#hostiles interview

[christianbalefanatic]

Christian Bale as Capt. Joseph J. Blocker in Hostiles (2017) dir. Scott Cooper

(christianbalefanatic edit)

[twinge-of-cosmicangst]

Billie Piper fighting for her life, sitting next to Christopher Eccleston while he says that Russell T Davis, Julie Gardner and Phil Collinson would have to be sacked before he ever has a Doctor Who cameo, like the child of divorce that she is.

[hangonsnoopy19]

That line in the very first episode when Daniel asks where Louis’s coffin is and Louis says basically “this is it, this fancy tower, this whole place is my coffin” (and then Armand as Fake Rashid is the one who raises the window shade omg) really hits different now rewatching it. It always sounded like Louis was uncomfortable about it but yeah. It’s a coffin, it’s a prison. You’ve been buried alive here. You always knew it was wrong even when you couldn’t remember why. It isn’t a home, it’s a coffin.

[jaggedjot]

Though it is unclear whether the revenant vampire can even recognise language, Claudia continues to try to communicate with it. Claudia assumes that the reason for the revenant’s disinterest is due to her not being recognisable as a vampire. The dangers of drinking the blood of corpses was one of the first of Claudia’s limited lessons, and she now shares it with this stranger freely and without any sense of superiority. Rather than being wary after the revenant hurts her, Claudia seems giddy at the physical proof of its existence. Claudia is just as enthusiastic to meet a vampire that seems to be disabled as she is to meet one who is not. While Louis openly rejects the revenant for its physical otherness, refusing to accept it as kin, Claudia embraces it.

[dreadfuldevotee]

Thank you for this last post. The discourse on this fandom can often be so annoying. I hate it when people are like "this is a Gothic horror, let them be toxic and problematic!!!!11!!!1" because it's not take they think it is? At the end of the day, they still want us to root for these characters and relationships, right? So how can we do that if they're stereotyped vampires, who is dark, cold, just hurt each other and don't have an ounce of growth, development, empathy and humanity? And this is such a dismissive opinion of the show and even the books, because their conflict with humanity and vampirism is a central aspect of the plot. That said, if you reduce them to the abuse alone, you're also missing the point of the story? I mean, you can totally have your opinion, you can see them as unforgivable even on this fictional universe, you can hate and root against them... But this show isn't about punitivism, it is about them navigating immortality. There are consequences for their actions, as there should be, but the goal is for them to find a way to make this work. You don't need to agree (idgaf about the British monarchy and still watched a few episodes of The Crown for the acting, for example), but if you expect otherwise, you're just playing yourself? But this fandom seems to have a problem with finding a good balance. Not to mention the hypocrisy of never forgiving certain characters and reducing them to their problematic actions, but treating their faves very different lol. And I'm like, okay, you don't need to love everyone, it's okay to have a favorite, but at least don't be contradictory? Your fave does the exact same thing or worse? Anyways. Thanks again for putting it so well. It's refreshing to see posts like that here.

Thank you! I'm glad that other people get anything out of my ranting and raving, as I am a chronic yapper and really only talk for my own health LOL.

But yeah, there is a lot of selective hearing in any fandom, really; but it pisses me off a lot here because of all the "Gothic Horror" handwaving going on. Interacting with the fandom, reading the books and seeing clips & bits of personal writings from Anne Rice, the image it paints for me is a profound unwillingness to engage with contents of the story if they're not fun and sexy. Shit, even my own odyssey into the books is spurred on in one part, to be able to form my own opinion and critique on the writing and secondly, realizing that book readers were straight up lying at times about how things went down.

And there is this persistent idea I've seen on here and twitter of "If you have issue with XYZ then this series isn't for you" and like, okay if you don't wanna see gay people who have everything-but-the-bagel of mental illnesses then, yeah, sure. But when someone goes "Hey there is like,,, a ton of casual pedophilia and CSA in these stories that is framed as cute n' casual and/or deeply romantic, I wonder what that's all about" and then people crawl out the woodwork trying to convince you its not weird or that you're weird or weak for think its kinda fucked up- then at that point, I think maybe there is actually a different issue occurring here, you know?

Anyway, I think where I'm going with this is- TVC is a cultural phenomenon and has a tangible impact on Vampire and Gothic Horror canon and that's good and fun. But if we can recognize something like H.P Lovecraft's racism/classism/general fear of change having a profound effect on his writing and the spark of the entire Cosmic Horror Genre, then I think we can interrogate how AR as a Rich White Woman who grew up in mid-21st century New Orleans has an effect on the kind of stories she writes and how she does it.

[clestialintent]

i support armand’s rights and all his wrongs (except in relation to claudia) i think its great that hes gaslighting louis and daniel and gatekeeping memories from them. a girlboss if you will

[island-in-the-shadows]

I'm probably not going to verbalise this appropriately but I find it fascinating that the 2 occasions on which Louis has been actively hostile to Daniel in Dubai...

1- It's been due to a highly sensitive subject for Louis (Claudia; still being hung up on Lestat despite a 77 year marriage)

2- Armand has stepped in to get in between them in some way or another.

[miralines]

One thing I think is interesting/useful to note about the Rose Red book is that it is a book that was published in the OUATIS galaxy a little under ten years after the war, and that it has an in-story author— and, crucially, that author is not necessarily an entirely reliable narrator.

More rambling about this under the cut

The author, Althea, is a normcivilian with an unusual amount of sympathy for the now-decommissioned Rose Reds. This is not a popular position, and between:

A) her rhetorical goal of changing the minds of people actively against the Rose Reds being allowed to survive

B) the constraints of mainstream publishers, who are under social/political pressure to not threaten the new government, requiring her to be both neutral and not too challenging,

C) her own corresponding bias in believing that neutrality is both possible and desirable,

and D) her limited viewpoint as a normcivilian (not a Rose Red) from a privileged background,

There are quite a lot of places where events, people, and viewpoints are presented in ways that are somewhat misleading. Althea has a degree in journalism, but she does not live in an entirely free society, and both external forces and her own biases do color the narrative she presents throughout the book.

In short, she’s the equivalent of a left-leaning ally to a marginalized group who’s a bit more centrist than one might hope and is presenting herself as even more centrist in order to be published at all through mainstream channels and taken seriously by people who are biased against her cause.

[mrbexwrites]

OC Questionnaire Tag

Tagged here by @winglesswriter Thanks! I know it's taken me a while to get round to this, so sorry about that!!

I'm going to answer for Mavis from Blood Covenant etc (I really should think of a series name to refer to this as, but titles are hard, and my brain is melted!!)

My Questions to Answer:

What's your relationship to music? (do you sing or play an instrument? What's your favorite kind of music?) "I listen to music when I'm driving, but that's about it. I have old rock and metal CDs that my dad left in the van that I listen to on a loop. Mostly, it's just background noise to help keep me focused. I have no feelings about the songs; it's just sound. "

How much do you care about your visage? "Like...I have standards for personal hygiene. I wash my face, brush my teeth, put on clean clothes. I look how I look. If you don't like how the One made me, that's a you problem."

What's your favorite color and why? "I'm not a child. Favourite colours are for children. But I probably wear black the most; it doesn't draw attention, hides blood and dirt reasonably well, so it takes longer for my clothes to be noticeably stained and I have to throw them away."

Passing the tag onto @museandquill @finickyfelix @clearcloudlesssky @queen-tashie @kaylinalexanderbooks @caspersgraveyard, @sarahlizziewrites as well as leaving it open for anyone who wants to answer the following questions about their OC: 1.Do you have a stuffed toy/plushie/toy that you have fond memories of? Do you have it, and if so/not, then why?

2.Do you have a nervous habit/quirk, and what is it?

3. What's your favourite flavour of ice cream?

[per-the-jellicle-magician]

Saw you're comment on a different post about Warsaw Demeter being canon Griz's daughter in that production. Was that in the book you got, or somewhere else, because I very much love that.

Hi! Yes, it is mentioned twice in the Warsaw book, in both Griz's and Demeter's character descriptions, both mention that other cats stand in the way of them meeting and that Demeter "cannot come to terms with the fact that other cats do not want to accept her mother into the clan"

I do accept it as canon, partially cuz the book and partially cuz in the boot you can see that they do have some sort of a relationship (Deme and Griz reach out to each other in the beginning, Deme seems to be really invested in the whole Griz thing and is really anxious and worried around her, Deme is first one to greet Griz after Vic touches her)

The book has its issues, but as long as it doesn't contradict what can be seen on stage I guess it's as close to a written canon as you can get

And I believe these character descriptions were written based on interviews with the actors/crew and probably the author seeing the show, so there's that

As a bonus, this Deme is Griz's daughter seems to be a Polish prod thing, as someone told me that in the other Polish production, Cats Chorzów, they seem to have kept this idea, but there Deme is Griz's biggest hater and thus is the one to touch her at the end

[telesilla]

Man, I hate to be That Older Person, but every few years, circumstances force me to pull an all nighter, and every fucking time it gets harder and harder, so if you’re young and can stay up for *checks* 30 hours and counting, enjoy it while you can.

[adamnablelittledevil]

I'm watching True Detective and Jodie Foster's Gabriellism is CRAZY.

[spockvarietyhour]

[nightcolorz]

I would love a Louis/Armand cry me a river drabble! If you have the time of course. I really like your writing and you seem like a pretty cool but busy guy so if it doesn't work out I'll happily wait for more millenia gate!

u r so sweet anon tysm <3 I hope u enjoy this drabble. It was my first time writing loumand and my first time writing a Drabble so, lots of brave steps I’m taking here 😭. I rlly enjoyed writing this it was almost hard not to write more. Takes place during the relationship era in iwtv (book verse) post Claudia’s death where Louis and Armand are dispassionate lovers, Louis’s too sad after Claudia’s death to give af about armand, armand is hurt cuz he expected Louis to not be so affected, etc. Yay! Enjoy!

16-cry me a river

For all Armand said of my emotional distance and my coldness, he was essentially the very same. He kept himself carefully maintained and regulated, always in control. His thoughts were never not behind lock and key, so deliberately even my weak vampiric telepathy could sense that cage kept around his soul. I thought him mature for it. Could you believe that? I admired his wisdom, wished I could be so calculated in my frigidity. There were times when I played at reading with my eyes cast down, expression mild, and wished that I couldn’t feel myself trembling with emotion. I’d pictured Armand’s blankness and I’d envy that power. 

But of course, Armand and I’s relationship was built on a series of lies, of illusions, and eventually- all these illusions had to fade. Armand was as alien to me as any stranger I’d kill in an act of selfish primal desire, and this was a revelation made gradually until our eventual underwhelming end. It was a moment not long before said end that a part of the seductive spell was broken. I was reading, unbothered and inattentive, and he stood in front of me expectantly. He peered down at me like a curious child observing a squashed bug beneath him. Encountering agony with the innocence of someone who could not understand empathy for things so beyond him. His eyes were wide and hypnotic, so striking I could’ve sweat. I avoided his gaze. I wondered if he’d dig his heel into my wing and spread my guts across the pavement. I wondered if he would instead hold me and perhaps put me in a jar so that he could observe me until I suffocated. 

Suddenly the facade broke. Armand clasped my chin with one fine unmovable hand and held it so that he could look into my frightened eyes, so that I could look into his. For a split second he was calm, impassive. And then he crumbled so utterly I was startled. His face contorted into a portrait of such horrific suffering it almost seemed physically painful with its ferocity. His countenance was grimacing and tortured. It was like watching a wax face melting into a despairing puddle.

I was held in place, forced to watch those beguiling brown eyes glaze over red with vampiric tears. The blood pooled down his cheeks with the elegance of a bleeding wound. The powerful smell aroused in me an unwitting hunger that I felt close to ill with. I struggled in his hold. “Let go of me.” I said, bite-less, quiet. He remained. “Please.” I insisted. The agony in him was awful to look at. It repulsed me, I wanted rid of him. Armand let out a horrible gasp, like an animal close to death. He stared directly into my eyes as he sobbed. “Why do you do this to me.” I heard, thought maybe, felt inside me-as a reverberation inside my chest, repeated over and over like the pulse of my dead heart. 

It took me a moment to register that these were Armand’s words. He had opened his mind to me only once, at this seemingly random moment, to communicate something meaningless and petty. I felt all together revolted in a way I had never been by Armand, my majestic mentor, my educated elder, my sophisticated cold lover. I was compelled to hurt him. “Cry harder.” I thought willfully, “Cry me a river. It’s good to see you cry. Like a clown parodying what a person feels, it’s almost cathartic. Go on, I enjoy it.” 

I don’t know what compelled me to be so cruel. Whatever it was, it worked. He withdrew his hand carefully from my face as if scared to bruise it. The expression of anguish retreated gradually into the familiar mask of dispassion. He was stiff and his eyes were wide and large. His lips were swollen and glossy from the tears, his cheeks reddened, and I thought with some interest that I could see why a vampire had once loved him enough to preserve him for eternity. I could imagine that there had been a human there once, who with his passion and his life caught the attention of a greedy monster. He backed away from me with his eyes down, hands folded in front of his lap, and donned his coat and his hat with a normalcy that was almost comedic. I assumed that he was going out to kill, most of what he did when he was going out, and I hoped that whatever life that was lost tonight at his soft un-calloused boy’s hands would be taken very brutally and unjustly due to our encounter. It was comforting to think that, almost like I was real, and I was making an impact. I looked down to my book and re-read the opening sentence.

GIGGLES EVILLY HEHEE if u want to send me a Drabble prompt here is the prompt list I reblogged: https://www.tumblr.com/nightcolorz/735473060637016064/drabble-challenge-1-150?source=share

[salmoncakepls]

:0

[transmonstera]

you can add your experience to the tags of something and people will really think you're telling people that's what they should always do huh anyway