#Geoffrey Towers | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dmclemblems · 1 year

Note

ajsdhgjkh yeah sorry shinon! he's good but i don't remember him ever being top for me, though i've probably done por 4 times and rd twice. i started using oscar because the nintendo power strategy guide said to plug the one bottleneck in the map on the chapter shinon and gatrie leave, because he's a brick wall. and they were right. he would never let me down etc etc. i think i gave him a custom forged lance called the BadGuyKiller. Kieran got the OscarBane, which was hot pink.

YEAHHHH SHISHI!!!

For some reason no matter how much I love other FE games, I always keep replaying the Tellius ones. I guess maybe in part it's because growing up I took to PoR a lot more? I started with FE7, but 7 and 8 weren't as strong for me and didn't keep me as interested. Also, I was kind of the shy nice girl growing up who stayed out of trouble, so I kind of grew up really admiring Ike. Even if I don't play either game for a year or two straight, I always come back to them and end up playing at least one of them once or twice through before taking a break again. Even though 4 is my favorite FE game, I guess between Tellius' gameplay, the characters and how I felt about those games growing up ends up pulling me back to them all the time.

NINTENDO POWER LITERALLY SAID USE OSCAR? Damn, I didn't give them enough credit. My sister subscribed to that magazine and I never read it. They're RIGHT though, I love plugging bottlenecks with him and Shinon. Chapter six is a pain in the ass but I rely on the two of them to cover the front, and in chapter eight I similarly have Oscar handle the front. Oscar dodges enough and he takes very low damage if he gets hit. My strategy was to keep a javelin equipped for most of chapter eight since a lot of the enemies used them as well, so he was always able to hit back and he took out the enemies in the front all by himself (which is pretty impressive at that point in the game considering how many enemies he'd be fighting by himself).

It's actually funny to me because he has no trouble at the front, but meanwhile Titania and Boyd are handling the right side of the map and kinda having trouble. Soren and Ike handle the left side (and eventually Ilyana if she even makes it down there in time to do much of anything lol), and I have Rhys run around healing as much as he can with Mia using her turns to shove him out of harm's way if he's in range of an enemy's distant attack when he's behind someone. Mia's too weak at that point for me to use her for anything else, so she's kinda just Rhys' support to keep him safe while he heals.

Agreed, Oscar never lets me down. IN FACT, IT'S ALMOST ALWAYS BOYD WHO LETS ME DOWN LMAO. Last run I did with a friend watching was fun because we were picking on Boyd lovingly. He was actually pretty damn for me in that run but whenever he screwed up we'd poke fun at him.

THAT'S SO FUNNY LOL. I love giving Oscar forged weapons. Actually, since they're so expensive if you want them to be really unique and not super close to an existing weapon that I don't make forged weapons that often at all. Generally Oscar is one of the few if not the only one in a playthrough who gets one. I always make it insanely OP, like, as OP as you literally make it lol. I make it green for him and give him all sorts of names for his weapons.

KIERAN GOT THE OSCARBANE AND IT WAS HOT PINK JUST LIEK HIS PERSONALITY. Kieran no you're supposed to fight the enemies, not your allies. SIR.

My friend in the playthrough I played with them watching tried to convince me not to use Oscar in chapter 28 and I firmly refused LOL. He basically handles the whole left side of the map by himself or has like, one other person with him helping out a little bit while Ike, Soren and Ranulf take the center and everyone else takes the right side.

Also this has nothing to do with Oscar but LISTEN. Have you ever put Vantage AND Adept on Ranulf? They behave differently in RD so it won't work the same, but in PoR Vantage always activates so your unit will always attack first if they're attacked by an enemy. Combine that with Adept and it's literally so broken because the sheer number of times I had Ranulf attack first and use Adept, attacking first twice and killing the enemy just for initiating combat was so bonkers it was like easy mode lmao.

It's kinda like when I discovered that putting Gamble on Shinon was stupid broken because he'd keep getting a 100 percent crit rate with a killer bow.

Oscar and Shinon are already broken and I somehow always seem to find ways to make them more broken. Then I got to add PoR Ranulf to that list... and honestly, once RD Ranulf gets Rend, he's basically as much of a monster as those two (especially if you're playing the endgame parts and you give him a Laguz Gem to be transformed for the entire battle LEL).

#nintendo power is a CHAMP for suggesting to use oscar The Correct Way (tm)#when I was younger and I first started playing PoR my sister convinced me that pre-promoted were ''bad''#when I grew up I was SO MAD LOL bc she was basing that on playing FE7/8 #where generally pre-promoted units barring game soloer King Seth the Great weren't that great #(though I did use Saleh quite a bit... and to my recollection he wasn't bad)#and I literally SUFFERED trying to train Rolf bc of that. now I just train him enough to withstand that Blizzard #in chapter 18 in case he gets hit by it when I'm going down the corridor to reach Shinon #and basically once I get him back Rolf is benched for the rest of or most of the rest of the game hfkjsagjsg #BUT KNOWING THE SHINON I KNOW NOW I'M SO MAD SHE CONVINCED ME NOT TO USE HIM FKJSHJHFG #I can't remember what playthrough I finally started using him or why at this point #but I wouldn't be surprised if it had to do with me wanting to try out using a unit for a character I enjoyed #bc it always sucks when you can't/don't use characters you like #KINDA LIKE WHY I USUALLY BRING TORMOD TO THE TOWER OF GUIDANCE?#BC I'M RLY FUCKIN' MAD THAT HE'S HARDLY IN THE GAME AT ALL AND I NEED TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME???#I angrily get Tormod to tier 3 level 20 at all cost bc RD did him so dirty with screentime #OH AND ALSO Geoffrey was another pre-promote I didn't use because of my sister LOL #nowadays I tend not to use him and Haar bc they join so late into the game and by then #most of my roster is pretty figured out while still making room for Ranulf prior to him and Haar joining #I use Geoffrey as much as I can in RD though because I love Geoffrey #also like ofc Shinon is gonna be behind everyone else for a bit when you get him back bc he's the same level he left at #it's like playing Tales of Phantasia and benching Chester permanently just bc he rejoins you at the same level you left him at fjksghjgsg #now I just like to meme about Shinon killing everything and how the AI actually works when it comes to Provoke #DCE Ask

0 notes

procrastinatorrex · 11 months

Text

“You didn’t tell me your name,” Arthur said, enjoying the way the man jumped as he was pulled from his thoughts.

The sorcerer blinked owlishly, then focused his bright blue gaze on the prince. “You again? I didn’t realize princes read.”

Arthur gestured to the towering shelf of books, “I didn’t realize Geoffrey of Monmouth was stupid enough to let a Druid in here. Did they make you take the oaths?”

The sorcerer tsked, “I’m not going to steal anything.”

“Ah, nothing useful then?”

“You’re awfully talkative for a sublunary from Camelot.” The sorcerer eyed Arthur’s red vest disdainfully. “Didn’t your father tell you all about the scary magical Druids? Don’t all the little boys and girls in Camelot know that looking at a Druid for too long will turn your teeth green or make your hair fall out or something?” The man waved one long hand dismissively, “Alakazam, boo, go away little prince, before I turn you into a frog for being annoying.”

Arthur laughed, enjoying the sorcerer’s irritation immensely. “Alakazam? Seriously?”

#merthur sass #merthur fan fiction #merthur #merlin fanfiction #mine #arthur x merlin #I cannot resist sassy!merlin #to be fair I’ve also never tried #but I'm pretty sure I couldn't do it

155 notes · View notes

johndpg · 6 months

Text

CATWEAZLE (1970)

Catweazle was a popular British children’s TV series of the early 1970s. He’s an 11th century bumbling wizard who, when pursued by soldiers through a wood, says a spell as he jumps into a pond. When he emerges, he believes he’s made the soldiers and the wood disappear; in fact he has jumped 900 years into the future. He arrives on a farm in rural England in the year 1969 and befriends a farmer's son, a ginger teenager named Edward Bennet, nicknamed Carrot, who spends most of the rest of the series attempting to hide the wizard from his father and the farmhand Sam. Catweazle searches for a way to return to his own time while hiding in a disused water tower. Whenever he is spotted, he uses his magic amulet to hypnotise people into forgetting that they saw him. He also has a toad called Touchwood (who’s featured in the screenshots above).

There was a second series shown in 1971 in which Catweazle has moved to a stately home, where he befriends the son of the unhinged gentry family living there. Frankly, series one is much better and more fondly remembered (especially by me—I loved this show as a boy!). A third series was planned but never came to fruition.

These screenshots are taken from Series 1, Episode 12—The Wisdom of Solomon. A housekeeper called Mrs Skinner has moved into the farm along with her obnoxious son Arthur. He and Carrot do not get along. This is the only episode to feature school uniforms, so it’s good to see one of the characters is wearing grey short trousers. Carrot is supposed to be around 14, so I think Arthur is meant to be younger, say 12/13. It’s a contemporary production, so the uniforms (complete with school caps!) are authentic for the period, and boys didn’t generally continue wearing shorts to school much past 12 (in state schools anyway—although I stand to be corrected). Did you spot that Arthur’s shorts are fully lined?

In reality, Robin Davies who played Carrot was 15 at the time of filming. Feddy Foote, meanwhile, who played Arthur, was actually older than him at 16 years old. Both boys would still have been at school when the episode was shot, so I wonder how young Freddy reacted when he first saw his costume—or what the other boys at his school thought when it was transmitted?

Catweazle was played by Geoffrey Bayldon, who enjoyed a substantial TV, film and stage career. The series featured a host of famous faces, such as Patricia Hayes, Peter Sallis, John Junkin, Peter Butterworth, Hattie Jacques, Neil McCarthy, Moray Watson, Bernard Hepton… It’s a veritable who’s who of popular British actors and comedy talent of the time. You can find most of the episodes on YouTube but I’ve included a link to the one with the two boys in their uniforms below.

Master Davies will be returning to this blog wearing a different school uniform (still with a cap though!) and with a short-trousered younger brother in tow in And Mother Makes Three. As a final note, he died his hair for Catweazle, so that his character could better live up to his nickname.

youtube

#Youtube

30 notes · View notes

sabermoonlight1616 · 8 months

Text

Hamefura plot bunnies I'll probably never get the motivation to write

#1: In which Geoffrey is jealous of sharing the "big brother of Geordo and Alan" status with Nicol, thinking that the guy is going to take his beloved baby brothers away from him. In reality though, the real threat is Sophia, who's plotting to get two more big brothers under everyone's noses.

#2: Alan succumbed to his illness when he was very young, maybe around five or six years old. Geordo often sees the small ghost of the twin he never met wandering the halls, or playing that old piano stored in one of the castle towers.

#3: Several instances in which Alan acts a lot like a classic (Disney) princess, from singing to animals to being rescued by his knight in shining armor (either Mary or Katarina).

#4: Either Alan or Maria gets reversed isekai'd to Bakarina's previous world after a suspicious incident caused them to flatline. Could be crack or angst or both.

#5: Alan or Geordo as reincarnators who didn't come from Bakarina's previous world. (Honestly, so many possibilities, but my favorite one is a bit of a crossover with Fire Emblem Fates. In which the previous lives of the twins are two of the many children of the King of Nohr, Garon, to various women. They'd obviously be among the 99% who got offed during the infighting between siblings before the main story of the game takes place.)

#hamefura #otome game no hametsu flag #my next life as a villainess #my next life as a villainess all routes lead to doom #geoffrey stuart #alan stuart #geordo stuart #whatever his name is #sophia ascart #nicol ascart #maria campbell #mary hunt #katarina claes #stuff id think about over and over again but never write #random thoughts by the kitchen sink and shower

39 notes · View notes

schweizercomics · 1 year

Photo

As of this week, I'm back from the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia, where my family and I went three weeks ago for a harp festival in which my daughter was participating. We spent most of our time in the castle city of Caernarfon, where the festival took place, and stayed across the street from a really big, really lovely old church at the base of Twthill, “Wales’s smallest mountain,” site of a Yorkist victory during the War of the Roses.

One of the days that we were there, I took a bus to nearby Bedgellert, ostensibly named for a noble but unjustly murdered 13th century dog, and set out to reach the top of Dinas Emrys, which lay outside the town and near a defunct Victorian copper mine (which I also crawled around in).

(outside the mines, before I started walking)

I wandered through a lot of countryside, woods, and sheep farms. The standard Welsh joke is "Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes," and that was the case - ten minutes heavy wind and rain, ten minutes sunshine, off and on for about four hours.

In the next pic, you can see the hillock of Dinas Emrys from before it crests upwards...

...and here it is from the top. The tree sits just outside the tower ruins (the pit to its immediate left).

I've never had such a beautiful walk to such a satisfying end. Not only was the peak gorgeous, but it also had the bonus of being a historical/mythical destination right up my alley.

The top of Dinas Emrys is where the oldest English/British histories (the 9th century Historia Brittonum and Geoffrey of Monmouth's famous History of British Kings* place the tower of Vortigern (and subsequently Ambrosius, in many versions the older brother and predecessor of Uther Pendragon), which in the legends had to be rebuilt numerous times because of the red and white Dragons that fought at the pool below it and which were taken by a (then young) Merlin as an omen for Welsh/Briton victory over eastern invaders.

*My pal Benito Cereno is currently translating Geoffrey's book from Latin, with some commentary, on his Patreon, and you can read his translation of the story here.

The sun was finally (consistently) shining by the time I got to the top, so I took off my shoes and socks to dry them, lit my pipe, set up my easel, and did some sketches of both the tower ruins and, once I climbed down to it, the hidden pool below.

I was quite happy with the travel easel I'd built and carried for the last eight or nine miles, until the heavy wind took it off the side of the mountain and broke it. It's fixable, but not without tools that I didn't have in the mountains, so that was that.

I haven't finished most of the Dinas Emrys sketches - like a lot of my travel stuff, I pencil (and sometimes ink), throw a couple of spots of color, and take photos to use as reference, so that I can do more pieces on a limited traveling schedule. But I'm looking forward to finishing the drawings of the pool especially - it felt like I was in a fairy tale down there, and I hope I can convey it (although the leafless, windswept [I think] hawthorn trees, reaching toward the pool like hands, aren't like any trees I've ever tried to draw before this trip, and trying to get them right is part of the reason I ain't yet done).

The trip back down was less idyllic, partially because going down over wet rocks is, while less strenuous than going up, more demanding of care and attention, so I had to watch my feet more than the surroundings, especially having taken a fall up by the ruins. But I'd count the trek as one of the genuine high points of my life. I was elated and in awe for hours at a stretch, and absolutely overcome with the beauty of it. And, while the rain might've been unpleasant and chilly at times, it meant that the sun fought through water and clouds to create the most incredible vistas, and the rain meant that the colors of the mosses and grasses were at their most vivid.

I'll have castle drawings down the line, too, and some others from around the harbor town, and I can't stress how much we enjoyed our time in Wales.

I did take a few days to go up to Leeds, do a signing at Traveling Man, and visit the Royal Armouries a few times to do drawings. One of the folks who came to the signing, Dr. Tzouriadis, is a currator at the armouries and was kind enough to give me a tour on my last day in Leeds, including getting to see the research library, which I now know to make an appointment for visiting the next time I'm there (I likewise learned about the British Library reading rooms and research collection, and got a card for it for the next time I'm in London).

Dr. Tzouriadis was incredibly generous with his expertise, and I learned or clarified a lot of really neat things that'll influence how I draw swords and armor in the future. And I've had some practice this trip thanks to the incredible collections with which I had a chance to spend some time.

Each day over the month of May, I'll be posting one drawing of a sword (or other edged weapon) from either the Royal Armouries, the Tower armory, or the British Museum. It's jumping the gun a bit, but here's a sneak preview of the first one:

They're toned with a single color (indigo) so that I can collect them into a book in black and white and make both its manufacture and selling cost a bit less than I could were I to do color - it also cuts down on the time spent making them. I'll likely put them up for sale each day as I post them, likely for the same price (50 plus shipping?), as a means by which to recoup some of the (substantial) cost of the trip.

While in Leeds I also got to meet cartoonist James Lawrence, have dinner with cartoonist John Allison, and briefly stop by OK COMICS in the arcade, which was an incredible store with an amazing selection of books.

After Wales we went to London (Penny's first time), and Penny was unfortunately ill for a couple of days, so I spent time at the museum doing sketches, and visiting the library treasures gallery. We saw a couple of musicals that Penny was keen on seeing, went to Charles Dickens's house, visited the Tower, ate some cheap meat pie with jellied eels in Greenwich, toured Westminster and St Pauls (I went to a Eucharist service at the latter, as well as one in Wales in a lovely little church built into the castle wall more than seven hundred years ago), and a handful of other things, including seeing the Tempest at the Globe Theater - my first time seeing a play at the Globe, and my first time seeing the Tempest performed.

I also got to visit a whole store devoted to Tove Jansson's MOOMIN, where I got a mug and a biography of Jansson, and it was next door to the Benjamin Pollock's Paper Theater shop. I went to London disappointed that the Pollock paper theater museum had closed only months before after decades of operation, and didn't know that there was an (unaffiliated since the 80s) shop, so stumbling upon it was a real treat (stumbling is how I like to do cities - I walked crisscrossed the town between the Euston and the river and found some great shops, including a lot of bookstores).

Now that I'm home, I'm very keen to get back to work. I'll be doing Patreon commissions, coloring a book for my friend and frequent collaborator Kyle Starks, and just settling back into being able to work, which I missed an awful lot despite the wonderful trip.

#Snowdonia #Wales #North Wales #Arthuriana

101 notes · View notes

april-is · 1 year

Text

April 20, 2023: Wound is the Origin of Wonder, Maya C. Popa

Wound is the Origin of Wonder Maya C. Popa

A cross-breeze between this life and the imagined one.

I am stuck in an almost life, in an almost time. If I could say,

but I cannot, and so on. Sunlight dizzies through the barren trees,

the skyline, a blue fog against a yellow light, and on the highway

every Westward car blinds me. Every surface reflects

that quiet understanding: decisions have been made, irreversible decisions

to upend beauty for something approximate—the airport hotel,

its Eiffel Tower on the roof, a playground near the public storage.

Beyond, bridges like monuments to fracture, and a sign for Pain Law:

not metaphor, but litigation. Who would not, given acreage

in another’s mind, lie there for a while to watch the sky be sky?

Today in:

2022: When the Fox Comes to the City, Patricia Fargnoli 2021: aubade for the whole hood, Nate Marshall 2020: Keeping Things Whole, Mark Strand 2019: New Year’s Day, Kim Addonizio 2018: I Know You Think I’ve Forgotten, Jane Hirshfield 2017: The Writer, Richard Wilbur 2016: from Seven Skins, Adrienne Rich 2015: I Ask Percy How I Should Live My Life, Mary Oliver 2014: In the Park, Maxine Kumin 2013: To A Sad Daughter, Michael Ondaatje 2012: My Dead Friends, Marie Howe 2011: Staying After, Linda Gregg 2010: Dream Song 14, John Berryman 2009: What We Kept, Megan Alpert 2008: Please Take Back the Sparrows, Suzanne Buffam 2007: It Happens Like This, James Tate 2006: Tantalus in May, Reginald Shepherd 2005: September Song, Geoffrey Hill

#who put this brain inside of me?#maya c. popa #modern life

19 notes · View notes

ultimate-007 · 11 months

Photo

There were no correct answers to Ultimate 007′s Quiz Nite, so I’m keeping all the prizes myself.

The correct answer is, of course, Fawlty Towers. James Cossins played Mr Walt in The Hotel Inspectors; Bruce Boa played Mr Hamilton in Waldorf Salad; Steve Plytas played Kurt the chef in Gourmet Night; and the wonderful Geoffrey Palmer played Dr Price in The Kipper And The Corpse.

Oh yeah, and this bloke appeared in it too.

#james bond #007 #octopussy #On Her Majesty's Secret Service #OHMSS #The Man With the Golden Gun #Tomorrow Never Dies #fawlty towers #john cleese

14 notes · View notes

oughttobeclowns · 2 years

Text

Re-review: Jack Absolute Flies Again, National Theatre

I absolutely adore Jack Absolute Flies Again again at the National Theatre, this is one not to miss when it comes to NTLive in October “I’m a dramatic device!” I adored the National Theatre’s Jack Absolute Flies Again when I first saw it, to the point where I knew I would have to see it again as I was missing jokes from laughing so hard (particularly where Caroline Quentin’s Mrs Malaprop was…

View On WordPress

1 note · View note

amitieos · 9 months

Text

fodlan profile: elincia

from shadoll

PERSONAL INFORMATION

GENDER: Female AGE: 24 HEIGHT: 156cm /5'1" DATE OF BIRTH: 23rd October / 23rd of the Wyvern Moon, Imperial Year 1156 CREST/HOLY BLOOD: None CLASS: Black Eagles Professor AFFILIATION: Crimea, Tellius

BIOGRAPHY: Daughter of the late King Ramon of Crimea, Elincia was raised in secrecy, away from the court and out of the public eye. Her less than conventional upbringing fostered a uniquely humble outlook in the young Queen. Aware of her shortcomings, Elincia enterred Garreg Mach in order to learn more of the world outside her personal bubble and meet people from all walks of life in hopes of being better equipped to serve her people. PERSONAL HISTORY

1156 - Born to The Wise King Ramon of Crimea in the winter of the late King's life - As her uncle, Lord Renning, the Crown Prince had already been named her father's successor, Elincia was raised by House Delbray and her birth kept a secret from the populace. Neighbouring leaders however, knew of her existence

1174 - Start of the Mad King's War. Witnesses the death of her parents at the hand of King Ashnard during the fall of Castle Melior, she is forced to flee alone - Rescued by a mercenary company on the run from King Ashnard

1174-1175 Alongside Greil's mercenaries, defeats the Mad King and reclaims Crimea's independence - As the only known member of the Crimean royal line alive, Elincia is crowned Queen

1177 - Puts down a rebellion lead by Duke Ludveck in the Crimean Civil War

1177 - Ascends the Tower of Guidance as part of the Hawk Army. Aids in the defeat of Ashera and restoration of the petrified people of Tellius

1180 - Appoints her uncle, Lord Renning, as regent and travels to Garreg Mach to improve herself as a leader.

INTERESTS: Needlework, housework, reading and riding. LIKES: Sweets, learning new things, socialising, flowers DISLIKES: Violence, injustice, warfare, loneliness, unclean spaces. STATUS: Queen of Crimea CLOSE ALLIES: Micaiah, Byleth (Billie), Phina (Lucia, Geoffrey, Ike)

DINING HALL PREFERENCES

LIKES: saghert and cream, fish and bean soup, vegetable pasta salad, onion gratin soup, sweet and salty whitefish sauté, sweet bun trio, fruit and herring tart, garreg mach meat pie, pheasant roast with berry sauce, fish sandwich, pickled rabbit skewers, super spicy fish dango, peach sorbet, two fish sauté, gronder meat skewers, sautéed pheasant and eggs, gautier cheese gratin, vegetable stir fry, bourgeois pike, derdriu style pheasant DISLIKES: beast meat teppanyaki, grilled herring, small fish skewers, sautéed jerky, spicy fish and turnip stew, country-style red turnip plate, daphnel stew, cabbage and herring stew, fried crayfish

DINING HALL NOTES

FAVOURITE DISH ✧

"This is positively delightful! Why, I could even go for seconds!"

STANDARD DISH ✧

"Do you know what's even better than good food? Sharing it with good company, of course."

LEAST FAVOURITE DISH ✧

"This... isn't really to my tastes but I'd hate to be wasteful. Or offend the chef, I'm sure they worked very hard to cook today's meal."

WITH MICAIAH/LUCIA ✧

"It's been quite sometime since we've had the pleasure to share a meal together. Let's savour the opportunity just as much as the food."

WITH BYLETH ✧

"Ah, food tastes better when I share it with you! Speaking of which... are you planning to finish that or shall I help you out?"

TEA TIME GUIDE

FAVOURITE TEA: Bergamot, Rose Petal Blend

CONVERSATION TOPICS: a dinner invitation, a new sword technique, books you've read recently, capable comrades cats, children at the market, crimea's future, i'm counting on you, exploring the monastery, favourite sweets, likeable allies, overcoming weakness, past laughs, pegasus care, perfect recipes, reliable allies, the ideal professor, the library's collection, the opera, things you find romantic, working together, you're doing great work

TEA TIME QUOTES

GREETING ✧

"It's an honour to be invited, truly." "I'd be delighted to keep you company." "Oh, how lovely! Did you bake these yourself by any chance?"

FAVOURITE TEA ✧

"What a surprise, how did you know this was my favourite? I must learn yours so I can treat you next time."

FIVE STAR TEA ✧

"Oh my, this is rather expensive. I hope I haven't inconvenienced you in any way."

BEING OBSERVED ✧

"Do I have something on my face? Why else would you be starting so intently...?" "Ahaha, sorry. I'm not used to being gazed at in such a way. I'm admittedly a little nervous!" "Well, if you must insist on staring at me I will respond in kind! After all, I'm sure you're far more interesting than I am."

QUIPS ✧

"Ah! Oops, I think I scalded my tongue." "What a refreshing beverage!" "These sweets are delicious... could I possibly have one more?" "How have you been keeping?" "Me? Oh, I've been well! Keeping busy with my students" "How lovely..." "Thank you so much!" "Ahh, it's warm."

ENDING ✧

"Thank you so much for your time. I'd love to do this again, but please, let me treat you next we meet!"

FINAL COMMENTS ✧

(1) Do you think my students are progressing well? I hope so, they're all so talented and full of potential! ANSWER: Commend, Nod, Agree (2) I loathe violence, as did my father before him. Sadly, this sword is all I have left of him, other than the weight of the crown. ANSWER: Sip tea, Sigh (3) My pegasus was my great-grandmother's. We've been dear friends since I could walk. Perhaps that's why he's so protective of me, even to this day. ANSWER: Laugh, Chat (4) My own lack of resolve allowed Duke Ludveck to raise a rebellion and disturb the peace of Crimea. Never again can I allow such a thing to happen to my people. Not for a man who seeks only strength and power.. ANSWER: Disagree, Admonish (5) I have grown much since my time at the royal villa. Yet the more I grow, the more I'm aware of all the ways I'm still lacking. It's not such a bad thing... ANSWER: Chat, Sip tea. (6) I've made so many friends since I came to the academy! Every day is filled with new things to learn and people to meet! ANSWER: Commend, Chat (7) Selfish as it may be, I often felt quite lonely growing up. Things are different now though. I do feel blessed each day. ANSWER: Sip tea, Nod (8) I never knew such evil could exist in this world until I lost my parents. That hurt deeply, of course, but the one thing I could never forgive was the oppression of our people. ANSWER: Sigh, Nod (9) One day, I'd love to host you in Crimea! It's a beautiful country, filled with warm, generous people. Melior is renowned for it's library and academics, too! ANSWER: Laugh, Chat, Agree

MISCELLANEOUS DIALOGUE

GIFT GUIDE FAVOURITE GIFTS: tasty baked treat, floral adornment, gemstone beads, armoured bear stuffy, watering can, riding boots, monarch studies book, ceremonial sword, landscape painting, legends of chivalry, daffodil, owl feather DISLIKED GIFTS: training weight, hunting dagger, whetstone, blue cheese, pitcher plant

GIFT QUOTES

DISLIKED GIFT ✧

"Oh my... would someone else not appreciate this even more?"

LIKED GIFT ✧

"How very kind of you! You really shouldn't have."

FAVOURITE GIFT ✧

"Wow! This is truly wonderful! You must really care for me to have chosen something so carefully, thank you!"

LOST ITEMS

EMBROIDERY NEEDLE. A thin, steel needle which still has a pale orange thread attached. Likely belongs to someone skilled at housework who enjoys arts and crafts. Found: Black Eagles Classroom, by the desk PEARL NECKLACE. Of great lustre and fine craftsmanship. Likely a family heirloom of a noble or royal house. Probably belongs to someone of means who is perhaps too trusting for their own good. It might have sentimental value. Found: Dining hall BOX OF PEGASUS TREATS. High quality, delicious snacks for the most finnicky and particular of pegasi. Belongs to someone who adores animals and perhaps rides a pegasus into battle. Found: Stables

LOST ITEM QUOTES

OWNER ✧

"Bless the stars, thank you for finding this for me. I owe you a great debt for returning it swiftly!"

NOT OWNER ✧

"Ah, forgive me but that isn't mine. Perhaps I could help you find it's true owner? They surely must miss it dearly."

BATTLE QUOTES

MOCK BATTLE QUOTES

"Congratulations! You've bested me today. I'll fall back before anyone gets seriously hurt." (Byleth specific) "Heehee, you won this round Billie! Well done!"

FIRST KILL

"Taking a life is a terrible burden, one I don't take lightly. Yet the murder of an innocent is a far more heinous crime. It is unforgivable."

MONASTERY QUOTES

CHOIR PRACTICE ✧

"Heehee, I do love to sing! Though I'm nowhere near as gifted as my dear friend Leanne." "My mother was an accomplished musician. I lack her natural gift, but this does make me feel closer to her."

COOKING ✧

"It might surprise you to know but I'm actually quite a skilled cook! You're not the first to tell me that's not very princess-like, haha!" "Oh I've never made this recipe before! But I'm sure if we work together the results will be delicious." "Ah, that smell is delectable! I can't wait to let everyone dig in to this scrumptious meal."

TUTORING

INSTRUCT

BAD

"Forgive me, I lost my focus. I promise to try harder and do better next time!" CRITIQUE: "I'm sorry, you're absolutely right. I ought not waste your time." CONSOLE: "Yes! I'll definitely do better from here on out!"

GREAT

"I could not have done this without your excellent instruction." "Don't worry, I'll keep working hard. I have no intention of resting on my laurels!"

PERFECT

"Heehee, you're a great teacher and I'm a natural! We're unstoppable."

TASKS

STABLE DUTY ✧

"I love spending time with the horses, they're such graceful and gentle creatures!"

WEEDING ✧

"Let's work together and clean this area up pronto! Then the flowers can finally bloom properly."

SKY WATCH ✧

"I don't wish to boast but I am a decent flier. If you're nervous or need any tips, I'd be more than happy to help."

CERTIFICATION EXAMS

FAILED ✧

"Oh dear. It appears my efforts were inadequate. I'll make sure to study even harder for next time!"

PASSED ✧

"Wow! I didn't know I had this in me. I couldn't have done it alone."

UPDATE GOALS

FLYING ✧

"I've ridden a pegasus since I was a little girl. Soaring through the air is when I feel my most whole and free. Perhaps I could hone my skills to become more evasive and dangerous to our foes on the battlefield?"

REASON AND FAITH ✧

"I have some training in healing and faith magic already that I could improve upon but... I'd like to challenge myself. Perhaps reason lessons would help me diversify my skillset to better protect my allies. What do you think?"

SWORDS ✧

"Amiti has been passed down through House Crimea for generations. My father, admittedly, refused to use it. However, I've found that sometimes peace needs to be protected. If I can master the sword, perhaps that alone would be deterrent enough..."

AUTHORITY ✧

"I came to Garreg Mach to become a stronger, wiser leader for my people. I think studying authority would help me further such goals and allow me to aid our allies on the battlefield in new ways. Would you be willing to teach me what you know?"

LEVEL UP

0 TO 2 STATS ✧

"Small steps, however meagre, still lead one forward."

3 TO 4 STATS ✧

"The efforts of myself and my teachers have blossomed. I'm proud of this!"

5+ STATS INCREASED ✧

"To think such potential slumbered within me. I will use these talents to pave a bright and happy future for the people of Crimea."

AT LEVEL 99/ALL OR MOST STATS RAISED ✧

"I may have exhausted what I can learn on the battlefield but there is still much to be learned elsewhere. Further practice too shall help keep my skills sharp!"

BUDDING TALENT ✧

"What a joy it is to find untapped potential and let it bloom in full colour!"

NEW SKILL ✧

"I worked hard for this! Now, to put it to good use."

RECLASSING ✧

"Fascinating! I'll apply myself and learn what I can." "I will pursue mastery of this for the sake of all!" "Wow, I didn't even know I could do this! I'll do my best with this!"

BATTLE QUOTES

FULL/HIGH HP ✧

"With my allies beside me, I cannot lose!"

HALF HP ✧

"This battle is harsh and turbulent. Let us rally together and push towards victory!"

LOW HP ✧

"No... for the sake of Crimea I must push ever onwards!"

ENEMY DEALS 1 OR 0 DAMAGE OR MISSES ✧

"My swift steed deserves all the praise."

CRITICAL ATTACK ✧

"A sound thrashing for you!" "If I must, I will not err!" "I will hesitate no longer." "If you insist on violence... so be it!" "For the sake of Crimea and all I love..." "You leave me no choice. I'm sorry."

GAMBIT ✧

"I will not allow you to proceed any further. Turn back, or force my hand!"

GAMBIT BOOST ✧

"You have my aid, I pray that it is enough."

DEFEATED ENEMY ✧

"Too slow!" "You ought to have surrendered." "That's quite enough from you!"

ALLY DEFEATS ENEMY ✧

"I always feel safe beside you." "Our enemies pale in comparison to your skill and talent." "Excellent work, my friend!"

ALLY HEALS/RALLIES ✧

"Bless you, I can continue forth now." "My deepest gratitude." "I am ever by your side." "Thank you, I really needed that." "That's a great help. Let me know if you need anything." "Together we are stronger than any foe that stands before us." "It is our bonds of friendship that make us truly unbeatable."

DEFEAT QUOTE

CASUAL ✧

"Forgive me, I've over done it. I have to fall back, Crimea still needs me,"

CLASSIC ✧

"Father, Mother... I'm sorry... I wasn't strong enough to build the future our people deserve... I have failed you all..."

THE ADVICE BOX ✧

"My students are exceptional and filled with boundless potential! But I am lacking in many way, especially as a teacher. What can I do to best aid them in their personal growth?" (Answer) Be attentive and listen to their needs. They may have troubles beyond the classroom.

#headcanon #meta #ooc #i worked hard on this but im so glad to have it even just for my own reference! :D

12 notes · View notes

fideidefenswhore · 3 months

Text

Before we leave Geoffrey [Pole] to his guilt and misery, we must ask: were these executions justified? The popular view, little questioned until recently, was that Lord Montague, Exeter and the rest were victims of an abuse of power on Cromwell's part and/or Henry VIII's desire to rid himself of Yorkist cousins with potential claims to the throne. As Hazel Pierce, John Schofield, and David Loades have each pointed out, however, this is far too simplistic a view. Since 1352, 'to compass or imagine the death of the king' was held to be treason, as was to 'adhere to the king's enemies and be provably attaint of it by men of the offender's own condition.' As noted [...] Henry VIII's Parliament [of 1534] had enacted legislation which made it treason to 'wish or attempt bodily harm to the king, queen, or the royal heir by malicious deeds, writings, and spoken words' as well as to call the king 'in writing or spoken word a heretic, schismatic, a tyrant, an infidel or an usurper of the crown.' The condemned's words, reported by numerous witnesses whose accounts corroborate each other, fell neatly within both statutes. Only the most quiescent government could have ignored such talk, particularly with the possibility of French or Imperial interference in England's affairs, urged on by Reginald Pole and his allies within England. Henry VIII, after all, owed his throne to his father's French-supported invasion of England. As for Henry's trying to rid himself of Yorkist rivals, Henry had welcomed his cousins at his court and raised Margaret [Pole] to the peerage, hardly the acts of one hell-bent on eradicating his Plantagenet rivals. Indeed, had that been his purpose in 1538, it is hard to see why Geoffrey Pole was left alive, along with his sons, who would later cause trouble during Elizabeth's reign.

Margaret Pole: The Countess in the Tower, Susan Higginbotham

#henry viii #henrician #exeter conspiracy #susan higginbotham

4 notes · View notes

dustedmagazine · 4 months

Text

Four Albums I Almost Slept-On But Fortunately Did Not: Alex’s 2023 Superlatives for the Nearly Left Behind

Lamaar

Superlatives are silly, but they structure the hell out of a list. Below you’ll find the music I’m glad to just barely not have missed. Whether it was deciding to pull on several layers and go to a show or having the radio on at just the right time, these releases could’ve easily passed me by, but, once noticed and nabbed, stayed with me throughout 2023. Special shoutout to Mary Lattimore, whose Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, was my favorite thing to review this year and to Gina Birch, whose triumphant, funky, biting solo album, I Play My Bass Loud, towered over everything.

Best release I would’ve slept on had I not braved snow and windchill to see a show

Laamar – Flowers EP (self released)

I was introduced to multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Geoffrey Lamar Wilson’s music by a magnetic set* not quite two weeks into 2023 in central Minneapolis – his hometown and my adopted one. Wilson’s stage presence, at once calm and direct, unassuming but earnest, was matched by his band’s warm, enveloping mix of percussive acoustic guitar, trotting drums, and walking bass. These paved a smooth path for his lyrics: plain-spoken, incisive confrontations with the insidious ravages of racial violence, both implied and perpetrated, that still manage to bloom with love. A few weeks later, the stop-in-your-tracks “Home To My Baby,” started playing on local indie radio and an EP, Flowers, followed some months after. The qualities that made that set so memorable were not lost in the recording and I’ve had it close to hand ever since. It’s an intimate, haunted, and bewitching release.

*A well-deserved mention to Poolboy and Yellow Ostrich, who book-ended Laamar, and also released new music recently. The former are practitioners of bright guitars, tight drums, and subtle but knowing lines like “breaking bread with ten close friends until your early thirties.” The latter, who organized the show, is a project from Alex Schaaf, an adept in the live combination of emotive synthesizer loops and shredding guitar.

Best new album from an artist I had previously slept on but, fortunately, no longer will

ANOHNI and the Johnsons – My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross (Secretly Canadian)

This summer, my step dad sent me a box of vinyl he no longer had the desire (or functional turntable) for. What I found weren’t the fetish objects of a hairy-handed crate digger, but rather a small though satisfying slice of canonical rock, blues, and adjacent subgenres, from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. Nothing unfamiliar, at least in name and gist, but also very little I’d actually spent much time, you know, listening to. So on went, among other things, Taj Mahal’s Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home, Bruce Springsteen’s Darkness on the Edge of Town, The Time Has Come by The Chambers Brothers, Cat Stevens’ Tea for the Tillerman, and, with apologies to the guys at Championship Vinyl, the soundtrack to The Big Chill.

That trip yielded hits and misses, but also the inspiration to dig back into some of the contemporary music that passed me by. I’d been aware of ANOHNI and the Johnsons since 2005’s I Am A Bird Now, but for some reason, and despite vigorous recommendations from my high school carpool, things never clicked. Thanks to the magic – chaos? – of streaming, I threw convention to the wind and started with track four. As “Can’t” built towards its bursting apex, Anohni Hegarty blurting the title and riding the groove like Van Morrison, something finally did. My Back Was A Bridge For You To Walk On isn’t all fireworks – although the brief guitar solo on the backend of “Scapegoat” streaks about as high. More often, the album lives on elegant plucked guitar or an effortless rhythm and blues, over which Hegarty delivers her potent reports, at once deeply personal and vigorously political.

Best album I had no good reason to sleep on but did

Mary Jane Dunphe – Stage of Love (Pop Wig)

Growing up in Seattle with an ear for punk and indie rock, it’s hard not to turn south to Olympia, home of labels like K and Perennial (née Perennial Death), bands like Bikini Kill, The Microphones, and the inimitable Hipster Piss Party. Also in that milieu, beginning in 2013, was the singer and songwriter Mary Jane Dunphe. Her work, from the pulsing synth pop of CC Dust to the rumble and roar of CCFX, tends toward the fist-pumping. Her voice is an otherworldly purl, an odd and captivating instrument that bends genres in its path – her aptly named duo The Country Liners is just as satisfying as the clubbier projects in its formidable if weary honky-tonk tales of heartbreak.

Which leads me to Dunphe’s first proper solo release, Stage of Love. Country, it is not. It’s more in keeping with her earlier work in CCs Dust and FX. Particularly early on, songs like “Phantom Heart” and the title track deal in immersive dance beats, chanted refrains, and, on occasion, a rip of chainsaw guitar for emphasis – some of the last is courtesy of another Olympian, Earth’s Dylan Carlson. Others like “Longing Loud” or “Always Gonna Be The Same,” take that basic template, but turn the rawness and throb down, giving more space to the airy curve of Dunphe’s vocals over an agile mix of keyboards, xylophone, and rubbery drum patterns. Elsewhere Stage of Love opens yet further. Songs like the strumming, shimmering fog of “Moon Halo,” “Saint Dymphna,” a wash of synth and field recorded birdsong, and the closer, a second instance of the spare, romantic “Just Like Air,” walk the album into a fresh, if possibly hungover, morning.

Best album I would have slept on were it not for 89.3 The Current

Partial Traces – Stay Dreaming (Salinas)

Amy Rigby’s The Old Guys is one of my favorite albums of the last five years. I love the grit in Rigby’s voice, the way that, not unlike Lucinda Williams, she strains sorrow, humor, and yearning through it to deeply cathartic effect. Partial Traces’ principal vocal- and keyboardist Maren Macosko has that quality too, though with more of a quaver – Ian Curtis’ suppressed fury alongside Williams’ knack for resolute and candid storytelling.

I heard “Days Between Dreams” from Partial Traces’ latest, Stay Dreaming,driving south along the Mississippi river. It’s the perfect music for steady motion, for catching glimpses of cloud and sky through the trees. By the time Macosko gets to the emotional center of the song in the lines “I want to stay in that day in the sun/I want to not understand anyone/except for you…a perfect day lost with you in Berlin” you’re right there with her, walking with the other “dumb young Americans.” It’s bracing. The rest of Stay Dreaming follows suit. Like Rigby on The Old Guys, or fellow Minneapolitan Paul Westerberg, Macosko and her fellow lyricist Brad Lokkesmoe write big, heartfelt songs about getting older, its joys and losses, and the detritus of younger, not always freer, times – like Macosko sings later, on “Oceans of Coffee,” “sometimes it all goes up in flames.” The music is straightforward and stirring, exactly what I want from my melodic indie rock. It can at times recall Handsome Furs in its propulsion, the relentless, echoing drums and airborne guitars that always feel, and often are, pushing the band into another heart-on-sleeve chorus.

Alex Johnson

#dusted magazine #yearend 2023 #alex johnson #lamaar #mary lattimore #gina burch #anohni #mary jane dunphe #partial traces

3 notes · View notes

liminalpsych · 1 year

Text

All those popular medieval fantasy renderings of knights on giant baroque warhorses? All those movies with knights on towering black Friesian horses?

Yeah, that’s not anywhere near accurate.

Real knights ride ponies.

Probably ones like these native English breeds:

Exmoor ponies, the oldest native pony breed in England, running wild and with a random human for scale, who are around 12hh / 4 feet / 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder:

Orkney/Scotland probably had horses like the Eriskay pony. Also around around 12hh / 4 feet / 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder, sometimes a few inches taller (but that may be a more modern height). Interestingly, the Eriskay is almost always gray, sometimes with dappling... which is the color of Gawain of Orkney's horse Gringolet. Interesting. I'll do a separate post exploring that.

Southern England probably had something like the New Forest ponies, though they probably looked a little less refined than they do now, because they got an influx of Spanish breeds and even some Thoroughbred later on. They would have been the same height as the other two breeds at the time, though they're a bit taller now.

Honestly the details of the study are really interesting, and cover more than just “knights rode shorter horses than we thought”.

Before we go further, some definitions (time period / dates are the ones defined in the paper):

Hand = 4”, the standard unit of measurement for horses, they are measured from the ground to the top of their shoulder. I’ll give units in hands, meters, inches, and feet so everyone can follow along.

Horse = anything 14.2hh or taller. (4’10” at the shoulder.) The average horse today is roughly 15hh / 5’ / 1.5m or a couple inches taller, but this varies wildly by breed and use.

Pony = anything 14.2hh or shorter (with some quibbling by breed; don’t call an Icelandic horse a pony or there will be hell to pay despite the average height of 13.2hh).

King Arthur’s supposed time was the ~500’s, or 6th century C.E. (Late 5th, early 6th, other times vary by source material, this is more detail than Tumblr cares about I’m sure.) This varies by source but I'm going with Geoffrey of Monmouth's in this case. He's all pseudohistory but is where Arthur was first popularized as a king so I figure that's as close to canon as Arthuriana gets.

Late Roman 300-410 CE

Early Saxon 410-700 CE

Late Saxon 700-1066 CE

Norman 1066–1200 CE

High medieval 1200–1350 CE

Late medieval 1350–1500 CE

Post medieval 1500-1650 CE

The study found that from the 5th-12th century, horses were generally 1.48m or shorter. (That’s 14.2hh, or 58 inches, or 5’4”, at the top of the horse’s shoulder.)

The tallest horse they found was 1.5m, or 14.3hh, or 5’5” at the shoulder. That is an inch taller than the cut off point for being a pony.

1230-1350 CE has the first horses over 1.6m tall / 15.3hh / 63” / 5’3”.

Horses don’t get significantly larger until the post-medieval period, 1500–1650 AD. That’s also when we get a wider range of heights (1.2m / 3’ 11” / 11.3hh to almost 1.7m / 5’7” / 16.3hh).

They also measured robusticity, which of course none of the summary articles covered. (I read the full text of the paper so you don't have to, but you can read it here if you want! It's really interesting and has a huge sample set across all of England.) Basically:

Saxon horses were the Most Robust

Norman period had the daintiest horses

horses started to get Thicc in the high medieval period

Horses started out kinda sturdy, got more delicate over time through the medieval period (especially in their hind legs), and then started getting more big boned in the post-medieval period

I was wondering aloud in the Camelot Discord about the Norman period suddenly getting daintier, when I realized that this might have been when light-boned Arabian horses got introduced to Britain. Another member asked when the Crusades happened, and sure enough:

"European horses soon felt an extensive infusion of Arabian blood, especially as a result of the Christian Crusaders returning from the East between the years 1099 A.D. and 1249 A.D."

The researchers seem to think it's more due to an earlier collapse in the horse trade in England. They do eventually acknowledge the possibility of Arabian horses interbreeding with the English ones, as well as Spanish/French/Moorish horses that were gifted to the Normans according to written sources.

#I only have three specialties #psychology and horses and birds #(and larp but that kinda falls under psychology for me)#I can psychoanalyze characters #or I can give you horse facts #today is horse facts #my long medieval phase as a teenager was literally because horses #arthuriana #medieval horses

14 notes · View notes