#and of course I would love more of an actual period of time where Anne and Wentworth are together in the narrative

[cottagecore-raccoon]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Persuasion has my favorite premise of all of Jane Austen's novels

Anne Elliot as a character speaks to my soul. She feels tremendous guilt for a decision she made eight years ago. Her life is lonely, as she doesn't really have anyone she can truly confide in despite being surrounded by people. So she swallows her pain, the yearning she feels deep in her soul, and vows that if nothing else at least she'll be helpful.

And of course she is reunited with Frederick Wentworth (the one that got away) who seems to hate her now, and she just keeps going. She keeps being kind and supporting her loved ones while slowly carving out a life for herself. There's something about her classic heroism that just feels so attainable. I don't have Elizabeth Bennett's wit, or Jane Bennett's unwavering belief in the goodness of everyone, or even Elinor's constant composure. But I can be like Anne and just keep moving forward attempting to be helpful

Of course it all works out in the end, and Anne is finally surrounded by people who truly appreciate her, even if she had to wait an extra eight years. Others have observed the fairy tale quality of the ending, and perhaps that's why it speaks to me. The idea that if you just keep doing your best and being kind, you'll eventually find happiness

[sarahreesbrennan]

Another Interesting Spoilery Evil Question

To directly answer the question before I start rambling, the Cobra’s body’s physical age is 24.

(You can stop reading here if you like. This gets very long!)

When Marius meets the Cobra (chapter 18 epigraph from Time of Iron) he correctly identifies him as Marius’s own age at the time - 18.

At the time of the book all the physical bodies’ ages are as follows.

Marius - 24

The Cobra - 24

Rahela - 24

Octavian - 24

(Pio and Nemeth, Octavian’s advisers, are in their early 40s and late 50s respectively - they’re Octavian’s dad’s people and that is part of why they are so stressed. Their king died young, Octavian became king in his teens and it has been an uneasy court ever since.)

Emer - 23

Key - 20

Lia - 19

Rae and Eric in our world were both 4 years younger than their bodies in this world (so they would both be 20 if the story hadn’t happened to them). For the moment we’ll leave aside Key, who had another life too, in a different way. (He was a little kid, but old enough to walk after his father, in the epigraph from Time of Iron in chapter 15.)

I do age shenanigans for two reasons.

—One is that age in fiction and reality is weird, and I wanted to portray that. If I had a crush on Mr Darcy when I was 7, is that okay? If I had a crush on Mr Darcy when aged 41, is that okay? Mr Darcy’s always in his late twenties: Elizabeth Bennet will never be older than 21, but she seemed so glamorous and all-knowing to me when I was a kid.

And if you walk into a story, when in their character development do you find them? Would we like Darcy when he’s sneering at Elizabeth at a ball? Who is it that we love and when?

Plenty of adult women fancied Edward Cullen, perpetually a teen (or was he? Fantasy and horror also open up the possibility of immortality - but in a way, all fictional characters are immortal. Holden Caulfield isn’t growing up any more than Edward Cullen is. And like fictional characters and immortals, the dead aren’t getting any older either—I think often of Anne Rice, author of the Vampire Chronicles, who wrote the doomed child vampire Claudia after losing her own daughter Michele as a child. Death, immortality, fiction and the overlap!) When I read or watched stories in which characters were in different/changed bodies they usually seemed younger - often their younger selves, or a younger/cuter body (Peggy Sue Got Married, Scarlet Heart). (Exceptions exist of course, e.g. Howl’s Moving Castle.) And I like magic losing something, costing you something, plus I’m a contrarian. So I wanted them older.

—The other is that LONG LIVE EVIL is a story about trauma, which often arrests your age in your mind. The period in which you were enduring the horrors is a blank in which you couldn’t develop normally, or in which you had plenty of experiences but few of them match with your peers’.

Cancer did it to me, which wasn’t horrendous as I was in my early 30s and that’s still adult, just meant a bit of ‘oh no I’m not this child’s mother, I’m too young - actually I’m a bit old to be this child’s mother now I think about it, but anyway I don’t claim her’ and the like. But I’ve seen it do the same for people with cancer I befriended or whom I mentor, and it’s a very different proposition if the lost years are 17-21.

It’s not just cancer, I’ve seen bereavement work that way on people, and apparently celebrity works on the mind like trauma and arrests you at the age you became famous in a lot of ways. It’s being taken out of the run of ordinary life, walking through your portal into strangeness.

But in the end most of us wind up with years that feel lost, I think, and playing catch-up is the only way forward.

And allegory remains allegory: if I’m writing a werewolf I’m taking about rage and body horror, sure, but I’m also talking about werewolves.

I was actually confused by this ask at first as I’d written a whole section where Eric says he’s going to die of a heart attack at 20 and Marius is exasperated as Eric is a little young to start lying about his age! But it must have fallen victim to my many cuts - stories transform! - and I can see why, because I don’t think Eric exactly thinks of himself as 20 anymore.

I had some struggles with the age stuff, it’s another layer of complication in a complicated story and there were worries raised that it was unnecessary and might make some characters less appealing but in the end I decided it was necessary to me and let the characters be unappealing, then.

I also enjoy the twisting, fluid ages because they cause conflict, and conflict is story.

Rae uses her new age (and thus doesn’t need to think of her absolutely horrible self worth) to count herself out as a romantic option in Key’s eyes.

She also thinks of the Emperor as in his mid-20s, as he is - after a time skip that happens in the original Time of Iron, years in which Key and Emer were Lia’s servants. She knows about those years, but she doesn’t put it together.

At Eric and Marius’s first meeting 6 years before the events of LONG LIVE EVIL, Eric also hasn’t been in the book that long. He was in a horrifically traumatic survival situation for a large part of the time he was inside, when he approached Marius to blackmail him. That is objectively a deranged thing to do, but Eric is thinking like a terrified 14 year old and also like a Huge Fan of Marius. aka the quintessential white knight, the Last Hope who is reserved and dignified and crucially, 24-28.

That would be the Marius Eric at the time knows when he approaches Marius in the flesh, Marius at 18 and coming off family trauma, friend trauma and quasi-romantic trauma himself. Marius actually DOES go into dissociative states and kill people, Eric was taking a huge risk with his own life that not a single person in the country would have taken. Marius is a Valerius, and they are killers. (The whole court, Marius included, thought Lady Katalin ((Rahela’s mother)) was being very daring by like, touching Marius’s hand when he was 17.)

Eric is acting wild partly because a) he is wild, b) he’s desperate but also crucially c) he’s thinking of Marius as someone that Marius isn’t yet and d) he’s not thinking of things from Marius’s POV, and doesn’t until the events of LONG LIVE EVIL. Their quasi friendship/quasi hostage situation (that the hostage had firmly decided was happening) couldn’t have happened without a perfect storm of weirdness, risks and lack of understanding what the hell was going on.

Marius would not have seen a 14 year old Eric (not a child to him exactly, but squire age rather than knight age) as a criminal threat in the same way as he saw the Cobra, his own age (18, which was definitely very adult, Marius thought at the time). Eric wouldn’t have failed to consider consequences or failed to consider Marius as person rather than character, if he’d actually been 18. But by the time anyone knew better, a status quo was established, and habit is second nature and a stronger nature than the first.

Eric’s plight is horrific initially. But at the same time, Eric is extremely intelligent (both intellectually and emotionally) and able to both cover and play catch-up to this new life, and he can advise Rae with the benefit of his experience - but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t screw up massively when he first came into the book, or that he doesn’t still have many things to work through.

Similarly, Emer is used to Rahela who is quasi older sister and quasi mistress, while Rae is now acting younger. And all of them are dealing with a gross system in which men are seen as in their youthful prime when women the same age are getting long in the tooth and can be traded in for teenagers - so even two people who are the same age aren’t treated as if they’re the same age, if they’re different genders. Age stuff is crunchy!

Also, while Emer thinks of Lia as having all the power due to class, Lia looks on someone who was her glamorous older stepsister’s age mate and went off to the big city years ago rather differently. But then, are adulthood and childhood different worlds? Is being in different social classes being in different worlds?

Can we reach the different universes of other people is something I’m always asking, I think.

THIS IS SO LONG. I AM SO SORRY.

[anghraine]

I saw a popular author post about how, while of course Elizabeth has some obligatory flaws, Darcy's are exponentially more severe, and it was like stepping into a view so far removed from mine that it was almost disorienting.

The thing is, I periodically see people wondering why Elizabeth/Darcy is such a behemoth in Austen fandom when either/both of them have substantial flaws that the narrative doesn't shy away from. Their flaws aren't identical, but they do obviously mirror each other and are thematically intertwined, with reflecting character arcs and specific beats. As I see it, the novel maintains a tense and careful balance between them—not in terms of centrality (Elizabeth's mistakes and growth are more central to the narrative than Darcy's IMO) but in terms of the weight given their flaws and virtues.

And for me that's essential to their appeal!

I love plenty of other Austen characters and relationships, but for me, personally, none of the other canon pairings are balanced in such a fun and satisfying way. The closest (and the other most conventionally romantic pairing in Austen IMO) is probably Anne/Wentworth, where at least the choices of both of them are heavy contributors to their current problems. But a) the novel is ambivalent as to whether Anne actually erred morally in the first place and b) that is long in the past by the time of the novel; the Anne of the main story of Persuasion is a fairly idealized figure by contrast to Wentworth.

I sometimes see arguments that, say, Anne or Mr Knightley or Elinor Dashwood or whomever are actually as flawed and prone to error as their romantic counterparts, but I just ... don't buy it, honestly. As far as canon Austen goes, I only really see that balance in the course of the main story with Elizabeth/Darcy. P&P loves them and holds them up as admirable (and they are!), but it also loves undercutting them in clearly paralleling ways and does it over and over throughout the novel.

So the idea of an Elizabeth and Darcy where one of them has obligatory storytelling flaws that can't seriously be compared to the other's is just ... blah. It cuts out the fundamental interconnection and resonance between them that I think is built into the structure of the novel down to its bones and is what makes their relationship special. A lot of stories pay lip-service to that kind of dynamic, sure, but despite the many (many) imitators, I don't often see it done successfully. But P&P is the real deal.

So yeah, when people are like "why do people like Elizabeth with Darcy so much when she could have a different man who doesn't make serious mistakes" I'm just thinking ... why on earth would I want Elizabeth "there was truth in his looks" Bennet with someone who would never make mistakes on that level? Or when people are like, Darcy's just misunderstood, wouldn't he be better off with Jane [or another relatively idealized female character] it's like ... hell no, I love him, but I do not want to inflict him on that poor woman.

It's not that there's something wrong with multishipping them (I've written alternate pairings for both!) or shipping them with other people, but just in terms of the novel as it exists, I do think the balance and echoes between them are part of what makes the novel work and one of the sources of their long-standing popularity. And I feel that trying to pin the "real" blame on one or the other up-ends that balance and diminishes a lot of what I, at least, find appealing about the dynamic between them.

[composeregg]

Polythieves Mug Collection (Part 2)

Last time, on the collection of mugs at the phantom thieves' household: it was very sweet and sappy, with themed choices for their code names.

You can find it here

THIS TIME

It's time for more gifts, memes, being silly, and finding weird mugs

This is absolutely one of Akira's favorites

Yusuke, meanwhile has this set of mugs

(The coffee goes in the one labeled "paint water" while "not paint water" is, in fact, the paint water)

Yusuke and Ann both have matching "Hot Chick" mugs, as well

The thieves love to fight over this one, Akira gives it to whoever has done Hot Girl Shit the most recently. He likes giving it to Sumi, but the others all compete to win it

Someone outside the polycule mistakes Ryuji for being straight, and soon enough he gets to be the DILF holder. They have 0 children when he gets this mug

Another popular one! Akira hands it to anyone else with the joke "I've never had anxiety in my life" and then it's promptly that person's turn to smack him for such a bold-faced lie

Makoto. It's very true.

A gift for Ryuji, another favorite of his

Yusuke finds the jug (jean mug) at a qaint roadside market and instantly falls in love with it. He knows exactly what do to with it. He presents it to Futaba.

Futaba (very much a trans girl) goes "Well it would be nice to finally have jugs" and Yusuke completely missed that implication until then

This one goes to Yusuke. Obviously

And another for Makoto!

A joke spiraled out of control ends up with Akira being the sexy senior citizen, after Yusuke jokingly calls him "grandfather" once

Often given to Haru, or whoever has commited the most recent Women's Wrongs

Another of Akira's favorites. He lets Morgana steal it sometimes

It's very important to note that certain mugs can be chosen and used to send messages to other thieves depending on circumstances, for instance:

Dick. Either Akira is mildly pissed at the person, or he's flirting. Potentially both!

if he is VERY annoyed, they might face this mug

Though the one with the bee movie script is a good indicator if he's annoyed. Or if the person he's giving it to is Yusuke. Yusuke loves literally every weird mug ever

When Goro Akechi is around, especially early on after he shows back up, Akira gives him the "Guess I'll die" mug. He might be a little mad about the constant deaths.

Which, however, is not as bad as THIS ONE, a favorite, that Akira was holding when he encountered Marki one time. He does throw it, it does hurt, it does break on the ground. He's justified

(They get a new one later)

Morgana also gets Catmander in Chief

Akira passive-aggressively drinks from this mug when Goro is around

Shrek mug. No one will admit to buying it and placing it there. (It was Sumi, she's so proud of not being caught yet)

This one OFTEN goes to Ann

A VERY fun one for Haru

They actually get Akira this during that period of time where he's legally dead

This one is just so funny it has to be there

Goro gets the Official Left Handers mug

This one for sure goes to Futaba

Sometimes you do not question the mug. It says run, you run. It goes to Ryuji

And Of course, last but CERTAINLY not least,

World's greatest slut.

(Akira always tries to keep it, but SOME PEOPLE demand their turn)

Most mugs taken from @shiftythrifting or like, the internet at large.

I am at image limit and currently out of mugs to share but if I find more then more may come! If others want to contribute PLEASE do so!

[pasta-in-the-pudding]

I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT I GOT IT

OKAY OKAY OMAY LMAY SO SOSOSOSOOO

uhm wait OH OKAY

SO YOU CHOOSE……LIU OR TOBY!!!! :DDD

UHHHH how about a reader that sees one of them as a father figure and is comfortable around them no matter where or what

YEAH SOMETHING SIMILAR WITH THAT!!!! I am still brainstorming ideas

YOU, MY DEAR INDIVIDUAL, CAN CHOOSE WHEN TO WRITE THIS AT ANYTIME!!!! -heal heal heal recover recovery swish swosh-

TAKE CARRREEEEOEKDJDKSKDFNSLDK :DDDDDD

-🐰

𝕀 𝔾𝕆 ℝ𝔸𝔹𝕀𝔻 𝔽𝕆ℝ ℂ𝔸ℝ𝔼𝕋𝔸𝕂𝔼ℝ 𝕃𝕀𝕌 𝔹𝔸ℝ𝕂 𝔹𝔸ℝ𝕂 𝔹𝔸ℝ𝕂

ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕠 𝕥𝕠 @𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕤-𝕟-𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖!! 𝔾𝕠 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕞 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜!

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘!!

Father figure!Liu x Child!Reader

A lot of the kids like Liu around the manor

He is super calm and caring towards children, and he also just radiates comforting adult vibes

His normal attire consists of some brown jeans, a grey t-shirt, some sort of cardigan (usually green, black, brown or grey), and a scarf to hide the scars on his neck

And he always smells so comforting too

So yeah, a lot of the kids adore him more than the other caretakers

So when you come along, looking up to him as this sort of father figure, he accepts it with open arms

However, you will have to share with the other children

He is almost always surrounded by at least 2 other children so yeah

If you are small enough to be carried, he will carry you around on his hip while he talks to or helps the other children

If not, he will hold your hand as he walks around the manor preforming various tasks for them

Sometimes he needs both hands though, so you'll just have to hold on to his cardigan

It does get a little bit tiring having you always following him around, but he is able to adapt pretty quickly

And knowing the kind of childhood he had, he'd much rather be tired out than have you think he doesn't love you

Eventually, people will probably begin to mistake you as biological child and father

With how you follow him even to the grocery store, or to the gas station, or insist on sleeping in his bed with him during bedtime for all the children

News outlets and paparazzi sources would probably begin spreading the rumor around that Liu Woods has adopted a child

He neither confirms nor denies said rumors, because whether he's actually adopted you or not, he still loves you and will still take care of you either way

That being said, it is difficult to navigate times in which you physcially cannot be with him

Like if he has to go with Slender to a meeting across the world

As he's heading out the door with his suitcases, you are tripping him up and clinging to his cardigan begging him not to go

He has someone take his stuff for him while he crouches down and explains that he has to go, because it's his job

He will rub your head and give many hugs before promising to call you every night that he's gone

Or if you got sick and had to be put on bed rest

With a snotty nose and tears in your eyes you plead for him to not go to the store to get your medicine, and insist that he stays here with you

He of course, explains that E.J or Nurse Ann will be here with you, and that he just has to go real quick to get your medicine so you can feel better

He's always so patient with little children, as he understands that a lot of the time, they can't even really comprehend the idea of literally just not being able to do things

He's never lost his temper with a child and doesn't plan on doing it any time soon

And so when he returns with your medicine, you quickly take it so that he can climb into bed with you and read you a story while you lay on his chest

And if he ever has to leave you for long periods of time, he will give you one of his cardigans to wear, even though it's too big for you

You wear it non-stop until he gets back and refuse to let anyone wash it because then it wouldn't smell like him!

And when you are upset and wishing he could be there to comfort you, you just cocoon up in his cardigan and smell it

When he gets back, he is able to get it back and wash it, because now any time you need comfort, you can simply crawl up in his lap and smell his shirt while he rubs your back and whispers words of comfort into your head

Off topic, but he probably wouldn't kiss you for comfort like how parents or siblings do

For 1, he doesn't kiss any of the kids he watches over, because most just see him as a baby sitter

2, he isn't related to you in any way, and is only a caretaker so that'd be weird, and also he knows a lot of children in the manor have trauma and as a survivor of many assults himself, doesn't want to trigger anything

3, there are a plethora of ways he can comfort you without even touching you, and if he can do that, he always prefers to do that becuase it's just better for everyone

AN: hey guys request more caretaker Liu i love writing this shit BARK BARK BARK

[kaspenhoward]

A Day In The Queens Home When Anne Is In Hyper fixation Mode:

The Queens minus Anne: [Peaking through the doorway to the living room]

Kat whispering as to not disturb Anne: Has she even moved this whole time?

Anna: Not unless it’s to flip a page, pick up the next book, shift around, or go to the bathroom.

Jane: Has she even ate or drank any water? She’s just been reading books about languages for hours. By the time she’s done she’ll know of the history of every language in the world.

Catalina slightly loud: Out of all the forsaken things the lady can even obsess over, it’s the history of languages that she’s interested in??

Everyone minus Catalina and Anne: Shhhhh!!!

Catalina quieter: Alright! Alright! I get it, I’ll be quiet.

Cathy: Should we be more concerned about the fact that Anne literally is so engrossed with such an arbitrary subject that she won’t even move from her spot on the couch and has devoured three books in less than the span of 48 hours?!

Jane concerned: She didn’t sleep last night??

Cathy: No. She went upstairs and pretended to sleep for a few minutes so Catalina would go through her nightly check of all our rooms, see that everyone was asleep, and then would go to sleep when she knowing everyone was safe and accounted for. Anne then went back to her place on the couch and read through the entirety of night where we found her reading this morning up to now.

Kat: Should we.. try to snap her out of it? She really should get some sleep. And drink and eat something.

Jane: I don’t know. She might be going through something and avoiding it, she does seem to be enjoying herself though.. Cathy?

Cathy: I read about something like this on the internet. It’s called “hyper fixation” and is a symptom of the mental illness called “Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder”, which could actually explain plenty of Anne’s behaviors and difference in personality since reincarnation. When some is “hyper fixating” the person for a period of time obsesses on a person, activity, object, concept, story, or topic, when this occurs the person usually ignores everyone and everything around them. “Tuning out” reality. Of course they can provide their attention to reality around them when they unfocus but will continue to consistently think and talk about it. I think this is what’s going on with Anne. It isn’t really as bad as it seems though, as long as the person maintains a connection with reality, makes sure to care for oneself, and practices grounding techniques they’ll be fine.

All the queens minus Anne and Cathy: . . .

Anna: Babes. I hope you know we didn’t understand half of what you said. But does this thing, that you just explained, the reason why Anne is so scarily smart?

Cathy: No exactly but it does encourage her thirst for knowledge.

Kat: Doesn’t answer my question, what are we gonna do about this? [Gestures to Anne, sitting on the couch intensely reading a book about the history of the Norwegian language]

Cathy: Just because I know what’s going on doesn’t mean I know what to do!

Catalina: Can’t we just get her some food and water and put some sleeping drugs in it?

Jane: No Catalina. We’re not drugging Anne! But the food and water suggestion is probably the better idea. Maybe Kat can coax her into sleeping?

Kat: I may have legendary cuddles but it is impossible to coax Anne into sleeping.

Anna: Just give it a shot, maybe her exhaustion will catch up to her!

The Queens minus Anne and Kat: [Look at Kat expectingly with pleading eyes]

Kat:

Kat: [Sigh] I love my cousin, but why am I the one always sent to the do the dirty work?

The other queens: We love you Kat!

Kat: Yeah.. Yeah.. Sure, just go get the stuff for Anne-

Anne pauses, closes her book, and stares at all of them with bloodshot eyes: . . .

The Other Queens, Frozen: . . .

Anne: . . .

Jane: Did you-

Anne: Yes I heard everything you guys are uncharacteristically loud and I can’t tune out noise no matter how quiet it is. I read like this in my past life just like in this one. Yes someone please get me something to eat and drink my head is pounding, and yes I’ll gladly take some Kat cuddles. I should be mad at you all for suggesting drugging me and discussing of me like this but I am worse for wear enough that I’ll accept the help.

The Queens Minus Anne: [Let out a collective sigh of relief]

Catalina: I’ll just take- [Reaches for Anne’s book]

Anne: Hands off my book. Lina, My acceptance for help does not equate to stealing my property!

The Other Queens: [Muffled giggles]

Catalina: Yup. Should have seen that one coming. Ever the queen you still are.

Anne: Once a Queen always a Queen. We’re all Queens here. I must thank you all for worrying about me, now if that’s over, I was promised some cuddles?

[natequarter]

I was reading your posts about how badly most/all historical fiction and period dramas are when it comes to faithful portrayals and was wondering about your thoughts on Wolf Hall, whether you read it, watched it, or both. And also, are there examples that you feel do it well? Or are there examples where they get it wrong but you still enjoy them? (Can you tell I’ve been on a historical fiction kick lately?) I know that’s a lot of questions, so please don’t feel obligated to answer them.

oh boy, this is... complicated. i'll start off with wolf hall, because that will probably be easier: necessary disclaimer that i have not watched or read all of wolf hall, but i have read a significant chunk of the first book.

firstly, i actually enjoyed reading wolf hall a lot. there are a couple of bits that grated me when i read it (iirc it suggests that henry viii was to become archbishop of canterbury before the death of his brother, which is emphatically not true; nitpicky, i know, but it's one of the misleading "fun facts" you often hear about henry viii), but for the most part i found it rather refreshing. i have to praise hilary mantel's writing style, of course; it's beautiful prose, and a relieving change from first person present tense narratives, which are bad. (disclaimer: this is a personal opinion. i happen to think that 99% of all first person narratives are utter shit.) in terms of plot events, i think my favourite parts of wolf hall are cromwell with his wife and children, and him grieving his wife and children; the quiet reminders of their absence are heartbreaking.

now, onto the things i didn't like. i didn't love the tv show; nothing wrong with it, necessarily, it just didn't click with me - and it probably didn't help that when i watched it the screen light to room light balance was very off. and as for mantel herself... quite a few people have pointed out that her treatment of the women (notably anne boleyn and jane parker, her sister-in-law) in her series comes off as misogynistic, and i personally find the treatment of thomas more grating. essentially, she buys into a lot of the old narratives of jane parker being 'scheming' and betraying anne boleyn and her brother george; and her depiction of anne can similarly come off as that of a scheming woman and nothing more. there is an argument to be made that we're seeing this through cromwell's eyes, so naturally he's going to be biased against certain people - but mantel is the writer and she chose what she wrote. she seeks to balance out the classic depictions of cromwell as scheming and more as a literal saint, but it tips over into just making more look like a villain - things such as him choosing to educate his wife are warped into more being... evil? somehow? there's a double standard with cromwell vs the other characters: when cromwell is pious, it's devotion; when more is pious, it's fanaticism, and the same with cromwell vs the women in the books. finally, hilary mantel was transphobic. i'm not here to argue about that one.

granted, i don't think these things make wolf hall unforgivably bad, by any stretch of the imagination. i think it's a complex, flawed book and the same applies to the show. i think this youtube review summarises it well overall - and of course these things are always nuanced and complicated and so on and so forth.

there are shows which do historical fiction absolutely horribly, like the spanish princess. i have no interest in defending that, because, as far as i'm concerned, it's a mess not worth attacking; that's been done to death. i would also consider the vast majority of books by philippa gregory and alison weir to be a major waste of time. weir is also a non-fiction writer, and her non-fiction is exactly as bad, so for the love of good, please don't pick those up either. both authors like to draft in rape, magic (dear god, don't talk to me about the fucking magic), not-like-other-girls female characters, incest (???) and a bucket load of misogyny in lieu of actual plot. neither of them are good writers, either.

onto works which do an alright or complicated job. i think wolf hall belongs here - it does some things very well, some things... not so well. i'd also put becoming elizabeth here - as you've said, this is one where they get things wrong but i can still enjoy it. the show covers the reign of edward vi (1547-1553) and the teenage years of elizabeth i (about 13-19, so literally her teenage years). the good parts? it's a fantastic depiction of edward vi and mary - both are brilliantly cast and the acting from them is amazing. it incorporates black characters into authentic period roles, the clothing is really well done, and it shows most of the important parts of edward's reign. the bad parts? well, elizabeth is played by a woman in her late twenties. this lets the whole thing down, frankly. it's supposed to be a show about elizabeth, and yet edward or mary could easily replace her as protagonists - i don't think the actor playing her is great, personally. and then there's the fact that this show portrays the grooming of elizabeth by thomas seymour. the show actually makes their relationship out to be genuine and the two sleep together, a deviation from history and a particularly troubling one given that the real elizabeth was uncomfortable with seymour's advances and actively tried to avoid him. it also spends six of its eight episodes on seymour when seymour was beheaded a third of the way through edward's reign. thus, it has its upsides and its major downsides - oh, and the characters say fuck a lot, which is mildly annoying. but i can enjoy it, as long as elizabeth's not talking and they're not focusing too much on seymour... a bit of a letdown from a show supposedly about her.

there's also the tudors, which is a bit of a mixed bag - it makes some inexplicable changes from history, but it often uses quotations from tudor sources in its dialogue. the casting can be a bit... wonky, but it does have its moments, and offers a somewhat more balanced version of more vs cromwell. i don't particularly like it because it often modernises the characters a bit - and i don't want that! making characters act like modern people seriously misses the point: this is historical fiction, not a modern thriller or whatever. the girlbossification of historical women who were often seriously held back by the men around them and wielded influence in rather different ways to what we think of as strong women is exhausting.

and there is historical fiction which i really enjoy. dissolution (and its sequels) is a murder mystery series by c. j. sansom, narrated by the fictional matthew shardlake, a disabled king's commissioner working for cromwell. he ends up investigating the murder of another commissioner at a monastery in scarnsea. it deals with the issues of religion, gender, and disability in very interesting ways; matthew is not infallible and clearly holds some very tudor views of the world. it's a richly-written world and it really does feel like you're in 1530s england, and i really recommend it. i also like becket (1964) and the lion in winter, neither of which are particularly striving for accuracy - but they're good dramas and brilliantly acted, and, you know, maybe henry ii was secretly in love with thomas becket. (both are heartwrenching films and i will never be over: 'You give the lions of England back to me like a little boy who doesn't want to play anymore. I would have gone to war with all England's might behind me, and even against England's interests, to defend you, Thomas. I would have given away my life laughingly for you. Only I loved you and you didn't love me. That's the difference.') my feelings on bill (2015) are more or less the same - it's an intentionally ahistorical film, and it works because it's well-written and not trying to accurately represent the past. the '70s series like the six wives of henry viii and the shadow of the tower are really enjoyable, too - because they actually cared about making decent series about the tudors relying on the actual events which transpired during the era!

i'll leave the question of costuming out in the open; i think this youtube video has some good points on whether period-accurate costuming is essential. i like it, personally, but i'm not going to be furious at a missed french hood; the only thing that will truly make me furious is a french hood with no veil. either bother, or don't bother! don't... don't do neither, jesus christ! as for historical accuracy in general - i think that's a question which will never have one true answer. personally, i do value a rough adherence to the historical timeline, at least for fairly well-know facts like, i don't know, henry viii having two sisters? why does the tudors merge them into one person? what? anyway. i think these posts offer some valuable insight into how vague and murky a concept historical accuracy really is and how it can be wielded as a weapon against people rather than in the interests of a good story (read at your own peril - they are quite long). there is also the problem of hindsight - as readers, we know that edward vi will die at only fifteen. the average person at the time did not! well, not until 1553. the point is, books where the narrator has seemingly prophetic powers or knowledge of future events are unrealistic. what i think is most important is writing stories that more or less accord to the timeline of history in the general details and capturing the attitudes of people who lived in the past decently. this is what really brings historical fiction to life, in my opinion. these also offer up good opportunities for parody and satire - a film which intentionally gets history wrong Because Incest is frustrating, but a film which intentionally gets history wrong to parody it, like blackadder, can be incredibly entertaining. inaccuracy is not always bad. that said, if you don't make henry viii ginger, i will hate you forever. soz. as for language - it's ridiculous to expect dialogue to be written 100% in middle english or what-have-you, but the occasional 'god's bones!' instead of 'oh my god' would be nice, and an avoidance of just putting a load of fucks in there...

and finally, for the elephant in the room... misogyny. there are certainly other -isms which permeate historical fiction as they do everything else, but this is the big one. so many depictions of women in historical fiction uncritically buy into the narratives of misogynistic medieval commentators which we have inherited from centuries of men recycling them. like calling women sluts, or witches, or writing them as genuinely sleeping with a male relative - taking the slander against them literally. like boxing women into a few stereotypes - docile and submissive; scheming bitch; old hag; and whore. like sexing up rapists and groomers. like forgiving historical men for things we condemn historical women for.

i hope this helped! i have many thoughts, none of which are easily summarised. i don't know if there's a right answer to this. but i do know one thing: the white princess is bad. thank you for the ask!

[pluviophile-bookworm]

Schmicago is Over and Done... so here are my thoughts on all of it (extra long post)

Episode 1: Welcome to Schmicago

In all honesty, I was fully prepared not to like this season bc I’m really not (or at least was not) that into this era of musicals, but all I needed was the start of Welcome to Schmicago and I was so completely in. Thank you to all the geniuses who made it possible.

No but… the second time round that the word ‘farrago’ comes up in the lyrics of the episode’s title song, I well, I was literally thinking ‘what the hey’s a farrago’, and the Narrator says ‘look it up’ — it’s like they’re reading the viewer’s thoughts. I love it. That’s the self-aware humour I’ve come for. Also, I did look it up and farrago means a confused mixture. I like it. It fits.

This is killing me (in the best way) — when they say ‘endings that are tragic’, the Narrator holds up a strand of Melissa’s hair. I love the double meaning.

I love love love this! At one point you can clearly hear Kristin Chenoweth saying ‘peas and carrots, peas and carrots’, and Josh and Melissa are like ‘Please don’t talk all at once, we can’t understand you’. Love that bit of theatre inside humour.

‘Do you have a cigarette, darling, I’m simply desperate’… what an introduction to Dove’s new character, Jenny Banks. Or, as I immediately dubbed her when I saw her, Liza Jr. I feel like I’m going to like her.

‘Fifty’s not that old’ — this coming, of course, from Keegan-Michael Key, who is 52 in real life. And ain’t he living proof of it, too.

I am loving Does That Shock You (I assume that’s the name of the song) [It’s Do We Shock You, actually, but there was no way for me to know that back when the episode aired, now was there?] — it’s like, ‘look, there’s a man and he’s wearing a dress’, ‘I like both boys and girls’, and, most hilariously, ‘I’ve experienced an orgasm. A female one.’ Goodness, this doesn’t shock me or Josh and Melissa, but it sure as the stars would render the people of Schmigadoon catatonic. And I love that, for some reason.

No but the cabaret girls… Annie, Kate, Molly, Tessie, Pepper, Duffy and Elsie. Like… a certain bunch of orphan girls from the same time period as all musicals referenced here take place. Plus Cabaret’s Elsie, of course. That’s basically as if… the girls grew up to become showgirls, which actually isn’t too far-fetched. And Ariana DeBose as the EmCee is slaying it. I love all of this. And Ann Harada is Madam Frau. Lady Lady. Cool! I love it.

‘My true passion is power [dramatic pause]… electricity’ I love love love all of this.

And Jenny Banks does a Cabaret-style number with chairography a la Mein Herr. Which is funny because Dove is just one of a whole bunch of people in this cast who would do (or, in certain cases, have done) a killer Mein Herr. Either way, I just know this will be one of my most replayed songs once the soundtrack comes out. When is that, btw? [That was yesterday, and I can fully attest to the above prediction being true.]

This number isn’t even subtle about what it’s doing. About as subtle as Va-Gi-Na or the Coming Out Reprise were last season ‘We’ve had a fine affair, but please get out of mein hair.’ I love this more than words can say.

Episode 2: Doorway to Where

The Narrator is just everything… ‘schmigadee-death… penalty’, anyone? Lovely.

Ahhh we’ve got Aaron!! That man’s voice makes me swoon in a way I didn’t think was possible to someone of my… identity. If you get what I’m trying to say. [What I’m trying to say is I’m aroace, but I do have a thing for voices, and for unconventionally attractive faces, except the latter isn’t relevant in very conventionally attractive Aaron’s case. He’s all voice to me. He could sing the phone book and I’d be done for.]

No but… his solo once again mentions squirrels and robins, and I’ve got to wonder why… like, is it just a reference to You Can’t Tame Me (my beloved), or is there something else? But also, his new character, Topher, strikes me as the only one who hasn’t changed quite as much — he’s once again a free spirit singing about squirrels and robins and wow, this is just utterly self-referential, isn’t it? I love that. 

‘Please. Mr Flanagan was my father… after he lost his medical license.’ I love that. And I’m going to love Jane Krakowski’s character in this, I feel like. ‘First we court the press, then I press the court.’ I adore sentences like that. Sue me. But only with Bobby Flanagan as my solicitor.

Ok, so this one I caught. Melissa’s showgirl audition is set to a number evoking I Hope I Get It from A Chorus Line. Good going, me!

‘Dad was in the military. You know, the type with a whistle. He used to force my brothers, sisters and me to perform for guests at dinner parties. God, I hated when he did that.’ I see you, Sound of Music. I see you clear and bright. ‘So this one night I begged him for a taste of champagne’… ok, so you’re Liesl, are you? Well, funny, because all I can think of is Cecily as Liesl in that one SNL sketch with John Mulaney.

Ok but when Melissa meets Topher, she’s like ‘You look… groovy’, and I was like, his ‘pants’ are not really high-waisted in this one, though. But there’s a good chance he’s both high and wasted at any given time. I mean, so I imagine, he’s a hippie. Not to stereotype people, but hey, everyone is a walking steretype here.

When Topher’s buddies come to bust him and Josh out of jail on the happiness bus, Josh is like ‘it’s literal? I thought it was a metaphor.’ To which I say… ‘It’s not a metaphor, oh no, it’s something more — it’s a literal bus’. How’s that for a reference?

Episode 3: Bells and Whistles

Ok we’re on to episode 3 and… ‘ Rizzo, ChaCha, Doodie/ Zuko and Kenickie’… why, hello Grease! I didn’t quite expect you there, but of course that was a mistake. And also, in a number starring Danny Bailey/Zuko Aaron Tveit himself, no less.

I see you, Miss Kristin Hannigan! And I’m loving it. Mrs Lovett x Miss Hannigan has never made so much sense before. Add in some Mme Thenardier for good measure, and you’ve got the ultimate composite character.

No, I swear, between Kristin and Alan, this is giving me huge Thenardier vibes, even if it’s actually meant to be a homage to Sweeney Todd, I believe. I’m loving it either way.

Ok, so… Alan’s character, Butcher Dooley Blight, is Jenny’s father here. I love it. But oh wow, this got really bloody and dark and gory really fast.

This might as well be one of my favourite courtroom scenes. I mean, ‘On the grounds of Brooklyn’ is still my go-to, but Bells and Whistles, and Fosse jazz hands are truly something else.

‘Why am I flanked by fools’ is the new ‘I’m surrounded by idiots’, and I love it. No but, his song is actually about wanting love from women who don’t want him. He’s giving Phantom. And, oh gosh, the resounding bass note it ends on… almost more impressive than a high note.

Episode 4: Something Real

Well, it’s true that Dove and Aaron are, in my humblest of opinions, the two people whose characters from this season and the previous one are most alike — I mean, she’s a cheerful girl whose cluelessness may or may not be (and in this one definitely is) just an act and whose father would kill for her sake, and he’s a free spirit who sings about robins and squirrels (even though Danny’s ‘pants are really high-waisted’ whereas Topher would rather forgo any trousers at all because ‘flowers don’t wear pants’... which I think is a valid choice, wanting to emulate a flower. Go for it) — so, in a way, what I called has very much come to pass. Now how this is going to turn out by the end is a whole other matter, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Also, here’s a post I made the day the s1 finale came out, and... I was a bit blindsided, but I had the spirit:

Ok so the Narrator may be a bit of an arse to Mel and Josh, but I love him. I want Tituss Burgess to narrate every show in song.

Topher, arriving at the junkyard: ‘The prodigal son has returned. Someone write that down.’ The Fansie in me, knocking over about three walls at once: ‘I got a pencil!’

S1 Josh: ‘I’m not singing if you’re not singing.’ S2 Josh: ‘Talk to Daddy, talk, talk to Daddy’… now that’s what I call character growth. And that aside, this is just such a fun number. I can see myself listening to it on repeat once the soundtrack drops (which I need now btw). [Ah, yes, the ‘I’m not having an argument that’s part of a musical number’ to ‘I am not a man of many words’ to ‘Talk to Daddy’ pipeline. We stan.]

Whoever decided to pair up Dove and Aaron for a duet is a freaking genius. I need to know who that was so I can send them flowers to thank them for this vocal match made in heaven.

‘More romance’? If there’s one thing I don’t like about Schmigadoon/Schmicago, and it’s just this tiny little thing, really, but… it’s that it seems to emphasise romance as the ultimate solution, the single bringer of happiness. Only, I suppose, it will end up subverting that by the end of the season. Which would be nice if it does, indeed, happen. [Well... not exactly. But next season maybe... hope springs eternal.]

Ok, a scene centring around Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming together in any sort of context is always welcome, but I’m just a bit too distracted by Dooley eating his mash using his cleaver as a spoon. It’s too funny!

No but the way he said ‘Life is just a pile of shit’… it spoke to my soul… somehow.

I have never, ever in my life laughed at the sight of someone openly discussing making children into meat, but if anyone can sell such a number, why, it’s those two. Marvellously morbid.

I hear you, ‘It’s a Hard-Knock Life’. I hear you loud and clear. Or should I say… It’s a Hard-Knock-off Life… ight I’ll see myself out. But who would have thought that mixing Annie with Sweeney Todd (and a sprinkle of Oliver!) would make such a delightfully dark and scrumptiously sinister song? Also, those tap-dancing children are so amazing! I wish we would get more than a number per season from them, but I always take what I can get. [This is another contender, along with Kaput and Talk to Daddy and Bells and Whistles, for my May Top Tracks on Spotify... what will end up happening remains to be seen, but the number of times I’ve looped those just since they were released there yesterday is already large enough to put them all in the top 20 if not the top 10.]

So this now marks two different songs I know where ‘scrumptious’ is rhymed with ‘presumptuous’ (Truly Scrumptious from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, of course, being the first), and in neither of those songs do these words sound like they should rhyme. This must be what Mel meant by that comment about imperfect rhymes, you know.

Doesn’t this just go to prove that you could sell infanticide to me if it’s accompanied by a musical number, and I’d eat it up with a spoon, or even a cleaver if I had one handy… what does that say about me, I wonder…

Episode 5: Famous as Hell

Cecily is such a star! (hey, nice alliterative phrase there) But for real, she is. Also, is this supposed to be Maybe This Time? I’ll know for sure once I watch the Schmeakdown, but I think it is, if not intertwined with something else as well.

Ok but the tribe seems to have imprinted on Josh like a bunch of baby ducklings. He’s their mama now. I love that.

I’m thinking the Narrator’s name should change to the Instigator. Love that for him.

‘Another damn rhetorical question’ might just be funnier than ‘Schmigadee-death penalty’. Either way, I love Tituss Burgess and what he does as the Narrator, or the Instigator if you will.

Ooh… I love this. Famous As Hell seems to be the sort of number which references everybody’s themes, and I love that in a number.

Ok so nobody should be subjected to 12-show day, but, like, as an obsessed fan I’d be there all day for it. Still, don’t make people perform until they bleed. Then again, this is Schmicago, so…

Wait a sec… so that’s what ‘substitutes become expedient’ meant? Not just the obvious ‘children-for-animals’ substitute, but ‘orphans-for-Kratt’. Well. I’m thinking Kratt wouldn’t make a very desirable load of sausages, though. Oh, great, now I’m considering it. I’m in so deep I’m losing awareness of how gory this all is.

Are those the twins who played the white-faced women in ASOUE, playing another pair of white-faced women? Why yes, it is them, Jacqueline and Joyce Robbins. Nice.

Ooh… ‘You’ve been getting my roses? — Moses supposes I have.’ I loved that. I’ve been wondering if Singing in the Rain could make it into the farrago, and it seems like it has.

Ok, now Kratt is definitely Phantom. Kidnapping Mel just after she’s become a star on stage and essentially going like, ‘you marry me or the man you love dies’. Also, what kind of a cliffhanger was this? I’m dying. How on earth will I make it to the finale? And there are so many knots to be untied, too many loose ends to be tied up… that’s an ambitious setup for the finale. [It was, indeed. Bit of a rush to untangle and tie up everything, it really was, but I loved it nonetheless.]

Episode 6: Over and Done

Ahhhh Ariana DeBose solo at last!! I’ve missed that so much. And a Dreamgirls solo at that! I found she was really underutilised this season, which sucks because she’s a queen, but is also completely understandable because there were so many plotlines even without her being at the forefront. Still though…

‘I shut down a dream ballet, I will shut down this’ Yes Mel, be in control of the narrative devices even if you can’t control the narrative… that is so poetic in its way. I love it.

Idk how I came to this thought, but Sgt. Rivera upon being told he has to kill Josh is giving the huntsman from Snow White. Can’t say I love that for him because it’s a really tight spot to be in, but his reaction is still one of my favourite moments.

Ok but like… is Ms. Codwell reluctant to let the orphans be killed now? What exactly was it that made her change her mind? And also, these poor kids are so death-happy, I can’t even begin to comprehend the black comedy of it all. It’s not even black comedy anymore, it’s saccharine tragedy.

Also, if Dooley and Ms Codwell get married, does that mean Kristin is going to be Dove’s mum once again? Because at first I enjoyed the subversion of them being completely unrelated here, but I’m starting to miss them as a mother-daughter duo. Maybe s3 can amend that? Whatever, just please let there be a s3.

Ok but Topher being a JCS homage all season and his tribe digging everything he says, and then once he pulls a literal Jesus, ‘turn the other cheek’ and whatnot, they’re sceptical? Idk, but I kinda dig that just bc I find it (1) funny and (2) totally reasonable.

I can’t… the Somewhere Love Is Waiting for You riff as Dooley reunites with his daughter… it’s too much. I’m going to cry. I was already going to cry, but this really is too much.

Ok but even when he doesn’t intend it, Dooley sure is good with that cleaver. And the narrative pulling a Phantom on the Phantom shout-out character… now that’s what I call poetic justice.

Yeah, sure, I’ll drink to that too. From now on I want all the villain death announcements to be done via Kaput reprise. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead who?

Rocky Horror Sgt. Rivera isn’t what I ever expected, but I’m digging it. I’m actually tearing up. What is with Schmigadoon season finales and making me sob my heart out? I need to have more of that.

Now excuse me for crossing my fandoms over here, but the tribe’s ending is giving Ordinaryish People by AJR: ‘Your hippie friends call you a sellout cos you buckled down and got a job’… indeed.

Goodness, Something Real with Topher and Jenny was one thing, but with Mel and Josh it feels that much more… real. I mean. Tell me it doesn’t. I’m not crying over the cheesiness that is a musical ending number, you are. Except I am, too, of course. How could I not be?

I did not have Narrator x Rivera on my bingo cards for this season, but like, ‘I don’t hate it’. I actually wish I could see it play out.

What’s better than Leprechaun Martin Short? Leprechaun Martin Short x2. I am living for every bizarre, out-of-left-field thing this finale throws at me. I really really really want more.

Ok but, as a lover of child-centric musicals, I now need a s3 with Josh and Mel and their little one in a land with more than one child-centred musical number. It’s not a want, it’s a need. 

[in-the-nighttime]

idk if you are still answering these!

16, 21, 24-27, 54 & 55 ❤️

YAYAYY!!!

16- other than ww2 i am the most interested in ww1! i also really enjoy studying the boer war, and i also know actually Everything about presidential assassinations. especially jfk. i’m also super into art history, from all time periods :)

21- ahhh i legit have no clue!! i cant pick i like you all. they’re not reichblr per se, but @/eckiiaaoo on twt is like the best artist of all time btw

24- Yeah i love shipping these old guys. i spend like an hour a day envisioning war criminals making out with each other .. sorry there’s something so wrong with me.

25- cracks my knuckles. the book on the nuremberg trials by ann and john tusa is amazing, war and genocide by doris bergen is also good (it’s like a textbook that i read for a course tbh lol), and nazi culture by george mosse is also very good!

26- Ohhh my god i literally love the zone of interest so much. it would be one of my favorite movies even if i wasn’t really interested in the reich. it’s just such a perfect film. other than that i really like schindler’s list (Basic ik don’t come at me) and … The night porter. hehe. if you’re a heydrich fan you should watch the 1984 wannsee conference film, the actor that plays him is like? Just Him. there’s also this one short film called brutality in stone that’s really good. also if anyone has seen paradise or bent please tell me if they are good

27- to a certain extent, but to the point where like, my friends know i am well versed in world war history, but i dont really talk about it a whole lot. as for my family, they dont know at all, im not sure my german immigrant family would like this lol

54- hmm this is a good question. i prefer the rise to power, i feel like there’s more to tackle, and i really am interested in like the way social dynamics and values led up to the nazi regime happening. there’s legitimately so much historical context that builds up to it, it’s so much to piece together

55- i haven’t actually! i’ve only seen a little bit of memorabilia in a small military museum

[justmybookthots]

This Time It's Real

5/5 stars

I AM SCREAMING. I AM SCREAMINGGGGGG.

You know, I’ve always thought the fourteen-year-old romantic I used to be was dead? But maybe… it isn’t?? How is it that this cute little YA made me feel a gazillion more things than most adult romances? 

Ann Liang, I love you so much. I’m officially a hardcore fan now after I read If You Could See The Sun (which I reviewed) and this book. And there’s another book of hers coming next year (I weep! I WEEP! Why are all the books I’m looking forward to only out next year?) which I will DEFINITELY be reading. I am so excited. 

This book. This book. I am incoherent. I am squealing. And this is coming from a person who hates the fake dating trope, and YET. There is definitely an exception to every rule. Maybe it’s because Ann Liang writes her stories in Beijing, with a Chinese cast and setting (I love the personal rep). Or maybe it’s because Caz, AKA the male lead, is soooooo cute. Oh my gosh. CAZ.

Okay. Okay. Let me get my thoughts together before I spiral. The premise is simple: two Chinese high-schoolers, one an aspiring writer, the other a teenage heartthrob actor, fake-dating. I have to say that Eliza's reasons for needing to fake-date sound very valid, but I wasn't convinced by Caz's. All he gets out of it is… Eliza writing his college applications? There's also another reason—him cleaning up his image because of this "scandal"... which never gets touched upon again later in the story, so I don't count that.  

But whatever. I didn't dwell too much on it, because there are so many things I loved:

Caz trying to make Eliza jealous (LMAO) by going into lurid detail about his kiss scene with a girl and getting disappointed when she doesn't seem to care

Caz getting worked up over a pimple and not going to school

Caz being a vain little shit, period

Caz telling Eliza that he wanted her (for real, and not pretend), point-blank. T_T

Caz helping Eliza find her friendship bracelet 

Eliza trying to jog and getting outrun by an old man

Eliza and her PowerPoint Presentation.

Eliza and Zoe. PLATONIC BREAKUPS ARE HARD, IN A WAY HARDER THAN FALLING OUT WITH CAZ. THIS PARAGRAPH GOT ME:

What Eliza's dad said about girls in romance dramas because it is SO TRUE (for the non-Chinese folk out there, 'jiayou' means to 'keep fighting/going'):

My main complaint about this book is really how it ended. I think that Ann Liang ends her books in a really abrupt way, to the point where I don’t feel I got enough closure. The story just concluded about a chapter after Eliza agreed to be with Caz for real, and then… the end. Listen, I think that the build-up is always the highlight of a romance, but I still would have liked for a bit more closure. At least let me see them on one real, proper date before ending the book! 

(Since I'm on the topic of complaints—this one isn't from me, but from some reviewers: they say that Caz isn’t very different from Henry from If You Could See The Sun but I don’t agree? Henry isn’t anywhere as vain as Caz, and he is definitely academically more brilliant than Caz, lol. I thought they were notably different, and I was quite surprised by it. I actually found Caz somewhat more immature... but I adored him just as much as Henry.)

One final mini-complaint of mine before I wrap up this entry: I don’t think that Eliza’s hangup about being with Caz is ever truly addressed. She frets that, yes, Caz may love her now, but they’ll grow apart like she did with Zoe because she’s always on the road (and he is, too). In the end, she changes her thinking to: yeah, maybe I was just afraid all along that he really never did love me but now I’m sure he does. To me, that’s two completely different concerns, and the first still isn’t solved. 

But of course, this is just me nitpicking, and I can shut one eye about it because the rest of the book was just so, so lovely. If I were to nitpick further, I'd say boys like Caz really do not exist (re: young heartthrobs who are so swoony both inside and outside) but the fiction is fictioning, and that's how I LIKE IT.

And you best believe I will be eyeing Ann Liang’s next book when it’s out. In the meantime, I just need to make sure I make it till 2024. 

- 19 Aug 2023

[affectiondeficitdisorder]

If Dating is a Numbers Game, the House Always Wins

by Ethlie Ann Vare

Used to be, “courting distance” was how far a man could comfortably ride a horse, spend a little time visiting, and return home all in one day. It was about 12 miles, and boy howdy did that limit the dating pool — not to mention the gene pool. It made life pretty easy for matchmakers, though. Today, courting distance is throw-a-dart-at-the-globe… but are we better off with this paradox of choice? Who bothers to invest in a budding relationship when there’s always another one where that came from, and our electronic matchmakers remind us of that every day. “There’s plenty of fish in the sea,” say Tinder and Bumble and Hinge and, duh, Plenty of Fish.

But there’s a catch. It is not in the best interest of these electronic marvels of matchmaking to actually match you with anyone. As much as they claim to love love and want nothing more than to find you the love you seek, there is ample evidence that they are actually using their advanced algorithms to keep you single. After all, as soon as you find your true love, you will stop using their services. The apps cannot actually give you the very thing they are selling.

I believe economists call it a “perverse incentive.” I call it bullshit.

“People forget it’s an industry,” says tech reporter Lakshmi Rengarajan. “They know who’s behind Netflix or Amazon or Facebook, but they have no idea who’s behind Match.” Which, by the way, also owns Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, The League, Plenty of Fish, and whatever it is you’re surreptitiously swiping as you skim this essay. (Spoiler alert: It’s Barry Diller. The Match Group is the brainchild of the octogenarian media mogul who also invented the made-for-TV movie and launched the Fox network.)

Rengarajan and Sangeeta Singh Kurtz are co-hosts of Dating Games, the latest season from the techie podcast Land of the Giants. It’s a deep dive into the genesis, the business and the general dystopia of dating apps. 

And “Games” in an appropriate handle, as dating apps were designed from the gate to resemble casino games, and with the same goal: They want to keep you there as long as possible to extract as much money from you as possible. Only instead of bribing you with free cocktail service and seafood buffets, they tempt you with the promise of everlasting love.

Of course, these slot machines can’t actually give you everlasting love, because that would cause you to immediately exit the casino. So they do everything in their algorithmic power to serve you Mr. or Ms. Not-Quite-Right, to persuade you that Mr. or Ms. Right is behind the next curtain. Just keep swiping!

Here’s the thing: Mr. or Ms. Right could well be behind the curtain somewhere. Probably is. In 2023, just about every unpartnered (and plenty of partnered) people are on the apps. But the app has zero incentive to open the curtain. Its goal is to keep zapping you with the dopamine hit of expectation, over and over and over again. Because mammals will chase dopamine hits until they die. Ask any lab rat.

The apps are programmed to give us almost what we want, but not quite. They are designed to tantalize you. It is frustration on a mythic scale. Literally. Where do you think the word “tantalize” comes from? The current psych jargon for this phenomenon is the “ludic loop,” although the idea of “intermittent reward” has been around since before BF Skinner did his experiments with the actual lever-pressing lab rats.

As media analyst Jon Favreau put it, “You may go into the dating app thinking ‘I want to find someone,’ but the act of being on the app and swiping itself becomes an entertainment experience.” The average Bumble user spends 90 minutes a day on the app. Astonishing. I would shoot myself after spending 90 minutes on Bumble, period - although I do find it entertaining. Look at all the pictures of men holding up a fish!

I don’t get it. Do they think I will pick the man with the biggest fish? Is this a dick metaphor, or do I look hungry?

[hallowgracie]

Behind the Scenes: Names of the MCs in To Sail on Seas of Sky

I thought I'd whip up a brief post going behind the scenes as to where and why the main cast in my pirate novel got their names. I hope you enjoy!

Elodie

The first character to be named in the entire saga, her name was chosen because while it is a Proper English Girl Name that sounds at least vaguely period-appropriate, it means "precious treasure." I previously used it for a dragon girl protagonist for the same reason, but I think it suits the daughter of pirates just as well.

Her surname, Fleetwood, actually comes from an in-joke based on the book's original pitch. I knew I wanted to write a pirate story based on Anne Bonny, Calico Jack, and Mary Read, who had an infamous love triangle that is shrouded in sensation and legend. To honor that idea, I wanted to write a group of young pirates who have a case of "Fleetwood Mac syndrome," where everyone is dating or at least interested in each other.

When I realized it sounded right, I decided to keep it because it was funny.

Ventus

Luckily, Ventus was a fairly straightforward character to name. I knew early on that I wanted my pirates to have a sky element too, because that's just fun. And even the ocean-bound pirates of reality are at the mercy of the winds. So it would only make sense for a Pirate King to have a son named after the winds.

Hawkins of course comes from the protagonist of Treasure Island.

Kas

Kas is a nickname, short for Kaspar. His name was tricky to find, as I had an idea of what syllables I wanted, and I knew he was the type to go by a nickname. Kaspar ended up being my final choice because there was a famous sea-explorer by that name with that spelling.

Beaumont was chosen because it just sounded regal enough to allude to his noble background appropriately.

Jade

Jade was given one of the names that I considered for Elodie when I was naming her, as Jade historically is quite a precious treasure. It suited this character a bit more, however, as she's much wilder than Elodie was, being raised on pirate ships at the high seas. Which was a previous character concept for Elodie that I ended up rejecting because of concerns about how that would look like "pick-me" or "not like other girls" type characters.

But never mind that.

Jennings was chosen as her surname because of the mid 19th-century American politician William Jennings Bryan, so it sounds a little more historical and reflects the Americana that surrounds the fantasy of the pirates from the time and era I'm drawing from.

Carina

Her name was easy, the southern star was a perfectly princess-like name, and was just right for her archetype. It also matches with the name of her brother, Alcor, as another star name, tying their dynasty to the heavens and sky-imagery.

Her surname, Eldora, is derived from El Dorado, the famous legend of the city of gold. I also liked how it looked like "Endor" after the witch.

Captain Jennings

I discussed her surname in Jade's section, so let's briefly talk about her first name.

As an analogue to Mary Read, Captain Jennings has disguised herself as a man many times in her history. So, she needed to have a name that could easily be gender-bent. I remember there were some different names being considered, but they ended up out of the game because they were harder to name-bend.

Elizabeth is perfect, given the associations with the Pirates of the Caribbean main trilogy (Carina also has that association, come to think of it) and can be converted to a male name without much thought--Elias.

[deborahotero]

Me, briefly living in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico when I was 18.

Freeform Friday | Born Again

"I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear; my courage is reborn. " - Anne Frank

This is the first entry of my new weekly writing posts.

I am so excited to get on here again with the desire to share my thoughts with others. For long periods of time, I tend to just keep my personal writings in my phone notes or in my physical journal. I was also never very good at typing on a keyboard before working the job I have now. So grateful my typing skills have improved significantly because I've had lots of practice the past two years working remotely where most of my social interactions and exchanges are through chat or e-mail. When I was younger, I would hesitate to get on a laptop whenever I had the urge to write because I could never seem to type fast or efficiently enough to keep up with my thoughts. The urge has since re-emerged - at least it has today. Let's see how long this lasts.

Trying to be a little more disciplined these days, even took out a book at the library today on stoicism called, The Everyday Stoic: Simple Rules For A Good Life. I really want to try to keep this healthy habit up (along with my workout routine) of writing on here weekly because not only does it feel really therapeutic for me to write out my thoughts, but I also love the idea of having a way to record my neural processes in one digital place to be able to reflect and easily track my personal growth. Added bonus: people may gain something from reading it.

Today, 10/11, especially feels like a new beginning worth noting because it is the one year anniversary of my move from my beloved hometown of Brooklyn to Inwood. Literally teleported from one planet to another. Went from Tastee Pattee to Sabor Tropical and it hit different. I've noticed over the course of my little thirty-eight year long journey, most of the biggest changes in my life happen in the fall time - no surprise there though, right? At least from my perspective, the autumn season is all about transitioning and getting ready for the transformational power of winter. You can really feel the the seasons change living here in NYC. The trees embody it the best - learned a lot from getting lost in the parks out here. Not unlike the trees, my mind, body and spirit have undergone many transformational phases in 12 month's time. Getting my thoughts out in this way really helps me make sense of all the shifts, emotions and possible purpose behind them. I desire to express not only thoughts about where I've been but also where I envision myself going next.

I am just getting warmed up.

"Today I woke up with the intention of my day off feeling really good."

I have learned that if I set a clear intention for my day a the very start - before cluttering my mind with other stimuli (that so rapidly comes up in the morning with my iphone and IG opening up almost automatically in my hands - shamefully) I am in way more control of how my day actually unfolds. Because I set the intention to feel good, I found myself course-correcting my thoughts whenever I veered off into negative thought streams. With a daily meditation practice and patience with myself over time, I have become much better at catching myself and switching over to a healthier mindset in the moment. Practicing this today allowed me to have a day filled with all the simple things I love (new library reads, a vanilla latte, cute girly self-care moments, a gorgeous sunset, a healthy salad, fun catch up sessions with my loved ones) in order to consistently reach for a better feeling thought and stay in alignment with what I set out to achieve.

Over the course of my beautiful (and not so beautiful) journey, I've found my mindset to be of utmost importance - especially when facing really difficult life challenges like grief over my parents and siblings, several near-death experiences and unhealed childhood trauma. The power of perception is real. How you perceive the experience, how you label it, how you come to understand it, choose to learn from it or repress it - really shapes how your body responds to it. How you interpret obstacles on the path has the ability to empower you to move forward or hinder you.

I can't believe I have written this much already - (I mean I can - I am a chatty Gemini ) but damn, that was fast. I clearly have a lot to express. I almost always sit down to write and nervously think, "well, what am I going to say? I don't know that I will have enough to write about to fill up an entire post worth reading." Literally all of five seconds later, I have written an entire auto-biography. I have also been reading Love Poems by Pablo Neruda (again) and am inspired to write more poetry, stay tuned.

Fun fact, my fellow chatty gem girl Anne Frank was born a day after me, June 12th. I have always admired her diary entries.

Here's to the Diary of Deborah Otero, aka Freeform Fridays.

With Love,

Debs

[teenageread]

Review: Hello Beautiful

Initial Thoughts: 

Nothing about William Waters would make me want to give up any part of my family, and I do not care how tall he is. For William to be the one that technically ruins the Padavano family, I felt like Ann Napolitano should have given him more depth. Like I get why Julia was into him, but as soon as Will and Sylvie had their “bench conversation” I just felt an ick towards him, which blended into Sylvie and Julia and made me hate 2/4 of the sisters because I thought their plot was dumb. This made the story hard to get through as Napolitano spends so long making the three-dimensional complex characters for you to feel for, which for the twins you do, Julia and Sylvie not so much; and then give them no drama. This novel could fill up only a page or two of actual drama-filled conversations these characters have. Otherwise, the drama happens around the family, and members of the family choose to leave the entire situation and just stop speaking to everyone which could cause the drama. Like how? This novel just runs away from its problems and then makes them up years later by not talking about them. Because of course, you will forgive your sister if it means talking to them again after the last decade of silence. This novel had a plot of potential that Napolitano squashes by not making characters talk about their feelings and their hurt, and instead letting them self-cycle their beliefs and not gain any outside input until it is too late. 

Characters:

I love Julia. Yes, she is flawed, and yes made some mistakes, but Napolitano paints her to be the bad guy and is constantly shining the light on her flaws without giving her the grace she deserves after Sylive hurt her in the worst way. To not give away the plot, Sylvie never apologies, (unless she did near the end of the book - I truly forget but not the point), and I think that is the flaw in her character that Napolitano should have stressed more in this novel, before trying to make all readers jump on the hate-Julia train. Sylvie is the one in the wrong, and where, yes, you cannot control who you fall in love with, you can at least be upfront about it and not hide it in a dorm room for months. That's why I love the twins in this novel, because they were honest with each other, worked on their relationship, and communicated - something Sylvie and Julia should have done. I love all the sisters' relationships with their parents, in that in-between zone of how you could not tell if they loved them or hated them - a concept Napolitano should have worked more on in the sisters' relationship. William also does not deserve the amount of page time, or POV title, he was allotted to. This man was 2D, had no depth, was emotionally unavailable, and could have been replaced by a beloved pet if needed. William had his height and tragic backstory which Napolitano tried to make interesting and failed miserably at.  

Plot and Writing

The timeline in this novel does not make sense, making the writing where it could be beautiful and flowy feel a bit off as I am constantly going back to the front of the chapter to try to figure out what year I am in. This novel starts with the sisters being in their early twenties in the 1980s, to adult women around 2008, but each chapter is a period, like years. I get that, and I like it, as it shows the sisters grown up, how their family dynamics change, and how over time they create new ones. However, how can I have a Julia chapter going from Sylvie chapter going from December 1983 to August 1984, when the content is definitely not 8 months worth of stuff, and the next be Julia chapter from October 1984 to September 1988. Like are these happening at the same time? Because the writing does not make it feel like the story is overlapping, yet the timeline is constant. Also, Napolitano speeds Alice’s life for no big deal except to add more fuel into the anti-Julia pile, and to give Alice a plot line. We spend the majority of the novel with Alice being a baby, to a small child, to all of the sudden flash towards graduating high school, and then bam, done her undergrad, just to see Alice hate her mom? No thanks, Alice could have had the exact same plot revolution at the age of 16, as Napolitano made her have at 25, making it unnecessary to speed up this novel ending and make Julia seem worse for keeping Alice away all this time. This book had a solid plot line, minus the unneeded love triangle and anti-older sister vibes, the ideas were all there in the idea of crafting a complex family story. Yet the delivery and the timeline made it inconsistent to love, follow and even understand at parts. 

Conclusion

This novel, despite its awards and best-seller list, had the potential that it floundered. It's an anti-older sister, believe-in-true-love-despite-you-slept-with-my-sister trope, and the running away from meaningful conversations. I think Napolitano could have made this novel way better if she stopped trying to build complex characters and made them have some massive verbal fights about these things. The fact that Julia shrugs off what Sylvie did to her when the time came to be, ruins what could have been an earth-shattering Pulitzer prize conversation. The timeline of this novel also has to go, as if Napolitano made it shorter, making it 5 years instead of 20, the characters could be a lot heated and broken over the drama that has happened and not so nonchalant and okay with the fact that their family was shattered for the last two decades.

[snapheart1536]

Bad Arguments

Elizabeth I

Girls Could Marry At Twelve

Freaks portray this wickedness as an oh-so noble concern for historical truth.

And YOU wouldn't object to Duh Twoof, would you now?

Oh! Ah! Well! It may seem like abuse to us But We Must Remember that Girls Could Marry At Twelve...

I love being implored to Remember the lies they've not told me yet.

Notice how it always begins with a feigned nod of empathy:

Hah! Yes! Of course. I hate it too. I really disapprove of This Sort Of Thing. Honest!

Before introducing the actual message:

But if you were A Reel Intelleckchul, like me, you would Understand that It Was Like That Then, and Perfectly Normal.

Besides the unsaid conclusion:

That means I'm right to blame Elizabeth.

The endless counter arguments to this have all been said before, and are near-enough a waste of words, for this isn't silly, muddle-headed ignorance but open malice, and agendas don't care about facts.

Because really, how would the customs governing matrimony apply to this situation?

Where does marriage figure in a middle-age man breaking into his stepdaughter's room to molest her?

Well here's the distraction technique:

Soon as we get to incestuous pædophilia, start wittering about wedlock and how it's ackshully alright to touch kids...in the time period, of course.

WHAT?!

If I believe Tudor society took a lax view of preying upon children, then by this very argument, that attitude could ONLY ever exist with regards to marriage.

They want me to accept Seymour Did Nothing Wrong, because his era allowed him to marry a girl of twelve.

This implies consummation followed immediately, although they never say as much, precisely as it is too big of a lie, hinting at it instead to let your subconscious join the dots.

BUT, if his entire defence is nothing better than blabbering about how he can sleep with a twelve‐year-old bride if he wants to, then he needed to marry Elizabeth beforehand for this to be alright.

But not only had Seymour not married her, he already had a wife, so his behaviour alone is a simply lovely mix of fornication, adultery AND incest.

And last time I looked, the Tudors came down hard on all three.

Oh yeah. They killed Anne and George for less. But ten years later? Totally normal!

I hate this Bad Argument with such deep, boiling fury I'm about to rip it apart, so no one ever can ever sew its tattered chunks together again.

It is absurd to the point of evil, as just think about what they are saying.

Seymour forces his way into Elizabeth's room to grope and spank her.

Me: That's abuse, that!

Them: Oh you thick, detestable pleb. Girls Could Marry At Twelve, doncha know.

As when Seymour molested Elizabeth, he wasn't really molesting her, because she was old enough to marry him.

And you can't sexually assault adults.

...

Once a gal can get married, it's every fella's sworn duty to come at her, for she wants 'em.

She wants 'em all.

She does, man! She's just being difficult!

You know how it goes:

6th September 1545: Little girl.

7th September 1545: WAHMAN!!!

Soon at that clock struck midnight, a switch flicked in Elizabeth's brain, and ever after she had a hunger...for MAN.

And Seymour just couldn't bear to see her hankering and not go providing like a true hero.

It would've been cruel NOT to do it.

Of age? Well say no more.

Come one, come all. Open for business.

And if she complains, well that's just playing hard to get, innit?

No escape now, love.

Legally capable of marriage? Well you want it whatever you say.

Stop struggling.

Same with Elizabeth. I mean, come on, Girls Could Marry At Twelve.

So obviously, if she hadn't really wanted it, she would've stayed eleven forever.

Is that so much to ask?

But oh no, she just so happened to have thirteen birthdays beforehand like a slut.

Ah-hah! Gotcha now! That little innocent routine don't fool me!

Then she has the nerve to play the victim as if it isn't all her fault for growing.

And then idiots blame Seymour for taking his rights when she made herself fully available by not dying in childhood, the selfish bitch.

Look at her, not being dead! Tempting him!

This Bad Argument is ONLY ever used by women to defend men attacking other women and girls, so please remember it's composed of three lies:

1. Seymour Did Nothing Wrong, because she was over twelve.

2. Elizabeth clearly loved every minute, because she was over twelve.

3. Sleeping with children was Perfectly Fine for most of human history and it's our prissy, overreacting modern hysteria about it that's the The Real Problem.

Why? Because if they can push you to accept it was normal then, it's the first step towards pushing you to accept it's normal now.

[murfpersonalblog]

All of this, thank you! I'm constantly baffled by the hypocrisy of book fans who hate the show cuz of Lestat's "character assassination," but love the movie. Like.... Were we watching the same film? 🤨 Lestat is CLEARLY not painted in a good light--not by Louis, and not by the film itself.

I've talked about the Villain!Lestat parallels, where Lestat is explicitly shown to be a horrible person in IWTV, who has no RESPECT for the living or the dead. Sure, Louis loves him anyway--Louis has GARBAGE taste in men! XD Claudia telling Louis to meet vampires WORTHY of his love rings so true--Lestat hadn't EARNED Louis' love in IWTV yet. So it drives me crazy when VC fans jump the gun by preemptively projecting too much credit onto Lestat as is is PRESENTLY, in IWTV, with the man he becomes AFTERWARDS, in the rest of the VC. Like, HELLO: Louis was mad at Lestat in IWTV, just as Anne Rice was angry with her own husband when she wrote IWTV in the first place--Lestat's not meant to be seen positively YET, y'all, stop.

I've talked about Ep5's drop scene parallels with the film--they BOTH show Lestat dropping Louis almost to his death, but it hits different. Book/film!Loustat had only just met, so the violence is par for the course with campy Gothic Horror. Lestat didn't seduce Louis--it was just accept vampirism or I'll kill you, period. I call book/film!Loustat "Vegas Married"--they were strangers, who struggled to get along from the very beginning. But AMC gave Loustat an ACTUAL courtship--they're married, so it's more of a tragic Gothic Romance. I love what AMC did with Ep5, cuz the emotional impact of the Lestat's violence is ELEVATED--you feel more for Louis as a HUSBAND who is being beaten by his spouse, than a drunk being jumped by a STRANGER.

As for trauma porn vs representing black struggle, I agree that AMC was VERY intentional about Ep5. IMO people have blown Ep5 WAY out of proportion.

(Under the Read More cut:) "And to see white IWTV fans sidestep this entirely back during the final stretch of season one to complain that having Lestat (who canonically abused Louis in other ways) assault Louis somehow ruined LESTAT’S character and THEIR SHIP. While completely sidestepping what themes they were intending and got across (you know like genuine media literacy) and the onscreen brutalization that happened without warning is disgusting.... White fans being disingenuous and asking Louis to fade into the background until Lestat (the white character) becomes the focus for TVL. While constantly mocking and ignoring the concept of IPV towards black people makes the point for me as to why this was an interesting and purposeful direction to head in. IPV is so ignored that when IWTV includes it, fans went out of their way to argue whether or not their favorite white boy would DARE TO DO THIS, and not why the writers did this and what they were attempting to say. IPV and queer victims of abuse are so ignored that after this happened people started making posts talking about APOLOGIZING TO A FICTIONAL LESTAT for writers “slandering” him!" @pretty-weird-ideas

Precisely. 👏 Some fans must have selective amnesia, to act like AMC!Louis is the first black person Lestat's terrorized, or that IWTV as a franchise has shown being brutalized. It's actually pretty interesting, cuz UNLIKE the book/film, AMC actively AVOIDS showing violence against most other black people, while STILL highlighting black struggle and racism. Like, we're TOLD about a lot of awful stuff that's happening--straight out the gate Ep1 has Bricktop raped/sodomized by the racist Alderman, but we don't SEE it, and there's no TW for it either. IIRC, other than Louis & Claudia, Charlie is the only DEAD black person shown in S1--although Claudia killed him, it's Lestat's disrespectful treatment of Charlie's body (and hers--the 1st of 3 times we see Lestat put her in a chokehold as literal child abuse) that made Claudia start to hate Lestat.

Even during Ep3's race riots, blink and you'll miss black people being hurt. (Claudia's mean auntie on fire is faceless, which is SUPER interesting considering how high yellow Claudia is, and her white "Uncle" Les being so believable). Louis focuses on the buildings on fire more than any people being killed--a true testament to his own effed up perspective and vampiric/capitalist nature. LOUIS doesn't see the violence done to black people (guilty conscience much? 💯), so we the viewers don't either. Ep5/6's focus is on LOUIS, and HIS pain & suffering--HIS body. AMC handles violence VERY uniquely.

Conversely, look at the movie's GRATUITOUS violence done to black people--especially black women.

In QUICK succession, the film goes from: 1st Act: Louis' first night in a coffin > Loustat having a threesome/killing a black tavern wench > DPDL plantation > Louis ALMOST biting house slave Thandy Newton (then rats) > interlude killing the rich white Evil Doer old lady & her boytoy (RIP her puppies) > (then birds) > whole bunch of slaves killed by Lestat/Loustat found in the river > slaves try to exorcise the demons with voodoo (Lestat insultingly calls their prayers "that NOISE!" as if they're the problem 🙄) > Louis kills Thandy Newton (the scene deliberately looks like rape) & carries her corpse telling the slaves "yes, your Master is the Devil!" > Pyromaniac du Lac burns down the plantation (Lestat whines about it) > Lestat kills the two black prostitutes (which TVL later retcons that since they were killing their johns, Lestat killing them was noble 🙄 and compare this to the treatment of AMC!Bricktop vs history's IRL Bricktop fighting/killing her johns) > 2nd Act: cue Claudia, who interestingly is only shown killing white people. The first THIRD of the movie is a RELENTLESS BARRAGE of black brutalization. The film actually goes out of its way to make killing black women look SEXY & FUN.

Meanwhile, AMC is intentionally VERY explicit about the assault done to Louis (and Claudia) being TERRIBLE to look at.

Daniel (a white man) is the audience surrogate, and his callous attitude towards seeing Claudia's SV diary pages represents the AUDIENCE'S perspective, the white gaze that actually SALIVATES over seeing black men & women be raped, assaulted & killed--which is why I'm GLAD Louis made Daniel seizure, eff him! (And what happens when the black father Louis tries to defend his black daughter's privacy? He gets SLAPPED IN THE FACE by a white man, while the brown man Armand holds Louis back!) AMC knows what they're doing, and so far it's been masterful work IMO. They offscreened what Bruce did, but I'm VERY curious to see how they'll handle Claudia's death in S2, and what Armand does to brutalize HER black body.

Like come on y'all, the first time we see Lestat on the show, he's talking to Miss Lily (a black prostitute) about black CONSUMPTION: cinnamon & caramel & FOOD. (And her death is offscreened, too.)

Like, NGL on one hand the show's violence doesn't really faze me. This is a show about VAMPIRES after all. Lestat punched a HOLE through a PRIEST'S HEAD, Louis ripped some dude's whole JAW off, Claudia spat out some guy's effing eyeball, the Alderman's intestines were dangling out of his torso, Antoinette got her finger cut off, etc.... The Body Horror is THERE, front & center, not a TW in sight. It's the subtleties that get me reeling--this whole effing show needs a TW for the non-gory/violent ways they depict the brutality of racism.

Every single instance of racism on this show boils my blood--Ep5 was just one more coal on the already raging fire! I've discussed how Louis symbolizes an entire culture of violence done to black people by white folk, well before Lestat's Ep5 IPV, through NUMEROUS instances of disrespect done to his black body that viewers seem to have casually/conveniently overlooked.

Louis being a victim of IPV and racism is not the show glorifying violence done to black people, but highlighting the reality of black brutalization.

Trauma Porn vs Representing Black Struggle in IWTV

TW: Domestic Violence (Focus) Rape (mentioned 1x)

Spoilers for the IWTV AMC Series

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