#Apparently graves caves has a high risk of death

[backpackingspace]

No caving tomorrow :( :( :(

[ebficnotes]

Possible reasons for why Mannimarco does what he does in ESO (besides being impatient in waiting for Daggerfall to roll around)

In a world without Mannimarco as the eso villain, he'd just get kicked off Artaeum and be chillin in some cave somewhere for the next 800 years while waiting for Tiber Septim to do his thing. So what happened to make him change his mind about what is by all appearances a solid bet? Especially given that he seems to know his own future to a degree as shown in the book “ Where Were You When the Dragon Broke”. It’s possible he doesn’t recall the nature of Talos until after the Daggerfall break, since the book first appears in Morrowind, but it's more fun this way, so there. And also, this book appears in eso Cyrodiil in a moth priest temple, which may indicate that it was in fact published before Morrowind in-universe. So there too, maybe.

Possible scenarios, in no particular order:

Varen becoming a legit emperor threatens Mannimarco's godhood because if he unites Tamriel without Numidium or Zurin's mantella, Mannimarco doesn’t get a power boost this time around. So he sets up legit emperor Varen as his own personal betrayal of Talos to get his, with Tharn as the observer and the amulet of kings as the Numidium reactor.

Varen is set to become yet another short lived ruler-incumbent in a long line of them, but Tharn is a shrewd and patriotic mofo who unwittingly threatens to destroy Tamriel in his bid to force Akatosh to step up in picking a new favorite [via his original intent as eso's big bad], so Mannimarco backs Varen in an attempt to brute-force his own betrayal of Talos, with saving the world as a nice bonus.

Vanus is stepping up his persecution of necromancy and Mannimarco is feeling the pressure, so in an act of desperation he pushes his timetable for godhood forward by a few centuries in an attempt to solve the problem once and for all. I.e. he goes in early so neither Vanus nor any other earthly power can take necromancy away from him or his followers. Btw, that’s why [I headcanon] he wants to become a god even in Daggerfall. Necromancy in all its forms, sordid and otherwise, is his Thing, so he naturally wants it to live forever and he feels he is the right mer for the job. He's like Van Gogh, but with dead shit. (Or maybe more like the Marquis De Sade...)

Mannimarco doesn’t actually know how he becomes a god, only that Zurin Arctus and some bitch named Hijalti have something to do with it. He’s finding his way to the sky ass-first, and trying to swallow Bal is just his latest hare-brained attempt.

While visiting Orsinium on a necro-promo tour, Mannimarco discovers the titan and is floored by it. He has his cult raise the titan and manages to summon the sleeping spirit of the dragon itself for a chat. It rages at him about it's mistreatment and vows that their Father would eat Bal alive for this grave insult, which gives Mannimarco an idea. Vanus's increasingly hostile and systematic oppression of Mannimarco’s favorite pastime may or may not encourage the early and hasty implementation of this idea..

~

So, why does Mannimarco need Varen, et al specifically? He wants to find that rock and use it to pseudo-mantle Bal, but why does he need new emperor Varen and his three highly trained and loyal private bodyguards to do what he did? He could have conned literally anyone safer into insulting Akatosh enough/doing that mysterious ritual to open the gem. Tharn even does it with us. He says himself it’s the same ritual. So why those four?

Talk about high risk for little reward. He didn’t even need them to find the stupid thing. None of them knew where it was or had any kind of intel on it or else they wouldn’t have had to go on a quest to find it in the first place.

(You would think it would be the Blades' job to secure it after each emperors death and courier it to the location of a potential chosen one for inauguration purposes, but no, apparently not. Wtf are you guys for then???)

Given the above, the reenaction of the betrayal of Talos is the least stupid option I think, even if it doesn’t quite make sense that we can do the same with our five companions. Unless the entanomorph doesn’t need the "betrayal" to be a secret? Of course, we don’t become a god (that we know of any way lol), so maybe the ritual we do isn't exactly the same, or Mannimarco just really really likes to make his life harder than it needs to be.

My head....

[alexandrawilbraham]

Best of BBC First 2018 with a cheeky look at 2019

By Alexandra Wilbraham

First published in Dutch translation: https://www.bbcbenelux.com/blog/?article=bbc-first-benelux-best-of-18-19

Joy to the world and welcome to our round-up of BBC First’s best of 2018. Prepare to get festive as we celebrate a fantastic year of BBC series. Stick around to the end to find out what amazing new content you can look forward to in 2019.

So, pull on your Christmas jumper, the one you keep stashed away at the back of your wardrobe and pop on a Santa hat. Make yourself hot cocoa, go the whole hog and decorate your beverage with whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate shavings. Light some cinnamon candles and snuggle up on the sofa as we dive into the pile of presents this year had to give.

In the first month of 2018, the BBC gave to me! Well, it kind of works. January started with fireworks and a new series of Silent Witness. First broadcast in 1996, the series has seen many cast changes over the years. Series 21, however, saw the return of the amazing Emilia Fox as forensic pathologist Dr Nikki Alexander. She and her dedicated team (Liz Carr, Richard Lintern, David Caves) work closely with the London police to solve a slew of mystifying murders. Sometimes the best witness is a dead one.

Travelling back in time, if I can remember where I parked the T.A.R.D.I.S., to London in the early 1960s, we were again joined by the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House convent. As they provide care to the expectant mothers of London’s East End, they find themselves tested both personally and professionally. Series 7 of Call the Midwife puts a bit of a downer on the festivities as we said goodbye to the beautiful Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie) whose grave, decorated with a red rose and toy carousel, we lingered on in the poignant final moments. However, with sadness comes joy and we saw both new and familiar faces appear at the convent. Leonie Elliot (Black Mirror) joined the cast as Caribbean midwife Lucille Anderson and a return of Nurse Trixie (Helen George) was heavily hinted at.

Guess what, we’re still in January! But we’re off on our first holiday of the year as we join Detective Jack Mooney (Ardal O'Hanlon) on the sun-soaked island of Saint-Marie. Peaceful isn’t it? Sadly not. Because, even in the beautiful Caribbean, crime will always spoil your day. Series 7 of Death in Paradise has Jack rise to the challenge in a bid to impress the commissioner and make his mark on the island. Luckily, he has his team to support him as he has some almost impossible mysteries to uncover.

Wake up! We’re back from our island vacation and straight into February. Before heading back to city life, we get to spend some time in the English countryside, rolling hills dotted with small villages, rural parish churches and large country houses. There is also a fair bit of murder.

Don’t worry though, as series 6 of Father Brown sees Mark Williams (Harry Potter) return as the charming local priest and amateur detective. Although he is at risk from old foe Katherine Corven, who looks for revenge on Father Brown when she is suddenly released from prison. I think we should move on to March and hopefully, we’ll find ourselves in a safer environment.

To sleep, perchance to dream as March arrives with a series completely new to the BBC – Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators. No, not William and Anne. Although this comedy-drama mystery is filmed in Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon. Two well-known TV faces, Jo Joyner and Mark Benton, star as chatty ex-hairdresser Luella ‘Lu’ Shakespeare and out-of-shape and short-of-money private inspector Frank Hathaway. The highly unlikely and hugely entertaining detecting duo quickly discover that all is not as peaceful as it seems in their picture-perfect theatre town.

Brace yourself. Our next March series drops us straight to the front line of series 3 of Our Girl. We do get to travel internationally, but this is no holiday. Series 3 takes female army medic Georgie (Michelle Keegan) and the tightknit unit of soldiers in 2 Section from a humanitarian mission in Nepal, across Afghanistan and to a Nigerian refugee camp. With the arrival of old flame Elvis (Luke Pasqualino) and new recruit Maisie (Shalom Brune-Franklin) tugging at her sleeve, Georgie must face the highs and lows of army life while also fighting her own personal battles.   As the soldiers face kidnapping and assassination attempts, they have to confront the ultimate battle: head versus heart.

May the merriness be with you. Or rather the conflict, since this family is already in the divorce court before the relationships start crumbling. New family drama The Split follows Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker), a member of a family who all work as divorce lawyers in the same firm. Following a bitter argument, Hannah takes a new job at a rival firm where she reconnects with the only other man she ever imagined sharing her life with, and her estranged father returns after 30 years. It sounds exhausting but makes for a smashing series.

Ring the bells everyone! The month of June means we are halfway through our TV year. A perfect time for the first Agatha Christie story to be adapted for the BBC by screenwriter Sarah Phelps, who also penned the script for J.K. Rowlings’s A Casual Vacancy. A wealthy philanthropist is murdered and her son Jack dies in prison, accused of her murder. A year later, a mysterious stranger arrives to prove Jack’s innocence. If his story is true, the murderer is still in the family. In one of Christie’s most satisfying stories, the cast presents a host of well-known faces, including Bill Nighy and Anna Chancellor. Murder, plot twists and a fantastic cast. Can it get any better?

It most definitely can! September brings with it the second instalment of Christie magic. Now, how well do you know the person next to you? It’s the question that made Agatha Christie the best-selling novelist of all time. And Then There Were None sports an all-star cast, including Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Aidan Turner (Poldark). Ten strangers, each accused of a terrible crime, are lured to an island mansion and quickly find themselves at the mercy of their unknown host. And Then There Were None has seen many adaptations, but this is the first screen version to include Agatha Christie’s original, less cheery, ending.

It’s time for the home stretch everyone! With October we welcome a third Agatha Christie series. In Sarah Phelps’s second Christie adaptation for the BBC, the cast is headed by Toby Jones and Kim Cattrall. Witness for the Prosecution is the perfect Film Noir for a 1920s London. It’s a thrilling two-part drama about the murder of the rich and glamorous Emily French. All evidence points towards her young lover Leonard, but how will the jury decide?

The cold days and Idris Elba go together like bread and butter, or an attractively greying beard and a warm woollen coat. In Series 4, Luther introduces himself very non-dramatically: ‘There are some things you might have heard about me that could be true.’ If that is how Luther introduces himself to his colleagues, you should take care not to become his enemy. After a leave of absence living a reclusive life on the English coast, Luther is back in London on the trail of a cannibalistic killer, while also attempting to uncover the truth behind Alice's apparent death. With trouble following him wherever he goes, the case is fast becoming a test that will push Luther closer to the edge than he’s ever been before.

There we are. 2018 is all wrapped up, but there are more presents under the tree. 2019 is just around the corner and there is so much BBC content to look forward to. Why don’t you have a peek?

In 2019, fans can look forward to Emilia Fox’s 14th outing as Dr Nikki Alexander. Cast members David Caves, Liz Carr and Richard Lintern are also confirmed to return. Although not much is known about the 22nd series, actor Richard Lintern has said the new series will focus on bringing in London more as a character than has been done before.

New year, new Call the Midwife. Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes, who will always be Professor Sprout to me, joins the cast for the Christmas special and the first episode of series 8. Fenella Woolgar (Victoria & Abdul) and Ella Bruccoleri (Genius: Picasso) move to Poplar as newcomers Hilda and Frances and (yeah!) Helen George returns as Nurse Trixie Franklin.

In series 8 of Death in Paradise, Shyko Amos joins the cast as officer Ruby Patterson. She has, what shall we say, a unique take on crime fighting. From a local radio DJ murdered while live on air to a zookeeper killed by a poisonous dart, Jack and his team definitely have their work cut out.

Welcome back to the beautiful English countryside. Let’s just take some deep breaths of fresh air and ignore Father Brown trapped outside on what is a dark and stormy night, with a murderer on the loose. Don’t bother yourself with the kidnap of Lady Felicia and Mrs McCarthy. I’m sure everything will be fine.

A new adaptation of Victor Hugo's 19th-century classic Les Misérables is packed full of big-name actors and this time none of them has to sing. A brave choice, considering the success of the long-running musical and Oscar-winning Hollywood film. Dominic West will lead the cast as Jean Valjean, with David Oyelowo as the obsessed and villainous policeman Javert. Olivia Colman takes on the role of the abusive Madame Thénardier, while Lily Collins will play Fantine. Adapted by Andrew Davies (War and Peace, House of Cards), the six-part drama will delve deeply into the story of love, revolution and survival, vividly bringing to life the vibrant and engaging characters.

When you manage to book Richard Geer (Chicago, Pretty Woman) in his first major television role for 30 years, you’d better have a story to match. MotherFatherSon is an eight-part original drama created and written by Tom Rob Smith (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story). The story revolves around the toxic relationships of a mother, a father and, err, I forget the last one. Anyway, Gere plays Max, the owner of one of the world’s most influential media empires. When his son Caden’s (Billy Howle) self-destructive lifestyle spirals out of control, he and his estranged wife Kathryn (Helen McCrory) have very different ideas about how best to support him.

And finally, he might not be sporting Hercule Poirot’s trademark moustache, but John Malkovich as the iconic detective is already heading the list of 2019 must-watch television. Malkovich is joined by a collage of well-known faces, including Ron Weasley, I mean Rupert Grint, as Inspector Crome. 2019 sees the adaptation of the ABC Murders by the incomparable Sarah Phelps. 

Poirot faces a serial killer known only under the alias ABC. Using the British railway network, the killer strikes methodically, leaving behind nothing but a copy of the ABC railway guide. Poirot must find a way to match his nemesis and, in the process, everything about him will be called into question: his authority, his integrity, his past, his identity.

And finally, that’s 2018 dusted off and stored back in the attic. I hope you enjoyed our little excursion through the best of BBC First. With 2019 almost upon us there is so much more amazing BBC content to come. What were your favourite series and moments of 2018? Are you looking forward to a fabulous 2019 on BBC First? I definitely am.

From me and all of us at the BBC a very merry festive season and a happy new year!

Written for BBC First Benelux 

[princess--cynthia]

The Future

3 Years of Cynthia Reward Drabble for @invisibleimpossibilities, who asked for Bad Future worldbuilding. 

Length: 2,000 words

A series of excerpts from Forgotten History Vol. 3: Logistics, a handbook about the future by Laurent Milistin

INTRODUCTION

Much has been said about the wars, both in my own accounts and the perhaps more flamboyant ones by my contemporary Cynthia Ylisse. However, as 'glorious' as the conflict was either in hindsight or the moment, perhaps the true terror and struggle came from trying to live in the world as that happened. I understand not everyone wishes to read about supply issues and finding shelter, hence why I kept this information out of Forgotten History volumes One & Two, but it is just as important to creating a true understanding of the scenario we were in. 

CH. 1 [Civilization]

Shortly after the fall of Ylisstol (see Forgotten History Vol 1), Ylissean society collapsed almost entirely. With no central government we scattered, most of the major population centers deciding to flee to the countryside in their droves - returning to relatives on farms or smaller villages. The resulting overpopulation of areas never intended to hold so many people caused illness and famine to run rampant, and a lack of strong leadership or organized legal system (see: Chapter 5) resulted in the further deaths of thousands. Of course, due to a lack of manpower and time they were placed in shallow graves - which as Grima's influence spread to these more remote reasons, caused the newly created Risen to claw their way from the ground with little to no aid at all. 

Civilization in other regions of the world fared better - Plegia was mostly intact until three years in, when Grima apparently decided he no longer needed the Grimleal anymore and used his puppet Validar to organize what we believe was a mass ritual suicide among members of the cult. Ferox was used to having individual settlements become self-sufficient due to the nation's sheer size and harsh winters making it a necessity, and life continued in relative normalcy in each of these regions until they were eventually swallowed by the Risen hordes in their own time. 

Across the ocean in Valm, Walhart completed his conquest unimpeded. Grima struck far too quickly, however, and his army was weak from two years of campaigning and the constant guerrilla attempts at rebellion from Chon'sin and Roseanne among others. When Valm fell, the only surviving 'civilizations' were roaming groups of people like ourselves, a mix of military and civilians. When someone died, we stripped them of any supplies we would find necessary and burned the bodies before burying the skeleton in two different graves, to try and save them the desecration of becoming a Risen - and ourselves the trauma of having to fight any more resurrected friends. 

[...]

Groups would form intense bonds, forming their own symbols to identify themselves. We mostly remained as one, only splitting up when we absolutely had to - hearing about artifacts we could recover to perhaps turn the tide, but also to find more survivors. Sadly some survivor groups simply couldn't believe that such a large group could have survived, or even worse, were driven to anger by the mere sight of Lucina and the others of royal descent - believing that the royal family had failed them. More than once, groups would come to blows, fighting over supplies or even simply a difference in belief. This resulted in similarities to tribal society, an apt comparison considering the quasi-nomadic lifestyle we were forced to adopt. 

As far as identification went, our group continued to identify as ‘Ylisse’. Other groups would refer to themselves by village, or the last name of a leader character. 

CH. 2 [Supplies]

Fresh fruit and vegetables came into short supply, with most of the farms actively destroyed by Grimleal at first and later risen. Grima's doctrine was very much salted earth, and as the world decayed so did sources of nourishment. Fish became a mainstay for the first few years, until he poisoned the rivers. Occasionally we managed to set out to sea and recover some, but never for long - boats risked being spotted by Grima's flying scouts far too easily considering the fact that no shipping fleets remained. 

I understand this next segment may disgust some readers, but understand we had little choice. We had to live off the land from what we could find - our diets, towards the end, mostly consisted of root vegetables found in the wild, a smattering of berries, and any non-poisonous or venomous creature we could safely catch. Bear was a luxury, for example, being one of the few creatures that could survive a few roaming risen but still be killed safely by a well-prepared hunting team. Ultimately most of our protein came from insects - locusts and crickets, mostly. Whenever we were along the coast we harvested as much seaweed as possible, storing it in barrels of brine. We mostly drank hot water, boiled and blessed to purify it of any natural or magical poisons - lacking the time to ferment alcohol, and not having access to any fresh springs. The last two winters were harsh, as we had rode out previous ones by smoking and salting meat we caught through the rest of the year, but such preventative measures simply didn't work with insects. Eventually we realized that we had to stay near the coast in winter if we wanted to survive, the dangerous-to-catch fish the only source of food we had. Thankfully it seemed that the risen were also susceptible to the cold, and patrols were far less common, reducing the risk fo these harvests. 

I would be quite happy to never see seaweed on my plate again after that second winter.

[...]

Treats were carefully created to help keep morale up. When we stumbled on bee hives, we would carefully take as much honey from it as possible, and boil it with the water ration. With time and effort we could turn it into taffy, which we would keep in a sealed container and given out sparingly - as rewards, mostly. A single batch could last us almost six months regulated properly. Sweet berries would be turned into preserves, jams to be eaten with a spoon from a cup, or topping crushed ice during winter or when near a peak. 

[...]

Military supplies were hard to come by. Armor was almost non-existent, not having the time to properly craft it for the individual. Surviving pegasus knights or cavaliers protected theirs religiously, sleeping in them to make sure they never lost a piece and hardly ever letting it out of their sight. Protection was shields - often of rough, uneven metal, since he had no forges - and at best boiled leather. Weapons we would take from the dead, friend or foe, as required - spellbooks were used sparingly, as only Grimleal mages had any more tomes we could recover. Thankfully our own group had an ordained minister with us, who knew how to create rough healing staves from branches and prayer, so we never ran out of those - but we have heard other groups had to resort to traditional medicine, frequently including amputation to prevent the corruption from a Risen's claws spreading and killing the man. 

Arrows and javelins would be made from stone heads, enough to kill a basic Risen but nothing else. [...] Other primitive weapons were used for these lower-tier opponents, as metal swords and axes were too important to waste on footsoldiers. 

[...]

Medical supplies - bandages, vulneraries, and so on - were made by civilians during downtime, from home remedies and whatever material we could find. Poultices were based off of folk remedies, as we simply lacked the refinement to rely on the scientific ones - thankfully, several of them worked. As time went on and the supplies to make these grew rarer, we grew ever more dependent on magical healing, which simply could not deal with everything. 

[...]

Ultimately, these supply issues resulted in an average attrition rate of 50-60% of a group per year, either from a lack of nutrition or infection. 

CH. 3 [Shelter and Transport]

Buildings were death traps, even if they were still standing. Often the people who lived there were still around as Risen, and they were too easily spotted from the sky. We would move from cave to cave, or at the very least sufficiently dense forests to hang up sheets without exposing ourselves. Winter was hard, our movement limited - if it was not for the winter also weakening the Risen, we would have been found almost immediately. 

[...]

Horses were used to draw carts, and pegasi for scouting. Most of our travelling was on foot, although towards the end as our numbers grew smaller we either rode the horses or the carts.These carts would be stacked high with supplies, and guarded with our lives - the loss of a single cart could mean the loss of almost three week's rations, medical supplies, and arms & ammunition. These carts and the creatures who drew them were given higher priority for shelter than even us humans, for without them we would be dead. If we found a cave just big enough to store the carts and the horses and we slept outside under sheets and blankets, even if it was storming, that was what we did. 

CH. 4 [Recreation]

[...]

Books and games were too heavy to carry with us, mostly. I know of several people who kept a few of the lighter, physically smaller works on them - stories of questionable quality, but any reading material was good. Oftentimes, we would scratch boards  into the dirt when we made camp and use stones or chips of slate as markers for backgammon and checkers. 

[...]

In a bout of creativity, some of us found ways to make training 'fun'. Spars would become aspects of a play, taking on characters in a competitive contest. Athletics training would feature elements of the absurd, lifting increasingly outrageous items to show off to our companions and provide some form of levity. 

[...]

Crafting arrowheads from flint and other stones became an outlet as well, with many of us taking the opportunity to learn how to create different heads. Barbs, serrated, straight - it was a skill most of us mastered by the end. Similarly we learned how to engrave, leaving notches on leather armor to show who it belonged to and designs in the sides of wooden carts and barrels. This was indicative of most of our methods, where we turned chores into recreation to avoid going insane - by the time we finally went back to the past, our cart was an absolute mess, engravings of a dozen different styles absolutely covering it. 

CH. 5  [Law]

[...]

We had to do away with the right to a jury and minor punishments. With supplies so thin, we were forced to resort to capital punishment for even the smallest of thefts - either execution, or banishment from the band and left behind for the Risen. Morale suffered for it, but we persevered. I believe that the intense belief in justice that some of my compatriots have come to hold comes from this rough legal framework, where we were forced to define every action into 'right' and 'wrong' and keep the ultimate punishment in mind. The one exception was when the victim would openly forgive the criminal, at which point his/her rations would be docked and we moved along. 

[...]

The manner of execution was simple - beheading. It was preferred to use blessed weapons such as Falchion or other minor artifacts we retrieved on our journeys, for these seemed to prevent them from rising as Risen. I believe Princess Lucina was forced to carry out twenty-three of these executions before these days ended, from anything ranging between assault (physical or sexual) to theft to murder.

CONCLUSION

I understand this does not cast a very good light on those of us who survived. But I think it is necessary, to help establish a picture of exactly what we lived through - so that in the horrific event that Grima or some other mythical threat returns, we know what will happen should we fail to stop it. There can be no compromise, for I refuse to let the souls of anyone else become as marred as our own. 

Naga have mercy on us for what we did.