#Richard no corpses are not good presents

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By; Andrew Doyle

Published: Feb 28, 2024

Many years ago I gave a talk at the London Metropolitan Archives in which I outlined my reasons for rejecting the then fashionable theory of social constructionism in relation to human sexuality. In the coffee break that followed, I was approached by a lesbian activist, who claimed to have chosen her orientation as a means to oppose the patriarchy. She demanded to know why I would not accept that sexuality had no biological basis, even though I had spent the best part of an hour answering this very question. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, ‘but I’ve already explained why I don’t agree with you’. ‘But why won’t you agree?’ she shouted in response. ‘Why?’

Primary school teachers are familiar with such frustrated pleas. The anger of children is so often connected with incomprehension, a sense of injustice, or both. When it persists into adulthood it represents a failure of socialisation. We frequently hear talk of our degraded political discourse – and there is some truth to that – but really we are dealing with mass infantilism. Its impact is evident wherever one cares to look: online, in the media, even in Parliament. Argumentation is so often reduced to a matter of tribal loyalty; whether one is right or wrong becomes secondary to the satisfaction of one’s ego through the submission of an opponent. This is not, as some imagine, simply a consequence of the ubiquity of social media, but rather a general failure over a number of years to instil critical thinking at every level of our educational institutions.

To be a freethinker has little to do with mastery of rhetoric and everything to do with introspection. It is all very well engaging in a debate in order to refine our persuasive skills, but it is a futile exercise unless we can entertain the possibility that we might be wrong. In Richard Dawkins’s book, The God Delusion (2006), he relates an anecdote about his time as an undergraduate at Oxford. A visiting academic from America gave a talk on the Golgi apparatus, a microscopic organelle found in plant and animal cells, and in doing so provided incontrovertible evidence of its existence. An elderly member of the Zoology Department, who had asserted for many years that the Golgi apparatus was a myth, was present at the lecture. Dawkins relates how, as the speaker drew to a close, ‘The old man strode to the front of the hall, shook the American by the hand and said – with passion – “My dear fellow, I wish to thank you. I have been wrong these fifteen years.” We clapped our hands red’.

This is the ideal that so few embody, particularly when it comes to the unexamined tenets of political ideology. We often see examples of media commentators or politicians being discredited in interviews or discussions, but how often do we see them concede their errors, even when they are exposed beyond doubt? There is a very good reason why the sociologist and philosopher Herbert Spencer opened his First Principles (1862) by asserting that there exists ‘a soul of truth in things erroneous’; but such concessions can only be made by those who are able to prioritise being right over being seen to be right. Too many are seemingly determined to turn difficult arguments into zero-sum games in which to give any ground whatsoever is to automatically surrender it to an opponent.

The discipline of critical thinking invites us to consider the origins of our knowledge and convictions. A man may speak with the certainty of an Old Testament prophet, but has he reached his conclusions for himself? Or is he a mere resurrectionist, plundering his bookshelves for the leather-bound corpses of other people’s ideas? Hazlitt expounded at length on how sophistry might be mistaken for critical faculties, noting that the man who sees only one half of a subject may still be able to express it fluently. ‘You might as well ask the paralytic to leap from his chair and throw away his crutch,’ he wrote, ‘as expect the learned reader to throw down his book and think for himself. He clings to it for his intellectual support; and his dread of being left to himself is like the horror of a vacuum’.

The natural human instinct for confirmation bias presents a further problem, one especially prominent among ideologues. Anything can be taken to bolster one’s position so long as it is perceived through the lens of prejudgment. We can see this most notably in the proponents of Critical Social Justice, who start from the premise that unequal outcomes – disparities in average earnings between men and women, for instance – are evidence of structural inequalities in society. They are beginning with the conclusion and working backwards, mistaking their own arguments for proof.

Worse still, such an approach often correlates with a distinctly moralistic standpoint. Many of the most abusive individuals on social media cannot recognise their behaviour for what it is because they have cast themselves in the role of the virtuous. If we are morally good, the logic goes, it must be assumed that our detractors are motivated by evil and we are therefore relieved of the obligation to treat them as human beings. What they lack in empathy they make up in their capacity for invective.

Again, we must be alert to the danger of cheapening argumentation and analysis to the mere satisfaction of ego. One of the reasons why disagreements on social media tend towards the bellicose is that the forum is public. Where there is an audience, there is always the risk that critical thinking will be subordinated to the performative desire for victory or the humiliation of a rival. In these circumstances, complexities that require a nuanced approach are refashioned into misleading binaries, and opponents are mischaracterised out of all recognition so that people effectively end up arguing with spectres of their imagination. The Socratic method, by contrast, urges us to see disputation as essentially cooperative. This is the ideal that should be embedded into our national curricula. Children need to be taught that there are few instances in which serious discussions can be simplified to a matter of right or wrong, and fewer still in which one person’s rightness should be taken as proof of another’s wrongness. In the lexicon of Critical Thinking, this is called the fallacy of ‘affirming a disjunct’; that is to say, ‘either you are right or I am right, which means that if you are wrong I must be right’. One cannot think critically in such reductionist terms.

To attempt seriously to understand an alternative worldview involves, as Bertrand Russell put it, ‘some effort of thought, and most people would die sooner than think’. In the study of psychology this is termed the ‘cognitive miser’ model, which acknowledges that most human brains will favour the easiest solution to any given problem. These mental shortcuts – known as heuristics – are hardwired into us, which is why being told what to think is more pleasurable than thinking for ourselves. I remember an English lesson in which I had initiated a discussion with my students about the representation of Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost, a topic that routinely comes up in exams. I wanted to know what they thought, and why. One student was sufficiently bold to ask: ‘Can’t you just tell us what we need to write to get the highest marks?’

This was not the fault of the student; there has been a trend in recent years, most likely influenced by the pressures of league tables, for schools to engage in ‘spoon-feeding’. Schemes of work and assessment criteria are made readily available to the pupils so that they can systematically hit the necessary targets in order to elevate their grades. The notion of education for education’s sake no longer carries any weight. I have even seen talented pupils marked down by moderators for an excess of individuality in their answers. In such circumstances, even a subject like English Literature can be reduced to a kind of memory test in which essays are regurgitated by rote.

It is hardly surprising, then, that pupils who opt for Critical Thinking courses at GCSE or A-level often perceive it to be a light option, a means to enhance the curriculum vitae without too much exertion. Courses are generally divided into Problem Solving and Critical Thinking, the former concerned with processing and interpreting data, and the latter covering the fundamentals of analysis and argumentation. Pupils learn about common fallacies such as the ad hominem (personal attack), tu quoque (counter-attack) and post hoc, ergo propter hoc (mistaking correlation for causality), along with others derived from Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations. The Latin may be off-putting, but in truth these are simple ideas which are readily digestible. If one were to discount arguments in which these fallacies were committed, virtually all online disputes would disappear.

That said, the existence of Critical Thinking as an academic subject in its own right might not be the best way to achieve this. As the psychologist Daniel T. Willingham has argued, cognitive abilities are redundant without secure contextual knowledge. Critical thinking is already embedded into any pedagogical practice that focuses on how to think rather than what to think. The increased influence of the new puritans in education presents a problem in this regard, given that they are particularly hostile to divergent viewpoints. Any institution which becomes ideologically driven is unlikely to successfully foster critical thinking, and this is particularly the case when teachers are at times expected to proselytise in accordance with fashionable identity politics. The depoliticisation of schools is just the first step. Critical thinking requires humility; this involves not just the ability to admit that one might be wrong, but also to recognise that an uninformed opinion is worthless, however stridently expressed. Interpretative skills are key, but only when developed on a secure foundation of subject-specific knowledge. This is the basis for Camille Paglia’s view that art history should be built into the national curriculum from primary school level. In her book, Glittering Images (2012), Paglia explains that children require ‘a historical framework of objective knowledge about art’, rather than merely treating art as ‘therapeutic praxis’ to ‘unleash children’s hidden creativity’. Potato prints and zigzag scissors have their place, but we mustn’t forget about the textbooks.

When I was a part-time English teacher at a private secondary school for girls in London, one of my favourite exercises for the younger pupils was to ask them to study a photograph of a well-known work of art for five minutes without speaking, after which time they would share their observations with the rest of the class. So, for instance, I would give them each a copy of Paul Delaroche’s ‘Les Enfants d’Edouard’ (1831), which depicts the two nephews of Richard III in their chamber in the Tower of London just prior to their murder. My pupils knew nothing of the historical context, but after minutes of silent consideration were able to pick out details – the ominous shadows under the door, the dog alerted to the assassins’ footfall, how the older boy stares out at us with a sense of resignation – and offer some personal reflections on their cumulative impact. To create, one must first learn how to interpret.

The kind of humility fostered in the appreciation of great art could act as a corrective to the rise of narcissism and decline of empathy that psychologists have observed over the past thirty years. According to the National Institutes of Health, millennials are three times more likely to suffer from narcissistic personality disorder than those of the baby boomer generation. Writers such as Peter Whittle, Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett have traced the rise of hyper-individualism in Western culture. One particular study revealed that in 1950 only 12 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement ‘I am a very important person’. By 1990, this figure had risen to 80 per cent and the trajectory shows no signs of stopping. One of the ways in which this trend manifests itself is the now common tendency for arguments to deteriorate into accusations of dishonesty. After all, it takes an extreme form of egotism to assume that the only possible explanation for an alternative point of view is that one’s opponent must be lying. In order to think critically, we cannot be in the business of simply assessing conclusions on the basis of whether or not they accord with our own.

An education underpinned by critical thinking is the very bedrock of civilisation, the means by which chaos is tamed into order. Tribalism, mudslinging, the inability to critique one’s own position: these are the telltale markers of the boorish and the hidebound. A society is ill-served by a generation of adults who have not been educated beyond the solipsistic impulses of childhood. At a time when so many are lamenting the degradation of public discourse, a conversation about how best to incorporate critical thinking into our schools is long overdue. Our civilisation might just depend on it.

This is an excerpt from The New Puritans: How the Religion of Social Justice Captured the Western World. You can buy the book here. It’s also available as an audiobook.

[hubristicassholefight]

Hubristic Assholes Tourney round 1 part 2b

Propaganda below the cut (Spoiler warning!)

Richard III

HES A LITTLE BASTARD BITCH AND I HATE HIM BUT HES SO FUNNY. WITHOUT ANALYSIS HIS MOTIVE IS "NOBODY WILL FUCK ME :( IM GONNA KILL THE KING AND USURP HIS POSITION (ILL HAVE TO KILL HIS CHILDREN AND MY BROTHER TO DO THIS)." HE THINKS THIS IS GOING ALL FINE AND DANDY UNTIL HIS DUMBASS IS BETRAYED BY HIS VASSALS, UNHORSED IN BATTLE AND STABBED THROUGH THE HEAD. HE HAS PROPHETIC DREAMS ABOUT HIS DEATH AND STILL CHARGES INTO BATTLE. HE THINKS HE CAN FUCK A WOMAN WHOSE HUSBAND HE KILLS. HE SEDUCES HER OVER HIS FUCKING COFFIN. SHE KNOWS HE KILLED HER HUSBAND. HE THINKS HE CAN GO "OH HA HA I'LL GIVE YOU ALL THAT LAND LATER (I AM UNTRUSTWORTHY AND A BASTARD)" TO BUCKINGHAM AND EXPECTS HIM TO STAY LOYAL (HE DOESN'T). HUBRIS UNLIMITED

Nemesis

Nemesis is a historical figure in Three Houses, and is known as "The King of Liberation." He is accredited with using the Sword of the Creator, said to be the gift of the Goddess Sothis, to save Fodlan, only to become corrupted later on. This ends up in Seiros killing him. He is also the only recorded person to have the Crest of Flames until Byleth comes along. In reality, Nemesis never saved Fodlan, and he got his powers by killing Sothis and making the Sword of the Creator from her bones and giving himself the Crest of Flames with her blood. He and his group of bandits went on to massacre the Nabateans (a race of dragon people said to be Sothis's children) and did the same thing Nemesis did to Sothis. Seiros, one of the survivors, then led a war to avenge her mother, and ended up doing so. Nemesis's corpse was stored by the Agarthans, and during the events of Verdant Wind, they manage to revive him, and Nemesis attempts to kill Seiros and take over Fodlan again. This time, Byleth, who wields the Sword of the Creator in the present day, and their army successfully defeats him for good; Has a kick-ass final boss theme. Seriously it's just iconic.

[nitrateglow]

Halloween 2023 marathon: 19-21

The Hands of Orlac (dir. Robert Wiene, 1924)

Concert pianist Orlac (Conrad Veidt) is excited to return from touring to the arms of his loving wife Yvonne (Alexandra Sorina) right before he suffers injuries in a train crash. While the accident does not kill him, it destroys his hands. His hands being key to his livelihood, Orlac despairs, but the doctors are able to graft new ones onto his wrists. All well and good, with one problem: the hands were taken from the corpse of a guillotined murderer, Orlac is uncomfortable with them from the outset, and once he learns of their origins, Orlac is becoming paranoid that the hands will influence him to kill. Driven to madness by his fears, will Orlac resort to violence?

The Hands of Orlac has a great premise and a great lead actor in the compelling, expressive Conrad Veidt. The atmosphere, though not as surreal as Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, is decidedly nightmarish and suffocating as the protagonist's paranoia consumes him.

If only the pacing wasn't the worst.

Like, there's slow pacing and then there's submerging your movie in molasses. Orlac runs almost two hours long and much of it is just dedicated to Veidt's very deliberated mannerisms and reactions. I love Veidt-- he was one of the greatest actors of the silent era-- but the scenes of him staring in horror at his hands and whatnot just go on forever and to no real benefit to the story.

And that's unfortunate because this is a very mature, subdued psychological horror film, more about inner conflict than external monsters or psychopaths (though the movie does ultimately have a villain). In some ways, it's ahead of its time: the urban gloom on display here foreshadows the film noir movies of the 1940s and 1950s. However, it's so slow that I had a hard time getting into it.

The Island of Lost Souls (dir. Erle C. Kenton, 1932)

Edward Parker (Richard Arlen) is having a bad week: his ship sank, the captain of the ship that rescued him doesn't like him, and now because of that he's been marooned on the Island of Dr. Moreau, a small bit of land not present on any sea chart. Dr. Moreau (Charles Laughton) seems an amiable, jovial fellow, but what is to be made of the tortured screams in the night or the cowering, abused "natives" who seem to view Moreau as a god? Turns out, Moreau is trying to speed up evolution with his experiments on animals and he hopes to prove his creations can mate with humans by offering Parker his sole female subject, Lota (Kathleen Burke).

The Island of Lost Souls is quintessential pre-code horror, right there with The Most Dangerous Game and the 1932 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's gruesome for 1932, dealing with vivisection, inter-species sex, and animal cruelty. Imagine any of THAT flying come the enforcement of the Code.

This is one of very few older horror movies I find genuinely unpleasant even if it doesn't outright show Dr. Moreau cutting up his experiments while they're still very much conscious. Screams are ever present on the soundtrack and they aren't cheesy horror movie yelps. The moans and screaming in this thing are chilling. The humid jungle atmosphere is also palpable, creating a sense of suffocating entrapment. As much as I love many of the classic Universal horror movies, they don't have that same sense of dread and evil this one still possesses.

The Penthouse (dir. Peter Collinson, 1967)

Crooked businessman Bruce (Terence Morgan) and his shopgirl mistress Barbara (Suzy Kendall) find themselves at the mercy of two thugs who break into the penthouse apartment they use for their adulterous liaisons. Tom (Tony Beckley) and Dick (Norman Rodway) are childlike yet ruthless, getting Barbara intoxicated while they tie Bruce up and make him watch. Or rather listen, because boy do these fellas love monologuing.... lots and lots and lots of monologuing.

Yes, the guy who directed The Italian Job made a home invasion movie. It also sucks. Like, oh my GOD, this was designed to torture me, I swear, and not in the way the filmmakers intended. It feels like a college assignment turned into a movie.

Okay, let me be nice first. Visually, this is of interest. Not the quality of the image-- the YouTube upload looks like it was dragged up from VHS hell-- but from what I can see of the compositions and the camerawork, this is a visually dynamic movie doing its hardest to make you forget the script is based on a stage play.

But that's impossible because this is one of those movies where the characters never shut the hell up. They monologue endlessly about Societal Ills and Important Class Themes, occasionally breaking up the lecturing with oddball criminal antics, pot smoking, and violence. It's like an attempt at a "hipper" (for 1967) and more intellectual version of The Desperate Hours, where an ordinary middle-class family is held hostage by criminals as motivated by class-based bitterness as they are by money or freedom. But holy crap, does. It. Drag. 100 minutes of dragging.

Admittedly, the dynamic between Tom and Dick is a little interesting. They're the types who finish each other's sentences and genuinely seem to relish each other's company as they bond over doing these terrible things. They were fascinating to watch when not burdened with pretentious monologues about how baby alligators being flushed down toilets represent society's outliers.

Martine Beswick shows up in the last section as the third accomplice "Harry." Other reviewers claim she brightens up the film, but her appearance is so brief and much ado about nothing at all that she didn't make watching this any more entertaining for me.

The Penthouse feels like a parody of the worst kind of "elevated horror," boring nonsense masquerading as a social statement. Parts of it are memorably bizarre, but there's not enough of that for me to recommend it.

[kudosmyhero]

Batman: The Long Halloween #9: Chapter 9: Father's Day

Read Date: June 27, 2023 Cover Date: August 1997 ● Writer: Jeph Loeb ● Penciler: Tim Sale ● Inker: Tim Sale ● Colorist: Gregory Wright ● Letterer: Richard Starkings ● Editor: Archie Goodwin ◦ Chuck Kim ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● yeah, good luck trying to get Alfred to crack under cross-examination, Harvey. spoiler alert: he won’t crack ● my first time coming across the Mad Hatter! I love the font of his speech balloons

● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Many years ago, Vincent Falcone took his wounded son, Carmine to Wayne Manor. Vincent asked doctor Thomas Wayne to save his son's life in exchange for any kind of help. With Alfred's assistance, doctor Wayne saved Carmine's life but asked nothing in return, while a little Bruce watched all the scene, hiding in the staircase.

It's father's day in the present and Bruce Wayne is imprisoned for supposedly helping Carmine Falcone and his mafia business. Alfred stands in trial and Harvey Dent is the prosecutor. Harvey questions Alfred about his employer and Falcone's relation but Alfred replies that it is nonexistent. Dent asks about Thomas Wayne's involvement in the crime that almost took Carmine's life and Alfred replies that Thomas Wayne is not to blame for the inefficiency and corruption of the legal system in Gotham City. James Gordon, who is watching the trial, knows that the last statement will cost Harvey the case.

Sal Maroni visits his father Luigi Maroni. Luigi regrets not having eliminated Carmine Falcone when he could and advices his son, telling him to start acting like man and stand against his enemies. Hiding in the bushes nearby, Holiday prepares himself and when the time is right, he fires his weapon and murders Luigi Maroni, leaving Sal holding on to his father's corpse. Holiday leaves the gun and a father's day present in the scene, a necktie.

At Carmine Falcone's penthouse, Sofia Falcone gives him a present for father's day. Carmine takes the necktie with dissapointment and thanks her for the gesture, before leaving in order to attend some business. All this happened while, Catwoman watches the scene from afar.

James Gordon arrives home and finds his son James Jr. sound asleep. He notices a note for him in his son's cradle and a present as well. It is a necktie with little hands painted on it. Gordon takes off his old necktie and puts on his new one, while his wife Barbara watches the whole moment.

Meanwhile, on the Dent's house, Gilda finds Harvey alone in the basement. Harvey went to visit his father and he tells Gilda that his old man is still crazy as he has always been. However, this time, his father gave him a present, a lucky coin. Harvey reflects on the recent events and he believes that the justice system is controlled by chance, without consideration of his efforts and also feels bitter towards Bruce Wayne and the high society which he represents.

Meanwhile, in the Gotham Central Park, Scarecrow and The Mad Hatter are having trouble getting along. Carmine Falcone arrives just in time to prevent a fight between them and he tells them that they must be ready to take care of the Gotham City Bank business.

Back in Wayne Manor, Bruce wonders what would have happened if his father refused to help Carmine Falcone all those years ago. Alfred tries to tell him that it wouldn't have happened any other way and somehow he feels responsible for Bruce's situation due to his own lack of parental skills. Bruce remembers his father, admitting that he misses him dearly and Alfred tells him that he is the very reflection of Doctor Thomas Wayne.

Late that night, Vernon Wells calls Harvey Dent to the D.A.'s office to attend to some important business. Upon entering his office, Dent comes face to face with Sal Maroni, who offers Harvey a deal in order to stop Carmine Falcone once and for all.

(https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Batman:_The_Long_Halloween_Vol_1_9)

Fan Art: by Ron Salas

Accompanying Podcast: ● Bat-Books for Beginners - episode 14

[inposterumcumgaudio]

penelope snug!

So officially, it seems Penelope Snug is supervisor of motilene infrastructure while Jim Watt is in charge of motilene acquisition. However, we have communications between Jim and the boys in the Barrow Holm hatch, who would seem to fall under Penelope's purview if that were true. (See my theory about early motilene distribution and why Barrow Holm has motilene at all). Jubilator operation and maintenance also seems to be run out of the Motilene Control HQ, even though you would think that would fall more under the Doctors' oversight since Jubilators were invented to relieve them of corpse collection duties. Very tangled system of duties and obligations.

Penelope also maintains an office in the Parade District Document Control, oddly enough. Perhaps this means her position is higher than implied, that she oversees broader civil engineering and not just motilene.

In her office, she has three bowler hats.

Imagine! A lady in a council worker's uniform topped off with a bowler hat. That's a look! I eagerly await the fanart concepts.

I think this is one of those things that evolved and got muddy over time, that Penelope might have been meant to be in charge of one thing and kept getting subbed in to others. Penelope also makes me think a lot of BioShock 2's "Big Kate" O'Malley, who is also a supervisor of civic works in Rapture and the first person you find an audio diary from in that game. Parallels are often drawn between We Happy Few and BioShock but I would almost think Penelope could have been an homage.

A thing I think is interesting in comparing the two though is that Rapture did not set out with a specific intent of gender equality but ended up with it by selectively choosing the best people in every field regardless of it. In Wellington Wells, however, that women are able to achieve such high positions in the town is due to its inability to choose from only men. The town suffers shortages in nearly every way, but this also presents opportunity for those who would otherwise be overlooked.

Her correspondence with Verloc shows that the two of them are on a first name basis (Anton, though, not Tony). He even invites her and her husband Richard (whose name he knows and remembers) to dinner, which tells us he can cook. I rather would have liked to think that anyway, since cooking is just chemistry in another room, but he wouldn't be inviting people over if he couldn't.

Funnily enough, the one note we have from Penelope to Victoria lacks both a greeting and a signature, but Penelope does know specifically that Prudence Holmes is on holiday. So it means either Penelope and Victoria are so friendly as to dispense with formalities in their coorespondance... or Penelope considers this to be an interdepartmental memo... to a subordinate. Which, if she's in charge of document control as well might make sense.

The government hierarchy tree in How to be Happy is actually more of an inbred circle so make what you want of that.

Lastly, Penelope's note to Thomas Horner gives us a bit of nuance as to how she runs her crew.

So Thomas is running Jubilator Jousting tournaments on the off hours, which is a misuse of city property that perhaps Penelope was overlooking (and participating in) because it's good for morale. There's a lot of other morale initiatives happening in the Motilene Control HQ so this would seemingly fall under her interests and as long as it's not hurting anyone or getting out and making her look bad...

The problem occurs when Peter Thump loses during the Grand Derby and won't settle his unpaid debts. And this is interesting because in this scene, you're supposed to sympathize with Peter, right? He's being chased by a maniac in a Jubilator, of course he's in the right. But with the knowledge that he's ratted Thomas out not because he owes him money, but because he's not being allowed to bet further until he pays up... It's such a small side story, but it's very indicative of my larger point I'm always trying to make here, that what you're told is never exactly as one side presents it.

Anyway, so Peter rats Thomas out to Penelope and now that there's notes about it, it has become a problem. So Penelope does the only face-saving thing to be done, which is promote Peter to shut him up and tell Thomas to quit with the tournaments.

So Peter has not only fucked Thomas out the money he already owed, but also out of further profits from the tournaments, and presumably a pay raise that would have come along with his missed promotion.

He is a rotten swot, honestly.

And this puts Penelope in an unfortunate situation too because she knows what the actual haps is probably, but this is the bind they are in now. Whether she wants to side with Thomas on this or not, her hands are tied. And what's funny too is, Peter is lying about not being involved with the jousting at all - it's "Other people's money, I mean. I never bet myself." - so Thomas can only lie about being completely innocent of hosting the tournaments in the first place. To which Penelope replies that "If you persist in proclaiming your innocence, then I suppose I don't owe you 10 quid for the Grand Derby, do I?"

Thomas also lets us in on a bit of the discussion had about this:

"Come on! Let's have a "conversation." I'm sorry, no, a constructive, let's have a "constructive conversation." Has my work been "slipping"? Oh no? It's just that I've "failed to improve as much as we would have hoped"? Who the hell is "we" anyways? Have you got an invisible friend, or are you now the Queen of the bloody Pipes?"

Penelope is at home placing wagers on the destruction of her work equipment along with her crewman, but is also fluent in euphemistic (if a bit anachronistically modern) corporate-speak.

I do think the record-keeping is the thing here. If not for Wellington Wells' dependence on written notes, Penelope might have gotten away with firing Peter or transferring him to another department due to "poor culture fit".

[deadpuppetboi]

Goretober Day 13: Hollow

The human body is a complicated and expressive instrument capable of things that are still unknown.

Many cultures, both ancient and modern, have attempted to explain how the human body works over the years.

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was human intelligence itself, capable of recording every event (good or bad) in a person's life.

The Mayans thought that human sacrifice would sustain The Gods, who had poured their blood to build the world.

And the Ancient Greeks believed that the Gods were pure strength and beauty, as depicted by the artwork created in their worship.

Richard "Rick" Trager clearly believed that the human body was more important than maintaining itself alive, unless it died through unconventional means at any given time.

The body is a vessel, and as such, it should be peeled, hacked, and torn apart to disclose its inner workings. Of course, doing so requires competence, especially since specific medical tools required to do so have become uncommon. So the doctor himself (he had always aspired to be a doctor) did what he could to lay the groundwork for effectively extending the human body's use.

First, the doctor would slice into the patient's flesh, using whatever shackles he could find to keep them from moving about too much. Every quick movement would cut deeper and lengthen the experience. Although Trager would not have objected, he would have preferred that they struggle a little more.

Next, the patient's muscles would then be exposed through the peeling of the flesh. The doctor scraped his dirty nails across the pink tissue, clutching at one piece before violently pulling it off. Screaming will be unabated unless the patient's mouth is forced shut.

Then, the patient could then go into shock, which would be an excellent method to appropriately prompt their head up to view their organs exposed to the environment. Their pulse rate is so rapid that it may appear that their state of shock will not continue as long as they had intended. They might touch their organs with one of their hands just for pleasure.

Finally, the respectful organ will be selected and removed from its position. Tracer would do his best to ensure that the heartbeat was still present when he removed it from the patient. But, just to be sure, each organ would be taken piece by piece until there was nothing left.

There will be blood, a lot of blood, and such an invasive medical treatment will result in nasty substances gushing out. As a result, appropriate attire, such as an apron, will be required. Washing said apron will be difficult now that the water system has been scarce.

Trager would just wash his hands before and after the surgery. He wouldn't be a good doctor if he didn't take the time to clean up after himself, which is exactly what this patient was doing just now.

Hollow.

Completely and completely hollow.

The chest had been sliced open and torn in order to extract the organs from within, which were then placed on a bloodied and rusted tray beside the corpse. Each organ was carefully put so that they did not come into contact with one another; the doctor was confident that he would benefit much from this.

He pushed off the tray they were laid on while looking at the hollow-chested corpse. Left in a heap on the rough ground for the flies to place their eggs and the maggots to develop and feed without a care in the world. He didn't care as long as they didn't get too close to the organs; he had a company to run.

Each organ costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the heart being the most expensive. Was it the liver, then? He'll need some ice, but this place didn't have any. Hell, Trager would be lucky to locate a fridge here!

Anyway, he had everything he needed; all he had to do now was call some consumers.

He ought to call that gimp, what's his name, Mister something?

Ah, he'll figure it out once he gathers everything.

[une-sanz-pluis]

I was curious about a footnote in James Hamilton Wylie's The Reign of Henry V, Volume II (1415-1416), where he corrects the tendency of 19th century writers to mistranslate Gesta Henrici Quinti's account of Richard Courtenay's death or present Henry V as performing or helping the clergy perform extreme unction. So I decided to look up the full versions of the accounts.

The thing that struck me is just how... well, tender, these accounts of Courtenay's death are, as well as the whole "he was acting the role of the churchman" thing.

First, we have Harris Nicholas' The History of the Battle of Agincourt (1833) which is, in part, a translation of the Gesta Henrici Vita. I've already posted the more modern translation of the passage, but these are the notable sections:

"Richard Courtenay, Bishop of Norwich, who died on the 15th September … having received from Henry's own hands the last offices of religion and friendship"

"the King, who covered his feet with extreme unction..."

James Endell Tyler, Henry of Monmouth (1838):

Whilst Richard Courtenay, Bishop of Norwich, one of the victims of the dysentery, was lingering in the agonies of death, we find Henry in the midst of his besieging army, at the height of a very severe struggle, war and disease raging on every side, not in a council of his officers, planning the operations of tomorrow, nor on his couch, giving his body and mind repose from the fatigues and excitement of his opening campaign, but we see him on his knees at the deathbed of a dying minister of religion, joining in the offices of the church so long as the waning spirit could partake of its consolations ; and then not commissioning others, however faithful representatives they might have been, to act in his stead, but by his own hands soothing the sufferings of the dying prelate, and striving to make the struggle of his latter moments less bitter. Had Henry visited the tent of the good Bishop when he first knew of his malady, and charged any of his numerous retinue to pay especial attention to his wants and comforts, it would have been regarded, at such an hour of pressing emergence, as an act worthy of a Christian King. But Henry, who in no department of his public duties ever willingly deputed to others what he could personally attend to himself, carried the same principle into the exercise of the charities of private life ; and has here left a pattern of Christian sympathy and lowliness of mind, of genuine philanthropy, and the sincere affection of true friendship, worthy of prince and peasant alike to imitate. Bishop Courtenay is said to have been among Henry's chosen friends, recommended to him by the singular qualities of his head and his heart. He was a person (we are told) endowed with intellectual and moral excellences of a very high character ; and Henry knew how to appreciate the value, and cultivate the friendship, of such a man. Having enjoyed the satisfaction and benefit of his society in life, now, when he was on the point of quitting this world for ever, Henry never withdrew from his bed ; but, watching him with tender anxiety till the ministers of religion had solemnized the last rite according to the prevailing practice of the church in those days, even then, " in his own person," he continued to supply the wants of sinking mortality, "with his own hands wiping the chilled feet" of his dying friend. The manuscript proceeds to say, that, when life was extinct, with pious regard for his memory, Henry caused his body to be conveyed to England, and to be honourably buried among the royal corpses in Westminster.

George Makepeace Towle, The History of Henry the Fifth (1866):

Richard Courtenay, Bishop of Norwich, one of the King's best beloved friends, became a victim of the pestilence. As he lay suffering in his tent, his loving pupil and sovereign came alone to him, and, kneeling by his couch, prayed with him and comforted him. In the presence of death Henry bore himself meekly and with humble heart. He received with tender anxiety the dying words of the venerable prelate, and, with tears of proud hope, pictured to the departing soul the glories which were in store for it. As the end approached, Henry supplied the bishop's wants with affectionate care, and "with his own hands wiped the chilled feet of the dying man." Thus Henry could find time, amid all the anxieties of an active siege, to devote himself to the solemn and tender task of soothing the last hours of a faithful friend.

[themoon-and-dejavu]

which imaginary illness do you have?

Richard-

Melancholic Pneumonia

You carry the past with you, it clutters up your lungs. The golden sand of beloved memories, the rainbow of missed opportunities you still agonize over, the dust of a life spend doing mostly banal things. They escape you with every breath, your cough stained with impossible colors. In a way the dust reflects your constant forgetting of the past - the hundreds of things you let go of every day to make room for hundreds more. You are choking on your own past, the architect of your own demise, each breath sour and harsh. Letting go of the past now won't do you any good - it's far to late already, your melancholy is already flooding your lungs. Enjoy a few last breaths of the present. The past is catching up quick.

Anais-

Blooming Pox

Their roots have taken hold inside your veins, your breath is shared now. Life grows from your flesh - an inescapable, floral infection. It will feast upon you until you have nothing left to give, it will trap you and make you unable to move forward. You know all this as you watch the flowers bloom just above your skin, their own petals stained with crimson - but isn't it nice to be needed, doesn't it feel good to have them depend on you for them to grow out of your not yet rotting corpse.

[uncomplicatedbookreviews]

The Lost World

Author: Michael Crichton

Series: Jurassic Park (#2)

My rating: 5/10 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads: 3.85/5

Date Read: October 2023

"Too much change is as destructive as too little. Only at the edge of chaos can complex systems flourish." -----------------------------

Plot Summary: Strange misshapen corpses are washing up on the shore of Costa Rica leaving local governments in total confusion. After recovering from his grevious injuries incurred during his adventure in Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm is recruited by rich archaeologist Richard Levine to visit Isla Sorna where Richard believes there are surviving specimens of the Jurassic Park dinosaurs. Ian, Richard, supporting crew members, and two stow away children travel to the island only to discover that they are not the only ones interested in studying the dinosaurs. Using their combined expertise and wit they must survive not only the dinosaurs of the island, but their human rivals as well.

TL:DR: Crichton's follow up to his incredibly successful hit Jurassic Park leaves a lot to be desired. The publication of this book follows the box office success of the Jurassic Park movie, and it attempts, unsuccessfully to merge the book and movie version of events together in this continuation. The science is not as intriguing, the characters are not as charismatic, and the story wanders and get's lost half way through. If your a completionist feel free to pick this book up, but if you're happy with the conclusion of Jurassic Park you can leave this book on the shelf.

Thoughts and Feelings: As a huge fan of the Jurassic Park novel, experiencing the unbalanced mixture of Malcolm's chaos theory rants, choppy action sequences, major plot holes, and slow pace is a major disappointment. It feels like everything that Jurassic Park did well falls slightly short in this novel. The reappearance of Ian Malcolm is a point of contention for many people especially because the explanation given for his 'revival' is extremely weak and underdeveloped. But beyond that the entire first half of this book suffers from a very slow development. It takes the characters forever to actually get out to the island and once they're there it feels a bit meandering. The pace is not helped at all by Ian's frequent diatribes and side bars about the philosophical side of science and chaos theory. What was verging on too much in Jurassic Park has become completely overboard in this book.

The science presented throughout the book was not as engaging as it could have been and I found it much less thorough. The characters were not as likeable as those in the first book and I was really sad that Ian was the character that was chosen to continue the story rather than Alan Grant of Ellie Sattler.

There are some MAJOR plot holes that pop up throughout this book which mainly revolved around certain details being heavily emphasized in the exposition of the book that never get resolved by the end of the book which is strange considering the in depth nature of the vast majority of the book.

Also an aside: The Lost World the movie is almost completely different from the book. And I wouldn't say it's in a good or a bad way since I didn't particularly like either of them all that much.

[kurt-wagner-official]

Post #89: Power Pack issue 27, Thor issues 373-374, and UXM issue 212

The crossover starts reaching beyond the X-books to Power Pack, written by Louise Simonson, and Thor, written by Walt Simonson. Power Pack recently had an adventure where all their powers got traded around, and they've also been hanging out with Franklin Richards while his parents are off planet. At this point, Franklin's powers are pretty much limited to astral projection and visions, and tonight he projects a vision of Leech hiding in his drain pipe with Caliban. Power Pack recognizes Leech and decide to go into the tunnels to see what's going on. They find a bunch of dead Morlocks and are attacked by Sabretooth, but they collapse the ceiling on him and run away. They find Logan, who's tracking Sabretooth and tells them to get out of the tunnels while they can. They say they will, but after he leaves they continue searching for Leech. They assume that these mutant killers must be X-Factor, who have finally made it back to their headquarters. Scott is still wounded, but he refuses to let anyone else die if he can help it, and he and the team head back into the tunnels. They save Power Pack, who have just found Leech and Caliban, and see Leech break down in tears when he learns that Power Pack found Annalee's body. Scott, seeing what the loss of a parent does to Leech and being reminded of both his own childhood and his son, finally lets his softer side out and comforts Leech, promising to take care of Caliban and bring them both to their friends at X-Factor's base. One of the Power Pack kids asks Scott if the Marauders are X-Factor, and he promises they aren't. Power Pack heads home and Hank and Bobby take Caliban and Leech with them while Scott and Jean press on. This is overall the weakest issue of the crossover. Power Pack is a fun kids adventure book, which doesn't vibe well with the violent tone of the story. And for plot reasons, Power Pack is able to fend off multiple Marauders, even though they spent the last few issues maiming experienced X-Men. It was surprisingly a really good Scott issue though; after spending all of X-Factor closing himself off more and more, he finally realizes he needs to stop wallowing in his mistakes and help the mutants that he still can. It's telling that he had this revelation while holding Leech, who turned off Scott's eye beams. Scott's power is his inner turmoil, and in that moment he finally put aside his internal hate to see clearly and focus on the present.

The first part of the Thor crossover is mostly Thor, which I'm just gonna skim. He joins the Morlock action when he's in Central Park and Puddlegup, one of the frogs he befriended when he was turned into a frog a while back, shows up, having heard from his sewer alligator friends what's going on. Thor apparently still speaks frog, which is my favorite fact about him, so zooms off to save lives. At this point, most of the Morlocks are either dead or evacuated, but he follows the screams to find Warren pinned to the wall. He puts himself in between Warren and his torturers and prepares for battle.

Thor fends off the Marauders pretty quickly and lets them go so he can attend to Warren, who he's teamed up with before. He carries him through the tunnels, searching for signs of life or a way out, and finds Artie. It seems Artie is finally safe, but Blockbuster comes after Thor. Thor was recently cursed by Hela to be less durable, and Blockbuster is able to break his arm until Warren uses his last bit of strength to distract the villain, giving Thor an opening to kill him. Artie then uses his visions to lead the wounded heroes to Scott and Jean, who gratefully take their friends home. There's then a time skip while Thor searches the rest of the Morlock tunnels, finding that all the Morlocks are dead or gone and the Marauders have cleared out. He gives the remaining dead a Viking funeral by sending a lightning blast through the tunnels, vaporizing the corpses. There wasn't really much X-stuff in this issue, but I like how the crossover went past just the X-books. It makes them fell more like part of the Marvel world. Plus Walt Simonson's Thor is just a really good book and it's fun to read.

It's finally time to catch back up with our main characters, starting with Logan. This is after the Power Pack issues and concurrent with the Thor ones, so the tunnels are mostly empty. But he's determined to track down at least one Marauder for interrogation, and hoping he'll get to take down some more. Back at the mansion, the medical staff is losing patient after patient. Ororo and Peter check in on Kurt, who's in a coma, and Kitty, who's still unable to solidify. Peter tells Ororo he's looking forward to killing more Marauders, and that's what finally breaks Ororo. She was leader of the Morlocks and X-Men, who have both have taken heavy casualties, and now her most pacifist friend has become a killer. She runs out onto the school grounds, and Peter tries to follow, before collapsing on the ground. Not knowing this, Ororo screams up at the sky, demanding to know why this is happening. Back in the tunnels, Logan picks up X-Factor and Jean's scent again, throwing him for a loop, giving Sabretooth an opportunity to ambush him. This is their first on panel meeting, but Logan and Sabretooth have a long history that'll slowly be unfolded as the book goes on. When the rest of the Marauders left, Sabretooth stayed behind to look for more potential victims, and he's found one- Healer, the Morlock who saved Xavier and Peter's lives. Logan recognizes him and realizes that Healer is the key to saving the Morlocks in the mansion. Meanwhile, Moira discovers that Peter took heavy damage from Harpoon and Riptide, but they hadn't noticed because Peter stayed in his armored form, determined to keep helping. Max is the only one who can save him, and he combs through Peter's body molecule by molecule, repairing the matrix of his metal. It seems to work until Peter wakes up, healed but paralyzed from the neck down. This was the first time after all his years of killing that Max had a chance to use his powers to heal, and though he gave his all, he failed. Outside, Callisto finds Ororo, who feels she's failed her office as leader and deserves solitude. But Callisto refuses to hear it, telling Ororo that when she took responsibility for her team she lost the luxury of choice. She tells Ororo that she might kill her one day to take back Morlock leadership, but for now, she won't let her abandon her people. Ororo gets her resolve back and heads back for the mansion. At the same time, Logan continues his fight with Sabretooth, who name-drops the Marauders' employer- Mr. Sinister. This is Logan's chance to get the interrogation he came for, but when the opportunity presents itself, he instead slashes the ceiling, bringing it down between him and Sabretooth. He then grabs Healer and runs. To me, this issue is a sequel to the one in the Brood Saga, where Logan was running around on his own killing Brood. He kept asking himself if he was a man or an animal, and by the end he wasn't sure. But there's no question now that he's a man, and a hero. He could have kept going for blood, fighting a man he hated who also deserved it. But instead he chose to save Healer. The issue closes with him making it back to the mansion, just before Thor's lightning lights up the tunnels from miles away. Logan had picked up the New Mutants' scents, and was about to go back for them, but he now fears they may have been vaporized. This was a really good Logan issue, and a great Ororo one. She hasn't had a leadership crisis in a while, and it was nice for her to finally get some closure on her Callisto rivalry.

[godjust]

Faceless stalker pathfinder

Faceless stalker pathfinder skin#

Faceless stalker pathfinder full#

Most of the haunts are tied to events long in the past. A skill roll is allowed to notice the haunt before it strikes. The haunts act like traps, but can only affect and be seen by the character attuned to that haunt. This manifests in the form of seven haunts six haunts are assigned to individual PCs, with the seventh being universal. In addition to the ghouls and the killer’s murdered bride, the house is possessed by a failed lich. As I said, this doesn’t just mean undead. Multiple clues point toward his mansion house, so it’s not the case of there being only one solution. His earlier trip to Sandpoint was a big bluff, so there’s no need to worry about whether or not you played him in character when he showed up before. Conveniently, he’s had the opportunity to go insane. The murderer is an NPC introduced in Pathfinder 1. As a nice touch, several newly made ghouls have been dressed as scarecrows, just waiting for living creature to walk by. With the right skills, they can quickly uncover the murderer, but before they can act on this knowledge, they’re called upon to visit a farm now infested with ghouls. Even beyond investigating out of the goodness of their hearts, the PCs will likely be intrigued to learn that the murder victims are marked with the same seven pointed star they found in the goblin’s lair.Ĭlues can be found at the latest murder scene and by talking to townfolk. Bodies start showing up in Sandpoint, and the sheriff asks the party to investigate the gruesome murders. The adventure can start anytime after the bulk of Burnt Offerings is completed (and it is possible even before that previous adventure is finished). Pett realizes that horror doesn’t mean “lots of undead.” Although there will be plenty of ghouls, Pett also presents us with a murder mystery, a haunted house, and an evil cult. The Skinsaw Murders, written by Richard Pett, is a horror adventure. SPOILER WARNING- Being a review of an adventure, there will be information in here that will likely spoil your fun as a player. Most of the illustrations here are pencil sketches from the journal. The Pathfinder’s Journal took the form of excerpts from a journal. I could have done without the diseased rat. As I said, not bad, but they do seem out of place. While not bad, these two have exaggerated features leaning toward the grotesque. I’m less impressed by the Skinsaw Cultists and their leader. The Skinsaw Man is appropriately terrifying.

Faceless stalker pathfinder full#

Several NPCs in the adventure are given full body images. Pathfinder is now two for two on location artwork. I’m not sure if this is the same artist responsible for the half-page pictures last issue, but these do appear to be brighter. Each gets a solo picture, and they share the other two. Inside, the iconics are featured in four half-page pictures- although, at this time only Valeros and Seoni had their character art done, so they’re the only ones featured. Reynolds remains one of my favorite fantasy artists, so the cover is a selling point for me. Sharing the cover is the second iconic, Seoni, tattooed sorcerer.

Faceless stalker pathfinder skin#

As with the goblins on Pathfinder 1, the ghouls have been revamped in appearance, now with bluish skin and long pointed ears. This time, a gang of ghouls (what is the collective noun for ghouls? A pack? My dictionary is silent on this matter) drags a wrapped corpse from a well, while in the background a party of adventurers (again, no help from my dictionary, but that must be the collective) approaches a creepy mansion. Once again, Wayne Reynolds does the cover. I have much fewer complaints about this issue’s art than I did for the first issue. Additionally, the adventure is structured in such a way that one could play just a chunk of it with almost no changes. The monsters are useable in any D20 game, and most of the other articles provide background information for playing in the Pathfinder setting. However, just as the October issue of Dragon has traditionally had a horror theme, so too does this issue’s adventure.įor those who aren’t interested in running a six part adventure, Pathfinder can still have value. It is not a magazine, but instead a 96 page soft cover perfect bound book. Pathfinder is published under the OGL and is compatible with D&D 3.5. In addition to the Pathfinder’s Journal and six new monsters, the city of Magnimar and the goddess Desna each receive coverage in articles. The featured adventure is for fourth level parties, and they should reach level eight by the end (although the next adventure is advertised as for seventh level characters). The Skinsaw Murders is the second issue of Pathfinder and the second part of the Rise of the Runelords adventure path.

[themalhambird]

Chapter Twenty-Two: Embrace

Edward closed the door gently behind him and leant back against it, getting his first proper look at Richard.

Thin. 

Tired. 

Quiet. 

Head bowed, fingers running nervously through Lady’s fur. Richard used to stroke Mathe when he was nervous or upset, Edward remembered. Mathe belonged to Hal, now. Henry had had him at first, but...actually, Edward didn’t know what had happened there, but the point remained: He needed to find Richard a dog he could keep as a matter of some urgency. 

Richard raised his head. Edward smiled. Richard didn’t smile back. He did move a hand from Lady to his side, and Edward walked back over to the bed and sat down again. “I’m sorry,” he blurted out, putting his hand over Richard’s. “I’m sorry it took so long to come back to you, I’m sorry I left you at all.” Richard stared at him, uncomprehendingly, and leaned to the side, resting his head in Edward’s lap. Hesitantly, Edward raised his hand and let it hover just above Richard’s hair. “Would you like me to stroke?” he asked, and Richard nodded. Edward began to card his finger tips through Richard’s hair. ”I’ve talked with Northumberland,” he said, “I’m going to take you back to York with me.”

“Does the King know?” 

Edward froze. Richard’s voice was tiny, and wholly unexpected. “I met a friend of yours,” he replied. “a young lady called Elizabeth. She said you didn’t speak.”

Richard turned his face, half-burying it in to Edward’s thigh. “Forgot.” he mumbled. “Not supposed- sorry. Sorry-”

“No!” Edward protested, heart pounding wildly. He was messing up, Christ, he was already messing up- it had only been a minuete- “No-you can talk as much as you like, you’re allowed to, I was just- who said you weren’t supposed to-?”

Richard mumbled something that sounded like “Umberland.”

“Northumberland?” Edward asked. Richard nodded. 

“Not allowed ‘nles its him.” a tremble ran through him. Edward resumed stroking his hair. 

“Northumberland was wrong,” he said firmly. “You can talk to whoever you like. Or not talk to whoever you like.”. 

They sat  in silence for a while. 

Edward said: “We’ve agreed, him and I. We’ll work together to put you back on the throne-”

Can’t.” Richard was shuddering again. Edward frowned .

“Can’t? Why-”

“Can’t go back. Was never-not king, not a king- arrogant greedy traitor bastard deserved it, deserved what he did needed to have the delusions beaten out of me-” Richard’s voice rose in pitch as he spoke, growing more agitated and more upset as he continued- and so did Edward.

“No,” he said fiercely. He Lady down beside Richard, wrapping his cousin in his arms and hugging him tightly to his chest. “No, Richard, that isn’t true, none of that’s true. You were King. You were King, Richard. You were crowned when you were ten years old, when our grandfather died. You fell asleep. You fell asleep and Simon Burley had to carry you out-”

“Simon Burley had a dog named Argus.” 

“What? Yes, possibly, probably, I don’t know, the point is- the point is, Richard-”

“Edward.” Richard moved his hands over Edward’s. “Edward, you’re warm.” he closed his eyes. “No more talking,” he whispered. “Please, hold me?  Just hold me. Can pretend you’re real.”

“I am real.” Edward blinked as a tear spilled over on to his cheek, and he tightened his grip on Richard’s waist. 

“Exton told me. I’m a liar and a traitor and a fantasist-”

“Yeah?” Edward shot back. “Well Exton’s dead. I killed him.”

Silence hung stretched between them for several long seconds. Then Richard snorted quietly and said:

“You always did give me nice things.”

[jadelotusflower]

Robin Hood Rewatch: 3x13 - Something Worth Fighting For Part 2

So here we are, at the end. Is there something worth fighting for? That’s the question the BBC execs were asking themselves at this point.

We jump straight into the action, with Blamire ordering the trebuchets to be loaded.

John and Much lay Allan’s body down, and Much in particular is distraught not only for Allan’s death, but that they doubted him. He draws his sword, ready to go after Vaisey, but Robin tells him they’ll have time for that later.

Robin and Guy ride out to meet Vaisey, who chides Guy for not checking he was dead and points to his shoulder. Wasn’t he stabbed in the stomach?

“I want my town back!” Ah, Keith Allen never misses.

Vaisey taunts them, saying Allan squealed like a pig when he died, and while Robin simmers with rage and tells Vaisey he’ll pay for it, Guy seemingly has no reaction to Allan’s death? If you hadn’t watched season two, you would have no idea that they once worked together.

Vaisey gives a demonstration of the trebuchet, sending an explosive barrel into the town, and says they have until dawn to give up Guy and Isabella and hand over Nottingham.

Joe Armstrong has been removed from the credits, which seems rather cruel since he is in the episode. As a corpse, but still present. He’s not in the end credits either, which seems like a deliberate snub (yes, generally non-speaking roles don’t get a credit, but this is one of your main cast members since the beginning, would it have killed them to just leave the opening the same as the previous episode?). I hope JA got paid for the full 13 epsiodes regardless.

The episode was written by Simon J Ashford, who at least has a history with the show, having also written four previous  episodes (Dead Man Walking, Booby and the Beast, Treasure of the Nation and Cause and Effect).

Archer, of course, is the one to identify the explosive as “Byzantine fire” and Tuck is intrigued.

Robin arrives to declare that they only need to hold the castle until King Richard arrives, but Guy points out they could end things by giving him up to the Sheriff - and in fact he could have done that already. Robin says it’s bigger than him (since they would also have to give up Nottingham), and that Guy’s got what he wanted - Isabella.

Robin: “This isn’t your fight, unless you choose it to be.” Guy: “While the Sheriff lives this is all of our fight - I’m with you.”

I feel like this should have been a bigger moment - i.e. when Guy finally commits to the cause for it’s own sake and not a personal agenda, but things are moving at a fast pace. I do wonder if he would have made the same choice if it wasn’t Vaisey though. On some level it still is personal.

They lay Allan’s body on a pyre with his sword and tag, and Much sets fire to it. “To Allan - our loyal friend.”

I also feel this also should have been a bigger moment, with some acknowledgement (other than from Much) that they failed Allan. John’s last words were an growl not to look at him!

Kate is the first to turn and walk away, and Robin is the last - he remains staring into the fire.

Guy visits Isabella in chains, demanding whether she knew Vaisey was alive. And he slaps her across the face, because we couldn’t go without one last act of violence against Isabella.

She denies it, and then wonders what’s stopping Guy killing her, since he’s so good at killing defenceless women.

He agrees there’s too much blood on his hands, so what does he do - apologise for all he’s done to her and make up for it by helping her escape? Try to reason with her, remind her of the good person she once was, and that if Robin can forgive Guy’s much more substantial crimes, he can show compassion to Isabella too, accept his own culpability in how her life turned out and promise to do better? Nope, he gives her poison so she can kill herself! Redemption!

I would like to reiterate at this point that Isabella has killed (or been responsible for the deaths of) far fewer people than Robin or Guy - and probably any member of the gang including Kate. No one shows her any compassion, cares to try and understand why she acted the way she has, or given her the choice of abandon the dark path she’s on, and instead offer only death. I suppose it is fitting that this will ultimately lead to the deaths of both Robin and Guy - they have treated her ruthlessly, and it comes back at them twofold.

John finds Kate ready to scale down the walls to warn Richard’s men at Loughborough. John says no and starts to say Robin’s name, but Kate cuts him off with “wants to protect me” and I’m not sure there’s basis for this (any more than he would want to protect anyone)? He’s not spoken a word to her since the limestone!

John is worried that what happened to Allan with happen to Kate, and she argues that she’s doing this so they don’t all share the same fate.

The gang reconnoiter in the Great Hall, and Archer admits he’s the one that sold Vaisey the Byzantine fire. Uh...when? How and where did he get so much of it to sell? He doesn’t know how to actually make it, and if he had a stockpile of this highly valuable substance, why was he pulling alchemy cons in York?

Much is incensed: “You sold it to the man who killed my friend!” In 1x01 Much told Allan “I’m not your friend” - we’ve come so far and Much’s very visceral reaction to Allan’s death is rather moving, I just wish their friendship had been given more focus this season.

Archer petulantly retorts that he’s done them a favour by sticking around and saved their lives. Guy points out their lives wouldn’t have needed saving if it wasn’t for the trap he set.

Robin chides Archer for all the people that may die because of his greed, and he retorts: “What about all the people who have died because they listened to Robin Hood?...You think about what you got them into, before you ever try and judge me.”

He and Kate really are cut from the same self-absorbed, deflecting cloth, huh. To Archer, trying to save people from forced conscription is exactly the same as selling weapons of mass destruction.

Robin plans a raid, and takes John, Tuck, and Guy with him. He orders Much to stay behind since he‘s still too hot from Allan’s death, but promises that he’ll get his revenge.

They successfully sabotage the trebuchets but are trapped - Archer comes in shooting flaming arrows from horseback and they all make it back inside. Much meets them and proclaims “That’s for Allan!” I wish they’d let him play a more direct role in getting his revenge for Allan.

Archer gives Tuck some Byzantine fire, and he thinks he can work out the base components to make more.

By morning Vaisey has a battering ram to get through the gates - Robin orders retreat into the castle courtyard to try and hold them off until the King’s men arrive.

Much leads a team of archers to fire when Vaisey’s men break through, then Tuck, then John, then Much again - I like the structure of this, to essentially give each gang member his own company to command and show how effectively they can work as a team.

We get some close ups of some of the men, but it would have been impactful if we’d known who some of them were.

Isabella pretends to seduce her guard and kills him. “Men are so easy” is almost certainly a coincidence and not a callback to Djaq’s “Men are so obvious” in 2x02. However Ashford did write both, so maybe it was.

She skulks to the castle courtyard in a hood and carrying the dagger she stole from the guard, but no one notices her.

The battering ram breaks through the gates, and the men are ready to fire through the portcullis when Blamire uses Kate as a shield - she was captured on her way back from Loughborough.

Vaisey tells them that the reinforcements are not coming - and neither is Richard, because he was captured by Leopold of Austria and being held to ransom, and the troops won’t fight without him.

Of course this actually happened in 1192, but the historical timeline has never been a factor in this show so why should it matter now.

Vaisey says it’s surrender or slaughter: “What have you got some little trick tucked up your sleeve? Humiliate me and rescue the girl? You’re so predictable, Hood. Bored of that game.”

But that’s exactly what that gang’s been preparing while Vaisey’s been talking, Much swooping down on a rope to lift Kate back up.

Vaisey’s men fall back, and he and Blamire head to the tunnel - that the gang think has been blocked by Isabella’s trap.

Kate and Robin hug, but he is immediately preoccupied with the casualties and low spirits among the survivors.

Tuck urges him to talk to them, so Robin slowly climbs the steps to the place where in 1x01 he stood and declared he would not tolerate injustice, saving Will and Allan and outlawing himself. I do like that at the beginning he stood alone, and now there are many ready to fight alongside him, including his once-enemy.

“Loyal comrades. You know the situation, and you know that we are on our own. Now we have already lost friends and loved ones, but England will lose far more if we do not make a stand this day. And yes, some of us may fall, but our fight will live on. In the minds of those that despise injustice, in the hearts of those that cherish freedom. You are the soul of England, standing firm against tyranny for a real future. Now ask yourself, is that not something worth fighting for? Together, for England!”

The full circle of “Will you tolerate this? I for one will not” to “Is that not something worth fighting for? Together!” - passive to active, solitary to legion - is rather neat.

The crowd cheers - including Guy - as the second assault starts.

Tuck is in the Great Hall and has figured out the Byzantine fire, joined shortly by the rest who have to retreat from the courtyard.

Isabella has remained unnoticed, and she calls for Guy’s attention before escaping into the tunnel.

Vaisey and Blamire unblock their end of the tunnel with Byzantine fire.

Isabella offers the poison to Guy, saying he’s destroyed anyone he’s ever held dear, but that he loved her once. Vaisey appears, saying Guy loved him once too.

Vaisey and Guy fight, Isabella tries to stab Guy but Robin stops her - grabbing her around the throat again! I guess it parallels their first episode, but wow were there gross choices made all along the way.

Archer joins in the fray, and honestly the fight feels a bit truncated for the big showdown.

Vaisey hangs a lantern on it: “How appropriate. A battle so huge, that it should come down to the important few.”

But he points to Archer as “a new one” as says he doesn’t know him. Um, didn’t he sell Vaisey the Byzantine fire? Or are we to assume he sold that to Blamire?

Robin, Guy, and Archer fight as “brothers in arms” but at this point, fetch just isn’t going to happen.

Even with his sword drawn, Robin keeps hold of his trusty dagger.

They all fight again - Archer is knocked down by Blamire - crucially, Guy tosses him his sword, leaving himself unarmed.

Robin throws Vaisey down and is ready to end things: “This is for all the lives you’ve ruined. For all the people you’ve killed!”

In 1x02 he wasn’t prepared to kill Vaisey if there was another option, in 2x01 he was ready to kill him but couldn’t. Now there’s no impediment - nothing stopping Robin from being the man he was so desperately trying not to be when he returned to England - he is blood and vengeance once more. He is going to die as he tried not to live.

Because Isabella is waiting in the wings, using the opportunity to strike with her dagger. Guy intercepts, pushing Robin out of the way so he only gets a scratch on the neck. Vaisey stabs Guy through the middle, while Isabella stabs him in the back.

Isabella tells Robin the blade was poisoned - so we get the irony that although Guy saved him from being stabbed by Isabella, he was the one who supplied the poison that will kill him anyway.

Vaisey is ecstatic, asking Robin to wait for him so he can watch him die. He and Isabella leave to get their army.

Guy tells Robin to get the people out through the tunnel, and calls Archer brother before he leaves to give the message to Tuck.

And then there were two. Guy asks if it’s the end, and Robin says it is - for both of them, and calls Guy his friend.

“I’m sorry. At least you have someone waiting for you. Marian. The love of my life. She was always yours. I lived in shame. But because of you, I die proud. I am free.”

I get what they were going for with this speech, but it still treats Marian as a possession that belonged to one of them, and there really isn’t enough to support the I die proud/free moment. While Guy has certainly made strides - staying to defend the castle, giving up his weapon to Archer, pushing Robin out of the way of Isabella’s blow, he and Robin have barely interacted since 3x11.

I feel like this was meant to have the weight of a Aragorn/Boromir “my brother, my captain, my king” moment, but is just a bit flimsy based on the time crunch character arcs and lack of self-examination by Guy, particularly in the scene with Isabella earlier.

Robin barely has a reaction to Guy’s death, but at this point I don’t think he’s capable of feeling much on anything - not even to the knowledge that he will soon die too.

Back in the Great Hall, Archer leads the people out through the cellars, including a small child for some reason?!? Who brought a child to a siege?

Tuck finishes the explosives, and asks Robin about Gisborne, who manages to look ever so slightly upset and shakes his head.

In the tunnels, Vaisey is back with his men, and Isabella has a very mixed reaction to Guy’s body - impossible to tell if she’s regretful or triumphant. Probably a bit of both.

And lol, Blamire just sits up and joins them? I thought Archer had killed him! Was he just chilling there on the floor during Guy’s deaths scene?

Once they’ve passed, the gang starts to lead the people out. But there’s one more guard, and Robin exhausts himself dispatching him.

Kate sees he’s hurt and is worried, he says to keep going and tells Archer she can’t know. He does however tell Tuck what happened.

In the Great Hall, Vaisey and Isabella are confused how everyone could have escaped, and in the courtyard Robin is lighting an arrow with some difficulty.

Archer asks if he can do it. Robin: “Of course I can. I am Robin Hood.”

He shoots and it lands on the stockpile of Byzantine fire. Vaisey realises too late and the castle goes kaboom. I certainly hope the population of Nottingham was evacuated last episode, because if the people they took with them were all that were left...yikes.

Kind of an ignominious end for our villains, especially Isabella who was a character they never really seemed to have a handle on, and yet was one of the most interesting and complex of the season. I guess she does get the credit for killing both Guy and Robin.

It’s hugs all around. Robin walks through the crowd, not even able to accept the thanks they bestow upon him. He spent his life desperate to be loved by them, but in his death he cannot bear to receive it, and leaves.

Tuck explains. Much immediately sets off after Robin, John tries to comfort Kate but she shucks him off and then accepts it. Archer looks over the ruins of Nottingham.

Robin runs his hand through the long grass - when he returned from the Holy Land, it was fertile and in bloom as he walked towards Locksley from the forest - now the land is dry and fallow as he walks from Nottingham into the forest to face his death, as beautifully articulated by this gifset.

He acknowledges Sherwood as his home, and the beauty of the sunset.

Much is distraught: “What am I going to be without you?” Robin: “You are already more of a man than I could ever be. And you are my best friend.”

He pulls off his cap - that symbolises his servitude to Robin - and they embrace, but Robin pulls away because he simply cannot hold on forever, and Much must learn to be without him.

I like this closure to their relationship, even if it’s another dynamic that was pretty much ignored this season.

John says it isn’t fair. Robin, crying: “Come on, John. Today is a good die to die!” I like this closure/callback too, and they hug.

Robin tells Archer that “these men are your brothers now” and Tuck “You found me again, and you saved me. You’ll find another leader.”

He keeps looking upper camera left which is the God Corner - I like to think he can sense Marian waiting for him and is looking for her.

And then Kate - he calls her brave, but leans away from her touch and clearly has nothing else he can say to her. He tells them all he’s sorry he has to leave them and she clings to him and he does not return it. Of course it would be unseemly for him to act any other way when Marian’s about to arrive.

He walks off alone, and we have the remains of the gang.

Robin sits down as the afternoon sun filters through the trees and the flying bugs give an otherworldly edge (reflecting 3x01 when Robin buried Marian’s ring.)

At the beginning of this season he declared that Robin Hood died in the Holy Land with Marian, but was convinced by Tuck that he still had purpose to live for - and in a small way he has achieved that purpose in galvanising the people to fight for themselves, and finally ridding them of Vaisey. He’s now truly given all he can, and is accepting of his death, if not a little relieved.

 We hear a choral version of Marian’s Theme. She appears from among the trees in a veil of heavenly light and it’s really very beautiful.

She tells Robin that she waited for him, and he says he knew he would find her again, looking genuinely happy for the first time in a long while - perhaps all season.

Marian hold out her hand and pulls him up into the light with her: “The greatest adventure is yet to come.”

We do get one final “my wife” but other than that this scene always makes me well up.

Lucy Griffiths was a saint for coming back to give this closure to Robin/Marian, and I’m grateful because it’s a beautiful moment.

The laugh and the joyous spin is just perfect - this is a Robin finally relieved of his burdens in a moment of pure happiness.

We cut back to flesh and blood Robin still reaching his hand out at the moment of death, so it is ambiguous as to whether Marian is a conjuring of his fevered mind and what he wishes were so, or if it was really her spirit comes to collect his. But I’m a romantic, so I like to think it’s the latter.

We pan off into the trees, and the episode should have ended here. Beautiful, poignant, satisfying (for the circumstances). Instead we get one final target transition that completely undercuts the moment, and a final scene of the gang carrying Robin’s body, complete with lily, on a stretcher covered in furs. WHERE DID THEY GET A GIANT LILY IN THE MIDDLE OF SHERWOOD FOREST?!? I could forgive the ridiculousness if it worked, but it just looks silly

I appreciate that they felt the need for ending with the gang in hopes of another season, but I really don’t think it was necessary. And given that there never was another season, Robin’s death and being reunited with Marian then panning off into Sherwood with that lovely music, imo makes for a far superior end to the show than the scene with the leftovers - whom we can of course assume will carry on.

They all clasp hands and say “We are Robin Hood” one last time, then carry Robin off into the forest.

So here we are at the end of the rewatch. I’ll admit that season 3 did have some good moments and interesting ideas that were ultimately overshadowed by shambolic lack of central arc and rushed plotlines.

One of my favourite (tv-related) things to do is upon finishing a series is to go back and watch the first episode straight after, and I will say that while 1x01 and 1x02 have their issues, they still absolutely hold up for me with the strength of the characters, and it’s bittersweet to go directly from where it ended up back to the beginning.

However, I am intrigued as to what a potential season 4 would have been like under Sally Wainwright - I have no doubt it would have been a the hardest of soft reboots, and based on her output as a writer/showrunner I do wonder if we would have seen a woman take up the mantle of Robin Hood, which would have definitely intrigued me.

Thank you to everyone who has read these absurdly long and meandering rewatch posts, and liked, reblogged, and commented. For all my complaining, I really do love this show dearly (well, I love the first two seasons dearly) and never pass up the opportunity to talk about it.

[purringbookworm97]

After some research about Blood in folk medicine and magic

Hello! I’ve recently seen a few good posts about the uses of blood magic in modern witchcraft and some also good posts about its uses in folklore, so I thought I might as well make a small compilation of sources!

Therefore, I’m not here to tell you how blood magic works! You already know and can find about the use of blood in rituals, spells, scrying and whatnot from all the posts that circulate on the subject. You also know that blood must be harvested with precautions if you don’t want to catch, or give someone a disease that could effectively kill them! Whee!

This is why I present to you a few sources about the use of blood in folklore and a commentary on these sources!

Here’s one like cuz it’s centered on a civilization I know well, the ancient greeks! I studied them in class and am familiar with most science men mentioned in the article. Truth be told, I don’t think it’s perfect. I don’t like the way it buries other ancient civilizations under the rug to focus on the greek while proclaiming most ancient civilizations were all fans of blood, but I appreciate researching work and the time the person put into quoting greek passages of ancient texts as proof of their arguments. It’s neat. Plus it goes on at length about the visions the greeks had of the role of blood in all types of life, which could be used in paralel with ancient religious texts about rituals and magics involving blood, if anyone has those!

I don’t know about the trustworthiness of this one, but I read it and it’s quick and understandable about the practices revolving around blood in the old days. I especially like the part about egyptian and german practices which are interesting. The author also took the time to quote names of ancient greek historians (as much as one could call Herodotus a historian in the strict meaning of the term) which I find nice! Added to the sources on medicinal cannibalsm quoted at the end, including this article which quotes its own sources, and this book, sadly too expensive for me at the moment (I saw the price and went *nope*).

This article on Britannia, the website, is about blood offerings in different cultures and could be paired with this one about the origines of sacrifice though religion and history, I think it can be fairly interesting to learn the bond between the action of sacrificing something coming from a being, be it life, flesh, bones or blood, and the desire of a result linked to the believed importance of the said parts. I’ll read them and maybe update the description as I go!

I also found a few other books too, including this book about Folk Hematology in the Appalachian South by Anthony Cavender in the Journal of Folklore Research (JSTOR), Mummies, cannibals and vampires by Richard Sugg about the history of corpse medicine through the ages, and The Spirit of Civilization: Blood Sacrifice and Monetary Debt on JSTOR too by William Pietz.

Honestly, I’d like to read them all to see if they’re good or full off bullshit like some books can be, but I advice to anyone who might find all these resources helpful to compare them with each other and make their own opinion. I’m not your dad, of course, but I’ve seen enough people believing everything they were told in my short life to wish everyone could like researching stuff as much as I do!

Therefore, I leave you with this absolutely unproductive post, hope it’ll be at least useful to someone, and on that note, for anyone interested in french and down for a good laugh, this video is about a practice of blood offering by dick-piercing. Yeah. You read that right. Enjoy.

[victorluvsalice]

The Return of Ship Name Silliness

So! Anyone remember this particular post of mine: Ship Name Silliness? I’m guessing not, as it’s from late 2017 and thus about four-and-a-half years old at this point.The short version is that I made it when I came up with the name for my Victor/Alice/Victoria/Emily foursome ship, Vemilicia, and it covered both that and pretty much every combination of the four that I could come up with. Well, I looked it up recently (because I was like “I think I used the wrong ship name on that post about OT3s and everyone’s respective roles for Victor/Victoria/Emily”), and I have decided to make a sequel to the nonsense because -- well, I have a lot more poly ships featuring a lot more characters these days! So, without further ado, here are the ships that I currently have for Victor/Alice universes:

Featuring Victor and Alice themselves:

Valice -- Obviously, the core ship of Victor/Alice, present in most of my fics! A requirement for these universes, I think you will agree. (Don’t point at “Londerland Bloodlines,” it’s coming!) I’m reasonably certain that @danydarkly is the originator of this name, and I liked it so much I adopted it as the “official” ship name.

Vemilicia -- The poly ship that inspired the first post, as above -- Victor/Alice/Victoria/Emily. I was an OT3 shipper for the main Corpse Bride trio before getting into Valice, so combining the two ships was probably inevitable. :p So far, my only major fic for it is “The Technicolor Phase,” but “Londerland Bloodlines” is eventually going to go in that direction too.

(Oh, and since I just mentioned the CB OT3 -- yes, I did originally use the wrong ship name in the OT3 post linked above. As seen below, I intended “Vemilia” for just Victoria/Emily. The one I came up for Victor/Victoria/Emily was Vemiglot -- a combination of “Vemily” (Victor/Emily) and “Everglot” (Victoria’s last name, because her and Victor’s first names are too similar to use together). Though, now that Emily has a semi-canonical last name from that old script that went around a while back, “Merrimack,” you could also do Everdortmack (combining it with the standard Victor/Victoria “Everdort” name).)

Cuddlepile -- Previously my biggest poly ship, and the first without a portmanteau name -- it’s Victor/Alice/Victoria/Emily/Christopher/Richard, aka “the main Vemilicia ship plus the two versions of The White Knight and The Hatter that I’ve shipped Victoria and Emily with before (see below).” I came up with this one while doing various sexual orientation headcanons for my characters after discovering and liking the “Alice is ace/on the ace spectrum” tumblr posts from a few years back, and it’s persisted ever since. This is specifically a Modern AU set during everyone’s college years -- Christopher White is an inventor who is interested in food science (referencing the White Knight’s infamous gunpowder pudding) and Richard Hatter is an agender master of prosthetic limbs (both xe and Emily use them in this verse thanks to various accidents, and of course it references how the AMA Hatter is mostly steampunk robot these days). It features most prominently on my RP blog, @thevalicemultiverse.

Queer Apocalypse -- One of the newer kids on the block, my second foursome ship and another I couldn’t think of a good portmanteau for -- this is Victor/Alice/Preston/Piper, the latter two being specifically Preston Garvey and Piper Wright from Fallout 4. As you might imagine, this is specific to my “Fallout of Darkness” universe. :p Basically what happened here is I fell in love with both of these companions on my first attempt at a playthrough of FO4, and decided that Victor (who is bisexual in my headcanons) could fall in love with them too. Preston’s just such a genuinely good guy, and Piper has exactly the kind of spunk Victor appreciates in a partner. :) I haven’t romanced either in my current playthrough (too early with Piper, and I need more Charisma-enhancing stuff to try it with Preston, as Victor is LOW Charisma), but I do intend to!

Valicer -- Pretty much the newest kid on the block, and the start of some of the weirder shipping on this list -- Victor/Alice/Smiler. As in The Smiler roller coaster. Because for some reason I got obsessed with the damn thing last year, had some thoughts about a hypnokinky Valice AU that featured the actual coaster -- and then Victor came up with his own AU within that featuring a romance with an AI version of the coaster, which led to me eventually creating a humanized coaster OC and yeah. I don’t understand my brain either. I have gotten rather invested in this weirdly cute threesome, though -- a Sims 4 vampire version, Smiler Always, now lives in my Chill Save and is dating Victor while being great buds with Alice (Victor and Alice having married some time earlier -- they’re all marked as polyamorous though), and I have multiple versions of the fanfic OC, Smiler Alton, for a couple of different universes, including “Londerland Bloodlines,” “Fallout of Darkness,” and the “As Long As You Love Me” holistic verse. . .

Four Victorians On A Roller Coaster -- And realizing that a couple of those verses, notably “As Long As You Love Me,” were leading to a Victor/Alice/Victoria/Emily/Smiler match-up is how we got this. See, my brain was able to come up with a ship name for it! Not being a ship that lent itself well to a portmanteau (I guess the closest would be “Vemliciar?”), I instead decided to focus on the silliness of it all. XD Obviously haven’t written anything for it yet, but it’s in the background of a couple of verses, including “As Long As You Love Me,” possibly “Londerland Bloodlines” (depending on how long it takes me to write the “main story” -- Smiler would be introduced in a sequel set long after the main action of Bloodlines), and a fairy tale AU idea I will be detailing in a future post.

Running Headlong Into The Bullshit -- And just because, I decided to come up with a ship name for ALL OF THE ABOVE PUT TOGETHER -- Victor/Alice/Victoria/Emily/Christopher/Richard/Preston/Piper/Smiler. XD Yes, NINE FREAKING PEOPLE. You need a flow chart to track the relationships here. XD I actually originally was thinking of this as “Alphabet Soup” (because this would be IMPOSSIBLE to portmanteau), but changed it to the current one after doing that OT3 post linked above and realizing how often Victor is dragged into bullshit by his love interests. XD If you’re wondering how this would work, I picture it as a variation on the main Cuddlepile verse, with Preston, Piper, and Smiler also college students -- Preston volunteers a lot and is part of an “anachronistic history” joke-reenactment group for fun (hence keeping his “Minuteman with a laser musket” aesthetic); Piper is either on the school paper or has created her own alternative; and Smiler is a psychology student and is known for throwing the best parties.

Side Ships not featuring Victor and Alice:

Vemilia -- As stated above, Victoria/Emily as their own ship! This was inspired by me seeing “Vemily” used as a Victor/Emily ship name, and figuring “Vemilia” would be the natural version to use for Victoria/Emily. I haven’t used it much as a side ship -- currently it’s only in “As Long As You Love Me” -- but it’s there as an option!

LizJangles -- Probably the most popular side ship I have, this is Lizzie/Bonejangles -- AKA, Alice’s sister Lizzie Liddell and ensemble darkhorse of Corpse Bride Bonejangles! Much like Valice itself, them getting together wasn’t really intentional on my part -- I just thought it would be interesting if they interacted, and things took off from there. I like them as a ship because Bonejangles is such a different kind of person from the men that so annoyed Lizzie in life, I figured he’d be a breath of fresh air for her, and Lizzie allows Bonejangles to show a softer, less showmany side of himself. They’re just a fun dynamic, and I like including them when I can. Obviously they’re most obvious as a ship in the Forgotten Vows Verse (having a whole side story, “In The Land Of The Dead”), but they also pop up in “The Technicolor Phase,” and they’re intended to show up eventually in “Londerland Bloodlines.”

Victopher -- Probably the most common side ship so far in my stories, this is Victoria/Christopher, covering both Sir Christopher Lloyd from the Secundus Verse and Christopher White from the Forgotten Vows Verse. As stated in the Cuddlepile write-up, the Christophers are meant to be a take on the White Knight from Wonderland, since it amused me to ship Victoria with a Wonderland character while giving her a happy ending that didn’t necessarily mean ending up with Victor. And as you might guess from the Secundus version, they’re named after and at least partially based on Christopher Lloyd’s portrayal of the role in that one Hallmark version that I otherwise don’t like very much. They too have a good dynamic, I feel -- Christopher in either incarnation is an open and caring guy, with a touch of bombastic-ness to his personality that I like. :)

Richily -- And now to the least common side ship, since it’s really only appeared once -- Richard/Emily, from the Secundus Verse! Again, this was born of wanting Emily to have an alternate love interest that was also a Wonderland character, so she got the Hatter. Whom she could bond with because of loose limb problems. XD It really only works in Secundus because Richard never had the “turned evil once” problem Hatter did in the games, and because it was written before I decided Emily was a biromantic lesbian (though, admittedly, the sexual incompatibility would never come up for them, given Emily’s dead and Richard’s mostly robot and not that interested) -- I can see her getting along with the actual Hatter, but not being romantically interested in him. Currently it’d probably only show up in Secundus-related stories, and as part of larger poly groups, like Cuddlepile and Running Headlong Into The Bullshit.

And there you have it! Or at least there I have it, since I don’t know how many of you are gonna use these ship names. XD But they’re there if you need them!

[pointandshooter]

Photo: David Castenson

"WIZZARD CLIP" (Wizard Clip)

by W. S. Laidley

West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly January 1904

From the "Eastern Pan-Handle" we take the following ancient ghost story.

“The earliest record of the story was written by Rev. Demetius A. Galletzen, whose memoirs were prepared in 1797, and about the same time, Mrs. Annella McSherry, wrote letters containing about the same facts, and since then there have been other papers written, all giving about the same facts, and the further fact that for fifty years the original name of the place was lost and it was only known as "Wizzard's Clipp," shows that the people there had no doubt of the facts related. The story gathered from the various publications is as follows:

Adam Livingston, becoming dissatisfied with his residence in Lancaster county, Penn., determined to remove to the State of Virginia, and carried his purpose into effect by the purchase of a house and lot in Smithfield, Va., and seventy acres contiguous thereto. This was about the year 1790. He had the reputation of being an honest and industrious farmer, of fair intelligence, and brought with him his wife and a family of three sons and four daughters, of whom Eve and Catherine are the only daughters and John and Henry the only sons who are referred to in any of these memoirs. Livingston continued to reside there without attracting any particular notice, until 1794, when a stranger, of middle age and of respectable appearance, made a visit to the place and was received as a boarder in his house. In a few days after the arrival of this traveler he was taken sick and as his illness became more threatening he called Livingston to his bedside, informed him that he was a Catholic, and inquired of him if there was not a priest somewhere in his neighborhood whose services he could procure, should his malady prove fatal, which he had reason to then fear it would. Livingston, who was an intensely bigoted member of the Lutheran church, very gruffly replied to him "that he knew of no priest in that neighborhood, and if there was one, he should never pass the threshold of his door.' The dying man repeated his entreaties for the spiritual aid of a Catholic priest, but Livingston was inexorable and refused to countenance his request. The stranger died, his name being unknown to his host, and there being nothing among his papers to throw any light upon his history.

On the night of his death Livingston employed a man by the name of Jacob Foster to sit up with the corpse. But so soon as the candles were lighted in the chamber of the dead, after giving a weak and flickering light, they went out and the room was left in darkness. They were relighted several times, supposing it to result from some remedial defect in the cradle, but with the same result. Livingston then brought two candles into the room which he had been using in his own family room, which were about one-third burnt down and which he knew to be good. But so soon as they were placed in the room with the corpse they became immediately extinguished. This so alarmed Foster that he abandoned his vigils and left the house. Fifty years ago the grave of the stranger could be distinctly pointed out.

On the night succeeding the burial the peace of Livingston was much disturbed by the apparent sound of horses galloping round his house. He frequently rose during the night - which was a beautiful moon-light night - to satisfy his mind. While he could distinctly hear the tramp of steeds, he could see nothing to assure him that it was anything more than a figment of his own imagination. In about a week afterward his barn was burnt and his cattle all died, the crockeryware in his house, without any visible agency, was thrown upon the floor and broken; his money disappeared; the heads of his turkeys and chickens dropped off; and chunks of burning wood would leap from the fireplace several feet out into the floor, endangering the building unless promptly replaced. Soon the annoyances, which were then destroying his peace, assumed a new form. The sound of a. large pair of shears could be distinctly heard in his house, clipping in the form of half moons and other curious figures, his blankets, sheets and counterpanes, boots and shoes, clothing, etc. This was all in one night, but the operation of clipping continued for upwards of three months, a small portion of it only being done at a time, but the inexorable shears never being silent twenty-four hours at a time. By this time the news of these strange proceedings was spread through the country for thirty miles around, and attracted in an especial manner the curiosity of the citizens of Smithfield. An old Presbyterian lady of Martinsburg, hearing of the clipping that was going on at Livingston's to satisfy her curiosity, she went to Livingston's house. Before entering the door she took from her head her new silk cap, wrapped it up in her silk handkerchief and put it in her pocket to save it from being clipped. After awhile she stepped out again to go home, and having drawn the handkerchief out of her pocket and opened it, found the cap cut in narrow ribbons.

Many other phenomena are stated and testified to by many witnesses. The long continuance of this mysterious clipping had now aroused the country for many miles around. Three daring and adventurous young men from Winchester came to Smithfield declaring their utter unbelief in the reports and offered to sleep in the house all night and to face the devil himself, if he were the author of these doings. But as soon as they became comfortably seated in the house, a large stone was seen to proceed from the fireplace and to whirl around the floor with great velocity, when they took to their heels and made their escape.

The condition of poor Livingston had become deplorable, he had lost much rest, and his imagination was so worked upon by his nocturnal visitor that his health began visibly to fail. He applied to three professed conjurers, but their incantations were all in vain. Shortly after this Livingston had a dream. He thought he was climbing a high mountain and had great difficulty in the ascent. He had to labor hard, catching at roots and bushes, and moving forward slowly by their aid. Reaching the summit, he saw an imposing personage, "dressed in robes," as he described it. After contemplating for some time the person in view, he heard a voice saying: "This is the man who can relieve you." His wife heard him groaning in his sleep and she waked him, thereupon he communicated to her his dream and said he did not know of any minister who wore robes, but he would make inquiry in the morning. The result of the inquiries led him to visit an Episcopal minister, who then resided in Winchester, but he derived little satisfaction from this visit, and returned home much disappointed. He was then advised to see the MeSherry family, who were Roman Catholics, and who resided in a very fine estate called "Releivement," about on mile each of Leetown, at which place the priest was often in the habit of stopping while discharging his spiritual functions in that neighborhood. Late in the evening of the same day Mrs. MeSherry saw a man coming to her home, she met him at the gate when he told her he wanted "to see the priest." She informed him that the priest was not at her house, but there would be church in Shepherdstown the following Sunday, when he would have an opportunity of seeing him. Mr. and Mrs. McSherry, in company with Mr. Minghini, went to church on the appointed day, and there they saw the man who had inquired for the priest, and who proved to be Livingston. As the priest appeared at the altar, dressed in commicles, Livingston seemed to be perfectly overcome. He wept bitterly, and exclaimed loud enough to be heard by the small congregation: "This is the very man I saw in my dream; he is the one that the voice told me would relieve me from my troubles." When the service was over, he promptly called on the priest and told him his sad story; but the priest, the Rev. Dennis Cahill, laughed at him and told him it must be some of his neighbors who were plaguing him, and that he must go home and keep a strict watch for them. Richard McSherry and Joseph Minghini, who were present at the interview, were much moved by the old man's tears and tried to comfort him. After much urgent persuasion. Father Cahill accompanied by Mr. McSherry and Mr. Minghini, agreed to visit Livingston's house and to inquire into the strange transactions which he had related. They found his story corroborated not only by the family, but by most of the people with whom they conversed in Smithfield. Father Cahill resorted to the remedy of sprinkling the house with holy writer, which did not, however, expel the troublesome visitor from the house, but it was followed by a deposit of the money, which had previously been taken away, on the doorsill. The strange clipping still continuing after that time it was determined by Father Cahill to have mass celebrated in the house, which was done, and Livingston was relieved from all annoyances of his ghostly visitor. From that time until he left Virginia he had frequent communications with the Spiritual world, and many facts are related where those communications were realized in a striking manner; but as these throw no light upon the simple historical fact which it is the purpose of this article to elucidate no further reference need be made to them.”

Note: This region of Virginia is now West Virginia, and the village is now named Middleway. 

online book: https://archive.org/details/mysteryofwizardc00fino/page/n13/mode/2up