#aristocratic witterings

[arendaes]

People in my 'puter I love you ❤️ I promise I'll be less annoying with the posting tomorrow, being on here today made this shitshow bearable

[ganymedesclock]

If you could create animals based off of the paladins' personalities, what would they be? What would they look like? Where would they live? What weird traits would they have?

So I guess think of these things as the hypothetical companion animals the paladins would have if they didn’t have the Lions? Along with the Lions? Who knows. I sure had fun.

Lance: Lesser Vaukeeil, AKA River Vaukeeil

Serpentine body about eight feet long and four feet high at the shoulder, eight pairs of short legs. Surprisingly graceful, covered mostly in smooth scales with a short mane and sensitive whiskers. Outer lip features a ‘beak’ intended for grooming but also posses teeth. Prized for the beautiful color of its scales, which can be ground into an expensive blue pigment.

Lives in temperate wetlands, forests and rivers. Unexpectedly good at climbing, strong swimmer, lurks beneath the water’s surface or up in the trees. Omnivorous, primarily eats fish, water plants, rarely will attack and eat something as large as a deer when they’re drawn to its watering-hole hunting grounds. Hunts with sudden lunging movements, striking like a snake and using wolf-like jaws and strong body to drag prey into the water or onto land, whichever is least advantageous to the prey.

Clever, expresses emotions largely through multiple fins nested in its features. Able to learn, understand, and mimic speech and other noises in its environment. Natural sounds are lots of chirps, warbles, clicks, hisses, and screeches. Very vocal. Inquisitive and playful, its inclinations as an ambush predator can easily draw it towards something it’s fascinated by.

A social animal that hunts in solitude but lives communally in packs of its kind, becomes despondent easily if isolated. If its own species is unavailable, will bond readily with people. A fastidious groomer which is only happy when clean, very touch-motivated. If upset for any reason (usually alone, dirty, scared or hungry), quick to turn destructive and dig/scratch at its environment.

Hunk: Kalskapferi, AKA the Common Miner Turtle

Quadrupedal animal about one-and-a-half times the size of a jeep. Boxy head, lacks teeth but crushes or scissors food with a sharp heavy beak. Able to store reserves of food and water inside of its body, a gluttonous creature in times of plenty and thus able to withstand prolonged drought and famine with little difficulty. If its reserves run low, hibernates inside of caves.

Lives in a mountainous, arid, and desert climate, crossing an enormous territory in an attempt to follow habitable regions. Diet is primarily vegetation such as cacti, but has been known to use its beak to crack open rocks for minerals or salt. (Absolutely loves salt. Will go to ridiculous extremes to get at it)

Possesses a long, strong, dark tongue that it uses to manipulate objects. Hardy, has a long history as being domesticated as a beast of burden and transport. Mineral-eating behavior is primarily to maintain an especially durable hide of ‘living rock’ that weighs it down but renders it virtually unstoppable. Tail is crowned with a heavy biological cudgel.

If threatened by predators or frightened, will charge with its heavy, spiked brow. This is dangerous particularly as it has a behavior of planting its feet and the tip of its wedge-shaped snout underneath an obstruction and using powerful neck muscles to fling the intrusion out of its way. Trampling, kicking, biting, or lashing with its tail mace all carry weight to punch through spacefaring steels.

An anxious creature who relies on maintaining a large array of vision, with six eyes. The protective plating on its head gives it a disadvantage, leaving a blind spot directly in front of it. A bit fussy, especially skittish around potential predators. Only when feeling totally relaxed and content will it roll over and allow people to touch its vulnerable underbelly. Communicates in a vocabulary of grunts, whines, snorts, and squeals, similar to a rhinoceros or a boar, becomes very loud if startled or upset. Lives and travels in large herds. Pairs mate for life.

A superb sense of smell, able to track down water or valuable minerals over long distances and is even sometimes used to track down people lost in the vast deserts of its home, which it can do even with a scent several days old. With the short, broad claws on all four limbs, it’s an excellent burrower.

Shiro: Highlands Dragon Shriek

Solitary animal, six feet tall at the shoulder. Dwells in the ‘super-mountains’ of its home planet that protrude to the edge of the planet’s atmosphere, at altitudes that harbor almost no other life. Enormous wingspan, clawed, feathered wings built for soaring. Covered in a dense, luxurious coat of fur and feathers in numerous understated shades of black, gray, and white to insulate it from the bitter cold. Quadrupedal stance balancing on its wings and hind legs.

Thick, translucent horizontal eyelids that serve as ‘goggles’ during dives. A predator that primarily feeds on goat-like mountain animals, also scavenges from corpses. The species is named for the distinctive, high-pitched whistle they produce in a dive. Capable of hunting and killing much larger prey than itself by latching onto the back of the neck and kicking furiously with its hind legs. Cracks bones with its strong beak to eat the marrow.

Vocalizes comparatively little, occasionally witters, chirps, or croons, usually to its offspring or mates exclusively. Mated pairs can be observed to remember each other year after year and return, but offspring are raised solitary by a single parent, and leave the nest as soon as they are fully fledged. Prone to drawing into isolation and hiding if injured or in pain. Have shown the capacity to recognize the bones of their mates or children, even after years of separation.

Highly aggressive in defense of their nests, but anecdotal accounts and folk legends tell of them rescuing frozen travelers lost in the mountains. Considered holy by local peoples. Threatened by heavy poaching that has decimated the species, leaving them incredibly rare and most surviving specimens bearing scars from hunters’ traps.

Slow to trust and equally slow to bond, taking both a very patient and a very stubborn hand to establish any sort of rapport with. Seeks physical contact and affection fairly rarely. Needs regular dust baths to stay healthy and in top condition.

Allura: Vaulleverian Heron

Survived thanks to captive specimens after the collapse of its home planet and were since successfully reintroduced to the wild in several sanctuary planets. Ancient species once revered as a divine messenger. Two legs, four wings, elaborate plumed crest on the head. Piscivore species that dwelt in saltwater marshes and hunted with its needle-like beak. Stands as tall as an average adult human’s shoulder.

Noteworthy for migrating seasonally across a vast ocean. Feathers glow in the darkness, and have an opalescent quality in the light. Lays only one clutch of eggs its entire life, but families live together until death. Its haunting, melodious cry is said to be one of the most beautiful things in the known universe.

Social animal that lives in flocks. Sings to find others of its kind when isolated. Largest members of any given flock fight viciously to defend it from predators, lashing with the spurs on its feet.

Especially fond of eating a particular shellfish that give its feathers that pearly hue, prying the shell open with its feet. During courtship, construct elaborate bowers using colorful objects taken from their environment, causing a bit of a fraught relationship with tourists who come to see them, as they are not remotely afraid of people, or robbing them.

Drawn to unusual sounds and colors. Often regarded as a symbol of opulence and kept by some aristocrats as pets, though its intelligence, dexterity, natural weapons and high energy levels often make it poorly suited for such arrangements. 

Pidge: Gray-Spectacled Kottokh

Medium dog-sized animal native to a broad range of climates. Long, strong, prehensile tail, six limbs, small dexterous paws. Omnivorous to an incredibly impressive degree, able to digest even plastic. Lives in many urban areas. Crepuscular, lives in small communal warrens. Loves sweet tasting foods and fatty, savory foods.

Marsupial that has large litters, does not vocalize outside of high-pitched click-chirp noises. Uses thin, sharp claws to dig for insects or other foods. Highly acclimatized to people, this can make it both easily social and rather dangerous as it is utterly unafraid of them. Possesses a venomous bite.

Body is covered in long, silky fur that, when threatened, it is able to puff up to make itself appear larger. Grows a creamy winter coat, but is reddish brown in summer, with gray speckles, some of which are around its eyes, hence the name of the species.

Uses short whiskers, echolocation, hearing and impressive night vision to navigate its environments. Its venom, rambunctious inclinations, insatiable curiosity, and ability to figure out how to open doors, not to mention its reputation as an invasive urban pest, have prevented people from considering it as a pet.

Keith: Kirriwulv

Horse-sized eight-legged animal that dwells in a volcanic moonscape inhabited only by hardy creatures. Live and hunt exclusively in packs, and sleep in communal caves with one member of the pack consistently sitting outside to keep watch. Highly social, communicates with others of its kind by howling across distances, and vocalizing and bioluminescent posturing in closer quarters.

Black scaled body with a long snout, shaggy mane running the length of the body and plumed tail. Two sets of eyes, needle-like teeth and blunt claws. Can run tirelessly over incredibly long distances. In antiquated times, were used as war steeds by several cultures. 

Underside of the ribcage features three sets of “blast gills” used to draw air into the body and fill a special superheating organ, allowing it to exhale clouds of burning ash, used both offensively, defensively, and as a social display for many reasons.

Becomes agitated and restless if separated from others of its kind. Slow to bond, but once imprinted, ferociously loyal. Legends abound during the time they were used as steeds of specimens that perished by refusing to leave the body of their dead rider.

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s4e09 – Let Them Eat Pie

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Bruce killed R'as and started down a dark path.  This path is so well trodden by Gotham's citizens at this point that it should really have vending machines and little benches along the way - is there anyone at this point who hasn't offed someone? Bruce acts out.  Oswald has met Martin. Harvey made a mistake. Jim took over as captain in the coldest way possible. What did you do to get it? Ha - a sneaky cut there shows us Jim and Sofia on the couch. Oh Jim - all those noble intentions about not dancing to Carmine’s tune when you came to town way back in s1e1, and you wound up the Falcones’ bitch after all.  Pyg and his endless fucking talking.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

Someone who is clearly Pyg in disguise is handing out donuts to the homeless. Between Oswald's poisoned Cannoli, and the drugged pastry Ed fed the mayor, Gotham seems very concerned with making sure we never accept free pastries. He's disguised as a priest, which I think is a very specific offence.  He lures some to go with him with the promise of pie, ushering them into a van

Say no to free pastries, and don't get into vans with theatrical strangers

 Pyg has taken them to an empty building of some sort. He's photographing the homeless people he lured away and pinning the pictures to a wall.  He's also wittering on about divisions in society, and saying he knows how it feels to feel like a ‘have not’.  After a few mouthfuls of his pie, the people round the table all slump.  Pyg gloats that he's going to show the ‘haves’ a lesson.

In a makeshift kitchen, he takes off his disguise and begins to butcher the corpses.

Let's begin - shall we?

 At the precinct, a man is painting Jim's name on the door of the Captain’s office, while, inside, Harvey is still clearing his stuff out.  Ouch.

I'll be out of your way in just a second, captain

Jim says this isn't how he wanted things to go down, but this vaguely regretful look doesn't tally with how cold and self-righteous he was last week when relieving Harvey of duty - so fuck you, Jim.  

Harvey says he was thinking about their first case.  He says that if Jim had killed Oswald, then Falcone would still be running things, and a lot of people who are dead would be alive today.

(An aside - what now? Am I misremembering things, and Falcone was actually some kind of jolly Santa Claus figure? I'm not sure why we keep getting this bizarre nostalgia.  Plus, it completely discounts that both Fish and Maroni were jockeying for position too.)

Jim says that if he could go back he'd do exactly the same thing.  Harvey says Jim doesn't understand how the city works: it doesn't need heroes - it needs people who'll do what's necessary. In a staggering display of hypocrisy, Jim tells him that he's wrong:

if you show them the way, people will follow

He also tells Harvey that when his leave is over - there's a desk waiting for him - but Harvey replies that he has no desire to sit and watch Jim all day. He leaves, and Jim is left standing alone.  For the second time now, we’ve seen him in that office – but not in the Captain’s chair.

(An aside – it’s probably Gotham’s old problem of inconsistency week to week, but Jim’s sudden sadface is not in keeping with his behaviour last week.  Also, Harvey seems to have lost 4 seasons’ worth of characterisation and gone back to his earliest version of himself.  On top of that, Jim’s not even going to see him until he gets back from leave?  Not check up on his self-destructive friend at all? This isn’t in keeping with how close they are at all.  Why has a big reset button been hit on their friendship?)

 At the orphanage, Sofia's arranging flowers.

Oswald enters the room, says the flowers are beautiful and assures her that the benefit will be a success. Sofia says she hopes so - she wants the wealthy to fund the orphanage.  

Oswald however, has to decline, and says something has come up. She asks if it's the thing in the Narrows with his former Chief of Staff.  Oswald shakes his head – and tells her that it’s more serious – Jim’s promotion.

Sofia asks if he's worried. Oswald smiles and says the issue is the person who ordered the appointment.  Sofia deflects – commenting that the mayor is a weasel.  Os isn't buying this, though, and says that someone has got to the mayor, and when Oswald finds out who is really behind it, there will be a reckoning.

(An aside - someone at Gotham loves Hannibal)

Sofia looks thoughtful for a moment. She tells him Martin is doing a song tonight with the other children, and smiles before leaving..  

Mr Penn scurries over, looking anxious. He tells Oswald to have Victor ‘talk’ to Sofia if he suspects that she’s responsible, but Oswald says she is literally his only friend.  Mr Penn delicately asks if she's actually murdered the mayor.  Oswald considers this – what if he’s

Chasing a ghost while she’s preparing her next move

He needs someone discreet, someone to get close to her.  He has a brainwave.  Oswald is going to recruit Martin

Oh Oswald.  No. This is a bad idea.

 In the hallway outside, Sofia was apparently lurking outside the door - listening to their noisy conversation. She calls Jim.  Jim picks up and tries to be all stern, saying that they're done.

Jim - you don't get to keep the captaincy and stay on your moral high horse.   You’re bought and paid for, Captain Blond.  

Sofia tells him Oswald suspects something.  Jim asks if she warned the mayor.  She says she did.  He says it sounds as if she has her bases covered and tells her not to call again, after insincerely thanking her for the heads up about Oswald.  He hangs up.  She looks at the phone in some consternation.

 Jim walks on up the stairs where Harper is answering the phone.  Jim picks up and immediately says Sofia

Wrong, try again

It's Pyg.  He asks Jim if he remembers how he told him about the rot in Gotham, from high to low.  As he speaks, Pyg is setting up the final touches on some tent.  As he leaves, he tells Jim to hurry out for a taste of what's to come.

(An aside - Jim’s slip-up here, and Pyg’s failure to be shocked by it further undermines all the incorruptible Jim Gordon stuff from Pyg, and points again to a plan from Sofia)

 As Jim and Harper enter the tent, we see the corpses of two of the homeless people dressed up in 18th century aristocratic clothes, pigs snorting round the table, and a card saying vive la revolution

Jim wants the area closed off, as he’s saying this, one of the people gawping in at the tent comments that one of the pigs is starting to eat a corpse.

(And another Hannibal nod - this is Mason Verger’s thing.)

 The kitchens at Wayne Manor. Bruce stumbles in and brattily demands breakfast at lunchtime.   Alfred tries to reach out to him, but Bruce is not responding.  Alfred reminds him he killed Ra’s.  Bruce takes out his phone and tries to ignore him.  Alfred asks him he remembers what day it is.  Bruce explodes – it’s the day of the annual camping tradition, where they lay stones at the top of some nearby hill.  He takes the stones out, inscribed with Bruce and Thomas’ initials, and tells him to remember whose son he is.  If I’m honest, I’d guess that comparing his current behaviour to his father’s is probably already part of Bruce’s self-flagellation routine, but I can see why Alfred tried it.

 In the morgue, Jim is explaining to Jim that the homeless people seem to have had their organs removed. Jim puzzles aloud about why Pyg said the victims would be rich and powerful if he was going to target the homeless.  Lucius points out that Jim wants logic from psychopaths, and suggests that he’s using them to make a statement.

Jim says the homeless population is densest in the Narrows.  As he leaves, Lucius comments that it’s a hell of a first day to be captain.

 At the Narrows, Jim is sending officers out to search.   Harper tells him that traces of the chemicals found on the corpses are used in paper manufacturing.  Jim fortuitously remembers an abandoned paper factory nearby, and they head off.

As soon as they enter, they see there's a corpse lying on a table, a hole where an organ should be. Harper asks what he’s doing.  Jim says he’s taking organs and – on seeing a grill nearby – adds:

He's cooking them 

 There’s a sound, and Jim and Harper hare off after it.  Pyg manages to sneak up on Harper and (I think) stab her in the chest/shoulder. He tells Jim to drop his gun.  Harper tells Jim to shoot the bastard, but Jim drops the gun instead.  Pyg says they found him too soon (he really is quite shit), and chortles that the table is not yet set.  Jim offers himself as a hostage, but Pyg says he must see the final act.  Knocking Harper out, he hauls her into the van and drives off.  Jim looks after them, looking faintly put out.

A brief scene to demonstrate that Alfred and Kevin the teenager have indeed gone to the woods.

 In a room at the iceberg lounge, we see that Oswald has made Martin a suit for the fundraiser.  They communicate with each other through the mirror, emphasising that while they might want to communicate with each other, there’s deception and manipulation acting as a barrier.

Oswald comments that Sofia is

Quite a lady isn't she?  A friend to both of us.

Or is she?  He tells Martin that he worries Sofia is only pretending to be Oswald’s friend, and using Martin.  Martin frowns, and draws a question mark on his pad.  Oswald tells him that he’s been running it over in his mind, and there’s two possible ways she’s done this.  

The first – she chose a specific orphan to place in his path, told his how to act, groomed him….

Martin shakes his head violently at this, panicked and upset.  Oswald backs down from this line of thought, and suggests option two, that she just collected group of children hoping one would gain his trust and make him easier to manipulate.  Martin looks tearful.

Oswald tells him that in the second version, he is innocent (Oswald, he’s innocent in both – because he’s a child) and that this is the version he badly wants to believe.

To prove his friendship, he wants Martin to spy on Sofia.  Martin nods his head, and Oswald offers his hand.  His face working, he asks Martin not to let him down, please.  As Oswald walks away, we see that Martin is crying.

(An aside.  A number of things with this scene.

First of all – in what we’re being presented, Martin is under a horrible amount of strain.  I think Sofia has set him up from the beginning, or at least pushed hard – which puts her on the same list as Tabitha, for me. I think Martin does genuinely want to be friends with Oswald, and now he’s in a horrible, dreadful situation. As for Oswald, he’s allowing his own hang-ups free rein, and is placing a massive amount of strain on a child. It’s more sincere than Sofia, if that makes sense, his emotional involvement is genuine, more meaningful, and not motivated by anything – but it’s still inappropriate to place that burden on a child.

As discussed elsewhere with @rhavewellyarnbag and @maysgreatnewusername, though, given how manipulative and demanding Getrud was (and Elijah, imo), I think that Oswald is under the impression that this is how relationships work – specifically parent/child relationships.  Getrud was jealous and demanding (and pretty unstable, imo). From Oswald’s behaviour, he was practised in placating and comforting her.  He’s not especially reflective about that relationship, though – and maybe never will be, now – and so instead of recognising that it wasn’t healthy, he instead sort of operates within its parameters.

Secondly – this just didn’t feel solid to me, and I think I’ve figured out why.  I just don’t buy that Oswald is so emotionally committed to the idea of friendship with Sofia.  That has really been highlighted by his interactions with Martin, where I think you can see genuine emotional engagement.

As such – I don’t think I really believe the lengths he’s going to ascertain her sincerity.  He’s mistrusted her from the outset with good reason.  I don’t buy that the relationship is emotionally fulfilling enough to outweigh that – it’s too laced with doubt and suspicion, and Oswald finds neither tolerable.  At this point, it feels more realistic to me that he would just write her off as too risky, tell Mr Penn to legally extract Martin, and either destroy her or withdraw totally into a Cold War situation.)

 At the Narrows, Jim is barking orders about Harper's search.  The press ask questions. Jim says he believes Pyg is responsible.  A reporter asks how people can be kept safe if they can't keep officers safe.  Another asks whether Jim will be pushed aside like Harvey Bullock was if he fails.  Jim winces.  Another asks about the rumour of cooking victims.  A disgruntled Jim asks who told him that.

 Back in the paper factory. Jim angrily remarks that someone leaked to press about the cooked victims.  Lucius suggests Pyg – which does make sense – and tells Jim everyone is on his side. He also tells him there’s something he has to see.

Pyg's left a quote from A Modest Proposal.  Lucius recognises it because he’s pretty wonderful:

“I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for Landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children.”

(An aside – yeuch, Pyg and his posey little undergraduate affectations.)

He explains that it's an argument for cannibalism – eating the poor.  Jim extrapolates from the text that it’s specifically talking about orphans, and heads off alone to the Orphanage. As he suspects that it’s a trap – and doesn’t want to be caught out like Harvey, he says he’ll go alone.

 At the orphanage, Sofia is in the kitchens.  Pyg shows up in a chef disguise and says he’s made a change to the menu – Gotham meat pies instead of the pre-arranged menu.  Hiding organs underneath a pastry lid doesn’t exactly take much work. Hannibal would turn his nose up at all this.

In the woods, Alfred tries, while Bruce sulks.  Alfred tells the story of how he met Thomas.  He was on a self-destructive path after the army, drink and drugs.  He woke up in an alley, covered in blood, and turned himself in, hoping the police would send him to jail.  The police made him wait.

There was an annoying American wandering around.  He asked Alfred what he did, and Alfred spilled his guts about everything.  Bruce is listening, but trying to seem like he’s not. When the police come back over, Thomas concocts a story to save Alfred – telling the police that Alfred saved him from being mugged.  After the police left, Alfred told Thomas that’s not what happened – but Thomas told him it is now.

Alfred tells Bruce that friendship saved him.  He knows what it's like to hope for punishment – he wants to help Bruce.  Bruce grimaces and says he hears him, but doesn’t want to talk about it.  

He suddenly gets up and unconvincingly searches for the rocks.  He says he must have left them in the car, and runs off.  Alfred spots that the rocks are actually in the bag, and hears Bruce drive off.

 At the Orphanage, the benefit has started.  Sofia tells Oswald and Martin they both look handsome.

Oswald tells her he knows how important the evening is, and that he wouldn't have forgiven himself if missed Martin’s performance.  Sofia asks Oswald if he found the mayor.  Oswald says he didn’t.  Sofia claims she’s happy he could make it to dinner, and goes off to check on the chef, sending Martin off to the other children.   Oswald turns, and reminds Martin to watch Sofia.  

 Jim sneaks into the orphanage basement by the back door.

 We see Martin standing in a hallway, writing in his pad.  We get some menacing music as Sofia approaches Martin from behind, and asks him what he’s writing.  In terms of the question of Sofia’s affection for Martin, I think it’s notable that her approach here is reminiscent of Pyg sneaking up on Harper, and then again on him sneaking up on Jim in the next scene.

 Jim is lurking round. A surprised waiter encounters him. Jim hushes him, questions him about the chef, and tells him to bring Sofia to him.  As the waiter turns, Jim asks him what’s in his jacket.  The waiter turns and swings for Jim.  Jim lands a punch, but is then knocked out by Pyg, who appeared from nowhere.

He comments that Jim really is an impressive policeman.  The waiter tells him that he thinks Jim came alone.  We see Jim dumped in a random room in the orphanage, with a bound and gagged Harper.

 Elsewhere in the orphanage, Sofia is making a speech about how an orphanage was a long-cherished dream. What, Falcone couldn’t afford this before or something?  Or did he draw the line at putting a gangster’s name on an orphanage?  Whatever.   

She asks them to go next door and take their seats for the performance.  Oswald approaches and asks where Martin is – he wanted to wish him luck. Sofia smiles slightly, but ignores this – and comments that maybe things happen for a reason.  Licensing crime was a bold move, but could have destroyed Oswald. Whoever appointed Jim might have saved him.

Oswald is incredulous – by destroying everything he ever created?  He looks hard at Sofia.  He tells her to confess that she did it, and face the consequences.

They’re interrupted by Pyg – who says something wanky and punny about dinner or performances or something.  I honestly tune him out.

 Jim is trying to untie Harper, and has apparently stopped the bleeding.  She tells him they forgot to search her (that was very convenient). Jim finds a knife strapped to her ankle and begins to work on the door.

They sit down to dinner downstairs.  Oswald angrily asks Sofia if this is another of her plans, to which she retorts no.

 Pyg gives an intensely annoying performance.  

Sofia calls enough – and asks where the children are.  Pyg stabs her in the hand.  Oswald stands, enraged – but Pyg warns him not to pull it out, the next is in her eye.

He tells Sofia that the children are in the kitchen: he’s not an animal

(You are, mate - you slaughtered and butchered those homeless people)

He rambles on a bit more to make sure everyone gets his hypocritical moral lesson.  Oswald twigs first that the pies are people and refuses to eat. Pyg then reveals that he has Martin.

(I’d point out here that the last person to see Martin before Pyg showed up with him in tow was Sofia)

Sofia and Oswald stand, both seemingly enraged.  He tells them to eat or he’ll kill the boy.  One of the other guests refuses, saying that he’s just some urchin, so why bother.  An livid Oswald turns as he says this and – taking the knife from Sofia’s hand – stabs him in the head.

Pyg claims Oswald is the main reason he’s here, the worst glutton.  Again – really?  Worse than any of the other powerful people in town?  He reiterates that Martin will die if he doesn’t eat. Oswald tears up, looks down at the pie, and starts cramming it in his mouth, retching as he does. Turning, he screams at the rest of them to eat – or he’ll hunt them down and kill them all.

 Jim gets the door off its hinges.

 Pyg keeps talking.  He reminds Sofia she has to eat – why, if she’s so desperate to save Martin, has she waited? She tells him she will as long as he doesn’t hurt Martin.  It feels very stagey.  She struggles to pick up her fork, and asks Oswald – in a little-girl voice – if he can help her.  Now it definitely feels staged.

He picks up the fork, and cuts a piece for her.  She’s just about to take a bite when Jim runs in, firing his gun, and chaos ensues.

Oswald flings himself in front of Jim, begging him to stop, because he’ll kill the kid.  Jim tells Oswald to get off him, and shoves him away. Oswald ushers Martin from the room – not Sofia, who instead runs towards Jim.  Jim tells her to get out – and a fight ensues on the table between him and Pyg

Much flightiness goes on. At one point, Pyg tells Jim

Don't give up - you'll ruin everything

(Which – again – maybe points to Jim just playing a role in someone else’s plan.)

Just as Pyg has Jim pinned, Jim spots the knife Oswald used to stab that guy in the head and – pulling it out – stabs Pyg.  See – Jim and Oswald connected even when the plot is throwing angst and contrived conflict at them: Oswald just saved Jim’s life. Gobblepot confirmed.

Sofia’s hand is being stitched up by a police officer.  As they leave, Oswald enters and asks how her hand is.  She says it’s fine, and asks after Martin.  Oswald replies that he’s stronger than he looks.

Drawing closer to her, he tells her she paid off mayor to make Jim Captain

And you want me to believe this was out of friendship – to save me.

Sofia says she tried to talk him out of the Pax – but there was no other way.  Oswald says it’s equally possible she is his enemy, intent on destruction.  She comments that he could choose to see it that way – but the choice is his.

Oswald says that whatever the reasoning – she went behind his back, and he’d be justified in killing her, but what she was going to do for Martin - that was real.

(Yeah - but very conveniently timed - Oswald. And who says her pie had people in it?)

She nods and looks downwards.  I don’t buy her sincerity here – her face is very similar to when Falcone told her she wasn’t ready for Gotham. Oswald steps closer, and tells her never to betray him again.  He also says he will abandon the licensing scheme (what a damp fucking squib that was) but will not accept Jim as Captain.  Sofia shrugs and tells him to pick someone else, Gordon means less than nothing to her. After Oswald has left, she smirks.

Outside, Jim puts Pyg in the back of the policecar.  The press call for Captain Gordon.  Walking over, he reports back to them, and says GCPD kept its promise.  They thank him, and he nods uncomfortably.  Sofia watches smiling from a window, Jim looks up at her, somewhat uncertainly.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce is having a party.  There’s some back and forth, but Alfred kicks them out.  He tells Bruce to face up to who he really is.  Bruce is apparently cut up that he avenged his parents – but nothing changed – so why did he do it?

Alfred tries to convince him to talk more, to help him understand – but Bruce glowers and tells Alfred to behave like his butler, not his father.  He runs off to join his friends and leaves Alfred behind

Holding a glass of whiskey, Sofia faces the fire, waiting on a predictable Jim, who walks into the room. She smiles at him, calling him the hero of the day.  Jim looks po-faced, and says he was just doing his job.  She smiles again.

I know you hate me, but you deserve the job

Jim says he went to Falcone and knew what he was getting into, but it doesn't mean he has to like it. Sofia says that he accepts it, though. It’s not clear to me here whether she means the job, or the reality of what he has done.  I’d argue that Jim doesn’t accept it, actually – his affronted superiority as soon as he was given the captaincy was a joke.  

Jim stubbornly says he deserves the job like Gotham deserves law and order. Sofia frowns and asks if Jim thinks she doesn’t want that too.  She tells him that she’s not his enemy – and never will be.  Touching his face, she kisses him.  Jim kisses back, but seems to have a realisation.  He steps back, mistrust on his face.

(An aside – Jim, I know Sofia’s just about wearing her breasts as earmuffs this evening, and you’re easily distracted, but really?  After all the cruel things she said about Harvey?  Your best friend?  Who’s put himself in danger’s way for you so often?  Risked his career for you?  Made an enemy of every other person in the precinct for you?  Engineered your jailbreak?    Really really?  You still accept a kiss? It’s unclear where that situation went – he seemed to be stepping back, but – if not – he’s putrid right now.)

Oswald waits outside in car. Martin gets in, and Oswald asks if he found anything out.  Martin looks conflicted, but writes in his pad and shows it to Oswald

I saw Sofia kissing the policeman

Oswald reads this and – wide-eyed – looks back at Martin for confirmation, who nods.

Oswald is tearful.  He smiles and tells Martin that he is a good friend, and Martin smiles back.  Turning to the window, his face is twitching with rage and pain.

As for Sofia - she will answer for what she has done.  I swear it.

He stares out the car window, on the point of tears.

General Observations

That isn’t what happened, though, is it?  

It is now

There’s a bit of a running theme this week on what you choose to believe. Thomas gives Alfred a new story.  In choosing to accept it, he began a new life. Jim refuses to fully accept that he got the captaincy by dishonest means, stubbornly reiterating that he deserves it anyway.  Sofia gives Oswald a choice – what does he want to believe: is she a friend, or enemy?

There’s variation, though, on how healthy that is.  Thomas’ lie offered Alfred a way to a better life, and a way to get out of the mess he was in.  Jim’s lie makes him a hypocrite.  He’s uncomfortable in his own skin, under the bluster, and he’s lost his only friend.  Believing Sofia’s lie could prove deadly to Oswald.

All that aside – to be honest, I just find this whole Sofia/Oswald storyline frustrating.  Oswald has swithered between mistrust, threats, and tearful vulnerability – but now we’ve definitely landed on friendship?  When did that happen?  

And even if you leave to one side the fact that his brain must be operating at about 75% efficiency to have decided that the daughter of Don Falcone has shown up in town and magically become his bestie – you still have the Ivy mess.  If Oswald was so vulnerable and needy for affection and connection, then the way that whole relationship played out just made no sense whatsoever.  He doesn’t squander friendship.  He’s more likely to smother it by holding on too tightly – but he doesn’t throw it away.

And, for reasons discussed earlier, I just don’t buy that he’s emotionally attached to Sofia.  He’s tearful in this episode, but I think it’s as much anger and humiliation as anything.  I just don’t see a bond there: there’s never been enough trust.  I likewise don’t really believe that he’d dither for this long – it’s too dangerous.

Likewise, I’m feeling almost done with Jim/Sofia.  Jim’s wallowing in a big mucky pool of hypocrisy right now, and it’s very much time for him to be taken down a peg or two.  Sofia’s feelings towards him are a little grey.  If it turns out she’s now nursing genuine feelings for him, then I’ll be pretty bored.  Just let her be unapologetically malign.  

All in time – it’s time to rip off the bandaid, I feel.  

Thoughts?

[emma-what-son]

A collection of Batb reviews

Click on the links to read the full review.

Collider: Too Much of a Good Thing: It’s a shame that the central relationship doesn’t really work because there are flashes of brilliance surrounding it. Everyone in the cast seems to care deeply about what they’re making, but some actors are ultimately more successful at finding the balance between the new version and the animated original.

Gamespot: You'll undoubtedly hum along as the jovial song Belle opens the movie, even if the radiant Emma Watson's uneven performance still somehow manages to keep the princess a 2D character in a 3D world.

 Hollywoodreporter: Maybe it’s just the presence of Watson (who’s okay but not great), but there may be an intentional touch of Hogwarts, too, in the impossible, Escher-like staircases that also evoke the gloom of Frankenstein’s laboratory — a realm that played such a key part in Condon’s breakthrough work, Gods and Monsters, another story about a gay man (McKellen) in love with a straight guy and loveable “freaks.”

BBC: Buried as he is under layers of computer-generated imagery, Dan Stevens manages to make the Beast his own by finding the pathos in his aristocratic awkwardness. Ewan McGregor puts some oomph and ooh-la-la into Lumiere the candelabra. As for the rest of the cast, Emma Watson is prim and petulant as Belle; Emma Thompson’s Mrs Potts is no match for Angela Lansbury’s, who was as warm and soothing as the tea she brewed; and Kevin Kline is painfully mannered as Belle’s wittering father.

CBR: Belle is also underwhelming. Watson seems content to keep this Disney princess nice and lovely, never bothering to spark the part with the side-eye, smirks or sass that urged the cartoon character to boot Gaston from her home, or rage back against the Beast’s outbursts. Essentially, she missed out on the rebellious essence of the character. Without it, this hapless heroine feels less aspiration and exciting.

IBTimes: Sadly, Watson is the film's weakest link (aside from McGregor's dreadful French accent). So many of Belle's progressive attitudes seem to match Watson's own, but she doesn't quite sell the character's warmth and fiery nature. Nor can you really buy her as an oddball who would be ostracised by everyone who knows her.

Nerdist: Watson, a noted talent and card-carrying heroine of her day, feels curiously out of place as a doe-eyed yesteryear princess like Belle, much in the way a Beauty and the Beast this beholden to its forbearer’s genetic code feels to the big screens of 2017.

People: The movie also has a few problems with its Beauty. Emma Watson’s performance is sweetly unaffected, which helps keep her afloat in such heavy sauces. She also has that same look – searching and skeptical — we know from her years as Hermione. This means in the end she seems not so much to surrender her heart as to solve a problem that needed concentrated thinking.

Movieweb: Emma Watson looks very young in this part. Her voice is lovely and acting more than capable, but I was constantly aware of her youthful appearance. Belle is obviously a teenage girl, but the Beast and Gaston look old enough to be her father. The fawning suitors are clearly adult men, while the object of their affection is childlike. It struck a weird chord with me. It may by a strange critique on my part, but this was not the case at all in Cinderella. Those characters had an age appropriate feel. The leads in this film do not.

Cinemarunner: I’m sorry: maybe it’s that I only recently saw Christophe Gans’ take on this tale, but after watching Lea Seydoux as Belle, I find Emma Watson is not as engaging. She dutifully plays the part, but never really turns the character into anything; the obligatory Sound of Music homage is undercut both by her underwhelming vocals and the obviously fake hilltop from which she delivers it.

HeyuGuys: In this setting it’s the big musical numbers that do stand out, and Watson’s vocals impress in that regard. Her performance less so, but thankfully given how aesthetically grandiose this tale is, and just how much there is going on, her lack of nuance is less detrimental, and less notable in this instance.

DenofGeek: Ms. Watson obviously lives up to the English translation of her Belle character, appearing quite ravishing throughout the film; she also likewise transfers her own intellectual gifts to the character, allowing the newly resurrected Disney princess to enjoy some of the thoughtful poise that Watson displayed before the United Nations, where she became as much of a role model for young girls as her beloved Hermione persona. But as an actress, she continues to struggle in adult roles with getting out of her own head and conveying the emotional core that drives her characters, and Belle is ultimately a blandly flat creation in this Beauty and the Beast, wise and more proactive than her 1991 counterpart, but also far more blank and unknowable—she’s paradoxically less alive in the flesh.As the film rests primarily on Watson’s shoulders, this can prove fatal during scenes where she must sell romance to a CG-created Beast.

WeGotthisCovered: As Belle dances with Beast, there’s noticeable rigidness between woman and monster. Mainly because one of them doesn’t actually exist in reality, and Watson has trouble selling her flat-faced counterpart. Watson carries herself as big-thinker Belle, but seems better suited for a role with a little more cynicism and bite.

[mastcomm]

Morgan Stanley to Buy E-Trade, Linking Wall Street and Main Street

Morgan Stanley is betting that regulators in Washington will approve what is perhaps the most consequential acquisition by a so-called systemically important American bank — the too-big-to-fail variety of financial institution — since 2008.

Under the Obama administration, officials at the Federal Reserve fretted about the nation’s biggest banks growing through mergers. Daniel Tarullo, a former Fed governor, said in a 2012 speech that the central bank should have a “strong, but not irrebuttable, presumption of denial” for takeovers by America’s banking titans.

But the Fed has become more industry friendly during the Trump administration, particularly with the addition of officials like Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles, a former bank lawyer who is helping reassess the rules put in place after the financial crisis. The central bank recently approved the combination of BB&T and SunTrust, paving the way for the creation of the sixth-largest U.S. commercial bank.

The acquisition could look attractive to regulators from a financial stability perspective: The deal would infuse the Wall Street bank with stable deposits and reliable revenue streams. But it will also make Morgan Stanley more of a behemoth.

Morgan Stanley doubtless hopes an E-Trade deal goes more smoothly than a past effort to pull in retail clients. Its merger with Dean Witter Reynolds two decades ago foundered amid a clash between Morgan Stanley’s Wall Street aristocrats and Dean Witter’s more down-market brokers. Since then, however, the bank has been steadily shifting toward asset management — one of a number of approaches major banks have been trying to court Main Street.

Morgan Stanley’s traditional rival, Goldman Sachs, created a retail-focused lending arm, Marcus, in 2016 and teamed up with Apple last year to offer a credit card. Last month, Goldman said it intended to expand its retail deposit base to $125 billion, and its consumer loan and card balance to $20 billion, over the next five years.

Investors seem to be more taken with Morgan Stanley’s continuing shift than with Goldman’s, at least based on the Wall Street scoreboard of stock prices. Shares in Morgan Stanley have climbed nearly 33 percent over the past 12 months, while those in Goldman have risen about 19 percent.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/business/morgan-stanley-to-buy-e-trade-linking-wall-street-and-main-street/

[crowngirlz-blog]

A CENTURY LATER AND THE CRAWLEYS ARE STILL IN STYLE: MEET THE NEXT GENERATION

For an age where celebrity grows not on family trees but on social media and reality TV shows, many still find the aristocratic allure of the 12th Duke of Grantham’s glossy daughters quite mystifying.

Fifth generation descendants of the famed Crawley sisters, who infamously dominated aristocratic conversation in the 1920s, Lady Charlotte, 22, Lady Victoria, 20, and 18-year-old Lady Catherine Crawley, have filled much of this year’s British society pages with accounts of their glamorous and pampered existence.

Whether it’s dancing on the sofa at Tatler’s Little Black Book party, hiding under the beds to startle visitors touring the family seat, Downton Abbey, or upsetting the neighbours with their up-all-night partying, no trifling detail of their lives has escaped attention.

And no red carpet is complete without their extravagance.

Compared to the antics of the 5th Duke of Grantham’s daughters, Charlotte, Victoria and Catherine’s escapades are thoroughly modern. While today’s girls post many of their adventures on the photo-sharing app, Instagram, their 1920s counterparts saw most of their scandals discussed at high society mixers and balls.

Not to be outdone, Ladies Mary, Edith and Ethel Crawley, whose youth was at its height during the roaring twenties lived through their own scandals which often chronicled premarital sex, substance reliance, a quick marriage to an Irish freedom fighter and perhaps most surprisingly, a desire to wear pants.

However, despite the many changes in British society in the last century, being young and aristocratic is yet to go out of style.

As an old family friend observes: ‘none of the girls is going to find a cure for cancer, but they’re not total airheads.

They can be quite silly and get carried away with wittering on Instagram, but deep down they are very sweet girls and not at all snotty or grand.’ What all three do possess, however, is a sublime self-confidence that comes with knowing exactly who they are. The friend explains: ‘When you are a duke’s daughter, you know you can pretty much do anything.’

Earlier this year it emerged that the three sisters had upset locals with what were described as ‘all night’ parties at their parents London mansion.

One neighbour complained that it was like ‘living next door to a nightclub’. With a letter chronicling the ‘broken nights, unpleasantness and noise’ she had suffered.

In particular, the girls, who have been dubbed the ‘posh Kardashians’ – after the famed American reality TV family – fell out with marketing consultant Claudia Clarke, who wrote to their father, the Duke, where she explained there had been so much disturbance in the street that she was forced to speak to the local council numerous times, and on one occasion the police were called.

Despite their often-commonplace behaviour, the sisters have in all not strayed that far from their roots with the youngest, Eliza marking her entrance into society with a coming out ball this past summer.

Following this ingress, we at CrownGirls.com have decided to document the lives of the girls Crawley through a new series on the website showcasing their every move, every outfit and of course, every misstep, just as aristocratic elite did to their historic counterparts a century ago.

Next week, we hope you tune into our inside look at Victoria’s shoot with Vogue India, that took place at the family’s seat in Yorkshire in a bid to attract more Asian clientele for the castle, which acts as a shooting lodge during the season.

Although the culture and birth surrounding birth privilege have changed drastically in Britain since the 1920s, today’s Ladies are keen to show their modernity both online and in life, proving if anything the Crawley’s are still in style.

[arendaes]

Just a little fyi - I'm not taking a break, but I am actively going to be trying to step back and not be as active on here for the next few weeks. I'm in a kinda weird place emotionally and mentally, and the fact that all our dashes are about to be filled with two types of the most volatile discourse imaginable (Dragon Age and politics) is not something I think will really help.

I'm still working on the Fairy Tale AU, as well as another project that was originally for Owlcatober but I think I need to make it's own seperate thing (aiming to post on my birthday because it's an important part of my post-game headcanon). I'll post those on here when they're done.

Just wanted to be transparent in case anyone was wondering why I'm not as active or in case I miss any of your wonderful works. I'll try to get caught up when I'm actually on❤️

[arendaes]

Being salty here instead of on Reddit, because I haven't commented in the ~year I've had my new account on there and I ain't going to start now just to get into a fight with someone over something stupid.

If you seriously can't stand the idea of the fictional character you love being in a relationship with another character, be they another canon character or someone else's OC, maybe put the game down and seek help. That's pathetic, I'm sorry.

[arendaes]

Trying to look for silver linings, at least I had a couple hours to process this mess before starting work. Thank you to Colorado weather and delayed starts, I guess.

[arendaes]

Just FYI if I'm not around the next few days

Got everything with my car figured out and had a few blissful stress free hours before finding out a beloved family member had a heart attack and is in the ICU

[arendaes]

Finally finished my current WIP. First draft is 5,535 words and I actually...really like it? SO excited to post this one. Will edit it tomorrow with fresh eyes and hopefully have it ready on Sunday 🤞🏻

[arendaes]

I haven't been around much lately and I'm taking a bit more time away from Tumblr. I have some things going on IRL, namely my car is completely broken down and idk if I'll have enough money to fix it so I'm stressing a bit lol Anyways, I'm logging on once or twice a day to check messages and the queue is still running but otherwise I'm not around right now.

[arendaes]

Tomorrow is going to be the wooooorst

[arendaes]

Poking my brain, desperately to get her to finish tomorrow's prompt 🙃

[arendaes]

I join the unofficial Discord server for a cute farming game, I'm in server for all of an hour before there's blatant biphobia posted, I leave the unofficial Discord server for the cute farming game

[arendaes]

When sunk-cost fallacy is the only thing stopping you from making some significant changes to your OCs and their worldstate, that's a sign you should just do it, right?