#as mentioned they are a bandit and a farmer

[bucketboat]

Scooter! Drawing them again since forever lol. Figured they needed a good redesign. Gave them a nicer colour combo too. I ljke them a lot

NOT A FURSONA! this is just my furry oc. :)

[ithebookhoarder]

(BAU Headcanons) Spending a day off with your S.O.

Aaron Hotchner

Ok. So. First of all... Aaron's casual wardrobe is sinful and I feel like I need to mention it when talking about days off. After all, he's not going to turn down the excuse not to wear a shirt and tie, knowing jeans and his usual polo shirts are better suited to both relaxing and possibly chasing after Jack.

If you two ever got a rare day off then he would do his best to make you breakfast in bed, knowing that having an excuse to stay in bed is a luxury.

If Jack is with you, and not at Jessica's, then you know Jack would be right next to him in the kitchen, begging to help. I mean, if you watch Bluey, picture the episode where Bingo is trying to make that omelette for Bandit on his birthday... that's basically the vibe here.

Hotch wouldn’t try to force you out of the house if you didn’t want to go, as he’s perfectly happy to stay in and play with you and Jack. After all, you have the most recent lego set, which you bought him for his birthday, to finish building.

"You up for that buddy? Six hands are better than four, after all."

Or, if you don't have the energy or patience, then you three can curl up on the sofa together and watch movies and the backlog of tv shows you’ve missed out on whilst you’ve been away working. 

Fun Fact: Aaron would rather die than admit to the rest of the BAU that you got him hooked on reality shows like The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills or Below Deck -but he is. He finds them fascinating case studies in human behaviour... or that's his excuse anyway when you call him out on it.

However, if you do want to actually leave the house and get outside then he’d be pretty relaxed about whatever it is you wanted to do, as long as you could all do it together. 

He'd also love it if you both got the chance to go for a run, enjoying the rare opportunity to race you through the nearby park. You can just soak in the sunshine and watch the other people as they make their way through the world, before grabbing a coffee on your way home.  

David Rossi 

Rossi is a man who knows the value of creature comforts, as we've seen repeatedly in the show. You know this man enjoys having time off to indulge himself - and you too.

As soon as he knows he has the day off, you can bet he's driving you to the local farmer's market to buy all the ingredients needed for a home cooked feast. 

Despite promising to be there only an hour, you know he's the kind of person who would talk to each and every vendor, learning all their names and asking after their families as if they've been friends since birth.

You'd end up spending almost the entire morning - and part of the afternoon - shopping, sampling various treats and wares, and buying several bag's worth, before you're finally able to drag him back to the car.

As he's cooking, Rossi would definitely play his favourite records. He alternates between crooning along and telling you tidbits about the artists - and the many crazy memories he has about these records.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I first heard this? We were in this tiny little motel, in the middle of a horrific blizzard, and several whiskeys in..."

It's hard not to get distracted, drawn in as he pulls you close and starts dancing about the kitchen. You'd get so distracted that you almost let dinner spoil and only remember it's even there when you start to smell something burning.

"Ah! Merda!"

After dinner you know you'd end up outside on his patio, enjoying the view as the sun goes down, over a cocktail of his choosing.

Derek Morgan

You know this eager beaver would not be spending a day off with you doing nothing or letting the day ‘go to waste’.

He’d be at your doorstep bright and early, looking unfairly energetic for someone who has been running on minimal sleep all week.

Thankfully, he brings coffee and breakfast with him which is his way of bribing you to get your ass up and out with him. 

As for the day itself, he’d either have the day planned to a ’t’ or he’d have nothing planned at all. 

“Relax, sweetness, we’re letting the day take us where it may. Enjoy the ride.” 

He'd love having a reason to take you to whatever property he's renovating, hoping to share his vision for the place and getting your opinion on it all.

He'd even let you have a swing or two with a sledgehammer if there's a dry-wall that needs taking down. It's a great stress-reliever for you both, and there's nothing like hammering along in the time to beat of whatever playlist he's chosen.

He'd also order you a pizza, or whatever take-out you fancied, as payment for all your hard work.

You know he'd also been keen to help you wash up later, running you both a hot bath to soak in as you actually have the time to enjoy it.

And just between us - he knows Hotch and Rossi would have his guts his they found out - but he may or may not have left your cellphones on the bed-side table just to ensure you get an hour of peace, undisturbed...

Emily Prentiss

Ok. So. Emily loves having a day off almost as much as she enjoys working.

She doesn't require much in the way of plans. In fact, her ideal day off from the BAU involves you, a crossword puzzle, and your usual table by the window at the coffee shop around the corner.

It's right by the window, so you can bathe in the sun whilst you nurse your way through coffee after coffee.

The whole place reminds her of one similar that she spent her time in, in Paris. Just like then, she loves reading books, and completing the daily crossword with your help.

"Damn it. This is what time in Europe gets you - I forgot there's no 'u' in color. No wonder it wasn't fitting."

Emily also has a game she likes to play, watching the people around you, guessing what their stories are and imaging outlandish profiles for them all. It's a privilege to enjoy it when it's for entertainment and not out of a need to be aware of your surroundings or an ongoing threat assessment. 

Afterwards, you'd go for a stroll around the park and most likely visit the shops you rarely get a chance to.

You both spend ages going through the racks and modelling outfits for one another, knowing you need some new things to fill out your wardrobes other than work-attire. It's a like private treat for yourselves.

Once you're home again, I feel Emily would want to cook and would do a pretty good job when she has the energy. However, she is not above ordering takeout when you both can’t be bothered. 

After all, it gives you both more time together to lie in bed, with Sergio curled up between you, purring loudly as you take it in turns to pet him.

JJ

Depending on when you two got together (before or after Will), she would love to have a chance for the both of you to spend the day with Henry.

You're her family and the most important thing in the world to her. It's why she can't stop beaming as you spend the afternoon at the park together, running rings around the place and clambering all over the playground.

"I swear this kid is faster than most of the Unsubs we chase - and more sneaky too."

JJ would bring all your favourite snacks with her so you can all lie out on the grass and feast once your energy levels drop. She doesn't even mention the sugar content or how many E-numbers there are. You all deserve a treat, Henry included, so she's willing to put her 'mom hat' aside for a minute.

I feel like she'd also try and put her mom hat aside so you two can have some time without a child in tow. She'd try and make a last minute arrangement to get a sitter so you two can have some 'adult' time.

This normally involves making a reservation at your favourite restaurant, and insisting on you both dressing fancy just for the fun of it.

After all, you never get to play at being grown ups and just enjoy wearing something because it looks nice and not because you can run around in the field in it.

"I've had these heels for years and I swear I've only got to wear them like three times - and this skirt! I love this skirt."

Once you get to the restaurant, you spend hours just talking, drinking, and eating before taking a stroll on the way home.

You then curl up in bed and fall asleep to the sound of the TV playing your favourite movies, safe and warm in each other's arms.

Penelope Garcia 

This girl is the queen of relaxing. If she doesn’t have to be awake before noon then you can bet your ass she’ll be tucked up and toasty till 12:01. 

Once she's awake, however, she's a flustered mess, struggling to pick between her various plans for your time off together. There's just so much she wants to do with you and never enough time.

"What? I'm the queen of fun and I just want to make sure we make the most of our time together, sugar plum. I can't help it. I'm excited to have a day just you and me, not that I don't love the others too. I do, but you know, just having it be us is rare -"

You stop her rambling with a kiss, which of course makes her melt.

I feel like Penelope would always try and spend part of the day with you in the kitchen, baking a new recipe to take to work for the others to try.

She'd also love spending the day on the sofa with you, watching either a Rom-com or a Sci-fi marathon (depending on your moods).

Once the decision has been made, she'd insist on gathering supplies - AKA: onesies, takeout and face masks.

"It's the holy trinity of self-care," she explains, holding up your choices. "Now, do you want the tea-tree or coconut face mask?"

However, if you do feel like getting out of the house, then Penelope would take you on theatre trips - which are booked last minute but with amazing seats (courtesy of Penelope’s connections and slightly unorthodox know-how).

The others are still jealous after finding out she got you tickets to Hamilton, front row, with the original cast.

Dr Spencer Reid

You know Spencer is the kind of person that has a list of things the size of his arm that he’d love to do with you on a rare day off. 

You’d probably have to negotiate with him to figure out which ones you could reasonably do in just 24 hours - and you try to find a balance between appeasing his interests and yours. 

For example, you don’t mind sitting through a Russian movie festival if afterwards he agrees to let you wander around your favourite bookshop and spend as long as you want exploring the shelves - without him critiquing or spoiling the endings before you even have a chance to read the blurb. 

If you also happened to let it slip that you'd never watched every single episode of Doctor Who that's ever been made, then you know your future days off will be spent marathoning on the couch. 

"I'm just saying that he's underrated as the Doctor as arguably the narratives of his episodes are far better developed and reflect the point of the show, which is that the Doctor isn't perfect but rather a time-travelling refugee who acts as a healer, counsellor, and protector of the universe. It's why he calls himself 'The Doctor' ..."

He always looks so adorable when he gets excited about something he loves. It's hard not to fall in love with him all over again.

Apart from watching TV, you both also love spending days off on that couch, curled up together, reading your way through the stack of books you both had in your never ending ‘TBR’ pile. 

Spencer would love listening to you discuss whatever you're reading, doing his best to memorise the characters, plots, and your thoughts on both. It's the least he can do when you listen so patiently every time he starts rambling on about whatever his latest hyper-fixation is.

"Can I... can I borrow that when you're finished? I'm now curious - just don't tell the others, ok?"

Masterlist

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel bad for Starlo.

Star has a point, idk what the four were ticked off about, there is like 99% chance everyone willingly participated in the trolley problem, based on what we've seen of his behavior thus far it's not like Starlo to be that big of a jerk/drag them by force/yell at them to do it. Ed's words:

he does it because Star asks NICELY

clearly jealous

It genuinely seemed like a fun time/fun roleplay, especially since every day is the same. Like, the five are supposed to be a rowdy and adventures bunch, what exactly did Starlo do wrong, I'm genuinely confused and curious. Except taking a big liking in Clover (his posse should know that this is a big moment for him, according to Blackjack they've known each other since high school and had the same liking for westerns. So they were basically a nerd gang.) Starlo was kind, patient and considerate towards Clover the whole time, even warned Mooch about them not being bandits, taught Clover gun safety, wanted to bring his posse along for a fun time, thanked Ace for telling him about getting Clover a new hat...

Sure, at first he only liked Clover for being a human, but as Ceroba says, that changed and he grew to genuinely care about them, plus I can't help but think Star saw himself in Clover and that's part of the reason he was so proud of them all the time even when they messed up (I'll talk more about this at some point)

What exactly made Ace want to leave the gang? He even said how he doesn't mind "getting run over by the fake train"

he's so nice. says sorry for forgetting the safety goggles even when he was scatterbrained due to his excitement. I love him so much

The only real "faults" (I'll call them temporary faults) I saw in Star during the Wild East section was that he was even more enthusiastic and more proud than usual. But how couldn't he be when he met a member of the species that he has admired for so long because they have real cowboys and sheriffs on the surface (who are seen as brave heroes who deliver justice, while Star canonically feels like a nobody farmer). His posse should have realized Clover wouldn't be there forever and just let their boss enjoy himself with his "deputy who'd have to leave sooner or later anyway"(or be more patient with him/ask him why he feels this strongly towards Clover/if there's a deeper reason for that). His friends including Ceroba just turn their back on him so quickly instead. The moment he's gotten the chance to feel valued for once and put himself first and not have to take care of this whole town and everyone in it and live his dream of meeting a real human, suddenly "his personality is damaged?"

Star's literally built this whole town, organised everything, he worries about everyone, Ceroba (plus was the one to give her emotional strength before and after Clover's sacrifice), Kanako, the monsters, his family, struggles with feelings of worthlessness yet never wipes that smile off his face, always does his best to be hopeful and optimistic and make others laugh, gave his posse a nap time so they don't become exhausted, gave Ceroba a free home, didn't act upon his feelings towards her and was a 110% supportive, caring friend instead. THAT'S who he is. He's the papa bear of this friend group, the glue holding everyone together.

He was just *really* excited. Y'all know he's insecure and just wishes to escape who he is and yet y'all blame him for liking Clover so much. Yeah, the four are very clearly jealous. But why won't the four of you control your feelings for a while? As mentioned, Clover WILL HAVE TO LEAVE EVENTUALLY. They won't be Star's "deputy" forever (the kid who's just as into westerns as he is, who values justice just as much, who also values doing the right thing. Someone he clearly felt understood in the presence of, whom he loved; just look at the way he talks about Clove during Showdown). Star seems genuinely confused of what he did wrong poor guy just wanted to live his fantasy for once and feel important:

Even at the beginning Moray's like "oh no Martlet is upset" Mooch replies "don't be a buzzkill nothing exciting ever happens around here" and Ray's like "Yeah you've got a point"

If you all agreed to have a little fun with a human who will very soon leave forever why is Starlo's enthusiasm such a big problem? If the posse weren't into this after all (unless they were simply too jealous which could have been solved with a honest talk and a little patience) why are you doing this "rowdy" job with Star in the first place? Do you want your boring routine day to day life so much back? Or just for Clover to leave (which they will soon enough)? You, western enthusiasts, literally met a real human, A HUMAN FROM WESTERNS YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PASSIONATELY INTO (clearly not as passionate as Star but passionate ENOUGH to understand where he's coming from).

... okay.

[lost-technology]

Explaining Vash Outside the Fandom!

So, today on another forum I mentioned Vash the Stampede. I mentioned him by way of "I don't ask myself WWJD? so much anymore as WWVtSD?" and explained "Vash the Stampede." I said "If anyone is unfamiliar with this name, go ahead and ask and I can fangirl all over you, but be warned, you will be reading all day." I got a taker. And then another taker who is a person on the forum who is straight up not having a good time right now and needs some distraction I feel - to read someone's dumb fangirling over a fandom they aren't in yet. So... I wrote up an essay explaining Vash the Stampede in Word and pasted it in shifts on the blog: (uck, looks like I'm gonna have to post this in shifts, too. Dumb tumblr!

*Flashes my fangirl license*  You asked about Vash the Stampede?  *Raises eyebrows.*  Big mistake.  You shall be here all day!  Vash is the protagonist of Trigun, an anime / manga by Yashiro Nightow.  Well, the manga is by him and there are two different animes to date, one originally airing in 1998 before the completion of the manga (and it gained the idea enough popularity that Nightow was able to continue the manga and purposefully took a different track to keep the story fresh.  Because he had to switch publishers the continuing story was titled Trigun Maximum).  As of 2023 there has been a reboot of the anime, Trigun Stampede, done in a cell-shaded CGI style that takes more cues from the manga.  It has done its own story elements, too, most notably having the City of July as a part of the story, making it almost a prequel, since the City of July is past tense in the other media.  A second set / continuation / completion of it is set for a future release date and as of yesterday, the “final phase” of the new anime will be titled Trigun Stargaze. Additionally, there was a feature-movie made in 2011 based solely upon the first anime titled Badlands Rumble, which is kind of the black sheep of the fandom (personally I enjoy it, find it very funny).  So, anyway, Vash is a tall blonde man with a Bart Simpson hairdo and a long red coat who lives on a desert planet with 10X the guns of ‘Murica.  There are two suns and five moons.  It’s a scavenger world where people barely eek out a living using a form of lost technology known as “Plants” – which are these energy and materials production entities housed in giant lightbulbs (or something more like tanks in Stampede).  No one knows how to create Plants anymore and few know how to maintain them, so everything is slowly dying (except, of course, the native sandworms.  Yep, there’s something Dune-like going on).  People live a half sci-fi half Old West existence and things are, again, very violent.  It’s a world where you have higher chances of making it out better as a bandit than a farmer.    Vash is a pacifist.  He is also an outlaw with Sixty-Billion-Double Dollars ($$) on his head because he has been shown to be capable of incredible destructive power.  Now, most of this comes accidentally from trying to weasel out of tough situations and people after him getting themselves hurt, but somehow towns fall apart.  Except for the City of July (or Jul-Ai in Stampede), which he did wipe out.  Under circumstances not of his own making or will, but the normal citizens of the planet don’t know that.  That was around 24 years ago in the first anime and in the manga.  July exists as of the beginning of Stampede.    Early on in the manga’s story, an insurance company that gets a lot of damage claims regarding damage he supposedly caused declares him a “Human Act of God” so as to avoid payouts.  He is assigned a pair of insurance agents, Milly Thompson and Meryl Stryfe, to follow him around to attempt to mitigate the damage he might cause.  In the anime, it is the same, except that his bounty is not removed for some reason.  (In the manga, the government removes his bounty per his “Act of God” status).  He is also known as the Humanoid Typhon, putting him in the same category as a destructive storm.  Vash-damage is thereafter treated in the same like as hurricane damage!  Honestly, this is one of the most creative things I have seen of any media – having the local superhero / super-cryptid followed by INSURANCE AGENTS. (I am fond of characterizing Trigun as “If Mayhem from the Allstate commercials was followed around by Flo from the Progressive commercials”).  (To Be Continued in Reblog-posts)

[memecucker]

I’ve mentioned before how my dad grew up in a mountain farming village in Greece and his childhood was in the 1960s but was basically 19th century as in no electricity or running water and horses were the main form of transportation but also the main way the village got good from the outside was from Romani caravans (some may have been) Dom). He remembers there being a big caravan, a medium caravan and a small caravan that would visit (semi)regularly. The big one was basically a moving farmer’s market that bought and sold agricultural goods as well as small animals like chickens from various villages which was a useful niche since villages didn’t really trade with each other (you’d have to travel there yourself) and highland villages like my dad’s could trade things like potatoes for olives or salted fish from the lowlands or coastal villages. The way he described the medium sized group sounds like it specialized in what the original sense of the word “tinkerer” meant but also had mechanics that could fix machines and were the only caravan that fully used trucks which allowed them to also specialize in buying and selling large animals specifically through bartering rather than cash. The small caravan was the only one that sounds much like what the stereotypical idea of a Romani caravan was in that they hosted a carnival and set up fortune telling booths and had a reputation for being criminals (supposedly they sold things that seemed like they were stolen from townspeople). Interestingly the last group were also known people (not just Romani but in general) to regularly visit and do business with what my dad (who would would get called “hillbilly” by townspeople) considered the “insane hillbilly” villages that were very deep into the mountains where you can’t really farm and the locals are intensely xenophobic and just have hateful dispositions towards anyone passing by and generally believed to be bandits. This is my dad’s 1960s childhood recollection just to make it clear.

[pacificwaternymph]

Empires smp s2 Western AU

Lizzie is the town mayor who everyone knows is corrupt and definitely involved in some underhanded dealings, but nothing ever really gets done about it because her little brother Jimmy is the exasperated sheriff who keeps burning all the reports on her. He doesn't know how much longer he can keep doing this for her, but what is he going to do? That's his sister.

Most of the stuff Lizzie does under the table is really pretty harmless anyway, or at the very least doesn't affect the people of the town much, so they're mostly content to let her do whatever.

Sausage and Joel are couple who married for tax benefits, and accidentally adopted Hermes when they found him living under their porch like some kind of raccoon.

Lizzie takes great pride in being the fun "aunt" who teaches him swears and feeds him more sugar than he probably should have. She also won't stop flirting with Joel whenever she gets the chance.

"Aunt Lizzie taught me about tax fraud today!"

"Why does the mayor need to know how to commit tax fraud?"

Scott is the bartender with a really complicated, off and on relationship with Jimmy. It basically consists of flirting his way out of trouble because he's definitely a dealer in the black market and a lot of sketchy shit goes down at his bar.

Katherine is the daughter of the wealthiest man in town who moonlights as a vigilante, and Shelby is the town doctor who she keeps visiting in order to patch up the injuries she gets while out at night. Not so surprisingly, they are both crushing hard on one another.

Joey is a bandit whom Katherine regularly crosses paths with. He's a bit infatuated with her even though she is not interested in the slightest.

False is a reclusive engineer whose projects are... questionable at best. Everyone has just kind of learned to ignore the strange explosive sounds coming from her house.

Oli is a musician who plays at Scott's bar. Jimmy is convinced there is something up with that guy but he is in fact, not involved in the previously mentioned sketchy shit at all. He's shockingly oblivious to all of it, actually.

Fwhip is the town's deputy who really doesn't like Jimmy. They tolerate each other for the sake of their work but things tend to get complicated when you have to work with your ex-boyfriend on a daily basis. They try to avoid one another whenever possible.

Gem is a farmer who ran away from wealthy parents because she got bored with that life. She also works at a beekeeper. Basically the entire town's only food source.

Pixlriffs is an archaeologist who came out to study a new dig site and then realized that there were so many fossils out here he could spend the rest of his life here without running out. Whenever he's not out digging he's running the local library. Has the weirdest, most random collection of hyperspecific knowledge.

[bikorarey]

Redemption comes from counter acting the wrong action that requires the redemption.

Thom Rainier led an assassination mission during a civil war that killed one noble family before he fled Orlais. After fleeing Orlais he was recruited to be a Grey Warden and when his mentor was killed, he took his name and went around Ferelden and the Free marches fighting Darkspawn and rescuing people. We meet him training farmers to fight Bandits that are harrassing them.

Rainier is redeemed before we even realize he's done something that requires redemption.

Cullen was directly and indirectly involved in the abuse, tranquilization, and murder of dozens of mages in Kirkwall. He is second in command to Knight Commander Meredith and believes in her convictions that all mages are weapons. He plainly says to Hawkes face (possibly a mage themselves) that Mages are not people. He goes along with on and off screen crimes against mages and doesn't change until Meredith makes a move to kill Hawke in the finale, regardless of Hawke's choice on who to support.

In Inquisition, he vehemently argues against recruiting the mages to seal the breach, contradicting the Inquisitor and other advisors at every positive mention of the mages in Haven. He claims to not be a member of the Templar order but pushes to recruit them despite the Lord Seeker telling you to fuck off in Val Royeaux.

He tells the Inquisitor about how templars become addicted to Lyrium and his character arc is fully revolving around his own relationship to taking lyrium for his templar abilities. His "good" ending is helping other templars break their lyrium addiction.

This is not redemption. He does not counteract his behavior from kirkwall. He does not aim to save mages from the abuses he and other templars inflicted on them. He wants the Inquisitor to leave them to their fate with Alexius. At no point does he aim to change how templars operate, just that they won't fall into addiction to a substance they willingly consume for power.

That is not redemption.

[imsatu]

a few days ago i posted about what i think phantom and aurora were like when they were humans and alive, so now i bring you my thoughts on cumulus and aether

CW for death mentions, also the way i imagine them is not tied to the unmasked musicians in any way. these are not definitive or anything, just based on vibes

again, i think all ghouls did something related to music when they were alive, especially something related to their instruments, and that's why they got chosen also, they forget who they were when they were alive, but they can remember, like recovering from amnesia and getting your memories back

Cumulus: she was born during the late 1800s in italy, daughter of a traveling merchant. from a young age she showed great talent for singing and playing instruments, so her father took the opportunity to make good money from her. he got too controlling and forced her to keep up with a frantic schedule, doing shows almost every single hour a day, everyday of the week, which ended up with her fleeing her father’s control, as much as it hurt to leave her loving and warm mother behind. she kept singing for money, and quickly got on her feet, now doing the thing she loved in a non destructive way. she got to be very popular, but tragically, the caravan she lived and traveled in caught fire, in which she died

Aether: he lived during the 1300s in england. he was a farmer, and never married. he was the only child left of a small family, ending up alone when his parents died, in charge of the animals and the bit of land. aether was always more preoccupied with work than socializing further than going to the inn to drink, eat and play music. he was always too exhausted to even feel it, but sometimes, as he laid down on his bed, the loneliness crept up on him and he could feel the void deep in his chest, but before he could rationalize it, he fell asleep. he had made it to a good age (back to their standards) when, after a night of having a bit too much to drink and getting out of the bar a bit too late, aether was found by some of the villagers lying in the middle of the road, lifeless. the theories were that a mythical creature ended his life, but the reality was that a few bandits caught him and killed him to get the money that he was carrying, which was none.

[swampybogg]

I wanted to share this! I was thinking back the other night about how the first book is heavily inspired from Shane and I had the thought of comparing Shane's actor (Alan Ladd) to the fist book cover illustration. Either I’m insane but I do feel like there’s a quite strong resemblance

It always stood out to me this illustration since even with Amano’s same face syndrome, I don’t think he’s ever drawn this particular face again? (Do put me in my place if I’m wrong though 🧎🙏) I wouldn’t be surprised if kikuchi told Amano the Shane influence and used that as the original basis for D’s features.

The book where I learnt it from, I got it at the same time I got into VHD! Translation after the photos for the interested ✨ (You can see for yourself how much Kikuchi was inspired from the movie)

Pic1

L

The film takes place in a large fertile Wyoming valley and follows the story of colonists, cowboys, and assassins/hired-gun. It portrays stand-offs between proprietors and farmers who defend their lands. Agricultural exploitation that led to the creation of towns with schools, churches, and commerce. The first born of the Ryker Brothers looks for every possible way to chase of the farmers, notably by destroying their crops with his troops, but Joe Starrett and his family fight to defend their rights as colonists. Yet the true protagonists of this story are Shane, an enigmatic and romantic ex-outlaw, and the son of Joe.

Shane passes the Starrett’s farm by chance. His past is clear even if he never mentions it, it’s as if he was destined for violence. The young Joey is fascinated by this man, who in the eyes of a child, is a heroic figure who knows how to use pistols and defend against anyone. But Shane leaves behind his guns in his room and helps work on the farm, he finds himself seduced by its serene atmosphere and attracted to Marian Starrett, Joe’s wife. Inescapable destiny leads Joey to pick up his pistol again when an explosion of conflict occurs between the farmers, the colonists, and the arrival of Wilson. An assassin hired by the Ryker’s to put an end to the farmer’s resistance. Shane kills the bandit, liberates the colonists from the Ryker’s grasp, all of which under the eyes of Joey who doesn’t succeed in convincing Shane to stay at the farm.

 R

The final goodbye between the young Joey Starrett and the mysterious Shane is particularly poignant. The child sees the man as a hero and invites him to stay but Shane, celibate to the philosophy of the West, heads off as all men must follow their own path. While the cries of the child ring out in the valley, Shane slowly fades away alone on his horse 

Pic2

Too lazy to translate, it’s about the film’s reception and actors.

Pic3

The film in 24 photos 

Ex-Outlaw Shane arrives at the farm of a family of tranquil colonists, the Starretts.

Marian Starrett and her young son Joey are immediately fascinated by this man

The ex-farmer Ryker and his men want to take the land from the colonists to raise their cattle

Joe Starrett invites Shane to his table and offers him to work on his farm

Shane accepts the job and a new life begins for him

Shane enters town to go make purchases 

Shane arrives at the general store of the town 

Shane is insulted and provocated by one of the Ryker’s men, but he doesn’t respond to the provocation

The families of colonists come together to decide how to fight back against Ryker and his men

Shane returns to the general store with Joe Starrett, and under the eyes of the young Joey, reacts to the provocation that was made to him

An outlaw, Wilson, hired by Ryker to kill Shane arrives to town

Shane returns to the farm after the quarrel in the general store 

Marian Starrett is secretly in love with Shane 

A moment of peace: the colonists families unite for a party

The assassin is at the saloon with other shady individuals 

Wilson kills a young colonist

They grieve the young assassinated colonist

Ryker and his men burn down the home of another colonist

The put in motion a new plan to intimate the Starretts into abandoning their farm

Shane decided to put an end to the situation

He confronts Wilson in the saloon

Shane beats the assassins and kills Ryker

Shane says his goodbyes to the young Joey

In the end peace has returned and Shane leaves the Starretts to never return 

[heartfullofleeches]

Can you tell us the Ruthie cast then?

The two that have been mentioned most are Ruthie and Farmer Crow.

Ruthie the hare is the obvious mascot of the park and a mischievous prankster with a love for you rootbeer. He and his crew had a history with the circus before being rebranded to a more outdoorsy scene

Farmer Crow is a scarecrow-crow hybrid that is the "villain" of the group. Most interactions between them and Ruthie are just him trying to keep the hare off his land. He was originally designed with a scythe but after an accident result in a kid's eye being lost it was changed to a shovel. They are seen as a person in costume and makeup rather than a mascot suit

Characters that exist but haven't been mentioned much are

Serenity the baker. A kind woman who helps both Crow and Ruth, but is known to have a temper and the only human. The Dice Bandit Twins, two more reoccurring villains with a snake theme. Momo the clown, Ruthie's best friend and the last remaining member of the circus days. They're a puppet that gives gifts to parkgoers and can only be seen in set locations as they're moved by strings in the roofs and walls.

And then there's Bash/Bashy. A scary looking fox that carries around mallet, but is actually extremely timid and a scared cat. This is the newest member of the park and was created by the park owner in memory of their first and only love.

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Morgana was trained in sword fighting by the knights

Episode: “The Moment of Truth” questions #2

Questions by @tansyuduri

Tagging: @miyriu

Books used for reference: Lancelot and Guinevere book, The Death of Arthur, Magic Begins, and Merlin Annual 2010

Question: Morgana knows how to fight. So I think we need to ask how she was trained? Did Arthur practice with her?

My answer: Morgana was trained by the knights of Camelot. ⚔️ (Source: Lancelot and Guinevere book)

Arthur also noted (at least to himself) that Morgana was as skilled as any knight when they fought against the raiders attacking Ealdor (Source: Merlin Annual 2010)

Book description:

The bandit was trying to draw his sword, but was unskilled - so unlike the Knights of Camelot who had taught Morgana how to wield a sword effectively.

The bandit had to look down at what he was doing, and thus never even saw Morgana's flashing blade as it bit into his chest.

He and his makeshift army fought valiantly against the raiders to begin with; Morgana was as skilled as any knight and even Merlin defeated his first opponent.

Question: Do bandits just ignore peasants, if they don't look like they have anything of value on them? But if knights and rich people are around they attack?

I think that's the only explanation for how safe roads in Merlin seem to be for peasants without valuables and how dangerous they are for literally everyone else?

My answer: Gwen’s first thought on the pilgrimage to Lady Morgana’s fathers grave was that they were being attacked by people intending to fleece rich travelers of their money and possessions.

Kendrick specifically mentioned to Hengist that the traveling party of Morgana and her entourage would likley have money and fine silk with them.

Book description:

Gwen was distraught. Bad enough if this had been a botched attempt by poor farmers or itinerant rogues to fleece rich travellers of their money and possessions. But this was no random attack, and the bandits knew exactly what they were doing.

This had been their aim all along - to kidnap Morgana.

'And you suggest we rob the party of their clothing and coin?'

*Camelot, and the lady, are wealthy indeed. I cannot believe they would travel without means of payment and with enough fine silk and—

'I do not care for silk,' bellowed Hengist, striding towards Kendrick, who backed away, terrified.

Question: Chastity does not seem as big a deal. Woman can be alone with men without an escort?

Olaf's behavior toward Vivian is viewed as excessive as well. However, I don't think most noble women have sex before marriage?

My answer: Kendrick made a point of mentally comparing Morgana (with her noble heritage), to be so unlike the filthy wenches and wanton women he normally encountered.

Later in the “Lancelot and Guinevere” book, it was mentioned the majority of the woman in Hengist’s stronghold were slaves/prostitutes and therefore logically they were likely lower-born woman who would be easy prey to bandits.

Therefore, it makes sense that a woman with a lower status wouldn’t need to be escorted places in the same way that someone of higher-breeding would be and their ‘purity’ would be of little concern to anyone but their immediate family.

Especially, since a lower born woman’s virginity wouldn’t be too highly considered, unless she was trying to marry into a higher status.

Book description:

Morgana's proud jaw and strong cheekbones reminded Kendrick of the woman's noble heritage.

Even so, Kendrick let his eyes linger on his captive - such a pretty creature, so unlike the filthy wenches and wanton women he normally came across.

Leaning over the chair was a bedraggled young woman, dressed in rags and nervously holding a pitcher of ale. And in the throne sat Hengist.

The women - slaves at best - simply moved from foot to foot in a crushed, desultory fashion, but it seemed to amuse Hengist all the same.

Question: How did the citizens of Ealdor generally regard Merlin?

My answer: Although Merlin does mention having dealt with the arrogant ‘type’ back in Ealdor, who thought that being good looking and skilful meant they could do whatever they liked.

Merlin also mentioned that several years ago, some of the men from his village traveled to the tournament in Camelot.

Yet, he himself didn’t go because he was too young and his mother was worried about him revealing his magic. 🪄

So despite the issues Merlin mentioned, it still seems to imply that the villagers didn’t really dislike him (or outright hate him), because otherwise he wouldn’t have considered going to Camelot with them.

It seems more like Merlin was just rather isolated (due to having to hide his magic) and wasn’t particularly close with any of them, due to that fear of discovery.

Book description: In the “Valiant” book, Merlin remembered a day several years ago when some of the men from his village had decided that they would come to the tournament.

Merlin had been too young to join them at the time, not that his mother would have let him go anyway - she was always too worried that he might inadvertently reveal his gift in a moment of excitement. He recalled watching the men set off along the road to Camelot, laughing and teasing each other.

He had been sad at the time.

Not about missing the tournament itself - Merlin had never seen the point of watching grown men doing their level best to try and injure each other - but about not seeing Camelot. Now, only a short time later, here he was living in the castle itself.

2nd book description: In the “The Death of Arthur” book, Merlin recalled how much she'd feared for his future, worried that other people in their village might discover his gifts.

That's why she'd sent him away, to live with Gaius where she thought he would be safe.

3rd book: In “Magic Begins” book….

Merlin watched with a frown as the boy scurried back and forth across the yard, the young knight throwing dagger after dagger at him - hitting the target spot-on every time.

He would, of course. Merlin knew the type - even back in Ealdor there had been people like that, who thought that being good looking and skilful meant they could do whatever they liked. All the girls fancied them too.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

This one's been a long time coming, Sweetie & I picking up the anime remake over dinner recently seems like a good time to do it. If we're going to talk about Wano as an homage to classic samurai cinema we can't ignore Akira Kurosawa's epic many would consider his magnum opus. I'd argue Rashomon deserves that honor but I like weird shit, today we're talking Seven Samurai.

Now, as always Wano is not one samurai movie reference. It's a massive pastiche. Seven Samurai's influence is a lot more structural. Big epic split between a segment of rounding up the gang, one where we spend time on preparations, then a big battle. The 1954 film is credited with like, pioneering this basic film structure of getting the band together for a mission then executing it. The mission is very different, the Raid being a little more like 47 Ronin instead of the titular Seven defending a village from bandits, but the way the story is arranged very much shows that influence. Even the seemingly detached sidestory at the start to introduce one of the gang fits the mold, luckily Kiku got to go all Oyuki on someone else's topknot over cutting her own hair like Kanbei.

You know the drill by now, as always she's the one who really shines when you look at this side of things. Samurai 7, that's a straight retelling. More futuristic setting but it's functionally the same gang. The only one with a name that really obviously resonates with the Akazaya Nine is Kiku, thanks to the two versions of the guy we have here. Kikuchiyo. Originally played by Kurosawa mainstay Toshiro Mifune. There are some elements that track. Good with kids, can be a bit of a wild card. Very different aesthetic though obviously.

Where it really shines is being the odd one out. The "heart" of the group. Not to mention one who'll break off and do their own thing. And that's consistent in both versions. Kikuchiyo is not actually a samurai, he's the son of a farmer. The bridge between the villagers and the men they hire. Our sweet, wonderful Okiku does sorta have that going for her, but with a different coat of paint. Digging back into where she starts in Oda's journey as a writer.

Probably said this at least somewhere, but on top of the whole Kamatari connection to Oda's time as a Rurouni Kenshin assistant Kiku also kinda gives you this Misao vibe. And I specifically mean how Misao related to the Oniwabanshu. Kid that idolized them but was left behind for her own good. Our sweet flower sure felt like that at the start. Nice blend of the two that ends up being it's own wonderful thing.

[thisisntreaver]

you know what I've always wondered? if being a hero is genetic, and heroes have extra strength and vitality and shit, what in the world could have happened to sparrow and roses parents? do you have any fun theories?

So I've always been in the camp of something similar to what we see at the end of the perfect world quest. Like i know its a test, but it seems to be digging into Sparrow's subconscious. With how they and Rose are having their perfect day, but the parents aren't there to me has always indicated that either the memories of their parents so blurry they can't visualize them like they can rose, or they're supressed for some reason.

Then when they leave, like their parents did that morning before they woke up, and are greeted with corpses. The wiki says thats meant to represent the death Sparrows journey has brought into the world, but I think it could very well be attributed to how the parents died.

Likely caught unaware while leaving to go and make money to keep their children fed and cared for-maybe not necessarily as farmers, they could have lived in Bowerstone and just had regular jobs- and killed, could have been bandits, could have been nicky the nick names crew. But if they weren't ready, or were unarmed, they could have been overwhelmed, especially if we go with the idea that the Hero of Southcliff is their father, because their story takes place 50ish years before 2, so they'd be aging and no longer in their prime.

I've also always liked the idea that sparrow may have actually seen the deaths, or at least the immediate aftermath, leading to them suppressing a lot of their childhood,- and that also being why during the begining and in her diary rose doesn't mention them at all-but while on the precipice of death themselves these memories get brought back up, just like how when you leave the scream Rose lets out is the same as when Lucien shot her.

[hopescrystarium]

Hey you! Yeah you. Hi!

I haven't been exactly sure what I want to yap about on here yet, but I think I'm going to semi live blog my experience actually paying attention to the WoW lore as I play for the first time ever. Now, would you want to pay attention to a random person yap about WoW lore they discover? Who knows. lol

Context: I've played WoW on and off a lot throughout my life, but treated it like a quest simulator with no real substance. However, I'm getting invested in the story thanks to TWW and want to say hi to the old stuff. Currently, I'm running Cataclysm Classic as a Human Mage and am having a blast with it. Let's get to the good stuff.

The Westfall experience is under the cut : )

W E S T F A L L

This is low key a plot rehash, but it might be fun to poke at it. Walk with me.

Topic: Class Discrepancy, Anti-War, and Gnolls initial thoughts

Going into the area and immediately getting hit with a whodunit style quest line was right up my alley. However, what actually caught my attention was Farmer Saldean giving us the set dressing for the region. Having just been in Elwynn Forest and getting to see the beautiful green land and the grandeur of Stormwind made traveling Westfall feel like I was swept out of Kansas.

It quickly dawned on me that there must be a major class discrepancy, at least, due to the events of Wrath and the Cataclysm. It's actually hard to imagine a Westfall that more lush than what I later got to see in Stranglethorn. Especially since the area is so downtrodden now: homelessness and poverty at an all time high with a bandit organization increasing in power.

My first thought was to question why Stormwind wasn't doing anything, but Saldean actually mentions that there are struggling people leaving Stormwind. This was supported, too, by the Stormwind Migrants who were at the entrance to the area and an unruly group berating the guards for not letting them into Sentinel Hill.

By this point, the major class discrepancy I was imagining wasn't entirely up in smoke, but I grew to realize that there was probably a bit more to it than what I was picturing: everyone was struggling and they blamed the King. No doubt here that it is due to the people suffering from, what I'm going to call, "the King's war" that most likely only hurt their own people in the eyes of the common folk as supported by Farmer Saldean. All of this begs the question: Why is upper class Stormwind not helping her people? (Yeah, the Cataclysm may be happening, but come on.)

When I got to speak with different military men, I started picking up on a bit of an anti-war sentiment that I'd swear couldn't be real considering how visceral and long the faction war lasted. Hell, we got to play through the Fourth War in Battle for Azeroth! But, I may be losing the point. These are people on the ground who are living the impacts of these wars be they faction war, scourge war, or dealing with the legion.

So, the conversation with Marshal Stoutmantle actually does support the possibility of even the military developing anti-war sentiments. They do their duty only for their lives to become significantly worse; we later see this repeated in Redridge Mountains, but we aren't there yet. Now, it's clear that I'm not sure exactly which war or events have had this impact on Westfall. A lot of it seems to be about the Scourge war, but I actually don't know much about yet. What I can pick up on, however, is that the people are tired and struggling horrifically.

To back track and clarify just how bad it is here, for anyone who may not know, there is a quest where you go to kill some animals for meet so this family can eat for the first time in weeks, and the reward you get is a dirt pie (at least that's what I think it was). It caught me so off guard that I actually saved the item and put it in the bank to hold onto as a memento from the area.

Now, I would not be doing my due diligence with this if I did not mention this. Words are important, even in a fantasy setting like WoW, so it really took me by surprise (it shouldn't have) when I registered the vernacular being used to describe the Gnolls.

Gnolls are described as the indigenous of the area. This description actually sets them apart from other mobs and creatures, to me so far, like the murlocks. The inclusions of an indigenous group was certainly a choice not only because it reflects the reality of real life indigenous people being pushed against, killed, and worse but also because it bursts the "Alliance is inherently good" bubble.

I bring all of this up about the Gnolls in particular because they are humanoid, hyena creatures with their own culture as simple as it might be with how the game presents it. It would be one thing to call refer to a certain type of boar as being indigenous to the area because that is just a straight up animal, but the framing of a humanoid race as such kind of darkly grounds the story.

I'm not saying that this should not be in the game at all, but what I am saying is that it is worth looking more into. I haven't actually researched my thoughts, this has all been more my general reaction and initial thoughts to what I'm discovering. So, maybe one day, I'll come back with proper organized, researched thoughts, but that is not right now.

-------

If you stuck around though all this, hi, I'm glad to see you here. If I got anything wrong or you want to add, comment, or anything like that, I'm more than open to it. I love to yap even if I'm awkward. I'll work on a post about Redridge Mountains semi soon. : )

[sang8262]

that cowboy western AU i keep talking about

tl;dr - it's about a handful of SF6 charachers my friends and i like that i put into "what if they were cowboys"

it's angsty and also nsfw smut just so you are aware

mainly featuring JP, Jamie, Ed and Luke

Ed and Luke is a ship im including, but also Jamie and Luke too. it's a triangle-ish but the main ship is Ed/Luke. also JP and Jamie sorta, because did i mention this is smut.

im debating how to include bison (if at all), and it'll have some of the rest of Ed's neo shadaloo crew (like Falke) a bit but not as much as those four:

some character intros and setting i wrote from last year (wow time goes by so quick):

Luke "Sonny" Sullivan

- Bodyguard for hire.

Heart's in a good place, but keeps finding himself in troublesome situations with shady individuals. There are 3 things he can't say no to: someone in need, a good fight, and a good fuck.

Currently running low on cash after an unlucky game of cards. Meets Jamie while drinking his bitter loss away.

Jamie "The Peacekeeper" Siu

- Vigilante.

Travels from town to town, running odd jobs for petty cash. His main goal is enacting his own vision of justice upon those acting above the law.

Currently being chased for 'robin hood'-style robbing a particularly notorious sheriff.

Jay "JP" Pierce

- Sheriff.

A humble sheriff of a certain town. Though he's not the mayor, the residents know who really runs things around town as its ruthless judge, jury, and executioner.

Currently chasing Jamie for robbing him, and sullying his reputation with the mayor by exposing his corrupt extortion of bribes from the townsfolk.

then i added Ed into the story, so i'll add his bio here:

Edward Balrogson

- Rancher and acting mayor

Living a quiet farmer's life with his found family, including Falke. The produce from his farm supports the town he lives in, and his family protects the townsfolk from any bandits that try to attack. As a result, many folks living there seem to defer to Ed's decisions on major decisions regarding their town. He doesn't like to admit it, but their trust in him as a leader means a lot to him.

Currently troubled by the influx of many refugees to his town, looking for a place to live and start anew. They all seem to be from the same place, fearfully speaking of a ruthless sheriff who extorted them of all their wealth.

i am now backtracking and electing *not* to post much more of the plot here, cause i'm still working on threading together the different stories. also in the case people actually do find this interesting and worth reading, then i dont want to spoil(?) any potential surprises i suppose. but that's it for now!

[n1fonseca-global-cinema-blog]

A Film Of Influence: Kurosawa's Seven Samurai

As mentioned in the previous blog post, Akira Kurosawa was an extremely influential filmmaker. Of his vast collection of masterpieces, one stands above them all in terms of overall influence and quality: Seven Samurai. It was only briefly described before, but here there’ll be a deeper dive into the film since there’s only so much a paragraph can say about a nearly three-and-a-half-hour-long movie.

This 1954 action-adventure samurai film revolves around a village of farmers being harassed by bandits, and in response they recruit a band of seven samurai to help defend themselves. Throughout the runtime, these samurai clash with not only the bandits, but each other, and themselves as they attempt to work together to help this community of farmers. Dense in rich, entertaining, philosophical, and hopeful storytelling, it’s truly a feast for the mind alongside the eye. With all of the layers of quality to it, there’s a clear reason as to why it was so influential to many other films to come after it.

When the west went to adapt this story of samurai, they substituted the katana-wielding and honor-bound warriors with the righteous cowboy. One of the earlier American remakes of the film was 1960’s The Magnificent Seven, but alongside this was a handful of other westerns such as the ones of Sergio Leone. Its story is so strong and withstands the holds of time that they made another remake of The Magnificent Seven in 2016, which would not only build upon the original namesake, but also continue to take from the original idea of Seven Samurai. In an LA Times article, the writer-director of the 2016 film cited the inspiring anti-cynicism found in Seven Samurai as one of the major appeals of the film, saying that, “People like the concept of honor; they like to root for underdogs,” Alongside that, another major appeal of the film is how well-crafted Kurosawa had made it.

In an essay by David Ehrenstein for Criterion, he describes the way that Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai was unlike many films of its kind. At a time where Japanese films were described by Kurosawa as “bland” and period films were typically slow-paced theatrics, he created his film in the style of a action-packed Hollywood epic. Moving at a breakneck pace at points, the film’s long runtime breezes by, even with its four-minute intermission. Assisting the film’s personality were the performances, as these historical characters carried a more contemporary feeling to their auras.

One actor of great respect who often collaborated with Kurosawa was Toshiro Mifune, who in this film plays a character of great depth and is bursting with personality. He screams, he cries, is foolish, and just goes to show the entire range of emotions he possibly can throughout the runtime. In the film, there’s a scene where the character Mifune plays, named Kikuchiyo, is handed a child by one of the peasant farmers as she dies. Holding the child in his arms, he collapses with a feeling of overwhelming grief and cries out, seeing himself in the child. It’s in a scene like this, where there’s deep, weighted emotion amidst the grandiose action, that the film’s longstanding power is shown.

Sources: