#Kenneth MacLeod

[medievalandfantasymelee]

Submissions are closed but many of our noble and worthy Contenders still need Propaganda to aid them...

Of our 294 Entrants, the following 27 have had no text propaganda submitted

Amarendra Baahubali [Prabhas], Baahubali Series (2015-2017)

Arondir [Ismael Cruz Córdova], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Asbjörn [Tom Hopper], Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014)

Balian de Ibelin [Orlando Bloom], Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Bjørn Ironside [Alexander Ludwig], Vikings (2013-2020)

Sir Bowen [Dennis Quaid], Dragonheart (1996)

Elrond Half-elven [Robert Aramayo], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Geoffrey Chaucer [Pier Paolo Pasolini], The Canterbury Tales (1972)

King Henry VIII [Ray Winstone], Henry VIII (2003)

Isildur, Son of Elendil [Maxim Baldry], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Prince Jingim [Remy Hii], Marco Polo (2014)

Kai [Michael Gothard], Arthur of the Britons (1972, 1973)

Sir Lancelot [Richard Gere], First Knight (1995)

Merlin [Nicol Williamson], Excalibur (1981)

“The Mute” [John Bernthal], Pilgrimage (2017)

“One-Eye” [Mads Mikkelsen], Valhalla Rising (2009)

Sir Percival [Tom Hopper], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Pero Tovar [Pedro Pascal], The Great Wall (2016)

Ragnar Lothbrook [Travis Fimmel], Vikings (2013-2020)

Richard III [Benedict Cumberbatch], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Robin Hood [Tom Riley], Doctor Who: “The Robot of Sherwood” (2014)

“The Sherriff of Nottingham” [Alan Wheatley], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959)

“The Sherriff of Nottingham” [Peter Cushing], The Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)

Syrio Forel [Miltos Yerolemou], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Tormund Giantsbane [Kristofer Hivju], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Ubbe [Jordan Patrick Smith], Vikings (2013-2020)

Wil Ohmsford [Austin Butler], Shannara Chronicles (2016)

The following 63 DO have text propaganda, but only consisting of a single sentence, (or propaganda that contains spoilers) and could use a bit more...

Aguilar de Nerha [Michael Fassbender], Assassin's Creed (2016)

Allan-A-Dale [Joe Armstrong], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Sultan Alauddin [Ranver Singh], Padmavaat (2018)

Amleth [Alexander Skarsgård], The Northman (2022)

Arman [Matevy Lykov], I Am Dragon (2015)

King Arthur [Graham Chapman], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Asneez [Isaac Hayes], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Ash Williams [Bruce Campbell], Army of Darkness (1992)

Azog the Defiler [Manu Bennett], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014)

Ser Barristan Selmy [Ian McIlhinney], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert [Sam Neill], Ivanhoe (1982)

Carlos I [Álvaro Cervantes], Carlos Rey Emperador (2015-2016)

Cesare Borgia [Mark Ryder], Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

Charles Brandon [Henry Cavill], The Tudors (2007-2010)

Chu Hun [Peter Ho], Double World (2020)

Connor MacLeod [Christopher Lambert], Highlander (1986)

Prince Dastan [Jake Gyllenhaal], Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Dong Yilong [Henry Lau], Double World (2020)

Eamon Valda [Abdul Salis], The Wheel of Time (2021-)

Sir Elyan [Adetomiwa Edun], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Forge Fitzwilliam [Hugh Grant], Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Galavant [Joshua Sasse], Galavant (2015-2016)

Galessin, Duke of Orkney [Alexis Hénon], Kaamelott (2004-2009)

Gandalf [Ian McKellan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Geralt z Rivii [Michał Żebrowski], The Witcher (2002)

Gimli, Son of Gloin [John Rhys-Davies], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Prince Hamlet [Christopher Plummer], Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

King Henry V Plantagenet [Kenneth Branagh], Henry V (1989)

Prince Humperdink [Chris Sarandon], The Princess Bride (1987)

Ivanhoe [Anthony Andrews], Ivanhoe (1982)

Jack [Tom Cruise], Legend (1985)

Ser Jaime Lannister [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Jaskier [Joey Batey], The Witcher (2019-)

Little John [Eric Allan Kramer], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Prince John [Richard Lewis], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Sir Lancelot [Luc Simon], Lancelot du Lac (1974)

Sir Lancelot [Santiago Cabrera], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Loial [Hammed Animashaun], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Matrim “Mat” Cauthon [Donal Finn], The Wheel of Time (2022)

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck [Dominic Monaghan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Mikoláš Kozlík [František Velecký], Marketa Lazarová (1967)

Murtagh Morzansson [Garrett Hedlund], Eragon (2002)

Niankoro [Issiaka Kane], Yeelen (1987)

Niccolo Machiavelli [Thibaut Evrard], Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

Phillippe Gaston [Matthew Broderick], Ladyhawke (1985)

“The Player” [Richard Dreyfuss], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

Rand al’Thor [Josha Stradowski], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Richard II Plantagenet [Ben Whishaw], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Robin Hood [Kevin Costner], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Robin Hood [Jonas Armstrong], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Rodrigo Borgia [Jeremy Irons], The Borgias (2011-2013)

Rollo [Clive Standen], Vikings (2013-2020)

Roose Bolton [Michael McElhatton], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Saruman [Christopher Lee], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Sid [Luke Youngblood], Galavant (2015-2016)

“Taunting French Guard” [John Cleese], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

King Theoden, Son of Thengel [Bernard Hill], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Thierry of Janville [Jean-Claude Drouot], Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966)

Sir Thomas Grey [Nigel Terry], Covington Cross (1992)

Trumpkin [Peter Dinklage], The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Vlad III Dracula [Luke Evans], Dracula Untold (2014)

Wat [Alan Tudyk], A Knight’s Tale (2001)

Wen Kexing [Gong Jun], Word of Honor (2021

And the following 57 have had fewer than 3 pictures submitted as visual propaganda

Prince Aemond Targaryen [Ewan Mitchell], House of the Dragon (2022-)

Ahmad [Mahesh Jadu], Marco Polo (2014)

Shah Ala ad Daula [Olivier Martinez], The Physician (2013)

Alessandro Farnese [Diarmuid Noyes], Borgia (2011-2014)

Amarendra Baahubali [Prabhas], Baahubali (2015-2017)

Amleth [Alexander Skarsgård], The Northman (2022)

Arman [Matvey Lykov], I Am Dragon (2015)

Arthur Pendragon [Oliver Tobias], Arthur of the Britons (1972-1973)

King Arthur [Sean Connery], First Knight (1995)

Sir Bowen [Dennis Quaid], Dragonheart (1996)

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert [Sam Neill], Ivanhoe (1982)

Carlos I [Álvaro Cervantes], Carlos Rey Emperador (2015-2016)

King Caspian X [Samuel West], BBC’s Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989)

Cesare Borgia [Mark Ryder], Borgia (2011-2014)

Prince Charmont [Hugh Dancy], Ella Enchanted (2004)

Chu Hun [Peter Ho], Double World (2020)

Connor MacLeod [Christopher Lambert], Highlander (1986)

Dong Yilong [Henry Lau], Double World (2020)

Fjölnir [Claes Bang], The Northman (2022)

Francesco de Pazzi [Matteo Martari], Medici (2016-2019)

Geoffrey Chaucer [Pier Paolo Pasolini], The Canterbury Tales (1972)

Gest [Jakob Þór Einarsson], Hrafninn flýgur (1984)

Gimli, Son of Gloin [John Rhys-Davies], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

King Henry II [Peter O’Toole], The Lion in Winter (1968)

Hugh Beringar [Sean Pertwee], Cadfael (1994-1998)

Prince Jingim [Remy Hii], Marco Polo (2014)

Little John [Nicol Williamson], Robin and Marian (1976)

Kai [Michael Gothard], Arthur of the Britons (1972, 1973)

Sir Lancelot [Richard Gere], First Knight (1995)

Lurtz [Lawrence Makoare], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck [Dominic Monaghan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Merlin [Nicol Williamson], Excalibur (1981)

Much [Sam Troughton], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Murtagh Morzansson [Garrett Hedlund], Eragon (2002)

Niankoro [Issiaka Kane], Yeelen (1987)

Niccolo Machiavelli [Thibaut Evrard], Borgia: Faith and Fear (2011-2014)

“The Player” [Richard Dreyfuss], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990)

Podrick Payne [Daniel Portman], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Rilk [Jesse Lee Keeter] JourneyQuest (2010)

Robert the Bruce [Chris Pine], Outlaw King (2018)

Robin Longstride [Russell Crowe], Robin Hood (2010)

Saburo Naotora Ichimonji [Ryu Daisuke], Ran (1985)

Sid [Luke Youngblood], Galavant (2015-2016)

Sihtric Kjartansson [Arnas Fedaravicius], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022)

Syrio Forel [Miltos Yerolemou], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

“Taunting French Guard” [John Cleese], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Thierry of Janville [Jean-Claude Drouot], Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966)

Sir Thomas Grey [Nigel Terry], Covington Cross (1992)

Thraxus Boorman [Amar Chadha-Patel], Willow (2022]

Sir Tristan [Kingsley Ben-Adir], King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Uglúk [Nathaniel Lees], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

“Unnamed Elf Escort” (Alias: “Figwit”), The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Wen Kexing [Gong Jun], Word of Honor (2021

Wil Ohmsford [Austin Butler], The Shannara Chronicles (2016)

Will Scarlett [Patrick Knowles], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Will Scarlett [Christian Slater], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Willow Ufgood [Warwick Davis], Willow (1988, 2022)

[scotianostra]

The 16th of February 1746 in what became known as the Rout of Moy,  Government forces under Lord Louden attempt to capture Prince Charles Edward Stewart at Moy Hall.

Around midnight on 16th/17th February 1746, Lord Loudon, the Commander of the Hanoverian forces in the north, mustered 1500 troops from the Inverness Garrison and set off on the twelve mile march south along General Wade’s Road to Moy in a bid to capture Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The prince, a guest of Lady Anne Mackintosh (Colonel Anne) at Moy Hall, had arrived with a small guard of 50 men, some distance ahead of his retreating Highland Army.

Pitch darkness interspersed with flashing lightning slowed and unsettled the marching men.

Watching the road here, 3 miles from Moy Hall, was an ‘outer guard’ of just five Jacobites led by Donald Fraser, the Moy Blacksmith. He had chosen a spot where he could observe movement on the skyline to the north in darkness, and where he had cover to the south in daylight. Nearby to the east, peat stacks remained out on the moor. Here he planned to harass, and perhaps deceive, the enemy.

As the Hanoverian Column, spearheaded by the Laird of MacLeod and his men approached in the darkness, they were surprised by sudden musket fire and loud war cries urging clansmen to battle. Even the peat stacks threatened in the flashing lightning. Convinced that the whole Highland Army was at hand, Loudon’s men turned in panic and fled back to Inverness, somehow carrying off the body of Donald Ban MacCrimmon, Piper to MacLead and the only fatality of the night. A premonition of his imminent death had been realised.

This skirmish took place two months prior to the Battle of Culloden. Donald Fraser died in 1804 and lies buried in Moy Churchyard.

The above information is displayed at the Cairn.

On the cold, dull but dry afternoon of Saturday l6th April, a sizeable crowd of over 200 people attended the unveiling of a new cairn making the site of the skirmish known as “The Rout of Moy”.

This event was organised mainly by Donald MacAskill of Tomatin, James Ingram of Aberdeen, and James and Elma Singer of Ellon, with valuable assistance from Brian Duff of Forest Enterprise. Building work was carried out by Murdo MacAskill, Fred Jamison and Willie MacAskill, all of Inverness.

The unveiling ceremony was preceded by a stirring demonstration of drumming skills by the Clann an Drumma (4 drummers and a piper) from Glasgow.

During the ceremony wreaths were laid in memory of Donald Ban MacCrimmon, and a one minute silence was observed.

After the ceremony Donald MacAskill thanked the following people for their participation:-

HRH Prince Michael of Albany for unveiling the cairn. Dr Seamus H Grant of Rothiernurchus for his address in Gaelic. Hector MacKenzie of Skye for his prayers. Judith Dyson of Kingussie for playing the lament. Kenneth Borthwick of Dundee for the musket salute.

Afterwards an appreciative large crowd enjoyed the hospitality of the Coleman family at the Tomatin Inn who provided welcoming plates of soup and stovies. Music was provided by Clann an Drumma, Judith Dyson, James Home, Fred Jamison and Andy Shaw. It was a most enjoyable day which will long be remembered by those present.

[powerpolyculeshowdown]

Honorable Mentions part 4!

10.  The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper: Cinrak the Dapper/Queen Orvilia/Loquolchi

[ID: Cover of the book The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper by A.J. Fitzwater /end ID]

Status: Canon

Description: Set in a Fantasy world of anthropomorphic animals, Cinrak, her lovers and her pirate ship crew go on adventures together. Lesbian. Capybara. Pirate. With. 2. Canon. Lovers.

11. Goldtree and Silvertree (Celtic Folklore): Goldtree, The Prince, and the Prince's Second Wife

[ID: Cover of the book Goldtree and Silvertree by Kenneth MacLeod /end ID]

Status: Canon

Description: Goldtree escapes her murderous mother, Silvertree, and marries a prince. Silvertree manages to prick Goldtrees finger and send her into a deep sleep. The prince keeps Goldtrees sleeping body locked in a room, and remarries. His second wife discovers Goldtree and thinks she's The Most Beautiful Woman. She takes the splinter from Goldtrees finger and Goldtree wakes up. Second Wife offers to leave but the Prince says he shall be married to them both. Silvertree returns and attempts to kill Goldtree a third time, but Second Wife is a sneaky badass and kills Silvertree. The story ends with this line; "The prince and his two wives were long alive after this, pleased and peaceful."

(tale can be found here)

12. Splatoon: Big Man/Shiver/Fry

Status: Implied

Description: The interactions between the three of them throughout the story mode and other dialogue sources throughout the game at least imply it. The dynamic between the three's personalities makes it clear they've at least known each other for a super long time, and that them being in a polycule wouldn't be too far-fetched.

Reminder that if you disagree with any of the implied polycules, the honorable mentions posts were made to shout out the nominations that didn't get into the main poll, and all of the implied nominations came with an explanation as to how it can be interpreted as a polycule, whether romantic or queerplatonic! It's okay if you don't see it that way, just be respectful in the notes!

[ukdamo]

The Road to the Isles

Kenneth MacLeod - used as a song lyric, set to an air played by Malcolm Johnson of Barra, composed by John McLennan of Dunoon.

Written for the lads in France during the Great War

A far croonin' is pullin' me away

As take I wi' my cromach to the road.

The far Cuillins are puttin' love on me

As step I wi' the sunlight for my load.

Chorus

Sure by Tummel and Loch Rannoch and Lochaber I will go

By heather tracks wi' heaven in their wiles.

If it's thinkin' in your inner heart the braggart's in my step

You've never smelled the tangle o' the Isles.

Oh the far Cuillins are puttin' love on me

As step I wi' my cromach to the Isles.

It's by Shiel water the track is to the west

By Ailort and by Morar to the sea

The cool cresses I am thinkin' of for pluck

And bracken for a wink on Mother´s knee.

The blue islands are pullin' me away

Their laughter puts the leap upon the lame

The blue islands from the Skerries to the Lews

Wi' heather honey taste upon each name.

[professorpski]

Threads Magazine, Winter 2022

This issue offers a lot of special items for fancy occasions, but it also offers coverage of more common sewing projects.

It begins with a seasonal dress-up fabric, velveteen, see the rich purple jacket on the cover. Sandra Betzina offers advice on using this fabric, and that jacket which is BurdaStyle 6661, offers a clever embellishment with golden beads and buttons shooting like comets. The Up Close feature on the back of this issue is a jacket with a doubled peplum which Kenneth D. King explains how to copy. In between we get an an article by Katherine Seeburger on her “opera dress,” which you see in the floral brocade, a special occasion dress which she planned and created with the help of King and Susan Khalje. And we get the winners of the Make It With Wool contest which includes this felted white wool coat, embroidered and embellished, by Kim Vogley which comes with a dress.

Duane MacLeod offers a technical article on sewing welt pockets which I am ready to try, and Linda Lee offers advice on creating a capsule wardrobe, an old idea of coordinating colors and shapes which is always worth reviving to my mind. There is also a gift section suggesting everything from a new machine to a trip to France. All this plus reviews of new patterns, and interviews including one with Natalie Chanin known for the Alabama Chanin company and its striking but simple embellishments.

You can find it at your local fabric store, newsstand or online here: https://www.threadsmagazine.com/

[thegospelhighways]

#kristinapovolish went missing praise God when she went missing praise God she was praying for peace praise God can I get a witness somebody we pray for #siobhanmcguinness praise God can I get a witness somebody The power of healing was under the impression praise God can I get a witness somebody let's name the names praise God Daniela Perez praise God #sarahpayne , Brenda Sue Gere Brenda Sue brown Mary Louise Day Mary crocker Jesse Layne Holland Isabella Sara tenant Lluvia Espinoza morales lakaylee chambers Cary Ann medlin Lauren sarene key Alexis Marie pounder melonie biddersingh Paris white Amanda Victoria brown Carlie Jane brucia Mei Shan leung Daniela shiri sookne Mackenzie Lynn Maison calista Marie Springer kaelyn sarene Bray Alicia Clark #aliciaclark #alicialynnclark Jill Catherine camm #cathycummings Marlena alvirez Marcia Trimble Victoria Joelle Larson Margaret Archer Baker Downs Kenneth bridges Ashley Elaine Brock destiny Marie champagne savannah Rose Hardin Polly klaas Gabriella Marie wiegert Emily Clair lastinger kassidy Caitlyn bortner CODI Michele Aston jasmine Galyer Allison Jennifer griffor Allison Wyatt Lauren Rousseau Dawn hochsprung Mary sherlach Anne Marie Murphy Rachel davino Nancy lanza Dylan hockley Madeleine hsu chase Kowalski Jack pinto Benjamin wheeler Jessica rekos Olivia Engel Emilie Parker Victoria Soto Grace Audrey McDonnell Noah pozner Daniel barden James mattioli Jesse lewis Avielle richman and her dad Dr Jeremy Charlotte bacon Emily Grace Jones McKenna elrod omaree Valera Nevaeh amyah Buchanan St. Charles county Jane doe Vicki Lynne hoskinson soren Victoria chilson Amy leich Ayers kaylynn Bella Mitchell broshears Cameron Boyce Cameron Douglas macleod Caleb Logan Leblanc Darcey Iris freeman Kyleigh tayne slusher Hannah Renee davenport kristyanna Rose Cowan Sydney Paige achan Philadelphia Jane doe Natalie Alexis deblase Missy L. Dannecker nelani Ciara koefer Tracy Lynn Latimer Jessica Kassandra haffer Lauryn Dickens Cassandra Lynn Williamson airi kinoshita kira Larissa Chandler Lily wolfenbarger Marcy Conrad Lisa Ann french Walker county Jane doe Ellie lawrenson Donna Marie gillbanks cherish Lily perrywinkle Noah thaxton

[lailoken]

‘The Death-Croon’

“In the days of the old Celtic church, the Death-Croon was chanted over the dying by the anam-chara, the soul-friend, assisted by three chanters. Later on, the rite passed into the hands of seanairean a' bhaile, the elders of the township, and the mnathan-tuiridh, the mourning-women, the latter eventually developing into a professional class, whose services could aways be obtained for a consideration. In more recent times, the bean-ghluin, the knee-woman, the midwife, was also the bean-tuiridh, the mourning-woman, and as the friend of the folk in the coming and the going of life, was regarded with the greatest veneration both by young and by old. To this day, the knee-woman of the isles chants her runes and celebrates her mysteries in the houses of birth and of death, but always with closed doors—metaphorically, at any rate. As recently as eighteen years ago, a Death-croon was chanted over a dying person in the Island of Eigg:

An ceò 's an drùchd, An drúchd 's an ceò, An ceò 's an drùchd An sùil mo ghràidh, An sùil mo ghràidh, A Thi dh’ fhosgail an t-sùil òg. Dùn i an nochd an clò a' bhàis An clò a' bhàis.

The mist the dew, The dew the mist, The mist the dew In the eye of my love, In the eye of my love. Thou who did’st open the young eye, Close it to-night in the sleep of death, In the sleep of death.

From the nineteenth to the sixth century is a far cry, but the Death-Croon brings the two together. St. Donnan of Eigg and fifty of his muinntir, his disciples, had suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Queen of the Isle, and were sleeping their first night's death-sleep in the churchyard now known as Cil-Donnain. At midnight, solus an àigh, a blessed light, was seen above the graves, and voices were heard chanting a croon of which only a few lines have been handed down.

Is moch a chuireas a' ghrian failt air Donnan. Is moch a sheinneas an t-ian alleacad Donnaia, Is moch a dh' faasas an har air air Donnain. Sùil bhlàth Chriosd air am ùir. Reulta na h-iarmailt air an ùir, Cha bheud, cha bheud, a dh’ dir Donnain.

Early gives the sun greeting to Donnan, Early sings the bird the greatness of Donnan, Early grows the grass on the grave of Donnan, The warm eye of Christ on the grave, The stars of the heavens on the grave, No harm, no harm, to Donnan's dust.

And said the old folk of Eigg :

The Queen and her maidens saw the light and heard the singing and—way of the women!—wonder brought them towards the churchyard. And, sure, there must have been tàladh, fascination, in the light, for as it would move they would follow, and did it not bring them little by little, and not little was that same little, to the loch' you know yourself, the one in which the each-uisge, the water-horse, lives—and, O Mary Mother, was it not there the judgment was!

In the isles the black loch among the hills is always associated with death and unholy deeds and croons. The sea, with its ebb and its flow, is suggestive of life. If it has the terrible strength, it has also the nobility, of the lion. But the loch among the hills is a snake—black and slimy, with death in its eye. A tale and a croon will tell the rest. On a night there was, it befell a pears-eaglais, a cleric, to he returning from the hill to the shore-clachan, and what came upon him but the weather of the seven elements-and what can be worse than that ! Since he could not do better, he did the best he could, and his only choice being an evil, he took shelter in a cave under a rock. He had not been long there when a great white lightning sudden-flashed before his two eyes, and in the glare, he saw a deep black loch between two precipices; and O Blessed Being of the Graces ! Beside the loch was a man in the death-throe, and three wizards crooning over him—a lean black wizard, a bald grey wizard, and a sleek yellow wizard.”

—

Songs of the Hebrides

by Marjory Kennedy Fraser & Kenneth Macleod

[buggiesbuzzing]

( if you wish to be added to any character or fandom taglists either comment, ask, or shoot me a message !!! additionally, if you have any requests for a character not on here, feel free to send it anyway, there's a chance i'll write for said missing character, but send a back up just in case !!! )

( any underage characters have been aged up to 18+, i do not write minors — aged up characters will have headcanons )

S U P E R N A T U R A L

Dean Winchester

Sam Winchester

Castiel “Cas”

Fergus “Crowley” MacLeod

Gabriel

Kevin Tran

Charlie Bradbury

Jody Mills

Rowena MacLeod

Lucifer / Casifer

Chuck Shurley / God

Mary Winchester

Jack Kline

S O U T H P A R K

Stanley “Stan” Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Kenneth “Kenny” McCormick

Leopold “Butters” Stotch

Gwendolyn “Wendy” Testaburger

Clyde Donovan

Craig Tucker

Tolkien Black

Barbara “Bebe” Stevens

Rebecca “Red” Tucker

Henrietta Biggle / Girl Goth

Michael / Tall Goth

Damien Thorn

Estella Havisham

Georgie “Firkle” Smith

Kevin McCormick

Karen McCormick

Pete Thelman

Mark Cotswolds

Rebecca Cotswolds

M O N S T E R P R O M

Scott Howl

Liam de Lioncourt

Vara Oberlin

Damien LaVey

Polly Geist

Miranda Vanderbilt

Oz

Zoe

Calculester Hewlett-Packard

Amira Rashid

Brian Yu

Vicky Schmidt

M A R V E L C I N E M A T I C U N I V E R S E

Tony Stark / Iron Man

Steve Rogers / Captain America

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

Thor Odinson

Loki Laufeyson

Bruce Banner / The Hulk

Peter Parker / Spiderman

Wade Wilson / Deadpool

T H A T 7 0 s S H O W

Jaqueline “Jackie” Burkhart

Steven Hyde

Michael Kelso

H A R R Y P O T T E R

Ronald “Ron” Weasley

Hermione Granger

Fred & George Weasley

Severus Snape

Neville Longbottom

Luna Lovegood

T W I L I G H T

Emmett Cullen

Carlisle Cullen

Alice Cullen

Jasper Hale

Rosalie Hale

Charlie Swan

Bella Swan

V A M P I R E A C A D E M Y

Vasilisa Dragomir

Rosemarie Hathaway

Dimitri Belikov

Mason Ashford

A M E R I C A N H O R R O R S T O R Y

Vivien Harmon ( Murder House )

Violet Harmon ( Murder House )

Tate Langdon ( Murder House )

Lana Winters ( Asylum )

Kit Walker ( Asylum )

Cordelia Goode ( Coven )

Zoe Benson ( Coven )

Kyle Spencer ( Coven )

Madison Montgomery ( Coven )

Cordelia Goode ( Coven )

Misty Day ( Coven )

James March ( Hotel )

Brooke Thompson ( 1984 )

Montana Duke ( 1984 )

Xavier Plympton ( 1984 )

M Y H E R O A C A D E M I A

Shota Aizawa / Eraserhead

Mina Ashido

Ochaco Ururaka

Ejiro Kirishima

Izuku Midoriya / Deku

Katsuki Bakugou

Tamaki Amajiki

Nejire Hado

Enji Todoroki / Endeavor

Shoto Todoroki

Fuyumi Todoroki

Keigo Tamaki / Hawks

Usagiyama Rumi / Miruko

Toyomitsu Tashiro / Fatgum

B R O O K L Y N N I N E - N I N E

Jacob “Jake” Peralta

Amelia “Amy” Santiago

Rosalita “Rosa” Diaz

Terrance “Terry” Jeffords

Charles Boyle

Gina Linetti

C R I M I N A L M I N D S

Spencer Reid

Aaron Hotchner

Jennifer Jareau

Emily Prentiss

Derek Morgan

Penelope Garcia

David Rossi

L U C I F E R

Lucifer Morningstar

Chloe Decker

Mazikeen

Linda Martin

Daniel Decker

Charlotte Richards / Goddess

Amenadiel

Ella Lopez

T H E G O O D P L A C E

Michel

Elenor Shellstrop

Chidi Anagonye

Tahani Al-Jamil

Jason Mendoza

S H A M E L E S S

Fiona Gallagher

Carl Gallagher

Philip “Lip” Gallagher

Debbie Gallagher

Jimmy “Steve” Lishman

Kevin Ball

Veronica Fisher

M I S C E L L A N E O U S

Barry Berkman ( Barry )

Stu Macher / Ghostface ( Scream 1996 )

Charles Lee Ray / Chucky ( Childs Play Franchise )

Michael Myers / The Shape ( Halloween Franchise )

Jason Voorhees ( Friday the 13ᵗʰ Franchise )

Tiffany Valentine ( Bride of Chucky )

Susie / The Legion ( Dead by Daylight )

Anna / The Huntress ( Dead by Daylight )

Officer Slater ( Superbad )

Pete Davidson

Harley Quinn ( DC Universe )

[weirdletter]

Midnight in the Pentagram, edited by Kenneth W. Cain, Silver Shamrock Publishing, 2020. Cover design by Kealan Patrick Burke, interior art by Bob Veon, info: Facebook.

As the clock’s pendulum steadily counts down towards the midnight hour, the growing scent of brimstone hangs heavy in the air. The universal symbol of all that is evil, the pentagram, or the inverted pentacle, has been carved in the hardwood floor. Its shape is often described as the goat of lust attacking the Heavens with its horns during the witches’ sabbat. Five obsidian candles flicker as the incantations begin. Who will be summoned during this unholy evening? Will it be Baphomet? Or Belial? Maybe even Lucifer himself? The roof timbers groan. Stressed plaster drops to the floor. The demon approaches, holding its ancient grimoire filled with evil stories, written in blood…and here they are.

Contents: Foreword by Ronald Malfi “The Corn Maidens” by Brian Moreland “Father MacLeod” by Tony Tremblay “Opening the Door” by Kenneth McKinley “The Other” by Laurel Hightower “Legion Cast Forth” by Robert Ford “Angel Dust” by Shannon Felton “What I Wouldn’t Give” by Chad Lutzke “Hellseed” by Tim Curran “Devil’s Ink” by Mark Towse “Baby Teeth” by Azzurra Nox “My Body” by Wesley Southard “The Red Butcher of Wrocław” by Graham Masterton “Dog Eat God” by Kenneth W. Cain “The Oubliette of Élie Loyd” by Catherine Cavendish “Discovering Mr. Jones” by Cameron Ulam “The Gods of Our Fathers” by Todd Keisling “I Know He Loves Me” by James Newman “Second Sight” by Allan Leverone “Family Reunion” by Stephanie Ellis “A Night Above” by John Quick “Brujeria” by Michael Patrick Hicks “White Walpurgis” by Tim Meyer “Family Business” by Charlotte Platt “Flaking Red Paint” by Armand Rosamilia “Diminishing Returns” by P.D. Cacek “The Story of a Lifetime” by JG Faherty “The Furious Pour” by Amanda Hard “A Virgin Birth” by William Meikle “Complex” by Jason Parent “Black Jar Man” by Mark Steensland “Babylon Falling” by Brian Keene “Express” by Edward M. Erdelac “Witches’ Night” by Owl Goingback

[medievalandfantasymelee]

Summary of Qualifying Round Tilts

Sir Guy of Gisborne [Michael Wincott], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) Def. Sir Guy of Gisburne [Robert Addie], Robin of Sherwood (1984)

Robin Hood [Richard Todd], The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) Def. King Arthur [Graham Chapman], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Arman [Matevy Lykov], I Am Dragon (2015) Def. Antonius Block [Max von Sydow], The Seventh Seal (1957)

Ivanhoe [Anthony Andrews], Ivanhoe (1982) Def. Edward III Plantagenet [Blake Ritson], A World Without End (2012)

Edward, the Black Prince [James Purefoy], A Knight’s Tale (2001)  Def. Henry VII Tudor [Luke Treadaway], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016)

Pero Tovar [Pedro Pascal], The Great Wall (2016) Def. Sir Thomas Gray [Nigel Terry], Covington Cross (1992)

Edward IV Plantagenet [Max Irons], The White Queen (2013) Def. Richard III [Benedict Cumberbatch], The Hollow Crown (212-2016)

Éomer, Son of Éomund [Karl Urban], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Gimli, Son of Gloin [John Rhys-Davies], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Elrond Half-elven [Hugo Weaving], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Elrond Half-elven [Robert Aramayo], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Mr. Tumnus [James McAvoy], The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) Def. Carlos I [Álvaro Cervantes], Carlos, Rey Emperador (2015-2016)

Niccoló Machiavelli [Thibaut Evrard], Borgia (2011-2014) Def. Niccoló Machiavelli [Julian Bleach], The Borgias (2011-2013)

Finan [Mark Rowley], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. “The Sherriff of Nottingham” [Alan Wheatley], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959)

Sir Guy of Gisbourne [Basil Rathbone], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Def. Nasir [Mark Ryan], Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986)

William Thatcher [Heath Ledger], A Knight’s Tale (2001) Def. King Arthur [Charlie Hunnam], King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Darkness [Tim Curry], Legend (1985) Def. Zbyszko z Bogdanca [Mieczyslaw Kalenik], Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)

King Vortigern [Jude Law], King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) Def. Uther Pendragon [Anthony Stewart Head], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Corlys Velaryon [Steve Toussaint], House of the Dragon (2022-) Def. Simon Aumar [Justice Smith], Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Asbjörn [Tom Hopper], Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014) Def. Connor MacLeod [Christopher Lambert], Highlander (1986)

Matrim “Mat” Cauthon [Donal Finn], The Wheel of Time (2022) Def. Prince Hamlet [Christopher Plummer], Hamlet at Elsinore (1964)

Lord Eddard Stark [Sean Bean], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Lurtz [Lawrence Makoare], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Frodo Baggins [Elijah Wood], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Dong Yilong [Henry Lau], Double World (2020)

King Ecbert Ealhmunding [Linus Roache], Vikings (2013-2020) Def. Bofur [James Nesbitt],The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014)

Beowulf [Gerard Butler], Beowulf & Grendel (2005) Def. King Henry V Plantagenet [Kenneth Branagh], Henry V (1989)

King Arthur [Sean Connery], First Knight (1995) Def. Robin Hood [Sean Connery], Robin and Marian (1976)

Thorin Oakenshield [Richard Armitage], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) Def. Thierry of Janville [Jean-Claude Drouot], Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966)

Prince Hamlet [Laurence Olivier], Hamlet (1948) Def. Björn Ironside [Alexander Ludwig], Vikings (2013-2020)

Ser Criston Cole [Fabien Frankel], House of the Dragon (2022-) Def. Martin [Rutger Hauer], Flesh + Blood (1985)

Bard the Bowman [Luke Evans], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) Def. Perrin Aybara [Marcus Rutherford], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

King Marke of Cornwall [Rufus Sewell], Tristan & Isolde (2006) Def. Leofric [Adrian Bower], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022)

Amleth [Alexander Skarsgård], The Northman (2022) Def. Miles Hendon [Errol Flynn], The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

Ser Jorah Mormont [Iain Glen], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Little John [Nicol Williamson], Robin and Marian (1976)

Odda the Elder [Simon Kunz], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. Ser Barristan Selmy [Ian McIlhinney], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Nicodemus Ravens [Jakob Oftebro], Skammerens Datter (2015) Def. King Arthur [Nigel Terry], Excalibur (1981)

Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert [Ciaran Hinds], Ivanhoe (1997) Def. Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert [Sam Neill], Ivanhoe (1982)

Robert the Bruce [Chris Pine], Outlaw King (2018) Def. King Edward I Plantagenet [Stephen Dillane], Outlaw King (2018)

Prince Charmont [Hugh Dancy], Ella Enchanted (2004) Def. Galessin, Duke of Orkney [Alexis Hénon], Kaamelott (2004-2009)

King Arthur [Richard Harris], Camelot (1967) Def. Ulrich von Jungingen [Stanislaw Jasiukiewicz], Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)

Thomas Becket [Richard Burton], Becket (1964) Def. Brother Cadfael [Derek Jacobi], Cadfael (1994-1998)

Father Beocca [Ian Hart], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. “The Mayor of Hamelin” [Claude Rains], The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957)

Bronn [Jerome Flynn], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Mikoláš Kozlík [František Velecký], Marketa Lazarová (1967)

Balian de Ibelin [Orlando Bloom], Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Def. Athelstan [George Blagden], Vikings (2013-2020)

Sultan Alauddin [Ranveer Singh], Padmavaat (2018) Def. Sir Tristan [Kingsley Ben-Adir], King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Ahchoo [Dave Chapelle], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) Def. Robin Hood [Tom Riley], Doctor Who: “The Robot of Sherwood” (2014)

Thranduil, The Elvenking [Lee Pace], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) Def. Vaisey, Sheriff of Nottingham [Keith Allen], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Cesare Borgia [Francois Arnaud], The Borgias (2011-2013) Def. Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai [Marcus Gilbert], Doctor Who: “Battlefield” (1989)

Prince Oberyn Martell [Pedro Pascal], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Amarendra Baahubali [Prabhas], Baahubali Series (2015-2017)

Galavant [Joshua Sasse], Galavant (2015-2016) Def. Sir Galahad [Michael Palin], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

The Kurgan [Clancy Brown], Highlander (1986) Def. Allan-A-Dale [Joe Armstrong], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

“The Mute” [Jon Bernthal], Pilgrimage (2017) Def. Arn Magnusson [Joakim Nätterqvist], Arn: The Knight Templar (2007)

Uther Pendragon [Gabriel Byrne], Excalibur (1981) Def. Rilk [Jesse Lee Keeter] JourneyQuest (2010)

Alessandro Farnese [Diarmuid Noyes], Borgia (2011-2014) Def. King Alfred the Great [David Dawson], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022)

Ser Davos Seaworth [Liam Cunningham], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Gest [Jakob Þór Einarsson], Hrafninn flýgur (1984)

Lin Shu [Hu Ge], Nirvana in Fire (2015) Def. Cesare Borgia [Mark Ryder], Borgia (2011-2014)

Charles Brandon [Henry Cavill], The Tudors (2007-2010) Def. Asneez [Isaac Hayes], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Erik Thurgilson [Christian Hillborg], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. Much [Sam Troughton], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Vlad III Dracula [Luke Evans], Dracula Untold (2014) Def. Chris Vexler [Karan Soni], Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (2020)

Prince Chauncley [Daniel Radcliffe], Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (2020) Def. Bilbo Baggins [Martin Freeman], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014)

Aguilar de Nerha [Michael Fassbender], Assassin's Creed (2016) Def. Wil Ohmsford [Austin Butler], The Shannara Chronicles (2016)

Mordred [Jason Done], Merlin (1998) Def. Robin Hood [Kevin Costner], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Murtagh Morzansson [Garrett Hedlund], Eragon (2006) Def. Geralt z Rivii [Michał Żebrowski], The Witcher (2002)

Turgut Alp [Cengiz Coşkun], Diriliş: Ertuğrul (2014-2019) Def. Elendil [Lloyd Owen], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Uglúk [Nathaniel Lees], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Azog the Defiler [Manu Bennett], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014)

Prince Aemond Targaryen [Ewan Mitchell], House of the Dragon (2022-) Def. Kai [Michael Gothard], Arthur of the Britons (1972, 1973)

King Arthur [Bradley James], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) Def. Arondir [Ismael Cruz Córdova], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Wen Kexing [Gong Jun], Word of Honor (2021) Def. King Arthur [Alexandre Astier], Kaamelott (2004-2009)

Sir Gwaine [Eoin Macken], Merlin (2008-2012) Def. al’Lan Mandragoran [Daniel Henney], The Wheel of Time (2022)

Hamlet [Iain Glen], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) Def. Count Rugen [Christopher Guest], The Princess Bride (1987)

Inigo Montoya [Mandy Patinkin], The Princess Bride (1987) Def. Robert of Huntingdon [Jason Connery], Robin of Sherwood (1984)

Lord Tywin Lannister [Charles Dance], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. King Henry VIII [Ray Winstone], Henry VIII (2003)

King Edmund the Just [Mark Wells], The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010) Def. Merlin [Nicol Williamson], Excalibur (1981)

Gawain [Dev Patel], The Green Knight (2021) Def. Sir Elyan [Adetomiwa Edun], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Boromir, Son of Denethor [Sean Bean], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Sir Percival [Tom Hopper], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Sir Leon [Rupert Young], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) Def. Merlin [Colin Morgan], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012)

Aragorn, Son of Arathorn [Viggo Mortensen], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Isildur, Son of Elendil [Maxim Baldry], The Rings of Power (2022-)

Samwise Gamgee [Sean Astin], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Rand al’Thor [Josha Stradowski], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Chu Hun [Peter Ho], Double World (2020) Def. Ash Williams [Bruce Campbell], Army of Darkness (1992)

Khal Drogo [Jason Momoa], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Loial [Hammed Animashaun], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Gandalf [Ian McKellan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Merlin [Sam Neill], Merlin (1998)

Gendry [Joe Dempsie], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Ubbe [Jordan Patrick Smith], Vikings (2013-2020)

Sandor Clegane [Rory McCann], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Sir Lancelot [Nicholas Clay], Excalibur (1981)

Will Scarlet O’Hara [Matthew Porretta], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) Def. Phillippe Gaston [Matthew Broderick], Ladyhawke (1985)

Ahmad [Mahesh Jadu], Marco Polo (2014) Def. Glenstorm [Cornell John], The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

King Henry II Plantagenet [Peter O’Toole], Becket (1964) Def. King Henry II Plantagenet [Peter O’Toole], The Lion in Winter (1968)

Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan [Antonio Banderas], The 13th Warrior (1999) Def. Trumpkin [Peter Dinklage], The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

Thraxus Boorman [Amar Chadha-Patel], Willow (2022) Def. Tyrion Lannister [Peter Dinklage], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Durotan [Toby Kebbell], Warcraft (2016) Def. Prince Daemon Targaryen [Matt Smith], House of the Dragon (2022)

Rosencrantz [Gary Oldman], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) Def. Lord Harekr [Bradley James], Vikings: Valhalla (2022-)

Étienne de Navarre [Rutger Hauer], Ladyhawke (1985) Def. Prince John [Richard Lewis], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Fili [Dean O’Gorman], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) Def. Renly Baratheon [Gethin Anthony], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck [Dominic Monaghan], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Fjölnir [Claes Bang], The Northman (2022)

“The Player” [Richard Dreyfuss], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990) Def. Ravenhurst [Basil Rathbone], The Court Jester (1955)

Prince Prospero [Vincent Price], The Masque of the Red Death (1964) Def. Francois Villon [Ronald Colman], If I Were King (1938)

Richard II Plantagenet [Ben Whishaw], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) Def. Will Scarlett [Christian Slater], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Saladin [Milind Soman], Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) Def. Fezzik [André the Giant], The Princess Bride (1987)

Will Scarlett [Harry Lloyd], BBC’s Robin Hood, (2006-2009) Def. George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence [David Oakes], The White Queen (2013)

Faramir, Son of Denethor [David Wenham], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)| Def. Richard Cypher [Craig Horner], Legend of the Seeker (2008-2010)

Francesco de Pazzi [Matteo Martari], Medici (2016-2019) Def. Geoffrey Chaucer [Pier Paolo Pasolini], The Canterbury Tales (1972)

Jareth, the Goblin King [David Bowie], Labyrinth (1986) Def. Jafar [Marwan Kenzari], Aladdin (2019)

Sir Guy of Gisborne [Richard Armitage], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009) Def. Prince Dastan [Jake Gyllenhaal], Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Geralt of Rivia [Henry Cavill], The Witcher (2019-) Def. Roose Bolton [Michael McElhatton], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

“One-Eye” [Mads Mikkelsen], Valhalla Rising (2009) Def. Le Maître d'Armes (the fencing master) [Christian Bujeau], Kaamelott (2005-2009)

King Caspian X [Samuel West], Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) Def. Edward Seymour, Earl of Hertford [Claude Rains], The Prince and the Pauper (1937)

Jon Snow [Kit Harrington], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Ramsay Bolton [Iwan Rheon], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Haldir [Craig Parker], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Robin Hood [Douglas Fairbanks], Robin Hood (1922)

Gu Tingye [Feng Shaofeng], The Story of Minglan (2018) Def. Gündoğdu Bey [Kaan Taşaner], Diriliş: Ertuğrul (2014-2019)

Hubert Hawkins [Danny Kaye], The Court Jester (1955) Def. Saburo Naotora Ichimonji [Ryu Daisuke], Ran (1985)

Giuliano de Medici [Bradley James], Medici (2016-2019) Def. Jack [Tom Cruise], Legend (1985)

Sir Henry “Hotspur” Percy [Joe Armstrong], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) Def. Prince Humperdink [Chris Sarandon], The Princess Bride (1987)

Robin Hood [Cary Elwes], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) Def. Jaskier [Joey Batey], The Witcher (2019-)

Prince Jingim [Remy Hii], Marco Polo (2014) Def. Ragnar Lothbrok [Travis Fimmel], Vikings (2013-2020)

Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish [Aiden Gillan], Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Def. Gríma Wormtongue [Brad Dourif], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Madmartigan [Val Kilmer], Willow (1988) Def. Podrick Payne [Daniel Portman], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Hugh Beringar [Sean Pertwee], Cadfael (1994-1998) Def. Prince John [Claude Rains], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Prince Henry [Dougray Scott], Ever After (1998) Def. Massetto [Dave Franco], The Little Hours (2017)

King Henry V Plantagenet [Tom Hiddleston], The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) Def. Arthur Pendragon [Oliver Tobias], Arthur of the Britons (1972, 1973)

James Douglas [Aaron Taylor-Johnson], Outlaw King (2018) Def. King Richard IV [Brian Blessed], The Black Adder (1982)

“The Sherriff of Nottingham” [Peter Cushing], The Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) Def. “The Red Death” [John Westbrook], The Masque of the Red Death (1964)

Philip II [Timothy Dalton], The Lion in Winter (1968) Def. “Man With Snake” [Barry John Clarke], Edward II (1991)

Prince John [Oscar Isaac], Robin Hood (2010) Def. Willow Ufgood [Warwick Davis], Willow (2022)

King Richard [Timothy Omundson], Galavant (2015-2016) Def. “Unnamed Elf Escort” (“Figwit”) [Bret McKenzie], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Mehmed II [Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu], Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020-2022) Def. Robert of Artois [Jean Piat], The Accursed Kings (1972)

Sir Lancelot [Luc Simon], Lancelot du Lac (1974) Def. Tormund Giantsbane [Kristofer Hivju], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Legolas Greenleaf [Orlando Bloom], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Shah Ala ad Daula [Olivier Martinez], The Physician (2013)

Rollo [Clive Standen], Vikings (2013-2020) Def. Sir Lancelot [Richard Gere], First Knight (1995)

King Henry V [Laurence Olivier], Henry V (1944) Def. Saruman [Christopher Lee], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Théoden, Son of Thengel [Bernard Hill], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Steapa [Adrian Bouchet], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022)

Richard III Plantagenet [Aneurin Barnard], The White Queen (2013) Def. “Taunting French Guard” [John Cleese], Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Wat [Alan Tudyk], A Knight’s Tale (2001) Def. Ser Jaime Lannister [Nikolaj Coster-Waldau], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Kili [Aiden Turner], The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) Def. Daario Naharis [Michiel Huisman], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Osferth [Ewan Mitchell], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. Robin Hood [Jonas Armstrong], BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009)

Rodrigo Borgia [Jeremy Irons], The Borgias (2011-2013) Def. Jacques le Gris [Adam Driver], The Last Duel (2021)

Ivar the Boneless [Alex Høgh Andersen], Vikings (2013-2020) Def. Stannis Baratheon [Stephen Dillane], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Caspian X [Ben Barnes], The Chronicles of Narnia (2010) Def. Guildenstern [Tim Roth], Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)

Robin Hood [Errol Flynn], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Def. High King Peter the Magnificent [Noah Huntley], The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010)

Peregrin “Pippin” Took [Billy Boyd], The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) Def. Little John [Eric Allan Kramer], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

Uhtred of Bebbanburgh [Alexander Dreymon], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. Robin of Loxley [Michael Praed], Robin of Sherwood (1984)

Sihtric Kjartansson [Arnas Fedaravicius], The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) Def. Robin Longstride [Russell Crowe], Robin Hood (2010)

Edgin Darvis [Chris Pine], Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023) Def. “Cinderella’s Prince” [Chris Pine], Into the Woods (2014)

Tom Builder [Rufus Sewell], The Pillars of the Earth (2010 Def. Thomas Cromwell [Mark Rylance], Wolf Hall (2015-2024)

Adhemar, Count of Anjou [Rufus Sewell], A Knight's Tale (2001) Def. Sir Bowen [Dennis Quaid], Dragonheart (1996)

Azeem [Morgan Freeman], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) Def. Prince Graydon Hastur [Tony Revolori], Willow (2022)

Tajomaru [Toshiro Mifune], Rashomon (1950) Def. Niankoro [Issiaka Kane], Yeelen (1987)

Will Scarlett [Patrick Knowles], The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) Def. Syrio Forel [Miltos Yerolemou], Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Geoffrey Chaucer [Paul Bettany], A Knight’s Tale (2001) Def. “The Sherriff of Rottingham” [Roger Rees], Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)

George, Sherriff of Nottingham [Alan Rickman], Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) Def. William Wallace [Mel Gibson], Braveheart (1995)

Sir Lancelot [Santiago Cabrera], BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) Def. Sid [Luke Youngblood], Galavant (2015-2016)

Xenk Yendar [Regé-Jean Page], Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) Def. Eamon Valda [Abdul Salis], The Wheel of Time (2022-)

Westley [Cary Elwes], The Princess Bride (1987) Def. Forge Fitzwilliam [Hugh Grant], Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

[scotianostra]

Castle of the Day  Ardvreck, Loch Assynt.

There’s not a lot left  of  Ardvreck Castle, so I though a short  video of drone footage was best for introducing you to it, and it’s beautiful surroundings, what it lacks in structure, it makes up for in it’s history.

Ardvreck Castle dates back to about 1490 when the lands were owned by the Macleods of Assynt, the reconstruction from my friend  Andrew Spratt ( @andrewsp2009) on twitter, shows how it might have looked back in the 15th century.

Standing on a peninsula in the remote and picturesque Loch Assynt, Ardvreck Castle consists of a ruined square tower of three storeys, with a round stair-turret corbelled out to square. The castle was much altered in the 16th century, and there was a walled garden. A rampart cut off the peninsula.  The basement was vaulted, and the walls are pierced by shot-holes, you can see in the above pic.

The surviving part of the building is more substantial than appears from the roadside; with care, you can hop inside the shell of the southeast tower, peer into the basement vaults, and look out of the first floor windows - probably getting in the way of everyone else's photos at the same time. Ardvreck Castle was abandoned in the 1700s in favour of nearby Calda House, also now a ruin and within easy walking distance to the south east. And to the north, the waterfall on the other side of the road is worth a quick detour after rainfall.

Assynt was granted to Siol Torquil in 1343 by David II on condition of feudal service of one Galley (a requirement that helped ensure the King could raise a sufficiently large maritime force to maintain Royal control over the islands on the West Coast of Scotland). It passed from Siol to his son, Tormod, and then through his descendants who became of the Macleods of Assynt. It was a member of this clan, Angus Mor III, who built the Castle.

The castle acquired its place in history in 1650 when James Graham, Marquis of Montrose was briefly imprisoned there. He had been a key Royalist commander - most notably with his successful 1644/5 campaign where he had effectively mobilised Highland forces and won a number of impressive victories, if you follow my posts you will know of Montrose, or The Great Montrose, as he is often refereed to. 

Defeated at the Battle of Carbisdale on 25 April 1650 Graham managed to escape the battlefield and he sought refuge from Neil MacLeod, X Baron of Assynt, who then held the Castle.  MacLeod was 60 miles away at Dunbeath in Caithness when Montrose lost at Carbisdale. It fell to his wife, to imprison the man she and a large number of Scots saw as a traitor. Having put Montrose in the dungeon at Ardvreck, she summoned her husband from Dunbeath and sent word to General Leslie at Tain. 

On May 4, 1650, Major General Holbourn arrived at Ardvreck to take custody of the prisoner. Under Scots Law in those days a man was responsible for his wife's deeds and therefore, Neil had to bear the consequences of Christian's actions in his absence. However, there is little doubt that he would have acted in the same way, given his beliefs and position as Sheriff-Depute of Assynt. He had carried out his duty as an appointed magistrate by handing the prisoner over to the government. Montrose was sentenced to be hanged and dismembered as an "attainted rebel" in Edinburgh May 21, 1650. 

After the Restoration the Macleods were politically isolated, particularly by Charles II who held them culpable for the fate of Graham. This was exploited by the enemies of the Macleods – in particular the MacKenzies of Wester Ross. By purchasing various Macleod debts, they claimed ownership of Ardvreck Castle and in June 1672 besieged the property. The castle was held by John Macleod who defied the attackers for 14 days but was forced to surrender when siege apparatus was brought forward. Ardvreck Castle, along with the Assynt territories, passed to the MacKenzies.

The new owners regarded the austere residential arrangements at Ardvreck Castle as wholly unsuitable and abandoned it within a few decades of seizing it from the Macleods. In its place Kenneth MacKenzie commissioned Calda House - known locally as the White House for its whitewashed walls - with work starting in 1726. Stone was robbed from the old castle and the finished house was a lavish residence described as having "14 bedchambers, with the convenience of chimneys [and] fireplaces". It was superbly sited to view the ruins of the old castle and fuel the legend of the downfall of the Macleods. However, within a few years the MacKenzies were finding it difficult to fund such a lavish residence as they were suffering from financial troubles inflicted on them by the Government for their Jacobite sympathies. Calda House was put up for sale and two potential buyers competed to acquire the site - William MacKenzie, Earl of Seaforth and William Sutherland, Earl of Sutherland. The latter won but this incensed the MacKenzies and on 12 May 1737 some of their supporters looted and burnt the house. The site never fully recovered and fifty years later it was partially demolished to provide stone for a schoolhouse at Kirkton.

Given the history of the site maybe it is of no surprise that the Castle is said to be very haunted. Ghosts include that of the weeping daughter of a MacLeod chief. She took her own life by throwing herself from a window of the castle and drowned in Loch Assynt after being fooled into marrying the Devil. It was said to have been part of a pact entered into in order to save the castle for her father. It is reported that she can be seen walking along the beach close to the castle. When the mists shroud the Loch some claim that her presence can still be heard by the sounds of heart rending sobs that are both unsettling and fill those that hear it with overwhelming sorrow.

[ennuijpg]

but of course, you know that already

summary: "Oh! Such devotion. You really don’t deserve it. But of course—you know that already!" -Helen, MAG164 The Sick Village 

(alternatively, Jon and Martin explore an abandoned lab, and Jon gets bullied in the process)

word count: ~3.6k

genre: angst, established relationship

a/n: MAG164 giving me enough inspiration to dip my toe into TMA fic waters? It’s apparently more likely than I thought. This was mostly spurred by my refusal to stop thinking about this post since last week. And many thanks to my lovely beta readers Lizzie (@babyyodablackwood) and Jessica!

read on ao3

Martin pulled his jacket tighter around him as he shivered; the wind seemed to grow sharper and colder the nearer to London, or what used to be London, they got. “What do you think that is?” he asked, indicating, with a tilt of his head, a sprawling complex of utilitarian buildings in the distance.

“The Bartlett Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences Research,” Jon answered without hesitation.

“Oh uh,” Martin faltered for a second, “Did you just know that or did you Know that?”

“Hm, Knew, I think; no reason for me to have known that otherwise.”

“Oh okay.” He paused, thought for a moment, “And how’re you feeling toda—oh well not ‘today,’ there is no ‘today,’ but you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know,” Jon dragged a hand slowly down his face as he stopped walking.

“Do you want to take a break?” Martin asked, concern bleeding through his words.

“Do you? Are you tired?”

“No.”

“Then let’s keep going,” Jon started heading in the direction of the research buildings.

“Towards that?” Martin gestured at the complex. “What about the Panopticon?”

“We have to go there first, there’s something there, I can feel it.”

“Mmh, okay, if you say so.” He was skeptical but wasn’t about to argue the point given Jon’s semi-omniscience.

They trudged along in comfortable silence, falling in step save for when Martin nearly squashed a large spider in his path and jumped back to avoid doing so. The wind continued to grow, biting at their faces and stinging their eyes. Combined with the dull grey the sky had turned, the whole scene began to remind Martin just a little too much of the Lonely. Jon sensed him tensing next to him and grabbed Martin’s hand, lacing their fingers together and running his thumb over Martin’s. Martin relaxed a little and directed a soft smile in Jon’s direction, a silent thank you.

The complex in the distance grew larger and larger as they approached it, until they were right in front of it. The journey seemed far shorter than it should have been, and the fact of it evidently set Jon on edge. Martin felt his nails digging into the back of his hand, saw his eyes flitting about. The main building was rectangular, about twenty storeys tall, cast in a grey concrete weathered and darkened by age. It was flanked by several shorter, wider buildings that were connected in a circle with a courtyard in the center. The whole complex was in the Brutalist style Martin had always hated so much. Its jutting angles against the grey of the sky were just all a bit too on the nose for the apocalypse.

They walked toward the main building as Martin began to protest, “I don’t know Jon,” he said, slowing his step but not stopping, “Do we have to go in? We don’t even know this is the right way, couldn’t we just go around—” his words were cut short as they stepped over the threshold of the complex and every building outside of the complex itself seemed to suddenly disappear.

“It seems we have no choice,” Jon answered dryly, “And I still think there’s something here.”

Martin hummed in neither agreement nor disagreement but followed Jon into the building regardless. They were met with a lobby that looked most unwelcoming to visitors; no reception desk was to be found anywhere, and the only wayfinder available was a sign next to the lifts that had a list of names and a room number next to each, with no indication of what the rooms were or who the names belonged to. At the center of the room was a staircase going down, surrounded on three sides by a waist-high frosted glass wall. Neither the lifts nor the staircase looked to be favorable options, but Jon mused aloud that the basement could just be storage rooms, and he’d rather not waste his time with them if not necessary. So, he grasped Martin’s hand and pulled gently, indicating they should head for the lifts. 

It dinged before Jon’s finger even touched the up button, let alone pushed it, and the sound echoed hollowly through the empty lobby.

“Well that’s not ominous at all,” Martin chuckled mirthlessly.

They stepped inside and Jon pressed the button for the second floor, this time the lift letting him do so without intervening. It creaked and groaned, evidence of age betraying its shiny metal facade. From what they could see as they stepped out, the second floor consisted of two long hallways branching off from the lifts. The one to the left was blocked off by a glass door, and a keypad by its handle blinked red. They moved cautiously down the hallway on the right, Martin reading each plaque by the doors lining the hallway’s left wall. Anne Carrion, Ph.D.; Cerise Moore, Ph.D.; Maxwell de Santos, Ph.D.; Kenneth MacLeod, M.S.; Evelyn Ortega, M.S.; Janani Singh, Radiation Safety Specialist. 

“Molecular neuroscientists. Researchers, I believe.” Jon supplied helpfully, anticipating Martin’s question, “These are their offices.”

The doors to each office were locked, but a look through the small window in each door told them when they already knew: the floor, and likely the building as well, was completely and utterly deserted. Martin led the way back to the lifts and other hallway. He tried pushing (and then pulling) the glass door, but the red light on the keypad remained red, and the door remained locked. Jon made a move for the keypad as Martin stepped aside, and he punched in the numbers 2 8 7 3. The keypad glowed green, and Martin nearly fell through the door he was leaning on as it swung open. This hallway was wider, with doors flanking both sides and posters of academic journal articles pinned on the walls. Every door had a window through which they saw black-topped laboratory benches and sinks filled with glassware, as if there had been experiments actively in progress when all the researchers just disappeared from the labs. And every door was locked, this time with ID badge readers that Jon couldn’t exactly Know how to unlock. At the end of the hall was a pale yellow metal door that seemed to lead to a walk-in freezer, a dial by the door reading “-78ºC.” 

“There’s nothing else on this floor, is there?” Martin started heading back, “Maybe we should try the other floors?”

“Right, yes I think so.”

There was no reason to not check the floors sequentially, so they found themselves on the third floor, nearly identical to the second. The only differences were the names on the office plaques—behavioral neuroscientists, Jon had said—the addition of small animal cages devoid of any animals in the laboratories, and instead of a walk-in freezer, the room at the end of a the hall was labeled “Imaging,” and under it, a warning sign, “32P, 35S, 22Na, 36Cl RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES IN USE.”

They continued up the floors, all of them some variation of the first they’d seen, half offices, half laboratories. It wasn’t until the fifteenth floor they found something different. The lifts opened up to a large room with two circular tables in the center, each for about eight people. The back wall was lined with floor to ceiling windows that looked out of the grey suburbs of the greater London area. It looked just as empty as it did when all the buildings disappeared as they stepped over the threshold to the complex, but Jon Knew it wasn’t actually empty, something was just making it look as if it were. Trying to Know what caused the illusion did nothing but make his vision go blurry for a few seconds.

The left and right walls of the room each had a set of double doors. As Martin approached the one on the left, Jon could hear him mutter the name on the plaque, “The Hallett Dale Conference Room.” This was the first unlocked room they had happened upon.

The other room was “The Milner Conference Room.” Jon found this one unlocked as well and pulled the doors open to reveal a sparsely decorated room with a long rectangular table in the center of it, chairs on the long sides, each side seating twelve.

Finding nothing notable, he exited the room and focused his attention on the scene outside, or rather, lack thereof. The unnatural emptiness gnawed on the inside of his mind, as if there was something just beyond his vision there he couldn’t quite see, an itch he couldn’t quite scratch. Martin left the Hallett Dale room and found him at the back windows, thousand-yard stare fixed loosely on the empty landscape below them. His top teeth worried at his bottom lip, and when Martin placed a hand on his shoulder, he didn’t react.

“Alright?” Martin asked gently, hoping to pull him out from his rumination.

Jon reached back to cover Martin’s hand on his shoulder with his own and let out a long exhale, “Let’s go look at the other floors,” he replied, still half lost in thought. 

At the sixteenth floor, they were met with the familiar sight of two hallways branching off to the left and right. The hall on the right yielded nothing surprising, just a row of offices, this time for a number of neuropharmacologists. The hall to the left was blocked off by a familiar glass door to which Jon entered the code as he had done for all thirteen other laboratory floors. The door swung in to reveal the wide hallway with labs on both sides. A walk-in freezer door was at the end, and Jon could have sworn it was just a slightly brighter yellow than all the others. 

They went through the usual routine of peeking inside the labs through the windows, checking their doors and finding them locked, each taking a side of the hallway. Martin reached the end first, turning his attention to the freezer door, its dial reading “-42ºC.” He tried the handle, which unlatched, “Uhm, Jon?” he made a move to pull the door open, “I think this one’s unlocked, actually.”

Jon’s head snapped up from the poster he was reading a few doors down and registered, half a second too late, that it was very much not a good thing the door was unlocked. “Martin!” he warned, closing the meters between him and the yellow in a couple frantic leaps. But Martin had already stepped inside, leaving the door slightly ajar. By the time Jon reached it, the familiar form of Helen, swathed in floating fractals and dizzying colors, stepped out, solidly blocking his path.

“Uh uh uh,” she pressed a finger to his chest, “you may want to stop there, dear Archivist,” her voice dripped sickly sweet condescension. Something sharp, fractal or finger, grazed his side, dangerously close to a part of his unprotected liver, where a rib used to be. Not that being lightly stabbed by the Distortion would cause any lasting injury to him, but it made him feel uncomfortably vulnerable all the same. “You stepping inside may be an easy way to cause me some trouble, but poor Martin would also be trapped in those corridors should they collapse in on themselves! Unless you can Know that you could get him out unharmed? But I don’t think that’s the case, is it?”

Jon searched for the knowledge for a second before realizing that it wasn’t and wouldn’t be coming to him. He sighed, “No, I suppose that isn’t the case.”

“Right then!” She continued with a cheeriness that was just so wrong, “That’s settled. It’s best you stay out here.”

He glanced past her shoulder into the corridor, seeing nothing comprehensible. The only things visible were patterns of colorful light dancing against inky black, as if he had closed his eyes and pressed his palms against them. Catching him looking, Helen smiled coldly and shut the door with her foot in one smooth motion. Jon strengthened the resolve in his voice, “What do you want?”

“Oh you already know! Thought I’d pop by for a chat, I just want us to be friends again of course!”

“You and I both know that’s not true,” Jon countered, punctuating the last word.

“Oh Jon, you and your silly little words you think still mean things! I think you of all people should know by now that fact and truth aren’t quite the same, hm? You may have all the facts of things, but how much of the truth do you really understand?”

“What are you going to do to Martin?” he demanded, voice low, solidly ignoring her question.

“Oh now aren’t you adorable, fussing over him like this. Don’t worry! Nothing will hurt him in there,” she laughed unnervingly, “Well, not physically! I just wanted some time for us to talk, hm what’s that word you use? Ah! Yes, avatar to avatar.”

“And will you let him go once I,” he spit the words out as if they were venom on his tongue, “talk to you?”

She considered it for a moment, dragging the decision out a tad longer than necessary just to watch Jon squirm, “Mmmh hmm, I suppose I will!”

The next moment passed in near silence, with only the hum of the not-freezer behind them. 

“Well?” Jon asked, impatient.

“Well,” she began slyly, “How have you two crazy kids been finding the trip since I last saw you? You’ve crossed quite a few now, haven’t you? Less than half to go!”

“What is it to you?” He was decidedly against answering in any satisfactory way.

“Just checking up! I know you’re not exactly an expert on friends, what with all of yours becoming not so fond of you by some point or another, but even you must know this is what friends do?” Her eyes glittered with mad glee. 

“I’m only still here so you’ll let Martin out. We,” he gestured pointedly in the space between them, “are never going to be friends. As if I could trust you after you sat idly by.” 

“Oh pity! I do think we could be the best of friends if you’d stop being so stubborn! But that’s your problem, isn’t it Archivist? You never really let yourself trust anyone, do you? And eventually, everyone gets tired of it and leaves. Or, they die before they can get tired. Oh! Or, they get tired and die. My, my, my, it doesn’t seem easy for those who get close to the Archivist.” She continued with little sign of stopping any time soon, “You like to think you’ve made an active decision to trust people, but how much have you actually stuck to that? You’re always on the defensive, holding people at arm’s length because you’re scared they’ll leave you. Maybe you say it’s for their safety, but clearly, they still aren’t very safe! So, how much is so you don’t feel as hurt when they leave?”

“Is this what you came here to do? Lay out my interpersonal troubles?” 

She continued, paying no mind, “And don’t even get me started on Martin. Now, he has loyalty to rival an entire army of knights. I don’t have to be all-knowing to know that boy won’t leave you. But how much of that loyalty is just out of a feeling of obligation to take care of people? Even if they hurt him? You know him, and if not, you at least Know him. He stayed by his mother all those years despite her causing him nothing but pain and trouble. And now,” she reveled in the determination dissolving behind Jon’s eyes, “Now he’s got you! Another person to devote himself to, regardless of if they deserve him or not!”

She was relentless, continuing as if she had an entire list and a time limit to mention everything, “Have you ever wondered how he really feels about this? Love of his life being the thing that started the apocalypse? That threw the world he loved into so much pain and misery and fear? Sure, he loves you, but is that the same as feeling safe with you? Even better, you’ve taken a statement from him before, haven’t you? Perhaps you’re the reason he can’t get a decent night’s sleep, what with you haunting his nightmares and all. He can barely get comfortable with you Knowing things, much less listen to you record a statement. Maybe, he’s even a bit repulsed, but he wouldn’t tell you that, would he? You can ask and ask, but you know as well as I do, he’s a damned good liar. And lie to spare your feelings? That’s the most Martin thing he could do!”

“I know what you’re doing,” he retorted through gritted teeth, “I know what you are. Es mentiras. I don’t have to believe a word you’re saying.”

 “Then tell me, Archivist, have you ever really asked him about this? How he feels about it all? About you? Have you Compelled him for the truth of his thoughts?”

“No, but I can’t, it’d be wrong—”

She cut him off, “Can’t or won’t? You say you can’t because doing so would be wrong and you don’t want to violate his free will like that, but isn’t part of it not that but rather that you’re scared of his answer?” She barreled over him before he had a chance to answer, “And he’s not naive, but he sure does have a lot of hope! Hope that all this will be reversed, hope that things will be normal again, hope that you will be normal again. But we both know that’s not happening. He’s always going to be shackled to you and your spooky omniscience! Even if you do somehow turn the world back, you’re surely not coming out of this the same person he fell in love with. I mean,” she laughed a little, the sound carrying down the hallway and settling into Jon’s bones, “even if you did, you have to admit that you’ve never been good at keeping people around. Always just a little too cold, walls built a little too high, and not much to offer but a disparaging and abrasive personality, hm?

“And dear Archivist, after everything he’s been through and all that he’s poured into caring for other people, what with the constant self sacrifice, don’t you think he deserves someone to take care of him? Actually make him feel safe?”

“Yes.”

“And you think you can do that? Be what he needs? Be enough?”

“I-I—,” Jon faltered for a moment before sighing, “I don’t know.”

“Well then, you see what I mean! Now, this has been just a lovely chat, but you know how it is. Business is booming, so I’ve got to dash!” 

Jon had too little time to process what was happening before the door opened and she stepped backwards into it, laughing while she did and giving Jon a little wave before it closed with a clear click. “Wait! But Martin!” He tried the door to find that it was securely locked. 

Jon had always considered himself someone to maintain some level of decorum and dignity, even if his professionalism was usually just a shield for himself or a diversion so others wouldn’t focus on anything else, but if there was ever a time to pound his fists against a door and wail and beg and plead, this was it. 

And he was about to when the door swung wildly open, nearly hitting him directly in the face, and out stumbled Martin, wild-eyed and disheveled. “Jon!” he cried, collapsing into Jon’s arms as he staggered slightly backwards from the shock of Martin’s weight on his shoulders, and they both sunk to the floor. 

“Martin,” Jon breathed a sigh of relief, “Martin, you’re—you—what happened?”

“H-how long was I in there?”

“I don’t know, about twenty minutes?”

“Oh God, Jon, it felt like forever. I had no idea how long I was there, I think I lost track somewhere between it feeling like hours and feeling like days,” he began to ramble now, breaths getting shuddery and shallow, “And you weren’t there, a-and—” the tears flowed freely now, and he sunk further into Jon’s arms, face pressed against his chest, “And I thought I would never get out of there and you would never come back and I kept hearing a voice in the corridors saying that nothing would ever be the same again and I didn’t know what she meant—I mean I thought that sh-she had killed you or something and I was just so scared and I—”

“Shh, I’m here, I’m here now,” Jon soothed, running his fingers through Martin’s tangled curls, “I’m here now.” He pressed a kiss to the back of Martin’s hand, skin still wet and salty with tears. It killed him to see Martin like this, in pain, because of Jon. But as Martin’s sobs gradually died down and his clutch on the front of Jon’s shirt loosened, Jon knew that right then, in that moment, he needed Martin and Martin needed him. Still though, what about after all this, if there even was an after? Helen’s words ran through Jon’s head as they sat on the floor of the laboratory building and held on to each other for dear life. And you think you can do that? Be enough?

They decided to stay in the building to rest for a few hours, even if they didn’t physically need it. Jon couldn’t wake Martin from the nightmare he had.

[outerblog]

Otoliths #59

From Otoliths editor Mark Young:

Issue fifty-nine, the southern spring issue of Otoliths, is now live. It contains work by Ruggero Maggi, Lynn Strongin, Jim Leftwich, Joseph Salvatore Aversano, Jim Meirose, John M. Bennett, Thomas M. Cassidy, osvaldo cibils, Sanjeev Sethi, Mark Pirie, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Jennifer Hambrick, Jen Schneider, Pete Spence, Heath Brougher, Rob Stuart, Ivan Klein, Jim McCrary, József Bíró, Jack Galmitz, Robert Ronnow, Kristin Garth, Scott MacLeod, Vaughan Rapatahana, Daniel de Culla, Adam Day, S. K. Kelen, Mike James, Texas Fontanella, Seth A. Howard, Serena Piccoli & William Allegrezza, Elaine Woo, Hugh Tribbey, Joanna Walkden Harris, Mike Harriden, Isabel Gómez de Diego, Mark DuCharme, hiromi suzuki, harry k stammer, Cecelia Chapman, Jeff Crouch, Bruno Neiva, Clara B. Jones, Eric Hoffman, J. D. Nelson, Sheila E. Murphy, Olivier Schopfer, Miriam Borgstrom, Jack Foley, Baron Geraldo & Associates, Pat Nolan, Adriána Kóbor, AG Davis, Volodymyr Bilyk, Andrew Brenza, red flea & old beetle, Joe Balaz, Kenneth Rexroth, Rosaire Appel, Jeff Harrison, Diana Magallón, Andrew Topel, Oormila Vijayakrishnan Prahlad, Christopher Barnes, Dave Read, Dale Jensen, Carol Stetser, Thomas Fink, dan raphael, Michael Farrell, Jessie Janeshek, T. W. Selvey, Chris Arnold & Francesca Jurate Sasnaitis, Andrew Taylor, Zebulon Huset, Ramsay Randall, Kenneth Howard Doerr, Penelope Weiss, Gavin Lucky, David Lohrey, Khaloud Al-Muttalibi, Barbara Daniels, Doren Robbins, J. Crouse, Simon Perchik, Karl Bachmann, Jeff Bagato, Wes Lee, Judith Skillman, Roger Mitchell, Grzegorz Wróblewski, Tom Beckett, Charles Wilkinson, Michael Basinski, Stephen Nelson, Bob Lucky, Jude VC, Tony Beyer, Stuart Wheatley, Jürgen O. Olbrich, Christian ALLE, Stu Hatton, Nick Nelson, R L Swihart, Kathleen Reichelt & Rich Ferguson, Dah, Daniel f. Bradley, Michael Ruby, Magdelawit Tesfaye, Eileen R. Tabios, Michael Spring, Les Wicks, Susan Connolly, Luis Cuauhtémoc Berriozábal, Elmedin Kadric, Angela Costi, Pamela Miller, John Levy, Jay Buchanan, Keith Higginbotham, Douglas Barbour, Kathup Tsering, Jill Cameron, Peter Yovu, Marilyn Stablein, Paul Pfleuger, Jr., Richard Kostelanetz, Michael Brandonisio, Katrinka Moore, Rosalinda Ruiz Scarfuto, Aurora Scott, Bob Heman, Keith Nunes, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Kristian Patruno, Chris Gutkind, Jane Simpson,  & M.J. Iuppa.

[a feast! Thank you once again, Mark.]

[& FWIW, I have three poems in this issue. &, would you believe, I had three poems in #58 also.]

[reviewsphere]

Kes @ Perth Theatre

THEATRE REVIEW: Kes @ Perth Theatre ⭐⭐⭐⭐ @HorsecrossPerth @_KennethMac @lukemp @robably #kes

Casper by name, Casper the ghost by nature. That’s our Billy. A “nearly sixteen” paperboy forever on the run. Disappearing round a corner, through a door, over a hill. Likewise his mother into a cloud of perfume. And his brother down a perilous mine-shaft.

And what they are running from is life. Or rather a measly manner of existence in the “smudge” of a pit town devoid of hope. The essence of…

[kwebtv]

Mapp & Lucia  - Channel 4  -  April 14, 1985 - May 31, 1986

Comedy / Drama (10 episodes)

Running Time:  60 minutes

Stars:

Prunella Scales as Elizabeth Mapp

Geraldine McEwan as Emmeline Lucas (Lucia)

Nigel Hawthorne as Georgie Pillson

Denis Lill as Major Benjy Flint

Lucinda Gane as Foljambe

Mary MacLeod as Godiva 'Diva' Plaistow 

James Greene as Rev. Kenneth Bartlett 

Cecily Hobbs as 'Quaint' Irene Coles

Geoffrey Chater as Algernon Wyse

Marion Mathie as Mrs. Susan Wyse MBE

Geraldine Newman as Grosvenor

Ken Kitson as Cadman

Lucinda Gane as Foljambe

Cherry Morris as Withers

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Police recapture escaped murderer after tip leads to Nepean apartment,” The Ottawa Citizen. 11 Sep 1986: A1/ FRONT.    --- FINAL EDITION.  Ian MacLeod, Citizen staff writer. --- A convicted murderer on the run since Friday after failing to return to a Kingston prison from a three-day pass was captured without a fight Wednesday afternoon in Nepean.

Donald Joseph Phillion, 47, surrendered to police at 5 p.m., minutes after a dozen Ottawa and Nepean officers, acting on a tip, converged on a highrise building at 1192 Meadowlands Dr., near Fisher Avenue.

Phillion, who had been serving a life sentence for the gruesome 1969 murders of two men near Carp, was found in a third-floor hallway, apparently trying to avoid capture while officers raided the apartment of an unidentified acquaintance.

Ottawa police Insp. Peter Hudz said the raid was one of several searches for Phillion Wednesday by detectives from Ottawa's major crime squad.

He said the searches were the result of information gathered by police and several tips about Phillion's possible whereabouts. He wouldn't elaborate.

"We've had a lot of men involved in this for the past couple of days, and it paid off," he said.

A Canada-wide warrant for Phillion's arrest for being unlawfully at large was issued Friday when he failed to return from a Hull halfway house on Berri Street to Pittsburg Institution, a minimum-security farm annex to Joyceville Penitentiary near Kingston.

A federal correctional services spokesman said Phillion had been allowed to visit the house three times in the past few months in anticipation of his being granted day parole from prison to live at the house.

Phillion's failure to return to prison Friday was the second time since 1984 an arrest warrant had been issued against him for being unlawfully at large.

In May 1984, he failed to return to the minimum-security Frontenac Institute in Kingston while on a one-day pass. He was arrested about a month later by police in Haileybury, in Northern Ontario.

He was not prosecuted for being unlawfully at large because any sentence he would have received would have been served concurrent to his life sentence, "and no further time would have been tacked on," correctional services spokesman Dennis Curtis said Wednesday.

Even so, Ottawa police have now charged him with the same offence and he was expected to appear in court today.

Following his 1984 recapture, Phillion was returned to the medium-security Collins Bay prison. In July, he was moved to the minimum-security Pittsburg Institution.

Curtis said Phillion was only recently allowed to again take part in a temporary absence program to visit the Hull halfway house because, "he didn't get into any trouble," since being recaptured in June 1984.

He added Phillion made three unescorted visits to the Hull house in the past three months and, "there was nothing to indicate he wouldn't come back."

Curtis said Phillion's release on day parole will now be pushed back again, but he could not predict for how long.

A halfway house employee told The Citizen Phillion may have been upset last week when his wife, Rita, an Ottawa resident, ended their relationship.

Hudz said the woman called police late last Thursday, or early Friday, and said she and Phillion were involved in a domestic dispute. But when police arrived, he had left.

Rita Phillion said following the arrest Wednesday: "He's where he should be (in prison).

" I don't really want to talk about it. It hurts. Now that he's back (in jail), things are the way they should be. "

She would not say what she intends to do the next time he gets out.

" It's all been rather difficult. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, " she said.

Phillion was convicted in 1969 of murdering Ottawa resident Gerald MacDonald and his brother-in-law, Kenneth Vallee, of Michigan, on Hwy. 44, near Carp.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 10 years. Two other men, David Brault and David Dwyer, were also handed life sentences for their parts in the slayings. Both are still behind bars.

MacDonald, Vallee and their wives had set out in separate cars from Ottawa the night of Jan. 3, 1969 to visit relatives in Almonte.

Phillion later told police the cars of the two couples had overtaken a car in which he, Brault and Dwyer were riding and almost caused an accident, angering them.

After following the two cars for miles, the men in Phillion's car flagged the couples down on the pretext one of their cars had a problem tire.

After MacDonald and Vallee left their cars to talk to the three men, they were cut down in a hail of bullets.