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skipper1331 · 4 months

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Puzzle Piece // Jessie Fleming

a/n: based off this request.

You joined Chelsea in the summer transfer window three seasons ago. Your transfer was one of the best transfers ever. From the French league to the English one. The media went wild, you were known for your incredible talent and the elegance in your playing style. Many clubs wanted you, as well there were many conversations with clubs in different leagues but Chelsea offered the perfect deal which is exactly why you joined the Blues.

It was the right decision.

Everybody was welcoming and kind, they made you feel at home in less than two weeks. It was a plus that you knew Sam already, the Australian who had taken you under her wing the moment you joined the Matildas.

And then there was Jessie, the girl you only knew from Sam‘s stories. She seemed shy at first but when the barrier was broken between the two of you, you discovered her talkative side - a side of her you enjoyed very much. The heart eyes which appeared after some time, noticeable for each teammate.

"You like her, don‘t you?“ Sam asked as you leaned against the post.

Caught off guard, denying bubbled out of your mouth, "What?! No! I don‘t like Jessie"

Smirking, she replied, "So how did you know i was talking about her?"

"Because i was looking at her for too long" immediately your hand flew to your mouth, turning with wide eyes to the Australian, "i didn‘t stare, i- um, she-" your attempt to defend yourself fell to deaf ears, the striker already with the widest grin smiling.

It was easy to fall for her, so easy. You went through different stages of emotions until realization hit you.

Happy

When did it start? You couldn‘t tell. You had joined Chelsea seasons ago and somehow the freckled girl owned your attention. Being near her made your heart go crazy. With her sweet personality, she made you feel good about yourself and the happiness she brought you, slowly crept through your whole body like a disease - it was a pleasant and joyful state of mind.

It was simple: she made you happy.

Confusion

Why did you feel like that? Your mind was consumed by Jessie.

Do you want to be with her?

Do you want to be her?

or do you want to be her friend?

you didn't know. You wanted to be her friend, but then again you didn‘t, you know? Because how can you simply be friends with someone when everytime you look at them, you're thinking about how much more you really want.

Maybe you wanted everything - you couldn‘t tell.

Vulnerability

Being around Jessie made you feel safe, as if you could let your walls down. You put your heart on the line, even if it meant heartache in the end. She encouraged the most authentic version of yourself to come to the forefront. It scared you. Of course, she didn‘t know anything about your feelings or that she was the one who you felt the most appreciated with. This kind of vulnerability was different compared to the platonic vulnerability - deeper on many ways.

You loved your friends and those special connections but with Jessie, it was different - you couldn‘t tell what was.

Realization

The first realization had hit you in the middle of the night. You were laying in your bed, laptop opened as you stared at the screen.

Am I in love - Test

You‘ve read enough books to know the feeling of being in love but you never experieced it yourself, so was the thing you felt for Jessie really love? Not knowing how to answer you just did the test. You did multiple - each one answering with 'yes'

You were in love with Jessie Fleming, there was no denying - not anymore.

The second realization hit you slowly, over weeks pieces were slowly put together.

piece one: you‘d never stand a chance.

piece two: niamh and Jessie were inseparable - they live together.

piece three: she was Jessie Fleming, why would she ever want to be with you?

piece four: Jess and Niamh were a couple.

It broke your heart when piece four was added to the puzzle - the final realization. All these happy feelings you felt towards Jessie turned into silent admiring, heart aching for the sweet smile and hoping, maybe even praying that she was happy.

from afar.

"Why don’t you ask her out?" Sam asked as she threw her arm over your shoulder, pulling you away from the scene. "Why would I?" you asked confused. Jessie had a girlfriend, it was obvious. You wouldn‘t ask a taken lady out. Besides, Niamh was your friend and you would never disrespect her like that.

"She’s clearly in love with you too?!" the striker stated, the two of you still walking. You gave a short sarcastic laugh before you got serious, "no, she isn‘t."

Sam stopped, your body automatically stopping too, "look behind me discreetly. She‘s looking at us, isn‘t she?" you looked over her shoulder slightly, the Canadian girl watching both of you.

You nodded.

"She always does"

"Why? She and Niamh-"

"Please don‘t finish that sentence," the Australian held the bridge of her nose, sighing, "do you think they are a couple?"

nervously, your hand made its way up to your neck, scratching it, "maybe" you mumbled, looking to the ground.

The striker started laughing, your cheeks turning red in embarrassment, "why would you think that?" she asked, still laughing as tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Stop laughing!" you grumbled, hitting her arm, "they live together! What do you expect me to think?"

"You‘re so cute" Sam pinched your cheeks, giggling, "they are friends" she stated, in a more serious tone this time.

"Okay"

Even though, you knew now that Niamh and Jess were only friends something felt wrong - which was why you avoided the midfielder. Like always your heart raced at the presence of the Canadian, it just felt different. Your skin would still tingle and your mind would still go crazy but the pieces didn’t fit anymore.

piece one: you‘d never stand a chance, right?

piece two: niamh and Jessie were inseparable - best friends.

piece three: she was Jessie Fleming, why would she ever want to be with you?

piece four: Jessie was single.

It was almost impossible to clear your head with Jess near you, so that‘s why you started to distance yourself. She was your teammate, you would see her either way but the least you could do was to try to bring some distance between the two of you - doing drills with someone else, sitting at lunch next someone else, …

Of course, the midfielder noticed your behavior. She noticed it the moment you sat next to Guro instead of her. She shot you a questioning look and a helpless one to Niamh. Why didn‘t you sit next to her? You always did.

There was a drift in your dynamic which not only got noticed by Jessie herself but the team too. Question marks were written over their faces, what had happened? Usually, there was mutual vibe between the two of you. They were curious yet respected the change.

Sweet girl Jessie did not. She didn‘t like the fact that you didn‘t sit next to her at lunch nor did she like the fact that not more than a few words were exchanged with one another. What happened to the long talking days and nights?

"Sam, hey, can- can I talk to you for a moment?" the brunette asked your national teammate as she was about to enter the gym. "Sure, what’s up?"

"Did I do something wrong? With Y/n? She has been avoiding me" she mumbled, cheeks turning red at the mention of your name. Jess had always thought you had a beautiful name.

The striker looked at the girl who looked so small, shy and hurt. "No, you didn’t" Sam admitted. The Australian debated with herself how much she should tell the girl, she didn’t want to stab you in the back, but it was clear that you were building your walls back up - the walls Jess broke down. "She‘s in her head" was the answer she replied with.

"What do you mean?"

"I can’t tell you"

At home, the Canadian confronted her best friend. She didn‘t know what to do, she needed help.

"This is so frustrating" Jessie huffed with crossed arms after what felt like hours of talking and discussing the topic with Niamh.

"It isn‘t"

"It is!"

"Close your eyes" the defender requested, "what‘s your favorite colour? Leave your eyes closed" not knowing what else to do the midfielder answered without hesitation.

"yellow"

"What day is today?"

"Tuesday"

"What did you eat for breakfast?"

"Toast"

"Who do you want to kiss?"

"y/n" Jessie answered, her eyes opening in shock, "you tricked me."

"It worked though" the English woman smirked, "ask her out" she encouraged her friend.

With that being said Niamh left Jessie‘s room, the night starting as Jess thought about everything.

You sat on the couch, soft music playing in the background as you read your current book. Completely in another universe with your thoughts, you overheard the gentle knock on your front door.

Just as the guest decided to give up the knocking - it seemed like you weren‘t at home, you opened the door. Your hair was loose, fluffy socks, pants and hoodie hugging your body as you held your book in one hand, "oh hi?" you greeted, surprised to see the Canadian in front of your door at such a late hour. "May I come in?" she asked, her voice not too loud.

"Yeah sure" you stepped aside, so she could step in, the brunette looking around. She had been here before and as always it made her feel warm and welcomed, that’s just the way your home was - like you.

"Is everything alright?" you asked while she took a seat on your couch.

"Of course" she replied sweetly, smiling brightly. You didn’t comment that her smile was fake, that it wasn‘t a genuine smile - it didn‘t reach the corner of her eyes nor were her little dimples shown.

She picked up the remote from your coffee table and opened her favorite show on Netflix, "join me, please" she requested gently.

Putting your book aside, you placed yourself next to the midfielder. There was a fair amount of space between the two of you as neither of you sat comfortably on the couch. Both of you sat there somehow stiff and nervous, no more words exchanged. When you laid your hand beside your thigh, perfectly in the middle of the space between you, you didn‘t know what you expected or if you expected anything. You just couldn‘t sit still and stiff anymore on the couch, so you shifted your weight.

Her show was long forgotten when she saw your hand resting close. Should she take it? Could she intertwine your fingers? The tip of her ears had already turned red at the thought of doing it, however her cheeks only turned red when she placed her hand next to yours, inching as close as possible. Now, the sides of your hands were touching, both of your hearts racing, breaths hitching. You looked at her, her gaze fixed on the tv. When she didn‘t look at you like you somehow hoped she would, your stare fell back on the tv.

With a shaky breath, her pinky started to caresses yours before she intertwined them. This time, she looked at you, cheeks her as her breath was uneven. The simple link of your pinkies made your heart go crazy, the pieces twirling around your mind, heart and soul. What was going on? Which piece was the right one? Which one was missing? Was it even the right puzzle?

With a gentle motion, you laced all of your fingers together, your eyes searching for the midfielders.

As you were about to open your mouth, Jessie‘s index finger stopped you, "don’t say anything, close your eyes" she mumbled shyly, yet so determined, "please."

With a bit of hesitation, you followed her gentle demand. While her free hand placed one loose strand of hair back behind your ear, the other one still held yours firmly, both of you enjoying the touch.

Slowly, she inched closer - her breath fanning against your lips, stopping only about an inch away from them, "you drive me crazy" she whispered, "running through my mind all day." she felt so close, her hand cupping your cheek, "I can’t stop thinking about you" and then her lips touched yours, it was a peck, nothing more.

You opened your eyes, staring into the missing piece. Your gaze flicked between her eyes and lips - up and down, down and up. You wanted to feel her lips again, for longer than just a second.

"You are always on my mind" you breathed out, looking at her lips. As a respond, she squeezed your hand, go for it, she told you. And you did, this time with no hesitation. You pressed your mouth against her own, pouring all your emotions into the kiss, the same as Jess did. The kiss was gentle and loving yet passionate - pieces were put together.

When air became a problem, you pulled apart, cheeks crimson red as both of you looked shyly at one another, sheepish smiles covering your faces.

The final piece was found - Jess was in love with you.

—————

#jessie fleming #jessie fleming x reader #woso fanfics #woso x reader #woso #chelsea wfc #chelsea women #chelsea x reader #canwnt #canwnt x reader #sam kerr #niamh charles #matildas

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fahye · 9 months

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book recs: august '23

(I want to try and do these posts more frequently because I DEARLY miss yelling about books, txitter is [poop emoji]-ing, and bluesky is promising but I don't have much of an audience there yet)

ok! stuff freya has read recently and enjoyed:

A FIRE BORN OF EXILE by aliette de bodard -- did you enjoy nirvana in fire? this is for YOU. it's a revenge story set in aliette's xuya space opera universe, with a pile of complicated characters with mixed or obscured motives, a sapphic romance, and just really incredible use of worldbuilding and politics.

THE SLEEPING SOLDIER by aster glenn gray -- I am an enormous sucker for aster's historical m/m romances, and this one was incredible. a union soldier goes to sleep in 1865 and wakes up in 1965, and his new college roommate has a series of gay crises about it. sweet, exuberant, well researched. both a wonderful romance and an absolutely fascinating examination of male friendships and homosexuality in two different historical time periods.

A DEADLY EDUCATION by naomi novik -- doing a reread of the first two scholomance books before I dive into the third. these books are so disgustingly tailored to ME, a huge fan of magical academia stories with a truly deliciously unnecessary level of worldbuilding detail about how the magic works (and how the school is trying to kill you).

BATH HAUS by p.j. vernon -- a man goes to a gay bathhouse, cheating on his partner, and narrowly escapes being murdered. things get worse from there. I can only recommend this to you if you enjoy thrillers that STRESS YOU THE FUCK OUT, which I normally don't; I nearly put it down a couple of times, but I HAD to know what was going on. it's a masterclass in propulsive tension and does some really cool things with unreliable narration.

HAVEMERCY by jaida jones and danielle bennett -- seven hundred years late to this party, but OH MY GOD. this is the completely gay political/military fantasy of my dreams (the YEARNING), plus there are magical-mechanical dragons. I will be devouring the other books in this series in short order.

EVERY VERSION OF YOU by grace chan -- a beautiful and fascinating literary scifi book about humanity and family and love, and being given the choice to upload your consciousness to a digital paradise as the planet dies around you. unsurprisingly it deals with some heavy stuff, but it's fantastic. and australian!

A THIEF AND A GENTLEMAN by arden powell -- another m/m romance in arden's flos magicae series. the title alone is probably enough to tell you why I enjoyed it, but I especially liked the way it kept subverting my expectations in favour of more chewy emotional honesty and complexity.

STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER by fern brady -- a memoir by a scottish comedian about being diagnosed with autism in her thirties, and her life up to that point. funny and chaotic and an all-around amazing read. I loved fern on taskmaster and I love her even more now.

#book recs

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discoveredreality · 3 months

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new intro post!

last update: 25/02/2024

BELOVED MOOTS

@island-of-stars THEY'RE MY BESTIE I LOVE THEM SM IF U DON'T FUCK OFF

and that's the end of the list i'm too scared to tag anyone else im sorry idk i can add more ppl later maybe idk dm me or smth this is scary

about me

i'm ari. she/her. nicknames welcome. go wild. dude/bro/girl/literally anything is also fine. i use 'lol' and '<3' too much. straight idk. and cis. minor. indian but i live in australia. bengali/punjabi. band kid. pinterest is here. DM ME I NEED MORE FRIENDS

personality/star sign or whatever

according to the mbti test here i am an istp-t. i am also a cancer. i found out my sun, moon and rising signs and the marauders version and i wrote it down and lost it so then i redid it and i lost it again so i can't bother at this point someone help me :(

time zone

Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) i think??

my music taste

i love taylor swift, conan gray, olivia rodrigo, lana del rey, sabrina carpenter and i'm probably forgetting some. also love bollywood music.

favourite books and authors

i love reading and i'm usually a really fast reader lol. i love harry potter (fuck jkr tho), kotlc, chetan bhagat books, the twisted series, shatter me, simon vs the homo sapiens agenda and love simon, the book thief, the inheritance games, agggtm, all of karen m. mcmanus's books, the divergent series, lorien legacies, the selection, radio silence, solitaire, powerless and a bunch of other books.

dni

idk the usual?? if u think ppl arent valid or you're literally an asshole. honestly you all can go get stuffed. idgaf

tag games and shit

yes you can absolutely tag me. i love tag games and chain asks. sometimes i may not get to doing it but i usually will and it makes me so happy when i'm tagged lol

tags

i don't post that much original stuff so i don't really have mulitple tags for my posts. anything or any shitposting or thoughts will be tagged #ari's shit. for asks it's #ari gets an ask?

fandom

i'm literally obsessed with drarry but i'm mostly part of the marauders fandom. i'm starting to make my way through all of the marauders fics. i also love the life series, empires and hermitcraft. i love kotlc sm. i'm low-key in love with keefe sencen and i've recently read percy jackson and the heroes of olympus for the first time.

all the above photos are not mine, i got them off of pintrest.

my profile pic is obviously from the makowka picrew here

the beautiful dividers are linked here. these are by @saradika-graphics she is a literal star these dividers are so good

#ari's shit

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phoenixwatchesmovies · 4 months

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2023 Favorites

I'm kinda glad I was keeping track of what I watched, in retrospect, because looking back over my posts this year, I realized I forgot about a lot of stuff. XD After looking over the recaps and excluding rewatches, here's my top ten New Stuff I Watched for 2023:

10. Cabinet Of Curiosities

Bizarre nightmares unfold in eight tales of terror in a visually stunning, spine-tingling horror collection curated by Guillermo del Toro.

If GDT is your guy, give this a watch. Creature features, cursed objects, aliens, you name it. 8/8 tentacled eldritch abominations.

9. Wolf Creek

Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.

Holy shit, this was intense. And as I said initially, so mean. If you're into Texas Chainsaw Massacre, try this. I'm into franchise bingo, so I'm going to look into the sequels and TV series. 3/3 heads on a stick.

8. Requiem For A Dream

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

I get the feeling this is one of those that hurts so much more on rewatching, so there's that to look forward to. I've also rarely seen movies that do so much harmonizing between the music and the visuals, and it was so satisfying. 4/4 refrigerator jump scares.

7. Evil Dead Rise

A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

This was probably the most fun I had with a horror movie all year, TBH. Horror exploring family dynamics will always be a fave, and this brought plenty of fresh stuff to the franchise while also holding onto the core traits. 5/5 Staffenies.

6. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

This was the most fun I had watching a movie all year, period. If you know nothing about DND, it's a good fantasy movie. If you're a DND nerd, the game mechanics are baked into it. If you're a fan of found families, guess what! 6/6 stealth checks.

5. Cowboy Bebop

A ragtag crew of bounty hunters chases down the galaxy's most dangerous criminals. They'll save the world--for the right price.

I got exactly what I wanted out of this, so haters be damned. The anime is a masterpiece and a classic, but if you're not in the mood for the existentialism and other heavier themes, here ya go. 3/3 shower-bath-showers.

4. The Black Phone

After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims.

Near perfect, as far as I'm concerned. The older I get, the more kids-in-danger as a concept fucks with me, making this the most stressful movie I watched this year (though It Chapter One gave it a run for its money, and I still think they would make a great double feature). 5/5 black balloons.

3. Evil Dead (2013)

Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.

It's gnarly. It's badass. I almost puked. I had THE BEST time. The story works as an effective allegory, the effects are gruesomely awesome, and the finale is metal af. Plain and simple. 70,000/70,000 gallons of fake blood.

2. The Crow

A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.

Beautiful, sad, aesthetic for days, hella good soundtrack. *chef kiss* I still haven't seen The Batman, but they seem visually similar, so if you like that, you'll probably like this. For more in-depth thoughts, read my post. 1/1 epic rooftop guitar solos.

1. The Fall Of The House Of Usher

To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.

Not just a new favorite Mike Flanagan. A new favorite in general, and my number one for the year. I just screamed about this one last month, and I don't have anything more to add. I've seen Succession comparisons, and while I have no idea how accurate that is, there's my "if you like that, here's this." Holy crap. 7/7 deadly sins personified.

Happy New Year! 🥂

#yearly round up #watch a thon 2023 #tfothou #the crow 1994 #evil dead 2013 #the black phone #cowboy bebop netflix #dnd honor among thieves #evil dead rise #requiem for a dream #wolf creek #guillermo del toro's cabinet of curiosities

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whilereadingandwalking · 13 days

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I read Cloudstreet, a modern Australian classic by Tim Winton about two down-on-their-luck families who end up living in the same big ramshackle, haunted home, beginning in Brisbane (someone had misinformed me and told me it was set there) and then throughout the long plane ride home. Now, I liked a lot about it. I liked the surrealist touches, the premonitions and warnings and dreams. I liked the flinty Oriel, a mother and a hard worker, and her soft husband Lester; I liked the journey of young Quick. It's a family epic about two families shaped by tragedies. It's compelling even when sometimes long-winded.

But ultimately, I really struggled with the core character: Fish. The Lamb family's world changes when a tragic accident leaves the favorite son, Fish, mentally disabled. Other characters' stories and journeys are built upon this tragedy. But he also has seemingly magical abilities. He "knows" things, he can talk to the family pig and to the ghosts of the house, he appears to characters in dreams and some version of him is narrating our novel. He is described too often in a very dehumanizing way (was a scene of his brother sobbing as he cleans Fish up after he shit himself necessary to the plot?) and Rose's crush on him becomes a ridiculous childhood fantasy transferred onto his brother instead.

Most upsettingly (spoilers), the ending of the two families, the two mothers, seeming to heal and come together in the house, seems to hinge on his suicide. It's been hinted at throughout the book—when Fish almost drowned, but was resurrected, he felt disappointed to be taken from the water, as if there was something wrong in his rebirth, and he's craved the water ever since. His purposeful drowning is written almost as a correction, a completion of what had been hanging over the Lamb family all this time. It is a release for him and his family—which is extremely troubling.

We can add to that a mysterious black man/spirit/ghost who shows up at random times solely to hand out sage advice or warning. One of the ghosts of the house is an indigenous girl who was killed in the midst of a colonizing, imperialist re-education project. These brown presences haunt the families of Cloudstreet, perhaps a metaphor for colonization's legacies, but mostly an uncomfortable magical-negro style presence instead. The women are...ok, Oriel being the best written of them. The male characters are interesting and complex but they too have their holes.

Ultimately, if it had had a different ending for Fish, I might have been able to better balance the flaws of this book with its successes, but it's impossible in the end. A shame, because a lot in this book was really promising.

Intense content warnings for ableism, suicide. Warnings also for violence, disordered eating, child death, substance abuse/addiction.

#cloudstreet #tim winton #bookworm #book blog #book love #my book reviews #reading while wandering #reading while wandering australia

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spokenitalics · 1 year

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top 10 books i read in 2022 (in the order i read them)

the master and margarita by mikhail bulgakov: in the 1930s, the devil comes to moscow; chaos follows. almost 2000 years earlier, pontius pilate sentences the mild preacher jeshua to death. also: kind witches, fireproof manuscripts, the greatest love story ever told;

here by richard mcguire: the corner of a living room from 3,000,500,000 BCE to 22,175 CE, the illusion of time, the joys and sorrows of life, the magic of comic books;

lilith's brood (dawn, adulthood rites, imago) by octavia e. butler: humanity is saved from a nuclear apocalypse by a species of hideous aliens who offer an impossible deal to ensure the continued existence of life on earth. in perfect bulter fashion, tons of discussions about hierarchical structures, gender, language barriers, consent, and the vital need to embrace transhumanism;

the faggots & their friends between revolutions by larry mitchell & ned asta: somewhere in between a fairy tale and a utopian political manifesto, a sacred text from days long gone -- the story of a declining empire ruled by the fascist patriarchy, where gay men, lesbians, feminists, and drag queens live communally, produce art, have sex, and await the next revolution;

earthlings by sayaka murata: three young people become aliens to survive the horrors of modern life. provocative, utterly chaotic, equal parts hilarious and sad;

to the lighthouse by virginia woolf: the epic portrait of a family and of an artist;

nona the ninth by tamsyn muir: god is a man, the divine is most definitely feminine, eating someone is the ultimate way to say 'i love you' -- of bad puns, mismatched families, and the horror of your exes becoming besties;

dolore minimo by giovanna cristina vivinetto: the poetic dialogue between a self-born daughter and her mother-self;

the city and the pillar by gore vidal: a gay man in 1930s-40s america grapples with society's (and his own) prejudices and chases an idealized version of his high school best friend and one-time lover down a path of self-hatred and destruction;

loaded by christos tsiolkas: 24 hours in the life of an angst-ridden gay greek-australian boy as he travels through melbourne in search of drugs, an escape from responsibilities, and something resembling love.

#there's a alternate version of this were i don't limit myself to one book per author and just list off octavia butler's bibliography #but on the other hand there are sooooooo many honorable mentions #daytripper maus the unbearable lightness of being the white book home fire never let me go #the bluest eyes the satanic verses the metamorphosis the other stuff i've read by woolf murata and tsiolkias #soooo much good stuff #books

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yeahwellyourface · 1 year

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Since the new version of All Quiet on the Western Front is out and is apparently amazing (I haven't had time to watch yet....sooooooon), I'm getting asked some questions and I wanted to run through some FAQs.

1. Yes, men were being forced to fight right up until the last minute of the war. The armistice was signed at dawn on Nov 11, but because WWI had to be fucking poetic about things, it was going to take effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month...so 11 am on November 11th. In the 5 or 6 hours between when the armistice was signed and when it went into effect more men died than died on D-day. And it wasn't because they didn't know the war was ending. Everyone knew the war was ending (except for one German commander in Africa, but that's a different story). But they had to keep fighting. The Americans were the worst though.

2. Yes, it was common for commanders to shoot men who were trying to not fight. There are stories of the Russian army having small groups of men who walked behind the main forces into battle and if anyone tried to run, they'd be shot.

3. Other good movies: A Very Long Engagement and The Water Diviner. Both of those are told more from the perspective of people who lost loved ones in the war, but we still get to see a bunch of the war, so be prepared to cry. All Quiet on the Western Front is the German perspective, A Very Long Engagement is the French perspective, and The Water Diviner is the Australian and Turkish perspective, specifically of the Gallipoli campaign.

4. Good books: Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. THE popular history book about the beginning of WWI. Such a big influence that JFK credited the book for stopping WWIII from happening because he was apparently reading it during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The War That Ended Peace by Margaret McMillan. This is one that really helps you see how we, as humans, just do the same things over and over again and it makes you want to throw things. It is also a popular history book. Don't worry, I'm not gonna make y'all get into the academic side of things. Of course, also....All Quiet on the Western Front. It is from the point of view of a soldier and written by a man who was a soldier. Not an easy read (also, unless you read German, you will have to get it in translation), but so good. And someday, I plan on having my own book to put in this list!!

5. Documentary: The First World War From Above. It is about the huge technological advances of both photography and flight and how this was the first war to use them in battle. SO GOOD: https://youtu.be/zpRMJxiOyk0

6. One of my favorite general history books, The Great Big Book of Horrible Things, says about WWI: "The unanswerable question everyone asks: was it really as stupid as it sounds?" I think that it is answerable...yes. it really was as stupid as it sounds. Like, yeah...technology made leaps and bounds in a way that far outpaces the usual understanding that war helps technology. And the art, both visual and literary, that came out of it is PHENOMENAL. But the war itself? So incredibly stupid.

7. So much of world politics today is still influenced by this war. It's one of the reasons I find it so fascinating. Over and over, I find myself wanting to go around and shake everyone and say "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT?" And the answer always seems to come back "because."

#wwi #world war one #world war i #all quiet on the western front #military history

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deathsmallcaps · 1 year

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Derin Stories Fan Art :)

Here’s where I collect the fanart I’ve made for Derin stories over the years! Some of it is quite old (as in, one of the first things I’ve posted here) and some of it is quite new, so expect varying levels of ability :)

Some of these will contain spoilers, but I’m pretty good at tagging when they take place, so yeah.

CURRENT DERIN STORIES FLOWCHART

Charlie MacNamara, Galactic Ace <3

Charlie, Glath and Charlie’s kids

Copy <|> Paste

Kate with the rest (the end)

Curse Words

Book 4: Kayden, Kylie and Max: School Break Picture

Book 4, Chapter 50: Prediction Art that was wrong

Book 4, Chapter 52: Max Gets Cancelled (American Version)

Book 4, Chapter 52: Max Gets Cancelled (Attempted Australian Version, I’m terrible)

Book 4, Chapter 86: Chill Krakens to study by

Book 4, Chapter 88: Max is uncancelled? Hmmm

The Void Princess

Laika & Shana

Time To Orbit: Unknown

Chapter 10: Perfectly Good Citrus

Chapter 16: Thanks, Grandma

Chapter 18: PUF parody song

Chapter 35: The Crew ™

Should probably read at least Chapter 70 before viewing: Aspen & Shia

Chapter 81: The Crew ™, Expanded

Chapter 94: Short-Lived Victory Song

Chapter 102: The Crew ™: Just Add Chickens!

Portrait of Adin’s interrupted Smoke break (from fanon that he was a line cook)

Moospen Greaves (read up to Chapter 148 otherwise you may be confused)(but this is crack tbh)

Other (fanworks of posts, etc.)

Dramatic reading of the Milk Orbital post

Flowchart of what to read (as of 2022)

This is the June 2023 version.

#Derin stories masterpost #time to orbit: unknown #curse words #Charlie MacNamara #curse words: spell casting for fun and prophet #tto:u #ttou

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historia-vitae-magistras · 8 months

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What exactly is a field archivist? I thought you worked with books.

It's not exactly a defined term. You see it crop up in publications and job descriptions but it's not, as far as I know, a defined term the way digital archivist would be.

For me, field work in archives has involved putting on a hard hat and getting underground because I was the only person who could read the map when a local cemetery was restored.

It's been tripping in an old cemetery and inhaling so much graveyard dirt I gave myself a new chronic lung disorder. 10/10 don't recommend it.

It's involved going out into the world and giving advice on how people may preserve their materials.

It's meant putting on waders and some pretty intense respiratory protection gear and dropping into a flooded old government office and pulling out what was dry and could be salvaged.

It's also been about outreach, going out to schools and organizations to teach about local history and archaeology.

It meant being the person who helped record an archaeological dig and it's landscape guy by tracking down images of what the lay out of the 18th century town would have looked like and helping to place the trench's content within a larger local landscape.

Another time it was tracking down the earliest meteorological records we had so a dendrochronologist could cross match tree rings with weather. I have no idea how that works but I found him his data and brought it over to him got an whooop and a kiss on the cheek and a hug and got damn near knocked into an open trench he was so happy I found his data.

Another time and tbh this is one of the proudest moments of my career thus far, is when an Australian academic from down in Melbourne emailed my institution about Gallipoli maps. There was a series of maps produced in the 1920s as the grave situations began to settle and one of the primary illustrators was a gentleman who would later emigrate to Canada from the UK and leave his papers. They weren't held by where I worked but when I redirected him the archive where they were didn't know what the heck this poor guy was talking about so my boss let me take myself over there and pulled them out and identified the right ones. Including the original OG version of the map he needed. He hand wrote and sent me a thank you card last month. And I got field pay for it lol.

So yeah, field archivist's work can look like a lot of things! I will say most jobs don't involve this much of it. I just happened to be present when the post pandemic openings happened and everyone was catching up on two or three years worth of work.

#the ask box || probis pateo #archives || sing o muse the voices of the dead

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eriellesudario · 5 months

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Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes showcases a post-war Panem, but also has some flaws

Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Thanks to Australian Timezones, I got to watch The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes really early. As someone who watched the original films and have read to books (exept the Prequel due to reasons, but I have read the first few chapters of it), I have some thoughts.

Note: spoilers ahead. But here is a TLDR version via Letterboxd

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes really pays homage to the original films and their source material. While it was set many years in the past, we got to witness a different side of Panem's capital city - The Capitol, from a glimpse of what it was like during The Dark Days to its progress of it being restored.

Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler did an amazing job playing Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray Baird. This District 12 Tribute has more personality compared to Katniss and is more manipulative in my opinion. She surely did swoon the hearts of the capitol, especially Snow. As expected, her fate remains a mystery and everything about her feels like the basic foundation of what Katniss ends up being.

Snow, meanwhile, is a young and innocent boy, but we get to watch him change during his time in The Hunger Games and his time at District 12 as a Peacekeeper. Also, we are introduced to his remaining family - Tigris and his Grandma'am and how these two family members view the Capitol and Panem based on their interactions with Snow.

I would also like to give praise to Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage, who played Dr Gaul and Casca Highbottom, respectively. Seeing these renowned actors play these compelling characters in this YA Dystopian is amazing and based on what I've read so far and heard about these characters, I wouldn't have it any other way.

What's cool about this film are the easter eggs. Unlike other films, where references to its predecessor are just there to pull off that one Spongebob or Leonardo DiCaprio meme of them pointing to the screen, the references somewhat play a role in Snow's development as a character, why he holds so much resentment on certain things, etc, etc. You wouldn't believe my shock when the word "Katniss" was uttered, but it was referencing the plant, not the person. Although, it also meant that, for what, 50+ years, President Snow held a grudge against a tribute he helped mentor and win The Hunger Games.

However, there were some issues I had about this latest Lionsgate picture that, it's not really a huge issue but I do question these choices.

For starters, the film was divided into three parts. It's one whole movie, but contains three chapters, something that I wasn't expecting. NGL, it felt like I was watching Part 2 of Part 2 of The Final Season of Attack on Titan. While I have heard rumours that this film was originally planned to be split into multiple parts, I'm glad that wasn't the case. While some thought the film felt rushed, I didn't think that was the case. Although, I did wish we got to see adult President Snow as a cameo. All we got was that one line that was uttered during Mockingjay: Part 1 on a blank screen.

Also, there was so much singing in this film to the point where I was like "Is this a musical?" I get it's because Lucy Gray Baird is part of the Covey (a nomadic singing group), but throughout the film, there are at least 2 songs in each "Part" or "Chapter."

If there is one thing that I like about Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes, it's that it opened doors to showcase the world of Panem through a different lens. In the original films, we saw it as a country under dictatorship and how everyone was fighting for democracy and ending the games. In the prequel, we see it as a nation rebuilding itself and figuring out how to punish the districts. This just means that later stories about different Hunger Games eras (if there will be one) could showcase more of the world of Panem. And while I kinda understand why Coriolanus Snow's backstory isn't something that many fans ask for, it is a launch pad for different possibilities.

I want a sequel where we get to see Snow's development under Gaul and how Mags won her games, which led to the success that we see in the main film. I want Lionsgate to take inspiration from the existing fan videos and give a full adaptation of Haymitch's games as a way to give more context to the Quarter Quell. I want to see a film about Finnick or Johanna's victories and how it focuses on how the Capitol treats its victors after the victory, how they're exploited due to their looks, and how one went through with it, and the other rejected it, which led to punishment.

However, I also hope that this doesn't open doors for The Hunger Games franchise to be milked to the point where it's terrible (looking at you Harry Potter).

Overall, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes gave an interesting view of Panem, what the country was like during its restoration period, and how the games were yet to be a spectacle. We got to witness what the people in the Capitol are like and their prejudices against the districts stem from such a young age. At the same time, it opens doors for future possibilities in telling Panem's story.

Now if you excuse me, time to finally give the book version a proper read.

#the hunger games #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #2023 #reviews #review #film review

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yakultstanreblog · 1 month

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If any1 around here wanted to know a bit more about you and you had some book or song you would recommend us for doing so, which what would be? Damn my brain is already exploding trying to answer that by myself lol #sendhelp

THAT’S SO HARD MY BRAIN CANNOT DO THIS HARD OF THINKING AT THIS HOUR 😭 but probably the big list of music a few questions ago would give you some sort of reference .. as for books my favourite books I’ve read in very recent years are:

1. All of the Heartstopper graphic novels by Alice Oseman !!!

2. “The Uncaged Sky: My 804 days in an Iranian Prison” by Kylie Moore-Gilbert …. I actually listened to the audiobook of this narrated by Kylie herself and I would recommend it to most ppl I know … I wish I could listen to it for the first time again. It’s a true story which occurred in 2018-2020 of an Australian academic who was falsely accused of being a spy and she retells her experience in prison in Iran… holy moly I learned so much.

Idk what any of this says about me tbh

ALSO if you wanna learn about contemporary Australian subcultures watch “Heartbreak High” on Netflix.. the 2022 version not the 90s version.. season 2 is coming out in April so perfect timing HAHA if ur not from Australia you won’t get a lot of references but you’ll surely start to learn :,)

EDIT: WAIT I ALREADY POSTED THIS THEN REALISED I DODNT EVEN TELK U MY FAVOURITE BOOK ILL MAKE A NEW POST OF IT OMG IM SO SILLY IM SO TIRED I FORGOT AB MY FAV BOOK… IF UR SOMEONE READING THIS MY FAV BOOK IS ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE BTW

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pink-octopede64 · 1 year

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A Somehow Long Post About 2 Lost English Dubs of an Anime Adaptation of The Wind in the Willows Nobody Heard About

Hi! My name is Pinkoctopede and I’m a huge fan of The Wind in the Willows. While the book is a classic with many adaptations, what most people don’t know is that there was an anime adaptation made in the 90s. I’ll give a brief summary of what the anime’s is in general but I’m gonna go more in depth with its lost english dubs. And I’ll put it under the keep reading section so I won’t clog anything up.

What it is:

Tanoshii Willow Town (楽しいウイロータウン) is an anime series made in 1993 with 26 episodes lasting around 20 minutes. The first 3 episodes follows the original book but after that, it focuses on the other adventures of Ratty, Mole, and Toad which noticeably, they are now kids with Badger still being an adult.

Lost dub #1 (Saban):

In 1996, Saban Entertainment decided to get the rights to the show and dub it in English with some now known voice actors (Kathleen Barr, Janyse Jaud, etc). It only aired on Network 10 in Australia as a segment on a TV show called Cheez TV for 2 months from December 2000 to January 2001. Outside from the end credits, it’s completely lost with so little information nor footage.

2 other languages have dubbed the Saban version: Spanish (Pueblo de Sauces) only have 13 out of 26 episodes on Youtube while German (Abenteuer in den Weiden) is completely lost with only the audio of the opening theme being available. Strangely, German did release 3 cassette tapes which is basically the only home media release Saban has but still lost.

Lost dub #2 (Enoki Films USA):

Before Saban, Enoki Films attempted to dub Willow Town in 1996 but differently: instead of doing the whole series, they took the first few episodes and edited into a 75 minute movie simply titled The Wind in the Willows. Little is known about the dub since it was never released on VHS nor DVD. All that is out there is the opening theme on Youtube which was taken from the Greek copy of the film.

The only confirmed place it did came out however was on a defunct streaming service called Reeltime.com. Currently, its other locations is at 2 libraries in Malaysia as VCDs and Library of Congress.

Conclusion:

So my main goal is to find these dubs although it has been extremely difficult. Saban only aired for a short period of time on top that I’m not Australian and I cannot go to Malaysia nor LoC to get the Enoki Films USA version. It’s the shame because I do love the anime but it is hard to find a good way to watch it due to its general obscurity. Hell, even the Japanese dub is lost with no way to watch episodes nor getting the VHS tapes online.

You don’t have to but I really do appreciate help or at least spread some word about it (because let’s be real: spending a literal year looking for lost media and making little progress is exhausting).

If you actually read all this, thank you so much! This has been a lost media search of mine for a long time and I really do love it when people do hear me out despite not sounding as cool as other searches like Nintendo’s Slamfest 1999 or Clockman. Take care! 💝

#the wind in the willows #witw #tanoshii willow town #long post #lost media #there are other weird stuff that i couldn’t fit in #like how in the SEC filing of fox kids willow town have 23 episodes listed instead of 26 #or how the enoki films x reeltime collab article called wind in the willows a beloved film DESPITE LITERALLY NOBODY SEEING IT #it’s a very strange rabbit hole i gotten myself into #also if you’re gonna say something put it in reblog instead of notes/reply because tumblr is garbage and everytime i try to use it the post #would disappear entirely

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a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives · 5 months

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'I went behind the scenes of the Stan Original Series Scrublands. It's the crime drama of the year.'

There's a good reason why Scrublands was one of the most anticipated new Australian shows of the year.

Readers will recognise the name of the new series, which premiers this week, from the award-winning novel by Chris Hammer, which so many adored, myself included.

So when Mamamia was offered the chance to visit the set of Scrublands, which has been brought to life on screen as a Stan Original Series - our answer was an immediate yes.

Back in March I was whisked away to Riversend, a fictionalised isolated and struggling country town in rural Victoria, where this captivating crime drama takes place. While there, I spoke to the actors and producers themselves about what it was really like to bring this beloved Australian mystery to life.

The story kicks off when a young priest named Byron Swift (played by Jay Ryan), who had been known throughout the community as a charismatic and dedicated man, calmly opens fire on his congregation.

In a devastating turn of events, he ends up killing five of his parishioners.

Things then fast-forward a year when investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (played by Luke Arnold) arrives in Riversend to research and write what he thinks will be a simple tribute story, to commemorate the anniversary of the murders and the families, who are still mourning the loss.

But he soon finds himself in a life-and-death race to uncover the truth about what really happened that day.

Simply put, the juicy twists and turns are plentiful.

While visiting the set of Scrublands, I was able to see a scene filmed between the show's local bookstore owner, called Many Bond (played by Bella Heathcote), and an intrusive TV presenter who peppered her for details about the town's murders.

Heathcote's character is then escorted into a police car, while the TV presenter is left holding his bloodied nose.

The tension certainly felt real.

As the scene ended with the police car driving away to the station, Martin Scarsden was brooding in the near distance, trying to piece together what to do next. And although not integral to the scene, there happened to be two very adorable kelpie dogs on the set as I watched the actors do their thing. Dogs are always a bonus.

Bella Heathcote was riding the high of a scene performance when we spoke in a nearby RSL, where the crew had set up for the week.

Heathcote said she was immediately fascinated by her character when the script landed in her lap, given Mandy is such an integral part of the novel's plot. Mandy is cool, tough, and incredibly resilient and it's how she responds to situations that Heathcote admires most, saying she wishes she was more like her. entertainment Journalist Tristan Redman didn't believe in ghosts. Then a faceless woman visited his bedroom.

'It's super sassy, and it feels very Australian," she said with a smile.

Bella Heathcote as Mandy Bond in Scrublands. Image: Stan.

Interestingly though, Heathcote has not read the novel Scrublands, only the TV script given to her.

She said it was a deliberate decision.

"This is the first time ever I haven't read the book beforehand where relevant for a role," she explained. "There are certain plotlines from the book that I'm told haven't made it into this show, and so it was important for that not to cloud my perception of who this version of Mandy will be."

As for what was the biggest challenge while filming, Heathcote said she aimed to not get too swept up in her character's trauma.

"Maybe the cancer storyline," she said. "My mother died of cancer when I was little, and trying to separate that from Mandy's storyline [it is referenced in the book that Mandy's mother passed away from cancer], because I'm not a believer in substitution as an actor."

But overall the actress said it's been a tremendous filming experience, especially being back in Australia where there "isn't as much tall poppy syndrome" she noted, adding that it feels "more organic and natural".

Next I spoke with Luke Arnold, who was brilliant as Martin Scarden, bringing the enigmatic character from the pages of the novel to life.

As someone who "loves a good mystery", Arnold said it's been super engaging to work on such a big story like Scrublands.

"The best part about working on this series is nailing down those emotional scenes and how the little parts fit into the big story. It's all about a community that has been hit hard by an awful event, and trying to put the pieces back together and rebuild their lives. The storytelling is really raw," he said.

"It's really fun being the centre of a mystery. You're responsible for helping the audience through the twists and turns of it all. And that's something I love from a writer's point of view too."

It's the show's creators who have managed to carefully turn a very chunky novel into a four-part series.

Luke Arnold as Martin Scarsden in Scrublands. Image: Stan.

Producers Felicity Packard and David Redman said it was important to get the scenery and backdrop perfect as well, considering the quintessentially Australian landscape of Riversend is essentially a character in itself.

"I think what sets us apart from other productions in the crime genre is the setting," the producers noted. "It's uniquely Australian, and reflective of the challenges a lot of regional communities face - especially when it comes to the bushfire scenes.

"And magic things happen on set when you're filming in these parts of the country. There's one scene where a flock of about 200 corellas come swooping down and circle in the foreground, and we managed to capture it all."

After seeing the crew in action, there was clearly a lot of passion and excitement circulating among them - all keen to see this series captivate audiences.

And after watching a few of the scenes, and even the opening episode, Scrublands has that intriguing whodunnit narrative and so much more.

Ultimately, whether you're a fan of the book or just someone who loves this genre, you will be gripped from the very beginning with this Australian crime drama.

It's an original series you don't want to miss.

The Stan Original Series Scrublands premieres November 16, all episodes at once and only on Stan.

Feature Image: Stan.

Source: Mamamia Australia

#black sails #luke arnold #john silver #scrublands #stan australia #chris hammer #bella heathcote

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