sihayadunee

There exists no separation between gods and men; one blends softly casual into the other. —PROVERBS OF MUAD’DIB i write mythic analysis, theories, and sometimes fanfic

[filmjunky-99]

d u n e, 1984 🎬 dir. david lynch

'I am the messenger from Muad'dib. Poor Emperor, I'm afraid my brother won't be very pleased with you.' - alia

'Kill this child! She's an abomination! Kill her. Get out of my mind!' - gaius helen mohiam

'Not until you tell them both who I really am.' - alia

'Sister of Paul Muad'dib.' - gaius helen mohiam

[oonaluna-art]

I finished reading the first Dune book recently, and I wanted to draw everyone's favorite Abomination and Eugenics Nepo Baby. I haven't seen any of the films yet, so these interpretations were based on how I imagined the characters while reading.

Text panels below:

[sihayadunee]

THE MAIDEN and THE PREDATOR

a thread on the mythic character archetypes found in amc’s immortal universe, following rowan mayfair and louis de pointe du lac

This thread is based on the character archetypes researched, identified and summarized by author KM Weiland.

Rowan and Louis both begin their arcs in a shadow form of their maiden archetype. Rowan as a Damsel and Louis as a Vixen. These archetypes are not gendered, they simply represent the life stage the characters are in.

A Damsel is avoiding the consequences of their dependency on others.

A Vixen is selling their integrity to obtain or maintain security.

During the Maiden Arc, the protagonist is typically faced by two antagonistic forces, which represent their outer conflict and inner conflict. The Authority and The Predator. The specifics of Rowan and Louis’s stories will determine which is which.

THE AUTHORITY

Despite all Rowan’s achievements in life, her Too-Good Mother’s choice to hide truths about her identity and power cause Rowan to be ill equipped for the Real World. This then evolves into an abstract concept of “institution”, that being the Talamasca.

She has many Authority Figures: Cortland the Naive Father who “sacrifices” the Maiden. Carlotta the Devouring Mother.

Thus, she becomes dependant on everyone else to save her, to have the answers, and runs from Authority figure to Authority figure for protection.

For Louis, this antagonistic archetype is also best identified as abstract, because it is the “system” with which he as a gay black man in 1910s New Orleans must contend, in order to provide for his family.

This is the root of where his shadow archetype of a vixen originates. This is “Louis the Pimp”.

Louis shamefully suppresses who he truly is, and sacrifices his own integrity to do disreputable work that will make money. It even leads him toward aggressive behaviour he feels guilt about.

This also doesn’t stop after he becomes a vampire, as he is still trying to exist in his old world.

THE PREDATOR

The typical depictions of The Predator are seen in “The Seven Wives of Bluebeard” and “The Girl Without Hands.”

Lasher’s key in the show was directly influenced by Bluebeard. Meanwhile Lestat “breaking” Louis is reminiscent of the rejected Devil cutting off the girl’s hands.

The Predator always wants a willing bride/groom, and is initially persuasive and seductive, typically presenting themselves as having the answers the Protagonist needs to get away from their old restrictive world.

Lestat’s alter proposal, and Lasher’s thrall are both these scenes.

This is the point where we have to talk about Death and the Maiden and how the Predator can be redeemed as the previous excerpt describes.

To do so the Predator must set themselves apart from the Death figure who consumes the Maiden or the Monster ultimately vanquished.

Both Lasher and Lestat bridal carry Rowan and Louis, crossing thresholds to their lairs, and toward beds for consummation of union. These are characteristics of raptus and themes compatible with Death and the Maiden or Hades and Persephone.

But will these Maidens remain in the underworld?

Louis remains in the underworld for a significant amount of time, succumbing often to devolutions in his character arc.

But eventually with the help of his Protector, his anima—Claudia—Louis is able to slay the beast. Just as the bride is helped by her sister(s) to defeat Bluebeard.

Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés talks about the ending of the Bluebeard tale and how his death allows him to be dismembered, incubated, and reborn—redeemed.

We see how Lestat is similarly disposed of. Literally thrown in the trash. Then given time to slowly gestate and reemerge from his coffin.

This is followed by that acknowledgment Weiland talks about. Lestat takes ownership for his behaviour, and does not continue to try and posses Louis through manipulations and control, instead lets him grow. Live his life. Thus allowing for Lestat’s redemption as the Predator.

Rowan herself embodies Hel the Goddess of Life and Death, her magic being something to kill or to heal. She literally incubates and facilitates Lasher’s rebirth.

Reborn Lasher also deals with the evil he has done/his nature as a “Beast” which makes him the redeemable Predator or Animal Husband.

In the finale of S1 Rowan finished her transitions from Maiden to Hero. Whilst Louis stays a Vixen half of Season One, and becomes a Damsel toward the final half before becoming a Hero.

Both are Heroes by the end of their first seasons.

In both cases, these Maidens transition out of this Arc through the death-rebirth of their Predator antagonist.

The Predator representing their inner conflict.

Whilst their Authority Figures are outer conflicts, which control the societal dynamics suppressing Rowan and Louis.

FIN.

[sihayadunee]

Mood board for my haladriel fic on ao3

[martanis]

osha/qimir x galadriel/sauron » parallels part 1/? THE ACOLYTE // THE RINGS OF POWER

[letthefairyinyoufly]

He never left, Galadriel.

[elena-gilbert]

Fair: Beautiful to the eye; of attractive appearance; good-looking. Now somewhat archaic and literary.

[sihayadunee]

LESTAT’S FLEDGLING CONFIRMED TO BE IN MAYFAIR WITCHES SEASON 2

This guy from the Mayfair Witches trailer looked familiar and so I double checked with some screen shots of the finale of Interview With the Vampire S2 and it’s definitely him! The fashion, the face shape and of course the shiny tooth are all there!!!

BUT even more important…

The OFFICIAL Interview With The Vampire and Immortal Universe Twitter/X account LIKED my post. Which feels on top of it visually clearly being the same character, is just extra confirmations.

THE CROSS OVER IS UPON US

A good a reason as any to start watching Mayfair Witches if you haven’t yet!

[sihayadunee]

More sneaks for S2!! Cortland is back?!? Maybe it’s flashbacks but the prominence suggests otherwise. Also Lasher with the short hair now 👀 and EVIL IS A POINT OF VIEW as the tag line is really fascinating. Found these on X from SD_Comic_Con

[sihayadunee]

The #SDCC building wrap for Mayfair Witches looks to be the first poster for S2. Rowan in a new stunning dress, using fire magic a lot more potently than we have seen in S1. She is really stepping into her power! 🔥 credit to beangreenbeanz on X for the building wrap photo

[sihayadunee]

Millie Mayfair is a Ghost

While the fandom wiki lists her as alive, she is unequivocally a ghost throughout the season. Let’s break this down.

First off, in every scene she is in, she is wearing the exact same outfit. Even when Carlotta has gotten ready for bed or just woken up in the morning, Millie is still fully dressed in that same outfit. Days later, same outfit.

She is never seen around anyone else in the family besides Carlotta and Rowan. She doesn’t go outside or participate in any family events such as the funeral.

Rowan only first encounters Millie after being guided by a butterfly/moth, a psychopomp which is a guide between the living and the dead. This is also when Rowan first feels the magic of the house and is lead to Lasher’s key.

In The Thrall when Millie is in the bathtub, she says she can’t hold on without her sister Carlotta and as she is fading in and out of reality she says it feels like she is “dying all over again”. This suggests she has died before.

After The Thrall when Carlotta is dead, we never see Millie again. If Carlotta was all that was tying Millie to the material world, her death would understandably cause Millie to disappear.

But the big clincher is before all of that, when Rowan discovers her own name on the family crypt. Just bellow her name, is Millie Mayfair. Since the names seem to be listed in order, this suggests she is alive in Deirdre’s flashbacks, but then passed away sometime after Rowan was given away and supposedly died.

And that is the mystery solved! Millie Mayfair has been a ghost this whole time and only recently did this dawn on me. I am curious why the fandom wiki still hasn’t been updated but hopefully it will be.

[bookishdaze]

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a...Chimpanzee?

How bird imagery, planes, mentions of flying, and Noa's intelligence could be foreshadowing Noa taking flight.

Get out your tinfoil hats. It's theory time!

I've been thinking about what'll happen to Noa and how the rest of the story will unfold. While doing so, I came up with this crazy theory. You'll have to forgive me for my wild imagination at times, haha.

To make this sound a little less...insane, I'll start with evidence that is in the actual movie itself before I start branching out towards more speculative territory.

Noa and Bird Imagery

Throughout the movie, Noa is likened to a bird through bird imagery. One way this is done is through feathers. Feathers are worn by the apes in Eagle Clan as necklaces, arm bands, baldrics, and other accessories, with elders like Koro wearing a lot more. Younger apes and apes of lesser status wear feathers too, just not as many. Even some of the children wear necklaces with a singular feather. These feather accessories come in blues, browns, and whites.

Here's the thing: Noa is the only one without colorful feathers.

Take a look at this image of the trio. Soona has her blue feather necklace, and Anaya has his brown feather arm accessory, but Noa doesn't have any similar adornments. It can't be because Noa is the youngest since we see children have feather necklaces, and we know Soona and Anaya aren't that much older than Noa, for they were "born within a sunset."

Noa has some feathers near his belt, but they're white and stringy, and don't match with the more elaborate feather accessories of other apes in the clan. They remind me of white fluffy baby eagle feathers, while everyone else's accessories have the larger, colorful feathers of a more mature bird.

Having Noa not wear colorful feather accessories while other apes do means that feathers are symbolic of Noa's character growth.

Noa starts off with little to no feathers because he's still a young ape at the beginning of his hero's journey who is yet to undergo his trials and break free out of his shell. To further emphasize Noa being likened to a bird, the catalyst of his journey is the literal cracking of an egg. When hatchlings are first born, they're featherless. He's even called "baby bird" by Lightning after he first arrives at Proximus' kingdom.

After Noa has defeated Proximus, brought Eagle Clan back home, and returned from his journey back to the ordinary world with new knowledge, our "baby bird" Noa has sprouted his first mature feathers. Look at 'em. They're so blue and pretty.

And I assume after the death of Noa's father, Noa will become the clan's new Master of Birds, or is at least on his way to become one.

The Planes

One thing that really stood out to me were the multiple planes in the background. We see these planes where Raka lives, which appears to be an abandoned airport. They're all rusted and crumbling apart after centuries of rotting. There's six planes in these two images alone.

Along with these abandoned planes, there's also this moldy mural of humans looking up at planes in the sky. There are so many planes in these scenes at Raka's home that I couldn't just chalk it up to mere coincidence. It could just be a cool way to show how much time has passed since humanity's downfall and how nature has reclaimed the earth, but I also think it might be foreshadowing staring at us right in the face.

Mentions of Flight and Falling

Ok, moving away from planes now. There's a few lines that caught my attention. One is right after Raka meets Noa. The friendly orangutan helps Noa up to his feet, then says to himself in amusement:

"Apes falling from the sky."

It's an unusual line, almost prophetic-sounding. Kinda funny, too. Reminds me a bit of the saying "when pigs fly," which is used as a figure of speech when describing something as impossible. Pigs will never fly, because it is impossible. Apes falling from the sky? Unthinkable. It sounds ridiculous, because it'll never happen...right?

Another line is when Proximus tells Noa of all the things humans used to do when they were the dominant species. We even hear these lines in the trailer, but in the movie, they're slightly different:

"In their time, humans were capable of many great things. They could level mountains. They could speak across oceans. They could fly, Noa! Like eagles fly!"

Proximus uses eagles when describing flight. The same type of bird Noa's clan raises and is named after.

And this might be a bit of a stretch, but Proximus mentioning Noa's name to bring his attention to the idea that humans could fly makes me feel like it was a purposeful decision by the writers as a little slip of foreshadowing for future events.

Ok, so what do planes, bird imagery, Noa being compared to a bird, and references to flying and falling have to do with each other?

From this point on, this is where I start heading towards more tinfoil hat territory, but indulge me, and bear with me. Remember, at the end of the day, this is all just fun theorizing. Here we go!

I think at some point, Noa will fly.

By the end of Kingdom, Noa has started to grow his first feathers, but there is still a long journey ahead before he can take flight. There will be a point in the story when Noa has fully grown into the ape he's meant to be, and just like a bird, will get to spread his wings for the very first time.

But why stop at just bird imagery? Why stop at metaphor, and have him literally fly?

Remember those planes? Could they have been foreshadowing that Noa will ride one?

As to why or how he finds himself in a plane, I'm not sure. It's too early to tell. Maybe humans are flying a plane that he has to sneak onto. Maybe humans force him onto a plane. Maybe he willingly agrees to ride one and go with the humans somewhere far (The humans from Fort Wayne are far from the west coast). Maybe he has to stop a plane. Maybe he's in a falling plane. Maybe him and Eagle Clan have to ride one to get to safety. The possibilities are endless.

Now let's take it a step further. What if Noa were to fix and pilot a plane?

Noa As An Engineer

Noa fixing and flying a plane sounded crazy at first, even to me, but in an early interview, Noa has been described as an "engineer" by Owen Teague.

We definitely see Noa's ingenuity multiple times in Kingdom. More specifically, Noa is really good at fixing things. When he finds the frame for the fish broken, he spends the rest of the day whittling away at a piece of wood for the frame, staying up late at night to finish his work.

When he finds one of the electric staffs, he spends a few nights tinkering with it until he finally gets it to work. This is important, because later on it is revealed it was Trevathan who built these weapons. When Proximus tells everyone at the dinner table that Noa was able to fix it, Trevathan gives Noa a look of shock, as if this were the first time he encountered an ape capable of doing so.

We also see Noa slowly picking up on how electricity works through his multiple encounters with it. He has his first encounter when Sylva uses the electric staff to shock Noa through metal as a conductor not once, but twice.

His second encounter is when he's repairing the electric staff. His third encounter is when he watches Proximus' apes try to open the vault, observing how they use electricity to set off the explosions.

Through careful observation and learning, Noa comes to understand how electricity is a power that runs through a wire when setting up the bombs with Mae to flood the vault. This is to show us that Noa is capable of understanding human technology.

In addition, the movie doesn't just want us to know Noa is smart, but that Noa's intelligence is a source of fear for the humans. Remember Trevathan's shocked look? Noa's intelligence even frightens Mae.

In this interview with Freya Allan about one of the other versions of Noa and Mae's goodbye scene, she mentions how Mae was going to kill Noa because his intelligence scares her. She doesn't want to, but she feels like she has to.

On Reddit, Wes Ball gives his perspective on what Mae bringing the gun means. One thing he mentions in parenthesis is to pay attention to the deliberate look Mae gives Noa when he repairs the staff.

One way I interpret Mae's look is her realizing what it would mean for apes to have the power to understand and even build advanced technology.

Think about it. The only advantage, the only chance humans have against the apes is their human technology. Apes are bigger, stronger, can survive in the wild, and will overpower a human in physical combat any day of the week. But as long as humans have their weapons and machines, they have a chance of reclaiming the world. That's another reason why Mae cannot under any circumstances allow Proximus to have this technology, for humans would lose their only advantage.

But it won't matter how many vaults humans flood or how much old technology they destroy so apes don't get their hands on it. If apes can just learn and build it themselves, clever apes like Noa are now a threat to humanity's future.

My overall point is that they're heavily emphasizing how smart Noa is by having him fix things, understand human technology, and how his intelligence scares humans.

Why show us all of this if it's not going to come into play in some big way in the future? What will he fix in the next movies? What other human technology could he pick up on? What could be scarier for humans than apes mastering electricity?

How about an ape fixing an airplane, understanding how it works, and mastering the ability of flight?

Airplanes Inspired by Birds

One way they could set up Noa to fly a plane is to have him develop a fascination for flight, particularly through birds.

"They could fly, Noa! Like eagles fly!" -- Proximus.

With Noa as an engineer and with plenty of birds at his disposal, especially if he becomes the clan's new Master of Birds, Noa could start studying birds to understand how they fly.

A quick Google search will show that a lot of the early ideas for flight were inspired by birds. It's called biomimicry, which is design based on the study of something found in nature. Take a look at these pictures as examples that I found while researching this.

Humans have been looking up towards the sky and dreaming of one day being able to fly, so they started inventing ways to be able to do so by first studying birds. The more ape society advances, it makes sense that apes will one day yearn to do the same.

Noa's Thirst for Knowledge

Noa starts the movie as a rule follower. Follow the law. Don't go to the forbidden valley. Listen to the elders. Eagle Clan has to submit to their new king Proximus, for it is law.

This all changes when Noa looks down at the symbol of Caesar, a reminder of a leader who had led with strength and compassion, a leader so unlike Proximus, and realizes with clarity that the law is wrong. The elders were wrong. The elders did not tell him everything because they do not know everything.

The story ends with Noa back at home with Eagle Clan. However, Noa has had a taste of what's beyond the borders of his village. There are books with strange symbols he can't understand yet. He found this strange machine that allows him to see stars far into the void of space. He doesn't know how, but somehow, humans could fly. He knows there's more out there. He's intelligent, and he's curious. He'll want to reach for the stars himself. The movie even ends with Noa gazing up at the sky. They're setting Noa up to be a character that wants to learn and understand all these new things.

This also reminds me of this quote, which is fitting, considering the topic of this theory.

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."

In Conclusion, Why Fly?

Having Noa fly could be how this trilogy continues the parallels to Noah's Ark and the Flood by having Noa and Eagle Clan get on an airplane that Noa fixes and flies in order for them to escape some great danger.

This could also be how Noa, Master of Birds, becomes a mythical figure for the apes by having him be the first ape to fly, the same way Caesar became a mythical figure by having him be the first ape to speak.

If not a mythical figure, this could make Noa one of the founding fathers of science in ape society, setting up the stage for ape scientists in the future like Zira and Cornelius. I could also jump the shark and talk about how Noa's dreams that were only mentioned in the trailer were not dreams of the past, the future, or Caesar's ghost like we all thought, but were the dreams of a scientist's mind coming up with the first ideas for innovations like electricity and flight.

In the trailer, Noa said his dreams were of strange things. New things.

Do you know how many great inventions came from dreams? Einstein's theory of relativity. The periodic table. The model of the atom.

Having Noa fly could be great for so many reasons. Not only for his character arc, but for the worldbuilding of ape society and ape mythology, especially if they have more movies set far in the future. They have plans for 9 total movies!

Finally, I want to share a scene from The Planet of the Apes (1968) where Cornelius and Zira, two chimpanzee scientists, question Taylor's ability to fly.

Having Noa, a chimpanzee, learn to fly, something considered an impossibility by apes, would be such a wonderful way to have this story rhyme with what came before.

[fancykraken]

Jack Huston as Lasher in Mayfair Witches, season 1 ↳ Happy Birthday, @portiaadams 🎂🎉💕

[artemistics]

[Chani] was like a touch of destiny. He felt caught up on a wave, in tune with a motion that lifted all his spirits.

[wulfhalls]

MY DEAREST BROTHER

[goingonanadventuremaybe]

I love how in Dune part 2, they made Chani literally the voice of Franks Herbert, deeply suspicious of governments, charismatic leaders and organized religion and prophecy, she has to watch all that she feared would shackle her people come to bind them with the chains held by the very person she trusted and loved and who promised her he didn't want to be a leader, and then a bunch of guts on the Internet call Chani, "a stuck up, pouting, over dramatic teen," Sir, that is your author avatar.

[naberrieanakin-deactivated20240]

chani’s anguish when she shouts “you’re insane” at stilgar because the love of her life just died. paul just died and all people care about is the lisan al gaib, some story made up to manipulate her people and her life. she doesn’t care about putting faith in some story because all her faith was in herself and the people around her, including paul. and they killed her faith. they killed part of her by forcing her to ressurect the man she was mourning. everyone cares about the lisan al gaib but chani cares about paul and that was used against her like a weapon