#miss desjardin

[alicesbread]

Sick prompt: Stubborn and rebel student who has a very tense relationship with their strict teacher suddenly falls very sick in class. Unfortunately for them, they can't escape being cared for by the person who they thought hated the most, and it's surprisingly not as bad as they thought.

[jurassicsickfics]

ACTUAL Carrie (1976) lines that could potentially be used as sickfic Prompts.

Now I know this may seem to be a stretch, but that's the point. I personally think that using prompts that aren't actually related at all is lots of fun and forces us to really use our imagination in order to make a connection. So, I hope you enjoy!

1. "Hurry up, I wanna go home." -Chris Hargensen

2. "Somebody open this door! What is going on?!" -Sue Snell

3. "I'll get them, just please sit and talk to me!" -Carrie White

4. " I-I'm sorry, I didn't know..." -Miss Collins

5. " They're all gonna laugh at you!" -Margaret White

6. "C'mon, you can tell me anything, I'm your best friend." - Norma Watson

7. " Where will I put it, miss Collins?" - Chris Hargensen

8. "I don't wanna talk about it anymore." -Carrie White

9. " That'd hit you where you live, wouldn't it? And you deserve it!" -Miss Collins

10. " Shut up, Chris. Just shut up." -Sue Snell

[minisinmedia]

Betty Buckley as Miss Rita L. Desjardin wearing super short white gym short shorts on Carrie (1976)

[melodiesofmidnight]

One of the most frustrating things about film adaptations of Stephen King's Carrie is the repeated omission of one primary feature of her appearance: her weight. She is not thin; she has bad skin, greasy hair, and frumpy clothing. However, upon the night of her prom, she is able to transform herself into someone considered to be attractive: whilst still being fat.

By continually casting thin, beautiful women in the role of Carrie, the films 1) imply that fat women cannot believably have Cinderella moments without shedding any pounds and 2) remove one of the most crucial aspects of the story: audience introspection.

The films do not force us to recognise and challenge our biases. We do not see ourselves in the bullies, who are humans, for better or worse -- as represented best by Sue Snell and Chris Hargensen. We do not see ourselves as being capable of what these teenagers did to Carrie, because their insults seem comedic and far-fetched to us, parody beyond relatability: Sissy Spacek and Chloe Grace Moretz do not elicit any implicit revulsion in us. They are thin, and beautiful, and the bullies' motivations in harassing them are outlandish and superficial beyond empathy.

However, if Carrie were to be kept fat, the audience would finally be forced to look inward and to recognise the ugliness in themselves that is instilled by societal norms. Instinctually, society rejects fat, unattractive women. Carrie, were she to remain as she was in the book, would elicit the same reaction from general audiences as she does from her classmates at school.

No longer would people be able to distance themselves from their own disdain for women and girls like Carrie by sitting safely behind the absurdity that is an attractive female lead being ridiculed for their appearance. They too would exist as Miss Desjardin did in the novel: sympathetic, pitying, but ultimately put off by Carrie, solely because she does not fit the requirements of modern, aesthetic womanhood.

People would finally be forced to reconcile that with themselves. How much more resonant would Carrie's retribution be if audiences finally felt the full impact of its being directed at themselves just as much as it is directed toward the ill-fated prom attendees? How important of a discussion could it have inspired even back in the 70s?

Even still, Hollywood is too scared to fully sit audiences before a mirror. Even still, we are unable to accept the lessons a novel like Carrie offers without having its protagonist altered nearly beyond recognition. How long will it be before we are able to portray the tragedy of Carrie with all of its nuances intact? How long before we are able to feel the sting of injustice just as sharply when a protagonist is fat as we do when a pretty and thin protagonist is injured?

I'm still waiting for the Carrie modern audiences need to see.

[watchinghallmark]

Christmas in July (and June) Schedule

Falling Like Snowflakes - June 29

Stars: Rebecca Dalton, Marcus Rosner

A photographer (Dalton), determined to complete her exhibit by capturing a rare photo of a 12-sided snowflake, enlists the help of a childhood friend (Rosner) and they go on a mission they’ll never forget.

Operation Nutcracker - July 1 on Hallmark Movies Now

Stars:  Ashley Newbrough, Christopher Russell

When an antique nutcracker set to be auctioned at the Warby family Christmas charity goes missing, a demanding event planner (Newbrough) and the heir to the Warby dynasty (Russell) try to track it down.

Three Wise Men and a Baby: Extended Cut - July 6 (television premiere) Stars: Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, Margaret Colin

Three brothers (Campbell, Hynes, Walker) get the surprise of their lives when they are forced to work together to care for a baby over the holidays. Watch the extended cut and prepare for the highly-anticipated sequel, Three Wise Men and a Boy, which will premiere later this year.

Rescuing Christmas - July 13 (television premiere)

Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook, Sam Page

Erin (Cook) is granted three Christmas wishes – with her final wish being that Christmas would just disappear. And to her bewilderment, it does!  Can potential suitor Sam (Page) help her bring back Christmas? The film originally premiered in 2023.

A Very Vermont Christmas - July 20

Stars: Katie Leclerc, Ryan McPartlin

A local champion skier (Leclerc) and Vermont brew master (McPartlin) teams up with an unlikely match to create a seasonal microbrew, in order to save her family’s business by Christmas.

An Ice Palace Romance - July 27 (television premiere)

Stars: Celeste Desjardins, Marcus Rosner

A journalist (Desjardins) faces old fears when she returns to her hometown ice rink to cover a story.  With the help of the owner (Rosner) and his young daughter, she begins to reevaluate her life’s purpose. The film originally premiered in 2023.

[timdrakesbussy]

sdv carrie!au with penny as carrie but i have no heart to use other characters except for sam as tommy, robin as miss desjardin, and pam as margaret

[bonyassfish]

Nobody cares but me probably but like we’ll never have a successful Carrie adaptation if they keep refusing to cast actresses who are not conventionally attractive

Like in the book Carrie is mocked not only for her lack of social skills/sheltered upbringing, but also for being overweight and unattractive. It says so very deliberately in the book

So what happens when you cast a beautiful thin actress like sissy spacek or chloe grace moretz? In my opinion you lose part of what makes Carrie so compelling as a novel. The pink dress is the first time Carrie genuinely feels pretty. The pigs blood is so much more devastating because it’s not just a prank, it’s chris and the other students (besides tommy rip) ripping away the first and only moment Carrie ever had to feel beautiful and well-liked, and it was taken away from her

I can’t help but feel like some people who only see one of the films and don’t read the book might be missing some key ideas in the book. They might not understand that the horror in Carrie is a young woman who is constantly reminded, by her mother and her peers and even the staff of the school (except for ms desjardins), that she is wrong, her body is wrong, she simply does not fit into anybody’s idea of what a woman should look like or how a woman should act

It’s not that conventionally attractive girls are always exempted from bullying, but there’s a certain oppression that comes from being labeled as unattractive, especially if you’re a teenager without a developed sense of self. A constant awareness that you do not deserve love and will never receive it. That anyone expressing romantic interest in you is probably just playing a joke. That you will never be adored, never be seen as worthy of protection, never get to exsist without constant reminders of your supposed lack of humanity

Idk man I’m having a lot of feelings about Carrie

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Christmas in July 2024

Falling Like Snowflakes and A Very Vermont Christmas are new, the extended cut of Three Wise Men and a Baby, Rescuing Christmas (this movie is great), and An Ice Palace Romance all premiered on Hallmark Movies Now last year during Countdown to Christmas.

🎄 Falling Like Snowflakes Premiere Date: Saturday, June 29 at 8/7c Cast: Rebecca Dalton, Marcus Rosner  Premise: A photographer (Dalton), determined to complete her exhibit by capturing a rare photo of a 12-sided snowflake, enlists the help of a childhood friend (Rosner) and they go on a mission they’ll never forget.

🎄 Three Wise Men and a Baby (Extended Cut) — new to Hallmark Channel Premiere Date: Saturday, July 6 at 8/7c Cast: Paul Campbell, Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, Margaret Colin Premise: Three brothers (Campbell, Hynes, Walker) get the surprise of their lives when they are forced to work together to care for a baby over the holidays. 

🎄 Rescuing Christmas — new to Hallmark Channel Premiere Date: Saturday, July 13 at 8/7c  Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook, Sam Page  Premise: Erin (Cook) is granted three Christmas wishes – with her final wish being that Christmas would just disappear. And to her bewilderment, it does!  Can potential suitor Sam (Page) help her bring back Christmas?

🎄 A Very Vermont Christmas Premiere Date: Saturday, July 20 at 8/7c Cast: Katie Leclerc, Ryan McPartlin  Premise: A local champion skier (Leclerc) and Vermont brew master (McPartlin) teams up with an unlikely match to create a seasonal microbrew, in order to save her family’s business by Christmas.

🎄 An Ice Palace Romance — new to Hallmark Channel Premiere Date: Saturday, July 27 at 8/7c  Cast: Celeste Desjardins, Marcus Rosner Premise: A journalist (Desjardins) faces old fears when she returns to her hometown ice rink to cover a story.  With the help of the owner (Rosner) and his young daughter, she begins to reevaluate her life’s purpose. 

Hallmark Movies Now 🎄 Operation Nutcracker Release Date: Monday, July 1 Cast: Ashley Newbrough, Christopher Russell Premise: When an antique nutcracker set to be auctioned at the Warby family Christmas charity goes missing, a demanding event planner (Newbrough) and the heir to the Warby dynasty (Russell) try to track it down.

[billieandreneeswife]

Old lover part 2

Here she was standing in the room the feeling of everyone's emotions hit her like a train it was as if a hand was pulling her down into the wood flooring.

"Mom." A faint voice call out but she was stuck in a trance staring into the dark brown eyes

"Mom?" Still no response came from Eclipsa

"Mom!" That's when the damn broke Eclipsa finally came back to her senses a choked out sound came from her throat as she felt the last of the air leave her lungs. She felt her body heat up her temperature slowly getting warmer and that could cause her power's to out burst.

She felt strong arms wrap around her torso softly rocking her back and forth as one hand played with her hair. She took a deep inhale smelling the scent of the person who was holding her, a wave of jasmine and sandalwood along with a tiny hit of vanilla over took her senses

Eclipsa knew who it was as soon as the person touched her but smelling her brot back memories. "Oh Morticia if only you knew how much I still love you" she thought. Squeezing Morticia and barring her head deeper into the women's chest she took a deep inhale and excited softly, causing the taller women to chuckle.

As they pulled apart Eclipsa felt a whine bubble in her throat. She felt calm but the pit of dread still sat in her abdomen, her body felt cooler but not back to her regular cold temperature that settled on her skin.

Taking a deep inhale in she grabbed her daughter's soft cold hands and brought them over on the black leather couch.

"I'm quite sorry everyone for my little episode that just happened a few seconds ago sometimes they just happen to appear out of nowhere." Eclipsa smiled clearly embarrassed

"It's quite fine Ms. Desjardins everyone has a little accident some times." Smiled principal weems

"Now you are here to transfer your daughter Clémence Desjardins to our wonderful school correct?"

"Yes I want her to learn about her powers even more and how to fully use them."

A loud laugh escaped through the principals mouth at what Eclipsa said "Forgive me Ms. Desjardins but aren't you one of the most well known witches in the magic world, and we also don't have a teacher who is supposed to teach about black magic or other things, most of parents send the children to Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, so your out of luck here."

A deadly glare was sent at the principal for what she said even Morticia was taken back by what Larissa said, yes her pass lover is a well known witch in their world but Eclipsa is a very busy woman with barely any time to spend with her daughter, how in the world would she have the time to tran her daughter even more though Morticia.

A forced smile made it's way on Eclipsa's lips as she thought over Weems words.

"Well excuse me but I would have thought a busy person like you would understand my struggles for not having time to be with love one's, how wait you don't have any."

The cocky smile left Larissa's lips as she heard the worlds of what Eclipsa said to her. Meanwhile Morticia smirked as she heard the sharp words that left Eclipsa's mouth and the look on Larissa's face, it brought back good memories of when the two would bicker over little thing's, and one of the reasons why she feel hard for Eclipsa.

[lyledebeast]

August 7: Carrie (1976)

I'm a day off, so this will be shorter than what I intended. I may come back around Halloween and write a fuller analysis of this film.

There are a few things the 2013 film actually does better. I think the two teen villains, Chris and Billy, are more effective there, partly because John Travolta is such a goofball in the 76 version. I also think Judy Greer as Ms. Desjardin is stronger as Carrie's one adult advocate than Betty Buckley as Miss Collins (who is only a couple of years older than the actresses who play her students!). However, the movie isn't about any of these characters. It's about Carrie White and her unhinged mother, and Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie absolutely own those roles.

Piper Laurie as Margaret White is one of the greatest female villains of all time imo. There's a reason she was nominated for best supporting actress for this.

[thefeatherwrites]

Now, a formal introduction to my Hufflepuff sweetheart.

I made this based off her seventh year, since I wanted to add more to her lore after her fifth year.

Evangeline Sabrina Desjardins was born on the most beautiful spring day on May 1st, 1875 by her wealthy parents Mr. and Mrs. Desjardins in Paris, France. Despite the joyous occasion, the complications of her birth almost caused both her and her mother to die. Thus, her parents always kept her at a distance, believing she was a cursed child.

Her Veela ancestry stems from her grandmother on her paternal side. Evangeline always hated this part of her, because she hated the attention she would garner at events she was dragged to. She began to wear a masquerade mask when she was six to hide her face to others, even to the maids. Once she learned how to properly cast a glamour at eight years old, it became a morning ritual she never forgot.

She began to attend Beauxbatons Academy of Magic when she was eleven and when her arrow exploded into a wondrous green color, she was housed in Bellefeuille. This came to no surprise, since she had a natural love for plants. If you ever needed to find her, she would either be found in the library, the gardens, or the closest conservatory or greenhouse. Her dream was to become a horticulturist and travel the world to research exotic plants and their properties for potion brewing. Perhaps, even become a professor to teach others about them.

After an accident at Beauxbatons which resulted in a near catastrophe, Evangeline was on house-arrest by her parents until they were greeted by a man named Eleazar Fig. He introduced himself as a professor who had heard of her accident and offered to let her attend Hogwarts under the direct mentorship of himself and the illustrious headmaster in Scotland. While her mother was a bit apprehensive, her father agreed, hoping the distance and seclusion would help her realize how lenient they were and she would change completely. Of course, it would end up being the exact opposite. Evangeline had a tumultuous fifth year. Naturally, she was housed in Hufflepuff and made a variety of friends in every house. She learned of her Ancient Magic and the price that comes with such a great power. After losing her precious mentor and almost losing her own life, she vowed to never use her ancient magic unless it was a matter of life and death.

While she wished to keep her involvement in ending the Goblin Rebellion a secret, the Minister arrived at her door over the summer and congratulated her parents on bringing up such a gifted child and offered her a job in the British Ministry upon her graduation as an Auror. Her parents were less than pleased. She decided to run away after they forbid her to attend her sixth year. After that, she never spoke to them during her final two years at Hogwarts and chose to stay at the castle over the summer to assist Professor Garlick with her plants.

During her time at Hogwarts, she became an entirely different person. She developed a love for flying and was naturally gifted (high praise considering it was Imelda who told her that) and she was roped into becoming an amazing chaser for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. Win some or lose some, nobody ever doubted her talent. While she never took Crossed Wands as seriously as her friends, she did enjoy watching them. She was the closest thing you could get to a personal cheerleader and always made you feel like a winner, even if you lost abysmally.

While Evangeline left Hogwarts under the direct orders of her parents to an arranged marriage against her will, she had never truly developed a crush on any boy due to the fear of her Veela ancestry. However, she knew she would miss one boy in particular - One who never stood out to others, but he certainly did to her.

[alicesbread]

Rita Collins the woman you are...

[jurassicsickfics]

Miss Collins: *feeling sick* Carrie?

Carrie: Yeah?

Miss Collins: Do you mind if I go to the infirmary?

Carrie: *confused* Um...sure..go ahead...why ask me?

Miss Collins: I dunno, just...you all have to ask me first so...it's only fair..yeah, anyway, I'm going...

Carrie: 😐

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

In 1974, Stephen King’s career was launched with his debut novel (one rescued from the trash can by his wife, Tabitha), and two years later we got Brian De Palma’s iconic film adaptation that launched the career of Sissy Spacek, resurrected the career of Piper Laurie, and was so good that King prefers it over the book. It really set the stage for future adaptations of his work to be of a similarly high quality… Something which has unfortunately only rarely happened. To this day, it still remains a beloved classic.

And you know how it is with beloved horror classics: If they're good enough, you know they'll get remade. Now, the thing with remakes is that, when it comes to horror, they have as many hits as they have misses. Amazing films like The Thing, The Fly, The Blob, and The Ring all exist alongside mediocre crap like Rob Zombie’s Halloween films, the shot-for-shot Psycho remake, and the Jackie Earle Haley-starring Elm Street reboot. It really comes down to the creative vision and the story you want to tell, you know?

And Carrie is ripe for that, as the original movie cut out a lot of elements from the book that would be interesting to see in a modernized context, as bullying has evolved and even gotten harsher and more deadly over the years since Carrie was pelted with tampons in the locker room. And that’s exactly what director Kimberly Price wanted to do! She wanted to make a film that can stand on its own, a retelling of the story that wouldn’t be a remake of the film, but a different attempt at adapting the book.

The studio, however, had different ideas, and made her do a bunch of reshoots and trim 40 minutes off the film to make it more like De Palma’s version of the story. Three months prior to release the Sandy Hook shooting happened as well, which combined with the editing to turn the film into a remake pushed it back to October, and I’m sure it didn’t exactly help make the film more palatable to audiences either. While not a failure by any means, the resounding critical consensus to the film was “Why did this need to exist?” Even King himself was reportedly not much of a fan, though he did appreciate the modern updates to the story.

As time has gone on, the hate towards the film has cooled and it has picked up a fandom of its own, so I figured it was high time I gave this a watch. In honor of the film’s upcoming tenth anniversary, let’s see if the 2013 take on the iconic King story is really that bad.

THE GOOD

Across the board, I think all of the performances are really solid. Chloë Grace Moretz does a fine job as Carrie (even if, like Spacek before her, she seems a bit too pretty for the part) and Julianne Moore does a fantastic job as Margaret White to the point I might even say she’s on par with Piper Laurie. Judy Greer as Miss Desjardin might be my favorite performance in the movie, though; I just love how brutal she gets with enforcing the punishments on Carrie’s bullies, and how she doesn’t give an inch to the alpha bitch when she tries to start shit. As for Carrie’s peers, they’re all decent, but none of them strike me as very memorable. They all do a good job (even certified creep Ansel Elgort) but none of them really stand out as better than the rest. Still, there aren’t any weak performances here.

I think the finale really works better even if it is a little more over-the-top, mainly because even if it was significantly cut down compared to the original vision. We actually get to see some of Carrie’s rampage taken out into the town, and while we don’t get the full-on force of nature destruction the book gives us, we do get a pretty good taste. I think it gets a little too CGI at times (the floating knives at the end being particularly egregious) but I think it is ultimately a very satisfying take on the ultraviolent ending of the story.

I also like how the story was updated for the modern age, with cyberbullying now being a key part in how Carrie is abused by her peers. Carrie is genuinely a story I feel works much better in a modern context than in its original form. The ways bullying has evolved and become so much more horrifying in the modern age lends itself well to a story of an outcast being harassed by those around her, and her ultimate snapping feels even more justified and cathartic since the bullying she suffers is even more extreme and psychologically damaging than before. Honestly, I think this Carrie is even more sympathetic than the original; I’m not going to fault a teenager who is the victim of parental abuse and then has embarrassing videos of her spread across the internet from frying her bullies with electrical wires or blowing them up in a giant fireball. Fuck ‘em! They deserve it!

THE BAD

...Which is what I'd love to say, but real life has unfortunately made that a little harder to do. In the years since the original, there has been a very unfortunate number of incidents where people were killed in schools. School shootings weren’t really a thing in the 70s, but after Columbine it seemed like one happened every other year. In light of that, cheering while a high schooler brutally massacres her peers seems a bit… tasteless. Now obviously we as the audience are privy to all sorts of details that makes Carrie’s rage justified and her ultimate vengeance cathartic, but still, it does give me pause at least. Should I be cheering while these high school students get slaughtered like pigs? Is this not horribly fucked up? It’s an interesting moral dilemma with rooting for this killer, and while I did put this down in the “Bad” section I think being uncomfortable with what Carrie does is a valid response. I think that the fact her rampage can be viewed as either justified vengeance or as woefully disproportionate violence or even as both at once is a great strength of the story.

What isn’t a great strength, though, is how this was forced into a being a remake, because boy is it ever stuck in the original’s shadow. Moretz and Moore really end up trapped in the shadows of Spacek and Laurie’s takes on Carrie and her mother, and the whole film really just plays it straight with adapting what the original film did. It might be one of the worst studio decisions ever, because despite the strength of the cast and the overall solid quality of the filmmaking, the whole thing just feels boring. Even with the new angles and the interesting takes, the fact remains that the story and plot beats are unchanged and stuff we saw in the original film. It’s not as egregiously shot-for-shot as Van Sant’s Psycho was, but there’s not much here that justifies watching this if you’ve seen the original film.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

As far as horror remakes go, this is one of the most inoffensive ones out there.

Look, I’m gonna be honest: Carrie is not even close to being my favorite King work, and the original movie isn’t one of my favorites. The book is a good debut and the movie is decent enough, but they’re not something I find myself revisiting. So even going into this movie I wasn’t expecting anything worse than what I’d already seen, and that’s basically what I got. This is a very unambitious film, though as mentioned before that was mostly by studio mandate, and thus it’s mostly more of the same—and what we got before was okay, so this ends up being okay too.

I think so much of the backlash comes from the original movie being a beloved horror classic, and thus not something that should be retried lightly. This film seriously would have benefited from more closely adapting the book and modernizing it like was originally planned rather than just rehashing the original movie with flashier effects. What we’re left here is a decent redo that lacks an identity of its own, but is still competent enough to not be the worst thing ever. If you like the movie, I can’t really fault you for it because I can understand why someone would like this much like I can with the original. Even if I’m not super fond of them, they’re decent enough movies.

I think the score is right about where it belongs, though I might be nice enough to round it up to 6. It’s a decent horror movie, and if you like it, I can’t really blame you. It has a lot of good elements going for it, and I think if it had been allowed to be an adaptation of the book I wouldn’t hesitate to call it the definitive Carrie adaptation. Bumping the good parts of It to the 80s made that story a lot better, after all! But the meddling to turn one director’s vision into a mirror image of a previous one’s vision really just holds this back a bit for me. If you want to throw this on your Halloween watchlist or add it to your Stephen King movie collection, it’s a decent addition, but it really deserved to be so much more than the reheated leftovers of De Palma.

[quitefair]

From Sea to Shore: A Josephine Montilyet Lore/Meta Project

Part 2: Josephine’s Parents

Introduction

Part 1: The History of the Montilyet Family

Alright lads, we’re back in it. We covered the family’s history in Part 1 (which I highly suggest you read before coming back here). Now we’re going to cover the current members of House Montilyet.

Specifically Papa and Mama Montilyet.

So, we know for a fact that Josephine is the eldest child, and therefore the heir of the family, from early conversations in Haven. But we only get a bit more information during this interaction with her in Skyhold: 

Inquisitor: Tell me about the Montilyets. Josephine: Well, my parents are alive, and in good health. They live on our estate in Antiva City. Of my four siblings, most attend to the running of the family vineyards.

Things we learn here 1. Both her parents are around and well. 2. She has four siblings, who for the most part attend to the family business back in Antiva.

We get the names of most her siblings in conversation during Of Somewhat Fallen Fortune:

Inquisitor: Maybe your siblings could help lighten your burden. Josephine: You don’t know them! Put Laurien in charge? Or Antoine? Or Yvette? No, truly – it must be me. - Conversations with Josephine in Skyhold

We also know her father’s name from a very ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ source.

"Ah, yes. Yves Montilyet—Josephine's father—is an old friend. We used to hunt together." - Edouard Desjardins, Commander of Suledin Keep

So from all of this, we can put together a family tree of sorts. I’m stealing the one from the Dragon Age wiki’s page on the Montilyet family.

(I have a bit of a gripe with this family tree, but at the part involving the siblings. Which we will discuss later.)

Now that we know all of this, let’s start the conversation by talking about Josephine’s parents.

Yves Montilyet

Inquisitor: Why are you overseeing your siblings’ social lives? Josephine: It’s Antivan custom. After a certain age, the heir apparent runs the family’s estate to prove they’re worthy of succession. If you’re unfit for the task, the heads of the house – usually one’s parents – may decree a new heir. Inquisitor: What do these Antivan “Heads of the Household” do if they don’t run it? Josephine: They work and provide guidance. I’ve taken advice from my parents. Well, mostly mother. Father’s more of an artist. It’s rather gauche, but we never can dissuade him from running his own salons. Between him and my siblings, mother’s looking forward to my taking over the estate. - Conversations with Josephine in Skyhold

Since Dragon Age has only ever demonstrated societies with patrilineality, we can assume that Papa Yves is the one passing down the Montilyet surname. He is labelled as one of the ‘Heads of the House’ alongside his wife. They were previously in charge of the family businesses, but have taken a step back recently. Instead, they provide advice and guidance to the next generation of Montilyets, while also carrying out lesser duties within the businesses.

However, it’s also implied that Papa Yves is less concerned with the affairs of his family business. I’m incredibly fascinated by the fact that a) he’s an artist and b) he runs his own salons. The latter point seems to be a bit controversial, because apparently it’s considered gauche for him to do so, and that his family has tried to dissuade him from it.

To understand why this is so interesting, we need to take a look at what a salon even is.

There are two meanings to the word salon that we’re going to discuss today. The first one, and the one that Bioware probably wants us to compare this to, is the French Art Salon. These were organised by French artistic academies and were exhibitions to display artistic works made by members of said academies. The most famous of these was the Salon Carré of the Louvre in 1787, organised by none other than Louis XV.

Exposition au Salon de 1787 - Pietro Antonio Martini (1738–1797)

If this is what Bioware meant by salon, it... doesn’t quite make sense why Yves is berated for organising them. Historically there’s the implication that if you can organise a salon, you have money and standing. Heck, the Salon Carré was organised by the King of France! Patronage of the arts should be a given for any nobility worth their salt. It should be seen as something honorable and exciting that somebody with Yves’ background is regularly hosting salons, contributing to the ever evolving artistic scene within Antiva and possibly beyond.

I do have three theories as to why this might be the case, however.

The first theory is that salons cost money to host. And from Part 1 of this series, you guys should remember that the Montilyets are up their asses in debt. However, it should make more sense for Josephine to berate him for spending money on these salons rather than calling the whole situation gauche. Unless I’m missing something here, and that gauche actually comes to mean he’s throwing around money recklessly to host these things, without much care for the family’s financial situation.

The second theory is that Yves might actually be an artist. Meaning that his salons are displaying his own work, as opposed to hosting the work of others. In the Middle Ages, artists were seen more as craftsmen, those of a lower social standing than the nobility. So perhaps it’s not the fact that he’s hosting the salons that is the problem, it’s the fact that he’s hosting salons of his own art. The fact that Yves, in the eyes of Antivan noble society, is stooping down to the level of a simple craftsman, is very crass indeed. Perhaps not befitting of the head of an old noble house.

The third theory, and the one I quite enjoy thinking of, involves the second meaning of salon that we haven’t discussed yet. And that is the salon as a gathering.

Les femmes à table en l'absence de leurs maris (Women at the table in the absence of their husbands) - Abraham Bosse (1602-1676)

A salon of this sort was a gathering with the intent of exchanging ideas. They usually took place at private homes, and were often organised by prominent women within circles of nobility. Guests were often from among the nobility; well read individuals who would discuss a variety of topics, usually politics. These salons were also notorious for being the birthplace of many a revolutionary idea.

[Sources: Link 1 | Link 2 ]

It’s an interesting theory that the reason Yves’ salons are so controversial is because the people who attend and the topics of discussion might move beyond simple art critique and discussion. Are they discussing overthrowing the Antivan monarchy? The merchant guilds? Other taboo topics that I’m not even going to get into or we’ll be here for days?

Anyway. Back to Papa Yves.

Salon drama and hunting parties aside, we don’t quite see much of his personality, apart from this line in the World of Thedas:

“I feel as if I am abandoning the estate as well. Mother pretends to be holding up, but I can tell she is disappointed I am moving even farther away from her. During dinner, Father looks at me with sad eyes. - World of Thedas 2, page 229-230

I like to assume that from this, he really does love his kids, or at least Josephine, and is sad that she’s leaving for the Inquisition, if the puppy-dog eyes are enough of a tell. It’s not a stretch then to assume that he’s kind and emotionally available with his family. If this is the case, we can likely assume that this is where Josephine gets her kindness, her exuberance for life, and her charismatic ability to speak with almost everybody she comes across with from. (to run a salon you must be able to schmooze with a bunch of different people).

Before we move on, I’d like to backtrack a little bit - to touch on something I’d not really focused on earlier.

Yves, despite being a so called Head of House, doesn’t really get involved in the family business. There’s a hundred year debt that’s threatening to ruin your family, and you’re planning art exhibitions??? Going on hunting parties?

Anyway, if Papa Yves is out chilling with art dudes, revolutionary dudes, and his bro Edouard, who’s actually been sorting out the Montilyet business? Who’s been shouldering the worry over the family debts and keeping up family appearances, not to mention raising a brood of five children on the side?

Well lads, this brings us to my second favourite member of House Montilyet:

Madame Montilyet

Inquisitor: What do these Antivan “Heads of the Household” do if they don’t run it?

Josephine: They work and provide guidance. I’ve taken advice from my parents. Well, mostly mother. Father’s more of an artist. It’s rather gauche, but we never can dissuade him from running his own salons. Between him and my siblings, mother’s looking forward to my taking over the estate. - Conversations with Josephine in Skyhold

Well, we have an answer to my previous question my friends.

Mama Montilyet is running this entire fucking show.

We don’t even get a name for her! We don’t know anything about her! And yet I am frothing at the mouth here thinking about how she seems to single-handedly be holding the fort in this family. I’m frothing at the mouth!!!!

We can probably assume that Mama Montilyet is a member of Antivan nobility, and that her marriage to Yves Montilyet was arranged by their families. There doesn’t seem to be any animosity between the couple, and the fact that Josephine only ever talks about her childhood fondly makes us think that these two probably had quite a decent marriage.

Again, there’s not much textual evidence of this, but it can be assumed that despite marrying into the family and being an outsider coming into the family business and all the stickiness that comes with it, she seemed to take it in stride. In fact, it seems like Mama Montilyet is the true Head of House. The fact that Josephine takes advice primarily from her mother (as evidenced from the quote above), implies that Mama Montilyet has more experience running the family business of the two offical Heads of House.

(Whether this be the fact that Yves was just not good at managing things from the get go, hence Mama Montilyet had to fill in from the beginning, or the possibility that because Mama Montilyet was so good at managing things that Yves was like damn son, maybe I can finally chill for a bit - we might never know.)

Time passes. The Montilyets have a brood of children. Mama Montilyet is likely already thinking about the family’s legacy. About who is going to take on the role as Head of House. Probably also thinking which of her children would be the best candidate, the one with the spirit, the strength, the work ethic required to not just run the existing businesses, but perhaps to also finally allow the Montilyets to overcome their debts.

We can assume that she looked at her firstborn. Saw Josephine’s potential even from a young age. Or maybe just happened to pick Josephine as she was the eldest, so she could mold her, shape her into what, in Mama Montilyet’s eyes, was a true and capable Head of House.

Inquisitor: Where were you raised, Josephine? Josephine: I was born in Antiva City, but when I turned fifteen, Mother declared I’d attend finishing school in Val Royeaux. Oh, but I bawled into her skirts the day I had to leave. Inquisitor: You must have missed her terribly. Josephine: (sighs) I did. And she was most unsympathetic to my wailing. But my mother only wanted the best for me. Living in Orlais was an education in itself. - Conversations with Josephine in Skyhold

Was this a test? To see if Josephine had the steel and the spirit to overcome hardship? Or was this to begin her training towards joining polite society, something that is important as an Antivan noble?

Mama Montilyet also probably knew that as a woman in polite society, there’s a certain power in knowing the rules of said society. Not to mention that a finishing school in Orlais would most certainly also start teaching Josephine elements of the Grand Game itself. We don’t quite know how politics work in Antiva (something I’ll probably talk about later as well), but like I mentioned before in Part 1, the Montilyets have inextricable ties to Orlais, despite their past exile. So it makes sense that Mama Montilyet would send her eldest to learn all of this.

She also seems to be more emotionally distant compared to her husband. She was ‘most unsympathetic’ to Josephine literally sobbing into her skirts as she was to leave for Orlais, a public display of emotion that is probably normal in our dramatic and passionate land of Antiva. There’s also this paragraph in The World of Thedas:

“Her arguments are sound, yes, but there is such an air of finality when she talks about restoring the Inquisition. I feel as if I am abandoning the estate as well. Mother pretends to be holding up, but I can tell she is disappointed I am moving even farther away from her. - World of Thedas 2, page 229-230

Mama Montilyet probably has to be like this because of the responsibilities she carries. The mask she puts on with her family probably also carries into her interactions with society. An outward projection of strength and poise, showing the world that despite the fact that House Montilyet is seemingly in ‘gentle decline’, they were still worthy of respect.

Despite all of this, you can get hints that Mama Montilyet loves Josephine in her own way. The ‘disappointment’ in Josephine moving further away from her? Only wanting what’s best for her daughter? Josephine in turn seems to have a great deal of respect for Mama Montilyet - taking advice on how to run the family businesses from her, going along with Mama’s decisions, even when they seemed terrible at the time (i.e. finishing school in Orlais)

Josephine’s incredible work ethic, professionalism and ability to maneuver polite society with grace and intelligence all seem to be things she learned from her Mama.

They also both tend to nag on Yvette.

Josephine: Tell me, Yvette, how are Mama and Papa? Are they in good health? Do they want for anything? Yvette: Papa’s perfectly happy in the studio. Mother is the same as always. Josephine: Meaning she’s after you to do more work. Yvette: You always take her side! Josephine: I don’t “take her side.” I happen to think, as she does, you might attend to more of the estate’s duties. Also, stop slouching. - Ambient conversation between Josephine and Yvette, Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

Yvette: Are you happy to see me at all, Josie? Josephine: It may not have wise to attend this particular engagement, Yvette. Yvette: I didn’t want to come. Mother made me. At least Halamshiral has such pretty gardens. They’re so darling, I took out my parchment! - Ambient conversation between Josephine and Yvette, Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts

Inquisitor: Tell me about the Montilyets. Josephine: Well, my parents are alive, and in good health. They live on our estate in Antiva City. Of my four siblings, most attend to the running of the family vineyards – oh that reminds me, I must ask someone to make sure Yvette attends the spring reception at the Palace! My youngest sister has no head for social engagements. - Conversations with Josephine in Skyhold

Very cute parallels.

Anyway, a lot of my ramblings on Mama Montilyet lean more heavily towards meta rather than canonical lore, but again, we don’t even get a name for her. Whatever I’m writing on her here, I’m extrapolating from the text, so yeah, Bioware, sue me I guess.

(Anyway that’s all for now. We’ll talk more about the other Montilyet siblings in the next section. See y’all there!)

[that-weird-mime]

au idea based on something I read

That something being the hellfire that is Carrie. Not sure if it fits *that* well. but I mean. Skid being Carrie if he lived with his literally cultist father. (not sure how the whole. You know, menstrual thing would work though.) Roy would make a good Chris (ignoring Billy) Maybe Pump as Sue or Tommy. Jaune might make an ok Miss Desjardin. Evermore at that principal fellow. That one root beer guy with the electric heart maybe being Bob. I will make this work (after I figure out the Cyber au lol)