#boy 1

The proposals of both Darcy and Crawford are similar in a significant way: their arrogance and audacity. However, it's also completely understandable. It's just math:

Gentry families have on average, 6.6 children in this era. Assuming your basic 50/50 split of boys and girls surviving the adulthood, you have your family of 3 girls and 3 boys. Boy 1 gets basically everything, Boy 2 goes into the army, Boy 3 goes into the church and etc. if more boys were born. Girls 1-3 hope they have sufficient dowries, great beauty, or they try for accomplishments. They also hope that Boy 1 isn't John Dashwood and decides that taking care of them when their father dies is just too troublesome.

Here is the problem when they want to pair off, there are 3 Girls and only one Boy 1, and he's the only one people want to marry. Mary Crawford wants a Boy 1, she violated the 1st Rule of Well-Dowered Women by falling for Boy 2 (Don't talk to second sons). So women have to settle for Boys 2 and 3 (and sometimes 4 and 5), and many go without marrying at all because of the men dying at war and at sea. But also because many of these Boy 2 and 3s don’t have enough money to actually marry on, they need or really want a Well-Dowered Woman.

Hence there are many spinsters and old, poorer bachelors and not that many choices for women to stay within this class. (and it seems like the main goal is not break class)

Darcy and Henry Crawford know the math, they know that basically any woman would be delighted to have a proposal from them, and they also think very highly of themselves. And let's face it, they are pretty solid catches, young, rich, and intelligent. So it makes total sense that they would go in to any proposal believing they would be accepted. This is why, "He spoke of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security." (P&P, emphasis the authors). 

It is also why it takes an Elizabeth-level rant to disabuse Boy 1 of his pretenses.

Alternative Universe | Post Apocalyptic | William Fic | No MSR.

One who can think is one who is dangerous. 

Tumblr Only | 

Remember a while ago when I said I wanted to write a fic that only had William in it, no MSR, well this is this fic (I’m not expecting this to get a lot of attention tbh). This fic is also based on Inside because I’m obsessed with the story- and the game itself, I’ve said plenty of times that I like puzzles- so this it is. I actually like the shortness of these chapters and I’ll probably write it alongside tch and the zombie au.

Tagging @today-in-fic @mypanicface

[He refuses to conform. He refuses to be another brainless zombie. He still had his memories, still wore his red jumper when they made everyone else wear grey]

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ENTRY ONE

His beating heart and quick breaths seem to echo through the forest.

William looks up at the rock he’s just jumped down from amazed that he actually made it out. Most people don’t make it this far, he found out on his way out.

He refuses to conform. He refuses to be another brainless zombie. He still had his memories, still wore his red jumper when they made everyone else wear grey. He may only be ten years old but he still remembers how the world was before this, still remembers how they killed his parents for the same crime he’s committing right now.

Only he plans on surviving.

The forest is vast and dark before him. They have probably realised he’s gone, will be out looking for him and he’ll be caught if he doesn’t move now.

Tried my hand at recapping this week's #WatchROH. I think I may add this to the rotation, it rocked.

Venue: 2300 Arena (Philadelphia, PA) Commentators: Ian Riccaboni & Colt Cabana Last year before Final Battle I said that I would start paying attention to Ring Of Honor if Dalton Castle won the World Title. Time to keep my word…at least for now. Not sure if the show is going to grab me or not yet to be honest, I haven’t watched ROH regularly since 2012-2013. But hey let’s give it a shot. FOR THE…

Boy #1

My first Voice Challenge shall be… Pip (Philip Pirrip), from Charles Dickens’ novel ‘Great Expectations’.  I should say what ‘Boy #1’ means.  In the 40 Voices Table, I have categorised the voices into types and will have a go at each type 5 times, so creating 5 variants.  In this example, this is my first attempt at creating the voice for a boy (Boy #1).

So what do we know about this fictional character?  Sparknotes.com says that there are two Pips; the character and the narrator, who is an older version of Pip. As I am covering the Boy #1 entry here, we will focus on the character in the early chapters of the book.  Sparknotes.com says Pip’s two important traits are his immature romantic idealism and his innate good conscience.  He is also ambitious and wishes to improve himself, whether educationally, morally or socially.

Voice-wise, Pip’s Wikipedia entry informs me that he is an orphan brought up in Kent in the early 1800s by his cruel sister Mrs Joe and her husband Joe Gargery, who is a blacksmith.  When the book begins he is 7 years old.

Let’s examine the Kent accent a little: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3.  In these three examples alone, there is a distinct difference in their accent despite all coming from Kent, but examples 1 & 3 do have a sound that could be associated with the east-end of London.  But we also have the passing of time to consider. 

A study was done in 1950s to try and trace the old Kent accent that would have originated when Londoners would have migrated to the east coast during the 19th century. Whilst those voices belong to people born in the closing decades of the 19th century, later than the time of the novel, it may provide a more accurate version than the modern Kent accents.  The older accent still retained the ‘r’ pronunciation which had been lost in the popular London accent at that time.  Voice #5 from this collection is a blacksmith and has a mix of rural and east-London in his accent.

Let’s see what the adaptations did with Pip’s accent:

BBC 2011 adaptation – Pip meets Miss Haversham.  Interestingly, many people expressed their surprise in the comments about the rustic sound of the boy’s accent.

1946 Movie - there is a definite cockney accent here but it feels toned down or flattened.

2012 Movie - again, the accent is far more rural than London, which was different from my preconception.

Finally, let’s listen to his father figure, Joe Gargery, performed here by actor Greg Jones.  Again, there is definitely a cockney twang to this accent.

OK, finally choosing lines to say…

‘O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,’ I pleaded in terror. ‘Pray don’t do it, sir.’ ‘Tell us your name!’ said the man. ‘Quick!’ ‘Pip, sir.’

‘I have only been to the churchyard,’ said I, from my stool, crying and rubbing myself. ‘Churchyard!’ repeated my sister. ‘If it warn’t for me you’d have been to the churchyard long ago, and stayed there. Who brought you up by hand?’ ‘You did,’ said I. ‘And why did I do it, I should like to know?’ exclaimed my sister. I whimpered, ‘I don’t know.’