#RE: BLONDIE & TUCO.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

unfortunately i have to disagree with you, i think angel has a bedframe. if for no better reason than to pad out his sneering sense of superiority over tuco and blondie but mostly tuco.

(re: tags where i said i didn’t think any of these fuckers owned a bedframe)

you know what yeah i vibe with that. in a modern au i think it’s important to my sense of glee that none of them have a bed where they can comfortably fuck someone else. like angel can host for Sure but his bedframe is either antique and fragile and cannot withstand being rammed into a wall over and over, or it’s something weird and experimental and sculptural made out of cardboard like the olympic beds.

i think a modern au blondie has a custom XL hammock.

no idea what modern tuco’s bedframe situation is. maybe he’s a van guy. a van influencer.

[antialiasis]

Even more hardcore useless dialogue statistics on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Previously, I collected useless statistics on Blondie's dialogue. I did that because I figured he's a man of few words, transcribing his dialogue shouldn't actually be that much, it's not like I'm trying to do this for Tuco.

Well, now I have done it for Tuco, and Angel Eyes, and done even more hardcore statistical analysis! You will all feel deeply illuminated by this, I'm sure.

Methodology: because I would have gone insane if I had to manually transcribe every word anyone says in this three-hour movie, I worked from an existing transcript I found online; I made a number of corrections to it, but I can't guarantee it didn't miss an error somewhere that I didn't end up double-checking. The same caveats as before apply with regards to how I defined a line and precisely how lines were transcribed.

In the process of actually doing this for every scene and not just the ones with Blondie in them, the way I did the scene splits ended up with two more scenes that contain Blondie but where he does not speak than in the previous post's treatment of it, so in this re-analysis, I am considering Blondie to be present in thirty scenes out of forty-five. Angel Eyes is in fifteen scenes, half as many, while Tuco is in thirty-seven.

On the other hand, while in his thirty scenes Blondie says 721 words, Angel Eyes says 735 words in half as many scenes... and Tuco says more than twice as many words as both of them put together, with 2924 words by my count.

When counting by lines - and remember, the line splits are kind of arbitrary so these are a much more fuzzy statistic - Blondie does have more lines than Angel Eyes, or 86 compared to Angel Eyes' 76. (This makes sense; Blondie is significantly more laconic than Angel Eyes, so his lines are on average shorter.) However, Tuco once again has more than both of them put together, or 210 lines all in all.

In the median scene where they appear, Blondie says 2.5 lines totaling fifteen words with the new scene splits, Tuco says 57 words in four lines, and Angel Eyes says five lines totaling 34 words.

The full graph of word count per scene by main character:

As you can see, and as we all knew, Tuco is very talkative compared to the other two, and when Angel Eyes is in a scene, he tends to have more substantial dialogue than Blondie does in his scenes.

As I mentioned last time, Blondie at his absolute most talkative says 96 words in a conversation. Tuco at his most talkative says 275 words (at Blondie's bedside at the monastery), or 269 words (when Blondie's first bringing him in for a bounty), or 245 words (when speaking with Pablo). Angel Eyes at his most talkative says 131 words (interrogating Tuco pre-torture), and has three other scenes exceeding Blondie's maximum word count: the one with Stevens at the beginning (114 words), the one in the cabin with Blondie (101 words, and the conversation with Baker (99 words).

I noted last time that Blondie is extra laconic in threatening situations: he says three words per line during the inn hanging, desert walk, and in the cabin with Angel Eyes. I actually missed the one scene where he's even more laconic than that, namely where Tuco catches up with him at Shorty's hanging, where his three lines ("And Shorty?" "No?" "Sorry, Shorty.") total five words; that one's obviously also a threatening situation. However, Tuco actually has an even more laconic scene than Blondie: during the gun seller sequence, he says seventeen words in eleven lines, each line only one or two words. He's just returned from nearly dying in the desert here, and while he certainly has a sense of humour in that scene, the distinct lack of his usual talkativeness may be an effect of being exhausted and dehydrated and half-dead, which is fun to bear in mind more for that scene.

In the vast majority of scenes, if Tuco is present at all, he has the most dialogue of the main characters. Where he doesn't, he is generally in somewhat vulnerable situations where he is less sure of himself - being rescued from the bounty hunters by Blondie, having food with Angel Eyes, at the end.

Angel Eyes, meanwhile, grows quieter towards the end - in his scenes for most of the movie, when he's fully confident, he tends to speak a decent amount. But starting at the "Perfect number" scene, where Blondie threatens him and his men, he becomes a lot less talkative, which can be taken as a fun sign of his confidence already beginning to erode a bit once he's met his match. He laughs it off there, and continues to act pretty unfazed until the truel itself, but he never talks quite as much again.

Something else I noticed when putting this together: we all know how there's no dialogue for the first chunk of the movie, with the first line being spoken at 10:38 in, though the first three minutes are the opening credits which doesn't really count. What I didn't properly notice was that there's an even longer sequence of zero dialogue later, namely from Blondie's "Yeah. Sure, I'm sure" at 2:29:09 and until "It'll be a lot easier with that" at 2:40:59, for a whole eleven minutes and fifty seconds of only music, sound effects, and wordless grunts and such. This includes the bridge explosion, the crossfire between the two armies, Blondie and Tuco waking up and crossing the river, the chapel with the wounded soldier, Tuco's betrayal and Blondie firing the cannon after him, the Ecstasy of Gold sequence, and Tuco's digging at Arch Stanton's grave until Blondie appears. We just don't even notice just how long nobody's saying anything because it's riveting, while it's super noticeable in the opening. In the graph, I lumped this whole sequence together as "Towards the cemetery" so as not to have several scenes with no words for any of them taking up space.

[barukins]

I love your style!! Will you post more Tuco and Blondie:)) or just anything in general! Your art is an inspiration to me ❤️❤️

Hi there! Thank you so much! Gosh, I've not looked at this blog for a long time. XD I'm glad you like the drawings; I haven't watched the film for a looong time, I might re-watch it some time and draw more. :)

[incorrectrawhidequotes]

Blondie/Tuco <3

(Re-blogging because I expanded my answer)

Ooooooo, fun one. I’m gonna go with; 

“Troublemaker” - Olly Murs (X)

Trouble troublemaker, yeah That's your middle name I know you're no good but you're stuck in my brain And I wanna know Why does it feel so good but hurt so bad? My mind keeps saying, "Run as fast as you can." I say, "I'm done," but then you pull me back I swear you're giving me a heart attack Troublemaker!

“True Love” - Pink (X)

There's no one quite like you You push all my buttons down I know life would suck without you At the same time, I wanna hug you I wanna wrap my hands around your neck You're an asshole but I love you And you make me so mad I ask myself Why I'm still here, or where could I go You're the only love I've ever known But I hate you, I really hate you So much, I think it must be True love, true love

and maybe

“One More Night” - Maroon 5 (X) 

You and I go hard at each other like we're going to war You and I go rough, we keep throwing things and slamming the door You and I get so damn dysfunctional, we stopped keeping score You and I get sick, yeah, I know that we can't do this no more Yeah, but baby there you go again, there you go again, making me love you Yeah, I stopped using my head, using my head, let it all go Got you stuck on my body, on my body, like a tattoo And now I'm feeling stupid, feeling stupid, crawling back to you

[seadem-on]

Tagged by @sybilius and @kerugiall

Name: Cristina (god I hate my name) (but its ok)

Fandom: Il buono il brutto il cattivo for non-Italians, the Good the Bad and the Ugly (I don’t know why I did this, since I am writing in English, I guess its Italian pride)

Where you post: ao3 under the pen name of Katerunaway

Most popular one shot (by kudos) overall this year: I have only 2 fics on ao3 so its my first one, Not gonna die alone

Most popular multi chapter (by kudos): none

Favorite story you’ve written so far: all of them. Its just three ( if you count “Come in, it’s cold outside” which I posted on tumblr and will probably post on ao3) buuut maybe Not gonna die alone

Fic you were nervous to post: all of them, maybe more A song of myself. Its got a lot of lyrics but I also like the dimension I gave to Blondie

How do you choose your titles: I let myself be inspired by the words in the fic or by poetry

Do you outline? Not if I can’t help it! Usually when I get an idea it helps to follow it in my mind and write freely. I write like 100 words and consider the fic finished lol. Seriously, since I have been writing for only 5 months or so, I follow the whim of the moment and just write whatever comes into my mind. The next day I re read and re write and develop the idea. Sometimes I just write a snippet and then a vague reference to indicate what I want to work on. But this I have found isnt very good for my way of writing currently. I pray to god to never feel like I have to hold up to some standard because it would ruin all the fun and joy I get out of writing.

Complete: three. Actually I would like to write the sequel or prequel to “Come in, it’s cold outside” but I don’t have any ideas yet

In progress: uuuuh like 4 maybe. One is linked to @kerugiall ‘s “On the long term effects of half smoked cigars”. And it’s almost ready. The other two are supernatural/sad stories about Tuco. And the other one is a monastery fic. I gave up on writing smut because I am absolutely not good at it (yet?)

Not yet started: One about the dollars triplets - and sister!

Prompts: please no I suck at these (please yes? Last time Dan’s prompt worked wonders)

Upcoming work you’re excited about: anything, any idea, but currently the one thats almost finished :3

Tagging @msindrad @kholkate @shiny-good-rock @too-cerebral and whoever wants to :) missing @footprintswordprints rn

[bleak-nomads]

War: BAD, and other ill-defined themes

An intertextual analysis/meta/whatever the heck this is of Rawhide, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and The Incident of the Two Hundred Thousand, fanfiction by @thatdeepandlovelydark

Fic Links (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

Ao3 LINK 

Part 4/4: On Endings, and fandom as it pertains to shifting them :)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

*

Hi all! Welcome back to the last installment of Syb talks fanworks meta. In the first two installments I gave some discussion as to the plot and characters of the three works above, and in the third installment I discussed 

Fittingly, this last essay will talk about endings, specifically examining the ways in which GBU accomplishes a very complete feeling ending given its internal logic. Then following that, contrasting with how it's difficult to imagine anything genuinely good to come of the ending. From that lens I will discussion the ending of The Two Hundred Thousand, and the story it suggests following. 

In my mind there are really two components to a satisfying ending; the first being that the internal logic of the story is pulled together neatly, and the second being that there is some plausible notion of what comes next. Unsatisfactory endings to an otherwise good story often end up as ground zero for fanworks (here "unsatisfactory" might not mean that the ending is bad, but it may not be the ending the audience was hoping for). 

There's a lot that's archetypal and expected about the ending of GBU. First, of course, "the Good" kills "the Bad", as was in some sense promised by the title of the film. But the film doesn't walk away without re-establishing "the Ugly" in his place as court jester. In a gesture that restores their original partnership, Blondie forces Tuco to get back in the noose, 

I will take a self indulgent moment to describe my reactions to this ending, which will hopefully frame my thinking about it. So first, despite Angel Eyes being my favourite character, I love the GBU ending for him, and think it's absolutely what the bastard deserves. So despite having written an extensive series on the topic of the Mexican standoff going the other way, I think that moment does have pretty sound internal logic. 

Tuco getting strung up in the same way he did at the start, my reaction was more "huh, Blondie's really going there eh?" -- I was rooting for him to come back, as he did, and for Tuco to get his share of the gold. But in terms of this moment, I saw it mostly through the lens of "Blondie isn't a very good person now, is he?" 

Now I think that's partially the framing of the movie, which doesn't emphasize the way Tuco suffers in his role and treats it as farce, and then partially that as a white viewer, I had no trouble writing off noose shenanigans as more aesthetical violence. It wasn't really till I spoke with @thatdeepandlovelydark till I started to think about the horrible realities of being part of a grift like that. 

Which sort of brings round the main reason that makes GBU such a compelling fandom to write for, at least to me: in a lot of ways, the human motivation for the things that the Trio does are totally lacking. The human impact of the events of the film just roll off their shoulders. By necessity, writing a story about the GBU trio, either an au or commentary on canon, must address the question: what do they think about all this? 

What they intend to do with the gold is a question left by Leone as something that merits no answer -- it's gold, of course they want it! But of course, for most humans, gold tends to be means for something rather than an ends. If it is an ends though, that's a pathology in itself once they have it. 

I once wrote a short fic that was canon-compliant about Blondie's fate at the end of GBU. It wasn't peaceful, nor kind. But it was I think, on tone with the general attitudes of the film. 

The Two Hundred Thousand, rather than focusing on the gold as an ends unto itself, holds tantalizingly the questions of what it's pursuers intend to do with it. In the last segment I discussed how Angel Eyes approaches the gold, wondering whether it's worth anything at all to him without his partner to share it with.  There's a really gutting contrast in how Blondie/Rowdy turns around on the gold as something he doesn't want because it's tainted, and how Favor sees the gold as a means to restoring his lost honor:

*

“Well, take it off. You’re not a thief.”

“We’re going to be, aren’t we? All that gold?”

“Of course not. We’ll bring it right back to its rightful owners, Carson’s regiment. I think,” Favor pronounces, looking very nearly happy, “I think that amount of gold could wipe out more than a few bad moments. We’ll be back herding cattle again as though we never quit.”

It’s on the tip of his tongue to splutter, to ask stupid questions, but Rowdy holds off and won’t let himself say anything until he’s got it all straight in his head. “Just like nothing had changed.”

“Exactly.” Favor’s frowning at him, and for once Rowdy simply has no idea why- that quick and easy sympathy between them completely lost. “Poncho.”

Even holds out his hand for it. Rowdy fingers the dark tassels, has it over his head and noticing the chill evening wind before he stops short.

“Mr Favor…” it comes out of him in a calm, dispassionate voice, one he had no idea he possesses. “You need to understand. Things have changed.”

*

And I'd say the motivation for Tuco is consistent with GBU canon (Tuco is probably the only one who is hinted at having a very slightly deeper motivation for wanting the gold, to escape the poverty of his family at last). There's kindness, in what Tuco wants for the gold, and forgiveness as well. To himself, for choosing the life of an outlaw over what his brother did, to his partner for everything Angel Eyes has no doubt done and more. And to Blondie/Rowdy, that he presses on him in an effort to get him to forgive himself. I want to linger on the details of this particular ending:

*

“Can’t have that. I won’t be killed in my bed by some angry gringo who was cheated out of his third of a fortune- hey! Hey, Blondie!”

When Blondie doesn’t turn, Tuco starts running towards him, loping over the grass in that silly way of his. “Blondie, get back here! You know what you are-”

There’s a moment when I’m convinced that Blondie is about to shoot him out of hand.

But it passes. And he comes riding back towards us at a gallop, willing if confused.

“What the hell is it?”

“You look like a smart boy, do some sums for me,” Tuco smirks. “What’s a third of two hundred thousand? We just need to dig it up, that’s your share.”

“It’s blood money,” Blondie says. “Keep it. I don’t think it’ll do me any good.”

Unbelievable; but then, a hundred thousand is a nice tidy sum, and one I won’t object to.  

Tuco shrugs. “Okay. If you say so…but hey, at least stick around for supper. Green pepper chili, to match that poncho? Angel now, he can make one that’s sweet and spicy both.”

Blondie’s weakening, visibly. “Tuco…I don’t deserve that kind of forgiveness. Yours or anybody else’s.”

“Then maybe it helps, that we don’t either,” Tuco says softly. “Anybody innocent would have never made it here alive, Blondie. We’re just the ones who survived.”

“I have to- I have to learn how to make it alone. It’s the only thing that Favor ever wanted from me.” He’s fragile but so resolute, and I can see Tuco’s soft face crumpling against that flinty desperation- my partner needs kindness too, and there’s only so much of it I can give him.

Maybe that’s what’s always broken us apart, before.

“Well, forget about what you want,” I say, calm and tranquil. “I have a soup to make. And a bullet with your name on it, if you even think about leaving before you’ve finished a bowl.”

Blondie’s imperturbable facade finally cracks; what’s left is a boy laughing at my idiocy. “If I don’t try your soup, you’ll shoot me? That’s the stupidest…just the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard…”

“He takes his soup very seriously,” Tuco tells him, gravely. Starts helping Blondie off his mount, delicately adjusting the folds of that blood-streaked poncho. Blondie watches him with split attention, half of it still directed at me in incredulity.

Hmm. Something of a proposition, this.

Still.

*

(ok I know I backquoted the whole thing but listen. it’s really good). 

First, I want to wax poetic about the symmetry, and yet total rejection of the canonical cruel ending of GBU. Rather than anyone getting trussed up and shot down, Blondie/Rowdy is tenderly led off the horse to someplace different entirely. Where GBU ends with the status quo restored, albeit two hundred thousand dollars richer, The Two Hundred Thousand has completely transformed Blondie/Rowdy. Transformed him into a person he believes Favor, whom he admired and loved, would have wanted him to be, but someone who he himself is not all that all right being. What Tuco offers is a chance to keep looking, then, for the person he wants to be. 

The ways in which Tuco and Angel embody two separate parts of what Blondie/Rowdy looks for in Favor is deeply interesting to me. There’s love he’s looking for from Favor, for certain -- but there’s also a sense of comfort and confidence in his own skin. The ability to be his own man. Say what you will about Angel’s morals, he has that in spades. So there’s this nice sense to which Angel is going to be some kind of decent influence on him. At worst you can say it was Angel’s insistence that pulled him back to the ending we got -- and that’s something beautiful, really.

All and all, I’m more confident that the ending of The Two Hundred Thousand has a better chance for growth and happiness for the characters. And that’s part of what fanworks are about just the same-- carving out a space in the narrative for the stories and endings we want to tell. 

So in summary, I hope you’ve enjoyed this chatter series on GBU, sort-of Rawhide, and the fic The Two Hundred Thousand. More than that, I hope this set of thoughts has encouraged you to watch GBU, watch Rawhide, to read the fic, and to create for yourself the stories you want to see in your fandom. Thanks for reading!

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

...I dunno if Tuco is a fave of yours, so how 'bout Blondie?

I do like Tuco!  I will read the ’70s AU I will I WILL

First impression So THAT’s where the ending of Curse of the Black Pearl came from!  Mostly I remember just thinking Blondie's outfit was rad and wanting to see what made him “The Good.”

Impression now I love how much he can care about others even though he tries to act like he’s Objective and Above All That; watching him try to pretend that This Was Pragmatic Actually is always great (even if it’s true).  Also @ all conservative dads: lmao imagine thinking Blondie is in any way heterosexual

Favorite moment I’m torn between the long, understanding look he shares with the Union soldier before handing back the bottle (+ blowing up the bridge later) and the subtly dread-filled “...Yah” he gives Tuco re: Angel Eyes’ promised “good treatment.”

Idea for a story I’m so sorry you guys, I haven’t had a proper story idea since high school.  I’ll need to mull this one over.

Unpopular opinion While he’s not exactly a terrific person, I do think he’s deserving of the “good” moniker in the film, as he’s the only one of the three who shows some real concern for other humans (who aren’t his relations) while pursuing the prize.

Favorite relationship In fic, I’m utter Blondeyes trash; in canon, I love his relationship with Tuco so much.  Bless you for your trio fic :D

Favorite headcanon Other than he and Angel banging by the campfire, you mean?  Well, I had previously headcanoned that Blondie, Manco, and Joe are all separate characters, but I like what @girlfriendsofthegalaxy said about the films being in reverse order.  Idk if this is a common thing or not in the fandom, but I need to rewatch the other two films and see what I like better.

[believerindaydreams]

marmalated replied to your post: @marmalated @me-fish  ficlet snippet for the...

Oh. A sudden thought re: “super sweet verse” - is Alma still alive? Is the world soft enough this time around; does she get to meet Blondie and Tuco? <3

That would, I think, be Syb’s prerogative to decide- Alma’s her creation, not mine, and I try to be respectful of boundaries for writing (literally) life-changing stuff for characters, you know? Also impact on Angel’s character to consider. 

that being said, I’m all for it :)

[believerindaydreams]

...I just keep LOOKING at this instead of actually commenting, which is. absurd. Let me get around to commenting, then- 

jeez do I love everything about it. Blondie’s joyful “I so do NOT care what anybody thinks of what I’m doing here” and Angel’s “is that so, huh. shall I just Look at you the way I do-”- perfectly balanced on the line between curiosity and something a Bit More Sinister, which I bet Blondie just loves teasing out of him. And Tuco! - argle-garble, do I love that lusty little look he’s got, and his complete embarrassment about being caught out on it.

one of the things I’m really loving about this AU is people pointing things out that I’d never have thought of but which work so, so well- like I can imagine witing the scene from Tuco’s POV, but he’d probably downplay the whole thing and it wouldn’t be half as much (maybe he’d know he’s blushing, but does he know he looks that cute? Nope. No way.) He’s a mostly reliable narrator, but not altogether, and seeing him from another perspective is just so eminently lovable. 

(ps. can completely buy that theory re: teeth)

@thatdeepandlovelydark @sybilius So, I’m sorry, but I got this thought re:oranges that’s so persistent it won’t leave me alone:

What if, while they were on the road, Blondie got used to peeling oranges for Tuco like a total uncivilized gremlin - first just biting a beginning into the fruit and then ripping off the rind from there? Tuco probably finds this unbearably sexy even still and Angel is just appalled when he first witnesses it (’even the shittiest of knives could do a better job!’) Tuco just likes the bitterness of the rind on Blondie’s teeth when he kisses him afterwards…

[zofranspace]

Få din guld ud nu

De fleste af os husker cowboyfilm, hvor en ensom desperado erhverver en sæk guldmønter, som alle andre ønsker. Det er en utaknemmelig opgave, der typisk ikke ender godt. Jeg genkalder den sidste scene fra Sergio Leones The Good, the Bad and the Ugly em>, hvor et langt riffelskud fra Blondie (Clint Eastwood) skiller hængelænderens snus med Tuco (Eli Wallach) og sender ham først og fremmest i en bunke af guldmønter. Det er stadig mindeværdigt, selv efter at jeg har lært, at den blev filmet i den spanske plateau-region Burgos, ikke i USA sydvest. Udover at minde os om, at guld altid har været en meget efterspurgt vare, Den gode, den dårlige og den grimme em> multinationale produktionsproces illustrerer et andet nøgleprincip i den moderne økonomi: Folk bevæger sig meget rundt, når de ‘ re tjene penge. Og det skaber den perfekte mulighed for regeringer til at få deres grådige hænder på dit guld. Rejser med guld Lad os begynde med en gennemgang af amerikanske regler om import og eksport af guldguld, hvad enten det er i bar eller møntform: Der er ingen pligt på guldmønter, medaljer eller guldpærer, men disse varer skal erklæres for en Told- og Borderbeskyttelse (CBP) Officer. Bemærk venligst, at en FinCEN 105-formular skal udfyldes på tidspunktet for indtræden for monetære instrumenter over $ 10.000. Dette omfatter valuta, dvs. guldmønter, værdiansat over $ 10.000. FinCEN-definitionen af valuta: De amerikanske mønter og papirpenge eller et hvilket som helst andet land, der er (1) udpeget som lovligt betalingsmiddel, og som (2) cirkulerer og (3) sædvanligvis accepteres som et udvekslingsmiddel i landet udstedelse. em> Bemærk den specifikke definition af “valuta” her. Disse regler gælder kun for guldmønter, der kan bruges som valuta. Hvis du bruger collectible (numismatic) mønter em> ud af USA, skal du indsende Electronic Export Information (EEI) til Census Bureau, som tilsyneladende kan hjælpe med at kompilere amerikanske eksport- og handelsstatistikker. Denne formular er faktisk nødvendig for enhver eksporteret vare, herunder guld, med en værdi på over 2.500 $. Der er lignende regler for smykker. Global Gold Crackdown? De fleste udenlandske lande har tilsvarende regler for import og eksport af guldkul og samleobjekter. Disse bestemmelser har en tendens til at følge amerikanske regler tæt og generelt, så længe folk følger dem, er der ikke meget friktion over international rejse med ædle metaller. For nylig har jeg imidlertid hørt rapporter om, at nogle udenlandske lande begynder at stille flere spørgsmål og kræve flere søgninger, når nogen erklærer at de transporterer guld eller andre ædelmetalmønter. F.eks. Er nogle lande i Latinamerika – herunder den finansielle kurvesag Argentina – efter sigende interesseret i nogen usædvanlige mønter, du bærer – selvom de er under grænserne og derfor ikke erklæres. At se dem i en røntgen af din taske kan være nok til at udløse en søgning og forhør. Derefter er der stigende rapporter om, at mange banker rundt omkring i verden begynder at ændre deres kontrakter for at forhindre kunder i at opbevare valuta og ædle metaller i pengeskabe eller angive, at de ikke vil være ansvarlige for dem, hvis de opbevares der. For eksempel startede Chase Bank for nylig et pilotprogram til denne effekt i Cleveland, inden det rullede ud nationalt. Hvad sker der? Mit gæt er, at USA og andre regeringer begynder at indføre elementerne i et kapitalkontrolsystem. Vi ved allerede, at FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) er ved at opbygge infrastrukturen til kapitalregulering i bankvirksomhed. Det efterlader kontanter og ædle metaller som de to resterende metoder til at transportere værdi fysisk. Transport af store mængder kontanter er allerede stærkt reguleret, hvilket efterlader en mere – guld og andre ædle metaller. Det er slet ikke paranoid at tro, at den amerikanske regering arbejder stille med andre toldmyndigheder for at øge “bevidstheden” om guldbevægelsens problem. ” Det eneste problem er regeringen Selvfølgelig er at rejse med guld et “problem” lavet af regeringerne. Hvis de opførte sig ansvarligt, lad de økonomiske processer tage deres kurs i stedet for at proppe op store banker og behandle deres borgere med respekt. Der ville slet ikke være noget problem. Hvis du planlægger at bære guld eller sølvmønter eller samleobjekter ud af USA – hvorfor bringe dem tilbage? – mit råd er at kontakte det nærmeste kontor i US Customs and Border Protection Agency og forklare, hvad du planlægger at gøre. Bed dem om at forklare skriftligt, hvordan du kan overholde loven. Du kan vise det skriftlige svar, hvis der stilles spørgsmålstegn ved CBP-agenter, som måske ikke kender reglerne. Holde også ethvert toldpapir fra andre lande, samt et købsbevis eller et salgsbilag. Husk, at rejse med guld er ikke ulovligt. Der er ingen grund til at ende som Tuco, som bare ønskede at komme væk med sit guld.

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2Du2dhR via IFTTT

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

re: skills fallout oc ask--character(s) of choice; 2, 7, 11?

let’s check in on fnv!Blondie

Is your character quick to take care of others in need, or do they look out for themselves first and foremost? himself first, but he feels bad about it. it is difficult to unprogram yourself from a lifetime of being a disposable soldier. boy i just had the thought “what would he do if he had to pick between saving Six or saving Angel from grievous injury” and i don’t actually know! HM. 

in the “tuco-and-blondie” backstory i’m poking at that should probably be popped out into its own separate fic, he mostly gets Tuco out of Situations out of a sense of obligation. he’s somewhere between Angel and Six in terms of extending help- Angel needs an explicit ask and a promise of some reward, Six won’t go out looking for opportunities to help people but will frequently do things for free is they seem interesting. 

How does your character express anger? Do they have a short temper, do they bury their rage until they burst, or can they handle it well? this version of Blondie is pretty buttoned up, or at least he’s not as good at hiding emotions as he thinks he is. he is pretty comfortable expressing irritation, but it would take a prolonged and escalating effort to really piss him off and make him lash out. 

Has your character ever killed anyone purely in cold blood? i think he only ever kills people in a calculated deliberate manner

[milezeeblog-blog]

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

#205

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly was released in 1966 and was directed by Sergio Leone, it is the third movie in the ‘Man With No Name’ Trilogy or the ‘Dollars’ Trilogy as its also known.

The movie stars Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, set in the Southwest during the Civil War, a mysterious stranger, known as Blondie (Clint Eastwood), and a Mexican outlaw, Tuco (Eli Wallach), form a partnership. Joe turns in the bandit for the reward money, then rescues him just as he is being hanged. Tuco tries to have him murdered. The men re-team abruptly, however, to beat out a sadistic criminal and the Union army and find $20,000 that a soldier has buried in the desert.

The film is known for its incredible cinematography and is probably the best looking movie of the entire 60′s period. it’s use of widescreen is incredibly before it’s time and the accompanied score really brings this movie to life, i don’t think anyone has not heard this score somewhere before.

Eastwood’s performance is turned up a notch from the previous two movies, i feel like this is one of the best performances of his entire career.

Upon it’s initial release it had mixed reviews, mainly due to the current view on westerns at this moment in time but it later was considered the best western of all time.

You can see reflections in all western movies that followed this, violence in westerns became a thing because of this movie and you can clearly see it’s influence on one of my favourite games of all time ‘Red Dead Redemption’

This is a long movie though, that and the sometimes poor dubbing holds this movie back from a full 5 star score for me. it’s the longest movie of the trilogy running at just shy of 3 hours, i do feel like some scenes could have stayed on the cutting room floor.

★★★★½ The definitive spaghetti western with fantastic cinematography, score and direction as well as an amazing performance from Eastwood. This is a must watch for any movie buff. 

[bleak-nomads]

Awww I feel that re: feeling like your writing isn't very visual! I get that too, when I'm writing, though there are certain images I can sort of make happen I really tend to gravitate towards dialogue and interesting internal monologue!

But yeah...part of what drew me to drawing this (in addition to the very black and white aesthetic afforded by being in a dark room with a flickering projector playing old movies...) was the particular choreography of the writing -- Blondie in the middle, but Angel reaching across him to sort of flex on Tuco (and nudge closer to Blondie in an effort to get Senpai to Notice ahahaha). In some sense I see him as having a building tension too, even though he's in his element. As established, the evening really isn't going as planned...

Anyways I'm so delighted this was a fun transformative experience for you! I loved drawing it a lot so hopefully I will do more from the au in the future!

“So what do you do?” Tuco asks, to change the subject. Most people are only too happy to spill their guts out, given half a chance; most poker players know better, but the gaps will be instructive. 

“I’m an assassin for hire.”

That’s not changing the subject at all, and Tuco can’t help choking on the bittersweet rum runner he’s been nursing. 

“Cheer up,” Angel Eyes says, patting him on the back with deliberate familiarity. “Nobody thinks you’re worth a bounty, and I don’t kill a man without a price tag.”

“Ohh…great,” Tuco manages, through coughing fits. “Wonderful news.”

“Usually.”

*

70s!GBU Trio, from Chapter 2 of bleeding across state lines by @thatdeepandlovelydark

[bleak-nomads]

More Angel Eyes ruminating, but I also can't help but think that if Sue had levelled him with the question "What's he to you?" Re: Blondie, he would have taken it a lot better, replied with something like "He's the man I travelled thousands of miles with to get here. Doesn't that tell you everything you need to know?"

But that just sort of illustrates how in (who built) the road, he spends a lot more time gradually accepting that he and Blondie are bound together. That's because it's much more rare for him to consider himself bound to anyone (he hasn't really since Issac , so like, decades), so it bears more examining to him.

Whereas Blondie just spent the last few years bound to Tuco, and to examine whether or not the bond he has with Angel is different would involve reflecting on both relationships, neither of which he wants to do.

[believerindaydreams]

also, ⭐ for anything you'd like from Confeitor or bleeding :)

…oh hey it’s been long enough, why don’t I spell out what’s going on in that weird mind-meld scene of Confeitor?

Blow by blow then, commentary in italics. 

You don’t quite remember, who it is you are.

It’s more or less Angel, here. But more or less covers a multitude of sins. 

“Angel Eyes,” Blondie is saying, with all his careless, believable flair to sell the name. But that’s not the story you read in his fingertips. The way he’s coaxing you warm and lively again, a knowledge of this body fonder than his words, that’s habit. Long familiarity, not the kind of lovemaking acquired in a single dust-choked night.

So I do have it in mind that that the events of “Animal Magnetism” are canon-compliant, and therefore there’s an assumption here that Tuco and Blondie have been an Item for quite a while since before GBU. 

Actually I’m not sure if I buy that myself, but hey, that’s what fic is for. Obviously a rather less fraught affair than what Tuco puts Blondie through in Syb’s Tweechik ‘verse, mind.

(Never mind how it feels to you. With one foot in the grave, any flesh would suit.)

This version of Angel has been, occasional manifestations into Blondie’s cursed narratives aside, disembodied for thirty years his time.

Manifesting as a short Mexican is therefore Just Fine Thanks. And he’s even got a mustache!

“Right, yes-”

and you know that voice intimately (why shouldn’t you? almost the last sound you heard) and you don’t (lower-pitched, wasn’t it? and what about that Spanish twang?)

the last sound he heard before he DIED, y’see. 

I didn’t, admittedly, like Angel Eyes too much when I inflicted this fate on him I gotta admit. As a side note, voices always sound deeper to yourself because of bone resonance. 

“God, it’s strange hearing that voice again- I guess I don’t know why I figured different. You couldn’t make it be less like him, could you?”

“Don’t be more of an ass than you can help, Blondie.”

The beginnings of a frown there, while your partner stares and wonders just what kind of bargain he’s letting himself in for. Your instincts scream to reassure him, ease the situation before this man starts asking questions you can’t answer. “Res nullius.”

Angel has extremely strong incentives to keep Blondie happy here lest Blondie question whether the possession’s gone wrong. 

It just so happens that “keep Blondie happy so I don’t die” is a fairly engraved part of Tuco’s instincts as well, by this point. 

“Oh,” Blondie says, as if that made everything clear. Given that it damn well doesn’t, you can only be grateful he’s bought the graft-

for a smart partner, sometimes Blondie’s such a mark is what-

obviously this is rather more Tuco’s mindset than Angel

“Nobody’s property.” Explaining it to him, and your- self (damn it, even that’s ambiguous). “That which exists in a state of nature, free and up for grabs- that doesn’t mean it lacks qualities. A homesteader builds on what land he finds.”

The extent to which possession is being presented as inherently colonialist is left as an exercise for the reader. And for Angel. 

“Well, I wouldn’t know. Settling down’s never been my style…even less now, I think.” He fingers the heavy beads around his neck. “It’s no small thing to have a second chance. And with the right partner this time.”

Blondie regretting his choice, or elderly Blondie doing whatever he can to not die himself? Interesting question. 

“I was going to ask that- why now?” That there had to be a moment he relieved, over and over again, that’s cornerstone for all the rest- but we are not in a cemetery circle. Thirty years and more, and his lowered eyes tell me no more than they ever did. “Bend the universe to a point, by all means- why this point?”

Waking up in a Soft Cosy Cabin was not really the setup Angel thought to ever seize. He’d figured on more blood. 

“It’s a good time to do this. We’ll be trapped here by the blizzard for another five days, it gives you time to get used to that-” he casts an amused glance. “Well, you know. Maybe you’ll want to shave the mustache.”

It is a veeeery distinctive mustache, although I suspect this bothers Blondie more than Angel. Lots more. 

“But why-” and fucking Cristo, I can ask this wholeheartedly- “why not before our Sad Hill showdown?”

first time he’s managed to articulate an “I” for internal monologue. 

“Oh, that’s simple enough. I might not have been lucky enough to survive you a second time- and as you’ll remember with Tuco, I prefer stacking the odds in my favour. So we’re playing it exactly the same, only you’re alive and he’s dead. Just the way I want, now that I know better.”

More bitterness than I think he notices, swamped by the pathos of his stage melodrama. There isn’t one ounce of trust there. None at all.

Blondie’s not stupid enough to replay anything before that Mexican standoff and possibly die/lose the money/find himself getting tortured by Angel. 

Villains ought to have brains enough to make *interesting* errors. 

And if there’s anything to force my hand now, against the frantic, blistering instinct of my fantasma, it’s this slow, creeping awareness. That to Blondie I’m either the man he wants to save, or the man he wants to kill- and I had damn well better not be the latter.

You want that, Ramirez? You want him to realise the trick’s failed, that life’s less neat than he wants to think?

No response: but a strain I’d failed to even notice, starts to ease. I’ve bought myself a truce.

For a little while, anyway.

yeah so Tuco’s smart enough to not want to get his body killed by Blondie, should Blondie catch on to the fact that the partner he thought Angel killed is still kicking around in Angel’s subconscious. 

How long that will last is a different issue. 

[believerindaydreams]

confeitor, part 3

...okies, that was a weird perspective to write. 

You don't quite remember, who it is you are.

"Angel Eyes," Blondie is saying, with all his careless, believable flair to sell the name. But that's not the story you read in his fingertips. The way he's coaxing you warm and lively again, a knowledge of this body fonder than his words, that's habit. Long familiarity, not the kind of lovemaking acquired in a single dust-choked night.

(Never mind how it feels to you. With one foot in the grave, any flesh would suit.)

"Right, yes-"

and you know that voice intimately (why shouldn't you? almost the last sound you heard) and you don't (lower-pitched, wasn't it? and what about that Spanish twang?)

"God, it's strange hearing that voice again- I guess I don't know why I figured different. You couldn't make it be less like him, could you?"

"Don't be more of an ass than you can help, Blondie."

The beginnings of a frown there, while your partner stares and wonders just what kind of bargain he's letting himself in for. Your instincts scream to reassure him, ease the situation before this man starts asking questions you can't answer. "Res nullius."

"Oh," Blondie says, as if that made everything clear. Given that it damn well doesn't, you can only be grateful he's bought the graft-

for a smart partner, sometimes Blondie's such a mark is what-

"Nobody's property." Explaining it to him, and your- self (damn it, even that's ambiguous). "That which exists in a state of nature, free and up for grabs- that doesn't mean it lacks qualities. A homesteader builds on what land he finds."

"Well, I wouldn't know. Settling down's never been my style...even less now, I think." He fingers the heavy beads around his neck. "It's no small thing to have a second chance. And with the right partner this time."

"I was going to ask that- why now?" That there had to be a moment he relieved, over and over again, that's cornerstone for all the rest- but we are not in a cemetery circle. Thirty years and more, and his lowered eyes tell me no more than they ever did. "Bend the universe to a point, by all means- why this point?"

"It's a good time to do this. We'll be trapped here by the blizzard for another five days, it gives you time to get used to that-" he casts an amused glance. "Well, you know. Maybe you'll want to shave the mustache."

"But why-" and fucking Cristo, I can ask this wholeheartedly- "why not before our Sad Hill showdown?"

"Oh, that's simple enough. I might not have been lucky enough to survive you a second time- and as you'll remember with Tuco, I prefer stacking the odds in my favour. So we're playing it exactly the same, only you're alive and he's dead. Just the way I want, now that I know better."

More bitterness than I think he notices, swamped by the pathos of his stage melodrama. There isn't one ounce of trust there. None at all.

And if there's anything to force my hand now, against the frantic, blistering instinct of my fantasma, it's this slow, creeping awareness. That to Blondie I'm either the man he wants to save, or the man he wants to kill- and I had damn well better not be the latter.

You want that, Ramirez? You want him to realise the trick's failed, that life's less neat than he wants to think?

No response: but a strain I'd failed to even notice, starts to ease. I've bought myself a truce.

For a little while, anyway.