#the french...they complicate it imo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stirringwinds · 6 months

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While I feel that hws France is hard to portray I do wonder what headcanons you have for him. Care to tell a few that come to mind?

a lot of my headcanons of francis/françois are from the british imperial + sea/east asian perspective, so with that in mind, these are some thoughts i've had:

a. françois' strengths are that he can be very charming and good at putting people at ease. he is somebody, if you ran into him somewhere, just comes off as a really interesting person. he can talk for ages about his passion for philosophy, art, literature, science and cooking without it getting boring to the listener.

b. he can be a really good lover too and is that sort of person who considers it a point of pride to make his partners enjoy his company. the sort of person who will make dinner and probably also a good breakfast for you. but one of his flaws is that he can also be pretty self-centred at times, and sometimes he uses his charisma to get out of things or simply dodge issues in his personal relationships.

c. françois, much like arthur, is in the Bad Parent club vis a vis matthew in the 17—18th centuries. where they differ however, is i feel that arthur was controlling but more...present, whereas françois was more...dismissive. matthew would get letters from arthur instructing him to do this and that, which for matthew at least acknowledged him, whereas françois might just not even write to him much at all, especially after matthew came under arthur's control.

d. françois really clicked with alfred during the revolutionary war. it helped that alfred was punching arthur in the dick, but i think that françois for all his flaws, genuinely possesses a somewhat more idealistic streak (than say, arthur imo) so that gelled well with alfred spouting all kinds of enlightenment thoughts (especially since he was also reading french writers like Montesquieu).

e. françois and lien (vietnam) have a complicated (to say the least) relationship due to the history of french imperialism over vietnam; i see francis being much younger than her (she and yao are peers in age!), so lien fitted him very much into her prior experience as an older female nation being forced to deal with 'boys playing at being empires'. lien probably shot him in the face at least once during the first indochina war, that tried to re-establish colonial rule over vietnam in the 1950s. however, i do think they can talk more cordially in more recent decades, with normalisation of ties. cooking is perhaps one topic that is a common interest—vietnamese banh mi is a kind of sandwich originating from french baguettes that incorporates local ingredients, and it's a really tasty and popular streetfood. there's also a big french-vietnamese population in paris today.

f. kiku was absolutely not impressed by monet's la japonaise, nor 'madame chrysanthème', the wildly racist and orientalist mess that Madame Butterfly was based on. it was exoticising, not flattering to him—he was however, more amenable to those of françois' artists that incorporated japanese artistic techniques in more genuine ways, or with françois' own view of aesthetics and his knowledge and interest in engineering.

g. yao, much like kiku later, was someone françois was very interested in culturally—as seen from the boom in chinoiserie when trade with china began back in the 17th century. i think french is probably one of the first european languages yao learns (besides portuguese). it's a fairly functional trading relationship—until of course, french imperialist interests began expanding in yao's sphere of influence and the opium wars.

h. i'm a fruk fan so naturally i think his love-hate relationship with arthur is one of his most significant r/ships—arthur has been a neighbour, friend, enemy, lover and everything in between. but! scotfra is another very, very long-term relationship important to him (auld alliance!). also on an EU level well, there's him and ludwig too.

i. naturally, he's also fairly fashionable, and i feel like he'll always eye himself critically even if he's going out casually, compared to way i can see arthur being fairly chill about strolling out in that questionable, ill-fitting acid green christmas sweater alfred sent him as a joke once. i also think françois probably smokes a fair bit, compared to how arthur's gotten a kick in the arse to cut back after WWII. and nowadays, he'll often just be relaxing with a cigarette on the balcony of his apartment with a book, or enjoying a day out in one of his museums.

#hws france #hetalia #hws england #hws canada #hws vietnam #hws china #hws japan #hws scotland #hetalia headcanons

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acheronist · 3 months

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can you make sparknotes for the Red Wings players they are all the same person to me (sorry)

dw my darling i got you 🫡 here's the regular 23 man roster we've been skating this szn

forwards (+ this is going to be the number they wear on their jerseys, not their age)

jt compher (37) - won a cup whilst he was on the colorado avalanche (red wings long time beloathed nemesis rivals team), attended umich hockey with larkin and copp. deadpan dry asf tenderhearted weirdo. very good at hockey i like him

andrew copp (18) - 🎶get up and g-get down, 911 is a joke in your town🎶, local michigander boy playing for his hometown team, attended umich with compher and larkin, kind of fuck ugly but he's gritty and has a lot of love in his heart so we like him

alex debrincat (93) - another local michigander boy playing for his hometown team, really good at hockey, we rescued him from the ottawa senators (red wings short term/very recent beloathed nemesis rival team) and he likes it here more, haha lol lmao even. good at hockey!! kind of a sniper. also kind of fighty which is hilarious because he's about 9 inches shorter than the average nhl player. new dad and really loves it, brings his family to games all of the time. and he was our all star games representative this year !

robby fabbri (14) - how are you going to be a short italian-canadian kind of bisexual professional hockey player who mixes metals and has a standing eyebrow appointment. please pick a struggle. won the stanley cup w/ st louis and then got abandoned for being 'injury prone' and was sent to detroit in a 1 for 1 trade (the most humiliating of all nhl player trades imo). he and larkin and rasmussen are the only men left standing from the red wing's historic worst-ever season in 2019 where every game they looked like they were going to kill themselves.

christian fischer (36) - new bestie alert! huge locker room guy. okay at hockey (more of a playmaker than a goalscorer) but he's so fucking sillygoofy and funny i love to see this guy on my team. spent most of his career in arizona iirc, and basically he and gostisbehere came from the coyotes directly to the red wings as a buy one get one free deal.

patrick kane (88) - narcissict. arrogant. flop. old man who can't score anymore. history of assault and violent misdemeanors he never was punished for because he was the nhl's boytoy a decade ago. i hope he contracts sepsis from an unforeseen complication with his hip surgery and takes a long walk off of the rencen's roof and lands in the detroit river where he is frozen and then chopped up by an industrial ship's propeller. fuck this guy.

klim kostin (24) - beloved enforcer. used to skate for the edmonton oilers. his entire game is based around slotting in on the third/fourth line when necessary and whenever someone gets hurt he comes out swinging to establish the fact that the red wings are not to be fucked with. he doesn't start fights but he does finish them. notoriously big hearted and silly with his teammates. coincidentally wearing the same number as the red wings most famous enforcer from the 1980s, bob probert. my guard dog boy i love u

dylan larkin (71) - michigan native, umich grad, was the previous captain's rookie, the beating heart and soul of the team, carrying the weight of a century year old hockey team's legacy and all the ghosts that come along with that, never been to playoffs and hasn't won the cup yet. literally the miserable boyking of metro detroit. he's had to suffer a lot for absolutely no reason, but still manages to come and be our best and most important player every single night.

david perron (57) - he's old by nhl standards i.e. he's in his late thirties and has been playing for like a decade, so he knows his way around an nhl rink. french canadian enough that he's got an accent. big heart and soul guy, which i really wasn't expecting tbh! he's always standing up for teammates and has gotten in a few noteworthy fights (dylan got hurt so badly this szn that dp went rage-blind and ended up getting suspended for six games after fighting the opponents who hurt dylan)

michael rasmussen (27) - big fuck off scary intimidating canadian hockey lad. kind of awkward and bizarre. also kind of a doll if i can b honest. he's very shy and quiet in interviews but always has an insane serial killer look in his eyes whenever he's on the ice. was drafted high and then i suspect he had a lot of mental struggles about not being the player he was advertised/told to be? but the last few years he's stepped away from that role he thought he should be and started being himself and playing in a way that was obviously more comfortable, and he's taken huge huge productive strides and improved a lot. moose ily

lucas raymond (23) - our youngest babiest player!! he was our highest draft pick in a looooooooong time, and immediately went from prospect training camp -> regular nhl player, which is fucking crazy. he's exceptionally good at hockey, and has a reputation for coming in clutch with goals we need to win games. besties with moritz seider + jake walman + joe veleno.

daniel sprong (17) - i had no idea what to think of this guy at first but now i can't believe he's only been here for one season. it feels like he's been a wing for ages. he's one of our sniper goalscorers, except he shoots the puck with a lil too much sauce + with a feral desperation of a man afraid he was never going to score a goal again, every single time, which i love. also he stalks twitter and runs a team GC to forward memes that the fandom makes to the guys

joe veleno (90) - if bambi was a closeted italian canadian hockey player. wears an evil eye bracelet and also a crucifix? very meek and easy to bully, tbh, not our most productive goalscorer but also somehow he's very crucial to the emotional well being of the younger half of the roster? hes sillygoofy and a sweetheart and does his best every night which is all we can ask tbh. besties with lucas raymond + moritz seider + jake walman.

defensemen

ben chiarot (8) - resident manwhore dilf fashionista who knows he's sexy and loves to be a bitch on the ice. loves to be annoying and distracting @ the opponents during plays so the red wings can have space to move.

shayne gostisbehere (41) - escaped florida man turned into an nhler, sleeper agent defensive weapon that people tend to forget about. always busting his ass up and down the blue line. always looks sopping wet and really sad though? loves to shoot the puck and sometimes it even makes it to the net!

justin holl (3) - i'm hesistant to describe him as "good at hockey" but the boys seem to love him + he's silly enough to engage in the locker room antics + i've noticed him dealing out more hits lately which is always good.

olli maatta (2) - very very very steady in the most boring way possible. does his job and not an ounce more than necessary LOL but it's fine because he's good at what he does? a classic defensive defenseman.

jeff petry (46) - not… good? at hockey? but he is also a michigan native playing for the hometown team, and he's a veteran nhler, and he's a gritty sort of guy, so i like having him. he grew up in detroit proper, as well, because his dad played on the detroit tigers baseball team, so there's a lot of michigan sports lore going on in that household. also his kids are silly + love to come to games

moritz seider (53) - my sweet perfect darling defenseman prodigy. won the calder trophy because he was the most special and talented rookie in his first year in the nhl. breaking team records for defensemen at an alarming rate. was dylan's rookie, and is also frequently mentored by red wings defense legends. he's not a rookie anymore but you can still see how much responsibility he's shouldering and how much he takes after dylan's role modeled behavior/team legacy standards. good at handling tough responsibility vs staying silly anyways. hes my shining star and i luv him. generally he's paired up with jake walman on defense and they're a little bit married because of it. besties with lucas raymond + jake walman + joe veleno.

jake walman (96) - another guy who st louis abandoned and then ended up on the red wings and said "i want to spend my entire life and career in this city" . extremely silly. known for hitting the griddy whenever he scores important goals. big on video games + making tiktoks. tremendous locker room vibes guy, and very emotional and serious about proving his place on detroit's blue line. generally he's paired up with moritz seider on defense and they're a little bit married because of it. besties with moritz seider + lucas raymond + joe veleno.

goalies

ville husso (35) - looks like a haunted little porcelain doll. always sopping wet for some reason. very softspoken and european. mid-good level goalie, kind of needs to prove himself a bit now that alex lyon's gone completely off the shits and taken over starter goalie privileges, but i feel like there's no sense of animosity or competition between them? ville just strikes me as genuinely someone who's delighted and proud of his tandem partners for their successes, even if it comes at his expense / losing some of his chances to get ahead

james reimer (47) - idc about this man lol. he's either a very good goalie or an atrociously horrible goalie and you dont know what it'll be until the games already happening. passively homophobic christian behavior as well which i do not like to see. but he's also a veteran nhl player so in the beginning of the szn he was getting more opportunity than alex or ville.

alex lyon (34) - spent his entire career in the minor league/being traded between franchises where there wasn't really a space or need for him. got on the radar after keeping the florida panthers in their playoff race before losing, and then FL traded him to us. we've had goaltending agonies for years and then he's rolled up to detroit with something to fucking PROVE because he thought his hockey career was about to be over so he's skating every night like its do or die. after reimer and husso both were injured tho he finally got his chance to shine and oh baby he's been shining. unbelievably good at goaltending. big heart, very genuine, very funny, basically a male model as well, been to therapy and actually got something out of it, i would go to war for this man if he needed me to

#drw

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lesbian-books · 1 year

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Lesbian Historical Fiction

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Victorian England, 1860s. A con artist hires a London pickpocket to help him obtain the fortune of a naïve heiress.

Beyond the Screen Door by Julia Diana Robertson

Washington, USA, 1945. Two best friends grow up together and start to fall in love. One of them can see ghosts, but this is not a scary book.

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

Uruguay, 1977. During the military dictatorship, homosexual people were persecuted, imprisoned, and tortured. Five women (three lesbians and two bisexuals) manage to find each other and cultivate a friendship that will last for decades.

Club Storyville by Riley LaShea

Virginia, USA, 1944. A girl raised to be a “proper lady” falls in love with a nurse who comes to care for her sick grandmother.

Belladonna by Anbara Salam

Italy, 1950s. An insecure teenage girl develops a toxic obsession with her beautiful and popular best friend. As the girls graduate high school and attend an art school, their relationship becomes complicated by sexual lust and secrecy.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

Virginia, USA, 1959. Sarah is one of the first black students to attend her previously all-white high school. She becomes acquainted with a white student named Linda, whose father is a major opponent of desegregation.

Shaken to the Core by Jae

California, USA, 1906. Giuliana, a working class Sicilian immigrant woman, goes to work as a maid for a rich American family. The daughter of the family, Kate, is expected to marry a rich man and have children, but Kate wants to be financially independent and be with a woman. This book is set in the time period of the real life 1906 San Francisco earthquake, one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history, which killed over 3000 people and destroyed most of the city.

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malina Lo

California, USA, 1950s. A Chinese-American girl has a lesbian awakening, makes friends with another lesbian at her school, and discovers the vibrant nightlife in lesbian bars.

Matrix by Lauren Groff

England, 1150s. A young French woman named Marie is forced to go to an English convent to become the new prioress. The nuns are living in hunger and squalor when Marie arrives, and when she takes charge she transforms the fate of the convent and the lives of the nuns into something better and more successful than they could have imagined.

Click “Keep reading” for content warnings. Minor spoilers ahead.

Content warnings for Fingersmith: abuse, including child abuse

Content warnings for Beyond the Screen Door: child abuse, domestic violence

Content warnings for Cantoras: abuse, child sexual abuse, corrective rape, marital rape, suicide

Content warnings for Lies We Tell Ourselves: racist abuse. Additional note: This book does not hold back from depicting the racism and homophobia of the time. It has also been criticised for its portrayal of an oppressed person falling in love with their oppressor, and rightfully so because that aspect could have been done better, but at the same time I don’t think that lesbian relationships in books have to always be written as flawlessly healthy and morally pure, just as hetero relationships often are not. If Linda had abandoned all her racist beliefs immediately and rededicated her goals to supporting black civil rights, then the book would have been criticised for being too unrealistic, imo.

#book recs #historical fiction #lesbian fiction #books #lesbian books

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orangerosebush · 1 year

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I recently remembered the following scene in AF (book one) with Artemis, Butler, and Juliet:

“Well, the thing is, Artemis,” she said hesitantly, twisting a strand of blond hair in a way that several of the local louts considered extremely attractive. “The bit about leprechauns.”

Artemis frowned. It was a bad sign. “Your point, Juliet?”

“Well, leprechauns. You know they’re not real, don’t you?”

Butler winced. It was his fault really. He’d never got around to filling in his sister on the mission parameters.

Artemis scowled reprovingly at him.

“Butler hasn’t already talked to you about this?”

“No. Was he supposed to?”

“Yes, he certainly was. Perhaps he thought you’d laugh at him.”

Butler squirmed. That was exactly what he’d thought. Juliet was the only person alive who laughed at him with embarrassing regularity. Most other people did it once. Just once.

Artemis cleared his throat. “Let us proceed under the assumption that the fairy folk do exist, and that I am not a gibbering moron.”

Butler nodded weakly. Juliet was unconvinced."

Each time Juliet laughs at Butler in a way other people cannot, the teasing highlights that they have a relationship with one another that is different and closer than their relationship with other people in their lives, people whom the siblings would not allow that kind of liberty.

In contrast, look at how cautious Butler is with Artemis in that same scene from AF! Butler staying quiet and shifting his weight uncomfortably would neverrrr happen post-TEC, IMO.

Like, look at this scene from TLC:

“Butler glanced at a passing couple, who were bewitched by Spain and young love. The man had a camcorder slung round his neck. Butler fingered his third button guiltily.

‘We may have ruined a few honeymoon videos,’ he noted.

Artemis shrugged. ‘A small price to pay for my privacy.’

‘Was there a third point?’ asked Butler innocently.

‘Yes,’ said Artemis, a touch testily. Still no sign of the individual he was expecting. ‘I was about to say that if there is a gunman on one of these buildings, it’s that one directly to the rear. So you should stay behind me.’

Butler was the best bodyguard in the business, and even he couldn’t be a hundred per cent sure which rooftop a potential gunman would be on. ‘Go on. Tell me how you know. I know you’re dying to.’

‘Very well, since you ask. No sniper would position himself on the rooftop of Casa Milá, directly across the street, because it is open to the public and so his access and escape would probably be recorded.’

‘His or her,’ corrected Butler. ‘Most metal men are women these days.’

‘His or her,’ amended Artemis.

It's so fun to see how late- and post-series Artemis kind of occupies a similar(ish)** role as Juliet for Butler. Let me explain!

Butler is 18 years older than Juliet, and then 22/3 years older than Artemis. Not to mention, you have Artemis and Juliet having had either one or both of their respective parents absent for significant periods of time during their young lives. Although Butler was a guardian of Artemis at one point in time, there's a reason*** why the French translation of AF has Artemis use "vieux frère" for Butler. Artemis and Juliet exist for Butler in this nebulous category of younger sibling-slash-ward, and I think that complexity makes their importance to Butler all the more interesting.

** The whole "Artemis is technically Butler's boss and thus often is telling Butler what to do -- rather than the other way around" thing is a complicating factor when assessing exactly what is the character of familial dynamic they end up developing.

***Admittedly "ami" wouldn't have the same connotation as "old friend", but I do want to highlight the sense of brotherhood invoked in "vieux frère" -- even though I also recognize that "vieux frère" has kind of a continental, "old pal"-y feel to it, which is also why it's something Artemis would say, LOL!

#long post #artemis fowl #the way the Butlers and the Fowls overlap as family circles makes it so when you look at them as 'found family' you cannot just transpose #nuclear family roles onto the characters

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sugahyeon · 7 months

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Theory time?

The island is nothing but a gigantic experiment.

That already got kinda confirmed with an early days cinematic mentionning ''test subjects'' but it got further indicated in lore

The OG islanders:

Jaiden was linked, somehow, to the Federation and the Cucuruchos. We know she helped them and doesn't remember doing so but picked back up her role.

Maximus woke up 2 times in the Federation hospital, including once with a camera in his ass. He got killed by the code, for seemingly no reason, which is weird considering that the code used to only attack federation's members and the eggs.

Phil got his wings clipped and later on got kidnapped in the birdhouse. He still doesn't know of that was a dream or reality, indicating that the Federation probably messed with his memory.

Quackity got kidnapped and put in water. He woke up months later, visibly traumatized, unable to write or read and scared of the Duck. He had no memory of his past. El Quackity took his place in the meantime, apparently working with the Federation? While not being a part of it and having access to experiments on the eggs + a room with a screen displaying some players.

Fit was sent by someone to get something. The federation or smtg is blocking the communications. He remembers, vaguely, the face of Walter Bob's kid.

Luzu is a whole thing, too complicated to detail but take a look at that cubito and tell me he's ok

Roier was friend with Cucurucho and was the first to see the two of them. No more infos but there's probably a reason to that.

The French got stuck there on purpose as well. From their arrival cinematic, we can see a chicken up in the sky (impossible) and a storm, right above the island, making the plane crash (on purpose imo)

Baghera was raised or, at least, taken in by the Federation as a kid. They experimented on her until she escaped. And they got her back, for good this time.

Aypierre got tortured for infos, to the point he almost DIED and they had to surgicaly save him. His memory got messed with and half of the report is censored.

Etoiles is more linked to the code which is a whole other entity, not necessarily linked to the experiment.

The freezed islanders, well, obviously got frozen by the Federation. We don't yet how far their part of the experiment is going.

At last, the brazilians, who, i think, got there by accident.

Cellbit was tortured and manipulated but still got lead towards more infos, for some reasons.

Forever was put on the pills, same for Pac, without his consent. His memory is blurry.

Pac e Mike got kidnapped, MULTIPLES TIMES.

Felps was the first kidnapping of the island.

And don't get me started on the eggs, these kids are artificial af (love them tho-)

Idk, feels like the Federation is a group of scientists with more than crooked morals and a heavy taste for torture

#qsmp #qsmp theory #qsmp theories #qsmp thoughts #qsmp spoilers

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makotoscoffee · 9 months

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Heya! I saw u from a bunch of great pretender stuff, and idk if ur still into that show but I NEED your opinion on Laurent x Makoto. I don’t know how to feel abt it lol

YOU CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE😭🫶

So I am guilty of loving them, but I feel weary of saying it because I feel like so much of fandom culture (at least in the past) has been about reducing shipping to coffee shop aus and flat dynamics that get recycled for every ship. But Laurent and Makoto (Edaurent, as they're called) (it used to be "French bean"😭😭😭😭) is such a complex and interesting pairing to me... I feel like their chemistry in the show is sizzling and I think it's a playground for exploring taboo subjects such as their age-gap and Laurent's manipulation of Makoto etc. I'm assuming you just watched the show? But three years ago there was A LOT OF DISCOURSE like a LOT of discourse about the age-gap. my take is that they're both consenting adults and with the time that passes in the show since they meet, Makoto is getting older too. Like yeah there's a big gap (again, feeds their dynamic) but I don't think it's creepy bc GrePre is such a mature and serious show imo. It marries anime and Hollywood and it's just so elevated that they avoid all these clichés and idk. I'm rambling rn but Yeah TL;DR is I really love them and I think they're super interesting and in looooove but in a complicated waaaay.

Thank you for asking omg🫶🫶❤️

#great pretender #edaurent #also dw it is my favorite show of all time

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natequarter · 6 months

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⭐️!!!!!!

Ask game: Offer a director's commentary on a particular story.

before i get started, i just want to sneak in this beautiful line from the fic i'm about to talk about:

“God’s fish, what are you talking about?”

yep. real tudor expletive. it has a whimsical charm, if you ask me. anyway, down to business.

“Heywood?” John said. “Well, you know me: I—”

i like to sprinkle bits of history into my, well, historical fanfic. john isn't a real person (i made him up, he's humphrey's irritating and very calvinist best friend. he thinks sophie's going straight to hell), but the author referenced - john heywood - very much is! he was a catholic playwright who served every tudor monarch bar henry vii, seeing as he was literally twelve when he died. i think adding those references to real figures fleshes things out a bit. also, i like to allude to historical figures a lot without actually bringing them into the story, particularly the tudor monarchs who ruled over humphrey. it adds a real sense of the narrative being haunted by the spectre of elizabeth i and the gradual move towards anglicanism without me needing to accurately characterise real historical figures

“Sans fucking blague,” Sophie snapped, and he blinked at her.

“Did you just…?”

“Oui.”

this was funny, but also an opportunity to drop in the fact that sophie does know english perfectly well (she's about twenty-five here), she just refuses to speak it. nonetheless, humphrey kind of forces her hand into speaking bits of it, else he wouldn't be able to understand her at all - also a good mirror for the bone plot, where humphrey mixes english and rudimentary french to communicate with sophie. (just speak his language, oh my god)

He sat up. “You’re still here?”

He hadn’t meant for his voice to rise like that.

Sophie nodded. She was still holding his hand.

writing their canon relationship is so hard, not only because there's not much to go on, but also because... neither of them are, strictly speaking, the villains in this situation. they're just really mismatched. there's a fine line between making one of them a bit antagonistic and making one of them straight up cruel (sophie toes this line on a regular basis). it's rather difficult to humanise both of them at once, but, well, i tried

“Right,” he said. “It’s funny … I’d never have guessed that I’d end up here with you.”

“On est marié,” she said softly. She was looking at him in a funny way, as if she were searching for something; he wondered if she had found it.

He always worried that he was too easy to read.

i wrote this in what for me is a very barebones style, in an attempt to capture the raw sadness and honesty which i think permeates humphrey's life. they're alone, he's not trying to be so much more than he is here... but when so much of your life is a performance, it's hard to be honest! court politics is messy, complicated, and often cruel, and humphrey is a very genuine person. he struggles both with losing his identity in hiding himself and with being too open around someone who, frankly, he can't be open with

there's also, imo, a very genuine, if deeply buried, affection between the two of them. they're lonely! they're both so lonely! they're alone together in a viper's nest, and you never know who will bite. by this point they've known each other for over a decade, they live together, their lives are intertwined - it's hard not to have some kind of relationship. but at the same time... they can't just go to each other for comfort, but they are each other's anchor, after a fashion

“I could never leave you,” he said. “Not that I’ve tried,” he added hastily. “It’s strange, isn’t it? But—well—” Humphrey fumbled for words. “At the end of the day, it’s just you and me. I mean, sure, there’s other people who’ll stick around—but that’s their choice. You and me … like it or not, we’ll be together, in this world and the next.”

obligatory reference to sixteenth-century religion at the end there... anyway, it's not really there in canon, but in most of my fics with humphrey and sophie, even if there is no explicit romantic/sexual connection, there's usually some kind of ust thrown in there. we see that humphrey is very awkward around her in canon, he fumbles himself/his words/everything a lot, and accidentally comes off as flirting at one point. i kind of just built on that to leave an underlying tension of some kind between them. it's not love, it's not even really lust, but as i said, they're lonely, and in this fic, they take very brief comfort in each other. by shagging a lot. whilst drunk. that's one of my sadder headcanons for them - they had sex a few times over the years, not enough to really constitute a relationship, more a desperate cry for help human contact. in this particular one they were both drunk out of their minds and it's humiliating for both of them, but i do think there's a spark between them. if they chose to act on it, which for the most part they don't, they would be going at it a lot more (things escalate a lot). as it is, they're just alone together. misery loves company

“Vous croyez?” she said in earnest.

“Um,” he said.

In that hesitant moment, she kissed him.

like i say, Things Escalate. if humphrey's awkward around sophie, sophie is (this is entirely conjecture, frankly) the impulsive one. i.e. she's the one jumping his bones (heh), not the other way round. frankly, humphrey is aware of the power dynamic between them, and doesn't want to push it. sophie, on the other hand, is used to being the one who can't really exist freely because of her status as a french catholic, so she takes what she wants when she can. in this case, her husband!

He had only ever gone to bed with one other person—dear, sweet Jane: that had been three years ago now, and at any rate it had only lasted two months before he’d lost his nerve and asked her in the kindest way he could think of to leave.

jane is also a bit of a ghost in my sixteenth-century ghosts fics. she was (briefly) humphrey's mistress, before the guilt got to him (it got to him very quickly, poor lad), and he broke it off. he really doesn't like the thought of betraying what little honour sophie has, because he actually has a conscience

She pulled away, momentarily, and said: “Then do you want this?”

Which was a question that didn’t need answering; he pulled her in for another kiss, deeper this time, and took pleasure in her soft moan against his mouth.

“Please,” she gasped as his hands wandered lower, down towards her chest, her eyes wide and wanting. “I—I need you.”

It would have been hot—it was hot—he was already hopelessly distracted and they’d barely gone anywhere—if not for the fact that it was the first and last time he had seen her give in and let herself rely on him.

this kinda sums it all up; sophie is rather isolated in england, and, having been married off at a very young age in a country where she couldn't speak the language, she doesn't trust easily. (unless, you know, they're catholics.) humphrey is aware of this, but he also only sees the distant and cold side of sophie for the most part, so he's inclined to be bitter about it... somewhere, in the back of his mind. he's not really thinking with his head at this point

Once he had been distracted by such a small feature it was not difficult to let himself admire the rest of her: that normally harsh, unsmiling mouth, softened by the innocence of sleep; those long, deft fingers, perhaps apt for creation in a world where she did not loathe tapestries; her eyelashes, her collarbone, her philtrum—that gentle dint in between a nose and a mouth which both went straight down.

She was beautiful, and he didn’t know a thing about her.

sophie hot. thank you for coming to my ted talk. humphrey is well aware of this, he just doesn't often have the opportunity to appreciate that or indeed her softer side, which she only really reveals to him in her most vulnerable moments (i.e. asleep or shagging him)

“We are never talking about this again,” he said. “Ever.”

“À propos de—?” She sat up, as he had, and looked around in bewilderment at the evidence of the careless attention they had paid each other: at the doublet tossed onto the floor with haste, at the tangled sheets around them, at the various bruises blossoming down from her neck, and said, “On ne le discute plus jamais.”

this is the equivalent of a one night stand except with your wife who kinda hates you and who you're going to have to see for the rest of your lives together. they both immediately come to the same conclusion (they don't actually remember all of it and they're both horribly hungover, as well), that this is hugely embarrassing and best forgotten. i thought that was quite funny: both their identical reaction and the classic drunken one night stand scenario except it!s tudor england and you're literally married and oh thank god we have ruffs to hide those love bites. also, it's a reference to another fic:

More curious still was that when she unfolded the letters, they were creased, as if they had been unfolded and then refolded over and over again, read and reread until the contents bore evidence of careful attention.

which is itself isabelle/thomas, so i'm sure there's marital and romantic parallels to be drawn there

“You ramble too much,” she muttered, and then lay back down again, hair fanning out like a halo for a particularly annoying saint—not that he could picture her ever martyring herself.

“Well, I’m sorry,” he retorted. “Next time, I’ll—”

anyway, there's the more typical side of their relationship (and more comic) coming through. also, another reference to christianity; specifically, sophie is framed as a saint, with the halo referencing catholic imagery - the kind that was destroyed in many english churches during the iconoclasms of edward vi's reign

He rolled his eyes, and set out in search of a jug of water.

and we return to the status quo! the middle of this a tragedy. the end of it is a bit of a sitcom, really. sophie is irritating, distant, and, above all, intentionally unhelpful. humphrey doesn't know how to talk to her and at this point can't be bothered. their relationship turns back to what it was. the brief change ultimately does not last. anyway that was way too long. whoops

There had been that incident after he accidentally shot an arrow through Sophie’s favourite tapestry (it was a long story, and to be fair to her, she only had one tapestry she liked, so really it should have been easy to avoid), when she’d yelled what had sounded like some rather nasty French words, and then stormed off and refused to so much as exist within ten feet of him for a month. The court gossip that had emerged from that debacle had been worse than usual.

it does have a (very long) sequel, and i think this particular anecdote is relevant to the above post, in which sitcom-esque reversion does not ensue and they actually have to face the consequences of their actions. it takes... a while

(link)

#asks #humphrey bone #sophie bone #bbc ghosts

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infinitelytheheartexpands · 1 year

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hi! what recordings of Don Carlo would you recommend to someone who hasn't seen or heard it?

hi anon!!!

this is a complicated question because, to put it simply: this opera has a lot of versions in two different languages (french and italian).

because you are asking for my recommendations, i will be giving you recommendations for versions in both languages, but all will be for recordings/productions in five acts because the four-act version can go burn in the trash fire in which it belongs.

so without further ado:

audio:

solti 1966: this recording (in italian) has been my favorite audio recording since basically ever.

haitink 1997: i’ve also more recently become quite fond of this recording (in italian). the guy singing carlo isn’t my favorite but you’ve got dima as rodrigo and galina gorchakova (perfection in basically everything) as elisabetta.

giulini 1971: this is another great recording (in italian). the tenor who sings carlo in this recording is a spectacular asshole irl, but otherwise: good recording.

pappano 1996: probably the best french audio recording available. roberto alagna and karita mattila in particular weave magic imo.

de billy 2004: a rare note-complete recording of the original pre-cuts 1866 french version!

video:

royal opera 1985: this performance (in italian) was my first production and i highly recommend it for first-timers. no english subs, sorry, but yeah.

met 1980: great cast, solid production (in italian). there is also a performance of the same production from 1983 but imo this cast is better.

met 2010: this production (in italian) is legendary among operablr, and for good reason. top tier cast. great choices down the line. so much gay.

met 2022: the met can do this opera VERY well. this is a different take, in french.

royal opera 2008: same production and about half the same cast as the met 2010 show. it’s good.

théâtre du chatelet 1996: the video from which the audio recording above is taken.

vienna 2020: a very good cast for a very interesting production (in french, same as the 2004 one that inexplicably i cannot find anywhere on the internet). the production is a bit weird for beginners but overall it works.

san francisco 2016: recommending this one (in italian) pretty much only because it is so incredibly gay, as all productions of this opera should be.

hope this helps, anon!

#opera tag #opera #don carlo #don carlos #opera asks #verdi #giuseppe verdi

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mermaidsirennikita · 9 months

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Have you read any good contemporary romances recently?

Yes! All of these I've read since April-ish, so they're fairly fresh in my mind. There are some others I've loved that are contemporary in terms of setting, but veer into darker territory, so I don't think they work for genre as much. That's a separate post lol.

The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary is great. This is an example of why sometimes you should give authors another shot, because tbh, I didn't enjoy In a Jam, which was hyped a lot recently. The hero was too sweet for me. This one... no. It's about two grown adult surgeons (he's 42 and she's 39, love that) who have to enter into this conflict resolution deal after an issue at work. They begin having hate sex early on, and you can guess what happens next. It's funny, it's super hot, it's emotional, and there's period sex, which we should see more of. He's a GROWN MAN, he does not give a FUCK. TW: heroine is recovering from bulimia.

For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes was very sweet and hot. The heroine is a trans woman who's considered like, the den mother of her local kink scene; men fuck her and move on to younger models. She ends up randomly hooking up with this new guy in town who's also a bit newer to the kink scene (she's a sub and he's a dom, it is all super responsible and consensual and tbh not very heavy kink, at least for me). Theeeen lol he turns out to be the new higher up at her company, oops! He's obsessed with spoiling her, it's lovely.

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck isn't out until 9/12, but I'd recommend putting it on pre-order if you like classic romcoms. It's kind of a retelling of When Harry Met Sally. The hero is this really strait-laced responsible chef who meets the freewheeling abrasive activist heroine when she's fucking the girl he's casual dating (and he wants to make it serious lol). They become enemies for years, then develop a friendship, and the friendship is complicated by the intense sexual tension between them. Emotional and hot.

The Kingmaker and The Rebel King by Kennedy Ryan. Duet, first one ends on a cliffhanger. It's this big, years-long saga between this heroine who grows up as an activist (she's of Apache descent and grew up on the rez) and the hero, who's the rebellious son of this oil tycoon guy. He agrees with her on climate change but she doesn't trust him for several reasons. Then, they end up entangled again after years of separation because she's become a boss campaign manager and his brother is literally running for president... It's intense, it's HOT, it's one of the best duologies I've ever read. I will say--they meet when she's 17 and he's 24; but they only speak for a few hours, and though there's a connection, it doesn't go beyond talking (they don't even really flirt) because he realizes her age and removes himself. Once they meet again four years later, though... it's on.

Of course, I love Sara Cate's Salacious Players Club series, which is basically about a group of friends who started a kink club together. There's the ubiquitous Praise (age gap, she's his estranged son's ex and begins working as his secretary; he's a pleasure dom and she has a praise kink); Eyes on Me (they're stepsiblings and he finds out she's a camgirl and begins secretly corresponding with her while developing a relationship with her in the real world; heavy on the voyeurism kink); Give Me More (a married couple and their best friend go on a road trip and realize they're all in love with each other when the husband asks his BFF to fuck his wife in front of him); Mercy (heroine realizes she's a domme and secretly takes her friend's bratty son on a sub; there is PEGGING); Highest Bidder (biiiiiiig age gap ensues when the early twenties heroine begins a thing with the 50-something hero; he doesn't know she's his ex-girlfriend's daughter, oops.... no worries, she was born well before he met her mom). They're not crazy kinky, imo, but kink is a big part of them and they're quite hot.

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn. Sweet romance about a woman who goes home after her job kind of ends, and falls for the rough around the edges brother of the guy she crushed on in high school.

The Nanny by Lana Ferguson. Heroine becomes the nanny for a single father chef--but she was an OnlyFans girl before then, and he was a BIG fan of her page... A fact she realizes somewhat quickly, while he doesn't (she wore a mask). Super hot for a romcom, honestly pretty great and light.

#romance novel blogging #book recs

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morgenlich · 2 months

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i don’t consider the fact that german has three grammatical genders more challenging than french/italian only having two, mostly because i just. don’t find it much harder to remember genders (the reason pronouns get complicated is because of case declension, not the number of genders imo). but also the ghost of neuter does very much still haunt modern italian in the form of nouns that end in -e (as opposed to -o or -a)

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myrddin-wylt · 1 year

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talking about modern nationverse public figure aus, do you think any of them work for their government or no? are they allowed to have regular jobs?

even though most countries are depicted working for their governments i can imagine some countries don’t want to, whether it be working for a tyrannical government or simply because of past experiences.

like the french revolution, it was basically about rebelling against authority. i can imagine that even though francis works for his government any time that they upset him that he’ll go immediately on strike and protest. arthur would be a lot more loyal (as you know, the royal family) and i think matthew would be in good terms would his own government (*cough cough* brunch with trudeau *cough cough*).

ivan wouldn’t care all that much about his government and what they do but i can imagine that yao doesn’t really like his government (past experiences within the chinese dynasties led to a general doubt of all authority) but he’s loyal to them regardless because he knows that that’s where he’ll get the most benefits / advantages from. alfred would be generally humorous and fun with his government but i can imagine that he knows more than what he lets on.

what do you think their general relationships with their governments are like?

((— the rusamechu anon))

so in general my personal preference for worldbuiding is to not base the world around what's most/least likely, but rather around how I want to see certain circumstances play out. so I don't really have an answer for whether or not nations would be allowed to work for the government, but I can spin up different scenarios based on either. and really it just depends on the kind of story you're looking to tell too, and how contained you want the scope of your setting to be.

I mean I can posit a setting where the nations are at least somewhat known to the world but they don't work for their governments because they're actively persecuted by them. which sounds weird, but I think you could make the case that in this universe, governments were designed to make sure mortals ran the world rather than these immortal demigods. and that's a genuinely interesting premise on its own.

you could also posit a premise where the entire story hinges on the nations being the ones who actually control the government, and their biggest problems in life usually revolve around corralling these piece of shit politicians and bureaucrats and generals into actually obeying them.

I'm kinda rambling now but you get the point. my personal favorite premise/answer to the question is "well, depends on the government." I enjoy the idea that, because of the federalism/checks and balances nature of the US gov, Alfred likely is pretty hands-off? or maybe he just represents the country internationally, but even then he's beholden to the people. imo that would be very in-line with "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union" etc. hell, maybe Alfred even has the choice to not do government work if he doesn't want to. I think he would, if only because he's an ambitious little shit and likes having an active hand in world events so the US can remain a superpower, but I also think his personal preference would be to be a scientist.

as far as loyalty goes, that's a whole other complicated post that I don't have time for at the moment, but I do think Arthur would be a lot less involved in government than he used to be. he's basically retired now. of course he still does a lot of work, but it's low-profile stuff. he's tired. just let him babysit the royal kids or something idk. he does a lot of work in conjunction with Morgan and the kids that still live with him; he's kinda tired of doing it all alone nowadays.

Trudeau is a motherfucker and that's all I have to say about that.

Yao has seen so many governments come and go and so many of those governments have been powerful empires, I think his greatest concern is competence. tbh I think he's actually in conflict fairly frequently with his government, though obviously not openly. but I think he's constantly playing a game of intrigue to basically corral them into doing whatever he thinks is best; that task is obviously monumentally difficult given how authoritarian the regime is, but he's dealt with worse. he just has to be very very very cautious and very clever. he's playing the long-game, whatever that turns out to be.

Ivan... too close to home again. I'll settle on he's either a raving nationalist or is hiding in southern Siberia but I'm not too keen on possibilities between that.

regardless of the premise of the setting, Francis terrorizes his government for fun and we all know it.

#ask #anon #sorry am at work and it's kicked up a notch!#longer asks will always take me a bit of time anyway

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littleragondin · 11 months

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I have been tagged by @sparklyeyedhimbo thank you!

rules: name seven comfort films you love, and then tag seven people

- The Lord of the Ring Trilogy

That one's an easy one. For a very long time, it was just the movie(s) I watched the most often across a year. I fell in love with The Fellowship of the Ring when I saw it at 10 in theatre, and I never came back. I know them by heart (both in French and English), and at this point putting them on just feels like coming home. It's the friendships, the hope through darkness, the love overcoming for me.

- Pride (2014)

This one's based on a true story, it's beautiful and touching and has a fantastic soundtrack of course. I watch it when I want an uplifting story but I still need to cry (usually the Bread and Roses scene or Joe and Stef sharing the bed does it, but if not? I always cry at the end), and it makes me feel better about what we can do together. I also really like the friendships in that movie, somehow they make me miss having that irl the most.

- Constantine

You know how they say the music you listen at 14/15 shapes your music tastes for life? That was the movie version for me. I was 15 when I saw it, and listen. Hear me out. Between Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, and Tilda Swinton (especially looking like this) ... well. I was very into it ok. I also love horror and supernatural so you know. I love the story, there is a really good sibling relationship (if sad), it has angels and demons and cross engraved bullets... it's an easy go-to when I want some action and fantastical stuffs.

- 8 Femmes

It's a French jukebox musical about a murder, with a women-only cast for 99% of the movie. What not to love?? It's camp, the actresses are fantastic (it's an all star cast), I love the 50s feel of the whole thing, the songs are great, the characters are color coded ... I somehow always feel lighter after seeing this one, and find myself singing along all the time. (also come on, who wouldn't want to see Fanny Ardant and Catherine Deneuve make out in skirt suits?)

- Ai no Kotodama (2007)

Ootani and Tachibana have been together since high school, now in college they live together, installed in a comfortable routine until a high school classmate reappears in their life and things... become complicated. This one is just… warm, and simple, and quiet. It's just a slice of life, the conflicts can be a little silly but some feel more grounded, there is a clear and sweet happy end, it always warms me up. I've seen it for the first time 13 years ago and I still think about it regularly. Also the two songs are great and still on my playlists, and the fashion now feels delightfully out of date (Ootani's hair hello <3).

- Big Eden

I watched this one for the first time at a moment in my life where i was very lonely. I picked it up because I had seen some gifs on tumblr, I knew it had a happy ending, and I was starting to want to watch more story with adults. There are so many things to love in that beautiful movie, but usually I put it on for the warmth and acceptance of the community, for "Thing is, Pike, we want things to be nice for you, too, buddy." and the whole "Did we teach you shame?" speech and "I was just hoping you'd let yourself be found this time. I was hoping you'd let us find you. But you keep wandering and we can't." and just... yeah. This one is a comfort still when I feel lonely, or lost, removed from the people I love.

- Coraline

I was already a huge fan of the book and of Henry Selick's work when my dad took me to see it for my 18th birthday. It's a beautiful movie, visually, with an incredible score (by Bruno Coulais), and a very strong adaptation of the novel imo. It's a little creepy, but the good guys win at the end, I love Coraline as a character, and as I said it's just SO pretty to look at? I never get bored by it.

If you're into it and no one asked you yet, I'll tag @scienceoftheidiot @benkaaoi @howdydowdy @troubled-mind @gillianthecat @heretherebedork and @sauvechouris !

#I'm usually more of a series person but I still had to trim the list #those are definitely the movies I put on the most often #with some very close 'second' (Itsuka no kimi e or Spirited Away for ex)#couldn't find a gif for Ai no Kotodama in the gif search thing #had to go and make one myself to then find out one nearly identical to it in the tag #AH WELL #tag games #movies #gifs

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realcatalina · 1 year

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Royal women who died in childbirth in 15/16th century

There are misconceptions that Tudor were somehow unnaturaly cursed, more plagued by fertility issues and deaths in childbirths than the other dynasties.

Plenty of past royal miscarriages and stillbirths were not even recorded. But had they existed they could have contain similiarly grim acount. But we can at least look at records of royal women who died in childbirth in 15th and 16th century:

During, or soon after childbirth/miscarriage:

Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in 1430

Catherine of Castille, Duchess of Villena in 1439

Catherine of Poděbrady, Queen of Hungary in 1464

Anne of Savoy(Crown Princess of Naples) in 1480

Isabella of Aragon, Queen of Portugal in 1498

Elizabeth of York, Queen of England in 1503

Anne of Foix-Candale, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary in 1506

Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal in 1517

Jane Seymour, Queen of England in 1537

Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress in 1539

Maria Manuela of Portugal, Princess Asturias in 1545

Catherine Parr, Dowager Queen of England in 1548

Isabella of Valois, Queen of Spain in 1568

Claude of Valois, French Princess in 1575

Anne of Austria, Queen of Poland in 1598

Weeks/Months after(never recovered fully):

Catherine of Valois, Dowager Queen of England in 1437

Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence in 1476

Barbara Zápolya, Queen of Poland in 1515

Aditionally deaths of royal women:

Blanche of England died of fever in 1409, she was pregnant at the time

Mary of Burgundy died in 1482, weeks after she fell from horse and broke her back. She was pregnant at the time.

Claude of France, Queen of France might have died from childbirth or miscarriage in 1524, although different causes are also speculated by historians-mainly illness and poison.

Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden died in 1535. She was pregnant and fell badly while dancing. The fall confined her to bed and lead to complications and eventually her death.

Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany had fell from stairs in 1578 eight months pregnant. She then had premature labour where baby was in difficult position and both of them died.

Deaths due to cancer of reproductive organs:

Barbara Radziwiłł, Queen of Poland died in 1551. The cause was widely speculated at the time, but modern historians think it could have been cervical or ovarian cancer.

Mary I of England died in 1558 fallowing phantom pregnancy. Historians think it could have been ovarian or uterine cancer.

(Some might disagree with Catherine of Valois dying of childbirth. But imo, if you think her giving birth and her death detoriating not long after is not at least contributing factor, then you’re insane.)

It’s a lot of women. Those were the days. Men fought on battlefields and women had battlefield of their own. The most heartbreaking for me are the cases where mother died in childbirth and the child didn’t live or died young.

I have probably missed some women. I mostly fallowed just main royal line. Queens, spouses of crown princes and blood princesses. But there should have also been wives of the rest of the princes, i just looked at few.

Also in some cases, the cause of death was not recorded, nor was there any theory about possible pregnancy pushed foward by historians. We can rule out those royal women who died pass their childbearing years. But younger ones we can only speculate about. Although in 16th century if the royal woman died of illness or generally poor health, usually it is mentioned. In 15th-usually nothing.

So we will never get 100% accuracy, but i try.

It’s certainly interesting to me reading that Queen of Sweden died after falling badly during dancing. I thought that period superstition(which lingers to today) that one should not dance is total bull. But aparently they had some dances which could cause pregnant lady harm. Idk, maybe some of those jumpy ones could cause woman to trip and fall very easily?

I will probably update this in future. Write to me if I made mistake in anything or if you know of any more royal women who died either in childbirth or after or while pregnant in 15/16th century. Or if you know anything more about death of Claude of France.

#16th century #15th century #royal women #childbirth

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some-pers0n · 5 months

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some person i'm working on a cast of characters that are in a pvp video game kind of vibe like tf2 overwatch etc etc, so i was wondering if you had observations on why you think tf2s characters are so enjoyable??

like im not wording it that well but i was wondering if you had any observations on what made tf2 Work and what made overwatch Not Work characterwise so I can make my cast of characters cool and interesting and not like the shitshow overwatch 2 was

I think the easiest way to define the difference between Overwatch's cast and the TF2 cast is that TF2 is much different in tone and generally more focused on light-hearted comedy. Overwatch is also light-hearted, but it's character writing can be a lot more...bland.

TF2 has the mercs all be based on identifiable stereotypes. Scout is the loud-mouth Boston, Soldier is a red-blooded American patriot, Pyro is The Weird One, Demo is the drunken Scotsman, Heavy is the stoic and intimidating big Russian guy, Engie is the hardworking Texan, Medic is the mad German scientist, Sniper is the outback Aussie, and Spy is just the average French citizen.

Overwatch's cast is a lot more diverse, but it comes at the expense of recognizable characters. They're a lot more sanitized IMO. I know it's a tired argument, but comparing how Medic is written VS how Mercy was written is like night and day in terms of characterization.

It truly does come down to characterization and having a strong cast of recognizable and identifiable characters. Part of TF2's charm is that they're all literally the worst people you'll ever meet. Medic is much more interesting than Mercy because, despite being a mortal man, he exudes life in his dialogue and how he generally acts.

My two favourite Overwatch characters are Sigma and Junkrat, mostly because they feel like really interesting and fun characters. Sigma has a complicated backstory with being distorted by an experiment and given the ability to create black holes, where he was then used by an organization for evil. Junkrat is just your average Aussie with most of his screws completely gone, but is still wicked smart and really charming and nice.

I like them mostly because they're just generally a lot more compelling to me. I find their characters interesting and fun to watch unfold. It's just strong characterization. Go listen to their voice lines and shorts! They're really cool.

Anyways this was just me kinda rambling. Sorry,,

#ask #kratt

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