#james barbarossa

[realmspod]

Yesterday on the Realms feed, we announced two thrilling new projects that are going to see Realms of Peril & Glory through to the end of 2024!

Return to Liminal London!🔎 The inimitable Johnny Chiodini! joins us for this haunting mystery!!🥳

🧚The Fey courts of the Hidden City and the uneasy peace between them are put to the test! Glass Houses, Liminal London Mystery Six arrives this autumn!🍂 Get caught up on Liminal London before our latest mystery!

🩸This December is Solemn Vale: Of Oak & Holly! GM Fiona Howat utilises the folk horror system by Dirty Vortex! 🗡️

When a group of school friends reunite in their home town decades later, all their old grudges start a cascade that could lead to their demise😱

Subscribe and don't miss out on this incredible series!

[maddyisabstract]

IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE!!! CY_BORG is back on @realmspod! You're in for a treat, my friends. The first episode of Season 2 is an adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride. If you haven't listened to Season 1, now's the perfect time. It's only 5 episodes but really packs a punch.

This actual play series from Realms of Peril and Glory is GM'd by the incomparable Pip Gladwin, and stars me as Blythe, Shamini Bundell as Pyrex, James Barbarossa as Edge Impulse, and Zack FG as Keith Hira.

As always, Zack is KILLING IT with the sound design and James is MURDERING IT with the original music.

Listen to Season 2 Episode 1 NOW!

Catch up on Season 1 HERE!

[merelymatt]

Help I think Edge Impulse is hacking this train

[ultimate-007]

JOHN GARDNER

Born on this day in 1926.

The author responsible for a host of James Bond continuation novels:

Licence Renewed (1981)

For Special Services (1982)

Icebreaker (1983)

Role of Honour (1984)

Nobody Lives for Ever (1986)

No Deals, Mr. Bond (1987)

Scorpius (1988)

Win, Lose or Die (1989)

Licence to Kill (1989)

Brokenclaw (1990)

The Man from Barbarossa (1991)

Death is Forever (1992)

Never Send Flowers (1993)

SeaFire (1994)

GoldenEye (1995)

Cold (1996)

[persnicketypomelo]

I just read your James Norrington post. I really liked it, I've been looking for stuff on him. If it's not to repetitive may I please request more romantic Yandere James Norrington with a pirate reader (she's part of Jack's crew), at all his character ark stages. Like commodore, reluctant pirate, regaining his status through betrayal, and finally his redemption (au where he lives). Thank you.

Sure thing--I'm not tired of writing for him. He is my favorite character of the whole franchise, but I get the feeling that the producers did not want us to care about him much. I'm also disappointed that there's little content on him. :(

obsession, spoilers

Yandere James Norrington with a Pirate

Commodore

For obvious reasons, the commodore doesn't think too highly of you initially

He is an idealistic man--fighting for justice, or at least what he deems to be so--and you self-serving pirates represent the antithesis of what he stands for

He worked hard for his position up to lieutenancy, and then his role as a commodore, while you and your kind steal and thieve your way to success

Although Norrington never was able to catch Jack Sparrow, the same cannot be said about individuals of his crew...

Perhaps in his pursuit to save Elizabeth, and his various scuffles with pirates in the process, he manages to imprison you

While you're stuck, imprisoned on the brig, he might as well see if you can be of use and provide him some information about Sparrow

What he doesn't expect, however, is to find you so attractive, especially for a pirate, disheveled and dirty, sitting on the filthy floors of the brig

And once he gets to talking with you, he finds that you have more in common than he would have thought

Despite being a pirate, you have some personal code of honour and sense of loyalty

This is when Norrington's obsession first culminates

He held some physical level attraction to you since he saw you, but now he feels that, after knowing you better, he can rehabilitate you and help you find the err in your piracy

During this phase of his character ark, his intense affection manifests through a saviour complex

He does not want you to hang, as would be his normal policy towards pirates, because he believes you can be saved

(And his stomach lurches at the thought of you dead)

Before he can actually manifest his plans, however, you slip away, unbeknownst to him

After dealing with Barbarossa's undead crew, a strange longing to see you and talk with you

Only, when he checks, your cell, after the whole ordeal, you aren't there

And all the while you're gone, his resentment of the captain Jack Sparrow grows for taking you away

Piracy

Disgraced and burned by his destroyed ship in pursuing Sparrow, he goes into hiding

While his interest in you before, as a commodore, was certainly unusual and intense, now, stuck in the echoes of his own mind, his fixation spirals

The copious amounts of alcohol surely doesn't help either

It is in his desperate enlisting to the Black Pearl that he finds you again--no longer so disheveled as during your imprisonment

Even after so long from your escape, he can't help the jolt in his heart from seeing you again

The fallen commodore's fixation is no longer along that lines that he can rehabilitate you--how can he when he can't even help himself?

Now, he is more honest with himself that he desires you, he wants to be with you, and after losing all his titles, there's no reason he can't now

In this stage of his character, it’s likely that he will be forthright in his intention—flirting with you outright

He is no longer a commodore, and the stoic, strong front he portrays from his experience in the navy is no longer necessary

He dreams of restoring his lost honor, and when he does, you best believe that he will take you with him

And a lucky break comes for him through the heart of Davy Jones

Admiral

This is where he’s most dangerous

Restored to his previous honour, and promoted to admiral, you are helpless to the power he has

And Lord Beckett surely wouldn't mind if he takes one measly pirate for himself

But all the while, he thinks about you...you're clearly not cut for piracy, and likely forced into it

He will take you away from the cruel and unbefitting world of piracy

And once he learns that the man he trusted and dedicated his services to betrayed his trust, his determination to sweep you away blooms tenfold

Lord Beckett had killed Governor Swan, someone Norrington trusted and admired

The incident is enough to send his obsession over the edge

After releasing the prisoners from the brig, he severs the ties between the Empress and the Dutchman

You come with him on a separate dinghy

And if you resist, confused by his actions and your sudden kidnap, he will point his pistol at you, telling you to comply with him for your own good

Norrington doesn't intend to shoot you, no matter what, but it is more to calm your struggles and your confusion

He insists this is for your "own good", but the single-minded and determined look across his face makes you worry if he might be more of a threat to you

Redemption

James Norrington wouldn't marry you--at least in an official manner

You have to remember that marriage serves as a business transaction, not solely for the spirit of love, or at least in this time

He would certainly take care of you as a spouse, just that there's no official records of such

Besides, he wants to hide you from the cruelty of the world as much as possible, and a marriage with you would just herald your existence to the world...to the evil who might wish you harm...

Undoubtedly his betrayal to Lord Beckett would hurt his professional prospects, but perhaps with time, he can regain a position of some valour

His dedication to service and honest work speak for him as much as his accomplishments

And if he ever regains a position of power again, your chances at escape are even slimmer

He is not paranoid, but he would feel at more ease to take certain...precautions...to prevent you from harm...or escape

He will be very dedicated to you, though he isn't particularly adept in expressing the earnest love he feels for you

But, if you ever manage to escape from his grasp...

Then you would truly see the depth of his obsession

[indigoipsum]

What is Patalliro??? 🫡

HEHEHEE… glad you asked 😼

Patalliro is a shounen-ai series from the 1970s-1980s about the title character who’s the king of an island in the South Seas called Malynera. He has a bodyguard, Major Jack Barbarossa Bancoran, who’s a British secret agent and is this gay corp goth guy who makes pretty boys swoon. He ends up falling in love with a Swiss assassin named Maraich. Patalliro is horribly incompetent and tries to imitate Bancoran (it always fails). The show is full of puns and physical comedy. It’s part James Bond, part Three Stooges. There’s also subplots about time travel, aliens, and robots.

Left to right: Patalliro, Maraich, Bancoran

This series is special because it’s one of the first LGBT series to be broadcasted on mainstream Japanese TV. It’s not without problems, but it’s pretty tame in comparison to a lot of anime about gay men around that time to the early 2000s.

On a personal note, Maraich fully unlocked something in my brain when I watched it when I was 16 and he is just… so gender.

[mary-queen-of-longbeach]

Profile: Britannia

Narcissistic. Demanding. Fragile. Imperious.

Britannia was the first-ever ship in the Cunard fleet and later the flagship of the Reichsflotte, and as such she demands to be treated with the utmost respect; even later in her life, when she was used as a barracks ship, she remained just as imperious as ever. She tends to be quite bossy and self-centered, although she’s at least superficially kind to her successors - the ones who didn’t sink, anyway. As far as she’s concerned, only Cunarders who lived full lives deserve her respect; after all, it’s her descendants’ success that makes her feel so good about herself, and those she considers failures do nothing to bolster her fragile ego.

Type: Warship, Barracks Ship (formerly an ocean liner)

Class: Britannia

Launch Day: 2/5/1840

Country: United Kingdom

Company: Cunard

Other Names: Barbarossa

Other Countries: German Confederation, Prussia

Other Navies: Reichsflotte, Prussian Navy

Language: English, German

Accent: Received Pronunciation

Voice Tone: High, clear, mature-sounding, can be rather shrill

Height: 4’10” / 58in / 147.3cm

Hair Color: Off-white, black, and vermilion

Eye Color: Red

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Skills/Abilities: Manipulation, charisma, surprising physical strength

Likes: Being praised and treated like a queen, expensive things, positive affirmation, gold, lions, journaling, cold weather

Dislikes: Anything that threatens her ego, opposition of any kind, ice, milk, sunken Cunarders, Charles Dickens

Trivia:

Britannia firmly believes that the song Rule, Britannia! was, in fact, written for her… even though it’s a hundred years older than she is.

Many of the other Cunarders view her as an almost mythical figure, something which she wholeheartedly encourages.

She refuses to drink cow’s milk; when she was in service as a liner, it was given to women, children, and invalids, and despite being a woman herself she refuses to drink something she associates with weakness.

Even when she was legally known as Barbarossa, she insisted on being called by her actual name. She doesn’t respond to the name Barbarossa at all.

Selected Songs:

James Thomson and Thomas Arne - Rule, Britannia!

KiNG MALA - cult leader

Faith Marie - Addict of the Gallery

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 6.22

217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus who surrenders after the battle, ending the Third Macedonian War. 813 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars led by Krum defeat the Byzantine army near Edirne. Emperor Michael I is forced to abdicate in favor of Leo V the Armenian. 910 – The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army near the Rednitz River, killing its leader Gebhard, Duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine). 1527 – Fatahillah expels Portuguese forces from Sunda Kelapa, now regarded as the foundation of Jakarta. 1593 – Battle of Sisak: Allied Christian troops defeat the Ottomans. 1633 – The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy. 1774 – The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America. 1783 – A poisonous cloud caused by the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France. 1807 – In the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake. 1813 – War of 1812: After learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord sets out on a thirty kilometres (19 mi) journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. 1839 – Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears. 1870 – The United States Department of Justice is created by the U.S. Congress. 1893 – The Royal Navy battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Victoria which sinks taking 358 crew with her, including the fleet's commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon. 1897 – British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged. 1898 – Spanish–American War: In a chaotic operation, 6,000 men of the U.S. Fifth Army Corps begins landing at Daiquirí, Cuba, about 16 miles (26 km) east of Santiago de Cuba. Lt. Gen. Arsenio Linares y Pombo of the Spanish Army outnumbers them two-to-one, but does not oppose the landings. 1907 – The London Underground's Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway opens. 1911 – George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Government forces bring an end to the Magonista rebellion of 1911 in the Second Battle of Tijuana. 1918 – The Hammond Circus Train Wreck kills 86 and injures 127 near Hammond, Indiana. 1940 – World War II: France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice in 1918. 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. 1942 – World War II: Erwin Rommel is promoted to Field Marshal after the Axis capture of Tobruk. 1942 – The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by US Congress. 1944 – World War II: Opening day of the Soviet Union's Operation Bagration against the Army Group Centre. 1944 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill. 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Okinawa comes to an end. 1948 – The ship HMT Empire Windrush brought the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants to Tilbury, marking the start of modern immigration to the United Kingdom. 1948 – King George VI formally gives up the title "Emperor of India", half a year after Britain actually gave up its rule of India. 1962 – Air France Flight 117 crashes on approach to Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, killing 112 people. 1965 – The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea is signed. 1966 – Vietnamese Buddhist activist leader Thích Trí Quang was arrested as the military junta of Nguyen Cao Ky crushed the Buddhist Uprising. 1969 – The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. 1978 – Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy. 1979 – Former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe was acquitted of conspiracy to murder Norman Scott, who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him. 1984 – Virgin Atlantic launches with its first flight from London to Newark. 1986 – The famous Hand of God goal, scored by Diego Maradona in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, ignites controversy. This was later followed by the Goal of the Century. Argentina wins 2–1 and later goes on to win the World Cup. 1990 – Cold War: Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin. 2000 – Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan's Hanyang District, killing 49 people. 2002 – An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw strikes a region of northwestern Iran killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response. 2009 – A Washington D.C Metro train traveling southbound near Fort Totten station collides into another train waiting to enter the station. Nine people are killed in the collision (eight passengers and the train operator) and at least 80 others are injured. 2012 – Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco. 2012 – A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter plane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both of the plane's pilots and worsening already-strained relations between Turkey and Syria. 2015 – The Afghan National Assembly building is attacked by gunmen after a suicide bombing. All six of the gunmen are killed and 18 people are injured. 2022 – An earthquake occurs in eastern Afghanistan resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

[parkerbombshell]

Strange Fruit July 14 2024

Strange Fruit 10pm EST bombshellradio.com Archival Shows available on bombshellradiopodcasts.com Strange Fruit (10-midnight EST) digs deep into an act often overlooked album by an act now celebrated as stalwarts of classic rock. Their 7th outing didn’t set any charts alight but when a list of the 50 most overlooked albums of the 20th century was compiled, it came second. So, when people love it, they love it. We’ll throw in a load of new sounds and – erm - a record claiming to be made by the cover star of Mad Magazine. Join us: https://bombshellradio.com/   #stevemillerband #newmusic #independentradio         The Steve Miller Band: Threshold Black Tape for a Blue Girl: Within these Walls (2024 remix) Xenaris: Barbarossa The Steve Miller Band: Love’s Riddle The Steve Miller Band: Nothing Lasts Herding: Summer Jess Haines: Twelve Mortal Men Bremer McCoy: Higher Road Big Mama Thornton: Hound Dog Muddy Waters: Crosseyed Cat Delirium feat Mimi Page: Remember Love EMOG: Planet TX2000 The Steve Miller Band: Heal your Heart The Steve Miller Band: Enter Maurice Helen Love: Stay with Me Lin: Queer Lover Paul St. John: Spaceship Lover ANNOUNCEMENT   J. Bernadt: The Ghost you Forgot Thor Harris: Immersion James Devane: Lights Down Low Al Stewart: Nostradamus The Falcons of Haunt: I am the Future Alfred E Neuman: Let’s do the Fink Girl Ultra: Blu ANNOUNCEMENT   The Steve Miller Band: Journey from Eden Qua: Sauco Galliano: Circles Going Round the Sun David Crosby: I’d Swear there was Somebody Here     Read the full article

[yhwhrulz]

Today's selected anniversaries: 24th September 2023

1869:

Jay Gould, James Fisk, and other speculators plotted but failed to control the United States gold market, causing prices to plummet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%281869%29

1890:

Wilford Woodruff, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wrote the first draft of a manifesto that officially disavowed the future practice of plural marriage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890_Manifesto

1941:

Operation Barbarossa: A Wehrmacht training event known as the Mogilev Conference began, marking an increase in violence against Jews and other civilians in the areas under General Max von Schenckendorff's command. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogilev_Conference

1993:

Norodom Sihanouk became King of Cambodia with the restoration of the monarchy after a 23-year interregnum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Sihanouk

[mostcreativetitle]

Week 1 / Day 1 - Couch to 80k

This is week 1 of the 8-weeks couch to 80k course.

I learned that most of what you write is going to be rubbish, and that’s ok!

For the first exercise: list as many names as you can in 10 minutes! Here we go:

Anna Smitherson

Millie Marteen

Jacob Rupert

Robert Odessa

Mario Franceschini

Roberto Marchese di Robera

Marcus Powell

Dino Dandini

Zara Periwinkle

Podrie Maroon

Maria Zanoni

Kayle McBride

Brannon Potter

Margaret Knight

Giovanni Yhnes

Ramya Vishnu

Bobo Bubu

James Johnston

Jimmy Qubert

Prancie Shmansy

Umbert Francoise

Amelie Mortadella

Ignazio de la Vega

Zoro Jaen

Hilda Sturmgarten

Hans Friedrich

Kianu Hashimoto

Tako Tsubo

Lima Losange

Vicky Tanaka

Esper Jasper

Wendy Norbert

Seamus O’Neill

Giobbe Umbroso

Anji Mito

William Tellington

Rory Lionson

Squeaky Jim

Short Bob

Tall Alice

Charlie Chocolate

Xavier Wheeliebob

Andre Degiant

Ernesto Lolomoncolo

Doris Carpenter

Wally O’Brian

Canesto Ignominiato

Rosa Barbarossa

Bonnie Clue

Nancy Brew

Othello Maniscalco

Oscar Afone

Mascia Hindeburg

Mitch Babish

Toto Africano

Ines Athene

Gengis Flan

Narturo Munch

Margaret Klischo

Pete Gott

Gottfried Jagermanstrel

Mimmo Luigi Maria Connivato

Herbert Oblo’

Caronte Shipman

Entrecote de Bouf

Ramon Pamplona

I have written 66 names!

[realmspod]

CY_BORG - ₵Ø₥ł₦₲ ₴ØØ₦ - RealmsPod.com

[maddyisabstract]

Here's my PC from You Awaken in a Strange Place, GM'd by James Barbarossa for @realmspod! Banshee McBain is a goth orc from the YASP one-shot "Star Quest: Dark Horn Rising" who is amazing at killing people with indie vinyl records.

You can listen to me and my fellow players, Ella Watts and David Pellow, play James's sci-fi fantasy epic right here!

[salvadorbonaparte]

The three main places we talked about in class were the Hermann Memorial (19th century monument about the 9 AD Battle of the Teutoburg Forest), Kyffhäuser Monument (late 19th century monument about Barbarossa) and the Walhalla (19th century Hall of Fame for German People).

All three of them were used as nation-building myths during the 19th century, when nationalism really became a thing and Germany was no longer a million little kingdoms but one big Empire. Because if you've previously been a million little kingdoms that also fought wars against each other and speaks entirely different dialects, you need something to tell you that you're actually All One People. Like that time this Germanic tribe beat the shit out of the Romans, that one emperor who drowned on a crusade sleeps in a mountain and will one day rule Germany and a room that's just famous German people.

There are a lot of places like that outside of Germany, not all necessarily connected to real history and not all necessarily successful at nation or identity building, but all bigger-than-themselves myths. Think of the Alamo in Texas and how the main thing about it is that people want you to Remember it. Think of the Juliet balcony in Verona. Romeo and Juliet is fiction but they built a balcony for tourists to visit which is silly but also part of the identity of the city. Think of the Bosnian Pyramids, a scam invented by a Bosnian businessman to lure people to a small town to look at a mountain and it's explicitly used by Bosnian nationalists. Think of the "future birthplace of James T Kirk" in Iowa.

I think all these places are endlessly fascinating, and they become more fascinating the more "fake" and the more popular they are.

In high school history class we talked a lot about monuments, myths and nation-building and now unfortunately I'm obsessed with visiting "mythical" places (not necessarily mythical like fake, mythical like connected to myths and legends) including the really silly ones.

[not-wholly-unheroic]

Captain Hook & The History of Prosthetics

From its earliest days on stage to the upcoming Disney live-action film, Peter Pan has provided audiences with one of the most widely recognized amputee characters in media history. The iron claw, now associated with all pirates, is an iconic image...but how realistic would it have been for a captain who lost a hand or arm in battle to find himself wearing a hook? I decided to do some digging to find out.

The earliest known use of a prosthetic hand dates back to the 200s B.C. when Roman general Marcus Sergius lost his right hand during the Second Punic War and had an iron hand fashioned to hold his shield while he fought with his left hand. There isn’t a ton of information on what this replacement “hand” may have looked like (whether it was primarily functional or also cosmetic) but it may have resembled a much later design (c. 1504) worn by German knight Goetz von Berlichingen, also known as “Goetz of the Iron Hand” This hand, though crafted with great detail to look realistic, was also designed to let the wearer grasp a shield, reins, etc. Although the gripping motion required adjusting the device with the remaining natural hand, the design looks surprisingly modern. 

Goetz von Berlichingen’s Iron Hand

Around the same time period in the Mediterranean region, Ottoman seaman Oruc Reis--also known as Baba Oruc (”Father Oruc”),  later misheard and Westernized as Barbarossa (”Redbeard” in Italian)--lost his left arm in battle, replacing it with a metal prosthetic and earning the privateer the nickname Gumus Kol, meaning “Silver Arm” in Turkish. Much like Marcus Sergius, we don’t have a good idea of this prosthetic’s appearance. 

The first major historical figure to use an actual hook in place of a hand was privateer Christopher Newport, who lost an arm while attempting to capture a Spanish galleon in 1590. Newport is also known for helping establish the colony of Jamestown alongside the more popularized John Smith and others in 1607. 

Artist’s Rendering of Christopher Newport

Another infamous sailor who lost a limb, Admiral Horatio Nelson, is virtually never depicted with a prosthetic of any sort but is responsible for the development of what would come to be known as “The Nelson Fork,” a combination knife and fork designed to make cutting and eating food easier for those missing a hand. Though Nelson lost his arm in 1797, variations of his cutlery design are still in use today.

A Nelson Fork, or as I like to call it, a “Knork”

During the Victorian Era, some false hands had a very steampunk/cyborg look to them. In fact, they rather resemble Long John Silver’s cyborg arm in Disney’s Treasure Planet. (Fun Fact: While attempting to see if they could seamlessly blend CG with traditional 2D animation, Disney did a test run of some existing footage of Hook with Silver’s cyborg arm.)

A Victorian False Arm (left) and Disney’s Test Footage of Hook with Silver’s Cyborg Arm (right)

Meanwhile, in the U.S., many soldiers were coming home from the Civil War with missing limbs, and the widespread need for practical prosthetics led to the development of a sort of “Swiss Army Knife” prosthetic with detachable parts, including cosmetic false hands, hooks, cutlery, and what appears to be either a brush or a toothbrush.

A Civil War Era Prosthetic with Attachments

In fact, many of these sorts of prosthetic attachments are similar to what we see Hook use in the Disney film and are still used by amputees today.

The Captain’s Case of Hooks (left) and Catalog Images of Modern Prosthetic Attachments (right)

You’ll notice that among the modern attachments featured is--you guessed it!--a hook! In fact, because of its versatility and cost-effectiveness as a prosthetic hand replacement, variations on the concept of a hook became quite popular during the 1800s/1900s and still exist today.

A Collection of Hooks from the 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The modern split hook, first developed in 1912 and popularized in the aftermath of WWI & WWII, is perhaps the most common sort of hook used in modern times. It typically features a sort of harness that goes across the chest/back and over the shoulder opposite the missing limb. This design likely influenced the image of Cyril Ritchard’s two-pronged claw in the 1960s stage version of Peter Pan and Jason Isaacs’ prosthetic apparatus in the 2003 film. 

A Modern Split Hook (bottom left), Cyril Ritchard’s Hook (top left), and Jason Isaacs’ Hook (right)

In the aftermath of the World Wars, although technology has allowed for the development of some truly remarkable bionic inventions, the continued need for practical, cost-effective prosthetics has led to the development of a variety of attachments designed for work as well as leisure activities. 

Enter Jake and the Neverland Pirates. While the show maintains Hook as a villain, because it is designed for children, he is portrayed more as a bully with low self-esteem than a truly evil, threatening character. We’re meant to like him, and while the audience laughs at his antics and feels sorry for him for many reasons (Dude has some SERIOUS bad luck!), the hook itself isn’t one of them. One thing I love about the show is that it takes the stereotypically “scary amputee villain” and turns him into a sympathetic grump with a collection of really cool hooks that any kid would envy. Some of them are admittedly a bit far-fetched and fanciful (But who DOESN’T want a whirly-hook that lets you fly?)...but surprisingly, many of the attachments are a fairly accurate representation of what’s out there. For example, need to build something or hang a picture on the wall? There’s a hammer hook for that.

A Veteran from One of the World Wars with a Hammer Attachment (left) and Captain Hook’s “Hammer Hook” from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (right)

Or maybe you want to play a game of golf... 

A Man Using a Prosthetic Attachment to Hold a Golf Club (left) and Captain Hook’s Golf Club Hook from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (right)

YUP! It’s real! (Okay, so the attachment is made to HOLD a golf club. It’s not a club itself...but the concept is the same.)

So...what’s the verdict? Although the popular vision of pirates wearing hooks is heavily overstated in modern culture, it is historically quite plausible that a captain who lost a hand in battle might replace it with a hook...and if he were still around today, he might even have an attachment that would allow him to spend his retirement years enjoying some time out on the green.

[blueiscoool]

Cross of Iron 1977

The ending of the film.

'And I will show you the iron crosses road'