#this is what not having a reflection for 200 years does to a man.

[sparkspropaganda]

There's this face Astarion makes sometimes and I'm not entirely sure what emotion he's trying to convey but he fails at it regardless. ID in alt text

[aabluedragon]

Manager Sancho UT3 Emotional Damage Megathread

I’d like to begin by calling Don Quixote of La Manchaland the densest mf of all time for sending Sancho away. My man. You are depriving your entire Family of your presence, sending your first child away while smiling and laughing in Bari’s company.

“I no longer have need for your company.”

WINGS ABOVE. While I’m quite sure that Sancho’s excuses for Don Quixote were actually on the mark, all he’s telling his Family is that their presence does not bring him joy; that this human Fixer is worth more than all of them, and that he would cherish her company over theirs.

Don Quixote likely does so under the expectation that Sancho, his most rebellious child, would return to him should she find a more suitable arrangement for their time. What time does she have left, looking after La Manchaland per his direct order? Since when has Sancho ever truly gone against him after accepting an order? Her grousing and criticism happens while she still considers a request negotiable. Don Quixote’s wording was far from ambiguous. If I were to hazard a guess, I don’t think Don Quixote has ever dismissed Sancho from his side like this. If anything, he is usually the one dragging Sancho into his hobbies in an effort to include her in his small joys. He does not comprehend the scope of his power over his Children nor the ramifications of breaking a precedent. There is no mirror world where Sancho would have refused him, especially at that juncture before she warmed up to Bari’s stories. The only thing that allowed our Sancho to stay at Don Quixote’s side was his inaction upon seeing Sancho show interest.

Placing yet more responsibilities on Sancho and stationing her permanently in La Manchaland was as good as exile.

But that’s not the painful part!

What truly hurt me in this UT3 was the tornado swept up by the butterfly’s wingbeat.

Don Quixote let down the blood barrier sealing La Manchaland at Sancho’s pleading. Sancho, who has never asked anything of him during her entire life as his Kindred. There was no way the other Kindred did not make this same plea. It did not take 200 years for his walls to crumble. Don Quixote’s heart breaks for Sancho specifically. It is the same love that in our world sent Sancho away astride Rocinante, both of them surviving on opposite sides of an insurmountable wall.

I must also mention that at no point does Sancho ever mention her own thirst, only describing that particular yearning and madness in collective. Blood has always been for the Family, but the yearning for emotional connection is hers too. The one thing she lets slip — and only in the cover of her own mind — was her pain at having been excluded from her Father’s dream, all her sacrifices invisible in his eyes’ reflection. When she sees her lower Kindred, her responsibility suffering the same, what else can she do but correct herself and bury her individual pain with the bodies of her kin?

[andyoullhearitagain]

Every Odo Costume Ranked From Worst To Best Part 1

Odo looks terrible 75% of the time and it's not bad costume design, it's true to the character! But it does test me.  Here's everything he wears definitely ranked.

19. Cardassian Uniform:

It is NOT a good look for him.

18. Seasons 1 and 2 Bajoran Security Uniform:

The original Bajorn uniform is SO UGLY you guys. I understand that it's meant to be beige and unattractive to reflect Odo's discomfort with his appearance and his general state as an awkward stiff guy but, oh man. Boy does it achieve that. It's just so unflattering and it makes him look so old and I hate it.

It has so many fit and construction problems, you guys.

17. Makeshift Blanket Poncho:

I literally think he looks better here than in season 1. Also his hair looks better!

16. Klingon Odo:

I almost forgot about Klingon Odo because while I like Klingons in episodes, I don't like Klingon Episodes, you know what I mean? And Odo would be the very bottom of my list of people to go undercover as a Klingon, I don't care if he IS the chief of security. But he does have the face for it, I have to say.

15. 200 Years in the Future Odo:

Ok it's not thaaaaaat bad an outfit but I really cannot with Casual Summer Farmer Odo. It's just not right. It's not what a want for Odo, fashion-wise. Texture of the tunic is pretty.

14. Federation Infirmary Scrubs:

Oh if you get hurt on a FEDERATION ship they give you a non-stupid outfit, huh? It's cute, I'd lounge around the house in it. Is it insane to rank this above Future Odo? Maybe, but I just think it suits him better.

13. Season 3+ Bajoran Security Uniform:

Oh thank god. They fixed most of the fit problems, mainly by adding padding in the chest and shoulder and eliminating some of the shaping in the side front.

And I don't mean padding like they're trying to change his shape, I mean padding as in they've made a suit coat correctly. They also added a high collar. I don't know WHY they repeated the mistake they made in TNG where they started with crew necks (near universally unflattering) but at least they fixed it. It's still a frumpy, insecure look but it feels much more appropriate. Love that Odo always makes his sleeves too long. 

12. Umpire Odo:

This look absolutely gains points because of how much Odo's enjoying it. And that's the most important part of an outfit! He's serving Dadcore.

Do you think the mask is part of him or do you think he wore a real one because It's The Rules? If he got hit in the face with a baseball would it hurt? Important questions.

11. Season 3 Bajoran Security Uniform But With A Belt:

Odo wore this belt for like six episodes and then Kira said she liked it right before she started dating Shakkar, ruining it for Odo forever. May it rest in peace.

10. Mirror Universe Odo:

I really think they could and should have gone harder on Evil Sexy Odo, but unforch he's just wearing the season 3 uniform in black. It is nicer than the brown though so it ranks higher! When you see the costume in full light it's actually got some nice texture.

But Terok Nor is the darkest place in the galaxy, so for most of the episode it looks like this.

Part 2

[ghouly-boiiiii]

I really like this theory people have been discussing about the idea that Cooper, as The Ghoul, has been playing a role all this time in order to cope. That deep down he still is old Coop, but had to adopt this persona in order to survive, because old Cooper wouldn't stand a chance in the wasteland.

But I also think it would be interesting if the opposite were true. Like if The Ghoul is more of a reflection of his true self, or at least a more authentic side of him. Old Coop was a non-confrontational people pleaser who had a tendency to let people influence him and push him around. For example, buying into the idea of the American Dream, letting the director push him into shooting a man on screen even though he was uncomfortable with it, barely complaining when Barb throws parties at their house without even telling him, etc.

He always did what he felt a "good person" should do. He was a patriot, a marine, and dedicated to being a good father, husband, and friend. But deep down, he had this anger and dark thoughts that he's always tried to repress. Perhaps he wished to have more control over his life. At times wanting to be more assertive, but afraid of coming across as "not a good guy". Perhaps he actually enjoyed going to war, and the sport of shooting and killing (The Ghoul certainly seems to be enjoying himself when he's handing out executions) because he was good at it. It made him feel powerful. Like a "big man", when he often felt small and powerless at home. In reality, perhaps he found himself largely apathetic to the suffering of others, and perhaps at times, even enjoyed it.

Perhaps for him, the end of the world was an opportunity as well. An opportunity to step into the person he always wanted to be to some degree or another, but never wanted to admit it. It wasn't just necessity that kept him alive all this time. And it wasn't just a desire to see his family again. It was also the fact that he had those dark tendencies in him all along, just waiting to come out. And in a post apocalyptic world, gave him the advantage over everyone else.

Just the more I think about it, the more I think it wouldn't be enough for him to just play a character through 200+ years of hell. I think Cooper had to have some kind of darkness in him all along for him to be capable of what he does as The Ghoul and continue to live with himself. If he were *just* a good guy on the inside, acting his way through centuries of wastelanding, I don't think he'd be able to keep it up. I still think The Ghoul could be a sort of character he's playing, hence the thick southern accent he seems to lack pre-war, and that there is good in him as well. But it's a character meant to channel those darker parts of him that already existed, not just to hide his soft underbelly.

[rain-harmonia]

hi tumblr I am, as many people are, going fucking insane over the silly little vampire man. I was encouraged to post some thoughts I had about him so uh here you go!!

Pre-vampire Astarion had a different kind of style. Different color preferences, clothing, patterns, hair.

Game era Astarion got off the nautiloid like that - which means we can assume he got taken like that - which means we can assume that’s not a style he’s chosen himself but a visual identity he’s been forced into for 200 years that he hasn’t yet found the ability to change

Even when he kills Cazador. There’s not a Shadowheart-esque moment of changing his appearance to reflect his development even though his appearance can be tied even more to the trauma he’s trying to overcome than Shadowheart’s can

Because he’s spent so long not able to be his own person. Not allowed to find his own tastes. There isn’t some identity lurking beneath the facade, waiting to break forth. Cazador broke him down, hollowed him out, made sure there was nothing except what Cazador wanted him to be

So some time post-game.. it starts slowly. He changes his hairstyle first. His family (they are still alive, they’re elves, fight me about it) tries to lay out clothes for him that used to suit his tastes but he doesn’t feel right putting them on it. It’s not the same kind of performative that Cazador demanded from him, but it feels performative all the same. He goes shopping around, he strays from anything similar to what he would have worn during the Cazador era or during his lifetime. For a while it’s anything that catches his eye, trying out whatever he realizes he likes. Sometimes it ends up a little silly. But eventually he does settle into his preferences. Finally something uniquely him, who he’s become and what he’s decided to like.

The symbolic change of a character’s visual design, but it takes years, maybe even decades

[rookfeatherrambles]

So many ideas. Dumping them here for a pinned comment to keep track. When these have AO3 links, I'll list them here The Angel that Cries Ink (Jmart, Jonelias) Jon has been locked under the Magnus Institute for 200 years, waiting for one person. Martin Blackwood. IN PROGRESS)

Bound by Spider's Thread (Jmart, time travel, somewhat fix it, No sex, Annabelle asks Martin to kill a bitch for her in exchange for saving Jon's life somewhere else) WIP)

The Beast in your Heart (La bete dans coeur) Jonelias, Eventual jmart, Hunt!Jon, Kai!jon. Jon finds out about the watcher's crown ritual and chooses the nuclear option. To throw himself at another fear. He is subsequently transformed, and elias is not nice to jon when he finds out what he's done. Dead dove, very dark, very smutty WIP)

Chiaroscuro (Jmart, timsasha, Artist/Muse au. Jon is a infamous artist who paints the most captivating art but has remained out of the spotlight. A medical diagnosis makes him decide to retire, but he's going to do one final piece. Enter Martin, and Jon's inevitable falling in love with his final muse, no sex, ace jon (WIP

Under skies and sea (Vast Jon. No sjhip. Jon is becoming a sea bird. this is problematic for many reasons) WIP)

Sable Island AU (Jmart, Foggyskies, Jon is a low profile environmental researcher that takes a job on a remote island studying seabirds. He starts to become one, and chronicals his journey. Then Martin, the sun of Peter Lukas, one of two men that are wagering over Jon's life, crashes the supply boat onto the island. They reflect on life, and death (WIP

The Storm Singer : (Jmart, Jonpeter, Foggyskies) Jon is the last siren in the bay and he's sworn to destroy the man who ruined his life. Peter is the fisherman turned monster hunter that massacred Jon's people. He wants Jon dead because he killed his wife. Martin and Simon are also there and they are in love! (not with eachother) Sirens and Sailors! Smutty (WIP

The Lonely Bride: Jonpeter forced marriage. Martin refused to run away with jon in s4 and Peter offered him an alternative way out. Dark, exactly what it says on the tin. smutty (WIP

The Hunter's Stag (Jonpeter, fantasy au. Faerie au.) Jon is a magic white stag that was cursed by a faerie king, to run until he's caught and killed. Peter is the hunter that doesn't want to do that. They become friends. And then more. (WIP

Wintergreen AU: (noship. Jon is 8, has a boat, and is going to america. he gets caught in bad weather and picked up by the Tundra. Now there's a child on board his ship and Peter Lukas doesn't know what to do with him. Silly, lighthearted fun i guess. WIP)

I'm not your Protagonist (I'm not even my own): Jmart, Jonelias) Jon wakes up somewhere else and realizes he's not happy. He does his best to figure out why. (EVERYONE HAS TRAUMA AND GETS THERAPY FIC) WIP)

YEOMYTIM (Your eyes on mine, your Teeth in me _Jondaisy, WIP)

The Hearthwitch's Cat (Jmart, Fantasy) Jon is a powerful arch mage that learns a terrible secret and for his safety, becomes a cat. Martin is the hearthwitch he chooses to adopt as his owner. Fluffy, romance, silly fantasy shenanigans (WIP

The red strings of fate (Can go fuck themselves) Jonelias, eugenics au) Jon is someone who never ever wanted to have a partner, but the system matches him to some bastard name Elias Bouchard. Jon's only way out of having children (legally) is to be a holy terror of a wife. Shenanigans ensue. Smutty, fluffy, light hearted i guess. Elias is not evil and Jon is ace spec WIP)

Non TMA stuff:

Dawn of Shadows (Wip, fantasy)

Everyone loves Fucked Up Houses :) (wip, horror)

That weird creepypasta thing, (wip, horror romance)

A real War (wip, Everymanhybrid)

Mabel vs the Grim Reaper (wip, Gravity Falls)

Grimoire Falls (horror fantasy, gravity falls au)

If I think of more of these, I will add them!

ALSO IF YOU ARE CURIOUS, SEND ME AN ASK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT! Seriously yell at me about my ideas please im desperate :))

EDITED 3/29/24

[itsclydebitches]

Jonelias thought of the day is that Elias must come across as so stuffy and boring to those at the Institute - which, you know, very much helps hide his true nature - but as an avatar of the Eye and a man determined to avoid the End, Elias is someone whose entire being revolves around the interplay of knowledge and experiences. He's compelled to Know it all and his efforts to avoid death invite him to Experience it all too, a fascinating combination of passive observer and, by virtue of being a 200+ year-old in search of true immortality, an active participant too. This is a man whose longevity and thirst for knowledge invites an obsession with life that contradicts the 'Sits in his office doing nothing but spreadsheets all day' image he's learned to cultivate. (Though, to be clear, he does love the spreadsheets.) And I don't just mean "obsession with life" in the sense of him avoiding the finality of death, but actually loving the act of being alive.

I think a lot of what the fandom (rightly) jokes about in regards to his characterization is a reflection of that obsession. Elias has a relationship with Peter Lukas that goes far beyond the cold practicality of an alliance, hinting at a romance (if you steer towards a LonelyEyes reading), or just Elias' desire to still be able to place bets with someone while he's trying to end the world. Similarly, his powers ensure that he's never truly alone - if he dies, he takes the rest of the Archive with him - forever supplying him with a warped companionship that doesn't threaten him like he perceives he was threatened as Jonah Magnus, with his acquaintances working to complete their own rituals. In true Beholding style, he's got the heart of a fucked-up scientist who's endlessly curious about the world around him: 'Oooh what happens if I let my friend waste away in the Lonely?' He shows up at Jon's birthday party not just to secretly gloat and keep an eye on things (ha), but because he legitimately wants cake. Who wouldn't want cake? What's the point of living forever if you can't have cake?? Well, for an avatar the exquisite sweetness of fear is just as good, but my point stands. Beyond his fear of death, that enjoyment is at the heart of Elias' goal, with Jon describing his experience as the Pupil as a kind of agonized bliss and Elias confirming this by saying he was having the most wonderful dream. Morality aside, he likes interacting with the horror of the Entities, something we saw all the way back during the "[PLEASURED EXHALATION]" scene. Learning new things feels good. Experiencing news things is enjoyable. Learning and experiencing Bad Things is especially nice given his patron. Consistently, Elias' setbacks are met with interest, or a mild annoyance that then eventually settles into satisfaction because they are also new experiences for him and the Eye: going to jail, getting to psychologically torture Martin, having his own secrets exposed. There's a lot throughout the series to imply that Elias enjoys watching Jon become the Key, not just because it means he's succeeding in his goals, but because there's genuine interest and pride in seeing him "grow" by Elias' standards. The repetition of "our world," "our patron," etc. implies a connection; the intention to experience this new world with another, to enjoy it rather than simply exist in it for the mere sake of existence. Elias is a man whose entire essence boils down to, "I NEED TO KNOW ALL THE THINGS, EXPERIENCE EVERYTHING, AND LIVE FOREVER WHILE ACHIEVING THAT, TO UNDERSTAND IT ALL SO I CAN CONTROL IT ALL AND HAVE A DAMN GOOD TIME IN THE PROCESS, EVEN WHILE I SUCCUMB TO THE PRIMAL FEAR THAT DRIVES ME I WILL PARADOXICALLY EMBRACE IT, AND YEAH THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE I SERVE THE LITERAL GOD OF JUDGY SURVEILLANCE BUT ALSO THAT'S JUST ME."

So anyway, I keep thinking about how this characterization could intersect with S1-2 Jon: prickly, awkward, semi-isolated, desperate to be recognized by someone whose authority he believes in. AKA the boss who, at an unprecedented young age, rose to the top of the Institute they both work at, perceived by those around him as far less interesting than he actually is. Parallels, anyone? Imagine Jon getting to really talk to Elias, realizing how much he has to offer after 200 years of life (though of course he doesn't know that), and just constantly being blindsided by not just the knowledge, but the enthusiasm for everything he's learned and been through - the good and the horrifyingly awful that, despite himself, Jon is equally drawn to. Elias recognizes every quote Jon drops into a conversation and has another witty line to pair it with. He doesn't just indulge his nerdy rambles, but participates in them. He's refined in all the ways that Jon expects - books, opera, music, etc. - and also casually drops in references to acid trips and fucking orgies. Imagine an early series Jon who forms a strong bond with Elias outside of the web (ha x2) he's been weaving, becoming dependent on his friendship and just a little bit completely in love. Elias is inherently fascinating, but he's also just Some Guy, and the combination of that is just perfect for a necrotic Archivist who simultaneously wants to be guided by his 'betters' and prove that he's an equal. Why Elias would be interested in turn barely needs stating: Jon is literally Elias' everything, in a horrifyingly tragic and like, Gothic Romance sense? What would that kind of relationship have changed? It would have likely made Elias' job even easier, but what about Jon?

...I'm not saying that Jon's drive to protect humanity would have been warped into something tragically dangerous if he'd first come to see his intelligent, complex, shockingly kind (from his nonexistent self-esteem POV), secretly-an-eldritch-monster boss as the epitome of humanity... but I'm also not saying it couldn't have!

[amateurvoltaire]

In one of your last posts you mentioned you were studying the civil war in Vandée. Have you ever seen the rather new movie "Vaincre ou Mourir" on the topic? If yes, what do you think of it? I was very curious to give it a try, hoping it's not the usual demonisation of the revolutionary government. Not that I expect it to be portrayed positively in a movie focused on the Vendéean insurgents pov, of course...

Thanks a lot for your question! It’s the first one I've ever received, and I’m really excited to dive into it. (I might have gone a bit overboard, so grab a coffee or a drink before you tackle this beast… TLDR at the bottom…)

I watched "Vaincre ou Mourir" a couple of months ago. Before I dive into my thoughts, the man himself would like a word:

All jokes aside, have you ever been to one of those medieval theme parks where they offer a "realistic" medieval show with dinner? As a kid, every summer, my parents took me to a jousting show at an Italian theme park. We'd watch two knights fight each other for an hour while being “medieval” and munching on chicken legs without any cutlery.

That's pretty much how I felt watching this movie: it’s flashy and fun but doesn’t have much going on underneath. It makes more sense when you discover that the film was funded by Puy du Feu, a large historical theme park in Vendée.

The context

And this is the thing: despite the Canal+ distribution, most of the production is local. The Vendée itself is often defined as a memory space (1), which can lead to a community feeling a special connection to their past. This is often reflected in local traditions, commemorations, and even political leanings. I remember watching an interview from the bicentenary where some locals said they don’t celebrate the 14th of July as a matter of principle—200 years later!

It’s also worth noting that the Vendée has a history of conservative and right-leaning political preferences, and Canal+ is also a right-leaning media outlet.

The Experts

Is it a documentary? Is it a fictional film? It's hard to say in the first few minutes.

The movie attempts to project historical accuracy by introducing four experts right at the start. If a film opens with such a direct appeal to authority, I tend to scrutinise who these experts are. So, who are they?

Reynald Secher: a historian who has been a massive proponent of the Vandean genocide theory. He is very anti-Republican, and his research methodologies are rather sketchy…

Nicolas Delahaye: I don’t know much about him, but I see he publishes primarily regionally in a Vendean publishing house. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s particularly biased, but it does mean his audience is very limited to people with specific views.

Anne Rolland-Boulestreau: a historian at the Université Catholique de l’Ouest specialising in the Vendée counter-revolution. Her articles in the Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française seem unbiased and well-researched. I own one of her books but haven't read it yet, so I can't speak to her longer-form content.

Armand Bernand: if you google de la Rochejaquelein, you will find this guy everywhere. He owns a publishing house, loves the Château de la Durbelière (2), and wrote a series of books set there. He clearly has a historical crush on M. Henri. I think he cosplayed him during some re-enactments and wrote a book about Henri’s brother Auguste.

It’s worth mentioning they either hail from Vendée or work exclusively within the region. This is my bias speaking because I’ve pretty much read all his work, but if you make a movie about the Vendee and can’t get Jean-Clément Martin to say something on camera about it, you should probably not feature any experts…

The Story

After an awkward three minutes of experts telling us how important the revolution was and introducing Charette, we get to the actual movie, which opens with a pile of bodies, burnings, a hanged person, and an awkward first-person voiceover of Charette saying that they made the Vendee into an inferno. This will be a theme for the next hour or so.

If I were to describe this film in two words, "tragedy porn" would fit. What occurred in Vendée was horrific, and its rightly violent portrayal should help viewers understand and appreciate the human and historical impact. However, the film often prioritises shock value over explaining the underlying reasons.

Charette is, by all accounts, a very compelling subject. The guy was a libertine with bucket-loads of courage and style who had a woman as an aide de camp in 1793! Despite spending 1.5 hours with him, narrated from his perspective, I would be hard-pressed to tell you what he’s actually fighting for. Is it honour? Is it revenge? Is it stubbornness? Your guess is as good as mine!

There is absolutely no character growth whatsoever. The film presents as a sequence of battles and shocking scenes narrated by a somewhat detached Charette. Remember what I said about the medieval show? This shock-value approach might work for a short performance during dinner but falls flat when stretched across an entire film.

Despite the weak script, the actors are quite good. Nothing Oscar-worthy, but they can act. The guy that plays Charette does a very good job and is quite charismatic.

The Historical Accuracy

On the whole, I can’t see glaring historical errors. It is fairly historically accurate with some minor issues. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but there are things I noticed and jotted down:

The main one is the bizarre theory that Charette agreed to the peace of 1795 because he was promised that Louis XVII would be handed to him. This has absolutely no credible historical basis whatsoever. It’s a myth that has been propagated for over 200 years.

I’m pretty sure Charette didn’t sign the treaty of La Jaunaye. In fact, as far as I remember, no one from the insurgent side signed it.

While not a historical inaccuracy per se, it's a missed opportunity that the film often portrays Charette as the sole leader of the Vendean army. Though he mentions being one chief among many, this aspect is quickly glossed over. His historical relationship with the Catholic and Royal Army and its leaders was complex and would have been interesting to explore further. It's a shame the film likely didn't have the budget to delve into this, as it could have also demonstrated that Vendée wasn't a monolith.

The depiction of the republican army as well-equipped is somewhat exaggerated. If they were as well-appointed as shown, Carnot and Prieur (Cote D’or) would be out of a job, and Saint-Just wouldn't have needed to requisition shoes for the army.

Lastly, the film underexplains the context of why the counter-revolution started. In my opinion, it manipulatively emphasises the king's execution more than warranted, suggesting it triggered the popular uprising when it really did not. The conflict in Vendée began as a peasant revolt, where the local population was far more concerned with religious issues than royal politics. Most Vendean peasants likely couldn't name the king—they probably knew he was a Louis since there had been a Louis on the throne for 200 years, but that's about it. Their concerns were local: when parish priests who had taken the civic oath replaced their traditional priests, and the Levée en masse was decreed, forcing them to fight random Germans 600 km away for a regime threatening their way of life, they rebelled.

Is the movie anti-Republican propaganda?

To wrap up, is the film anti-Republican? Frankly, I don’t believe it is overtly so. It adopts a somewhat clichéd stance: the revolution's ideals were noble, but things eventually went too far. While I have plenty of thoughts on this—which I'll keep to myself for now—I wouldn’t say this perspective is inherently anti-Republican.

Charette is depicted as initially supportive of the revolution, which is accurate for many aristocrats, especially the minor nobility. The portrayal of Republican soldiers is balanced, with General Jean-Pierre Travot sometimes appearing more honourable than Charette. As the main character, Charette is shown as lazy, indecisive, and sometimes brutal, so the film does not attempt to heroise him. The princes, especially Artois, are also depicted negatively. So, the film isn’t overtly royalist.

Is there a specific stance against the Government (aka the CSP)? I don’t recall them being mentioned, which, again, is accurate since most Vendeeans, including the nobility, were not deeply involved in Parisian politics.

That being said, Carrier and Turreau are portrayed very negatively, and rightfully so. Republican generals are also shown as less likely to spare the "brigands" when captured, which aligns with historical accounts. The movie leans heavily on shock value, featuring hard-to-watch scenes of executions, guillotines, and drownings. Unfortunately, even the staunchest republican historians would be hard-pressed to find the evidence to call those scenes revisionists.

Beyond that, the only thing that stood out to me about the Republicans is that they made Kleber look about 60 years old.

In conclusion, is this the most accurate film ever? Certainly not. Is it counter-revolutionary propaganda? I genuinely don’t think so, and if someone claims otherwise, they’re likely being disingenuous.

TLDR:

Watched the movie "Vaincre ou Mourir," which felt like a medieval theme park show—entertaining but lacking depth, probably due to its funding by an actual historical theme park. Despite its attempt to appear historically accurate with expert interviews, the film fails to deeply explore its characters or the complexities of the Vendée region's history. While it doesn't contain major historical inaccuracies, it oversimplifies the causes and events of the Vendée uprising, focusing more on visual shock than factual explanation. Not outright anti-Republican or counter-revolutionary, but doesn't offer new insights into anything. Overall, flashy but not as informative as it could be.

Notes

A memory space is defined as a location (physical or otherwise) where memories, histories, and narratives are preserved, shared, and understood within a society or culture. Things like museums, monuments, rituals, stories and in this case a region can be memory spaces

Château de la Durbelière was the home of La Rochejaquelein

PS: Thank you again for your question! I had a lot of fun answering it.

[alcyonei]

As someone who avoids their reflection for a variety of reasons, but who also cares about their appearance, I don't think Astarion would forget what he looks like entirely.

Like in a pinch I can do minimal makeup without a mirror, including setting my hair and drawing on eyebrows just cuz I've fussed so much so long about these things I know where I like them to go/fall and can do them by touch-memory. If Astarion is anything like that- which he kinda is- then in his first life, he must've fussed with his appearance so much, he just knows. He might've even done multiple reflection checks throughout the day to make sure everything was still in place, not necessarily to marvel or even significantly look at himself. Even as a magistrate, he had an image to uphold, and thats really all he looked for in the mirror.

Regardless, 200 years is a long time to go without seeing your own face, and given his struggles with abuse, torture, and identity, it also must've impacted his self-image. The thing is- and this is drawing from personal experience- he probably has at least two images of himself in his mind, the one that he uses to charm (imaging himself as his most charming, beautiful self, as someone who is undeniably attractive) and that which is impacted by the abuse (seeing himself as broken, worthless, monstrous, etc).

The other spawn obviously can help him with the menial things like doing his hair or whatever, but he probably gets very particular if something doesn't feel right, or if he just knows they're not making him look like he wants, they're combing his hair all wrong, they're using too much balm, etc. He would probably train himself to do it alone, not trusting anyone else to get it right.

So if tav does draw him, more than anything he might just play it off cool, not recognizing himself at first but having a vague idea that it's him. "Is that really what I look like?" he'd say, almost dismissively, as if you either don't have the eye and skill to capture his glorious charm, or how dare you outline such unseemly lines across his carefully cared for visage.

But he'll keep staring at the picture. He'll keep staring so intently he won't listen to anything you answer. He'll drink up every single detail, because even if it isn't directly from the source, it's something. You let him keep the drawing and he hangs it up. Maybe he tucks it into his mirror's frame. Maybe he stares at it as he falls asleep and tries to reconcile his distorted images of himself with an image of how someone sees him. It may be too much to process alone. He falls asleep with it.

Maybe he later begins to question how true to real life it might be given your...bias, because although he remembers being good-looking with some degree of certainty, he doesn't remember ever being quite so beautiful. Why would you draw him like this, he'd wonder. Logically, he knows. Logically, he understands you must find him at least physically appealing enough to be intimate. But the mundane beauty of the man in the drawing, surely that's not him, is it? Just existing. Just beautiful by virtue of being? That's.....that's not.....

He'll never admit to you that it brings him close to tears sometimes. But he'd never stop looking at it.

[eclipsecrowned]

like if u want to know what a fucking geek i am about smoot let's just examine a ship and how i make their sex life actually reflect something about narrative/muse i play.

helstarion.

she bites because he's offering, and she's never tried before, and he doesn't mock her for that fact when he rolls the perception success about her hesitation with his offer. they could be dead tomorrow. they've been through trial and tribulation together. she trusts him, and she thinks he genuinely wants her because she doesn't realize that he's manipulating her at that point.

she submits to him. this can be interpreted a number of ways for an audience. hel has been so in control and alone for so long that maybe her thrill is letting the handsome man take it all away from her, to be with her and in control of her. maybe because as much as fucking an undead is against her church's dogma, then she can at least argue this way he is a thing done to her, not a thing she is actively doing by her submission. maybe her exhaustion in spending her life in service to her god is represented in the repeated sin of letting this man have her any way he wants her. maybe she's trying to give him back the agency he's lacked for 200 years in her submission. maybe she's just a sub. each possible interpretation introduces a whole new layer to the dynamic, instead of just implying ax or i are deriving author appeal from such a dynamic.

hel's health would interfere with attempts to keep the relationship physical. whether on chronic pain days where she does not want to be touched in any way whatsoever to maxing out at two rounds, she's not keeping up with astari0n's immortal stamina. how does she cope with that? how does he? what sort of negotiations do they have about this less than ideal circumstance, or do they just shrug it off and accept it as is?

the ship doesn't take a hit once he nixes sex as an option. hel finds other ways that are just as valid to her to show her adoration, both emotionally and physically. sex doesn't matter to her in terms of compatibility or longevity of a relationship -- she loves that man. sex has no part in her feelings.

on the surface, the vampire is fucking the cleric, what scandal. to me, it's 'and what can we infer about the cleric, that she's allowing the vampire to fuck her?'

[changelingsandothernonsense]

This one is actually a question from @paraparadigm to me but it's just so good that I think it'd be a fun ask chain. Already sent it to a few unwary adventurers, but especially with your archaeology take, I think this'd be a fun one to hear from you about!

You are in charge of designing a new TES V location. What will it be? Imagine that resources, models, and modding capabilities/skills are no impediment. What do you feel is missing world-wise in the game, and what sort of place would you make? Feel free to adapt as a writing prompt as well =)

I have a bone to pick with parts of Solstheim and Eastern Skyrim because of one simple reason. (not a new area I know but just a general issue about it that bothers me).

Volcanic ash appears in snow, ash in general does, but it's meant to alter the colour of the snow.

The last one is from the 2019-20 Bushfires (I lived in the middle of that, it was a time and it wasn't my first time in the fire line) showing the effects of the smoke and ash had on the mountains in New Zealand 4157.41 km away. Ash and smoke travel far. I want that reflected in the landscape. Red Mountain has been erupting magically for the last 200 years, there has to be evidence of that in Skyrim and Solstheim. So I would change the colour of the snow and ice from Dawnstar-Windhelm-Winterhold and the Velothi Mountain range. Make it have a brown/grey/pink tinge depending on how close to the border you get.

Solstheim I want mixed, the island is still pretty far north and should be cold. I don't mind the lower section of the island being ashlands but the north needs to have ASHY SNOW. Solstheim should be completely covered in it. The snow should be orange-brown.

I think that the icefields near the Skaal Village should reflect how much the environment has changed between Bloodmoon and Dragonborn.

There should be surface ash every time that volcano erupts right across the island. I love the ash storms and mod them to make them more oppressive (having experienced my share of both ash and sand storms, that shit is blinding).

My issue is not enough ash, I want more ash physics, let it get in your hair, more ash build up in some of the buildings, even some remnants along the border. Refugees' Rest should look more devastated, and expand the graveyard. I want evidence that it's actually a Dunmer gravesite and that people still travel there to remember their loved ones. I want evidence that they tried to inter their dead traditionally, but ultimately had to bury them in above-ground cairns (originally used as burial mounds). I want the Nordic tradition to slowly encroach on the refugees, they need to use that graveyard. I also want the Gray Quater to be expanded, it's a slum that's confined to like two alleyways, make it larger. More dunmer flair, add their own marketplace. I want them to look like they tried to make it their own over the last 200 years.

So more little fixes, I also think Raven Rock should be expanded, with more evidence that the Redoran just built over the old Imperial settlement. My, my maybe I want a bit of a Tel style of settlement (as in man-made hill settlements with a lot of layers, as opposed to shroom towers in the Morrowind sense). The ash compacts quite a bit and preserves the underlying structures. A Redoran building with a reused Imperial floor. More ruined buildings and settlements, make it look like the Redoran tried to expand but each event from the Argonain Invasion (it happened, Lleril Morvayn did many a thing, respect that man!) to the crumbling of the Bulwark, to just every time Red Mountain erupts should cause a similar effect to what we see in-game (everyone just lives within the safety of the Bulwark). Just, more evidence that they tried, because Morvayn really did). I want more NPCs to have fled Windhelm and ended up there as well. I want interconnectedness. I also would live to see a gradual improvement of the settlement if you do all the quests to help them out. Particularly if you open the mines. More money is coming in, let the EEC take a renewed interest in the Ebony flowing out of it.

I also want more trade to take place between Tel Mithryn and Raven Rock. They should have fixed that pier, the sea should be used to transport goods moreso than braving the ash. Neloth can't get his fancy teas without trade.

[tara-in-our-hearts]

I thought we had left the tv trope "attractive woman is for some reason seen as uglier than a troll, is described as someone who no man will ever ever want, and then she has a glow up and againt all odds meets her prince" in the 00s.

But no, that's basically Bridgerton season 3. I don't find it believable at all that Nicola Coughlan, even in her ugly dresses in season 1-2, would be seen as so unattractive that no one expects her to ever find a match. Come on! She's gorgeous. Yes, she is the only young woman that's not size 0 in the show. But I do not find it believable at all that her size would be the only thing making people think she's unattractive. And not that the show cares about historical accuracy, but women who looked like they could bear many healthy children were generally seen as more attractive than women without any curves or fat back in the day.

Generally, I think that Bridgerton is the most skilled in mixing modern with historical among the tv series I've seen that do this. It certainly does a lot better than Dickinson or The Great. The modern music in classical interpretations actually works, and it's nice to see a period drama that isn't all white (even though a make believe world like Bridgerton where racism is gone is probably not realistic, and the showrunners have recieved valid criticism for being totally color blind. A better period drama with cast of different skin colors that actually adresses racism is Harlots.)

But I feel like Bridgerton went a bit too modern with the body ideals and the makeup. It's a prime example of art that is made about a historical period reflecting the time it is actually made the most. Also, it reflects contemporary ideas and prejudices about the past that we have. For example that young upper class unmarried women would know nothing about procreation or sex. That's most likely not true for the 1800s.

Another problem I have with Bridgerton - I do like it too, believe me or not, but there are some issues I have with it - is how it romanticizes women's oppression. Sure, it does being up how women are subject to the will of men, but still, the balls and having to marry young and being sold off is still not treated very negatively. And they could have done so much more with Eloise! She should have continued on her feminist path, met other upper class suffragettes, et cetera. But no. And apparently she's seen as the annoying one by the fandom. Tilly suddenly wanting marriage was another disappointment. That sends a message that even women who are opposed to the patriarchy eventually folds. In the books, apparently Eloise gets married too. I hope they keep her unmarried in the show but I doubt it.

I remember an interview filmed between season 1 and 2, with Nicola Coughlan, Charitha Chandran, Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey (see below). They were asked if they'd prefer to date in today's world or during the early 1800s. The only one who picked today was Jonathan. Do the rest of them not have enough historical knowledge to understand just how bad it actually was if you weren't a straight man? I know that today's dating isn't easy either but at least women have some rights now in many parts of the world. At least it's legal to date someone of the same sex in over 100 countries. And the freedom to choose what kind of live you want for yourself, to choose if you want kids or not, is so much greater nowadays compared to 200 years ago. They hardly even had access to reliable contraception back then! Imagine having 12 kids just because you like penetrative heterosexual sex. Or because your husband likes it and you can't say no. Add bad maternal health care and no C-section without the mother dying and I cannot for my life understand why any woman would prefer those days. Rant over.

[kashncheese]

Lifted Burden

Our world is constantly changing; it's not the same as it was yesterday, not the same as it was last week, and nowhere near the same as it was 200 years ago, a time when men and women were crushed by imposed gender expectations. A woman had to be a submissive wife who does housework and be innocent and pure, while a man strong to keep his family safe and able to provide for them alone (Appell, n.d). 

But “Two Words”, a story published in 1989 by Latin American author Isabel Allende, shows how gender expectations have changed since those times; in the past decades, people have been able to slowly accept the idea that we are not confined to these roles.

To show how "Two Words" conveys this idea, let’s talk about two of its characters: Belisa and the Colonel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Belisa

Child Belisa. Emaze.(n.d.).taken from https://www.emaze.com/@aiiczqcw/Two-Words-(Feminist-Criticism)

Belisa, the female lead, steers far away from stereotypical female expectations, reflecting the significant progress feminism made in Latin America by the 1980s. 

For a point of comparison, let’s talk Pride and Prejudice (P&P). In P&P, marriage is a woman's ultimate goal and the only way for her to have a secure future, meaning a woman could never be independent. A woman couldn’t even own property during the time P&P was set. (Austen,2003)

But times have changed, Belisa’s not confined to that goal. She’s more independent, and this is established as early as the first sentence when it’s explained that her family was too poor to name their children, which means “Belisa Crepusculario” wasn’t something given to her, but something she worked for. Starting from her name, she had to work hard for everything she had: her skills and her business. Belisa is also nowhere near submissive (see page 3, where she gets manhandled and “demanded to know the reason for such rough treatment”) nor is she portrayed as completely “pure” (see page 4, where she suddenly wants to “fondle” the Colonel).

So yeah, Belisa was pretty far from a “traditional woman”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Colonel

The Colonel. Craiyon. (n.d.). taken from https://www.craiyon.com/image/uwTEnbLwRL6dGDmKa1PjCA

The Colonel embodies the flexibility that’s been integrated into gender roles. 

One could argue that the Colonel was just another traditional man, though. He was someone people saw as strong, someone who led and was always at the head, and these were traits expected of a traditional man.

But that wasn’t all that the Colonel was. 

For example: “....the whole world could see the voracious-puma eyes soften as the woman walked to him and took his hand in hers” (Allende, 1989, p. 7)

While it's subtle, this quote portrays a submissive, emotional side to the Colonel, contrasting the victorian/traditional “dominant, stoic, manly man” idea. (Man up – the Victorian Origins of Toxic Masculinity, 2017)

And that’s the thing. Anyone, male or female, should be able to choose what roles they want to fill regardless of who traditionally held those roles and expectations. They aren't trapped just because they chose a “traditional role”, and this idea is perfectly portrayed by the Colonel. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Two Words'' is a story with feminism far from its main focus, but that's what makes it great to analyze from this perspective. From stories like these that don't focus on feminism, we get to see what authors consciously and subconsciously expect of different genders. While one author doesn't reflect the thoughts of society as a whole, the works that an author leaves behind still serve as proof that the ideas they had existed, and sometimes, that's enough proof to believe that our world changed, hopefully for the better.

Allende, I. (1989). Two Words. https://lah.elearningontario.ca/CMS/public/exported_courses/ENG1D/exported/ENG1DU06/ENG1DU06/ENG1DU06A03/_teacher/two-words.pdf

Appell, F. (n.d.). Victorian Ideals: The influence of society’s ideals on Victorian relationships. Retrieved June 2, 2024, from https://www.mckendree.edu/academics/scholars/issue18/appell.htm

Austen, J. (2003). Pride and Prejudice (V. Jones, Ed.). Penguin Classics.

Man Up – The Victorian origins of toxic Masculinity. (2017, May 12). https://projects.history.qmul.ac.uk/thehistorian/2017/05/12/man-up-the-victorian-origins-of-toxic-masculinity/ 

[blossomingbooks]

Book Review: To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf

One more blossoming book review of Virginia Woolf: come with me To the Lighthouse (1927)!

Nothing really happens in this novel. Apart from one death that is central to the narrative and moves not things, but the state of things along, To the Lighthouse is mainly a patch of stream of consciousness from different points of view. And even this “big event” of this character’s death is merely mentioned, out of nowhere, with no further explanation. Woolf doesn’t care about what happens, only about how something feels. She spends these 200 pages painting a portrait of a bucolic bourgeois scene on the Isle of Skye in the 1910s, with a very faint hue of the First World War happening in the background — “contemplation was unendurable; the mirror was broken. (...) The war, people said, had revived their interest in poetry”. 

Woolf paints a picture, just like her Lily Briscoe does for 10 years. This character’s artistic musings seem to embody Woolf’s own: the act of composition, be it of Briscoe’s painting, or of the novel itself, is more important than the final product. The mental process prevails over action: “Some notion was in both of them about the ineffectiveness of action, the supremacy of thought”, she writes. 

“Where to begin?--that was the question at what point to make the first mark? One line placed on the canvas committed her to innumerable risks, to frequent and irrevocable decisions. All that in idea seemed simple became in practice immediately complex; (...) Still the risk must be run; the mark made.” 

Connection to other Virginia Woolf works

This was my first Woolf novel; so far, I had only read A Room of One’s Own (1929) and her short story “The Lady in the Looking Glass: A Reflection” (1929). I found that her fictional writing is much more complex than her essayistic one, requiring at first a bit of an effort to get acclimated to her abundant use of semicolons and of interior monologue. However, thematically, I was able to find here and there bits of each of these works I previously knew:  

In A Room of One’s Own, Woolf critics academia, pointing out its underlying misogyny and invents an abstract sister for Shakespeare, demonstrating how, if the latter had been a woman, she would’ve never had the success that he had as a man. In this novel, these critiques are subtly hinted at here and there: a character states to Lily that “women can’t paint, women can’t write”. Another character asks, “If Shakespeare had never existed (...) would the world have differed much from what it is today? Does the progress of civilization depend upon great men?” and affirms that “the very stone one kicks with one’s boot will outlast Shakespeare.”  

The novel also hints at her short story “The Lady in the Looking Glass: A Reflection”, which describes an empty room reflected in a mirror. Both works express a kind of spatial melancholy, painting a scene which brings subjectivity to mundane objects: “how once the looking-glass had held a face; had held a world hollowed out in which a figure turned” (from To the Lighthouse). In both works, houses and spaces become characters. The novel is divided into three parts: “The Window”, “Time Passes”, “The Lighthouse”. In the second part, the house itself becomes the abandoned protagonist, as we follow it through the years, empty.

Women in To the Lighthouse

But the passages that stuck with me the most are from the first part, relating to the character of Mrs Ramsay, a mother of eight: “So boasting of her capacity to surround and protect, there was scarcely a shell of herself left for her to know herself by; all was so lavished and spent”. While Lily Briscoe represents Woolf’s artistic vision and a feminist denial of female stereotypes, and Mrs Ramsay stands on the complete opposite side of this, she does however represent in her resignation the female condition in its most subtle anguishes:

“They came to her, naturally, since she was a woman, all day long with this and that; one wanting this, another that; the children were growing up; she often felt she was nothing but a sponge sopped full of human emotions”; “Again she felt (...) the sterility of men, for if she did not do it nobody would do it”.

What I also really appreciated was the age of these female characters, since literary representation (specially up until Modernism, one could argue), tends to be drawn to younger women and girls. Woolf, on the other hand, gives voice to the atemporal feelings of mature womanhood: Mrs Ramsay’s age isn’t specified, but we can infer that she is a middle-aged woman, while Lily starts the novel at 34 and, by the end of her artistic meditations, she is 44 years old. 

Throughout the narrative pervades a consistent inherent longing for things one cannot have: a moment, a father’s approval, a presence, the lighthouse. Considered to be her most autobiographical novel, To the Lighthouse is inspired by Woolf’s family and their holiday house — which explains the pervasive atmosphere of nostalgia for something the reader doesn’t quite understand. Written like an impressionist painting, it feels like a fragment of memory. At the end, the characters disappear, but the feeling lingers: “‘you’ and ‘I’ and ‘she’ pass and vanish; nothing stays; all changes; but not words, not paint.” 

[awideplace]

Hey, love your video about plastic surgery! It sure is a temptation for many women nowadays because we see it all the time on social media. What really helped me was a yt video “why you hate your nose”, it explains where we got this idea of a small nose and how it even can be traced back to antisemitism. Since I am a very aesthetic person I considered it often because I have a large, round nose, and rather smaller lips. But then I realized that with plastic surgery I’d just look like everybody else and that in a few years the trend probably goes back to natural and that all the devil wants is to reduce us to what we look like from the outside and to objectifying ourselves. Actually, I don’t want a man who loves me for my outward appearance because that will fade anyway and then he doesn’t understand the love of the father. I also feel the exact same way as you, I think if God is perfect in all he does, then my nose wasn’t a mistake. I believe he actually made us really beautiful with all our differences but our mindset is totally twisted by what the world tells us. Ultimately the beauty idea of this world is really destructive, as you say the surgeries have side effects and are dangerous in general. I guess this is what John means when he says you cannot be friends with the world and God. I personally know that I need to grow in my identity in Christ so that my mindset reflects his heart and not of the world. Thank you for sharing! 🌹

Thank you! I appreciate you sharing. What really sets modern day apart from years gone by of people undertaking beauty trends and emulating them is the plastic surgery that is done now: women going under the knife and under the needle to augment their bodies. In the 1920's it was to tweeze your eyebrows and have them super thin and rounded in arch or use lipliner to highlight your Cupid's bow. Now women are doing risky surgeries to be physically appealing and this is what is scary. My hair stylist's good friend was a mother and she went to get bum implants and the silicon went into her brain and she died then and there. She left behind a husband and children- from trying to get a larger bottom. It's heartbreaking and ridiculous. Brazilian bum lifts alone (not implants, just the fat transfer) are done at a rate of about 200 a DAY! They increased in popularity of 90% between 2015-2019 alone. This is scary! My heart breaks for people, specifically women and young women, who think they need to risk their lives, their health, their sense of emotional/mental well-being to be attractive to others.

[mariacallous]

In September 2022, I was working as a fixer in Taipei for a U.S. news segment about cross-strait tensions, handling local logistics for a visiting producer and cameraman. Fixers are freelance staff whose role is somewhere between journalist and tour guide—they can end up doing everything from arranging interviews to translation to booking hotels. One night, we arrived at an amateur radio meetup in a park, ready to shoot, and found an eccentric crew of local radio fans. One man hunched over a tangled web of equipment at the back of his truck, tapping away in Morse code; another fidgeted with an antenna as he walked around, trying to get a signal. The producer told me that the group was learning how to operate radios in case of war with China.

“Why do you do this?” I asked one of the guys, expecting him to launch into a monologue about the importance of civil defense.

“Because with radio, we can communicate with anyone in the world,” he replied.

“What about communicating with people in China?”

“If they pick up, sure,” he shrugged.

I realized quickly that most of them weren’t there because of cross-strait tensions. Although a few were interested in civil defense, the regulars were just radio nerds who liked to hang out. We left the park disappointed, and only a couple frames from that night made it to the final video.

In recent years, as tensions between China and Taiwan have reached historic highs, foreign journalists have flocked to Taiwan to capture life inside a geopolitical flash point. In January, more than 200 journalists from 28 countries arrived to cover the 2024 presidential election. Yet many of these short-term, visiting journalists distort the reality on the ground. They depict the island as the centerpiece of a drama that they’ve already made up their minds about, often inflating tensions and asking leading questions for heightened effect. And the fixers are brought on as the stagehands, charged with providing the backdrop for pre-written narratives.

Because Taiwan is commonly framed as the flash point of potential world war, most television producers want access to a shooting range, a bomb shelter, or a military base. Many fly to the outlying islands of Kinmen or Matsu in hopes of hopping on a boat to catch a glimpse of the Chinese shore.

“It’s like ordering from a menu—they see something that someone has covered before and want the same thing,” said Jesse, a veteran Taiwanese fixer. (Jesse’s name has been changed due to his concerns about possible impacts on his professional relationships.)

“You watch the news and see footage of war planes, and it seems like it’s tense on the ground here in Taiwan,” said Tina Liu, a Taiwanese journalist who took on her first fixing gig with an Italian outlet this year. “But it really isn’t. And even though it isn’t, people are still pursing that tense atmosphere.”

I’ve worked as a fixer for outlets in the United States, Australia, and Europe, and many of my clients are surprised when they realize the settings are not as bombastic as they hoped: The guns are airsoft guns, air raid shelters are just parking lots, and the view of Chinese shore is almost always blurry. Also, the average Taiwanese voter does not think about China on a day-to-day basis, which makes for very lackluster vox pops. Although there is plenty of intergovernmental strife in the form occasional trade bans, airspace incursions, and disinformation campaigns, daily life in Taiwan is shockingly normal.

Yet normalcy just doesn’t make for good television. So I’ve been charged with conjuring up action-packed scenes for video, and I often have to push back. Eight other Taiwan-based fixers I spoke with also said they have, on occasion, been coerced to help produce scenes that were inappropriate, not reflective of the truth, or even flat-out sensationalist.

“I’ve encountered a lot of situations where people just don’t respect the fixer’s expertise,” said Adrien Simorre, a Taipei-based stringer.

Simorre was one of a dozen local fixers and stringers who released a statement about the toxic dynamics between fixers and visiting journalists after the election in January. They cited low pay, lack of credit, and general disrespect. The fixers’ grievances are not endemic to Taiwan, but the issue of parachute journalists “imposing their own perspective and preconceived narratives” is particularly pronounced on the island.

Fixers have told me stories about foreign producers swimming in the spike-infested waters of Kinmen, an outlying island near the Chinese shore, for dramatic effect; requests to film Chinese missile launches from Taiwan (which is logistically impossible); and clients being disappointed when man-on-the-street interviews don’t elicit strong reactions on China. (None of the fixers I talked to wanted their clients to be named due to the fear of losing out on work.)

“I’ve heard of journalists pushing interviewees to answer certain questions about China-Taiwan relations,” said Alicia Chen, a Taiwanese freelance journalist, who spoke out on X (formerly Twitter) about disrespect, lack of credit, and poor communication with a visiting correspondent in January. “And if the interviewee didn’t want to comment, they would keep repeating or rephrasing the question until the interviewee said the words they wanted to hear.”

Boan Wang, a documentary filmmaker, said that in the spring of 2023, a European client of his asked to take the ferry from Kinmen to the Chinese city of Xiamen. Wang told them tickets were only available for Taiwanese citizens and their Chinese spouses. “They asked if I could talk to a captain to let them on—basically asking me to smuggle them across international borders,” he said. “How is that appropriate? Would you do that in your own country?”

One of the most frequent requests I get is whether I can secure access to a gun range where civilians are learning how to shoot for self-defense. The problem is that gun enthusiasts are a small fringe group. Guns are illegal in Taiwan, so in the event of an actual war, the average Taiwanese person would not have access to one. The scenes that end up on television are either just airsoft hobby ranges or kids running around an abandoned building with BB guns.

The most popular civil defense programs on the island are instead based in the classroom, hosted by a nonprofit called Kuma Academy. These courses largely focus on identifying disinformation, learning first aid, and practicing evacuation drills—all practical ways for the average citizen to prepare for war. But footage from these lectures is often sidelined in favor of the guns.

The pursuit of a good sound bite often trumps a balanced story. Taipei-based stringer and photographer Annabelle Chih said that many visiting producers falsely assume that Taiwanese people are divided into two camps: pro-unification and pro-independence. Yet neither of the island’s two major political parties—the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Kuomintang (KMT)—endorse a declaration of independence, nor are they advocates for unification. Even though the parties differ wildly in their views on China, they’re both strategically ambiguous. The DPP assumes that Taiwan is already independent; the KMT has a more conciliatory approach and insists on peaceful dialogue with the Chinese mainland.

“Producers will ask me if they can interview the White Wolf,” Chih said. The White Wolf, whose real name is Chang An-lo, is a convicted criminal and gang leader who is famously outspoken about his desire to unify Taiwan with China. Although he is a newsworthy figure, Chih said it is misleading to use him as a counterbalance to the DPP’s views. “I explained to them he’s not the right person to interview,” she said. “He’s the minority, and he’s quite controversial.”

Not all experiences with international media are negative. Many of my clients, for instance, have listened to my feedback and adjusted their angles accordingly. Chih said that one of her clients also eventually came around and killed the story about the White Wolf.

Still, the appetite for dramatic scenes out of Taiwan has increased as media outlets compete for the most attention-grabbing narratives. Jesse said that before then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s historic visit to Taiwan in August 2022, most of the journalists who hired him took a more nuanced approach to stories and would default to his expertise on the island. Then Pelosi’s visit created a media frenzy because of how much it irritated Beijing and sparked a growing interest in stories related to Taiwan—but only if they fit into the story of an angry Beijing and an island under threat.

This year, a lot of Jesse’s clients have been war correspondents—fresh out of Ukraine or Israel and looking for action. “Some were visibly disappointed when they realized life was normal,” he said.

By speaking up, the fixers hope for a more accurate and even-keeled portrayal of Taiwan.

“I know a lot of people come here because of our relationship with China,” Liu added. “Everyone says Taiwan is the next Hong Kong, or the next Ukraine. But our history is different from these places.”