#lane cromwell

[carewyncromwell]

"Hey, let's go! Hey, let's go!

I'm happy as can be!

Let's go walking, you and me...

Ready, set, come on, let's go!"

~"Hey Let's Go (English version)" from My Neighbor Totoro

x~x~x~x

🎉Happy New Year from the Cromwells!!🎉

My dear mum and I -- who just finished purchasing and moving into a new home together and are very happy with the new arrangement -- recently rewatched one of our old favorites, Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro (specifically the original Fox English dub, which I still have on VHS), and afterwards, I just had to draw some content for preteen!Jacob and wittle!Carewyn. (For more of these two's dynamic in this age range, you can read this drabble, if you want!) And with how very cold it's been the last few weeks, I figured these two and their mum Lane needed some warm winter clothes!!

So yes, this is Lane with Jacob newly age 11 and Carewyn age 2 1/2, the winter before Jacob received his Hogwarts letter. This would explain why Jacob's hair is so much shorter, Carewyn actually has enough hair to wear in pigtails, and all three of these dears have such well-fitting and matching clothes -- after family patriarch Evan Bach's departure, Jacob started growing his hair out once he started at Hogwarts, Carewyn had to cut her hair because the kids in her new school started pulling on the braid her mum would tie her hair into, and the Cromwell family's funds shrank considerably with Lane as sole breadwinner. Lane is also (as always) so unbelievably proud of her son and how good of a big brother he is, as well as so beyond happy seeing just how close Carewyn and Jacob are and how much they both clearly adore each other. It's so much easier for poor socially-anxious Lane to brave going out in public around other people when she can watch her wee bairns having such sweet, innocent fun. And it makes Carewyn and Jacob all the happier, being able to spend some quality time on a walk with their mother. 💜

Hope your New Year is going well! Much love! xoxo

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #my art #carewyn cromwell #lane cromwell #jacob cromwell #personal

[maleliddell]

🌟Winter Wonderland🌟

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

In the lane, snow is glistening

A beautiful sight

We're happy tonight

Walking in a winter wonderland~

Hii @carewyncromwell am your @hphmsecretsanta of this year 💖💕

I hope you like it, of all the options I chose the first one because I thought it was super sweet and cute 💖🌟

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #carewyn cromwell #jacob cromwell #lane cromwell #memeart #hphm secret santa 2022

[streetsofdublin]

ORIGINALLY MURDERING LANE AND NOW CROMWELL'S QUARTERS

It was previously known as Murdering Lane or The Murd'ring Lane, and first appeared on maps in 1603, until it was renamed 'Cromwell's Quarters' around 1892 when Alderman McSwiney called for the lane to be renamed in order to “preserve historical continuit

View On WordPress

#39 steps #40 steps #Alderman McSwiney #Bow Lane West #Cromwell&039;s Quarters #Fotonique #FX30 #historic dublin #Infomatique #litter #murdering land #pedestrian stepped alley #Sony #The Murd&039;ring #William Murphy

[gliklofhameln]

Menasseh ben Israel’s 1656 petition to Oliver Cromwell • The National Archives

In 1290, the Jews were expelled from England, and until 1656 there was no open Jewish presence in the country. Rabbi Menasseh ben Israel, a distinguished Amsterdam scholar, played an important role in the readmission of the Jews to England. In 1655, he came to England from Amsterdam to petition the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, to readmit Jews to the country.

Cromwell was favourable to the re-establishment of a Jewish community in England on both economic and religious grounds. After much debate, in 1656 Cromwell gave the Jews permission “to meet privately in their houses for prayer” and to lease a cemetery. In 1657, about 30 Sephardi families founded a synagogue in Creechurch Lane in the City of London.

#jumblr #judaism #menassesh ben israel #oliver cromwell #jewish history #uk #manuscripts #myposts

[stephensmithuk]

The Sussex Vampire

Originally published in 1924 and thus part of Case-book.

Old Jewry was home to a Jewish ghetto in London until the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 on the orders of Edward I; the edict prohibiting them would not be rescinded until 1655 during the rule of Oliver Cromwell.

Mincing Lane was a world centre for tea and spice trading in the late 19th century.

The giant rat of Sumatra appears in a bunch of extra-canon work. One particularly notable appearance is in the Doctor Who story "The Talons of Weng-Chiang", which features the Fourth Doctor wearing a deerstalker and also a bunch of ethnic stereotyping. The giant rat is famously unconvincing.

Lamberley is fictitious, but there is an Amberley in West Sussex. Horsham is 31 miles SSW of London and on a major railway line.

Three-quarter is an old term for centre-back and wing-back players in rugby; it is less used these days.

Holmes is notably highly sceptical about the supernatural. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the opposite.

The Queen of England who, legend at the time had it, saved her husband by sucking poison out of a wound, was Eleanor of Castille, wife of Edward I. There is no contemporary evidence she actually did this; the first account appearing in 1586.

A year at sea? This kid needs a mental hospital!

#letters from watson

[prettymvgic]

my muses ; this is temporary until i figure out how to make things mobile friendly !

FEMALES : poppy : age unknown, pixie, currently captive by a vampire - madelaine petsch. kiana murphy : 22, college student, waitress - samantha logan. kimberly vaughn : 24, 1990's - young!julia roberts. olivia harrington: 22, college student - grace van dien. robyn bailey : 29, model & influencer - laura harrier. sidney prescott : 17-22, scream 1-3 - neve campbell. samantha palmer : 18-23, hs student/college student - katherine langford. marianne parker : 55, ranger wife - diane lane. katherine foster : 42, conwoman - anne hathaway. andrea "annie" bennett : 41, inn owner & keeper, starting over - bethany joy lenz. mercedes hart: 27, influencer & industry plant, upcoming musical artist - ryan destiny. bristol harper : 35, online jewelry store owner, mother to two - hilary duff. evangelina constance : 48, owner of a cult - carla gugino. allison barnes : 38, former nurse now surviving the apocalypse - lauren cohen. lacey thomas : 18-20, college student - nicole wallace. seline castillo : 33, owner of flattop bar & grill, more info upon request - vanessa hudgens. cassandra foxx : better known in her world as ALASKA, 30, sugar baby/escort, more info upon request - vanessa hudgens. marzia vadala : 34, italian, jewelry store owner - phoebe tonkin. gianna ortiz : 34, spanish, receptionist for a corportation - ana de armas. mariana ruiz : 19-22, spanish, hs or college student - alexa demie. holland st. clair : 25, model trying to get her debut, trans-female - hunter schafer. angeline swanson : 23, pornstar - sabrina carpenter. first last : 40, prosecutor - kerry washington.

MALES : marshall "the judge" owens : 49, apocalyptic cult member - andrew lincoln. jude mitchell : 34, lives in an apartment in nyc, struggling artist - andrew garfield. david bascom : 26, 1950's, closeted homosexual - harry styles. casey theriot : 27, nomad. - tom holland. pak dae-hyun : 23, idol struggling with fame - junkook. patrick galloway : 29, blackballed actor starting over - nicholas galitzine. choi minho, 25, establishing actor, mostly indie films waiting for his break - kim jiwoong ( aki. ) hak su-jin : 31, book store / cafe manager in seoul - woo do-hwan. kai kahinu : 19, younger brother to zane, new zealand native, maori - matthew sato. wihan chen : 24, indie musician - first kanaphan puitrakul. ( tashi. ) felix maynard : 30, owner of tart & thyme restaurant, chef - will poulter. caskey dallas : 18-23, outcast, more info upon request - cole sprouse. robin sallow : 28, manager of off beat records, more info upon request - thomas doherty. jesse dylan : 18-30 ( 1985 - 1997 ), teen/convict, more info upon request - dacre montgomery. dean maddox : 22, college student, more info upon request - hero fiennes tiffin. simon parker : 29, lead singer & guitar player of killin' time, more info upon request - joe keery. maverick reed : 26, fisherman's son - rudy pankow. hwan van : 26, mechanic - cha eun-woo choi daehyun : 20, idol, au!fae - felix lee. trevor elliot : 24, college, indie musician, au!fame - felix mallard. kim hanuel : 26, ceo- yeo jin-goo. andrew baker : 19, homeless. - brandon flynn. casper cromwell : forever 20, ghostboy haunting a house. - louis patridge.

THEYS : zane kahinu, 22, older sibling to kai, new zealand native, maori - zoe terakes.

#prettymvgic #my muses #* & ooc : cici rambles

[scotianostra]

26th May 1652 saw the surrender of Dunnottar Castle, the last Royalist stronghold in eastern Scotland.

Dunnotar is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-east coast of Scotland, about two miles south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th to 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been an early fortress of the Dark Ages, it was certainly a stronghold by the 13th century.

The castle played a strategic role in the history of Scotland from the Middle Ages through to the Enlightenment, because of the location: it overlooked the shipping lanes to northern Scotland; and is situated on a narrow coastal terrace that controlled land access to the coastal south via Portlethen Moss to Aberdeen during the medieval period.

Dunnottar Castle was held  by one of the most powerful families in Scotland, the Earls Marischal, from the 14th century when Sir William Keith, the 1st Earl Marischal, built his Tower House, also known as the Keep.   The Earl Marischal was an office bestowed on the Keiths by James II. The role was one of the 3 great offices of State, along with the Constable and the Steward.  The Earl Marischal had specific responsibility for ceremonial events, the Honours of Scotland and for the safety of the King’s person within parliament. Consequently it was not unusual for the monarchy, including Mary Queen of Scots, to spend time and stay at Dunnottar

Charles Stewart was executed by Oliver Cromwell, the self-proclaimed Lord Protector. In 1650, his young son Charles II arrived in North East Scotland, and stayed a night in Dunnottar on his journey south to give battle for his fathers’  kingdom.

In England, on hearing of the young Kings arrival, Oliver Cromwell was so enraged that he ordered the invasion of Scotland. In some haste Charles II was crowned at Scone, but the “Honours of Scotland”, the crown and other regalia, could not be returned to Edinburgh Castle, as  by that timeCromwell’s Army had seized it.

Having already destroyed the English crown jewels, the Honours of Scotland were the most potent icon of monarchy, and as such were next on Cromwell’s list. Cromwell’s army was fast approaching, so Charles II ordered William the 7th Earl Marischal to take the Honours to Dunnottar and secure them there.

It was not long before Dunnottar was under siege, and a scratch, aged garrison of seventy men held out for eight months against the invading might of Cromwell’s army until heavy cannons arrived. Following 10 days of heavy fire, surrender was made. This was not however before the Honours of Scotland were smuggled out of the Castle and taken to Kinneff Church, where they were buried in the Church, which I posted about at the end of March about the incident in 1649

#scotland #scottish #history #oliver cromwell #siege

[missyourflight]

some stuff i read and watched in march:

daisy jones and the six: everything that wasn't daisy and billy being obsessed w each other was like, fine, daisy and billy being obsessed w each other was so good for me. sam claflin miscast probably but he's good at the Look!!

mae martin: SAP: i love them!!!! and i'm so excited for them on taskmaster, ep 1 was Delightful

shadow and bone (s2): CROW SHOW WHEN etc

all the beauty and the bloodshed: nan goldin 4eva, obviously i cried when david wojnarowicz turned up

rye lane: beautiful brightly coloured jewel of a romcom! feels like a musical without being a musical somehow, you should see it!!

saint omer: powerful and told with such restraint and empathy

god's creatures: emily watson paul mescal very good! honestly what's stayed with me is the sound design and this version of the wild rover which fucking goes so hard

diarmaid maccullouch, thomas cromwell: a life: finally finished this and it just made me want to plunge back into a wolf hall reread

rob delaney, a heart that works: strongly recommend listening to rob delaney tell this story about his son and love and loss and care, my heart

eleanor catton, birnam wood: i feel weirdly invested in catton ever since i wrote part of my MA thesis about her MA thesis (the rehearsal fucks!!), this was a fun and zippy, like, eco-thriller about how billionaires are the worst

carmen maria machado, in the dream house: a memoir: the structure of this is dizzyingly good, it's rough going but worth it

dorothy dunnett, the ringed castle: lymond 5/6!! had to take like a three month break in the middle of this because work was taking it out of me and i felt simply too stupid and tired to go on but ohhh my god. i'm at a place with these books now where i Know it's useless to try and like anticipate the twists and the turns bc dorothy is infinity times more clever than i am, but they pack such an emotional punch and the writing is!! wildly good!!! most evocative descriptions, so funny, bananas POV stuff... she can do it all

maggie millner, couplets: i had a false start with this at first because it was like, oh, it's like Couplets couplets, but when i picked it up again i tore through it and highlighted so many lines. more poems about fingering honestly!!

#sophposting #monthly media

[therogerclarkfanclub]

(Above: Roger during the rehearsals for A Man For All Seasons)

It's been a long time since Roger has done any theater work. If memory serves me right, the last play he did was A Midsummer Night's Dream (you can watch that on Tubi for free), which was back in 2014.

And for the first time since then, Roger will once again lend his amazing talents for the theatrical production of A Man For All Seasons, where he will take the role of King Henry VIII.

A Man For All Seasons will consist of the talents of:

Roger Clark* as King Henry VIII Edward Furs* as Sigñor Chapuys Thomas Michael Hammond* as Sir Thomas More Kevin Isola* as The Common Man Ty Lane* as William Roper Sean Mahan* as Cranmer Anthony Marble* as Duke of Norfolk Brianna Martinez as Margaret More Aaron McDaniel* as Richard Rich James McMenamin* as Thomas Cromwell Henry David Silberstein as Attendant to Chapuys Mary Stillwaggon Stewart* as Alice More Raphael Nash Thompson* as Cardinal Woolsey *Members of Actors' Equity association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

A Man For All Seasons will run from October 18 - November 5, 2023 at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

So if you are in, or plan to visit New Jersey or the surrounding area, don't forget to check our Roger's latest work!

Purchase your tickets in the link above.

#Roger Clark #Robert Bolt #A Man For All Seasons #Shakespeare #King Henry VIII #Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey #a midsummer night's dream #Paul Mullins #actors equity #Union of Professional actors and Stage Managers

[guerrerense]

Heading North por Peter Leigh Por Flickr: 70013 "Oliver Cromwell" powers through the woods near Kinchley Lane, Great Central Railway

[carewyncromwell]

"Little one, when you play, Don't you mind what they say -- Let those eyes sparkle and shine, Never a tear, baby of mine...

If they knew sweet little you, They'd end up loving you too... All those same people who scold you, What they'd give just for the right to hold you..."

~"Baby Mine (cover)" by Alison Krauss

x~x~x~x

original links for posters (1) and (2) on the wall // edited with help from Lunapic!

x~x~x~x

Hey, all! This is my entry for #ockiss24, organized by @ockissweek, depicting my OC, Lane Bach Cromwell, kissing her eight-year-old son Jacob goodnight! For those of you wondering where my girl Carewyn is, well, she IS in the picture, even if you can't see her...because this is set in 1972, the year Carewyn was born! (Lane's in her second trimester.)

But yeah, prior to Carewyn's birth, Jacob's life was...not great. From not getting on with his clean-cut, conventional Muggle father Evan to being completely alone and outcasted at school because of his "delinquent" outbursts (in truth evidence of very powerful underage magic), Jacob was a very unhappy child. Partly to vent his frustrations and resentments, Jacob would act out and disrespect or even flat-out ignore his teachers, which this year in particular almost resulted in him not being allowed to go on to year 4 of primary school. It was only his distinctly average grades at the time that kept that from happening, because no, boy genius Jacob was not having trouble with any of the material: he was just bored as all get-out and hated jumping through hoops for people who looked down their noses at him. Even so, the conference that Evan and Lane had with Jacob's principal -- in which the principal ripped into Evan for his and Lane's lack of discipline and even suggested at one point that Jacob could do with a year or two of military school to straighten him out -- resulted in Evan summoning Jacob down to the dining table for a "family meeting" that night that ended up way more heated than it should've.

Evan was very stern. He told Jacob that he and Lane did not want to have to send him to military school when he was more than smart enough to know better and respect his elders -- Jacob snapped back that his teachers didn't want respect from him: they just wanted him to sit down and shut up and be a mindless little bobble-head, just like all the other kids in class, so that they could keep acting like they were smarter than the toadies they taught. For someone like Evan -- whose father had been arrested and sentenced to life in prison when Evan was a very young boy -- Jacob's lack of respect toward authority figures was very troubling. Evan scolded Jacob that he would never amount to anything worthwhile if he didn't put in the work and behave himself, and even shamed Jacob, pointing out that he and Lane had more than enough to worry about with a new baby on the way without having to punish Jacob for things he knew he shouldn't do. Jacob lashed out in response.

"Oh yeah, right, 'the baby!' The baby, the baby, the baby! Can't forget about how many more hours at work you suddenly have to put in 'because of the baby!' As if that hasn't just been a lovely little excuse for you to not be around to deal with all the stupid stuff I get blamed for -- if you'd actually been around, then maybe you would've bloody realized that I'm already getting punished, all the time, for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG!"

From there, Evan and Jacob's tempers only flared further. Lane -- ever a pacifist and yet completely unequipped to deal with such explosive anger, thanks to her abusive childhood -- was unable to step between them or bring the temperature down...and so the fight only ended when Evan, his temper thoroughly spent, lost his head. Jacob yelled at Evan for never seeing him as anything but a troublemaker, and Evan responded in perhaps the worst possible way.

"BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE, JACOB! Every other day, I have to read a message from your teachers, or your principal -- even other parents about the trouble you get up to, and time and again, you refuse to take any responsibility for the trouble you cause! How is anyone ever going to see you as anything other than a shame and a burden, when all you ever do is cause everyone else trouble?!"

Jacob was so overwhelmed with pain and anger he couldn't properly express that he shoved his chair aside with enough force that the bottom of the legs actually somehow caught fire. Lane hurriedly rushed to put out the magical flames before Evan could pay them too much mind, but Jacob -- too emotional to even acknowledge that outburst of magic -- ran out of the dining room and upstairs to his bedroom, where he slammed the door shut with force.

Evan was regretful about what he'd said, after the fact. He didn't quite know how to broach the issue, since he still felt Jacob had done wrong and needed to own up to it before he gave their son a proper apology -- so Lane went upstairs to speak to Jacob herself, after calming Evan down and making sure she'd given Jacob enough time to cool off too. When Lane opened the door to Jacob's room, she found her poor son burying his face into his pillow, trying in vain to obscure the many messy tear tracks down his cheeks.

"Did I cause you trouble again, Mum?" was all he could mumble miserably through his pillow.

Her heart hurting, Lane brought a stool over so she could sit next to Jacob's bed. She sat near him for a while, letting Jacob vent and reassuring him multiple times that Evan was just upset: that she and he didn't just see Jacob as a burden or a troublemaker, that they loved him, and all they wanted was for him to be the amazing, talented, smart boy they knew he was. Lane wasn't sure how much Jacob believed this -- he had trouble meeting her eye, even as he changed into his pajamas and she tucked him into bed. It didn't take long for Lane to suss out why, after Jacob echoed Evan's words from earlier.

"I wasn't trying to cause trouble, Mum. Honest. I know you're not feeling well...I know you have to worry about the baby now, not me..."

It was hard to miss the miserable, faintly resentful tone to her son's words. Lane's eyes softened sadly.

"Jay...of course I'll have to worry about the baby...and yes, I might need to spend a lot of time with them, since they won't be able to clean, feed, or dress themselves yet. But just because I'll have to take care of your little brother or sister when they arrive does not mean I'll stop taking care of you. It doesn't mean I won't still be here for you, when you really need me..."

She brought a hand through Jacob's curly black-brown hair.

"Time might have limits, but love doesn't. I remember my friend Judy liked to say that love is renewable -- it's not a cake that has to get cut up into smaller pieces for more people to enjoy it. The more you love, the more love there is to go around. No matter how much I will love your baby brother or sister when they get here, it doesn't mean I will love you any less. You will always be my little Blue Jay. And I will always love you with all my heart."

Jacob wasn't even fully aware of it when he started crying again, but as his mother kissed him goodnight, he felt the tension relaxing in his shoulders. He laid back against his pillows, closing his eyes.

"...Mum?" he asked hesitantly after a moment.

"Yes, Jay?"

"Do you think the baby will like me?" he mumbled.

The doubt and uncertainty echoing through the question broke Lane's heart.

"They will love you," she said gently.

"Even if I'm nothing but a troublemaker?"

Lane frowned deeply. It truly did seem that those words of Evan's had hurt him far too deeply for Lane's reassurance alone to heal.

"You are not, have never been, and will never be 'nothing,' Jacob. ...I promise, one day, you will see what I see, when I look at you -- a smart, curious, creative, special boy...ready to take flight and take on the world. And when that day comes, I know the whole world will see it too."

Jacob's face seemed to soften a little bit, losing some of the creases in his features.

"...Thanks, Mum."

Lane's blue eyes softened as she turned off the wall light and gently closed the door to her son's room.

A few months later, Lane gave birth to Jacob's little sister, Carewyn. And true to Lane's words, the little baby she nicknamed "Winnie" loved Jacob dearly, and ended up being his first real friend in the world.

#ockiss24 #hphm #hogwarts mystery #lane cromwell #jacob cromwell #evan bach #carewyn cromwell #my art #my writing #fanfiction #art #yes jacob was and is a total trekkie XDD #I also put that beatles poster up because jacob's OTL band ABBA hasn't become popular yet hahaha #I loved giving jacob that lava lamp I imagine that his mum got him that because A) jacob wanted one but also B) it's red jacob's fav color!

[cromwellrex2]

The New Model Army Defiant: ‘What were the lords of England but William the Conqueror’s colonels or the barons but his majors?’

Cromwell and Fairfax Choose Sides

The Farmer Who Ruled England by Ron Embleton. Source: Look And Learn magazine #51 (5th January 1963).

BY THE SPRING of 1647, the split between the Presbyterian faction that dominated Parliament and the New Model Army had widened into a chasm. The Army was fundamentally opposed to Parliament’s intention to disband most of its units, save for an expeditionary force to be sent to Ireland, with its months of wage arrears unpaid and with no indemnity granted to soldiers for actions taken during the war. The Army was also suspicious at what it perceived as the marginalisation by the Presbyterians of its popular leading commanders, Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, and nervous at the apparent negotiations between Parliament and the King which they believed could see Charles re-established with full royal authority on his throne, with potentially dire consequences for those commoners who had raised arms against him. The Independents were therefore assuming more and more influence amongst the middle ranking officers and the ordinary soldiery, leading to an increased militancy, not just against a Parliamentary faction that the men believed sought to swindle them out of their due, but also against an aristocratic ruling order they saw being reimposed and which many had hoped the war had rid them of. This led to the soldiers to begin to elect so-called “Agitators” to represent their interests to Parliament. The Agitators were more akin to shop stewards than the term’s modern connotation of persuasive political radicals, and indeed one of the first actions of the new militancy was for the Army to go on strike in April 1647.

The strike manifested itself as a refusal to serve in Ireland without the soldiers’ back pay being met, legal indemnities for their actions during the fighting being issued and, significantly an insistence that the Irish expedition be led by Cromwell and Fairfax. The two commanders were in an invidious position: Fairfax remained Parliament’s commander-in-chief and Cromwell was a sitting MP. Both men privately sympathised with the strikers. Cromwell attempted to broker an agreement between Parliament and the Agitators, but the situation spiralled out of control when on 25th May, Parliament announced the disbanding of the New Model Army with the exception of the force to travel to Ireland. The Army’s response was to muster in Newmarket, a show of strength that took the Presbyterians aback who, apart from the Trained Bands in London, had no military forces of their own to deploy against what was beginning to look like an organised mutiny. The Agitators then issued their own demand that the eleven MPs who had signed the disbandment order should themselves be removed from the Commons.

This development led to Cromwell’s moment of truth. Instinctively, he was a social conservative, very wary of the radical elements of the Army, but equally he owed a debt of blood to the soldiery whom he had commanded, fought with and led to extraordinary victories. His ultimate decision was made easier by his enemies in Parliament who believed him to be, at best, tolerant of the radical Independents in the Army and at worst, their cynical manipulator. As the Presbyterians’ negotiations with Charles threatened to being Scottish troops back into England to take on the New Model Army, Cromwell resigned his Parliamentary seat and cast his lot in with the military. What followed was the most audacious move in an extraordinary career that would one day make Cromwell king of England in all but name. Following a shadowy and never proven meeting between Cromwell and his immediate officers over lunch at an inn in Drury Lane, on 2nd June, a relatively junior Agitator named George Joyce, a second lieutenant, or “Cornet” in the New Model Army cavalry, led a troop of 500 horse to Holdenby House.

Joyce was met with suspicion by the military force guarding the King at Holdenby and they refused his demands to release Charles into his custody. The enterprising Joyce then forced his way into the startled King’s bed chamber and insisted Charles accompany him to London. The King, sensing something was afoot, and having obtained assurances from Joyce he would not be harmed or compelled to do anything against his conscience, agreed. The Parliamentary guard, unwilling to take on a numerous force of New Model troopers stood down and Joyce took charge of the King. An intrigued, and quite possibly amused, Charles enquired by what authority Joyce was taking him into custody. Joyce, clearly discomfited by Charles’ persistence, obfuscated, and replied transferring the King to the care of the Army, was necessary to secure peace in the Kingdoms. When Charles continued, asking Joyce “by what commission you have” to take his action, the exasperated officer turned and indicated his mounted soldiers. “By this commission, sir,” he replied. The King acknowledged the new reality under which his realm was now ruled. “It is as fair a commission and as well written as I have seen a commission written in my life.” he allegedly remarked. On 7th June, Joyce handed Charles into the charge of Fairfax and Cromwell. The rebellious New Model Army not only now had the unequivocal support of its much loved wartime commanders, it had the King as well.

Cromwell, Fairfax and the King all now proceeded to Newmarket where the Army remained under arms. Cromwell encouraged the formation of an Army Council to, in effect, administer the rebellious force, independent of any form of Parliamentary control. Parliament quickly realised the seriousness of the situation it was faced with: failure to compromise could lead to its overthrow by the Army. They quickly conceded the Army Council’s demands : the disbandment order was rescinded, the hated eleven signatories resigned their seats and pay arrears were agreed to be met in full. Cromwell now found himself in the position of being able to seek a settlement to bring the civil war to a conclusion but mandated by neither King nor Parliament to do so. There followed a period of intense negotiation with Charles under which Cromwell and Henry Ireton were prepared to reject the Newcastle Propositions and the Solemn League and Covenant, restore Royal privilege and crush the radicals in the army in return for religious toleration, biennial Parliaments and an amnesty for the those who had fought for Parliament. The only significant concession the Independents asked of Charles was his agreement to end episcopacy. An unlikely partial Royalist victory was within Charles’ grasp if he could bring himself to agree to the generous terms, known as the Heads of Proposals, on offer.

At the same time as, crab like, a settlement of England’s constitutional crisis seemed at last possible, political opinion was hardening not only within the ranks of the New Model Army, but also within a series of disparate low church groups for whom “toleration” was simply the start. They were spear headed by a remarkable group of radical egalitarians known as “The Levellers”. These proto socialists rejected monarchical and aristocratic privilege; sought the break up of aristocratic-owned estates and their redistribution to yeoman farmers; wished Parliament to be the depository of popular as opposed to kingly sovereignty, and promoted sexual equality and the rights of women. The Levellers also believed in the intrinsic correctness of social equality under God, and advocated for commerce and small business at the expense of inherited wealth and land ownership. It is possible that the Levellers could have ultimately been dismissed as one of several short lived seventeenth century utopian and extreme religious groups such the Diggers, the Ranters, the Quakers and the Proclaimers, but, crucially, they possessed intellectual heft in the shape of their leaders, William Welwyn, Richard Overton and “Honest” John Lilburne, and a power base within the Army which could not be ignored. In the autumn of 1647, the Levellers were to be one of the most influential elements in a fascinating episode in England’s radical history: the so-callled Putney Debates.

#english civil war #british history #parliament #oliver cromwell #thomas fairfax #Charles I #the levellers #radical history

[jradventure]

Muse list

* if a character is listed more than once you will need to specify which version you’d like to interact with!

Humongous Entertainment  - Spy Fox  - Putt-Putt  - Pajama Sam  - Professor Quack Cartoon Network Kids next door  - Wallabee Beatles (numbuh 4)  - Kuki Sanban (numbuh 3)  - Chad Dickson (numbuh 274)  - Benedict Wigglestein (Father)  - The Delightful Children From Down The Lane Totally Spies  - Clover  - Jerry Lewis PowerPuff Girls  - Bubbles

Teen Titans  - Wally West (Kid Flash)  - Dick Grayson (Robin)  - Koriand'r (Starfire)

Fusion Fall  - Dexter

Young Justice  - Wally West (Kid Flash)  - Bart Allen (Impulse)  - Barry Allen (The Flash)  - Dick Grayson (Robin / Nightwing)  - Will Harper (former Speedy / Red Arrow)  - Crusher Crock (Sportsmaster)

Justice League Unlimited  - Wally West (The Flash)  - Greg Saunders (Vigilante)  - Vic Sage (The Question) - Skeets

Disney

Gooftroop / Goofy movie  - Robert “Bobby” Zimmeruski  - Max Goof  - Bradley Uppercrust III

Big Hero 6  - Tadashi Hamada

Halloween Town  - Dylan Cromwell

Cinderella  - Cinderella

Toy Story  - Barbie  - Ken

Peter Pan  - Peter Pan  - Tinkerbell

DuckTales / Toontown  - Llewellyn Duck  - Doctor Gyro Gearloose  - Scrooge Mc'duck

Disney Parks -Dreamfinder -Figment

Kideo TV

Rainbow Brite (i will not be doing any non crossover interactions with this fandom <3)  - Rainbow Brite  - Red Butler

DCAU  - Conner Kent (Superboy)  - Hal Jordan (Green Lantern)  - Barry Allen (The Flash)  - Oliver Queen (Green Arrow)  - Jay Garrick (The Flash)  - Thom Kallor (Star Boy)

Adult Swim

Venture Bros  - Dean Venture  - Cody Batson (Wonder Boy III) iykyk  - Dale Hale  - Lance Hale  - Rodney (Action Man)  - Gary Fisher ( Henchman 21)  - Jimmy Benson ( Henchman 24)

Barbie Cinematic Universe

Barbie FariyTopia trilogy  - Elina  - Azura  - Sunburst  - Lumina  - Amethyst

Princess and the Pauper  - Princess Anneliese

Barbie in the Nutcracker  - Clara Stahlbaum

Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse  - Ken  - Ryan  - Chelsea Roberts

Invincible - Rex Sloan

Marvel Comics - Clint Barton (Hawkeye) - Jack Hammer (Weasel)

Star Girl - Crusher Crock (Sports Master) - Charles Mcnider (Doctor Midnite) - Sylvester Pemberton (Star Man)

DC Comics - Jimmy Olsen - Bart Allen - Roy Harper

Peacemaker - Adrian Chase (Vigilante)

House MD - James Wilson

#mobile muse list

[streetsofdublin]

BOW LANE WEST FROM JAMES'S STREET TO BOW BRIDGE

Bow Lane West first appears on maps of Dublin with John Rocque's map of 1756. Neither Bow Lane West nor Bow Bridge appear on early maps of Dublin as they lay outside the city gates. In 1862, the area was predominately tenements.

View On WordPress

#bow bridge #Bow Lane West #Cromwell&039;s Quarters #Dublin #Fotonique #FX30 #Infomatique #Ireland #Murdering Lane #River Camac #Sont #southern side of St Patrick&039;s University Hospital #Streets Of Dublin #Tathony House #William Murphy

[bookclub4m]

Episode 160: Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies

This episode we’re talking about Biographical Fiction & Fictional Biographies! We talk about metafiction, superhero origins as cover songs, spaceship detectives, cat biographies, amendments to amendments, alien abductions, and more! 

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Nat Tate: An American Artist: 1928-1960 by William Boyd

Wikipedia

Maigret's Memoirs by Georges Simenon, translated by Howard Curtis

Matthew was wrong about how many books in this series came out in one month, but based on the French Wikipedia article four titles (including this one) were released in 1951.

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

Jack Sheppard (Wikipedia)

The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan and Peter Sís

Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf (Wikipedia)

Summertime by J.M. Coetzee

Other Media We Mentioned

Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries Series by Gyles Brandreth

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life by Philip José Farmer

What Is the What by Dave Eggers

Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (Wikipedia)

Blonde (2022 film) (Wikipedia)

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates

Smile (2022 film) (Wikipedia)

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

The Limits of Autobiography: Trauma, Testimony, Theory by Leigh Gilmore

The Sot-Weed Factor by John Barth

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (Wikipedia)

A Field Guide to the Aliens of Star Trek: The Next Generation by Joshua Chapman (zine series)

We can’t find a good link for the zines, but it’s been collected as a book

Interview with the Vampire (film) (Wikipedia)

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

The Big Lebowski (Wikipedia)

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Links, Articles, and Things

Episode 143 - Amish Romance

Episode 119 - Regence Romance

Episode 094 - Chick Lit Romance

Episode 070 - Erotic Romance

The 7 Best Library Podcasts 

Fictionalized biography (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Autofiction (Wikipedia)

Isekai (Wikipedia)

Oliver Cromwell (Wikipedia)

Epistolary novel (Wikipedia)

Episode 111 - Happy Birthday Dracula

Episode 128 - Plucky Kid Detective

Episode 136 - Hearts of Magic: Threads Entangled

List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources (Wikipedia)

List of Dewey Decimal classes (Wikipedia)

National Library of Medicine classification (Wikipedia)

Zaphod Beeblebrox (Wikipedia)

“Vell, Zaphod’s just zis guy, you know?”

False memory: Mandela Effect (Wikipedia)

17 Fictional Biographies books by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

Carolina Built by Kianna Alexander

Clotel: or, The President's Daughter by William Wells Brown

Pocahontas by Joseph Bruchac

American Woman by Susan Choi

The Black Rose by Tananarive Due

The Reason for Crows: A Story of Kateri Tekakwitha by Diane Glancy

Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea by Diane Glancy

Driving the King by Ravi Howard

Delayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee Koe

Leo Africanus by Amin Maalouf, translated by Peter Sluglett

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

Dancing in the Dark by Caryl Phillips

Douglass' Women by Jewell Parker Rhodes

I the Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos, translated by Helen Lane

Empress by Shan Sa

The Book of Salt by Monique Truong

Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Faladé

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Twitter or Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, October 18th for our SpoooooOOOoooky Halloween episode we’ll be talking about the concept of Hate Reads!

Then on Tuesday, November 1st we’ll be discussing the genre of Investigative Journalism!

#episodes #genres #fiction

[rogerblackwolf]

Audience at Dusk.

New Orleans, Louisiana.

August 15, 2011.

The quiet evening over the swamps of Louisiana were disturbed by the sound of a C-37 jet landing at a deserted airfield, rolling to a stop inside a hangar. Once the jet door was opened, a single person, a young man in his mid twenties with short blonde hair and wearing a dark blue blazer over his dress pants and shirt that complimented his slender build, stepped out and walked to an awaiting SUV. After hopping into the front passenger seat and sitting his shoulder bag on the floorboard between his legs, the young man looked at the driver who was waiting patiently. A man who looked in his late forties with dark brown hair and trimmed beard to match. One odd feature he possessed was his slightly pointed ears as well as his piercing gray eyes. He only wore a white short sleeved button up shirt tucked into his khaki pants, none of which did anything to hide his fit, muscular physique.

“Agent Ross, I assume?”, the young man asked.

“Yeah. And you're the detective from the Bureau.”, He answered with a slightly indiscernible accent.

“Uh yes, I’m Agent Lewis, Drew Lewis at your service.”, the young man said, extending his hand to Ross. Ross took the hand and shook it before holding him in place with a firm grip.

“That was a test and you failed.”, Ross said.

“I’m sorry?”, Drew responded with a questioning look.

“First lesson when dealing with vampires is to never let them know your true name. So from this moment forward, your name is Rook. Got it?”, Ross explained seriously.

“Understood, and Rook?”, Drew asked.

“Short for rookie.”, Ross clarified as he let go of Drew’s hand then put the SUV into gear and started driving. The dirt road jostled Drew and Ross and hindered any conversation at least until they finally turned down a two lane paved road.

“So, Agent Ross, I assume you know the reason that I am here?”, Drew asked, readjusting himself in his seat.

“Something about needing an escort to visit one of the local vampire covens and following up on a lead.”, Agent Ross responded, keeping his eye on the road.

“Yes um, in essence I assume you know of the Cromwell incident a few months back. The rogue vampire turned a whole town into ghouls and then said ghouls turned into a horde of zombies after the rogue was put down. Luckily we were able to handle it before it could get out of hand. That all aside, we still don’t know who or where the rogue vampire came from.”, Drew explained.

“Well I have an understanding with one of the covens in New Orleans, they may open up but I can’t guarantee that you will get all your answers. And didn’t you send several investigators to these covens before?”, Ross said.

“Well yes, but I am being sent out this time just to be sure their statements haven’t changed since the last investigator. And we also have a new lead. Would you give me a rundown of the covens here? The politics are always shifting after all. And I only had time to read one of the statements I was given.”, Drew asked.

“Hmm, alright. There’s a journal in the glovebox. Feel free to peruse it while we drive. In the meantime I’ll give the short version, the covens of New Orleans are on non-aggressive terms, but also on thin ice at the same time. At one point there were four but the fourth was wiped out by garouls about a year ago. So only three remain…”, Ross started but Drew interrupted him with a question.

“Garouls?”

“Garouls are werewolves. You may be more familiar with the term Rougarou, they’re the same thing, the Rougarous are just the ones that live here in America. Course the garouls are a separate kind of werewolf, at least to the ones we know of.”, Ross replied.

“Care to elaborate?”, Drew asked.

“In short, there are at least two varieties of werewolves that we know of extensively, the garouls and the fenris. The garouls are named from the old French term “garou” and their origins are magic in nature. They can transform at will no matter how long they have been a garoul and still retain their humanity. So much so in fact they can function with the fine motor skills and memory retention of a human but with a werewolf’s body, even hold conversations in their hybrid forms. The fenris on the other hand are werewolves that got their abilities, or curse, from the wolf Fenrir’s bloodline.”, Ross explained.

“I didn’t know Fenrir had a bloodline.”, Drew commented as he read through Ross’s journal.

“Fenrir is the son of a god, and he sowed quite a few oats before he was imprisoned. His bloodline may be powerful but those affected by it are cursed to go into an intense rage when they transform. A rage so strong that the wolf can overpower or even replace the human, making a feral werewolf. Some fenris have mellowed out through the generations but they are forces of nature that even we agents should be very cautious when fighting them. But let’s pray we don’t encounter any.”, Ross said.

“I see…I fear we’ve diverged from the topic at hand.”, Drew said with a nervous chuckle.

“Right, the covens. The three covens of New Orleans are the Sanguine Shroud, the Fang Lords, and the Erebos Sanctum. The fourth was known as the Invictus Amalgamatum, but like I said, they were wiped out by a pack known as the Creek Stalkers a year ago. Since then the garouls have occupied that territory, putting the other three covens on edge. However, the Creek Stalkers mainly have issues with the Fang Lords because their territories border each other. But perhaps you can remind me of the coven structure from my journal.”, Ross explained.

“Oh alright,”, Drew said before clearing his throat, reading directly from the journal, “The covens operate as a clan headed by the heads of the household who hold the title of Matriarch or Patriarch. They’re the leaders of their covens, sire to their undead brood, and also responsible for creating new vampires. But they are also servants to other vampires who hold greater positions of power.”

“Good. And can you give me an example, Rook?”, Ross asked, testing Drew’s knowledge.

“Hmm, if I am remembering correctly, the coven we are visiting is the coven of the Sanguine Shroud, whose coven head is a woman named Matriarch Giovanna. She, as I assume the other two coven heads, answers to the Regent of Louisiana, a male vampire named Prince Zayan, who is part of a vampiric council of regents who then answer to the Grand Elders of America. Our records show there are only two elders in America, but the Bureau thinks there could be others. Either here or abroad if memory serves.”, Drew replied.

“You learn quickly, Rook.”, Ross added with a light chuckle.

“What about rogue vampires? Where do they fall?”, Drew asked.

“Rogues fall under the clanless variety, they’re vampires who broke away from their covens to either be lone pariahs or join gangs of other vampires that do things their way, which makes them dangerous. They tend to follow the oldest among their number but their hierarchy is always changing.”, Ross explained.

“Oh, I see. Knowing that I am a little more concerned about the interview with the rogue vamps at the field office.”, Drew chuckled nervously.

“I wouldn’t, rogues are predictable especially when they’re angry. But be especially on guard when meeting with anyone from any of the covens. They like getting you at ease with their calm demeanor then wrestle you to the ground to sink their fangs into you. But I’ll be around, so you should be fine.”, Ross said.

Drew felt less at ease than before but tried to mask it. His attention suddenly shifted to the bright lights of the city of New Orleans. As the car drove through the city, Drew took in the sights as they passed through the French Quarter to the residential districts. More specifically the Garden District, home to the rich and famous of New Orleans. Sandra Bullock apparently owned a mansion in this district. Drew perked up at the prospect of meeting one of his favorite actresses, unfortunately Ross told him they had no time.

“Damn…really wanted an autograph.”, Drew thought as the SUV came to a stop, parking in front of a gated mansion.

Drew exited the SUV, putting the bag strap over his shoulder, as Ross opened the back and looked like he was searching for something. The mansion was painted white and modeled in a gothic style, even down to the tower on one of the corners. Ross tapped Drew on his shoulder suddenly, handing him a pistol in a holster that clipped to the belt.

“You did get cleared for a pistol right?”, he asked.

“Of course. Just haven’t been to the range in a while.”, Drew responded.

“Then let’s hope we don’t have to use them.”, Ross said, doing a quick check of his weapon.

Drew did the same, clipping the holster to his belt before removing the pistol, a Glock 20 in 10mm according to the slide. He dropped the magazine, checking the capacity and weight in one hand before sliding it back into the pistol. He then pulled the slide back, chambering one of the 10mm rounds. Drew then holstered his weapon and concealed it with his blazer. Ross however seemed to favor a shoulder holster as he tucked his own Glock 20 under his left armpit.

Ross then went to the intercom on the side of the outside gate, buzzing whoever was on gate duty that night.

“Who is it?”, a male voice asked from the intercom.

“Agent Ross and guest here to see the matriarch.”

“Just a moment.”, the voice crackled before the gate started automatically swinging open. Ross pressed the lock button on his key fob, locking the SUV, before he led the way inside with Drew right behind him. The duo walked up the walkway to the front door as the gate closed, not a moment later did the front door open. In the doorway stood an older gentleman who looked in his mid fifties and wore a fitted tuxedo.

“Good evening Agent Ross and guest, come in please.”, he said, inviting them inside the foyer. Once they were inside, the gentleman closed the door then stepped in front of the two men.

“First introductions, I am Angelo the majordomo and head thrall to the Matriarch. I already know you Mr. Ross but if I may have your name sir, so I may introduce you.”, Angelo asked politely.

Thralls were simply the human servants of vampires. Unlike ghouls that were humans resurrected with vampiric magic, thralls were humans that were enthralled through the consumption of vampire blood. The small amounts of blood gifted a modicum of the vampire’s abilities to their thralls, while at the same time enslaved them to the vampire’s will. Because of the potency of vampire blood, it is highly addicting and the thralls are placated through hypnosis to keep them in check. The longer a thrall is under the control of a vampire, their free will is further suppressed until it is no longer present, and given his position, Angelo likely has lost his humanity and free will a long time ago.

“You may refer to me as Mr. Rook if you don’t mind.”, Drew replied finally, glancing at Ross who nodded in response.

“As you wish sir. The Matriarch is expecting you both. This way please.”, Angelo said, gesturing for the two men to follow him.

Angelo guided them down the long hallway where the trio passed baroque style paintings of humans with long fangs slaying humans withs all manner of weapons. Gruesome scenes of blood and bodies that were bizarre yet intriguing. The hallway also had a crimson and pinkish color palette as did most of the other rooms they passed by. There were no other servants that could be seen which kind of unnerved Drew. If Angelo is the majordomo, then where were the other servants? Finally, Angelo came to a pair of double doors, opening them widely with enough force they slowly stopped just short of the wall. Angelo then stepped into the room and announced the two visitors.

“Milady, allow me to present Mr. Ross and Mr. Rook, the agents from the Bureau.”, Angelo said, stepping to the side so Ross and Drew could walk inside.

The room was a large sitting room with a single light reflecting off the crimson paint of the walls and furniture, bathing the room in a low bloody hue. The room was occupied by three individuals, two men and one woman. One of the men was in a suit with a red blazer and dress pants. He looked young, maybe in his early thirties, with unblemished white skin and dark black hair that hung past his shoulders. He was standing off to the side and currently glaring holes at Drew and Ross. The second man was sitting in a chair off to the side. He was balding with his grayish hair slicked back and a trimmed gray mustache that stopped at the corners of his mouth. He was dressed similarly to the younger man with the exception of a white coat, like what a doctor would wear with the addition of red pants and shoes. The older man smirked at the two agents showing off his long fangs, almost delighted at their presence.

“Thank you, Angelo. That will be all.”, The woman said, her back to everyone in the room. Angelo bowed respectfully before turning to leave, closing both doors as he left.

The woman was dressed in a Victorian style evening dress that was dark red in color with highlights of black. Her dark hair was done up in a bun, held in place with an ornate hairpin, exposing her neck and shoulders as well as the lacings of her corset. The woman turned around revealing a beautiful face that looked no older than fifty but given vampiric lifespans she’d most likely be far older. Her dark eyes looked at the two agents before giving a wide smile, her long fangs on full display behind blood red lips.

“Ah, Agent Ross, always a pleasure when you visit. And you have brought along someone new, how very nice.”, She greeted with a voice like honey.

Ross simply nodded in greeting while Drew slightly bowed before he spoke, “Matriarch Giovanna, I presume?”

“Yes, Mr. Rook, I am Giovanna Pissari, the Matriarch of the Sanguine Shroud. Welcome to my home.”, Giovanna said, extending her hand to Drew, her half-inch long claws extended from her nails. As Drew was about to take it, the younger vampire swiftly rushed to Giovanna’s side.

“My Lady!”, he shouted, “My lady I must protest against this action. It is a breach of conduct for one such as yourself to touch a lowly simian in such a familiar manner.”, he didn’t have another chance to speak as Giovanna backhanded the vampire, her claws slashing across his face. Drew took a step back as the air of calm suddenly took a dark turn.

“I will not be embarrassed in front of our guests.”, Giovanna hissed as the vampire kneeled before her. The two deep gashes on his cheek closing instantly as blood still stained his unblemished cheek.

“My deepest apologies Matriarch, it is only my concern for your safety that I acted so. I can overlook the presence of the half-blooded but this new human is a breach I struggle to...”, The vampire apologized, pausing as Giovanna’s hand, still slick with his blood, lifted his chin so he could look up at her.

The smile returned as she spoke to him, “My dear Antony, that is why you are my praetorian. Who else would guard me so fiercely?”

Drew noticed the tension was subsiding but looked at Ross, who took a breath simultaneously releasing the grip of his pistol. It was no secret that the Bureau had sought help from supernatural creatures in the past. It was only within the last couple of centuries that the Bureau had started recruiting supernaturals into the agency. Agent Ross, whose true name is redacted due to security purposes, according to his file is a dhampir, the hybrid offspring of a human and a vampire. All the strengths of a vampire and none of their weaknesses, at least on paper. Drew stirred from his thoughts and quickly tried to start on the right foot again.

“I’m sorry if this meeting has caused some friction between you and your brood, Matriarch. I assure you, we are only here to ask some questions. Once we have done that we will be out of your hair.”, Drew explained.

“Yes, please let us get on with this meeting. Our latest fledglings are in need of my full attention.”, The older vampire in the chair finally spoke up.

“But first introductions, we wouldn’t want to be rude to our newest guest.”, Giovanna responded, turning back to Ross and Drew, “Mr. Rook, this is my Praetorian Antony. Aside from protecting me, he is also my head of security of the coven and as you can see, he takes it very seriously. And this is the keeper of my brood, Lorenzo Carmine, he is in charge of making sure my fledglings reach maturity.”, Giovanna introduced.

“It’s good to meet you both. Now, to not take up any of your time, shall we?”, Drew asked.

“Yes, please take a seat.”, Giovanna answered, gesturing to the red cloth couch. Once everyone was seated and settled, Drew put his bag on the floor, leaning it against his leg before he took out his smartphone and unlocked it before opening a recording app.

“This conversation will be recorded, I hope that won’t be an issue.”, Drew mentioned as he prepared to press the record button.

“Not a problem, we have come to expect this from the last agent who interviewed us. Although he had a larger recording device with a microphone and everything. Do you have all that in that small handheld device?”, Giovanna questioned as she spied the smartphone with curiosity.

“Yes, I just bought it some time ago. It still surprises me how much these little things are capable of.”, Drew chuckled before pressing the record button on his phone.

“So just for introductory reasons, I am Agent Rook, accompanied by Agent Ross, and I will be leading this interview. We are currently in the Sanguine Shroud coven in the presence of Matriarch Giovanna Pissari and two of her brood. It is August 15th, 2011 and the time is 10:38pm, can you confirm that for me, milady?”, Drew asked Giovanna.

“On the dot, Sir Agent.”, Giovanna giggled, a little flattered.

“Thank you milady, now to get this started…I believe you are aware of the event that took place in New Mexico on the 21st to the 22nd of May, in which a rogue vampire attacked a isolationist cult camp, turned them into ghouls, then quickly turned them loose on the town of Cromwell.”, Drew explained.

“Yes, the previous investigator disclosed as much. He also asked us if we knew this rogue, which I assured him we did not. He most certainly wasn’t one of my brood.”, Giovanna said.

“Yes, I have the transcribed report right here.”, Drew said, glancing down at the bag against his leg before continuing, “However, there has been a development.”

“A development?”, Lorenzo asked, his position shifting from a laid back to a forward hunched over position.

Antony simultaneously balled his fists in his lap as Giovanna’s hands seemed to fidget slightly. Everyone was a mix of nervous and on the brink of some sort of action, Drew then reached slowly into his bag to retrieve a manila folder. He carefully opened it and pulled out some papers and photographs.

“Now, as you may know, we use pheromone tracking technology to track every vampire in the US. Whenever a Matriarch or Patriarch create a new vampire they share their blood and pheromones. The rogue vampire who we now know through DNA testing was named Jeff Peterson, and that his pheromone trail came here multiple times. There’s even a picture of him leaving your coven.”, Drew explained, showing them the picture to emphasize.

Lorenzo glanced at Antony who met his gaze as Giovanna cursed under her breath.

“Would you care to explain why you lied to the Bureau? Twice now, including the statement you said moments ago.”, Drew asked.

Antony rose from his seat but before he could hiss a word, Giovanna raised her hand halting him where he stood.

“Yes…we may have withheld some information that we thought we could handle in secret. Clearly we weren’t careful enough.”, Giovanna responded leaning forward.

“Could you elaborate please?”, Drew asked.

“Mr. Peterson is not part of mine, but he is connected to one of my brood. One of my fledglings, Marie, saw Mr. Peterson on one of her outings with the other fledglings and performed a blood binding without my knowledge. When we found out she was reprimanded, but Mr. Peterson was a persistent pest.”, Giovanna responded, before turning to Lorenzo.

“A blood binding is exactly what it sounds like, it binds a person in servitude to the vampire who shared their blood. It also gives a semblance of our power, like enhanced senses and physical strength but like any drug it has drawbacks. When our mistress reprimanded Marie, she was in solitary confinement during which Mr. Peterson went through severe withdrawals. He killed two tourists before we were able to get him contained.” Lorenzo explained.

“Yes, I’m aware of that incident. Our initial thoughts were that it was one of the Fang Lords fledglings. It certainly explains why they were so enthused about it.” Drew said.

“Ugh, don’t get us started on those needleteeth.” Antony hissed.

“Needleteeth?” Drew chuckled.

“It is a derogatory term for a vampire so new that their teeth have not hardened. You know because needles need to be replaced after every use. It is also used in the subtext of being brittle, thin-skinned, and impotence apparently. These new covens have so many modern additions with no respect for their elders or traditions.” Lorenzo explained.

“Oh, I see. Anyway, if we can return to the subject at hand. I believe you were about to tell us what happened after you had captured Mr. Peterson.” Drew reminded Lorenzo.

“Yes, we brought Mr. Peterson into our coven in order to break his binding. Unlike when you make a new fledgling in which the person dies from being drained of their blood then revived by drinking the blood of the coven head; a blood binding can be broken if the bound person is deprived of blood however if they continue to drink blood they will turn into a mockery of our kind, a lesser form if you will. Deformed, driven only by the thirst to feed, no longer the human they once were. We believed we were making progress, as it is a lengthy process, but we were fooled. Marie had been giving Mr. Peterson small amounts of blood to mask his withdrawal symptoms, making us believe he was getting better. When we believed he was cured, we let him go.” Lorenzo said.

“It almost sounds like a bad love story.” Drew commented.

“That’s exactly what she thought it was. Poor girl found a handsome devil and became a lovesick imbecile. It was only later when Antony found Marie sneaking out to meet Mr. Peterson. This was far beyond a breach of conduct for a fledgling of my coven. I warned her that there would be severe consequences to her actions if she continued…but she did anyway. In the course of a year she threw away her immortality for a thrall.” Giovanna spoke up.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to interview Marie.” Drew said, though he noticed the trio of vampires having a mix of reactions. Giovanna sighed while Antony looked down then away as Lorenzo rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Unfortunately Mr. Rook, Marie is dead. Not only because of her insolence and repeated disregard for tradition, she also stole a tome from my library on vampiric rituals and magics. For these acts she was condemned to die in the sun. A barbaric practice but an effective deterrent.” Giovanna said.

“If you say so.” Drew replied in a tone of indifference, but under his professionality, he was a little horrified.

“I have an inkling of what you might be thinking, Mr. Rook. That our customs are strange to you, but everything we do is to ensure our own continued existence. At one point, humans had hunted us to near extinction. But thanks to the people like your Bureau, we are allowed to exist.” Giovanna said, her motherly tone attempting to calm the slight tension in the room.

“The Bureau protects you because so far you have shown your willingness to coexist. You are allowed to feed on people to sustain yourselves but you also understand that if any of you step out of line, your lives are forfeit. Or should I say your un-lives.” Agent Ross spoke up finally as he had sat in silence next to Drew. Just the mere mention of the vampire treatises seemed to stoke the coals of the fire that was cooling and it showed when Antony glared at Ross who locked his eyes with Antony’s.

“I think we have once again diverged from the subject but rest assured we are nearly done. Just a few more questions then we will leave you to the rest of your evening.” Drew assured the trio of vampires.

“Of that I am thankful for, my brood should be returning from their outing pretty soon. And some of the younger ones have a penchant to be…distrustful of strangers.” Giovanna said, a hint of relief in her warning.

“So, what happened the day Marie died? Did Mr. Peterson return?” Drew asked.

“Yes, he returned in the daytime, Angelo along with some of the other thralls met him at the gate but didn't let him onto the grounds. Angelo later informed us that he told Mr. Peterson about Marie and became rather…irate. So much in fact that Angelo ordered a few of our thralls to forcefully escort him away from the grounds. Although for our own piece of mind I ordered a hunt to ensure Mr. Peterson left New Orleans.” Giovanna said.

“I see, I’ll need to ask Angelo if he can confirm that, not that I am doubting you but can’t be too careful.” Drew said.

“Of course, Mr. Rook.” Giovanna added.

The interview consisted of some more minor questions. Angelo was summoned and corroborated Giovanna’s story about Jeff Peterson’s daytime visit and his forced removal from the grounds. Angelo was also considerate enough to provide surveillance of the incident. Drew also asked why Jeff Peterson would go to New Mexico instead of sticking around in Louisiana since he did live here. As it turned out, he may have lived in Louisiana but he originally was from New Mexico. And since he was being hunted by the Sanguine Shroud, it made sense that Jeff Peterson simply returned to where he felt safe. Once he was back home he made plans to most likely come back with a vengeance for his love. Sometimes things were just that simple, although destroying a town and starting a zombie apocalypse may have been overkill at least in Drew’s opinion.

“Alright, I think that covers just about everything. That should conclude this interview.” Drew said, turning his recording app off before adding, “Thank you so much for your cooperation, I’ll be sure to inform you if there is anything else that comes up.”

“Thank you for being an absolute dear. You were very well mannered and understanding. I’ll be sure to inform your Bureau of your superb work.” Giovanna responded.

“I am only doing my job milady, professionalism is a must in this line of work.” Drew said, chuckling a bit as Giovanna giggled.

“Of course, of course. Anywho I’m sure you would like to leave. Angelo, please escort our guests out.” Giovanna called.

Angelo bowed before waiting by the double doors for Ross and Rook as they thanked Giovanna for her hospitality. Once they were outside, Drew made one more glance back at the house noticing Giovanna in one of the windows. Ross started the SUV before Drew got in, waited til he buckled his seatbelt then put the SUV into gear. Both men were silent during the drive but even though their questions had been answered, one thing still bothered Drew. Giovanna and her two subordinates were forthcoming with their information, were they entirely truthful or were they still deceiving them? If it is a vampire’s nature to lie to ensure their own survival, could they be trusted to tell the whole truth?

#BSRC Story #16