Amanda. Artist. Writer. Victorian vampire. Here lies my shenanigans.
245 posts
Latest Posts by purrlockswatson - Page 8
Probably? Mes amis, it's fudging canon!
Behold, me using the Original Text as proof of something unhinged again.
All Eriks have funny weird humour. There's no way this genius didn't have a better disguise.
(Chrissy's hair, ahhhh, I love it!)
Leroux Erik would be proud. Probably.
My Erik has a funny weird humor, that doesn't appear that much in my stories. Well.
Stop feeding the goat, damn it! Anthony Inglethorpe, je te déteste.
Heaven knows the publishing industry has always been a savage garden to begin with. Now they're welcoming this demon goat to eat his fill. Shame on you, HarperCollins, and anyone who follows in their example.
I'm doing a Phantom of the Opera. I'm going to hold my manuscripts and climb into a coffin and never leave.
(Demon Goat design inspired by that tiny goat who started a cult in Helluva Boss. See here for why I draw AI as a goat.)
Bad day all round for Scrooges, gooses, and aspiring singers/caterwaulers. (My day 2 card!)
Art by @purrlockswatson aka @purrlockholmesbooks
Show me your's!
Susan Kay's Phantom, WHY?
Lord save me from Erik and Christine's child. I'll never recover from all the times the existence of that child hurt me - not in a good way.
The last 80 pages really turned the grasshopper for me. Kay built a beautiful opera house, then sent a flaming, gunpowder-loaded chandelier through the roof. I enjoyed the first three-quarters of the book. It took incredible storytelling and research to build up that sprawling history only hinted at in the closing of original novel, and I love how the story made a spectacular Frankenstein Phantom from many adaptations.
But then came Christine.
Kay's afterword makes it worse for me. She states she doubts that A) Raoul would doubt Christine's love for him, and B) whether pity is a strong enough motivation for Christine to go back to Erik in spite of her fear. Ergo: Raoul was right when he suspected Christine loves Erik.
Well, I can clear up both of those points - A) Raoul is an insecure, jealous boy; B) aside from pitying Erik, Christine thought she could pacify him by going back, making pity AND fear her motivations, which she explains in Apollo's Lyre.
But Phantom's loyalty to the original is beside the point. What disturbed me about this explanation is that Kay meant it to be a love story. But there is no love.
I have already harped on to two friends about Phantom of the Opera and sexuality (thanks to @blackforrestpunk and @blackghostm2o for putting up with me). I think I can write an essay on the subject. After all, vampire fiction is my area of expertise.
⚠️Warning: Heavier subjects discussed below. I don't usually post content like this, so I thought i should give a heads up.⚠️
Leroux's Erik was never sexually attracted to Christine. All his fantasies he concerning her were purely romantic, even domestic ('a wife to keep amused on weekdays and take out on Sundays') whereas in Webber's adaptation, seduction is a recurrent theme in the Phantom's songs. There is nothing wrong with adding this extra layer to Chrsitine and Erik's relationship, as long as it doesn't overshadow their artistic bind through music.
But in Kay's Phantom, towards the ending, Erik's music becomes purely a sexual euphemism. It's a hypnotic drug that he uses to control Christine, and of course, there is that scene where he describes himself assaulting her by playing Don Juan Triumphant.
That is deeply misguided. Erik's music was his one connection to the purest, truest part of humanity. He was treated like a monster and often lives like one, yet he could express and evoke feelings that no most people could never, through his song.
And there is the child.
Erik thinks that Christine looks exactly like his mother. He speaks of her as his daughter. He is, self admittedly, old enough to be her father. And they still have a son together. There is no context, no possible way, that this is romantic. Horrible things can happen in a book. But it needs to be clear that it is horrible. Not so with this abominable ending. It was written as a romance, the bittersweet parting of starcrossed lovers. If Kay set out to write a love story for Erik and Christine, she did not do it: there is no evidence whatsoever in the text I read that Christine and Erik love one another. Erik lusts after her; Christine is drawn to his dark broody mystery. That is not love; it's Twilight.
I will reread this book for the sake of the brilliant child Erik, who I see myself in, and for Nadir and my feline lady Ayesha, but I will never be reading past Erik's delightful meetings with his old friend. As far as I'm concerned, he lived in his damp cellar in peace, with a large salary, to the end of his days.
More rants, I mean, very dignified and reasonable reviews of POTO adaptations here.
Day 1 on my advent calendar, I got Krampus!
Krampuses (Krampi?) feature heavily in Victorian Christmas cards. They stuff bad children into baskets and take them to Hell, and give those who survive the purge presents.
Here's one of the lovely beasties. The legs sticking out of the basket is the icing on this cursed Christmas cake.
Tell me what you got for today in my ask box, or tag me on a post!
You can get the printable advent calendar with the Krampus and more Christmas critters here:
I made a Nosferatu. And gave her the coolest boots my mind can concieve of. What should I name her? Give me your most unhinged ideas.
(This is where the tin foil in my kitchen goes. The thumb is full of the stuff.)
More felting crafts: @vladimirsangel 's OC Innocent and his vampire chicken. (I do make things other than little menaces. I swear.)
Phantom of the Opera (1990), you did Erik proud
Alternate title: Christine, we have beef!
(Meme inspired by this post.)
I have not a bad word for this Erik (and not just because I can feel a certain friend of mine holding a chandelier over my head). The 1990 adaptation made some big changes to the story, but it perfectly captured the childlike soul of Leroux's Erik that is often lost in translation but vital to him. (When I was explaining POTO to someone outside the situation, i. e. my mum, two things I kept using as comparisons were a child and Gollum - not because he's a chaos gremlin, I was trying to describe how he has a skewered perspective of the world that isn't evil but doesn't follow the accepted moral system. But that's for another time.)
I found myself trying very hard not to resent Christine - a first time for me. I will defend her choosing the Compte de Chagny over Erik, she doesn't owe Erik love, no matter what he did for her. The problem is that she took on a responsibility she couldn't possibly carry.
Never, ever assume to fully understand someone. Especially someone like Erik, who thinks and exists on a different pane as most people. Christine was wrong, terribly wrong, to assume she 'knew his heart.'
When faced with a person so sensitive, so particular, when you are the one person trusted by someone who trusts no one, don't make huge gambles like that. She shouldn't have assumed she knew what Erik needs better than he himself does - if he told you he is happy with where they were, then stay there with him! Instead, she pulled the 'I can fix him' and shattered him completely. I don't hate her for being unable to catch Erik when he falls, I hate her for blindly promising to catch him and failing him.
(I do realise how much of the above describes myself and my worries about how people treat me, so fair warning, I may be a bit biased.)
An opinion: in most versions of the story, Erik emotionally manipulates Christine, but here, Christine is the one who is emotionally manipulative. ('Manipulative' may sound malicious, but manipulators aren't always aware of what they're doing.)
In the second part of the series, she said at least three times 'If you love me...' Now, that is one of my least favourite sentences to see and hear in the best of times, but this is somehow even worse because Erik DOES do everything because he loves her. In other versions, there is the question of possessiveness against love when it comes to their relationship; in that context, I would accept her saying this, to remind him that he should love and not obsess over her. But here, Erik is not possessive.
As for Monsieur Carrière, I have beef with him, too. It's an even bigger, tougher slice of beef. He is irresponsible: not once, but twice, he got in relationships and then left his partners when they have children. The first time could be a mistake; the second time, especially when kept Erik's mother in the dark about his marriage, is inexcusable. Yes, he stayed with her till the end, but then left their son in a basement. Yes, he reached out to Erik in the end, but too little, too late. If Erik is emotional and irrational, it's because Carrière never gave him the guidance he should have.
Christine and Carrière love Erik, I don't doubt it. But it's still painful to see Erik fall down through everyone and everything that should have caught him: his talent, his parents, Christine.
If you'll excuse me, I need to cry in the catacombs and draw something miserable.
I talk about several other adaptations here!
The Phantom of the Opera (1990)
Monsieur. MONSIEUR. As someone doomed by the narrative, you have no right to be that precious. A lot of people will get hurt.
Vlad, how dare you put me through this. Je ne vais pas bien, pas du tout !
I talked about this adaptation here.
More Phantom: Cowboy (Cowcat?) Phantom, the Persian, Erik and his stuff.
What to do with Santa when you summon him
(Justice for Vampire Teddy! Look at the poor little chap.)
Red isn't the colour for breaking and entering.
You expect us to know what to say to strangers?
Right, gang?
In answer to urgent questions, those are my ideas for a good summoning, I mean, Christmas party. Passing the mic to @blackforrestpunk and @vladimirsangel - I insist that I not be entirely culpable for this.
It started out as a chicken joke, and then Aiden decided it deserves a place in my printable Christmas Advent, so now it seems doomed to be a running gag. The lil summoners are as follows: batty ears is Aurik, Vlad's Nosferatu, masked cat is Aiden's Punk Erik and the dummy in the bowtie is my Pierce.
Everything about this drawing makes me happy, but the detail that makes my Undead heart sing is the yellow-covered copy of Dracula. It's the 1897 edition, designed to evoke the appearance of the 'yellowback' - the cheap sensational fiction sold at railway stations at the time. Dr Watson was mentioned reading one in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. (Above is the miniature version I made for my haunted dollhouse.)
Cover me in sunshine...Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning....And everything will be alright
What can I say, my little nosferatu loves yellow. Get some sleep, Aurik.
watercolour and gouache with coloured pencil detailing, a little white ink for highlights.
Aw, shucks. It just sucks when that happens, doesn't it? (Will he eat it? CAN he eat it? Is he allergic to vampire's thumbs? Help me out here, Vlad. Get well soon!)
Hope you're more hale and hearty than last weekend. Have a thumb-hug from this tiny horror:
You're brave, putting your thumb in there. He may steal it XD
Thank you for asking. I am still feeling a bit off-colour but a lot better than last weekend, that's for sure.
I love little felted Innocent so damn much
Haitus is over! It's been over for a while, but every time I try to say so, some accident occurs.
History/book/blog content will be posted @purrlockholmesbooksblog while this will be my art and monologue blog. Most posts will be reblogged to @purrlockholmesbooks but since it's still not fully functioning, I won't directly post there.
We're coming (back)! The drawing one cat a day series will be continued, as well as new daily posts! Blog posts will be returning on the weekends. Thank you all for sticking with the literary cats!
Phantom of the Opera (2004), we have beef!
(I'm sorry, Gerald Butler's Phantom, you're still very cool. See the original drawing without beef here.)
I'm not saying that the film is entirely bad. It's only that I tend to be extra critical about plot and portrayal. Phans of the film, feel tree to sit this one out. Now, the beef.
🥩 1. They cut out one of the most powerful scenes
Before I fell (or rather, was pushed) into the Phandom, I saw a clip of Sierra Buggess and Ramin Karimloo performing the 'SING!!!' part of The Phantom of the Opera, and even then, it struck me. Watching film, I was waiting to see it again... But they just kept rowing the boat. I find this direction choice rather symbolic of the angle of the entire film: they lowered the prominence of Christine's thrall to the Phantom's music and instead focused on their dubious romantic attraction.
🥩2. The Phantom's origin story
Perhaps they felt the need to explain his past more, but this is a case of the more you explain, the worse it gets. Why on earth would you feel the need to explain that the Phantom has been visiting Christine since she was a child? That is not only terrifying but also creates unnecessary confusion. If he's been teaching her for so long, I find it dubious that nobody has noticed her behaving strangely before the Hannibal performance.
🥩3. They gave Mme. Giry too many hats to wear
In the film Mme. Giry essentially took on the role of three characters: her own, the Persian's, and Mama Valeris' (Christine's surrogate mother in the book). Initially, I liked that they gave Mme. Giry a more active role in the Phantom's past, but then it gets very weird because she's essentially matchmaking her surrogate daughter with a man her own age whom she has witnessed killing someone. I mean, it's not implausible to give a character two conflicting roles, but the film gave no viable explanation for it.
🥩4. The graveyard duel
Why were they using rapiers in 1870? The Phantom dueling I can get behind, being the theatre kid he is, but Raoul? Get a pistol, monsieur le vicomte. Anachronism aside, this addition doesn't add more to the scene. It's meant to show how the Phantom tried to lure Christine again and Raoul comes to disillusion her, but with the duel added in, it's just a question of who wins the duel, who gets to leave with Christine. And I keep wondering how the heck the Phantom lost the fight in spite of his Magnificent Cloak advantage. (Cloaks were used as shields back in the day of rapier duels.)
🥩5. Carlotta
I adore Wendy Ferguson's Carlotta. I understand that the film wanted to make a contrast between Christine and Carlotta, but making her something out of Mean Girls was uncalled for. You got the wrong musical, mate.
I talk about other POTO adaptations here!
Phantom of the Opera (1925), what did you do to poor Erik?
The 5 stages of watching POTO 1925:
1. Beautiful set design. Mouth of Hell, giant skull for sitting on and decapitated head automaton -- peak Gothic atmosphere.
2. He's here! The Persian at last.
3. I want to live in this Erik's basement, that gondola-inspired bed is gorgeous.
4. Oh la vache, who let Erik drive?
5. THEY YEETED HIM INTO THE RIVER?
(Meme is originally Interview with the Vampurr Lestat's corpse yeet.)
I am not happy that they made this a 'monster film.' The greatest part of POTO is how it never denied Erik's crimes, but also never portrayed him as a mindless monster. But other than the ending, I did enjoy the film.
HOWEVER, now I'm in a mood and want to write a whole essay in complaint of the other silver screen adaption I've seen thus far, Phantom of the Opera (2004). That one I sometimes wish to roast with the heat of a burning opera house. See that and rambles about other adaptations here
Vampire-themed sestina
Feedback accepted and appreciated. I don't bite. Honest. Inspired by the part in Dracula where Mina turns back to human when he dies, so here the vampire narrator ends their own life to set their lover free. Thanks to @academic-vampire for asking to read my writing and for introducing me to the format! You can read his sestina here.
How's the writing going, you say?
I was typing out my novel on my phone, looked up, and saw this. To clarify, I meant satin-LINED cavity, describing a casket.
Well, I hit my head on a toilet water tank today, so I can't expect myself to act rationally.
The story is about a vampire opera house. I played with the idea of adding Erik into it, but I didn't expect him to pop up out of nowhere to give one of my characters a house tour.
I think he wants to kill the vampires now, and I don't know what to do. How little control I actually have over my writing never fails to surprise me.
(More gremlin sphynx cat Erik here, fancy hat cowboy Phantom here)
Cowboy of the Opera
He uses a lasso, how could I not? When I found out that Ramin Karimloo's Phantom has a fancy hat, it settled the matter.
I recently found out Love Never Dies exists and will be spending the rest of my life pretending it doesn't. This is what I believe Erik would do if he went to America. He'll be fine, lots of train tracks to blow up.
More Phantom cats here, human Phantom drawing here.
Christmas Advent Calendar
I'm making an advent calendar. It will be available for 1£ (1.2$) on my Ko-Fi.
What else should I draw? Left to my own devices, I will fill it with fluffy krampusses, rats hitting each other with candy canes, and anxious festive turd.
I'm an ancient vampire, confirmed. I honestly thought KYS meant 'keep yourself safe'.
aww he’s sending kisses 😚
@w0lfinsheepscl0thing Yes we can! It's a drawing from my website!
How many literary cats can you recognise?
Idea by @blackforrestpunk art by @vladimirsangel and angry floof by me.
(L-R Aiden's OC Punk Erik, Vlad's Aurik and my Pierce.)
Sorry to hear the germs got you, I hope you get them back. Have a Chickula.
I made him before I made Innocent. Believe it or not, he was harder to make. He keeps judging my life choices so I didn't finish him, but well, I hope that was entertaining. How entertained do you want to be? Because, like the entertainment industry in general, I am absolutely capable of becoming a menace.
-An imaginary human living in your phone
IS THERE NO END TO YOUR TALENTS??
Count Chickula: Vere is my tail, @purrlockswatson? My majestic vampire feathery tail?
tsk these judgy undead poultry
I may work at a desk so deeply buried in paraphernalia that I only have one small square of surface where I put either my keyboard OR sketchbook, but I insist that my phone apps have a uniform colour that matches the wallpaper.
Hold up.
Tumblr, care to explain yourself?
The cats are on Cara!
Me and Instagram have never hit it off, but our relationship got worse after they decided to feed my art to that gluttonous goat, Anthony Ingelthorpe, commonly known as AI.
(I apologise to anyone - or any goats - called Anthony Ingelthorpe. I made that up on the spur of the moment. And I explained the goat in my post on Cara. I swear there's a reason for its presence.)
This is why I now bestow my attentions to the lady Cara. I've always wanted an online art portfolio, and Cara's portfolio/feed separation suits my chaotic gremlin needs perfectly: I can still waffle about things while maintaining a fine reputation for my creations. Brilliant.
If you have an account there, let me know, and I will give you a follow!
And blast you, Anthony Ingelthorpe.
C'est le 💅🏻Fantôme💅🏻
I’m reading the Le Fantôme de L'Ôpéra. Here are some highlights of my Kindle highlights:
The correct translation is actually something like 'she was reading a book with gold edging,' tranche meaning both 'edge (of a book)' and 'rasher (of bacon.)'
(As a walking, talking dictionary, I am morally obliged to mention that the translation is actually ‘dandies’ not 'gentlemen.')
You can probably guess that the last word means ‘unmask.’ And we all know how well that goes down with Erik.
Poor Persian, though.
This segment was cut out of De Mattos's English translation, so I don't have an explanation for this. (See replies for Vlad's traslation!)
Being a Goth has really improved my French. First I kept writing French captions for my Interview with the Vampurr comics (examples here and here), and now I'm reading a French classic despite only understanding around 1 word in 5.
Drawing of my Vampire Pierce 🫦🩸
Drawn with one brush (two if we count the sketch), one blending brush, and ten(ish) colours. The blending brush is my best friend when it comes to digital art. Pierce looked like a Muppet in makeup before blending.
I had more to say about the process, but I feel the need to go play dead for a while, so I'll leave it at that. If there's any you want to know, let me know, I'll be in my coffin.
(Repost because the video wouldn't load)
The only thing either of you have to do to deserve it is EXIST! It makes me very, very happy! It's probably a good thing to be poisonous when your parent expresses the desire to eat you. (But honestly, same, I want to chomp his cheek.)
Oh, and I just looked around, and he's still got the stabby thing.
@vladimirsangel 's Innocent in needle felt
Please take good care of my book, Innocent, that's a first edition.
Ask Vlad before booping his snout: I can't guarantee your safety.
This is Innocent, a furry monster who - Oi, what are you doing? Give that back!
*Ahem* I'm still alive. Anyway, that's a needle felting needle. The red stuff on the end is NOT blood, although I did stab my fingers a few times and may have made some accidental blood sacrifices to the small woollen creature. Should I be worried?
(I've also made a sculpture of him)
@vladimirsangel 's Innocent in needle felt
Please take good care of my book, Innocent, that's a first edition.
Ask Vlad before booping his snout: I can't guarantee your safety.
This is Innocent, a furry monster who - Oi, what are you doing? Give that back!
*Ahem* I'm still alive. Anyway, that's a needle felting needle. The red stuff on the end is NOT blood, although I did stab my fingers a few times and may have made some accidental blood sacrifices to the small woollen creature. Should I be worried?
(I've also made a sculpture of him)
🫦 Close-up of a WIP.
For the first time, I drew a fairly decent digital drawing of a human-like creature. And then this happened. I'm cursed. I want to take a bite out of it.
Perchance, I should consider giving up pursuing a career as an illustrator, and turn to making vampire pin-ups.
What are the people's interests in slightly scandalous, highly edible-looking vampire art?
*Catatonic in the floor because I'm on art break and can't make more of these*
Coffin pillow talk
That scene when Lestat talked from inside his coffin is inexplicably hilarious to me. ⚰️
I seem to be unable to stop myself from hitting vampires in the face in these drawings. I swear it's not a thing. See Armeownd get hit in the face by a laptop here! Also Rockstar Lestat meets Taylor Swift here!
(The number of silly comics I've made about Interview with the Vampire has become slightly concerning to me. I'm doing it to stave off the misery -- I'm yet to recover from season 2, episode 1.)
Think of me
Je ne vais pas bien.
Idea hit me when I woke up, and it has given me a whole day of melancholia. As an artist, I have the ability to make it everybody else's problem, so that's what I'm trying to do.
Would someone who is better than me at drawing people please redraw this so I can be miserable about it properly? (I have the feeling cats will inject confusing comedy into the situation.)