#Vinci new capital Location

[futurefind]

 //A rundown of my og “Myrmidon Singularity”, ft Rea as Master, because I’ve put a lot of thoughts into it even if nothing 100% ‘solid’ script or time (beyond “During Part 1″) wise or anything. :]

EARLY/MAIN STORY BEATS:

new singularity appears, exact location can’t be pinned down beyond ‘east-central europe’ at first (with guesstimates ranging from as East as Italy, West as Black Sea, and to the coasts of the Baltic & Mediterranean Seas north & south-wise)

Rea and co. head there, the merry band including Scathach, who volunteered

Usual hunt for locals ft wyverns enemies, map fucky wucky bc of magical concentration in the atmosphere; Why Are You So High You

Saved from Giant Mob courtesy of mysterious Servant aka [local/Myrmidon!] Chiron... who ? promptly ?? kisses Rea ????????????

what. (Da Vinci and Romani are spitting their coffee for completely different reasons [she’s amused as shit, he’s mortified], everyone on site is losing their shit for Obvs Reasons, Where Is Ur Hr Manager Sir)

Much embarrassment and even more apologies gods forgive him later Chiron explains he thought she was his wife ?? even though shes a shapeshifter??? @/Scathach if ur gonna kill him can he show u the way to the king first hes so sowwy

Meet up with the King Consort amidst other battles; he’d been leading local soldiers in monster patrols or what have you and was concerned when Chiron used his NP; also lore dumps local history to the Chaldea grew while they’re there

smth smth the gods they’d thrown into Tartarus have suddenly been trying to break out via monsters corruption etc etc; Romani loredumps irl myth abt the Titans, Chiron & His Majesty oo and aa over Chaldea tech

includes much lovemail abt King Ligyron bc, yeah. and also seconding Rea’s weird resemblance to Chiron’s wife. mostly lovemail though. he’s not the consort for no gd reason

Make their way to a sprawling luxurious & prosperous city built into a valley’s side, the capital of the kingdom of the Myrmidons

On Chaldea’s end the sensors/maps stabilize into Northern Greece; explains Chiron and the local culture & its aesthetics

Takes them straight to the King... who is Achilles ??

and also has no idea who Pelleus is???

he’s a full god (presumably son of either Zeus or Poseidon?)?

and he overthrow Olympus/Zeus/the last gen of gods ??????

(also the king consort is Patroclus <3)

(he is Also also weirded out by Rea’s resemblance to Chiron wife, way more than Pat was)

After Chaldea explain their confusion courtesy of their Vastly Different irl-based mythologies, Myrmidon!Achilles (aka Ligyron-Achilles on his summonable card, Lancer, or still just Ligyron for Chaldea grew in the Singularity to keep things straight) explains that, here: 

the prophecy about Thetis’s son didn’t come in time [as in, before he was conceived], so he’s a Full God

Olympus’s fear of him [read: Poseidon/Zeus’s] led to lots of awful shit of hunting etc of Thetis and later Achilles himself

he was hidden away with Chiron & trained by him

instead of simply protecting himself & his mother when he gained his full strength, Achilles instead rebelled against Olympus wholesale and won

included heroes from Trojan War??? to rhyme his og history’s fame found there

instead decided to have his personal slice of kingdom in Greece bc god or no he preferred humans. also spite of not even bothering to make use of the crown trophy of the old gods [olympus] 

yeeted Zeus, Poseidon, and the other Olympians that didn’t submit to his rule/victory down into Tartarus, joining the Titans (Worst Roomie Situation Ever, rip. awkwaaaaaaaard)

Some diversions and emergency side-quests later, and Queen Mother Thetis makes her appearance in court to give her son regularly scheduled tlc & advice & concern

She’s a literal Goddess so of course she’s a Pseudo-Servant (Caster) except her host is Rea. Oh hello.💡

Polite, demure; super fucking quiet n subdued compared to Rea Herself. V amused by it tho!

Chiron’s wife; shapeshifts some multicolored seafoam hair on to make them distinct; explains they met when she’d sneak in to see how Achilles/Ligyron was doing with his training

Ligyron says he’ll help Chaldea and their quest to save humanity etc... after they help him solve his Olympi-Titan problem :]

Chaldea crew has politely omitted the nature of Singularities as well as just how :[ Achilles and co’s fates are in og history. it’s fine. 

FINALE STORY BEATS:

With magi-comms setup to communicate with the smaller groups they split up into (so the Myrmidons can both handle city security etc while Also helping out Chaldea with info etc), eventually defeat the rebelling Olympians & Titans

There is ?? No Holy Grail?? Nor a change in the Singularity’s status. the fuck.

They come back to Ligyron empty handed and confused af, he puzzles over how to help

Eventually, somehow, they figure out the source of the Singularity is not a Holy Grail but Ligyron himself. the power of a literal god-king who wasn’t supposed to manifest? mayhaps fueled/’heart’ of a Holy Grail itself?

Ligyron, being Ligyron (Achilles), agrees with a grin to sacrifice himself so Chaldea can save their own world; he’s done his job of overthrowing Olympus, n founding/stabilizing his kingdom, fought battles he never could’ve imagined between said overthrowing of Olympus and fighting them once more with others from a different world (nvm one who looks like his mom!), says farewell to Patroclus but assures him he’ll see him in Elysium so dwai beloved see you before you know it (still be sure to live long tho!), Chiron says he’s proud of him, etc

Ligyron dissipates, and the Singularity starts to collapse

And Thetis. 

Loses. 

Her. SHIT. 

The Singularity doesn’t disappear, and instead resettles into a barren and craggy landscape; their location snaps somewhere else(? somewhen?) on Chaldea’s sensors/maps, but Romani doesn’t get time to specify where

Thetis, now white haired & yellow-eyed and an Avenger, wails and screams and rages about how “you ruin EVERYTHING” and goes straight for Rea’s throat

Servants keep fighting her to a standstill, as Thetis rips into Rea verbally—except it’s way more personal than it should be, targeting not just her actions but her personal character flaws, her insecurities, her own rage and wrath and ruin, her. 

Monologuing reveals Thetis, in life, ‘slaughtered Troy’ and all the soldiers; after trying to kill Zeus, was imprisoned (and implicitly tortured) for millennia; from a different timeline altogether, rather than being another product of the Singularity, or a corrupted Servant of proper history like Jalter

Thetis is way more powerful than she ought to be; eventually seals off her and Rea from all the Servants with her Noble Phantasm; Chaldea staff fucking going as fast as they can trying to force a Rayshift, either to get Rea out or other Servants where they can get to her

Thetis decides to smack down with Rea one and one, going for flow and brutal instead of instant ko

Her ranting includes poisonous and viscerally accurate [in their executions] insistences that they’re no different, and begins to use “we” not just for herself and Rea, but Thetis alone

Torture via attacking Rea’s crest directly? Probably

“Why! Won’t! You! Break!”

Servants break through the barrier just enough for Scathach to launch her god-killer Gae Bolg, and it’s a direct hit

...To Thetis’s illusion, but it’s still fatal.

To both of them

Thetis’s illusions morphing others’ perception of where BOTH of them were/are

Thetis’s hysteria turns gleeful, because See? See? See what being kind gets you, gIrL?

Everyone’s screaming freaking out, ALL the healers rushing in both past Thetis’s shattered barrier and via Rayshift

Scathach isn’t surprised, tight though her features are

Rea’s stabilized/saved, not via her Servant’s capabilities (a human receiving a Gae Bolg through the chest, after all), but via a Pseudo-Servant / fusion of her own

it’s og/Caster Thetis, able to do so via Thetis Alter’s spirit origin serving as a ‘beacon’/catalyst

Gg great job Rea gets taken home n healed into infinity n rests for a fucking month bc, jesus

They leave the Singularity’s with little more than a pool of blood at its heart: the island of Leuke in the Black Sea, the final resting placing of Achilles

CONCLUSIONS & FORESHADOWINGS:

Thetis (Avenger) was not just an alter of og/history’s Thetis, but Rea herself; in a worldline where Thetis massacred Troy et al for the death of her son, millennia later Riel Rodas would ‘break’ herself to unknown tragedy and call Thetis (Avenger) to her to become a Pseudo-Servant

Thetis was not just a water goddess but creator goddess, either pre-dating Chaos or an incarnation of Chaos itself (hence her ability to create a 100% fabricated Singularity); used the Holy Grail as an ‘anchor’ for it instead, trying to revive her dead son by avoiding the first of her tragedies and the root of his death in the first place: his having a mortal father

Rea herself is implicitly way more fucked up internally?? Since she knows Thetis (Alter) wasn’t a 100% divorced being from herself, despite others’ insistences

Scathach hiding for a long hot sec n Rea doing her damnedest to defuse the situation; she Knew that was how it needed to happen, or else either Rea would’ve either been killed by Thetis outright, or Thetis would’ve wrecked untold havoc onto them beyond the Singularity (including Rea’s death, as ever)

Tl;dr their first Lostbelt before they knew lostbelts are a thing </3

Myrmidon servants not mistaking Rea for Thetis not just bc of sameface, but same ‘core’ due to Thetis (also) being ‘Rea’ (rather than 100% Thetis just using her as a vessel)

Romani sweating bc haha! wow! human and also a Servant but also it’s Complicated, anyway--

Possible similar hats with the Foreign God? depending on their motivations

MISC & FUN FACTS

Congrats on Rea Suddenly Being Ur Mom, Achilles. It’s weird for her too but also Blz remember to get to bed on time--

Chaldea Chiron is. so very very sorry for his Singularity’s counterparts actions

Also, no one tell Achilles Chiron’s technically arguably actually his step-dad (aka he and og Thetis had a thing in actual history too)

Awkward? Awkward.

Reamom subverse (wherein she’s pre-existing Chaldea staff turned Master to save Ritsuka the burden of it, despite her Crest bs complications), Ritsuka suddenly contemplates if they have an HR

(Also (still reamom subverse) everyone is staring at Romani even harder to Do Something Already, god dammit; youve been in a mutual uwu-ance w her for twelve years and a SINGULARITY SERVANT kisses her first?)

‘Canon’/sans-Rea verse, Thetis (Alter) is still Rea (Alter); barring the Reaface!Thetis confusion and the personal mauling & murder of the Chaldea Master, it’s tl;dr the same! It’s no longer Personal(tm) and they just take out Thetis like a ‘normal’ final boss vs her hurting the Master proper (nvm inducing Pseudo-Servanthood)

Thetis’s powerset includes shapeshifting, which is now Rea’s powersets, aka cue shapeshifting Crash Course courtesy of Enkidu. it’s fine

Lygiron/God/King!Achilles is an Archer (a class he can’t even normally qualify for bc... it’s not proper human history Achilles), courtesy of Dad-Chiron, though he qualifies for lots of classes. Maybe Ruler? lol

Servant Patroclus is a Saber :] bc he’s weak to Lygiron/Myrmidon!Achilles, but strong against PHH Achilles’s lancer qualification (ie. “he’s achilles’s weakness”)

It’s long af but if you want an idea of Thetis (Alter)’s alternate history and the sorta shit Psuedo-Servant Thetis!Rea (og/Caster) gets, there’s Realter’s page. Barring the NP tied to her unique history (aka slaughtering Troy herself), it’s all shit she could Potentially do herself.

Atlantis/Olympus Singularity gets uh. gets uh. well it doesn’t end different but gd the vibes are So Fucking Off w Chaos just beyond the veil and Rea as a pseudo-servant of its incarnation (and not just bc that makes her all these machine god fuckers’ grandma)

[arunkumarkd]

35+ general knowledge questions with answers

Science

What is the chemical symbol for water? H2O

What is the largest planet in the solar system? Jupiter

What is the smallest bone in the human body? The stapes, located in the middle ear

What is the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy? Photosynthesis

What is the theory that explains the motion of objects and the forces that act on them? Newton's laws of motion

History

Who was the first president of the United States? George Washington

What was the name of the war that was fought between the Union and the Confederacy in the United States? The Civil War

When did World War II begin? 1939

Who was the leader of the Nazi Party in Germany during World War II? Adolf Hitler

Who was the first person to walk on the moon? Neil Armstrong

Geography

What is the largest ocean in the world? The Pacific Ocean

What is the highest mountain in the world? Mount Everest

What is the longest river in the world? The Nile River

What is the capital of France? Paris

What is the capital of China? Beijing

Culture

Who wrote the play "Romeo and Juliet"? William Shakespeare

Who is the most famous painter of the Mona Lisa? Leonardo da Vinci

What is the name of the famous statue in New York Harbor? The Statue of Liberty

What is the name of the most popular sport in the world? Soccer

What is the name of the most popular social media platform? Facebook

Current Events

Who is the current president of the United States? Joe Biden

Who is the current prime minister of the United Kingdom? Liz Truss

What is the name of the current war in Ukraine? The Russo-Ukrainian War

What is the name of the COVID-19 vaccine that was developed by Pfizer? Comirnaty

What is the name of the new social media platform that was launched in 2022? Truth Social

Bonus Questions

What is the square root of 16? 4

What is the capital of Australia? Canberra

What is the name of the largest desert in the world? The Sahara Desert

What is the name of the most venomous snake in the world? The inland taipan

What is the name of the largest country in the world by population? China

What is the name of the first person to win a Nobel Prize in two different scientific fields? Marie Curie

What is the name of the largest planet in the solar system by mass? Jupiter

What is the name of the largest ocean in the solar system? The Pacific Ocean

What is the name of the largest mountain in the solar system? Olympus Mons on Mars

What is the name of the largest river in the solar system? Eridanus on Mars

What is the name of the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean? Charles Lindbergh

What is the name of the first person to walk on the moon? Neil Armstrong

What is the name of the first person to win a Nobel Peace Prize? Frédéric Passy

What is the name of the first person to win a Pulitzer Prize? Nellie Bly

What is the name of the first person to win an Academy Award? Emmett J. Flynn

What is the name of the most popular book of all time? The Bible

What is the name of the most popular movie of all time? Avatar (2009)

What is the name of the most popular song of all time? Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

What is the name of the most popular video game of all time? Minecraft

What is the name of the most popular sport in the world? Soccer

read more:-

Common general knowledge questions and answers for students,

50+ easy general knowledge questions and answers 

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150+ easy general knowledge questions and answers

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[campfireweekends]

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[aghotel]

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The National Gallery

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This 57-acre park is located in central London between the splendid Buckingham Palace and the beautiful Westminster Abbey. It was a former royal hunting ground and is the oldest Park in London and one of the most beloved.

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Victoria and Albert Museum

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[castle-dominion]

6x6 get a clue trying to liveblog during my family watch even tho I can't

lmao jesus I WAS RIGHT

Ah yes, the first apartment Nice place Nice orchid or flower or whatever remember rick's cockroach races? This place is genuinely really nice! Pi is so happy!

heck yeah dumpster diving I mean, chill castle.

Pi: What colour is it? RC: RC: Free oOH BEES (it is genuinely important! There is a job out there for everyone!) fruit on the table lol

crap it looks like there is no transcript on livejournal yay there is a dustjackets transcript on my second liveblog through aka my clip gathering run! RC: No, it’s not good. I was hoping for squalor. I was counting on squalor. Because Alexis cannot last in squalor. I was just hoping this whole thing would blow over. She would see Pi for the ambition free hippie that he is. And now he’s morphed into some … new age crusader? It’s a though he’s turned being a charming man-child into a career.

charming manchild into a career? KB: Now that doesn’t sound familiar, does it?

ryan is pretty but hair is too short. I used to look a lot like him but then he cut his hair & we were different & then I shaved my sides & looked way different & then I cut my hair over the top & now we look vaguely similar again lol See? called it, crucefix Where's all the blood tho? lanie & me same brain Remember when George Crabtree kept getting orders from murdoch but george already did all the stuff he needed to do? that's ryan in this moment. He is a detective in his own right he doesn't need beckett giving the orders

Ryan looks pretty, we know that, but dang esposito bisexual outfit right there (I need a pic of those two together, but ig I could get an individual pic of each)

RC: Maybe her dark secret has something to do with the dark ages

Castle might be right? coming from beckett? YES I FOUND ANOTHER TRANSCRIPT Yeah so uh you know what? A ton of pagan & occult symbols actually have their origins in christianity, & a lot of christian symbols come from other cultures & their paganism heathenry & mythology & stuff (esp in grecoroman period judeo-christian media, lots of grecoroman pagan crossover) I'm literally wearing pants with a water earth fire air alchemy symbols bc I'm a christowitch

lmao "satanic" WAIT DID YOU SEE THAT HAND IMAGE? PI HAD A SIMILAR ONE

Nice, get together for dinner every few months even tho u'r not that close...

RC: Which leaves us with my theory. Our victim was dabbling with black magic and she conjured up a demon. she did not conjure up a demon lmao

KB: Or maybe she ran afoul of some obscure religious sect and they sacrificed her to their pagan deity. well fuck you. maybe she got into trouble with the people in a people way, she disrespected their religion & they killed her for that, not bc of their pagan deity Ok but wait, bac in s1 Castle was really smart, he looked atbeckett, listened to her accent, & was able to determine intimate details about her life & her parent's death.

Washington Heights again

is this the freemason one? lmao (yes it is)

First intro babes!

RC: Ritual markings. Left by some unholy initiation. KB: They’re more like surgical scars. RC: *squints at it* (not clipping)

RC: I’m telling you, our monk, our victim, and these symbols are all connected Me: Yeah, the symbols are hers & the monk killed her. The connection is susannah richmond or w/e her names was

JE: Ah, I wouldn’t be too sure about that. Castle might be right about this Da Vinci Code thing. *castle opens his mouth to gloat.* JE: don’t ruin it.

You can see esposito go to his pocket for one of those mint spray things

Ooh a nice sword! (esposito hoping he gets to play with a sword this ep) What kind of ink? Yeah lol where is the morgue in relation to the precinct

Nice location here

lmao it is the freemasons! Oh in the capital city in the privince next to mine has christian & greek folklore symbols & roads & churches & politicians. cool conspiracy theory stuff my uncle mentioned lol. or maybe like the cool booze bottle

She could have made that symbol up herself ooh idea: her hands were burned to hide the symbols (or the symbols burned her hands)

Nice writing!! (too well lined though) I love being multilingual Is castle a freemason?

"monk's dome" lol

Ryan is so smart! He checked medical criminal stuff! KR: So that pattern of scars on our monk’s dome was from a procedure called stereotactic brain surgery. KB: Okay, can that get us an ID? Because medical records are confidential. (I'm surprised that is true in the usa) KR: Prison records aren’t. I took a shot that the guy did some time. Nineteen men in the system had this surgery, but only one had scars that were an exact match to the monk. Benjamin Wade. He got surgery to remove a tumor while doing a stretch at Greenhaven for an attempted murder.

btw esposito outfit <3

Did you see ryan flick his hand like that when he touched the railing?

wait what if this is alexis' house? KR: Look at this place. I’m going to get hepatitis just breathing the air in. said "nypd" pretty quiet Lol drugs it's the monk! & a blonde woman! What if he can't talk?

lmao silent but deadly I'm making a lot less comments & it is harder to write them down & organize them & I am missing vital watching-pretty-people & visual clues by writing. I mean I partially touch type, but I am also watching what I write on the screen & not entirely touch typing so it is hard for me to do this while watching with my family. I'm able to type this paragraph so much rn because my lil bro is upstairs stirring a batch of nuts & bolts. It is also hard bc I am using the literary/verbal part of my brain to type while also using it to listen to the show, at least one is typing output & one is auditory input, but still, I am hard of hearing & I have captions on so... yeah

Wade: Actually, I am a monk. I just learned to think before I speak. I believe this guy, this monk.

Yeah I believe him, counsel Pointing to a mysterious stranger. also brown long hair not long brown hair? Bro he didn't think he NEEDED to remember details abt it "it's what sells the lie" & then he gives a detail RC & me: nice, wicked Freuidian detail XD why didn't you say that detail earlier too?

JE: Wait, you guys are on the same page about this guy? KB: Not exactly. I think he’s guilty because of his contact with the victim, the stalking, and his history of violence. RC: I think he’s guilty because of his contact with the victim, the stalking, and his role in a sinister conspiracy involving Freemasons. (clipping)

freemason black belt lmao glad I already quoted this

RC: Way better than that. He was a patriot spy. He wrote codes and cyphers during the American Revolution. Meaning, this letter could be the key to finding the great secret of the Masons, enshrined somewhere within the city. KB: Why, because you want it to be? RC: Partly. RC: And because it’s the only story that makes sense. A shadowy brotherhood guarding Rose’s secret for all eternity. Susannah got too close, so they sent their monk assassin to kill her.

mum: didn't he buy his bar bc there was a treasure underneath it?

sketch artist for the time not the sketch?

Impress me There are times i wish she'd stayed in DC esposito's face will clip that if I get the chance (yep)

interesting shirt beckett has there lol

"up to their hoods" lol (lol)

stained glass baby Castle has a copy of the letter?

ah the ash heap is the altar! Makes sense!

interesting prayer candle corner interesting audio too weird little guy with a mouth lmao lil bro: It looks like gandalf I think the pics of the symbols are these places, see the texture? btw the stations of the cross are rly dirty. need to be cleaned.

Hephaestus is the god of blacksmiths or smth, right? he was thrown from a mountain (like me) & got ugly & also disabled? (btw from what I've heard from disbaled ppl, handicap is an outdated term but still used, cripple is a slur, & lame is a slur.)

since the 1700s? etna's forge! field trip third grade XD Nice scene with the low angle & fast walking

sexy place KB: Wow. This is incredible. Shouldn’t there be a docent or some sweaty guy hammering metal standing around? RC: Yeah. (he raises his voice in a british accent) Hello? Is there a smithy here about? We have travelled many a mile – (he’s interrupted by BECKETT’S hand on his arm) – is this annoying you?

Oooh. (he inspects them) Have it, want it, need it, got it, need it, got it, need it... (he did that with the cars too in s8) *pulls a sword on him* *castle just makes a comment* RC: Well now, that wouldn’t happen to be a double edged saber with a crenellated hilt, now would it? Zorro?

OH YEAH I FORGOT CASTLE WAS A FENCER"YOURE NOT SO BAD YOURSELF" PRINCESS BRIDE REFERENCE where is beckett tho?? WHAT SIGN SHALL BE REVEALED? So did she beat him in the swordfight? what is this guy talking about? (clipping)

OH WHAT IF IT IS LIKE SPYCATIONS so castle DIDN'T beat him?

Good old ren faires. Why does beckett's phone beep when she opened the photo?

Like the ghost episode, he couldn't tear down the murder building bc it was a historical site (man looks like my culinary teacher)

2500 is a lot of money but ig if some ppl have spent more... Ah that's why it was so pretty, it was hand written Castle's scalp lol

she never acknowledges his sword fighting? I feel like ryan & even esposito would be impressed by this. except that yk... it was fake... KB: Castle, you didn’t really believe that this was going to lead to some great Freemason treasure, did you? RC: No. Of course not. That would be foolish. (BECKETT nods once, unconvinced) Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home to wallow in what is perhaps the most disappointing day of my crime solving career. KB: Okay. I’ll come by later and try to cheer you up. Me: *lenny face*

oh hey btw esposito has cut his hair!

IT IS THE SAME GUY KR: Well, his name and address are bogus. Everything on the application is. None of this information is real.

cheque in this context

Yeah they only showed a little bit of the dinner, I feel like it may have gotten worse as the dinner progressed Castle really IS a dad.

MR: Of course I'm right! Love her so much

Smart trace? No way. That would n't work. It would need to be straight on. IT'S A MAP!

esposito wearing ryan-core outfit here Ryan looks even more ryan-core WOW THEY ARE WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT LMAO clipping the saga of tracking down the cab (also for the outfits lol)

castle walks Right Behind ryan like that lol so weird (he just... takes his place) (btw just noticed, ryan's shirt was not perfectly ironed. I love that fact.) *puts it on the board* castle is smart/sexy af except the shape was not /that/ good RC: the killer didn't want anyone else to figure it out Me: but susannah figured it out so other people surely also could

lil bro: put your hand in it DON'T PUT YOUR HAND IN IT she speaks french? AND russian? mum already saw the letter lol Oris. Oral. latin for mouth.

he's playing her (could clip but won't) (actually mu lil bro who is my voice of reason in my clipping suggested I do) I saw the thing was oddly broken, like it was pasted on the wall nah bro you would see a seam. You WOULD see a seam.

tomb? blood SWORD How can u tell they are fresh? it's stone castle u r not moving it.

I NOTICED the world ball! There are stars painted there!

The world turns! Mum: Booby trap? (remember tho, how does this work? do they have a hydraulic system? like the last treasure hunting episode, under the gun No they are FAKE half dimes Mum: I TOLD you about the booby trap WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN?

going to the chapel lol

He would not have made an anagram of his name candle wax IS a survival food... RC: Theodore Rose … is … head or toes. No. Theodore Rose … he do rooster. (he laughs) That’s inappropriate. Okay, Theodore Rose, Theodore Rose. Deer shot oreo. Oh, they didn’t have Oreos in the 1700s.

(on phone) What's up Beckett? We don't get to see the rescue, them making fun of caskett?

EXACTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN THINKING-- MAKE THEM ASSUME IT IS JUST A GAME they just... got em out lmao, not showing us that

oh it WASN'T just a game! crowdsourced treasure hunt lol she would NOT know that sort of family lore lmao. I have a ton of family lore & don't know any of it, anything that cool or important.

not lonely, talking abt family lore oh it WAS a big family myth he's awkward. He killed her. Similar nose! As DNA similarities!

mum: half dimes? aren't they nickels? Wow. That is sad. "the people" aren't going to receive them, the historical museum will. You could have sold them to the museum to put your aunt in assisted living.

We get to see thier shoes! (& also ryan's pants match his jacket) Ah, I was wondering how she figured it out when noone else did! She had been to weddings there! both: here we go again RC: I gotta go see alexis JE: *frowns in confusion* The girl & the dad know, but not esposito. (clipped, probably best as a gif tho)

actions speak louder than words

Alexis doubts beckett? But she loves her! WAIT DID PI & ALEXIS PROPOSE?

Make-up ice-cream my beloved SAD "I need time to stop being mad" valid lol

Ok so I did NOT comment as much as I usually do & it was very rushed & I'm not pleased with this, & I did not get any clips or pics (like a pic of rysposito walking out there) but hopefully I'll get the chance to get them.

Uh yeah so where was I? I'm done this ep. Good for me. I really feel like I had smth else to say. Tbh all throughout the film I felt like I had smth mor eto say but I never got th echance.

Oh I remember what I had to say-- & I forgot again. Maybe I was going to say that I would watch it again no wait it was that I'm going to try watching other shows like this-- ok I have it written down now I can write my thought in a better way

Since s5 is due soon, way too soon, I'm going to try writing my liveblog without pausing it at much if at all, bc I have no time. I apparently take 3 hours to watch an episode instead of 1.5 which was my goal. I can do this. I must NOT pause it tho lol

Me: here doubling my liveblog so I could get clips

[bslack12]

End of Week 2 and Montmartre

As someone who had not been an enthusiast of the arts for much of my young life, I am quite content that I have nurtured a continued growth for all things artistic over the past five years or so. I used to think that going to the art museum with mom would have been the worst punishment in the world, but just before we left we went to both a museum and a botanical garden in a week span.

I think I can trace this shift back to a trip to Washington D.C. in 2018, when beforehand I had complained about museum travel, but then fell in love with the Smithsonian and all the different areas with which the museum had a dedicated section. I also remember the National Gallery, where a da Vinci, one that no one really revered or cared about other than the fact of its author, connected me to the rest of the world. It was not just paintings, as architecture, music, botanics, and many more of the humanities other than pure history had suddenly begun to grasp my attention. I think I had strayed away for the longest time because I was very bad at art and music, and did not want to spend time with things that I was not the best at. However, as I matured, I realized that I could appreciate these beauties while also being content in the fact that my talents lied elsewhere. I began to take classes on art and music that focused more on the history of the subjects, and I loved being able to have a new repertoire of facts to immerse myself in.

Flash ahead to this month and I find myself in the capital of the arts world. Everywhere I turn and there is something new to marvel at and lose myself in thought if I give myself the chance. While the museums have been great and I think that I explain them deeper in other posts, I think my favorite art of Paris is what surrounds me all the time. The city itself is a masterpiece, with each street, building, lamp, gate, doorway, etc. giving itself to a new detail of the work. The architecture is just absolutely stunning and I still can not get over the beauty with each building I look at brings me. From the wonderful palaces to the uniquely Paris apartment buildings that come to their peak at the corner of a triangular block straddling two streets, there is always something wonderful that makes Paris the city that it is. One of my biggest gripes with America is the absolutely eye-wrenching design of most of the country for the sake of commercial interests. Square, plain buildings exist in large spaces with nothing but parking lots surroundings, creating eye sores wherever you look. It has been so nice to just appreciate what civilization can look like with effort, a care for history, and the eye of design at mind.

Moving on to today's events, I had finally recuperated from my Bastille Day adventures to attack another day in Paris. I decided to get another check off my list, going to the Hôtel de la Marine after breakfast. I had my interest piqued during Week 1 after I saw an advertisement for an exhibit with the tagline "Quand l'Anglais parlient français". I had been wanting to make it over for some time, so I ventured over to the Concorde and began my tour. It was like the museum of the future, with self-service kisoks, guided headsets that played recordings based on location, and dark rooms with special lights. The permanent collection included anceint works from around the world, while the temperary exhibit, on loan from the Victoria and Albert, was a cool look into medieval England and its relation with France. The rest of the building was decadent, as there were halls colored in gold, beautiful salons, and a great view of the Concorde.

It was then time for class at Montmartre, where some of the best views of the city were seen. Sacre-Cœur was stunning (another great example of architecture in the city), but I really enjoyed the old village of Montmartre, with the tiny, cobbled streets that went up and down with the hills. These moments are the ones where I feel blasted into the past and just relish the amazing society around me.

The day was not done quite yet, as stops at the Place Vendôme and Pond de l'Alma added some great sights and walk to the day and checked off a few more boxes on what seems like a growing list of things I want to do in my remaining days in Paris.

[rmfantasysetpieces1]

A general view of the Stade de France prior to the 2022 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Harry Langer/vi/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

PSG to submit bid for Stade de France as alternative to Parc des Princes home

Paris Saint-Germain will submit a bid for the country's largest stadium, the Stade de France, the Ligue 1 champions said on Friday as they look to move from their Parc des Princes home.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the Parc des Princes was not for sale which prompted PSG to say in January that they would explore "alternative options" for their home stadium.

The Stade de France hosted the soccer World Cup final in 1998 and three Champions League finals since 2000, including last year's showpiece in which Real Madrid beat Liverpool.

The stadium has a capacity of around 80,000.

A PSG spokesperson told Reuters the capital club will submit a bid for the Stade de France but added that their preferred option remains a 'renovated' Parc des Princes.

The Parc des Princes, owned by the Paris city council, has been PSG's home since they entered the top-flight in 1974.

In 2013, PSG reached an agreement with the Paris City Council to extend their lease until 2043, following which they completed a €75 million ($79.89 million) upgrade of the stadium over three years.

The Ligue 1 side also announced their intent to commit an additional €500 million towards the Parc des Princes' renovations, but only if they owned the stadium.

French media reported that PSG put forward an offer to buy the Parc des Princes in November last year but PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said in an interview with Marca that the club did not feel welcome at the stadium.

The lease for the Stade de France is held by a consortium of the French companies Vinci and Bouygues with any buyout of the stadium set to take place after 2025.

The arena opened its doors in 1998 and was the venue of the World Cup final that year, won by the hosts. It will also stage track and field events at the Summer Olympics in 2024.

Last season's Champions League final was delayed after thousands of Liverpool supporters were unable to get into the Stade de France for the match on May 28, which Real won 1-0.

French police were filmed using tear gas on fans, including women and children. UEFA initially blamed the Merseyside club's supporters for the mayhem, but the European governing body later apologised following the release of an independent review.

The spokesperson added that a third option for PSG would be to build a new stadium located outside Paris.

PSG have been the most successful club in France since Qatar Sports Investments took over in 2011, winning the league eight times. They have also had success in France's domestic cup competitions, but have failed to win the Champions League.

https://global.espn.com/football/paris-saint-germain--frapsg/story/4897426/psg-to-submit-bid-for-stade-de-france-as-alternative-to-parc-des-princes

#RMSoccer

IN AMENDMENT

I think PSG monetarily is fine. AL Khaleefi has agreed to a no bling bling transfer model with luis campos but psg has so much bling now, just stay the course and it will be well

[ahmedalys-blog]

the question

the answer

What is the most downloaded app of 2020?

Tik Tok application.

What sea separates Europe from Africa?

The Mediterranean Sea.

Who is the only person allowed to drive without a license in the UK?

Queen Elizabeth.

Which of Shakespeare's plays is the longest?

Hamlet play.

What color is the giraffe's tongue?

blue.

What was the first country to grant women the right to vote in 1893?

New Zealand.

What is the name of the highest mountain in Africa?

Mount Kilimanjaro.

What is the capital of Iceland?

Reykjavik.

What is the most famous name for La Gioconda?

the Mona Lisa painting.

What is the eighth and farthest planet from the solar system?

Neptune.

What color is in 75% of the flags of countries?

green color.

What is the family name of Queen Elizabeth II?

Windsor.

Who discovered penicillin?

scientist Alexander Fleming.

In what year did the Chernobyl disaster occur?

1986 AD.

What piece of fruit sits on top of the Wimbledon men's tennis trophy?

pineapple.

How many legs does a crayfish have?

8.

In what century did Leonardo da Vinci paint The Last Supper?

XV century.

What is the tallest building in the world and where is it located?

Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Prince Hamlet was the king of which country?

[aurata-rin]

Fate/Grand Order Gudaguda 2021 (Ryouma Close Call) - prologue + chapter 1 summary

I don’t think I’ll translate all the dialogue fully, but I figure I might as well finally start doing some story summaries for Fate. This is from my own reading experience of the event, so if there are any mistakes in my reading comprehension, corrections are appreciated!

Prologue

The scene fades in to Nobunaga missing her head. They’re not quite sure where it went, so they seek out Da Vinci for some help (who initially claims she is too busy to help). Nobukatsu comes running in saying he found her head, and it turns out it’s just a sign with a drawing of Nobu’s face on. She is not amused.

Sion and Da Vinci help out and locate a signal of Nobu’s head within a singularity set around 1870 (which is just after the end of the Edo/Tokugawa period). The Shinsengumi Servants don’t qualify to enter the singularity, and Nobu is staying home due to... well, missing her head. Nobukatsu stays where his sister stays. As such, Chacha and Nagayoshi seem the only candidates to go with Master, as Mashu cannot join, either -- which does not inspire much confidence, until Sakamoto and Oryo pop up to say they’re coming along too. Izou rushes in last minute, in his new fancy outfit, to insist he’s coming too.

The group Rayshifts, but shortly after they’re gone, Sion picks up signs of an incoming threat. It turns out to be an intruder, who forces their way past the Servants gathered in the room to get access to a coffin to also rayshift. The prologue ends.

Chapter 1

Master wakes up (alone) in a Tokyo that looks very foreign. A radio broadcast reveals that this is the new capital, SAITAMA, and likewise mentions the Bloody Surrender of Edo Castle and warns citizens to watch out for Imperial Loyalists and report if they see anything. Some people near Master gossip about the Loyalists being up to something again, and make mention of “Shouwa”. Master wanders into an alleyway and ponders about that -- it should, by all acounts, be the Meiji era, not Shouwa.

Because Master just can’t catch a break, a voice rings out from somewhere. It’s from above. Someone is falling from the sky and land right on top of Master. It’s the person who barged into Chaldea to rayshift. She stumbles to her feet and looks for her eyepatch, but Master has already seen her red eye; as such, Master must die, despite having cushioned the mystery person’s fall. Master keeps dodging, mystery person collapses due to lack of “Ranmanium” to strengthen her, and eventually a third person shows up -- Sakamoto. Except he’s alone, and doesn’t feel like his usual self.

Master’s gut feeling is correct when Sakamoto calls a group of Mini Nobu forth to target the mystery person; Sakamoto refers to her as a Servant, and seems to need her as some sort of sacrifice. Master protects her, and she gives up on trying to kill Master, instead complaining about her lack of power and “if only there was someone chosen by my planet, someone with command seals”. Obviously, Master flashes their command seals, the two form a contract, she gives her name as “Mysterious Ranmaru X”, and they beat Sakamoto’s platoon of Nobu. Sakamoto retreats, but just before running, casts a spell on Chacha and Nagayoshi who conveniently pop up. Chacha turns Avenger (Nagayoshi is unaffected), attacks master, and Oryo jumps in just in time to block the blow. The Sakamoto of Chaldea joins up with the rest, and they knock some sense into Chacha. Literally.

The group retreats to Sakamoto’s hideout, as it turns out the team got separated during the Rayshift and he arrived earlier than the others. He’s set up his new detective agency. Chacha wonders if Ranmaru is the one her aunt (Nobunaga) has talked about, but Nagayoshi says that now that he thinks about it, she doesn’t feel like Naritoshi (Ranmaru’s other name). Ranmaru explains she is a Ranmaru from among Ranmarus -- chosen among many Ranmarus. 

Ranmaru wanders off to make tea in a room she dubs the “Ranmaru Café”, the others meet up, and discuss their next course of action. Sakamoto explains what he’s learned so far: in this Singularity, Edo has been destroyed, and Saitama is the new capital. What should have been a bloodless surrender of Edo Castle negotiated by Katsu Kaishu turned bloody, and many of the shogunate’s people, along with important people from the Satsuma and Choshu, were killed. Furthermore, the Meiji restoration did not take place here. It jumped past Meiji and Taishou to end up at Shouwa right away. The state of Japan has advanced 50 years ahead. In real history, there were a lot of miraculous reforms from overseas coming to Japan in the Meiji era, but this town is powered by magical energy and has advanced to a strange level of civilization. Currently, the Takasugi Industries (or “Takasugi Heavy Industry”) is in power -- likely a reference to Takasugi Shinsaku or his family, as Oryo seems to recognise the name from somewhere; he was another influential person in the early Meiji restoration.

Ranmaru proceeds to question Sakamoto about the other Sakamoto from earlier. Sakamoto says he does have siblings, but his brother and he look nothing alike and are quite apart in age. They’ll have to investigate this. Ranmaru will join in for the sake of Master, and her original objective which she cannot recall.

The scene fades, and we cut to Izou wandering the town, not knowing what’s what. He picks up on someone following him and calls out to them, to which a mystery man in a black suit steps out. Izou and he recognize each other, and the scene fades out.

Chapter end.

[conceptproperties]

Dose North Coast Akam

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Pretty lies, ugly truths

The control room had detected a new singularity. This one was located in the spanish capital of Madrid in modern day.

Da Vinci: we can't detect much about the singularity itself, it seems that there's a powerful magical field around the whole thing.

Rex: well fuck... will we be able to even communicate?

Sion: we'll work on making communications work while you're out there but for the beginning you'll be on your own.

Rex: ugh...

Gordy: you'll be able to handle it, can't be that bad of a singularity right?

Rex: I feel like you're jinxing us.

Da Vinci: regardless, this one's a big one. It needs to be handled soon!

Rex: we'll handle it!

Chaldea was sending in Rex, Quetzalcoatl, and Mash Kyrielight into the Madrid singularity to handle things. Soon the three got into their coffins and rayshifting commenced.

3...2...1!

Once they were inside the singularity, they noticed something odd... it was snowing heavily.

Rex: holy crap... that's a heavy snow...

Mash: yes, maybe the snow is what's interfering with the signal.

Quetz: does that mean it's a magical snow? Like in sca- Ugh!

Out of nowhere Quetz doubles over in pain

Rex: Quetz!

Rex runs over to help but before he can something interrupts them.

???: Weigh Anchor!

Out of nowhere a huge ship appears in the streets of the city, heading towards the group

Mash: Senpai!

Mash moves to shield Rex and Quetz from the ship but ends up knocked away along with Rex

Rex: fuck!

Then coming from the ship, chains appear binding Quetzalcoatl, who was too weakened to be able to break free

Quetz: que?! What's going on?!

Rex: Hey! Let her go!

???: finally! We've been waiting for you for a long time!

Quetz: huh?!

When the group looked up at the ship, they recognized it. It was the Santa Maria that Columbus captained. But the man on top looked different.

Columbus?: I'm so sorry Missy, but the boss needs your spirit origin. And what the boss wants, he gets.

The man dressed similar to Columbus but looked much younger and less sinister.

Rex: who the hell are you?! Let go of my wife!

Columbus?: you don't know who I am? Well... then again... I guess you've become accustomed to the real me. Alright! Listen up laddy! Because this will probably be the last name you hear about before die!

Rex and Mash looked up at the man, both angry at the bastard.

Columbus: I am Christopher Columbus! But specifically I'm the Columbus you were told about in your schools! The heroic traveler who against all odds managed to discover America! I'm not the horrible schemer and slaver you're accustom to!

Rex: so you're the lie we were fed as children to justify your farce of a holiday?!

Columbus: rude way to put it but yes! Now if you'll excuse me!

The man snapped his fingers and out came an army of men clad in red appeared.

Rex: what the-

Mash: senpai! That's the spanish inquisition!

Rex: seriously!?

Mash: looks like them!

Columbus: that's right lil lady! Anyways, I'll be leaving you to them while I take this lady back to the base! Seeya!

The boat leaves, with Quetzalcoatl inside, unable to do much.

Rex: DAMN YOU!!!!

Rex wanted to make chase but the inquisition members blocked him off

Soldier: give it up master of chaldea! You do not stand a chance against the inquisition!

Rex: fuck off asshats!

In all his Fury Rex blasts fire at the soldiers, while Mash fights them off with her shield.

Mash: senpai! There's too many!

Rex: to hell with that! We've faced worse odds and came out fine! I'll be damned if I let them get away with my wife!

But the odds really were looking grim, until suddenly the snow intensified around them, mostly focusing on the soldiers.

Soldier 1: ack! The snow! What's happening!

Soldier 2: must be that damned ice queen!

Rex: ice queen?

Then from behind Rex and Mash, another servant comes in to get them out of there, Shakespeare.

Shakespeare: come on you two! We need to get you to safety!

Rex: but I need to save Quetz!

Shakespeare: that can wait! You need to be alive to do so anyway!

Rex: alright fine!

Then the two follow Shakespeare towards safety.

Soldier: where'd the two go!?

The group came out of the storm and were taken into what looked to be a book store. Inside were the two other authors Rex was familiar with.

Anderson: how'd it go Shakespeare?

Shakespeare: not amazing, they got to her.

Murasaki: how unfortunate.

Rex: can someone tell me what's going on?

Mash: yes, I'd appreciate that too.

Murasaki: this is a very unique singularity, it was intended as a trap.

Rex: a trap!? For Quetz?!

Anderson: yes, for whatever reason some mastermind wants her spirit origin. We're not sure why or who, but we do know it can't be good.

Rex: then we have to save her!

Murasaki: you're not in a condition to fight right now, and besides that mastermind won't won't able to do anything as of yet.

Mash: how can you be certain.

Shakespeare: we've been summoned here for a while and we've observed that the man in charge isn't here. There's someone in charge of the singularity but they're taking orders from someone else, somewhere else.

Anderson: and I've stopped their communications with said boss with my Ice Queen's blizzard.

Mash: you're responsible for the snow?

Rex: how can you make such a powerful snowstorm with a fictional character?

Murasaki: that's the nature of this singularity. Somehow authorial works have far more power. We assume who ever made this trap of a singularity is responsible.

Mash: have any guesses as to who it is?

Shakespeare: oh do we!

Anderson: we're pretty sure it's Miguel de Cervantes.

Mash: what makes you so sure?

Murasaki: because one of his most famous creations is also one of the greatest threats here: Don Quixote.

Rex: Don Quixote? But he was just some old delusional fool who thought he lived in a knight story!

Anderson: yeah, normally. But it seems his delusions became a noble phantasm! That turns fantasy into reality.

Mash: could that be why stories are becoming real all in this singularity?

Murasaki: we believe so...

Mash: fantasy to reality... so that makes you three the perfect allies... but what's the plan...

But Rex was getting antsy, wandering the shelves of the book store. He hated being without his wife, it'd been a long time since they were separated like this.

Mash: senpai...

Shakespeare: he can't handle it...

Rex looked through the books, eventually coming to the comics section...

Rex: hey... if you can turn fantasy into reality... how about pulling a Moriarty on me...

Mash: huh? Senpai what are you talking about?

Rex: Moriarty has that gun from that one German story... if the authors can do something similar to help me... I can save her.

Murasaki: that doesn't sound outside the realm of possibility.

Anderson: what did you have in mind?

Rex: lemme see If I can find it...

He looked through the comics, until he found what he was looking for.

Rex: ah ha! This here!

He pulled out a book, and opened to a particular page. In it was planet, a planet made of a dark colored ooze. The inhabit creepy looking slime monsters.

Rex: this! Symbiotes from marvel.

Shakespeare: interesting...

Anderson: not sure how I feel adapting a modern work like that...

Rex: just do it! I'll be able to save her with these powers.

Rex already had some servant abilities, with a small amount of authority from Quetz and the leftover spirit from Cipatli. But they weren't much, with this he hoped to complete it to make a proper spirit origin, or something akin to one.

Mash: senpai... is this really a good idea?

Rex: I Need to save her... I hate being without her... and I want to skewer the fools who took her away...

Murasaki: I can see the pain he's feeling... we should help...

Anderson: fine, we'll turn you into an alien monster. But it likely won't stick when this singularity's fixed.

Rex: so long as I get my wife back I'm fine with it.

The three authors put to use their abilities to infuse Rex with the alien symbiote. Slowly an ooze formed onto his body, colored dark blue, black and red. Then his body was complete engulfed in the slime. It formed something akin to a tight fitting costume with a mask not far off from a lucha mask.

Rex: ...feels weird...

Mash: at least it looks to have worked... what can you do?

First Rex changed his hand to form a large blade.

Rex: that... I can slice a bitch.

After changing it back, he was then able to form flames from his hands, dark blue in color.

Rex: oh!

Anderson: how the hell?

Mash: he did have some of Quetzalcoatl's authority. Maybe it's been enhanced.

Rex: hahahaha! Now let's go! Where the hell could they have taken her!

Shakespeare: not exactly sure where they operate, but Columbus should now.

Rex: you think he'll be out there?

Murasaki: yes, him and his inquisition have been hunting us ever since they found out about us.

Anderson: as authors not aligned with Miguel we pose a great threat here.

Rex: yeah, I can tell why.

Then Rex's communicator started up.

Da Vinci: hello?! Is this thing working?

Rex: we hear ya!

Da Vinci: finally! How's everything?

Mash: not so great.

Da Vinci: what happened?

Rex: the enemy took Quetz!

Da Vinci: what!? And what's with the getup? And why do you have an avenger class spirit origin?

Rex: long story, I'm a monster now. Going to save Quetz!

With that Rex leaps into the air to hunt down Columbus.

Da Vinci: Mash, can you explain?

Mash: somehow, fantasy can become reality and senpai used that to become a monster to save Quetzalcoatl. And he's currently hunting down Columbus for information.

Da Vinci: ah...

Mash: now I'll go catch up with him!

Mash runs off to follow Rex, seemingly forgetting the authors.

Anderson: well... should we leave them to it?

Murasaki: we really should follow, to help make things go smoothly.

Shakespeare: and I can't miss out on the story this will be.

Anderson: *sigh* ok then

Off with Rex he's found the Santa Maria and immediately rushes to fight the captain, leaping into the air with hand blades to kill the captain.

Rex: COLUMBUS!!!

Columbus: what the-? Is that the master of Chaldea?

Seeing the threat Rex was posing Columbus prepared to unleash his noble phantasm but before he could Rex manages to slice at him, injuring him severely.

Columbus: fuck!

The captain falls over, already too weakened to fight much.

Rex: Where is She?! Where'd you take her!?

Columbus: how'd you get so strong?

Rex: Tell Me!

Columbus: you're not getting any info from me...

Rex: we'll see about that

Rex grabs the captain by the arm and slowly stabs into his side, with the shape-shifted blade burning with divine fire.

Columbus, in pain: Aaahhh!

Rex: tell me what I need to know.

Columbus: aaahh! Fine! She's at the capital building!

Rex drops the fool, satisfied by the info. Finally Mash comes in, having caught up with Rex.

Mash: senpai! Did you find out where Quetzalcoatl is?

Rex: the capital building!

Mash: great!

As they finish Columbus starts to fade, tho now looking more like the one we're all familiar with.

Rex leaps off the boat and joins Mash as the boat fades along with it's master.

Mash: we're likely to run into Don Quixote there

Rex: doesn't matter.

The two leave towards the capital building. Having to fight off inquisition soldiers who got in their way. Eventually they find the capital building, a knight clad in sparkling armor with a strong looking horse stands guard.

Rex: that's him isn't it?

Mash: more then likely

Quixote: ho! You two! What brings you here?

Rex: I'm here to get my wife back!

Quixote: ah! You're the man I was told about! You look far more monstrous then I thought.

Rex: good! Now prepare to die!

Immediately the two clash, Rex's blades against Quixote's spear.

Mash attempts to help but is quickly surrounded by more inquisitors, having to fight them off before helping.

*slash*

Quixote: quite an interesting power you've got there! But you'll fall regardless monster!

Rex: Shut Up! I'll kill you! And then I'll get my wife back!

The two clash even more, Rex also having to fight off soldiers at the same time. Eventually another man comes out of the building.

???: Don! What goes on?

Quixote: the enemy master has come my lord!

Miguel: oh! He's come to save that goddess has he?

Rex: give her back!

Rex says this as he continues to clash with the knight.

Miguel: unfortunately I cannot, my master has requested her capture and I must follow his orders!

Rex: Fuck You!

Quixote: how vulgar!

Then, just as before the snow intensified, blinding the enemies.

Miguel: of all the times for this to ha- urk!

The spanish author feels a sharp pain in his chest, he looks in front of him and beyond the falling snow he sees the pissed off Rex.

Rex: I. Said. Give. Her. Back!

Rex then slices straight up, cutting the author in half.

The snow was still intense and the knight was now clashing with Mash, unaware of his master's death but also unaffected by it.

Rex runs into the capital building, the slimy symbiote receding into him to appear normal still. He then finds Quetzalcoatl inside a box similar to the coffins used for rayshifting.

Rex: mi corazon!

He goes over and busts it open and picks her up out of it.

Rex: are you ok?

She's only semi-conscious and isn't able to say much

Quetz: mi amor...?

Rex: I'm here! You're safe!

Outside Mash continues to fight Quixote, in the clash she manages to break his spear.

Mash: yes!

Now the spear appears far more old and damaged then it did before she damaged it. Quixote looks at it, and seems distraught.

Quixote: it's a lie... isn't it?

Mash: huh?

Quixote: it's all just a story... chivalry... it's all a lie...

Out of nowhere Quixote's armor becomes old and worn, his horse weak and also old. Then the snow stops entirely.

Mash: what happened?

???: you broke his trance.

Mash looks over and sees Shakespeare and the others.

Anderson: with Miguel dead, he was weakened and him seeing his spear I'm it's tru form broke his delusions. Now the fantasies are fading.

Mash: so it's over?

Murasaki: looks like it

Don Quixote then fades away himself. Then Rex is seen coming out of the building carrying Quetz.

Mash: Senpai! Is she ok?!

Rex: she'll be fine. Just need to get back.

Da Vinci: so you saved her? That's great to hear! Now let's get you two back before the singularity fades.

Rex: but who the hell was their master?

Da Vinci: not here, so we'll handle it when we get there.

Rayshifting in 3...2...1!

A/N: there's the story I've been planning for a bit. There's going to be a small epilog soon enough but for now there's that.

Tags

@hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @hasbbdoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong @hasabbydoneanythingwrong @renmeo @kazmetic @grievouslyxorvia @valiantstrawberrymilk

[witchbithebooks]

Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Trade Secrets Protect Your Invention!

Patent numbers are provided sequentially, beginning with the number one. It took 75 years for the United States Patent as well as Trademark Office (USPTO) to provide patent number 1,000,000.

What does this indicate? Simply, there is more creativity since at any time in history. The old saw that "there is nothing brand-new" is entirely wrong. There have never been so many people as well as entities producing novel, special items, innovation and also services, and so driven to commercialize these inventions. Much more licenses and also business owners attempting to market their items is indicative that there is even more competition for effective positioning.

To try to market an invention without covering the work with the shield of patent, hallmark, copyright, or profession secret protection indicates a pointless method that will certainly not be successful. Investors, licensees, and also capitalists demand the defense that these intellectual property products manage. You can also get help with invention

He never prepared for that Coke would become a global comfort item, the soft beverage. The most intelligent point John Pemberton ever before did, besides inventing Coca-Cola, was to take care of the secret formula for the syrup as a Profession Trick. To this day, the Coca-Cola Bottling Business zealously shields the active ingredients as well as chemistry involved in generating the base syrup that is the significance of traditional Coca-Cola.

Large Kid Restaurants protects the dish for the tartar sauce that goes on their sandwiches, and that numerous customers buy by the container and take home. McDonald's doggedly secure the process their dining establishments use to cut, prepare, and also season their French-fries. William Wrigley was just as manic in keeping secret his method for supplying powerfully flavored, resilient, chewing periodontal.

Trade Tricks typically are not able to safeguard patent security. The novelty of the Trade Key is in the mixing, chemistry, or chronology utilized to deliver the finished item.

If your item has the possible as well as requirement to end up being a Profession Secret you will certainly desire to comply with numerous very standard actions. As you finalize your growth work hallow all of the steps necessary to deliver the finished item you wish to maintain the key in a dish or recap document.

The Trade Secret gains unbelievable property value when your item comes to be a market success. Offering a business developed around a fully secured Trade Secret tremendously boosts the value of the company. Coca-Cola, Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, Oil of Olay, Schlitz, Dom Perignon, Ben, and also Jerry's, as well as Estee Lauder's Young people Dew are just a couple of instances of renowned brands constructed around a Trade Secret.

A Hallmark is essential in developing a brand understanding of an item. Use a Patent Attorney when approaching the extremely specialized area of seeking Hallmark protection. I have never seen a business owner efficiently browse the extremely complicated functions of the USPTO. I HAVE seen lots of efforts to deal with the procedure, all causing total failing.

The material of a Hallmark can include a personalized, determining symbol, stylized trademark name, and a branding declaration. Nike uses the well-known slash (icon) the Firm's name (identifiable stylized font) and "Just Do It!" (branding statement). Include all of the aspects that the public will certainly identify in your Hallmark application.

Pat's Cheese Steaks in Philly is a regional service that has gained great popularity as well as brand recognition and protects their brand with a trademark. Chanel, the French haute couture brand name, is internationally admired and also the traditional "C" that adorns every system of Chanel item is one of the most acknowledged brand name symbols in the globe.

Having a Trademark provides a commitment to police as well as safeguard the assigned mark. The incorporation of (TM) on every unit of product is vital. Once more, get in touch with an attorney. Trademarks can inadvertently become abandoned and also shed.

Copyrights are utilized to protect intellectual property. We always copyright the guidelines and/or the play attributes of the game.

Lately, Dan Brown, the author of the hugely successful publication "The Da Vinci Code", was suited for plagiarism by the British authors of a book concerning the search for the Holy Grail. The search for the Holy Grail is main to the story of the "The Da Vinci Code". There are full collection racks dedicated to the search for the magical Holy Grail. And yet, throughout the run-up to the film release of "The Da Vinci Code" a lawsuit including this copyright was begun. Brown and also his author intensely protected their legal rights under their Copyright protection. They won complete vindication from the court.

Producers of intellectual web content buildings (motion picture workshops, record labels, book authors) are extremely hesitant to approve unrequested proposals for evaluation. Legal activity is raging in the area of intellectual residential or commercial property. We all bear in mind things that we saw, listened to, or experienced from the remote, however dim past.

Mattel, as well as Hasbro, will not review ANY outside toy entries. Is it not accidental that there has not been an advancement plaything introduction in years from Hasbro or Mattel? This is one of the regrettable by-products of a litigious society, the limits put on required technologies. Secure your intellectual property with a Copyright.

I suggest to my clients, before investing a cent on a patent attorney, that they perform a brief search at the USPTO.Gov web-site by giving all evident keyword phrases applicable to their invention. The comprehensive search will validate the capacity for efficiently acquiring patent protection.

Patents are the favored style of security for many inventors as well as entrepreneurs. Patents (energy) are very powerful representatives of protection versus killers, thieves, as well as rip off musicians. Not to be a boor, but, again, use the solutions of a patent attorney. I am always impressed and amused at the number of individuals I think they can efficiently create, offer extremely certain 3-D CAD art, file, manage USPTO arguments and also move the patent through the labyrinth of a Federal Government administration. Go Figure! They waste time and cash and also usually negate any kind of possibility to have a re-filed patent efficiently obtain a patent number.

The Provisional Patent declaring is a letter that is positioned on data with the USPTO. The Provisionary filing encourages the USPTO of the description of the product you are trying to establish. The letter has a 1-year life cycle and must be prolonged with an official patent declaring (Utility or Layout) or the item is left forever.

We utilize the Provisional Patent as a completely lawful way to state that an item in early-stage development is Patent Pending. A Provisionary Patent filing also makes it possible for the business owner to have a one-year time window to examination as well as scale market action to the invention.

A rival only requires to change a layout aspect, cosmetic attribute, or include a craftsmen version to get rid of a Style Patent. For products that have the real commercial capacity, however, can not get over prior, existing item art to get a Utility Patent, the Layout Patent offers one possibly crucial benefit: the alternative to keep a product suspended in ongoing Patent Pending status.

We have done this for some celebrations. A simple modification to the preliminary declaring indicates that a politician at the USPTO needs to locate the file, pick it up, put the modified filing information as well as re-log the filing. Therefore, the filing goes to the back of the line and we gain months more Patent Pending defense.

When a product is in the Patent-pending mode it has the best defense. When a patent number is provided the clock starts ticking on the effective life of defense and information of the novelty of the trademarked product comes to be public understanding.

By maintaining a product in Patent pending limbo we keep the attributes shrouded from any public understanding. This usually leads to a first to market advantage as well as competition is only aware that there is a Patent pending.

The Utility Patent is exceedingly useful, both as a safety guard against competition and also as an organization possession. The invention that obtains an Energy Patent number from the USPTO is the possibility of a passion for licensees, companions, financiers, as well as equity capital. Many trademarked items (Utility), however, never make it to market. We often see unique inventions, and also hence patent possible, yet not a business, or need, or valuable. Most of us understand a mad scientist or more, with limitless layouts, inventions, as well as patents, none of which are ever going to be a market success.

[echthr0s]

me: there are over 300 total achievements for Civ VI? what on earth fo--

(Missed That Day in History Class: Clear nuclear contamination with a Roman Legion)

(Nobody’s Business But the Turks: As the Ottomans, capture another Civilization’s capital and then rename it)

(Pizza Party!: Activate Leonardo da Vinci in New York with Great Works from Michelangelo and Donatello -- and a sewer -- all in that city)

(Luftballons: Use a bomber class unit to detonate a nuclear device, as long as its base and 9 Observation Balloons are located on the continent of Nena at the time of detonation.)

[ryogai]

Lostbelt No.3 :  S.I.N (The Synchronized Intellect Nation) Lostbelt Depth: E

It was strange, feeling short of breath like this. The past encounters Nix had with poison never affected her like this, not even Serenity caused this sort of reaction. Though the Master had to put on a tough face so the others would not worry. Goredolf was likely going to be worse off than she was over the coming days since he didn’t have the benefit of having a contract with Mash. So she needed to press on, no matter how ill she might feel as time passes. It was a good thing that the only problem she had so far was a touch of breathing trouble.

The good news continued after their successful Zero Sails, arriving in the new Lostbelt with no issues. The area they landed in was a peaceful wheat field, well a large span of fields really. Not only that but they located a leyline nearby, one that would allow them additional aid. Though there was a small bit of trouble with the locals, who seemed to reside in homes carved out of a mountain side. After a small bout of fighting, and Da Vinci (and Holmes) speaking to them instead, they all came to an understanding. Of course they had to lie and claim to be lost travelers but the truth would be much too cruel. Though when it came to the small issue Da Vinci had with the leyline, an oddity was discovered. No Heroic Spirits from this Lostbelt would respond, as if there weren’t any to begin with. What kind of Lostbelt was this if there was no Throne at all?

It wasn’t just the lack of response from the leyline that was strange, there was an odd streak across the sky. For a moment, Nix thought of the ring in the sky back during the first Grand Order. It wasn’t the same thing but something about it gave her cause for concern. The information Da Vinci and Holmes gathered only added to the mysteries as well. There was no apparent calendar kept and the ruler was quite literally called.. Most Glorious and Majestic Heavenly Emperor. Just as they learned this, another mystery was sent their way. The beasts from the Russian Lostbelt appeared and attacked them. How did they get all the way here? The answer to that was easily thought of. Koyanskaya brought them here for some unknown reason. Hopefully when they find and capture her for the antidote, they can gain those answers as well.

The more information they seemed to gather, the more questions came as a result. Thanks to drone surveillance, they captured a picture of the Capital. A bizarre floating, large scale structure that was difficult to make sense of. It seemed to be far more advanced than Proper Human History since everything about it made no sense. The other photograph was of the streak they all saw across the sky. They seemed to resemble peacock feathers in a way, although still quite different, and stretched all across the sky of this Lostbelt. While these discoveries were baffling, at least they finally stumbled upon some answers thanks to the location of the Capital. The location was connected to Xianyang, which dated back to the Qin Dynasty. It was ruled by Qin Shi Huang, an emperor that was rumored to have searched for immortality in Proper Human History. So it was quite possible this emperor was who they would consider this Lostbelt’s King..

“Qin Shi Huang.. Now I know someone has mentioned that name before.”

[bluewatsons]

Paul L. Wolf, The Effects of Diseases, Drugs, and Chemicals on the Creativity and Productivity of Famous Sculptors, Classic Painters, Classic Music Composers, and Authors, 120 Arch Pathol Lab Med 1457 (2005)

Abstract

Context.—Many myths, theories, and speculations exist as to the exact etiology of the diseases, drugs, and chemicals that affected the creativity and productivity of famous sculptors, classic painters, classic music composers, and authors.

Objective.—To emphasize the importance of a modern clinical chemistry laboratory and hematology coagulation laboratory in interpreting the basis for the creativity and productivity of various artists.

Design.—This investigation analyzed the lives of famous artists, including classical sculptor Benvenuto Cellini; classical sculptor and painter Michelangelo Buonarroti; classic painters Ivar Arosenius, Edvard Munch, and Vincent Van Gogh; classic music composer Louis Hector Berlioz; and English essayist Thomas De Quincey. The analysis includes their illnesses, their famous artistic works, and the modern clinical chemistry, toxicology, and hematology coagulation tests that would have been important in the diagnosis and treatment of their diseases.

Conclusions.—The associations between illness and art may be close and many because of both the actual physical limitations of the artists and their mental adaptation to disease. Although they were ill, many continued to be productive. If modern clinical chemistry, toxicology, and hematology coagulation laboratories had existed during the lifetimes of these various well-known individuals, clinical laboratories might have unraveled the mysteries of their afflictions. The illnesses these people endured probably could have been ascertained and perhaps treated. Diseases, drugs, and chemicals may have influenced their creativity and productivity.

The phrase “the inhumanity of medicine” has been used by Sir David Weatherall, Oxford's Regius Professor of Medicine, for a kind of sickness in modern technological medicine.1 In 1919, one of his predecessors, Sir William Osler, had the remedy for that complaint. Osler suggested that the “arts” secrete materials that do for society what the thyroid does for human beings. The arts, including literature, music, painting, and sculpture, are the hormones that enhance an increased human approach to the medical profession.2,3

Illness has affected the artistic achievement of musical composers, classical painters, creative authors, and sculptors. Illness affected their physical and mental status as well. Their inspiration may have been shaped by their human condition. The associations between illness and art may be close and many because of both the actual physical limitations of the artists and their mental adaptation to disease. Although they were ill, many continued to be productive. The afflictions these people endured probably could have been ascertained and perhaps treated with modern medical techniques.

This article analyzes the effects of drugs, chemicals, and diseases on the creativity and productivity of the famous sculptors Benvenuto Cellini and Michelangelo Buonarroti; classic painters Ivar Arosenius, Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh, and Michelangelo; classic music composer Louis Hector Berlioz; and author Thomas De Quincey.

Benvenuto Cellini

A Homicidal Attempt on Cellini Utilizing Sublimate (Mercury)

Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1571) was one of the world's greatest sculptors and a connoisseur of sensuous living. He produced a gigantic masterpiece Perseus With the Head of Medusa. The casting of it was an artistic feat (Figure 1). Cellini was a Renaissance man in every sense. He was a goldsmith, sculptor, musician, and a swaggering figure that saw himself as Michelangelo's artistic equal.

Figure 1. Benvenuto Cellini's gigantic masterpiece sculpture Perseus With the Head of Medusa. This statue stands in the Loggia Dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy. Reprinted with permission from Blackwell Publishing, Ltd

Cellini contracted syphilis at the age of 29 years.4 When he was in the secondary stage of syphilis with a vesicular rash, he was advised to have mercury therapy, but refused because he had heard of the undesirable effects of mercury.5 He received lotion therapy, and leeches were also applied. However, the “syphilis pox” skin rash relapsed. Cellini subsequently became ill with malaria, which was common in Rome at the time. The malaria caused him to become extremely febrile and led to improvement of his symptoms following attenuation of the spirochetes by the high fever. The Romans and the Greeks believed that malaria was due to “bad air”; thus, it was called mal (bad) aria (air). They were not aware that it was caused by a parasite. The fever of malaria obviously had a transient, minimal effect on the clinical course of Cellini's syphilis. In 1539, Roy Diaz De Isla observed the minimal therapeutic value of malaria on syphilis.6 Four hundred years later, in 1927, the Nobel Foundation awarded a Nobel Prize to Julius Wagner Jauregg for malaria therapy of syphilis, which was ineffective, as demonstrated in Cellini's case in 1529.

Subsequently, Cellini developed tertiary syphilis, which resulted in grandiose projects due to his megalomania and which led him to initiate his sculpture of Perseus. He fell easy prey to individuals attempting to capitalize on his grandiosity, his wealth, and his influential reputation. He made a disadvantageous property purchase from clever business individuals who suspected that Cellini was in a terminal phase of syphilis. These salespeople produced a plot to murder Cellini to hasten the realization of their investments. The assassins prepared a meal in which they added mercury to a sauce. After eating the meal, Cellini quickly developed a severe hemorrhagic diarrhea. He suspected that he had been poisoned with sublimate (mercury). Fortunately for Cellini, the dose of mercury in the sauce was not large enough to cause his death, but it was sufficient to cure his syphilis. He decided not to prosecute his would-be assassins, but to honor them as his therapists. Instead of dying of syphilis, Cellini lived many more years. A modern clinical chemistry laboratory might have confirmed the presence and level of mercury by examination of Cellini's urine when he was poisoned. The modern analytic procedure for detection and quantitation of mercury includes atomic absorption spectrometry. Numerous signs and symptoms are present with mercury poisoning, including a metallic taste, stomatitis, gastroenteritis, urticaria, vesication, proteinuria, renal failure, acrodynia, peripheral neuropathy with paresthesia, ataxia, and visual and hearing loss. The half-life of mercury poisoning is 40 days. The modern treatment of mercury poisoning is the utilization of meso-2,3 dimercaptosuccinic acid.

Cellini's magnificent bronze sculpture Perseus With the Head of Medusa (Figure 1), stands on a pedestal that Cellini crafted. Cellini placed the mythical Mercury opposite the multibreasted Diana of Ephesus, or Venus, the goddess of love and beauty (possibly the venereal disease goddess as well) on the base of the statue of Perseus (Figure 2). A possible interpretation of this juxtaposition is that Cellini has demonstrated the cause and cure of his disease.

Figure 2. This sculpture demonstrates the multibreasted goddess of venereal disease at either side of the God Mercury standing on a pedestal. Cellini's syphilis was cured by mercury. This statue forms the base of the statue of Perseus. A possible interpretation of this juxtaposition is that Cellini has demonstrated the cause and cure of his disease. Reprinted with permission from Blackwell Publishing, Ltd

Michelangelo

A Brilliant Sculptor and Painter Who Projected His Own Illnesses Into His Sculpture and Paintings

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was born in March 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. He lived and worked for nearly a century and worked continuously until 6 days before his death. He was considered to be a Renaissance man. He depicted a number of his mental and physical conditions in his paintings and sculpture, as did subsequent painters hundreds of years later.

Michelangelo developed various illnesses during his lifetime. Michelangelo's right knee was swollen and deformed by gout, which is depicted in a fresco by Raphael (Figure 3, A and B). This painting is present in the Vatican and was commissioned by Pope Julius II when Michelangelo was known to be on site at the Vatican completing his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo is shown with a gouty, deformed right knee.7 Michelangelo suffered from gout caused by elevated serum uric acid, and his stone formation may have been urate urolithiasis.

Figure 3. A, Michelangelo's portrait is present in Raphael's School of Athens painting. In the School of Athens, Plato (a portrait of Leonardo da Vinci) discourses with Aristotle. Located at the Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace, Vatican State. Photo credit: Erich Lessing, Art Resource, New York, NY. B, Michelangelo's knees were swollen and deformed by gout, as depicted in this fresco by Raphael (1483–1520) in the Vatican. Located at the Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Palace, Vatican State. Photo credit: Erich Lessing, Art Resource, New York, NY

Michelangelo stated that he had kidney and urinary bladder calculi throughout his life. In 1549, he had an episode of anuria, which was followed by the passing of gravel and stone fragments. In Michelangelo's case, gout might have explained the gravel in his urine. Plumbism should be considered as a possible cause for gout. Obsessed with his work, Michelangelo would go for days on a diet of bread and wine. At that time, wine was processed in lead containers. He might also have been exposed to lead-based paints. The fruit acids of wine, chiefly tartaric contained in crocks, are excellent solvents of lead in crocks coated with lead glaze. The wine thus contained high levels of lead. Lead injures the kidneys, inhibiting the excretion of uric acid and resulting in increased serum uric acid and gout. If a modern clinical chemistry laboratory had existed during Michelangelo's lifetime, his serum uric acid might have been found to be elevated. His urine might have contained excessive uric acid with uric acid calculi, as well as excessive lead levels. A modern clinical chemistry laboratory detects and quantitates serum uric acid with the uricase procedure. Uric acid urinary calculi are associated with needlelike, nonbirefringent crystals in the urine. Thus, Michelangelo may have suffered from saturnine gout.

Michelangelo also suffered from a number of illnesses besides gout. It was also known that he suffered from depression. He exhibited the signs and symptoms of a bipolar manic-depressive illness. He painted more than 400 figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel from 1508 to 1512. His paintings mirror his depression. Features of melancholy appear in the painting of Jeremiah in the Sistine Chapel. Modern medicine has confirmed that manic-depressive illness and creativity tend to run in certain families. Studies of twins provide strong evidence for the heritability of manic-depressive illness. If an identical twin has manic-depressive illness, the other twin has a 70% to 100% chance of also having the disease; if the other twin is fraternal, the chances are considerably lower (approximately 20%). A review of identical twins reared apart from birth, in which at least one of the twins had been diagnosed as manic-depressive, found that in two-thirds or more of the cases the sets were concordant for the illness. If lithium carbonate had been available in the 16th century, it might have helped Michelangelo's depression if he suffered from a bipolar illness, and a clinical chemistry laboratory could have monitored serum lithium levels.

Michelangelo dissected numerous human bodies, beginning at the age of 18 years. The dissections occurred in the monastery of Santo Spirato in Florence, where the corpses originated from various hospitals. The anatomic accuracy of his figures is due to his dissection and his observations. In the painting The Creation of Adam (Figure 4) in the Sistine Chapel, an irregular circular structure appears surrounding God and the angels. One interpretation of the irregular circular structure is compatible with the shape of the human brain.8 However, others disagree and believe the circular structure surrounding God and the angels represents the human heart. At the left of the circle there is a cleavage, possibly separating the right and left ventricles. At the top right is a tubular structure, which may represent the aorta exiting from the left ventricle. Thus, the speculation persists that if it represents a brain, it suggests that God is giving Adam an intellect or a soul. If it is a representation of a heart, God is initiating in Adam the beginning of a cardiovascular system and life, and is thereby giving Adam the “spark of life.”

Figure 4. Michelangelo's painting Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. A possible interpretation of this scene is that God is giving Adam either the “spark of life” or an intellect. Reprinted with permission from JAMA (1990;264:1840). Copyright 1990, American Medical Association. All rights reserved

Ivar Arosenius and Edvard Munch

Various other artists have depicted their illnesses in their works of art. Some examples include classic painters Ivar Arosenius (1878–1909) and Edvard Munch (1863– 1944). Ivar Arosenius was a Swedish painter especially known for his for his paintings of fairy tales. He died of excessive hemorrhage caused by hemophilia at approximately the age of 30 years. His painting Saint George and the Dragon demonstrates a dragon that is bleeding profusely following his slaying by Saint George (Figure 5). The dragon bled convincingly and very profusely. A modern coagulation laboratory would have detected the genetic abnormality for hemophilia, and appropriate therapy with recombinant hemophilia factors could have been instituted. The Swedish Hemophilia Society has established an Arosenius Fund aiding hemophilia patients.

Figure 5. Arosenius' famous painting Saint George Slaying the Dragon. This painting demonstrates that the dragon is bleeding profusely following his slaying by Saint George. Arosenius is depicting his profound bleeding tendency due to his hemophilia. (I. Arosenius, St. George and the Dragon,by Ivar Arosenius. From Sandblom P. Creativity and Disease. Revised 9th ed. 1995: Figure 72. Reprinted with permission from Marion Boyars Publishers, London, Great Britain)

Edvard Munch may have depicted his own psychotic state of mind when he painted The Scream (The Shriek). Munch, a Norwegian painter, used intense colors in his paintings. Another possible interpretation of the event that inspired The Scream (The Shriek) is in an entry in one of Munch's numerous journals. Munch makes clear in the journal entry that The Scream (The Shriek) grew from an experience he had while walking near Oslo at sunset.

The Scream (The Shriek) may have been the direct consequence of a cataclysm half a world away from Norway, that is, the volcanic explosion on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa. The huge explosion, which occurred in August 1883, and the tsunamis it generated killed approximately 36 000 people. It lofted huge amounts of dust and gases high into the atmosphere, where they remained airborne and in the next several months spread over vast parts of the globe. A report on Krakatoa's effects issued by The Royal Society of London provided “Descriptions of the Unusual Twilight Glows in Various Parts of the World, in 1883–4,” including appearing in the Norwegian twilight skies. Munch, too, must have been startled, even frightened, the first time he witnessed the fiery spectacle in late 1883. Munch's sister, Laura, suffered from schizophrenia. Molecular genetic psychiatrists have searched for the genetic roots of schizophrenia. The late Philip Holzman, PhD, professor of psychology at Harvard University and an authority on schizophrenia, was convinced that schizophrenia was broader than the psychotic phenomena and that it included many behaviors that occur in unaffected relatives of the schizophrenic patients. Modern pathology departments have established molecular genetics divisions that focus on the genetic causes of disease. In the future, these laboratories might discover a genetic root for schizophrenia.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)

The Chemistry of His Yellow Vision

The color yellow fascinated the Dutch postimpressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh, in the last years of his life. His house was entirely yellow. He wrote How Beautiful Yellow Is, and all of his paintings in these years were dominated by yellow. Van Gogh's preference for the color yellow may have been that he simply liked the color (Figure 6). However, 2 speculations exist that his yellow vision was caused by overmedication with digitalis or excessive ingestion of the liqueur absinthe. The drink contains the chemical thujone. Distilled from plants such as wormwood, thujone poisons the nervous system. The chemistry of the effect of digitalis and thujone resulting in yellow vision has been identified. It also should be noted, prior to the discussion of van Gogh's yellow vision, that many clinicians have reviewed the medical and psychiatric problems of the painter posthumously, diagnosing him with a range of disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia, digitalis and absinthe poisoning, manic-depressive psychosis, acute intermittent porphyria, and Ménière disease. Psychiatrist Kay R. Jamison, PhD, believes that van Gogh's symptoms, the natural course of his illness, and his family psychiatric history strongly indicate manic-depressive illness. It is also possible that he suffered from both epilepsy and manic-depressive illness.9 If lithium carbonate had been available in the 19th century, it might have helped Van Gogh.

Figure 6. Van Gogh's painting of a Chair and Pipe. This painting emphasizes Van Gogh's preference for the color yellow. Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). Vincent's Chair, 1888–1889. Oil on canvas. Located at the National Gallery, London, Great Britain. Photo credit: Erich Lessing, Art Resource, New York, NY

The Effect of Digoxin on the Retina and the Nervous System, Resulting in Yellow Vision

In 1785, William Withering observed that objects appeared yellow or green when foxglove was given therapeutically in large and repeated doses.10 Since 1925, various physicians, including Jackson,11 Sprague,12 and White,13 quoting Cushny, professor of pharmacology at the University of Edinburgh, have noted that patients overmedicated with digitalis develop yellow vision. According to Cushny, “All colors may be shaded with yellow or rings of light may be present.”

It has been established that van Gogh suffered from epilepsy, for which he was treated with digitalis, as was often the case in the late 19th century.14 Barton and Castle15 stated that Parkinson recommended a trial use of digitalis in epileptics. Digitalis may have been used to relieve his epilepsy. Physicians are more likely to consider a diagnosis of digoxin toxicity if a history of xanthopsia (yellow vision) is elicited, this being the symptom best known to physicians.16

William Withering described many of the toxic effects of the cardiac glycosides in his classic treatise on foxglove in 1785: “The foxglove when given in very large and quickly repeated doses, occasions sickness, vomiting, purging, giddiness, confused vision, objects appearing green or yellow; … syncope, death.” Since 1925, numerous studies have described the visual symptoms and attempted to identify the site of visual toxicity in digitalis intoxication.

The site of toxicity responsible for the visual symptoms has been debated for decades. Langdon and Mulberger17 and Carroll18 thought that the visual symptoms originated in the visual cortex. Weiss19 believed that xanthopsia was due to brainstem dysfunction. Demonstration of cellular alterations in the cerebral cortex and spinal cord of cats after administration of toxic doses of digitalis support the central dysfunction theory.

For many years, most investigators thought that the most likely site of damage in digitalis intoxication was the optic nerve. More recent investigations, however, have identified significant retinal dysfunction in digitalis toxicity and have shed some doubt on the older hypotheses.20 Support for a retinal site of toxicity has been provided by studies that have shown much higher accumulations of digoxin in the retina than in other tissues, including the optic nerve and brain.21 Digoxin toxicity might involve inhibition of sodium-potassium–activated adenosine triphosphatase, which has been identified in high concentration in the outer segments of the rods; inhibition of the enzyme could impair photoreceptor repolarization.22 Lissner and colleagues,23 however, found the greatest uptake of digoxin in the inner retinal layers, particularly in the ganglion cell layer, with little uptake in photoreceptors.

Another possible explanation for van Gogh's xanthopsia was his excessive ingestion of absinthe.24 Van Gogh's taste for absinthe (a liqueur) may have also influenced his style of painting. The drink's effect comes from the chemical thujone.25 Distilled from plants such as wormwood, thujone poisons the nervous system. Van Gogh had a pica (or hunger) for unnatural “foods,” craving the entire class of fragrant but dangerous chemicals called terpenes, including thujone. As van Gogh recovered from cutting off his ear, he wrote to his brother: “I fight this insomnia with a very, very strong dose of camphor in my pillow and mattress, and if ever you can't sleep, I recommend this to you.” Camphor is a terpene known to cause convulsions in animals when inhaled. Van Gogh had at least 4 such fits in his last 18 months of life.

Van Gogh's friend and fellow artist Paul Signac described an evening in 1889 when he had to restrain the painter from drinking turpentine. The solvent contains a terpene distilled from the sap of pines and firs. Van Gogh tried more than once to eat his paints, which contained terpenes as well. Signac also wrote that van Gogh, returning after spending the whole day in the torrid heat, would take his seat on the terrace of a cafe, with the absinthe and brandies following each other in quick succession. Toulouse-Lautrec drank absinthe from a hollowed walking stick. Degas immortalized absinthe in his bleary-eyed painting, Absinthe Drinker. Van Gogh nursed a disturbed mind on the aquamarine liqueur, which may have encouraged him to amputate his ear.

Absinthe is about 75% alcohol and has about twice the alcoholic volume of vodka. It is made from the wormwood plant, which is reputed to have a hallucinogenic effect, and is flavored with a blend of anise, angelica root, and other aromatics.

The chemical mechanism of α-thujone (the active component of absinthe) in neurotoxicity has been elucidated with identification of its major metabolites and their role in the poisoning process.26 α-Thujone has a sort of double-negative effect on the brain. It blocks a receptor known as γ-aminobutyric acid–A (GABA-A), which has also been linked to a form of epilepsy. Under normal conditions, GABA-A inhibits the firing of brain cells by regulating the flux of chloride ions. By essentially blocking the blocker, thujone allows the brain cells to fire at will. α-Thujone acts at the noncompetitive blocker site of the GABA-A receptor and is rapidly detoxified, thereby providing a reasonable explanation for some of the actions of absinthe other than those caused by ethanol and allowing more meaningful evaluation of risks involved in the continued use of absinthe and herbal medicines containing α-thujone. Thus, the secret of absinthe, which is considered a fuel for creative fire, has been unlocked.

There is an increasing concern about the use of thujone substances with the rise in popularity of herbal medicines. Wormwood oil, which contains thujone, is present in some herbal preparations used to treat stomach disorders and other ailments. (In fact, wormwood, a relative of daisies, got its name from its use in ancient times as a remedy for intestinal worms.) Individuals ingesting these preparations have complained of developing yellow vision.27 Scientific studies of thujone are investigating the active ingredients in many herbal preparations. Absinthe is still manufactured in Spain and the Czech Republic. In modern absinthe, alcohol, which makes up three quarters of the liqueur, may be the most toxic component. It is still illegal to buy absinthe in the United States, although it can be obtained through the Internet or when traveling overseas.

Recently, an article entitled “Poison on Line: Acute Renal Failure Caused by Oil of Wormwood Purchased Through the Internet” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.28 In this article, a 31-year-old man was found at home in an agitated, incoherent, and disoriented state by his father. Paramedics noted tonic-clonic seizures with decorticate posturing. His mental status improved after treatment with haloperidol, and he reported finding a description of the liqueur absinthe at a site on the World Wide Web entitled “What is Absinthe?” The patient obtained one of the ingredients described on the Internet, essential oil of wormwood. The oil was purchased electronically from a commercial provider of essential oils used in aromatherapy, a form of alternative medicine. Several hours before becoming ill, he drank approximately 10 mL of the essential oil, assuming it was absinthe liqueur. This patient's seizure, probably caused by essential oil of wormwood, apparently led to rhabdomyolysis and subsequent acute renal failure.

This case demonstrates the ease of obtaining substances with toxic and pharmacologic potential electronically and across state lines. Chinese medicinal herbs, some of which can cause acute renal failure, are easily procured by means of the Internet. Although absinthe liqueur is illegal in the United States, its ingredients are readily available. Absinthe is also currently a popular drink in the bars of Prague, in the Czech Republic. The essential ingredient in this ancient potion was purchased in this case by means of up-to-the-minute computer technology.

A modern clinical chemistry and genetics laboratory could possibly have determined the following in van Gogh's case: (1) serum digitalis concentration, (2) serum thujone concentration, (3) urine porphobilinogen, and (4) serum lithium levels. These tests could possibly have confirmed that van Gogh suffered from chronic digitalis intoxication or intoxication from thujone related to excessive drinking of the liqueur absinthe. Modern tests could analyze his urine for the presence of porphobilinogen, which is the diagnostic test for acute intermittent porphyria, another speculated van Gogh illness. If Van Gogh had used lithium carbonate for bipolar illness, serum lithium levels might also have been important to monitor.

Louis Hector Berlioz and Thomas De Quincey

Effects of Opium on Their Creativity and Productivity

Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was born in France. His father was a physician who taught his son to appreciate classic literature. Berlioz's family attempted to interest him in studying medicine, but after his first year of medical school in Paris, he gave up medicine and became a music student instead. Berlioz entered the Paris Conservatoire of Music in 1826. As a boy, Berlioz adored both music and literature, and he went on to compose the Symphonie Fantastique, in which the hero (a thinly disguised representation of Berlioz himself) supposedly survives a large dose of narcotic. Another interpretation of the Symphonie Fantastique is that it describes the dreams of a jilted lover (Berlioz), possibly attempting suicide by an overdose of opium. This work is a milestone marking the beginning of the Romantic era of music.29 His creativity was fired in particular by a love for great literature and an unquenchable passion for the feminine ideal, and in the best of his works these elements conspired to produce music of exquisite beauty.

Berlioz took opium to relieve agonizing toothaches, but there is no indication that he ever took opium to become intoxicated, as the author De Quincey did. On September 11, 1827, Berlioz attended a performance of Hamlet at the Paris Odéon, in which the actress Harriet Smithson (Berlioz later called her Ophelia and Henrietta) played the role of Ophelia. Overwhelmed by her beauty and charismatic stage presence, he fell desperately in love. The grim program of Symphonie Fantastique was born out of Berlioz's despair because of the unrequited love he had for the English Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson.

Berlioz found a way to channel the emotional upheaval of “l'Affaire Smithson” into something he could control, that is, a “fantastic symphony” that took as its subject the experiences of a young musician in love. A detailed program Berlioz wrote prior to a performance of the Symphonie Fantastique, and which he later revised, leaves no doubt he conceived of this symphony as a romantically heightened self-portrait. Berlioz did eventually woo and win Miss Smithson, and they were married in 1833 at the British Embassy in Paris.

The program Berlioz wrote for Symphonie Fantastique reads, in part:

A young musician of morbid sensibility and ardent imagination in a paroxysm of love-sick despair has poisoned himself with opium. The drug too weak to kill plunges him into a heavy sleep accompanied by strange visions. His sensations, feelings, and memories are translated in his sick brain into musical images and ideas.

The underlying “theme” is obsessive and unfulfilled love. The symphony reflects Berlioz's hysteric nature with fits of frenzy, as revealed in his dramatic behavior (Figure 7).29

Figure 7. Hector Berlioz conducting one of his symphonies. Located at the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, Vienna, Austria. Photo credit: Erich Lessing, Art Resource, New York, NY

It was obvious that Berlioz was addicted to opium, which is a yellow to dark brown, addicting narcotic drug prepared from the juice of the unripe seed capsules of the opium poppy. It contains alkaloids such as morphine, codeine, and papaverine, and is used as an intoxicant. Medically, it is used to relieve pain and produce sleep. It is a tranquilizer and has a stupefying effect. Apart from alcohol, opium was the drug most commonly relied on in the 19th century, especially by poets for stimulating creative ability and for relief from stress.

Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859) was an English essayist. He wrote a rare kind of imaginative prose that was highly ornate, full of subtle rhythms, and sensitive to the sound and arrangement of words. His prose was as much musical as literary in its style and structure, and anticipated such modern narrative techniques as stream-of-consciousness.

De Quincey authored his most famous essay, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater, in 1821. He gave us an eloquent essay both of the delights and the agonies of opium abuse. He believed that the habit of eating opium was of common practice in his day and was not considered a vice. Originally, De Quincey believed that the use of opium was not to seek pleasure, but its use was intended for his extreme facial pain, which was caused by trigeminal neuralgia.30 The essay's biographical parts are important mainly as background for dreams De Quincey describes later. In these dreams, he examined (with the help of opium) the intimate workings of the memory and subconscious. It is easily understandable that De Quincey “began to use opium as an article of daily diet.” He was addicted to the drug from the age of 19 until he died. The pain was not the only reason for his addiction; he also discovered the effect of opium on his spiritual life. By accident, he met a college acquaintance who recommended opium for his pain.

On a rainy Sunday in London, De Quincey visited a druggist's shop, where he asked for the tincture of opium. He arrived at his lodgings and lost not a moment in taking the quantity prescribed. In an hour, he stated:

Oh heavens! What a revulsion, what a resurrection, from its lowest depths of the inner spirit! What an apocalypse of the world within me! That my pains had vanished was now a trifle in my eyes; this negative effect was swallowed up in the immensity of these positive effects, which had opened before me, in the abyss of divine enjoyment thus suddenly revealed. Here was a panacea for all human woes; here was the secret of happiness, about which philosophers had disputed for so many ages, at once discovered; happiness might now be bought for a penny and carried in the waistcoat-pocket; portable ecstasies might be corked up in a pint-bottle.

Other famous writers and poets have used opium. Coleridge saw the palace of Kublai Khan in a trance and sang its praise “in a state of Reverie, caused by 2 grains of opium.” Coleridge wrote: “For he on honeydew hath fed/ And drunk the milk of Paradise.” John Keats also tried the drug and stated in his Ode to Melancholy: “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains/My sense, as although of hemlock I had drunk/Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains.”

If our modern clinical chemistry, toxicology, immunology, hematology-coagulation, infectious diseases, and anatomic pathology laboratories had existed during the 16th through the 19th centuries, during the lifetimes of Cellini, Michelangelo, Arosenius, Munch, Van Gogh, Berlioz, De Quincey, and other famous artists, the clinical laboratories, especially those certified by the College of American Pathologists, might have unraveled the mysteries of their afflictions.

Although the famous artists discussed in this article were ill, many continued to be productive. Diseases, drugs, and chemicals may have influenced their creativity and productivity. After the diagnoses were established, aided by anatomic and clinical pathology findings, these famous artists may have benefited from resultant treatment with modern medical techniques. Modern pathologists' clinical laboratories are important in solving today's medical disease mysteries and would have been important solving yesteryears' medical mysteries.

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