#silver shill

[heliphantie]

"Leap of Faith", ep. 20(85) of season 4 (March 29, 2014).

“Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic is Granny Smith tested and Applejack approved! Granny Smith drinks it, why shouldn’t you?”

“Leap of Faith” may be my favorite Applejack episode, favorite S4 episode and one of the top favorite episodes in entire FiM! Applejack-focused episodes in particular are interesting in that, rather than having her learned to be true to her Element, they’re often about testing her faithfulness to it, making her putting her sense of justice in question and having to decide when she ought to follow her moral compass without risk to bring harm with it instead of benefits.

Flim & Flam, in that regard, make pretty good antagonists for her. Two families have quite a few similar priorities: like Apples, Bros are pragmatic, seeking profit from their actions, and work perfectly in sinch for common goal, but their ethics are diametrically different, and as it happens, Applejack sometimes even prone to fall into temptation to use rather similar tactics (take decision to rationalize technology in lieu of traditional work, or use invitation to gala for /pretty sure, illegal in these circumstances/ selling apple products here to rich attendees – wouldn’t she just ask Celestia for financial aid to the national hero’s family instead? – and don’t we forget her alliance with Filthy Rich without Granny’s consent) before it backfires on her as well. So, she has valid reasons for having disdain for methods of Bros, because she’s been here as well and reaped the bitter fruits of blindly following such policies.

Brothers, in particular, make formidable kind of antagonists on the show: for representing most realistic, mundane, everyday sort of evil, which can’t be redeemed or obliterated unlike any other foe our heroes had to stand against. The evil of commerce and material greed! Moreso, they even can be amicable and work together with heroes without having to change their ways, if that means any mutual benefits. (And basically cemented as allies of Mane 6 in the end of the series.) For, as it turns, money is at once the major drive and major scourge of society, be it mankind or ponies.

Anyway, the moral of this particular story is, one crazy old lady is enough to put the crushing end to your successful scam operation. Fatal flaw of these sleek guys appears to be not thinking their schemes far enough to prevent coming close to any possible source of damage. Other than that, they’re pretty fine, aren’t they? They’re, essentially, an embodiment of the main reason for the franchise itself – product promotion, no wonder they’re more frenemies than foes in the end of day.

[violetrose-art]

I made some adjustments to the designs of Apple Buck, Scarlet Apple, Goldie Apple, and Apple Sprout, the children of Applejack and Silver Shill

[goldensunset]

Oooohhhh After the BW manga you wanna read the Kanto and Johto arcs so bad ooooohhhh l

two games i haven't even played????

[true-blue-sonic]

Imagine if Silver had, like, one (1) random companion who accompanied him during his time travels and gushed to the people of the future about the things Silver and his friends do in the past. Imagine someone from the future learning Espio’s name somehow and asking Silver who that is, only for his companion to interrupt and go “oh that’s the cute boy that Silver has a crush on”

I do have an OC who could potentially fit that role, namely Oliver: he's exactly the kind of trouble-finding embodiment of chaos who'd just so happen to get yoinked along with Silver on a time-travel adventure by sheer accident, haha. He'd also proceed to cause trouble like no other, but Silver's got a handle on things. And once the boys are home again, Oliver will have plenty of stories to tell everyone about! Including tales of Espio, with a complete disregard for the fact Silver has no idea what is going on when getting slapped in the face with Boyfriend Accusations.

That being said, I do think it's quite funny that even the people from the future can see just how fond Silver and Espio are of each other despite only knowing vague stories of heroics about the latter. And I think Silver might not be much help, because he will extensively compliment Espio and marvel about just how skilled of a ninja and fighter he is. Even people who have never even heard of Espio and his feats at all will figure there's more going on between Silver and him than meets the eye! And once back in the past again, Silver is going to tell Espio all about this, who is partially touched by Silver's high opinion on him and partially dying of embarrassment that he's gotten presented in such a way in the future. But he is just happy Silver is happy, and that is what is most important <3

[numberoneavalonfan]

unpopular opinion im perfectly fine with the currency icon change i think theyre really pretty

[scare-ard--sleigh]

like what i really need is

more tattoos

slutty wardrobe that adequately shows off said tattoos

[happycricketbox]

I'm not a big fan of FMA but every now and then i am reminded of this particular panel of alphonse

this is the most expression ever

[oldcurrencyexchange]

Irish Coin Daily: Confederate Catholic Shilling - Counter-marked on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I

Date: 1642-43 Kilkenny (Rebel) Money (counter-marked twice) to denote a Shilling on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I Description: Kilkenny Rebel Money Shilling; issued by the Catholic Confederacy of Kilkenny from 1642-43 and counter-marked on a base Shilling of Elizabeth I (her first issue of base coinage for Ireland, in 1558); the counter-mark is struck on either side of the monarch’s bust in the…

[fashionsfromhistory]

Jacket

c.1630-1650

Italy or England

Several examples of knitted jackets or waistcosts survive in museum collections are waistcoats, with well-known examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (473-1893, 346-1898, 106-1899 and 807-1904). Both men and women wore these items of clothing either as undergarments during the day or as informal déshabillé or undress at home in the evening to provide additional warmth. These items tend to fall into two categories: Italian waistcoats that open down the front, sometimes known as Florentine waistcoats, and those that pulled over the head. Italian waistcoats were knitted using one or two colours of silk yarn, in imitation of patterns found on woven silks, the effect often enhanced with the use of purl stitches. The fine gauge of these waistcoats suggests that they were hand-knitted in professional workshops, using extremely fine metal knitting needles, known as ‘wires’, for wealthy classes to buy as ready-to-wear clothing. The garment is constructed from rectangular knitted sections; two front panels, two back panels and two sleeves. Several have triangular gores inserted to provide additional width over the hips, at home by the wearer or a member of their household. Their name suggests that they were made in Italy and exported to northern Europe, but it is now known that fine silk yarns were imported from Naples to London from the late sixteenth century to supply the native knitting industry. Because knitted waistcoats were for informal wear there are no known sources showing them being worn, making it hard to give them a more specific date. They appear to have originated at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Lady Elizabeth Howard, the wife of Lord William Howard (1563–1640) ordered ‘a pound of woosted for wastecotes’ for 9 shillings in 1618 and the Danish Royal family used knitted silk waistcoats for children’s shrouds during this period. Knitted waistcoats continued to be worn throughout the century. There are records of waistcoats being relined during the course of their use. Sir Thomas Isham (1656/7–81) is billed £1 5s 6d from his tailor for ‘new Lining A Purple and gold Silke knit wastcoate’ in April 1680. There are continuing references to them also in the early eighteenth century, including a London newspaper report of the theft of a ‘green silk knit waistcoat with gold and silver flowers all over it’ in 1712.

Glasgow Museums (ID Number: 29.126)

[ventique18]

I was looking forward to day 7 because I wanted to see how CREATIVE the writers would be to make Lilia, MALLEUS, and Silver lose, of all people. And honestly this was so???? Out of character? An actual throw away? Trash? 😭

There was NO logical way for these three combined to lose. Ruggie, the cunning Ruggie, would absolutely not remind Diasomnia that buying 50 thaumark worth of goodies would let them compete in hanetsuki if it would make the sales crew lose a match; especially since there's a special prize at stake.

And unlike the other dorms, they literally didn't even describe what the hell happened to make Diasomnia lose. They just said oh Diasomnia lost and that was it. No "ah Silver fell asleep", "ah Lilia's back suddenly hurt", or whatever the hell of a reason would make Malleus lose (it's impossible). Instead they diverted the focus entirely on Sebek wanting Ruggie and Cater, his teammates, to lose. Wtf. 😭

I know I'm a cringe Diasomnia shill but come on, everybody who plays Twst knows that the three-time champion of Spelldrive would NOT lose in a battle of mobility. They should have at least made an actual comedy of it like, them breaking hagoita and getting disqualified or something. Literally just anything instead of just saying they lost without explanation.

[hellsite-hall-of-fame]

Once upon a time there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort which could only be broken by love's first kiss. She was locked away in a castle guarded by a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Many brave knigts had attempted to free her from this dreadful prison, but non prevailed. She waited in the dragon's keep in the highest room of the tallest tower for her true love and true love's first kiss. {Laughing} Like that's ever gonna happen. {Paper Rusting, Toilet Flushes} What a load of - Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed She was lookin' kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb In the shape of an "L" on her forehead The years start comin' and they don't stop comin' Fed to the rules and hit the ground runnin' Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb So much to do so much to see So what's wrong with takin' the backstreets You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow Hey, now You're an all-star Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold It's a cool place and they say it gets colder You're bundled up now but wait till you get older But the meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture The ice we skate is gettin' pretty thin The water's getting warm so you might as well swim My world's on fire How 'bout yours That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored Hey, now, you're an all-star {Shouting} Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold {Belches} Go! Go! {Record Scratching} Go. Go.Go. Hey, now, you're an all-star Get your game on, go play Hey, now You're a rock star Get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shootin' stars break the mold -Think it's in there? -All right. Let's get it! -Whoa.

Hold on. Do you know what that thing can do to you? -Yeah, it'll grind your bones for it's bread. {Laughs} -Yes, well, actually, that would be a gaint. Now, ogres - - They're much worse. They'll make a suit from your freshly peeled skin. -No! -They'll shave your liver. Squeeze the jelly from your eyes! Actually, it's quite good on toast. -Back! Back, beast! Back! I warn ya! {Gasping} -Right. {Roaring} {Shouting} {Roaring} {Whispers} This is the part where you run away. {Gasping} {Laughs} {Laughing} And stay out! "Wanted. Fairy tale creatures." {Sighs} {Man's voice} All right. This one's full. -Take it away! {Gasps} -Move it along. Come on! Get up! -Next! -Give me that! Your fiying days are over. That's 20 pieces of silver for the witch. Next! -Get up! Come on! -Twenty pieces. {Thudding} -Sit down there! -Keep quiet! {Crying} -This cage is too small. -Please, don't turn me in. I'll never be stubborn again. I can change. Please! Give me another chance! -Oh, shut up. -Oh! -Next! -What have you got? -This little wooden puppet. -I'm not a puppet. I'm a real boy. -Five shillings for the possessed toy. Take it away. -Father, please! Don't let them do this! -Help me! -Next! What have you got? -Well, I've got a talking donkey. {Grunts} -Right. Well, that's good for ten shillings, if you can prove it. -Oh, go ahead, little fella. -Well? -Oh, oh, he's just - - He's just a little nervous. He's really quite a chatterbox. Talk, you boneheaded dolt - - -That's it. I've heard enough. Guards! -No, no, he talks! He does.

I can talk. I love to talk. I'm the talkingest damn thing you ever saw. -Get her out of my sight. -No, no! I swear! Oh! He can talk! {Gasps} -Hey! I can fly! -He can fly! -He can fly! -He can talk! -Ha, ha! That's right, fool! Now I'm a flying, talking donkey. You might have seen a housefly, maybe even a superfly but I bet you ain't never seen a donkey fly. Ha, ha! Oh-oh. {Grunts} -Seize him! -After him! He's getting away! {Grunts, Gasps} {Man} -Get him! This way! Turn! -You there. Orge! -Aye? -By the order of Lord Farquaad I am authorized to place you both under arrest and transport you to a designated..... resettlement facility. -Oh, really? You and what army? {Gasps, Whimpering} {Chuckles} -Can I say something to you? -Listen, you was really, really, really somethin' back here. Incredible! Are you talkin' to - - me? Whoa! -Yes. I was talkin' to you. Can I tell you that you that you was great back here? Those guards! They thought they was all of that. Then you showed up, and bam! They was trippin' over themselves like babes in the woods. That really made me feel good to see that. -Oh, that's great. Really. -Man, it's good to be free. -Now, why don't you go celebrate your freedom with your own friends? Hmm? -But, uh, I don't have any friends. And I'm not goin' out there by myself. Hey, wait a minute! I got a great idea! I'll stick with you. You're mean, green, fightin' machine. Together we'll scare the spit out of anybody that crosses us. {Roaring} -Oh, wow! That was really scary. If you don't mind me sayin', if that don't work, your breath certainly will get the job done, 'cause you definitely need some Tic Tacs or something, 'cause you breath stinks! You almost burned the hair outta my nose, just like the time - - {Mumbling} Than I ate some rotten berries. I had strong gases eking out of my butt that day. -Why are you following me? -I'll tell you why. 'Cause I'm all alone There's no one here beside me My promlems have all gone There's no one to deride me But you gotta heve friends - - -Stop singing! It's no wonder you don't have any friends. -Wow. Only a true friend would be that cruelly honest. -Listen, little donkey. Take a look at me. What am I? -Uh - - Really tall? -No! I'm an orge! You know.

"Grab your torch and pitchforks." Doesn't that bother you? -Nope. -Really? -Really, really. -Oh. -Man, I like you. What's you name? -Uh, Shrek. -Shrek? Well, you know what I like about you, Shrek? You got that kind of I-don't-care-what-nobody-thinks-of-me thing. I like that. I respect that, Shrek. You all right. Whoo! Look at that. Who'd want to live in place like that? -That would be my home. -Oh! And it is lovely! Just beautiful. You know you are quite a decorator. It's amazing what you've done with such a modest budget. I like that boulder. That is a nice boulder. -I guess you don't entertain much, do you? -I like my privacy. -You know, I do too. That's another thing we have in common. Like I hate it when you got somebody in your face. You've trying to give them a hint, and they won't leave. There's that awkward silence. -Can I stay with you? -Uh, what? -Can I stay with you, please? -Of course! -Really? -No. -Please! I don't wanna go back there! You don't know what it's like to be considered a freak. Well, maybe you do. But that's why we gotta stick together. You gotta let me stay! Please! Please! -Okay! Okay! But one night only.

-Ah! Thank you! -What are you - - No! No! -This is gonna be fun! We can stay up late, swappin' manly stories, and in the mornin' I'm makin' waffles. -Oh! -Where do, uh, I sleep? -Outside! -Oh, well. I guess that's cool. I mean, I don't know you, and you don't know me, so I guess outside is best, you know. {Sniffles} -Here I go. -Good night. {Sighs} -I mean, I do like the outdoors. I'm a donkey. I was born outside. I'll just be sitting by myself outside, I guess, you know. By myself, outside. I'm all alone There's no one here beside me {Bubbling} {Sighs} {Creaking} {Sighs} -I thought I told you to stay outside. -I'm outside. {Clattering} -Well, gents, it's a far cry from the farm, but what choice do we have? -It's not home, but it'll do just fune. -What a lovely bed. -Got ya. {Sniffs} I found some cheese. -Ow! {Grunts} -Blah! Awful stuff. -Is that you, Gorder? -How did you know? -Enough! What are you doing in my house? {Grunts} -Hey! {Snickers} -Oh, no, no, no. Dead broad off the table. -Where are we supposed to put her? The bed's taken. -Huh? {Gusps} {Male voice} What? -I live in a swamp. I put up signs. I'm a terrifying orge! What do I have to do get a little privacy? -Aah! -Oh, no. No! No! {Cackling} -What? -Quit it. -Don't push. {Squeaking} {Lows} - What are you doing in my swamp? {Echoing} Swamp! Swamp! Swamp! {Gasping} -Oh, dear! -Whoa! -All right, get out of here. All of you, move it! Come on! Let's go! Hapaya! Hapaya! Hey! -Quickly. Come on! -No, no! No, no. Not there. Not there. -Oh! {Sighs} -Hey, don't look at me. I didn't invite them. -Oh, gosh, no one invited us. -What? -We were forced to come here. -By who? -Lord Farquaad. -He huffed und he puffed und he...... signed an eviction notice. {Sighs} -All right. Who knows where this Farquaad guy is? {Murmuring} -Oh, I do. I know where he is.

-Does anyone else know where to find him? Anyone at all? -Me! Me! -Anyone? -Oh! Oh, pick me! Oh, I know! I know! Me, me! {Sighs} -Okay, fine. Attention, all fairy tale things. Do not get comfortable. Your welcome is officially worn out. In fact, I'm gonna see this guy Farquaad right now and get you all off my land and back where you came from! {Cheering} {Twittering} -Oh! You! You're comin' with me. - All right, that's what I like to hear, man. Shrek and Donkey, two stalwart friends, off on a whirlwind big-city adventure. I love it! -On the road again. Sing it with me, Shrek. -Hey. Oh, oh! -I can't wait to get on the road again. -What did I say about singing? -Can I whistle? -No. -Can I hum it? -All right, hum it. {Humming} {Grunts} {Whimpering} -That's enough. He's ready to talk. {Coughing} {Laughing} {Clears throat} -Run, run, run, as fust as you can. You can't catch me. I'm the gingerbread man! -You are a monster. -I'm not the monster here. You are. You and the rest of that fairy tale trash, poisoning my perfect world. Now, tell me! Where are the others? -Eat me!{Grunts} -I've tried to be fair to you creatures. Now my patience has reached its end! Tell me or I'll - -

-No, no, not the buttons. Not my gumdrop buttons. -All right then. Who's hiding them? -Okay, I'll tell you. Do you know the muffin man? -The muffin man? -The muffin man. -Yes, I know the muffin man, who lives on Drury Lane? -Well, she's married to the muffin man. -The muffin man? -The muffin man! -She's married to the muffin man. {Door opens} -My lord! We found it. -Then what are you waiting for? Bring it in. {Man grunting} {Gasping} -Oh! -Magic mirror - - -Don't tell him anything! -No! {Ginerbread man whispers} -Evening. Mirror, mirror on the wall. Is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all? -Well, technically you're not a king. -Uh, Thelonius. -You were saying? -What I mean is, you're not a king yet. But you can become one. All you have to do is marry a princess. -Go on. {Chuckles} -So, just sit back and relax, my lord, because it's time for you to meet today's eligible bachelorettes. And here they are! Bachelorette number one is a mentally abused shut-in from a kingdom far, far away. She likes sushi and hot tubbing anytime. Her hobbies include cooking and cleaning for her two evil sisters. Please welcome Cinderella. -Bachelorette number two is a cape-wearing girl from the land of fancy. Although she lives with seven other men, she's not easy.

Just kiss her dead, frozen lips and find out what a live wire she is. Come on. Give it up for Snow White! -And last, but certainly not last, bachelorette number three is a fiery redhead from a dragon-guarded castle surrounded by hot boiling lava! But don't let that cool you off. She's a loaded pistol who likes pina colads and getting caught in the rain. Yours for the rescuing, Princess Fiona! -So will it be bachelorette number one, bachelorette number two or bachelorette number three? -Two! Two! -Three! Three! -Two! Two! -Three! -Three? One? {Shudders} Three? --Three! Pick number three, my lord! -Okay, okay, uh, number three! -Lord Farquaad, you've chosen Princess Fiona. If you like pina coladas And getting caught in the rain -Princess Fiona. If you're not into yoga -She's perfect. All I have to do is just find someone who can go - - -But I probably should mention the little thing that happens at night. -I'll do it. -Yes, but after sunset - - -Silence! I will make this Princess Fiona my queen, and DuLoc will finally have the perfect king! Captain, assemble your finest men. We're going to have a tournament. -But that's it. That's it right there. That's DuLoc. I told ya I'd find it. -So, that must be Lord Farquaad's castle. -Uh-huh. That's the place. -Do you think maybe he's compensating for something? {Laughs} {Groans} -Hey, wait. Wait up, Shrek. -Hurry, darling. We're late. Hurry. -Hey, you! {Screams} -Wait a second. Look, I'm not gonna eat you. I just - - I just - - {Whimpering} {Sighs} {Whimpering, Groans} {Turnstile clatters} {Chuckles} {Sighs} -It's quiet. Too quiet. {Creaking} -Where is everybody? -Hey, look at this! {Clattering, whirring, clicking} Welcome to DuLoc such a perfect town Here we have some rules Let us lay them down Don't make waves, stay in line And we'll get along fine DuLoc is perfect place

Please keep off of the grass Shine your shoes, wipe your... face DuLoc is, DuLoc is DuLoc is perfect ...... place {Camera shutter clicks {Whirring} -Wow! Let's do that again! -No. No. No, no, no! No. {Trumpet fanfare} {Crowd cheering} -Brave knights. -You are the best and brightest in all the land. -Today one of you shall prove himself - - -All right. You're going the right way for a smacked bottom. -Sorry about that. {Cheering} -That champion shall have the honor - - no, no - - the privilege to go forth and rescue the lovely Princess Fiona from the fiery keep of the dragon. If for any reason the winner is unsuccessful, the first runner-up will take his place and so on and so forth. Some of you mae die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make. {Cheering} -Let the tournament begin! {Gasps} -Oh! -What is that? {Gasping} -It's hideous! -Ah, that's not very nice. It's just a donkey. -Indeed. Knights, new plan! The one who kills the orge will be named champion! Have it him! -Get him! -Oh, hey! Now come on! Hang on now. -Go ahead! Get him! -Can't we just settle this over a pint? -Kill the beast! -No? All right then. Come on! I don't give a damn about my reputation You're living in the past It's a new generation -Damn! {Whinnying} A girl can do what she wants to do And that's what I'm gonna do And I don't give a damn about my bad reputation Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Not me Me, me, me -Hey, Shrek, tag me! Tag me! And I don't give a damn about my bad reputation

just so everyone knows, there are like 5 other asks with the rest of the Shrek script in my inbox…..

but i’m only posting this one, so you’re all so very welcome!!!

(also thank you so very much @genlossicle, your commitment is astounding and very much appreciated lol)

[anxresi]

…Isn’t it a bit late for April Fools Day?! 🤡🤣

I was going to just write a few snarky remarks in the tags, but fuck it… I have a bit of time on my hands right now, so let’s tackle these somewhat disingenuous statements one at a time shall we? Starting from the one in the top left hand corner, and working our way anti-clockwise around… *Cracks knuckles*

1. Yep. SO nice in fact, she doesn’t have any other noticeable character trait. ‘Niceness’ by itself doesn’t make you an interesting, intriguing or compelling character… it just makes you boring. In fact, I’m gonna have to work pretty damn hard to finish this off before I nod off just thinking about her… 🥱

2. …And this is a GOOD thing? It just proves how much the writers were DESPERATE to make her Chloe’s replacement they rushed virtually everything to do with her, including her rapid induction to ‘Hero’. Most of the other Miraculous users had to wait AGES to get their chance, and Lil Miss Perfect just turns up in Paris and gets her chance virtually the first day. It wasn’t earned, it wasn’t believable… it was just handed to her on a silver platter because… reasons. 😩

3. So what? This is just yet more evidence that this girl, a TOTAL STRANGER up to S4 is all of a sudden being treated like the queen of all Mary Sues. Just listen to all the endless shilling about her from the rest of the cast (especially Marinette and, more depressingly Plagg) Now imagine them said in Thomas Astruc’s voice as he lays his case against Chloe… and everything should become clear.

4. This means virtually nothing. Everyone gets their Miraculous permanently at the end of S5, so the fact she gets her’s 5th is just down to a quirk in sequence. If anything, I’m surprised she didn’t get it sooner… in another gratuitous ‘Take That’ to diehard Chloe fans… 😬

5. I don’t even have anything to say about this.. it calculates the precise sum of 0.00% in terms of her worth of a character. You got anything better?

6. Oh, you mean the same acting ‘skills’ that she used to manipulate her sister into pretending she ‘loved’ her and to carry that useless charm about?The thing is, everyone might’ve SAID her talent was great in that AWFUL Queen Banana episode… but it actually wasn’t. Just because the other characters say she’s the next Sophia Loren, doesn’t mean the viewers don’t have eyes and ears. But I guess if they’re stupid enough to fall for Lila’s incredibly obvious lies when the plot demands it, anything’s possible…

7. What, you like her colorful shoes? This is possible the only one I’ll grant you (they ARE pretty snazzy) but at the end of the day, they’re just pointless aesthetics. Anyone else could be wearing them, and the garish colors can’t blind us to her all-conquering mediocrity. Moving on…

8. Here’s a hint: NEVER use the word ‘objectively’ when the opposite is clearly true. She’s not just ‘sweet’, spending time with her is akin to being pinned down in Wonka’s chocolate factory being force-fed candy by all the Oompa-Lumpas until you literally explode. Not a pleasant experience in other words, thanks to the writers laying this sole facet on with a literal trowel and shovel.

As for the ‘sass’ part… nope, not seeing it. Unless you mean the occasional scene when she ‘deals’ with her sister… these parts were obviously only put in to throw red meat for the Chloe-hating sheep out there could hoot and holler at the screen (probably waking their parents up in the process) whilst screaming “SEE? THAT’S WHAT YOU GET!!” Well, I hope you’re happy now. You hapless lame-o’s.

9. Mary Sues don’t get ‘character assassinated’. They get bigged-up, cheered, given every resource in the show to be Da Best… but NEVER wrecked in that manner. Her sister, on the other hand… 😢

I would argue though, that what she is, is WORSE than character assassination… she’s an individual that never should’ve existed in the first place. In fact, I’d barely even describe her as a character. A plot device, a waste of space, a product of Thomas Astruc’s inexplicable raging hatred against Chloe maybe, but not a serious character. As the popular meme goes, Change My Mind (you won’t).

10. …You’re REALLY scraping the bottom of the barrel now, aren’t you?

Besides, this hasn't even been confirmed yet. We don't even know anything about the elusive Mr Lee, or even what he might think about his daughter being forcibly adopted by the Mayor. Something which I'm sure a show of such grandiosity and ambition will go into at great length.. Nah, just kidding!

Next, you’ll be telling me that somehow her sexuality is another reason to think she’s the best thing since sliced bread…

11. And there we have it (sigh). How terribly predictable. 🙄

I’ve already done a whole post thingie about how her being a lesbian and having a short-lived crush on Marinette was just imposed to get unearned brownie points from underrepresented communities when they won’t actually do anything with said revelation, so I’ll keep this short. Sufficed to say though, I feel like starting a hashtag… #TheGaysDeserveBetterThanZoe. Get it trending, peeps! 😎

12. Whatever you’re smoking, can I have some of it? This is crossing the line from ‘delusional’ to ‘crazy’ now. She’s remained as static as a statue since her opening episode, has NO room for change and growth due to the fact she was only brought in to replace Chloe and in that uncomfortably dull niche she’ll stay. Sorry, but just because you wish that she’d had any kind of interesting development doesn’t mean she has. Facts have a funny habit of getting in the way of the truth.

13. In turns of ticking boxes for diversity, French-Americans aren’t exactly a high priority IMHO. But sure if you think that makes her the bees knees (pun intended), you go ahead and celebrate it. 👍

14. So in conclusion, I do agree that Zoe Lee is indeed ‘Best’ character… (hears sharp intake of breathes all round) oops, I’m sorry. What I meant was ‘Pest’ character… in that just having her buzzing about in all her flawless Mary-Sue glory makes you just wanna reach for the bug spray.

You know, like you would for a pesky wasp during a delicious picnic. Because she’s Vesperia, get it? 🤪

The only upside to this sad situation is, from what I can tell (being strictly a non-watcher these days, you figure out why) the writers half-agree with me.

After all for such an 'amazing' character who's apparently achieved so much in her short time in the show... why is she barely featured? They must know, somewhere down deep in their artistic brains, she's a narrative dead zone.

A collection of tiresome off-the-shelf quirks, traits and spare parts (someone here said she was like a bad fanfiction self-insert... ABSOLUTELY RIGHT), loosely held together with visible stitching and hastily assembled together like Frankenstein's Monster for the most cynical of reasons.

She has no arguable reason to be in the show, apart from being a far inferior replacement to the potential mine of character development that someone like Chloe could've represented.

I guess Thomas really does hate complex characters who may overshadow his precious Marinette... or school bullies who traumatized him so much as a lil kid he specifically wrote someone into his show he could subsequently and systematically destroy (as the rumors go... but it wouldn't surprise me with THAT guy).

Now I’m off to bed, but let me end on at least ONE positive note for this much-maligned individual: She’s EXACTLY the kind of character a show like Miraculous Ladybug deserves… and if you like her, you deserve her too.

Now, good night. 🌝 🛌

[ltwilliammowett]

Reales, pieces of eight, doubloones and ducats

Who doesn't know it, in films and books there are always stories about great pirate treasures and lots of coins are shown. But what kind of coins are they? Here is a small overview.

Silver real

Silver coin: 8 reales Fernando VI, Viceroyalty of New Spain - 1757 (x)

The real was a coin and a currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century, weighing 0,12 ounces (3,43g) of silver, and these were eight reales to a peso, hence the term " pieces of eight" for pesos.

Silver piece of eight or Spanish Dollar

Spanish piece of eight, 1780 (x)

Was an early Spanish silver dollar sized coin, with a content of 25.563 g = 0.822 oz t fine silver. As Spanish mints issued silver denominations smaller than eight reales relatively infrequently, these coins would sometimes be chopped up into smaller pieces to provide small change. In the 17th and 18th centuries, so many were in circulation that they were accepted almost anywhere in the world. The American doller sign $ was derived from the figure 8 stamped on the side of the piece of eight, the silver peso (or piaster). They were minted at Mexico City and Lima in Peru, and were common currency in all of England's colonies, being valued at four shillings and sixpence. Often they wre cut into eight pieces for ease of transaction, so that two bits made a quarter. The origin of the American phrase, not worth two bits, is from the days when the English colonies around Massachusetts used this Spanish money. Pieces of eight were produced for about 300 years, in Mexcio, Peru and Colombia, and they became the standard unit of trade between Europe and China. They wre legal tender in the USA until 1857. Before the Spanish started exploiting Potosi in Peru (in today's Bolivia), silver was almost as valuable as gold in the Old World. Such were the quantities taken from the New World, that silver dropped to about a 1/5 of the value of gold. The Spanish exported four billion pesos of silver and gold from the New World between 1492 and 1830.

Gold ducat

Gold ducat of Venice. Doge Andrea Gritti, Italy, 1523-38 (x)

This was the European gold trade coin, containing around 3.5 grams (0.11 troy ounces) of 98.6% fine gold, during the late medieval and early modern period. The name derives from ducatus, the Latin form of the title of the Doge of Venice, whre the ducat was first issued 1284. Called the ducado, it was worth less than a doubloon, about 10-11 silver reales, and was known to the British seaman as a ducat. The coin was copied throughout mainland Europe, and coins of the ducat standard were struck in several European countries up to the 20th century.

Gold doubloon (doblôn)

Spanish 4-doubloon, or doubloon of 8 escudos, stamped as minted in Mexico city mint in 1798 (x)

This was an early Spanish gold coin, worth approximately $4 (four Spanish dollars) or 32 reales, and weighing 6.766 grams (0.218 troy ounce) of 22-karat gold (or 0.917 fine; hence 6.2 g fine gold). The name originally applying to the gold excelente of Ferdinand and Isabella. It was later transferred to the two escudo coin issued by Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. It was the largest Spanish gold coin, weighing slightly less than an ounce of gold, and originates from the Latin word duplus, or double. A doubloon was worth about seven weeks wages to a sailor.

[crusherthedoctor]

Opinions That Aren't Mutually Exclusive:

"Sonic should be allowed to tell stories, and the dismissal of story in Sonic because it's a video game series is silly" and "It's still a video game series first and foremost, so the gameplay part is still the top priority, meaning anyone who doesn't like a game because they didn't like the gameplay is perfectly valid"

"Sonic is a Japanese IP, and no amount of western adaptations will change that" and "It shouldn't matter where in the world the people handling a Sonic product are from, as long as they're competent and humble"

"Alternate gameplay styles can exist in Sonic" and "You can't just do anything willy nilly, it should make sense for a Sonic game in some capacity, even if it's another character"

"Sonic's world should feel like a place that people could live in" and "It should be creative, inspiring, and not emulate the real world at the cost of everything else"

"Sonic does not think like a typical superhero, nor does he go out of his way to redeem villains if they show no remorse" and "Sonic is a compassionate person who is quick to befriend others if they're not evil or if things have mended between them"

"Sonic is the namesake character, and his influence in the world around him is key to the series" and "Other characters should be allowed to exist beyond Sonic, and not have their every decision and contribution dictated solely by Sonic's influence"

"Tails should have childlike traits" and "Tails should have agency, and not be useless or a submissive yes man"

"Tails' outburst in Lost World and his moment of weakness in Forces could have been handled better" and "The solutions fans come up with are often nonsensical and would only make things worse"

"The Master Emerald and Angel Island are important to Knuckles" and "His entire existence should not revolve around them"

"Amy's love for Sonic should not be flanderized to the levels of the mid-00's" and "Amy should not be a Strong Female Character™ who's too cool for mushiness"

"Eggman is a funny guy" and "He is also a huge piece of shit"

"Eggman doesn't do things for the evulz" and "He does things for himself, and his evil is not any lesser because of that"

"Other villains can exist" and "When two decades worth of upstagings have happened, no shit I'm going to be cautious and give every newcomer the side-eye until they're confirmed to NOT drag Eggman through the mud"

"Shadow can be aggressive if he has to" and "Shadow is never an arsehole for the sake of being an arsehole"

"Shadow's backstory is necessary to the context of what made him who he is as we know him" and "He's already confronted it and should be allowed to move on without having Maria's memory dangled in front of him at all times"

"Rouge is not in Sonic's immediate group in the same way as Tails, Amy, Cream, etc" and "Rouge is not a villain, or even that morally grey, since despite her jewel thieving tendencies, the amount of times where she's helped the heroes far outweighs the number of times where she hasn't"

"I don't think Silver is an interesting character, and he was artificially shilled at Sonic's expense in '06" and "IDW Silver is a deceitful portrayal of who Silver actually is"

"Elise was not used well" and "She did not deserve the hate she received, and is hated half the time for dumbass reasons"

"Metal Sonic's identity crisis is an intriguing idea" and "You can convey that idea without him usurping Eggman and becoming another dime-a-dozen giant monster, you can't use insanity as a handwave to throw anything at the wall to see what sticks, because the good and bad ways to establish insanity always depends on who that character is"

"Some of the IDW characters had potential" and "That potential was swiftly thrown out in favor of flanderizing them, turning them into Sally clones, or turning them into Eggman Usurper #59"

"Sonic shouldn't be infantilized as a series, like Sonic's portrayal in Prime" and "It also shouldn't be edgy for edgy's own sake, like the zombot arc in IDW"

"The games are not perfect, with some of them having much more inexcusable flaws and baffling decisions than others" and "The games are what started the franchise, and the cartoons/comics/etc would not exist without them, therefore you can't pretend the latter are the centerpiece of the franchise even if you prefer them"

"SA1 is one of my favourite games in the series" and "The direction shift from Classic to Adventure may have had understandable intentions behind it, but by making said shift so vocal instead of more graceful and seamless ala 3D Mario, ultimately it was responsible for creating one of the biggest divides in the fandom since SatAM"

"Shadow the Hedgehog is not a good game" and "But it is a funny one, so I can't hate it too much"

"Sonic '06 is over a decade old, and reviewers should stop bringing it up in every review where it's not relevant" and "It's worth remembering what '06 did wrong so that its mistakes aren't repeated, which is especially crucial in the wake of fans choosing to retcon it as an underrated masterpiece"

"No game in the series is perfect, not even your favourite one" and "Literal perfection is impossible to achieve, and would be highly subjective even if it was, the flaws shouldn't cancel out your fondness for the game"

"I respect Yuji Naka's contributions to the series" and "I don't necessarily like Yuji Naka as a person"

"SEGA of Japan have not had a flawless track record" and "It's still their IP, and SEGA of America, as well as fans and creators, need to respect that"

"I've not been that interested or impressed with Daniel Barnes' output in the series so far, and the mantra of ___ Can Do No Wrong is a dangerous slope that leads to egos like Flynn's" and "I respect Barnes' integrity that other IDW crewmembers have not shown"

"I favor adaptations that are faithful to the source material" and "I can like adaptations that do their own thing as long as it doesn't go against the core of the franchise/characters too much"

"We're on our way to the ARK" and "So I guess that means we're going too"

[agent-calivide]

So- normally this blog is exclusively for IEYTD content- but I think I'm gonna shift to just be my interests, because there is one thing that I'm absolutely feral about and desperately need to scream into the void over.

Discussion surrounding the 2004 film Barbie Princess and the Pauper makes me irrationally angry.

Barbie’s Princess and the Pauper is a surprisingly decent film for being made purely to shill doll, with music that's absolutely gorgeous and a story that's a bit less dark than the original novel it's parodying.

A brief summary for those who don’t know- though if my YouTube recommended’s anything to go by Barbie is taking over the collective hivemind of nostalgia at the moment- Barbie Princess and the Pauper is the story of two young women, Anneliese and Erica, living two completely separate lives, one being a princess and one being a pauper. The twist, however, is that they were completely identical, save for their hair and a shockingly relevant birthmark for only being mentioned twice.

Erica is a poor seamstress who’s worked like a dog by her wicked boss, Madame Carp, trying to pay off her parent’s debts so she can pursue life as a singer. Truly, the best rep for anyone who’s suffered through retail with a shitty boss. Annelise meanwhile, is a princess who spends her days being lavishly spoiled as a princess typically would, but she doesn’t want to be spoiled. On the contrary, she would rather spend her day studying than getting her feet massaged and faffing about. At least- that’s what the song “I am a girl like you” and most of the fandom would have you believe.

In the song “I am a girl like you", we start with Annelise and Erica meeting, Annelise saying that she’s not looking forward to marrying this king and Erica responding with “At least you’re not an indentured servant”. Annelise asks for elaboration, and the song starts. Erica talks about how her mornings start with paying her boss money for a hot breakfast, then having to get up, walk a mile through cold, wet roads just to get the eggs for breakfast and then come back when all she wants to do is sleep in. Once again, relatable. She then looks at Annelise and asks her how her morning starts. Annelise pauses, and is visibly bashful, clearly hesitant to share, but Erica asks her to go on. Then, Annelise tells Erica that if she wants eggs she rings a bell and her maid runs in with breakfast and cookies, and while she eats she gets a foot rub and has live music being played for her, but she doesn’t want to be spoiled and doted on, she wants to be in the library!

If this was the beginning and ending of Annelise’s characterization? I’d get it. If Erica thought Annelise was spoiled, I’d get it. But she doesn’t. On the contrary, Erica hears this rich girl complaining about how she doesn’t like her life but is aware of how good she has it, and chooses to reach out. To say “hey, I can relate to that." “There’s somewhere else we’d rather be, somewhere that’s our, somewhere that dreams come true” If anything, this is a testament to Erica’s empathy, her kindness, and her ability to put herself in someone else’s shoes even when they objectively have it better. Throughout this song Erica will talk about work and Annelise will talk about the lighthearted fun parts of being a princess, but will casually mention how she’s in a position that she doesn’t want. Erica has to walk through the mud every morning for breakfast, Annelise gets it served literally on a silver platter, Erica has to make dresses, Annelise gets to dance around in frilly dresses. But Annelise also mentions that she’d rather be in the library and get to marry who she chooses, not be betrothed for the sake of her kingdom, more on that in a minute.

And time and time again, I see people talk about how Annelise is tone deaf, how she’s complaining about what is, objectively, a better situation. But honestly, I find this stance to be major character assassination, and is one that I’m seeing more and more frequently in regards to Annelise and most other “rich” characters quite frankly. Now, normally I don’t mind opinions like “this character is spoiled and should have more development than just crappy parents” or “it’s bad that they rushed this antagonistic character’s ark so they can have them for the series finale” I think that argument works just fine on the spoiled rich girl archetype, like Pacifica Northwest and Sasha Waybright, but I see a lot of people slapping that sticker onto any character that grew up wealthy regardless if they were an antagonist or not.

I get not liking a character if they’re antagonistic, or relating better to a character who had to work for everything they had. Most of us didn’t grow up as princesses in fancy castles and have been stuck with horrible bosses. I understand why people relate to Erica more, especially as someone who worked at a fabric shop with a crappy manager. But on more than one occasion I’ve seen people take the stance that Annelise’s part in the song “just like you” is insensitive and Erica should’ve shouted at Annelise, reminded her of her privilege, “laid the verbal smackdown on her and show her how hard it was being a peasant” before quickly following it up with a “I was just kidding!” when anyone calls out that Annelise isn’t a one dimensional privileged white girl. And if that was the only context we got of Annelise, I’d understand where it came from.

But if we look at Annelise throughout the course of the whole movie, that’s not true at all, quite the opposite. Our first scene we get of Annelise is her, getting fitted for a wedding gown to marry a man she doesn’t want to be with while a servant is fretting over her schedule for the day. That doesn’t sound like the typical Disney princess who gets to spend her days doing whatever she wants post-coronation. This is an actual princess, with real responsibilities. She has to give speeches, attend meetings, speak with upper class societies, and all she wants, the first thing she says in the introduction song “Free”, is “all my life I’ve always wanted to have one day just for me, nothing to do and for once nowhere I need to be”.

While she is bemoaning to herself, she’s not exactly fighting her scheduler on this either. She doesn’t complain, she doesn’t fight back, no quips or whining or witty banter, she simply accepts that she has to do what is told and dreams of a world where she doesn’t have to do all that. And that’s the big point that I see a lot of people ignoring. She is absolutely busting her ass every day, in and out, doing as told and not getting a second to breathe.

Let’s look at the one day we see that is truly just Annelise in her environment. She is getting a fitting for a wedding dress to marry some king while the royal scheduler tells her she has to give a speech at the Historical Society, then has to rush over to a Horticultural Society Tea, then has Math lessons, Geography lessons, and presumably much more after if we’re basing it off the massive to-do list of parchment we see. As someone who survived the public education system, the thought of giving a speech, going to a high pressure lunch that’s basically a work meeting, then having to do a full day of school after that makes me want to simply wither away and cry. She’s not sitting around, looking pretty and riding horses all day. She has responsibilities, duties, commitments to her mother and her kingdom.

We then cut to Erica, who shares much of the same sentiment. “All my life I’ve always wanted to have one day for myself, not waking up with a pile of work on every shelf” before singing about all the work she has to do as a low-class seamstress. This is what we’d expect from the pauper side of things. Erica works hard to earn a living at a small seamstress shop and wishes she could be doing something more with her life. This is when Madame Carp walks in and we see a glint of Erica’s personality. She’s spunky, she talks back, she calls Madame Carp’s dress shop a debtor’s prison to her face and argues about her parent’s debts. While she is committed to paying back her parent’s debts, she’s not taking it lying down, and that is a fundamental difference between Annelise and Erica.

While Erica will see a problem and call out that it really sucks, Annelise will look at a problem and simply accept that she has to fix it with little more than a comment to herself. Both of these girls are dreaming about freedom, but Erica is fighting for her freedom while to Annelise, it’s little more than a fantasy.

And that includes the freedom to marry whom she chooses. And this is when we see just how far Annelise will go to please her mother, as she looks out and sees the love of her life, her tutor, Julian. Julian is implied to be a good friend who’s been her teacher for a long while, and he feeds her passions. He teaches her, he encourages her to learn, he is one of the few people in her life who feels joy in Annelise’s happiness. Because, truly, when we see the way she interacts with the other servants and maids, she doesn’t have many friends. She doesn’t have anyone to talk to about her grievances, her lack of freedom, any of it. All she has is Julian, and she likely will lose him in the marriage to King Dominick. He's already calling her "your highness" like an authority figure rather and Annelise, his friend, and she hasn't even met the king yet.

She can’t even have her fantasy to marry Julian, as it’s quickly interrupted by her mother cutting her off and saying “I’m so sorry my darling, but as you know, it is vital you marry king Dominick. It is the only way to take care of our people”. And Annelise just accepts this. She just goes “yeah, I know, I have to do this for the kingdom” and pushes her fantasies away. And the very next line is Annelise talking about how she knows she’s lucky, she knows she’s privileged to have all of this nice stuff, this nice life, but is quickly realizing that every present comes with strings. While she may get to have a lavish life, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

We then see Erica, who’s talking about how while she doesn’t have nice things, she has spirit, determination, and she will achieve her dreams no matter what. This song truly establishes just how different the girls are, specifically in regards to their challenges and the obstacles they encounter. Erica, though currently trapped by her parents' debts at Madam Carp’s, has a fire, a will, a determination. She, though in debt as a pauper, isn’t willing to give up on her goal and aspirations of being a professional singer.

Annelise meanwhile, could have resources. She could reach out and get help, or run away with Julian, or do something to get out of her situation, but she refuses to. She can’t get past this mental barrier of duty and responsibility, and even while downright miserable, she won’t complain and won’t voice her needs. But the kicker is truly in the bridge of Free. Erica says “Soon I will forever be free” while Annelise says “Now I fear I’ll never be free” Erica is damn near counting the days, she’s looking at freedom as an inevitability, something that she will be getting soon. Annelise knows and accepts that freedom simply isn’t in the cards for her. In the end, both girls dream of leaving their situations, but they both decide to stay in their respective positions for the good of those around them. They both are committed to their duties, but Erica’s duty will hopefully finish in the near future, while Annelise’s duty is her entire life.

Later in the film, Erica takes Annelise’s place at the castle as Annelise has been kidnapped by Priminger and Julian needs someone to pretend to be the princess so the king doesn’t leave. In “To be a princess” he proceeds to educate Erica on a lot of aspects of being a princess. This pertains but is not limited to: be charming but detached and yet amused, do keep a grip and never crack, always look your best, never get to rest, never show dismay, be there when people call, and never show a thing you feel inside. With lessons like that, it’s no wonder that Annelise feels an absolute commitment to being a princess and never has a day to herself. Everything and everyone around her, including her best friend, says that she’s not allowed to feel, to breathe, to relax. She always has to be alert, aware, she has to have a thought and a response for every single possible comment and retort. And when Erica’s taught all this, it’s painted as overwhelming to learn, but imagine that being every day of your life for every week of every month of every year. That sounds absolutely crushing. Erica at least gets to let off some steam. She snaps at Madame Carp, she jokes with Bertie, she sneaks out to town square and sings. She has outlets away from work that Annelise simply does not have.

Okay, so Annelise is completely committed to her job as a princess, big whoop. She still is filthy stinking rich and royals were married to people they didn’t like all the time, she still is incredibly privileged. Maybe so, however, there’s more to this marriage than just some sort of uniting of kingdoms or prior arrangement. The reason that she’s getting married to Dominick is the kingdom has fallen bankrupt. Why has it gone bankrupt? Has the queen spent an egregious amount of money on castles? Was the king a warmonger who put all their funds into their armies? Does princess Annelise have a penchant for expensive travel and one of a kind crowns?

No.

The kingdom is bankrupt because the queen’s advisor has mined their mines dry of gold in hopes of taking over the kingdom. With no gold coming in, there was nothing to exchange, and the queen had to fix the problem before it started to hurt her people more than it already has. Her solution? The only one. Marry Annelise off to the nearest wealthy suitor and hope that it injects money into their economy.

The royals of this kingdom did nothing wrong, other than letting an evil man have so much access to power, which I don’t think any of us have the right to judge. If anything, the only one who’s privileged and trying to take advantage of it is the royal advisor Preminger. He talks about how he’s scraped by for years to climb the ranks and deserves to be a king, but in that same vein he doesn’t care about the kingdom, the people who are affected by his decisions. He’s so hellbent on becoming king, he doesn’t think about the fact that for all intents and purposes, he’s made it. He’s wealthy, absurdly so unlike Erica, but he’s also not a royal and thus has no duties to do any work he doesn’t feel like it, able to disappear for weeks on end and not have anyone on his back unlike Annelise. He has everything the girls want, but it’s not enough for him. He wants more.

Annelise meanwhile, is very aware of her privilege as a princess and tries to relate to those around her, even if she’s a bit unsuccessful at it. Before Annelise meets King Dominick, Julian decides that, as her friend, he thinks she needs some air. To get out of this stuffy castle and go see the kingdom as a normal girl before she loses it all. So, he gets her a cloak and takes her down to the nearby village, and here we can really see that she’s aware of her privileges when she’s outside of the castle.

As she and Julien walk around the town she asks him which house is his and he says “more of a room really, we couldn’t afford a house.” and immediately Annelise feels guilty, backtracking and starting to apologize for assuming he had a house. She doesn’t look at him in confusion or make fun of him for not having a house to himself, she instantly realizes that she was “in the wrong” to assume and tries to apologize for being presumptuous or assuming he was wealthier than he was. But Julien doesn’t laugh at her, doesn’t scoff, doesn’t tell her to “check her privilege”. He simply gives her a small smile and says “I know”. He assures her that, as his friend, she didn’t cause offense, he’s aware that she simply didn’t know he was in that bad of a financial situation growing up. He simply laughs it off then carries on with the conversation.

And this entire next section is Julien just being the absolute best. He engages with her interests, he gets Annelise her favorite flower, he calls the flower by its (fake) scientific name as he hands it off to her and he knows that it’s her favorite and that she'd appreciate him talking about science with her. He’s simply engaging with her as a mutual, a friend, and shows interest in her- well- interests. She gets to happily indulge in fantasy for a moment, but it’s quickly ripped away as she looks around the market and notices that the kingdom’s bankruptcy is already setting in. Shops are getting boarded up, families are being forced to leave, and she’s reminded that she has to get married to King Dominick for their sake. And she is visibly saddened by this. Not that she has to marry Dominick, but that her people are suffering over something that she and her mother couldn’t have possibly prevented.

Her train of thought gets interrupted by Erica singing in town square, Erica having snuck out from work to sing in the town square for coin, and she is doing a damn good job. We see she earns a decent amount of money for just singing on the road. People gather around Erica and listen to her song, she gives a sense of hope, she is pursuing her own freedom and people are enjoying it. Erica once again gets a reminder that her dream of freedom is not only soon, but achievable. It’s in reach, it’s not a completely absurd notion like Annelise's freedom. This is quickly interrupted by Madame Carp stepping in and yelling at Erica for leaving work, stealing her hard earned money and telling her to get back to work- which on one hand, bitch. On the other, Erica leaving work in the middle of the day to sing in town square is… a choice.

But, regardless, Erica’s left with nothing and is alone on the street, and who steps in to put coins in her cup after Madame Carp’s left? Annelise! She comes over, gives Erica money, and the two talk for a bit. Erica finds out Annelise is the princess and asks why she’s outside the castle, and Annelise says “I’m savoring my first and last taste of freedom before getting married next week… to a total stranger.”

Note that she didn’t say “I’m getting a breather” or “I'm taking a break”. She said “I’m getting my first and last taste of freedom before getting married NEXT. WEEK. She has never, ever, ever gotten a day off, taken a break, gotten to truly rest and get a breather. Us viewers? We get weekends, holidays, a day off on occasion, but Annelise doesn’t. She doesn’t get a moment’s rest because her life is her job. She’s never even been outside the castle walls until this day! Her whole life has been work and has been dedicated to her kingdom, to her mother’s expectations. While yes she is definitely more privileged than Erica, it’s not fun and games. If anything, it’s a 24/7, 365 job, every day of the year. And then this happens. “At least you’re not an indentured servant”

This. This one line. Drives. Me. Insane. And I think this line primes people to take the stance that Annelise is simply spoiled. Just because your arm is broken, doesn’t mean my sprained ankle doesn’t hurt.

This is when “Girl like you” starts, and this is also what most people use as reference to say Annelise is spoiled and tone deaf. Because here’s the thing, Annelise never says she has it bad, she never claims that her life sucks. And when Erica tells her her morning routine, Annelise is visibly apprehensive to share her morning routine, because she is aware that it’s rather tone deaf to say that her life sucks because she’s marrying some guy she doesn’t know after hearing how Erica’s morning starts every. Single. Day. She clearly knows how absurd it is to complain, most likely because she’s friends with Julian, who seems to have also been a pauper before getting hired to tutor Annelise. But Erica presses so she folds and shares her morning routine and actively chooses to complain about something little, almost diminishing her misery in a way. Like “Oh, haha, yeah my morning’s pretty good, but I just want to do what I want to do for once rather than follow my mother’s schedule- but it’s fine! I’m fine!” And that is why it’s so important for Erica to reach out first and say “I’m just like you, you’re just like me”

Because it’s not just about reading science books. It’s Annelise wanting to rest, to pursue her interests, not the interests of her mother or her kingdom. Erica sees right through Annalise’s act and finds solidarity in it. She opens up about how miserable it is working at Madame Carp’s and Annalise, excited that she can actually carry this conversation, happily talks about how she loves Madame Carp’s dresses.

This is the other point I see a lot of people reference, as Erica talks about how abusive Madame Carp is and Annelise cuts in to say she loves the dresses that wicked woman sells. This, honestly, is just a mood to me. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been excited to carry on a conversation, only to immediately put my foot in my mouth as I realize I misread the tone. But once again, rather than Erica getting snobby, going “Did you not hear me? I just called it a penitentiary.” She simply smiles at the naïve princess and tells her she made the dress the princess was wearing.

Annelise proceeds to compliment her work, praise it for its detailing, and the two continue to talk, Erica talking bout how she has little issue with making dresses while Annelise has fun wearing them, and the two actually talk about her getting to “imagine life without the strife of an unfamiliar groom”.

Erica recognizes that Annelise’s situation, though much more comfortable than hers, absolutely sucks. That all of those privileges come at a cost and honestly questions if they’re worth it. And then Annelise proceeds to say “but I’d never let my mother know, I wouldn’t want to disappoint her!”

Once again, Annelise is not only diminishing her needs and putting her happiness aside for her mother’s happiness, but she shows that all of her issues are mental blocks. Social pressures that have been put on her from her life being raised as a princess. She’s not singing on a corner for pennies, but she also isn’t allowed to pursue her own happiness. She’s a tool, not a person.

And after these two talk and bond and get to know each other, what happens? Annelise uses her privilege to help Erica. She tells Erica “hey, I love your singing, I want you to perform at the castle, I’ll send someone to bring you up to the castle and perform”

This offer would be life changing for Erica. Having Erica come up to the castle, perform, and probably get paid quite a handsome sum for it? To a seamstress and street singer like Erica, that could literally get her out of debt and onto stage that much sooner. Annelise, rather than going “oh, she’s poor, I don’t want to be seen with her” like a stereotypical rich girl archetype says “Come, sing for us, you’re talented and I want to share your gift with others”. And Erica is rightfully ecstatic at that offer, and is over the moon when Annelise says she’ll send someone to get her.

Later, due to plot purposes, Annelise and Erica get mixed up, Anneilse stuck in the streets and Erica up in the castle. Annelise, in a moment of desperation, goes to Madame Carp’s dress emporium for shelter. The problem? Madame Carp thinks Annelise is Erica, and locks her in the back of the shop with the other seamstress, Bertie. While Bertie does think it’s Erica at first, Annelise tells Bertie the whole story (presumably) and proceeds to do exactly as instructed. She doesn’t throw a fit or refuse to help, she sits down, grabs a needle, and gets to work. Sloppy work, but work nonetheless. Even when Bertie tells Annelise that she doesn’t have to work on the dresses, she insists on helping. She doesn’t once say “I’m a princess, I shouldn’t be doing this” she simply accepts that this is her work now and adds it onto her plate. Even when she’s not in the castle, she thinks it’s her job to take on work that she’s assigned, and while it’s painted as a moment of empathy and kindness, Annelise is shown to put her desires as the very last thing to prioritize.

Eventually she’s released from Madam Carp’s by Preminger and he immediately locks her in a mine shaft and tries to murder her and Julian. Yes, he’s gone full blown Disney villain and locks the two away in a mineshaft then causes a cave in. Annelise and Julian are locked in a shaft in a caved in mine. Can I say this one more time: Annelise and Julian are buried alive in a m i n e. Most people in this situation would be panicking, crying, generally reacting distressed, we can see Julian sure as hell is, as he grabs a pick and immediately tries to dig himself and Annelise out. What is Annelise doing during all of this? Staying calm, comforting Julian, and finding her kingdom’s solution to bankruptcy.

Say what you will about how “it’s just a movie” but I know that were I trapped in a caved in mine, my mind would not be on how to fix a problem that looked like it wasn’t gonna be my issue very, very soon. But not only does Annelise use the rock as a touching analogy to make Julian feel better about himself, she keeps the crystals in mind and when they escape the mine collapse- due to cat shenaniganry- and informs her mother of them to solve the kingdom’s gold issues.

Here, Annelise once again is solving a problem that she didn’t even cause to get her happily ever after. She is truly doing all of the work on this school project, and people are digging at how she was raised in a fancy castle rather than acknowledging that Annelise did a lot of hard work. One video I saw was someone talking about how if they were Erika they would’ve stayed in Annelise’s position to “earn that bag” and make some actual changes to improve the kingdom, but Annelise does make changes to help the kingdom!

She finds a new export, saves her kingdom’s market from completely crashing, helps revitalize the economy, and because of all of that people can move back home and re-open their shops! We don’t know much about how this kingdom is run, but we do know that the royalty feel a duty to help their people, to do what is best for the masses regardless of how much they don’t want to do it. This isn’t like the modern day one percent where people tear down historical sites to make room for their mega yachts. The reason Annelise and the Queen are rich is they are the government. They are a monarchy. We don’t see any massive balls or galas like we do in Island Princess or Cinderella, they’re not just throwing money around for the amusement of it.

They’re bankrupt because their mines ran dry, and they managed to save their kingdom by finding a new export. “Why don’t they use their own money to help people if they’re so fabulously wealthy?” While that idea could be a good bandaid, eventually that money would also run out and then not only would the kingdom be bankrupt, but there’d be no incentive for any nearby kingdoms to marry Annelise because she’d be a poor princess to a broke kingdom that would offer effectively no benefits to any allyship. The best, and most to the point plan that the queen comes up with is to marry her daughter off so her kingdom would get an injection of money as soon as possible, because they effectively had no other solutions. They didn’t know about the crystal mines, and they didn’t know Preminger was fabulously wealthy. The only solution was to make themselves look good, like a viable, healthy(ish) kingdom and hope that Dominick would accept the proposal and save their kingdom.

And that leads me to Dominick. Dominick, unlike Annelise, doesn’t use his privilege to help anyone other than himself and Erica. And even then, that privilege mostly amounts to him getting to do what he wants. While Annelise simply accepts that she has to marry this king, Dominick goes out of his way to disguise himself as a page boy so he could get to know Annelise before agreeing to anything. Dominick preemptively gives himself an out and chooses to test Annelise, while Annelise has to take the hand she’s given and not complain. In all of this, Annelise isn’t the one with a choice, ever. Her mother chooses to marry her off, her mother chooses king Dominick, Dominick chooses to disguise himself, and then Preminger chooses to kidnap her so she can’t marry Dominick. She has no agency in her life.

The only reason Dominick reveals himself to Erica (who is pretending to be Annelise at the moment so the marriage to save the kingdom doesn’t get called off) is because he thinks Annelise ran away because she didn’t want to marry a stranger. But he still is the one with the agency, and he only reveals his true self when he thinks that Annelise acted on her own behalf.

So Annelies isn’t allowed to have her own agency, but is spoiled because she’s rich, meanwhile Dominick is a king who practices his own agency regularly throughout the movie and he is rarely if ever criticized for it. He gets to meet Erica, fall in love with her, he gets to choose her, and when Erica is revealed to be a pauper and thrown in the dungeon he gets to use a suit of armor to sneak in and get her out of the prison safely. While I don’t think he got permission to break her out, he still was allowed to use his resources to go back to Annelise’s castle and get a suit of armor to sneak into the dungeon and break Erica out.

No one else in this film would’ve had access to resources like that other than maybe Annelise, and yet I don’t see anyone saying that Erica should check King Dominick’s privilege and lecture him on how he was lucky that he was allowed to get have the money to be a king and access to a suit of armor to sneak into the dungeons and save her from probably a death sentence. In this situation, Dominick is purely using his privileges for himself. Yes, he saves Erica, but at this point he’s also in love with her, and he’s saving her not just because she’s a good person, but because he’s fallen in love with her and doesn’t want to lose her.

When she’s accused of killing Annelise, he is distraught. He doesn’t believe it, he can’t fathom that this sweet young lady that he’s spent the week with would do something so horrid. That is why he saves her. Not because of some sense of justice, it’s because he’s smitten with her. Yes, he uses his privilege to help someone in a worse position than him, but according to people who are criticizing Annelise, that’s not enough. Especially when it’s a decision made out of self interest.

At the end of the film, Annelise and Dominick both help Erica with her situation. The royal family, having found out that Madame Carp’s business is corrupt at best, stops purchasing from her and she goes out of business. I can already hear people saying “The family shouldn’t have been buying dresses from Madame Carp in the first place! She’s vindictive and cruel to her workers!” and to that I raise you: How many beauty influencers and brands these days do something sketchy, and it’s later revealed that they were a horrible person or a bad corporation?

My first thought, as someone who wears alternative fashion, is DollsKill. I can admit that I’ve purchased things off of their website before I found out how unethical they are. Should I have done more research? Yes. And I don’t shop with them any more because of it. But if I, and many other people, were able to make that mistake in the year of 2023 with access to infinite information on the internet, then it’s easy to see how someone in the 1700’s could’ve made the same folly.

Especially since Madame Carp doesn’t exactly go around bragging that she abuses her seamstresses. We know that Annelise never met Madame Carp before the film, as Madame Carp claims she’s the princess’s “close personal friend” while actively calling Annelise "Erica" and refusing to believe it’s actually the princess in her boutique. Realistically, Annelise and the queen likely don’t even go shopping, they probably have a servant go into the market, buy a few gowns for upcoming events, and only know the gowns by their brands.

I do wonder what happened to Bertie after all of this, but she seems pretty happy that Madame Carp has to leave, so perhaps she has a backup plan or some sort of safety net. Maybe she was also in debt to Madame Carp and was just looking forward to paying off her debts before starting her own dress emporium, we don’t really know. Either way, the dress shop closing gives Erica the freedom to pursue her music career that she was being held back from and she does so. But that still leaves our boy Dominick. He talks to Erica, tries to convince her to stay with him, but she tells him that her dream is to travel and sing. He does eventually acquiesce and gives her an engagement ring, telling her that it was for her anyways, and that it wasn’t a promise nor pressure, simply a gift. In the end, after performing for a long while, Erica decides that she wants to be with Dominick and travels to his kingdom to marry him.

I think that Annelise and Dominick are both good people for being Monarchs that put the interest of those around them before themselves. But for some reason, Annelise is held to a much higher standard than Dominick, even when she makes very human mistakes. They both are raised as royalty, King Dominick likely even more so as he’s king of a wealthy kingdom, but he is never put under the same scrutiny as Annelise. Sure, he never claims to relate to Julian, but Annelise never claimed to relate to Erica until she suggested it.

And Annelise’s privileges aren’t always a good thing. I feel like people neglect the whole section of the story where she was kidnapped and held prisoner because of her mother’s advisor. Not figuratively, literally. Taken from her home and locked in a random cabin because Preminger wanted to be king and figured that kidnapping her was the wisest choice rather than just advising the queen to not marry her off. Annelise is actively put in danger and harm’s way because of her status.

Honestly, Annelise really gets the shaft, full pun intended, in the second half of the film, a lot of time being spent on Erica and King Dominick’s relationship. Despite being The Princess and the Pauper, Annelise’s story is really the B plot to Erica’s love story. This makes sense, after all, she spends a lot of time just kidnapped and locked in various rooms, but in a weird way this just shows yet again that she has no autonomy even in her own story. And yet, she’s the one who’s scorned for being spoiled.

“Well, she is spoiled. She had a roof over her head and warm food and we see how Erika is baffled at the spoils when she’s a princess” But I'm gonna say something that's likely gonna get the pitchforks out: Money doesn't buy happiness. Before anyone hits me with a “I’d rather cry in a bugatti than a gutter”, let me explain.

The phrase “money can’t buy happiness” has two very different interpretations, and I find that both sides refuse to listen to the other even though both have valid arguments. There’s the stance that it can buy happiness, as money provides all sorts of things. On the surface, it’s shallow things, jewelry, gaming consoles, toys, fashion, knick knacks and trinkets that provide short term serotonin by buying something that you really want. But dig a bit deeper, and it gives more than that. Money is stability, shelter, food, water. It’s hard to be happy if you can’t have those things. To further elaborate, if you’re in a bad enough position that you can’t afford to heat your home, or buy a meal, or get clean drinking water, being able to afford that, either by your own means or by having someone else get it for you, is something that can’t be put into a monetary value- even if it literally is given a price. Getting to have access to water, shelter, knowing that you’ll have food in the morning, that’s something that you likely won’t understand the value of if you’ve always had it. Money may not buy literal happiness, but it provides security, and that security can lead to happiness.

Then there’s the argument that it can’t buy happiness, and people who have this opinion usually aren’t wondering where their next meal will be coming from or if they can pay rent this month. This stance is usually painted as privileged and spoiled because “well, you can say that because you’ve never had to worry about paying to survive”, but in my experience it’s quite the contrary. Most people I’ve met who say “money can’t buy happiness” usually include a caveat that if someone is in a position where they can’t afford food or shelter then of course money buys happiness. Stability is the foundation of comfort and comfort leads to happiness. No one is saying that someone’s ridiculous for being happy they can afford to live. And if you have seen that stance, then I'm sorry humans just suck.

Rather, “money can’t buy happiness” means that material objects cannot replace emotional intimacy or support. Surface level items have short-term pleasure that cannot be sustainable as the happiness lasts less and less with each material object. And this feeling of dissatisfaction only increases the more things you get. This is especially true when it comes to gifts. While gift giving is a valid love language, the whole point of it is giving or receiving items that have sentimental value more than monetary value. A pebble that’s their favorite color means way more than a PS5 when they exclusively use Nintendo products.

But when you don’t have a support system, healthy relationships, and the people you do have around you try to replace emotional intimacy with shallow gifts that don’t amount to anything, you find yourself downright miserable. Most people that I’ve met that have the stance that money can’t buy happiness tend to reach that conclusion after a guardian figure causes intense emotional distress or neglect then tries to purchase love with a shallow but expensive gift. It’s not that money can’t provide you with things that make you happy, it’s that money can’t provide emotional intimacy or a genuine support system.

If anything, Princess and the Pauper is the perfect allegory for this phrase, as Erica, though poor and struggling to get by, has emotional support in Bertie, her singing, her dreams. But, she doesn’t have access to security, stability, physical comforts, and is blocked from pursuing her goals because of external factors. Annelise meanwhile, is in a position of comfort and stability, but doesn’t have any emotional support nor outlets, her only friend being her teacher and her mother having a strict regime for her to follow regardless of her desires while being surrounded by luxurious gifts from other royalty that are ultimately empty gestures.

All of this to say, while Annelise is a princess who lives with the privileges of being a rich, upper class girl with access to many things that Erica could only dream of, her life isn’t one of luxury and spoils. She doesn’t get to indulge in her pleasures and can only appreciate things on a surface level because that is all she has time for. I don’t think most of the people who criticize Annelise could actually handle her schedule every day of every month of every year. She’s not some Disney princess who’s only job is to be pretty and interesting for the male love interest, she has duty. Responsibility. A full time job that dictates her sleep schedule.

She’s not unaware of her privileges and if anything is always using them to help everyone else, and at the end of the film she still doesn’t get that freedom that she’s searching for. She invites a pauper to sing at the castle, she tries to find solutions to the kingdom’s bankruptcy for her people, she goes out of her way to help when she can, and she’s not completely insensitive to the struggles of her friends. Even when she’s supposed to be taking a break, or is in a dire situation, she’s still constantly thinking of how to help others first.

Yes, she gets to marry Julian, but she’s still a princess and still likely follows her royal schedule to a T. While Erica got to learn what it’s like to be a princess, got to pursue her music, and got to marry King Dominick, becoming a princess herself, Annelise’s conclusion is ultimately that she managed to solve the kingdom’s bankruptcy so she could marry whom she chooses and then proceeds to fall back into the same routine of fixing everything for everyone else. She only gets freedom in one aspect, and we never see her actually get a day to herself, a day to relax. The only “relaxation” we see happening is with Erica while she spends time with Dominick, and that week likely was going to be Annelise’s only break before the marriage. So even after saving the day, Annelise still doesn’t get what she wants, and yet supposedly she’s spoiled rotten.

Truly, she does do what she says in the first song Free. “I’ll remain forever royal… Duty means doing the things your heart may well regret.” Erica never actually repays her parent’s debts, Madame Carp goes out of business and Erica gets let off the hook probably because she has two very powerful royals on her side. And this once again is Annelise using her privileges to help those who don't have the same as her by choosing to not support a business that is bad for its workers.

Erica gets released from her servitude early and then gets to chase after her dreams, but Annelise only gets to marry Julian after putting in the work to solve the bankruptcy so she doesn’t have to marry some other rich king that isn’t the one who fell for her best friend.