#but a good story? c'est possible! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lovemomhatepolice · 19 days

Text

monaco official - charles leclerc

navigation taglist requests

pairing: charles leclerc x fem! reader (lando friend)

warnings: cursing, bad translated French, English is my second language!

summary: when, after six months of searching for the truth, it's race time in Charles's hometown of Monaco, Lando Norris's friend - [Y.N] [Y.L.N] finally decides to reveal the truth. and it doesn't take much at all for everyone to already know it...

yourusername just posted a story

viewed by: landonorris, lilymhe, iamrebeccad and others

↳ landonorris replied to the story: what are u doin' here?? you didn't tell me anything yourusername: gee, you weren't supposed to know landonorris: I hate you more and more every day, no joking

↳ iamrebeccad replied to the story: no way yourusername: hihi you know what I mean iamrebeccad: NO WAY, girl do you want to finally announce it? yourusername: who knows, we will see

↳ charles_leclerc replied to the story: ❤️ reply liked by yourusername

•••

charles_leclerc just posted a story

viewed by: landonorris, carlossainz55, francisca.cgomes and others

↳ carlossainz55 replied to the story: nooooooo, lando will kill you charles_leclerc: nahh, don't worry lando will understand that love does not choose

↳ landonorris replied to the story: i will kill you. no rescue charles_leclerc: lando, we like each other right...?

↳ francisca.cgomes replied to the story: treat her well otherwise lando will destroy you charles_leclerc: I will, not only because I am afraid of lil lando 😅😅😅

reply liked by francisca.cgomes

•••

yourusername just posted

liked by: charles_leclerc, pierregasly, kellypiquet and others

yourusername: monaco, sweet monaco

view all comments:

kellypiquet: can't wait to see you! [comment liked by the author] ➝ yourusername: be sure to come with penelope! I missed you much xx ➝ kellypiquet: oh, she missed her favorite aunt too 🥹 ➝ landonorris: @/yourusername and you don't miss me anymore, cool ➝ yourusername: you're not as cute as penelope 😔 ➝ landonorris: you are the most fake friend I have ever had in my life, ngl

pierregasly: good that you are, Kika doesn't let me live to go to meet you ➝ yourusername: my girlfriend ➝ pierregasly: no she's not- ➝ francisca.cgomes: [Y.N] I LOVE U [comment liked by the author] ➝ francisca.cgomes: do not listen to him, he is jealous of what we have

username: IS THIS LANDO?

username193u7: idiots, it can't be Lando, he doesn't have such dark hair

username16678: I hope that this is Charles and our dreams will come true

charles_leclerc: welcome to monaco [comment liked by the author]

landonorris: I'm not going to comment on that. [comment liked by the author] ➝ yourusername: you've already done it…

•••

yourusername just posted a story

viewed by: landonorris, charles_leclerc, carlossainz55 and others [tagged: landonorris] [the possibility of responding to this story has been restricted]

↳ landonorris replied to the story: oh, you picked such a bad perspective yourusername: as if any of them were better… landonorris: cruel.

↳ charles_leclerc replied to the story: lando wants to continue killing me? yourusername: not now, now he is drunk and wishes us five children charles_leclerc: FIVE? Chérie, c'est trop, je ne pense pas que nous puissions le faire 😰 (baby, it's too much, I don't think we can handle it.)

↳ carlossainz55 replied to the story: my little lando...

•••

yourusername just posted a stories

viewed by: kellypiquet, charles_leclerc, carlossainz55 and others [tagged: charles_leclerc, carlossainz55]

↳ carlossainz55 replied to the story: calumnia!!! (slander)

↳ charles_leclerc replied to the story: photographing my beautiful girl reply liked by yourusername

↳ maxverstappen1 replied to the story: I've always known that those at Ferrari don't have an ounce of humility... yourusername: MAX IM CRYING

↳ landonorris replied to the story: leave my boyfriend carlos 🤬🤬 yourusername:never.

•••

landonorris just posted a story

viewed by: yourusername, charles_leclerc, carlossainz55 and others ↳ charles_leclerc replied to the story: [Y.N] is going to kill you I wanted to protect you landonorris: WHAT

↳ yourusername replied to the story: YOU DID NOT- landonorris: dear friend, forgive me 😭😭 I can remove this only 500,000 people have seen… it's not that much yourusername: NOT THAT MUCH?

↳ georgerussell63 replied to the story: it's all too much for little lando norris landonorris: im gonna kill myself before [Y.N] will get that chance it will be much less painful

↳ carlossainz55 replied to the story: ya no puedes estar protegido (you can no longer be protected) landonorris: what does it mean? Is it some kind of threat? carlossainz55: oh, [Y.N] will definitely use threats on you

•••

yourusername just posted

liked by: charles_leclerc, alex_albon, lilymhe and others

yourusername: forza ferrari, sempre

view all comments [comments have been restricted by the author]

charles_leclerc: ❤️ [comment liked by the author]

georgerussell63: it's all too much for little lando norris

madelyncline: pretty girl! 💗

carlossainz55: it's all too much for little lando norris

alex_albon: it's all too much for little lando norris

maxverstappen_1: it's all too much for little lando norris

oscar_piastri: it's all too much for little lando norris

lilymhe: you look gorgeous in red!! 💋 [comment liked by the author]

kellypiquet: our children need to get to know each other 🥹

arthur_leclerc: mom already wants to meet her grandson! [comment liked by the author]

landonorris: someday because of all of you I will end up with myself. [comment liked by the author]

•••

f1wags just posted

liked by: landonorris, yourusername and others f1wags: charles leclerc and [Y.N] [Y.L.N] seen together as they left a famous restaurant in the middle of Monaco! both of them were very laughing and holding hands - could it be that finally the speculations were confirmed and the relationship came to light? or maybe they are just close friends? a lot of food for thought should leave us with the recent post of [Y.N] and the relationship that Lando Norris posted on his Instagram just two days ago

view all comments

landonorris: well as usual lando's fault 🤬🤬 ➝ yourusername: because it's always your fault 🤨

username: WE KNEW IT!!

username9u7757: oh no, i shipped her with lando...🙁

username1u47: finally

username2uy47: how cute they looked together!! 💗💗

usernamey264: waiting for more content!

usernameu24r575: leo has such a beautiful parents 😭

•••

charles_leclerc just posted

liked by: yourusername, arthur_leclerc and others

charles_leclerc: chaque jour me donne une nouvelle raison de t'aimer ❤️( every day gives me a new reason to love you)

view all comments [comments have been restricted by the author]

yourusername: i love you ❤️ [comment liked by the author]

landonorris: and lived happily ever after :P [comment liked by the author]

arthur_leclerc: my favorite sister-in-law!!! (and the only one…) [comment liked by the author] [comment liked by the yourusername]

carlossainz55: my boyfriend with his girlfriend!! ➝ landonorris: ey, I'll be jealous ➝ yourusername: good for u

A/N: the first time I did such a thing, I hope you will like it And I wish you a good time during today's races!

please do not copy and translate my works! in case of any issues related to this - I invite you to discuss privately :)

the latest one-shot about lando!

514 notes · View notes

ynbabe · 6 months

Text

Fake texts au- pt.12 bffs with the rookies+ Monaco for one, please!

Literally love the way anyone older than them has to be the babysitter 😭😭😭

| Masterlist |

The week you spent with Oscar and Logan was perfect in every way possible. You woke up with perhaps the worst backache you'd ever had, almost unable to breathe because Logan had shited his entire weight on you... well, that part wasn't perfect but the dinner you had afterwards made up for every ache and pain.

Oscar's mum made every favourite dish of yours and Logans, leaving a very jealous Oscar but at the end of the day, the three of you fell into the same routine you did as kids.

Sleeping late, Waking up even later and eating junk till you couldn't eat anymore (much to the dismay of their trainers) the only different thing is that all three of you couldn't bunk on the same bed. So you took turns, as suggested by Oscar's mother because your first idea was to fight for a spot on the bed.

But sadly, the week had ended and you had to leave, you hugged Logan and Oscar goodbye and made your way to Monaco, where you'd spend the rest of the summer vacation with Arthur.

He'd invited you not wanting to be alone while his brothers had their girlfriends and the last time he'd invited one of his friends from Prema, his mom had pulled him aside and given him the 'you know you can tell me anything, right, son?' he'd simply told her that he was just a friend, and anyways she should have been having the conversation with Charles anyway, with whatever he had going with Max, or with Carlos or Pierre.

You were a little nervous to go, never having been around his family before. You'd met Charles before and had become pretty good friends with him and Max but his mom? His Eldest brother? That was a whole other story.

He picked you up at the airport, drove you to the house, you offered to uber as you weren't allowed to drive in Monaco anymore (its a long story) when you walked in you hadn't realised everyone would be over and were currently on Arthur's back trying to get your phone back for the boy, which he had stolen when he saw the picture of you and Logan, oscar had sent you.

You looked around the room to find Charles, his girlfriend, his eldest brother, and their mother, staring at the two of you with wide eyes.

You jumped off your friends' back, snatching your phone in the process, "Um, hi, I'm Y/n, nice to meet you all!" You smiled hugging Charles and shaking hands with everyone else, trying to ignore your entrance.

"I'll go get the bags, yeah," he muttered as he left, his eldest brother following him.

"Maman, C'est une amie d'Arthur, celle dont je t'ai parlé," (Mom, She's one of Arthur's friends, the one I told you about), Charles said something to his mother in French, you tried to decipher with whatever Arthur had taught you over the years but they spoke too fast.

"Celui qui l'a emmené faire la fête?" (The one who took him to party?) She replied, her voice displaying disappointment, making the girl awkwardly standing next to the door frown at Charles for translation.

"Maman..." Charles began but his mother shushed him, making him look down.

Suddenly, the older woman's face and body language changed, doing a total 180, "Y/n, I've heard a lot about you, from Arthur and Charles!" She said with a smile, making the girl slightly jump in surprise, "Come on, sit, the boys will get your bags," she invited the youngest woman to sit and nodded at Charles to help get the bags, he wanted to protest but was nudged in the ribs by Alexandra, making him walk out in betrayal.

"Uh, hi guys," she said awkwardly feeling a little out of place. She felt like she was in front of a jury assessing her every move to give her life in prison and by the look on the mother's face, they were leaning in favour of the death penalty.

"Hi, Y/n," Alexandra began, quickly leaning forward as soon as her boyfriend left the house, " I've seen you around the paddock before, but mostly in Mclaren and Williams," She began, "I thought you were dating Oscar, right? Or Logan?" She asked making the girl cringe, she couldn't imagine dating one of her friends.

"Um, no, we're just friends, all four of us," she explained, this is so weird.

"And what about the hyper little British one?" Pascale asked making you laugh,

"Lando? I'm going to save his name like that from now on!" You smiled, "No, no, not at all, I think he's a little too invested in Carlos to even think about dating," you joked hoping to change the conversation, Alexandra smiled but Pascale remained unchanged.

"I've noticed, he's a sweet boy," she nodded, "Are you dating my son?" She asked, not sugarcoating anymore, making you choke on your spit, Alexandra quickly rushed to your side, patting your back.

"Thank you," you took the glass of water she offered, "I'm not dating Arthur!" You yelled as soon as you finished drinking the water, making his mother look at you suspiciously at first then nod.

"Thank you for being truthful Y/n," She began, "My kids are everything to me and they only have me to protect them. Lorenzo and Charles are old enough to understand just how cruel life can be, but Arthur's still naive," she explained slowly. It seemed like Alex had heard the same lecture too.

"Maman! Tell Charlie to stop kicking me!" Arthurs's voice rang as the trio stepped inside, proving her point.

"Maman, please, both of them won't shut up!" Lorenzo complained at his brother's antics, in true older sibling fashion.

"Only because you are stupid," Both Arthur and Charles replied at the same time making the eldest groan and place your bag down, to swat the others. Charles had your duffle and Arthur held your haversack, currently using it as a weapon to hit his brothers.

"Boys!" Their mother called out, making them all stop and pick up your bags, and carry them to some room in the house. Alexandra smiled at their antics and Pascale just shook her head.

"Sweetheart, come on, let's have some dinner, I'm sure the flight has you hungry and tired," She practically dragged you to the dinner table. You sat next to Arthur, Alex and Charles in front of you and Lorenzo and Pascle and either head of the table.

After the strange test of sorts, everything was normal, you joked along with the others, and the brothers often fought making you and Alex look at each other and laugh. You were getting along with her the most, being quite close in age and humour. However, as the night continued the jet lag became more and more of a problem.

Arthur was the first to notice your head falling as you sat, "Maman, We are going to turn in," you both began to get up but Lorenzo spoke up, making you stop.

" Où penses-tu aller?" (Where do you think you're going?) The older man asked.

"Ma chambre ?" (My room?) Arthur answered.

"Non, elle couche avec Alexandra, tu restes avec Charlie," (No, she's sleeping with Alexandra, you're staying with Charlie) He replied making both brothers angry.

They started talking over each other, yelling and shouting, you definitely made out more than one curse word. You looked over at Alex silently asking if she knew what was happening, but she just shrugged.

"You're so annoying, Lorenzo, Je jure devant Dieu que j'aurai une chambre d'hôtel !" (I swear to God I will get a hotel room!) He screamed making everyone quiet down.

"Don't yell at me, it was maman's idea," he looked at his brothers a little guiltily, making everyone look towards the eldest woman on the table.

"It's okay, Charlie, reste avec ta petite amie, Arthur soit avec ton ami." (Charlie, stay with your girlfriend, Arthur be with your friend.) Everyone seemed to be okay with the decision, though you didn't know what the decision was.

Arthur patted your shoulder, making you get up and follow him to his room. As soon as you walked in you kicked your shoes off, falling face-first on the soft king-sized bed. He followed suit, dropping himself on the opposite end of the bed, and turning his head to face you.

"I don't think your brother and mum like me very much, Princie," You spoke in a soft voice, too tired to even sit up.

"Nah, they are just over-protective," he answered, his voice nothing but a whisper.

Slowly your eyes drifted shut, letting yourself succumb to sleep.

"Bonne nuit, chérie."

Taglist: @dark-night-sky-99 @cashtons-wife @i-wish-this-was-me @thehufflepuffavenger1 @eugene-emt-roe @fangirl-dot-com @landosgirlxoxo @aquangxl @sachaa-ff @tyna-19 @assholeinatrenchcoat

384 notes · View notes

everythingunderthesky · 5 months

Text

Which Witch?

This moment in "Donnie vs. Witch Town" has repeatedly caught my notice, and I’ve now recovered enough to break it down!

First off, here’s the list verbatim:

Visitors Suzy Bannion Heather Donahue Nancy Downs Minnie Castevet Katia Vajda Miss Anjelica Ernst Samantha Stephens April O’Neil

Unfamiliar names plus cursive plus a lack of high-quality stills meant decoding this took a little longer than expected.

I have attempted to minimize spoilers for the mentioned horror movies when possible, but in pursuing two contradictory goals, I have accomplished both imperfectly. C'est la vie!

Please note: I am by no means a film buff, so feel free to add any relevant context!

Oh, the Horror . . . [films]!

"Suzy Bannion" would be a reference to the 1977 film Suspiria in which Suzy, a ballet student, finds herself investigating a supernatural coven of witches.

"Heather Donahue" is a homage to the 1999 "found footage" movie The Blair Witch Project*, wherein three student filmmakers investigate a legend of a witch in the woods.

"Nancy Downs", from the 1996 R-rated film The Craft, is one of a trio of students rumored to be dabbling in witchcraft.

"Minnie Castevet", on the other hand, hails from the dark 1968 film Rosemary’s Baby (based on the book by Ira Levin), wherein Minnie’s character is suspected of being a member of a coven.

"Katia Vajda", originates from the 1960 film Black Sunday, (loosely based on Nikolai Gogol’s short story "Viy"). Katia was accused of being a vampiric witch and executed by her brother—but that isn’t the end of her story.

"Miss Anjelica Ernst" simultaneously references Roald Dahl’s 1973 novel The Witches and its 1990 film adaptation of the same name. One member of the notorious child-hating coven is the Grand High Witch, Eva Ernst, who was portrayed by Anjelica Huston on the big screen.

"Samantha Stephens" lives the life of a "good witch" in the 1964 television series Bewitched.

Special Bonus!

"Abigail the Good", founder of Witch Town, may be an allusion to the character "Abigail Pershing" from the 2015 television show Good Witch.

I’ll go ahead and credit my dad as my research assistant; he described these references as "deep cuts".

And really, what higher praise is there?

*For more about Heather Donahue, the producer and writer of the sitcom The High Country, check out this article by GQ's Scott Meslow, The Blair Witch Project's Heather Donahue Is Alive and Well!

211 notes · View notes

thewebcomicsreview · 1 year

Text

Anonymous said:

do you have any advice on writing character motives and backstories? all of my characters either have motivations that are too extreme when their stories are taken into view, or their backstories feel laughable and it makes their motives look ridiculous

My snap answer is “Lean into the extreme-ness and have it be part of the character”. My more detailed answer is thus:

A character’s motivation is the most important aspect about them, because a character that is not motivated is a character that doesn't want to do anything and it's hard to write a character who doesn't want to do anything.

Making Comics, by Scott McCloud

So, while I suppose it's possible there are excesses, I would say that giving your character a strong motivation is worth giving them an outsized backstory to fit. If you're writing a series about solving mysteries and your main character doesn't want to solve mysteries, then you'll have to keep coming up with excuses to make the plot happen. So, one way of writing character motivations is "I want the character to do X and if the character also wants to do X it'll be easier to write".

When I wrote Legend of the Hare, the idea was that Jill would join up with the rabbits right away and we'd be off into Magical Girl Adventures, but when I was actually writing the pages (which I was doing as the chapter was being written, which is a terrible habit), I realized that I couldn't come up with a good reason for Jill to agree to join the rabbit war, so....she didn't. I got her super drunk and sent her home with a weird new tattoo and basically had to start the comic over until she had a reason to sign up and we could start the plot. I think I did an okay job of making it all look planned, but I basically threw out my entire outline for the entire comic because my protagonist wouldn't go along with it.

In Saffron and Sage, which is in many ways a reaction to Legend of the Hare, Saffron's motivation is clear from literally the first panel of the first page. I have thus never, in nearly 200 pages, sat around trying to figure out what Saffron would do. But this created its own problems, which is that Saffron's entire motivation wasn't really "established" so much as "thrown out offhandedly" for the sake of having a cool in media res opening chapter. It wasn't clear why Saffron was so invested in rescuing Faunus, and I got enough feedback that I eventually did a flashback chapter that I'm not super happy with but c'est la vie.

So those are the two lessons I've learned. Your character should want to do the thing you want them to be doing, and there should be some definition for why they want that. Sometimes the "why" is pretty obvious

And sometimes it needs a bit more meat.

(Another aspect that's important, though, is that motivations often drift over the course of a character's arc. Indeed, the most famous kind of character arc out there is the Pixar "want vs need" style, where a character's initial motivation is "bad" and they get a "better" one after they grow as a person, but the initial motivation is the one driving most of the plot)

And it's sort of difficult for me to answer your question of "how to establish backstories for motivations" when I don't know what your characters' motivations are meant to be, but lets use the example of a high school romantic love quadrangle, since those are often kind of silly. Here's a basic setup

Sweet Dear Innocent Melody, the protagonist, is in love with Chad Footbalman, the quarterback. But Chad is in a somewhat dramatic and troubled relationship with That Skank Felicity, who is way hotter than Melody and also the villain. Meanwhile, local nerd The Virgin Simp keeps flirting with Melody, who rejects him. Melody will do the generic teen movie makeover thing to get Chad's attention but eventually he'll realize he loves her for who she is. Our planned endgame is that Melody and Chad get together, and Simp improbably hooks up with Felicity, so everyone ends up happy. Very generic teen movie plot. (It's also a very straight one, but shh)

Just from this setup of point A to point B, some potential motivations start to come out of the void. Felicity is hotter than Melody, and we know that Simp's happy ending is getting with Felicity. So Simp's motivation can be "wants to touch boobs". He's kind of a creep and a big part of why he's harassing Melody is that he thinks she's "achievable". We want him to be unlikable (so that Melody doesn't look bad for rejecting his advances), but not so much that the audience wants him dead or anything. We don't wanna go full Mineta here. He can also be the one who gives Melody the fashion tips to get a proper makeover, since he's been studying hot girls enthusiastically.

....Actually, having the dude who's super about wanting to have sex with women also inexplicably being an expert in women's fashion is a very stereotypical "closeted gay dude pair" of traits, which is a possible different ending. Hm. Lets table that thought for a minute.

So Melody wants Chad. That's easy enough, you don't even necessarily need to explain it in more detail than that. Why does Melody want Chad? Is it because he's a handsome jock and she has more in common with Simp that she wants to admit? Well, the story is "She tries to get a makeover and Chad loves her as she is", so Melody's character arc is learning to believe in herself. It's not a story about learning to see the inner beauty of other people. She knows that Chad's actually a cool dude and not just a handsome jock, she sees the real Chad etc. She saw Chad, like, pet a bird or something and now she's head-over-heels for him. We don't need an elaborate backstory here.

Chad wants Melody but he doesn't know it yet, so he starts off wishing his girlfriend was [character trait here], which just so happens to describe Melody. He really wants to start a ska band and wishes he knew a trumpet player who shared his love of ska, which just so happens to describe Melody, sure. The ska obsession doesn't have to be revealed early on, it can be a twist that's revealed around the point he and Melody start connecting.

Chad's basically just Sami Zayn

So, when I started writing this, my idea was that That Skank Felicity wanted someone to wait on her hand and foot, which is an "evil" motivation that'd make Simp the perfect boyfriend for her in a Meghan Trainor's "Dear Future Husband" kind of way, but then I decided that Simp's aggressively horny because he doesn't want to admit something about himself, so the planned ending doesn't fit the motivation I came up with. I could change Simp's motivation to have him be straight, or change the planned ending, but let's see if we can't come up with a way to square the two ideas...hm...

Okay, got it. Felicity is super into the tradwife aesthetic. She wants to look and live a certain way, and she doesn't care about Chad as a person at all, she just wants to have a quarterback boyfriend because it's part of The Aesthetic and she cares about The Aesthetic to an extreme degree. She's the villain in a cheesy rom-com, she's allowed to be kind of ludicrous like that. Plus it fits into our theme of "looks aren't important it's what's inside that counts" to have a villain who's obsessed with looking a certain way. And then she can be catty about the makeover outfit Simp made for Melody, and Simp and Felicity can have like an entire enemies-to-lovers arc in five minutes. Boom. Okay. And then Simp realizes she's trans and Felicity's all "The only thing better than ONE hot 1950s housewife..." and they start dating.

Now we have our motivations:

Melody wants Chad (and needs to learn the self-confidence to get him) Chad wants a ska enthusiast Felicity wants to live the aesthetic of a stereotypical hot girl So does Simp, who is a trans girl spending most of the story as an in-denial egg, which is a bit of representation I wasn't actually planning to put into this story (Maybe, um, we change the name) but it fits all the needs of what the character has to do.

And that very long tangent is kind of how the thought process works. What needs to happen in the story? What motivations get me there? Are there any unexpected details of the motivations and do I like them enough to put them in the story? Those kinds of questions can be really helpful, especially early on when all you've got is a doodle of your OC and a dream.

Off to visit their girlfriends

#Writing Advice

196 notes · View notes

jadedbirch · 5 months

Text

The Three Musketeers (2023) - Part 1: d'Artagnan

Directed: Martin Bourboulon

Starring: Vincent Cassel, Eva Green, François Civil

First of all, you do not know the struggle we had to go through to even get our eyeballs on this movie! Only die hard Dumas idiots like me would have even bothered 🤦🏻‍♀️. Finally, we had to buy it from AppleTV. Anywho, below is my live blog of the latest French nonsense! I make a point of tutoring myself watching as many 3 Musketeers adaptations as possible, regardless of the psychological damage, and I kind of have high hopes for this one despite the fact that I can already tell they cast more for 20 Years After than for The 3 Musketeers. But I'm willing to pretend there are no good, young actors in France (because there's no other way to explain these casting choices) for the sake of my own sanity. The rest of my babbling and movie spoilers will be below the cut!

I see we start the movie in 1627, which already makes me laugh 🤣. The book famously starts in 1625 and then they time skip a year and a half into the future because I guess Dumas remembered that the war starts in 1627. Alex was the king of inexplicable time skips and I see the movie has chosen to stick to history rather than literary canon 👌🏻.

Everything is cold, dark, and wet. I have no idea what's going on, or who this blond woman is, or why d'Artagnan is coming back from the dead. But I'm always in favor of immortal abominations 😈.

It does entertain me that Eric Ruf, who played Aramis in an earlier French adaptation, plays Richelieu in this one. Nice touch.

LOL d'Artagnan gate crashing the musketeer headquarters all "I'm not Soviet, the French do not stand in line!" Anyways, he's authentically obnoxious, which I like, although clearly also 20 years too old.

I feel like this is an AU that takes place before they invented soap and also dyes, which is hilarious because if they're going for historical accuracy, this is just what the plebs think looks "authentic". Why are these men all so dirty and old? At least they make fun of Athos being a thousand years old in the movie, but why is Jussac also so ancient? And still serving in the guards? Life expectancy back then was like 25, but surely no one would be serving in the army past the age of 50, which was like Ancient for the 1600s, even among nobility.

I must laugh at the fact that Athos straight up introduces himself to d'Artagnan as Athos de Sillegue, le comte de La Fère. So, I see we are just going to go there 🤭🤭🤭. This changes his story arc completely though, stay tuned for my whinging. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Absolutely incredible, legendary , A++, 11000/10: bisexual Porthos waking up in bed with a lady and a dude after a night of debauchery! Chef's fucking kiss! I forgive the fact that there are no young people in France.

Aramis, so far is very Murder Kitten. I do wish he'd wash his face more and do something about his guyliner (I feel like he should have just committed to MORE MAKEUP frankly because the guyliner alone is odd), but c'est la vie, I guess.

Plus one point for Athos getting wrongly arrested, minus twenty points for making Athos a Protestant WTF? And in what world would a nobleman of Athos' lineage get sentenced to death for stabbing an unknown woman? This is all so silly! (I do have to give Milady points for just like fucking with him so fantastically. Plus one revenge point to Milady.)

Aramis torturing a guy to save Athos is honestly 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 11/10 Murder Kitten, automatic plus one point.

This is all incredibly Dramatique, as much as it strains credulity. I love it when modern directors decide that they can write better "action" than Dumas himself. I'm just sitting here screaming "Why would you have that conversation where anyone can hear you!" Minus one point.

I must say Constance and d'Artagnan have a much more believable romance here than in the book. Plus 5 non-creeper points.

(Please I can't stop looking at how old all these Musketeers are 😅😅😅)

Okay so they've also given Athos a BROTHER. Who is part of a Protestant conspiracy. This is all so fucking crazy, I don't even know what to say. Am I watching the musketeers or La Reine Margot? 🤔

Incidentally, the King also gets a brother! Everyone gets a brother! J/K at least the King really did have a historical brother. Athos just gets fucked with in this movie a lot. Automatic minus one point for unnecessary siblings.

WHY must you all insist on having these super SECRET conversations in the middle of a public square where literally anyone can hear you? Minus one dumbass point.

And now d'Artagnan must go to England.... Alone? Because it's more heroic this way? Ambushed by ghost squirrels in the woods? Oh no, that's just Athos, lurking in the woods, as one does. "All misery comes from love." Thanks, Old Man Lush.

This revisionist tale of Milady's past is all very convenient but I FUCKING HATE IT every single time they try to do this in modern adaptations. Let Milady Be Evil 2023! But I see that you will not. Listen, it's not "feminist" to turn the villain into the victim. I'm so tired. 🤦🏻‍♀️ These misguided attempts at feminism really do not do her any favors, she has a lot more agency as simply the Really Bad Girl who just wanted money and power. Minus 5 points for not letting Milady have any fun and minus another 10 points for giving her an abusive ex-husband!

As for Athos, IMO it's always much more compelling to let him be the guy who tried to kill his beloved wife for betraying him, than to make him the spineless man who turns her over to the authorities for Handwavium. Yes, it's pretty fucked up. But it's much more humanizing and makes him a darker, more interesting character. And I will always maintain that.

(This movie is so fucking dark, all the scenes take place at night or in some cthonic tunnels or prisons ffs have mercy on my eyes!)

Oh dear, here we go again. Milady taking a Dramatique - and completely unnecessary - dive off a cliff. Only this time, we know she doesn't die because.... She can swim? And definitely will not have all her bones broken by that 1000 ft fall. Minus 20 points for lazy writing.

(My God, everyone is so dirty, you would think they never did their laundry in France 🤦🏻‍♀️)

Ironically, the only well lit scene takes place in what looks like the Notre Dame which is just very silly as that place is a sepulcher.

(Once again, we are advancing the plot by having super secret conversations conducted in the middle of the palace with an open door where anyone can see and hear you plotting 🤦🏻‍♀️ Minus one petty point.)

Okay, so poor Constance has been kidnapped, and our young hero (who is already a Lieutenant because he and his pals conveniently saved the King's life in a plot twist that was very necessary in other to return Athos to favor in this version) lies unconscious in the streets. They probably didn't even try to kill him this time because they know he's immortal. And speaking of people who just won't die, in a mid-credits scene, it is confirmed that Milady is indeed, very much Not Dead Yet. Surprise! The scene is now set for war in The Three Musketeers: Part 2: Milady.

In summary:

I tallied up my totally random points and ended up with a score of -51, which is Not Good, my friends.

Okay, so I've seen much worse? It's better than Atrocity in 3D, for example, which was just barely watchable as a film and as an adaptation. But they changed so much about the plot and some of the main characters, that it doesn't really feel true to the spirit of the book at this point, which is my main criteria for measuring whether an adaptation is successful. And the main reasons for that are because it's much darker and grittier and less fun than the novel. Which - Quelle domage!

I know that as an unrepentant Athos fangirl, I tend to be biased, so I was trying to be on guard (heheh get it?) for my own biases while watching this. But it's really difficult when Ya Boy is such an integral part of the novel as well as this particular adaptation. And so I must regrettably come back to what a shame it is that they've cast a 60 year old Athos (Vincent Cassel is 57 and he's a fabulous actor whom I've loved in many of his worlks), and I feel like they had to rewrite his character to be more age appropriate and less of the drunken asshole he is in Dumas' first d'Artagnan book. But that's the asshole I fell in love with, and will stan forever. Without him going around beating his servant, indulging his gambling addiction, and being a sarcastic pain in everyone's ass, it's just a completely different story.

Pros:

Hot Eva Green!

bisexual Porthos!

d'Artagnan is given a much less creepy love story with Constance (and I assume he will also not be nonconning Milady in this adaptation)

The King and Queen are much more humanized and sympathetic here.

Cons:

Visually really drab, everything is brown, everyone is dirty.

Very little humor unlike in the novel and some other adaptations.

EVERYONE IS WAY TOO OLD, which changes the feeling of the story significantly, and IMO for the worse, because these people are just not allowed to have fun, and subsequently, neither is the audience.

I will still absolutely be here for Part 2 because I am a masochist!

Grade: B- as a piece of art, but a C as an adaptation of the Dumas classic.

#the three musketeers #2023 the three musketeers #alexandre dumas #the three musketeers: d'artagnan

29 notes · View notes

kalinara · 5 months

Text

I did think I would feel a bit more satisfied when an actor finally confirmed what, I think, most of us knew about Kylo Ren's intended arc in the Sequel Trilogy.

Blah, blah, the redemption arc wasn't supposed to happen. Kylo was supposed to be a villain throughout. Where's that Captain Holt vindication gif when you want it?

I'd agree, personally, that it would have made for a better movie if Kylo had remained the big bad. Adam Driver, I think, is the one who really missed out. I feel like he missed out on his chance to go full out, balls to the wall evil overlord. He'd have killed it, I suspect. And I say that as someone who isn't particularly a fan of the guy.

I do think though I get why they went with a half-assed redemption arc, though. I don't think it had anything to do with the Reylos (the kiss maybe, but I'd like to think they're smart enough to realize that rabid shippers generally don't go for the romantic - die for your love type of ending. At least not if the hot guy is doing the dying...)

I think it's because of Carrie Fisher's death.

They'd said for a while that the third movie was supposed to be Leia's, in the way that TFA was Han's, and TLJ was Luke's. Whether or not this made you optimistic probably depends on how much you liked the fates of those characters in those movies. I didn't hate them, personally.

I'm not going to speculate too hard on what the original story would have been. I certainly can imagine some pretty epic stuff with Princess Leia as the Big Good set against her son as the Big Bad. But...well...when you lose one of your primary actors before you get a chance to actually film anything...well, that limits what you can do.

I suppose that's why I'm willing to give Rise of Skywalker a bit more slack than a lot of folk. They were kind of stuck. Ultra-evil Kylo Ren is a more satisfying story with the set up they had, but it's also a tragedy. For what it's worth, the man does have a mother, who will grieve him if no one else does.

Except...we can't actually film the grieving, can we? We can't film the confrontation between despairing mother and lost son - whatever resolution was likely to happen. We can, at least, use some lost footage to TRY to build the relationship between Leia and Rey that needs to happen for that side of the story, but even then, we'll need Force Ghost Luke to help with the more reactive parts.

And of course, they need to write Leia herself out as gracefully as possible. In a way that doesn't require a lot of new footage and still gives the character a sense of accomplishment. Otherwise, you might as well have just blown her up with Hosnian Prime.

So...half assed redemption arc. With not-exactly-force-ghost Han to help there. I do feel like they could have done a better job with Kylo's part there. You know, made it look like he was at least interested in doing something OTHER than violating a woman's mind and terrorizing her for a good third of the movie. But well. No one's ever completely happy with things.

I don't know. In the end, I think the folks behind the Sequel Trilogy did what they could to give us a final, reasonably satisfying conclusion. There were fuck ups along the way (see: Finn, see: Poe. Though that fuckery started with TLJ, IMO) but, I think if we sat down and watched all nine movies in a row, and got to Rise of Skywalker's closing scene...I think we would end it feeling like we'd reached a workable ending to the Skywalker Saga.

Probably because we'd be too exhausted to notice the plotholes at that point. C'est la vie.

14 notes · View notes

niicevibe · 2 years

Text

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐲𝐮𝐤𝐞𝐧 + 𝐘/𝐍 𝐇𝐂𝐬

While writing for Ryūken, I got a little in the feels about him... He was a little difficult to write for though, for sure. Really felt like I drifted here, but... c'est la vie. Also!!!? He has like, no headcanons on this site. Which is understandable, but sheesh.

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 @toofilthy (again, omg, it took this long... but at least it only took me three hours to work on today, haha! haha...)

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: mentions of autopsying and minor character deaths.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: I've left your position ambiguous again, just like I did for Uryū's headcanons, as well as your tenure at the hospital. Besides, you could've been a young patient when you first met Ryūken? He just gave off those big daddy Quincy vibes and you couldn't resist...

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

After the event that took place thanks to Juha Bach back in the nineties left him a single father while simultaneously claiming the lives of both his wife and the girl he once loved, Ryūken threw himself into his work and subconsciously swore off any semblance of romanticism.

Truly a first rate doctor with the best possible patient care in mind, perhaps it was thanks to this emotional suffering that allowed him to climb to the role of hospital director. But is it any consolation?

A trait that both of the Ishida men share is there lack of a need for romance, or perhaps in Uryū's particular case, should the prospect of a relationship come to pass him, his courting game is strong. And his prudish nature? Well, I'd like to believe he gets it from his father...

Looking back on that same history, Ryūken hasn't always been as cold as perceived by those around him. Having both a protector complex and a savior complex, and in wanting to marry someone for love and not out of obligation, he could easily prove to be quite the casanova should the effort not come out to be so... stick-up-the-butt-ish. It's a wonder how he took so much after his cold-hearted and goal-oriented mother, and how his father's kindness he inherited became the recessive trait.

It doesn't tend to show all too obviously. He isn't a doting father. How good of a husband he had been to Kanae is another story all together. They grew up with each other, with Kanae as his waiting hand. She was fond of him, and he was grateful for her. So, more likely than not, he wasn't doting, but he had enough care in his heart for the woman.

It's not something Ryūken cares to talk about, not even with himself, let alone with his son. It dwells in the darkest corner of his mind, how he couldn't figure out the cause of Kanae's coma. How he couldn't avenge her when she finally passed away.

But it is something he concerns himself with whenever you're around.

Emotions are burdening. But then again, if he hadn't been fueled by them the day he discovered that silver blood clot during Kanae's autopsy, he would've never been able to help his son and get that revenge he desired.

You knew him not to be a vengeful man. Not under normal circumstances. In his own silent and subtle way, the man loved his patients, his career, and dare you even speculate, his own son, despite the weird dynamic you discovered them to have. You note how naturally cautious and meticulous and focused Ryūken is with everything he does in his life. It was fascinating to you, in an awful, sad way.

All because the hospital gossip was too strong to ignore, you found yourself staring. And Ryūken Ishida isn't an easily swayed man, but... he's grown unnerved that the story of his wife's death was the reason for your newfound attention on him. He's also not the type to ignore that attention, you realize, when he's suddenly inviting you to eat with him in his office.

How could you say no to the director? And even more so, to a man you've found yourself thinking about for the majority of your day? Even when you return to the four walls of your home, Ryūken Ishida lives in your mind. You'd been content just seeing him around the four walls of the hospital, and now, he wants to sit down with you? Does he... think you've done something wrong?

As far back as you can remember, you don't recall anything you've done in your job to be something that's killed a patient... and when you inquire about this through the small sips from your juice box, he's calm in assuring you that that's not the case. But he wants to know why he's on the receiving end of your pitying glances.

It's the fact that he only thinks they are pitying glances that has you so shocked.

Though you have heard the rumours through the hospital that his son was emotionally obtuse before his partner set him straight, you can't help but express to the man how wrong he is. Which, apparently, is a rarity in itself.

You admit that, sure, you feel sadness for the man who had to autopsy his own wife to recuperate from his grief, for the man who couldn't save her life no matter how hard he tried. You tell him how much you wished the world to be more forgiving and less of the taking that it keeps seeming to do. Now, it's been so many years since you first watched him wandering the halls of his hospital, blue eyes as empty as the hands who failed to find any answers.

"It's not pity," you promise him. "Just compassion."

If he's surprised at your truth, he doesn't immediately show it. Understandably confused considering how little you've managed to interact with the man, but... he finds himself touched at the result of your candor.

There are often days where Ryūken forgoes eating normal meals, despite any stringent schedule keeping he makes attempts at. Almost always busy between any meetings or scheduled surgical procedures, he finds himself visited by you much more frequently, having brought homemade bento for the both of you, and on a much more daily basis. He doesn't speak his thanks, but you can tell in the subtle shift of softness his eyes take on when he looks at you versus anyone else in his life.

Your relationship, whether platonic or romantic, would start off incessantly slow, something you had both been content with due to the nature of your official meeting. For you to be more forward or more expectant in relationships is not something Ryūken minds. If not pressured nor at an impasse, he is normally a very calm individual, especially if you had been happy to show some patience of your own through things.

Ryūken seems like the kind of man to swear off any further attempts at relationships or courting, himself, and maybe not due to trauma, but to the frustration of his own fallibility regarding Kanae and Masaki. Not that there would be any chance of a similar thing ever happening to you like it did them, but without needing to outwardly admit it, Ryūken wouldn't be able to make it through an experience like that again.

He would not be a fan of obvious public displays of affection. Hand holding may be his limit (professionally). Other times, loosely linking arms while on a walk is something he would dare to manage. Subconsciously, his thoughts drift to what Uryū might think about him having a new partner, and should he see his father with you, how he might react. Would he feel betrayed? Some days, Ryūken thought he might be doing the same to Kanae's memory. But you've been respectful, patient throughout the whole ordeal.

Despite how much time had passed between then and the present, he would truly thrive in that understanding environment.

In private, Ryūken might dare to share the odd chaste kiss with you. They'd serve to fuel him on those longer days he'd be unable to tear himself away from his office.

Ryūken would be a casual romantic. Being the busy, goal-oriented man he is, he'll have little time to be able to spend planning elaborate dates or trips, unless he truly got lucky. And perhaps your schedules might not overlap within a day-- in his stead, Ryūken might order something to be delivered to your doorstep. If he's unable to make it home, perhaps phone calls might not suffice anymore. The odd video chat might set him at ease.

Ryūken is not an open book, so unless he comes out and admits exactly what he's thinking behind his seemingly cold eyes, you might not ever know what's on his mind. Don't be afraid to prod him for answers every now and again; with his focus on everything else, he might not even think to explain himself.

#ehhh i did my best 👉🏻👈🏻#he's such a minor character comparatively; i hope i did him justice for you?#ryuken ishida #ishida ryuken #ryuken x reader #ryuken ishida x reader #ryuken ishida x y/n #ryuken ishida headcanons #ryuken ishida hcs #ryuken ishida x you #ryuken x you #bleach headcanons #bleach #bleach anime #🧺: bleach

108 notes · View notes

breadvidence · 7 months

Text

'72 part II in detail, part 1. My overall feelings are still "hmmm", but now they are "hmmm" backed with line-by-line film analysis. I'd emphasize that this adaptation accomplishes a lot that's interesting and fresh, and you can dig in to it critically in a way that would collapse a film like '52 or '98. Ultimately it fails for me as a whole, but not without me being glad to have the pieces in hand that are good.

Julien Verdier plays the best Mabeuf, which—well—just because the competition isn't brisk doesn't mean you didn't win it, right? We open part II with a little speech of his that if I'm not mistaken (correct me if I'm wrong!) does not come from the Brick, but is a bit of freewheeling on the adaptation's part. Given the placement, it seems significant, and the temptation to boil it down into some straightforward political sentiment is strong, given the series' overall sense of politicalness. Eventually this man's degradation (his priceless books being made cheap by the necessity of their sale to literal goods) makes him a revolutionary of sorts, if a very wobbly and incoherent one—some counterpoint, a complication, maybe, to the fact that poverty in this story otherwise leads to crime? Not sure.

Thénardier continues to have far more status in '72 than in the Brick or other adaptations. The musical master of the house wishes. You see, the narrator takes us on a breakneck adaptation of III.VII: we open with III.VII.I "Il y a sous la construction sociale, cette merveille compliquée d'une masure—" and skip mid-breath to III.VII.II "—et il y aura, tant que l'ignorance ne sera pas dissipée, la grande caverne du mal," it is a charge through a very dense section of novel, and these are as far as I can be fucked to pick out all direct quotes until we get to the very end: "Avoir faim, avoir soif, c'est le point de départ; être—" Well, in the novel, Satan. In '72? "—Thénardier, c'est l'arrivée." The camera zooms in on Alain Mottet's best quivery stare; his beard is very bad. I am of several minds: on the one hand, if you don't know the original sentence culminates in Satan, you wouldn't think it's odd to find Thénardier, and it's perfectly possible the script writer was only thinking, I've got these badass lines but I really need my tv series to be a little more concrete than Hugolian, and Alain Mottet is more concrete than the Father of Lies. On the other hand: perhaps they're saying that the original text sees the outcome of all this to be the Catholic concept that is Satan, but they see it to be the concrete harmful/harmed individual human. Or, on a foot: '72 Thénardier is the fucking Devil. Whatever the case may be, in the Brick Thénardier does not even appear in III.VII—Hugo is talking about Patron Minette, and he's not a member. Given Thénardier's importance to this series, I don't mind this change at all.

After this really significant and interesting alteration to its source text '72 proceeds to decide Brujon is now a fifth main player in PM. lol, ok.

Nicole Jamet looks stoned off her gourd this entire series, with an expressive range from numbly dull to a ghastly blank smile. I hunted down clips of her in La piovra to see if this is her acting style overall, and while she's a little flat there as well, it's more in the line of being afraid to show a wrinkle and less whatever's happening in Les Misérables. Since it's paired with Georges Géret's Valiumjean I derive this is a directorial choice. It's our luck she only appears in, generously, 20 minutes of part II. I don't think I've ever wanted less Cosette in a LM adaptation, but she's such an unpleasant take on the character that I'd rather simply not.

I re-read IV.V.VI to see whether my harsh judgment of Nicole Jamet's performance in this scene was unfair—maybe Hugo also described Cosette as baked, I've been wrong before, and I won't blame an adaptation for fidelity. But, nah. Jamet more or less stands and stares, a little head shake here, a little lips parting there. In the novel, while we aren't given as much of Cosette's interiority as Marius' (thanks, Hugo) and we don't hear her voice at all as much (THANKS, Hugo), we see her first caught between two impulses: "Cosette, though ready to swoon, uttered no cry. She retreated slowly, for she felt herself attracted." and then a point of drama, "And she sank down as though on the point of death." I'm not saying you have to be howling and flailing your way through it, but c'mon, there's life to be found in this moment, and Jamet is a stiff. There is the issue that Marius monologues and we have zero idea in the novel of Cosette's actions during this time—a challenge, yes; one the film doesn't meet.

Now I'm being a petty bitch, but I don't like that they changed the exchange from "Vous m'aimez donc?" "Tais-toi! tu le sais!" to "Et vous, est-ce que vous m'aimez?" "Je t'aime." Please, let someone tell Marius "tais-toi". (To be clear, I think it unfair to expect an adaptation to completely follow the source text. but. y'know. If you're going to have this many direct quotes, maybe don't put in bland substitutions where your deeply invested viewership will notice them.)

Great adaptation of Gavroche and the mômes in this. The whole exchange around "monsieur, pourquoi vous avez pas un chat?" "j'en avais un, mais les souris l'ont mangé" kills me, it hits the pitch perfectly of the combined humor and horror of the situation.

In continued "Thénardier is the main character of '72" news, the scene in which he's saved from the top of the wall takes about four minutes—about a minute and a half more screentime than Marius and Cosette's first love confession. Not to get into the nitty-gritty of what this series cares about, or anything.

By the by, Claquesous rather than Montparnasse comes to fetch Gavroche, a small change that I suppose is irrelevant overall when the series doesn't have the time to draw the Montparnasse-as-future-Gavroche connection anyway, but which falls into this pattern '72 has of odd small alterations to Patron Minette.

Hermine Karagheuz's performance is uneven overall, in my opinion, but I could watch on a loop as she replies to Thénardier's "Faut bien qu'on vive, tout de même" with a raspy "Crevez". Having driven off the would-be thieves, she takes a few shuddering breaths, she collapses back against the gates with a gagging exhalation, she looks like she's going to be sick. Is it dramatic? Hell, yes. I'm into it.

We cut to Jamet, who cannot even fake weep.

I feel awkward that I've got nothing meaningful to say as we swing into revolution mode even though this is an essential pivot point in the series. Shrug emoji.

I have a very bad ear for French but one of the terms I can pick out reliably is now "mouchard". Thanks, Javert. I got nothin' deep to say still as he is uncovered at the barricade, but I did laugh when the revolutionaries steal his hat in the process of searching him. Did they think he was hiding something up there? Better check in his whiskers next.

This adaptation really suffers from the lack of Le Cabuc.

On my initial watch of this series the poetry recital wrecked my shit, here we have one man say "Do you remember our sweet life, when we were so young, we two, and we had in our hearts no other desire than to be well-dressed, and to be in love," another responds "We... We lived hidden away"———the combination of the stutter and the furtiveness, y'all, I did a double take, I knew fandom would've alerted me if there was explicit homosexuality in this, and still I had a moment when I thought I saw the ripples in a waving rainbow flag.

They pull directly from Hugo's aside about civil war in IV.XIII.III for Enjolras' speech—I'm not sure how often '72 actually puts narration into characters' mouths rather than into the narrator's, now that I think about it (would have to re-rewatch which isn't going to happen anytime soon). This is interesting to me; we have here a character who makes several speeches, all pertinent to the politics of revolution, and yet instead the show decides to have him recite—a passage which occurs in the inglorious context of Marius justifying to himself that he is fine to shed French blood when his father shed that of foreigners.

I'll come back for the final thirty minutes another time—that's enough for now.

#les misérables 1972 #les mis

8 notes · View notes

carnation-damnation · 1 month

Text

my sonic playlist rambles NUMBA ONE !!! (Sonic)

alright. this bad boy is a little barebones and not nearly as curated as some of my other ones but it's got some bangers so let's get it.

So my playlists generally function with songs like this:

Song that would play during a story/scene or Event Happening (The majority of them tend to be this)

Song I think give off this character's vibes/personality

Song I think they'd bop to ..

(Trigger warning for references to self harm and suicide within the song!! I don't reference it here)

This song is my baby. It's the song that I used for that one sonadow/sa2 lyric comic and it MAKES MEEE !!! I think of this song as a great look into Sonic's mind and how he feels in that specific game. Shadow is Sonic's FIRST rival-turned-friend-that-dies which is something we see multiple times afterwards in Sonic games. Sonic has seen it over and over now, yeah, but how could he possibly feel when it happens the first time? He's young, he's a world hero, he traveled into fucking space and watched someone who helped him and who went through so much hurtle into the atmosphere without a way to save him. He met someone so incredibly special that deserved a new life after what happened to him and he never got to see it.

Another really good one. Yes it's about Shadow again. Seeing a ghost from times past who doesn't remember what you know about him. Doesn't remember saving the world with you. Sonic keeps a lot of emotions in. We know this. Because of jokes/mandates that "Sonic's not allowed to cry" it breeds the mindset of a young person who's under the weight of the entire world (literally) who has to do it all with a smile. Someone who, because he doesn't let himself feel or show these feelings, he doesn't know how to express them anyway. Doesn't feel comfortable talking about it. Because what does he say? What can he say? Sonic has made himself the "Strong Friend" in the way that he is always emotionally well enough to deal with anything no matter what. It doesn't matter that he's a Literal Child (15 is baby to me sorry) and that he is in emotional or physical pain, he won't let you know that. The last thing he wants is for you to think he can't be strong enough. He has to be strong enough.

Last song! This one I feel is perfect for him. It's loud, it's got a heavy electric guitar backing, it's fast and it represents constant push forward and determination despite any and all odds! Sonic is here for the now!

c'est fini :) （＾∀＾●）ﾉｼ

If ur ideas r different or if you have any songs you feel like fit sonic too you should totally send them to me. I need more

#long post #playlist rambles

5 notes · View notes

prairiesongserial · 7 months

Text

21.4

John felt the train begin to slow underneath them. Cody had been staring out the window with a glazed look on his face, but he blinked to attention at the change.

“Gonna find Friday and get our stuff,” Cody said. He got up and opened the door to their compartment, exiting onto the rest of the carriage. John got his cane under him and started to follow. His head felt heavy from the champagne.

He and Cody weren’t the only ones moving around. Other passengers crowded the aisle as they got their luggage together. Parents chased their children with coats and gloves, but the children were more interested in running from one window to the next, eager to see the city. Over the racket, Cody still managed to hear the sound of John’s cane; he waited between train cars for John to catch up.

By the time they found Friday and Val, the train had come to a stop. The other passengers all seemed to know where to go, streaming past John and Cody up the aisle.

Cody grabbed three bags, leaving one for John and two each for Val and Friday. For the first time, John realized Cody was missing his guitar. He had no idea when Cody had lost it. Their luggage in hand, the four of them joined the stream of people making their way to the front of the train. Eventually, the stream of people became a line to disembark. They waited behind a wealthy family whose bags were being carried for them by uniformed servants.

“Val, ask them what they’re holding. What are those?” said Friday.

She pointed at the small, red books clutched in each family member’s hand–even the youngest child, who was probably only two or three.

Val leaned forward, looking very uncomfortable as he asked “Excusez-moi…c'est quoi ce livre?”

The woman corralling the children turned to look at him. She wasn’t dressed as nicely as the rest of the family, but she didn’t wear a servant’s uniform either.

“Oh, dear,” she said in English, though her accent was French. “You aren’t going to get very far, are you?”

John didn’t like the sound of that. The line moved, and the family was escorted off the train by uniformed guards. John peered down at the platform from the window. One at a time, the guards checked the books each family member held.

“Let me go first with the letter,” Friday said, squeezing past him.

John wished that he hadn’t been drinking. The guard posted at the train door stared at them expressionlessly. The air was cold, like it was early winter here instead of early autumn. John already felt uncomfortable, and he wasn’t even outside yet.

John continued to watch the family and their servants as they were cleared one by one. The youngest child was crying–his glove was on wrong, two fingers shoved in the same hole, and none of the adults on his side of the checkpoint seemed to notice.

Friday chatted with the guard one-sidedly, coming at him with a dozen different comments and questions, trying to get a response. He didn’t reply until it was their turn to go ahead, at which point all he said was “Produce your passport and stop at the checkpoint.”

Friday marched up to the next guard with a smile.

“Good evening,” she said. “We have a letter of introduction from the Dauphin–we’re here to meet with the regent.” She produced the letter and continued to talk as the guard broke the seal and scanned its contents. “Our boat was hijacked–that’s a long story–and we need to get back across the Atlantic as soon as possible.”

“Passports?” the guard said finally.

“Oh, not us. The Dauphin signed this letter personally.”

John watched as the guard’s shoulders squared. The guard tapped something in his ear, and it unexpectedly lit up blue.

“I need an escort up here,” he said. “T-004. No passports.”

“Thank you,” Friday said, smiling easily. She wasn’t stupid–she must also understand that the guard wasn’t letting them through, and that an escort could mean a lot of things. “When can we expect to meet the regent? I understand he can’t be pulled away for just any letter from the leader of a neighboring nation–can I assume we’ll be put up in the meantime? Or will we have to make our own arrangements?”

A group of seven guards approached. John’s grip tightened on his cane. At a nod from the guard holding the letter of introduction, the guards ordered the four of them to put down everything they were carrying and put their hands in the air.

“The regent has a place for us to stay,” Val said placidly. “How thoughtful.”

Next to him, Friday shook her head, at least acting like she wasn’t concerned about being arrested. Her hands were pulled down behind her back and cuffed. John stared at the metal rings pressed into her skin.

Beside him, Cody was arguing with the guards, one hand resting casually on the gunbelt.

“He needs the cane to walk. You can’t cuff him unless you want to carry him.”

Cody was cuffed next, as another pair of guards did Val. John waited, watching Cody’s calm expression. Cody even smiled at him and gave him a little wink when he noticed John watching.

“Are you drunk?” John asked, keeping his voice low enough that the guards wouldn’t hear.

“Are you?”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” John said. “Let’s just get arrested.”

One of John’s arms was pulled down behind his back, and he grit his teeth against the feeling he knew was coming.

“Sacha didn’t say anything about passports,” Friday complained. For lack of places to sit in the jail cell, she squatted on the ground.

“We shouldn’t have trusted him,” said Cody. “That letter could say anything.”

Friday groaned. “I don’t get it. There were plenty of jails in France. Why send us here just to fuck us over?”

John massaged his leg while they talked. The guards had made him limp the distance to and from the transport van, and he also thought the cold weather here might be affecting his knee. He felt more stiffness and pain than he was used to.

“You okay?” Cody asked.

“Fine.” John grimaced down at his leg.

Val took over Cody’s part in the conversation with Friday.

“Is it a coincidence that Canada and England both need papers to enter?” he asked. “France didn’t have anything like that.”

“Canada clearly–I mean, with those flying things–” Friday gestured with a wave of her arm around her head. “–they want to control who gets in. So why is it the same here? What’s so good about England?” She sighed. “Sacha should have warned us.”

“It might not be about England,” John said, thinking about the wealthy family on the train and their team of servants. They wouldn’t have brought so much with them unless they’d planned to stay for a long time. “Maybe they want to leave France.”

Friday snapped her fingers. “I wonder…”

“Good evening,” came a firm, cheerful voice–accompanied by the slam of the door that led into the cell block. A woman approached under the buzzing electric lights. She was in a different color uniform, this one a deeper shade of blue than the uniforms they’d seen in England so far. It was decorated with silver fringe at the shoulders and a bright pink sash. John guessed she was more important than the other guards. She took off her hat, which was too tall for the low-ceilinged jail, and smiled at the four of them.

“My name is Claire Liang, Palace Guard, Junior Officer. I’ve been assigned to your transport.” She hit them all with a friendly smile. “What an unusual situation, huh?” she said as another guard came to unlock the cell door. “Not to worry, that letter of yours went straight to the Queen–well, from the captain of the Palace Guard to the Queen.”

The guard who had unlocked the door leaned in to whisper in Officer Liang’s ear.

“Huh? Yes, give his cane back. What’s he going to do with it? Hit me? So what? And their luggage should be forwarded to the palace. For the weapons…transport them in lockboxes with the luggage? Ah, that’s tough.” She scrunched up her nose, looking almost apologetically at the four of them. “They’re American, even if they are here on the Dauphin’s seal. I don’t want to be insensitive. You know, diplomatically.”

“I need that gun-belt,” Cody said, raising his eyebrows at her. “Though I don’t see what that has to do with…”

Officer Liang waved her hand a few times at the other guard. “Okay, okay, yes, return the man’s gun.” She turned and pointed at Cody. “But you can’t bring it with you to see the Queen tomorrow.”

“Sounds fair,” he said. He shared a look with John as Officer Liang motioned impatiently for him to come forward, out of the cell. The four of them started filing out of the cell to collect what belongings weren’t being forwarded ahead of them to the palace.

“So what’s with throwing us in jail?” Friday asked.

“Oh, uh. That’s a little above me,” Officer Liang said.

“The Dauphin didn’t say anything about passports. Is that new?”

“Well, that’s…a security measure. With all the political issues going on. But that’s also above me, sorry.”

“What political issues?” Friday asked. She clearly sensed weakness, and continued to question Officer Liang as they were escorted to a car outside. Now that night had fallen, it was freezing. John had thought the cell had been cold, but that was nothing compared to the open air.

“Well, I really can’t say,” Officer Liang said, laughing nervously.

“Is it about getting in or getting out?” John asked. He was the last to enter the car, and only he and Officer Liang still stood outside.

“Pardon?” she asked. Her grip tightened around her hat, but her smile remained.

“The passports,” John said. “The security. Is it about getting in or getting out?”

Finally, her smile faltered. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Man, you guys are really rude,” she said. “Would you get in the car?”

She stared John down. John stared back. His wrists still stung from the handcuffs.

“John, it’s freezing with the door open,” Friday called from inside the car. “Get in already.”

John passed his cane to Cody, then climbed into the car to sit beside him. Officer Liang closed the door with a little more than the necessary force. “This is why I don’t get promoted,” Officer Liang muttered, climbing into the passenger seat. The driver put the car in gear. “I even have foreign diplomats mouthing off to me.”

21.3 || 21.2

#story

8 notes · View notes

wuxiaphoenix · 2 months

Text

Worldbuilding: The Struggles of Peace

Wars are big. Wars are colorful. Wars are Dramatic; at least as Hollywood does them.

War is also pretty much the default state of human beings, as far back as we can check. Yes, humans have instincts to be kind, altruistic, and caring... to others in our in-group. Those outside the group are either ignored, or targets.

Peace, on the other hand, is neither natural nor easy. Peace takes hard work, determination, and the occasional cracking of a non-peaceful skull. And it all has to be done in a way the majority of people involved can live with, or it all frays at the seams.

War and action type stories are interesting in part because you get to show how far characters can go and still be good people. Peacetime stories are interesting because your characters have to work within limits.

It’s like poetry. Free verse can be expressive, rhythmic, and powerful. But I’ve always appreciated the skill involved in expressing yourself in a tanka, sonnet, or ballad. When you have a set of rules, you have to be creative!

You also have to know which set of rules your characters are working under. Often there are several. Written laws? Professional codes of ethics? Social rules? Family customs? A lot of tension can come from a character deciding he’s going to have to break some rules to solve the problem, and he has to decide which rules can be broken, which can’t, and what price he’s willing to pay.

This is a big thing in a lot of works in Regency or Victorian settings. There are people you can talk to, people you must not, and certain subjects that absolutely Cannot Be Discussed Ever.

Except that realistically speaking they have to be discussed at some point. Hopefully before someone dies. And then social fallout ensues.

I used Regency and Victorian because those are familiar to a lot of readers, but honestly, up until fairly modern times, strict social rules about who could freely communicate with whom were common most places. And the unwritten rules you had to follow to avoid a breath of scandal or be ruined - meaning eventually dead, from lack of support or work....

There’s a neat example of “working within the rules to keep peace” in the first episode of Season 2 of Zenigata Heiji (see the Samurai vs. Ninja channel). Long story short, a ring of thieves figured out ways to implicate respectable shops in crimes. Meaning even when the police know who and where they are and could catch them... if the gang goes to trial and any implications come out, the businesses involved will be devastated. Leading to most of the families and employees being condemned to starvation or suicide.

If only, muse Heiji and his boss, there were a legal way to catch the gang without the case going to trial....

(It’s risky, but yes. There is.)

And if you want to see the effort needed to keep as much possible peace in a society at war, I recommend the series Foyle’s War. An inspector trying to solve murders and bring criminals to justice in WWII England has a heck of a job on his hands.

One episode ends with a murderer taunting Foyle, and... well. Here’s from Wikiquote.

Howard Paige: You sound like a sore loser. You know what the French say? "C'est la guerre."

Foyle: Precisely, Mr. Paige. "It's the war." And no war has lasted forever, and neither will this one. A year, maybe ten, but it will end. And when it does, Mr. Paige, you will still be a thief, a liar, and a murderer, and I will not have forgotten. And wherever you are, I will find you. You're not escaping justice, merely postponing it. Au revoir.

Stories with action are good. Stories with justice, even if it can’t be today - those take a skilled touch.

What kind of rules do you want your characters to break? What do you want them to uphold at all costs?

#creative writing #worldbuilding #wars #peace

5 notes · View notes

ijswezel · 9 months

Text

introspecting and oversharing for a moment; feel free to skip

i have no idea how i come across to people online, really. out in the world, though, i've always been a relatively chill dude i think. sure, i'm driven and intense and passionate and a total weirdo and for better or worse i'm a unique one and somewhat of an acquired taste (and that's okay!), but i'm also actually really good at staying quite unflappable in decidedly flappable circumstances (and boy with work and life and such have there been a lot of those over the years)

across my scant few earth decades, i've tried to approach life with this sort of overarching zen - to varied success. take everything as it comes, it is what it is, c'est la vie, whatever happens happens, yada yada. however you wanna phrase it, that's always been my mantra. to carry an open mind with as few expectations and judgements as possible, and always look for the good no matter what. in people, situations, whatever. to remember to stop and absorb, to slow down and reconnect with myself and the world around me as much as i or my schedule at the time could allow. i've made plenty of mistakes and fucked up lots but long story short my intentions have always been pure and i'm always trying my best to learn and be better. and in the last decade, i actually like who i've come to be. wild, right. it's a surprise to me too

but despite this general acceptance for what is, in retrospect i found i also spent a lot of my life looking ahead to what's next, too, convinced that what's coming is better than what currently is. i'm thirty-freakin-four; not exactly as old as time and still nowhere near as old as my voice makes me sound, but not exactly a lil sprite any more either. and getting older is a huge reminder that time goes by really quickly whether we're appreciating our lives or not, so we may as well be as grateful as we can for what we have right now

and boy, has this year so far been pivotal in re-tuning myself for the better. the past months have definitely not been without their significant challenges, but these days i am lucky enough to find that i'm even calmer than ever, i'm happier, i'm productive, i'm creative, i'm independent. i'm relaxed, happy and unwound. things have slowed down and stabilised. after the - honestly frankly ridiculous - past few years i've had, the mellow in me has finally been given the opportunity to truly blossom and, after so long, it feels like i am finally rediscovering myself all over again.

and it's a blessed feeling. an awful lot has happened since i was posting here last. it's been a big year

the universe speaks to me through sun and trees, through the fervent rustle of leaves. in rainfall and thunder and swollen clouds. in brilliant sunset and breathtaking sky. it says 'here i am, and here you are'. it says 'we are one and that's all that truly matters'. i'm truly so thankful for the reminder of how far i've come, and everything and everyone that has helped me to get here

namaste. thanks for coming to my ted talk

i love you 🧡

#me

3 notes · View notes

lavoiedeleau · 1 month

Text

Le cercle de parole

J'ai toujours l'impression de mes ombres essayent de me rattraper. Ma vie était vraiment chouette après ces libérations et douces, cependant je rêvais souvent de mon ex. J'étais en colère contre moi même d'avoir fait tout ce travail et vivre une belle vie, et mon inconscient me sabotait.

Après une séance d'énergétique, je me suis rendu compte que c'était pour confirmer mon choix encore et encore.

Lors de cette séance j'ai senti ma gorge bloqué, comme on m'empêchait de parler. J'ai compris qu'il fallait que j'exprime ce que j'étais en train de vivre, ma spiritualité.

Il m'est venue un matin (comme par hasard) l'idée de faire un cercle de parole sur la spiritualité. Je savais que je pouvais pas trouver ce réconfort dans mon entourage. Je me suis douté que j'étais pas la seule dans cette société à me trouver seule dans ce monde parallèle.

J'ai alors posté un message tout simple sur deux groupes facebook.

J'ai eu 50 messages en 2 jours, et une dame m'a proposé une salle magnifique 2 h après la publication. Je me suis dit, alors c'est ça quand les planètes s'alignent, la magie opère.

Le première cercle a été très fort en émotions, des énergies de toutes les couleurs et un gros soin par le lieu. C'était très fort.

C'est impressionnant de voir la diversité de dons ou de ressenti possible, ainsi que de vision. J'étais très fière d'avoir réuni ce groupe de personne hétéroclite. Nous avons fait par la suite 4 cercles, très passionnant.

Le groupe messenger est toujours bien actif, mais que c'est dur de réunir des personnes sur un même créneau avec nos emplois du temps de ministre.

Cette expérience aura marqué un tournant dans la vie, juste de faite de dire : dimanche je vais faire un cercle de spiritualité, les gens me disent : ah bon cela t'interresse ?

Je sens que ce n'est qu'une partie de l'histoire, d'autres m'attendent.

J'ai déjà rencontré de magnifique personne et c'est le principale. Je le conseille à tous, même si ca fait peur de parler de soi et se sujet.

I always feel like my shadows are trying to catch up with me. My life was really nice after these sweet liberations, but I often dreamt about my ex. I was angry with myself for having done all that work and living a good life, and my unconscious was sabotaging me.

After an energetic session, I realised that it was to confirm my choice over and over again.

During this session I felt my throat was blocked, as if I was being prevented from speaking. I realised that I had to express what I was experiencing, my spirituality.

One morning (as if by chance) I came up with the idea of doing a talking circle on spirituality. I knew I couldn't find this comfort in the people around me. I suspected that I wasn't the only one in this society to find myself alone in this parallel world.

So I posted a simple message on two Facebook groups.

I got 50 messages in 2 days, and a lady offered me a beautiful room 2 hours after I posted it. I thought to myself, this is what happens when the planets align and magic happens.

The first circle was very emotional, with energies of all colours and a great deal of healing in the space. It was very powerful.

It's impressive to see the diversity of possible gifts or feelings, as well as vision. I was very proud to have brought together such a diverse group of people. We went on to do 4 circles, which was very exciting.

The messenger group is still very active, but it's hard to get people together in the same time slot with our ministerial schedules.

This experience will have been a turning point in my life, just by saying: on Sunday I'm going to do a spirituality circle, and people say to me: oh, are you interested?

I feel that this is only part of the story, there are others waiting for me.

I've already met some wonderful people and that's the main thing. I recommend it to everyone, even if it's scary to talk about yourself and this subject.

#rencontre #cercle #parole #spirtitual #don #spirituality #chamane #spiritualité #vie #shamanism #personal

1 note · View note

boylecarrillo26 · 1 year

Text

Minecraft free Download Ios

Download free games for kids similar to minecraft, what is the best minecraft hacked client 1.7.10, canne a peche minecraft 1.14.4 cheats, minecraft 1.14 download for free pe, minecraft 1.12.2 duplication hack, minecraft cheat mod pack, minecraft cheat inven, download minecraft bedrock edition for free, minecraft free web browser download minecraft 1.14 for free, download minecraft skin free ps3, minecraft cheat fill map, how to download minecraft 1.14.4 hacks, minecraft how to disable cheat mode, minecraft download latest version of pc for free, minecraft free hub lobby spawn, free paysafecard minecraft, minecraft download free download, cheat plugin minecraft, minecraft ps3 texture packs free, minecraft free server hosting 24 7 crack, hacks para minecraft blocks 323 1.8, motioncapture free minecraft, minecraft cheats for pc glitches, hacks, and secrets, good hacked clients minecraft reddit, hack automine minecraft, cheat stop rain minecraft, minecraft cheat machine, minecraft impact hack hotkeys, minecraft capes with no mods for free, free minecraft bedrock codes, no cost minecraft earth skin beta free copy of minecraft for Java and how to access max minecraft realms for free forever, map minecraft maker hack, play minecraft for free on laptop, how to install hacks on minecraft pe, how to install minecraft hacked client mac, how to obtain a minecraft gift card for free, knightfall minecraft anti cheat, minecraft 1.12 download free full, minecraft free download pc with no Java hacking, minecraft nitrado server hacken, how to hack a minecraft server to gain access to an op minecraft pe free download google play, how to get flying hacks in minecraft can personal servers be hacked? minecraft cheats, minecraft java injector hack, minecraft wurst hack client 1.10, cheat minecraft pc effect

Minecraft Free Download Ios

How to Get Minecraft Bedrock Edition on PC for free. There are three methods to access Minecraft bedrock edition on PC for absolutely free. Method 1: Download and install Bedrock Edition on PC. Open your favorite web browser. Open Mojang official webiste, www.mojang.com. On the top right corner of the homepage click the Account button. Click the Login button.

Students develop 21st-century skills, like collaboration, problem-solving and digital citizenship through project-based classes. ClassroomFriendly Features A set of tutorials and game elements bring subjects to life in Minecraft: Education Edition and aids teachers in classroom management and formative assessment.

C'est un service payant qui vous permettra d'tre affich en tte de liste sur notre classement de serveurs minecraft. Les moyens de paiement possibles scuriss sont Paypal, la carte bancaire par le biais de Paypal et le micropaiement Allopass.

Download the free trial version of Minecraft for consoles and devices like Windows, Mac, Linux, Windows 10, PlayStation, Vita and Android. You'll require an Internet connection for the first time you launch a game but after that, you can play offline without problems.

Minecraft. Minecraft Dungeons. Minecraft: Story Mode. Minecraft: Story Mode Season 2. Minecraft: Xbox One Edition. Minesweeper Genius. Mining Rail. Mining Rail 2. ... Get a free XBOX One digital download voucher code. https://safeminecraftmods.com/ Get digital download codes for any of these game for free at https ...

How to get free Minecoins in Minecraft 2020 Peak Arena. Software. Information: Once you have gathered enough reward points, you can make Minecraft coins or exchange them for other amazing prizes. Minecoins: How To Earn Minecraft Coins FREE 2020.

Recommend: Escorpion Hack for Minecraft BedrockEscorpion Hack is a cheat for Minecraft PE released at the end of last year. developed to work with any of the current game modes..; IndustrialCraft PE mod v2.0 PreRelease 7 for Minecraft PEIndustrialCraft PE is an all-encompassing mod for MCPE that is an extremely accurate IndustrialCraft copy for Minecraft PC.It includes the fundamental mechanisms, generators, and energy..

How to earn free minecoins. How to get minecoins in minecraft pe.

Nouvelle map aventure cooprative construite par mes soins, trouvez un alli et soyez prt vous clater w. Construit en version 1.14.4 Le dossier contient la map et la schematic 30mn une heure pour terminerselon le niveau de srieux Conditions recommands: mode Aventure et Map...

The Minecraft coloring book labels have to be cut out then folded in half, and stapled to the top of the coloring pages. ... Thank you for sharing these Minecraft party ideas with the printable for free. The cake is my most favorite part of the party. It's very creative. This cake is perfect for my son's birthday celebration.

Like the Steam Account Generator, the Minecraft Account Generator makes use of a database of accounts that has been collected for a very long time. We currently have more than 5,000 active accounts which are accessible to users at no cost. Our free minecraft accounts database is continuously updated and we frequently add new accounts to it.

Use the free logo maker by Zyro to create a customized logo for your business or website in less than a minute. Zyro's AI Logo Maker lets anyone create their own ideas and transform them into reality. You can create your logo for your business in under a minute.

Minehut offers unlimited free server hosting to the Minecraft Community. The Cloud Platform makes it easy for you to manage a hit server. Free, full-package Minecraft servers. So far 5,063,870 servers are hosted.

Minecraft Java Edition is a free trial game. The Minecraft: Java Edition free trial is available on Android, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Windows 10 and Vita. The length of the trial depends on ...

#Safe minecraft mods #Safeminecraftmods

1 note · View note

dionysiospsychas-photography · 1 year

Photo

PHOTO TRIP: VANCOUVER ISLAND, PART 3

… Firstly, there are lots of nice things to recount about our trip to Vancouver Island, which is why the story is divided in a few posts. And because there are many photographs that I would like to share with you here.

Secondly, an important item to have during a vacation away: un bon café. It is that intermediate spot between home base and the field to help start the day, and maybe even go to at the end of a day exploring. And by café I mean with baked goods. The photo amigos already know about the hilarious frustration I am about to tell: Zoë's Bakery and Café in Ucluelet. But all good things I assure you… During the planning for the trip, I of course looked for possible coffee shops on review web sites and saw the neat pictures of the café. And during our traverse Colin showed me a review of Zoë's Bakery that essentially stated that they had like the best croissant. He showed me that because he knows I lurv coffee and croissants, and I am "French" (well, Québécois). I bet I smiled and told him that we totally had to go there. Inside, I actually thought "we'll see about that, islanders, we'll see…" Our first morning in Ucluelet we were out of luck, the bakery was closed for the day. And like too-chill cats, we did not check their open hours… So the next morning, bummer, it was again closed. Colin and I laughed frustratingly, Sharon was like "c'est la vie, that's just the way it goes", and Syd was more concerned about parking… You know, we always made coffee for all of us after we got up and we had breakfast very early, but we wanted second breakfast and snacks… We did go across the street to Foggy Bean Coffee (the cutest little coffee shop) in some desperation to have another warm cupof, and their coffees were sooh good… And so the next day, very sure that the bakery would be open we stopped by again, and since we got up and out very early we were the first ones in line, and excited for no practical reason. Once inside, looking at all the baked goods, we had a little trouble deciding what to eat because it all looked and smelled so nice. When I saw the croissants and how they looked I was committed; I got two, bien cuit as I like them. The coffee was good, but the croissant… f!… putain délicieux (ah, you're not going to look it up). They were properly crunchy and flaky on the outside, smelled toasty, they gave a little when squeezed (to adequately put in my mouth), had a nice swirled structure on the inside (that pâte feuilletée tourée), were chewy (yes, chewy; you are not supposed to eat oiled air), rich, nutty, very slightly sweet, and light. Bravo. The size and shape of a croissant are less important. So in summary, the croissants and the other breakfast goods the amigos had were sooh delicious, the service genial, and the interior cozy that we would stop by every day after that. And that is our bakery story.

It was a cloudy morning again, thankfully, and the coolness felt very nice. We wanted to explore Pacific Rim National Park more, and see more rocky beaches and windswept trees under that soft light, so we decided to explore the area around the Kwisitis Visitor Centre (meaning the "other end of the beach" in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, and used to be called the Pacific Rim VC) and take the Nuu-chah-nulth trail to Florencia Bay. I had read that the forest trail was beautiful and the views of the bay were pretty.

Rock outcropping, Wickaninnish Beach, 2022

Incoming surf on Wickaninnish Beach, PRNP, 2022

When we got to Wickaninnish Beach the weather cooled enough that a cozy inner fleece was justified and it was definitely tuque mode. There was a very light rain or mist, and it felt refreshing. But not for my camera, so it stayed in my pocket. From the south end of the beach I could view it stretching northward and disappearing, and gazed at the broad carpet of rippled sand, the many parallel lines of incoming waves, and the soft, undulated cloud cover. We all went off to explore the beach first. I spent time observing the wave patterns and found incredible rock formations.

The visitor centre is a beautiful building, a set of gabled roofs set on the rock above the beach and clad in greyed cedar. We admired the panorama from the deck: the thinning line of the dark green fringe forest fading in the mist, between the wave whitewater and the gray cloud cover… And since the visitor centre was closed because it was so early, we took off on the forest trail. To be safe we took out our bear bells. It took us a while to get them to ring properly, but hiker/alpinist Syd fixed them for us.

Looking out onto the ocean from Lismer Beach, PRNP, 2022

Seagulls on the rocks of Lismer Beach, PRNP, 2022

Shortly along, I saw an opening in the shrubbery, peeked thru and saw it that it looked pretty, so I went down to the beach and called the others because it really was very pretty. This was Lismer Beach. There were lots of different ground cover like contours of brown seaweed and driftwood chips, carpets of mussel shells, cushions of green and yellow moss, more rock outcroppings, even one with tiny evergreens, and lots of gulls. From one high point, sitting a while amongst the rocks and looking out at the waves and the gulls flying about, I noticed a metal trap on the beach, and I suddenly felt like a castaway and that happy-calm. I was not "here". I was like those birds, looking out into the distance, feeling calm, enjoying the expanse, and maybe hoping for a sudden lost snack.

The little monolith on Lismer Beach, PRNP, 2022

We found an odd, marvellous piece of worm-eaten wood. We did not want to take it out of the park, so we all posed it and photographed it. Altho not a big deal I think, I did take a charcoal colour, rounded, triangular pebble I came across because it reminded me of someone, somehow, and I do not regret it.

Along the South Beach trail, PRNP, 2022

Back on the trail there was a nice boarded trail up the hill canopied by tree branches, and at one point a fallen tree arching over the path. At an intersection, I either gave bad directions or we decided to take the shorter trail to South Beach. The boardwalk trail and the trees were nice, but not spectacular, I thought. But down at the threshold of the beach… Wow! And I stepped down eagerly. There were big, rugged, black lava outcroppings in the sand and a set of boulders as a gate, perhaps marking a consecrated space. When I circled the quadruplet of boulders, the fine khaki sand transitioned to a greyscale of granules and pebbles.

Gateway to South Beach, PRNP, 2022

More seagulls on the rocks of South Beach, PRNP, 2022

Driftwood trapping rocks on South Beach, PRNP, 2022

Windswept trees on rocky outcropping in South Beach, PRNP, 2022

At one corner, I sat to observe the surf come in and crash lazily against the rock. The seagulls again were standing about, looking outward. And it was so nice to just watch the rhythm of the waves. This was the place I liked most in PRNP so far. I enjoyed the coarse sand, the huge buried boulders, the windswept trees, and the intimate setting under the overcast sky. Is not "windswept" such a wonderfully connotative word?

The sun was popping thru the clouds, so that soothing light changed to HDR and we suddenly felt like having a snack. So, blah, blah, etc. we went for a deserved lunch and I did not share my french fries with the murder of crows hanging about. We had more coffee. And then we finally went to Long Beach.

Rough rock and moss covered rock on Long Beach, PRNP, 2022

There were layers of clouds. The high, shapeless cloud cover hid the sun again, and there were large, low, rounded clouds, some alien-looking. There was light drizzle too that did not keep people away from strolling on the beach. The waves were coming in faster, higher, and in quick succession now, so there were many surfers swaying and riding the waves, and surf boards about the beach. It was new to me and cool, and even tho there a few days it was also the same. I walked along the beach for a little while, watching everything go by, but decided to sit on a log and watch the waves. I slipped over my jacket hood for comfort. The sound of the waves crashing was pleasant, as always for me of course, but the swift cadence was soothing whispering to me. A surfer came onto the beach, set their board on a log before me, and knelt in the sand beside it. Like me they sat there for a long while. As I settled while listening to the shushing I became more aware of the images in my mind popping in, drifting, and disappearing. I saw… I thot about… I cried a little and thot a little more. And then I let go of myself and continued to cry softly for a while. And I swear it was relieving, there before the vast ocean.

Driftwood shelter on Long Beach, PRNP, 2022

Found object art on Long Beach, PRNP, 2022

The photo amigos were in the distance. I could tell because they were the only tiny figures stopping often and holding up something to their heads, and with objects rising from the bulges on their backs. So I slowly walked in their general direction to meet them.

There is an important surfing culture in Tofino. Hell, it is the surfing capital of Canada, and Long Beach one of the most popular surf spots. We saw young and old surfers, even parents and their children surfing together. And along the edge of the fringe forest just down on the beach there were all shapes of shelters and lean-tos made from driftwood. They were of various degrees of sophistication, and some would be best described as found object art. I have never seen such things before, they were fascinating, so I walked along the beach just looking and photographing them. They were imaginative structures. And there was even more driftwood on Long Beach than I have seen so far. I had a lot of fun photographing their shapes and texture. Yup, I lurv driftwood.

We did not stick around for the sunset. Feeling we had a long fruitful day we decided to head back to base and relax. So, we sat around the fireplace conversing about the day, having a drink and snaking, and Mr C grilled us delish salmon. A little later on, I gladly drifted on to the land of nod.

How about you; have you visited the beaches of Pacific Rim National Park? What did you like about it? Send me an email and tell me what you think.

DP, 2023-02-12

#Vancouver Island #photo trip

0 notes