#especially book-to-screen adaptations

[spending-life-pretending]

Have we talked yet about how amc Interview With the Vampire is singlehandedly saving the tv slowburn

[falllpoutboy]

wow this is some “book accurate” show we’re getting here folks

[tentacle-therapissed]

I’m so glad the Guillermo Del Toro Pinocchio movie is being received really well, because it was literally my most anticipated movie of the year! So here’s some fun facts about the crew, concept, and production that got me excited about this movie and that I think would excite much of tumblr as well:

-the screenplay was cowritten by Del Toro and Patrick McHale, creator of Over The Garden Wall and a writer on Adventure Time.

-the movie was codirected by Mark Gustasfon, who was the animation director of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

-the primary art/animation designers of this movie (production designer Curt Enderle, art director Robert DeSue, character designer Georgina Hayns, animation supervisor Brian Leif Hansen, and photography director Frank Passingham) previously worked on projects that include Coraline, the Corpse Bride, Paranorman, Isle of Dogs, Frankenweenie, Kubo, and Chicken Run.

-Besides Netflix, it was produced by the Henson company (always a good sign when you’re doing anything with puppets) and ShadowMachine, who have produced a lot of Adult Swim shows including Robot Chicken, Moral Orel, and Tuca and Bertie, as well as the Netflix original BoJack Horseman.

-Del Toro was inspired to make this adaptation due to the similarities he’d always noticed between the original Pinocchio story and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Both are about a man-made character’s relationship with his father/creator, and his attempts to understand what it means to be human. This inspiration is why the film takes on a gothic feel at times.

-the movie is over 10 years in the making. Del Toro announced the project in 2008 and production began in 2012, but it went into development hell and no further updates were made for several years. Del Toro has described it as his passion project, saying "I've wanted to make this movie for as long as I can remember.”

-the backdrop of Mussolini’s Italy was intended to show how Pinnochio was able to find his own humanity and will in a time where everyone else was acting like a blindly obedient puppet. Del Toro wanted to deviate from the original book’s themes of obeying authority by making his Pinocchio virtuous for questioning the rules and forging his own set of morals. (Also if you know anything about Del Toro, the guy likes to dunk on fascism.)

-Del Toro didn’t feel the need to have Pinocchio become flesh-and-blood at the end of the movie, saying all you need to be a real human is to behave like one.

I was lucky enough to see this movie in 35 mm in a movie theatre on Thanksgiving weekend. If there are any movie theatre showings near you and you’re in a position to be able to attend them, I would totally recommend it especially if you can go with loved ones. It was a gorgeous, heartwarming, and magical movie to experience on a big screen and perfect for the late fall/winter holiday season.

[drchucktingle]

Good evening Dr. Tingle! Would you ever like to see a film adaption of Bury Your Gays? I think it would be so neat (especially with all of the tv and movie references present in the novel). If there ever was a movie, who would you want hypothetically cast?

HELLO BUCKAROO this is always a fun question to consider actors for a book adaption. when writing i sometimes CAST IN MY HEAD and sometimes it is just kind of a made up buckaroo. there are really only two characters in BURY YOUR GAYS that were cast in my head while writing and i will mention those below.

ultimately WHOEVER was to trot in these rolls i would be happy with, so lets just consider this a fun way through imagination. i will say that i would prefer to cast queer actors, but also i know the business of hollywood means sometimes that does not work out to get the movie on screens. if bury your gays was turned into a movie i would really have no say in any of this anyway, but queer actors would be my preference when possible.

despite all of that, when writing MISHA, the actor in my head was NOT a queer actor as far as i know (although for some reason us queer buckaroos have given him a pass to play queer characters which i think is very funny and interesting, i guess we just love him a lot regardless) anyway lets kick it off there

MISHA BYRNE

when writing BURY YOUR GAYS i was picturing none other than BILL HADER. maybe it is because i was watchin a lot of BARRY at the time, not exactly sure why but thats the truth.

that being said i think i would be great to get a queer lead in there. so if that was the case i would say LEE PACE, and of course we have the ultimate fan cast MISHA COLLINS

TARA ITO

this is the other character that was FULLY IN MY HEAD as i wrote it and mentally cast from day one. it also kind of coincides with the trot of a tv show i was watching at the time which was PEN 15. so tara in my mind was always MAYA ERSKINE

ZEKE ROMERO

not exactly a known actor in my head, but when considering options i think that OSCAR ISSAC would be very good

JACK HAYS

there are a few options for this, but i keep thinking of a very clean shaven MURRAY BARTLETT in a suit. another options would be ZACHARY QUINTO especially if we get chris pine as chris oak because thats just some incredible META KIRK AND SPOCK action for the sledgehammer scene.

now onto the dang villains.

CHRIS OAK

okay so obviously we gotta cast CHRIS PINE in this role (i might have an in). however if that does not work out i would like to suggest COLMAN DOMINGO

THE SMOKER / UNCLE KEITH

would be neat to have the monsters also play their inspiration. in the case of THE SMOKER i think STEVE BUSCEMI would be incredible

MRS. WHY / AGENT Y

last buck not least i propose ELIZABETH DEBICKI as MRS. WHY

if you have not read bury your gays yet but now you are DANG INTERESTED then you can get it here. thanks for reading buckaroos feel free to reply with your own castings. I AM NO EXPERT you know my art just as well as i do so i am curious your thoughts. LOVE IS REAL

[pedge-page]

#5 Joel dealing with his fiesty preggo wife - angry af

Can be read with others in the series or standalone

Notes: Pedro chewing gum between takes on set does things to me.

Warnings: unprotected rough sex, Daddy kink, degrading language, reader being mean at first but Joel gives it right back *winkwink*

18+ ONLY

- - - -

The two of you are sitting in the living room on your respective sofas. You keep giving Joel the devil eye from your book in your lap as he watched the football game on TV.

Eventually, you roll your eyes, slam your pages shut and stand up, barreling past him and intentionally knocking your shin angrily against his knee.

"The fuck?" He coughs.

"You're fucking annoying, Miller."

"Funny, thought that was your name too now?" He quips, eyes staring back ahead to the TV while he points to the gold band on his left finger. "What have I done now?"

"Your chewing."

Joel side eyes you, expression unchanged as he blows the most obnoxious bubble from his gum imaginable before letting it pop! and sucking back in his mouth to chew. "What about?"

“It's annoying. And you're disgusting."

"Am I now? What else?"

"You've got a big ugly ass nose, too."

As much as Joel suspected this angry outburst out of nowhere was just the pregnancy setting every little nerve on edge with you, he want exactly privy to being attacked with your foul words.

"S'that right? you didn't seem to have a problem with my big ugly ass nose last night when you came four times from this snout nudging your little clit when I ate ya out."

"I was fakin' it," you scoff unconvincingly, the both of you knowing it’s a lie. But you refuse to back down. "While we're at it, here's another thing: You eat pussy like a bitch."

Joel Miller did not like it when a woman had to fake shit around him. Let alone his woman obviously lying about faking it. He stands up, the broad physique of his body instantly shadowing yours. "Ya know, I don't really like your tone today, young lady." He approaches you calmly but with a threatening predatory aura.

You tilt your head mockingly. “Yeah? My young lady self is stuck here with your old, miserable, lazy ass." You don't shuffle away, feet staying planted where they are until he's directly on top of you. Your eyes narrow, challenging one another. "It's a honestly a miracle that you even knocked me up with your wrinkly, shriveled, limp dic—“

 - 

Being married is a funny thing. Sometimes you don’t even have to say what it is you don’t realize you need, but your spouse is very adapt at picking up on it. Like right now, with face being shoved into the headrest of the couch by your husband’s meaty hand on top of your head, pregnant belly hanging over the curve of the cushion while you’re knees rub against the plush seat, Joel’s incessantly powerful hips driving forcefully into your stuffed cunt over and over again like a screen door in a hurricane. 

You’re smiling like a happy drunk, moaning off the top of your lungs as Joel’s cock continues to fill you effortlessly. He’s grunting and swearing, drips of his sweat trickling on to your arched back. Normally this position would hurt, especially with the extra 30 pounds of weight in your middle completely weighing you down, pressing uncomfortably into the couch, but my, oh my does it feel like a incredulous weight off your once aggravated mind.

“Ugh--ahh! FUck!” You cry, teeth sinking into the plush leather.

“What? Ya tired already?" he taunts, panting gleefully at your submissive state. "You wanted this. Remember? Just needed a good fucking, is that it?” He seethes, rutting his hips like daggers. 

You nod dumbly, elbows fighting to keep you and the baby from being plowed into the cushion. You throw as much of your weight back on to him with each thrust, forcing him deeper.

“Yeah, oh fuck me baby— yeah that’s it.” He licks his lips, watching the spot where your swollen and glistening pussy continues to suck his length back in. “My poor little wife, needed her cunt fucked stupid to get that little brain to shut off. Little cumdump gettin all antsy, startin’ a fight when she just needed a fresh fillin'. Don’t you worry, angel. Daddy’s here to put ya back in your place.”

With one hand still forcing your face into the headrest, the other is gripping your meaty hip, bringing you flush against his thighs with each puncture. You can feel him reaching the deepest part of you, the part that you didn’t know needed itched until Joel knew to stick his cock in it.

“Ye-yes daddy!” you whine when he hits that squishy spot inside that has you seeing stars, finger nails biting into the leather as you milk his cock with your orgasm.

“Ah-fuck yeah baby, keep goin’, keep cummin’ on Daddy’s dick—that’s my whore—my good wife—FUCK yeah!—fuuucckkk, ya needed that cum, I can feel it. Squeezin’ me so god damn tight. That’s it, just let go, give me everything, Daddy’s got ya.”

And what made Joel Miller so different, so husband and now soon-to-be-father worthy, is that, even though he’s railing his heavily pregnant wife in a position that would cause most women pain, you were as comfortable as can be. Despite the aggression that poured from his lips and hips, his hands occasionally cradled your tummy, checking on the baby’s movements. Glides down your back, massaging your spine to ensure you’re relaxed and not cramping. Listens for your breathing, the sounds that escape your throat, waiting for any sign that you might be in pain. He’s constantly making small adjustments for your comfort without you even fully realizing it. You couldn’t be more in love with him.

And his big fat delicious cock that put a beautiful baby in you and hopefully, will continue to do so for many years to come.

- - - -

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[dusana-thewitch]

I've seen a lot of praise for the Netflix Lockwood and co. adaptation. I haven't read the books, enjoyed the show. Lots of people already said a lot of positive things about this series concerning plot, characters, and so on that I largely agree with

You know what hasn't really been talked about?

How BRIGHT and WELL LIT everything is. Like, this show mostly happens at night, with characters running around with torches to see anything, because their job has to be done during the night.

But I can still SEE EVERYTHING.

I noticed that in the graveyard scenes especially. The sky is pitch black, we know it's the middle of the night. But the grass in green and I can SEE IT.

Love them for not going down the path of GOT, DC, and so many more. Of saying "well, it's the middle of the night, so nobody can see anything, and neither can the audience".

Instead they went "we told our audience it's the middle of the night, we're showing it to them, but we're also giving them the opportunity to see what actually happens on screen".

Amazing.

[perseidlion]

The Interview With the Vampire TV show is a perfect example of how adaptations do not have to follow the source material closely to be an excellent adaptation.

(This is a spoiler-free commentary, but it does discuss the dynamics of the characters in general.)

I read the books back in the day, and of course, saw the original movie. Despite a laundry list of big changes, the series still feels extremely true to the books because it captures the spirit. It gets the characters and their fucked-up dynamics right. It doesn't shy away from them being melodramatic monsters. It keeps to the rules established in the source material. The show also makes sure to preserve key moments and key scenes, but always with a twist.

Since they did that, they were free to shift things in time, amp up and adapt certain dynamics, and change the race of characters in a way that deepens the story and complicates already extremely complicated power dynamics.

The original movie stuck more closely to the era and the appearance of the characters as described by Anne Rice, but I don't think the story loses anything by changing those two elements. In fact, it gives it modern relevance and room for political and social commentary.

I have never ascribed to the idea that an adaptation has to be slavishly accurate to the source material to be a good adaptation. It just has to be smart enough to identify what to keep and what can change. An adaptation adapts. Honestly, I find it boring when I see exactly what was in a book up on screen with no surprises. Where's the fun in that?

The difference between a good adaptation and a bad one is not how accurate it is to the source material, but how well the adaptation respects what made the story compelling to begin with.

What's important here?

Lestat is dramatic and powerful and a monster who is deeply charismatic, but also manipulative.

Louis is overdramatic and self-hating, but oddly drawn to Lestat.

Claudia is fierce, but bitter about her eternal childhood.

Their relationship is deeply toxic but with true affection. They are monsters, but monsters capable of intense love and devotion - to the point where it has the power to destroy them.

THAT is at the core of this story. THAT is what they keep intact. This frees up all sorts of avenues for play around a few key plot beats.

This room for play also gives opportunities to expand on thinner characters or rewrite them entirely. It's been a long time since I read the books, but I don't recall Daniel standing out as more than a framing device, especially in earlier books. But in the show, he's one of the best parts. Not only does he take a much more active role in the story, he delivers some of the most hilarious and cutting lines of the entire series. If the show had stuck closely to the source material, we wouldn't have this Daniel.

It was also smart of them to make Claudia a few years older. The eternal child element is preserved, but the layer of arrested teenaged hormones and womanhood that will never blossom adds an extra layer of angst and sadness. She is stuck forever in a state of rebellion, never allowed to settle and come into her own.

Having her be a young Black woman also deepens her attachment to Louis, visually, socially and symbolically. They are different from Lestat and they understand each other in a way he never can. She's still very much the Claudia from the book but with layers added to deepen her character and add new, fresh dynamics and complications.

It's also delightful to see the show take the homoeroticism that was subtextual in the early books with Louis and Lestat (and in the original film) and making it unapologetically text. Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles have always been incredibly queer and subversive, but it's amazing to see that side of it fully embraced and stated plainly with no ambiguity or qualifiers or hints. It's queer and that queerness is woven into the fabric of the entire narrative. Louis and Lestat are the toxic beating heart of the Vampire Chronicles.

It's also important because we need messy, dark, fucked-up queer narratives. Sweet, coming-of-age stories and romances are of course, important - especially for younger queer people. But us older queer folk not only want to see ourselves in multiple genres, we want permission to see imperfect, messy, and yes, even evil characters. It's a way of reclaiming the monstrous queer that was villainized for so long and making it our own. We want to find something beautiful in the dark.

If we all thought about it, we could probably think of dozens of examples where a show or movie went far off-script from the source material and was still an excellent adaptation.

Interview With the Vampire is just the most recent and one of the best examples of a stellar adaptation that respects the source material but also builds and expands on it.

I look forward to seeing how they surprise me next season.

[nammikisulora]

I recently finished Moby Dick and since then I've been contemplating what I'd want from a "perfect" adaptation of it. this is what I've got so far:

first off it needs to be a tv show, not a movie. the book is so big 'cause it needs to fit a whale in it, thus an adaptation ought to do the same

Ishmael needs to narrate this baby. give me voiceover ffs, this is absolutely essential

keep the infodumps. for the love god keep the fucking infodumps. condensed, sure, but they need to be there! everyone who watches needs to know exactly how Very Normal™️ our boy is about whales and whale hunting

also tbh i feel like the whole whale phrenology thing is pretty essential to the vibe of Ishmael. do not make this guy normal about this shit

for this to work, some kind of framing device is probably best. easiest is probably to have Old Ishmael writing The Book and figure out some way to segue between infodump documentary style and Plot

oh and also include the side stories of the ships they meet somehow

make. it. gay. I need Ishmael and Queequeg to be banging on screen, okay? at the inn in the beginning, on the Pequod after the whale flensing scene… it needs to be there

HOWEVER this must not be acknowledged in the narration. look, they're just really good friends, snuggling in bed during their hearts' honeymoon, 'kay? and checking out how hot your friend is while he's stomping around on a dead whale, cutting it up and fending off the sharks, clad in only shirt and stockings, is just what anyone would do!

what about all the things Ishmael can't possibly know about, then? like private conversations between Ahab and Starbuck and such? I mean I guess our guy could be eavesdropping, but eh - Melville didn't care, so the hypothetical show could just as well handwave it too

keep the whole end sequence as close to the book as possible. top tier imagery there

obviously there's more needed, especially in regards to the characters but eh. if anyone's got anything to add I'd love to hear it!

[secondlina]

I've been reading my way through The Namesake after loving your Crow comics and I love it, especially the love of Oz. I grew up with the old Oz books and didn't expect to be reminded of so many characters and stories. Your art is wonderful.

Aw, thank you so much!! It's really fun to work with Oz as a setting. While Namesake does diverge from "canon" Oz stories, it's really nice to use the creatures and landscape in the material. I'd love to see a legit Oz adaptation one day, LOTR style. A lot of Oz based material tends to take influence from the musical movie, which is a great movie, but I often get frustrated at it's long shadow keeping us from seeing Ozma on screen, aka my favorite gay weirdo. Return to Oz is probably my favorite English language adaptation. As a kid I loved the Japanese anime from 1986, it has Ozma and Jinjur and Glinda as a Witch of the South. It was amazing!

Jinjur and her babes slay me :

[strummerjoe]

Is it just me, or is the writing of the new Percy Jackson show kind of brilliant? Especially when you compare it to the original books.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the books a lot, and I'm not trying to tear them down. But the actual structure of the books involves a lot of the kids just sort of bumbling from one greek myth to another.

As you get Percy's POV a lot of the fun of those scenes is figuring out which greek myth is playing out - but in the show they recognise this right off the bat, which allows them to dive a little deeper.

So instead of spending time figuring out that Aunty Em is Medusa, they immediately make the connection and instead the story focuses on whether or not Medusa is actually a villain.

And the amount of characterization they've built into each monster encounter is *chefs kiss* they've made them all so personal to our trio of heroes.

I've rarely seen a book-to-screen adaption that succeeded in adding to the depth of the original story like this and I'm so here for it!

[exhuastedpigeon]

Imagine the 119 is Taylor Kelly’s book being adapted and the studio was like “Taylor we need some more interpersonal drama. What can you give us?”

And Taylor is just like “I don’t know my ex and his best friend were weirdly codependent, especially after the best friend got shot”

And the studio was like… “secret gay romance, we like it. That’s all the rage.”

So the 118 shows up at a call on set and both actors are like “wow you’re the guys! Can we pick your brains about your love story? When did you know?”

And both Buck and Eddie kind of blue screen but for different reasons. Eddie because who told you that? That’s my deepest secret. And Buck because the actor who’s playing Eddie has a moustache and he actually didn’t even hear the question because he was too busy picturing his Eddie with one and now he’s really horny.

Meanwhile Hen and Chim talk to their actors who are perfectly nice people.

[give-some-lemons]

Watching/playing in horror genre with Sylus

~first of all he’s a busy man and despite the fact that he likes horror genre, usually he just don’t have enough time for watching movies giving more preference to books. He’s favorite would definitely be Stephen King for that atmosphere in his artworks.

~he’s a kind of person that will chuckle or at least smile at characters deaths, especially if it’s a stupid one like stepped on “the most obvious trap he’s ever saw” and he’s more than glad if you’re same, discussing how dumb heroes are for coming up with those decisions.

~he secretly waits for scary moments cause he loves when you cling to him all tensed seeking for his protection and comfort when monster’s face appears on the screen with a loud scream. But if you’re a tough one, that cannot be affected so easily don’t worry, after some time you’ll find yourself in his arms pressed against strong chest anyway.

~he would be glad to watch all the screen adaptations of Stephen King’s novels, even if he doesn’t like any of it, telling how much better it was on the book pages, but he has favorites like “Carrie” and “It”.

~movies about serial killers is his top of most enjoyable ones, sympathizing Myers and Ghost Face and considering how society itself made a monsters out of them. And that is the reason why you often need to put it on pause for you two to meet in a debate battles on that topic.

~if we’re talking about games he’s not much of a player but of course he will do that with you cause obviously that’s what you’d like. It takes some time for you to explain him how to play but since he’s a “talented student” he’s very fast at learning.

~for the reason that not so much horror games are a multiplayer ones, you play in turns, even if at first he prefers watching you, taking his turn only in case if some moments are too scary for you but after not so long mostly you will be the one to just sit, often giving him advice.

~I feel like this man would like “Resident evil 7” and first parts of this franchise, cause the atmosphere in some places there would keep him all in tense, plus he seems to really like the idea of Umbrella, an evil company with their terrible experiments on human body and you already were regretting of giving him ideas for his next business.

~even though he loves to control everything he seems to enjoy games with an unpredictable jump-scares like “Layers of Fear” or “Mortuary Assistant” that can throw him off course for a couple of seconds. And it’s funny for you to watch how carefully and slowly he’s trying to turn back not to be taken by surprise after the last jump-scare.

~”Phasmophobia” is next on your list, a game that was terrifying for you first times you played it. But despite your expectations you almost always were the one to die first while your man just sat there holding a laugh, hidden in the closet like he never even entered the haunted house. Newcomers are lucky not to go out on the ghosts, I guess.

~not a secret that he adores the feeling when somebody’s life fully depends of his choice, no matter if that’s a real life or a game, that’s why he enjoys “Until Dawn” along with “Dark Anthology Pictures”. That thrill of power and control that he has over these virtual humans make you feel very sorry for them. And don’t even doubt, if he doesn’t like the character they will not make it until the end, at least alive.

~he likes horror games/movies with a deep meaning, you know the ones after which you usually sat on one place for some time reflecting on what you’ve just seen or played. At that point you and your partner are talking sharing your thoughts and considering all the ways how differently it could be if characters did this instead of that.

~he would love as well physiological thrillers like “The Shining” and “The Babadook”, movies where the story is told through the thoughts of psychologically stressed characters, revealing their distorted mental perception of the world and how what seemed like a nice, not remarkable at any point person goes all the way straight to insanity.

~not a big fan of a body horror, as he thinks that it’s the easiest way to impress people with just an image of blood and organs everywhere on the screen. As was said before, he appreciates people’s emotions and the atmosphere, that puts viewers or players in a primary terror.

[cbrownjc]

My thoughts about Devil's Minion right now after Rolin Jones' comments (spoilers):

A meta so thorough, that I first wrote in a post/reply elsewhere, I'm putting it into a separate post, (with some more added to it), just because. And especially since I know I've gotten a lot of followers over the course of Season 2 because of my Devil's Minion posts as well, and I want this all in a separate, individual post for quick reference, just in case.

Fair warning: if you are totally happy and fine about what happened -- i.e. how Armand turned Daniel -- then yeah, what I am going to say here isn't for you. I'm not trying to harsh anyone's vibe, especially if you are just happy that Daniel is a vampire now, okay? This is just about how I feel and see things about it at the moment (particularly regarding RJs comments about it). So if you're not up for criticism, critique, as well as speculation about Devil's Minion right now, then yeah. IMO, just skip this post, please.

Okay. So. Rolin Jones just gave an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and this is what he said about Daniel's turning by Armand:

Jones confirms that, just like in Rice’s books, Armand is the one who turns Daniel into a vampire. “Will we see that moment of turning? No, but Armand finally made a vampire and clearly made him out of spite,” he says with a laugh. “It looks like it was really not a great moment [between him and Daniel], but that connects those two characters. They will have scenes going forward, obviously.”

-- Rolin Jones, Hollywood Reporter, 06/30/24

Okay so, to start. For me, someone who has been waiting since 1995 (when I was 17) for Devil's Minion, for Armand and Daniel's relationship to finally be adapted in some way, I'll be honest. There are only two ways this can go now that I can see at the moment: either Rolin is lying/trolling to hide the truth about all of this, or he is telling the truth and this is truly the way they are going with this.

If Rolin is lying/trolling to hide something about all of this, then I'll forgive that lying/trolling instantly once it's revealed that he was. (Put a pin in this.) Having to flat-out lie or troll is sometimes par for the course when it comes to running a show and not wanting to spoil anything about what might be coming up in it. So honestly, if that's what's going on with what he said here? Meh. No skin off my nose.

If he is telling the truth, however? Then I'll have zero desire to watch the show anymore, once I see it 100% confirmed in some way with my own two eyes in some way on screen somehow. (Again, pin in this.) Because I have very much learned my lesson when it comes to TV shows and lazy writing/bad adaptations after Game of Thrones.

Because Armand turning Daniel out of spite is the antithesis of what Devil's Minion is supposed to be for both characters. It is an utter and complete misunderstanding of both characters and their relationship together. It's an utter downgrade of their relationship from the books, and I am not here for it. I literally do not care what "romance" they might later have planned for them if this is how Daniel was turned.

Look. If you are someone who only ever cared about Daniel just being a vampire, then this is all likely fine for you, and that's okay. But not me. Because Daniel being a vampire never was, or has been, the important part of Armand and Daniel's relationship. Not in my eyes and, frankly, not when it comes to the original story. Daniel becoming a vampire is not the important part of the Devil's Minion story. The actual love and romance before Daniel is turned is because it is during that part of it that the actual character development and growth both of them go through from it takes place. Especially for Armand's character.

And that only has any depth when Daniel is human and Armand is forever refusing to turn him because of his hangups about making another vampire.

And Armand finally turning Daniel out of love was a huge step that showed Armand beginning to move forward and heal -- from not only his time in the Children of Darkness cult, but begin his healing when it comes to his Marius issues as well.

Armand turning Daniel out of spite undercuts all of that. It undercuts the whole story. And flat-out guts some of the major depth of the relationship and Armand's character development overall.

Not to mention it makes Daniel no better than someone like Claudia wrt Armand turning him now. Maybe even less than her since at least Claudia got turned out of Lestat's love for someone else. Daniel doesn't even get that? The person who is supposed to be his eternal companion doesn't even get turned by him out of love, an important point to the bond between such Maker and Fledgling eternal companions, but out of hate and spite instead?

Yeah, no thank you.

This is not what I've waited since 1995 to see with these two and the fact their relationship may have gotten treated like this -- if this is true -- utterly astounds me how this show could get Loustat so right (and even upgrade them so beautifully in so many ways such as with Louis' turning) and utterly fail Devil's Minion so badly. Because yes, it's failing them. It's a terrible and, moreover, just a shallow adaptation of Devil's Minion if this is how it really all goes down.

Because there is way more to Armand and Daniel than them just Daniel being a vampire and them finally "getting together." Or at least there is supposed to be. And this ain't it.

(Pin!) Now, with that all said? The fact that Rolin flat out says that we'll never see Armand turning Daniel? Yeah okay, I'm sus on that one. Because really. The only reason not to show Armand turning Daniel next season -- and visually confirm that Armand did it -- is if because . . . Armand never actually turned Daniel in the first damn place.

Or, if he did, it maybe was not fully Daniel.

I mean, you're not going to ever actually show Armand turning his first-ever fledgling (who he's supposed to go on to have a romantic relationship with at some point) after making a big ass deal out of the fact that Armand has never turned anyone before? Ever?

See I know damn well that Armand is being framed as a villain right now. He very much has to be given how the end of the book IWTV and how the upcoming book The Vampire Lestat, goes. Armand is the main villain/antagonist in it. Even in the present day, it is clear Armand hasn't gone yet gone through all of the growth that he does from Queen of the Damned on. So he's still back in his villain-era mode right now. And his post-breakup with Louis mode in the present day. Which is fine, it's how his story -- and the story where it is right now -- goes. I am thoroughly okay with that.

And the very idea that Armand turned Daniel out of spite? Very much plays into that framing-him-as-a-villian state where Armand's character is right now. And will be for the majority of Season 3, which I've already before now suspected and said.

So here is where the speculation on my end of things comes in. Because yeah, not only can I not help myself but because -- until I see this play out with my own eyes -- I'm willing to be reasonable and look at the various ways this all could still play out that doesn't completely gut out the very heart of Armand and Daniel -- as characters and their relationship together. (Or at least not have it be so damn shallow by the end when they inevitably get and stay together.)

So as @nalyra-dreaming can confirm, I gave her a few scenarios that could be behind Daniel's turning weeks ago, when I first suspected it was going to happen (before the screener leaks about it started). In one of the scenarios, I said that if Daniel's vampire eyes are any color other than violet, then that is NOT Daniel's spirit/soul/consciousness in Daniel's body that has been made a vampire.

As the saying goes, "The eyes are the window into the soul." And am I really supposed to think this show got Lestat and Louis' eye color dead on correct but just missed Daniel's iconic eye color? Really? (Because no, I do not find it romantic that Daniel has his Maker's eye color, or whatever. Besides, vampire eye color doesn't even work like that -- the show didn't even do that with Louis and Lestat who are the main, grand romantic couple of the damn show.)

As I said here in this reblog, I stand by my opinion/theory that no way this show gets Daniel's iconic violet eye color wrong, even on accident. I said so weeks ago, before even seeing Daniel's eyes in that final shot in the season finale, and just predicting that he was going to get turned.

No way this show got Daniel's iconic eye color wrong when he became a vampire, not when they went to all the damn trouble creating those vampire contacts and gave Jacob's Louis green eyes to match book-Louis.

And yes I damn well know they could just have Daniel pop up with violet vampire eyes in the Season 3 premiere and there goes all of that, and it really was all just laziness, incompetence, and a mistake when it came to the color of Daniel's eyes in the finale. But right now? I'm treating Daniel's eye color as the equivalent of Rolin saying "Lelio is so boring!" as to the question of why Sam's Lestat was playing Harlequin and not Lelio in the Season 2 theater flashbacks. Something the show changed on purpose and for a reason.

Because we all damn well know that we are going to see Sam's Lestat as Lelio in Season 3, correct? Because we are.

And yes. I know some people really hate the idea of a body swap scenario regarding Daniel, but I'm sorry. At this point, it really is the only scenario out of this whole storyline that I can see right now, that will keep it anywhere close to retaining the heart of the Devil's Minion storyline, especially if Armand really did turn Daniel out of spite here (even though, again, we'll apparently never see that turning to confirm that in full. Uh-huh, okay.).

And two things that I think do set up the possibility are:

1.) Louis says Daniel was turned after he left Armand alone with him. But Louis actually wouldn't know something like that unless he was told since he wasn't there. All we can really assume at the moment is that Daniel told Louis what happened after Louis left the room. And as RJ and Assad said, we'll never see the actual turning. So who knows when the hell it happened.

2.) Raglan James, via those direct messages asking Daniel for "reciprocation" for getting him a copy of the script, with Armand's handwritten notes, of the trial-play. Between that request and the Talamasca publishing Daniel's book, that loops Daniel into the James orbit very much. And ties Daniel very close to any Talamasca going on even more.

And, quite frankly, I've thought since Season 1 that David Talbot's character was out and would be merged with both Louis and Daniel on the show. And Sam pretty much confirmed in his interview with Autumn Brown that some characters from the books will be merged together with others in the show. So, yeah. David's character is very much a character I always thought they were doing that with, and I know I'm not the only one who's thought it before now as well.

And honestly, I can much better deal with some type of scenario in which Armand maybe ends up turning two versions of "Daniel" -- and therefore technically having two fledglings, even though they are kind of the same person -- over what is being put forth about this right now. One turning -- in spite -- of Daniel's body without his true spirit/soul/consciousness in it, and the other turning -- out of love -- of Daniel's spirit/soul/consciousness inside a different body of some kind. (Which I won't go into now, as that is a whole separate long meta if I did.)

Because at least with that scenario then, in a weird way, Daniel being Armand's only fledgling would still hold. 🤷🏾‍♀️ Along with a few other things that can happen regarding Armand's character growth in between each turning.

But that is it. Because there is no way they can have Armand turn Daniel (as fully Daniel) out of spite -- as Rolin directly says he does in this interview -- and actually keep the heart of the Devil's Minion story and romance now. Not even if the Devil's Minion chase and parts of the relationship happened in the past IMO . . . another thing they are clearly avoiding talking about, btw. Which, at least right now, just tells me that, if we're lucky, we'll only -- once again -- get one episode that flashes back to that time in Season 3. Can't really be helped, since Season 3's primary focus will be regarding Lestat and Lestat's backstory. (As I've said before Daniel isn't even in that book. So whatever we get with him in Season 3 really will just be extra, added stuff.)

Oh, and something else I very much recognize is that Loustat shippers -- particularly book ones -- have gone through it these past two seasons, but now seem to be coming out of that darkness. Maybe now it's time for Devil's Minion shippers like me and others to face the same damn thing now. Because of something Assad let slip a few weeks ago about not getting Armand's full story until Season 4, I think that is how long we're going to have to wait to see the full of this play out.

But I advise right now that if some of you think you can't handle that and would just rather quit the show and binge things later, I totally get it. Waiting two seasons -- basically 4 years minimum -- is going to be a pain in the ass. I already know right now that there are some things I'm not going to have the patience for during the hiatus times in between, particularly this one. (One thing I can already say, at least right now, is that I'm not inspired to write any show-based Devil's Minion fanfic this hiatus like I did during the last hiatus).

But quitting the show altogether? No, I'm not there yet. Because yes Rolin does like to troll. Plus Hannah's tweet. Plus what was said about Devil's Minion at ATX Festival. Plus my thinking, long before now, that David Talbot was always out wrt the show, and the fact that Raglan James is here and Daniel's character has been heavily tied into The Talamasca plotline of the show.

And given everything I've seen this show do wrt it's writing up until now, I just can't fully believe they would really make Devil's Minion this damn shallow and devoid of its depth and heart. And just have Armand turn his one and only canon fledgling and immortal companion out of nothing but spite. When Armand loving Daniel and finally having to trust in Daniel's love for him, as well as his own love for Daniel over his own fear was a major point and culmination of the Devil's Minion storyline.

After everything I've seen these first two seasons wrt this show, I can't think these writers would miss such an important heart and point of the Devil's Minion storyline and romance so completely.

Not yet at any rate.

[zannolin]

the existing screen adaptations of a series of unfortunate events aren't bad by any means but i think the ideal medium for adapting it would be claymation.

hear me out. the mix of quirky, dreary, fantastical and miserable, that darkness bordered with absurdism, would be so perfect for the textured, gritty, almost grimy feel of claymation, and the cast of characters would adapt sooo well to the style of character design seen in movies like coraline and the corpse bride. the use of color like in corpse bride could go so far, and i can just picture aunt josephine's house or prufrock prep or the circus set design. especially count olaf as he's illustrated on the covers would translate so well to the medium you've GOTTA admit. violet's inventions and sunny's exploits wouldn't feel nearly as out of place as they do in the live-action attempts, either.

tl;dr i feel like when it comes to adapting lemony snicket books, henry selick would understand the assignment.

[killingsboys]

it actually pisses me off how common it is for book-to-screen adaptations to just completely disrespect their source material in increasingly ridiculous ways. whitewashing wuthering heights. erasing the queerness of dorian gray. the thing about classics is that they remain relevant in society for a reason: their stories can be interpreted in so many different ways, and they resonate with people in other places and other times. but instead of getting really interesting interpretations of these stories that at once remain true to their source material AND explore the themes in new perspectives, we just keep getting adaptations that remove everything of importance from the story and try to pander to the widest audience possible. but wuthering heights isn't wuthering heights if heathcliff is white. dorian gray isn't dorian gray if it isn't queer. the story does not become more relatable or likable when you remove the social issues, especially considering that these social issues are still extremely present and visible in the world right now. all you're doing is taking a beloved story and turning it into soulless garbage for money. but i guess that's what 90% of hollywood is right now anyway

[konigenblobbity]

Request: Deafening Silence

Hobie x Spidey!F!Reader

Request: [Anon] f reader who works at HQ as a tech engineer and is non-verbal due to childhood trauma, her quiet and well-reserved characteristics make her seem invisible, and how physical touch and sign language is how to connect to people. can you also show how Hobi would - by his easy-going nature- connect to her, how his feelings towards her protect her and gives her a safe space to grow.

Tags: Fluff, slightly angsty, protective Hobie, silent Reader

Summary: People often saw your silence as a weakness, a flaw… but Hobie didn’t. He found his own way to connect with you, being able to read you like a book, never pressuring you to change. When he finally overhears people’s rude words, he takes a moment to remind you of your importance.

You’ve never been one for a lot of words, especially with a past of trauma you’ll never be able to forget. So instead, you chose to adapt, turning to simple signs and moments of physical touch in order to convey your thoughts. A lot of people don’t understand it, they get irritated when you don’t respond, and after a while decide to just leave you alone. You’re not sure why Hobie stuck around, but he did.

As usual, Hobie found you at HQ, sitting cross legged in your desk chair making some new tech at your workbench. He smiles as you kick off the desk, gliding your swivel chair across the floor to grab a screwdriver before sliding back to your workbench. “You’re getting quite good at that” he comments and watches as your head turns to see him, lifting your welding mask, a large smile graces your lips.

You stand up and walk over to him, he does the same so the two of you meet in the middle. You embrace him in a tight grasp, feeling him softly caressing your back as you do. “Good to see you again Gizmo” he spoke with a soft chuckle, his tone gentle as he pulls away just enough to look down at you and smile. You smile back up at him and then nod your head once as a friendly greeting.

You then pull away, watching as he places his hands in his pockets. Furrowing your brows you ask him why he’s here… in the form of signs, pointing at him and then pointing at the ground. Having known you for a few months he knows exactly what you mean. He shrugs “Decided to pop in, haven’t had a mission in a bit so I thought I could just hang out here. Is that alright?” You smile and give him a nod.

You walk back over to your chair, sitting down and getting back to your work. He grabs one of the other chairs and slides it near yours, sitting down on it and kicking his feet up to rest on one of your desks. He knew you didn’t really mind, as long as his feet weren’t resting on a keyboard or any of your materials.

Hobie was fully content just sitting there and watching, he even had his guitar on him so he decided to play a little bit here and there. No one really expected you two to become as close as you did, you were an unexpected pair, often inseparable and the only person you really looked forward to seeing was Hobie. You knew that ever since your first interaction, which still makes you laugh.

-

Hobie walked into HQ with the team, preparing for another mission. As usual, he strayed away a little as he searched his path for any small tech or knick knacks he can steal. He looks around and smiles when he spots a selection of small bits and pieces on a few desks in the main room of HQ. He walks over, surveying all the options of trinkets, with blinking lights or flashing screens.

He reaches out to take a metal sheet with a series of wires on it. Before he can touch it you swat at his hand, causing him to pull it back. He turns his head and spots you, expression indifferent, not even upset with the stranger who just tried to steal from you. Hobie smiles and steps back, turning his body to face you, deciding to lighten up the situation by talking.

“Christ love, caught me red handed” he raises his hands in the air playfully, you simply look at him, giving him a soft smile and shrug. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant but went along with it. “Surprised my spider senses didn’t pick up on ya” he adds, lowering his hands and placing them in his pockets. He watches as you walk over to a work bench, getting slightly nervous at the idea that you were ignoring him because he tried to steal form you.

“Sorry about that though… didn’t know you were there” you turn your head to look over at him, you lift your hand, waving away his apology with a smile. You turn back to your work, expecting him to leave, seeing as no one has ever spent this much time with you here at HQ, usually coming over to ask a single question or try and mess with your tech. That’s why, when he spoke again, even coming over and sitting your workbench, right next to where you were working on some tech… you were shocked.

“Haven’ seen you around before… I’m Hobie” he puts out his hand and after a pause you shake it with a smile. He was waiting for you to introduce yourself but you simply went back to typing at your work. He then notices small writing stitched into your suit ‘Gizmo’.

He smiles, taking a moment to think to himself and gauge what type of person you were, and he came to one clear conclusion… whoever you were, he liked you. He thought you had a unique character to you and couldn’t help but be intrigued. Wanting to learn more about this mysterious spider who he seemingly has never seen before.

Its then that Miguel’s voice rings out from behind you, “HOBIE BROWN! Where are you?!” You notice how Hobie rolls his eyes, making you smile to yourself. He then leans down, playfully nudging your shoulder “Swear I’ll die the day he doesn’ have a stick up his arse” You shake your head but let out a chuckle at his words. He loves the sound of it… he already wanted to hear more of it.

As Miguel calls him again he sighs and stands up off the desk. He pats your shoulder gently and winks before stepping away, backwards so he’s facing you. “I’ll see ya again Gizmo, yeah?” At that promise you give him a short nod combined with a kind smile, he then smiles back and turns around to walk to his meeting.

-

Hobie’s eyes follow you as you use your chair as a vehicle to get from one desk to another, grabbing bits of metal and wire and then going back to your workbench. You were using a solder and sparks were flying off whatever you were creating.

He stops playing his guitar and speaks. “Whats got my lil innovator working so hard?” You look over at him, then lift your mask. You bring a hand to your ear as a sign for him to repeat himself and he does. “I asked whatcha workin’ on” You smile and wave him over, he pushes himself off the desk, sliding his chair over next to yours. When you stand up he does the same, you then grab the device and smile at him excitedly.

Not yet putting it on, you look at him and circle your fingers around each other in a backwards motion, your sign for ‘before’, he nodded in understanding. You smiled at how he immediately knew what you were saying, then continued the demonstration. You launch a web towards a mannequin, a normal web that just hits it in the chest.

You cut off the web, and circle your fingers around each other again, signing to him ‘after’ and then putting the small wristband like tech around your wrist. Once again you fire a web, but this time, as it hits the mannequin, it sends an electric current through it, even causing the plastic head to combust. Both you and Hobie jump slightly in shock.

Hobie looks at you, smirking at your wide eyes. He nudges you playfully. “Was that supposed to happen?” you blush in slight embarrassment, not looking at him and just signing to him again. You tap the wristband and then shake your hand in a ‘so-so’ motion. He nods slowly “still working out the kinks… guessing it’s just a prototype?” He asks and you nod, seeming a little dejected, you begin fidgeting with the wristband.

Its then that Hobie’s hand enters your vision, softly placing his fingers under your chin, getting you to look at him. You were still blushing, eyes avoiding his own gaze, he knew you probably felt a bit embarrassed that your tech didn’t work perfectly. He wanted to ease your mind, intending to have been playful instead of mocking.

“Its top tier tech Gizmo, once ya figure out how to make it less lethal, I bet everyone’ll be using that on missions” his smile was sincere, genuinely impressed by your talents and innovative tech. You smile at his words but then shake your head, at first he thinks you were telling him you didn’t believe him, but he then watches you sign further.

Your arms cross into an X shape and you then spin your finger in a circle in the air. His brows furrow as he finally understands what you were saying no to. “What do ya mean ‘not everyone?’”, he sits back down on the chair. You take off your tech and place it back on the desk before sitting in your chair as well.

Signing again, you hold your hand out as if you were spray painting and Hobie looks at you with wide eyes “wait… you’re makin’ this for Miles?” to which you nod. He lets out a chuckle and jokingly leans forward “I haven’ seen you working on anything for me… I thought you were my lil innovator”

At his fake pout you just chuckle and roll your eyes, you push his chair away with your foot, causing him to roll back. He slides a bit away before grabbing onto a desk to stop himself, he chuckles at your action and then kicks his feet back up onto the empty desk.

You then look at him and tap your wrist, now he rolls his eyes, putting his hands in the air defensively “I know I know… patience”. You nod and put your soldering mask back down, continuing to work on the tech. After a bit more time, you working while Hobie just talks about what cool features he’d want in his personal tech, you begin to hear voices

A group of spider people walk by, their words muffled in an attempted whisper, although they weren’t actually being that quiet. “Out of everyone he gets to know her?” One says. “It’s not like there’s anything to get to know…” the other remarks. It’s the final spider’s words that hit you most “even if she could speak I bet she’d have nothing important to say” You can feel their eyes on the back of your head, as if their gazes were daggers.

You don’t avert your eyes from your desk, clutching the soldering machine tighter, trying to focus on the sound of the melting metal and flying sparks rather than their piercing voices. You begin fiddling with some exposed wires as an attempt to occupy your mind with something besides their words.

You’ve always been able to ignore them, up until when you got close with Hobie. That was the point people became harsher, more vocal with their criticism… and that’s when you began to care more because not only did you hear them, but so did Hobie.

You couldn’t help but worry that their insults and snarky comments would convince him to leave you alone. That after hearing just how pathetic people thought you were, he’d decide to spend his time somewhere else, with someone less hated and more open and vocal.

Hobie narrows his gaze towards the group that just walked by, his displeasure clear in his scowl. Once they notice his glare, they shut up and rush down the hall. He lets out a sigh, taking his feet off the desk, and leaning his guitar on the desk behind him. In your peripheral vision you can see him standing up, immediately assuming that he was leaving.

You turn, lift your mask, give him a quick smile, and then wave him goodbye. At that action he looks at you confused, brows furrowed and his head tilted as he looks down at you. “I’m not leavin” he says in a tone that reads as if his statement was obvious. Your expression turns to shock, you click your tongue letting out a soft ‘oh’ sound, before turning back to your tech.

Hobie still stood in confusion, taken aback by your action. He moves right next to your chair, squatting down and sitting on his heels. He places his hand on the armrest of your chair to turn it so you face him. You look at him and notice his confused and almost speechless expression, you tilt your head and furrow your brows as a sign of question.

He then finally speaks “did you really think I’d leave because of a few insensitive pricks?” You stay quiet and your gaze moves down to your hands in your lap, fidgeting with your rings. You simply shrug and your lips are a fine line, your whole demeanor acting as if it was obvious that’s what you thought.

Hobie let’s out a sigh, placing his hand on top of yours on your lap, you look back up at him, meeting his gaze. The way his eyes stared into yours was completely new to you, his gaze was caring and soft, but there was a sadness to it. “Well you’re wrong… and so are they” you give him a soft smile, hoping to calm his concerns, but he can still see the unease and hurt in your expression.

He grasps your hands tighter in his own, continuing his small speech. “You don’t need to speak in order for me to understand you. You’ve barely ever said a word to me, and yet out of all the spider people in this HQ, the one I want to talk to the most, is you… my lil innovator” he lifts up one of your hands and kisses the back of it, helping to solidify his words.

You blush at his words and kind action, you nod your head softly. “You promise ya won’t let these pricks get t’you?” He asks, his eyes looking into yours with a serious and stern expression. As a sign of agreement you once again nod your head… but that wasn’t enough for him. He lets go of your hands and raises one of his own, extending his pinky. “Pinky promise me��� and you chuckle lightly, but his expression was serious.

Once you raised your pinky and linked it with his he smiled and then gave you a wink “There, it can never be broken” and you just shake your head playfully at his antics. He didn’t mind though, his antics were always an attempt to make you smile, to make you feel better, and the fact that they worked… was always good enough for him.

He stands up and then softly kisses your forehead,“Now… go on and finish Miles’ tech so you can make mine” pulling your welding mask back down when you blush.