John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter and Harry Carey Jr. in “The Searchers”
Wonderful film. Ford was an arch-conservative, but he was a true artist, and managed to make the John Wayne character an almost-complete bastard, a man full of darkness, a man full of self-dislike, and a man capable of growth. The touches of racism make the complexity even more believable. Imo.
… as characters in Westerns tend to say when something unknown and frightening appears on their trail.
I have entered my first story challenge. Since my obituary will probably be something like Exit, pursued by a deadline, my entering the challenge is (a) quite brave (2) quite brave in the meaning given to it by Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister (3) likely to lead to an enforced stay in a mental health institution. To Be Continued.
We’re super excited: we’ve had a lot of people sign up for the SFBB and can’t wait to see what you all create for us all to enjoy!
Author sign ups close this Wednesday, February 28th
WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR MORE ARTISTS! If you can draw or make graphics/edits, we would be ever so grateful for your participation, so please consider signing up.
i’ve talked about this at length before but here’s a quick rundown of the sorts of issues it think he has and the kind of backstory that points to, imo:
fear of abandonment
fear of commitment (which wildly flip flops to extreme attachment and fear of loss after season 2)
little to no self-worth (exacerbated by his disability)
compulsive liar // identity fabrication
fear of being trapped. this is one i come back to again and again when i think about silver. i think it’s one of the most fundamental aspects of his personality, and early on in the show i think it drives most of what he does and says. you can hear it in the dialogue. when we first meet him he explicitly states he doesn’t believe in forming lasting attachments. he’s clearly a drifter, used to running at the first sign of trouble. i think it’s safe to say that’s how he’s survived for so long. which is why the loss of his leg–while it would be undoubtedly traumatic for anyone else obviously–is specifically harrowing and life-changing for him. because he loses the leg he gets trapped inside a story he never wanted to be in in the first place. he’s forced to form bonds for the first time in his life (or at least, for the first time in a looooong time). he’s forced to depend on people and be depended on. he re-defines his entire identity to accommodate. the tragic thing is he’s such an expert liar he convinces everyone around him, and i’d argue he also convinces himself, to an extent. i’m so sad wow
most of these are probably a product of some kind of abuse as a child. the nature of that abuse i’m not sure of, but he’s definitely been abandoned/abused at some point by authority figures he trusted. that kind of betrayal leaves similar scars i think.
i tend to think the orphanage part of his life is not a lie. i do think he spent time in boy’s homes–probably not in any way that was consistent or good, but he was probably in and out of them a lot. i imagine him spending a lot of time on the streets, too, and fending only for himself. i think he probably remembers his family. i think he wishes he didn’t. i don’t know if he was abused by them, or lost them early, or ran away from them, or was abandoned by them, it could be any or all of the above tbh, who knows.
i also think his entire personality is a defense mechanism. specifically his aptitude for reading people–the best way to stay out of danger is to stay vigilant and be able to tell when danger is coming (and the worst kind of danger usually comes from other people). the ability to manipulate people, then, is as vital as a sword in a fight.
to top it off he’s skittish and afraid of physical pain. the thing he says to eleanor about guilt really sticks with me too–people who suffer abuse tend to blame themselves afterwards. the only way he’s figured out how to survive it is to let go of it entirely. of his guilt, identity, and past experiences. they have no relevance to who he is (and ain’t that a damned lie. his past comes full circle to define him entirely and the funny thing is we’ve no idea who he is.)
none of this shit implies a nice, harmless, uneventful childhood. to me it implies suffering, of the meaningless and prolonged sort.
tl;dr i’d die for this man even though i will never know who he actually is
So lucid and articulate. Agree 100% re. defense mechanisms and fear of commitment. Agree 150% re. his turmoil after the loss of his leg (one of his last attempts at being a self-serving liar is what he tells Flint immediately after the touching “new quartermaster” moment – and Flint is clearly on to him). Many thanks.
We’ve been incredibly blessed with excellent writers and artists in this fandom and we’d like to give them the opportunity to combine their talents by participating in our First Ever Silverflint Big Bang!
What is this?
The gist of the big bang is that an author will write a fic of at least 10K words and be paired up with artist who will produce at least one visual work to accompany it. Mix and shake and post it together!
Who can sign up?
Everyone who is willing to write or create art is encouraged to sign up! If you are multitalented, you can participate as an artist AND writer, but you can’t make art for your own fic.
What kind of art can I make?
You can draw something or make an edit for your assigned fic. The most important thing is that it actually be based on the fic you’re making the art for and that it be finished. We are restricting to visual art for this challenge.
What am I allowed to write?
ANYTHING YOU WANT as long as it’s about Flint and Silver. There’s no content restriction as long as you tag it properly*. We’re also welcoming Silverflint+ relationships (this is a show that thrives on threesomes, after all), so long as Silverflint is featured prominently in your threesome/foursome/orgy. All ratings, AUs, cross-overs, etc are welcome.
*[For legal reasons, we’re asking participants to abstain from depicting underaged sex for this challenge.]
Drop us an ask if you have any questions! This will be our first go at moderating a challenge like this, so be patient with us as we try to make this a fabulous experience for all.
Watch this space for more updates about sign ups and the schedule!
(suspects that she needs another deadline like a hole in the head, scratches said head)
James Flint: Brief me on the voting situation. John Silver: Helpful hint to the scientists that program you. Most humans say “Hello” at the beginning of a conversation.
Often in the Italian (and French, and Greek) resistance women, young and old, acted as couriers, carrying information, messages between units, underground leaflets and papers, and occasionally medicines and weapons. This is shown well and movingly in the novel Men and Not Men by Elio Vittorini. If you read Italian or German, please read Renata Vigano’s novel L’Agnese va a morire (Agnese geht in den Tod), unfortunately never translated into English. Agnese, who goes to her death in the title, is an elderly peasant woman who joins a partisan unit.
mici's campfire 