#'protagonist' of the cask of amontillado

[thatswhatsushesaid]

shitpost dispatches from the qinghe nie's legacy of self-destruction

[alli-the-tragic]

The Edgar Allan Poe connection on the second WH Halloween Update

As I watch the recent update, I noticed at least two references of Edgar Allan Poe's work. The First one is The Tell-Tale Heart which is blatantly mentioned as Sally's new play rendition. The second one is The Cask of Amontillado which isn't as well known but if you are familiar with it like I do. You'll get that reference and possibly what will happen in the future.

Let's try to theorize what these connections mean in Welcome Home:

The Tell-Tale Heart

The unnamed protagonist became paranoid by the old man's eye. He eventually murders the old man and dismembers the body parts and puts under the floor, the cops came and the protagonist tried to manipulate the cops, saying there is nothing wrong. However, he eventually becomes paranoid by the beating heart under the floor and then, he snaps.

The Cask of Amontillado

The protagonist, Montresor, opens the short tale by being in a carnival with his acquaintance, Fortunato, who is currently drunk and dressed up as a jester, including little bells on the tips of the hat. Montresor strategically planned to take revenge on Fortunato by persuading him to go to the catacombs together. As Montresor finds his perfect spot, a small crypt, he takes Fortunato and chained him inside and bricks him inside. 

I had a feeling that bricking Poppy's window is a subtle way of getting rid of Poppy because large puppets are difficult to work with and the creator(s) thought that she doesn't have any use anymore. Poppy eventually gets out being paranoid by an eerie sound and successfully escapes. Which sort of botched the getting rid of Poppy plan.

I still have a feeling that someone or something wants to get rid of the neighbors for one reason or another and eventually successfully do so.

Which leaves Wally Darling, Welcome Home's most popular character and possibly the creator(s) pride and joy, isolated and needing help by calling into the outside world.

[ghostlycircaea]

Where would Alexios have place in the succession line to the Agiad throne?

So I originally posted this to the ac Odyssey subreddit, but it was fun to talk about so I'm posting it here too.

This is mostly just self-indulgent fun to work out some logistics while I'm working on an AU, and I’m relying more heavily on the historical side rather than the game but I'd love to hear what you all think and if my logic actually tracks for this.

(Most of the historical stuff is coming from Wikipedia, so do with that what you will. There are also spoilers in regards to the Kings of Sparta.)

Most of this doesn’t really apply to canon because Kassandra is the canon protagonist and this doesn’t work if we use her—as a woman, she wouldn’t have been eligible for the throne in the first place. There was a 'queen' title during the Classical period, but it looks like it only refers to wife of one of the kings and not an inheritable position. I’ll be using Alexios as the elder sibling here.

To get it out of the way, there are technically two different birth years for both Alexios and Kassandra, based on the novel and game respectively: Alexios - 458 BCE or 453 BC   |   Kassandra - 451 BCE or 446 BCE. Based on when Leonidas died, 458 and 451 makes the most sense and I think is the generally accepted opinion. It also just fits my timeline better.

The most glaring issue here is that I’m not sure if the kingship could have been passed through Myrrine unless there were no other potential heirs or with the interference of the Ephors.

Myrrine’s brother, King Pleistarchus, died with no heirs around 458 BCE. I’m going with him dying a few months after Alexios is born. Pausanias (II) wouldn’t be born for several more years, historically speaking. Even if we use the younger ages for Alexios and Kassandra, they would still BOTH be older than him. Which. The Pausanias we got in game? WAY older than the real Pausanias. He would have been like 14-16?? when the war started??

Side Note: I have a suspicion that the Pausanias we get in Odyssey may be a bit of a blend of Pausanias II,  his father, Pleistoanax, and his grandfather, Pausanias I. All three of which were considered traitors and exiled or killed for one reason or another.  

Pausanias I, served as regent for Pleistarchus, until he was caught allying himself with Persia and found himself murdered by the Ephors a lá the cask of Amontillado (i.e. bricked up into a temple and left to starve to death. Seemingly started by his own mother no less!).

Pleistoanax was exiled for making peace settlements with Athens. He returns to the throne in 427 BCE after the death of Archidamos II.

Pausanias II was put on trial twice, once for betrayal and the other for “poor leadership” after which he was sentenced to death (he escaped and lived the rest of his live in exile)

There seem to be a few options for next in line to the throne after Pleistarchus all but Alexios would have been descendants of Kleombrotus, Leonidas’ younger brother. The other two brothers had no known sons.

Pleistoanax is who, historically, inherited the throne from Pleistachus.

Cleomenes II and Nasteria, the younger brothers of Pleistoanax. Neither brother has much information available, so it’s possible that one or both.

Nikomedes, brother of Pausanias I, died sometime after 457 BCE. He was passed over historically as well but served as Pleistoanax’s regent.

However! In this version of events, I think, if given the choice, the decision could have been made by the Ephors to pass over Pausanias I’s descendants, if another possible heir was born. To me, it would seem that the grandson of Leonidas (and great-grandson of Cleomenes I) would be a far more favorable choice than the son of a known traitor (who would also go on to betray Sparta) even if they had to go down through Myrrine. But I also know that both Pleistoanax and Pausanias II betray Sparta as well and Sparta wouldn't have know that, so I’m a bit biased.

With all of that though comes the implication that Alexios could have… technically been king since he was an infant? In this case he would have inherited it directly from Pleistarchus in 458 BCE. It would have really just been the title, and he would have a regent, likely Nikomedes, as he was regent for Pleistoanax.

Obviously, this doesn’t line up with the game much at all, but I think it’s entertaining to think about. For it to work, I think the regent would need to be a part of the cult and actively want Alexios to either join them or be out of the picture entirely and replaced by someone already under their control. In this case, the opportunity to get rid of him showed up first at Taygetos and they jumped on it.

(Fun fact: The direct heir/king of either throne generally did NOT participate in the agoge. All more distant heirs, would have. The heir would have specialized training and was also protected from the high mortality rate that came with the agoge.)

Personally, I just think that it’s funny that none of this ever really comes up? I get why it didn’t—they would need to change the story depending on who you chose to play which would likely be a decent bit of extra work. Although, I do wish that playing as Kassandra or Alexios had more consequence to the story—I would be far more inclined to go back and play as both if they weren’t the same story.

tl;dr: I think that Alexios could have possibly been the Agiad king/heir if the Ephors decided that Pausanias I’s descendants were too much of a risk to put into power.  

[musamora]

In curious to know what are your favourite bsd literature (if you do read any) cuz I'm looking for some recommendations TYYY

ooo, interesting question .ᐟ i have a couple, though sadly i haven't read many by our lead protagonists. many of these were stories i read throughout my education, but i'm hoping to expand my library, so maybe i'll have some more recommendations someday .ᐟ

the great gatsby—is short in terms of classic novels and easy-to-read. has really interesting themes about capitalism, the american dream, and morality.

crime and punishment—this one is an absolute doozy, and i'd only recommend it if you like reading through a bunch of different details. i personally enjoyed it (i'm a little biased)

the call of cthulhu—this one is incredibly interesting, and does a fascinating job of capturing different horror elements. but a giant warning (which can be applied to many of these authors) is with racism. the irl lovecraft was known to be incredibly racist, and it translates into many of his works.

the overcoat—this short story deals with many themes of social justice and alienation. the irl gogol was said to have inspired dostoevsky, so some of their works share an interesting connection in similar themes.

dracula—this is an epistolary novel (or a collection of letters), which helps to portray many horror elements in a fascinating and suspenseful manner.

almost anything by edgar allan poe is a treat. some of my personal favorites would be "the tell-tale heart," "the masque of the red death," and "the cask of amontillado." they're all fairly short reads, and they're perfect for halloween.

[anti-dazai-blog]

Second Anniversary Special

As many of the long-time followers of this blog know, I originally started out on the classic literature side of tumblr, which is what lead to my venturing into bsd. As an homage to my roots as a classic lit enthusiast, I’ll be going through all the works that I’ve read written by bsd authors:

The Spider’s Thread by Akutagawa

This short story is brought up in a lot of animes, which is unfortunately the most likely way western bsd fans. I could make an entire separate post of commentary on how the American school system doesn’t cover most foreign literature (outside of English [as in from England] and French works), and that is an absolute travesty. However, that’s not what we’re covering right now. 

Anyway. The Spider’s Thread is a very short story—like two pages at most. You can go read it now. For all the other entries I plan on rating the novels out of 5, but this one’s truly too short to rate. If you wanna read it you can find a hundred pdfs online. The same probably goes for most works of classic literature, so. Go wild enjoy the wonderful world of free online pdfs.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

I was probably assigned other works by Poe, but this one is most likely his most famous short story. I was assigned it in middle school/high school/ and at least twice in college. Again, very short short story—you can read it in a few minutes tops. 

5/5 for the sole reason of it aligning with my personal sense of humor. I get that it’s not supposed to be funny, but unreliable narrators are and will always be hilarious to me. I love a guy insisting that he’s not crazy while he’s off murdering a guy. Cask of Amontillado-core protagonist. Funny because E.A. Poe also wrote Cask of Amantillado. I’m out here starting to suspect that E.A. Poe just really loved writing his unnamed unreliable narrator protagonists.

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I’ve never read Tom Sawyer, but in 11th grade my class read Huckleberry Finn. 3/5 because I don’t like the way it was taught in class, but I did enjoy analyzing it more than some other books we did. 

Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky

Currently reading it so I can’t give much feedback, but so far I’d like this guy (Raskolnikov not Dostoyevsky) to meet Meursault from The Stranger. If anyone’s made this crossover, please send it to me. And if not and you wanna go make it yourself—please I’ll love you forever.

Dracula by Bram Stoker 

I mean we’ve all done Dracula Daily. Or at least I’ll assume you’ve heard of it. 5/5, Mina’s best girl, Quincey’s best boy, I have very basic opinions but I’m standing by them.

--Bonus

The Stranger by Camus

Meursault the prison is clearly named after Meursault, the fictional character who famously goes to prison, right. We’re all on the same page about this, right? 

Anyway if you’ve never heard of or read the stranger, [spoilers] it’s about this guy who kills a guy for no reason (“it was just so hot outside, idk what happened but now there’s a dead guy, this is a good enough criminal defense right? You’re not gonna send me to jail for just this one little mistake---oh you’re giving me the death penalty? Ah. I see.”) Solid 4/5—points deducted for being a little slow by some parts (although I can’t vouch for how it is in the original French, this was only my impression from the English translation I read)

—————

After making this list, it’s clear that I haven’t read too many books my bsd authors, so next years my anniversary special will be more about the classic literature I have read. I do plan to keep posting until then. So please enjoy another year of the anti-dazai blog!!

[crazy56u]

I just had a stupid idea, bare with me.

I accidentally let my mind wander too far, and the end result is me coming up with a partial-reimagining of "The Cask of Amontillado":

It first plays out like the usual story, the narrator is pissed over a slight delivered to him by an acquaintance, so they decide to get their revenge via basement-involved trickery.

The narrator manages to track this person down, talks them into going back to their house, they enter the basement, narrator clocks him upside the head, walls him in, the whole kit and kaboodle. narrator exits the basement in success.

...but then the next day, the narrator sees the guy in public. This takes the narrator completely off guard; they are so confident with how well they took care of the guy, seeing him not in the basement practically drives the narrator up the goddamn wall. It's like that scene in Macbeth, when he sees Banquo's ghost at the table; "I just took care of my enemy, and yet there they are." Checking the basement isn't even an option in their head, because they know that this individual who had slighted them in the way they did managed to do so again by escaping, he confidently believes this, and is going to fucking fix this one way or another.

...and meanwhile, back in the basement, the acquaintance wakes up; narrator never bothered chaining them to the wall, and they were properly knocked the fuck out for the entire duration of the walling in. Confused as fuck, and with no other option, they decide to start digging their way out of the wall and making their way out.

And that identical stranger? Well, they've been in town long enough to know of the narrator, so it's not like they're a stranger, but they have their own life, and are completely in the dark over what the fuck the narrator is flipping out over, and no one in town cares enough to get involved. They have no idea they're basically now the protagonist of a horror movie.

TL;DR: What starts as "The Cask of Amontillado" quickly devolves into fuckery as the narrator is unknowingly stuck doing The Parent Trap while their "bitter rival" is doing The Shawshank Redemption.

[in-da-bathtub-rn-frfr]

Hello friend! Welcome to post TWO of

How not to fail English.

Today I’m going to teach you all how to tell the difference between a static and dynamic character!

A static character is one who DOES NOT go through character development, and has the same personality, morals, values, likes, dislikes etc. throughout the whole story. From beginning to end these guys are the same little guys.

A dynamic character is one who changes! It might not be a big change, but they still change nonetheless! They’re the ones going through character arches, changing their morals or their values because of something that happens to them in the story!

While it’s not too hard to learn the difference, it can be quite tricky spotting a static or dynamic character, so here’s an example!

The example I’m using is Edgar Allen Poe’s short story ‘The Cask of Amontillado’. I’m using this particular piece because it’s VERY hard to tell whether Montresor is a static or dynamic protagonist!

Step 1: Read the whole story. You might need to reread some bits, but it’s good to know everything before you start analyzing.

Step 2: read the first paragraph and the last paragraph. These are often where you can see definite changes in a character, but you’ll still have to keep an eye out! Here’s the first and last paragraph of The Cask of Amontillado:

“THE THOUSAND INJURIES of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged, this was a point definitely settled - but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved, precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the Avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.”

“No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in reply only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end of my labor. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.

In pace requiescat!*”

*may he rest in peace

At first, Montresor seems completely static, as he did kill a man and leave him there in the catacombs seemingly without guilt. BUT my friends, if you read the first paragraph carefully you can see that Montresor is in fact, telling this story to someone other than the reader! Someone he knows quite well. “You, who so well know the nature of my soul..” he is confessing. And, in the last paragraph, “My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs.” That sickness is not a sickness, but guilt! This means Montresor is a dynamic character, as now fifty years later he feels guilty about the death of Fourtunato.

This is how I was taught about static/dynamic characters and it remains my favorite way to learn! Hope this helped friends, and remember to drink water!

[eqt-95]

i am overcome with curiosity at what LGF stands for please!!!

(and if i may be greedy, on the original side i am very curious about how there are two files about barkeep…?)

ooph picked a dud, bud. that's just me being too lazy to type 'let's go flying' 😅

why two barkeeps files?! they're two different stories of course!

the 'long' one takes the 'what if a bartender saved lost items' aspect of 'crisis of indulgence' and runs with it: the main character finds herself working for an old curmudgeon bar owner who started the tradition with a moldy old cardboard box of 'forgotten items' stored under the bar in case anyone ever came back for them. When she decides to sell the bar and retire, our protagonist takes the reigns and, at first out of guilt/sense of obligation to her mentor/old boss and later out of genuine fondness, slowly collects the items, establishes a log/ticketing system and effectively makes the bar a museum of lost items.

the 'short' story came out of 1. someone misunderstanding the long story's concept and 2. my rereading The Cask of Amontillado. it's the only wip that is 98% finished (which is funny because it's the most out-of-character thing i've ever written) and is ALSO the first (only) time I've ever planned my main character as a man.

(The second came by accident with 83 stops (because 83 stops is written with a sort of ironic detachment (see: Vonnegut (are you keeping count of the parenthesis layers?)) that I realized was more fitting if I just accepted the key character linking everyone together was this sort of aloof (not the real definition, I have my own (which has been a point of contention (heated debate) among friends when I use it)) male figure)) (how much did you hate that () nesting 😂)

The premise is simple: there's a barkeep who trades drinks for 'things' (memories). it's a bit eery, a bit supernatural, and a bit (a lot) inspired by the mood of Poe's stories (Amontillado, Telltale Heart, etc). This is the only piece of original work i've ever (ever) shown anyone (one person).

[hyde-the-toad-bard]

You can't help but notice that some of the most famous gothic horror is about the cascading effects of avoiding responsibility for your actions.

In Frankenstein, the titular protagonist tries to avoid responsibility for creating life, and it lashes out at his family as a result.

In A Picture of Dorian Gray, the picture takes the corruption and aging of Gray away from him, leaving him apparently free from guilt, and yet he cannot escape the affects it has on the people he hurts, not does it wipe the blood from his hands.

Dr. Jekyll literally has a 'Ring of Gyges' potion yet cannot yet cannot escape his cruelty as the more evil he performs, the more the evil becomes him.

A Tell Tale heart sees a man who tries to cover up his crime completely broken down by the pressure of doing so.

The Pit and the Pendulum subverts this, by making you wonder what crime lead the protagonist to being in this situation, only to find out its storming the Bastille time.

The Fall of the House of Usher is just like op says, generations of passing trauma down and onto the house.

Obviously not all examples fit this framing. Poe for example has A Cask of Amontillado, which probably has some consequences down the line, but it only captures a moment in the corruption of the noble man. However, I do want to point out one of Robert Louis Stevensons lesser known short stories compared to Jekyll and Hyde.

The Bottle Imp is a story about a man who comes across a bottle. Should you open the bottle, an imp will appear and grant you any wish you want. However, if you possess the bottle upon your death, your soul is guaranteed for hell. The fun catch of this story that has made it quite memorable is that you can only pass ownership by selling it for less than you bought it for. The owner buys it for just under $25. He will buy it again for a penny. Go read it it's like, less than 50 pages I think.

gothic horror rlly is just. aw fuck look at what youve done. the house has inherited your inter-generational trauma and in response has transformed itself into a metaphorical device to track the decay of the family. we're never gonna pay off that mortgage now

[blinkbones]

literally what's up with tumblr making it so blurry... anyway

The Murders in the Rue Morgue and Other Tales -- Edgar Allan Poe

This was my "halloweeny" read, or at least the spookiest title I had in my TBR. I remember a booktuber talking about another book, another classic, and saying "My problem is, I read it and I think 'God this is so cliché' but of course it is! This is from the guy whose stories inspired all the clichés! He made those! But it's still boring to read today." I felt similarly to this collection, lol; now, I wasn't really bored, and most of the stories in this one are pretty fun. But yeah! Expect the expected! It certainly has it: protagonists fueled by a murky sense of revenge, classic ghosts haunting the living, people losing their mind or maybe/maybe not we're not sure, beautiful women in tragic situations, and an incompressible dose of 'the vibes of the time'.

That said I really did enjoy the stories, and especially as I approached the end. The only one I already knew was the Tell-Tale Heart. It's still a banger and I completely understand why they had us study it in my early uni years; it's short, dense, easy and interesting to analyze (and even a bit funny, imo).

I did encounter the orangutan of tumblr fame and I gotta say: I get why the academics are tearing each other to shreds over it. o boy it's unclear yet endlessly intriguing.

Others I particularly enjoyed were the Hop-Frog, and its jesters taking revenge on bad management ; the Gold Bug, which is less spokky than it is a bit of mysterious adventure ; I thought that the Masque of the Red Death made for compact and striking visuals, and I'd enjoy a translation to a more visual medium a whole lot ; and now I really ended up very amused by the Pit and the Pendulum -- because if you read it, you'll realize that Poe walked so saw traps could run.

If you like a stupid bastard asshole, you can read William Wilson (very fun). If you don't care for the gothic and would rather read a holmes-like, read the Purloined Letter (kinda goofy and cozy mystery). For scary nature, read A Descent into the Maelstrom (probably the one that was closest to scaring me). If your brain is buzzing with bees and you can only stomach very short stories, aim for the Cask of Amontillado or for the Oval Portrait.

I can't say any of those scared me -- but they're fun, none is too long, and I learned a lot of new words (which, yeah, is my idea of fun too. listen, i like linguistics)

[why-is-james-on-here]

Alright, aspiring writers, it's time to stop using first person POV if you're not going to add any personality to it. If the entire story is through the eyes of one person it should be obvious what sort of person they are.

Books to read if you want examples of 1st-person POV where the protagonist's personality is noticeable (even if the overall quality of the books is mixed):

Jack Reacher by Lee Child

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss

I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

Guards of the Shadowlands by Sarah Fine

Configured by Jenetta Penner

The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

Book to read that have multiple 1st person POVs that are all very distinct:

The Young World by Chris Weitz

Vigor Mortis by Natalie Maher

[beorhthraefn]

My co-worker told me the absolute wildest shit today about his new place, and I am still reeling from the implications. Apparently he has a basement that he did not know was there. The only reason he found out is because his neighbor asked him if he could rent part of the space for storage purposes. Neither the realtor nor the previous tenant had disclosed its existence. He said there's so much space down there, he doesn't even know what to do with it all. It's only accessible from some shitty little side door around the back of the house he's never noticed before. I realize that this makes my co-worker sound like the doomed protagonist in a Crimson Peak-esque horror movie, and that is 100% an accurate portrayal, but that wasn't even the best part.

Me: Wait, I'm confused, how did this conversation start?

Co-worker: Well, he came up to me while I was shoveling snow, and asked me if I knew I had a basement.

Me: Seriously? Just out of nowhere?

Co-worker: Kinda. Then he asked if he could show it to me.

Me: ... He asked if he could show you your basement.

Co-worker: ... Yes?

Me: That is some Cask of Amontillado nonsense waiting to happen right there.

Co-worker: I don't know what the fuck that is.

[mythwoven]

the writers of its always sunny really missed an opportunity to do a halloween episode where it's just the gang reenacting poe stories

[play-now-my-lord]

new game concept

multiplayer cask of amontillado. the protagonist (player 1) and the cask of amontillado (player 2) direct fortunato (player 3) through a dim catacomb that makes him cough constantly, using 'Wine Beacons'. fortunato can see the wine beacons but has no way of knowing which are from the protagonist and which are from the amontillado.

optional 4th player plays the nitre, which spawns ghostly men made of fog that can follow fortunato around and punch him in the gut once per fog ghost to make him cough and reduce his health. the fog ghosts move slightly slower than fortunato and there can only be two active at a time. he can swing at the fog ghosts but it achieves nothing. if fortunato reaches the cask of amontillado, fortunato and the amontillado win. if he reaches a dead end with manacles, the protagonist wins. if he passes out from being punched in the gut by fog ghosts, the nitre wins

[octavianacidicbreastmilk]

the hyperfixated mutual dichotomy is that youre either the silent audience that claps at whatever post crosses your dash in bourgeois boredom or youve filtered the interest so hard you mutual is now the protagonist of the cask of amontillado and you can occasionally hear the clown bells jingle.

[un-monstre]

Most people have favorite protagonists, but do you have a favorite antagonist? My clear favorite is Inspector Javert from Les Misérables. For my runner up I'd probably go with King Claudius from Hamlet. In the camp category I'll go with The Master from Doctor Who, specifically as played by Roger Delgado. Honorable mention goes to Montresor from "The Cask of Amontillado."