#but because of the german occupation of belgium

[apricotsnow]

everytime chief inspector japp says poirot should 'leave it to the professionals' i want to punch him

[ghostgirlvii-art]

Here it she is! New OC! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ With... much more lore and idea than I expected. Let's say it started with "would be cool to have to character with a monster arm" kind of idea. There's some secret under the cut about her 🤫

GENERAL:

Name: Anisoara Van Aken

Alias(es): Ani, "Stag"

Gender: Female

Age: 30

Birthday: 27th June

Nationality: Romanian/Belgian

Place of Birth: Oradea, Romania

Home: Belgium

Spoken Languages: Romanian and English (Mothertongue), French, Dutch, Russian, German

Sexuality: Pansexual

Occupation: Operative at [REDACTED]

APPEARANCE:

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Auburn (natural), Blond (undercut, colored)

Height: 1m68

Scars: Left eye, Right upper arm, Right leg all inflicted during work.

Tattoo: Right Shoulder

Other: Freckles on the shoulders

PERSONALITY:

Adaptable, Humble, Reserved, Stubborn, sometimes insecure

Despite all that happened to her, she try to keep a positive view around her.

Skills and Abilities:

Has a higher strengh, stamina and spatial awareness when she let "the claw take control."

She is capable to blend in the crowd easily.

Relay on agility and stealth more than brute force.

FAMILY:

Unnamed mother (Deceased)

Unnamed father (Deceased)

Wout Van Aken (Uncle)

TRIVIA:

 She got her tattoo against her uncle's wishes. It doesn't have any meaning, Anisoara simply liked it.

Same goes for her famous "golden jaw" mask. She liked the style.

No one is allowed to touch her left arm unless it covered up. Which in itself is always covered.

BACKGROUND STORY:

Her parents met two years before she was born. Her father was a Belgian historian with an interest in East Europe, her mother was an archeologist/teacher. Born and raised in Odarea, Anisoara spent the first six years of her life being raised like any kid. Because her father didn't speak a good romanian by the time she was born, English was used a lot, but her mother was adamant that she knew the country language as well.

Around the age of six, weird spot showed on her hand. Black spots that wouldn't go away no matter what. A visit to the doctor rassured the family that nothing was wrong, but they should keep an eye of it ever change. At first Anisoara didn't seems to have much trouble because of it at school, however has the spots grew bigger and slowly showed on her upper arm, kids started to be mean and eventually she learned to hide her arm with a glove and arm band.

Her life took a turn as her parents died in a car accident when she was twelve. Despite having relative in Romania, Anisoara was sent to Belgium to live with her uncle who gained full legal guardianship. Having to adapt to a new country in the early teen years was difficult and she often felt homesick. She was never truly allowed to return see her home country after that. Around the age of sixteen, her little problem on the left arm had by now fully grown into something much more worrisome. But she was always being told that everything was fine, as long as she hide it. However she quickly realized that this would be a problem in every day life and begin to worry about her future. Her uncle proposed her to come work for the spy/military agency he was working at. They wouldn't care about it as long as she get the job done.

Working for [REDACTED] her uncle was able to get her a place in the agence. Anisoara became a loyal and reliable agent of the company, excelling in most of her ops and showing extremly good results. She considered herself a succesful person who had her life in hand. Or so she thought, till the day a strange dossier was given to her by a stranger.

[CONFIDENTIAL] IF YOU ARE READING THIS YOU HAVE CLEARANCE LEVEL 4 OF [REDACTED]

Dossier: Subject-2706-AVA

29-06-████ : Subject was given serum ███████ only 48 hours after birth. Agent ████ ████ confirmed the success of the mission. ███████ will be designated as official pedetrician for Subject.

31-10 ████ : Subject-2706-AVA, also known as Anisoara showed up for an unsual check up. Black mark on her skin. Blood sample shows no anomalies. Same result on x-ray and MRI. Further investigation are recommanded.

17-03-████ : For the sake of the project it has been decided that Operation Jager will be excuted on ██ ██ ████ Afterward, Subject should be ████████ ████ ███████ to allow better observation.

18-07: ████: The anomalie on the arm as now reached it's probably final stage. However it remains no danger to the subject; plausible advantage? ████ recommends that we observe the other subjects. 2607-AVA is the only subject so far to show good reaction to the serum and expected results, aside from the mutation.

26-11- ████ : Agent Van Aken [Subject 2607-AVA] as shown remarkable cabapility among the agence. All in the lines of the prediction for Serum ███████. The incident of May should not be considered a threat. According to Agent ████████ we should actually see this as a new possible weapon. According to 2607-AVA, quote "I felt like I was possess, like the claw was controling me." A psycology test is recommended. On a side note, all other subjects also injected with ████████ have shown no signs of modifications and/or are unusable in the project.

[best-non-english-word-torunament]

Round one: Scheveningen vs 月, tsuki

Scheveningen (Dutch)

[ˈsχeːvənɪŋən]

Translation: The name of a pier, named after a person

Dutch is an Indo-European language belonging to the Germanic branch spoken by 16 million people in the Netherlands and 24 million total. Most speakers outside the Netherlands are from Belgium, which has a Dutch-speaking area with 7 600 000 speakers. It makes up one end of the West Germanic Dialect continuum. Dutch is also the basis for Afrikaans, spoken in South Africa.

Motivation: In WWII, during the German occupation of the Netherlands, Dutch resistance fighters would ask suspected German spies to pronounce the word. In German, the "sch" is a "sh" sound, whereas in Dutch, it makes a "sx" sound, which non-native speakers struggle with. It's the only location name I know of that was used to catch Nazis and that inherently makes it awesome.

Note: A word used to differentiate between enemies and friends due to its pronunciation is called a shibboleth after one such word.

月, tsuki (Japanese)

[t͡sʉkʲi]

Translation: Moon

Japanese is spoken by 122 million people in Japan and around 1,5 million people outside of Japan. It used to be considered an isolate, a language related to no other languages, but not anymore. Linguists have found enough difference between Japanese and what used to be considered dialects of Japanese to classify them as their own languages. So now it’s part of the Japonic language family, together with 16 other languages spoken in Japan. Another interesting thing about Japanese is that it has three different scripts.

Motivation: It's pretty :] It can mean moon or month, depending on how you read it, and if you put it together into the sentence "the moon is pretty", it can be used as an indirect/poetic way of saying "I love you".

Note: The love thing might be because 好き (suki), which can be used to express affection and loosely translates into ‘like’ sounds very similar. "The moon is pretty" seems to be some kind of saying/trope with pretty recent but unclear origin, but I suspect that the reason moon is used is because of the similarity in pronunciation between suki and tsuki.

[subtile-jagden]

Emil Schäfer - Part 1

Family Carl Maria Emil Schäfer was born on 17 December 1891. Named after his father, he went by the name Emil. He had two younger sisters. His father was a fabric manufacturer; two things Emil had in common with his flying comrade Werner Voss whose father had the same profession and also was from the city of Krefeld in western Germany. They also went to the same school, not at the same times though as Werner was six years younger.

Military service and Work After his graduation in 1911 Schäfer had to do compulsory military service but was able to join the Einjährigen-Programm, so he only had to do it for one year instead of the standart two years. He chose to serve with the Hannoversches Jäger-Battailon Nr. 10 (Infantry) in Goslar. After that, Schäfer was destined to join his father's company and become a merchant. For that he did internships with some of his father´s business colleagues. He had the opportunity to go to London and then to Paris, making him fluent in English and French. Originally he had planned to stay in France for some years, but the year was 1914 so destiny had other plans for him. His father came to Paris to bring him back to Germany, eventhough the imminent threat of war wasn´t yet taken seriously from neither the Schäfers nor their French colleagues: “We joked about our departure, drank to seeing each other again soon, and separated as the best of friends”.

War time service 1914 - 1915 Schäfer, in the rank of Oberjäger, tried to rejoin his old regiment, but was ordered to Westfälisches Jägerbataillon Nr. 7. His first mission was the occupation of Liège, Belgium after its capture the days before. His task was to secure the train station and the bridges around the city. But Schäfer was eager for a more active role in the war: “Hopefully we'll get to the enemy soon. I don't like the police service anymore”. His wish soon came true, and on September 1st his unit is deployed for the storming of Maubeuge. After several days of shelling the fort, they managed to take it. 52,000 men on the French side were captured by 18,000 German troops. After that they were supposed to march on Paris but another unit needed help and after a march of almost 100 km in two days they managed to prevent an enemy breakthrough of the lines.

On September 26, 1914, the course of the war changed for Emil Schäfer when he was shot in the leg while taking the town of Chivry. He had to spend almost 7 months in hospitals and in rehab before he could walk again. The result of the injury was a shortened left leg, which made it difficult for him to walk long distances. He returned to his unit in April 1915 which was still in the same area where he last left them; the city taken and the soldiers deep in the trenches. There he stayed until the end of 1915. He had started to get bored and was also struggling with his injury; his leg was healed, but he found it difficult to walk and stand for long periods of time.

Pilot In January 1916 Schäfer started his pilot training in Köslin. After successful graduation he was sent to Russia in July to join Staffel 8 of Kampfgeschwader 2. His main task was to attack Russian positions with bombs and machine gun fire. “We start twice or three times a day. Occasionally tethered balloons are charred and Russian planes shot down.”

Emil wrote extensively to his parents, describing a day in the life of a pilot: “At 4:45 in the morning my orderly appears and throws me out of bed, half an hour later I appear in my oldest and dirtiest outfit in the dining car, where the gentlemen from squadron 8 and 9 gradually arrive. Coffee, milk, sugar, bread and occasionally a little butter is delivered. Almost everyone still has a pot of jelly, jam, butter or sausage. This first breakfast is very hearty and plentiful, because if you are unlucky, it must be enough for the whole day. Then we go to the airport. When we arrive, the planes are ready. I walk around my good old machine, checking a turnbuckle here and there, then I get attracted. Schubert helps me into my flight pants, buttons, buckles, zips up the various fasteners, has crash aids, goggles and gloves ready. The squadron leader gathers the six crews around him and issues the order. My observer and I now go back to our plane. The plane is started, we take off. Six minutes after the start we are almost 1000 meters high. We're over the city on time, I'm heading straight for the train station and the bombs are already falling. 600 kilograms of the most powerful explosive ammunition poured over the buildings and facilities. Then we go home. The square is lively now. The fitters take over the machines. The observers gather with the squadron leader and report; the pilots still have work to do on the machines, are talking to the fitters, the foreman, and to each other. When everything is done, it's off to the cars and home to the residential train, where everything is discussed again in detail over the second, also very thorough, breakfast.”

In January 1917 Kampfgeschwader 2 was sent to the Western Front. Schäfer was now part of a Jagdstaffel (fighter squadron), flying single seater fighter planes. His first victory almost cost him his life, having to crash land after shooting down a French flyer. Now that he had a taste for being a real fighter pilot, he turned to a former comrade he met in Russia: Manfred von Richthofen, who had recently taken over the leadership of his own Jadgstaffel. In mid-February, Schäfer got the okay to switch to Jasta 11.

[illegally-blind-and-deaf]

Almost the entire Tintin fandom is going to murder me after this post, but oh well

I need to get this off my chest and put my perfectly valid opinions out there in the world.

Now, a gentle disclaimer: I do not hate haddotin, you ship what you want. What gets on my nerves is people adamantly denying Tintin is a child of some degree.

Please, here me out.

I wish to do this in a debate style, a bit of a persuasive text of some sort. This is not to be a "HAHA YOU'RE WRONG" moment, this is simply me sharing my opinions because I am allowed to.

Alright.

I begin my argument on rebuttal to the opposition's perfectly valid arguments. Some such claims I have heard is that Tintin cannot be a child/teenager of any sort because he can drive a car, drink, rent an apartment, has a job as a journalist, etc.

First things first, we must discuss the time period. I will, for the sake of this debate, focus many on around ww2 and the 40s, as that is when Tintin began to really take off.

In Britain (and I imagine a lot of Europe,) children were permitted to leave school around the age of 14 until the 1944 Education Act that made schooling until 15 years of age compulsory. Children between the ages of 14-17 often worked full-time, making it very possible for Tintin to have been working as an adolescent. The average rent was also incredibly cheaper. In New York, the rent averaged to around $50, sometimes even less. With a full-time job, it was probable for Tintin to have rented a small, two roomed apartment until he became the greatest reporter in history and had the money for something bigger.

Journalism, especially in Belgium during ww2, was a whole other kettle of fish. Underground newspapers were everywhere, as Belgium was under German occupation, and there were many students who worked for the papers, a notable one being Le Faux Soir. It is VERY probable for a student as intelligent and capable as Tintin to have written reports for these newspapers and for him to have continued the line of work after the war, especially with papers the likes of Le Vingtiéme Scielce and, of course, Le Petit Vingtiéme.

Drinking laws were very different in the mid-20th century. Today, in the US, drinking is only permitted to those 21 years and older. In Australia and many other countries, it's 18. Germany and Belgium set it to 16, though in Germany you are allowed to drink beer, sparkling wine and other lighter drinks at 14. This is now. Back in the 20th century, there were ten-year-olds smoking cigarettes, so it is highly probable that teenagers could drink as well. Also, another note to point out, Tintin hardly ever drinks unless it's a celebration. He never drinks spirits and is often quick to turn down a beverage. The only two drinks I can think of him having are champagne and maybe possibly beer. On one occasion.

Driving is an interesting one. To this day in the US, some states permit driving practice to begin at 14. In Australia, it's 16. In the 40s, it was very possible that teenagers were driving around without licences (or with licences) and also, Tintin is a reporter. A world famous reporter. He flew a plane after only interviewing a pilot (and probably reading a lot on aviation because he strikes me as a plane lover). Driving a car is simple compared to that.

Now, I wish to give some points of my own.

Firstly, it is very hard to put an age on Tintin for a very simple reason: Tintin is timeless. Allow me to explain.

The first book, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets, was published in 1929 and is quite obviously an anti-Soviet Union work of propaganda. It's written in the late 20s, or course it is. At this point Stalin has taken total power of Russia, it's officially completely communist and Stalin has begun to eye off surrounding smaller countries that used to be part of Imperial Russia and reclaim them as Russian territory. (Lithuania was not happy about that, but that's not relevant right now.) The fear of communist ideals were the new threat as ww1 had finished and Hitler hadn't come to power yet. Hence the propaganda.

On the other end of the spectrum is Tintin and the Alph-Art, Hergé's last work before he died in 1983. It's very evidently set in the 80s with modern art, crazy frizzy hairdos and vivid cities with neon lights. It's a complete contrast to the black and white 20s. Yet Tintin seems to have hardly aged in the whole 60 something years. He certainly looks a couple of years older than the the small Tintin is The Crab With the Golden Claws but that's really the only change we see with him. The biggest changes we see are his outfits, which go from the very 30s and 40s knickerbockers and newsboy hats to straight-legged pants and no hat. Tintin is a timeless character and therefore doesn't really have a specific age, but he does have an age range.

Secondly, if you Google how old Tintin is the official website says he's a teenager. Moving on.

Third point, (and in my opinion the most important;) the age group Tintin was written for. According to Google, the age group for the recommended audience is 9-14, though some of us started reading the books when we were younger... (cue 6-year-old me waving). If you read books as a child, you would know that the average age of the main characters is the same as the demographic they were written for.

Now, since Tintin was written for children and teenagers, he is most probably a teenager because that's what's relatable. Children often struggle to understand and relate to adults because we've never been adults. We don't know what its like to be an adult. Children's books have children characters because it's easier for children to see themselves in the book than if the character were all adults.

"But Bea," you may be saying, "how can a teenager or child or whatever he is go on such wild adventures? It doesn't seem realistic for a teenager to do these things." This is another thing people often forget: Tintin is fiction. We know that in fiction anything can happen, even the impossible. There are several children's books I grew up with featuring teenagers or even children going on absolutely wild adventures and almost dying, just like Tintin. The Ruby Redfort books by Lauren Child feature a 13-year-old spunky teen who ends up becoming a secret agent and almost enough in far too many accounts. We're talking chasing down the last wolf of a thought to be exciting species, surviving a wildfire, almost drowning in jade sand, dangling off ridiculously high buildings, tightrope walking across cities, the whole ordeal. The EJ12 book series is about an 11 year old Australian girl who joins a secret agency and travels the world fighting the evil spy agency SHADOW. The Famous Five, set in the 40s, is about a group of four kids and a dog who get roped into magnificent mysteries, often nearly getting kidnapped or shot or the likes. It's not impossible for children in books to be incredible heroes, because that's what kids imagine themselves as. If we all thought logically and didn't imagine things the world would be very dull indeed.

So, the main points? Tintin, in my opinion, is a teenager because he was designed to be read by children and teens. It's also important to learn about the time and era things were created in before jumping to conclusions. And it's also very important to remember that Tintin is fiction. He's not going to always make sense, like how he barely ages over the span of 60 years, or how he can fly a plane with no training. It's imaginative, and that's what makes it so exciting.

Now, how does haddotin work when Tintin is a teen and Haddock is a 40+ something old man? (Before anyone comes at me with the grey hair thing, my dad is fifty and has only a few grey hairs. I had a pure white hair at 14. Hair ages differently for everyone.)

Simple: you take a leaf out of the spideypool book and you change the ages. Voila. Yes, you can change the ages for your five and things, that's allowed. But when talking about Tintin himself, I personally think he is a teenager and I will guard this hill fervently.

Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions. These are mine, and you have yours. That's fine. I just wanted to voice mine in a calm and hopefully notnjudgemental manner.

Thankbyou for making it this far

Also before someone starts disputing history with me, I have done serious research about Belgium in ww2 and Russia in the early 20th c, as well as planning a career as a modern historian. Please don't dispute unless you have done research yourself, in which case please feel free to educate me

[punkrockdino]

— hey, that’s Dino Peeters! did you know they’ve been living in golden view for 1 week? i heard they’re an actor and often hang out at frangipane. people say they’re reliable, but also closed off. they live in apartment 20c and are currently looking for 3 roommate(s). they really remind me of… living off coffee, moving across the ocean to start anew, ripped jeans and combat boots.

⎯ BASICS

Name Dino Peeters

Real name Lucas Dino Claes

Age 27

DOB 16th June 1996

Hometown Mol, Belgium

Current Location Mit heights

Occupation Actor

Studied Childcare

Previous occupation Childcare center worker

Personality Kind, protective, reliable, closed off, self conscious, indecisive

Gender Trans man, he/him

Orientation Bisexual

Family Martine Wouters (mother), Lars Claes (younger brother), Philippe Claes (father, no contact)

⎯ STORY

Born and raised in Belgium, speaks Flemish, English, Norwegian, Flemish Sign Language and a bit of German

Dino learned Norwegian for fun, Flemish is his native tongue, English is his second language and he is learning German to communicate better with the partner of his best friend

Dino worked in childcare for 6 years before feeling comfortable enough to take acting classes. He quit childcare when he had a stable(ish) acting career

Has the stage name of 'Dino Peeters' because he wanted to stay under the radar of his biological family since he is no contact with them

he has not publicly spoken about his familial situation. As his mother is very camera shy and his brother is a very private person. He has no intention of revealing anything about his personal life.

He is no contact with his father, has been for years which is why he always says he was raised by a single mother

Was very well known through Belgium, the Netherlands and even Norway when he decided to risk it and move to America

Dino had always wanted to go in entertainment but never felt comfortable enough in his own body to do so, he transitioned at 24 and once he was comfortable took acting classes

Dino owns an American Staffordshire Terrier named Daisy

⎯ CONNECTIONS

Best friend -

Old coworkers -

Friends - Owen Mason

Childhood (best) friend -

Ex(ex) -

Current crush - Ezekiel Tillwood

Open to anything at the moment! Feel free to hit message me to plot!

for reference this is what Daisy looks like:

[marjaystuff]

Guest Review: Embers in the London Sky by Sarah Sundin

Revell Pub

Feb 6th, 2023

Embers In The London Sky by Sarah Sundin is a very riveting and compelling novel.  In many ways it is relatable to what is going on today.  Sundin takes readers on a journey along with the characters and they experience all the emotions. 

“While I was researching Until Leaves Fall in Paris I read how the refugees fled from the Nazi armies in Belgium, Netherlands, and France. There were over a million on the road where some thrust their children into cars, figuring they would have a better chance than on foot. After the exodus they could not find their children and read about the many classified ads looking for their children.  This broke my heart. I used this to write the story.”

As the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940, Aleida van der Zee Martens escapes to London to wait out the Occupation. Separated from her three-year-old son, Theo, in the process, the young widow desperately searches for her child, while working for an agency responsible for evacuating children to the countryside.

“Aleida has an abusive husband who is ashamed of their three-year-old boy because he is missing some fingers. She lost her son when her husband thrust the child into a passing car while she was sleeping. Her husband dies in an air raid before he can tell her who has the child, so she has become very anxious. She is quiet, controlling, determined, and direct. Aleida is also intense, persistent, and wounded.” When German bombs set London ablaze, BBC radio correspondent Hugh Collingwood reports on the Blitz, eager to boost morale while walking the fine line between truth and censorship. But the Germans are not the only ones Londoners have to fear as a series of murders flame up amid the ashes. 

“After the bombs started falling some parents still said no because they were being asked to send their child to a place they have never been, with people they did not know.  That takes an incredible amount of trust.  Then there were the children sent away with some who had a great experience because of the kind and understanding foster-type parents they stayed with. But there were others who had issues because they were urban children, many from the lower classes being sent into a rural middle-class environment. They had culture shock not to mention neglect and abuse, fortunately less common.” 

The deaths hit close to home for Hugh, and Aleida needs his help to locate her missing son. As they work together, they grow closer and closer, both to each other and the answers they seek. But with bombs falling and continued killings, they may be running out of time.

This is a compelling and riveting story.  It is relevant today as those families still search and hope for a reunion with their loved ones who were taken hostage by Hamas.

[mauromertens]

― i saw MYLO DECLERCK on the streets, you know? the 26 years old FAMILIAR, i think they been around beacon hills for 1 YEAR, but i can be wrong… not like they can leave now, anyway. i heard a rumor that they want to DESTROY the nemeton. they make me think of rays of sunshine shining through a dark forest ; making big changes with a frightend heart ; dancing in the rain ; sharp teeth ripping apart anybody who dares hurt someone he cares for and hum “stiekem” by maan/goldband, you know?  ― Dino, he/they

⎯ BASICS

Name Mylo Declerck

Nickname(s) N/A

Age 26

DOB 16th June 1996

Hometown Mol, Belgium

Current Location Beacon Hills, California

Occupation Cashier

Species Familiar, brown rat

Personality Kind, protective, aimless, reactionary, proud, rebellious

Gender Trans man, he/him

Orientation Panromantic, demisexual

⎯ STORY

Born and raised in Belgium, speaks Flemisch, English and a bit of German

Hates the French language because he was never good at it in school

He has one younger sibling, his parents split up when he was 19 but he is pretty much no contact with all of them

Came out as trans at the age of 15 but was forced back into the closet because of unsupportive people around him

Did reckless things all troughout his teenage years as an act of rebellion because nobody supported him for who he was

Ran away from home multiple times, but eventually was either brought back or went back because he had no other choice

At the age of 18 he started to move around, trying to find a community and to finally feel accepted. He couch surfed and roomed with the few friends he had that he felt safe with

Fell in love with a girl at the age of 20, who fully supported his transition. He started his transition and at the age of 22 moved with his girlfriend to the US

They broke up shortly after Mylo got his citizenship at the age of 24, after which Mylo moved to Beacon Hills

He is out and proud, and ready to fight the world

His animal form looks like a brown rat

He often uses his animal form to mess around whenever possible (although this has also backfired a bit but that does not stop him)

⎯ CONNECTIONS

Witch -- the witch he is the familiar of

Open to anything at the moment! Feel free to hit message me to plot!

[spectaculardistractions]

From Pierre Braunberger Paris, 19 November 1945 My dear Luis, I usually get my news of you from our many mutual friends, as you must get mine. But the purpose of this letter is to inform you precisely what happened, and what is happening to Land Without Bread. When I got back to Paris after the Liberation, the market for documentaries was more interesting than before the war, because cinemas are no longer allowed to project a single feature film, they have to meet quotas to include accompanying films. That made me think of ways to make the most of Land Without Bread. It had just one obvious drawback – its length – this mattered, because the new law dictates that a programme cannot exceed 3,400 metres, meaning it would not be possible to screen Land Without Bread at over 2,500 metres. I looked for the negative straight away, but discovered the Germans had confiscated and destroyed it. I then began an overly long, and overly complicated investigation, that I shall recount as follows. One of the many crooks who emerged during the Occupation stole my stock of copies and, in particular, my copy of Land Without Bread, knowing nothing about the film, but thinking there might be some profit to be made from it. He duplicated that copy and presented it to the German censors as his own. Of course, the Propagandastaffel did understand the film, seized the copy and started looking for the negative immediately, which they must have found in the laboratory. They may have requisitioned it and destroyed it, or maybe they sent it to the film archive in Berlin. But the crook in question kept his copy, because the Germans didn’t realize he had a second one in addition to the negative. After much writing backwards and forwards, I discovered the existence of that copy through another one the crook sold to the film archive in Rome. I then convinced the con man in question to sell me his copy, which he threatened to destroy if I reported him or if I did not pay the price he was demanding. So, I thought it was best to go ahead and buy it. This copy was nowhere near a complete version of the film, so I finished it with sections taken from the copy held at the Cinémathèque. I must say that the image quality is good and that I screened it privately at the Panthéon where only the most attentive spectators realized it was a copy. Afterwards, thanks to Jean Painlevé, I acquired not only permission from the censors to licence the film, but also a special dispensation from Mr Painlevé to screen the documentary with a new film (because there are also new regulations that theoretically prohibit the screening of old documentaries with new films). I have made plans to market the film, and as I’ve not been able to find our old contract, I am wondering about a 50 per cent split with you. I think I will soon have some interesting offers to discuss. By my calculations, selling the film in France could easily bring in 100,000 to 200,000 francs. I’ve just sold it in North Africa for a lump sum of 10,000 francs, and I am negotiating sale of a re-edited version in Belgium. What would you like me to do with your share of the money? I’ve given a copy of this letter to Lulu Viñes, who was here while I dictated it. Are you planning to come back to Europe? I would love to produce something with you. How? One of your old team is now working for me: Jacqueline Sadoul. Until very soon, Pierre Braunberger 66 rue de Miromesnil PS My feeling is that the current copy is almost identical to your own version of the film and that the only cuts are those ordered by the censors in 1938. However, to be quite sure we have the most faithful version possible, would you allow us to compare it to your sister-in-law Georgette Rucar’s copy?

Jo Evans & Breixo Viejo, Luis Buñuel: A Life in Letters

[pawelcrocvshelicopter]

World War 2 Poland history

World War 2 start at 1939 and end at 1945. War start when Nazi Germans attack Westerplatte which are in Poland. Polish soldiers protect them self for 1 week. Poland was not ready for attack that’s why Poland lose territory really quickly, in the second week of War Polish army mobilize really quickly but they had much worse equipment's then Nazi Germans, Poland have pact with France and Britain if something like that will happen French and Britain army will come and help but France and Britain doesn't attack, also Nazi had secret pact with Soviets to get Poland after 3 weeks of War Soviets attack Poland from the other side. Poland fight for few weeks but they don’t had a chance, Poland get under 2 occupations, Soviets get polish people and they brought to their country without them permission and make them to work them really hard with out any payments also most of the people doesn't survive because they take them by the train very far away with out any water and food, also people with high education and soldiers take to Katyn where Soviets kill over 20,000 officers. In 1941 Soviets get attack by Nazi, Soviets want use Polish people as a free army that’s why free a Polish officer out of the prison and signed contract with him to give him permission to create a polish army on Soviet territory and fight for Soviets but General Wladyslaw Anders had different plans he create army which he use to get through Africa and join to the allies in Palestine from there they attack Italy which is a member of the Third Reich, Polish army broke one of the taught defensive line in World War 2, Gustav line is a defensive line which was create to hold allies tank and army away from Rome, one of the most hard place to get is Monte Casino which is a monastery place on really high mountain, Nazi put there lots of anti-plains guns and anti-tank guns, also Monte Casino is really easy place to defend but somehow polish soldiers did it. That’s open way for allies to a Rome, but Polish soldiers not only fight in Italy and Africa they also fight for England, one of the famous sky division 303 fight for England in Battle of Britain polish pilots had the highest score of Nazi planes destroyed, Witold Urbanowisz and Jan Zubach stay one of the famous pilots in RAF also all polish pilots get orders from King George, also polish squadrons help to destroy one of the biggest war ship at world war 2 (Bismark). Other big achievement of polish army is battle for Normandy (Nederlands, Belgium, France). First polish tank division fight against Nazi in Belgium and Nederlands mostly, Nazi call them Black Devils when they destroy there defence General Stanislaw Maciuszek was really good general and know how to use his army really clever his also have good tactic and polish heroism get to the history. War finish at 1945 but Poland was leave behind a Iron Curtain (Iron curtain is a border between Europe and Soviets union). Soviets Union create a Warsaw Pact which say that if some country want go for freedom all other country need to invaded. In 1991 at the end of cold war (arm race) Soviets have no money to continue a cold war and thanks of pope and USA president Poland get independent as first country and they destroy a iron curtain. 

Information from YT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7MSG4Q-4as                  

[mythawolf]

Before I start, I wanna say Holmes is a lot nicer in the books, just in case. Still a bit of a donkeys backside, but significantly nicer. Sorry to be that guy.

I'm gonna put seven (not all the detectives I know) detectives in order of how interesting I find their lives. Be warned there are spoilers. Also I'm not counting Batman just because reasons.

6. Arsene Lupin: More of a gentleman thief but has done detective work a couple times. Stole a necklace as a child, and then the rest of his life is shrouded in Mystery.

5. Damian Puig: Was a theatre actor before he became one of the best cops in his country. Was transferred to Yoalco after something happened with his wife. Currently chasing Phantom Thief Cometa.

4. Inspector Jacques Clouseau: A world Famous detective that is also the most inept man on the force. Has a servant called Cato he spars with who's constantly attacking him. Has a Clouseau mobile. Fell in love a few times and got framed once for being a criminal. Stopped someone he drove mad with his incompetence with a death ray while being an international fugitive from government organisations who also happened to be officially dead. (I might be mixing up events there)

3. Hercule Poirot: Was a chief of Police in Belgium. Met Captain Hastings during ww1, and was forced out after a German occupation. Came to England and became a private detective. Solved lots of crimes. Foiled a Nazi plot.

2. Daisy Wells from Murder Most Unladylike book series (jointed with Hazel): Born in 1920s England, she grew up as an aristocrat. Met her best friend Hazel Wong. After their teacher got murdered, they solved it and Daisy got character development too. Solved a bunch more murders, got yet more characters, played a tiny part in Romeo and Juliet while going through an existential crisis about being gay. After some more crime solving she joined her spy uncle Bertie and formed the Ministry of Unladylike Activity with Hazel and they were the heads during ww2.

2. jointed with Daisy).. Hazel Wong from Murder most Unladylike: Born in 1930s Hong Kong. Became an exchange student to posh boarding school Deepdean. Met Daisy Wells. Solved a bunch of murders, became more self confident returned to Hong Kong for a funeral where she got accused herself, played a minor part in Romeo and Juliet, and formed the Ministry of Unladylike Activity with Daisy.

1. Batman: I'm not going down that rabbit hole.

did i show you guys my list of detectives ranked by bitchiness

[petermorwood]

Would love to know more about how Louis XIV caused WW2!

OK, this is the very VERY simplified version (a follow-up to this comment.)

Louis XIV, Catholic king of France, oppressed the Huguenots (French Protestants) because that’s what a Catholic king does. He also grabbed their goods and wealth because being in with God is nice but profit is even nicer; palaces like Versailles don't just build themselves.

Various other Protestant European states (mostly German) worried that Louis might use France's impressive military power to oppress them as well, or at least use their Protestantism and alliances (i.e. potential threats) as an excuse to extend territories granted to France after the Thirty Years War (1618-48).

Louis did exactly that, deciding that France's eastern border would be more easily defended if it was neatened up a bit, so, equipped with various legal pretexts and a rather large army, he invaded and annexed several parts of the German Rhineland - Mainz, Koblenz, Strassburg - which had been making the border look untidy.

Cue the Nine Years War (1688-97) during which the French threw their weight around considerably, invoking a scorched-earth policy to create a Zone of Defence that destroyed numerous towns in western Germany for no better reason than they were The Big Dog and could do what they liked.

Some years later (1792) the French were back in Germany again, this time to bring the benefits of the French Revolution and to re-confirm possession of those parts of the Rhineland that "belonged to France", plus adding a few more.

Some more years later (1803-15) the French were back in Germany again, this time to bring the benefits of Napoleon Bonaparte's empire and to re-re-confirm possession of those parts of the Rhineland that "belonged to France" plus adding a lot more.

After Bonaparte was packed off to St Helena (1815) various parts of Europe that "belonged to France" - not just the Rhineland, Bonaparte had been amazingly grabby - were returned, more or less, to their original owners. However, various German states still held a simmering "ooh, one day, just you wait" resentment against France.

Cue the trouncing of France under Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71), the German annexation of Alsace and Lorraine (French provinces grabbed on grounds not dissimilar to the various parts of Germany that had "belonged to France") and the proclamation of the unified German Empire in no less a place than Louis XIV's palace of Versailles.

This left the French feeling as resentful towards Germany as Germany had felt against France, and if it sounds like the phrase "it'll all end in tears" is going to play a role in this post, yes it is, because Germany's militaristic emperor Wilhelm II was a one-man diplomatic incident with a waxed moustache, and his militaristic nation was - with only a few exceptions - little better.

Cue the Schlieffen Plan, with which Germany - prompted by a “damned stupid incident in the Balkans” that Chancellor Bismarck had warned about years before - planned to defeat France in a hurry by a quick advance through neutral Belgium, before France's ally Russia could mobilise fast enough to do anything about it.

That didn't work, because Belgium treated being invaded as a good reason to stop being neutral, and held up the carefully-timetabled advance long enough that various other alliances kicked in and the Plan fell apart. During this period the Germans threw their weight around considerably, destroying numerous towns in Belgium for no better reason than they were The Big Dog and could do what they liked.

Cue the Great War (1914-18) and four years of unpleasantness after which Germany was beaten and France got Alsace and Lorraine back, as well as occupation of (what a surprise!) the Rhineland as war reparations. France also insisted on the Versailles Treaty being as severe as possible, which left the Germans feeling as resentful towards France as France had felt against Germany... Etcetera, etcetera.

This led to more German militarism, a conviction they hadn’t really been beaten in a fair fight, a resurgence of "ooh, one day, just you wait", Nazis, Hitler, reoccupation of the Rhineland, absorption of Austria, annexation of Czechoslovakia, no further territorial demands in Europe, then blitzkrieg in Poland...

Cue World War Two (1939-45) and a further five or so years of unpleasantness compared to which any previous unpleasantness really couldn’t compare. Alsace and Lorraine weren't officially annexed this time, since they came as part of the complete Fall of France package. This was something which no doubt made everyone feel so much better.

And that’s how Louis XIV caused World War Two.

[hero-israel]

If the gate at Auschwitz had said "CRITICISM OF ISRAEL" about 30% of woke-SJ types would be fine with it. Make it 60% if the Nazis hadn't been white.

Life in 1920 Berlin was no easier than in 2020 Gaza. Germany was under occupation (by France and Belgium). Society was crippled and humiliated. There was like 15,000% inflation, it cost 200 billion deutschemarks to buy a loaf of bread. Rampant unemployment, poverty, hunger, and a suicide epidemic so big it is still studied a century later. And they didn't have a thousand global charities giving them pity donations. If the Palestinians have an excuse to form a fascist militia to mass murder Jewish communities, why NOT the Germans? I always thought it was just plain wrong and there was no excuse, yet all I ever hear about the Palestinian fascist militias are excuses. You see the memes about "What do you call someone who joined the Nazis because they were poor and hopeless? A NAZI, punch a Nazi (like and share!)", makes sense, but apparently there's some fine print involved, a secret password where someone who's double-reverse-pinkyswear hopeless every other Thursday gets to join the Nazis and it's actually understandable and still the Jews' fault.

[backtomyfirstfandom]

Okay, so... I have ideas:

As a continuation of The Heirloom, I was thinking about a Fanfiction that's set during the Nazi occupation in Belgium. Something like, Tintin has just come back home (as a war reporter) and finds Nazis and swastikas everywhere (and Haddock is bloody confused because he understands nothing of German). They basically become part of the Belgium resistance, forming a group of people that sabotages the Nazis, spies on them and tries to kill them (occasionally saving prisoners or people that should be send in lagers). Rosalia returns in the story as part of the group (and gets to use the watch but I won't tell you why). Bonus spoiler: Tintin will dress as an SS officer in order to infiltrate into an event;

A Fanfiction on its own set in 1670 / 1700. Pirates, pirates everywhere. Tintin is an adventurer that embarks on the wrong ship and eventually ends up on Haddock's galleon. I still don't have a real plot but it's about Haddock and Sakarin's ancestors.

[growingstronglikeahighgardenrose]

In Flanders Fields: the series

I know this series isn't the most recent anymore, but since it's on Netflix I thought it might be interesting. "In Vlaamse Velden" (aka In Flanders Fields) is a series about the Belgian World War One experience. Both at the front at Ypres, in occupied Ghent, and around several beautiful spots in Flanders. The sets are stunning.

It follows a Bourgeois family who has one heroic son off to fight the war, one playboy son who does his best to avoid going to war by deserting and then by constantly seeking pleasures at the front.

Their little 15 year old sister stays behind in occupied Ghent, her house being claimed by Germans who they now have to live with. Her father is a doctor who tries cooperating with them, while she wants to train to become a nurse and joins the resistance.

It offers a unique non-English view of the war and contains plot points I've rarely seen in other World War One dramas like: - difficulty of correspondence during the war - wartime prostitution - Germans living in other countries getting attacked and killed at the outbreak of the war and having to flee due to anti-German sentiment, even though their families have been living in those countries for decades - our first Dutch university (The Germans reopened a Flemish university in which classes were exclusively given in French, because that was the language of the elite. They forced the university to use Dutch, the native language of the region, as an instruction language because they really planned on anexing us, their fellow Germanic country and hoped this would score good points with the Dutch speaking part of the country. Unfortunately, after the war the university became French again for some time, bad luck for the Dutchies) - bike regiments - deserters who don't immediately get shot - hospitals (not just at the front) - occupation from the pov of the occupied - subtle resistance, food scarcity - charity, and multiple languages.

There's Dutch dialect, French, English and German in the series and the characters switch between it perfectly. In the World War many nations were involved and you were often faced with people speaking other languages. In most movies, the whole world is English.

It contains some (unfortunate) Belgian war myths like: "et pour les Flamands, la même chose" (a thing we still jokingly say; there's the idea that all high functions were fulfilled by French-speaking wealthier Belgians who refused to learn Dutch and thus ordered their Dutch troops in a language they didn't understand, leading to massive Flemish death. Quite overexaggerated), the noble German who lived with you, the absolute tyrant German who lived with you, everyone gets in touch with the resistance while collaboration is a rare thing (while absolute numbers are impossible to know since resistance was a hushhush thing, scientific research believes only 30% of all resistance in Belgium was Flemish. Meanwhile, working together with Germans was for many quite unavoidable).

It was made for the "remembering the great war" project of our state-funded flemish television and radio broadcaster (typical Belgian thing: we have a state funded French and a state funded Dutch broadcaster, they work in the same building but each has their side of the building and they literally never cross the corridor) by Mark De Geest, a lovely man whom I had the pleasure of working together with for a workshop we co-hosted on bringing history to screen.

[marjaystuff]

Guest Review:  Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff

Code Name Sapphire

Pam Jenoff

Park Row Pub

Feb 7th, 2023

Code Name Sapphire by Pam Jenoff is the latest of her historical novels. The plot begins in 1942 and revolves around three women, each with a distinctly different personality. The story has love, resilience, complicated family relationships, betrayal, and secrets. 

“It is a story of growth.  I like writing about women in history.  With the war women are challenged, tested, and it is exciting to see their response.  There is a wonderful non-fiction book titled The Twentieth Train by Marion Schreiber that has the real-life data. I was so amazed by this.  I wondered why more people had not done this.”

The story begins with the Nazis attacking a couple in Germany. Hannah Martel drew satiric anti-Nazi cartoons and her fiancé, Isaac, printed them in his underground Berlin newspaper. Attacked brutally, Isaac dies in Hannah’s hands and begs her to escape.  Knowing it is a matter of time until she will be found, Hannah flees for Havana on a ship. As with the MS Saint-Louis the German refugees are not allowed to disembark on Cuba’s shores and the ship is sent back to Europe.  Hannah is saved by her cousin Lily because Belgium has a law that accepts refugees if they have a local relative.  Lily welcomes her cousin and now lives with the family. But Hannah knows it is a matter of time until her German resistance past catches up with her, so she agrees to work with the Belgian underground in exchange for getting help to travel to England or America. 

Readers realize that the three women brought together have their own strengths and weaknesses. Micheline is head of the Sapphire Line resistance network that mainly rescues downed allied pilots and helps them to escape. Lily is reluctant to do anything that might change the status quo of her comfortable life.  Each of these women come together as they try to survive the Nazi occupation. 

“Hannah and Lily are cousins who have not remained in touch.  I wanted to show how their lives went in different directions, but now they are coming back together.  Lily is trying to stay uninvolved to keep her family safe. Hannah has been through the worst of circumstances and must re-learn how to trust and depend on others. Micheline is the outlier, a character inspired by the real woman who ran one of escape lines.”

Each woman had their own distinct personalities. “Hannah is solitary, desperate, vulnerable, artistic, independent, brave, headstrong, guilt-ridden, and stubborn. 

Lily is calm, likes order, does not like confrontation, sheltered, naïve, kind, and thoughtful. 

Micheline: Passionate, a leader, strong, detailed, a planner, blunt, protective, restless, fierce, and combative.”

This story has a lot of suspense and readers will try to understand some of the decisions made that at times seems like a betrayal. The ending twist might throw people for a loop.