#truly in my b&w era it seems | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

firebirdsdaughter · 5 months ago

Text

Aaaaahhhh…

… Was reading a (very good!) fic, and the author pointed out that it's Very Interesting that Kubo used Byakuya and Renji to explain Sasakibe's backstory, and I was like… Oh my gods.

Bc a) I love the whole 'I will be your right arm and do what you cannot' thing and b) I was just thinking about how I think that does apply to Byakuya and Renji.

Now it says in my contract I can't put too much stake in Tite 'I never thought we'd make it to the Soul Society' Kubo using too much deep literary symbolism/association, plus this is shonen, where said symbolism/association isn't a main priority (which is fine, BLEACH was my first manga/anime and I still love it in it's silly 2000s nonsense).

But to me… That is so them? It's a point of interest to me that Byakuya ever approved Renji as his Assistant Captain. Like. Surely that's a position that the Captain in question has to approve, since they'll be relying on each other so much. And you can't tell me Kuchiki Rules Lawyer Byakuya didn't do due diligence w/ the candidates. So why Renji to begin w/? Neither manga nor anime ever explains, and it's not relevant to the actual story. Renji bc the plot demanded it. But I also kinda like the idea of Byakuya intentionally picking someone who's a little more brash and aggressive than he allows himself to be. Someone who's more reliant on brute force and forging forward. Although it doesn't ultimately get explored much bc of the nature of the genre and the era it was written in, it comes across as Byakuya choosing someone who can be the things, have the reactions and emotions he feels he must withhold from himself. He's rigid and stoic and stingy about praise, while Renji seems to be pretty friendly with the squad and even has a subordinate that looks up to him. Like Byakuya know he's chilly and he needs someone more passionate and expressive to balance him out.

Which also makes the blood war arc events very interesting to me; unlike the other Captains, Byakuya has an Assistant who has bankai. He could, and by some theories should have had Renji use his bankai to test the enemy. He's the superior officer, technically stronger. From certain povs, it might have made more sense to risk the Assistant Captain's powers. But instead, he does it himself, and even after his bankai is stolen, he keeps insisting Renji stay back and learn from his fight (I do love the little aside in the manga where he tells Renji he's probably not smart enough to test the enemy and Renji grumbles but agrees w/ him, bc it felt so humanising and just… kinda brother-y for both of them). And even while horribly injured, he drags himself back to his feet when As Nodt starts attacking Renji. Now, it's probably also or the sake of the Soul Society itself. It makes sense, esp since they both have bankai, for one of them to stay back. But the fact that he has Renji do so, effectively sacrifices himself from the get-go, is so interesting to me.

And, of course, the very end of that fight clearly establishes how much Renji has come to mean to him. They could have just made him ask about Rukia, as so many of his appearances are primarily focused on her (sigh shonen), but instead, he apologises to both of them, and then the first thing he asks Ichigo is if they're both alive (non sequitur but if they hadn't been I thoroughly think Ichigo would have lied to him to spare him the knowledge, and also I'm a little lukewarm about Ichigo but I loved that moment).

It convinces me that while there was definitely logic/strategy in it, he was also trying to do his best to protect his Lieutenant, esp after shit truly hits the fan.

But to cycle back around to… What ever my point might have been, whether it's intentional or not, I think the fact that it's Renji and Byakuya used to tell us this story of the eternally loyal Assistant, that Byakuya clearly thinks very highly of Sasakibe's loyalty and duty. That it comes right at the start of that arc where the above happens. That Renji and Byakuya are… Aside from Shunsui and Nanao, I think the only Captain and Assistant pair that last the whole story? Oh, and Soi-Fon and her Assistant. And Hitsugaya and Rangiku! That they are one of four out of thirteen pairs that remain unchanged by the end.

I could go into a lot more (finding out the Captain you thought was kind and compassionate is a monster, while your emotionally challenged, expressionless jackass of a new Captain is a genuinely honourable and noble person), but that would get even more nonsensical. The short version is, I definitely think that whole philosophy, that image of the Assistant becoming the indispensable right hand that balances out the Captain, fills in for the things they lack or can't do for whatever reason, is really well displayed by these two, esp compared w/ some of the other dynamics we see (Momo and Izuru's blind devotion to their initial Captains, Yachiru being more moral support/after fight recovery, whatever the hell is the deal w/ Oomeda). Like Renji was his hot headed younger brother he was mentoring long before he and Rukia actually became a thing.

They're not the only ones, of course, Hitsugaya and Rangiku sync very well, so did Isane and Unohana. Kenpachi and Yachiru work, and Ikkaku stands a high chance of fulfilling the same role (albeit they should probably keep Yumichika on hand just in case). And tbh it didn't register w/ me the first time (I think partially bc I was a little overwhelmed by all the Things going on), but when someone else pointed it out… I'm like. Yeah. I think that means something.

#Firebird Randomness #should I just bite the bullet and tag BLEACH on it's own…#hmmmmmmm #no too nervous #though for anyone who reads tags obvi they're not exactly the same #for one thing I also feel like that conversation is another moment of Byakuya kind being a big brother mentor #Byakuya and Renji balance each other #but I think they've gone from their more semi hostile beginnings to it feels like Byakuya trying to mentor Renji into being his successor #so it's not exactly the same #and I mean this fic from five yearss ago described it really well and I'm too tired to do so myself #but that they've moved beyond Renji wanting to win against him #and it's more like the 'student' surpassing the teacher #like benevolent surpassing rather than wanting to fight him #it's about having his back and being an even better successor in a way #and hey technically Renji's a Kuchiki now Byakuya can appoint him Captain if anything happens XD #sigh #I'm love them can you tell #I'm over thinking a 2000s shonen manga/anime #but listen Byakuya was my first in a long line of grumpy big brother/dad mentors w/ katanas who Suffer #and I will forever love him for it #I should get some merch…#what tho #I'll think about it #Things You Didn't Know Fire Was Into

3 notes · View notes

thisbluespirit · 2 years ago

Note

Top 5 ( or 10) period dramas

Thank you! Also so tough! Classic Lit adaptations, general period drama, which period, films, tv series.... /flails about.

OK, so for the purposes of this ask, I'm going for 20th C Brit TV period drama series, so with the caveat that you need to be prepared for the style, pace and other hazards of 1960s-70s TV, I think these five are still unbeatable:

Upstairs Downstairs (ITV 1970s)

Upstairs Downstairs is a brilliant, compelling original drama about one upper class London house and its family and servants, and often a surprisingly hard-hitting examination of the class system, made in an era when they could still make use of living memory to recreate the Edwardian era. (Despite my gif, it is a colour production - a handful of s1 eps were hit by a strike at Thames TV and had to be made in b&w!)

2. The Forsyte Saga (BBC 1967)

The Forsyte Saga is an epic adaptation of Galsworthy's series of novels (covering the story of one middle class family from the late 19thC to the 1920s). It has a truly amazing cast and was a sensation worldwide back in the 60s - and a true passion project for its producer. It's complex, in depth and full of theatrical nuance and was the last hurrah of the Beeb's classic drama in black and white.

These two are probably the biggest Brit TV period dramas of all time. Purely because of the way TV is watched now, you will never get those audiences again - both were popular enough to get remade in the 21st C, but while both of those series are fine, neither can quite match the originals in terms of depth or cultural impact). Definitely not overrated - and the same is true of this next entry:

3. Elizabeth R (BBC 1970)

Glenda Jackson is awesome as Elizabeth I - what more needs to be said? This is another all-time famous BBC production that's stood the test of time.

4. Poldark (BBC 1975-1977)

Even if this weren't purely 20th C shows, I confess I'd have to plump for this adaptation rather than the more recent every time - while s1 makes a few changes to the novels, it consistently 'gets' the books and what Graham is saying in them in a way the 21st C one seems to be deliberately refusing to engage with (despite a very nice cast!) Plus, give me Angharad Rees and Robin Ellis together, Ralph Bates, Judy Geeson in fabulous outfits, Ross's fighter pilot leather jacket (see above re. getting it - even the costume designer got it), actually, everybody's colourful jackets, excellent treatment of class issues involved, Francis generally, and just that bit more fire and bite somehow. (Er. Literally in the case of S1, lol! Watch the 1970s burn down buildings that shouldn't be burnt!)

5. Enemy at the Door (ITV 1978-1980)

A less obvious choice, but this WWII drama set during the Occupation of the Channel Islands is just so well written, with complexity and compassion, exploring all the issues of the situation, with finely drawn regulars on both sides. I've come back to it so many times, and I know that other people who've taken the time to watch it have loved it, too, so it's not just me. It's not an action-drama, like a lot of WWII things - it's a show about people trapped in a situation where action is often limited - but if you like thoughtful and painful exploration of the greyer areas of humanity, it's sadly unfinished, but it's one of the best.

(And, I know, I know, where's I, Claudius? But it gave me nightmares about Brian Blessed dying, so it's not on my personal list!! ;-p)

#asks #top 5 meme #period drama #gif #1960s #1970s #1980s #also sott mutuals: i was going for best imo #and i love sott to distraction and back again #but it is much more uneven than these 5 #(maybe i'll do 6-10 as well. but this is probably more cardboard tv than human-nxture really wanted)

22 notes · View notes

mochidreambubble · 2 years ago

Text

Just as if we’re Strangers on a Train

Written for OC x Canon week organised by @theocxcanonweek

Day 6 Prompt:

Touching Foreheads / Sci-Fi AU / “Can you stay? Please…”

Baxter/MC OC fic. Ao3 link here.

“He could laugh. Right now, he wasn’t expected to stay in character. The childhood sweetheart, that wasn’t him. But at this moment, as “Theodore”, wouldn’t it be alright to indulge, even just a little…”

[Of course, it wouldn't be me if I didn't take this as an excuse to write for Our Life www

The title is like, a sort of reference to the whole b/w era of romance movies that always have lovers meet on trains or train stations. I mean, iconic and all so…

Please also don’t think too hard of the “play murder” in this. I’m not very smart and I’m not even going to pretend there is a mystery to solve here lol.

Takes place a little before Baxter Step 4 but is not meant to fit into any canonicity, I really wrote this cause the idea just came to me.]

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

He finds himself freezing up, mouth agape. The couple he’s been hired by is no doubt wondering what the issue is, being silent for longer than a few seconds. Though, maybe they think it’s just him being in character, seeing as how the young woman standing right in front of him is matching him in shock.

There’s a sudden exclamation of shock, from someone Baxter recognises as one of the game masters from the start of this whole event, now costumed up. “Oh my, young lady! Isn’t that the boy from the picture you showed me earlier? Your childhood friend? What a coincidence!”

The shock was slowly draining from the young woman in front of you, a smile now taut and forced plastered on. “Yes, what a crazy coincidence. But it’s been so long that we may as well be strangers,” she steps closer and extends her hand, though in a way that seems like a private parody to Baxter and Baxter alone, echoing his long-forgotten introduction to her. But this wasn’t the tourist beach town of Sunset Bird, but a live-action-themed mystery game with everyone on it stuck on a moving train for the whole duration of the event. “I may as well reintroduce myself. Perhaps I’ve been forgotten after all this time, after all. Nice to meet you, Theodore. I’m Rosalind.”

How could he ever forget her face? Not when her tearful expression was forever seared into his mind. “Oh, Rosa,” His character card for Theodore had mentioned that he too, could never forget his childhood sweetheart. “Of course not! It’s been too long.”

He shakes her hand, trying to maintain his poker face. He’s basically on a job after all. This damn, blasted job.

The couple he had been hired by wanted a themed wedding, see? But a very specific themed wedding, based on the series of mystery live-action games. It was how they first met. The easy way would have been to just Google what the story and themes were about. But the company’s website was vague, and the couple had explained they wanted it to be an exclusive narrative to their players. So, the consummate professional aspiring wedding planner that Baxter Alexander Ward was, said he would attend one himself so he could best get the feel of it. The couple was excited to accompany him, though considering their love of it, he suspects they would have gone to this event anyways.

The theme of this event was a murder on a train. It was an affair across a couple of days, the murder happening once everyone settled in and received their randomly assigned roles. His, a young rich nobleman - Baxter wanted to laugh when he received his card, landing a role from a life he left behind - who had many regrets, prime of all not defying his parents to marry his childhood sweetheart Rosalind.

Rosalind. He truly doesn’t know if he should laugh or cry. Rosalind was here, no childhood ocean boy or any of her friends in sight. Maybe for the best, no doubt they all knew of her heartbreak after he left…

The game master laughs, slapping him and Rosalind on the back. “Ah, always nice to see old friends reunite huh? Now come, let’s all head to the dining cart. Both of you must have lots to catch up on!”

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

They were seated across each other, considering that their characters likely would have wanted to catch up. They weren’t in private, still seated near the other dining cart seats, so they were likely still expected to be in character. So there was a relief, as they spoke back and forth, reciting notes from their character cards. That is, until…

“So, Theo,” The name mocking on her tongue. “I’m surprised to see you alone on this trip. No beau for the season? All here by your lonesome?”

“...I’m here on business, if you must know, dear Rosa. I’m traveling with Hemsworth,” Baxter points to a rather dainty young woman with a moustache plastered on sitting two tables away. The roles were given at random after all, so there were actually quite a few as characters who didn’t necessarily match who they were at all in person. That was one of his clients actually, though currently separated from her girlfriend-now fiancee.

Rosalind hums, focussing back on her food and drink. Baxter couldn’t help himself. Part of him just had to know. Maybe it just felt easier as for all anyone knew, he was asking as Theodore after all. “And you, Rosa? No dashing men with lovely eyebrows or brotherly demeanours have swept you off your feet?”

“...No,” she’s meticulously cutting her steak, refusing to look up at him. “After you left and broke my heart, I don’t think falling in love was ever that easy again.”

He doesn’t know what to say, what he could say. Though he didn’t quite have to, as a young woman slips into the seat next to him - the other lucky woman to be wed, and begins to make small talk to them both. Her role was that of a ditzy heiress it seemed, slightly humorous as Baxter knew the young woman was a rather stern and straightforward lawyer from the times he had met her at his office. He’s infinitely grateful as her presence certainly elevated the tenseness, and Rosalind certainly didn’t stray from her character.

As it turns out, while the player behind Rosalind was here by her lonesome, Rosa herself was with a her uncle, who decided to branch out from academics to art.

There’s an exaggerated squeal from the heiress of what kind of art and lighthearted topic carried all the way till after dessert, when Baxter could finally make his escape.

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

He didn’t expect to get invested in what was going on, purely here as a learning experience of sorts after all. But with every player huddled as close as they can be in the narrow space of the train corridor, almost all in nightwear, peering over the poor fellow facedown in fake blood…

Well, maybe Baxter was a little more invested in this than he let on, now that it seemed that the game had truly begun proper. Fingers were pointed and the yelling of accusations had started.

The murder victim was the academic turned artist who recently came into fortune via a rich client and wanted to work with Hemsworth and Theodore to open a gallery, so the duo playing the investors to said victim was immediately brought into the hot seat. But he and Hemsworth exclaimed they had alibis. It went in circles, from the person sitting next to him at dinner to the one who was mostly quiet throughout this so far.

An attendant insisted they all calm down and return to their rooms. They were still miles away from any kind of authority, so for everyone’s safety they should keep their wits about it. Of course, as players, they had been instructed to investigate in their own time to solve this whodunit, and as to not alert the murderer, they would have to do so discreetly or risk being silenced by the murderer…

As expected, the married couple to be had already decided to pair up, whispering to each other. Baxter was glad they seemed to certainly be enjoying themselves…

“Now why should just let it go when it’s obvious who did it!” A man cries out, jabbing his finger towards Rosalind. “She’s the only one who could have! They’re in the same cabin, you idiots! I say we lock her up in a room now!”

Baxter finds himself speaking up, especially seeing Rosalind wince and take a few paces back in fear when all eyes turn on her. It was fine, wasn’t it? It was totally in character for Theodore to speak up and vouch for her…

“Now, now, my good sir. Didn’t you hear the attendant? He said to best let the authorities handle this, hm?”

“You’re just sticking up for her 'cause you’re sweet on her!”

“...She’s my old friend after all. Now, if it makes you feel better, I’ll stay in the same cabin with her. If I’m dead by sunrise, then you’d be right maybe.”

The fellow gives Baxter the stink eye, before he calls out for a vote - leading to Baxter now being locked in a cabin with Rosalind.

Locked with someone who he was technically in private with… No reason to stay in character…

“Would it be cliche if I say I think the loudest accuser is the murderer? Or who do you think killed my poor uncle?”

“Ah yes, the million dollar question… Considering he was an academic who - from what I heard from every other passenger at least once - he seemed to have met them all at least once. Quite the social butterfly, hm, you uncle?”

She snorts, fully breaking character as she takes out her phone and begins to tap away. The rule was that no phones were out in the open, so at least this was fine…

“Letting your sister know that you’re all fine and dandy?” He recalls how protective her family was in general, her sister demanding that the youngest contact her nightly during their short trip summers ago.

“Cove, actually,” she’s typing away, a smile on her face.

“Ah, so still as tight-knit as ever, then?”

“We’re not conjoined at the hip anymore, especially for stuff like this where he has to potentially be stuck on a train for days with strangers,” she finally halts and tucks her phone away. “Well, back to the matter at hand-”

She launches back into theories on the mystery, shutting the door on any other topics. Baxter doesn’t even attempt to try.

Rosalind’s uncle, as stated, was certainly a man of many connections. He wasn’t particularly grand as an artist, but he cashed in on many favours. Ones with rich and influential members of society were especially prevalent. He had taken Rosalind in, purely to have a hold in her whatever little inheritance her belated parents left her and to use her as a chip in negotiations - it was so easy to tempt many with a pretty girl yet to marry…

“Sounds like you would have a fair bit of motive, Rosa.”

“You think I did it as well then?”

“...No matter what, I’ll do my best to be by your side, Rosa.”

He wishes she would look his way, her eyes fixed to the scenery they were passing by. “Must be easy to say things like this huh, Theo? But promises, promises,” Her voice is shaky. “They’re just words you know? I think actions speak louder.”

“...Then what do you want me to do, Rosa?”

“Maybe you’ll just vanish again after this is all over… But at least, during this trip…”

She turns to him at last, eyes shiny with tears. “Can you stay? Please? Just pretend for me that you’re really just Theo, and don’t leave me alone…”

“...Of course. I promise.”

He could laugh. Right now, he wasn’t expected to stay in character. The childhood sweetheart, that wasn’t him. But at this moment, as Theodore, wouldn’t it be alright to indulge, even just a little…

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

It had been at least over a day since the murder. They were holding a meeting in the dining cart, the majority exclaiming they found evidence of who it was. It would seem the dramatics of the loudest person really were just signs of guilt as a majority were pointing to the man who had adamantly insisted it was Rosa.

“Y-You fools! It ain’t me, I didn’t do it!”

“Oh come on, you’re the only one with the shakiest alibi, and the murder weapon was hidden in your trunk!”

“B…But…!”

There was a chaos of voices. Baxter looks to Rosalind, who had been increasingly silent throughout the day as they snuck around and questioned guests and attendants alike.

Ah. Maybe she figured it out.

“He’s right,” her voice, though softer than the yelling, cut through and silenced everyone. She walked forward, her confidence and stride like a Queen addressing her subjects. It’s no wonder they all turned to listen.

It’s no wonder she caught his eye, to begin with.

“He didn’t do it.”

“Then who did, lass?! You saying you killed him after all?!”

She shook her head, holding her breath, as if contemplating in the last few seconds. “It was…”

Rosalind turns to him. “It was you, wasn’t it Theo?”

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

The story goes that Theodore’s parents, who very much did not approve of the common girl Rosalind, had struck a deal with her uncle. A great sum of money to play a part in a scheme that would pull the lovers apart. Theo would believe she only wanted him for his wealth, and Rosa broken-hearted over a slew of letters of “him” declaring he loathed her.

How unfair, that life pulled them apart.

His parents had passed, not long after Rosalind had left to who knew where with her uncle.

Theo had almost gone mad, upset at them - at himself. So foolish to believe the lies that were fed to him so easily.

He was too ashamed to even look at the letters Rosa has sent him, trying to reconnect…

No matter. His parents dead. The other one at fault would soon be too…

There were horrified gasps on the unfolding scene. Very honestly, mayhaps Baxter was just ever so slightly intrigued when the game master handed him his card at the start. Theodore - the criminal of this plot, with a suitcase of hidden props. So maybe, ever so slightly, he decided to lean into the dramatics. The game masters were still in character, after all, not stopping him.

A “gun” pointed directly at Rosalind, and bitterness in his voice. “Why did you have to ruin everything Rosa? It was almost perfect!”

“What would murdering my uncle solve?! Instead of killing him, you could have just,” Her hands were waved in frustration, she was close to crying in frustration and sadness. “Reached out to me! Explain, said something! I would have listened! Instead, you kept quiet like a coward!”

“I needed to do something to redeem myself… I didn’t know how I could show myself to you again without…”

“I just wanted you to stay,” she had crumpled to the ground, tears falling. “Why do you always have to make yourself out to be a bad guy… You just… Had to stay in touch…”

It really could have been that easy, couldn’t it?

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

“I’m surprised she decided to reveal you!” One of the fiancees laughed. “I mean, sometimes in these games, the villain does get away with it, you know?”

Her other half sighs, peaking over Baxter’s shoulder to read his card. “Rosalind would have gotten a good deal herself too, if you got away with it. All her uncle’s riches would be hers and she'll finally be with the man she loved…”

“It must have simply been a matter of doing the right thing,” Baxter smiles, but his eyes were peeled to the train platform. The ending to their little adventure. But… Rosalind’s player was nowhere to be found.

It was almost ironic, for her to now vanish out of his life despite given a chance meeting. Or, perhaps it was like Rosalind declared…

All Theodore had to do was reach out…

————-———-««»»———-———-««»»———-———-««»»————-　　

He didn’t.

Because Baxter Ward was a coward.

Besides, her number might have changed after all this time.

We were nothing but strangers on a train, he insists. He busies himself, looking at the information on the next client.

A Scott Adam and Jude Eckert.

Huh. He knew an Eckert, once upon a time… Summers ago…

He shakes his head again. Enough of this. All he had to do was focus on work. After all, what were the chances he’d run into her again, after all…

(FIN)

[I planned this fic before writing but as I wrote I think I lost the sauce…. Sobs….

Also pls lemme know if you spot any silly mistakes, tysm ilu]

#not beta read #oc x canon week #oc x canon week 2023 #oc x canon #my fic #my writing #our life beginnings & always #baxter ward #jamie last #oc mc

16 notes · View notes

bitterrobin · 4 months ago

Note

1,8,13 for the hate ask game 💃💃

a character everyone gets wrong -- The character I'd say that everyone truly gets wrong is Talia. With the exception of dedicated Talia fans and certain Damian or Bruce fans, pretty much everyone in wider fandom has some kind of negative view on her. If its not about Talia's relationship with Bruce, then its about her relationship with Damian. People will pop up with "Talia's a rapist!" Technically, yes, but that got retconned years ago and the writer admitted their own mistakes. Even then, why are you so adamant that Talia, historically one of few Arab/Asian characters in DC to be at least morally grey and portrayed positively romantically with a main hero, be immediately villainized based on the work of a single author? And then, there are also Damian fans who still swear by "Talia's an abusive mother!" when if her character wasn't so butchered, drawn and quartered by DC writers she would never treat Damian that badly? (Much less have a child raised in the League??) I've noticed some fans will stab at any flaw of the mother and dismiss the flaws of the father - it doesn't just happen w Talia it happens with almost every mother in Batman adjacent fandom. Talia, Janet --and then Bruce's clear flaws are ignored or explained away, Jack's actual present involvement in raising Tim is either dismissed or also turned up to eleven. I should stop here before this gets any longer lmao. There's more succinct and well-read Talia stans out there who carry the same complaints.

8. common fandom opinion everyone is wrong about -- A lot of misconceptions float around the fandom its hard to just choose one. But "Dick sent __ to Arkham!" and "Damian aggressively tries to kill Tim every chance he gets" are the worst contenders. No, SpongeBob, Dick didn't send Tim to Arkham, he was trying to get Tim to see a therapist. No, SpongeBob, Dick didn't sent Jason to Arkham, Jason got arrested by the GCPD and put there by them. No, SpongeBob, Damian doesn't feed Tim rat poison every day and try to slice his head off every hour, Damian's only seriously attacked Tim (in the Reborn 2009-2011 era) twice. Once, in his introduction where Damian was clearly set up as a nothing-character who wouldn't appear again until Morrison decided to project their "child of divorce" arc onto him. Again, the line cutting in Red Robin, when Damian was retaliating for something Tim did against him. Was it justified? No. But people really portray Damian as a child psychopath over these incidents. Some Tim-fan's genuine hatred seeps into their fics and become laughably awful to the point Tim doesn't seem like a sympathetic character anymore. And yes, Tim may be insecure and grieving but guess who also was??? Damian, who also lost his father and doesn't know where he fits into the family. Is it so hard to admit that Tim and Damian were equally bad to each other, and there is no side to take? Is it so hard to admit that Dick was also dealing with serious shit, also lost his father, and he couldn't make the "right decisions" for everyone? I feel like I have to get on a megaphone and yell "EVERYONE WAS GRIEVING AND TERRIBLE! THERE IS NO RIGHT OPINION OR OPTION THAT WOULD SAVE THEM!"

13. worst blorbofication -- *siiiigh* Objectively speaking, every character gets blorbofied, not even my fellow Damian fans are exempt from this. But the absolute worst offenders are of course, Tim and Jason and occasionally, Dick. They do get blorbofied for different reasons and in different ways though, which I'll admit does affect my opinions for each of them and their fans. Tim gets blorbofied to hell and back because its easy. Thats it. The longest running Robin has tons of fodder to explore, and I get it. Tim is easy to warp into whump mode, but that doesn't mean I'll turn a blind eye to how utterly fucked over everyone else has to get in order to get Tim to that state. You can explore Tim's terrible moments in life without making everyone the villain. Jason gets blorbofied in two ways: the struggles of his childhood and the ever-present specter of UTRH. Jason's fodder for whump is basically singular - its his death/resurrection and rarely anything else, maybe his parents if a fan's feeling bad about it. I get it, again, Jason's narrative is interesting to explore. Some fans just delve too deep into justifying all of Jason's feelings and actions and shoving Bruce into the "terrible dad/mourner" machine that I've grown apathetic to it. We get it, Jason's death was terrible and Bruce is terrible for moving on like a normal person would /s. Finally, Dick is a strange case. Ive seen more fans of other characters blorbofy Dick than actual Dick fans. I think this mostly because Dick's sources of trauma have been widely explored and agreed upon, or at least his history is so expansive that the fandom just doesn't get into it (cough the non-comic readers cough). Frankly I don't have major issues with Dick whump, just that it sometimes weirdly centers other character than actually around Dick. Tarantula/the multiple incidents of SA/Bludhaven getting nuked/Dick's subsequent mental breakdown always seems to get explored in terms of "how will these characters react to it?" rather than how does Dick feel about it? It bothers me when fics veer into "and Jason is a good brother/good arbiter of justice because he kills the rapist and everyone is fine with it and everyone clapped" when Dick canonically would just feel even worse about it if that happened. The scenario is set up to justify Jason's philosophy and history, and again, no one cares what Dick would really want. I actually think that's the only instance where Dick gets blorbofied in fics, correct me if i'm wrong, and its at his own detriment. I've read Dick being weirdly wrong or mean to other characters than fics where people are exaggeratedly mean to him.

(ask q's from here)

#so sorry for the walls of text #I have opinions #and I naturally gravitate towards haterism #im not cut out for wider fandom bc im the type of nerd that aggressively goes 'um aschkaully you see in issue number 3000 this character--"#thanks for the ask!#ask #batman fandom bullshit

1 note · View note

shoujoegg · 1 year ago

Text

qq’s hot girls summer s&b liveblog thoughts (for realsies this time)

my realest confession is that after all these weeks of talking abt s&b is that i still have not watched the show in its contiguous entirety... but now me and the roomies r doing it!! thoughts so far below:

post ep3

it’s literally not as bad as i remembered trying the first time everytime someone makes a racial microaggression against alina i just laugh and remember this is cartoon fake history. the politics make 0 sense! u can tell it was made during 2020 pandemic era too...

me and my roommates r constantly making ‘they would fail asian american studies’ ‘they need feminist reeducation camp’ ‘wow clearly this character is not very abolitionist of them ://’ i think we’re very funny idc (please note: we r all asian american communists)

pov u r in fantasy imperial russia and u open ur mouth and u speak... britishly.... (crowd boos n jeers)

all the crow scenes r delicious idc im over being mad that they dumbed down kaz’s intelligence out of context it’s funny and im glad they tone down the most edgy of his nonsense (altho the ‘hope is dangerous’ bit before his practical advice was corny i know they use it again in s2 but it’s too easy of a dig...) and kit young is easily so charismatic n sexy. more gun slinging more him being a hottie desperately infatuated w/ his boss pls.

i love poppy i wish they were a recurring character in s2. why r we not talking abt poppy and their last ‘encounter’ with kaz! im making fanart.

they changed nina’s story so that she’s basically an anti-conscription agitator???? they are kinda bigbgrained for that LMFAO i cant believe nobody told me she seems so cool!! im much more invested in her narrative arc than in the books and they def needed a character like her w/ this national drama kind of setting.

inej... inej.... inej.................................................

i understand #cookmilo. like the goat truly was not needed is this their attempt of adhd representation? leave us alone we dont need the emotional support goat!!! we need jesper’s debt addressed!!!

alina/mal r whatever they’re just cute to me.

0 notes

mightbewriting · 3 years ago

Note

i, sincerely, have no idea how to start this ask.

i read ‘wait & hope’ sometime at the beginning of this year and it came to be one of my favorites. i could talk endlessly about it. then i found that ‘beginning & end’ existed and i couldn’t read it.

i refused to read it. why?

because i knew it would hurt. because, even though i didn’t get to see their life before, i know how inexplicably in love draco was with hermione, and i knew it would hurt.

reading ‘beginning & end’ with knowing whispering in the back of my mind, knowing how this would go, knowing that every choice, every memory would be forgotten by her, hurt so much. because look at how happy they are! how much they had to fight for!

and it poses the question of ‘wait & hope’, was it all for nothing?

no! absolutely fucking not! love, despite memory, dedication, despite hurt, is everything. and because i simply refuse to believe that! i may be a pessimist but first and foremost i am a hopeless fucking romantic.

so, i guess i came here to say:

fuck you.

fuck you for making me cry the hardest i have ever cried at a series of words. harder than ‘the song of achilles’, harder than when i read ‘the fault in our stars’ when i was 13 (and if you knew me when i was 13–holy shit—you know how much a deal this is. i was inconsolable for a month.) fuck you for being graced with the talent to write in the way that you do. for granting life to stories that should be told because as much as it is fiction, it’s real. real possibilities and everyday struggles (masked by magic and circumstance but real, nonetheless).

more than fuck you, more than having to muffle my utterly embarrassing bouts of sobbing, (no, not crying. sobbing so damn hard i had to clutch my chest like a regency era damsel), more than that,

thank you.

for your writing, for your time, for your story.

you’ve ruined my life and given me one of my favorite works, in any form, in every form.

- venus 🕊

(also, i plan on reading wait & hope again after experiencing their before. the mental, and physical, distress i am going to experience will be worth it but i will still be simultaneously furious at and in awe of you.)

(also, not sincerely ‘fuck you.’ i realize i’m abrasive and we have literally never spoken but i truly am in love with your words. no matter how distraught they make me!)

hi. wow. venus. hi. wow. hello.

im kind of speechless? am i delighted to have made you cry like a regency era damsel? should i apologize? am i honored? pretty sure its a weird soup made of all that and more.

im so, so, SO please that you decided to give b&e a shot! i think a lot of people avoid it because of exactly what you described (re: *pain*) (and also bc it seems like a lot of folks think it's just a w&h retelling from draco's pov and therefore also expect *pain*; its a prequel people, PREQUEL lol) (and it's very long) (and its a much different story genre and pacing than w&h) (and im definitely not self conscious about it at all idk why you'd think that) and its hard to like...convince people to subject themselves to that? xD i think im gathering that it was worth it lol, and im really, really happy to hear that. thank you so much for taking the time to come scream at me about it; this has literally made my morning! <33

is there a better compliment than an emphatic 'fuck you'? i really dont think so. it might be my favorite thing ever. so thank you!

ive also heard from many reliable sources that the w&h reread after b&e is...difficult. do you do discord? if you need emotional support, i know some places you can get it lol (mostly in the form of commiserating and sobbing gifs) xD

thank you again, seriously, for reading my work and taking the time to share something of your experience with me! this has been such a delight to find in my inbox this morning <3

#viridianatnight #asks #beginning and end

30 notes · View notes

laurelnose · 4 years ago

Note

Very New to your blog and the posts are probably way old but I saw you do Witcher Biology (??) rants sometimes and Id love to hear your take, if you have one, on what monsters (namely "naturally occurring" ones like draconids and insectoids) contribute to the ecosystem if anything and whether or not they should be hunted into extinction. I was discussing it w/ a friend last night after dealing with Iocaste, the last silver basilisk, and now its smthn I'm Invested in

re monster ecosystems: I just figure theyve probably found a niche in the world by now and can eat anything smaller incl. humans but because theyve got no natural predators aside from eachother and arent hunted by anything but witchers , monsters are just breeding and eating and wldnt that damage the land? or have they made their own like, circle of life or whatever ? Ive little knowledge on the subject as a whole but the whole thing intrigues me

hi & extremely belated welcome, anon! my apologies for the length of time you’ve been waiting for this answer; I had to think carefully about how I wanted to respond to this ask, because: there’s a lot going on here. also, because I am a disaster, I ended up posting it to ao3 first while I was avoiding tumblr for a spell and then completely forgot to come back. oops. i’m sorry!! This one’s about 5000 words long, which is a lot for tumblr, so reading on AO3 may be preferable.

The two main thrusts of your first ask (how do monsters interact with the ecosystem and should they be eradicated from the Continent) are questions of invasion ecology, the study of non-native/invasive species and their effects on the environment. Monsters, having arrived on the Continent about 1200 years ago during the Conjunction of Spheres from entirely alien dimensions, are indeed technically non-native species!

However, invasion ecology is…somewhat controversial, to say the least—there are a lot of invasive species, who have a lot of different & complex impacts, and a lot of different ideas about what we might do about any of this, and it’s basically all arguing all the time, so I wasn’t really sure how I wanted to approach the topic. Not to mention that for reasons I couldn’t initially put my finger on, it seemed wrong to apply theories of invasion ecology to the Witcher monsters. We’ll get into it! There are also a couple of common misconceptions/oversimplifications of how ecology works in your second ask which I want to unpack. Hopefully I pulled this together into something that makes sense, and feel free to ask me for clarification!

Some important background facts:

Species have always been moving to and “invading” new places on their own; humans and globalization have accelerated this process into a Big Problem, as the sheer number of invasive species being introduced all over the globe strains ecosystems already under pressure, but “native ranges” are always shifting, sometimes more dramatically than you might expect. If you go far enough back in time, all species are “non-native”.

Because of this, the very definition of “invasive species” is hotly contested. This is why you’ll hear dozens of terms like introduced species, injurious species, naturalized species, non-native species, etc.; these all have slightly different connotations, but all refer to a species that did not originate in a particular location.

An introduced species is usually classified as “invasive” as opposed to “non-native” or “naturalized” if its presence significantly alters the ecosystem it invades; some people define this more narrowly as a species that causes harm to an ecosystem. “Harm” can take a lot of different forms, as every non-native species interacts differently with the ecosystem they were introduced to.

Aside from various potential impacts to human economic activity, most forms of ecological harm by introduced species involve the decline of native species, by a variety of mechanisms; invaders might eat natives, outcompete them for food, interbreed with them, carry novel pathogens, etc. Invasive species are primarily a threat to biodiversity.

Now, here’s my Hot Take:

The Conjunction of Spheres is analogous to real-life ecological cataclysms such as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, and thus monsters are not invasive species.

The Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event saw the extinction of 75% of all species on Earth after the Chicxulub asteroid hit, including the non-avian dinosaurs. The Earth has had several disasters like this, of varying severity—the Great Oxidation Event killed almost literally everything on Earth except for the cyanobacteria who caused it. These cataclysmic extinction events completely upended existing ecosystems, altering habitats beyond recognition and leaving swathes of niches emptied of life that the survivors could evolve to exploit.

The most recent Conjunction of Spheres on the Continent is supposed to have thrown everyone living on the planet at the time into chaos and darkness; it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that the interpenetration of multiple spheres caused mass extinction of species living in the pre-Conjunction environment, similar to Chicxulub or the GOE!

But Socks, you might say, evolution works on a massive timescale! It took millions of years to fill the niches left open by Chicxulub, but it’s only been 1200 years since the Conjunction of Spheres! And you are absolutely right*, but the Conjunction of Spheres canonically came pre-loaded with new species. We actually have no proof that any of the animals we see originated on the Continent: if humans are a post-Conjunction phenomenon, why not also dogs? Why not bears? Who’s to say any of those were actually there before-hand? (The elves, I guess, but as they have not, actually, said so, there’s no proof!!)

* FTR, 1200 years is a shockingly short period of time to go from cataclysm that plunged the world into darkness and chaos to functioning medieval-era society considering how long it actually took humanity to build 13 century Europe (horses had been domesticated for at least 3000 years by that time), even if we’re not assuming that most of the ecosystem was destroyed, so, my timeline concerns here are minimal, lmfao. TIMELINE WHAT TIMELINE.

…and actually now that I think about it the three options for the origin of dogs are a) elves or dwarves domesticated them, b) humans brought dogs with them during the Conjunction, or c) dogs have existed for less than 1200 years, and I refuse to accept that dogs are practically a new invention in the witcherverse, wtf.

Anyways: we really have no idea which species are truly “native” to the Continent, or what the physical environment was like prior to the Conjunction. While monsters are not native to the Continent, monsters are also not invasive—there cannot be decline of pre-Conjunction biodiversity or harm to the pre-Conjunction ecosystem because there is no pre-Conjunction ecosystem anymore.

should monsters be hunted to extinction?

So, the thing is, I think we should try to eradicate invasive species from non-native ranges if we can; the biggest problem with that is feasibility, not morality. It’s much more difficult than one might think to eradicate an invasive species once it’s established, and we have to be very careful that the methods we choose don’t have other impacts, but invasive species are a huge threat to the biodiversity of Earth! If monsters are invasive species, then the answer is yes, they should be eradicated from the places they are not native to.

(Notably, on Earth this kind of eradication is not the same thing as extinction; it would be a local extinction, or extirpation, where the species is totally wiped out in the places it invaded but still exists in its native range. This does get way more complicated if the invasive is already extinct in its native range.)

However, I have just outlined a possibility that would make it plausible for monsters not to be invasive species. Let me also outline why I prefer this interpretation. Here is a book conversation between the sorcerer Dorregaray of Vole and Geralt:

“Our world is in equilibrium. The annihilation, the killing, of any creatures that inhabit this world upsets that equilibrium. And a lack of equilibrium brings closer extinction; extinction and the end of the world as we know it. … Every species has its own natural enemies, every one is the natural enemy of other species. That also includes humans. The extermination of the natural enemies of humans, which you dedicate yourself to, and which one can begin to observe, threatens the degeneration of the race.”

“Do you know what, sorcerer?” Geralt said, annoyed. “One day, take yourself to a mother whose child has been devoured by a basilisk, and tell her she ought to be glad, because thanks to that the human race has escaped degeneration. See what she says to you.”

–The Bounds of Reason, ch. 6

This is a, uh, incredibly unsubtle reference to a debate that has been ongoing for decades; Geralt’s stance here is one of the key arguments in opposition to wolf and bear reintroduction. What do we do about large predators that may pose a threat to humans? How do we balance preservation of the ecosystem with the safety of people who have to coexist with these predators?

I can’t fully agree with Geralt, because large predators are integral to the ecosystem, which I value for its own sake and because humans depend on healthy ecosystems. But I can’t fully agree with Dorregaray either, because Geralt is right: human life is valuable and worthy of protecting. This is an issue that India has been running into in the past ten years; as their tiger conservation efforts yield fruit, people become more likely to encounter tigers, and thus more likely to have a bad encounter with a tiger. It’s become a political struggle as rural people who have to actually live with the possibility of a tiger attack come into conflict with urban conservationists who just really want to preserve tigers (& in some incidents, some of those conservationists have been Western, which is a whole additional level of fuckery). The fact is, there isn’t a good answer to this yet! We certainly should not drive tigers, wolves, or any other large predator to extinction, but we also have to figure out a way to keep people safe. It’s something humanity still has to wrestle with.

Under this framing, which CDPR reinforced when they chose to have the Count di Salvaress defend Iocaste as an endangered species while making significant provisions to minimize the damage she could do to human life, there’s far too much baggage attached for me to say yes, monsters should be hunted into extinction. If you’re going to make monsters analogous to wolves, of course I do not think we should get rid of monsters entirely!

And frankly, Geralt doesn’t think so either, despite his hardline stance about monsters that eat humans. Sapkowski isn’t exactly an anti-conservationist; though Dorregaray is shown as out of touch in this passage, at another point the narrative sides with him calling Philippa out on exterminating a species of ermine for her fur collar, and it’s consistently put forth that Geralt’s best quality is that he doesn’t want to perform violence for the sake of it or destroy things without cause, and one of the representations of that is that he refuses to kill endangered species even at cost to himself:

“What should I say about you, who rejects a lucrative proposition every other day? You won’t kill hirikkas, because they’re an endangered species, or mecopterans, because they’re harmless, or night spirits, because they’re sweet, or dragons, because your code forbids it.”

–Eternal Flame, ch. 2

If monsters and other post-Conjunction creatures are invasive species, the nuance in this conversation is flattened, and Geralt’s refusal to kill mecopterans and hirikkas becomes a flaw rather than a virtue. Boring! I also think that one of the strongest themes in the witcherverse is the idea of all monsters being human ills; wraiths are manifestations of hatred, necrophages multiply because of human bloodshed, cursed ones are created out of malice, mages like Alzur and Idarran of Ulivo go out of their way to straight-up create monsters from scratch*, etc. Iocaste attacks humans and takes livestock because the traditional prey of the silver basilisk, roe deer, has been extirpated by human destruction of their habitat. The aeschna in Blood of Elves attacks humans because humans have altered and polluted the flow of the Pontar, hunting the aeschna’s previous food (seals) to extinction. The true monster is the actions of humans. Monsters that appeared unbidden from another dimension into a previously functional ecosystem to invade and cause problems undermines this theme; monsters that are integrated into the ecosystem and subject to the same social and ecological forces as other animals supports it.

* Idarran’s “idr” monsters from Season of Storms absolutely should be eradicated. Did the world not have enough man-eating arthropods, Idarran? Did you really have to mutate horrible new ones and release them in populated areas?? Mages are a scourge, lmfao

Additionally, one of the biggest reasons I felt like I couldn’t actually apply invasion ecology to monsters was that, whether you accept my Conjunction theory as sufficient biological justification for this or not, monsters just don’t really behave like invasive species. It’s hard to explain this because the setting is pretty brief about its ecological details, but aside from the fact that the narrative frames them like just part of the ecosystem of the world, there are never any details like “that type of flower doesn’t exist anymore because giant centipede tunneling destroyed the soil they needed to grow in.” When monsters are the aggressors, their victims are always humans, not the environment or other animals, and again monsters are themselves often treated as victims of human actions.

So I say monsters aren’t invasive species!

Which means that monsters are, regardless of their strange origins, now a part of the Continent’s ecosystem just as much as bears and wolves.

So let’s talk monster ecology.

what do monsters contribute to the ecosystem, if anything?

So, the phrase “contributing to the ecosystem” is actually super loaded, and I want to unpack that before we go anywhere else. Ecosystems are made up of organisms, and organisms interact with and impact ecosystems, but they don’t necessarily contribute to ecosystems! The implication of “contribute” is that it is possible for an organism to not contribute, and it follows from there that some organisms are not useful. This is functionally nonsensical, and also dangerous.

Conservationists talk a lot about “intrinsic value,” which in this context is the idea that we should want to keep species around just because their existence is valuable! Biodiversity is intrinsically valuable. This is important, firstly because I do believe that all species are intrinsically valuable, but also: ecosystems are so enormously complicated that we do not know the full extent of any species or individual organism’s impact, and we can’t predict what the consequences of removing any given species might be. Treating all species as intrinsically valuable is hedging our bets. All organisms affect the ecosystem, because it’s impossible for them not to, and while some species definitely have outsize impact, none of them are “not contributing,” and frankly even if some of them weren’t, it would be the absolute height of human arrogance for us to decide we could tell which ones were useless when we barely even know what most species eat. Mosquitoes are the base of the entire goddamn food chain, and you still get assholes claiming they don’t “contribute anything.” Of course, most people don’t really mean all of these implications when they use the phrase, but I don’t find it useful to talk about what species “contribute,” and avoid using that language if I can!

What I assume you mean by “what do monsters contribute” is a combination of “what roles might monsters play in the ecosystem” and “are monsters actively harmful to the ecosystem, i.e. do they cause loss of biodiversity?”

And this is difficult to answer! As I’ve said, I don’t think monsters are invasive species, and thus don’t harm the ecosystem, though we know that monsters can be harmful to humans. However, when it comes to the role they do play in the ecosystem, there isn’t enough in canon for me to do more than wildly speculate! Also, there are so so many of them, and the role of a hirikka is going to be wildly different from that of a draconid.

Just offhandedly, most of the big predatory monsters can be assumed to fill the same roles as Earth’s big predators, one of the big ones being overpopulation of prey species, which has ramifications throughout the ecosystem. Some of them are canonically ecosystem engineers, or animals that physically alter their environment (think beavers); for instance, shaelmaar and nekker tunneling. Additionally, the big insectoid colonies can’t be relying solely on naturally-occurring caves for their homes; they’ve gotta be constructing some stuff themselves. These tunnels can be repurposed as habitat for other organisms, from giant centipedes to sewant mushrooms. Necrophages, like corpse-eaters in our world, likely limit the spread of diseases from decomposing flesh (and really wouldn’t be as much of an issue if everyone would stop, you know, doing war and mass murder, lmfao). Arachasae use tree trunks and organic plant material to conceal themselves, which is likely contributing to plant reproduction in a few different ways—but the arachasae decorating essay is a different topic that I swear I will finish one day oh my god—

…anyways, feel free to ask about any specific monsters or niches if you’re curious, but if I tried to go into detail with every single potential niche/ecosystem service all of the monsters we know of might fill, we would be here all day!

Let’s talk about a couple specific things you brought up in your second ask.

> theyve probably found a niche in the world by now and can eat anything smaller incl. humans

I mean…maybe! That is, yeah, they’ve definitely settled into niches by now, but feeding is way more complicated and interesting than that.

For instance: orcas can eat basically whatever the fuck they want—orcas are fully capable of bringing down everything from fish to seals to gray whales to great white sharks. But they don’t. In the Pacific Northwest, the resident orca pods almost exclusively eat salmon, while the transient pods largely feed on seals. Orcas are kind of an extreme example, but this is something called resource partitioning and it’s a big part of how animals limit competition with one another and what enables lots of predators to coexist in one place!

We see a big fuck-off dragon thing and we assume that it’ll eat anything it can fit in its mouth, and definitely some predators work like that. But just because an animal is technically capable of eating something and deriving nutrition from it doesn’t mean that it will. Silver basilisks made roe deer the staple of their diet before the destruction of beech forests meant they had to turn to humans—which is a pretty specific dietary restriction when there should be multiple species of deer running around, not to mention everything else a draconid could be killing! And given how many types of draconid there are…I have to assume there’s some kind of resource partitioning going on to prevent them all from conflicting with each other! For instance, if basilisks prefer roe deer, maybe forktails prefer wild goats, while wyverns are mostly kleptoparasitic (stealing other predators’ kills).

And of course, not all monsters eat humans at all; harpies steal from and attack humans, so they’re a dangerous nuisance, but they don’t seem to eat them. And in the books Geralt mentions plenty of monsters which are totally harmless.

So yes, there are lots of things monsters could be eating, but it would strongly depend, and there’s a lot of interesting places one can take monster diets! Netflix decided their strigas only eat specific organs, leaving the rest of the body untouche, & I love that for her. More monsters that need a particular kind of nutrition that leads them to take only specific body parts from some kills!

> because theyve got no natural predators aside from each other and arent hunted by anything but witchers, monsters are just breeding and eating and wldnt that damage the land? or have they made their own like, circle of life or whatever ?

Absolutely—invasive species whose populations rapidly increase once they’re away from their natural predators cause the decline of native species, often by eating natives directly or competing with natives for resources. And in fact, even native species who become overpopulated can seriously damage the ecosystem (see: white-tailed deer in the United States, whose overpopulation has such negative ecological effects that some people argue we should classify them as invasive, even though they have definitely been here this whole time).

However, even if we grant that monsters are invasive, it’s a little more complicated than that for a few reasons!

Despite the apparent preponderance of them in the witcher games, most monsters are supposed to be strongly on the decline, like witchers themselves. Geralt’s profession is falling out of necessity; human development of the Continent is going to be the biggest suppressing factor in monster populations in the future. Monster overpopulation is just canonically not a problem in this universe! But even in the scenario where the Inevitable March Of Civilization isn’t threatening monster populations, there are a lot of factors that could and would limit monster populations.

(TL;DR for this next part: yeah I definitely think they’ve figured out their own little circle of life—the term you’re looking for is ecosystem equilibrium, btw!—& I’m going to take the next 1.2k to talk about how.)

For starters, predation is only one among many limiting factors that affect populations & prevent them from ballooning out of control:

food availability: If there’s not enough food, there’s not enough food! It also matters how adaptable the animal’s diet is—silver basilisks moved from deer to humans, but if the eucalyptus went extinct koalas would not switch to eating cycads.

illness and parasites: Some people argue these are more important than direct predation for limiting populations, and I am often inclined to agree. Basically, if a population becomes very dense, illness and parasites spread more quickly, creating a natural limiter on how many animals can live in any one place. The greater susceptibility of some individuals to illness or parasites also winnows down populations. Non-native species often escape a good portion of their native diseases by moving to a new range—however, given how fast bacteria and viruses evolve, 1,200 years is a pretty decent amount of time for new diseases to arise. Also, just going to drop a link to my treatise on monster parasites here. It’s gross, mind the warning at the start of the post.

mate availability: If only a certain percentage of the population is actually able to reproduce, that’ll eventually bring the total number down. RIP Iocaste’s boyfriend 😔

territory/shelter availability: Animals need a certain amount of space and certain types of spaces to survive, and space isn’t infinite! It again depends on how adaptable an animal is; rats find ways to thrive nearly everywhere, but pandas can only live where there’s bamboo. If there’s not enough space to hide from predators, reproduce safely, store food, and avoid adverse weather, the population again limits itself naturally.

natural disasters: Wildfires, drought, flooding, tsunamis, storms, etc. pick off significant portions of wildlife populations. Disasters are sporadic rather than directly linked to population like most of the other factors but these periodic blows to population and the other impacts of fire or flooding are often integral to the ecosystem (see especially: fire regimes and fire ecology.)

Now let’s talk predation & monsters! (Genuinely, I think predation is one of the most interesting things in ecology; people tend to simplify it down to things eat other things, which—yeah, but there’s so much more going on there!)

First, I wouldn’t underestimate the effects of monsters eating other monsters! Even if it’s rare for a draconid to snatch up a nekker and carry it off, the threat of a draconid doing so can have dramatic impacts; researchers found that just playing the sound of dog barks on a beach stopped raccoons from foraging for crabs for over a month after the barking stopped, leading to an increase in crab populations, even though no raccoons ever encountered a dog. This is called the ecosystem of fear (which as a term is metal as hell) and it theorizes that just the fear of predators can lead to chronic stress for prey animals, decreasing reproduction and making them more susceptible to disease. Maybe draconids in Toussaint eat only a few dozen nekkers a year, but that might cause thousands of nekkers to have fewer offspring or fall to disease. When it comes to ecosystems the direct effect is usually only a small part of the story!

Second, when we talk about a species not having natural predators, we’re usually talking about an animal that would have a predator back in its home range—lionfish, for instance, have plenty of predators in their natural range (the Indo-Pacific), but no natural predators in their invasive range (the Caribbean), so invasive lionfish, suddenly freed of a limiting factor, can run amok. However, a great white shark has, aside from orcas (who do not actually eat white sharks, they’re just assholes sometimes) and occasionally other white sharks, more or less no natural predators anywhere once it reaches maturity, and that’s fine! Lack of predation of great white sharks did not cause their populations to explode and consume the ocean. White sharks are limited by other factors.

So: it is possible that wherever draconids originated (and it’s entirely possible that “draconids” came from multiple different places, tbh) there was something bigger that preyed on them, but it’s not unreasonable to assume they were also apex predators in their previous dimension (I mean…look at them), and that adult draconids were never really preyed on by anything else! It isn’t necessarily an issue for there not to be predators of certain monsters on the Continent.

(Though, of course, we also shouldn’t forget that most apex predators are prey when they’re young—baby white sharks are snack-sized for a lot of fishes, and bear cubs and wolf pups are similarly vulnerable. Based on the size of the eggs you see in TW3 draconid nests, a basilisk is hatched around the size of a little dog, which is the perfect size for small, ballsy predators such as wolverines to sneak into a nest and snap them up—predators such as more wolverines or raptors like eagles and hawks might also come directly for the eggs.)

When it comes to smaller monsters such as nekkers, who likely weren’t apex predators in their original dimensions and would thus be subject to that lack of natural predators—there are usually specific reasons why prey species manage to avoid predation in their introduced range. Lionfish confound Caribbean predators because lionfish are covered with huge poisonous spines that Caribbean predators don’t know how to deal with.

Drowners, on the other hand, are basically just man-shaped fish; they don’t have any adaptations or defenses that would really stump a bear or a wolf. Again, bigger monsters are still probably checking the populations of smaller monsters no matter what, but there’s really no reason a bear couldn’t figure out how to eat a drowner! Unless a monster has a unique defense (e.g. scurver spines), is actively distasteful to eat (rotfiends, probably), or is just difficult to take down (nekkers in packs), most of the non-monster predators* on the Continent will have incorporated various monsters into their diet by now, or suppressed monster populations indirectly with the threat of predation or by competing with them for food. It has been over a thousand years, which is nothing evolutionarily but is still a decent period of time for mammals, who pass hunting techniques down to their babies, to figure out how to eat ghouls—especially if we’re considering that the Continent’s mammals may also be a result of the Conjunction and would thus have to have been just as adaptable as the monsters to establish themselves. And I’ve also actually talked before about how wolves specifically might be preying on necrophages!

* For reference, the non-monster predators are, considering the Continent is more or less Europe, most likely lynxes, brown bears/polar bears (in Skellige), wolverines, foxes, badgers, and a variety of large birds of prey.

So—yes, if monsters were truly overpopulating, then that would damage the ecosystem. However, canon tells us they are definitely not doing that, and there are also many factors that would prevent that from happening!

(Though I will say that some of the reasons white-tailed deer are overpopulated are that we got rid of cougars and wolves and human development creates a lot of extra habitat of the type that deer like. Given that we know many of draconids are for sure in significant danger of going extinct, and the trajectory that Europe’s wolf and bear populations followed in real life, it is possible that the Continent will have to contend with an overpopulation of some of the smaller monsters at some point as they continue to try to eradicate the larger predators, both monster and non-monsters—you think the drowner problem is bad now, wait until the bears are gone and city development has tripled the number of sewers. Yet another of those humans-make-monster-problems-worse things I am fond of in the Witcherverse!)

…whew. that was a lot of words. In conclusion: ecology is really cool & there’s a bunch of ways monsters can fit into it!!

#kaer morhen biology of monsters 101 #and a bit of #witcher book blogging #asks #anonymous

42 notes · View notes

wshaeil · 4 years ago

Text

* ◟ ― 🍓cl - clang !! hello , it’s so nice to meet you all - my name is jada , but you can just call me 𝐎𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐈𝐋’s mun !! i’m super excited to be here , and hopefully you guys take to me and phoenix’s leader , haeil ! he has a semi - sad vibe , but don’t be fooled, he’s a pretty cool guy ! below you’ll find trivia as well as general connections while i work on te real plots page ! and as always, please like if you’d like to plot alongside me and my boy !! lets go !

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄 . // 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃. // 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓. //

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃.

i’m going to lightly touch on his backstory here but his bio is already loaded w stuff haha so !! i won’t bore you with too many details !!

came from a family w / high expectations of him, to always be the responsible big brother ... and he did ! always was good at school stuff, took care of stuff at home when needed, etc !

but deep down he was ( and is ) not happy w how he felt his own happiness was always sacrificed for others, despite not wanting to admit it & sounding selfish ? but anyways, it got him acting up, and he had a whooole little rebellious streak that was completely out his character !

though he realllyyy enjoyed the rush, his little adventure ended quick when his parents noticed him skipping class & all that ! so his first year of hs they made him join a school club to find better friends, and that’s where he found dance !

there he learned dance and well ... the rest is history !! loved every minute of it, but got a really bad injury that had him out of dances for a while, and it crushed him, but he came back with a newfound true appreciation for it !

time skip, his friends encouraged him to audition when word came around about yuseong auditions and ... voila ! here we are !!

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘.

ok so you’ll have to excuse me as haeil is one of those this . . . and also that characters HAHA, so he’s got opposing personality traits even within himself ! he even is confused by it hee heeeee

also sidenote his younger sister is @wsharin !! they’re definitely giving opposites yet crazy type, have quite different personalities, but grwing up in similar environments w each other has kept them very close ! kinda thinks he’s fake youngest out of them, yet fiercely protective of her !

but ! his natural instinct is actually to be pretty wild, outgoing, have fun. he’s the happiest when he can do that, and those closest to him probably know him to be quite the joker when he lets loose.

buuut for years now he’s been conditioned into the responsible leader-type he is now, though it def is his more manufactured side. but nowadays it’s what he reverts to, because he sort of just thinks there’s not enough room in everyone’s life for him to be so chaotic ??

haeil tries his hardest to blend in the background, as he feels it’s what a good leader does and he wants to give the rest of his team the shine. because he hasn’t been dancing as long as most others around him, and had a relatively short training time, he’s still v doubtful of his own worthiness of being in the position he is, therefore he sort of feels like ... he doesn’t deserve attention ?? ( and while this is true to an extent, haeil also needs to work through this constant pessimism within himself and learn to take pride in his achievements !! )

so a lot of times what you’ll see is a man trying to be a leader, with the inner child ( ! ) in him poking through. though he encourages participation from his other members rather than himself, his fans are known for pointing out all the moments he gets jumpy / excited / hyper, and he’s kinda developed this “tsundere” vibe because of it ? it’s not exactly correct but he’ll take it heehee

as a leader, esp on variety, you’ll see him doing little things to make the quieter / less talked to members heard this whole compilation ?? literally him.

if you’re close to him though, you’ll really see he’s not nearly as serious as he seems. he’s extreeemely caring, almost to a fault, w those close to him ? and will take care of literally anything they need. got rent due tomm ? send him your payment info and he’ll send over all he has in his account. but on top of that, he just loves to have fun, and if in an environment that allows, v spontaneous !

def mom friend vibes. doesn't like coffee but loves his morning tea, sweaters, tries to establish a bed time for phoenix, always managing to have remembered that one thing someone else forgot, packing snacks, all the good stuff !

but !! the entertainer in haeil is compleetely different, and largely why he got famous ! a charismatic dancer for sure, enjoys a lot of hip hop as it’s what he’s had most practice in, and whenever he dances he truly has fun !!

he was so deep in his own insecurities, and it showed in his dancing, untilll cherry bomb. phew cherry bomb haeil was ... a whole era, and what a lot of people attribute to being his vibe switch that made him 1000x more confident !

despite what many think he loooves aggresive rap. rock & r&b are right up there too. loves music that reminds him he can feel things !!

poor thing ... cannot handle his alcohol. legit tries to avoid drinking altogether bc like one drink and he’s already trying to crawl onto tables. actually loves going out for drinks but avoids it like the plague bc he thinks it ruins his pride lolll

while he claims he's too busy for love - and he genuinely is kinda - he is a hopeless romantic deep down. his mind always drifts to him & his future partner living all suburban w kids who match clothes and having a family dog, all the fixings ... he just wants a cute dad vibe and gets depressed when he thinks of how being an idol is kinda preventing that from coming anytime soon

this is getting SO LONG WHAT lets move on !!

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

someone who didn’t actually make it / hasn’t yet debuted in the industry, but who haeil reallly looks up to as a mentor ? whether a rapper / singer or just someone he admires, haeil gets depressed every time he remembers the person who got him where he is hasn't even got their shot of fame yet, and who he feels he owes quite everything to. though he’s got the whole leader thing going on, this person makes him act like a whole little sibling.

english tutor !! he genuinely wants to be so much better than he is, and doubts his skills as a good leader bc of it and would loove someone to help him !! also def down to learn from someone who speaks japanese, since he’s learning that as well ! he just wants to connect w more fans D:

someone who lets him lets loossee !! need i say more ?? haeil needs to have some fun and be himself before he pops a brain vessel, and that seems like it’s becoming more and more of a possibility oijdoidjodjod. alcohol may or may not be included iin the equation but if so prepare for chaos personified !

an ex perhaps ?? he’s bisexual so this could go either way, but someone he was w in high school and for whatever reason, it didn’t work out ?? we could give them awkward or tension w angst where they never got closure, or two people who just worked better as friends and maintained a great connection !

someone who he’s truly just ... whipped over ? something about their energy has him wanting to see them more and more and quite honestly, p out of character. openly a simp and just wilding whenever this person’s in the room hours .. let’s go !!

best friends. but i mean like .... beeest friends. they don't have to necessarily go back, not all best friends do, but what matters is them now ! friends who have an incredibly special connection, the type to just .. basically be talking in their own language of inside jokes and such.

for those who might not be from korea / have the closest relationship w their own family, haeil’s got you ! if your muse has always wanted someone who cooks for them, gives advice, or just listens and provides a shoulder to cry on, mr.haeil is the man for you !!

#☾⠀ · ⠀𝐨𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐢𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬⠀⎯⎯⠀⠀ooc. ♥︎⠀

13 notes · View notes

shallowseeker · 10 months ago

Text

RBs

#if this is re: destiel i think he's just too awkward #so he has no clue how to handle it and doesn't bother #but he still. knows smth is there #like how quickly he told cas abt dean's ma'lak box plan and when dean glared at him he was like 'it's cas i had to tell him' #like i think he knows SMTH is there but he doesn't know if they're actually together #or if it's one sided or if they just think it's one sided #but that being said!!!! #i don't think he realized until much later lmao #like probably post widow arc is when he was like ahhh #that's what all those years of intensity were via @angelcasendgame

Yea, I think that's a fair analysis. He has to work at connecting, often relying on manuals, checklists, and psychoanalysis in lieu of natural instinctive connection. This could be because he's grown up with such a rocky foundation that he's afraid of Doing the Emotions Wrong (TM). To me, he often reads in-canon like a neurodivergent, burnt-out Gifted Kid still reaching for the Life That Passed Him By. ("I'm working on a Ph.D.") //

#i think truly oblivious sam is the most fun #like.....he fully just thinks they're both just weird and doesn't get it at all #i also think there's a pretty good argument for it too because sam is just so oblivious sometimes to things about dean @bloodydeanwinchester

Oh, yeah. He's definitely oblivious about Dean's dreams and interests, especially in those early seasons.

I do think since combat connections are notoriously and well-researched to be deeply, deeply intense and even Weird (TM) to civilians and onlookers, Sam might not be able to draw clear lines between the different types of bonds because of this.

You remind me too of that one line from the Twigs n' Twine n' Tasha Banes:

TASHA: Yeah. Family's always complicated. Parents always seem smart and strong and perfect. It's only when you grow up that you realize that they're just people. (12x20)

This doesn't apply to just Mary but to Dean too! For the longest time, Sam didn't even see him as a person. Throughout the series I feel like Sam goes from making excuses like, "At least we had dad" to realizing that it was Dean who was "parent" all along.

SAM: Dean, you were the one who was always there for me. The only one. I mean, you practically raised me. (14x12)

Not to mention there's the whole competition with him--his misconception that Dean was John's favorite/took it easy on him. He was even weirdly competing with him at times in season 4 -> the whole Dean/weak and Sam/strong dilemma). Anyhoo. Yes!

///

#I choose to believe that Sam is oblivious because if he ISN'T oblivious it would make some of his in canon actions #just absolutely unconscionably cruel and while I think Sam is unhealthily self-involved I absolutely do not see him as cruel #and don't want to think that of him #so I choose to believe he has NO fucking idea about Destiel/Dean being incredibly queer #bc the alternative paints him in such an unflattering light I can't comprehend it of him #also it's objectively the funniest scenario but that's neither here nor there lmao #spn via @ilarual

Perhaps. I think there are lots of attenuating factors in SPN that make the character have complete down-and-out mental breakdowns that showcase their worst "freakout" behaviors, so I think as of right now, I'm embracing the cruelty as a mix of era-style pressures, reciprocal cruelty, psychological-wounds-of-the-moment, and crass low-class teasing, etc etc. Not sure yet!

///

#I think it's a mix of both #because Sam -I think- has a tendency not just towards b&w thinking but to putting people in boxes #and instead of looking at all the daily-increasing pile of evidence contradicting his 'sorting' he just... keeps on being surprised #and then forgetting #idk it seems to me that both Cas and Dean can more easily see how people are complicated and shift their perceptions of others as they go #but Sam I see as being more... this is your role and this is my role and things are supposed to be like so #Tv: Supernatural #uggghh I should start writing down all the things I want to pay attention to when I next rewatch via @ironworked

I wonder if they all default to boxes though: black-and-white-rules, idealization-never-let-me-down-dreams, and complete escapism/nihilism at turns. Especially when one of them has a psychological wound.

I do think you raise a good point that despite underestimating their own "people skills," Dean and Cas seem to have superior natural social skills (yes, even Cas)! They connect more easily and have more reciprocal communication styles.

Sam on the other hand, seems like a Type A neurodivergent "checklister" in my eyes. That's why I think it feels like he's a little more "rules-oriented." He talks abstractly so often about psychoanalysis but he's soooo bad at emotions in the moment. (And I kind of love that, lol! He's always struggling!)

I think Sam actually seesaws in his morality quite a bit. But Cas is shown to be just as comfortable with moral relativism, as he himself says to his counterpart in season 13 AU Earth. Dean can actually be too rigid, and I don't know if that's necessarily better all the time.

///

#firmly in the #sam sees what sam wants to see #camp #he sees things in a way that makes him the 'main character' via @destielrotsmybrain

I definitely agree that Sam perhaps has a bit of "main character" syndrome. But i also think that sometimes severe mental health issues can seem selfish, because you have to become self-involved just to survive. I'm mixed feelings on this one!

///

#sam has a very hard time letting go of preconceived beliefs #especially where dean is concerned #i don't think he's actually oblivious so much as willfully blind to aspects of his brother that don't line up w the dean he has in his head #sam studies #what I'm saying is the boy has some problematic headcanons :D via @bogwitchatrois

This is my favorite, and I think most in line with how I think. He has the Idealized Brother living in his head. The hero of his boyhood. I think the stuff I said to @bloodydeanwinchester above applies pretty well to your brainstorm as well.

Do I think Sam is truly oblivious in-canon? Not exactly but I think there’s a very good argument for willfully oblivious.

#sammy stuff

249 notes · View notes

whatdoesshedotothem · 3 years ago

Text

Tues[day] 16 September 1834

7 25/..

12 1/4

very good one last night – fine b[u]t hazy morn[in]g F[ahrenheit] 57 1/4° at 8 35/.. a.m. – at my desk at 8 1/2 –

Kind let[ter] to M- [Mariana] gl[a]d she h[a]d found but by means ov[e]r w[hi]ch I h[a]d no control th[a]t ‘I h[a]d writ[ten] even less

‘oft[ene]r to th[o]se who are perpet[uall]y heap[in]g up[on] me kind[ne]ss aft[e]r kind[ne]ss, and whose ver[y] situat[io]n in life ma[ke]s

‘th[e]m suppos[e]d to be the 1st obj[ec]ts of my consid[eratio]n’ - … if ‘n[o]t mo[re] heart, I h[a]d comm[o]n sense th[a]n

‘to val[ue] the th[in]gs of th[i]s world accord[in]g to the scale w[hi]ch h[a]s been laid d[o]wn for me – H[a]d you bel[ieve]d me

‘oft[ene]r, and kn[o]wn me bet[ter], it w[oul]d ha[ve] sav[e]d us b[o]th m[u]ch pain – B[u]t if heav[e]n h[a]s will[e]d it oth[er]wise,

‘let us n[o]t compl[ai]n – the fin[a]l ruler of ev[en]ts is wiser th[a]n we – I am deep[l]y sensib[le] of all

‘y[ou]r affect[io]n; b[u]t, fr[om] the mom[en]t of y[ou]r hav[in]g delib[eratel]y told me y[ou]r determinat[io]n, and the lead[in]g argum[en]ts

‘w[hi]ch ga[ve] rise to it, my chief endeav[ou]r w[a]s to be convinc[e]d and reconcil[e]d – Mary! you trust[e]d me

‘too lit[tle] for happ[ine]ss – Rem[em[b[e]r th[i]s, and be comfort[e]d – cheer up – trust me, you ha[ve] m[u]ch to hope –

‘m[u]ch mo[re] th[a]n you seem aware – the prosp[ec]t will bright[e]r by and by – I ha[ve] nev[e]r fail[in]g consol[atio]n

‘or the th[ou]ght, th[a]t you will be happ[ie]r in oth[e]rs, th[a]n you c[oul]d ha[ve] been in me – confide[en]ce w[a]s

‘too m[u]ch shak[e]n on b[o]th sides – Mary! the last blow on mine, w[a]s too severe – Be

‘comfort[e]d – be assur[e]d, th[a]t you ha[ve] act[e]d wise[l]y for us b[o]th – viol[en]t changes are gen[erall]y irksome

‘to all p[ar]ties at 1st; b[u]t, rememb[erin]g wh[a]t I mys[elf] ha[ve] suffer[e]d, I do n[o]t eas[il]y desp[ai]r for anyone –

‘I do n[o]t feel inclin[e]d to say m[u]ch on the subj[ec]t of our meet[in]g – the reflect[io]ns to w[hi]ch it w[oul]d gi[ve]

‘rise, c[oul]d on[l]y be painful – Do as you th[in]k best’ – Hope ‘h[e]r niece’ will exceed h[e]r

all h[e]r expectat[io]ns – ‘I can eas[il]y ent[e]r int[o] y[ou]r motive for call[in]g h[e]r Percy’ – pleas[e]d at the th[ou]ght

of h[e]r go[in]g to the Rhine next y[ea]r – on[l]y anx[iou]s ab[ou]t h[e]r choice of a compan[io]n – ment[io]n Geneva as a

fine town ‘hav[in]g man[y] lit[erar]y and econom[i]c advent[age]s’ and th[a]t a fam[il]y of 2 or 3 might live in

affl[ue]nce at Rolle for £250 a y[ea]r – date the latt[e]r 1/2 p[age] 3, Mon[day] 15 Sept[embe]r and say it shall go [as] last

160

1834

Sept[embe]r

might, the herald of the sm[all] parc[e]l (stays, 6 laces, p[ai]r of Earrings fr[om] Geneva and b[oo]k, Coxes’

pict[ure] of It[al]y borr[owe]d edit[io]n of 1815, too old when last at Lawton Dec[embe]r 1833) to be s[e]nt off by me of today’s mails –

‘I f[ou]nd my a[un]t m[u]ch the sa[me] as I left h[e]r, and Mr. Sund[erlan]d told me, he th[ou]ght her gen[era]l health qui[te]

‘as good - b[u]t she is uncert[ai]n - th[i]s seas[o]n of th[e] y[ea]r, or rath[e]r lat[e]r, h[a]s gen[erall]y tir[e]d h[e]r ver[y] m[u]ch

‘and I fear, if she gets ov[e]r the wint[e]r at all, it will be ver[y] indiffer[entl]y – she suffers a

‘gr[ea]t deal, yet her cheerful[ne]ss does n[o]t forsake her – She desires me to gi[ve] her love, and say

‘how gl[a]d she shall be to hear you are bet[ter] – the 30 shil[lin]gs for Th[oma]s Beech’s gr[ea]tcoat

‘are p[ai]d, and I will pl[a]ce th[i]s sum to y[ou]r acc[oun]t – If you do n[o]t feel qui[te] sure of my und[er]-

‘-stand[in]g all y[ou]r wishes ab[ou]t mon[e]y matt[e]rs, tell me mo[re] partic[ularl]y wh[a]t you w[oul]d ha[ve] me

‘do - G[o]d bless you, my d[eare]st Mary! Ever ver[y] espec[iall]y y[ou]rs AL- [Anne Lister] – nice en[ou]gh let[ter] to

L[ad]y S- [Stuart] will consid[e]r ab[ou]t the fourgon ‘when I am mo[re] ab[le] to fix up[on] my next line of route’ – ‘I am perf[ectl]y astonish[e]d th[a]t I h[a]d y[ou]r let[ter] 12 days ago, and th[a]t I h[a]d been at ho[me] a fortn[i]ght

‘on Sat[urday] – I kno[w] n[o]t how the ti[me] h[a]s slipp[e]d away – I ha[ve] been so busy ab[ou]t my law-concern,

‘etc. etc. the days ha[ve] seem[e]d like mom[en]ts; and I ha[ve] s[in]ce been out of the h[ou]se – yet I ha[ve] oft[e]n

‘th[ou]ght of you, and wond[ere] how you w[oul]d set[tle] all th[]se disag[reablenes]s I w[a]s so griev[e]d to hear of…….

ment[io]n let[ter] fr[om] Vere – shall go and see h[e]r one of th[e]se days – at pres[en]t can ma[ke] no plans –

‘my poor aunt suffers a martyrdom; yet still she lives, and may live for sev[era]l m[on]ths –

‘It is a gr[ea]t comf[or]t to me to see h[e]r so pleas[e]d at my hav[in]g g[o]t a lit[tle] fr[ie]nd to ta[ke] ca[re] of me

‘in my trav[e]ls – I hope you will tell Miss Tate - B[u]t, d[eare]st L[ad]y St[uar]t, it w[a]s wh[a]t you s[ai]d th[a]t I ha[ve]

‘nev[e]r forgott[e]n; and it is you th[a]t I shall alw[a]ys th[in]k of, and thank w[i]t hall my heart –

wr[ote] th[i]s morn[in]g und[e]r the seal – ‘I do hope to hear fr[om] you soon, if it be only one line to tell

‘me you are bet[ter], and ha[ve] settl[e]d th[in]gs mo[re] comf[ortabl]y th[a]n you expect[e]d – Do n[o]t troub[le] y[ou]rs[elf] one

‘inst[an]t ab[ou]t a frank – I shall be delight[e]d to see a Norfolk postmark – I shall troub[le]

‘L[or]d St[uar]t w[i]th a note to L[ad]y St[uar]t de R- [Rothesay] and a lit[tle] no[te] to d[ea]r Charlotte ab[ou]t the parc[e]l fr[om]

‘Paris - Ev[e]r, d[eare]st L[ad]y St[uar]t, ver[y] truly and affect[ionatel]y y[ou]rs A. [Anne] Lister’ - Gen[era]l acc[oun]t of my journ[e]y to

L[ad]y S- [Stuart] de R- [Rothesay] hop[e]d for so[me] comm[issio]n in Paris - perh[aps] she doubt[e]d my abil[itie]s - c[oul]d n[o]t doubt how

hap[py] I sh[oul]d ha[ve] been to do my best – ‘I h[a]d a lit[tle] fr[ien]d w[i]th me wh[o]se good care soon set me

‘ab[ov]e Mr. Freeman’s medicines; and we h[a]d so[me] delightful wander[in]gs am[on]g the Savoy m[oun]t[ai]ns – I do

confess th[a]t my ‘bowels yearned’ tow[ar]ds M[on]t Blanc; b[u]t he w[a]s a lit[tle] surly, and the 2 Savoy and

‘avocats who attempt[e]d his summ[i]t, and s[ai]d, tho’ unbeliev[e]d by any, they reach[e]d it, were

‘gl[a]d en[ou]gh to get d[o]wn ag[ai]n – they h[a]d no reg[ula]r guides, on[l]y 1/2 a doz[en] peasants, two of wh[o]m

‘h[a]d made the ascent bef[ore] – and, h[a]d they been a few h[ou]rs lat[e]r, w[oul]d prob[abl]y ha[ve] been lost –

‘we made wh[a]t is call[e]d the gr[a]nd tour of M[on]t Bl[an]c’ ….. cross[e]d the Gr[ea]t and lit[tle] S[ain]y Bernard…

we h[a]d no Gollis-work – the lit[tle] Inns ver[y] fair[l]y comf[orta]ble ‘exc[ept] one in the vil[lage] de Ferret

‘where th[e]re were on[l]y 2 bedr[oo]ms for the wid[ow] and h[e]r 8 child[re]n. one manserv[an]t and 2 guides, our 2

‘selves, and 2 sick inf[an]ts the poor wom[a]n h[a]d tak[e]n to nurse, tout compris, at 6 fr[an]cs each

‘p[e]r m[ou]th – we ret[urne]d by the Savoy lakes and Chamberi – saw the pass of the Echelles, and the gr[a]nde

‘Chartreuse - sp[en]t 2 or 3 days at Lyons – tho’ man[y] of the h[ou]ses damaged or destr[oye]d in Apr[il] are

161

1834

Sept[embe]r

‘alread[y] repair[e]d or rebuilt, th[e]re are still too man[y] traces of the émente - Sev[era]l opul[en]t

‘manufact[orie]s ha[ve] left the town, and set up th[ei]r establ[ishmen]ts elsewhere - th[e]re are 3 large ones just complet[e]d

‘at Voiron now communicat[e]d w[i]th Echelles by a fine new r[oa]d of 3 posts - th[e]re are sev[era]l new

‘r[oa]ds finish[e]d and in prog[ress] - th[a]t by S[ain]t Etienne io[ene]d 2 y[ea]rs ago (miss[in]g Lyons) saves 3 days’ journey to

‘Marseilles’ – 2 or 3 days at S[ain]t Etienne and 2 or 3 at Clerm[on]t – ‘the view fr[om] the Puy de Dome,

‘is one of the m[o]st interest[in]g and extraord[inar]y I ha[ve] ev[e]r seen. – a vast assembl[a]ge of cones of extinct

‘volca[noe]s – a vast coulée (sea) of lava - b[u]t the heat w[a]s so excess[ive] in walk[in]g up, and the air

‘is cold at the top, I on[l]y st[ai]d ab[ou]t 1/2 an h[ou]r – Do tell the girls, they nev[e]r saw s[u]ch a dirty fig[ure]

‘as I w[a]s on com[in]g out of the fine silv[e]r mines (op[ene]d 2 or 3 y[ea]rs ago) n[ea]r Pont de Gibaud - B[u]t

‘the coal-mine of Firminy, n[ea]r S[ain]t Etienne, astonish[e]d me m[o]st – It is exact[l]y like a comm[o]n

‘st[one] quarry, (open to the day, and work[e]d in the sa[me] way) b[u]t the rock is coal of excell[en]t qual[it]y –

‘It is on[l]y 3 y[ea]rs th[a]t it h[a]s been work[e]d in th[i]s way, and is the on[l]y coal-mine kn[o]wn of the kind –

‘the miners at the silv[e]r mine were chief[l]y Germans – Be the gov[ernmen]t wh[a]t it may, I nev[e]r saw

‘so gr[ea]t an app[earan]ce of improvem[en]t and prosper[it]y in the count[r]y – the écoles des mines ha[ve] done an

‘infin[it]y of good to the mining int[ere]sts of the count[r]y’ - din[e]d w[i]th L[ad]y CL- [Charlotte Lindsay] and the Berrys – ‘and w[a]s deligth[e]d w[i]th my

‘vis[i]t – all were in good sp[iri]ts, and were ver[y] agreeab[le], and k[i]nd – I h[a]d nev[e]r seen so m[u]ch of L[ad]y Charl[otte]’

(Lindsay) ‘who says th[in]gs so nice[l]y, and wh[o]se man[ner]s are so interest[in]g, she made qui[te] an impress[io]n

‘up[on] me – Miss Berry is really wond[er]ful – Thank you ver[y] m[u]ch for giv[in]g me th[ei]r addr[ess] – I w[a]s

‘qui[te] gl[a]d to improve so nice an acquaint[an]ce - unexpect[e]d pleas[ure] to see L[or]d St[uar]t – ‘wh[a]t

‘an enviab[le] tour in Norway! I wish a [I] knew a lit[tle] mo[re] ab[ou]t it – If I live, I mean to go

‘th[e]re one of th[e]se days – my a[un]t, as to gen[era]l health, is m[u]ch the sa[me] as when I left h[e]r - b[u]t she

‘suffers a martyrd[o]m fr[om] rheumat[i]c pains; and her medic[a]l men fear she can[no]t long survive

‘the wint[e]r – I enclose a lit[tle] no[te] for Charlotte - Bel[ieve] me, d[ea]r L[ad]y St[uar]t, alw[a]ys ver[y] truly y[ou]rs A. [Anne] Lister’

th[e]n wr[ote] on 1/4 sh[ee]t the foll[owin]g ‘Shibd[e]n hall - Mon[day] 15 Oct[obe]r 1834. My d[ea]r Charlotte – I s[e]nd you a ver[y] lit[lte] no[te], the herald

of a ver[y] lit[tle] parc[e]l, w[hi]ch Miss Berry w[a]s so good as prom[ise] to bring fr[om] Paris – I told L[ad]y St[uar]t, it w[a]s for you –

‘I alw[a]ys th[ou]ght of giv[in]g you so[me] sm[all] rememb[ran]ce on y[ou]r entrée int[o] the gr[ea]t world – I wish[e]d it to be so[me]th[in]g useful,

‘and on[l]y hope I ha[ve] chos[e]n well, and th[a]t you will like the watch for its own sake, and for mine – I hope you

‘are all enjoy[in]g yours[elf], and look[in]g qui[te] rosy and well at Highcliffe – I sh[oul]d n[o]t kno[w] it ag[ai]n – If you still

‘hunt for fossils, and care as m[u]ch as ev[e]r for the collect[io]n, you can fancy how disap[pointe]d I w[a]s to f[i]nd, on

‘reach[in]g here, th[a]t all my fine specimens fr[om] Auvergne silv[e]r-mines, and man[y] oth[e]rs th[a]t were pack[e]d

‘in the carr[ia]ge tool-box, were lost in Lond[on], thrown away as lumber, I suppo[se], by the c[oa]chmakers’ men, who th[ou]ght

‘antiattrit[io]n better worth – I oft[e]n th[ou]ght of you among the high alps of Savoy, and wish[e]d you were w[i]th me –

‘wh[a]t sketch[in]g for Louisa! Gi[ve] my love to h[e]r – I shall alw[a]ys feel ver[y] m[u]ch interest[e]d for you both; and

‘bel[ieve] me, my d[ea]r Charlotte, y[ou]r ver[y] sincere and affect[iona]te fr[ie]nd A. [Anne] Lister – my kind rememb[rance]s to Miss Hyriott’ –

w[e]nt d[o]wn to br[eak]f[a]st at 11 1/4 and s[e]nt off th[e]n by Geo[rge] my let[ter] to ‘Mrs. Lawton the Rev[eren]d M. Miller’s Scarborough’ –

br[eak]f[a]st – Mr. Parker s[e]nt the lease of ‘Lidgit’ to Mr. Lamplengh Wickham Hird for A- [Adney] to r[ea]d ov[e]r – she r[ea]d it al[ou]d to me –

the game reserv[e]d as in my leases - on[l]y allow[e]d to ha[ve] 7DW. und[e]r plough – penalty £10 p[e]r DW. - n[o]t to cut or

prune timb[e]r – 34DW. - n[o]t to und[er]let exc[ept] w[i]th writ[ten] leave – Rent £100, term 10 y[ea]rs – asleep 1/2 h[ou]r – at my desk at 1 5/..

162

1834

Sept[embe]r

wr[ote] my no[te] to C. St[uar]t and at 2 1/2 h[a]d writ[ten] so far of today, and h[a]d fold[e]d and seal[e]d up in envelope my no[te]

4 p[ages] of 1/2 sh[ee]t to ‘The Lady St[uar]t de Rothesay’ enclos[in]g in the sa[me] my no[te] to ‘the hon[oura]ble Miss Stuar]t’

and enclo[e]d th[e]se and my no[te] to ‘The hon[oura]ble L[ad]y St[uar]t Whitehall’ und[e]rcov[e]r to ‘Lord St[uar]t de Rothesay

3 Carlt[o]n h[ou]se terrace London’ – s[e]nt the ab[ov]e let[ter]s at 7 p.m. by Geo[rge] – A- [Adney] and I out at 2 3/4

to Brearley hill to meet Holt ab[ou]t gett[in]g wat[e]r for John Bott[omle]y and ab[ou]t sink[in]g pit to enab[le] me

to look aft[e]r Mr. Rawson – gett[in]g the wat[e]r will cost ab[ou]t £16 to £20 sink[in]g and driv[in]g at 3/. to 3/6 p[e]r y[ar]d

ab[ou]t 100 y[ar]ds – ord[ere]d th[i]s job to be advertis[e]d next week for lett[in]g as als[o] the pit sink[in]g – H- [Holt] th[in]ks

the pit will cost ab[ou]t 40/. p[e]r y[ar]d sink[in]g ab[ou]t 100 y[ar]ds deep to the low[e]r bed – saw the place n[ea]r the

upp[e]r gateway just ab[ov]e Conery wood in the Park farm well f[iel]d – w[i]th a sm[all] fire engine m[i]ght

get coal th[e]re for man[y] y[ea]rs – eas[il]y road[e]d al[on]g the f[ee]t of Bairstow, out just bel[ow] Whiskum cot[tage]

int[o] the new bank to H[alifa]x – pit to be oblong 8ft. x 5.4 .:. ab[ou]t n[o]t qui[te] s[ai]d S. W. [Samuel Washington] tonight, 5 sq[uare]

y[ar]ds stuff will co[me] out at each y[ar]d depth of sink[in]g – 5 x 100 = 500 y[ar]ds of stuff cart[in]g d[o]wn

to the f[ee]t of the wall oppos[i]te the h[ou]se = ab[ou]t £20 – the wat[e]r of dirt band (36 y[ar]ds band) and four-

-score y[ar]ds band to be gath[ere]d up in sink[in]g and turn[e]d the conery clough separ[atel]y or n[o]t to the h[ou]se –

H- [Holt] s[ai]d the coal w[oul]d sell at 8d. at the pits’ m[ou]th – and [no] turnip[ke] to H[alifa]x w[oul]d ma[ke] a penny

a load diff[eren]ce – Rawson sells at 9 1/2d. in the town – we sh[oul]d sell at 9d. – w[oul]d av[era]ge 5 1/2 corves

or loads p[e]r sq[uare] y[ar]d – 20 loads or one score w[oul]d sell for 13/4 at the pits mouth –

gett[in]g . . 4.6 13.4 – 8 = 5/4 say 1s.3d. p[e]r sq[uare] y[ar]d profit .:.

pull[in]g and bank[in]g 2.6

say 3d. p[e]r load profit 1 ac[re] or 4840 y[ar]ds = £242+ £60.10s.0d.

Tools 1.0

Taxes 8.0 or 1/4 1/2 p[e]r sq[uare] y[ar]d profit = £302 p[e]r ac[re]

fr[om] Brearley hill A- [Adney] met me at Whiskum cot[tage] – th[e]nce d[o]wn the o[ld] b[ank] to H[alifa]x to the Bowling

foundry for fire-grates for n[or]th parl[ou]r n[or]th ch[ambe]r and tentr[oo]m – th[e]n to Miss Hebden’s – good acc[oun]t

of Charlotte Booth – th[e]n to Whitley’s – br[ou]ght ho[me] vol[ume] 3 [octavo] Lyell’s geol[og]y and Busby’s Journ[a]l am[on]g

the viney[ar]ds of Spain and Portug[a]l – and pamphl[e]t by Jo[h]n Travers on the Tea duties – th[e]n to Thorps’

ab[ou]t acorns and plant[in]g sett[in]g Bairstow w[i]th th[e]m – ho[me] up t he o[ld] b[ank] at 6 55/.. – din[ner] at 7 – coff[ee] – h[a]d

Washington – noth[in]g to be made of Mrs. Machin ab[ou]t the sale of h[e]r 11DW. of coal – b[u]t

W- [Washington] told he w[oul]d call ag[ai]n on Sat[urday] – A- [Adney] and I sat talk[in]g and read[in]g the newspap[e]r Geo[rge] br[ou]ght

b[a]ck th[i]s ev[enin]g – w[i]th my a[un]t fr[om] 9 3/4 to 10 3/4 – wr[ote] all b[u]t the 3 first lines of th[i]s p[age] till 11 1/2 p.m.

at w[hi]ch h[ou]r F[ahrenheit] 59 1/2° in my study – ver[y] fine day – no[te] fr[om] Mr. Wilkins[o]n Heath to say the front pew in the north gall[er]y nearest to the west gall[er]y was at lib[ert]y rent 1 guin[ea] a y[ea]r

2 notes · View notes

nettlestonenell · 4 years ago

Photo

Armie Hammer wants a sequel to The Man From U.N.C.L.E.—shouldn’t you?

This post is a long time in coming, Gentle Readers and @jammeke, but now, though it might be here, before your very eyes, to think it will be well-laid out would be a mistake. It’s set to be just about as messy as Ilya’s misplaced loyalties and murky motivations.

How dare!

I probably first watched this film well over a year ago (courtesy @jammeke posting things about it). I used Sling OnDemand (I think on TNT). In the ensuing viewings I also watched it in that way, but as I was sitting down for a fourth(?) viewing, it kept coming to me that I was tired of watching it with commercials I couldn’t skip, and I had a sneaking suspicion that it had been edited for time and I was missing out on scenes. [pointless aside: I was also watching the film in chunks, and never as a whole]

Where is she now? What’s the time stamp? How far along did she get? Are you shagging the hotel hostess yet?

So, I, uh, set out to buy it on DVD—without any luck! In the sense that copies I could find cost more (w/ shipping) than buying it to stream. So, I bought it to stream on Amazon. Do I regret my choice, Gentle Readers? No, no I don’t. I do regret burden of knowledge in learning that TNT was already playing the entirety of the film. That was a hard pill to swallow.

Nope, I’ve looked. That’s absolutely everything. Nothing additional lurking around here...

So here it is, as it is, @jammeke, “My Notes on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

Look, I don’t know what this film is. I probably can’t fully articulate its appeal. Or maybe I can--certainly after transcribing four page I’ve tried. Number One thing to know about me and fiction/films is that a top draw for me is seeing something out of the ordinary, such as beautiful locations, a historical era, delicious costumes. There are times, frankly, this can trump weak story and undefined character for me. (The best films, of course, combine all three) Certainly, The Man... delivers in the delight of the eyes. Additionally, I must confess that growing up as a person older than @reblogginhood but younger than Miss Fisher, so much of what was on TV was essentially reruns of this film’s iconic Look(tm). So, when I see women dressed like Gaby I am just another three-to-seven-year-old overcome with the drop dead glamour of it all.

Darling, tell me how you really feel...

Some questions I have:

· IS Armie Hammer a hulk of a man? Everyone in this film seems to think so, yet he always tracks to me as trim (rather than hulking)

· Why translate via captions some Russian speaking, but not all?

· IS Napoleon’s backstory directly cribbed from USA’s White Collar?

· DOES Gaby have a German accent?

· Does Ilya get preternaturally attached to all the people he’s ordered to look after? Also, what is his bonding rate with kittens?

Sorry, wrong iteration.

· If Lady Villain knows the lens is wrong—if her technical understanding is that in-depth--does she really need Gaby’s dad to make the bomb?

· How old was Gaby during the war?

· What happens when Ilya gets a NEW puppy assigned to him? (please let this be addressed in film #2)

Hooray for:

· That bathroom fight! *all the Burn Notice feels!

· Gaby is her own lady, and chooses sides as necessary—not always unilateral in her support for either male character. Case in point: she sides with Ilya over the clothes, and Napoleon over the incident of the wallet.

· That delicious (speaking as Rusty, here) Ocean’s 11-stylized action. It’s pretty, so I’m not bored with it. Sometimes a sandwiched montage gets shown, so I’m REALLY not bored. I’ve got 18 tiny moving boxes of things to look at!

· Pinkie rings. There, you’ve told me everything I need to know about that character.

· Solo in a beret. English has not yet found a word for the feeling it evoked in this viewer. Somewhere between ‘precious’ and ‘oh, no’.

See, there? Now you’ve felt it too.

· Goggles! All the accessories! Dune Buggies! (I mean, that’s what I’m calling Napoleon’s chase-scene ride)

Things I adore:

· It seems (after some research) that more than a few folks view Gaby as a third wheel, and though she’s not exactly a Princess Leia commandeering her own rescue and exuding competence and a deserved take-charge-attitude at every corner, she IS a foci for both male characters (though romantically it would seem only for one), just as Ilya is a foci for both her and Napoleon [no one seems to worry about Napoleon, though they should--film #2, anyone?]

· Mechanic Gaby not needing a beauty makeover, or being dragged into one. She gets some nice clothes, but it’s never suggested that she’s not attractive or acceptable before putting them on, and I respect, nay, embrace it.

Oh, my heart. She’s still not as tall as them!

· Ilya, drab pigeon Ilya, knowing fashion

· Oh man, don’t even get me started on the power of the statement, “it doesn’t have to match”

· You knew it was coming on this sublist: the wrestle-fight. I mean, c’mon. Poor little Gaby, locked behind the Iron Curtain, living a life of always being watched. She’s in the swankest hotel (I mean, Napoleon chose it, so we can be sure it’s swank with an E). She’s trying to celebrate her freedom, her liberation. She’s playing verboten music, she’s drinking to excess. Girl wants—and deserves—a party. And Ilya is…not built for that (that he knows of). For some fun, just imagine if she had been given Napoleon to room with instead.

o I will say that this scene, and some of their other interactions have what I would call early (non-sibling) Luke and Leia energy. Ilya seems to have moments of being struck by Gaby in a way Luke is struck by Leia in the early part of the trilogy. When Leia takes charge, and Luke accepts it. When Leia does something incredible, and Luke is left open-mouthed. *no, I don’t see OT Star Wars in everything. Shut up.

· “He fixed the glitch.”

· Again, shout-out to the non-action action.

· “I left my jacket in there.”

· The whole race to rescue Gaby I am in love with beyond words. [I have noted it as “Crazy Jeep Drive with Warhead!”] Probably b/c it comes across as totally egalitarian. Both men want her rescued. They’re no longer in competition. It’s just as important to Napoleon as it is to Ilya to catch up to her. Also, it is bonkers, like some sort of X-games version of a commercial for the vehicles they’re driving. And screaming Willie Scott does not make an appearance.

Someone says “winkle” out.

· Look! Another note about the screen divisions and how I love it, shout-outs to the original Steve McQueen The Thomas Crown Affair (a contemporary of when this movie is meant to be set), and TV’s 24.

Things that get a great, big NOPE:

· Jerrod Harris: you’ve been in so much streamable content in the last decade I can’t hate you, but frankly, you’re terrible here—unless you’re supposed to be giving a mannered, not-campy-enough-to-be-enjoyable performance here. Your American English puts me in the mind of Alex Hawaii 5-0′Loughlin where it feels you’re concentrating so hard on your accent that you fail to convince anyone that you’re a harried, over-worked and exasperated spy handler. Your performance is at odds with every bit of dialogue you’re given to say.

· That awful, mishandled title that doesn’t even connect to the film until the final moments (a sequel set-up, for sure)

· Look, you don’t introduce Hugh Grant casually mid-way through your film in a throwaway appearance. I mean, he’s HUGH GRANT we all know something’s up now.

· This is not exactly a great big NOPE, b/c I love a flat cap, Tommy Shelby—but I feel like a less tall man with a far rounder face in a flat cap would track more as Russian to me that AH does. To me, he just looks like he’s about to go golfing.

Over par? Unacceptable!

· Is Victoria a British-accented Italian? A British woman who married—what? Gaby’s uncle isn’t Italian!? An Italian who went to school in Britain? My head hurts. Also, is her hair meant to be unconvincingly bleached?

Other commentary:

· Napoleon’s adult ne’er-do-well backstory is so far from being emotionally equivalent to Ilya’s childhood trauma [and his enslavement to the USSR] it seems bestial when he calls it out on multiple occasions. Badly done, Solo.

· Gaby is the film’s key (sorry, Buffy fans). Everyone is connected to her. Yes, she could have been given a bit more on the character front, but I don’t see her as as much of a flaw in the film as some others/reviewers seem to.

· Look, essentially (and not very nuanced-ly), Ilya is a stalker. I think the film goes a certain distance in establishing that his early behavior toward Gaby is not normal, but concurrently it does not truly call him out on it. He’s essentially viewed as an odd-duck, sure, but not a true threat to her (should she not reciprocate or tolerate his intensity toward her). I think I might be able to cite his behavior when Gaby comes on to him (that he doesn’t jump at a chance with her) that maybe he’s given a little more nuance than a straight-on stalker, and it helps that he and Napoleon never get into a pissing match over Gaby’s person, only over her new clothes. But overall the film has to walk a fine line (and the jury is still out on how successful it is, I’d say) between playing Ilya’s laser-like attention to Gaby for its humor, and calling it out for the unsettling, threatening behavior it is.

· Honestly, it wasn’t until I engaged the Closed Captioning that I understood Napoleon was calling Ilya the ‘Red Peril’. So, that was nearly three viewings in.

· I give the screen credits A+, on both ends. Not to mention the end credits are actually INTERESTING with lots to see and learn! (Certainly we learn more about HG in them than we do at any time during the film)

Things I would have liked:

· More of fish-out-of-the-Iron-Curtain Gaby moments

· A better dichotomy shown of East vs. West Berlin/Germany. There’s nothing easy either visually or otherwise to distinguish the two.

· HC being given a more specific American accent (from an actual locality). This, for an American viewer, works better than the flat, unlocated American accent many a British actor will bust out. *Mind you, HC does a generally good job, but he fails utterly on both “Immediate” which he pronounces at least twice as “immeedeejt” [rather than imm-E-deeot] and “Nazi” as “NAHT-zee” [rather than “NOT-zee”]. And let’s not get started on that late in the film use of ‘earnt’, a word that—well, it’s just not in the American English twentieth century lexicon.

· C’mon. You gotta tease the Hugh Grant more.

· Solo is a blank before the war. I’ve read thoughts on the film calling out Gaby as the blank character, but they’re wrong. Solo is the blank. He’s the ‘made’ man, his identity seemingly assembled during the war and after. For example, he doesn’t go into the war a thief, nor (it would seem) a particularly educated or urbane individual. Now THAT’s a juicy backstory I’d love to learn about, perhaps in film #2--or #3? What creates a Napoleon Solo? What would he be doing if he weren’t on the government’s leash/incarcerated? Is anyone left caring about him back wherever he calls home? I mean, who doesn’t love a gender-flipped 60s-era Holly Golightly backstory? [And yes, I would love there to be an ex-wife or even a current wife mixed up in his origins as well—Guy Ritchie, call me!]

Notes I have that I’m not sure if they still make sense to me:

· Only mom calls me Napoleon (do he say it ‘mum’?) Is he a secret Canadian?

· Solo’s torture, 1st view recall Napoleon’s childhood? *I think this means that after watching the first time I somehow erroneously believed that during the torture Napoleon’s childhood was a topic gone over. This was wrong. HOWEVER, this would have made far more story-sense than the backstory we’re given on an easily disposeable villain.

· “Even the average Russian agent. You’re special.” ?

· Uncle is Baddie (*so glad I made this note to myself)

· Ilya’s dad IS an embarrassment. I’m not sure what genius commentary I had in my mind, here. Perhaps that Ilya himself is embarrassed of him? Not just Ilya’s handler’s? [Also, aside: Napoleon totally slut-shames Ilya’s mom, which is the doublest of double standards from ‘I got myself the biggest and most ornate suite b/c I-wanted-plenty-of-space-for-my-random-seductions’ and I really wish Ilya had thrown that back in his face] *yes, of course I know that Ilya and Napoleon would not likely equate a wife/mother’s sexual exploits with that of Solo’s, but let’s be honest, this film tweaks the nose of (I won’t say reverses, it doesn’t go that far) plenty of tropes and gender expectations, and this certainly seems like a missed opportunity to call Solo on the carpet (which I hope film #2 does far more)

Things I wrote down so long ago I don’t recall what they mean:

· CC-save

In conclusion:

What does film #2 look like? What title does it get? Will the Peter/Neil White Collar dynamic continue to grow? *note that I have no confidence a second film will ever come to pass...

In the end, all I know is, “It didn't help when American Tom Cruise, who was slated to play U.S. spy Napoleon Solo, dropped out, prompting the casting of Cavill (who had previously read for the Russian role).“ I would not have watched that film.

#tmfu #tmfu 2015 #ilya kuryakin #napoleon solo #gaby teller #henry cavill #armie hammer #alicia vikander #the man from uncle 2015 #the man from u.n.c.l.e.#the man from uncle #i don't know what this film's tags are meant to be to keep it from popping up in the TV series searches Sorry

21 notes · View notes

ashley-jones · 4 years ago

Text

The Kings Mate

Chapter 18

A Half Demons Claim

Warning: talk of self harm, blood, and slight yandere

Rin was playing with Luna’s hair who was still fast asleep on Sesshomaru leg. The demon now awake but show no sigh of moving the teenage girl, as she was in and out of sleep throughout the night. She had handed her hoodie over to Rin who had gotten cold throughout the night, leaving the teen in sports bra.

The hoodie went over Rin’s body due to it being oversized, as it was too big for Luna so it was obviously huge on Rin. Kagome had come back from the two girls time with more clothing a some snacks for Shippo and Rin. “K-Kagome..w-why does Luna h-have scars on her arms?” Rin questioned.

Sesshomaru looked down noticing that the teen did indeed of scars going up both of her arms, some side ways and others were up and down. Kagome seemed surprised by the question and was almost hesitant to answer. “You have to ask her..I have no right to speak about them..” she said softly. This statmemt confused the dog demon making him glare at the miko but soon look down at the female noticing her slightly shifting.

Soon brown eyes opened and arms came up covering her eyes from the sunlight and letting out a light whine; and then let out a groan when Rin jumped on her. “Ah..morning sweetheart..” she mumbled. Kagome smiled at the sight and then pulled out clothing for Luna setting them down beside her. “Mom told me to tell you hi, same with those two girls from school” she stated.

Luna smiled softly and slowly sat up allowing Rin to slide down into her lap, her eyes glancing at the clothing before turning slightly and cracking her neck. “Thank you..” she stated. Her voice was slightly rasped with sleep. “L-Luna..can we go take a bath..L-Lord Sesshomaru brought me a new kimono!” she said excitedly. Luna smiled and nodded looking back at Sesshomaru asking for confirmation, in which he just nodded.

The teen stood up and picked the girl and her clothing up and left the hut, Rin holding onto the checkered kimono while smiling brightly.

Kagome looked around before sighing and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I should have brought her weapons with me.. I didn’t even think about it..” she mumbled.

“Luna? Why do you have scars on your arms..?” Rin questioned as she sat in the hot springs. The teenage girl was across from her, looking surpsrised by the question before smiling softly. “Well..When I was around 14 or 15, I was going through a lot and I had began to harm myself..” she said softly. Rin’s eyes widened at the statement. “B-but why??” she quickly questioned. “Well..When I was doing it, I felt numb and the only thing I wished for was to feel something.. So I would get into physical fights on purpose and when I did I noticed that the pain I would get from getting hit, felt good.. And it felt as if I deserved it, so I started harming myself with a blade.. So that I could feel better..But I soon realized it was also affecting my family, I stopped and decided to get some help so I wouldn’t do it again..” she explained. The small girl looking at her with saddened eyes.

“You don’t do it anymore..right..?” she whispered. “No..I promised the ones that I love that I would never harm myself again for as long as I live..” she stated. That made the child smile and nod glad that her new friend wasn’t doing anymore harm to herself.

Soon the two girls finished and stepped out both getting dressed. Luna just had a simple pair of sweats, a white bralette and a cover up; and then a pair of sneakers. She helped Rin close up her obi tying it neatly for her, then placing a small ponytail in her hair. “There you are sweetheart.” she said softly. Rin smiled and ran around enjoying the way the kimono fit her.

The two began making there way back to the village, Rin walking beside Luna holding onto her hand, while Luna was carrying her dirtied clothing. “Hah there you two are! Took you long enough!” Jaken yelled. Luna just smiled and walked past him joint Sesshomaru’s side who was standing in front of Inuyasha. “Tch! Luna isn’t leaving with you! She’s better off here with Kagome! They both have a home in their era still!” Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome just sighed crossing her arms and watching Inuyasha. “Inuyasha..” Luna mumbled. The demon paying no attention to her making the girl roll her eyes. Quikcly the female stepped back as Inuyasha’s claws almost struck her when he went to attack Sesshomaru. Kagome quickly screamed at Inuyasha to ‘sit’ while Sesshomaru had gotten in front of the teen when she stepped back.

Rin held onto Luna’s hand tightly before yelling at the half demon “how dare you raise a hand to a girl! Even if it was towards another, you shouldn’t strike when knowing a girl is standing beside him!” “I’m okay Rin..” Luna said softly. “I didn’t mean to!” He yelled. “Don’t raise your voice to her.” Luna stated.

Inuyasha looked up at the teen before mumbling an apology, slowly pushing himself up and held out his claws, while Sesshomaru stared with cold eyes. The 3 girls quickly stepped away no longer wanting to interfere, Jaken following them. “So childish..” Kagome mumbled. In which Luna nodded in agreement to.

“Killing you would be easy.” Sesshomaru stated. His voice was as cold as ice, and eyes showing no emotions. Just as that was said Inuyasha ran at Sesshomaru holding out his claws and attacked, but of course Sesshomaru was much quicker than the half demon.

The fight continued on, Inuyasha showing slight exhaustion while Sesshomaru didn’t look at all fazed. Just as the thought of the fight ended Inuyasha struck Sesshomaru’s chest right under his armor, sending the full demon back a bit. The teenagers eyes widened when they noticed Inuyasha’s eyes were blood red, and blood covered his claws; fangs sharper and a blood lust look covered his features.

Sesshomaru clicked his tongue and paid no mind to the wound on his chest. His eyes lingering on the hanyou. Inuyasha growled and looked back at the group of girls, a smirk gracing his features. He quickly ran at them smirking and growling.

Luna’s eyes widened and quickly stepped back and threw her arm back grabbing Rin and pushing her close behind her; and went to run but claws collided with her side before she could. Blood splattered across her stomach causing her body to fall forward into the hanyou arms, letting out cries as his claws deeper in her side. Rin and Kagome completely protected by a wall of ice. “You smell sweet.” The demon growled. “S-stop..” the female whimpered.

Sesshomaru growled and went to attack Inuyasha but quikcly stopped when he realized, one wrong hit and Inuyasha could rip the female stomach open; mostly with his claws already dug into her side. “I-Inuyasha..” she spoke. Her voice was shaky, and so was her body.

The hanyou smirked pulling his claws from the teen listening as she cried out, blood cascading down her side. “Mine.” he growled. Kagome was screaming at the hanyou but didn’t dare say sit in fear of angering the male more. Rin was yelling as well begging for Luna to move away, but the hanyou’s arms wrapped tightly around her and quickly ran off with her weakened body. Sesshomaru yelled at Inuyasha but it all went black as the female fell unconscious in the half breeds arms.

The half demon had been taken over by his own beast. The teen laying in front of him in a cave, his inner self was screaming at the beast to never lay a hand on the girl again. Begging for himself to take her back so she was in the arms of her protector. But Inuyasha had no control over himself, his beast wanted her and he didn’t understand why.

He had to admit the female was beautiful, and held this amazing amount of confidence, and showed no fear of showing her opinions. Her scent was incredible, which is what drew him so close to the girl in the first place; she wasn’t always screaming at him like Kagome was. The teen showed him respect, and kindness; but she showed Sesshomaru something he wanted from her...

Love.

That’s what set his beast off on Sesshomaru, and the moment he looked back at the girls all he could think about was taking the ice wielder. To have her all to himself. To mark her and claim her as his, so that Sesshomaru could never put another hand on her. To breed her and show her who she truly belongs to. The thought of the female being bred and carrying his child was setting his beast off into a purring mess. But he held back, he wasn’t going to touch her in fear of harming even more than he already has.

The female shifted and let out a cry of pain, her eyes opening and caught sight of Inuyasha. She sat up and immediately backed away from him, her hand quickly going to her side holding onto the still bleeding wound. How she was still alive, she had no idea. “Mine..” the hanyou spoke once more. His voice was deeper and more rasped, his red eyes showing past white bangs. “Inuyasha..” she whimpered.

The hanyou stood up and walked over to her, watching as she backed up until her back hit the wall of the cave. “Mine.” he stated once more. Luna thought of any way of calming the male, and bringing back the Inuyasha she knew back.. Her body flinched as she forced herself to stand, leaning against the wall and looking up at the hanyou. Her non bloodied hand reached out and laid against his chest gripping the fabric tightly.

“I’ll be yours...Just bring back the half demon that I know..” she whispered. She was just begging for Inuyasha to go back to normal, that way she could get medical attention before her body gave into the blood loss. “Mine.” he growled. He leaned forward moving so the female was pushed directly against the wall, his body against hers; and his fangs traced across her delicate skin.

He was about to bite down but he quickly stopped himself clenching his teeth. He moved away and quickly punched himself causing a loud growl to escape his throat. Eyes flashing between gold and red. “G-go!!” he yelled. In which the female obeyed and left the cave as fast as she could.

Jaken quikcly yelled for Sesshomaru’s attention alerting him of the females presence. The moment she saw Sesshomaru in the air, her body collapsed, no longer able to run. Her chest heaved and her throat was dry; her hand and stomach covered in blood.

The full demon dropped down in front of her quickly picking her up and taking off into the air once more. Her head falling down against his shoulder, unable to function any words; eyes glazed over with tears.

Luna’s eyes opened quickly, breathing harsh and she flinched when she felt a clawed hand touch her forehead slightly. But she slowly calmed down when she noticed Sesshomaru was kneeling beside her. A bandage wrapped around her torso, and she had a red and white kimono on, her clothes being washed and dried. “S-Sesshoamru..?” she whispered.

He hummed removing his hand and sitting back once he made sure the female was okay. Inuyasha hasn’t returned as of yet, and they weren’t sticking around long enough to wait for him. Kagome had gone back to the girls era to grab Luna’s weapons and more bandages; including a bag for the girl. Jaken had gone to retrieve Ah-un, that way the teen wasn’t walking too much until she was fully healed.

Kagome quickly ran to the hut when she heard her sister voice, quickly running inside setting the bag down and attacking the girl. Kagome hugged her tightly, while the red haired girl winced and whined slightly in pain. “K-Kagome..” she mumbled “I-I’m sorry...I was so worried about you..” she stated. “I brought you some supplies, and a few more things for Rin and Jaken..Since Sesshomaru mentioned he doesn’t eat human food..” she spoke softly.

The younger sister helped the older up into a seating position. “Your clothing is almost dry..We cleaned the wounds area..Just have to be really careful. I don’t understand what got into Inuyasha..” Kagome stated. “His full demon took over, causing him to crave an innocence blood.” Sesshomaru mumbled. His eyes never leaving the wounded teenage girl.

Luna was finally able to get back into her own clothing, Sesshomaru placing the girl on Ah-Un, with Rin in front of her. Her swords where placed with Sesshomaru’s by his side. Her bow and arrows around her shoulders. Kagome waved goodbye to the group and crossed her arms feeling better now that Luna was with Sesshomaru instead of near Inuyasha.

Rin was looking through the bag before pulling out a strange metal boxed thing, which made the teen quickly remove it from her hands. “Kagome.” She mumbled. “What is that?” the child questioned. “It’s a vape...” she mumbled. “What’s a vape?” She asked. “Something you don’t need to worry about.” Luna stated. She pat the small girls head and pulled out a small bag of chocolate candies and handed it to Rin, in which she quickly took tasting one and humming in delight.

8 notes · View notes

halorocks1214 · 2 years ago

Text

here's the list maker if you want it

unhinged rambling under read more

Not played Tier

Self-explanatory. I was either a fetus or non-existent when most of these came out, and B&W 2 and Platinum I just never got because I didn't realize they were a thing during my child era of life RIP

Same Gen Games but the not better one /lh Tier

Also self-explanatory. These are just the ones where the box art didn't hit for me like the other one did lmao. I did play Alpha Sapphire and Sun tho because I could afford them and wanted the version exclusive pokemon and had no friends :,)

It's aight Tier

Let's Go, Eevee!: I think it's a cute game with cute mechanics, but it is a Mainline+Pokemon GO mix so it's not gonna be the best in the series. It achieves what it was going for, ya know? I also... still need to properly finish it so WHOOPS

Scarlet Tier

Pokemon Scarlet: So, here's the thing -> The discussion around this game is a mess. I am just one gamer with a decade-long hyperfixation; I am aware I'm biased. However, I think if Game Freak was allowed the time to properly work on a new Mainline title this would have been my favorite. I see so many people say Game Freak as a whole is at fault for stuff when they really aren't, it's the crunching the Devs are being forced into. I can see that the Devs tried their best under their stressed workload, like, the whole thing about Tikatons killing Corvoknights so the taxi bird needed to be different!! There was no need for them to do that or have that detail, they could have easily reused Corvoknight taxies and saved time on making models, but they wanted to make a new game with new experiences and changed it up anyway. This game could have easily been one-of-a-kind, but Game Freak just doesn't seem to understand that people are willing to wait a few years, and that will always be the most disappointing aspect to me :(

I should have named this tier "Justice For Game Freak Devs" tbh

My "First" Game Tier

Weird flex but let me explain

Pokemon (Shining) Pearl: Gen 4 was my first genuine pokemon game, and since the remake is somewhat of a carbon copy I just put it here for prosperity. One thing I dislike about trying to play older games is just how freaken LONG save times are, so Shining Pearl is a big help in allowing me to experience the game that got me into the mess that is the pokemon series <3

Pokemon X: I like to think this was my first pokemon game that I could truly experience myself and not need my mom to help Google walkthroughs all the time. It is the Gen that kinda started dumbing down the gameplay to make it easier for kids, but eh, I was always the person that liked the characters/stories more, not the actual gameplay. I know, absolutely scandalous of me. Also, Mega Evolutions? BANGER IDEA and I hate that Game Freak's line of thought was "let's make new ideas sort of like Megas" instead of "let's make more Megas in the new games" >:[ (PS Fennekin best starter I don't make the rules)

Peak Gameplay Tier

Pokemon Moon: I considered Gen 7 my fave for a long time (not anymore which I will get into) because of how different everything was. No more HMs, the Trials were an awesome idea, the characters and stories SLAPPED. Plus, some of my favorite pokemon ever came out of this Gen, so yea. Game good

Pokemon Omega Ruby: X might be nostalgic for me but the Gen 3-makes are in all honesty better games. It had everything that made Gen 6 awesome and also a killer story along with it. It could also be that ORAS is fresher in my memory compared to X, but being able to ride on Latios; did you ever consider that?

BASED Tier

Pokemon Black: I did actually just start a new run-through of this game a few days ago (mainly in an attempt to get pokemon to eventually send to HOME before Bank closes, darn you nintendo for being dumb about ur old games), and maybe it's peer pressure, but Gen 5? Very good Gen :] Absolutely love the story and characters, the art is some of the best in terms of the era of 2D games, and I also have the faintest memory of experiencing euphoria at FINALLY. BEATING. GHETSIS. LORDT.

Pokemon Sword: LISTEN I completely understand why people rank this Gen so low, I get it, but trying to put this game lower just doesn't feel right personally. I love the Switch, so there could be some bias there in terms of this being the first Mainline game on the console, but it's also just because the characters/story hit my favorite tropes right dead center. Hop and Leon are still fucking incredible, also a lot of great pokemon that rank really high for me come frome here, and thanks to the anime I've come to appreciate the aesthetic that is dynamaxing and gigantimaxing. Plus the gym battle theme is the BIGGEST BOP OF ALL TIME. Always gets my adrenaline going like WOOOOOO

Legends Arceus: I always thought this game was amazing when I first played it, and when I recently went back to shiny hunt in it, I remembered even more why I like this game. It is such a fantastic direction to take the series in not only story but gameplay as well. Those boss fights were STELLAR. The Alpha Rapidash in the starting area was probably the first time a pokemon game made me feel genuine terror since like Gen 5. I sincerely hope Game Freak makes another Legends game and this wasn't a one-time thing. My hope is for either Raikou or Keldeo but the other ideas I've seen floating around aren't bad either ;)

Ultra. Tier

This is a product of me growing older if I'm to be real. When I first got Ultra Moon, I didn't really have too strong of feelings. I already was a big fan of Moon so my emotions piggybacked off of that. I like how the Trial bosses were different, Necrozma was pretty sick, but... really? Did this need to be an entirely new game? At full price? Why. Lusamine combining with the Ultra Beast was such a cool penultimate boss too, so while I like ultra Nebby and the location you fight it in as a concept, it's hard to beat a pokefied human, at least it was to teenage me (tho I still wish we could have fought her directly. That would have been even cooler lmao)

So, with that mess out of the way, I have to say that I am basic and Generation 8 is my favorite Gen over 7. Sword was such a fun title, the Pearl remake, while disappointing, is still a solid game plus I have nostalgia bias, and I don't need to repeat myself when it comes to Legends, do I? Gen 7 has what, games that would have been way better as DLCs and a Pokemon GO tie-in? In terms of main Mainline games, Moon is still in second place, but the surrounding games in the generation, unfortunately, made it switch spots with Sword :P

And there you have it, my arbitrary list of Pokemon games! :D Obligatory "this is my personal list and if you disagree you are valid and super cool" etc etc, also please play New Pokemon Snap that game is a blast and a half. Now I gotta go eat byeee

i got bored and decided to rank all the mainline pokemon games anyone want the list and an essay explaining my choices

#pokemon #my post

2 notes · View notes