#literally in a former slave plantation

[ardl]

A hidden path to America’s dinner tables begins here, at an unlikely source – a former Southern slave plantation that is now the country’s largest maximum-security prison.

Unmarked trucks packed with prison-raised cattle roll out of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, where men are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work, for pennies an hour or sometimes nothing at all. After rumbling down a country road to an auction house, the cows are bought by a local rancher and then followed by The Associated Press another 600 miles to a Texas slaughterhouse that feeds into the supply chains of giants like McDonald’s, Walmart and Cargill.

Intricate, invisible webs, just like this one, link some of the world’s largest food companies and most popular brands to jobs performed by U.S. prisoners nationwide, according to a sweeping two-year AP investigation into prison labor that tied hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of agricultural products to goods sold on the open market.

They are among America’s most vulnerable laborers. If they refuse to work, some can jeopardize their chances of parole or face punishment like being sent to solitary confinement. They also are often excluded from protections guaranteed to almost all other full-time workers, even when they are seriously injured or killed on the job.

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #20 – Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

I’ve in theory been a big fan of Bennett for a couple years now, having adored American Elsewhere when I read it. I say ‘in theory’ because I had not actually followed that up by reading any of his other stuff until I happened to see him doing an AMA on r/fantasy and was jolted to go put something of his on hold. The most convenient option was Foundryside so, here we are.

The story follows Sancia, a former slave-turned-magical-experiment who now uses her rather inconveniently always-on sort of object empathy to be a really excellent thief for hire in the hopes of earning enough cash to pay some black market surgeon to make her normal again and then stay quiet about it. That price tag lures her into accepting a job for an eye-watering amount of money from what it clearly one of the merchant houses who rule the city – which she discovers to be an ancient relic, a key that can open any lock. And talk to her. And revolutionize the entire industry of enchanting upon which the city’s fortune and empire are built. She correctly assumes that there’s no way they’re planning to let her live after turning it (him) over, and things spiral out of control from there.

It’s fundamentally a heist story, with all the main action setpieces being about breaking into places and stealing things. And like all good heist stories, the protagonists are totally incapable of winning through anything like brute force, and have to be clever bastards about it – sneaking past guards, not slaughtering them in the night. Those heist sequences are all vividly described and just a lot of fun, almost worth the price of admission on their own.

So this is the rare story where calling it ‘magipunk’ is both accurate and helpful. Which is to say, it is almost literally a cyberpunk story translated into the idiom of vaguely-early-modern fantasy city states instead of corporate arcologies. Scheming oligarchs, overmighty corporate states, miraculous technologies that are only felt by the underclass as news ways of being oppressed and objectified, the works. The most triumphant and hopeful part of the ending involves the founding of a worker’s coop that doesn’t get immoderately crushed. Notably useful and plot-relevant enchanted items include a listening device, trackers, and a powered gliding rig. It’s only when you really get into it that the magic starts feeling at all magical, is what I’m saying – you could translate almost all of this into Cyberpunk 2020 terms in a couple of hours. I think it’s quite fun.

Sancia’s whole backstory – a slave on one of the plantations supplying the city with food and spices, taken as a subject for bloody experimentation in creating perfectly obedient magical cyborgs, surviving and escaping because they got sloppy with occult grammar and reality interpreted ‘be like object’ as ‘be like [INSERT NEAREST OBJECT HERE]’ – is fun on a few different levels. The story definitely leans into a running theme of the reduction of the powerless and subordinate to literal objects and tools wielded by those who control them, both metaphorically and literally. But also there’s an absolutely great beat where she’s explaining her story to the rest of the main cast who are all horrified and disgusted that anyone would do such a thing. To which she reacts very angrily and goes ‘you know that isn’t, like, worse than the whole rest of the chattel slave economy, right? More people get horribly tortured to death as part of everyday operations than creepy magical experiments?”

Sancia as a character is just a lot of fun to spend time in the head of, honestly. Her relationship with Clef (the magical key, the more literal example of being objectified and insturmentalized by one’s masters) is the core dynamic of the first ~half of the book, and it absolutely carries it. Though in the final act it then runs into the very common action/adventure story issue where she starts talking about this guy she’d known for barely a week like a life-long friend she’s shared more good times than she could count with. Entirely forgivable but like, it does stand out.

There’s this whole subtheme of, like, futile misogyny running through the text? It’s never explicitly brought up, and the only character whose actually vocally sexist on the page is the asshole philistine moneygrubbing abusive husband wannabe-coupist you’re clearly supposed to hate. But it’s a repeatedly mentioned point that the culture of enchanting grew significantly more patriarchal in the previous generation (for unstated reasons, possibly just the one epoch-defining genius being a misogynistic ass) and that this was very bad for the career prospects of several major characters. Despite this, important women in the story include a) half the main cast, b) the only competent and attentive head of any of the four merchant houses and c) the enchanting-prodigy wife of aforementioned sexist asshole who turns out to have been feeding him every useful idea he ever had until she could kill him and scoop up everything he’s gathered. This is one of those things that amuses me because it’s clearly deliberate but is never directly mentioned.

This is also one of those books that’s queer rep not in the revolutionary groundbreaking it’s-a-core-part-of-the-tezt way, but in the ‘wow isn’t it great how normal and unremarkable queer representation is now?’ way. Like, Sancia is gay, which is one of remarkably few things about herself she never expresses a single moment of angst, anger or self-doubt about, and she has the sort of C-plot romance subplot every adventure story is obligated to (right down to agreeing to go out for a drink if she survives the last big heist), but with a woman. Her sexuality otherwise basically doesn’t matter. When people ask for queer SFF book recommendations I’m never sure if offering stuff like this is missing the point or exactly what’s desired.

As mentioned, the only other book of Bennett’s I’ve read is American Elsewhere. Which was an absolutely horrible way to set my expectations going into this. Foundryside is fun adventure fantasy, but it has far fewer literary pretensions. The prose is incredibly readable – it’s absolutely a page turner – but that’s basically all it aspires to be. Elsewhere had several different passages I stopped and reread just for the pleasure of it, Foundryside I went back and reread only when I skimmed past some important detail and got confused.

But it’s a really fun fantasy heist story, and the sequel promises to be about a rampant artificial intelligence clockwork djinn which turned against the ancients who made her. So I’m sure I’ll get to it sooner rather than latter.

[naranjapetrificada]

someone: "oh I know, I'll write an OFMD/Good Omens crossover fic in an irreverent style reminiscent of both!"

*implies Oluwande was a former slave*

*makes a casual reference to "the next plantation over" like they're talking about neighboring towns or something equally innocuous*

*refers to a "traumatic experience" young Olu had on that plantation that wasn't slavery related*

*writes about said "trauma" in the same "irreverent" style*

like literally there's a throwaway line about a childhood crush "on the next plantation over" going poorly and that's the trauma

[blueiight]

I was reading your tags to dre's published ask. Do you think while writing about these blood sucking monsters, Anne deliberately made one of them a former slave master? I mean the way this man during his mortal times had benefited by preying on the black race and the reflection of it in his fate where he is now in literal terms an entity who survives by preying on people? Or is it like twilight ( movies) where Jasper's past as a confederate soldeir is just dropped as if it's the most casual thing to shrug away.

( something is up with vampire media and all of them being connected to slave trade my god. Either it is a social commentary or people really do not have any self awarenesses?

i dont know about twilight book or movie to make a meaningful comparison to louis’s book counterpart. i wish i knew. and tbh, its hard to prescribe authorial intent on a dead woman who wrote a sprawling epic of 20+ books for 50 years , especially with shifting perspectives , namely pivoting away from louis to lestat as her MC bc of what fantasy/POV was more interesting to her. but i think in the first book there was some intention there, i cant just say how much. lestat wants to hunt the runaway slaves along the freniere plantation, and louis discourages him from doing it not out of compassion for enslaved people (which would be condescending and abysmal writing for a slaveowning character), but for his proximity to the freniere’s as fellow planters. ive talked about it a lot how its really interesting in the first 2 books that the american planter is created both literally + vampirically by the european aristocrat.. and theyre both parasitic beings in relation to the enslaved people, eventually draining them+ burning the plantation down. iwtv early book louis is resentful of lestat in part bc he thought lestat wanted his plantation, but when he learns who lestat is + where he came from, the power and will he has. hes far more genial to him. its a very dark book, and i think the fact that these characters are so vicious + melancholic is intentional on the authors part. i dont know how much race based chattel slavery is meaningfully explored from the perspective of the slaveowner, but book louis thinking of people in his captivity as fixtures, as creepy ‘things’ more proximate to the supernatural bc of their ‘african nature’ (that had yet to be ‘trained’ out of them) is a very probable, chilling, and haunting perspective of a former slaveowner to take even a hundred and some years removed from it. or if we take it as book louis immersing himself in his perspective @ the time. either way. and its pathetic when fans try to flatten book louis into ‘he was a good slaveowner’ cuz at that point theyre just conflating the movie with the book. i kinda joke that book louis is the vampire it girl bc he was such a terrible mortal LOL. im still indeterminate on the exact mode or purpose, or how much it was just about the aesthetic of gothic horror (re: the earth’s a savage garden). especially bc later books fixate on very discrete modes and metaphors of servitude/subjugation ‘being a slave to the blood’ is a recurring motif running antiparallel with the motif of ‘purifying the african/asian/foreign’ (through ‘admixture’ with the ‘european’) (s/o poacher bro gabi + talamasca bro dave ig) and in later works, theres the cycle of slavery through marius & armand.. marius, whos mother was a slave, purchases armand. chattel slavery took inspo from the romans in the idea of maternal based slave caste inheritance.. idk. idk. ive had very long rambly convos w ppl on here in the past (& im still a bit embarrased abt it) on this, but i think the reasons why fans dont rly get into it is cuz most ppl got into these books at a young age + was just into the cool lore or the queer shit and were able to handwave things as just aesthetic/era/quirky anne things etc. idk.

[reasoningdaily]

Even the most nonsensical idioms in the English language originated somewhere. Some terms, like silver lining and tomfoolery, have innocuous roots, while other sayings date back to the darkest chapters in U.S. history. While these common phrases are rarely used in their original contexts today, knowing their racist origins casts them in a different light.

1. Tipping Point

This common phrase describes the critical point when a change that had been a possibility becomes inevitable. When it was popularized, according to Merriam-Webster, it was applied to one phenomenon in particular: white flight. In the 1950s, as white people abandoned urban areas for the suburbs in huge numbers, journalists began using the phrase tipping point in relation to the percentage of non-white neighbors it took to trigger this reaction in white city residents. Tipping point wasn’t coined in the 1950s (it first appeared in print in the 19th century), but it did enter everyday speech during the decade thanks to this topic.

2. Long Time, No See

The saying long time, no see can be traced back to the 19th century. In a Boston Sunday Globe article from 1894, the words are applied to a Native American speaker. The broken English phrase was also used to evoke white people’s stereotypical ideas of Native American speech in William F. Drannan’s 1899 book Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West.

It’s unlikely actual Native Americans were saying long time, no see during this era. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this type of isolating construction would have been unusual for the indigenous languages of North America. Rather, it originated as a way for white writers to mock Native American speech, and that of non-native English speakers from other places like China. By the 1920s, it had become an ordinary part of the American vernacular.

3. Mumbo Jumbo

Before it was synonymous with jargon or other confusing language, the phrase mumbo jumbo originated with religious ceremonies in West Africa. In the Mandinka language, the word Maamajomboo described a masked dancer who participated in ceremonies. Former Royal African Company clerk Francis Moore transcribed the name as mumbo jumbo in his 1738 book Travels into the Inland Parts of Africa. In the early 1800s, English speakers started to divorce the phrase from its African origins and apply it to anything that confused them.

4. Sold Down the River

Before the phrase sold down the river meant betrayal, it originated as a literal slave-trading practice. Enslaved people from more northerly regions were sold to cotton plantations in the Deep South via the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. For enslaved people, the threat of being “sold down the river” implied separation from family and a guaranteed life of hard labor and brutal conditions. A journal entry from April 1835 mentions a person who, “having been sold to go down the river, attempted first to cut off both of his legs, failing to do that, cut his throat, did not entirely take his life, went a short distance and drowned himself.”

5. No Can Do

Similar to long time, no see, no can do originated as a jab at non-native English speakers. According to the OED, this example was likely directed at Chinese immigrants in the early 20th century. Today, many people who use the phrase as general slang for “I can’t do that” are unaware of its cruel origins.

6. Indian Giver

Merriam-Webster defines an Indian giver as “a person who gives something to another and then takes it back.” One of the first appearances was in Thomas Hutchinson’s History of the Colony of Massachuset’s Bay in the mid 18th century. In a note, it says “An Indian gift is a proverbial expression, signifying a present for which an equivalent return is expected.” In the 19th century, the stereotype was transferred from the gift to the giver, the idea of an “equivalent return” was abandoned, and it became used as an insult. An 1838 N.-Y. Mirror article mentions the “distinct species of crimes and virtues” of schoolchildren, elaborating, “I have seen the finger pointed at the Indian giver. (One who gives a present and demands it back again.)”

Even as this stereotype about Indigenous people faded, the phrase Indian giver has persisted into the 21st century. The word Indian in Indian giver also denotes something false, as it does in the antiquated phrase Indian summer.

7. Cakewalk

In the antebellum South, some enslaved Black Americans spent Sundays dressing up and performing dances in the spirit of mocking the white upper classes. The enslavers didn’t know they were the butt of the joke, and even encouraged these performances and rewarded the best dancers with cake, hence the name.

Possibly because this was viewed as a leisurely weekend activity, the phrase cakewalk became associated with easy tasks. Cakewalks didn’t end with slavery: For decades, they remained (with cake prizes) a part of Black American life—but at the same time, white actors in blackface incorporated the act into minstrel shows, turning what began as a satire of white elites into a racist caricature of Black people.

[mermaidsirennikita]

No but for real can we TALK about how there is some genuinely offensive shit re: the Romani in Kleypas's book that gets a pass, but the in-character stupid line stuff gets cut bc it's the 21st century or whatever. Like I generally like her books, but if there's something to update that should be it!

Yeeeeah dude it really bugs me, ESPECIALLY because I feel like there's really zero excuse. Beyond just "educate yourself Lisa" ... she's aware that her books have "race issues". Because the incident that I'm pretty sure helped kick this off was Hello Stranger getting called out for a racist passage. Her oldest books (which she's essentially let go out of print) have been critiqued re: race. While there are some complex intersections re: race and ethnicity at play with Cam and Kev, I still feel like the fact that she's aware that her books aren't perfect re: race means she has to know those aspects are problematic.

I knew Seduce Me at Sunrise had edits to the moment when Kev kidnaps Win.... and though that's honestly one of my favorite moments in the book, I though maybe the edits were meant to be downplay the kidnapping as Kev's Mystical Rom Dude Ritual moment. Which I don't remember being HUGE in the act itself, but in dialogue, etc. But no! I was just basically taking away the aspects of "ravishing". Which is fucking stupid, lmao. Because in no way could you read the line about "she was going to be ravished" and interpret it as "Kev is going to rape Win". Why? Because we are in Win's head when that happens, and she is literally like "FUCKING FINALLY".

(Personally, I think Lisa unintentionally wrote Win as having a bit of a rape fantasy/CNC fetish vibe, and like... that's fine. People don't like to talk about it, but rape fantasies are among the most common fantasies for women to have, and it is fine, and it is one reason why a lot of people like old school romances, dark romance etc.)

But all the weird shit wherein, for example, Cam will be all "YOU ENGLISH DON'T UNDERSTAND, WE ROM DO NOT VIEW A HOUSE AS HOME" when like, the a good chunk of series revolves around the Hathaways basically doing a massive home reno in which Cam and Kev are both quite invested lmao, stays. The weird asides about Kev's hot-blooded Rom nature stay. (And might I add, lol... Kev seemed a lot more disconnected from that stuff, and one thing I dislike a good bit is that him shedding his inhibitions with Win and letting loose is like, aligned with him letting this Rom aspect of his personality that he'd been denying... free. The shedding of Kev's sexual inhibitions are aligned with his heritage, because in these books Lisa basically uses Roma to suggest "wild, untamed sexuality". And after his own book, Kev is significantly more involved in Cam's "let us help these unknowing English people with our mystical ways" stuff than he was before. Because now that he's fucking Win nasty the way he always wanted, he's like... more... Rom....? I love Kev and Win, but I hate that.)

Lisa is by no means the only historical romance writer who's done this. I think there's a grand tradition in historical writers working around the aughts especially where you get the vibe that they're like "well, I want to acknowledge that poc existed back then, and I want to portray them positively" but they also don't want to invest in deep characterization or push their (let us be real, often racist) readership too far... So it'll be like "here's the hero's best friend, a former slave!" "here's the hero's half-brother, also a former slave because their dad owned a plantation!" (Read a Tessa Dare book that did this, and I can absolutely see what she was going for, but it didn't come off well.) I love Jennifer Ashley's Mackenzie books. I LOATHE The Seduction of Elliot McBride because she tried to incorporate India into the narrative by having the hero like, live there in the past as a colonizer, and be all "India is amazing, here are my friends because I like Indian people more than white people now" (which, woof, but very common at this time) but lmao his buddies were his employees? And also his illegitimate daughter whose Indian mother was DEAD? Like, come on dude.

(Still not quite as bad as the Kerrigan Byrne book wherein the hero is a literal former war criminal whose big kindness was taking the lone survivor of a village he massacred home and making him his valet. But still.)

And I mean, this does continue, which in some ways I view more harshly because there has been years for feedback and critique to accumulate so more recently working authors should know better. Like the Evie Dunmore "hero has a Plot Important Dancing Shiva tattoo except that isn't actually Shiva in any way, shape, or form and also let's throw in a predatory villainous gay man for good measure" book.

And I'm not saying that Lisa's work is as egregious as those examples. I'm not. But none of the above examples are going back and revising their work in minute detail, while missing the most problematic aspects of the work lol.

I'll also be real and add that another huge reason why these edits suck is that... Nobody is saying you can't edit your work. Authors can and should be able to do that. But... It sucks when people don't know that they're buying what is essentially an abridged version of your book, especially when the edits are heavy, as they are with certain books. Someone could've read your book 10 years ago and when they buy it on Kindle now because they finally have an e-reader, they should be able to know outright that they're buying a different version.

[sleepymarmot]

So guess who totally forgot that the Ebonheart Pact only freed Argonians from Dunmer slavery instead of outlawing slavery altogether! Big difference.

Me walking through the House Dres capital and seeing something called "slave quarters": "You mean the quarters of former slaves, right?" Me walking up to a nearby point of interest literally called a plantation: "You mean the plantation where the slaves used to work, right?" Nah.

The owner of said plantation is almost comically evil; halfway through the quest I was like "the Covenant can have this place, actually", and almost as soon as I thought that, she said:

Oh you want some strong Bretons and Redguards here? That can easily be arranged. Some strong Orcs, too. All heavily armed! There's several ships' worth of them not far from here! Many people have died trying to keep them out of Stonefall's settlements, but if you're so eager to have them on your land, be my guest!

It's absurd that the quest has the option to kill the Khajiit leader of the revolt, but not the awful slaveowner lady. I was sure she'd get her due! Especially when the Khajiit cryptically said that he's going to go "apologize" to her. I assumed he'd use the opportunity to murk her, but no, he actually apologized??? The hell.

Anyway, back to the first paragraph: this situation raises a very interesting question (that I'm sure the game won't address). The Argonians are now allies of the Dunmer, including House Dres. This means that they now have to support them and uphold their laws — including the ones regarding slavery. The Argonians are raised to be equal with their former masters, while the Khajiit are now subjugated to the both of them. How do the Argonians feel about this betrayal? How do the Khajiit?

[kamenstranger]

With this new season of Castlevania alleged creepy sex weirdo Warren Ellis was out as head writer, and Clive Bradley was in. Bradley is known primarily as a crime and horror writer, whose works I wasn't too familiar with before this. That, in addition to the events of season 4, left me with basically no expectations for what direction the show would go.

That said, The first episode perfectly sets the stage for the rest of the season. It is efficient without feeling rushed or over-stuffed. It is concise while covering a lot of ground.

We open on Richter being sent away to France for his protection, but in the process, his mother, Julia (Sophie Skelton), is killed by a powerful vampire, Olrox (Zahn McClarnon). Nine years later, in 1792, we find Richter (Edward Bluemel) with this adoptive sister, Maria Renard (Pixie Davies). Maria is a witch and a young revolutionary fanning the flames among the peasants, making her and her listeners targets for the literal bloodsucking cronies of the upper class. Although they pose no threat to our two heroes.

Richter and Maria right off the bat have a great sibling dynamic. While it would be a stretch to call this young cocky Richter level-headed, he has a comparatively cool demeanor to Maria's short fuse. Maria herself is a lot of fun. She is foul-mouthed and rebellious in a "burn the bourgeois" sort of way, which puts her at odds with institutions such as the church.

Still, the two meet with the local Abbott, Emmanuel (Richard Dormer), seeing as one of the attacking vampires mentioned a Vampire Messiah. Although the church is of no help.

After that excursion, there's a slight respite in Richter's domestic life, focusing on Maria and her mother, Tera (Nastassja Kinski). We see that Richter suffers from PTSD nightmares over his mother's death. He's awakened by an attack on the homestead by night creatures, something neither Richter, nor the rest of the household, has experience or knowledge of, resulting in a pretty brutal beatdown.

He's saved by the timely intervention of Annette (Thuso Mbedu) a former plantation slave who can manipulate rocks and metals; and Edouard (Sydney James Harcourt) a revolutionary opera singer. Both were looking for Richter in hopes of stopping this vampire messiah. Elsewhere, Olrox arrives in France to meet this messiah.

As I said, this episode covers a lot of ground. The back story for Richter, supporting characters and their relationships, major events being set up, more supporting characters to explore, and a lot of small character moments. That last one I think is the most important because there is a lot of that sprinkled throughout, along with some quick dialogue that explains small details. For example, when Richter is a child there's a quick line about how Tera isn't a vampire hunter. Richter is talented and has some training, but we see his limitations with the Night Creatures. There's some other stuff too, like Richter not having much thought on the current affairs of a classist system, but finding Maria and her mother good people with good intentions, so he stands by them. He has a good heart, but he perhaps doesn't think much about the world at large the same way Maria does.

Another small but appreciated bit is Annette's spear turning into dust and reforming as plates. You immediately pick up on her metal manipulation ability, and it's nice that Maria isn't the only one with unique magic (that being the Sì Xiàng.) Not to mention this also sets the ground for a much larger world of magic, like say, Richter's Item Crash abilities from the games. And yes, that is a key component because Richter lost his ability to do any magic after his mother's death.

In fact, episode 2 expands on that very thing while also explaining that Annette's powers came from her father's side, leading all the way back to her culture's God of war, Ogun (They don't specify which African Religion.) An inheritance of magic would become a running motif throughout this season. But That's just a small part of this episode.

The real meat of the second episode is the arrival of the Messiah's Emissary, Drolta Tzuentes (Elarica Johnson) to France, and Annette revealing the vampire messiah's name; Erzsebet Bathory. This triggers memories in Maria's mother that she had long kept secret. Tera was originally from Russia, part of a group of speakers helping a small village until they were besieged by vampires. Tera lost her sister to vampirism in the process and was forced to kill her. She fled until she reached France and was taken in by Emmanuel, hoping to leave that nightmare behind.

With their best lead being an Island chateau with nightly parties, Richter, Maria, Annette, and Edouard, skulk out the place in hopes of finding out where the night creatures are coming from. While spying on the partygoers, Annette spots her former slaver, Vaublanc, and nearly loses control of herself. Regardless, Vaublanc still takes notice and things quickly go south. The four flee an onslaught of monsters, but only three make it out. Edouard is overwhelmed and slain in the chaos. His body is brought to the Abbey along with other corpses to be made into night creatures in the cellar.

Unlike the slow methodical smith-like process of the 1400s, the demon forging process has become industrialized. Something I didn't care for much (at first) is that Edouard is turned into a night creature where it's basically just him but with monster appendages. So his midriff and face are perfectly normal. Everyone else turns into these barely recognizable monsters, but you know his features stay intact for future drama. We'll get back to that.

Episode 3 focuses on the group comforting Annette's loss, and her in turn opening up to the group about her past. Seeing her mother killed by Vaublanc, the awakening of her powers, her escape at age 16, and of course her meeting with Edouard. Edouard hid Annette from Vaublanc and brought her to a rebel militia in the mountains where she was trained to use her powers by a Seer, Cécile, and eventually aids in the uprising of Saint-Domingue. Although Vaublanc would of course escape. Annette is obviously very different from her game counterpart and for the better in my book. She's a proactive player here and the backstory given also connects both narratively and thematically to the setting and themes. It's also nice that Edouard gets some backstory laid out because we never really got a chance to explore him before his death. While this is still more in the service of Annette, it's at least something.

A smaller part of the episode is a homoerotic confrontation between Olrox and the Abbott's right hand, Mizrak (Aaron Neil) Olrox seemingly throwing a wrench into their plans for his own gain, planting a seed in the warrior's mind that Erzsebet will cast them aside when the opportunity arrives. Maria also introduces Annette to her revolutionary group, but are attacked by night creatures, Edouard among their ranks. One little twist is that Edouard maintains a degree of consciousness. He turns away from Annette, hides his face, and ends up attacking another creature that goes after her. In that regard, I consider his appearance to reflect that the process of the forge was perhaps flawed in some manner. But we have seen creatures display a degree of independence before, and memories of their past life as with FlysEyes. Whatever the cause, he's carried off with the remaining night creatures, Maria noting that they were heading in the direction of the Abbey.

Episode 4 follows up with Maria and Annette being hell-bent on assaulting the Abbey for answers, although Richter objects to the impulsive nature since they're unsure. Tera instead offers a more subtle approach with an alternate entrance to the cellar. In fact, she knows a little bit too much about the Abbey, something Richter takes notice of.

Olrox is also busy getting answers. From an afterglow chat with Mizrak to secretly investigating the demon forge and its workings. He even chats with Edouard while the Abbot is busy in a meeting with Drolta on their uneasy alliance. Trepidatious though it may be, both see a benefit. Emmanuel wants to purge the revolution for questioning and outright attacking the church. The Vampires want to maintain a ruling class and need a human to forge demons for an army. It's all about the status quo.

Drolta also has some good character bits here. I wouldn't call her particularly deep as a villain, she never becomes as interesting as Olrox. But she is a fun villain. Which, hey, that's more than I can say for her Bloodlines counterpart who was just a witch. You can also tell someone had a lot of fun designing all of Drolta's different looks, she has more outfit changes than anyone else and her aesthetic is fucking great.

All that said, Drolta and Emmanuel cross paths with our heroes, and a big chunk of the episode is a massive fight in the cellar. If you've read my previous Castlevania reviews you know I dislike regurgitating what's on screen followed by "done well" But this is a highlight of the season. We're at the midway point, the threads are starting to come together, and we're ramping things up with an amazing battle showcasing everyone's abilities brilliantly. In particular, we see how dangerous Drolta is. All this with a beautiful vocal performance by Edouard.

Amongst all this action are some story morsels; Tera is horrified at Emmanuel for one- although he does stop Drolta from going after Maria. Put a pin in that. There's also a truly heart-wrenching moment between Annette and Edouard where he begins to remember who she is. And if that wasn't enough, just when we're showing how fucking badass Richter can be with him finally handling night creatures, Olrox makes his presence known. And the utter looks of terror in Richter's eyes upon hearing his voice is so palatable.

The facial expressions this season are truly wonderful. Richter tells everyone to get the fuck out and runs for it, not stopping. And what I love is right after everyone has escaped, Olrox acts completely natural toward Drolta, saying he just got off the boat and the messiah is expecting him.

Ep 5 is split into three parts. One follows a frustrated Annette as she heads out and eventually tails Drolta's carriage until she meets up with Olrox. This segment is largely exposition while also trying to further convince Olrox of their cause. There's a lot of back and forth about rising and falling empires, something both Olrox and Drolta have seen their share of since their Aztec and Egypt days, respectively. It boils down to Drolta considering the natural order of things to be of rulers and subjects. The messiah can supposedly offer a permanent empire for Vampires to rule. After that meeting, and by complete happenstance, Annette ends up running into Vaublanc in the same graveyard. She uses her ability in possibly the most unique manner to trap the slaver in a cage of crosses. And for really no good goddamn reason at all, he gloats about Erzsebet Báthory's plans and her power. How she drank the blood of the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet. Considering she's a solar goddess, all I'm picturing is the time Dracula bit Superman and blew up.

That somehow didn't happen but instead supposedly gave her the ability to block the sun. This ranting goes on until the sun rises and burns the lesser vampire to a crisp. Meanwhile, Emmanuel shows up at Tera's house. It's a similar case of back and forth, how Emmanuel is clearly engaging in horrible sacrilegious acts but he views it as an end justifies the means sorta way. I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here, but this is basically Emmanuel's character for the rest of the show. Becoming increasingly unhinged, but with a touch of self-awareness. His character has this uneasy combination of the deeper he goes, the worse he feels…but he can't stop. You wonder if it will ever be too much. Honestly, it makes for a more interesting human monster compared to the flat 200% evil priests of the previous Castlevania. Oh, it also gets revealed that he's Maria's father. Okay, that's not shocking from an audience perspective, it's painfully obvious what with Tera's comments, history, and the fact that there are only two adult blonds in the entire show. But from the Character's POV, it causes a rift between Maria and her mother.

Richter oddly has the least to do in this episode, yet he is perhaps the most interesting. After bolting and having a breakdown, he wanders aimlessly, gets a bandana from some revolutionaries smitten with his looks, and ultimately winds up at a bar. He's too poor for a drink, although an old man pays for a meal. And this is when things take a surprising turn. A vampire bursts into the bar looking for the old man. Richter reaches for the whip, but the old man has already taken it and quickly slays the vampire with ease.

Playing up an old fan theory, this is in fact Richter's Grandfather, Juste (Iain Glen). This one got me. The moment I saw a long white-haired man I figured it could be, but I was still pleasantly surprised they went there.

Episode 6 is another dense one, with Erzsabet making her horrifying arrival to France. Edouard meanwhile begins talking to fellow night creatures, one of whom, Jacques, recalls attending Maria's meetings. Speaking of, Maria visits Emmanuel in hopes of swaying the Abbott away from his path. I guess you could say she's presenting the choice of what sort of father he wants to be. I admit, it's slightly jarring that Maria would extend this offer in the first place given her utter disdain prior. I guess she wants to give the benefit of the doubt, but she's not exactly had a longing for a father figure as part of her character. Sure, she thought her father was dead until now, but it feels more like something thrown in so Drolta can secretly take notice and set up events for the finale. In fairness, Maria is impulsive, so I guess in that regard it still works. But… yeah I'm still iffy on it as a plot point.

Thankfully, the main core of this episode is much better by being centered on Richter and Juste. We learn why there was such dissonance with his daughter, and why he's kept away from Richter, how he became so broken. Juste once was the most powerful magic user of the Belmonts, the whip was almost secondary to him. But his wife Lydie and his best friend Maxim were both killed by a vampire. After that, he lost his magical touch. He lost hope. These tales of woe are cut short when elite vampire warriors sent by Drolta assault the duo, chaining Juste and separating Richter from the whip. Richter is restrained and prepared for execution. But something happens to Richter. A burning desire to not only live, but to protect the people he loves. That fire inside him grows and becomes literal.

What follows is less of a fight and more pure elegant destruction. Richter burning, freezing, and stabbing all the night fiends. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention this is backed with the one game cover for this season; Divine Bloodlines. Which is just exquisite. Beyond that, I just love this bit of character. Richter's strength, and consequentially what makes him contrast with Trevor and more directly Juste, is how he channels his trauma into something positive.

However, do not let the above distract from the fact that Olrox gets his own spotlight finally delving into his motivations. After all, he was once part of a great kingdom until the Spanish arrived. Does he see Erzsabet as just another god king which fools have pledged themselves to? Perhaps. We also get some insight into the lover Julia killed. A Mohican man who fought in the Revolutionary War, only to have his home stolen by those same people. The only thing that changed was who the colonizers were. But lest you think that makes Olrox too sympathetic, the only reason he lost his love is because he was turned into a vampire. Mizrak actually confronts him on this, asking if a choice was even granted. Of course, Olrox was too selfish for that.

Ep 7. Our penultimate episode, unsurprisingly, is mostly set up for the finale. Although a great deal is simply low-key character interactions, like the fallout between Maria with her mother over Emmanuel.

Richter also returns to the trio and has a nice quiet scene with just him and Annette, Richter apologizing for abandoning them and promising to help rescue Edouard. It's really the only scene the two have leaning into there being something between them, Annette admitting she was more worried about him than she wanted. It's rather cute and I love the subtle blush on Annette. But there's no time to kindle that spark. The four must prepare a full assault on the Abbey.

Less low-key is Erzsabet's plans being fully laid out. Olrox is nothing more than a servant to pay Erzabet tribute by conquering the Americas on her behalf. This submission is not something he takes kindly to, but he has little choice. Speaking of submission, Emmanuel is expected to do just that for the new messiah. A sacrifice of something dear to him; Maria.

As our heroes begin planning their attack on the Abbey, Maria voices concern over what could happen to Emmanuel. But as Tera bluntly puts it: he made his choice. Before they can continue, they're interrupted by an unlikely source, Olrox, who drops off Emmanuel's infernal tome. While this leads to a whole excursion, the gist is really quite simple; Olrox can't afford to get too involved with this subversion, Erzsabet is far more powerful than any know, and the Demon Forge can only be handled by humans. Whether or not they trust Olrox is irrelevant, this is their best bet at dealing a blow before Erzsabet can build an army.

That night, as Tera reads over the tome, Maria sneaks out and heads for the Abbey, hoping to give her father one last chance to have a change of heart. But it's to no avail, his mind is thoroughly poisoned and Maria is captured, breaking the last straw for Mizrak.

The following day, Tera figures out the solution to dealing with the forge, but it won't be easy. Destruction isn't possible, the only solution is sending it back where it came from; Hell. Annette will be needed to quite literally push the entire machine through a portal. Just as their plan is formulated, Mizrak arrives, warning them that Emmanuel is preparing to kill Maria. As they hurry to the church, the sun is suddenly eclipsed.

Erzsabet, true to the rumors, can call forth an eternal night.

This brings us to the season finale in episode 8. The four arrive in time to save Maria from the crazed holy man. Annette heads down to take care of the forge and also free Edouard, although he prefers staying with the night creatures, two of whom have regained their sentience and even protect Annette.

As Tera reads incantations to summon the portal to hell, Drolta and a small squad of vampires arrive at the church for Richter, Maria, and Mizrak to take care of. One thing for sure is that Drolta is a force to be reckoned with. Their previous fight was during the day, but now she's at full strength. Maria is giving it her all, and Richter is no slouch with his new magic. He even gets a few good licks in with his ice whip.

But things change when Erzsabet arrives. She has since transmogrified into a Sekhmet lioness appearance, and she is immensely powerful. None of the attacks launched at her can even make contact. Not Maria's guardians, not the whip, not the elemental magics. She casts everyone aside and heads right for Maria, which causes Tera to lose focus and close the portal. See, Emmanuel misunderstood. Bathory wasn't looking for a blood sacrifice, she was looking for someone to turn. Tera intervenes and begs to be taken instead of Maria. After all, she's a speaker and would be a powerful minion to have. Bathory accepts. I want to take a moment and say Tera's fate hits surprisingly hard. She's not the deepest character, we don't spend a great deal of time on her. But she's prominent enough to leave an impact. A flawed individual with the best of intentions and ultimately a good heart. I do want to give mention to Nastassja Kinski's performance, which is her first voice role. She gives Tera this soft-spoken kindly forlorn inflection that perfectly matches her complicated past. And to see that character turned and suddenly become this ravenous beast, feasting like a combination of starving infant and strung-out addict… it's beautifully sad. This is a show full of contrasts and Tera made a great contrast to Emmanuel, more so than Maria, I think. I don't believe Tera was under any illusions like Emmanuel. Her sacrifice isn't going to spare Maria, but it buys everyone enough time. Conversely, Emmanuel would give up anyone else with the assumption it would be worth it, even as it broke his heart. And make no mistake, his heart is breaking during this moment.

With the situation at its worst, the four make their escape as Drolta and her minions give chase. Drolta closes in on Richter, lunging after him.

Only to be met by a familiar sword. Understandably an elite vampire being taken out followed by a guy claiming to be the son of Dracula causes the rest of the vampires to flee. Alucard turns his attention towards Richter, hoping that he isn't too late. And that is one hell of a season finale. Goddamn.

If it wasn't clear by now. I thoroughly enjoyed this season. There are a few issues I have, mostly small and nitpicky stuff. But things are fairly damn solid and I don't have much major to complain about. One thing I do see criticized is some of the dialogue being "Cringy." It's not as bad as I had seen made out, but there are undeniably some dorky-ass wince-inducing lines. Some try too hard to be inspiring or funny. One example would be Richter going on a speech as his powers awaken and saying he was "gonna have a witty line… but fuck it." It just doesn't come off as earnest. I get the feeling that it's trying to evoke Ellis' form of vulgarity and irreverent humor- which itself sometimes fell face first. But there's nothing in here even close to "Eat shit and Die. Yes, fuck you." or "See? God Hates me." Nocturne thankfully avoids trying to be too much like its predecessor and is better for it. Although its own quirks occasionally stick out, it's nothing that ruins the moment. Probably the worst it gets was Annette's speech to the revolutionaries which isn't even a paragraph and about as inspirational as Marshmallow fluff is nutritious. Maria's overly enthusiastic reaction only highlights the lame awkwardness. Fred Hamton this was not. I suppose on a related note, it is worth talking about the themes of the series. The most notable of all these is how it interprets Vampires among the aristocracy, literally feeding on the lower classes. Not an original take by any means, but one that works and is great for the setting. Perhaps the most criticism I can levy towards Nocturne when it dips into the various class systems at play is how little it actually gets to delve into them, despite how constant they are. It does raise some interesting ideas and points, such as the uprising in Saint-Domingue, or how Olrox's Mohican lover was turned against by the Americans. It presents this idea that there are those that will always see themselves above others and the French Revolutionaries aren't really going to give a shit once all is said and done. A slave is beneath a peasant, an Indian beneath a colonist, a night creature beneath a human, a human beneath a vampire, and so forth. But as prevalent as that is, I don't think the series ever takes full advantage of those elements. The parallels are just that, parallels. Something repeated but never expanded upon in a meaningful way. Look, I'm in a post-Black Sun world. I realize nothing is going to compete on the totally radical scale by comparison. Still, while Nocturne is far from toothless, it doesn't have as much bite as it could. I will give credit to Olrox. I think he's the most interesting of the bunch in how these systems affect his compass. Driven away from his homeland by Conquistadors, his lover was driven from his by revolutionaries. Olrox himself is now part of a system of power- and yet he is still subjugated as nothing more than muscle to a more powerful figure within that system… who wants him to colonize.

As for everyone else… Man, this is a weird situation. For Richter, I don't think there's much that hasn't already been covered. I like his character and what they do with him. It's a fairly typical young hero journey, one that just got started in a lot of respects. He overcame is trauma, got his power back, and was met with something far stronger. He has quite a ways to go and more to learn. I think it's safe to say that applies to Maria, too. Perhaps even more so because she lacks a character-focused episode that doesn't center on her family. She was fine overall, but I'm more looking forward to the next season and the fallout of losing her mother to a fate worse than death, how that affects her, the relationships around her, and perhaps channeling it into becoming more powerful.

Curiously, Maria is down an animal buddy throughout this entire season. I'm not counting the doves/owls because I'm fairly certain they were considered redundant with huáng. But Shenlong is noticeably absent and I can only assume that's going to be Maria's big upgrade in the next season. I hope the same is true for Richter. As much as I appreciate seeing them get clever with the ice and fire abilities, I want to see things I associate with him specifically. The closest we get is the flame whip and a pseudo grand cross. Have him throw a bible and the page cut like razors or stick like Fulu talismans, 1,000 blades, hydro storm. Make that a part of him getting stronger, going beyond the traditional magic, and perhaps tie that in with some character stuff with Annette as their relationship blossoms. (As an aside. I can't help but think Tera being turned into a vampire is perfect setup to make the whip into a proper vampire killer ala Lament of Innocence.)

To give more credit where it's due, I also appreciate what's done with Annette by incorporating wider cultural elements into the setting, in addition to still being something that's a major part of her background. I'm hoping for more stuff with Annette next season because I feel aside from her origin tale she's easily overshadowed by Richter's journey feeling more full. Plus it's perfect opportunity to set up a family dynamic with the three.

Getting back to the magical angle, I also love that Erzsabet takes on a second form in relation to a God. That's very much in tune with how in the games Dracula could assume a form like Pazuzu. Likewise, Olrox can turn into a giant serpent, which is a nice twist on his lizard form from SOTN while giving some Quetzalcoatl-like qualities related to his own background. Hmm, that's another Sun God like Sekhmet…

But a lot of what I'm talking about here is setting and background stuff around characterization. And also shit I'm expecting/wanting next season because I've already covered most of the characters. Well, that, and as efficient as the story is, it does leave me wanting more. Which, yes, is a great thing. I enjoy these characters and want to spend more time with them. I feel it's at least appropriate enough to leave off where we do. But there is still a nagging part of me that hates that we have horribly short seasons with this franchise. As wonderful as the writing is at balancing the narrative and characters for a streamlined experience, it's still in the single digits. We only have 8 roughly 25 minute episodes and I struggle to say more than a few unique blurbs about any one character because of that short run. The plus side is they use every bit of that run time well, it's remarkable how much is done in that time. The downside is "barely scratched the surface" is a phrase I can apply to most of the cast. Richter is truthfully the only one with a proper fulfilling arc that still leaves room for growth. Annette sorta gets a spirit journey about using the full strength of her ancestors and forgiving Richter, but that's kinda it. Maria has some character stuff with her family, but it's not a journey in the same way as the others, despite the personal nature. We're going to have to wait until next season before deep-diving on Maria and Annette. To say nothing of Mizrak who barely has a speaking role. The more I think about it, the more I wish this was 3-5 episodes longer just to sink those claws in more. It almost feels like a show that is the best case scenario for when you cut out all the fat. As it stands, I'm still appreciative of what was done. 8 episodes were ordered and they did the best with those restrictions, that much I believe is certain. Maybe it's best to focus on what is rather than what could be, and what we got is still damn good.

Also damn good is the animation this season. So this is going to be a pretty sort section because I'm limited to 30 photos and I've got 4 other reviews talking about the animation in Castlevania. One thing I have to point out is that Netflix and many others are calling this an anime, despite the fact that outside Japan the term typically refers to animation which is at the very least produced by a Japanese studio. We won't get into the semantics of how that applies if the actual animating is outsourced to South Korea (Which Studio DR Movie is) Or the nuances of how styles have intermingled for decades. Honestly, I don't really care all that much. I'm just pointing it out because I find it hilarious that a show partly handled by a studio based in Austin, TX gets slapped with the Anime label because, and let's be real here, they're too insecure to call it a cartoon or animation outright. That's the only reason. Amazon does the same damn thing with Invincible, which is just embarrassing in my eyes. If the HBO Spawn was made today they'd be trying to do the same shit with that… especially since that was partially handled by Studio Madhouse… who outsources to DR Movie.

Anyway, we've got yet another change up this season with animation moving from Tiger Animation in Season 4 to the renowned DR Movie. Chances are you've seen their work somewhere before, as they're pretty big in both the Japanese anime and Western animation scene. They've done everything from the in-between shots on JJBA Diamond is Unbreakable, to additional work on the 2010 Young Justice series.

Of course, that's not to say they handled all of this. After all, Powerhouse Animation has been at this since the first season in 2017, and are damn impressive in their own right. If you've seen the Sonic Frontiers and Superstars animations, that was them.

While the gap between this and Season 4 isn't massive, the uptick is still very noticeable. Fights in particular stand out more with a strong sense of choreography to the battles. There's a good use of the environment with impactful kinetic energy. Shading and lighting are probably the best it's been, and at no point was there a glaring instance of what could be perceived as "corner-cutting." It's frankly gorgeous and perhaps the best so far.

What I have a harder time commenting on is the music, and man, I always feel trepidatious talking about Music in the animated series. Comparisons to the games are inevitable, and those have some of the most rockin' iconic beats of any game series. The show typically only has one game track represented per season, if that. Yet I also feel that's disingenuous to Trevor Morris and (this season) Trey Toy, who do great work. Yet often times it is very atmospheric and more subtle, which I have a hard time conveying that, aside from asking if you like Castlevania IV's approach. What I can say, aside from the obvious choice of Bloonelines, is that Lamento della Ninfa is the standout track this season. It's used a couple of times, mostly in the Abbey, and it is a truly beautiful piece that complements the battles yet is still a great track divorced from the context of the scene at play. I also feel bad saying that because it, like bloodlines, is a preexisting track. In this case a Claudio Monteverdi composition.

Since we're on the subject of vocals, I might as well talk about the voice acting. It's good. I mean what the fuck do you expect? We're on a sequel to a 4 season show, of course, they're going to get that right. I will say it's surprising that not a lot of the cast have voice-acting credits prior to this. Some have one or two, for others this is their first VA role, and they all do a damn fine job. Less surprising is that Zahn McClarnon is one of the stand-out performance to me. He is the most experienced of anyone in the cast, and ironically it's the role showing the least variety. But I would say it's the most complicated because Olrox has a very subdued, practically emotionless delivery. To impart that sense of control over oneself without being stereotypically monotone is remarkably difficult for a lot of performers. I can hear Olrox and immediately pick up he's weary from all the shit he's seen. Every now and then you'll get something dry and cheeky, or a cold threatening aura peeking through the unnatural calm.

The other standout is Sydney James Harcourt. As far as I'm aware, this is his first VA role. He is primarily a musical performer on and off Broadway. And yes, that means when Edouard sings, it's still Harcourt. So that amazing rendition of Lamento della Ninfa is him.

Final Thoughts.

Castlevania Nocturne quelled most of my fears about the series continuing on, and in some areas showed itself to be far more nuanced and interesting than its fore bearer. There are still critiques I have with the show- it seems an absurdly short season is a reoccurring issue with this franchise. But I can't deny that few shows can do so much in so little. I've seen 43 episode series do less with their characters, so make of that what you will. Whatever issues I have with the episode number, I'd rather them set up and wait than try to tackle too much in a season that clearly doesn't have the time. My only real concern going forward is Netflix's abysmal practices fucking the show over. Ya know, is it going to take a third season to get some characters a satisfactory amount of development?

Regardless, I can say that Nocturne's first season feels refined, and frankly more mature. It never goes above the means given to it, and despite some stumbles, it's not overly ambitious or clunky. Nocturne knows exactly what it wants and gets to it in the shortest amount of time. If season 2 can continue that trend remains to be seen. I'm at least confident the series is in good hands.

As always, thanks for reading, and reblogs are always welcome. You can find me on Bluesky @kamenstranger.bsky.social I have a Ko-fi if you'd like to throw a dollar at me. Happy Halloween!

[irimarzz]

thinking about the white tiktoker I saw who bought a fucking plantation and was acting like it was so quirky and then showed LITERAL SLAVE QUARTERS and called it a "arcadian cottage 🥺" be so fucking for real. if ur gonna buy a plantation at least treat it with respect or better yet DONT LIVE ON A FORMER PLANTATION???. christ almighty.

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

While doing other things, I’m half-watching a 60′s cowboy show that I have deeply, deeply mixed feelings about-- under the cut for length and for my unstructured babbling about racism in 60′s TV.

As with many 60′s cowboy shows, it asks you to sympathize with a character who was once a confederate soldier and plantation owner... but also one of the main characters is the literal first ever Black lead in a western, and he’s really fantastic? And the whole premise is that they team up as bounty hunters, which is an exceptionally uncomfortable concept, but they also don’t exactly just hand-wave their partnership as easy or comfortable, either? It’s a very odd mixture of 60′s “racism can be solved easily through contact between races” naivete, total obliviousness to the rancidity of its concept, and very earnest attempts to punch above its weight emotionally and thematically.

Like. Frankly, the central “former slave and former confederate become partners” conceit damns the entire show from conception. It *wants* to be a treatise on how even the worst kind of racist can change (and therefore YOU, WHITE VIEWER AT HOME IN 1968, CAN *TOO*), but how well it succeeds at that kind of depends on whether one can believe the main white character in any way at all deserves an opportunity at redemption. (Is it better to believe anyone can change and attempt to atone, or are some things-- like owning a fucking person-- sins so abhorrent that the only absolution is death? Or, to put it differently-- is there a good reason to tell this story and not a story about someone who wasn’t a confederate?)

Both of the lead actors are excellent, and you do genuinely get the sense they felt they were doing something really positive. They have excellent chemistry (which... in and of itself is kind of. Hmm. Should they have excellent chemistry??) The writing is surprisingly thoughtful and consistently willing to bluntly address racism without perpetuating it (and doesn’t shy away from pointing out that the main white character is still racist because he lives in a racist society even though he likes the main Black character and has chosen to change and learn to be a decent person.) The episode I’m currently watching gets into how the “states’ rights” clause in the Emancipation Proclamation kneecapped any so-called countrywide emancipation, and has a long and serious conversation between two former slaves about how things have and haven’t changed for Black people in the United States. They connect over shared traditions, their mutual attraction is treated as beautiful and important, they’re given the bulk of the plot and important dialogue in the episode, and their romance is treated with gravitas. The lead actress in the episode has a whole speech about how it’s incredibly difficult to learn how to be a whole person when your life hasn’t ever belonged to you before. I can’t think of a lot of other shows from 1968 that did that...?

And yet! I can see why this has never been released on home media, and why it was cancelled after one season. It’s a fascinating piece of television history, but not really a show I can heartily recommend.

[semper-legens]

56. The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

Owned: No, library Page count: 366 My summary: Cora has been enslaved on a cotton plantation for all her life. But thanks to a few poor choices, she finds that her life is in even more danger than her fellows. One of the men on the plantation swears he has an escape route - the mythical Underground Railroad, which can lead runaways to the Promised Land in the North. But escaping the plantation is just the first part of Cora’s long journey to freedom. Will she ever find true safety? My rating: 4/5 My commentary:

I'd heard about this book before I read it. It just seemed to crop up everywhere, enough that its presence on the shelves everywhere I went inspired me to actually pick the thing up and give it a read. But while I'd heard about this book, it wasn't in enough detail that I knew much outside of its premise - in 19th century America, the Underground Railroad is, instead of a route out of slavery, a literal railroad running underneath the country trying to get enslaved people to safety. Which was an intriguing enough idea in itself. But beyond that, I didn't know much; my preconceptions were entirely based on that concept. So let's see how the rest of the book panned out!

Cora is our main character, an enslaved woman who is the daughter of a runaway, and became an outcast for it on the plantation in which she was held. She later runs away with the help of another enslaved person named Caesar, as well as the agents of the Underground Railroad. Cora's life is informed by trauma, both the horrors she was subject to on the plantation and the things she experiences on the road to freedom. She is given moments of respite, months spent in reasonably friendly places, but her life of running and hiding is obviously hard. She's a character with a great sense of resilience - you'd have to be resilient to be a fugitive - but she still has her moments of vulnerability, desperation, and being overwhelmed. I like how stubborn she is, how she refuses to compromise and buckle under to how people expect her to be, like in South Carolina when she refuses the doctor's pressure to become sterilised even before learning the greater context around his requests. She's a very credible image of a woman in her position.

This book has a really weird relationship with reality. Other than the titular Railroad being a literal rather than figurative railroad, this book aligns with reality perfectly, at least as far as I am aware from my admittedly limited reading. References are made to real abuses done to both enslaved and free black people, albeit not all in this time period. For example, the first place Cora and Caesar go to in South Carolina has the government own escaped enslaved people, but employ them and provide medical care. Cora finds out that they are forcibly sterilising women and using men as test subjects in an experiment to test for syphilis treatments. I don't know what period the former was happening in, but the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was in the 1930s to 70s. This isn't a criticism, however, just an observation - it's interesting how Whitehead takes real experiences and fictionalises them, conflating centuries of abuses directed at black people and creating a world that both reflects real historical experiences while still crafting a distinct world.

And, yes, this book is brutal in its depictions of the horrors of slavery. As it needs to be, really. You can't talk about how terrible slavery was without mentioning children being ripped from parents, the inhumanity of slave catchers, the ugly bigotry shown towards black people. Cora ends up in North Carolina, where black people are illegal and any found in the state will be violently and ritualistically murdered. She spends months cooped up in a tiny attic space, hidden from the world - reminiscent of Jewish people hiding from the Nazis, but also of Harriet Jacobs hiding from an abusive enslaver. When violence erupts, it is sudden and startling - the moments of relative peace in Cora's life provide a chilling contrast to the sheer brutality on show here. It's an impactful book, but not an easy one to read by any means.

Next up, some tales for queer teens.

[careerarm2-blog]

June 1 - Charleston

Another beautiful, sunny day. Pleasant temperature with a slight breeze.

Today we went to pick up our rental car. Instead of buses, we went by Uber. Much easier and faster.

First stop of the day was Ashely River Road where many plantations were originally located. All were involved in rice cultivation, done mostly by slaves or as they are called now “enslaved people”. This was a hard crop to raise, involving water, moving in and out, sickness like malaria and wild animals like alligators and poisonous snakes killing the workers. Most of the south Caroline’s plantations weee burned to the ground after the civil war. The rice known as “Carolina Gold” was grown here and literally made the plantation owners very wealthy. After emancipation, many of the former enslaved people stayed working there as they had no other place to go.

The first plantation visited was Drayton Hall which is under the preservation by historians. The tour of the house was quite interesting and is has. It been modernized at all. The gardens have many different plants, especially oaks with Spanish moss.

[thedalatribune]

© Paolo Dala

Amazing Grace, Amazing Story

Slavery. In the 15th Century, European Powers began conquering land and people overseas until was mostly under European royal rule... the British Empire was the largest one the world has ever seen.

In 1665, they invaded Jamaica and turned it to the newest jewel in their empire. The set up the Royal African Company (1660-1752), which would go on to ship more enslaved African people to the Americas than any other single institution ever. Starting with Charles II all the way to King William III, the British Royal Family had a monopoly on the entire slave trade. They profited off kidnapping human beings, transporting them across the world, and selling them to plantation owners as free laborers.

"Colonialism and enslavement were integrally tied to the monarchy, a kind or racist ideology of conquest. The whole business of empires was about gathering subjects across the globe." (C. Cooper, 2021)

...The Royal Family had been key early investors in the slave trade, but it grew into one of Britain's biggest industries trafficking nearly 3 million people...

Rosario Dawson Explained [Royalty, S03E02]

Slavery in Britain was abolished by a statesman named William Wilberforce (1759-1833). And what's amazing about his story is that there was a time when he almost quit...

William Wilberforce came to a point where he felt hopeless about abolishing slavery and he wanted to quit the Parliament. He was a devout Evangelical Christian. His plan after politics was to become a preacher. So, he decided to visit his close friend John Newton. John Newton was not only his close friend for advice. He was also a former slave trader who became a preacher and the hymnist known for writing Amazing Grace.

Wilberforce went to Newton and shared his plans of becoming a preacher like Newton, but to his surprise Newton did not agree with his plans. Instead, Newton discouraged him to quit the Parliament to become a preacher and encourage him to keep fighting for the abolition of slavery in England.

Wilberforce took his Newton's advice and kept the fight. He campaigned against slavery for more than 20 years until his retirement in 1825 and the rest of his life.

Slavery was not abolished when he retired, but his the work he started did not stop in his retirement. Finally in 26 July 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act was passed, three days before William Wilberforce died!

Lord Charles Fox, William Wilberforce's colleague in the Parliament, said of Wilberforce:

When people speak of great men, they think of men like Napoleon - men of violence. Rarely do they think of peaceful men. But contrast the reception they will receive when they return home from their battles. Napoleon will arrive in pomp and in power, a man who's achieved the very summit of earthly ambition. And yet his dreams will be haunted by the oppressions of war. William Wilberforce, however, will return to his family, lay his head on his pillow and remember: the slave trade is no more.

Quite a legacy for someone who almost quit... And as I reflect at William Wilberforce's story, I realized that we must always have caution when it comes to God's calling. You really have to be careful and pray hard when your trying to find your calling.

When William Wilberforce went to his preacher friend John Newton asking Newtown's opinion on his plans of leaving the Parliament for the pulpit, at face value, the most obvious thing for Newton to do is affirm Wilberforce's desire. I mean if someone comes to you and asks you what you think is a call from God, working in the corrupt world of government or going full-time in the ministry, you'd be accused of being a heretic if you're for working for the government over the church.

With God's guidance, John Newton was able to give the right advice for the situation and the rest is [literally] history.

[rauthschild]

The 14th Amendment Negro Slave vs. White Negro Slave.....

The fact of the matter that there are two Presidents: (1) British Territorial United States, Incorporated (2) Vatican Municipal United States, Incorporated, is beside the point.

As "Commander in Chief" --- an office unique to the British Territorial corporation dba "the" United States of America, Incorporated, Trump can remove his "State "of" Georgia" (>British Federal State: Title 5, U.S.C.S. § 1501(2)) RICO Criminal case to Federal Court, he can remove the Civil Rights granted to "Persons" in his employment during any declared "Emergencies" as a condition of that employment. See, e.g., Below Federal Statutes.

As most of these employees are under contract, and they fail to sue for the fraudulent and undisclosed nature of these contracts, they are in the status of an Indentured Servant due to their Tour of Duty Agreement.  If they truly knew that they were being used as cheap mercenaries, maybe more of them would sue? 

As it is, they stay at their posts....in a form of peonage.  

It is truly repugnant, Justice Clarence Thomas.  The lies, the corruption, the elitism, and the hate is thick as a brick and has been since before the Civil War. 

And please note, it was the Democrats who did all of this --- the Fourteenth Amendment "citizenship", the phony courts, all of it.  And Lincoln was a Black British Bastard in the Lord Mayor's pocket the whole time. 

His Emancipation Proclamation liberated the Black British Southern Plantation owners from their legal obligation to provide food, clothing and shelter to their African and Caucasian slaves.  

The 13 Black British Colonies slave owners were the ones who were "emancipated".  Not the people who worked for them.  

In Star Wars, Episode I, AnaKim Skywalker a.k.a. Darth Vader represent the Slave(s) who eventually destroy virtually, i.e., all of the former masters [> those of the Republic] and who in return is destroyed and saved by his seed, Luke, Skywalker, who was mixed with the bloodline of the Republic.

This negative Karma lead to the Civil war [clone Wars episode II, or artificially created people fighting for freedom] to set Caucasian White persons free but instead of freeing the Slaves it enslaved the amalgamated free people by the ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendments, and the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Slave holding Corporate States were defeated and the property> Negro white persons was seized and transferred over to the Federal Corporation United States for Management.

These Caucasian Negroes did not have a citizenship and the Masonically guided United States Representatives did not allow them to be Congressionally Naturalized in accordance with the United States Constitution, Art. 1, Section 8, Clause 4 of the “Original 1787 Constitution” (Also see, Art. 1, Section. 9, Clause 1, esoterically terminating White Negro Slavery by 1807-08), not to be confused with the British Territorial Colonial Federal 14th Amendment Constitution Naturalization of 1868, that is, 81 years later.

Accordingly, the term Emancipation comes from the Latin word amancipatio and literally means, "to transfer or make over property" (See, e.g., Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, 1960, p. 212).

The word Property also means Rights and Slaves do not have rights, however, Preamble Autochthonous “original people” > natural born Citizens who are NOT delivered over to by way of the Federal 14th Amendment adhesion contracts do possess, all Preamble Rights afforded by the “Original 1787 Constitution,” contrary to the 1789 British Territorial United States Constitution and 1790 Vatican Municipal United States Constitution.

I couldn't make this up.

28 U.S. Code § 1443 - Civil rights cases

Any of the following civil actions or criminal prosecutions, commenced in a State court may be removed by the defendant to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place wherein it is pending:

(1) Against any person who is denied or cannot enforce in the courts of such State a right under any law providing for the equal civil rights of citizens of the United States, or of all persons within the jurisdiction thereof;

(2) For any act under color of authority derived from any law providing for equal rights, or for refusing to do any act on the ground that it would be inconsistent with such law.

28 U.S. Code § 1455(b)

Requirements.—

(1) A notice of removal of a criminal prosecution shall be filed not later than 30 days after the arraignment in the State court, or at any time before trial, whichever is earlier, except that for good cause shown the United States district court may enter an order granting the defendant or defendants leave to file the notice at a later time.

28 U.S. Code § 1442 - Federal officers or agencies sued or prosecuted

(a) A civil action or criminal prosecution that is commenced in a State court and that is against or directed to any of the following may be removed by them to the district court of the United States for the district and division embracing the place wherein it is pending:

(1) The United States or any agency thereof or any officer (or any person acting under that officer) of the United States or of any agency thereof, in an official or individual capacity, for or relating to any act under color of such office or on account of any right, title or authority claimed under any Act of Congress for the apprehension or punishment of criminals or the collection of the revenue.

[monriatitans]

BLACK HISTORY MONTH QUOTE 10 OF 12 Friday, February 24, 2023

"It was important to name this house, but not the way 'Sweet Home' or other plantations were named. There would be no adjectives suggesting coziness or grandeur or the laying claim to an instant, aristocratic past. Only numbers here to identify the house while simultaneously separating it from a street or city—marking its difference from the houses of other blacks in the neighborhood; allowing it a hint of the superiority, the pride, former slaves would take it having an address of their own. Yet a house that has, literally, a personality—which we call 'haunted' when that personality is blatant." - Toni Morrison, Beloved

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Check out Yocum African American History Association for educational resources! The image was made with and shared via the Quotes Creator App to Instagram; check it out here! Interested in seeing where the quote came from? If so, click here!

[gatheringbones]

["Working with queer and trans/gender-non-conforming youth in the Deep South, I hear stories of state and personal violence from a wide range of people. There was the 16-year-old, black self-identified “stud” in detention after her mom referred her to family court for bringing girls to the house. Then there was the incarcerated white 16-year-old trans youth from a rural town of 642, whose access to transgender healthcare resided in the hands of one juvenile judge. I was told of a black trans-feminine youth in New Orleans who was threatened with contempt for wearing feminine clothing to her court hearing. There was also the 12-year-old boy, perceived to be gay by his mother, who was brought into judge’s chambers without his attorney and questioned about being gay before he was sentenced for contempt after being found “ungovernable.” There was the public defender who refused to represent his gay client because the lawyer believed him to be “sick” and in need of the “services” offered by prison. And there was the black lesbian arrested over and over again for any crime where witnesses described the perpetrator as an African American “boyish-looking” girl.

Nowhere is the literal regulation and policing of gender and sexuality, particularly of low-income queer and trans youth of color, so apparent than in juvenile courts and in the juvenile justice system in the South. Understanding how the juvenile justice system operates and impacts queer and trans/gender-non-conforming youth requires a critical look at the history of youth rights and the inception of juvenile court. During the Industrial Revolution (1800–1840s), poor youth worked in factories, received no public education and were often arrested for the crime of poverty.[1] These youth, some as young as 7 years old, were incarcerated with adults and placed in prisons until they were 21. Inspired by the belief that young people who committed crimes could be rehabilitated and shocked by the horrific treatment of white children in adult prisons, the juvenile justice system was developed. This new system was based on parens patriae, the idea that the role of the system was to place youth in the state’s custody when their parents were unable to care for them. Later, in 1899, the first juvenile court was established, designed to “cure” children and provide treatments for them rather than sentences. Still rooted in a Puritan ideology, white young women were often sent to institutions “to protect them from sexual immorality.”

Black children, however, who were viewed as incapable of rehabilitation, continued to be sent to adult prisons or were sent to racially segregated institutions. In Louisiana, black youth were sent to work the fields at Angola State Penitentiary, a former slave plantation, until 1948 when the State Industrial School for Colored Youth opened. The facilities were not desegregated until the United States District Court ordered desegregation of juvenile facilities in 1969. More recently, the goal of juvenile justice reform has been to keep youth in their homes and in their communities whenever possible while providing appropriate treatment services to youth and their families. However, with the juvenile justice system’s intent to provide “treatment” to young people, many queer/trans youth inherit the ideology that they are “wrong” or in need of “curing,” as evidenced by their stories.

As sexual and gender transgressions have been deemed both illegal and pathological, queer and trans youth, who are some of the most vulnerable to “treatments,” are not only subjected to incarceration but also to harassment by staff, conversion therapy, and physical violence. Moreover, with the juvenile justice system often housed under the direct authority of state correctional systems and composed of youth referred directly from state police departments, it should not be surprising that young people locked up in the state juvenile system, 80 percent of whom are black in Louisiana, are often actually destroyed by the very system that was created to intervene. Worse than just providing damaging outcomes for youth once they are incarcerated, this rehabilitative system funnels queer and trans/gender-non-conforming youth into the front doors of the system. Non-accepting parents and guardians can refer their children to family court for arbitrary and subjective behaviors, such as being “ungovernable.” Police can bring youth in for status offenses, offenses for which adults cannot be charged, which often become contributing factors to the criminalization of youth. Charges can range from truancy to curfew violations to running away from home. Like in the adult criminal justice system, queer and trans youth can be profiled by the police and brought in for survival crimes like prostitution or theft. Youth may be referred for self-defense arising from conflict with hostile family members or public displays of affection in schools that selectively enforce policies only against queer and trans youth."]

Wesley Ware, from Rounding Up The Homosexuals: The Impact of Juvenile Court on Queer and Trans/Gender-Non-Conforming Youth, from Captive Genders: Trans Embodiment and the Prison Industrial Complex, edited by Eric A. Stanley and Nat Smith, AK Press, 2011