Dec 21, 2022
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｡ﾟ･ febhyurary ⸽ day one ⇢ ❝ selfie ❞ ft. @andarion ‘s arthur sinclair ♡
A commission I got for @andarion of his character, Arthur. Done by the talented Ayia Olaer! Please consider supporting them!
The First Lost World: KING SOLOMON’S MINES (‘37) by Greg Ferrara
When H. Rider Haggard published King Solomon’s Mines in 1885, he started an entirely new genre of literature, that of the Lost World. Many tales by many different authors would follow, the most famous probably being Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World or Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Land That Time Forgot. Still, there’s something to being the first that sets you apart. And when the genre becomes big, as the Lost World genre did, it can make the initial outing look a bit creaky, as each successive hit adds something to the mix. And so, I find myself writing up KING SOLOMON’S MINES, the movie from 1937, the first cinematic adaptation of the work. Though many would follow, the first one set the tone for decades of fantastical adventure movies to come.
The first movie adaptation continued another tradition, that of Hollywood drastically changing the work it was adapting to suit the different needs of the cinema. And the different needs of an audience nearly fifty years after the original work had been published. A father/daughter team are introduced in the movie, Patsy O'Brien (Arthur Sinclair) and Kathy (Anna Lee). The two Irish transplants have been trying to get rich mining diamonds in Africa only to come up short. When they run out of money, Kathy convinces a hunter to let them travel with his wagon train. The hunter, it turns out, is Allan Quartermain (Cedric Hardwicke), the most celebrated hunter in all of Africa. He agrees to take them on and becomes fond of their company.
When they come across another wagon in trouble, they stop to help, only to find one man is carrying a map which he claims leads to King Solomon’s mines. He soon dies but his guide, Umbopa (Paul Robeson), is ready to continue the quest. O’Brien steals the map and heads out on his own. Kathy wants to follow, but Quartermain has been hired by two men, Sir Henry Curtis (John Loder) and Commander Good (Roland Young), as a big game hunting guide. When they all meet up, Kathy takes one of their wagons, leading to a pursuit and, eventually, all of them start searching for the mines.
Robert Stevenson, who would become one of Disney’s most successful live action directors, was still early in his career when he helmed this production, but after only five years in the business, his talent was fully formed. The film moves along at a brisk pace and even has some visual flourishes that stand out as among the best of the 1930s. The shots near the end, inside the mines, as the lava flows and erupts, seem incredibly innovative, calling to mind everything from Mount Doom in the LORD OF THE RINGS (’01, ’02, ’03) franchise to the heated fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin over the lava pit in STAR WARS: EPISODE III – THE REVENGE OF THE SITH (’05). There was even a point where I had visions of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (’84). And the scene of the group travelling across the desert is strikingly modern in its eerie use of music, signaling unease and disquiet with every new step.
Of course, Stevenson was also under strict studio orders, no doubt, to make sure Paul Robeson got at least two songs during the course of the movie. And indeed, he does, but even those are filmed in a way that integrates the songs into the movies such that they are unobtrusive and genuinely consistent with the story.
The biggest problems with KING SOLOMON’S MINES come with the dated ideas of noble savages and god-like white men. Given that the source material was penned in 1885 and the movie was made in 1937, there is remarkably little that is cringe-inducing in the movie. The character of Umbopa, who it turns out is royalty, is played excellently by Paul Robeson, and is in many ways the true star and protagonist of the story. Which leads to the second problem, Allan Quartermain. He is, ostensibly, the lead but is quite a dull character throughout. Of all the characters in the movie, the lead guide, spends almost the entire affair following others and reacting to their situation after the fact.
Other adventure movies in lost worlds would follow, and certainly some of them were better, but despite the passage of over 130 years since the publication of the novel, the first movie adaptation is still the best one we’ve got. Sometimes you get it right the first time.
Running into a fellow Ishgardian. @andarion‘s character Arthur Sinclair.
“So many memories from this place...and yet I still find it as tedious as ever.”
LF RP - Arthur Sinclair - Crystal Datacenter (Balmung)
BASICS
NAME: Arthur Sinclair
NICKNAMES/ALIASES: Ser Arthur, Knight Sinclair, Lord Sinclair, “John Arkwright”
AGE: 26
RACE: Hyuran Midlander
GENDER: Male
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
SIGN: Nald’thal
SERVER: Balmung
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
HAIR: Blonde hair
EYES: Mint Green
HEIGHT: 6’0
BUILD: Athletic and well-shaped, while he doesn’t has the muscle mass of Hyuran Highlanders, for a Midlander he is rather athletic looking.
DISTINGUISHING MARKS: None worth pointing out.
COMMON ACCESSORIES: House Sinclair Signet on his right hand (Occasionally)
PERSONAL
PROFESSION: Temple Knight (Former), Adventurer, Free Paladin of the realm, current Lord of House Sinclair of Ishgard
HOBBIES: Outdoor activities, Exploring, Sparring, Chocobo Riding, Charitable work, some book reading (highly dependent on the topic), Adventuring.
LANGUAGES: Common Eorzean, Basic knowledge of the Doman Language.
CRIMINAL HISTORY: Accused of heresy the Supreme Sacred Tribunal of Halonic Inquisitory Doctrine, declared Innocent in the eyes of the Fury after winning the trial against one of the Inquisitorial champions.
RESIDENCE: House Sinclair Manor (In reconstruction) – Coerthas Eastern Lowlands, a small apartment on the Mists district.
FEARS: Failing his own moral code
RELATIONSHIPS
SPOUSE: None
FAMILY: Mother passed away when he was a child, his Father died recently under mysterious circumstances which are being investigated by the Supreme Sacred Tribunal of Halonic Inquisitory Doctrine. Legitimized half sister.
PETS: A white Chocobo named Llamrei
TRAITS
extroverted / introverted / in between
disorganized / organized / in between
close minded / open-minded / in between
calm / anxious / in between
disagreeable / agreeable / in between
cautious / reckless / in between
patient / impatient / in between
outspoken / reserved / in between
leader / follower / in between
empathetic / apathetic / in between
optimistic / pessimistic / in between
traditional / modern / in between
hard-working / lazy / in between
cultured / uncultured / in between
loyal / disloyal / in between
faithful / unfaithful / in between
VICES
SMOKING HABIT: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.
DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess.
ALCOHOL: never / sometimes(*)/ frequently / to excess
(*)He is capable of drinking in excess during social situations.
POSSIBLE HOOKS
Ishgardian Connections: From brume-borns to some lords would be able to easily get along with this former knight, and while he is the head of a rather small House, there is always the possibility of people being aware of who he is either by his deeds or his father’s.
Temple Knights: Arthur’s relation with the temple knights was soured after he was wrongly accused of heresy because he stood for his principles and men in charge. Although he left the unit a while back now there are some who either hold him in high regards or scorn him for defying the Inquisition.
Adventurers: For some time on a ‘self imposed’ exile Arthur worked as an adventurer for the guilds in Ul’dah and Limsa Lominsa. Usually taking on dangerous tasks such as the defense of Hamlets from beastmen and bandit attacks, to anti-garlean activities, all while under the alias of “John Arkwright” although those close to him, and trusted partners were aware of his real identity.
Minor Business interests: As the head of House Sinclair, Arthur has been trying to create connections between his family and parties interested in doing businesses. While prior to the calamity the lands held by the Sinclairs produced wine, the family now is offering their ore rich lands for mineralogical exploration and extraction.
Aiding people: This is something that is a core part of his belief, Arthur tries his best to help those in need, seeing someone’s smile after helping them is often more than enough reward for the man.
Anything really!: Arthur is a very approachable man, despite being the Lord of an Ishgardian House he sometimes ‘flees’ from his duties and goes to his adventuring ways, so it is not exceedingly rare to find him in Taverns away from Coerthas, or aiding people in need.
WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR
Ishgardian connections. - The death of his father thrust him into the position as head of the family, so he tries his best to establish his family name in the country, as well as seek glory and prestige for the family.
Adventures. - Arthur loves going out on an adventure, the more difficult or the more it benefits the common people of the realm would definitely pike his interest.
Long term RP Connections - Friends, Rivals, Enemies, Antagonists, or even anything like a sparring partner would be quite welcomed, while I’m not closed to developing romantic connections with him, given recent circumstances getting him to commit seriously on the matter would be a difficult prospect.
Anyone, really!
OOCLY, I AM
Either on CST or EST and usually available after 7PM until 11PM on weekdays, and most of the afternoon and evenings on Weekends.
I love to get to know not only characters but also the players behind them. I think OOC communication is a very important element for any long lasting roleplay partnership. Also its nice to make new friends!.
Open to most types of roleplay, but if you have any questions feel free to ask! I am very chill and like to be on the same page with people if possible.
Most usually available via Discord.
Up for making new friends
I work full time in weekdays (office job) though sometimes it may require overtime so sometimes my schedule can be a bit wacky.
Lore compliant, I’d say lore strict, to an extent, but I am readily open to ideas, it just depends on how well executed they are, if the execution/presentation of something is good enough I wouldn’t mind it at all.
Open to Combat (duh), Laidback, Tavern, Dark and Mature RPs
I prefer RP in game whenever possible, it is far more engaging to me, I can try discord roleplays but honestly I can get easily distracted so its not an ideal venue for roleplay for me. That said I don’t mind it as support for RPin game (for example dice rolling or anything similar)
YOU CAN CONTACT ME VIA
Tumblr Direct messages
In-game
Discord: Andarion#1474 (though try to give me a heads up first if possible so I know who I am adding)
Arthur Sinclair - Former Temple Knight, Adventurer, Lord of House Sinclair