I only saw the first Fifty Shades movie and wasn't impressed, but I know enough about Christian Grey: he had a traumatic childhood, and then he fell victim to an older woman who made him her submissive. She taught him a lot, but she still took advantage of his immaturity and was controlling. A parallel can be drawn with Jack Randall, whose childhood was most likely deprived (he and Alex have a poor relationship with their older brother, and Jack's issues are too deep-rooted and intense to be attributed solely to military PTSD), and his relationship with the Duke of Sandringham is extremely murky.
"I think he (Black Jack Randall) has admirers, but the thing about them is they want to lurk in the shade. They don’t want to be outed" - another interesting one. I feel that, as in the BDSM scene in general, it is easier to confess that you're interested in hurting a person/character than to admit that you want them to hurt you. The thing is, I have talked to or been in relationships with several people who leaned submissive (all of them men), and they invariably pointed out that I "had it easier" because, even though I am a switch, the dominant part of my personality is at the core of my identity, and it is from this position that I form my first impression of an attractive person.
In other words, it has always seemed to me that submissive urges are still more stigmatized than dominant ones. And I've always been curious about how Randall feels about his submissive/masochistic side (and he does have one - remember how he provokes Jamie during their duel in the Bois de Boulogne, so that Jamie loses his temper and forces him to his knees). By the time we first see him, Randall looks fairly comfortable with that part of himself, but it seems to me that, as with his view of the world and his belief in God, he has also undergone a certain turnaround in this regard. It's usually a progression: a person tries to be "normal", fails at that, and then (if we're talking dysfunctional approaches to the issue) either lives with shame or decides to go against the laws of society. Some even manage to switch between these two states.
Definitely some more fuel for angst-ridden stories!
Find a set of random coordinates here.* You are promptly teleported to that location, with nothing more than the clothes and other objects on your person. How bad a time are you having?
*: Reroll open ocean results. Let's assume the teleporter has the decency to at least deposit you on solid ground.
Northern Saudi Arabia, near the Iraqi border and the city of Rafha. Close enough to the city that I could see it or the road leading to it from the desert. It is not terribly cold and I'm wearing a hoodie, long pants, socks, and slippers, so it's not really a problem. Even my hearing aids are on (I can hear without them, just not very well, so I don't wear them that often, but I need them when I'm around strangers), which is more important to me than my phone. The batteries will last a couple of days.
Here's the most interesting part. I don't have Israeli citizenship and I've never been to the Middle East, but my maternal grandfather was Jewish, and that's still showing - I look kinda like Rosalia Zalkind-Zemlyachka without her glasses, and a bit like Natalie Portman when I smile. So I'd say that I'm Russian (which is technically true), and I need to get to the Russian consulate in Riyadh or just call my mother, and hope that people won't look too closely at my eyes and nose.
But if I heard the word "yahudi(yaah)" in conversations around me and a discussion about politics began, I could say (in English) what I think: that I despise Netanyahu and condemn settler violence. But if local people started insisting that Israel should not exist, I would have a difficult time as I strongly disagree with that notion (and "from the river to the sea" is not some harmless chant to me - it's a marker of sorts).
But I don't think people would say that. I hope that Saudi Arabia will normalize relations with Israel soon enough. My heart goes to the Palestinians who are suffering now, and of course, I support the brave Iranians who oppose the regime (the same regime that is helping Russia wage an absolutely senseless war against Ukraine), and I hope to live to see an alliance between Iran and Israel, as it should have been since ancient times.
Speaking of Black Jack Randall and the Duke of Sandringham, I forgot this nice one. Seriously, BJR's smile... Entering the fanon realm here, but I feel compelled to continue his line: "The Duke has never been married... but I am his favourite. How do you like that, Claaaire?" - that's how sly (and oddly pitying simultaneously) his smile is to me.
I have no doubt that Randall has wished death upon the Duke many times, but sometimes, when Sandringham is willing to put some effort into it, his ample experience really comes into play, and refusing his attentions is not an option - not only because he's Randall's patron, but because... it feels nice to be desired.
But the Duke is not getting any younger, and he drinks a lot, and Jack is not exactly a shiny new toy anymore, even though he is still able to arouse the Duke's passions. Sandringham feels like he needs to assert his dominance every so often, so over time their romps become increasingly bizarre. And after the whole thing with Jamie, I can totally see the Duke getting quite jealous, even though he'll likely tell himself he doesn't feel threatened at all.
It is just that I don't think Sandringham particularly likes the sight of blood on his sheets. A few drops is one thing, but he is not fond of torture on the scale of Jamie's flogging (after all, he chooses his playthings "for their beauty, not belligerence", Black Jack is an exception because of how fascinating his reactions are). And I find that Sandringham and Randall are unlikely to indulge in daddy kink - it just doesn't feel like their style. Everything else, no matter how fucked up, is definitely on the table.
Adolf Hitler's Allach porcelain Alsatian figure, taken from the Führerbunker by Brigadier Sir Ralph Rayner. Rayner went to the Chancellery where Soviet officers offered him a tour. On entering Hitler's private quarters, Rayner was first offered Adolf Hitler's personal telephone, and as he left the bunker he was given the Allach porcelain Alsatian.
The porcelain factory "Porzellan Manufaktur Allach" was established as a private concern in 1935. In 1936 the factory was acquired by Heinrich Himmler to produce works of art that would represent, in his eyes, true Germanic culture. Production was based at Allach, the largest subcamp of Dachau, and it used slave labor in the production of these pieces. This figurine was almost certainly personally presented to Hitler by Heinrich Himmler.
For @malicious-compliance-esq: this is what I label a "special BJR expression" on Jamie's face! Love how layered it is. I see a hint of superiority, a bit of contempt in the corners of his lips... And then there's pity - and some curiosity to boot. It is as if Jamie is saying without words, "We both know who you are, don't we? You're the broken one". And despite the air of disdain Jamie clearly has plenty of capacity to revel in Jack's vulnerability. He looks like he is fairly tempted, for sure!
Someone on the web: but DG said that Randall and the Duke of Sandringham were not lovers...
Well, let it be that way in the book. After all, apart from a couple of obscure moments, there really is nothing that clearly indicates that the Duke and Black Jack are having sex.
But the show is another matter. I always felt like they were literally driving it home that Sandringham and Jack weren't just partners in crime. Yes, Claire probably didn't mean that Jack was special to the Duke in THAT sense, but her innocent gloating leaves a certain aftertaste. Yes, the petition storyline was introduced primarily to carve a place for Sandringham in the whole plot and grant Randall a chance to burn the document later, but ironically, Black Jack looks much more frazzled in that scene than Jamie, who is as gloriously stoic as ever. (Randall is getting so emotional I wonder what he had to do to obtain that petition, I thought.)
Yes, the Duke insists that Randall forced him to hand over the document, but the Duke has proven himself to be a man who often makes unconvincing claims of innocence because no one will contradict him (at least for the time being) and he knows that. And finally, we have King Louis XV, who clearly knows something (as, I suspect, most of Parisian high society does) about Sandringham's preferences, and the whole scene with his advice to Jack to beg the Duke on his knees is dripping with innuendo.
Yes, the Duke likes younger men (barely legal even). But Jamie's body is by no means boyish, it is his face that is quite youthful. Jack doesn't look like a boy either, but there is something youthful in the slender lines of his naked body. I'm not surprised that the Duke might find both men attractive.
So, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but no one can convince me that show Jack and the Duke are not fucking. (Frankly speaking, I really like how many opportunities for exploring questionable kinks and traumatic consequences that brings... if you're not the "I don't even want to think about it" kind of a person). Also, since the Duke is played by a magnificent actor such as Simon Callow, it would be a crime not to let him reveal all facets of Sandringham's hideousness, even if some of it is quite subtle!
You can never say: I shall never kill, that’s impossible; the most you can say is: I hope I shall never kill.
Jonathan Littell, The Kindly Ones (2006)
Dirk t'Larien, the protagonist of George R. R. Martin's first novel Dying of the Light (1977), learned the meaning of the above quote through terrible trials. When I started reading, I knew some characters would annoy me, and someone likable would die a pointless death. This is GRRM, after all. The main problem turned out to be something else: I didn't expect the plot to be based on such a shaky premise. But I still think the book is worth reading. A more detailed review and the reason why I used the Outlander tag can be found under the spoiler.
Dirk t'Larien arrives on the rapidly cooling planet Worlorn, littered with ruins of festival cities built by various civilizations, believing that his former girlfriend Gwen Delvano summoned him (she did not, but he didn't think to ask her about that when they met, and this is the basis of the plot). Gwen conducts environmental research on the planet, and she seems to be married. To two men at once.
Dirk meets one of Gwen's "husbands", Jaantony Riv Wolf high-Ironjade Vikary (if you think that’s a pretentious name, try "Lorimaar Reln Winterfox high-Braith Arkellor"), or simply Jaan.
He was a tall man, lean and well muscled, bare-chested even in the chill morning. His red-bronze skin was made even redder by the light of Fat Satan. He had high angular cheekbones, a heavy square jaw, and receding shoulder-length hair as black as Gwen's.
(By the way, Gwen is a beautiful woman with long black hair and green eyes.) A few paragraphs later, it becomes clear that this Jaan is a historian. A historian! At this point, I thought I would very much like to see younger Tobias Menzies in a tight-fitting low-cut jumpsuit with his arms bare to the elbows and heavy bracelets on both wrists, his hair styled like in Underworld: Blood Wars (I didn't particularly care for that movie, but Lara Pulver was gorgeous, as was Tobias, especially when he lost that fugly patchy coat). His skin isn't bronze, and Caitriona Balfe doesn't have green eyes, but does that really matter? Yes, Caitriona can be my Gwen, I thought.
Enter the second "husband", Garse Ironjade Janacek. He is Jaan's teyn, a life partner and a sworn brother; as in many extremely patriarchal cultures (and the culture of their home planet is precisely that), their relationship is supposed to be closer than that with Gwen. Garse is as tall as Jaan, slightly younger, red-haired, bearded, and has cold blue eyes. I told myself: fine, you can have this kinda Outlander Frank/Claire/Jamie-but-in-space AU. Young Sam Heughan would've been magnificent as Garse - all hard edges, icy eyes and mean smiles, but a good heart - if he had lost just a bit of that muscle he built for Outlander. I thought my casting choices were very cool (these actors all have amazing chemistry!), and after that, the book read like a movie.
There are also men of another community from the two Ironjades' home planet, High Kavalaan - the Braiths, who adhere to the ancient, mostly outdated, tradition of hunting humans. A clash between them and the main characters seemed inevitable.
Gwen loves Jaan, but doesn't get along very well with Garse. Garse sleeps with Gwen because custom demands it, but the one he truly loves is Jaan. As a child, Jaan was "dreamy, very moody, much too introspective" and, considering that Kavalar men constantly challenged each other to duels, he might not have lived to adulthood, if it weren't for Garse, who used rather abusive methods to turn his future teyn into a fighter.
It occurred to me that Gwen should have asked Garse to go all Drill Sergeant Nasty on her, because Jaan (who was already not very popular) brought home a strange woman and a controversial thesis on the history of High Kavalaan, and that earned him a lot of hate from traditionalists. If Jaan had been killed in a duel, Gwen would have become the property of Garse or a man from another community, and if Garse had also been killed, she would have become a breeding woman for the whole community (shudder). Sure, Garse would have resisted her at first, but he definitely liked the spark of viciousness he saw in Gwen.
On Worlorn, Gwen did not immediately reveal this trait of hers. It would seem that as an ecologist, she should have understood how prone certain groups of people are to displaying pack mentality, but she chose to hope that Garse and Jaan would deal with the Braiths. Only in the end did she realize that if the Braiths hunted humans, then the Braiths themselves could also be hunted.
Granted, Dirk and Gwen are scholars, not warriors, and I can cut them some slack. Finally, they start moving their asses, and that's gratifying, but then Jaan breaks the dueling code (not the first time he has interfered with Garse, who already had the situation under control) and becomes an outcast who can be hunted down. Moreover, according to custom, his own teyn must bring death to the duel-breaker, but only very strong people are capable of doing so. Jaan believes that Garse may turn out to be strong enough.
Garse is drinking himself into oblivion, but Dirk pulls him out of it. Garse admits that Jaan is still his teyn, and quickly comes up with a plan, but then starts mumbling about his intentions to somehow provoke the Braiths into dueling during the hunt. Like WTF? Having decided to save Jaan, Garse becomes an outbonder and a transgressor himself. He will never return to High Kavalaan, so why not bring his beloved a bunch of Braith heads? Instead, Garse makes Jaan run for a whole day and two nights, and it all ends badly. GRRM’s decision to write Garse off in a fairly clumsy way was highly annoying.
Meanwhile, Dirk himself becomes the hunted, kills his hunters (a very satisfying scene), and in the end faces the duel he initially tried to run away from - the duel with young Bretan Braith Lantry, who could easily be called the smartest character in the book. Jaan and Gwen leave the planet, and the ending is open, but Dirk and Bretan are so obsessed with each other that I'm optimistic about the outcome and I prefer to think Dirk is going to have a future of friendship (and perhaps something more) with Bretan.
What else can I say... The descriptions of dying cities are beautiful; the characters' clothing and the interior design have very 1970s vibe; bisexuality is the norm, and that's wonderful. Read this book if you don't mind anticlimactic character deaths and open endings!
Previously, when reading this passage from Dragonfly in Amber, my mind was so preoccupied with playing oh, a woman cannot understand, you say? I'd like a word with you in private on repeat that I never noticed BJR's first question. How inattentive of me!
"I wonder whether you have had from him as much as I" - oh, but in principle, Jack Randall can well imagine how a woman could have a man in this sense. It is not that he considers it impossible, it is that he simply thinks Claire is not the kind of a woman who would be interested in this practice overmuch, and besides, she would not delve into this part of Jamie's trauma.
(I can't help but admire this beautiful description of Randall's sharp features and hazel eyes. So deliberately aesthetic)
My biggest complaint about the TV series is that they only hinted at what Randall wanted to say with he now knows me. At least that was a really delicious hint, so one should be grateful for what they have...
Just started watching Outlander season 6 and I already feel very protective of Malva. I haven't read the book, but I'm not afraid of spoilers and I know what she's going to do. Her intentions are not good, but understandable, and I think every victim of abuse deserves to be understood.
Also saw someone's half-joking statement: Malva and Black Jack would have been happy together. I think it may not be too far-fetched. If Malva had been born in the 1720s, these two would have something to talk about. In the show, every interaction Jack has with a woman ends in violence, but he didn't act like that all the time. I have a headcanon that his father was displeased with him for not conforming to his expectations. Just as Sir Denys thought his son was too pensive to be a soldier, Tom was convinced of his daughter-niece's wickedness and both men tried to eradicate these perceived flaws by violence. Also I suspect Jack has his own history of sexual abuse that started when he was a young man exploring his non-normative sexuality, even before the Duke of Sandringham. (In fact I don't think it was the sexual aspect of the relationship that weighed Jack down so much, rather it was Sandringham's general disparaging attitude. But both aspects have undoubtedly had a negative impact.) So yes, Jack and Malva may have something in common.
80 years ago, on April 19, 1945, after an Allied air raid, self-appointed Luftwaffe Captain Willi Herold and his gang were forced to leave the Aschendorfermoor camp where they had executed over a hundred deserters.
War drama is one of my favorite genres and I've seen many American, German, Soviet, Japanese, Chinese and Israeli films. But lately, the movie that comes to my mind most often is Der Hauptmann, directed by Robert Schwentke. The movie is based on the story of Willi Herold, but its meaning is much broader than that. It's a movie about how fascism takes root in people, how people behave in dire circumstances, a movie about the banality of evil. The scene that enfolds during the credits is particularly brilliant.
April 30 will be the 80th anniversary of Hitler's suicide. I live in a country with a jingoistic dictatorial regime that is waging a war of aggression, and the thought that autocrats and dictators are mortal - and their death can be… quite swift and sudden - is immensely comforting. Even if I and other sensible people have to endure a few more years. Even if there is a time of instability ahead. Its the usual course of history, after all.
"April 16th, 1746."
"Yes. The date of your death."
There's something deeply mesmerizing about the way Jack Randall went to the Culloden Moor, no doubt hoping to die and finally break this haunted vicious cycle of suffering. He didn't even fight with much enthusiasm until he saw Jamie. Even though the phrase “Kill me. My heart's desire” was not uttered in the show, in a way it came through in this scene. At that moment, Randall certainly couldn't imagine a better death for himself…
areudirty
stormborns
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