THIS SHIP IS SO IMPORTANT
another oldie that will always have a special place in my heart, that I will never get over (I…have too many of those). this ship is so much tho, and the majority of fandom just does not get it, and it makes me so angry - and Stephen Sommers made me so angry with TMR, and I have never truly forgiven him for it.
so let me explain: this ship is important to me mostly because of Anck-su-namun. now it used to be because of Imhotep, because he’s the one that the movie focuses on. I always liked Anck-su-namun, don’t get me wrong, but Imhotep is the one we get to know more, see the journey of, the struggle to bring her back, etc. but then as I ventured into the fandom, into old school fan sites for the movie, personal fic libraries, etc., that all began to change.
because unfortunately, hardly anyone else cared about Anck-su-namun. plenty of people loved Imhotep, but poor Anck got ignored, written out, avoided, vilified, demonized, shamed and blamed, etc. even problematic thirteen year old me was bothered by this. and so more and more I became about Anck-su-namun, and trying to piece together this mysterious woman’s backstory and personality and self.
this woman is literally caged by her own body. she can only be touched by her king, and specifically appointed servants. this woman defies that and takes herself a lover anyway, risks and all. this woman trusts that lover so much that she is willing to kill herself so he can get away, so he can bring her back - she wholly believes he will. like not only is there so much love, there’s so much trust and faith on her end.
but she gets demonized. she’s just a manipulative harpy. she’s a bitter, vengeful hellcat. she’s only using him. she’s a wicked bitch.
and then TMR came out. and the ending just…it felt like it was validating all the slut-shaming, victim-blaming, woobifying Imhotep fangirls. which, just…HE IS BASICALLY PLEADING WITH HER TO PUT HER LIFE ON THE LINE TO SAVE HIS ASS AFTER SHE BEGGED HIM NOT TO DO THE STUPID THING. SHE PLEADED WITH HIM NOT TO GO, BUT HE GOT POWER HUNGRY.
NOT FUCKING ANCK-SU-NAMUN, WHO THESE PEOPLE PAINTED AS A POWER-HUNGRY BITCH THAT WAS JUST USING HIM TO FURTHER HERSELF (CAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE). IMHOTEP. THE DUDE. HE WANTED MORE POWER, AND SAID SCREW THE RISKS, AND ANCK-SU-NAMUN, WHO DOESN’T EVEN WHOLLY UNDERSTAND THIS NEW LIFE SHE NOW HAS, THIS NEW TIME HER MIND KNOWS BUT HER SOUL DOESN’T, BEGGED HIM NOT TO GO, THAT IT WAS TOO RISKY.
SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT WITH HIM.
I ain’t saying she’s a saint. hardly. I’m sure she’s manipulative. I’m sure she’s selfish. we know she’s vengeful and bitter, and she’s got a nasty mean streak, and she does prioritize herself over others, and is arrogant. she’s passionate, she’s fierce, she’s a warrior, she’s a victim of sexual abuse, she’s a survivor, she’s a murderer - she’s fucking complex, and then that ending just…it negates it all and punishes her AGAIN.
like no, Rick and Evy don’t have a better love, or whatever bullshit that is, it’s just different, and they haven’t known the horrors that Imhotep and Anck-su-namun have known, these two people who, in so many ways were powerful and high in status, but in all the ways that matter they were powerless, helpless.
so fuck that ending. fuck the fangirls and their internalized misogyny. fuck Stephen Sommers.
this ship matters, and it’s important, and I will ship it to the end, because they deserved better, and they were so much more than villains - not good people, but not soulless monsters, either.
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