#general thackeray

[mxcottonsocks]

Reading Like A Victorian

A while ago, I discovered the website 'Reading Like a Victorian', a digital humanities project from The Ohio State University and collaborators.

Since tumblr's been going through a bit of a serial-literature revival, I thought I would share...

Here are some extracts from the website's 'About Us':

RLV is an interactive timeline of the Victorian period. It focuses on serialized novels [...] and adds volume-format publications for context. 

When we read Victorian novels today, we do not read them in the form in which they originally came out. Most Victorian novels appeared either as “triple deckers,” three volumes released at one time, or as serials published monthly or weekly in periodicals or in pamphlet form. Serialized novels’ regularly timed, intermittent appearance made for a reading experience resembling what we do when we are awaiting the next weekly episode of Game of Thrones, watching installments of other TV serials in the meantime. Whenever we pick up a Penguin or Oxford paperback of a Victorian novel today, we are engaged in the equivalent of binge-watching a series that has already reached its broadcast ending [and is] a very different experience from what Victorian audiences were doing with novels. Reading Like a Victorian reproduces the “serial moment” experienced by Victorian readers [...]

More info and screenshots and so on below the cut:

[...] if reading serial installments at their original pace is valuable, it is even more valuable to read them alongside parts of novels and of other kinds of texts that Victorian readers could have been following at the same time [...] [...] a reader who, in 1847, had been following the part issues of both Dickens’s Dombey and Son and Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and then picked up Jane Eyre, published in volume form in October of that year, might notice in Florence Dombey, Becky Sharp, and Jane Eyre a pattern of motherless or orphaned girls trying to negotiate a hostile world on their own. While this figure is well known to be a character type in Victorian fiction perfectly embodied by Jane Eyre and Florence Dombey, Becky Sharp does not often emerge among the heroines who fit that type; reading the novels simultaneously foregrounds parallels between Becky, Florence, and Jane that are not at all obvious if their storylines are experienced separately

I find that, for browsing, the website is easier to use on a computer or tablet than a phone, but it's ok on phone to search for something specific.

The timeline:

Here's what the timeline looks like:

It shows 12 months at a time, and using the left and right arrows will move you back or forward by a month. You can use the 'Jump To Date' function to navigate to a different twelve-month period. Or you can use the 'Author Search' function to navigate to particular works if you know the author's name.

In the above screenshot of the timeline, which shows the period January to December 1852, there are several works shown, including:

ongoing serialised works which had at least one installment published prior to 1852;

works which began serialisation during 1852;

works published in three-volume format during 1852;

other works published during 1852

Details about each work:

You can click on the bar that represents a book's publication to get a drop-down that provides information about that book, its publication, and links to help you read the relevant serial parts.

Here's what happens if you click on Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford:

On the left of the drop-down, there's some general information about the work, its publication history, and how to use the links.

On the right, there's information and links to help you experience the book in its serial parts: it separates out the parts, indicates the month and the year they were published, and what chapters of the work were published in that part. It also provides notes on each part where helpful. There is a scroll-bar at the right of the drop-down, so you can scroll down to the later installments of the work.

[I chose Cranford as an example as it helps demonstrate the value of the Reading Like a Victorian website... From what I understand, Gaskell initially wrote 'Our Society at Cranford' as a standalone piece of short fiction, but was encouraged to write more, so further pieces also set in the fictional town of Cranford were published intermittently in the same magazine over the next year or so. While a particularly dedicated Gaskell fan who wanted to 'read along' with Cranford following the original publication could probably search 1.5-years-worth of a weekly magazine to find the 9 issues which included the material which would later be published as Cranford, the Reading Like a Victorian website has already done that work for them... and also for anyone else who might be interested, but not quite that interested.]

The links

You can then click on an individual chapter to get links to various places to read it online:

When available / where possible, the website tends to include links to:

a facsimile copy of either the relevant serial part in the original publication, or in an 'annual' or similar volume collecting together the content of that publication, or a volume-form edition of that work if the work was not published serially or if facsimile copies of the original serialised publication are not available. [Most of the facsimiles are hosted by either the Internet Archive or the Hathi Trust Digital Library, but some are hosted as part of smaller, more specific collections, such as - in the case of Cranford - Dickens Journals Online which provides online access to the journals/magazines edited by Charles Dickens);

the text, usually on Project Gutenberg (this is usually the volume-form text, so the exact content and chapter breaks and so on may be different than originally published in serial parts; the Reading Like A Victorian website will generally explain when this is the case);

audio recordings, usually volunteer recordings from Librivox (again, the recordings are usually based on the volume-form text, so the exact content and chapter breaks and so on may be slightly different than originally published in the serial parts).

So yeah, I just thought it was a cool website and worth sharing. I believe the website is already used as a resource by some University courses and for academic research, but it can also be used by book clubs and to aid personal reading, etc. I'm using it to inform a personal reading project for 2024-26 where I follow along with six or seven novels serialised in 1864-66.

To save a scroll to the top, here's the link to the RLV website again: Reading Like A Victorian (osu.edu)

[If you want to join an already-planned read-along based on the original serialisation schedule, @dickensdaily will be doing Charles Dickens's historical novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty from mid-February 2024 to late-November 2024, to follow along with the original weekly publication of the novel in Master Humphreys Clock from February 1841 to November 1841. I personally found Barnaby Rudge a really engaging, thought-provoking read, and I'm really looking forward to reading it again. (Anyone with particular triggers or other reasons to be wary of the content or language used in older books may find it helpful to look up content warnings for the book before making a decision to read it.)]

#reading like a victorian #victorian literature #victorian era #serial reading #serialisation #digital humanities #tumblr book club

[marzipanandminutiae]

did victorians look at the type of clothing that was fashionable during the regency-era and think that their grandma dressed kind of risqué when she was young?

sometimes, but it seems to me that they more often just thought it was ugly. or weird-looking in general

Thackeray, in illustrating his novel Vanity Fair, chose to completely nix the Regency styles in favor of his own contemporary 1840s attire. he wrote:

It was the author's intention, faithful to history, to depict all the characters of this tale in their proper costume, as they wore them at the commencement of this century. But when I remember the appearance of people in those days, and that an officer and lady were actually habited like this [a caricature of Regency fashion follows] I have not the heart to disfigure my heroes and heroines by costumes so hideous; and have, on the contrary, engaged a model of rank dressed according to the present fashion.

I also think of this satirical illustration from the 1850s (which is parodying contemporary styles as much as Regency, to be fair):

Text reads thus- "Arabella Maria. 'Only to think, Julia dear, that our Mothers wore such ridiculous fashions as these!' Both. 'Ha! ha! ha! ha!' "

you start to see some renewed appreciation for Regency looks around the turn of the 20th century, as in Kate Greenaway's illustrations:

or the ever-popular, satin-tastic paintings of Vittorio Reggianini:

Remember, guys- nobody had ever heard of long sleeves in 1800! Any extant examples thereof are Fake News! Also they all loved 1890s music hall soubrette hair- they told me themselves! (Ribbing aside, these paintings ARE iconic.)

and by the 1910s, moving well out of the Victorian era, similar styles almost seem to be creeping back into fashionable women's clothing:

(Evening gown c. 1910-14, Callot Soeurs. Met Museum collection.)

but yes, there definitely was a long period of Regency Disfavor going on before then!

#dress history #ask #anon #victorian #Regency

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The pipe draws wisdom from the lips of the philosopher, and shuts up the mouth of the foolish; it generates a style of conversation, contemplative, thoughtful, benevolent, and unaffected.

- William Makepeace Thackeray

#thackeray #william makepeace thackeray #quote #pipe smoking #someker #smoking #tobacco #wisdom #philosopher #conversation #leslie howard

[danjaley]

How I finished Gone with the Wind.

Another book-blog-post. I promise, this is just a phase. I'm so deep in my research at the moment, I can't do anything but write about books. Also I had to get this off my chest.

Gone with the Wind was my reading project this summer, following Tristram Shandy as the very long book I have on my phone and read when I wait somewhere.

My first attempt to read it took place when I was 16. I had just finished Désirée, the book that inspired me to become a historian, and my mother said, Gone with the Wind was a lot like it. I tackled it during a week at my grandparents'. First of all, I think I was too young to really understand it. Scarlet's feelings made zero sense to me and I completely missed that Rhett Butler was supposed to be the romantic hero of the story (I didn't get to the part where they marry). Every time he went away I fervently hoped the creepy guy was gone for good. Then the only German translation at the time dated from 1932 and added considerably to the racism in the book. Also it was considered good style at the time to translate names, which went as far as the city of "Neu York". Still, despite all this, I remember it as a compelling tale up to the point of Ashley's return. After that I didn't see any more where the author still wanted to go with the story, and there was an alarming number of pages left. I despaired when Scarlet married her sister's fiancee. That was around ten at night. I stumbled into my grandmother's kitchen on the edge of tears and said "This stupid book is going on and on and doesn't know where to stop and the heroine is a cold-hearted bitch." My grandmother, who was still up, said: "Oh, I know that book. It came out when I was a young girl. All my friends were going on about what Scarlet did and Scarlet said. When I finally got it from the library I had great expectations. But I discovered that this Scarlet didn't deserve the attention at all."

So I left Gone with the Wind unfinished until I discovered this year that a new German translation had been published. (I could have read it in English, but didn't feel like wasting energy on a book I hadn't enjoyed the first time.) I was really blown away. In a fluent and appropriate language, the characters became much more relatable, I could see the irony in many scenes, and I'd been informed of Rhett Butler's role through a movie-summary. I adored the love-triangle and I totally ship Scarlet and Melanie! But unfortunately the book just turns into a soap-opera after the first half. Sixteen-year-old me had been right after all. I still finished it, for the record. The second half had some good scenes too, but the general plot just didn't feel credible to me. It was a good thing that I had read Vanity Fair in the meantime. This clearly was an inspiration, with Melanie being modeled after Amelia, and Scarlett after Becky. There's a strong hint right at the beginning where Melanie says she thinks Thackeray cynical. I also realized that Désirée is inspired by Gone with the Wind, but avoiding a lot of its shortcomings, among them the soap-opera-turn.

So the good thing is, I read the right book to determine my future career.

#book blog intermission #nonsims #text post

[elder-dragon]

Lucilaeh | Knight of the Thorn

She/Her or strictly address as Commander

1325 birth year - Cycle of Dusk

Thief - Daredevil/Specter

“Dusk” timeline

The Commander of her timeline and my primary Commander, Luci is outwardly tough and takes her duty as general hero of the world very seriously—because it might as well just be her if she's come this far. A Thief since her time in the Dream, she's constantly using her shadow magic to dampen her own presence until it's needed. She picked up a stick sometime in HoT and became a weed whacker Daredevil. All the magic she'd absorbed turned into a mess together with the shadow magic after IBS and she ends up learning Specter-style shadow usage before EoD. Though she began as a Whispers agent, she can often be found perusing the Priory's collections of books in her free time or training saplings in the Grove.

She has a dawnbloom brother, Ben, whom she's very close to, with exclusive familial feelings between them. They did drift apart for a little bit during PS and HoT, but Ben officially joins Dragon's Watch in S4.

Has been kissing Logan Thackeray (and occasionally Rytlock) on a regular basis since the end of S4.

✿✿✿

Tags: Character / Inspiration

Fics:

Knight's Dawn - 2.3k words. Post-PoF & Kourna introspection.

it can only remain poisoned - 2.6k words. Post-What Lies Beneath. Lucilaeh ventures back into the depths late at night.

#beaarts #my character profiles #lucilaeh #WILL THIS WORK THIS TIME #augh i forgot some small stuff on her art #gonna temporarily go w/ these while i keep working on my char page

[i-mybrunettelady]

Just one mistake (is all it will take)

Summary: Smodur the Unflinching and Alysannyra Ainsaph have a difference of opinion. Renira wants to know more about it. Content warnings: Mentions and allusions to shooting. Spoilers: General spoilers for Icebrood Saga’s episode No Quarter. Title taken from Centuries by Fall out Boy. Also this is a long one.

It’s cold in Drizzlewood. Renira almost envies the charr, who have all the fur on their bodies to keep them warm; she has no such luxury so she has to rely on other means to preserve bodily warmth. It’s less than satisfactory sometimes, though. Sharp wind blows hair into her eyes, and she has to risk getting her fingers out of the hot press of her legs to nudge the thick, woolen coat tighter around her body. 

Yet today the Imperators have decided to convene and discuss strategy. As a Pact Commander, Renira has to attend. What gives her a little comfort is the fact that the rest of the humans find themselves in a similar predicament - Nyra’s pale cheeks are bright red from the cold, Kasmeer Meade sits stiffly on her chair and Logan Thackeray is the only one seemingly unfazed by the weather. Renira knows better, though. He’s shivering slightly as well. 

She settles more into her seat and her oversized coat. Words reach her ears, a diplomatic response from Crecia Stoneglow, and she wills herself to forget the fucking cold and focus on what’s being said. She doesn’t know if her superiors at the Order will require reports, but she needs all the things she can reasonably get to even work here.

“Wise information to remember,” Malice Swordshadow whispers in Renira’s ear. “It’s about troop numbers. One of my agents gave his report to Crecia two hours ago.” 

Renira feels her ears tingle hot under her hair. Her face betrays nothing. “They’ll be written down and given to us later as reports.” 

“Us spymasters need to help each other out when we can,” Malice says smoothly. “Your all-charr Whispers unit has given the Legions a lot of usable information, so I wanted to return the favor.” 

Renira smiles. That unit’s an idea she’s vaguely proud of, inspired by Laranthir’s Pale Reavers of the Maguuma campaign. “Much appreciated,” she replies. Malice certainly caught her drifting off for a minute, though, if the glint in her eye as she leans back is any indication. 

“That’s not going to work, Smodur!” Nyra’s voice booms, firm and unrelenting. Her face is tighter than usual, brows furrowed just that much more. “We’re lacking in proper manpower. If I’m seeing correctly, we’re lacking fifteen people for that little operation of yours. And how many people did you shoot last week?” The sound that leaves her is best described as an aborted breath of overflowing frustration. “Fift–” 

“They were defectors, Ainsaph, not just any soldiers!” Smodur says lazily, tapping a claw against the table. “I’m sure even young commanders understand that we don’t need traitors on our operations.”

Nyra breathes deeply. Renira’s eyes are trained on her, on the tension in her neck. She isn’t blinking, staring Smodur down like he isn’t around three and a half times her age and height. “Do not speak over me, Smodur,” she says. Her voice is colder than the sharp wind around them. “Do not interrupt me when I’m speaking and do not, for fuck’s everloving sake, patronize me.”

She then straightens her back and lifts her chin. “You shot fifteen people last week, Smodur. Reconsider not wasting manpower when we need every fucking head in this war!” 

“You’re not listening, Ainsaph. They turned their backs–” 

“Stop it, both of you!” Crecia yells and everyone almost cricks their neck to look at her. Smodur huffs and growls and Nyra’s eyes are harder than steel. Rytlock Brimstone, who’s been blessedly quiet next to her, leans down to grumble something into Nyra’s ear. “If you have any issues with each other, I’ll have to ask you to sort them out elsewhere. Here, we are a unified front and you’ll have to act like it.” 

“Nobody’s gonna hear us, Cre,” Rytlock says. “Especially not Ryland.” 

“He’s too busy doing other things,” Nyra adds, voice strained. “He’s not gonna pay attention to us here. Bangar won’t either. We’re certainly not louder than his ego. I should know. My ego’s as big as his.”

Renira shakes her head. Nyra’s statement would’ve been slightly amusing if it wasn’t for her stiff posture and the unblinking stare she keeps pointed at Smodur. She looks like a predator ready to strike, one bad word away from giving him a fist to the face, and Renira knows her well enough to say with certainty she would attack. 

She knows people like her. She’s sustained by ego, an idea of inherent self-importance that Renira’s seen in her since their first meeting back in Ebonhawke all those years ago. In another life, she may have been bitter about that fact, that Nyra could afford to have the sense of grandeur because of her high birth. To Renira, though, that’s a statement of fact. Alysannyra Ainsaph has brown hair and ego the size of Tyria and Elona combined. 

In no life, however, would she call that idea a delusion on Nyra's part. She knows what she’s capable of, she knows what she must do to satisfy it, she holds herself to impossibly high standards in achieving her goals. She wields it like a weapon and as a driving force. It is a source of power. 

It’s made her look a god in the eye, rise from the dead and pay him back double. 

Renira’s still a little hung up on rising from the dead, actually. Death’s always felt a little strange. Regardless of any of that, Nyra’s ego is a big, glowing spot in every room she’s in and Smodur’s just stepped on it carelessly, like he’s frolicking on a meadow. 

This is going to end in a murder attempt at some point. 

“We were talking about the new report on troop numbers,” Renira says conversationally. Kasmeer shoots her a grateful look. There’s a feather-light feel of magic and Nyra’s face loses all tension and remains as impassive as it usually is. 

“Yes,” she says, much calmer than a moment ago. “The new report on troop numbers. Crecia, the word is yours.” 

*** 

There’s meatloaf in her hands. A good meatloaf, all things considered - Tybalt would enjoy it, if that’s any indication of its quality. Renira’s always maintained that she has better tastes in food than her friend does, to which Tybalt’s first response would always be that not everyone can look at Queen Jennah’s feet when working. 

Renira likes shoes. It’s a weird luxury that Jennah can avoid them, but she’s not the one to judge such matters. In Drizzlewood, anyway, shoes are a must, as is strong, hearty food that can keep you fed for long watches and missions. 

She looks at the meat in her hands. The slice is big enough for both her and Nyra to share, a perfect opportunity to discuss whatever the fuck came to be in the Impretarors’ pavillion a few hours ago. 

She finds Nyra in her tent - a somewhat bigger than most, perks of being a commander on the field - seated on the bed. She’s rested her elbows on her knees and is rubbing her temples, hiding sighs of lingering frustration. Her hair, once in a tight braid, now falls messily over the furs on her shoulders. There are no torches, so the lingering source of light is the cool, icy shine from her crystalline weapon, Lightbringer, that she’s willed to form a lamp.

“I brought you food,” Renira says, certain Nyra’s heard her steps. 

“Soon, we’ll be fighting the Dominion with meatloafs,” Nyra replies. Renira bites down a chuckle. “I’m not complaining. It’s good meatloaf. Once we kick Bangar’s ass, though, I never want to see it again.” Ever the optimist, their Commander. 

“At least this one feeds you,” Renira shrugs. “I know many people who could not stand the bread they ate during the Zhaitan campaign.” 

“We don’t have a choice during a war,” Nyra lifts her head. Her eyes are muted and unreadable, yet her voice gives away the tiredness. “So they better get used to standing both the meatloaf and the bread. I’m a little hungry.”

Renia sits beside her on the bed and puts the plate between them. Nyra divides it and bites into her slice. “If you tell me we can’t choose allies either, I’m going to smack you.” 

“What you told Smodur–” 

“Was deserved. He needs to get called out more and if I need to be the one to do it, I will.” Nyra purses her lips. “I just don’t understand him. He’s wasteful. He doesn’t offer second chances. Nobody with a head for strategy will make them squad leaders or officers, or even leave them unsupervised, but he’s being.. Wasteful.” She lets out a long breath. “I said that already.” 

“So you support defectors, then?” Renira daintily bites into her own meal, licking her lips clean. It’s salty. “Traitors?” 

“Gods, no. We just disagree on what a defector is.” 

“Definition of a defector is very clear,” Renira says slowly. Without judgment. “Not all people are worth saving, Nyra.” 

Nyra frowns. Her lower lip pales with how harshly she’s biting into it. “I’m tired of losing people, Ren. They may be monsters and traitors and whatever else, but who’s to say we’re not, to them?” She kicks her foot. “War is ugly and unfair and brutal. They may have defected, but I don’t think they should have their personhood denied for it. We should be inspiring them to stay with us rather than scaring them into joining the other side!”

Other, rather than the enemy side. Renira would call them the enemy side, but Nyra’s always been the more sentimental one of the two. “So you agree with the shooting, as long as Smodur accepts them as people?”

“I don’t know,” Nyra says after a long pause. “I guess I’m just.. Upset about it. It distresses me, seeing prisoners and traitors killed. How do you look at that and still say you’re a good guy in the end?” Her eyes water slightly and she blinks it away. “He asked me to drop a bomb down a stuffed bunker. I chose to not say fuck you, no and did it anyway. I can say without a shadow of a doubt I am not a good guy. But guess what? Neither is he.” 

You’re better than most, Renira wants to say. She knows it won’t go anywhere. Nyra’s walls of guilt are too strong and impenetrable right now. 

“I’m afraid I’ll hear the rifles go off when I lay down, and think why I didn’t do anything,” Nyra continues. Her voice is wobbly. “I should’ve yelled, ordered, argued, anything, but instead, I just walked past like I’m some sort of powerless mouse and not…” She laughs bitterly and points at her chest. “Whatever the fuck I am right now.” 

“You couldn’t do anything,” Renira says gently and places a hand on Nyra’s. “They would have hurt you too.” 

“One of them asked for mercy,” Nyra whispers. “One was unrepentant, but the other asked for mercy. The rifles were louder than both.” She wipes her hand and rubs the tears off her cheeks. “I’ll remember the rifles when I go to sleep.” 

“Nyra–”

“Mercy, Renira, he asked for mercy and I didn’t do anything!” Nyra stands up and holds her hands near her face. They’re shaking. The burn marks on them are still harrowing to look at. 

Renira’s on her feet as well, towering over Nyra in what she hopes is a comforting shadow. “You may not have saved him,” she says softly, putting a steadying hand on her shoulder. Nyra’s cheeks are wet. “But you can save many more. I know it’s distressing, I know it’s overwhelming, but you shouldn’t try to save everyone at your own expense. He made a mistake and he paid for it.” She wraps an arm around her. Nyra digs her face in Renira’s neck. 

“He cried for mercy,” Nyra repeats. “He cried for mercy and was denied.” 

Charr Legions are not well known for their mercy. But that’s their business. Renira knows better than to questions as firmly established as the Legions, especially as their ally. Besides, it’s not like the Whispers’ conditioning is any different in that regard. But Nyra’s a different kind of beast altogether, half-way heroic, half-way self-serving. There’s no way she could fully understand. 

Renira doesn’t begrudge Smodur for doing this. But if she had to pick sides, she would immediately side with Nyra. 

“Then you make sure as few people as possible have to plead like this,” Renira says into Nyra’s hair. Nyra’s hands tenderly wrap around her waist. “Then you make sure the Legions are victorious. You, Crecia, Efram, Rytlock. Hell, even Logan and Kasmeer. You’re not alone, remember?” 

“I suppose I have to remember that,” Nyra whispers. There’s wetness on Renira’s neck. She presses a kiss to Nyra’s temple and doesn’t let go for a long time. 

The rifles do not go off that night. 

#gw2 #inspo birb has come to town #alysannyra #renira sulver #smodur the unflinching #crecia stoneglow #rytlock brimstone #malice swordshadow #guild wars 2 #gw2 fic #gw2 icebrood saga #icebrood saga spoilers #gw2 commander #shooting mention #i think this is it for organisational tags #oh boy #this was... a lot #but it needed out #if anyone finds any other triggers and stuff lmk and i'll edit the post #in the meantime enjoy the pain of being commander </3 #like no tags just.... oh boy

[impetuous-impulse]

Tagged by @cadmusfly.

Last Song: Napoleonically speaking, I read the last song I listened to (thanks to Victor Hugo). Le roi d'Yvetot is by Jean-Pierre de Béranger (1780-1857), a popular chansonnier. He was under Lucien Bonaparte's patronage for a bit. This song satirises Napoleon, and apparently Napoleon heard it one day and was like "haha funny". I found a record of it below.

There's also this recent version, which is clearer and more dynamic.

William Makepeace Thackeray made a translation of it, as seen here. Someone also posted the French text in the comments of the first song, so you can machine translate to get the literal meanings.

More generally, I've been on a nostalgia trip listening to older songs. Time-Forgotten One (時忘人) strikes me as apt for this blog, because the lyrics explore grief and survivor's guilt in a post-war context (with a twist at the end). Of his comrades, the singer muses:

Even though the long-drawn-out war has ended / where have they gone / have they gone to a land where no grass grows / and continued the fight there？/ I continue to wait for them

I remember fighting with comrade whom I could entrust my back to / Now I am the only one left on this street, where have the familiar faces gone？

Translations adapted from here (if you want to experience the story in its glory). The creator hinayukki also posted a remake recently.

Currently Watching: Two reality TV shows, which I need to catch up on.

Three ships: Any kind of ship, right? Not my favourite or anything? Okay. I define shipping by two people interacting with and reacting to each other intensely, whatever that may mean. The following are some I would actively promote.

Ney/Soult: From comrades and work friends to "bitter rivals" (and scholars continue their feud). I love a good friends to rivals/enemies to something else, and their historical relationship gives me so much material to work with. You can create something very historically-compliant and trace various narratives depending on what you focus on. Desaix/Saint-Cyr: Two giants who respected each other equally and were intimate friends (to the point of using "tu" with each other). Hot/cold foils (commented on contemporaries and later writers). There is also some tragedy in outliving one of your closest friends (of which you have so few), ascending to a higher rank than he did in life, while disliking the institution who bestowed the accolades upon you. Bernadotte/Brahe: This is just here for how codependent they were. Bedside counselling deep into the night? Brahe having a room of Bernadotte statues? Matching rings with braided hair? So much potential.

Honourable shout-out to Jourdan/Kléber as a thought experiment of the ephemeral variety (I think my bias for the Rhine armies is showing). I would also like to mention [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], but I suspect it would get me dragged through the mud by fans of Ney (as he is represented in popular tradition), haha.

Favourite Colour: Gold and green, currently.

Currently consuming: The last food I had was vegetable broth.

First ship: In the Napoleonic fandom, it would be NapJuno (because of the plausibility).

Relationship status: Complicated

Last Movie: The Holdovers (2023). A good alternate Christmas Hallmark movie.

Currently working on: 1) The Ney and Soult Get-Along T-Shirt AU, where Ney escapes arrest with Soult's help post-Waterloo. Here's a WIP of it choked with purple prose to prove it isn't dead:

2) A Lannes WIP. 3) A non-Napoleonic fic that I desperately need to finish so I can be more active on here again.

Tagging: Anyone who wants to do it—go ahead.

#tag game #meme #i welcome tag games #tag at the risk of: responses getting wordy #Youtube

[grandhotelabyss]

Advice/hard truths for writers?

The best piece of practical advice I know is a classic from Hemingway (qtd. here):

The most important thing I’ve learned about writing is never write too much at a time… Never pump yourself dry. Leave a little for the next day. The main thing is to know when to stop. Don’t wait till you’ve written yourself out. When you’re still going good and you come to an interesting place and you know what’s going to happen next, that’s the time to stop. Then leave it alone and don’t think about it; let your subconscious mind do the work.

Also, especially if you're young, you should read more than you write. If you're serious about writing, you'll want to write more than you read when you get old; you need, then, to lay the important books as your foundation early. I like this passage from Samuel R. Delany's "Some Advice for the Intermediate and Advanced Creative Writing Student" (collected in both Shorter Views and About Writing):

You need to read Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, and Zola; you need to read Austen, Thackeray, the Brontes, Dickens, George Eliot, and Hardy; you need to read Hawthorne, Melville, James, Woolf, Joyce, and Faulkner; you need to read Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Turgenev, Goncherov, Gogol, Bely, Khlebnikov, and Flaubert; you need to read Stephen Crane, Mark Twain, Edward Dahlberg, John Steinbeck, Jean Rhys, Glenway Wescott, John O'Hara, James Gould Cozzens, Angus Wilson, Patrick White, Alexander Trocchi, Iris Murdoch, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Powell, Vladimir Nabokov; you need to read Nella Larsen, Knut Hamsun, Edwin Demby, Saul Bellow, Lawrence Durrell, John Updike, John Barth, Philip Roth, Coleman Dowell, William Gaddis, William Gass, Marguerite Young, Thomas Pynchon, Paul West, Bertha Harris, Melvin Dixon, Daryll Pinckney, Darryl Ponicsan, and John Keene, Jr.; you need to read Thomas M. Disch, Joanna Russ, Richard Powers, Carroll Maso, Edmund White, Jayne Ann Phillips, Robert Gluck, and Julian Barnes—you need to read them and a whole lot more; you need to read them not so that you will know what they have written about, but so that you can begin to absorb some of the more ambitious models for what the novel can be.

Note: I haven't read every single writer on that list; there are even three I've literally never heard of; I can think of others I'd recommend in place of some he's cited; but still, his general point—that you need to read the major and minor classics—is correct.

The best piece of general advice I know, and not only about writing, comes from Dr. Johnson, The Rambler #63:

The traveller that resolutely follows a rough and winding path, will sooner reach the end of his journey, than he that is always changing his direction, and wastes the hours of day-light in looking for smoother ground and shorter passages.

I've known too many young writers over the years who sabotaged themselves by overthinking and therefore never finishing or sharing their projects; this stems, I assume, from a lack of self-trust or, more grandly, trust in the universe (the Muses, God, etc.). But what professors always tell Ph.D. students about dissertations is also true of novels, stories, poems, plays, comic books, screenplays, etc: There are only two kinds of dissertations—finished and unfinished. Relatedly, this is the age of online—an age when 20th-century institutions are collapsing, and 21st-century ones have not yet been invented. Unless you have serious connections in New York or Iowa, publish your work yourself and don't bother with the gatekeepers.

Other than the above, I find most writing advice useless because over-generalized or else stemming from arbitrary culture-specific or field-specific biases, e.g., Orwell's extremely English and extremely journalistic strictures, not necessarily germane to the non-English or non-journalistic writer. "Don't use adverbs," they always say. Why the hell shouldn't I? It's absurd. "Show, don't tell," they insist. Fine for the aforementioned Orwell and Hemingway, but irrelevant to Edith Wharton and Thomas Mann. Freytag's Pyramid? Spare me. Every new book is a leap in the dark. Your project may be singular; you may need to make your own map as your traverse the unexplored territory.

Hard truths? There's one. I know it's a hard truth because I hesitate even to type it. It will insult our faith in egalitarianism and the rewards of earnest labor. And yet, I suspect the hard truth is this: ineffables like inspiration and genius count for a lot. If they didn't, if application were all it took, then everybody would write works of genius all day long. But even the greatest geniuses usually only got the gift of one or two all-time great work. This doesn't have to be a counsel of despair, though: you can always try to place yourself wherever you think lightning is likeliest to strike. That's what I do, anyway. Good luck!

#creative writing #literature

[saberwitch]

a new mystery character has appeared!

I am mildly obsessed with the Victorian-era occult obsession and I could not shake the idea of a Human noblewoman entertaining her friends with seance parties and the like, all in good fun...until she actually started contacting spirits for real.

and then I thought: that's basically a Revenant lol

enter Ouija Planchette (yes I really named her that), a high society rich girl whose seances and mediumship gatherings were not to be missed. At least until she began manifesting actual spirits, and then no one wanted to attend any more.

:readmore:

distressed at this social disaster, Ouija went to her friend Lord Faren for help. Faren (who affectionately calls her 'Luigi'-- I know some of y'all will get that reference) steered her toward Countess Anise, mostly because he was moderately terrified of Ouija'a new "abilities", but at least partly because he hadn't the slightest clue who else to turn to for a sudden onset of hauntings

Anise was of course amused at first but quickly realized what an asset Ouija could be, and pulled her and Logan Thackeray into a clandestine meeting to talk about their options

Ouija, despite being a wealthy noble, was also a generally kind-hearted person, and while Anise's faintly malevolent smirk hinted at the nefarious things she had planned for Ouija, Logan's assurance that she could do some good and help some people swayed her to their cause

or rather, she became convinced that her destiny was now to be a vigilante in aid of the folks who were least able to help themselves (secret identity to be determined; she and Faren are workshopping ideas)

Logan was none too happy about this turn, but the ever more amused Anise convinced him to let it be for the moment. The Countess provided 'secret hideouts' where Ouija could be schooled in the art of combat and clandestine operations

Ouija, for her part, entered into all this with a hefty dose of naivete, but unbeknownst to Anise and Logan, two of the spirits Ouija contacted (Jalis and Shiro) started giving her a little training of their own, and warned her not to trust Anise

so in some respects Ouija is now living a triple life, and she is absolutely delighted

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #gw2 humans #gw2 characters #oc: ouija planchette #different tag for her to avoid confusion #with the 'evil board game thing' #you know #the luigi board

[zealoptics]

"Yurts, Powder, and Global Perspectives: A Jalpak Tash Journey through Kyrgyzstan's Snow-Covered Peaks"

By Sam Thackeray

My second trip to Kyrgyzstan began with an entirely new set of emotions from the previous. My excitement about the unknowns was replaced by excitement for the knowns. The chance to see friends again, both local Kyrgyz and fellow guides from other parts of the world. To be back at Jalpak Tash and living full time out of traditional yurts. And to ride some of my favorite lines, and the possibility of riding some which had eluded us last year. Mixed in was also apprehension. Not from the uncertainty, like before, but from the preconceived notions of what this season might, or might not hold for us.

Somehow, after only doing this once prior, it all seemed so familiar. The long journey to the other side of the world felt like returning to an old haunt. There was a certain type of freedom in knowing what to expect, but also knowing what I wanted from the trip. Such as a stop at the elaborate and seemingly out of place World Nomad Games Arena. Or knowing what to expect for food at the traditional roadside stop during the journey from Bishkek, the capital city, to Karakol, the Wild West town that serves as the jumping off point for all of our trips.

I find it an interesting experience to travel to a country which has served as a “mixing pot” for thousands of years. Over the millennia Kyrgyzstan has been ruled by Persians, Mongols, Chinese, and Russians. These various influences are readily apparent in locals’ appearance, the architecture and infrastructure, vehicles, food, and religious practices. I find myself wondering what the United States might look like after a few more centuries of mixing.

A long and somewhat disorienting day of travel finds us at the guest house in Karakol, run by one of the two local families we partner with to make these trips happen. Without their support and knowledge these trips would be astronomically more challenging. We eagerly repack our bags for the journey into the mountains and succumb to exhaustion.

Day 2 in country finds us loading several weeks’ worth of gear into the infamous UAZ, the soviet era 4-wheel drive van, part jeep, part Vanagon. Excitement builds as the 40 Tribes zone comes into view and we approach the tiny village at the base the mountains to reunite with Nurbek, our camp chef, and Kas, our hut keeper and tail guide. Big hugs are shared and our bags are quickly whisked away on horse-back for the 4-mile approach to our yurt Shangri La.

The next few days are spent putting the final touches on camp, breaking in the skin tracks that act as our major arteries to the peaks, digging pits to get a feel for the snow, and of course skiing and snowboarding. Because, after all, that is what we are here to do!

Our first group arrives with good weather, sunny days, and a strong thirst for powder! We are happy to share that, while still a shallow snowpack, we have more snow than last season. Which makes for some beautiful turns and manageable avalanche conditions, allowing us to head almost immediately into the alpine. As always, we are dealing with our self-described avalanche problem, facetlanches. Cold and relatively dry weather develops an unconsolidated snowpack, which makes Kyrgyzstan a classic ski destination, but also comes with its own challenges. The faceted snow does not adhere well to steep terrain and can often be triggered by a skier or rider, but luckily these avalanches tend to be small, predictable, and incredibly slow moving. Which allows us to confidently navigate the large, alpine terrain.

Full days of powder skiing are followed by sunny apres on the yurt platforms, a feast cooked up by Nurbek for dinner, and a game or two of Yahtzee, which generally involves a couple shots of Russian Vodka. By about 8 O’Clock, everyone is ready for bed and we sink into our comfy floor beds for a long night of yurt dreams.

Living in a yurt for a week, or three, is an intimate setting. Everyone becomes familiar with each other’s habits and quirks. And it also provides for a unique opportunity to share ideas with people from around the globe. No one ends up in a yurt, in the middle of nowhere, in Kyrgyzstan, to go skiing, by accident. Everyone has unique stories, backgrounds, and tales from previous world sojourns. Life stories that all lead us to this one place in time, together. This is one of my favorite aspects of these trips. This time around I am particularly interested in Kas, the local ski guide’s take on Russia, Ukraine, and Russian’s fleeing conscription to Kyrgyzstan. It’s a complicated affair, but he doesn’t really understand the refugee’s side. In short, there are over 1 Million Russians who have fled to Kyrgyzstan to avoid fighting in the war with Ukraine. I don’t know how many have fled to other countries globally. His view is if the million in Kyrgyzstan united and marched against the Kremlin, that would be enough to oust Putin and end the conflict. An interesting point for sure, and it leaves me wondering what I would do if I were in their position? Kas says “You can have a rich country and a powerful government, or you can have freedom”. The Kyrgyz are choosing freedom.

We begin to settle into a routine. Coffee at 7, breakfast at 8, off and touring by 9:30, no alpine starts at Jalpak Tash. The days begin to bleed together in a whirlwind of powder, Yahtzee, and Vodka. Several storms move through the region changing the snowpack and avalanche conditions and, on some days, obscuring the peaks. We are able to ride in the alpine most days, but other days we take shelter in the trees and enjoy a different side of the Tian Shan. Each week is capped with a massive bonfire overlooking the Issyk Kul Valley and the distant Kungoy Ala-Too Mountains, forming the border with Kazakhstan.

Each week brings something new. A new group of guests, new weather, new opportunities to ride different lines. The yurts are beautifully situated at tree line with access to multiple peaks and ridgelines, allowing one to always feel the power of these mountains. After several hours of skinning and boot packing one can reach the summit of, what by many standards are large mountains, only to gaze to the East and see peaks looming thousands of feet above. It is quite surreal and an indescribable beauty. And then we ski 2,000 feet of powder back down to the yurts. A euphoric experience all on its own.

Over the three weeks I was there I shared yurt time, meals, and turns with fellow Americans, Canadians, Kyrgyz, Brits, Scotts, French, Australians, Kiwis, and Mexicans; continuing to mix the pot of cultures and world views. During our tenure the mountains and weather allowed us to summit the peaks many times and we were able to ski some of the classic and crown lines of the zone. Other days the mountains left us wanting more and dreaming of the lines we weren’t able to ski.

And so, we wait for another year.

-Sam Thackeray

#exploremore #throughourlenses #zealoptics #weareallzeal #yurtlife #kyrgyzstan

[archesa]

have anwen and/or galaed for the ask game, if you’d like! :D (and hope you feel better soon! <3) @kerra-and-company

Thank you 🥰 It's already better than this morning but i'm not out of the woods yet 😅

Anwen, my beloved:

01. Full name: Vicountess Anwen Evergreen (if Snargle is to be believed, Faren would be a Duke... Anwen's bloodline is nowhere as prominent and influent as the Farens but her parents did bestow upon her a title – mostly honorific – to go with her estate in the Reach)

02. Best friend: Meryw 🌲💙 (though one could argue that Meryw is her sister and Canach is her best friend 😅)

03. Sexuality: Quarterly bi! (courtesy of @lilypixy) Demi but so slow to work out her attraction that she only gets half of that label 🤣 !

04. Favorite color : Sapphire blue

05. Relationship status: Taken (by Trahearne)

06. Ideal mate: clever, thoughtful, gentle, supportive... Trahearne.

07. Turn-ons: Neck kisses, being swept off her feet

08. Favorite food: Orrian truffle risotto, New Kaineng Noodles (the extra spicy ones), white chocolate and raspberry cake 🍰

09. Crushes: Sieran, Trahearne (insert 'not sure if' meme : not sure if bi, pan, or just really into sylvari)

10. Favorite music: Balade, sung poems and festive music (she particularly loves the bell choirs of Wintersday because the crystalline sounds remind her of Aurene)

11. Biggest fear: "That one day through my actions I'd condemn someone to suffer in agony." - Her worst fear comes true both with Apatia and Trahearne. In a broader sense, she's terrified of failing to protect her loved ones, of outliving them...

12. Biggest fantasy: The dragon cycle has ended, Aurene is happy and at peace, her friends and family are safe from all harm and she's living her life alongside with her loved ones. There's a library with more books, scrolls and tablets that could be read in a dozen lifetimes, and the more they read the more volumes appear. Running out of time is not something either of them has to worry about, though. There's a garden that needs tending, and a plum tree with a blanket underneath and fairy lights in it, and always a glass of wine or a cup of tea at hand. — a little sneak peek of their "after" 😌

13. Bad habits: Takes more than she can shoulder and hides it till she breaks ; inadvertently ghosts people because she has time blindness and picks up relationships where they left out

14. Biggest regret: Being unable to save Sieran and Blish... there were other deaths she wish she could go back in time and do things differently to avert, but none feel more unfair than these two..

15. Best kept secrets: A generous and totally anonymous donation she made to the Shining Blade, in hope to commute some of a certain sylvari's service time.

16. Last thought: as in... her last thought, or the last thought I had about her? For the latter I was wondering which Aurene legendary to give her before the new content drops... whether to finish Aurene's Insight – that I could use on a LOT of my characters – or finish the shield or get her the greatsword... I love her wielding Caladbolg and I don't want that to change but a branded Caladbolg would be... somewhat bittersweetly fitting. I don't really know how to explain 😅

17. Worst romantic experience: The amount of stress she was under when she realised she was in love with Trahearne, the fear of losing him and the dark relief she felt when the many deaths they encountered were, at least, not his.

18. Biggest insecurity: She wonders if she could have done more to protect Aurene from the crushing weight of her destiny... to buy her some time, some peace, some safety...

19. Weapon of choice: Greatsword and shield

20. Role Model: The people she loves have shaped her throughout her life and keep shaping her as she journeys forth. Violet and Conrad Faren, with their kind heart and sharp spirits ; the memory of her parents, a legacy she wanted to honour ; Logan Thackeray, with all the dumb courage and chaotic energy of a golden retriever; Sieran, for her unbridled joy in discovery and for being the first person Anwen could really infodump to without seeming to tire her; Meryw, for the constance of her heart, the brilliance of her mind and the valiance of her soul ; Trahearne, for his openness, his dedication and the brightness of his hope.

Both @dumb-dumb-mander and you requested some insight on Galaëd so I'll make an Autumn Birch centric post tomorrow and tag you both, if that's okay 🥰🍂 gonna hit the hay, now!

#archesa answers #thanks a lot for asking #i enjoyed answering these a lot! #anwen evergreen #I'm thinking a lot about her lately with new content dropping next week 🤩😍

[j4ydn]

The Usefulness of Social Media in Spreading Information on COVID-19

Public health refers to the study and practise of averting illness, extending life, and fostering well-being via planned initiatives and well-informed decisions made by public and private entities, communities, individual citizens, and organisations (Winslow, cited in Chin 2023). On the other hand, social media can be defined as an online venue for mass media communications where users may communicate and share messages, ideas, information, and other stuff (Britannica 2023). It can be said that both public health and social media complement each other in this day and age. That being said, is social media useful in spreading information on COVID-19?

At the height of the pandemic, social media platforms like Twitter/X, Facebook, and Instagram emerged as hubs for rapid and real-time updates and information on COVID-19. These sites gave users a place to share COVID-related information instantly. At the time, people were able to share and find information more rapidly because of social media's widespread use, and the same can be said when it comes to emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) like COVID-19 (Kothari, Walker & Burns 2022). In addition to tracking the spread of EIDs, social media was able to assist with the dissemination of preventative information and alerts (Houston et al., cited in Kothari, Walker & Burns 2022). Numerous studies have shown that social media not only helps spread information quickly and raise awareness, but that it also becomes more popular during these moments of distress when people are more likely to look for information (Taleb et al. 2021).

Besides that, social media allows for the authorities to connect with the people in regard to COVID-19. According to Gough et al. (cited in Reveilhac 2022), politicians and medical professionals, among others, are using social media more and more to share health information with the public. As an example, social media was utilised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to inform the public about health-related developments, as per Taleb et al. (2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, this tendency reached heights previously unheard of, in an attempt to increase the public’s confidence in scientific knowledge relating to COVID-19 (van Dijck & Alinejad, cited in Reveilhac 2022). Simultaneously, people became more dependent on social media to get news and information on COVID-19 (Nielsen et al., cited in Reveilhac 2022). As a result, social media platforms were crucial in facilitating communication between political authorities and the public (Rauchfleisch, Vogler & Eisenegger, cited in Reveilhac 2022).

Furthermore, social media is beneficial in amplifying COVID-19 information. Chou et al. and Thackeray et al. (cited in Syn 2021) state that the use of social media in health communication has grown in importance. Not only that, but social media is an effective tool for spreading health information and promoting healthcare, according to both social media users and medical professionals (Thackeray et al.; Jha et al., cited in Syn 2021). Moreover, as mentioned by Reveilhac (2022), social media is crucial in this aspect because they enable people to get pass conventional forms of 'gatekeepers' like newspapers and political parties in order to encourage others to take pre-emptive action and ensure that related policies are followed by the general public.

In conclusion, there is no denying that social media was crucial in the dissemination of knowledge and information on COVID-19. The emergence and growth of social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter/X in recent times, which happened to coincide with a number of health crises, including the H1N1 virus in 2009, and the Ebola virus in 2013 have demonstrated how effective they are to distribute vital medical information to large audiences during public emergencies, such as EIDs (Taleb et al. 2021). In a separate study by Chang, Pham & Ferrara (2023), it was suggested that celebrities’ usage of social media and its potential for dissemination through various fan interaction channels can be crucial in the public’s responses to public health emergencies such as COVID-19. For example, entertainment artists who are globally recognised possess considerable broadcasting power due to their highly targeted audiences, which span national and ethnic boundaries, political ideologies, and personal convictions (Chang, Pham & Ferrara 2023). Needless to say, social media platforms were essential during the turbulent period of the pandemic and will continue to be in health crises by offering real-time updates to engagement between the authorities and the masses, boosting public health messaging, and encouraging worldwide awareness.

#MDA20009 #Week7 #SocialMedia #Covid19 #Tumblr #StaySafe

[aibidil]

“Was the prize gained—the heaven of life—and the winner still doubtful and unsatisfied? As his hero and heroine pass the matrimonial barrier, the novelist generally drops the curtain, as if the drama were over then: the doubts and struggles of life ended: as if, once landed in the marriage country, all were green and pleasant there: and wife and husband had nothing to do but to link each other's arms together, and wander gently downwards towards old age in happy and perfect fruition.”

William Makepeace Thackeray, discussing one of my problems with romance novels in Vanity Fair (1848)

#william makepeace thackeray #vanity fair #romance novels #marriage

[dieletztepanzerhexe]

“Paintings of therianthropes, beings that combine human features with those of animals or birds, are a particularly interesting,and puzzling, feature of San art, as well as the art of groups in many other areas of the world.

The great majority of the therianthropes in San rock art portrays beings that combine antelope features and postures with those of humans although it is frequently difficult to identify the species of antelope. Those that are identifiable are usually eland, rhebuck or other small antelope. Often it appears that it is the category of antelope in general, rather than any specific species of antelope that is represented. Almost all therianthropes have animal, not human, heads and the archetypal therianthropeis a being on two legs with a human torso and limbs and an antelope head .

Therianthropes in San art have been interpreted by rock art researchers in a variety of ways. These include:

*hunters disguised as animals (Woodhouse 1966, 1967);

*people participating in rites involving the use of animal masks and/or costume (Woodhouse 1967, 1979; Lee & Woodhouse 1970; Pager 1975; Vinnicombe 1976; Thackeray 1984; Jolly 1986, 1995);

*trancing San shamans fused with particular animals of power with which they had a ritual relationship  (Lewis- Williams 1981 and other publications);

*spirit beings, including the spirits of the dead who have transformed into animals (Woodhouse1974; Pager 1975, 1994; Vinnicombe 1976; Solomon 1997, 1999, 2000)

*people of an Early Race associated with a primal time when no distinction existed between animals and people (Pager 1975, 1994; Woodhouse 1979; Solomon 1997, 1999, 2000). ”

from Therianthropes in San Rock Art by Pieter Jolly

#archaeology #anthropology #petroglyphs #shamanism #therianthropes #san people #rock painting #antelopes #transformation #zoomorphic #south africa #anthropomorphic #theriocephales #shaman #therianthrope #africa

[jabbers-wild-world]

Regarding the Thorngrave Family

Centuries ago, there was a young witch named Artur Thorngrave, and he was a young witch with a big dream. Though his family made a living as slitherbeast ranchers on the outskirts of the town that eventually came to be known as Latissa, Artur wanted a different life. And when he was eighteen, he left home to try to make a name for himself, as someone more than just his father’s son, more than just a slitherbeast rancher from the highlands. He tried everything, from construction to healing to abominations to illusions and more… but nothing worked.

Eventually Artur found himself in the place that would one day become Bonesborough, and it was there that he met Leona. It wasn’t long before first meetings became first dates and first dates became wedding bells. Artur shared his dreams with Leona from the start, and she was quickly his greatest partner in everything he tried, but while nothing really stayed for them, they passed the dream on to their children, who passed it onto theirs and who passed it to theirs on and on for a few generations until finally, they struck metaphorical gold.

And that came to them in the form of communing with the dead… and in particular, the deceased Titan upon whose bones they lived. The Thorngraves were gifted Oracles, and necromancers. Through their particular magic, they gave comfort to the grieving, offered last rites to the dying, and solved many mysteries and murders. And this talent persisted over another few generations until about three-hundred years ago, when it suddenly stopped with Artur’s ninth-generation great-grandson Morwell, and try as Morwell might, he couldn’t summon the dead nor speak to the Titan the way his ancestors had, and slowly, that part of the Thorngraves’ history faded away and was ultimately forgotten, as instead Morwell took up the trade of being a healer, and so did quite a few generations after him.

Over the years, the Thorngrave name has become very well known all across the Boiling Isles, whether for their reputation as healers, or as plant witches, or bardic witches, or.. what they are particularly known for as of the last century and a half, as fearsome beastkeepers. And that reputation is all thanks to Morwell’s fifth-generation great-grandson Thackeray, who earned the full recognition of the people when he tamed three massive wyverns and kept them as family pets and guardians of the Thorngrave family estate just outside of Bonesborough. And that is the reputation the Thorngraves have had since, as beastkeepers.

However, as of eleven years ago, the Thorngrave family has been wiped out, and everyone knows the story of how the family’s pet three-headed wyvern went on a rampage and set the house ablaze, burning the entire estate to the ground with everyone inside on the eve of the big family reunion. However.. what isn’t known to the public is that the death of the Thorngrave family.. and the fire that destroyed the estate.. was no accident. Everyone in the house was dead before the fire even started, and.. there is still one survivor of the once-prominent family. But he’s been laying low these last eleven years, and trying to avoid the same fate as the rest of his family.

[i-mybrunettelady]

1, 4 and 8 for El 😁

arsonson <3

4. Someone my muse likes, who doesn’t like them back quite as much

logan thackeray, in a way. el is still very much pro-trahearne marshal agenda, but he doesn't mind logan at all - it's not a terribly close relationship, to be sure, but it's a working one, esp because logan became marshal when el isn't as explosive as he'd been during the personal story. he also thinks logan is hot and likes looking at him.

on his end, though, logan doesn't like him quite as much. again, it's a working relationship, and logan respects el's expertise and knowledge and status, but he just doesn't really jive with him as a person even though el does remind him of nyra, who is a former protegée of his. but it's general knowledge that nyra is more likeable than el so

q1. Someone my muse met only briefly, but who impacted their life

aurene. el is a known elder dragon hater, and i think i may have written about their first meeting years ago, but prior to meeting her, el really felt like all the dragons were like mordremoth. so he approached her as such, and they had maybe one or two conversations total because he was never really comfortable around her. she did, however, change the way he views them - not as creatures that ought to be destroyed at all costs, but maybe as individuals on a wildly different timespan and with a wildly different worldview than him.

does he still dislike them? yes. does he still dislike aurene? no. but she did change the way he perceives them, and that's enough.

8. Someone my muse never met, but would have loved to

riannoc. see, el is a secondborn, but he awoke on the tail end of that year, and is one of the baby secondborn; as such, he was born after riannoc died, and heard all the stories about him, especially from trahearne (who was his necromancy mentor, after el's necromantic wyld hunt was revealed.)

now, this is where i explain my hcs as to hearne and riannoc's relationship. they were brothers, sure, in a sylvari way. but trahearne was also a little in love with riannoc, though i hesitate to say they were a couple - intense love, coupled with a certain level of being charmed by heroism and chivalry (which drew him initially to nyra, btw) were a potent mix he really didn't have the maturity to discern at such a young age. so the way trahearne would've spoken about riannoc did awaken a deep desire in el to meet him, though that never came to pass. only time he was ever able to see riannoc was in caladbolg visions.

(it also bears reminding that trahearne and el were in a romantic relationship themselves for a time. what that says about trahearne, i leave up to you.)

(it's also very interesting to me that el awoke with the notion of death from the get-go, but that he never really experienced the full effects of being left behind after someone's gone until trahearne dies. food for thought, el lore edition)

#gw2 #ask meme #elandrin aien #i forgor how deep his guy's lore is jesus #so many implications