sholio: blue and yellow airplane flying (Biggles-Biplane)
Sholio ([personal profile] sholio) wrote2022-07-18 12:36 pm
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My Biggles reading continues

I am currently reading Biggles in Australia, which is, uh, at least somewhat less heavy on the DNW than I was expecting? (So far.) A giant squid tried to eat the plane, as I'm sure is a common problem in Australia.

Anyway, I was just summarizing for [personal profile] rachelmanija's benefit a recurring conversation that Biggles has with the local authorities approximately every second chapter regarding von Stalhein:

Locals: Why don't we just arrest him.
Biggles: We can't, he hasn't done anything.
Locals: Except that thing he just did, that you saw him do.
Biggles: ... oh look, a plane!

Most recently this was after he STRAIGHT UP BURIED A BODY OF A GUY THEY'RE PRETTY SURE HE KILLED. Biggles, why are you like this.
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philomytha: airplane flying over romantic castle (Default)

[personal profile] philomytha 2022-07-18 09:47 pm (UTC)(link)
LOL. Also there is no carry-over from book to book. Yes, sure, at the start of each book Biggles hasn't seen him do anything REALLY serious, but by the end of the book normally Biggles has been a personal eyewitness to all sorts of crimes, but by the next book they've all evaporated and nobody can make anything stick to him. Biggles's reports must be a masterpiece of their literary genre. And then we saw von Stalhein looking very handsome standing over a dead body with a gun in his hand, but there was no evidence that he'd been involved in the killing so we had a little chat and then I let him go.

It's no wonder Algy keeps trying to stage interventions, really!
sholio: blue and yellow airplane flying (Biggles-Biplane)

[personal profile] sholio 2022-07-18 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Biggles's reports must be a masterpiece of their literary genre. *And then we saw von Stalhein looking very handsome standing over a dead body with a gun in his hand, but there was no evidence that he'd been involved in the killing so we had a little chat and then I let him go.*

XDDD I'm now imagining his boss just sighing and filing these with the rest.

The repetition is what really sells it. It wouldn't be as funny if it was just one instance of Biggles having a legitimate reason not to arrest him. But no! I don't think there is a single time that anyone in his vicinity suggests it and he doesn't respond with some kind of incredibly thin excuse why it's not a good idea, definitely not, absolutely no evidence whatsoever, how could you even suggest such a thing?! Why on earth SHOULD we arrest this man who has tried to kill us on every occasion we've encountered him and is definitely doing something illegal right now? What nerve!

... That's also a good point about Biggles cumulatively having enough evidence to arrest him approximately a dozen times over.
sholio: blue and yellow airplane flying (Biggles-Biplane)

[personal profile] sholio 2022-07-19 03:08 am (UTC)(link)
LOLOLLLLLL I just got to this:

Von Stalhein’s in the tea-room,’ answered Ginger breathlessly – the breathlessness not being entirely due to exertion.
Biggles looked incredulous. Not for a long time had Ginger seen him so taken aback. But he recovered quickly. ‘Is he alone?’ he asked, jumping down.

Also Biggles: What was he wearing? How did he look? Did he say anything? Excuse me, I need to talk to him alone for a while.
philomytha: airplane flying over romantic castle (Default)

[personal profile] philomytha 2022-07-19 05:44 am (UTC)(link)
He always has his finger on the really important questions! Does he look well? Is he alone?

In justice to Biggles, Raymond also apparently has been infected by this disorder, because sometimes WEJ swaps their dialogue over and Biggles gets the 'so why don't we arrest him' lines and Raymond gets the 'unfortunately we have no evidence against him, probably because your last six reports on him would be a major embarrassment in court...'
black_bentley: (Default)

[personal profile] black_bentley 2022-07-19 08:53 am (UTC)(link)
also please stop drawing little hearts in the margins
sovay: (Otachi: Pacific Rim)

[personal profile] sovay 2022-07-19 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
A giant squid tried to eat the plane, as I'm sure is a common problem in Australia.

I'm kind of surprised it isn't more of a common problem in Australia in novels.
sholio: sun on winter trees (Default)

[personal profile] sholio 2022-07-19 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
I'd read it.
aelfgyfu_mead: (Falcon)

[personal profile] aelfgyfu_mead 2022-07-24 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
My husband remembers reading some of these books when he was pretty young. You have tempted me to find some. (But the pile of books in our bedroom! And in the family room! And in a few others places!)

This does feel a lot like Zemo, though! Except that Zemo actually gets help from other opponents too:
Ayo: He killed our king.
Bucky: But that was last year, and we need him for this thing.
Ayo: Fine. You have eight hours.

Everyone: He killed all the remaining Flagsmashers!
Sam: But he was on the Raft. Couldn't have been him.
Everyone: He just had his butler do it.
Sam: Wait: you're telling me the butler did it?
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