every so often a british writer has a character call ‘shotgun’ for a situation not involving a car, or even a mode of travel at all, and for some reason i find this absolutely adorable.
i thought of making a post to explain the history and usage of the term, but if i did that they might stop.
i’m an american and i don’t know the history. i guess it’s because people drive with a shotgun next to them?
nope.
ok i’ve been informed by a couple people that outside america, it just means ‘dibs’, so it’s unlikely they’ll give up being cute about it if i explain, so imma explain.
it comes from this:
see, once upon a time, the american west was very sparsely settled, and between the few towns there were lay hundreds of miles of wild animals, criminals, desperate ex-confederate soldiers with raging ptsd and more ammo than food, and semi-nomadic first nations bands who at any moment might be at war with the us government, each other, and/or local landowners, or just looking to make their name by taking some trophies and bragging rights.
so if you wanted to get mail, goods, or passengers from one place to another, you better be prepared to defend yourself and run like hell at the same time.
enter the shotgun rider.
see in the picture, the fella that’s not holding the reins has a long gun over his knee? he must be confident, that’s a bit longer than the usual coach gun. you’d load with shot instead of slugs because you wanted scatter – aiming from a galloping coach isn’t easy even for a sharpshooter, and the intent was to deter, not kill. you’d aim for your attackers’ horses if you were smart. a man with buckshot in him might chase you harder in anger, but a horse with a peppered flank was goddamn done with your nonsense.
of course, such exciting episodes weren’t going to occur on every trip. so as a matter of practicality, while keeping watch for attackers, the shotgun rider was also navigator, relief driver, snack-fetcher, and in charge of entertaining you so you didn’t nod off and drive your horses in a circle all night.
the modern usage is sometimes just ‘dibs the front passenger seat’, so i see how it became just for claiming stuff across the pond. but the general connotation is also that you’re the main support guy. the co-pilot, the map-decipherer, the one who phones ahead and asks mom if you need to pick anything up on the way back. it’s not just about getting to ride up front, it’s about being in charge of stuff, which is very appealing but also a responsibility.
and that’s why you don’t call ‘shotgun’ for things other than driving. because that’s the only situation, really, where you’re calling dibs on being somebody’s right-hand guy for a task.
driver still picks the music, tho. that’s a cosmic law.
Passenger shuts his cakehole
it’s the American Way
Tbh it didn’t occur to me until I read it that anyone would take the passenger seat and NOT act as the right-hand of the driver.
Like, I’ve hand-fed my friends chips when we were on a long trip, so they wouldn’t have to take their hands off the wheel. Helped zip through the radio stations to find one that wasn’t static, or fiddle with the tech until bluetooth worked.
Passenger is in charge of making sure google maps or waze is working properly. In charge of answering any texts or calls to the driver. Checking in to make sure the driver isn’t tired on long trips, volunteering to take over if they are. Coordinating bathroom breaks if we have other passengers in the back, and figuring out where we should stop to eat or the nearest gas station.
Shotgun is a very important position on longer trips (and keep in mind, driving across the U.S. takes several days of driving. Twice a year I drive 7 straight hours from my house to visit my parents for Christmas, and I’ve driven westward on a 17-hour trip before.)
Driver’s responsibility is driving safely and maybe pumping gas.
ANYTHING else is for Shotgun.
Shorter trips, it’s not as big of a deal, but if it’s over an hour or two, you’ve got responsibilities
a fine addition.
it occurs to me that part of why the nuance gets lost in europe and new zealand is y’all don’t take car trips long enough to need a shotgun rider. or when you do, it’s a big damn deal, so you probably overprepare and take lots of breaks.
around here we’re like “hey let’s go up the lake this weekend” and next thing you know we’re off on a 260 mile daytrip with two cans of redbull and a joke mixtape from high school. i’ve soloed one of those and by the time you get to silver bay you’re speaking in tongues. you need a copilot if you’re going to be in any shape for fishing on arrival.
I take two 87-mile drives every week and Ollie is my beloved shotgun rider who i routinely and very lovingly scream at for getting us turned around on the freeway.
also if you’re of the tall persuasion Shotgun may be the only place in the car that has any $#@#^-ing leg room. do not hog the shotgun.
Yep- the oh wait I haven’t finished and published it- okay that WIP I posted a while back with 85% of the chapter, the opening scene is that Ravennë and her brother stay in the village with the nursing moms and babies and Elwë and Finwë/ Cue Inkundu being an obnoxious shit to Finwë, Elwë swooping in to rescue Finwë and subtlety ignore Inkundu/treat him as someone beneath any notice or respect, and Ravennë think ‘my brother is worthless, these two friends of ‘That Hot Persona Non Grata who is Maybe Worth A Lot of Consideration’ are decent connections.
As Elwë is eldest child of village leaders, he is roughly the same social position as Ravennë, so she’s been aware of him.
I feel bad because I haven’t even gotten to writing all the meat of her stories- there’s the whole divergent AU where she has to lead in absence of Ingwë
His canon wife – of whom I have named Ravennë and spent a long time developing into my own character. Branching out from “Of Ingwë”, there is that badwrong ship him with Imin. I’m an outlier in that I don’t ship Ingwë in any way with Manwë, and of the three elven prophet kings, although I really only like Ingwë and Elwë of that trio, to suggest any romantic feelings among the three, I can only imagine it with Finwë to Elwë.
I really dislike how so many people wanted some sort of Reeve!Superman incarnation. For a start, it doesn’t fit with the tone or maturity of the DCEU. Plus, it obviously didn’t work for Superman Returns. It’s sad that audiences feel the need for constant dialogue, quips, and exposition to empathize with Clark/Superman, or like him. To me personally, this signifies a global misunderstanding of introverts and “quiet” people.
Cavill!Clark felt like a REAL person, and as an introverted/shy person, this is so refreshing to see in a movie. ((Same can be said about Mako in Pacific Rim)). Clark didn’t need to be talking non-stop to express thoughts and emotions. We see his little smiles with Lois, his face falling after the Capitol explosion, his terrifying anger at Lex. We SAW his inner turmoil and heard it through other characters (Finch, Martha, Lois, the media) .
Most importantly, Clark spoke when it mattered.
I totally agree misunderstanding introverts is one of the issues. Reminded me of this quote (from the book Quiet)
“today we make room for a remarkably narrow range of personalities. We’re told that to be great is to be bold, to be happy is to be sociable.“ I think the last part especially applies because Clark smiles and has happy moments but it’s expressed differently than an extrovert (for example, the way his smiles are more modest and less frequent around strangers vs when he’s with martha or lois) and this gets ignored & written off as “joyless” or misinterpreted as bad characterization or bad acting but really it’s just people not being used to seeing introverts unless they’re the weirdo/ creep/ psycho character. And cavill!clark shatters that stereotype, not to mention he shows that true heroism and optimism comes from your actions, not big speeches or a constant smile
Aglar and his wife are expecting twins. Bân’s dearest friend, Fân, has not yet married his love, the shy yet strong Dondwen, but the two are living together in travellers’ inn that she runs, along with a boy named Brandost**. The former pugilist now innkeeper had taken in a war orphan during the aftermath of the War of Wrath, and until the boy’s parents are reborn, or by some miracle survived the war and find passage on the ships returning to Valinor, he is theirs to raise. The ring that Fân wears is still silver, and yet he finds himself already in the role of father. Of all the surprises awaiting them upon their rebirth, Fân’s wins for shock value.
**Brandost Orwosto Tenasil ? Which one do y’all like? Other suggestions?
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