#the judge from blood meridian

[purples-horror-blog05]

this vile man won’t go away so I sketched him

[the-writing-mobster]

♥️ ♠️ | “We'll be seein' each other soon...” | ♦️ ♣️

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[deepnightmareobservation]

im sorry, kid. you never ever had a name. i would have held you and covered your eyes. im sorry the world taught you to be so violent. we could've been angry together.

[drpsps]

Finished wendigoon’s video on blood meridian (watched a few other videos on it) and judge holden genuinely scares me. Like I don’t say that about many characters but jesus christ. I would not survive being around him.

To be that intelligent while being completely and utterly brutal is such a dangerous combination, especially with his philosophical beliefs within the book.

[deadpuppetboi]

Love that while reading Blood Meridian there's a 50/50 chance of the gang either being used to The Judge’s actions or just being so disgusted by it that they threaten to shoot him.

[wraith-caller]

Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.

[ewingstan]

Poster on my right shoulder with a cheap angel wing costume (the one from Oldboy (2003)): "You should write about how Krouse making an unsecured tophat that's constantly in danger of falling off a key part of his costume actually fits his themes really well. You've already written about how his ringmaster getup is part of cultivating a sense of mastery-within-instability; Krouse excels when thrown into a chaotic situation because he can use chaos better than others. Styling himself as a leader of a circus, master and causer of chaos who holds things together just enough to have them culminate in a grand spectacle, shows what type of reputation he cultivates. But that instability is a constant in his life, he seeks it out, it seeks him out, and despite the air he puts on of having everything under control it really is always in danger of falling apart. The tophat can fall off at any moment, the travellers can collapse at any time, the cultivated and uncultivated chaos surrounding their lives can suck them all into the undertow at any time. If you actually write an analysis post fleshing that out it would be an excellent use of your time."

Poster on my left shoulder, taking the form of Judge Holden as he was depicted in Cormac Mccarthy's Blood Meridian: "You should write about how whenever his hat falls off Krouse just puts a rock or large piece of trash on his head and switches them. Fuckin. Eight times during the fight with the Wards Vista had to deal with the fact that she was nearly getting killed by a guy putting a brick on his head. Sometimes he'd throw his hat at you and then put a brick on his head and then swap them and bam you've gotten hit in the face with a brick."

[barrenclan]

I know several people have said this already, but can I just say how much I absolutely ADORE Deepdark? He’s such a unique sort of villain to me, one that I don’t really see in fiction that often. He’s the sort of villain that thinks he’s an all-powerful deity, but then so does everyone else. His very presence is so uniquely terrifying, like there’s really nothing you can do to stop him from killing and plundering and manipulating and ruining lives as he pleases.

I’d even go as far as to say he reminds me of villains like AM from IHNMAIMS or Judge Holden from Blood Meridian. Both of those are pretty extreme examples, but they also give the impression of this god-like character that’s infinitely smart and cannot be stopped no matter what you do. They’re the sort of villains that almost feel like a representation of death itself, that no living entity can escape from their grasp.

In light of that, I think it’s also very refreshing to see that Deepdark got his way regardless of what Pinepaw wanted. I feel like if it ended with Pinepaw being triumphant over Deepdark, it would be like escaping death itself if that makes sense. We know that death is often not fair, and does not discriminate towards anyone or anything. It’ll creep up on you regardless of what you do or what you want, a grim reminder that Deepdark embodies almost perfectly.

All in all, you really cooked with Deepdark’s character lol. I’m really looking forward to possibly seeing more of him and his sick philosophies in the last few chapters. Excellent work 💞

Thank you so much! Comparing Deepdark to huge literary figures is quite the compliment. I really enjoyed writing him and I'm pleased with how his role in the story played out.

[crystalgastles]

The man in the suit

My slenderman is based off of a lot of things, books, video media and the Bible. His true appearance is that of biblically accurate angels. However when I’m writing him for my characters such as Toby he shows himself differently depending on what he needs you for. The man in the suit is based off the judge from blood meridian.

[heavenlymorals]

The Vampire and the Stag: A Look Into the Symbolic significance of Dutch Van Dir Linde and High Honor Arthur Morgan

Warning: This post has spoilers for Red dead 2

Symbolism is one of the most important visual and literary elements used to push the narrative of Red Dead Redemption 2. The game is chock full of biblical references, animal symbolism, and references to other famous works. Hell, I might've even found a Blood Meridian reference via that Judge Meredith Holden letter, but that might be a reach. In any case, this game uses symbolism to push the story further and I want to do a short little retrospective on my two favorite characters of this game and what they represent in the literary sense.

Let's start with Dutch.

Dutch Van Dir Linde is many things. He's a violent idealist, a romantic, a gang leader, a notorious outlaw, and a legendary gunslinger in his own right.

He's also an allegory for the vampire, and by vampire, I mean the European literary symbolism of the creature.

Let's start off with looks. Right from the get go, Dutch is differentiatued from the rest of the gang members by his luxurious and eccentric appearance, something that the vampire usually has. He had gold chains, personalized gold rings, one with a D and another with a lion. His jacket seems to be velvet, he smokes cigars rather than cigarettes, and his hair is done up in ringlets as we know his actual hair texture is straight rather than curly (Guarma, epilogue, RDR1).

His color scheme is also very stereotypical of the more modern vampire. While other characters usually have a more diverse color scheme, Dutch is suited in reds and blacks the entire main game.

The nature of the undead is also with Dutch via his horse, the Count. First of all, there is just the name the Count that gives off vampire energy (Count Dracula) but there is also the fact that Dutch's horse shouldn't exist. Foals born with albinism, which is the coat the Count is said to have, die because of lethal white syndrome. The Count should have died long ago but it's still alive somehow- he cheated death like a vampire. That's also not mentioning death in the sense that death comes riding on a pale horse.

Vampires in classic literature are never just about vampires as these charming blood sucking creatures almost always exist to convey a deeper meaning of consumption. In the 1800s, this idea of consumption, with the most famous visualization of it being the older vampire man sucking the blood of young, usually virginal women, is often an allegory for selfish sex and defilement. Vampires in old media could very well be a criticism of wealthy men taking advantage of younger women, taking their virginity, and then tossing them aside and being virtually fine while the women lose everything from respect to family to even lives, which can also be the case with Dutch and Molly, but overtime, the vampire became less an allegory to write sex without outwardly writing sex in the 1800s, and became more a symbol of personal consumption at the expense of others.

The wonderful Professor Thomas C. Foster puts it best: "That's what this figure (the vampire) really comes down to, whether in Elizabethan, Victorian, or more modern incarnations: exploitation in its many forms. Using other people to get what we want. Denying someone else's right to live in the face of our overwhelming demands. Placing our desires, particularly our uglier ones, above the needs of another. That's pretty much what the vampire does, after all." - "How to Read Literature Like a Professor"

Dutch is basically that. He consumes people for the sake of his own goals, his own dreams, and his own delusions of grandeur. He will believe in people as long as those people believe in him, but their belief in him is more important to him than his belief in them.

Dutch seems like a Messiah to the disenfranchised, a Jesus figure of sorts. He seems charming, empathetic, cultured, and different from other men, like the vampire. People are enthralled by him, become obsessed or loyal to him, like the vampire's victims. However, these people, like Arthur, John, Molly, Bill, Javier, etc., are used and Dutch, the vampire, doesn't return the favor as he only consumes for his own favor.

And in the end? People suffer or they die and Dutch moves on to his next victims, even if he did love these people.

Dutch is the embodiment of the vampire in every possible way except in the most literal way, which is the blood sucking.

Now let's move on to Arthur Morgan.

Arthur and the stag are one in the same when it comes to Red Dead's symbolism. If one were to mention a stag in the Red Dead universe, more likely than not, people would think of high honor Arthur Morgan. The Stag is Arthur's symbolism, but let us dig a little deeper into what the stag could symbolize beyond just high honor.

When it comes to animal symbolism, stags are almost as iconic as male lions with what they are meant to represent. All throughout various cultures, the stag usually represents a noble creature. It can represent honor (duh), strength, virility, grace, and regeneration, amongst other things, but I want to focus on interpretations of the stag from a few cultures and how they ultimately relate back to Arthur Morgan.

Considering that Arthur has Welsh heritage, or so we assume, let us start with the interpretation of the stag in Welsh culture and mythology. The stag has a huge presence in Welsh culture and mythology, with even some gods and higher beings taking the image of a stag. However, I would like to focus on the stag as a messenger, a messenger between worlds, which is what Arthur becomes in a sense to John Marston.

John's world for such a huge part of his life as the gang. The gang raised him, fed him, taught him to read, taught him morals, taught him many skills, and gave him a purpose. The gang is his world and for such a huge chunk of his life, it was the only world he knew. Sure, Abigail gets pregnant because of him, but she was a part of that world too.

Arthur was able to see other worlds. Mary wasn't a girl who was downtrodden like Abigail and thus would take on well to the life they lived. She was a normal girl and he was not a normal man. Eliza wasn't part of his gang life either, and neither was Issac. They lived in a different world, in a world of civilization, in a world where they didn't or shouldn't have had to keep one eye open to stay alive. Arthur would jump over to their worlds, even if just for a short amount of time, and then back to the gang- he has seen and experienced both of those worlds.

Arthur then gives John the message that he should leave and be a man and provide for his wife and protect his child by leaving the gang life that destroyed the both of them. Arthur becomes a messenger from one world to another- from gang life to normalcy. And with that message, John experiences a change- a change of character and motives.

The Stag is a messenger and Arthur is a messenger. A messenger to not only John, but to everyone else he tried to get out of there for he experienced two worlds and one is better than the other.

Another interpretation of the stag is the selflessness of sacrifice, which can be shown through the Greek culture of story and mythology and explained perfectly in the story "Iphigenia at Aulis" by Euripides. Iphigenia goes to her father and tells him that she will offer herself as a sacrifice to the goddess Artemis. Sacrifices must be made to keep the gods happy and the people alive and happy. Iphigenia offering such a thing shows her selflessness, her want of wanting others to be safe and sound, even at the expense of herself.

Sound familiar?

Reminds me of a certain dark romantic cowboy.

By the end of the story, Iphigenia's selflessness was rewarded by the goddess, and as Iphigenia's father was about to slit her throat, the girl got replaced by a stag while Iphigenia was escorted to live amongst the gods for her selflessness.

The deer becomes the sacrifice and in a way, Iphigenia and the deer become one and the same. The deer is sacrificed for the sake of others- the stag becomes a symbol of noble selflessness, much like Arthur. Arthur sacrifices himself in order to save John, Abigail, and Jack- a noble cause, a noble sacrifice.

The stag being a noble sacrifice is also associated with certain Native American cultures (I cannot for the life of me think of which tribes they were exactly, but once I find them, I will edit this post). The stag must be killed for people to eat, thus the deer is a noble creature. The consumption of the stag is an allegory of people living better lives or having better days because of the sacrifice of a person. Because of that, the stag is a heavily respected creature.

And given that Dutch's vampire is all about consumption, Arthur's symbolism of being a stag is perfect for their dynamic since the deer is all about sacrifice and nobility and the vampire is all about selfishness and despair.

In any case, the deer represents many things across many cultures, from being a messenger to being a sacrifice, but one thing for certain is that the stag is synonymous with honor and nobility- the person that Arthur tried to be in the end.

Yapyapyapyapyapgodifuckinglovesymbolism-

[cleaspice]

"He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die."

V1 as Judge Holden from Blood Meridian

[that-house]

Your honor, as you can probably tell from my shiny bald head, I was not “disposing of evidence” but rather roleplaying as my comfort character, Judge Holden, and- (my lawyer whispers into my ear) -oh is that—that’s worse? Shit, I never finished Blood Meridian. Fuck. He really does all that? Even-? Well goddamn. Your honor I was disposing of evidence

[oneinathousand]

The answer about what Judge Holden really is, by which I mean the fictional version of him, was right under our noses this whole time. Fuck, my hands are shaking as I’m writing this. He’s the dark side of Cormac McCarthy himself.

Intelligent, knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects, able to be utterly charming when he wanted to be, and a predator.

Of course, McCarthy didn’t go around killing swathes of people for genocide, nor did he love war, but I now feel that the one aspect of Holden’s character that truly disturbed me when I first read Blood Meridian a year ago was something that McCarthy knew all too well:

Becoming a parasitic influence on a teenage runaway from a troubled life who desperately needed stable adult figures, grooming them, succeeding in totally enveloping them into his being, metaphorically speaking.

It’s not a one-to-one parallel, and I don’t think it was intentional on McCarthy’s part to put the worst of himself into Holden, but I think it bled into the character on a subconscious level, especially since he was known to believe in the power of the subconscious and would write at least some things in a half-awake state.

Blood Meridian and all the rest of his books starting with Suttree are going to be so much more disturbing now.

If you’ve missed the news that dropped about McCarthy a few days ago, here it is. It’s a long read, but for now it seems to be the truth.

You know something? After I read Blood Meridian and started learning about McCarthy’s interests in various sciences, I thought to myself, “I guess Holden is a bit like a version of McCarthy with no inhibitions” but I dismissed the thought as a stretch. I can’t believe that in this instance my gut was onto something. It’s almost a little funny.

I swear to god if I see one more Holden vs A.M. debate or meme I’m gonna tear out what’s left of my eyebrows, it was already stupid because of the historical basis of Blood Meridian, and now it would be even more stupid to compare the two…

[amalgamasreal]

Why do quotes from Blood Meridian's The Judge work so well with this nightmare fuel lunch box I found at a vintage store?

"Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent."

“Men are born for games. Nothing else.”

“Men of God and men of war have strange affinities.”

THEY EVEN HAVE THE SAME COLOR SKIN, SMILE, AND NEITHER OF THEM AGE GODDAMMIT

[tamaruaart]

Welcome back Judge Holden and the kid from Blood Meridian