Latest Posts by khayltille - Page 5

concept: a death god that is actually surprisingly supportive and on the side of the good guys, supporting actions and promoting policies that will lead to the kingdom growing and thriving instead of being destroyed, because the more the kingdom grows, the more people there are, and the more people there are the more people will eventually  die, and when you’re an immortal god of death, you know there’s no need to rush. you’ll get them all in the end

it’s RINCEWIND FEELINGS O'CLOCK now at ten pm edt

when will any other character have that EXACT balance of acknowledged incompetence, Fear ™, cynicism, “oh no i care about this even though I’m not supposed to”, anger at the entire universe, and complete exhaustion. I love him. he’s doing his best and his best is a mess. he just wants to sleep. Let him rest.

I still have thoughts about this, so to continue in something of the same vein as last night…

The thing about Rincewind is, he’s not really a character who ever becomes a hero.

I know we can argue all night about the definition of the word hero, but he doesn’t consider himself one, and other characters don’t consider him one, so there’s that. But what I really mean is that he doesn’t have a hero’s journey.

I sometimes see people talking about the Rincewind books in the context of facing your fears. That’s fantastic; whatever you get out of it is good, of course, that’s what fiction is for.

But Rincewind himself doesn’t get brave. He doesn’t really learn to face his fears. He doesn’t slowly grow into someone who thinks of it as his solemn duty to save the world. He is always and foremost a cowards. The entire span of the books, this is true.

Mostly he just gets more resigned to how the world works. In The Last Hero he has a genre-savvy knowledge of how things are going to end up, so he volunteers; but it’s not out of bravery, it’s out of weariness. He knows how his life works so he just skips all the fuss and gets on with doing something he still, really, does not want to do.

He doesn’t get what most of what he wants. He doesn’t learn to use magic. He doesn’t develop any extraordinary skills. He doesn’t get a love interest, which is fiction’s common recourse when rewarding a hero (a device which bothers me immensely, so personally I’m glad of that). His major reward after the conclusion of his independent story arc is, essentially, a semi-peaceful retirement from adventure.

Rincewind is a mess. He is a coward, and he will admit that freely. When he does save the world, it’s because no one else is going to do it, and someone has to, and he doesn’t want to die. He doesn’t get rewarded, except possibly by continued living. He doesn’t learn to be brave, except in the desperate last-chance way he’s always been. He doesn’t learn to be good at what he loves.

That’s important. That’s very important. That’s what makes him stand out. Because - where do you go, when you’re too tired to be a hero, when you’re exhausted from people telling you to be brave and stick it out, when you’ve been trying so hard and you still can’t do well? When heroes only remind you of how inadequate you are, how much you can’t be them? When you don’t, especially, want to be inspired, because you are just trying to get by. Who do you turn to then?

That’s Rincewind. You may be down in the mud and unable to pull yourself out, but at least he’s down there with you, sighing and talking about how this always happens to him. And it’s okay. It may or may not get better, but you’ll be okay, for a given value of ‘okay’. You’ll survive. That’s an achievement

That’s what he means to me.

Book 3, chapter 18 ‘the Old Masters’

The Lives of the Gaang ep. 1 ‘Kyoshi’s advice’

Part 0

I want to read the discworld series but have no idea which book to pick as my starting point. Which one would you suggest?

SURE I DO

okay so, premise: discworld works in series. you have some main cycles and then sparse novels/standalones. in order, you have:

the guard

death

witches (which is split into the classical line up and the tiffany aching YA stuff)

rincewind/wizards

industrial revolution

plus as standalones you have pyramids and small gods which are pre-current times and maurice and his amazing rodents which is another YA but doesn’t quite fit anywhere, and monstrous regimen is kind of a guard book but is more of a standalone - anyway I’d read it with the guard

personally, I’d advise to read small gods first because it’s a++++ and gives you a great introduction and it’s a parody of a lot of shit I love so you get an idea of the feel of the books and I wouldn’t read it chronologically esp because the first three books are the least interesting ones tbh (especially the third). what I’d do is going with cycles and single books in the following order:

read small gods;

then read the guard (guards! guards! + men at arms + feet of clay [TOP THREE MATERIAL] + jingo + the fifth elephant + night watch + monstrous regiment + thud!, then leave snuff be for the moment);

then move on to death (mort + reaper man + soul music [MY FAVORITE DISCWORLD BOOK YEEEY] + hogfather + thief of time);

then I’d move on to part of the industrial revolution (making movies + the truth + going postal + making money, leave raising steam be);

at this point you can do either rincewind or witches, it’s the same thing but since the last book in the series is tiffany aching which is a witches continuation I’d go for rincewind (the light fantastic/the color of magic [mind: they’re both fairly weaker than the rest of the series/of the rincewind stuff but you need both so just power through] + sourcery + eric + interesting times + the last continent (<33) + the last hero + unseen academicals);

at that point go back and do the old witches guard (equal rites [tbh it’s the worst in the series for me so if you wanna skip you can but a character shows up in TIFFANY ACHING so idk it’s short at least] + wyrd sisters + witches abroad + lords and ladies + maskerade + carpe jugulum)

now you’re ready for tiffany aching but maybe at this point you could throw in pyramids/amazing maurice if you feel like going for it - they’re a+ but you can read them whenever you want)

then you go with all of tiffany except for the last which is also the last discworld book (the wee free men + a hat full of sky + wintersmith + I shall wear midnight, do not read the shepherd’s crown yet);

at this point I’ve left you with the last three discworld books to go which concluded a lot of storylines left open, so you power up and you read, in order, snuff (last guard book), raising steam (last moist von lipwig/industrial revolution) and the finally the shepherd’s crown which is the very last one and you’re done. :) if you like, you can not read unseen academicals (which anyway has very little rincewind and more of the rest of the wizards) and keep it for last and read it before snuff so you have last wizards, last guards, last industrial rev. and last witches all together in the last rush ;)

that’s my personal favorite reading order and the one I found myself best with when I was going through with it but obviously you can switch things around, just start with death and the guards as the first two cycles you read and do small gods before all of them ;)

ETA: as someone else pointed out, you should probably read monstrous regiment after the truth and going postal so just put it there instead of the guards reading list xD

Have you ever noticed how much we use signal degradation as a shorthand for existential “wrongness”?

Like, in horror movies, an otherworldly voice may hiss like radio static, while a creepy monster may jerk and stutter from position to position like a video that’s dropping frames. The influence of a hostile, alien presence may be indicated by visual “tearing”, like the film is being played back from damaged media, or by deliberate audio/video desynchronisation.

Video games get in on the act, too. The use of simulated glitches to represent reality-warping effects in horror gaming is well documented, of course, but it goes beyond that. In the language of gaming, a portal to an alien realm may bleed stylised pixels and crackle like a PC speaker with the volume cranked too high, while the sound effects associated with “unnatural” magic might introduce digital distortion to an otherwise naturalistic soundscape.

I sometimes wonder what it says about our anxieties as a culture that the easiest way for media to freak us out is to confront us with manifestations of the artificiality of the medium.

My favorite thing about Kim Kitsuragi is that he’s a huge liar.

He describes himself as a fun-hating spoilsport and then he gets overly aggressive about a game of Suzerainty that he said he was Much Too Busy to play, and declares “Nobody fucks with Kim Kitsuragi >:)”.

It turns out he’s in to driving really, really fast and making sure his RCM-issued vehicle is customized to Him, and is Very Pretty and Cool and Fast, and he is So Coy about it.  “I’m really just a professional, normal guy.  Just a really normal button-down cop guy that drives my custom-painted sports car.  do you want to hear about the engine?  It’s got 12 cylinders by the way. Lotta horsies.  Very fast.”

frank, how did you readjust to the world after being freed of the well? that must’ve been really hard on you

< I was a child. >

< And then suddenly. I realized I was old. The house was mine. >

< They took pictures of me. Talked to me a lot. >

< Everyone spoke to me like I was still a child. But they also pushed me to make adult decisions. >

< Rose. >

< Rose handled everything. It would have been. Worse. Without her. >

Samuel Beechworth, though.

Samuel with his muddy boots planted uneasily on the banks of the Wrenhaven, Samuel preferring the soft murmur of the water to the silence of the land, Samuel smelling of wind and sea and salt and smoke, who knows the tributaries of the river better than the veins on the backs of his hands.

Samuel teaching the young Lady Emily how to whittle, how to skip stones, how to read the next day’s weather by the wind and the clouds, the schooling of hagfish. Samuel taking Callista out on the water, smiling as she closes her eyes to turn her face into the saltmarsh breeze. Samuel sharing a pint with Cecelia, tinkering with an audiograph he half understands, settling down every night on a hard little mattress, where he thanks whatever gods care to listen that he’s still around to see the stars.

Samuel with his big callused hands and his rough sailor’s palms, holding them out open and easy until Corvo relaxes bit by agonizing bit. Samuel making idle chatter on their rides together, politely averting his eyes when Corvo tears off the mask with bloody fingers and wretchedly vomits over the side. Samuel waiting until Corvo stops shaking before he offers him a flask. Telling Corvo it’s okay, knowing he’s backed the right man when Corvo just shakes his head. Samuel being there, with his graveled voice and his steady presence.

A self-contained lighthouse in an otherwise dark city.

The man whose light will guide you home.

Héctor’s Flaws

I feel like a lot of people gloss over Héctor’s flaws a bit— largely, I suspect, because he is nowhere near the most flawed character in this masterpiece, and so the flaws he does have pale in comparison to Ernesto, or even Imelda— but he does have them, and they are pretty crucial to the plot.

Firstly, he can be pretty irresponsible.

I mean, the whole reason he’s with Miguel is because his reaction to finding a lost living child was “well, better spend all night coming up with zany schemes to get this kid to Ernesto” not “well, better report this kid to the relevant authorities, who will then be able to contact Ernesto and solve this whole mess”.

I mean, one could argue that since Héctor has a rather complicated relationship with the authorities at this point, he doesn’t necessarily trust them to help him, but then he’s perfectly willing to take Miguel in after the announcement at the Battle of the Bands. It seems more likely that it just never occured to him.

Another example is his attitude to other people’s belongings.

He borrows things from people— including apparently their bones (though, honestly, that one is on Chicharrón. After the mini-fridge, the van, the napkins etc. he really should have noticed that there was a pattern going on here)— and doesn’t give them back.

Most people seem to assume that these were all confiscated at the bridge, like the dress, and a lot of them probably were. But then look at how he loses the second dress.

He comes in right as Ernesto is trying to send Miguel home and then when Ernesto doesn’t recognise him he pulls the costume off, revealing his normal clothes— and tossing the dress and all the accessories aside.

He doesn’t even look to see where they land. Which is, I suppose, understandable— he’s kind of going through a lot right now— but it shows that he’s not exactly careful with the things he borrows.

Héctor’s irresponsibility sort of leads into our second, bigger flaw: it is fairly easy to talk Héctor into doing something he’s uncomfortable or unsure about. The most obvious example being leaving his family.

Now, we never get explicitly told that Héctor was talked into going on tour, but it’s pretty heavily implied.

The lyrics to ‘Remember Me'— “though I have to say goodbye”, “though I have to travel far”, “know that I’m with you the only way that I can be”— suggest that he didn’t feel like he had a choice about going, and then he outright tells Ernesto that gaining fame and fortune was “your dream, not mine”.

This certainly gives the impression that Héctor was maybe less on board with leaving home than Ernesto was, but got persuaded to do so anyway. His fatal flaw is essentially not standing up for himself and what he thinks is the right thing to do.

And what I find interesting about this is that Héctor does not change in this regard.

At the battle of the bands, when Héctor finds out that Miguel isn’t a professional musician, he is clearly visibly uncomfortable with the idea of letting him perform.

Which is absolutely the right reaction, considering that this is a life and death competition (for him and Miguel) and he has no idea what Miguel’s definition of musician is, apart from the fact that it apparently doesn’t include performing in public.

For all he knows, the kid’s only just into his second week of guitar lessons.

His first instinct, to go on instead (and can we all just acknowledge the sacrifice he was willing to make in going on stage under the name 'De la Cruzito’?) is actually the sensible and responsible thing to do, yet all Miguel has to do is to say that he wants to earn Ernesto’s blessing and suddenly Héctor’s fine with it. Even after learning that the kid has never even done a grito before.

In nearly a century, he has not managed to sort out this flaw in his character.

Which I find really sad, since I personally headcanon that the decision to go home should have been a huge character changing moment for Héctor.

This is the moment where he finally realises that he can’t just let Ernesto push him around anymore, because he has a family now and he has to stand up for them as well as well as himself. Like, there is an alternate universe where Ernesto doesn’t poison Héctor and this is the moment where he grows up and becomes a more responsible person and stops letting people walk all over him.

But instead, he dies and is immediately cut off from everybody he knows and thrust into an environment where he has no real responsibilities and is desperate enough to let people talk him into anything if it means he might stand a chance of getting over the bridge.

Ernesto not only killed Héctor physically, but he also killed the person Héctor could have been if he had the chance to go home.

Do you ever just stop and think about how if Ernesto hadn’t poisoned Héctor then they could have potentially starred in movies together and double-teamed dance numbers…

I mean I know Héctor wanted to go home but there’s nothing that says that in the future he could have been persuaded to have small parts in Ernesto’s movies as a cameo for them to sing together, especially if he wouldn’t be gone for super long…..

I just want golden age movie dance sequence with the boys 😂

Coco Headcanons

It’s hard to see that the gangly youth is her grandpa. But sometimes Victoria could see glimpses of an old man in his eyes. Which would snap back into his cheerful chatter the moment he realizes Victoria is staring. 

Looking so young, most of the Rivera women dotes on him. Especially Elena after joined them and gave him a talking to. But when it comes to dealing with their peers that are being forgotten, Hector is their guide and rock. 

When they got a problem that’s out of their league, Hector always knows a guy (who may or may not be dabbling in something illegal or is annoyed at him).

Hector once helped Oscar and Felipe with a physics problem with his experience of driving a minivan off the flower bridge. All said in casually chipper tones.

Rosita and Victoria would glance at each other every time Hector would tease Imelda. It reminds them too much of how Coco would sweet-flirt Julio even after they’re married.

Hector once told them the time he was recruited into an archaeological expedition in the Land of the Dead after he unintentionally became an expert in trying to dig his way out of the Land of the Dead and into the ground below the flower bridge. (He wasn’t able to scale the other side of the bridge because he was caught before he could try the climber’s ice axe.)

No one would say it but they all agreed Imelda became more relaxed and smiled more often when Hector became part of their home.

The one time Hector’s anger (at everything that had happened) reared its ugly head, they knew they should’ve seen it coming. Yet not one of them were prepared for it.  

He didn’t shout. Nothing. He just left. Imelda, who didn’t know yet what’s his deal, tracked him down to Shantytown and demanded to know what’s going on. Hector kept saying he needs space to think. But Imelda’s confrontational attitude boxed him into the corner, that’s when it came tumbling out.

Everyone felt helpless when Imelda and Pepita returned with no Hector. Just when everything was going so well. 

Something that really stuck out to me in Coco is how Ceci and Chicharrón are implied to have helped Héctor multiple times with his harebrained schemes. They’ve been giving him important objects (Cheech lent him a FEMUR for crying out loud) even though they know they’re likely to never see them again, and though they’re clearly annoyed that their stuff is missing, they just… keep doing it???

Knowing Héctor‘s personality, and how well he treated a boy he knew for less than 12 hours before he even found out he was family, I can’t help but think that on the 365 days when it isn’t Día de Muertos, Héctor is an absolutely fantastic friend. That he’s loving and caring and goes out of his way to help Ceci and Chicharrón and his Shantytown family with anything they need, not just because he needs something in return. So by the time Día de Muertos comes and Héctor is desperate to cross the bridge again, his friends don’t help him out of pity, but rather because they genuinely like the hopeless goofball.

I dunno. Got me thinking. Héctor is a good and people like him. And now his family likes him too. That’s always a good thought.

Revolution in Coco

I was actually surprised by the years the characters were born, 1900, because they pretty much lived throught the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917/1920), even the actual movie stars were born during or after, Pedro Infante 1917, so really it was just their baby or child years while Coco characters were in their pre-teens and early adulthood.

What does this mean? You can read the wikipedia article, but pretty much there were many militant groups running around, many small towns didn’t know what was going on, no one from the higher ups cared if you knew anything so these revolutionary groups would just arrive and tell you, recruit you.

It wasn’t always that nice, when I went to my granny’s hometown they told me their grandfathers hid underground with a sack of corn whenever they heard horses (military groups) approach, they asked for you to give them stuff, (horses, food, a place to sleep) if you refused you were not supporting the rev movement or the president, thus you were the enemy so neither fraction was any good, (of course the revolutionaries often liberated the towns from the landlord but remember most were just farmers so getting so much power could get to their heads) All in all the people in the town didn’t knew the social movement that was happening. I remember saying, “great my family just hid during the revolution” and my mom turned to me and said, “they survived”.

We don’t now how Santa Cecilia fared during the Revolution but maybe cheking out the history of small towns may help, either way I’m not an expert on the Rev so take it easy with me if there’s anything wrong

(Also, Princess Leia’s hair came from this time!)

Hector : Imelda is definitely out of my league

Hector : Actually, we’re not even playing the same sport.

Hector : It’s kinda like she’s in the NBA

Hector : And I work in the muffin store next to the stadium.

A study of character designs between generations in Disney/Pixar’s Coco

As a world builder and character artist whose dream career is character design and animation, I am constantly observing very closely how Disney designs its characters in its animated films–especially characters that are supposed to be related, or who are supposed to represent a certain ethnic group, such as the Polynesians or Mexicans. And to see how much work the character designers put into Coco is truly heartwarming. What we get to observe on screen is true dedication to the craft, combined with a desire to honor Mexican culture by faithfully portraying them. Notable among their designs is the oft-celebrated Mestizo type, a blend of European and American Indian bloodlines that characterize most Mexicans today. Prior to the Mestizaje movement, purer Spanish bloodlines were desirable, with a goal to “water down” Indian bloodlines by marrying their women to Spanish men. Thus we see among Héctor’s generation a lot of very strong Spanish traits, making Héctor, who retains strong Amerindian features, stand out all the more, and contrasting him yet again to Ernesto, who was considered a paragon of manliness in his day. While Ernesto did live to see the Mestizaje movement begin, Héctor died beforehand. He unfortunately did not get to see his mixed heritage become celebrated to the point of being the preferred look for a “true” Mexican. But the result of the Mestizaje movement can be seen in his descendants, who all display common traits of Mestizos.

If you’re interested in studying body and facial types and their variation between bloodlines, I strongly suggest giving Cedarseed a visit. She’s a Lebanese artist who studies people and body types, and her comprehensive chart should be considered invaluable to character artists who want to portray a people or culture as accurately and respectfully as possible.

As for who’s who in the Rivera family tree, there’s a bit of controversy about that. During production, the name of Berto’s wife was Gloria (this name is listed on the digital dailies, during one of which she’s said to be Luisa’s sister). But the only officially published family tree available to us gives Berto’s wife’s name as Carmen, with Gloria being the name of his sister (that same book also refers to Berto’s wife as Gloria when quoting her lines in the film). This has led to some confusion as to which tia is Berto’s wife and which is his sister. I myself refer to Elena and Franco’s daughter as Gloria, in accordance with the family tree. The purpose of this image is to compare traits between Elena, Franco and their three children. Enrique looks more like Franco, while Berto looks more like Elena. Gloria is a pretty even blend of the two. Franco also gave his cowlick to at least two of his kids. Interesting to note is that the shape of Enrique’s face is definitely a throwback to Héctor. This supports a popular fanon idea that Miguel will end up looking quite a bit like Héctor when he grows up. I think Miguel will end up looking a lot like Enrique, but Héctor’s traits will also be quite pronounced, given how much Miguel takes after him in personality.

I think a lot of things because of that Au mine that I don't know how to do but the point is this I think that the decision to be a consulting detective is something that did a lot of good for Holmes in many aspects of his life but I think one of the most relevant was in improve the relationship with his brother.

Personally I don't think they have a love / hate relationship or a strained relationship for siblings who get on badly in the canon are the Watsons.

For me it is more than anything a matter of characters: Mycroft does not is someone who shows his affection in an explicit way and although Holmes has very sweet moments and gestures from him, he also does not have the habit of being like that expressive.

So the Holmes brothers get along; In their childhood it is not crazy to think that who first develops his observation / deductive skills is Mycroft, in fact it makes sense and with things like the Diogenes club it is not so crazy to say that he is a lonely and lives in his own way but then there is the little Sherlock.

According to the case Gloria Scott Holmes considered his observation and deduction skills at that time a simple hobby. And he was seen as an aimless young man but why would someone develop such a strange hobby? I think the answer is that little Sherlock did it to get closer to his brother mainly and if he continued with that it was out of his own natural curiosity.

The point is that Mycroft is the first to be different if we deviate to a somewhat queer perspective. If Mycroft is the first who knows that he is different, maybe many of his attitudes are to protect himself; observing the people around, being able to do this from a seat, his search and acceptance of a position of power and imposing - politics isn't easy or light! -.

So his own little eccentricities are why his younger brother manages to form a bond with him, they bond over and maybe even one day he will be honest with Sherlock when SH realizes his own distinctions but his attitude is different, Mycroft points out that Holmes has the energy of the family and the desire to do fieldwork.

I think this again is a reflection of how they handle things, Mycroft does not want fights, he does not want direct confrontations, he wants to deduce everything from a chair, hidden, protected in his own sanctuary and with the assurance that if someone were to try to harm him. .. It would be complicated but Sherlock is different, he is there saying his name out loud when a dangerous criminal abruptly enters his home, he makes jokes after almost dying, he is the type who is not afraid of confrontations in reality. (Maybe in other areas yes, but in apologizing for being who he is? He is not afraid of being who he is) There is even something careless and reckless in his youth.

But returning to the subject, in addition to their own personalities, these different paths that each one takes are the only point that could have separated them; because these are two very different perspectives, it is not hatred or contempt just to grow up and belong to different worlds.

They would still have their little deduction games and a few visits but there would be an outside line until Sherlock Holmes decides to be a detective. What I'm going to is that in his youth he had many doubts about what to do with his life; we know he could be just a chemist, or an actor in the theater or a violinist or an underground boxer! but S. Holmes, thanks to Trevor's father, argues that what he likes to do, what was his first approach to his brother could be useful to live and help others.

If Sherlock had dedicated himself to something else I feel that Mycroft would have supported him but there would be some inevitable distance that is broken a bit when their jobs / life missions intersect as much as when Sherlock is a detective, we saw it in the Greek interpreter, from time to time Mycroft helps him solve cases or guides him in the matter! In stressful and difficult matters that Mycroft faces in his work, he can directly request Sherlock's support and even see how he solves that complication in his life!

I think there is something... there at the bottom of how both have improved their relationship by ending up in two parallel paths; each one is different but from time to time they cross paths and meet and it's cute.

@discordantwords tagged me to post a passage I’m especially proud of. Thank you!

I’ve only written once in Mycroft’s voice, but I loved doing it:

“We did not comprehend our agemates. We did not know why. They were loud and physical and contemptuous of theory; their minds were rooted in the immediate. There was a language of childhood between them which we could not speak. I am given to understand child prodigies are often isolated. Lonely, they say. I taught him how to analyze them, observe and catalogue behavior, comprehend their motivations. It was a game, at first, a way for us to try to understand. Then it became a question of survival–if he could predict them, he could escape them–my little brother; emotive, passionate and sensitive; pirate, dancer, lover of fairy tales; consumed with the unusual, the fantastical and eccentric, the romantic and the macabre, with Saint-Saens and Ravel and Stevenson and Baryshnikov and Nicola Tesla. Drawn to men, not women, in time. He does not simply stand, or pace; to this day, he moves when relaxed or absorbed as though still dancing, spins, shifts heels and hips, flutters his hands. His voice was expressive, sibilant and soft, though he has not spoken in his natural tone to me in years, but drops it to the depths he reserves for concealing his emotions and unnerving those he does not trust. Sherlock is explosive in his element. He is brilliant. He could be anything, except ordinary; that was and is impossible. He fit no one’s conception of the well-developed British child. No public school boy’s idea of a friend. They did try, but there was very little our parents could do, I think, to draw us out of the world we made for ourselves. After all, there were two of us.” – The Two of Us

Tagging @watsonshoneybee, @chriscalledmesweetie, @doomsteady,  @educatedinyellow, @blueink3, @artemisastarte, @ggaypilot, @suitesamba, @doctornerdington, @a-different-equation or anyone who wants to!

Mycroft Territory (Part One)

This is the second of my blog resources for fanfic writers who want to create a better sense of place by including stuff about London that is relevant to specific areas. 

In this case, I’m talking about St James, Westminster and Whitehall,, all three of which add up to the seat of British Government. 

St James

Let’s take St James first.  Bounded to the north by Piccadilly and Mayfair, to the west by Green Park, to the south by The Mall and St James’s Part and to the east by Haymarket. The home of the Buckingham Palace, St James’ Palace and Clarence House, royal residences to this day. Think  aristocrats, think of Savile Row and Jermyn Street. The Mall, and of course, The Diogenes Club.

If you’ve been a tourist in London, this is an area you are highly likely to have been to visit. You may, however, be less familiar with its history. 

The area’s name is linked to St James the Lesser (where have we heard THAT name before? Mary’s skip code and John’s bonfire night) It was the name of a leper hospital in the 12th century which was knocked down to build St James’s Palace. 

In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy. Clarence House, Spencer House, Lancaster House, Marlborough House- these are all masterpieces of English architecture built for the aristocrats to enjoy the “London season” before returning to their estates in the country. 

By the mid-19th century, it was the chosen place for a whole slew of gentlemen’s clubs: The Reform, The Travellers, The RAC, The Oxford and Cambridge Club, The Army and Navy Club, The East India Club, etc. Since the re-development of London post WW2, the area has moved from residential to more commercial premises. That said, many of the gentlemen’s outfitters of Savile Row and Jermyn Street have been there for centuries, and Fortnum & Mason’s was their local grocery store.

Whitehall

Whitehall is small but packed with power because this is civil service land. The Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards, etc now, but the history is even more interesting. Ever since the 12th century Whitehall was the route from Charing Cross to Westminster. Henry VIIth built “York Palace” on the route, which Henry VIIIth re-named Whitehall Palace. It was a rather splendid place. He married Anne Boleyn here. It was the palace of the Stuarts, too. By 1680 it looked like this: 

If you zoom in, you will notice something interesting. 

Yes, that’s SCOTLAND YARD, the very first one. As the Stuarts were Scottish kings, this is what the area was called. And it was the site much later of the very first home of the Metropolitan Police. 

When New Scotland Yard moved from Victoria to its new home, it was to a site on the Thames that is on this map, just above the V in River. 

So, now you know why it was called Scotland Yard. 

To be continued in Part Two, Westminster (which includes Belgravia

about Mycroft Holmes

The problem I have with nine out of ten versions of Mycroft Holmes is that, inevitably, people forget one of two truths:

1. Sherlock, who despises modesty, openly declares Mycroft to be far better than him at deduction and reasoning.

2. Mycroft personally helped found a gentleman’s club specifically for people who want to be left alone in silence. It’s not just about political secrets, it’s literally a club for people who were too introverted to be normal even by Victorian standards.

Sherlock is, at least, empathetic enough to understand people and want to engage with them, even if he wants to do it entirely on his own terms. Mycroft is the one who created a club so he could entirely avoid all contact with other people except silent butlers when he so wished.

Dear modern writers, Mycroft is the extremely antisocial, possibly sociopathic, utterly unambitious, unfathomable genius who only made the effort to conform to social norms because he decided he’d rather run the government that already exists because it would be too much bother to dismantle and rebuild it to his preferences.

So Team Galaxia or Galactus or whatever just showed up and IMMEDIATELY got outshone by Prof. Rowan. I mean… DAMN.

Hello, yes I’d like to report a murder in Jubilife City?

First off, disclaimer: This is less theory and more exploration of possible answers to the question of when Sigma’s accident occurred. Specifically, what do they mean for the larger world of overwatch and for Sigma?

The Facts

Sibren De Kuiper is 62 years old

He knows Winston is the creation of Dr Harold Winston. Whether by just knowing the details of Dr Winston’s experiments leading up to his own experiment (and subsequent accident) or by some other means after Dr Harold’s experiment started.

Winston is 29 years old

Gorillas are typically considered adults at about 6, meaning that either genetic modification stunted his growth temporarily (or spread it out?) or the Dr Winston flashbacks take place at least 23 years ago.

Sigma knows Dr Harold Winston is dead. (“Give Dr. Winston my regards.” is his elimination quote against Winston, though it’s unknown if he went into the experiment knowing Dr Winston was dead or if he was informed of this after the fact. Why he would have, I’m not sure? I guess Talon may have used that to throw him off-guard?)

Overwatch was disbanded 7 years ago

Zarya’s gravity well is a creation of or based on the work of “The Tobelsteins'”

Sigma can recognize it as such

Her particle cannon came off a armored vehicle during battle.

Reinhardt’s hero page says the Omnic Crisis happened over 30 years ago

Orisa’s says it was over 20 years ago.

Michael Chu claimed it was 25 years ago, “give or take a few years.”

UPDATE: Zarya’s page says it started “some 30 years ago”

Meaning it’s likely that it just ended 20/25 years ago

Meaning Winston has to have been born sometime during the war, since gorilla gestation takes less than a year and he’s only 29. It’s not impossible that they made giant gorillas first or that the moon gorilla’s where gestated artificially so it would take longer, but that’s way too much biology to be thinking about for a exploration of possible dates for Sigma’s experiment.

Unless the International Space Station changed it’s rules about the heights of crew members or was replaced with a larger version, Sigma is far too tall to be allowed up on it. (This doesn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t a international or government station, but it should be noted.)

The Speculation

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more older gaang

Can we appreciate how Bumi and Kya went to find comfort at their father's statue in the Southern Air Temple after having an argument with their brother.

We found Bumi first, talking to their father's statue and how he got so emotional, how much his father meant to him and how much he wanted to make him proud.

and somehow Kya was there, in the same place, either she was looking for her brother or wanted to take a look at their father's statue too. And after hearing Bumi's emotional speech, she reassured him that Aang was eventually proud of him, of them. Both being there in the Southern Air Temple, taking this trip with their brother, being around their father's statue and talking alot about him, proves how much they miss him, this loss wasn't easy for their mother but also for them.

Also, I have to point out how Aang is a role model to his sons, Aang had spent his whole life, keeping the world safe. Bumi and Tenzin have been following his steps in every way they can, they both became leaders, they both wanted to make their father proud by protecting the world, both Bumi and Tenzin want to be a man like their father, a man they are both proud of and admired. Plus, their father would want them to follow their own path.

meanwhile Kya has been following both of her parents' steps, she had been travelling around the world like them and being one of the greatest healers the world has been gifted just like her mother.

These episodes, Civil Wars from the Legend of Korra, we have explored Bumi, Kya and Tenzin's childhood and seen their anger towards each other, their sadness, the jealousy and expressing how their childhood wasn't easy since their loving father was busy protecting a world and rebuilding a nation, what they've been feeling, are signs of grief, they are still coping of their father's death. But at the end of the day, they are still a loving and happy family.

The three of them are proud, continuing their parent's legacy, and have immense love for them, even though their father is gone, it won't stop them of making him proud.

what some players think the occultist is like: -evil -religious extremist -time for my 4:00 human sacrifice brb -praise cthulhu!! -ending the world is cool and good and your confusion about why someone who thinks ending the world is cool and good is even on the team is definitely not a sign of being mistaken what the occultist’s barks and campfire dialogues are actually like: -i’m a university professor with tenure and still haven’t paid off my student loans -who wants to sing some super cool CAMPFIRE SONGS?! - /stupid teacher quips -god is evil, humans rule and monsters drool, come at me you eldritch FUCK i will yeet your malformed ass back to the VOID YOU SPAWNED FROM you little BITCH -oh fuck oh fuck why did i have the hubris to think i could play games with star-satan and win, curse my lack of genre awareness -HELP I’M SEALED WITHIN THIS MORTAL FLESH PRISON AND I HATE IT HERE. STOP SINGING HIS STUPID SONGS! YOU’RE JUST ENCOURAGING HIM! -whoops it got weird for a minute but it’s all out of my system now, brb making dramatic speeches about the united human intellect -i’m too old for this shit :| what the occultist’s hero shrine story is actually like: -yes hello my hubris led me to make only the worst life choices and i’m not allowed to host book club anymore

~I had someone tell me they feel I add “unneeded information” to my characters;;

I’m not mad at this person because they are a bae and they’re entitled to their opinion. 

I realize the general opinion is that the arms made Otto evil. 

I don’t agree, actually. Here’s why:

I watched Spider-man 2 again and from what I saw I personally believe it was a combination of things. 

the loss of Rosie 

being pushed into the spotlight suddenly

no privacy

no space or time to grieve Rosie

being exploited by The Bugle for profit

being forced into this persona he did not choose ‘Doc Ock’ which he never refers to himself as

losing his job, home, career, humanity

being used and manipulated by things he designed / built 

suddenly having four very big and deadly machines on his back 

having a mental health crises 

I think all of those things contributed to Otto just losing his mind. Suddenly being pushed into the spotlight while having a mental health crises AND just losing your wife of 20+ years would make anyone go nuts. Like, imagine how scared Otto would  actually be. I can’t imagine. As an introvert myself, suddenly having the whole world know about me would be terrifying. I also think Otto had prior struggles with mental health due to his childhood and everything that happened to him, literally overnight, pushed him over the edge. The arms used Otto’s compromised mental state to exploit and ab*se their creator to do their bidding.

You guys, remember, Otto was physically and mentally ab*sed by his father Tobert Octavius for his whole childhood. It’s not in the movie but it is part of the comic book background. Add that childhood trauma to the trauma celebrities deal with being famous. I think Otto just couldn’t deal with it and didn’t know how to ask for help. Imagine how powerless Otto must have felt. I can’t see any therapists getting in line wanting to help a man with four giant metal arms on his back. Which is why Otto fell through the cracks but it’s also why Peter’s conversation to “defeat” Otto was so profound. Peter was the FIRST person to show kindness and compassion. He understood Otto was a very broken and hurting human being. Peter spoke to the person Otto was. He never saw Otto as this crazy monster, he always saw him as his mentor. Otto was’t evil, he was suffering. I don’t “add unneeded info” I write from a different angle. It’s an angle that is very important to write about. 

something about the wave of Alfred Molina thirst makes me think of that "Everyone is Beautiful and No One is Horny" essay. shan't elaborate right now but give me a moment.

its very nice hc

Otto canonically makes really bad jokes. So he would definitely love dad jokes. Like you know these videos where people film themselves telling their mom a bad joke and then you just hear the dad laughing about it like it's the best joke they've heard in years? That's Otto. Norman would be the confused mom. Also Norman is the kind of old person who'd just try to imitate teenage slang in order to relate with today's youth.

Doomfist must have to deal with a lot of shit in Talon between everybody. Like a 7 foot tall HR manager. Could we get sone interractions reflecting this?

I love Beleaguered Manager Doomfist so much you don’t even know. 

-----

Doomfist: I always love hearing about your side projects, Sombra, what are you up to these days?

Sombra: Oh I keep myself busy. You hear about the mysterious disappearance of that Axiom hedge fund manager and all of her assets?

Doomfist: ...I must admit, I have not.

Sombra: Exactly.

----

Doomfist: So... how is your list coming along?

Reaper: *snarling scoff*

Doomfist: I’m not saying there’s a deadline, I’m just wondering about your progress.

----

Moira: I must say, this organization seems put to right now that Vialli isn’t around to obsess over every penny. 

Doomfist: Ideology must always come first, Moira, I know we can agree on that. Though I must ask, does the R&D department really need six different acid tubs?

Moira: Incompetent labtechs must be made example of--er--I mean it’s very important to my research.

----

Sigma: I deeply appreciate my new accommodations, Mr. Ogundimu, and I don’t mean to intrude, but I don’t know who else to ask about this and there seems to be a consistent issue with a lack of coffee stirrers in the break room. I don’t know who keeps using them all, but--

Doomfist: ...you literally can create angular velocity with your gravity powers. You can stir with your mind.

Sigma: Yes, but it’s the principle of it---and I find the gesture calming.

Doomfist: *sigh* I’ll look into it.