#(they invented Cluedo I think!!)

[canadachronicles]

"People kill for all kinds of reasons, Tom. But this, most certainly, is *not* a matter of national security."

Terrence Meyers, that is, Lyle Henderson (Peter Keleghan) as he’s known in his civilian life, uttering words Brackenreid (Thomas Craig) and Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) most certainly, never, in a million years, expected to hear him say, on Murdoch Knows Best [S15E08]!!

[larsons-shattered-eyeballs]

Part 48 live-blog lets GOOOOOOOO

Not even a minute in and Arthur’s already coughing up blood. Damn

“You need to rest” John you are speaking to a brick wall right now. Do you really think that Arthur Lester, a man who was an alcoholic during the prohibition, will listen to you?????

Five bucks says that suit of armour is haunted

OooooooOOh the codependency is CODEPENDING!!!!

WHO THAT IN THE BAAAAAAAAAAACK?????

ANOTHER ONE?????????

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE????????????

Ok so no one knows who the guy who invented them here is. Great! Totally not suspicious at all!🙂

I do not know if the places these people are from are real or not, and I do not care to know

A WEEK??????????

SOMEONE PLEASE GET THIS MAN SOME BRONCO STOP I CANNOT DEAL WITH THIS COUGHING NO MORE 😭😭😭😭

Why is a friar here?????

Y’all this shit be suspicioussss

A WITCH????? ANOTHER ONE????

Wait a damn minute. New music just dropped

US????????????

Why does stoic guy sound like the grand viser from the Order??????

SHE BLIND??????????

Well, it takes a blind person to know how to get past another blind person soooooooo

OH MY GOD CAN ARTHUR STOP DYING ALREADY?????

HOW ON GOD GREEN EARTH HAS IT ONLY BEEN TEN MINUTES??????

Oh no, the Frenchman😟

I DO NOT LIKE THE SOUND OF THOSE VIOLINS OH FUCK

Yeah we’re fucked

Oh so the lord is here

Oh Shit is the lord Kayne????

ANSWERS FOR WHAT?!??????

WHAT DO YOU MEAN???

Wait. The cracks? Like part 25: the cracks????

HOE WHAT TF DOES THE LORD SOUND LIKE ARTHUR??????????

Decorum??????

WHAT QUESTION???????????

Nah cuz why this kinda accurate of Arthur tho???

If I had a penny for every time I use a question mark in this, I would be able to pay for all of our therapy

……..is this a coven?

Oh finally we have a doctor here👏👏👏👏

I have a feeling that every one here except the friar is lying about their past….

OH MY GOD WE FOUND THE BLACK STONE🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

HOW??????

TOMORROW??????

Rip Barnobos, you lived a good life, now you must die

Arthur Lester: the man all religious men love

“And which god is that?” Arthur, what do you imply by that?

Damn what nvm what I just said, Arthur cannot pull every religious man; unfortunately

Arthur “Warren” Lester: Making clergymen question their faith since the 1200’s

Broski doing a persuasion check😭😭(it didn’t work)

Moyda time!!!!!!!!!

I thought for a second that the friar was gonna kill Arthur for a second there

Ohhh never mind he is

Finally!!!!! Arthur’s admitting that he isn’t good physically at ALL !!!!!

Well, who’s dying tonight?

FUCKING CULTIST AGAIN 😡😡😡😡

Somebody’s got to goooooo!

Oh Shit murder

MURDAH!!

“We’ve got to touch that body” okay that’s just freaky my guy

CLUEDO TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

NOT THE STOIC DUDE😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Ten bucks says the Frenchman

Change that to 150

ITS THE FRENCHMAN I SWEAR

It defo wasn’t a suicide

Arthur detective mode: activated

Ooooooooh theft

It’s a very cultist thing to kill your brethren okay?

Oh okay so it’s either the friar, or the frenchman

DITCH THAT GODDAMN RING PLEASEEEEEE

STOP BEING SO STUPID AND GET RID OF THAT RING

Handy for what?

Barnobos is being susssssss

Yep it’s the frenchman

bro drunk words are sober thoughts, he’s telling the truth

Count on them? How?

Messy?? Wdym messy???

I’m scared tbh

Oh lord what happened?

How bloody is it

The religious imagery here is really something

Are we gonna get Arthur religious trauma in this arc????

No ring

Fuck

The Frenchmen is SUS

Bro anything can be used to slit a throat, do these people played cluedo.

DAMN BROS LEADING INTO THE STEREOTYPES NOIOOOOII

NAHHHH ARTHURS FUCKED

HAMILTON REFERENCE??????

Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

Ohhhhhh we snitchinggggggg

Can we sacrifice Barnobos now please

Detecting time!!!

Oh shit something about to go down

Lord Everon loredump let’s go!!

Ohhhhhh self disfigurement

Oh shit This be FUCKED

OH SHIT LANGUAD CAN FLOAT

“Worship” how

“Some of youse don’t even know the names of the entities you are worshipping” I do, his name is John

Damn, he really does not give a fuck

OH SHIT THE FRIAR IS GONNA GET THEIR ASSES

OH SO IT WAS BARNABOS

OH FUCK NAH

(Sorry if I completely butchered their name, I’m just going off audio alone for this)

[alltimefail]

Begging one of you talented fanartists to draw Crystal and Niko walking in on Charles and Edwin playing a super Cluedo monstrosity of their own invention.

Imagine if you will: the girls walk in, coffees and pastries in hand, ready for a normal day of work and the first thing they see when they open the door is Cluedo boards everywhere, on nearly every surface. There is a corkboard pulled out and Charles is standing on their couch animatedly pointing at it while Edwin stands, disheveled (bowtie long since discarded and hair an absolute mess) but smug (because he knows Charles is wrong and he is just waiting for his moment). The girls are holding back laughter: what the HELL did they just walk into? But then Charles and Edwin notice them and realize the sun is up and they've been at this all night. Charles pops down off the couch and tries to play it all cool, smiling that half-grin he does while Edwin just clears his throat, smooths the front of his shirt down, and says "Good morning Crystal, Niko. Please do forgive us for the mess, time seemed to get away from Charles and I. Just a moment."

Anyway I got carried away but I just think this is a really funny concept and I love imagining how the ghost boys pass time. This is why we need to bring filler episodes back!!!

i like to imagine charles and edwin have that many cluedo boards because they play them all at the same time

[neuxue]

Wheel of Time liveblogging: Towers of Midnight ch 8

Mat goes bar-hopping and contemplates obligations

Chapter 8: The Seven-Striped Lass

Oh it’s Mat. Well, enough people have told me Mat is better in this book than last, so if nothing else, confirmation bias alone should see me through.

(Though my indifference towards Mat extends further back than just last book, so… who knows).

He’s in a tavern, which should surprise absolutely no one, and thinking about how Aes Sedai are the bane of his existence, which… also should surprise absolutely no one.

Hey, now he and Thom can fidget with their Aes Sedai letters together. Safer than juggling knives in a world that doesn’t seem to have invented stress balls yet.

‘Master Crimson’? What is this, Cluedo?

And of course he’s not looking at women any more, definitely not noticing any of their, ahem, assets or anything, at least not for himself, you know, just keeping an eye out for his friends of course.

He’s also asking tavernkeepers for advice, because sometimes you just need a sounding board to convince yourself of what you already know. In this case, what to do about Verin’s letter and the conditions set on it. Which, to be fair, is a rather infuriating dilemma. When Verin plays games, she doesn’t fuck around.

“I could open it,” she continued to Mat, “and could tell you what’s inside.”

Bloody ashes! If she did that, he would have to do what it said. Whatever it bloody said. All he had to do was wait a few weeks, and he would be free. He could wait that long. Really, he could.

“It wouldn’t do,” Mat said

Aw, but wouldn’t it? I mean, Verin of all people would appreciate that kind of loophole.

“The woman who gave it to me was Aes Sedai, Melli. You don’t want to anger an Aes Sedai, do you?”

“Aes Sedai?” Melli suddenly looked eager. “I’ve always fancied going to Tar Valon, to see if they’ll let me join them.” She looked at the letter, as if more curious about its contents.

Light! The woman was daft.

Nah, she’s one of the rare sensible ones! Seriously, if I lived in a world with magic, in which there was a chance I could learn to do it, I would give approximately zero fucks about the reputation of the organisation that would enable me to learn it. (Yes, I know, it makes sense in this world that people are wary of Aes Sedai, but to me it’s one of those things like… oh, I don’t know, characters who decide they’re not actually interested in immortality because it would mean outliving their loved ones. Like okay, yeah, there’s a price, but magic. Immortality. I will never understand some fictional characters. Or maybe this just says something about me and which side I’d be on in these fictional worlds… but then, are we really surprised?)

“Can I trust you to keep your word?”

He gave her an exasperated look. “What was this whole bloody conversation about, Melli?”

‘Can I trust you to keep your word’ is kind of a… tautological question, though. And one that always amuses me, along with variations like ‘how can I trust you’ ‘I give you my word’. Because ultimately you’re still just left with the decision of whether or not you trust that person’s word. And no real way of knowing whether or not you should. Once again, I am perhaps exposing myself as not ideal hero material here.

I will say I’m impressed by Mat’s ability to not open the letter. Though I hope at some point we get to see what it says; Verin’s so good at this kind of thing it would be a shame not to see what game she set up here.

The bouncer doesn’t like Mat, which is kind of not surprising given that a bouncer’s job is to stop shit and the purpose of Mat’s entire existence is to start shit.

The paving stones were damp from a recent shower, though those clouds had passed by and—remarkably—left the sky open to the air.

I see what you did there.

Also I’m now trying to place this against everyone else’s timeline and it’s hurting my brain a little. The weather would suggest this is post-Dragonmount but I feel like Mat still had a bit of catch-up to do… ah well, I’m sure we’ll find out. For whatever reason timelines are something of an exception to my usual ability to retain details, probably because, weirdly enough, I often just… don’t care that much? In the sense that usually, when you actually need to know (or when it would be interesting or add something to the story to know), you’ll know.

Mat was not about any specific task tonight

Oh, wandering about at random are we? Which, if you’re Mat, means that regardless of how you started the night, you’ll almost certainly be about a certain task before you finish it. The Pattern has plans, after all.

Getting a feel for Caemlyn. A lot had changed since he had been here last.

Wow, okay, yeah, as the reader we’ve been in Caemlyn plenty over the past several books, but Mat was last here in book three. Damn.

A lot has changed since then. In Caemlyn, yes, but also Mat has changed quite a lot since then. It’s interesting, even in real life, going back to a place you either visited or knew well in the past. The sense of familiarity but at a slight distance, along with the memory of when you were there last, which can then serve to highlight how you’ve changed. And then all the things that aren’t familiar, though you can’t always be certain if that’s just because you’re seeing them differently…

Light, he had heard of paving stones attacking people.

What is this, the French Revolution?

Mat’s found a better tavern, by which I mean a worse tavern, but it’s all a matter of perspective and perspective is a funny thing at the tail end of a pub crawl, so let’s just not think too hard about it.

I’m suddenly very interested in the story of this woman with breeches and short hair dicing in a dodgy tavern with three dudes and not responding to any of Mat’s smiles, ahem. Yes I’m being pandered to, no I don’t care.

But Mat did not smile at girls that way anymore. Besides, she had not responded to any of his smiles anyway.

Alright, that’s much closer to Jordan’s Mat. The absolute lack of self-awareness in being able to think those sentences side-by-side, because hey, Mat, if you don’t smile at girls that way anymore, how do you know she’s not responding to them? (Plus the fact that Mat’s ‘best smile’ has, I’m pretty sure, not actually worked once this series when he’s actually thought about it).

From these first few pages in general, Mat does sound somewhat more how I would expect him to—the way his thoughts and actions contradict themselves, his tendency towards an absolute lack of self-awareness, the running joke of his ‘best smile’… though it also feels like it’s being laid on a little thick? Almost as if Sanderson has picked out a handful of things that work, or that have appeared elsewhere, and is studiously applying them and avoiding adding in too much else or deviating too much from those narrow bounds.

But that’s almost certainly me nitpicking and also looking specifically for this; it’s not really a complaint and at first glance this does seem better than the writing of Mat last book, so… fair enough. Point is, this is definitely not as jarring to read as that first chapter last book was. Still different, sure, but more within the parameters of the rest of the differences.

Mat’s more interested in the local gossip, which—ah.

“They found him dead this morning. Throat ripped clean out. Body was drained of blood, like a wineskin full of holes.”

The gholam’s back in town, then.

Well, in town, anyway; I suppose it hasn’t actually been to Caemlyn before, that we’ve seen. Hey, Elayne? Maybe listen to Birgitte and your bodyguards for a bit and actually take a break from your errands and adventures into the city alone for a bit.

Dice are landing on their corners and also starting up in Mat’s head, so looks like your night of aimless fun and tourism is coming to an end, Mat. Don’t forget to sign the guestbook on your way out.

It seemed impossible that [the gholam] could have gotten here this quickly. Of course, Mat had seen it squeeze through a hole not two handspans wide. The thing did not seem to have a right sense of what was possible and what was not possible.

Oh, well, in that case you two have something in common! Good, you won’t run out of things to say on your next date encounter.

Though on a less flippant note, I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this before, but I like how Mat gets paired against or linked with opponents or entities who fall into the larger umbrella archetype of ‘trickster figure’ but in different or darker ways: the gholam, the Eelfinn and Aelfinn, arguably Fain/Mordeth… and then there’s Perrin, who is set against Trollocs (the darker side of a mix between animal and human) and Whitecloaks (who exist to force questions of morality). As if they’re both sometimes set against those who reflect a darker or warped version of some aspect of who they are.

It’s not a perfect like-to-like matching; they have other opponents who don’t fit that kind of classification quite as well (though I would still argue that just about any enemy they—and quite a few other characters—face highlight some aspect of themselves via contrast or by presenting a warped kind of mirror), but it’s just a little… random thing I quite like. Particularly Mat set against other types of trickster, because it fits with the very definition or idea of what a trickster figure is in the first place. This idea of looking into a kaleidoscope of mirrors and seeing theme and variation until they flicker at the edges.

He had sent word to [Elayne], but had not gotten a reply. How was that for gratitude? By his count, he had saved her life twice.

Sigh. I sort of thought they had reached an understanding as far as the accounting between them last time they spoke, but I guess we’re still doing this. Which, okay, before everyone comes for me on this, yes he has saved her life multiple times, and no she has not always responded immediately with gratitude, but specifically in the last instance she very much did, and it was a rather lovely moment where they both saw more in each other than they had before. Where they each realised that their previous (first) impressions were not necessarily the full truth, and that there was someone to like beneath that. A friend, even.

And I liked that; I absolutely have a soft spot for the friendship between Mat and Elayne, in part because they’re actually quite similar in a lot of ways. And so for both of them to start to see beneath the surface, to see more than just what they expect to see, was a nice moment of character growth for both of them.

Anyway, leaving the gratitude thing aside, it’s a shame Elayne hasn’t replied, if only because I wouldn’t mind seeing those two interact again. I just like their weird relationship. I like weird friendships between characters in general, really; it’s a good way to get to see a character from an ever-so-slightly different angle, or throw them into a slightly different kind of light. (In all honesty there’s a small part of me that would have been very open to an Elayne/Mat relationship rather than Elayne/Rand and Mat/Tuon, but mostly I just like them as friends who sort of… force each other to take a second look at things, and in doing so to realise some things about themselves).

For once, there had been a battle and he had missed it. Remembering that lightened his mood somewhat. An entire war had been fought over the Lion Throne, and not one arrow, blade, or spear had entered the conflict seeking Matrim Cauthon’s heart.

Yeah, well, don’t jinx it.

Also Mat you were sort of in the middle of some of your own battles and while you’re pretty good, you’re not quite good enough to be in two places at once. Still, can’t fault him for looking on the bright side, I suppose. Especially because there’s a rather large battle headed his way any day now.

Three inns in one night. Making a proper pub crawl of it, I see.

Though Thom’s more in the mood to play sad flute music, presumably over Moiraine. I mean fair; I, too, would probably play several laments for her sake. Bring her back already.

Caemlyn was seen as one of the few places where one could be safe from both the Seanchan and the Dragon.

Oh no doubt it’ll stay that way. What could possibly go wrong in this beautiful Camelot that’s been held up since Book 1 as an example of beauty and (relative) stability?

I’m pretty sure one of the first things I said upon seeing Caemlyn back in EotW was ‘that’s a nice city you have there. It’d be a shame if something happened to it’ and, twelve books later, I stand by that.

Mat tries to get Thom’s attention by snagging his coins, and Thom just tosses a knife through his sleeve without interrupting his playing. Respect.

***

Oh hey a mid-chapter break without a POV change. That’s unusual.

It’s something of a location change, though, because Mat’s back at the Band’s camp now, considering the pros and cons of horse meat. Well, mostly cons in his opinion but I would like to state for the record that horse is actually quite tasty. No of course I don’t know this from experience what are you talking about.

The gholam of course has an even less discriminating palate—or I suppose technically more discriminating, just less socially acceptable.

But Mat and Thom have moved on to planning for their fieldtrip to the Tower of Ghenjei, because, you know, these characters have it easy: just one thing at a time, all easily dealt with, no piling on of way too many problems and decisions and things or people out to kill them…

“Maybe Verin will come back and release me from this bloody oath.”

Unfortunately she had to take some rather drastic measures to release herself from a different bloody oath, so uh… sorry, Mat, you’re out of luck on that one.

“Best that one stays away,” Thom said. “I don’t trust her. There’s something off about that one.”

I mean, you’re not wrong. But you’re also not exactly right. Man, I’m going to miss Verin. She’s one I very much look forward to seeing on a reread: there was always something about her and it was great fun to speculate and try to work out exactly what her deal was, but it’s different when you know. And we got so very little time with her once that was revealed—it was a hell of a way to go out, of course, but I’m definitely excited to see how she reads when you know from the beginning.

“Either way,” Thom said, “we should probably start sending guards with you when you visit the city.”

“Guards won’t help against the gholam.”

“No, but what of the thugs who jumped you on your way back to camp three nights back?”

You know what this reminds me of? Birgitte scolding Elayne when Elayne tries to go out on her own. It’s far from the only thing Elayne and Mat have in common, but it does amuse me.

Talking to that clerk meant Elayne knew Mat was here. She had to. But she had sent no greetings, no acknowledgement that she owed Mat her skin.

Maybe because she acknowledged it last time the two of you spoke? Or have you forgotten? I think that’s what irks me here: they’ve already had that conversation. It made sense (more or less) for Mat to be annoyed about Tear, before Elayne and Nynaeve gave him their thanks and apologies, but after that fight with the gholam in the Rahad, Elayne and Mat seemed to clear the air between them, so it’s just… kind of weird and a bit annoying to have this dragged out again. It seems like it would make more sense at this stage for him to just be annoyed at her for ignoring him, rather than for not thanking him for… something she’s already thanked him for.

He does shift after that to wondering how to get her to set all her foundries to making Aludra’s dragons, which is a much more pertinent question. I now kind of want Elayne and Aludra to meet. I feel like that could be entertaining.

Teslyn Baradon was not a pretty woman, though she might have made a passable paperbark tree

This should sound insulting but for whatever reason I find it hilarious. Why is this so funny.

Maybe this is why we were getting Mat’s grumbling about Elayne not thanking him (again) for saving her life: because thanks are the first thing Teslyn, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, offers Mat unprompted. That would more or less fit with how these things are usually set up in Mat’s narrative, I suppose.

Though Sanderson doesn’t quite seem to have the hang of the Illian dialect; it’s close but some of the phrasing is just a bit off. But that’s me nitpicking again.

“It do be important to maintain some illusions with yourself, would you not say?”

Wiser words than you may even realise, Teslyn, given who you’re talking to. Though I think she does realise this; she’s quite perceptive, and she’s spent a fair bit of time with Mat now, and I think she very likely does see his tendency towards… perhaps not quite denial anymore, at least not as strong as it once was, but a degree of self-deception (and total lack of self-awareness, of course).

She nodded to him. A respectful nod. Almost a bow. Mat released her hand, feeling as unsettled as if someone had kicked his legs out from underneath him.

Yeah, this is what you’d expect from Mat. This is what he does: grumbles to himself about lack of gratitude, or Aes Sedai causing problems and having no respect… but then as soon as that gratitude or respect is shown, he doesn’t quite know how to deal with it. Because he’s not actually arrogant enough to accept it with haughty disdain, but nor is he self-effacing enough to truly not care about getting praise and credit. So you end up in this awkward in-between state that is, I think, actually quite common amongst people in general. It’s definitely something I see play out in the workplace, at least.

And so he offers her the horses that, last book, he refused Joline. Because she’s shown him respect and so he will return the favour. Because they’re treating each other as people, and Mat may push for what he feels is his due, but he won’t just take it without giving something in return. He’s better than he likes to think he is, as Thom once pointed out.

“I did not come to you tonight to manipulate you into giving me horses,” Teslyn said. “I do be sincere.”

“So I figured,” Mat said, turning and lifting up the flap to his tent. “That’s why I made the offer.”

And that’s it, really. It’s amazing what open and honest communication can get you, sometimes. It’s almost like that’s a running thing in this series.

There, he froze. That scent…

Blood.

Mmmm, dinner.

Next (ToM ch 9) Previous (ToM ch 7)

[alltingfinns]

The Hounds of the Baskerville

Holding a phallic object, splattered with a body fluid and breathing heavily.

“Well that was tedious!”

And as if that was too subtle, he keeps playing with the harpoon even after it and him has been cleaned off and he’s switched to one of his robes.

John taking just two seconds to pretend considering to give in, just to be a little shit.

Also I am pretty sure that John has a secret scrapbook just for pictures of Sherlock in the hat.

Oh look, begging for mercy. Twice.

I just really love this scene, the manic energy of Sherlock and the calm sass of John gives us some of the funniest moments of the entire show. Also Ben needs to do more physical comedy.

Here he mentions a blog entry on perfume identification which plays out in HLV, so I’m a bit disappointed that the blogging on textile tensile strength in TEH didn’t feature in s4. Maybe some shirts get ripped in s5?

It’s so mean, but my favorite bit really is the mocking of the little girl asking for help finding her rabbit.

The wagging from side to side “please please please can you help?”

“Like a fairy!” with accompanying high pitch and hand motions.

Followed by a look from John that suggests he doesn’t think a lack of substance is Sherlock’s present issue.

And then suddenly he’s like “wait this actually does sound better than nothing”

And Cluedo. “It was the only possible solution”

Trivia note: the Swedish name for the game is also Cluedo, except we pronounce each vowel seperately. Clu-e-do.

It’s so domestic how they say “client” together. Apparently there’s a certain way frequent callers would ring the doorbell that differentiates clients.

Sherlock’s mainly looking at Henry looking at the video, don’t think I’ve noticed that before.

John’s irritated already when Sherlock begins listing things he noticed. Maybe he feels it is a bit too similar to when they first met, meaning he might be jealous that Sherlock does it with others or irritated at his past self for being as mesmerized as Henry is.

Sherlock inventing aggressive passive smoking.

Sherlock is so annoyed that Henry keeps thinking he’s in a horror story rather than a detective story.

I wonder what kind of poetry John wrote. He probably tried to use his feelings for Sherlock to simulate the romance his girlfriends wanted, which is why it is extra exasperating that Sherlock found it “funny”. Although that might be because he’d find the poetry mismatched to the girlfriends and/or the emotional investment John showed them.

“Childhood trauma masked by an invented memory. Boring!”

The parallel has been pointed out before but it bears repeating. Even if they hadn’t planned ahead by the time this episode was written, why go ahead and use an already discarded plot device they themselves called boring?

Interestingly the plot of the episode does more or less lead to this being the solution but not quite. The memory was invented and masking the real events, but it wasn’t Henry’s childhood brain doing it (at least not without aid). Might be worth comparing these plots. If only for the meta moment of it wasn’t you who imagined what you saw, someone made you see it. And then they tried to drive you into fear and doubt to keep secrets hidden.

“The vanishing glow-in-the-dark rabbit! NATO is in an uproar.”

That :( face is so funny every time.

Hound is a bit tricky in Swedish as the Swedish word for dog is hund. So the subtitles just go with spökhund. (Ghost dog)

“It’s cold.” John doesn’t even say anything but he still makes Sherlock self conscious.

Wonder why they showed us the therapy session?

John standing by the counter looking at Sherlock just looking very soft.

Doesn’t even complete his denial. And was that a single key, or were two keys just so closely held together? I’ve never been fully sure if they shared a single room or had one each. John’s incomplete denial would suggest separate rooms (it’s okay because they’re not actually a couple).

John showing his detective skills. And for once it won’t play out like the cats in TGG. It’s an important reminder that John is a smart man overshadowed by a genius, instead of the common enough Everyman and/or bumbling oaf that some believe of Watson.

“And the ruddy prisoner” probably the full extent of the subplot from the novel.

“Is yours a snorer?” “Got any crisps?” Pretty high pitch there, John.

There is sort of a running theme of characters waxing poetically in vague spookiness and Sherlock just scoffing at it. Reminder that the novel is a horror story starring a detective outside of his normal trappings.

“We’ll get caught.” “No, we won’t. Well not right away.”

More exact words from John as he pulls rank and activates Sherlock’s military kink.

The timer doesn’t start ticking at the gate but at the building itself, wonder why. Or maybe it has been ticking, but now there’s atten paid to it?

“Enjoy it?” Just something to file away in the John wing of his mind palace.

I halfway expected one of the elevator buttons to be key activated for the really tippy top secret secrets.

I see one monkey has seen Raiders of the Lost Arc. That or it’s still upset that it didn’t get the part.

“Stapleton?” He may have mocked little Kirsty, but he still remembered her name.

“People say there’s no such thing as coincidences. What dull lives they must lead.” But the universe is rarely so lazy? Of course rarely does not mean never, and looking at the forebears website Stapleton is a 1 in 3600 name in Devon. So the only question is if Kirsty listed her whereabouts on the forum. Not in her message but maybe in the profile she made.

The dramatic reveal of BLUEBELL.

Sherlock deducing the inside job while John just repeats “the rabbit?” is as good a summary of the show as anything, honestly.

Mycroft’s exasperated “goodammit, Sherlock!” look is almost too loud for the Diogenes club.

I think I read on tvtropes that the Major’s beard isn’t regulatory. Acceptable breaks of reality for the sake of original reference.

“It wasn’t my hat.” I love how the hat is used as a summary of the artifacts attached to the character. The trappings that come from adaptations and parodies and whatnot. Like Igor, who apparently wasn’t even in the original Universal Horror film but its sequel.

Exactly how does John expect Sherlock to turn off his cheekbones? Also the idea that Sherlock is turning up his collar to “play cool” as they’re leaving Baskerville kind of shows that it’s mainly for John’s benefit. Like his later choices to wear the hat. Sherlock starts off wanting to impress John, and by s3 it is about playing a specific Sherlock Holmes role. And again, John betrays his real thought by mentioning the cheekbones. “Stop being so attractive, dammit!”

“Has she been working on something deadlier than a rabbit?” “To be fair, that is quite a wide field.” Cue the killer rabbit jokes.

John’s awkward “are you... rich?”

In the original story the wealth was far more plot relevant, here it’s just a bit of dialogue fodder.

Not spelling out “in” this time?

Pretty sure those are IKEA mugs.

The plan sounds bad, but it is perfectly sound. They have done as much preliminary research as they can at the moment, and by going all three of them they do stand a decent chance should the beast be real. Of course Sherlock still doubts it’s real, which is the main plot for his character.

With the exception of this episode and episodes of Midsumer Murders I hadn’t really heard fox screams before. Imagine not knowing that’s what it is and just hearing this almost ghostly screech specifically when watching English mystery shows.

John just wandering away from the others without alerting them, and then he’s surprised that Sherlock and Henry has continued on without him. If he has a survival instinct it is in a coma.

Umqra. John knows Morse, which I honestly have found tricky trying to learn.

Taking a break here.

[builder051]

Bruce Banner with the knife in the study

This is the last Cluedo drabble.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the series. :)

_____

“Ouch!  Goddammit!”  Bruce drops the knife and the pencil into the trash bin, where they land with a clatter on top of a pile of wood and graphite shavings.  He quickly sticks his thumb in his mouth, tasting the blood flowing through the cut just above his fingernail.

“What seems to be the problem, Dr. Banner?” FRIDAY’s electronic voice asks from everywhere and nowhere.

“Nothing,” Bruce says quickly, removing his thumb and wrapping it tightly in his shirttail.  He knows the AI is programmed to evaluate for injury, but he’s hoping to keep such an incident to himself.  Hopefully if he can avoid bleeding on any of the furniture, he’ll be able to keep a HAZMAT team from swooping in to confiscate his desk.  “Noting.  I’m fine.”

“Your blood pressure indicates deception,” FRIDAY says plainly.  “As does the stain on your shirt.”

“Yeah, well...”  Bruce looks down at the very small, very red bloodstain seeping through the plaid fabric.

“Shall I order a replacement?”

“A what?”

“Another shirt?” the AI offers.

“Oh.”  Bruce’s heartbeat doesn’t slow.  “Um.  Alright.”

“The replacement garment should arrive within the hour.  Would you like a biohazard bin in the meantime?”

“Yes, sure.”  Bruce unbuttons his shirt and wraps it completely around his hand.  “I-- just don’t torch my papers, ok?  I did everything right; I kept the spill contained and didn’t get any blood on anything.  Nobody’s gonna die.”

“Why would you think someone is in danger of perishing?  I don’t calculate your wound to be life-threatening,” FRIDAY says.  

“I was just worried about, you know, the cleaning crew...”  Bruce trails off with an embarrassed laugh.

“Master Stark has the bots trained to clean this part of the building.  There is no concern for sharing the chemicals in your blood with any other humans.  Unless you and Miss Romanov--”

“No, no, no.”  Bruce cringes.  “Stop.  And we don’t, ok?”

“I wouldn’t claim to know,” The AI says.  

“Well, good,” says Bruce.  “Now.  Bandages?  Where are those?”

“In the drawer to your left,” FRIDAY tells him.  “Along with an invention that may strike your fancy.  It’s known as an electric pencil sharpener.”

[ailuronymy]

Hello Grey! I was messing w/ the character generator, and I got "Callous apprentice molly with a grey-and-white pelt who is good at tricking others and doesn't make promises." Now, this would be *perfect* for an antagonist in my fanfic, who confesses her love for the main char, so maybe when they're warriors they can be mates, but the main char doesn't want a mate, and rejects her. She gets angry and calls out main char's BFF, convinced that she was lying to not hurt her feelings, and (cont.)

(cont.-callous grey & white molly) challenges the tom to a fight in secret, and he accepts. soon after the battle begins, main char 2 realizes she’s out for blood. now, after a scar, the fur can grow back white, and in her clan’s culture, white pelts are believed to be unlucky, & therefore unattractive. she plans to scar him badly, and that all his fur’ll grow back white, leaving the main char to choose her over him. now here’s the problem: main char is also a molly. I don’t want -cont again :I--cont. grey and white molly- I don’t want people thinking I’m putting gay chars in an evil light, but I find I prefer her as a molly than a tom. What should I do to establish I have no beef with gay/lesbian people/cats?

Hello, Ruddles! Thank you for writing in. This one is going to be a long answer, and most of it is going to be me asking you questions, I’m afraid. I’d like for you to consider them as carefully and truthfully as you can, but don’t worry, there’s not going to be quiz! They’re the kind of questions that you only have to answer to yourself, and I believe by asking these kinds of questions–whenever we’re creating–helps us become better writers and more self-aware people in general.

First of all, I’d like to ask are there other gay characters in your story? Is the protagonist gay/same-gender attracted? Is her best friend? Are any non-villainous supporting cast (with central speaking roles) gay? Having a gay villain in an otherwise straight story portrays a very different picture–and ideology–than a gay villain in a story that has a variety of other gay, non-villainous characters. The former inherently aligns gayness (and queerness) with deviant or evil behaviour–and that’s really not great. It’s also been a blatant long-time staple of Western media and a fundamental part of how character archetypes are conceptualised in film. (If you wanted to read more about that, I can recommend following up on the concept of “queer-coding.” It’s a built-in aspect of a lot of traditional mainstream television/film these days, and features prominently in Disney productions as well as many other franchises). 

The second thing I’d like to ask is what is it that makes you prefer her as a molly? What we like and dislike–and especially why–can be slippery to grasp, and harder to articulate, but as a creator, it’s something that you should ask yourself from time to time. What is it about this character in this story that makes you feel the role must be female? Because characters in stories are playing roles, and I think people sometimes forget that. Often we get attached to them (which is normal and part of the creating process for many people!) but they are still only non-living creations which we place in situations we’ve invented. We are making decisions, and that makes us responsible. Therefore, much like how we might play a game of Cluedo if finding the motive was the goal, intermittently asking yourself, “Why this person, why this place, why this action?” is a good way to interrogate your own habits, biases, goals, and assumptions, and that can only help you make informed creative choices. (You can even consider it practice for the questions people–especially critics–would eventually ask you about your story and your creative process). 

That’s not to say I’m encouraging you to turn her into a male character, mind you! If you did that, you would have the same story, albeit one that (unhappily) looked much more familiar to most people: an envious scorned man who acts out revenge on a woman who won’t date him, through violence against her friends/family. Although the exact details might change, I think we’ve all heard these stories in real life, about men who don’t know how to accept the answer “no.” I believe Warriors’ canon story of Ashfur isn’t too dissimilar either?–although, I admit, it’s been a very long time since I’ve read any Warriors book and my memory is foggy on specifics. Perhaps an additional question worth asking in this light is, to borrow a quote of Stanisław Jerzy Lec, is it progress if a cannibal uses a knife and fork? Or, a more relevant version, is it feminist/equality/progress/[whatever word you prefer] if a woman is the one abusing other women, instead of a man? (My argument would firmly be no). 

The third question I’d like to ask is what is your reason for this story? In other words, do you believe it needs to be told, and told in this way? Importantly: what is this story doing that isn’t adding to a history of homophobic narratives and cultural perceptions? What is it doing that is adding to those narratives and perceptions, and what can you do to change that? How will you feel and how will you react if you write this story, put it out in the world, and receive feedback that it is, in fact, hurtful or offensive? If you’re concerned that you might not be able to tell a story in a way that isn’t going to be offensive (or your worry about the possibility of criticism is greater than your conviction in the value of your story), that might be a sign that you shouldn’t tell that particular story and should instead change it to something that doesn’t hold that fear for you. It’s not failure to evaluate your work and adapt when you feel out of your depth, or uncertain, or don’t believe in what you’re doing as much as you want to, or you’re not creating to the standard you want to be. That’s self-awareness, and it’s a valuable skill. It takes humility and maturity to make mistakes (or any kind of creative misstep) and learn from them. 

As far as advice goes, I feel that posing these questions to you is the best that I can offer. The short answer to the question of “how do I avoid being called homophobic for my writing?” is “don’t write homophobic narratives,” but I’m hoping that by asking these questions back to you, you–and anyone else with similar concerns and questions–can develop a practical way of thinking through these issues now and from here on. The solution isn’t not to write about gay characters: it’s to learn how to write about gay characters in a way that doesn’t mimic and perpetuate straight narratives, beliefs, and prejudices about gayness and gay characters. Learning how to do this is a skill, and it’s one I believe everyone can learn–just like learning how to use punctuation properly, or write snappy dialogue–and, like most skills, it can start off being a bit rough and difficult if you’re not used to it and things you make will probably not be perfect first go. But keep going anyway, because that’s how you become a master pianist or an athlete or a great writer. Good luck with your writing, Ruddles. I hope this helps.  

[blogwritetheworld]

The Write Place: Fishing for Clues in Mystery Writing

Looking for the right advice on pursuing the writer’s life? You’ve come to the write place!

by Lisa Hiton

My first encounters with mysteries were playing Clue (or Cluedo!), reading Nancy Drew Notebooks and the Cam Jansen series, playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, and inventing convoluted, adventurous riddles with my friends in my backyard. Mystery is a driving force in many genres. The word comes from Latin and Greek and relates to mysticism—the kind of symbols that would relate to God or the gods, the unsolvable questions in the universe. Nowadays, when we think “mystery”, we think of whodunit stories, sleuths, crime, thrillers, and suspenseful stories that keep us guessing right up to the last page.

Writing in the mystery genre has many of its own devices. Whether you’re writing crime fiction, a psychological thriller, or a true whodunit, you’ll find yourself wondering when to reveal all of the clues and their answers to your readers. So what are the most common techniques of mysteries? How are they used?

SOMETHING’S FISHY: RED HERRINGS AND MISLEADING PLOTS

A common tool used by mystery writers is to plant a “red herring”. Like any stinky fish, the red herring is meant to draw a reader’s attention to a false clue or plot piece. A well placed object or action can make the reader think that something is going on that’s really not, which distracts from the truer plotline.

For example, let’s say a detective is put on a case to solve a crime. When she arrives at the scene of the crime, a café, she finds a bunch of cracked glass pieces. When put together, the glass reveals a bottle of soda pop with Greek writing. Then the writer may show us a character who is always seen at this same café drinking that specific drink. We would begin to suspect that the café-goer is involved in the unsolved crime. By focusing on these details, the reader and detective can be misled down a path while the real criminal is at large. This is a common technique and is famously used in Sherlock Holmes, The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter, and even Jane Eyre. Red Herrings can lead your readers down a winding path before the right answers are revealed.

MODERN EXAMPLES **SPOILER ALERT: Plot twists will be revealed ahead**

Legally Blonde, directed by Robert Luketic, features Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) helping defendant, Brook Wyndam, prove she didn’t kill her husband. All along, the viewer is led to believe she did it, from the eyewitness testimony to her lack of alibi. It takes Elle Woods to take this misleading plotline and turn it in the right direction!

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling: During Harry’s first Quidditch game, his broomstick has a mind of its own, wobbling and nearly throwing him off. Hermione sees Snape speaking in tongues below his breath in the stands when no one is looking. The reader—along with Hermione, Harry, and Ron—is meant to think that Snape is responsible for Harry’s near-death flight. For the whole book, we suspect that Snape has a vendetta against Harry (which is used in all of the books). It isn’t until the end of the first book that we know Snape was actually trying to save Harry from that fateful Quidditch match, and Quirrell was the one who was after Harry in the name of Voldemort all along.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon: The story opens when the protagonist, 15 year old Christopher, discovers a dead dog’s body, speared by a garden fork. When the dog’s owner calls the police, Christopher comes under suspicion and is arrested. Christopher is eventually released to his widowed father. Later, we find out that his father could have proven who really committed the crime all along. And that he is hiding more facts than meet the eye.

The Giver by Lois Lowry: The protagonist, Jonas, is reassured by his father, a “Nurturer”, that he will be assigned a role in the world that suits him. All along, we suspect the father’s title indicates his nurturing personality and a kind of moral high ground he occupies in his role caring for new babies. Until Jonas sees what his father really does. Then the reader and Jonas realize they’ve been misled all along.

SUSPENSE: CASTING LINES AND WAITING / IF THERE’S A GUN IN ACT I, IT WILL BE USED BY ACT III

Does anyone remember the scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when Dumbledore takes Harry Potter to find the second horcrux, and Dumbledore asks Harry to get him water after having to drink a horrid potion? Harry walks down to the dark water of the cave. There is no sound—no music, no wind, nothing. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for doom to come out of the black water as Harry reached into it. It’s the lack of sound and waiting that makes us feel suspense even more so than Voldemort’s inferi that come out of the water afterwards! Though we do not have the advantage of sound effects in writing, it is our job to translate this feeling of utterly thrilling, spine-tingling, suspense by giving an order to how and when we reveal clues, plot points, and secrets to our readers.

Suspense is absolutely critical to mystery writing. But unfortunately, we oftentimes think that violence alone can produce this feeling. So instead of taking the long route to a plot point, we tend to get off at the first exit. And in the end, the more violence or death that occurs in a story, the less meaningful it becomes. We tend to use violence in this genre because it is, innately, scary. But what makes readers and audiences feel that sensation most is the careful timing of action and how things are revealed. Surprise causes the most shock. So we must learn to make our readers wait. Let them wait and wait for the right action to begin.

Another way to do this is to show your reader the smoking gun (be it a real gun or a metaphorical one) at the beginning. Then don’t bring it up again until the action happens. This is a technique that Alfred Hitchcock mastered famously. If the audience sees a character set a bomb to go off twenty four hours later, the whole rest of the movie, the audience will be panicked waiting to see how and when the bomb is returned to, when it will go off, and who it will impact. In the theater they say: “If there’s a gun in Act I, it will be used by Act III”. Making the reader and the characters wait can build the most suspense, more than simply using violence because it’s scary.

SUSPENSEFUL MOMENTS IN LITERATURE **Spoiler Alert: plot twists will be revealed ahead**

Beauty and the Beast: At the story’s onset, there is a rose losing its petals. While at times, the magic of the story distracts us from the looming fate of the beast and his servants, the rose is the way the audience and the characters keep time. The urgency of the situation is alluded to each time a petal falls.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre meets Edward Rochester when he’s thrown from his horse one eerie night. Jane meets Mr. Rochester at his estate, Thronfield Hall. From then on, strange things happen in the house. From voices, to a mysterious fire, the house is clearly haunted. There is a whale of a reveal in store for the reader about these eerie occurrences, but the reader and Jane are made to wait and wait (or wade and wade, if you will).

Reading and writing mysteries is a thrill. So as you practice by playing Clue, reading your favorite mysteries, and sleuthing around your mind for a great new plot, don’t forget to cast your lines and see what you catch—the small fish can be used to stink up a false plot while we all wait to catch the big whale!

About Lisa

Lisa Hiton is an editorial associate at Write the World. She writes two series on our blog: The Write Place where she comments on life as a writer, and Reading like a Writer where she recommends books about writing in different genres. She’s also the interviews editor of Cosmonauts Avenue and the poetry editor of the Adroit Journal.

[abybweisse]

Phantomhive Murders arc as Cluedo

We should have known the “Black Butler” would be an intended victim, and that the main culprit would be the Earl Grey. And here’s why:

Named “Cluedo” when it was first *released* in the U.K. (where it originated), the game revolved around a body found at the bottom of the cellar stairs, and it’s found by Miss Scarlett. The victim is a Mr. Black (the US changed it to Mr. Boddy). All of the suspects have a color in their name. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Cluedo_characters

Mr. Black/Mr. Boddy is the host, a rather shady character himself; his house guests generally suspect that he has invited them over for blackmailing purposes, intrigue, and/or even pure "sport". Since the earl is the host, one might expect him to be Mr. Black, but Sebastian fills that role, instead, since he acts as "co-host" in many ways (and isn't really going to be dead afterward). Besides, we need the earl alive. Otherwise the series is over.... Not only is Sebastian the "Black Butler", but he ended up with the stage name "Black" in the previous arc. It was fallout from the investigation into the Noah's Ark Circus that led to the queen asking (demanding) the earl hold this overnight dinner party in the first place.

Miss Scarlett is the first to roll the dice, since she finds the body. She’s usually referred to as blonde, in her twenties, an actress, and a gold-digger. This works well with our blonde opera singer, Irene Diaz, who dates her producer, Grimsby Keane… and uses that “scarlet” liquid to keep herself looking younger than she really is.

Next to roll is Colonel Mustard, a military type with a “glittering” past. Usually clean-cut, severe, and about 40 yrs old. Sometimes depicted as a buffoon. He is sometimes depicted as trading on the black market and also sometimes suspects being blackmailed by the host. I’d say it works well with our other intended victim, Georg von Siemens, but since we need it to be a suspect, I’d place him with our diamond merchant, Karl Woodley. As you know, he gets framed for all the murders. It’s suggested he could have even smuggled in the snake that killed Phelps (by accident), too, since it is a Black Mamba from Africa, and because Woodley’s diamonds are mostly from Africa. Though the earl and Sebastian aren’t exactly blackmailing him, they are fine with the murders getting pinned on him, since he did kill (or had someone else kill) a rival diamond dealer. Probably was heavily involved with the black market….

Third to roll is Mrs. White, usually depicted as a servant, like a maid or nanny (usually a maid). Her age can vary quite a bit. She’s usually depicted as bitter about her job. Though the other four Phantomhive servants (at the time) seem to love their jobs, I’m placing them, collectively, as Mrs. White. Besides, Mey-Rin really is suspected of being an accomplice and wanting to run off with the butler.

Fourth is The Rev. Mr. Green/Reverend Green/Mr. Green. He’s depicted as “a hypocritical Anglican priest who weakens when it comes to the Sixth commandment, murder.” This would be great as Sebastian’s depiction of the invented “Vicar Jeremy Rathbone”. However, “Jeremy” gets out of the suspect list by supplying a good alibi. Therefore, I’ll place this suspect as Lau and Ran-Mau, since Mr. Green is also often depicted as one “who has taken many money-oriented roles from mobster to businessman.” The 1963 US version even depicts him as a “cartoon caricature of a snobbish, decadent playboy wearing a green housecoat and smoking a cigarette on a holder.” Makes me think quite a bit of our opium den-running, gang leader, and importer/drug-smuggler Lau… lounging around with his Ran-Mao…. Also note that Ran-Mao means “blue cat”, so we have another “color name”.

Fifth is Mrs. Peacock. She’s *originally* shown to be rather queen-like, even wearing a tiara. I’m designating Earl Grey in this role, since he is there to represent Queen Victoria and to protect her interests.

Sixth is Professor Plum. He’s usually depicted as young, highly intelligent, wearing glasses and a bow tie, and smoking a pipe. It’s sometimes said that “with his good looks and charm he has found a dark side being sneaky.” Some renditions have him being an archeologist, an inventor, a mathematical genius… a more recent version even has him as a successful video game designer named *Victor Plum*. Our young earl is highly intelligent, wears an eye patch and (often) a bow tied at the neck. For official art surrounding this arc, he’s sometimes shown dressed as Sherlock Holmes, sporting a pipe. He has the good looks and charm, and he’s definitely sneaky. He’s a gaming enthusiast who seems to specialize in chess, but the toy industry side to his Funtom Co. has been shown to sell video game consoles (and possibly the games, too, even though this is all *highly* anachronistic). Also, his father’s name is Vincent Phantomhive. Victor Plum? Haha. Yeah, the professor thing would work for Arthur, too, but I’d rather not assign him a Cluedo character at all, since, like Jeremy, Arthur gets removed from the suspect list about as soon as he gets on it. Arthur is thrown into the role of “player” outside the game; the earl invited him just to figure it all out…. And yeah, it is the earl’s manor, so he is “host”, but he’s not a corpse, plus some versions allowed the victim to vary. Meanwhile, the earl is considered a major suspect. He's considered suspect number one until Sebastian ends up "dead", and the earl's alibi is water-tight. Doesn't hurt that he puts on a big show of mourning for Sebastian. Also note that the earl goes by “Ciel”, which can be a color, sky blue. But there are color names throughout the manga series anyway….

———

TL:DR: It’s still a bit long, but…. So, here are the people in the arc and their Cluedo counterparts, etc.:

1. Sebastian: Mr. Black/Mr. Boddy, a victim. “Killed” by Earl Grey but not the *originally* intended victim. The truth of his attacker is only (later) revealed to the earl of Phantomhive and Arthur. At the very end he acts like the “case file”, giving us all the answers (the who, the when and where, and the with what). Except regarding Mr. Phelps; he only gives that information to the earl….

2. Jeremy (Sebastian in disguise): the “thirteenth” suspect, who gets cut from the suspect list almost immediately. He sort of starts filling the role of the actual clue cards in the game. He helps keep the investigation going but also rules out false clues.

3. Georg von Siemens: another Mr. Boddy. The *originally* intended victim. Was never on the suspect list. Though he initially faked his own death, he was soon-after killed by Earl Grey. Interesting to note that the original game has the body of the victim found at the bottom of the stairs to the cellar. Though Mr. Siemens faked his death in his guest room, he was actually killed in a wine cellar….

4. Mr. Phelps: another Mr. Boddy. The only real shocker to the earl, since the earl only expected an attack on Siemens and Sebastian. Also, the intended victim was actually our earl, not Phelps. Not even Earl Grey had anything to do with this. An absolutely outside job. Talk about throwing a wrench into the machine…. or game of Cluedo.

5. Miss Diaz and Mr. Keane: suspect Miss Scarlett, the actress. Miss Diaz is at one point accused of going vampiric on Mr. Phelps…. Miss Diaz and Mr. Keane are always together, so they move as one piece.

6. Mr. Woodley: suspect Colonel Mustard, who, in return, suspects blackmail/foul play. It all pretty much gets pinned on him in the arc. Earl Grey later kills him, too, after arresting him. Mr. Woodley is accused of stabbing Siemens with a sword, stabbing Sebastian with a fireplace poker, and possibly even bringing the snake that killed Phelps.

7. Mey-Rin, Bardroy, Finny, and Mr. Tanaka: suspect Mrs. White, the servant. Out of the four, only Mey-Rin is really discussed as a suspect. It’s thought she might have wanted to run off with the butler… until the butler also shows up “dead”. For a while she is still suspected as an accomplice. The servants mostly stick together, so they can be a single piece, too.

8. Lau and Ran-Mao: suspect Reverend Green/Mr. Green, the (defrocked) priest and sometime gangster. Likes to lounge around and smoke. Shows a leniency towards murder. Yep, it fits. Lau is temporarily accused of using an acupuncture needle as a weapon to kill Mr. Phelps. Again, these two people generally move as one piece.

9. Earl Grey: suspect Mrs. Peacock, the socialite/aristocrat. Filling in for Queen Victoria. The actual murderer of Mr. Siemens (on the queen’s order) and attacker of Sebastian (basically for the funsies). Not involved with Mr. Phelps’ death. Later kills Mr. Woodley, too (essentially on a whim).

10. Earl “Ciel” Phantomhive: suspect Professor Plum, the young genius and sometime gaming enthusiast. No, it’s not Arthur. It’s the earl. Read the earlier bit about this role, if you don’t know why I paired them up this way. Though, if you like, we *could* put the earl and Arthur together, since they get literally chained together for a while… and because they are trying to work out the details together….

11. Arthur (Conan Doyle) Wordsmith: could be paired with our earl, collectively, as suspect Prof. Plum. However, I see poor Arthur as the outside “player”, since he was actually just invited to figure out the facts/details. He’s also removed from the suspect list for having a firm alibi in every murder case and is placed in charge of the investigation…. Not only that, but he's the only one (besides the earl) who gets to hear the truth of Mr. Siemens' death and the attack on Sebastian.

12. Snake: no real Cluedo counterpart, since he is the true “thirteenth” suspect of the arc. Not even Sebastian expected his involvement and didn’t know his role in all this until he found Snake (and his snakes) cooped up in the greenhouse.

——

Well, there you have it –

Mr. Siemens was the originally intended victim (Clue’s “Mr. Boddy”) and killed by *Earl Grey* in the *wine cellar* with a *sword*. (A sword is just a big dagger, right? LOL)

Sebastian (the original Cluedo’s “Mr. Black”), was “killed” (but not really) by *Earl Grey* in the *guest room* with the *fireplace poker* (and also hit on the back of the head with it).

Mr. Phelps was killed by *Snake* in the *master bedroom* with a *snake*… but this was not connected to the original plans laid out by the queen.

Later, Mr. Woodley (framed for all the murders committed at the manor) was killed by *Earl Grey* in the *queen’s carriage* with a *sword*, though this was also not part of the original plan.

You know how the old murder mystery joke goes? The butler did it! Well, since Earl Grey is a butler to the queen… a butler really *did* do (most of) it….

—–

Thoughts??

[entergamingxp]

The Board Game Remix Kit Makes Old Games New Again for Free

March 26, 2020 1:42 PM EST

With so many people cooping up inside as we do what we can to fight COVID-19, games of all types have been a welcome respite from boredom. And, while there are plenty of great, modern board games you could be playing, there are sure to be players out there who only own classics like Monopoly or Clue. Those are games you’ve likely played one hundred times, so maybe you’re looking for something new. Fortunately for those players, the Hide&Seek company has made their Board Game Remix Kit available for free during the pandemic. The kit was originally published back in 2010, but, as one member of the team put it, “it was worth digging back up”.

Almost ten years ago, back when I worked for @hidingseeking, we made “The Boardgame Remix Kit”: a collection of rules for new games to play using pieces from Cluedo, Monopoly and other games you might have lying around. We’re now releasing it for free: https://t.co/Hjg0Ju0qQl

— Holly Gramazio (@hollygramazio) March 26, 2020

Holly Gramazio most recently wrote Dicey Dungeons and Hide&Seek closed its doors in 2014. However, seeing one of the company’s works live on in like this is heartwarming. Each new game breaks down into one of three categories. You’ll either play a tweaked version of the base game, a brand new game using the old pieces, or a mash-up of different games. The kit uses Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, and Trivial Pursuit as the base games. That said, you can probably improvise with some other games if need be.

The mash-ups, in particular, seem like a good time. In one, you’re playing as London cab drivers taking passengers around the Monopoly streets. However, you can only move when you correctly answer Trivial Pursuit questions. Another has you playing basic Scrabble, but using Monopoly money to buy letters you need from other players. You can even give another player money to let you take their turn for them. It’s all incredibly inventive stuff that is sure to please a crowd who thinks they’re sitting down for another crummy evening playing Monopoly (apologies if you’re one of the five people in the world who like Monopoly).

The Board Game Remix Kit is available now on itch.io. As mentioned above, the kit is free. However, if you can afford it, the team would love for you to donate to the World Health Organization.

March 26, 2020 1:42 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/the-board-game-remix-kit-makes-old-games-new-again-for-free/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-board-game-remix-kit-makes-old-games-new-again-for-free

[floraexplorer]

A Day of Hiking in the Peak District with YHA Castleton

When you think of a youth hostel in the English countryside, a Victorian Gothic mansion doesn’t spring to mind.

But YHA Castleton Losehill Hall is just that: a stunning stately home built in 1882, now converted into a YHA hostel which travellers use as a base for hiking explorations in the Peak District.

One of the UK’s most beloved national parks, the Peak District is right in the centre of England and stretches across five different counties. There are plenty of walking routes and hiking trails for beginners and advanced hikers alike – and yet I’d never visited!

So when YHA asked if I’d like to spend a day hiking in the hills around Castleton village with a group of bloggers before eating a communal dinner together at their nearby hostel, I was intrigued.

Then they also mentioned spending the night playing board games – and with that, I was sold.

Read more: sleeping in a haunted Scottish castle

A day hike in the Peak District, Derbyshire

On a bright and sunny autumnal morning, I stepped off the train in Hope Valley, Derbyshire. The tiny station of Hope is a few kilometres away from YHA Castleton Losehill Hall, so I made a quick stop at the hostel to drop off my bag and meet the group before we all headed out into the countryside together.

We were roughly following the Castleton Circular Route, which starts and ends in Castleton village and covers about six miles through the hills – and some parts get pretty high!

We set off down a winding country lane studded with uneven stone, then crossed into green fields flanked by a line of trees. My hiking boots landed squarely in the mud and I breathed the fresh air into my lungs. Our guide pointed ahead of us, towards the hills. “That’s Shivering Mountain,” she said.

Over the next hour we swung our legs over wooden stiles, waved at the groups of placid cows amiably chewing, and panted our way straight up the side of grassy hills.

Once I fell into conversation with the other bloggers, I almost forgot to look around. I barely noticed how high up we were until I turned to see the view behind us – which looked like this.

Reaching the Mam Tor Trig Point

The panoramic view is stunning from the top of Mam Tor. It stretches far into the distance, from Edale Valley and Kinder Scout to Hope Valley and the Derwent Moors.

There’s a trig point on Mam Tor to mark your achievement, so we stood around for a while to catch our breath and eat the much-welcomed Babybel cheeses which one of our group had thought to bring with her. Then after a celebratory group photo, we continued walking along the ridge.

Read more: walking across Spain on the Camino de Santiago trail

After a lot more photo taking (I was with a group of bloggers, after all!) we headed back towards Hope – sweaty, windswept, and ready for the evening’s activities to begin.

A night at YHA Castleton Losehill Hall – what hostels used to be like!

I’ve spent hundreds of nights in hostel dorm rooms. They’ve always been the mainstay of my backpacking adventures – they’re cheap, well-located, filled with friendly faces and a perfect choice when you’re travelling solo.

It’s been an unconscious decision but I’ve realised I don’t stay in hostels too much anymore (getting older means I can’t cope with the noise of other people – and I find it very hard to sleep in a single bed!). The thing I miss the most about hostel life? The communal vibe.

Aside from our afternoon of hiking, the reason YHA invited our motley crew of bloggers to YHA Castleton Losehill Hall was to try out their new Supper Club – a two course meal for £9.95 which you share with the other hostel guests.

It’s a throwback to the best bit of what a hostel stay used to be: everyone hanging out in the same room, eating dinner together and then swapping travel stories late into the night.

And that’s exactly what we did.

After a hearty dinner of pie, veg, gravy and red wine, our group headed for the common room to play some board games. We made our way through a few rounds of Scrabble, had a failed attempt at the confusingly updated Cluedo board, our group realised we needed a different game. Someone suggested ‘Heads Up!’ – the phone game invented by Ellen DeGeneres – and suddenly things got rather raucous.

I guess you can’t separate bloggers from their phones anymore!

But the fire kept burning in the grate, the wine kept flowing, and we laughed uproariously for hours. It was somewhat hard to believe we’d only met each other a few hours earlier.

The next morning we left YHA Castleton Losehill Hall in a cloud of mist which blanketed the surrounding trees. There was a real bite to the air and it felt like autumn had properly arrived.

Although I’d been in the Peak District for less than 24 hours, it still blew away some of the cobwebs. I’ve been working really hard recently and haven’t been too good at moving my body – especially annoying since my running achievements over the summer! – but this little hiking break reminded me how much I love walking outside.

Moreover, it was so refreshing to be amongst a group of total strangers who all had a similar attitude. There were streaks of mud on our clothes, runny noses and red cheeks, and a severe lack of breath while hiking up the hills – but we still had an amazing time together.

I’ll just have to make more of an effort to hike my way through the rest of the Peak District!

More info about YHA Castleton Losehill Hall:

YHA Castleton Losehill Hall is open all year.

There are 146 beds in 36 rooms.

Beds start from £15 per person per night in a single gender dorm. Private rooms start from £25, while family rooms start from £20.

There’s also a breakfast hall, dining room, fully stocked bar and common area (complete with board games!)

To reach YHA Castleton Losehill Hall from London, take a train from St Pancras to Sheffield then catch a local train to Hope station. The hostel is a 30 min walk away.

Pin this article if you’ve enjoyed it! 

Disclaimer: this trip was in partnership with YHA who kindly hosted me at YHA Castleton Losehill Hall.

The post A Day of Hiking in the Peak District with YHA Castleton appeared first on Flora The Explorer.

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[ges-sa]

DarthZadyBun has Murder on the Cards - find out more now!

New Post has been published on https://ges-sa.com/preview-murder-on-the-cards/

PREVIEW : MURDER ON THE CARDS

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Until Data Falls…

What follows below is a data friendly written preview feature of this newly developed card game.

For everyone else who isn’t a cheapskate, or isn’t otherwise vexed by the ridiculous process of data bundles, please have a look at the video feature above.

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INTRODUCTION:

Now I know that I’m not the only one who spent waaaay too many hours playing Assassin’s Creed, God of war and a little bit of Call of Duty and accidentally found myself coming up with creative (and dare I say) inventive ways of offing some frienemies and family.

Image my sheer elation when I discovered the sheer AWESOMENESS that is MURDER ON THE CARDS.

MURDER ON THE CARDS is a new card game developed by South African based inventors, Samantha and Steve, a happily married duo out to bring a little fun into the world.

I emphasise the happily married part because I wouldn’t want either of them to be a suspect if anything ever happened to the other (when you see the cards you will understand exactly why.)

Samantha is a Strategist in the digital marketing world (hence the Save Yourself options- I will tell you about that in a little bit), and Steve is all about keeping IT systems up and running (you’ll notice how no murder scenarios happen within either of these industries in the game… too close to home methinks).[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”29900″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]

HOW DOES IT WORK

Okay so the game is a card game and it is rigged to kill you – all you have to do to win is make like a Bee-Gees song and stay alive the longest to win!

There are three classes of cards, namely :

1. To Your Demise Cards (the ones that are trying to kill you),

2. Save Yourself Cards, and

3. Life Cards.

At the start of the game, every player gets a mix of Save Yourself Cards and a Life Card in their hand to combat the To Your Demise cards placed in the middle of the players.

Every turn, a player picks up a To Your Demise card and hopes they have the right Save Yourself card to thwart whatever murderous scenario is on it – if they don’t, they can call on the kindness (they hope) of the other players in the game to help them out.

It gets slightly tricky though because Players are also pitted against each other in certain special To Your Demise cards, so keep your friends close.

The game is fast paced, frantic and fun- because in reality, death shouldn’t involve a commitment.

Honestly Speaking, I was so taken away by the concept, I couldn’t resist trying my luck to get more information. So I was able to reach out to Samantha, the big cheese behind the scenes to have a quick chat:

NOTE: DZB = DarthZadyBun & SAM = Samantha[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”29896″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]DZB: Okay seriously girl, level with me – what sequence of events damaged your soul so badly that you came up with a game that is literally to die for?

SAM: This is probably actually the last game anyone who knows me would have expected me to come up with – I can’t handle gore and never watch scary movies, and then all of a sudden (I) start talking about a card game that wants to kill you!

But that’s the fun part, it’s all dark humour and tongue in cheek….no guts, no gore, just good clean murder.

I’ve been wanting to make a table top game for a while, and knew I just needed the perfect idea to come to me to get going. I’ve always enjoyed mystery games like Cluedo and other dark humour ones like Cards Against Humanity; so Murder on the Cards ended up being the natural evolution for me.

DZB: Well the game certainly has a few …I’m going to say “interesting scenarios”, I am definitely never going through your Internet browser history that’s for damned sure!  I saw that the  game is currently in the crowd funding stage – sadly South Africans are still a little behind on that concept, so how can we get involved?

SAM: It’ really the easiest thing – You can go to our Thundafund.com page and take a look through our reward tiers and see if one takes your fancy. Then you just follow the prompts to donate and Bang! – sorted!

By backing us through the reward tiers you help us get closer to our tipping point so we can manufacture the game. We offer a series of cool rewards, ranging from the game itself to having the chance to create your own card that will be included in the final pack.

If you can’t back us at the moment then we’d appreciate any word of mouth or sharing of the link… The more people who become keen, the more likely we are to be able to put Murder on the Cards on a coffee table near you.

We do only have a few days left on our Thundafund crowd funding though, so if things don’t pick up enough we’ll be looking at doing a Kickstarter campaign later in the year.

DZB: Ah, okay – but once the process is over; can you estimate when will the game will be available and where can our friends buy the game?

SAM: At the moment the only way for the public to play the game is to head down to The Batcave in Hillcrest (Durban) where we’ve left a demo pack for anyone to play.

It’s difficult to project a definitie release date; though depending on our crowd funding campaigns though, we hope to have the game available towards the end of this year / early next year.

I should mention that our  crowd funding backers will get their copy of the game first if we reach our tipping point.

DZB: I have been chatting to you guys for  little while on social media and you guys are crazy – where can the rest of our friends and followers out there find you to keep up to date with you guys?

SAM: We’re pretty active on social media, and would definitely add a little something to your feed that just wasn’t there before, so come say “Hi!: at:

Instagram: @murderonthecards

Facebook: Murder on the Cards

For more in-depth queries or special orders feel free to drop us a mail at Info@murderonthecards.com

DZB: It’s certainly a mammoth undertaking and a brilliantly novel idea you guys came up with. Still though, it’s a very competitive market and it can’t be easy bringing this to life so if there were a shout out you could send to our friends out there what would that be?

SAM: We have had seriously awesome support from those around us and we couldn’t be more grateful. We decided to just jump in and give this a go and I half expected people to think we were a bit crazy to try, but friends and family have helped us so much – from play testing to work out the kinks, to spreading the word, taking an interest and backing us on Thundafund.

We know some awesome people who really want Murder on the Cards for some reason – but we won’t analyse that too much.

DZB: All things being equal, I think that might just be the safest plan for everyone involved.

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WHAT DID YOU THINK?

Got a product or service you would like us to feature? Have a question or two you would like us to answer? Have suggestions for reviews/ features you would like us to investigate?

Feel free to hit us up and let’s get the dialogue going!

In the meanwhile, and for more great content  be sure to follow  DarthZadyBun on his Social Media platforms as listed below.

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[charlottedanielleellis-blog]

Unit Briefing and Idea Generation workshop

Professional Practice and D&AD briefs.. This morning we were briefed on our current project - professional practice. In this unit we have to chose a D&AD brief to go alongside our professional practice brief. We can work alone or as a group for the D&AD brief.

We then had our idea generation workshop with George and Mark. Their presentation was really interesting, all about the generation of ideas and just to get the ideas down and worry about executing them later.

Techniques 1. re-expression - say it differently 2. random links - join 2 random things together 3. related worlds - borrow an idea 4. revolution - turn it all on its head 5. wild card - chuck a wild idea in there 6. idol - what would my idol do? 7. personality - put some of you into it 8. good - how would your solution do good such as charity or environmental work hot - work quickly write ideas down as you think of them edit cold - sort through the ideas and refine them in the light of day

We then did some activities to try and get up thinking of ideas, the first one we did was link a random object to our brief. I had dentist to link to the brief, where I decided to draw out a game where you pick out a tooth and you have to take it out and not get caught by the mouth closing… I’m not sure what game this would have originally been though…. We then did another little task where we re expressed our brief, I found this one super hard and didn’t really have any ideas for this. I just thought about re inventing the names for games however I had no idea what to call them. Our next task was to think what our idol would do… I chose Lorelei Gilmore from the Gilmore Girls because I really love her character as she is so fun but independent and shes a bit of a big kid. She loves drinking coffee and I can imagine her doing quite a different  game, possibly something like Cluedo.. Our last task of the day was to add a bit of us into our brief. I thought of all the things I love and it mostly came down to cheese… and pizza but mostly cheese. So I thought about reinventing Cluedo to use cheese, so instead of a murder it would be who ate the cheese…

[quicklyshadowyinfluencer-blog]

City Of Georgetown Texas.

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