footnote lovenote

okay making this my unofficial Temeraire/Regency research blog - all things 1800–1836

[wyrmwright]

yay tharkay!

[mindhost]

Dutch longsword fencer Tosca Beuming

Photographed by Martin Philippo and Andress Kools

[smallerdelusions]

Excerpt from Observations on the Order Draconia in Europe, with Notes on the Oriental Breeds by Edward Howe

Additional notes and detailed images below the cut.

Detail on the actual rig:

My version of the heavyweight dragon harnesses from the Temeraire series, with help from the discord. I moved the belly netting closer to the chest, as I couldn't find a way to make the weight distribution work without compromising the wing membrane. I drew most inspiration from the draft horses I've worked with and ship rigging: the tension ropes draw here are normally used to stabilize sails.

Everything is meant as lightweight material meant for very long-term use without irritating the dragon or falling to bits. Crowomancer's harnesses are my favorite interpretation on the human-side harness and what I envisioned for connectors to this whole thing.

I imagine the other weight classes have different harnesses but i don't know if I'll ever get around to drawing them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thanks for reading!

[chungmuros]

KIM SEOL HYUN and UHM TAE GOO beyond the multiverse

THE GREAT BATTLE (2018) LIGHT SHOP (2024)

[travellingdragon]

Eroica, reunited with his captain at last

[1five1two]

An Ivory Okimono Of a Dragon Having His Teeth Examined. Meiji Period, Signed Nimin/Futsumin.

[moniquill]

Trying to give a cat a pill.

[footnotelovenote]

sold at Bonhams in Nov 2005:

An ivory okimono of a dragon having his teeth examined Meiji Period, Signed Nimin/Futsumin A bearded Chinese sage serving as dentist seated with his hands forcing open the jaws of a large dragon with its body coiling up over his back, the tableau ringed by various boxes of tools and bowls of medicine, the base signed Nimin/Futsumin and sealed Maruki-zo, incised details heightened with dark pigment (old ink collection number to base). Height 3 3/4in (9.5cm)

[awizardcommandingsleep]

9-word fics: Temeraire

"Very elegant."

"Pray do not tease, Tenzing."

"I wasn't."

*

"Are you busy?"

"Depends."

"Well, the neighbours-"

"Terribly busy."

*

"Have you discussed Christmas with Temeraire, Tenzing?"

"..."

"Oh, no."

*

"It was the wine talking, Will."

"Let it speak."

*

"Cheating at cards, Tenzing. Again?"

"It keeps things lively."

[oscarwetnwilde]

Photographed portraits of James Wilby: facial expressions.

[patrick-stewart]

Toby Stephens as James Flint BLACK SAILS | 1.02

[sunnyfiny22]

“Charming woman,” Gentius said, sadly. “She fed me my first bite, fresh liver, when my head was no bigger than her hand. One never quite gets over the first, you know.”

Naomi Novik’s Victory of Eagles.

(The picture is obviously a lot smaller in the actual scene… and Temeraire holds it, not Gentius… artistic license.)

[homoeroticism]

[captainlaurence]

From the moment I saw this man, no one else could ever be Tharkay.

[devonghabi]

TOBY STEPHENS as James McGraw and RUPERT PENRY-JONES as Thomas Hamilton in Black Sails, Chapter XII.

[darrenpillowscriss]

oh.

[quiddie]

Everyone gets *so mad* when the DCs are high because magic is on the fritz, but then no one likes it when I show them a path to meet said DCs. 😈

[footnotelovenote]

#magic is *so* hard#and you don’t know what you’ll be up against later on #but you know what you can do to make it happen #and if you’re backed into a corner #what will you be capable of? #do you think you’re really any better than the wizards of segway peloton? #maybe you’re just not desperate enough #yet #i think about the blood bender episode of atla a lot #passing on cursed knowledge is FUN #highly recommend

[lordbrezel]

Temeraire

I painted a dragon figurine to look like Temeraire from Naomi Noviks Temeraire series!

Simmilar to Iskierka, my main worry was the pattern. While the blue elements might be greatly exaggerated to how they were described in the books, I like how they turned out.

[captainlaurence]

Okay, here is a complete list of all the injuries our beloved aviators and co. sustain throughout the series.

Throne of Jade:

William Laurence

Harness buckle cut deep into right thigh.

Knife wound to left shoulder just under collarbone.

Splinter across forehead and thigh.

John Granby:

Shot, left torso.

Temeraire:

Barbed ball to the chest.

Black Powder War:

Tenzing Tharkay:

Eagle talon marks on both hands.

Hot poker to right thigh.

Temeraire:

Bullet holes in wings.

Empire of Ivory:

William Laurence

Glass bottle to forehead.

Severe lashing across back and right arm where flogger missed.

Temeraire:

Claw marks from helping Messoria, Immortalis, and Co. to the shore from the Allegiance.

Victory of Eagles:

William Laurence

Splinters from the Goliath down both legs.

Tongues of Serpents:

William Laurence

Split lip.

Glass shard in cheek and small ones in his hands.

Splinters in his right side just above belt line.

Two cracked ribs.

(Let's take a moment to appreciate that Laurence's upper hook was powerful enough to lift a man off his feet.)

John Granby:

Not specified but presumably not much better off than Laurence.

Tenzing Tharkay:

Split knuckles, right hand.

Crucible of Gold:

William Laurence

Scratch marks on side of face from fight on the beach, superficial and may not scar?

John Granby:

Amputation - Left arm, above his elbow.

Emily Roland:

Booted in the face by a sailor - broken nose, badly reset, lip torn and cheek split open.

Temeraire:

Cannon ball under wing joint.

Blood of Tyrants:

William Laurence:

Various blade and pistol shot markings from his time serving in the Navy prior to 1805 (from Junichiro's observations.)

Rope Burns to feet and legs from keeping sandals tied on.

Sword cut to right shoulder from assassination attempt in the Chinese camp.

Deep sword wound to right bicep while rescuing Temeraire from rockslide.

Partially scalped across forehead and right side of his skull.

Another deep stab wound to left arm with a knife.

Tenzing Tharkay:

Lashes on back, more than once.

Burn marks from hot irons on limbs.

Broken hands, several fingers need splints.

Temeraire:

Hack marks from swords along spine from murder attempt.

League of Dragons:

William Laurence:

Gunshot to right side, entry and exit wounds.

Temeraire:

Burn marks through both wing membranes from barn fire.

Bullet wounds on belly from the charge against the French in Switzerland.

Jane Roland:

Worth noting there is a long scar between her middle and ring finger on her right hand acquired sometime in the years between Victory of Eagles and League of Dragons.

[footnotelovenote]

Baby You're First-Rate

Rated Navy ships in the 17th to 19th centuries [from the Royal Museums Greenwich]

The rating system of the British Royal Navy was used to categorise warships between the 17th and 19th centuries. There were six rates of warship.

A ship’s rate was basically decided by the number of guns she carried, from the largest 120-gun First Rate, down to the Sixth Rate 20-gun ships. Captains commanded rated ships, which were always ship rigged – meaning they had three square-rigged masts.

First Rate

First Rate ships were the biggest of the fleet with their gun batteries carried on three decks. They were generally used as flagships and fought in the centre of the line-of-battle. They were armed with a minimum of 100 heavy cannon, carried a crew of about 850 and were over 2000 tons Builder’s Measure (a formula for calculating the capacity of the ship, not the displacement of the ship as is the practice today).

Second Rate

The Second Rate ships of the line were also three-deckers, but smaller and cheaper. They mounted between 90 and 98 guns, and like the First Rates fought in the centre of the line-of-battle. Generally around the 2000 ton mark, they had a crew of about 750. Unlike the First Rates, which were too valuable to risk in distant stations, the Second Rates often served overseas as flagships. They had a reputation for poor handling and slow sailing.

Third Rate

The most numerous line-of-battle ships were the two-decker Third Rates with 64–80 guns. The most effective and numerous of these was the 74-gun ship, in many ways the ideal compromise of economy, fighting power and sailing performance, which formed the core of the battle fleet. They carried a crew of about 650 men.

Fourth Rate

Two decker ships of 50–60 guns were no longer ‘fit to stand in the line of battle’ by the end of the 18th century. With two decks, their extra accommodation made them suitable flagships for minor overseas stations, while their relatively shallow draught made them useful as headquarter ships for anti-invasion operations in the North Sea and the English Channel. They were also useful as convoy escorts, troopships and even on occasion, as convict transports. In normal service they had a crew of 350 and measured around 1000 tons.

Fifth Rate

These were the frigates, the Navy’s ‘glamour ships’. With their main armament on a single gundeck, they were the fast scouts of the battle fleet, when not operating in an independent cruising role, searching out enemy merchant ships, privateers or enemy fleets. Developed from early-18th century prototypes, the Fifth Rates of Admiral Lord Nelson’s time had a variety of armaments and gun arrangements, from 32–40 guns. Captured enemy frigates were also used in service, and many of the best British-built ships were copied or adapted from French designs. Their tonnage ranged from 700 to 1450 tons, with crews of about 300 men.

Sixth Rate

The Sixth Rates were smaller and more lightly armed frigates, with between 22 and 28 guns, a crew of about 150, and measured 450 to 550 tons.

Find out about ‘unrated’ Royal Navy vessels in the 17th to 19th centuries