#2.1.2

[thesebloodydays]

This chapter is just an unhinged Tripadvisor review

[p5x-theories]

a friend dug these AOA portraits out of the newest update and shared them with me, no idea who the second guy is but the first one seems to be doctor?

Woah, what? Can you ask them what the file names were, haha? I thoroughly check for AOA stuff, but I didn't see these, though I know the game's been getting a bunch of bug fixes since Version 2.1.2 dropped, so it's possible these two were slipped in (in which case, I need to check the files again)!

Completely agree the first one looks like Doctor, and the second appears to be Wuhexi/Cherish! The file names should also indicate this, so please ask your friend about that!

[citrusbusiness]

I'm sorry? TWO silly little academics? On one page? Talking? My life is complete thank you for this gift Red.

[cliozaur]

The one, in which Hugo serves as our guide through Hougoumont. No, really, reading this chapter I had a mental image of a documentary where Hugo wanders the site, akin to Mary Beard exploring the Roman Forum, narrating his observations: Here is the chapel where a massacre took place, “The interior, which has recovered its calm, is singular. The mass has not been said there since the carnage.” Please! I want to see it! And the chapter is beautifully crafted—dark yet vivid, replete with chilling details and striking imagery, particularly of nature reclaiming the ruins (the epitome of Romanticism). And we encounter the first abandoned garden (sending greetings to the uncultivated garden on Rue Plumet).

Hugo makes fun of a peasant profiting from tours around this place, however, he likely took a similar tour to glean the details he shares.

I was curious to take a look at pictures of Hougoumont: the place is tiny! I have no idea how all those thousands and thousands of people could manage there. And I also came across a familiar painting from the Military Museum of Scotland depicting the siege. I somehow did not connect these two things together. But the painting is impressive.

PS The opening line mentioning “the great wood-cutter of Europe, called Napoleon” reminded me of William Redfield with his metaphor of the wood-cutting actor (from another read-along I am currently engaged in, Emails from an Actor).

Robert Gibb 'Closing the Gates of Hougoumont,' 1903

Hougoumont:

[dolphin1812]

And we’re already dealing with Hugo’s complicated feelings about Napoleon.

In calling him the “great wood-cutter of Europe,” Hugo seems torn between the “great” aspect and the various roles that this job involves. On the one hand, the “cutter” enacts violence (in this case, on Europe), and we see this in all of the details he provides about the signs of a giant battle. Even about 50 years after the fact, the scars of this battle are still visible, and there are still people alive (in Hugo’s time) who remember being there (like the woman from van Kylsom’s family). Cutting a forest can also leave the space barren and lifeless, just as war does. At the same time, wood-cutters provide. Their work is the source of firewood for necessities like heating and cooking. The “wood-cutter” metaphor, then, underscores Napoleon’s value even as it links him to violence.

This chapter is also filled with a sense of loss for the past. Hugo stresses how much “used” to be there; the chateau and all its parts and the links to past rulers (Henry IV) are contrasted with the present ruins. Chickens scatter “dust”, the physical remains of what once was an estate. While I personally think the contrast between the farm and this addition (”behold the court, the conquest of which was one of Napoleon’s dreams”) is comical, it’s meant to emphasize this area’s past grandeur as a prelude to the discussion of the actual battle.

Although the ruins make this all seem like something from the past, Hugo also acknowledges the deep scars left by war. I particularly like this paragraph:

“The storm of the combat still lingers in this courtyard; its horror is visible there; the confusion of the fray was petrified there; it lives and it dies there; it was only yesterday. The walls are in the death agony, the stones fall; the breaches cry aloud; the holes are wounds; the drooping, quivering trees seem to be making an effort to flee.”

Combat may have destroyed the physical constructions in the area, leaving behind signs of the past splendor of monarchs and nobles, but the deaths that came from war (which largely affected ordinary people) are still tangible, remembered not just by the buildings, but by nature itself (the “trees” that wish to flee). Moreover, while Hugo certainly imagined some glory in this battle, he doesn’t shy away from the gruesome aspects, either, describing a massacre and a well clogged with skeletons. He even implies that the ghosts of men who were buried alive haunt that well, with legends saying their voices can still be heard there. The loss that pervades this chapter is not just of the past beauty of the buildings, then, but of all the lives that were lost during the battle; it’s grief.

And after all of the tragedy, we end with Hugo feeling annoyed that peasants in the area are using it as a chance to make money off of tourists! 

[transthadymacdermot]

The amount of time I have put into developing lore for these damn fictional peasants is approaching parody level for real

[woundedwizard]

Andrew being presumed dead by Moscovites

[deadqueernoldor]

Not to Sound like a Stereotyper Ossi, aber hab mit meinen Arbeitskollegen über ltw in thüringen geredet und die hauen beide eiskalt raus dass sie (bayern) nicht wählen gehen (und die eine in ihren 50ern noch nie wählen war) weil sie die Kandidaten/Parteien scheiße finden und ich wollte nur schreien

[p5x-theories]

Information about the summer event:

After the 2.0 mainline version that lasts for two weeks is over, the 2.1 event major version will be ushered in. This version will be divided into three small versions, with the core theme being "Summer Events"! In order to alleviate the resource pressure on captains, the benefits of the Xiahuo version will also be further upgraded. Please pay attention to subsequent official information for specific plans. Summer is here, Kokatsu Academy organizes all students to go to the beach for the annual volunteer activities. Although participation is voluntary, the participation rate every year is extremely exaggerated. But strangely, the seaside this year was very deserted. The Phantom Thieves discovered the clues very keenly and launched a series of investigations. While resting in the store, they met an old acquaintance. Swimsuit Motoha Arai will appear as an event-limited character in version 2.1.1. Swimsuit Motoha is a group attack output-dominated character with blessing attributes, and her damage output is linked to her maximum health. The core mechanism is that after receiving treatment, you can speed up the cooldown of your own skills. With appropriate rescue teammates, you can launch waves of fierce attacks on all enemies one after another. Swimsuit Tomoko Noge is a telekinetic rescue character with both output and healing abilities, and will be implemented in version 2.1.2. Swimsuit Tomoko's combat weapon is a firework stick, and her skill design is also centered around this setting. She can cause the enemy to accumulate fireworks energy through skill damage. After reaching a certain level, the fireworks will bloom colorfully, causing a gorgeous performance while causing damage to the enemy and restoring the health of teammates. ※We will launch 2 seaside mini-games and a combat gameplay in the summer theme event, so stay tuned!

Summer Event outfit previews

[thesebloodydays]

Never been so disappointed as I was when I realized this wasn’t true

Edit: Disappointed because this “fact” intrigued me and I wanted to know more. I’m not disappointed that they didn’t throw 300 bodies in a well and potentially buried some people alive.

[p5x-theories]

More official wallpapers, although for some reason I can't get the second one in the post to load?

[comicaurora]

newwwwwww character

[theoihalioistuff]

"In regard to myth, although there does not exist a female equivalent of the well-known loves between a god and a young mortal (e.g., Apollo and Hyacinthus), a motif of interest appears in the story of Callisto: according to one variation, attested by scholia on Hesiod and Aratos, Zeus adopts the guise of Artemis in order to engage in a sexual relationship with the goddess’s preferred companion." Oxford Classical Dictionary, Female Homosexuality, Sandra Boehringer

This first surviving mention that Zeus disguised himself as Artemis in order to approach Kallisto is (quite upsettingly) from a lost comedy by Amphis (4th C. BC), where the butt of the joke is that a naive Kallisto accuses Artemis of having gotten her pregnant:

"But as Amphis, writer of comedies, says, Zeus, assuming the form of Artemis, followed the girl as if to aid her in hunting, and embraced her when out of sight of the rest. Questioned by Artemis as to the reason for her swollen form, she replied that it was the goddess' fault, and because of this reply, Artemis changed her into the shape we mentioned above [bear]." (Amphis fr. 47 Kock, as quoted in Hyginus Astronomica 2.1.2)

Whether Zeus' disguise was invented by Amphis for "comedic effect" or was part of an earlier tradition is a matter of conjecture, but it is certainly well attested later on and by roman times it had become the most popular variant.

(Amphis fr. 46 [Schol. Aratus 37-44]; Hyg. Poet. Astr. 2.1.2; cf. Apollod. Bibl. 3.100f.; Nonnus Dion. 2.122f., 33.288-92, 36.66-74; Ov. Met. 2.401-530; Schol. Callim. Hymn 1.41; Schol. Lycoph. Alex. 481).

~Artistic sources for Kallisto's transformation are very sparse, which I think is kind of a pity considering how hauntingly beautiful and awesome surviving images are (in order):

LIMC Kallisto 5, Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Kallisto transforming into a bear.

LIMC Kallisto 18, Sammlung Herbert A. Cahn Basel. Bear-headed boy next to bear-headed woman, most likely Arkas and Kallisto.

LIMC Kallisto 7, Private Collection. Kallisto with the infant Arkas on her lap.

LIMC Kallisto 6, J. Paul Getty Museum Malibu. Huntsman, Kallisto turning into a bear, Hermes rescuing the infant Arkas.

[trialsinthelateromanrepublic]

trial of Publius Clodius Pulcher

date: after Nov. 23, 57 BCE charge: lex Plautia de vi (violence) defendant: P. Clodius Pulcher aed. cur. 56 prosecutor: T. Annius Milo tr. pl. 57, pr. 55

Cic. Red. Sen. 19; Sest. 85, 89; Mil. 35, 40; Att. 4.3.2 and 5; Fam. 5.3.2; Plut. Cic. 33.3; Dio 39.7; see also Q. fr. 2.1.2

[naddpod-encounter-tourney]

Option 1:

Enemy: Yanoba and the Gnoll Posse

Episode: C1 E43: Feeding Time

Time: (ads) 1:06:00-2:10:54

Finish: Moonshine (Deeprag)

Notes: Several levels and different bridges of enemies. Deeprag's weapon had a bunch of abilities and status effects that took down Bev and Balnor at different moments. Many small enemies: the ultimate Naddpod villain. They're probably going to win and then the worm shows up, they get lucky with the worm a couple times. Then Moonshine rolls the worst nat 20 in history and gets swallowed followed by Hardwon's clutch nat 20 to save her. Poetic cinema.

Propaganda: (anonymous) Three different teams, all fighting each other at the same time. Hardwon wrestles the worm’s jaw open to pull Moonshine out after she almost gets DIGESTED. A cool roll mechanic Murph made for this encounter to decide who Yanoba would target and has not used since. And then a chase sequence at the end. It may not be a momentous boss fight, but it’s (in my opinion) the most thrilling and mechanically interesting regular fight of the campaign and really shows off Murph’s ability to make any combat at any phase of the game compelling and engaging throughout.

Option 2:

Enemy: Ring of Violence

Episode: C1 E82: Ring of Violence

Time: 17:33-1:33:13

Finish: Balnor (Zalek), Hardwon (Drisda, Illex)

Notes: Welcome to the encounter of the old foes you already killed and sent to hell but they're back and better than ever. There are levels and distances and they have to keep falling in order to save their friends. Deeprag is back and has a culty vibe with "husk mommy" (a new worm). Wyatt Montgomery shoes up and Hardwon softly says "I can't be a vampire again". The Hounds come close to killing Balnor again. Hardwon tricks Husk Mommy into killing Deeprag and Wyatt, saves a knocked out Moonshine, then jumps down to help Balnor and Bev.

Propaganda: (anonymous) There’s so much going on, but saving balnor, moonshine and Hardwon taking turns attracting the attention of the unkillable god enemy to save each other, killing the hounds again.