Tobias Menzies as Marius in Underworld: Blood Wars (2016).

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@x-eli-copter-x
Tobias Menzies as Marius in Underworld: Blood Wars (2016).
(Source: Tobias Menzies for Yahoo TV)
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!
Rome (HBO), season 2 episode 1. Tobias Menzies as Marcus Junius Brutus and James Purefoy as Mark Antony.
Onegin (1999), dir. Martha Fiennes, starring Ralph Fiennes as Yevgeny and Liv Tyler as Tatiana.
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.
Teleporting results:
Mortal peril - Exposure to the elements
Mortal peril - Dangerous wildlife
Mortal peril - Dangerous humans
I'll have a rough time, but I'll live
Mostly okay, though still a weird experience
Hell yeah, impromptu vacation~!
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.
Oscar and Lucinda (1997), dir. Gillian Armstrong
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.
Tiger I and Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. L German tanks side by side.
"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…
gif source
Tobias Menzies as the Duke of Cornwall and Emily Watson as Regan in King Lear (2018).