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themouseavenger · 2 months

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One thing that is easy to notice but also easy to overlook in Strange Case is how Hyde moves in this very nebulous space. Depending on what it is narratively needed of him, he can be a man, an inhuman monster (even an animal!), or a background force bringing disorder and horror wherever it goes.

Hyde doesn't "interact" with the reader firsthand until Utterson talks to him. Before that, he was a character in a flashback, an anonymous entity. Utterson envisions him as a faceless creature in his dreams, a liminal place where Hyde feels right at home. Even once the reader gets to see him "in person" through Utterson, he remains a mystery, and the lawyer himself says there's very little of human in him. The murder is also told as a flashback (a witness' narration, in fact), and that's where once again he's made to be this shadowy figure, a monster. After the murder, Hyde lingers and hovers over Jekyll like a phantom, then disappears, only to become physical once again right before he dies, almost before the eyes of the protagonist and thus the reader themselves. And in this physicality, Poole describes him as a "something", an "it", compares him to an animal, and can only think of him as that fiend that has killed and replaced his master, playing a quiet farce that neither party is brave enough to break.

In later chapters, as Hyde interacts with more characters and gets a narrative voice of his own, he is at the same time more physical and more conceptual. He gets to be a man, albeit a distorted one, under the watch of Lanyon. And when Jekyll reveals this Mr. Edward Hyde never really existed to begin with, he plunges again into the realm of the conceptual and intangible, walking the thin line between a flesh and bone human and a noxious influence. Inner demons aside, the true nature of Hyde is more akin to an addiction than anything else. Not a someone, but a thing, a phenomenon, that can destroy lives and breaks everything it touches.

But at the end of the day, Edward Hyde is a person.

You see, it's very, very easy to forget he is a person. Hyde as-is might be conceptual but he impacts the story through his personhood either way, because if Jekyll is a human being with flaws and emotions, Hyde also has to be one. The fact that Hyde isn't our definition of human, that he resembles us but isn't like us, that there's something to his monstrousness other than just typical human cruelty but a sort of more primal evil that can't be understood... hell, his very existence not as a run on the mill man but as a modified, twisted Jekyll still doesn't blot that humanity out. No matter how much he tries to remove himself from the equation or how much he is presented by original text and adaptation alike as a demonic entity, we are always hit in the face by the fact that the worst monsters are still human.

And isn't that the moral of the story? That evil isn't a stranger, that evil lurks inside all of us, and it's up to us to not let it destroy us? That anyone, ANYONE, could be Edward Hyde?

It doesn't matter what separates Hyde from us, because he's still part of us, and that's the whole point. He could have never existed as anything else but a living breathing person, because living breathing people have evil in them. And despite his nature, or maybe because of it, this monster, this force, is still a man. Edward Hyde has thoughts, opinions, dreams, emotions; he gets angry, he fears, he cries, he laughs, maybe he even repents or cares about those he's left behind (who knows? he's not telling us, either way), and he's completely ordinary beyond all the little things that remove him from a "normal" human being. It could not be any other way, because, no matter how much he wants to tear himself apart, he is Henry Jekyll, a fundamentally human, complex, flawed person, someone who is here, who is like us.

Maybe he alone in the ranks of humanity is pure evil, but he's in those ranks still. That's what makes him scary and at the same time somewhat tragic. You look at this demon, and your own eyes stare back.

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themouseavenger · 2 months

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This is friggin' awesome! ^_^

DC Legacy

The basic premise of this is that the time has come for older heroes to step down and the next generation take their place. Clark Kent is now the editor and owner of the Daily Planet and vows to lead them into the future while keeping their dedication to the truth. Diana Prince is now Queen of the Amazons and has relinquished her title as Wonder Woman though she still joins the Justice Society when needed. Bruce Wayne has become mayor of Gotham City and intends to use the power of the office to fight crime at the root. However the intensified spotlight means he must give up the cowl. Others such as Oliver Queen have stepped down from active duty to become teachers to the next generation, passing down their skills and knowledge. Justice League Superman- Clark Kent Batman- Dick Grayson Wonder Woman- Donna Troy The Flash- Wally West Aquaman- Garth Red Arrow- Roy Harper Starfire- Koriand'r Beast Man- Garfield Logan Raven- Rachel Roth Cyborg- Victor Stone Green Lantern- Kyle Rayner Green Lantern- Jessica Cruz Shazam- Billy Batson Captain Thunder- Mary Bromfield Power Woman- Karen Starr JLA Reserves Supergirl- Kara Zor-El Thunderbolt- Freddy Freedman Thunderstorm- Eugene Choi Thunderblast- Pedro Peña Thunderspark- Darla Dudley Batman Beyond- Tim “Jace” Fox Captain Atom- Nathaniel Adam Green Arrow- Connor Hawke Zatanna- Zatanna Zatara Doctor Mid-Nite- Beth Chapel Argent- Toni Monetti Firestorm- Jason Rusch/Gehenna Black Canary- Dinah Lance Atom- Ryan Choi Plastic Man- Patrick “Eel” O’Brien Jade- Jennifer-Lynn Haden Obsidian- Todd Rice Zauriel Justice League Universal Martian Manhunter- J'onn J'onzz Green Lantern- Simon Baz Green Lantern- Sojourner Mullein Jemm Hawkman- Carter Hall Hawkwoman- Kendra Saunders Adam Strange Darkfire- Ryand’r Metamorpho- Rex Mason Captain Comet- Adam Blake Orion Tomorrow Woman- Clara Kendall Starman- Will Payton The Titans Nightwing- Tim Drake Superboy- Conner Kent Fury- Cassandra Sandsmark Mercury- Bart Allen Blue Beetle- Jaime Reyes Static- Virgil Hawkins Green Lantern- Tai Pham Monkey Prince- Marcus Sun Miss Martian- M'gann M'orzz Empress- Anita Fite Titans West Batgirl- Cassandra Cain Spoiler- Stephanie Brown Red Devil- Eddie Bloomberg Solstice- Kiran Yellow Arrow- Mia Dearden Tempest- Jackson Hyde Power Girl- Tanya Spears Wonder Twins- Zan and Jayna Velocity- Wallace West Outsiders Black Lightning- Jefferson Pierce Thunder- Anissa Pierce Lightning- Jennifer Pierce Grace- Grace Choi Inertia- Thaddeus Thawne Tengu- Asami Koizumi El Dorado- Edward Dorado Jr Longshadow- Ty Longshadow Halo II- Gabrielle Daou Ravager- Rose Wilson Jericho- Joseph Wilson Quake- Atlee Tsunami- Lorena Marquez The Signal- Duke Thomas Offspring- Luke O’Brien Young Justice Red X- Damian Wayne Nightbird- Chris Kent Flamewing- Jon Kent Wonder Girl- Yara Flor Kid Flash- Iris West Impulse- Jai West Teen Lantern- Keli Quintela Green Beetle- Milagro Reyes Speedy- Lian Harper Jinny Hex Amethyst Twister- Traya Sutton Animal Girl- Maxine Baker Aquarius- Cerdian Justice Society Mr Terrific- Michael Holt Green Sentinel- Alan Scott The Flash- Jay Garrick Wildcat- Ted Grant Doctor Mid-Nite- Pieter Cross Wonder Woman- Diana Prince Hourman- Rick Tyler Liberty Belle- Jesse Tyler The Boom- Judy Garrick Stargirl- Courtney Whitmore Cyclone- Maxine Hunkel Tomcat- Tom Bronson Sand- Sanderson Hawkins Jakeem Thunder/Johnny Thunderbolt- Jakeem Williams and Johnny Thunder Atom Smasher- Albert Rothstein Damage- Grant Emerson Dr Fate- Khalid Nassour

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themouseavenger · 2 months

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I agree, the 2011 movie is WONDERFUL! ^_^

i wanna ask your opinion on the tintin movie! personally it's one of my favorite films but it also has a distinctly different vibe from the comics, i'm curious what you think of it

oooh the 2011 film... I think it's a lot of fun! The pacing is absolutely insane, the plot just plows through like a speeding train. I remember enjoying how they managed to weave several stories together into one coherent plot. The voice cast is my favourite, everyone basically sounds like how I imagined them in my head, even Mrs Finch!

I did a quick little study of him, rest of my “review” is under the Read More. As usual I have Many Thoughts

It's a film I enjoy with my brain turned off, my main gripe with the film is how Tintin never really has to make any difficult decisions. When Sakharine demands Tintin to choose between Haddock’s life or the scrolls, Haddock is just... pushed into the water before he even does anything?

also Haddock finding Castafiore attractive is just... weird

"What a dish!"

Every bone in my body just knows Steven Moffat wrote that in, he's ruined Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula... why do we keep letting him do this

I'm not mad about the CGI motion capture - it's aged surprisingly well and the film utilises the strengths of CGI animation effectively - lot of the camera work and really cool scene transitions would have been incredibly difficult with 2D animation or impossible with live action.

Not to mention that incredible one shot chase scene through a fully modelled city, complete with dust and water simulations... I can hear a render farm exploding in the distance

I actually think Tintin himself looks far too normal, the guy has an egg head and a receding hairline. they gave him cheekbones and a chin. hollywood is not ready for him

in conclusion, professor calculus wasn't in the film so i give it a -2.5/10

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themouseavenger · 2 months

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The Path of Poisons .2

Manchineel

Larissa x gn! oc

The Path of Poisons masterlist . [01] . [02] . [03] . [04] . [05] . [06] . [07] . [08] . [09]

Warnings : none (maybe an hospital can be triggering)

Words count : ~3.3k

Avareida was waiting in the small café in Jericho. They had promised their friend to meet them there, since they had arrived in the city the day before. They yawned. They were tired from their nightly excursion. They crossed their arms on the table, put their head on it, and tried to fall asleep when a waiter appeared.

"Can I get you anything?

"A double long ristretto espresso with whipped cream, but no cream," they grumbled, raising their head.

"There's no such thing," he answered embarrassed.

"I know. A strong coffee without sugar is fine."

"I'll be right back."

He left, they buried their head in their arms again. The door tinkled as it opened. Small heels clicked on the floor. Avareida recognized them as those of Thalia, their friend and history teacher at Nevermore Academy. They sighed and sat down properly.

"You're late, Thalia."

Thalia was a small, pudgy, laughing black woman. Her mother was descended from native Americans, and her father from black African slaves, and she made a point of showing her students all the horrors the colonists had committed in America. Avareida understood. They were a descendant of the Cree.

Thalia always wore very colourful clothes, probably, Avareida thought, because she wasn't that happy after all, and today was no exception: she had put on a yellow dress with white polka dots and a little pink hat to match her tights. Where did she get all her clothes? It was still a mystery.

"Yes, I'm sorry Rei, we had a little trouble at the academy yesterday…"

"What kind of trouble?"

The waiter served Avareida their coffee and they began to drink it while listening to their friend, who ordered a long coffee.

"Well, for a start, our former botany teacher wanted to destroy the school and to do so she resurrected Joseph Crackmore, her ancestor."

"Woah..."

"Three students managed to stop him, but one of the inhabitants of the town, who was a Hyde and who was killing people in the area, associated with this teacher and another student stopped him."

"Well…"

"And finally, the principal, Mrs. Weems, was found overdosed with belladonna, and one of our manchineel plants has disappeared. We suspect that thieves may have taken the-"

Avareida choked on their coffee. They coughed to regain their composure.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"It is suspected that thieves wanted to take this plant and came across Mrs. Weems, who then gave them a dose of belladonna, not enough to kill her though. The question is: who stole this manchineel, and for what?"

"Mmh… it's strange, this whole thing…" Avareïda said, looking outside.

Thalia nodded, the waiter gave her her order.

"Especially very dangerous! If this person doesn't know what it is, they could die! And if they know, we can be sure of their criminal ambitions!"

Avareida put down her cup, now finished, with the most innocent look in the world.

"Do you know what a manchineel tree is?"

"To be honest, I didn't know until this morning…"

"Read The Path of Poisons and How to Cure Them, by Avareïda Hydrurga, and you'll never have any doubts about a potentially poisonous plant again."

The teacher laughed a little.

"Haven't you finished your commercial?"

"Hey, my income depends almost entirely on the sale of this book! And I love money!"

Thalia sighed, looking up at the sky... well the ceiling.

"So, how was your trip to the South Pole?"

"Nice, I made a friend. I called her Katia."

"What do you mean you called her?"

"She's a female leopard seal. At first she was a bit aggressive, but eventually she accepted me completely."

Thalia smiled as she watched her friend sink into her seat, gesturing wildly as they explained their encounter with the animal. Rei had that look in their eyes when they talked about their travels… she loved to hear them tell their stories.

"Isn't that your mother's name, Katia?"

"Yeah, because she acted like a mother. She used to bring me food. Which was penguins. And since they're not part of my diet, I had to decline her offer…"

"How do you manage to make so many enemies among humans and so many friends among animals?"

"I'm beginning to think that I'm not the problem… well, anyway. Is your principal okay? I mean, belladonna's a hell of a poison."

"She's in the hospital. I'm going to see her right after. You can come with me if you want. I'll just have to stop by the police station first. As you know about poisons, you could help them, couldn't you?"

"I don't see how I could be of any use to them…"

Thalia got up and went to the counter to pay.

"You underestimate yourself… I'll buy your coffee, a welcome to Jericho gift. And since you don't have any money…"

"Thank you for your great generosity but I can still afford coffee."

"I don't want to hear about it. I'll buy you one."

"All right, all right…"

Avareïda stood up and put their brown jacket back on their shoulders. They ran a hand over their hair, which was still neatly tucked back.

"You'd look good with red hair," Thalia remarked, coming back to her.

"Do you think so? I might try it… But I like my hair black."

"Shall I show you around town, and on the way we go to the police station?"

"Oh, yes, I've always wanted to!" they sneered

Thalia gave them a flick.

"Sorry, I don't have much choice, I've been summoned as a witness… You're lucky you weren't there yesterday. You would have been suspected. What time did you arrive anyway?"

"A little before midnight," they lied.

In truth they had arrived at 9 p.m., but they had nothing to blame themself for and didn't want to get into trouble with the law…

The door tinkled again as it opened. Avareida sighed. They had chosen the wrong moment to steal the manchineel tree…

Thalia pushed open the door to the police station, and was immediately greeted by the sheriff. Rei found the man was sad. There was something tired in his eyes. But they didn't know what. The place was small, smelled of ink and coffee. The policeman questioned Thalia with his eyes after noticing Rei, who was going through all the corners of the police station with a curious eye.

"Avareïda Hydrurga, this is a friend who arrived last night. They were not there on the night of the incident if that's what you're wondering. But they can be a great help to you."

"You're exaggerating, Thalia…"

"I'm curious to see that…" the sheriff said

"All because I know a little about poisons," they sighed.

"Mmh, we'll see. In the meantime, I'll take your statement, Mrs Kedlan."

"No problem. Can Rei come along or do I have to be alone?"

"Since you're not a suspect, you can bring whoever you want."

"Then they're coming with me."

Galpin opened the door to his office and pulled the blinds wide open. A bright light flooded the room. He invited Thalia and Rei to sit down, which they did.

"Well, Mrs Kedlan, tell me what you know."

"Well, the boy who called the emergency room went to warn me and other teachers, and when I arrived, Mrs. Weems was lying in the greenhouse, and a manchineel tree was missing, but there was no sign of a crime. The thief knew the code of where the manchineel trees were put."

"What were you doing before?"

"I was in my classroom, correcting papers."

The policeman wrote everything down on a sheet of paper, Rei was silent.

"Well, do you know if Mrs Weems has any enemies?"

"I don't know of any. And even though we are not necessarily well regarded, she is well respected."

"I see, so you believe in the hypothesis of a robbery gone wrong?"

"I don't," Rei cut in.

The Sheriff opened his mouth and took a few seconds. He leaned back in his chair, put his pen and elbows on the table, put his hands together and intertwined his fingers before speaking.

"Why did he do this?"

"Why, when the thief had a manchineel tree in their hands, would they use nightshade to poison Mrs. Weems?"

"What do you mean?"

Avareida crossed her legs, sinking into her seat.

"The thief knew the code, so they came from inside the school. Mrs. Weems wouldn't have suspected them until they took the manchineel, and so wouldn't have stood in their way. This means that she interfered after they took the manchineel. Now, when you have a manchineel tree in your hands, you don't try to poison with belladonna."

"Why not?"

"If they had just thrown the manchineel at Mrs Weems, she would have been out of the way. For ever. A manchineel tree is toxic enough to poison you if you stay under it. Anyway, you'd better wait for the potential witnesses to wake up. Starting with Mrs Weems. She'll probably know what happened."

The sheriff nodded.

"Of course, but I like to get a head start…"

"It's possible that the botany teacher or the normie attacked her and stole the manchineel tree… That would fit very well with the fact that she attacked her and knew the code. And it would be the normie who poisoned her because…"

Thalia nudged her. Avareida fell silent.

"I have no more questions. You may go."

"Thank you, Sheriff Galpin."

Thalia stood up, Rei followed. They left the place.

"Rei, the normie was her son."

"Oh… Damn. You think I should go apologize?"

"No, it should be fine. You couldn't have known."

"You want to go to the hospital now?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna stop by and buy her some flowers first. Then I can show you the plant shop, I think you'll like it."

"You know how to talk to me…"

Thalia smiled and walked towards a small shop on a street corner. Huge bunches of poppies, lavender and craspedias indicated that it was the beginning of summer. Avareïda liked poppies, especially pink, wild poppies. They found them particularly charming. They decided to buy some flowers for Mrs. Weems. Their friend went straight to the counter and ordered an assortment of peonies. Rei, on the other hand, walked slowly through the potted plants of different sizes and shapes. Crassulas, bonzaïs of all kinds, everything smelled of soil and humidity. The tables on which large bunches of leaves were placed to embellish the bouquets were made of rough wood. A few everlastings were drying, hanging from the ceiling. They remembered that Larissa had always liked immortals. Rei approached the counter.

"What can I do for you?" the florist asked with a smile.

"I would like a small bouquet of Calendula officinalis and Helichrysum stoechas."

"What colour should the marigolds be?"

"Yellow and orange please."

"Well, I'll make your bouquets, if you'll wait a few minutes."

"No problem," Thalia said

The florist disappeared into the back of the shop. Avareida continued her little observations.

"Rei, who are the flowers for?"

"For Mrs. Weems, I felt bad coming to the hospital without bringing anything."

"But you don't even know her?"

"What's the big deal?"

"And what flowers did you ask for?"

"Marigolds and shrubby everlastings."

"Why shrubby everlastings?"

Rei pointed to the little yellow flowers hanging from the ceiling.

"Because they don't wilt. That way, even if she doesn't wake up for several months, she can enjoy them. The marigolds will be dead, of course. And I like immortals. Besides, surviving belladonna poisoning, although it depends on the dose, is quite an achievement."

"Hm. A student injected her with physo… stuff. Apparently it stabilized her well and kept her from deteriorating."

"Physostigmine. He had the right reflex."

"What's physostigmine?"

"A poison found in Calabar beans."

Seeing the expression of incomprehension on Thalia's face, they continued.

"A vine of the bean family that grows in the tropical forests of Africa."

"But… why a poison?"

"Oh, it's a poison that has the opposite effect to belladonna. Belladonna slows the heart rate, Calabar bean increases it. It's what is used to treat atropine toxicity in general. If he'd put too much on her, it might have killed her, but if he hadn't put any on her at all, she'd probably have died anyway. It was a risk to take. You'll have to reward the boy."

"I see, fighting fire with fire."

"Sort of, yeah."

"So she was incredibly lucky that someone who knew about this came along…"

"You have no idea," Rei murmured thoughtfully.

The florist returned, their bouquets in hand. Thalia paid for her bouquet, Rei paid for hers.

"Say, florist lady," Rei asked, "do you have a loyalty card or something? I might come here regularly."

"Oh, yes, I do."

She pulled out a small card with a sunflower on it from behind the counter and applied two bramble stamps.

"Every 10 dollars you get a stamp, after 10, you get 10 dollars free. The first stamp is automatic."

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"Have a nice day."

Thalia and Rei walked out of the little shop, each holding a bouquet. The streets began to fill up slowly. Rei was pensive. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Thalia that he knew Mrs. Weems. He was waiting to see if the woman had changed.

"Rei, shall we take my car to the hospital?"

"Shall we? Yes, I don't know where it is anyway."

"It's not far, we could walk but it takes about half an hour. I'd rather take the car, I'm in heels."

"I'm in heels too."

"Perfect, I parked it near the café."

Avareida followed her friend to the car, thinking about her last real conversations with Larissa.

"You can't, it's not normal to be like this."

"I didn't choose, Rissa, I'm sorry…"

"Stay away from me, you're disgusting."

"But… Rissa…"

"LArissa, for you. You know what, don't talk to me anymore. I don't want to be friends with your kind."

They shuddered, hoping that their old friend had changed. After all, they hadn't seen each other for almost thirty years. They couldn't hate her, even after all that time. Larissa had been a great support to them. She had helped them to integrate, which was more difficult with the two classes they had skipped. It was thanks to Larissa that they had a more or less normal school life. They had always gotten along with her very well. A smile passed over their lips as they remembered the nightly trips to the forest, the times they'd skipped school to go shopping, the coffees they'd had together. Rei shook their head. Yes, their relationship had been good for them. Not everything about Larissa Weems was a waste.

"Rei? Is everything all right?"

"Is it? Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about my years at Nevermore."

"Oh, come to think of it, did you know Larissa when you were there?

"From a... certain distance, I know she was there, I might have talked to her once or twice, but I'm not sure. She was already 18 when I entered the academy, I was only 13. I only had two years in common with her."

"That's right, I forgot that you were younger than me."

"When you're around 40…"

"Shh, don't talk about that, I'm still 20 in my head."

Avareida burst out laughing. Thalia frowned as she unlocked her car. Rei climbed into the front passenger seat.

"And that was an old person's sentence."

"That's right, just mess with me. Just because you're four years younger than me doesn't mean you can. Watch out, time's catching up with you."

"Okay, boomer."

"So, shall we go to that hospital?"

"Well, get going, old girl."

Thalia grunted and turned on the ignition. As the car approached the hospital, Rei became lost in thought again. Thirty years had passed. But Larissa was not a forgettable character. Shit, they thought. They didn't want to risk loving her again. Yet they couldn't help but wonder how much she had changed.

"Say, Thalia. Are you still dating that other teacher?"

"Elizabeth? Yes, still. I mean, it's been a few weeks."

"And… your principal is okay with it?"

"She doesn't know about it. It's still new, we haven't told anyone around here, we don't want it to get out amongst our colleagues. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if she was a lesbian."

"She? Lesbian?"

"Why does that shock you so much?"

"I don't know, I'd heard stories about her love for Gomez Addams, at the time, that's all."

Rei smiled a little. Of course she were a lesbian. They'd guessed it, at the time. But Larissa had locked herself in her closet so much that they'd come to believe it.

"Mmm… I don't know… But my gaydar rarely deceives me. You know, we're pretty close, though. Larissa is someone I like and respect very much. I think I can count her among my friends. She has a courage that I don't have and…"

Thalia's voice caught in her throat.

"God, I'm so glad she's not dead. The academy wouldn't have been the same without her."

"I hope she wakes up soon, then."

"Yes…"

Thalia parked the car in the hospital's large car park and got out. Rei followed her into the building. The hospital smelled clean and new. There was no smell of dirt, no smell of damp. It was all white. They were given the room number: room 128. They walked to the lift, without speaking.

The room was clean. Larissa was lying on her bed in a white patient's gown, her eyes closed, tubes in her nose and arms. A machine on the side was going "beep…beep…beep…beep…", as the lines representing her heartbeat distorted into spikes. Thalia readjusted her hat, which she had refused to remove at the reception desk, explaining her gorgon situation, and placed her bouquet in a vase, on the small cabinet next to the main one. Rei did the same. And then their eyes roamed over the principal's body. She had changed, yes. But she was still as beautiful… Very tall, too. Rei estimated her at almost 6"3. They were only a poor 5"7 feet tall.

"Get well soon, Larissa. The academy needs you again," Thalia said, as if the principal could hear her.

A nurse entered the room and motioned for the Gorgon to follow her.

"I'll be right back, Rei."

Rei nodded and left. They took the opportunity to take a closer look at their former friend's features. She was beautiful…

"So you're a lesbian, huh? You should have admitted it to yourself earlier, stupid. You'd better get over it soon. I think I'd like to see you again. You're lucky, I could have hated you."

They left the room to wait for Thalia, who soon returned with a smile on her face.

"Her condition is completely stabilised and she is starting to recover. She even showed signs of brain activity in some places that indicate a near awakening. She'll probably be back with us in a few days!"

Rei smiled. They loved to see their friend so happy. And the thought of Larissa waking up made them happy too.

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themouseavenger · 2 months

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"The Pagemaster"? :D Hell...friggin'...YEAH!!! ❤️

Tumblr's favorite animated movie!

Vote in the other polls!

What fans say:

The Pagemaster:

I love how clever it is about literature references and the love of books and libraries it promotes. Scared me silly as a kid. The Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde scene? heartstopping when you're like six.

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade:

The story is depressing, but oddly endearing in it's own way. It uses the fairytale little red riding hood as a wonderful metaphor. My favorite scene is the very first few scenes where they show off the riots and the secret service. ALSO THE ARMOR??? HELLO?? THE DESIGNERS POPPED OFF WITH THE ARMOR

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themouseavenger · 2 months

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National Dog Day!

Happy National Dog Day!

Fala was born on April 7, 1940 and given to the President by Mrs. Augustus G. Kellogg of Westport, Connecticut, through Franklin Roosevelt's cousin, Margaret "Daisy" Suckley. At first his name was Big Boy. Franklin renamed him "Murray the Outlaw of Falahill" after a Scottish ancestor. His nickname became Fala. Fala went to live in the White House on November 10, 1940. Every morning Fala had a bone that was brought up on the President's breakfast tray. At night, he slept in a special chair at the foot of the President's bed.

Fala loved to travel with the President on long and short trips by train, car, or boat. In August 1941, Fala was at the Atlantic Charter Conference in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland with the President and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of England. In September of the following year and again in April 1943, Fala went on inspection trips of defense plants and visited the President of Mexico, President Camacho. Later that year in August and then again in September 1944 he accompanied President Roosevelt to the Quebec Conferences. In 1944, Fala was with the President on a sea trip to the Aleutian Islands. Read more about that story on our blog: https://fdr.blogs.archives.gov/2017/10/12/the-adventures-of-fala-first-dog-the-case-of-the-dog-who-didnt-bark-on-the-boat/

While in the White House, Fala was so popular that he received thousands of letters from people and animals from across the country. He had a secretary appointed to him to answer all his fan his mail.

In April of 1945, President Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. Fala attended the funeral but seemed lost without his beloved master. He went to live with Mrs. Roosevelt at Val-Kill, where he spent his time running, playing and chasing squirrels and cats. On April 5, 1952, Fala passed away and was buried in the Rose Garden next to the sun dial not far from the graves of President and Mrs. Roosevelt on what would have been his twelfth birthday April 7, 1952.

Continue celebrating #NationalDogDay by exploring some of the Fala related artifacts on our Digital Artifact Collection: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/search/fala

📷: NPx 52-118 - October 22, 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt with Fala in car at Hyde Park, New York. (UPI photo)

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themouseavenger · 2 months

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With Jekyll, it was a thing of vital instinct. He had now seen the full deformity of that creature that shared with him some of the phenomena of consciousness, and was co-heir with him to death: and beyond these links of community, which in themselves made the most poignant part of his distress, he thought of Hyde, for all his energy of life, as of something not only hellish but inorganic. [...] I, who sicken and freeze at the mere thought of him, when I recall the abjection and passion of this attachment, and when I know how he fears my power to cut him off by suicide, I find it in my heart to pity him. [...] Nor must I delay too long to bring my writing to an end; for if my narrative has hitherto escaped destruction, it has been by a combination of great prudence and great good luck. Should the throes of change take me in the act of writing it, Hyde will tear it in pieces; but if some time shall have elapsed after I have laid it by, his wonderful selfishness and circumscription to the moment will probably save it once again from the action of his ape-like spite. [...] Will Hyde die upon the scaffold? or will he find courage to release himself at the last moment?

All of this comes together to provide the most interesting part of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The battle between perceptions of just who and what Edward Hyde is.

Is he solely the primordial selfishly reckless id of an otherwise upstanding and deeply repressed man? If so, Jekyll's constant attempts at disconnection must be read as a sinner attempting to paint the self he becomes while intoxicated as another awful entity, a thing that delighted in cruelty while it could be gotten away with and is now an excuse to point fingers at the mirror or the Devil to keep Jekyll's own hands clean, if only in his mind.

Is Edward Hyde simply Henry Jekyll as he might have been in another life? One sans repression but still loaded with Jekyll's intelligence and most basic wants. If so, then he is not an impulse given flesh, but a doppelganger in all but appearance. The Self, made Other. He is not an imbecile or an inorganic flaw, just Jekyll himself pulled through a sieve until only the untethered Wants and Hates remain.

What if Edward Hyde began as inorganic, as no more than a bleak reflection of Jekyll, but eventually coalesced into an entirely separate thinking identity? A new soul that budded from the original like a branch? A mind-son or a conjoined twin revealed decades too late. If this is the case, only then might half of Jekyll's excuses and reasonings hold water--but only half.

Because Jekyll himself either cannot grasp or refuses to fully accept all of what Edward Hyde is. The amount of contradiction in Hyde's actions and Jekyll's attempts at defining him go in too many directions. He's a clump of wicked and delightful impulse who wears Jekyll as a costume. He's artificial. He's real. He's an it. He's a he. He is Jekyll. He is himself.

Even at the end, Jekyll fumbles with his initial estimate of Hyde's state. A coward who hides in him and the lab to avoid the death penalty! Yet in the last lines he admits to the possibility that Hyde will decide to end himself rather than risk further pursuit or a trip to the gallows.

He claims to fear Hyde ripping up the letter in a fury, assuming the document would only be spared because of Hyde's feverish focus on the moment-at-hand. But there was no doubt time to destroy it before chugging the poison. Hyde could have done both. He didn't. Implying the little imp of impulse felt no desire to.

Think back on Hyde's last moments alive. Right before the door was broken down. Pure despondency. Pure wretchedness. Pure grief.

“Utterson,” said the voice, “for God’s sake, have mercy!”

The far end of a fretting frantic animal of a man, trying desperately to save himself. Well, selves. There is no safety for Hyde without them both. ...But also no freedom. To save the beloved man who is the bandit's cave also means retreating into that cave permanently.

And if Edward Hyde is his own man? If Hyde is a man at all, whose core is impulse itself? Imagine the hell of such a life. A sentient tumor. Forever.

Of course he chose oblivion. But to do that last courtesy--to not spoil or destroy Jekyll's parting words to his friend--I have to wonder what it means.

Did it simply slip his attention as Jekyll assumed?

Did he relish in a last mote of bitter joy at the reputation due to be ruined by its reading?

Or was the impulse in him not all unvarnished evil after all? A callous, a brutal, a vicious character; but even the sinner cannot hold to sin as a constant. No villain genuinely dedicates every second of their life to committing cruelty outside of a comedy. Hyde didn't either. He was only ever impulse in its entirety; blunt and greedy as a brattish child. And the stamp of it was obvious! Enough to inspire hate at a glance. Just as we can sneer at strangers in the news when we know what loathsome acts they've been up to, inflicting pain on others for their own gain.

But they too are human.

In the end, I think Jekyll was happier going to his end without admitting Hyde was as much a human soul as he was.

And he left the letter untouched to make sure Utterson knew it.

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