchessofnowhere]

Straight Ludwig II in RTL Sisi... Homophobic archduchess Sophie in Die Kaiserin... Mayerling kiss removed in newer productions of Elisabeth... They're taking away the gayness from Sisi media...

[isabellaofparma]

Archduchess Sophie (and little Franz Joseph) in Die Kaiserin - 2.06 "Alles was wir tun können"

[wardrobeoftime]

Best dressed Elisabeth "Sisi" of Austria - Vote

I always wanted to do a Best Dressed vote and matching gif sets, and well now the time has come. I've decided to start with Elisabeth of Austria aka Sisi/Sissi because she is portrayed in so many adaptations in recent years.

I'm sorry if I'm missing some but those are the ones I can gif right now. If you know another one, drop it in the comments and I will try to do an honorable mentions gif set of that adaptation as well.

If you want to, you can also drop a comment or reblog including your favourite costume overall.

Examples:

There are gif sets of The Sissi Trilogy, Sisi (2009), Sisi (2021) and Ludwig II (2012) on my blog. Gif sets of dresses from The Empress/Die Kaiserin have been made by @awkward-sultana. Pictures from Corsage and Sisi & I can be found at @sisionscreen.

[sisionscreen]

Devrim Lingnau and Philip Froissant as Empress Elisabeth and Emperor Franz Joseph in the second season of The Empress (2022).

[redrosecut]

I didn't expect it beforehand but I really enjoyed this toxic relationship between Charlotte and Maximilian. Go, doom each other.

[thebluemartini]

Officially became obsessed with "The Empress" series on Netflix this summer, and I ship Elisabeth/Franz so hard!

So of course, that meant I had to write a little fanfic about them, which I've posted over at AO3:

[whatsinanameagain]

Re watching Die Kaiserin for the 3rd time and still can't get over the fact that all these productions "we want a liberal couple that struggles with what people expects them to do, are imperfect but try their best that sadly is not enough" decide to push their narrative into Sisi & Franz when they have Max and Charlotte a.k.a damned couple + good intentions + wrong time + toxic love right there

[follow-me-to-mars]

Heyy!! How did you find franz's character in the empress. Did you feel like they made him too kind and likeable in the series. The hurting himself during the execution was really sweet but i don't think real franz was that compassionate

Hello! It's the first time someone asks me something and I'm very excited about it. Thank you. 🥹

But to answer your question. From what I know of the real FJ, I don't think they have much in common so far. Yes, I feel like the character hints at the workaholism and military training as well as that stoicism, but overall I think he's quite different. Maybe that's what I don't like about the series - it's a bit superficial.

If I abstract from the history, I really like Franz as a character. I didn't expect him to be like this and he just melts me. I hope they don't screw up his character in season two. I have such concerns, but we'll see.

[talksabouttheshows]

Ooh this dress

Melika Foroutan as Sophie Friederike von Bayern in DIE KAISERIN (2022-) 1.02 “Die Ankunft”

[viscardiac]

░ ✧ FACELESS GIFS in DIE KAISERIN (2022)

GIF PACK • By clicking the source link, you'll find a page containing 110 scenario, objects, and general faceless (people with their backs turned, bigger range shots where faces can't be seen clearly) gifs, from the show Die Kaiserin (2022), from season 1. They were made by me, and can be used (creditless) for roleplays & similar personal uses, and (credited) in posted works such as edits/video edits. I don't care what themes you're using them for or if they're "problematic" so long as you're not hurting anyone.If you use this gifpack, please like and/or reblog this post, thank you! Content Warnings • Blinking lights.

Buy me a ☕?

[archduchessofnowhere]

We talk about portrayals of Sisi, but I think that Franz Joseph was, if anything, even more misrepresented by the recent period dramas. How would you rank the portrayals of him you have seen/read (in historical novels)? Is there any piece of historical fiction that actually captures his character accurately?

Hello! YES I always focus on Elisabeth but he is also completely butchered in all these new series. I think I've said it before, but basically it's very hard to reconcile who FJ actually was (both as an emperor and as a person) with him being a love interest we as an audience can root for. Specially in these new adaptations in which Elisabeth is outspoken, mature and actively politically involved in the events of the empire (and not just the Compromise). Why would our Girl Boss protagonist want to be with a man who was bureaucracy made flesh, very conservative, and just kinda boring in general? It doesn't work. Thus, his personality also gets rewritten.

I don't really have a decided ranking, but off the top of my head I'd say these are my least to most favorite portrayals:

Sisi & Ich (2023): Do you hate Sisi adaptations that turn FJ into a horrible, abusive husband in order to make his wife look good? Well, this portrayal does just that. He is only very briefly in the movie but I hated every minute of it, personally I was mostly fine with the movie despite all its inaccuracies but there was one scene from this part that was a deal breaker for me. This movie should've been just two hours of Irma and Elisabeth traveling and nothing else.

Die Kaiserin (2022-): The solution of the screenwriters to the problem of "how do we make FJ likeable?" Basically turning him into his brother Maximilian lol. You see, he has liberal ideas but his evil mother doesn't let him pursue them! Oh, and he had nothing to do with those executions, that was also his mother! In fact everything bad he ever did was all his mother's fault, because he is not even governing, his mother is. By season 2 it almost seems that FJ has absolutely no idea what's going on in his own empire and needs to be explained basic thing like Italian nationalism. This series sanitizes FJ in levels that just aren't seen in any other adaptation, not even the Sissi Trilogy. You are watching the show and can't help but think "who is this guy???". The only thing he has in common with the real FJ is that he loves his wife, but the way their relationship is portrayed is so unlike the real couple that not even that makes him similar to his historical counterpart.

Sisi (2021-2024). This FJ is in the opposite end of the same spectrum as Die Kaiserin's FJ. Season 1 had the original take of not making FJ likeable, but instead they turned him in a borderline cartoonishly evil, violent and smug man. He smiles as he orders executions, he beats his aids for not reason, he openly cheats on his wife and publicly insults her in a fit of jealousy. Honestly I was baffled by this take, because even after all these bizarre changes they still went for a "Sisi and Franz's great love story!" approach for the series. Which was. A choice. They obviously wanted to make him like that so that he could go through a redemption arc thanks to his relationship with Sisi, but it was just not a well written arc, and when his personality does change in later seasons it doesn't feel like earned character grow but simply that the writers decided to tone down their original approach.

Yet I will admit I'm lowkey fond of this portrayal, I liked most of his storyline in season 2 (he spends most of the season bonding with a feral child and also definitely has a thing going on with Andrássy you can't convince me otherwise), and in season 3 I found myself agreeing with him. So yeah, utterly butchered FJ but in an entertaining way at least.

Sissi Trilogy: I'm honestly overall indifferent to this FJ; he is basically the blueprint for every posterior depiction that portrays him as a Prince Charming love interest. Yet, for all the overomantization of Elisabeth's early life, the movies don't shy away from telling us how FJ was directly responsible of the counter revolution executions. We even see how he is still hated in Hungary and Italy (at least until Sissi comes into the scene). A certain show from a certain straming service could learn that it's not necessary to completely sanitize his image and pin all his faults onto his mother to make Franz Josef into a palatable love interest.

Sisi (2009). I feel about this FJ almost the same as I feel about the Sissi Trilogy's FJ, but in this portrayal we do see more of him than just "Sisi's love interest". Also it's not always all the color of roses, he and Elisabeth disagree and fight more than once. His relationship with his brother Max is also really interesting, pity they only interact in like three scenes. Overall a solid take, if a bit romanticized and not particularly remarkable.

Kronprinz Rudolf (2006). Not a bad take but for what I remember they portrayed Taaffe as having this great influence over FJ and putting him against Rudolf. And like no the evil minister was not responsible for FJ distrusting his son He Was Like That.

Elisabeth das Musical: the only depiction on this list that I truly like, and it really proves that the only way to have a good FJ is to not make him into a love interest. He is only a supporting character and yet the musical nails the most important bits of his personality and his relationship with Elisabeth outstandingly well (loved his wife but never understood her, cheated yet still longed for her, let her go but always hoped she would comeback next to him). There's even room to also show his relationship with Rudolfl! The only thing that I don't really like is that they do portray his mother as having a lot of influence over him, but that's mostly because the musical has an outdated take on Sophie (which works pretty well in a storytelling level nonetheless!). Boote in der Nacht is the saddest song in the entire musical, and the musical is not even about FJ and Elisabeth as a couple. Just a great, nuanced and engaging take!

I know I'm missing a lot FJs but these are the ones that came to my mind right now; I don't think I've ever seen Franz Josef in a piece of media that isn't about Elisabeth or Rudolf. Thank you for your question!

[guroseinsei]

10 People I'd Like To Know Better Meme

tagged by @deepdwellingsteamboat 💕

Last Song

Sex and Violence by Scissor Sisters

Last Book

Re-read 'The Posionwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver a while ago. Odd name, ik, but the writing is amazing. I bought 'If Cats Disappeared From The World' by Genki Kawamura last week, i've only read the first page >,>

Last Movie

finally, FINALLY watched 1917 and boy did it hit :).

Last TV Show

Die Kaiserin (2022) [The Empress] - good stuff, its so cute & Kaos (TV 2024) - i was watching them at the same time LMFAO. got bored of one, started the other and vice versa.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory

This is hard 🐈 but definitely Sweet or Savory.

Last Thing I Searched For Online

History of Shinto [trying to plan/write a fic *sobs in its drowning me*]

Current Obsession

I never obsess over just ONE thing so:

-> Winterbaron, Disco Elysium, Glow TV (2017), Ao no Exorcist :3c

Looking Forward To

Moving out next month :"D!

▪︎▪︎

tagging <3: @rinn-e @squerunit @fadinggalaxysalad @alfys-pigeon-house @thebeingofeverything @the-words-we-say @mandalora @ladysawblay @nnoneprobably @pi-ppi @quarkasgod

[wardrobeoftime]

The Empress + Costumes

Charlotte of Belgium's black, green & golden dress in Season 02, Episode 06.

[sisionscreen]

Devrim Lingnau (Empress Elisabeth) behind the scenes of the second season of The Empress (2022).

[redrosecut]

Hello, I'm so sorry to bother you, but I feel insane when I see your posts about "Sisi" aka "The Empress" because you seem to reblog the show "Sisi" and "The Empress" as the same thing and it is driving me nuts because they are(by my research) two different shows.

I promise I'm not because I'm well aware of the difference between both shows since @sisionscreen is actually one of my sideblogs. I usually forget to tag on my main blog because I'm lazy in that regard but when I reblog most creators have the shows written in the description anway. I also just went through my recent reblogs and there is nothing relating to it. Are you sure you mean my blog and don't confuse me for someone else?

However, the last post I made was absolutely about Sisi (2021), the RTL+ show. The fourth season just began to release yesterday and I had watched the first episode.

Both shows just released very close together this year which may or may not have been intentional on Netflix' side. So you might see a lot of both at the moment because both are new.

[thebluemartini]

UGHH I'm doing a man-swoon over here reading 'Bright Star' on AO3! My only complaint is that it's only a oneshot!

@fredderssss Aww, you are too kind! ☺️ So glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for sending me this sweet message. (So sorry it���s just a one-shot though, haha. I just wanted to get them to a happy place and leave them there LOL.) I really wish there were more Franz/Elisabeth fanfics out there!