#apparently necromancy in that setting. and thats it.

[iamthescalesofjustice]

had a dream segment that was so perplexing that i literally ignored the next part of my dream to sit down and analyze it. 

[lemon-natalia]

Gideon the Ninth Reaction - Chapter 27

‘pure humbuggery’ sound the alarm bells, palamedes is using british-isms, in this book thats a sure sign someone’s gonna die

ooohh it literally only just occurred to me as Harrow was talking about ‘lyctoral power’ that its very likely all of the facility stuff, the key challenges themselves etc. were probaly all set up by previous Lyctors 🤦

i mean given the one clue they were given was about locked doors, Harrow’s whole ‘secret door’ theory actually makes a lot of sense

i won’t lie, i still don’t really understand all of the thanergy stuff, so the beginning of this chapter was a little hard to parse. i don't think its because of bad writing or anything, i'm just not really into magic systems or understanding how they work honestly

i mean the five deadlocks on the door make some sense, but given Jeannemary got killed in a sealed room unfortunately i doubt they’re gonna do the Sixth much good now

ok someone, possibly the same someone involved with the constructs is actively trying to stop them from accessing another door. the question is whether it’s another member of the Houses wanting to prevent competition, or something that only just occurred to me is that some outside/other force is trying to stop all of them. which given the fact that the big amalgamate monster things were made by someone apparently very necromantically powerful … are the lyctors somehow involved in all of the deaths? maybe they don’t want to give up their positions, we only have the emperor’s word for it that they do after all

listen i don't think this is actually the case, its against the singular rule and there's probably some kind of magic stopping it, but it would be funny if someone just like, picked the lock on any of these doors. just speed-run the entire thing without any necromancy

wow Palamedes isn’t wrong the both of them are getting wayyy too comfortable using the whole energy transfer thing 

i’m not so sure coronabeth is the one to really watch out for - she seems more confident/outgoing than ianthe, but ianthe is clearly comfortable keeping things from her 

aaaand things are really kicking off between Harrow and Gideon. there’s unresolved issues for days here, it was only really a matter of time before their tentative alliance started disintegrating honestly

there’s a Lot to unpack here about their fight… on one hand, Harrow is clearly a lot more jealous than she wants to admit and making a real dick move to keep Gideon away from Dulcinea, no matter how far they’ve come Harrow still seems to be in that mindset of being in control of/feeling superior to Gideon as she was back on the Ninth. 

but on the other hand, Gideon is very clearly projecting her own feelings of guilt about Jeannemary and everything else onto Harrow. plus Dulcinea has proven herself to be more clever and shady than she initally appears already, i don’t think Harrow’s wrong to still be wary of her. there’s just, y'know, an infinite number of ways she could have handled it better

‘Jeannemary the Fourth was ten times the cavalier I am’ i’m SOBBING

ohhhh and now they’re back at where they were at the start … Gideon saying she hates Harrow, Harrow saying she doesn’t think about Gideon. except now after everything they’ve been through, and how much they clearly do care, it hurts so much worse. Tamsyn Muir you’re driving me crazy

‘Gideon decided there and then her betrayal’ what an absolute banger of a line to end the chapter with

[the-ghost-bracket]

VikingPilot propaganda:

"Unreliable narrator of all time, this FUCKED UP MESS OF A GHOST has sooooo much nonsense going on and going WRONG with him. This mans starts off as a tragic character whos unable to interact with ANYONE, but once he becomes semi-corporeal and is finally able to speak to others, this results in a LOT of problems for everyone else.

To simply name a few, he phases through things and jump-scares people any chance he gets, he went to unreasonable extremes in order to acquire an I.O.U. from a very powerful person (Legundo) that ultimately accidentally results in a mini apocalypse, he gets an I.O.U. from someone else (Fixxit) and just orders him to stop Legundo at all costs?, hes ALMOST canonically plural/two people, this bitch has a fucking insane underground vault (with like twelve full sets of netherite, a dimond and netherite throne, and its just spooky as hell), He probably has the best scary laugh i’ve ever heard, and hes ALWAYS up to mischief.

Oh also he tries to do some Dark Magic but isn’t capable of going through with it due to Legundo not properly following through with his I.O.U., and he decides to remind Legundo of this in the MOST mentally well adjusted way possible ( https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxbcBe_A7YYtt2K33_Rm4V71SG0sqdnEY_ ).

Anyways thats most of the major nonsense I can think of for right now so uhhh! Enjoy the VikingPilot propaganda and please remember you are NEVER immune to Bell Noises!"

"Lovely unreliable narrator who loves jumpscaring his friends."

"quote from the ghosty boy himself. ""what do the interest rates look like on your word?"""

"he's a ghost. he has no memories. his soul got torn asunder by an evil magic book. he's trying to do a ritual from the evil magic book that split him in half so that he can get his memories back. he's a sneaky bastard who's double crossing everyone else on the server. he makes a lot of really terrible jokes. he (canonically!) says trans rights. vikingpilot you agree reblog."

"split color scheme. unreliable narrator. plural swag. committed tax fraud."

"Viking is a ghost haunting the world of Dominion SMP! For a long time, he was merely an observer— no one could see him, no one could hear him, he couldn’t interact with anything; no one knew he even existed. That was, I until the members of Dominion killed the Ender Dragon. This changed… something… in the world, and caused him to be visible, audible, and (mostly) tangible.

From there, he made a haunted graveyard, spooked people by sneaking up on them and shouting ‘Bell noises!!’, had a totally normal and not at all unhinged response to (one) asking for a favor, and (two) following up on that favor when it had not yet been kept, and he built a creepy mansion! He also plays piano!

He’s not sure how or when he died, but he feels certain that he was someone important. At some point in the time he was a ghost, he somehow got his hands on a book, which contains different rituals, and apparently, the contents of this book broke his mind, somewhat splitting it in two, and possibly being the source of his amnesia. Notably, the book contains a ritual that would allow him to regain his memories, and this has been his main objective for most of the series."

"ghost of ALL TIME. haunted his friends for months before they suddenly became able to see him. walks through walls. has world's most evil nervous laugh. knows exactly where his hinges are buried. unreliable narrator. has an underground vault full of diamonds and expensive armor, including a throne made of netherite. causes shenanigans on purpose. lived in an underground graveyard and then a haunted mansion. monologued for 11 minutes about wanting to do dark magic in order to necromancy himself and cure his amnesia. very pluralcoded. won round 1 of a sexyman bracket despite being a niche character. the most guy/ghost of all time forever"

"i haven’t actually watched dominion,,, but like. i keep seeing this funky little unreliable narrator ghost man on my dash sometimes. so fuck yeah."

"He’s just a silly little ghost guy!"

[loveofmyknife]

Live Blogging the Burrow’s end finale but it’s all in one post because I can’t be bothered to reblog the same post 10 times. So like… pre-recorded blogging I guess

Spoilers. Obviously.

- loving the finale outfits! Especially the caution tape accessories!

- hey girl hey! Poor Teedles is taking all of this very well and we love them for it. I too would rather face possible death than have to babysit my boss’s children

- someone really should go check on Simon

- love how Tula is advocating for a nonviolent solution and ends it with “and we should definitely track down and murder Phoebe”. It’s nonviolent except for one specific person (being?)

- Lucas is just doing his best as a congested little boy. Somebody get him some mint! (Bint)

- “oh, mommy has so much bloodlust!” is an excellent line

- again, Brennan is unhinged, and also maybe wearing pink lipstick, which I think adds to the vibe

- Thorn being concerned for Dr Steel is so indicative of his character. He just wants to protect his people, and even though they’ve only known this human for a few hours, she is one of his people

- I DID NOT KNOW HE COULD DO THAT

- love a good title drop, but this plan seems very hastily put together. I am concerned

- persuasion- “-OR ELSE!” … ok intimidation

- gasoline lasts for however long is narratively relevant

- how many stoats does it take to drive a truck? Apparently at least 5

- I mean as far at Nat 1s go operating a gear shift as a rodent makes sense

- viola is holding this group together by sheer force of will

-oh fuck human magic!

- new map! New map!

- Oh fuck “human” NECROMANCY!

-kinda sad that Carlos isn’t playing Wennabocker on the board in some way but it obviously makes sense from a practical standpoint

- the minis!!! So cool!

-“grandma casts sounding” oh no…

- box of doom strikes again

- 40 points of damage is insane

- Lucas no! I love his little hat but no!

- hate when the BBEG rolls a Nat 20

- 69 hp…nice

- not Lucas!!

- oh Tula is never going to forgive herself for this and I have Thoughts about it

- Phoebe really is just a situation at this point

- That is exactly what a 12 year old would say when beating up an eldritch horror

- yeah I’d say hitting the ground really hard is a reckless attack, Ava

-109 damage! Jesus fucking Christ

- oh it’s some eugenics shit, okay

- Dr Steel coming to the rescue!

- I love using a bunch of skills and mechanics to get the desired outcome. Casting a spell, moving out of range of counterspell, and disengaging an opportunity attack all at the same time just to be able to fireball this meat suit

- I also would not recommend hitting a nuclear reactor with fire

- “no that’s okay” was such a power move

- “I DEBONE THAT MOTHERFUCKER” yes you do, and somehow that invents cooking! I love it

- Nat 20! “THATS! MY! WIFE!!!” Viola has taken out 4 giants in a single round. She is a badass. She is a warrior. She is my hero.

- oh yeah, Dr Steel was just standing there for all that

- We may be experiencing a tragedy but at least they’ve also invented ice cream

- LUCAS NO!

- ok yeah i might be sobbing a little, what of it?

- I like that Ava can have a little magic as a treat

- I personally welcome our new stoat overlords

- babies!

-Get it, Tula! But seriously I like that she really got to process life without being just a widow and a mother before moving on

-baby’s first word: viscera. This is cannon

-Ava’s doing great, and her life is in her own hands. She’s completely overhauling the local law enforcement and creating triple A

- Dr Lila! She’s a nuclear physicist now!

- Did not expect Jaysohn to go for an Airbud plot line but I’m not mad at it

Closing thoughts: I loved it! I think the ending was pretty abrupt but taking out the BBEG in like 2 rounds will do that so I can’t fault them for it. I would have loved for at least one of the party to take over Education, and I think Tula was kind of set up for it but I’m glad she gets to just enjoy life now instead. I can’t wait to see tomorrow’s Adventuring Party and I’m super excited about next season!

[a-flickering-soul]

tlt fucks hard. the characters are the biggest draw i think, they all have very colorful personalities and strong voices and its very entertaining to watch them bounce off each other, and the protags especially have this wonderfully developed relationship- tension so thick you can cut it with a knife but also incredibly funny and incredibly tragic and i think those elements are all balanced super well- like, they make you sad but their interactions are still so entertaining its always fun to see them on the page together. the world is also very fun, i found the descriptions and settings really evocative and the necromancy produces really fun fights and cool character concepts.

i will say that it’s kind of a demanding read - i think it’s at it’s best when you have the drive to sink a couple rereads into it as well, because there’s a lot of wonderful work with complex theme that often becomes more apparent in retrospect. although i think the characters and their relationships carry the story great if you’re not into analysis, a lot of the charm for me is how much room there is to engage with the text after the first read and its the stuff i uncovered doing that that REALLY stays in my head and keeps me coming back. but the upside is that thats all secondary stuff - if you don’t find analysis interesting you don’t really have to engage with it, because it’s all background to the characters and their adventures anyway and you might not notice half of the hooks on a regular read anyway.

okayyyyyyyy!!!!!! this gave me basically everything i need to know tysm anon!!!!!

[fixing-bad-comic-art]

Damn can't believe you cut off early to avoid boring me after I ASKED you about the setting. I want the juicy details! -Foos crimes anon

sgshahshhs Ok!! then welcome to part two Whiplash edition, for those just joinimg us go read the other dnd lore post first!

same anti zen restrictions apply even tho this is all stuff she already knows,

So, lets start strong The unkillable king? did you notice how all of his big scary features (burning castles, necromancy, and mind control) were all things his generals specialized in?

thats bc hes done pretty much Nothing. bc hes effectively five years old, trapped in his forest, and the literal fallen god of decay.

The admiral, who is called Mel, woke up this old god bc she just Really hated her boss. Like she could have just taken a nap, had a good meal and then rain down so much fire on the bastard that his ashes are ashes. but she didn't because he was planning on waking The Old God in order to unleash him on the people of coltonia. and mel said "Hm! fuck that." and woke him up herself and set him up as a puppet. Mel is the brains!! She has a bob cut bc she accidentally set her hair on fire, but i Promise you shes the brains. but she didn't wake him alone, she had help from this dragon called villar.

Decay is usually called Everard bc while in disguise at a tavern that's just Barely within his circle he met a really cute bard and Panicked when the bard asked him his name. and obviously he didn't have one! he was either just Decay or the Boar King, so he Panicked and said the name of the author of the book he'd been reading. and then he fell a little in love with the bard, and then the bard stole his wallet.

And the Bard! Is! The! Interigator! he went to that tavern to play for a crowd he didn't mind charming. He can't play without charming everyone who hears bc hes both an incubus and the prince of the winter court! heir apparent! but he doesnt want to be and only found out less than two years ago at this point, on his 18th bday bc his adoptive mom sold her first child to the fucking queen of the winter court for the gift of music! she didn't think shed ever have to pay up but when she found out it was her or whatever baby she could find to call hers she started praying and begging and making deals with with whatever would listen. and one of the people who would listen was the demon lord Grazzt. who gave her one of his Many children just to see what would happen.

Anyways when he goes to the tavern there's this kinda boring looking guy? who Isnt charmed by him??? and when he trys to figure this guy out hes being all nice and sweet and he Knows this guy is into him? and Hes Not Charmed??? and then Babs trys his hellish charms, and this guy Still isnt charmed??? its like they just Bounced right off?????? and he panics bc this is the first person he can say for certain is immune to him and isnt just being nice and flirty bc they physically have to. and he falls a little in love?? he panics bc he Doesnt Know What To Do.

so he just steals the guys wallet and runs.

The inquisitor cant get through five words without having a nervous break down, and is just a little nerd whos Desperately in love with Bab's sister, and Tamm Absolutely returns his affections but they're both too nervy to actually move on it bc theyre friends! the four of them (Tamm, he identical sister Bamm, their adoptive brother Babs, and Ezekiel) are the single most notorious group of hired hands in all of coltonia??? so he cant Just Ask her bc that would ruin it Obviously.

and Those four work for a gang called the Jackalope. which is also the name of the pub/brothel the gang operates out of.

and the Jackalope is ran by Big Mama, a reclusive and mysterious woman whos perpetually being guarded by a man named Mole Hill. one of these people is a goliath, the other is a gnome. you can probably guess which is which.

and technically both babs and ezekiel are only on loan to the boar king but that changes after babs and everard get married for the second time.

and Vilar!! he was a Frequent john at the Jackalope while he was helping mel wake Everard bc he was trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. So he had his regular girl right? for an easy unwinding fuck, and she told him what nights shed be there bc hes respectful and tips well and its worth keeping him around. but one night he fucks up and asks for her when he Knows she won't be ther bc hes just Tired after chasing an arsonist around a forest all day. and before he can correct himself the girl at the desk is like Sure! she'll be right with you!.

and hes just "????" and then the girl shows up?? and they go back to the room and he Knows there's something up??? and tldr he spends a solid month trying to figured out whats going on with the shapeshifter who fills in for some of the sex workers.

anyways, hes also a bronze dragon whos in charge of making sure nobody enters coltonia from the west and has a grey render be calls his dog named anatomy. and his personality can be summed up as "bastard cat man who needs to fuck less" bc God Dammit does he have a lot of bastards.

and his arch nemesis is the gold dragon no name who blames him for the death of their son (which to be fair he blames himself for that too). she Is Hell Bent on murderizing his ass but they are too evenly matched so they're just stuck in perpetual war.

and there's other stuf but im Out Of Words.

[dolciume]

so in the dream it was like the government took a HUGE bunch of people and basically brainwashed all of us to forget our regular society and we were all like a TON of people living like very set up lives? and we would get paired together to do certain tasks or projects. i kept seeing hetalia england, at one point he approached me and was talking his lil shit, and i’m like okay arthur shut up. i kept seeing hetalia france america and prussia too and it felt implied germany was hangin around. but it felt all like an alternate universe where they were human instead of immortal. it was kind of like a huge warehouse/flea market/school setup? and i remember this man knew that i wasn’t under the government brain washing (i was aware of a lot of stuff going on, like the spell/chemical technology didn’t effect all of us but i was scared to not break the routine bc my brother and mom were there but didn’t rly remember me) and the man showed me a framed pic of my family. and he said he can bring my dad back to life. but i said immediately let him rest in peace. not to be crazy but i want my dad to rest in peace even in my unconscious dreams. no necromancy or summoning needed, let him be in peace. i knew he loved me and my brother and mom. :( so in the dream even w england talkin his stupid shit LOL i somehow got paired with prussia (who was patrolling in some kind of uniform earlier in the dream, he wasn’t a cop but rather a guard of some sort) to do some task— apparently our romantic compatibility had a highish score of 68% XD THATS PRETTY HIGH.. and he was kinda like … and then as the dream went on we got affectionate 😭😭 i remember rubbing my shoulder into his shoulder…and anyway, was just a dream, he was kinda smaller 😆 canon prussia is like 5’10” and pretty muscley 😆 this prussia was a little more normal sized xD anyway that was my dream :3 it was nice to be w prussia bc i love him so much. i felt this dream was a little blessing and comfort to me.

[marlaluster]

Emptying the cliptray on the new phone. ....

1. mag·ic /ˈmajik/ Learn to pronounce noun 1. the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. "suddenly, as if by magic, the doors start to open" synonyms: sorcery, witchcraft, wizardry, necromancy, enchantment, spellworking, incantation, the supernatural, occultism, the occult, black magic, the black arts, devilry, divination, malediction, voodoo, hoodoo, sympathetic magic, white magic, witching, witchery; More adjective 1. used in magic or working by magic; having or apparently having supernatural powers. "a magic wand" synonyms: supernatural, enchanted, occult, Druidical; More 2. INFORMAL•BRITISH wonderful; exciting. "what a magic moment" synonyms: fascinating, captivating, charming, glamorous, magical, enchanting, entrancing, spellbinding, magnetic, irresistible, hypnotic More verb 1. move, change, or create by or as if by magic. "he must have been magicked out of the car at the precise second it exploded" Feedback Translations and more definitions Merriam-Webster › dictionary › magic 2. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/magic 3. British & World English magic Definition of magic in English: magic NOUN mass noun 1The power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. ‘suddenly, as if by magic, the doors start to open’ More example sentencesSynonyms 1.1 Mysterious tricks, such as making things disappear and reappear, performed as entertainment. as modifier ‘his parents bought him a magic set for Christmas’ More example sentencesSynonyms 1.2 A quality of being beautiful and delightful in a way that seems remote from daily life. ‘the magic of the theatre’ More example sentencesSynonyms 1.3informal Exceptional skill or talent. ‘he's been working his magic on New Zealand movies for the past two decades’ More example sentencesSynonyms ADJECTIVE 1Having or apparently having supernatural powers. ‘a magic wand’ More example sentencesSynonyms 1.1attributive Very effective in producing the desired results. ‘confidence is the magic ingredient needed to spark recovery’ More example sentences 2British informal Wonderful; exciting. ‘it was a great time, magic’ More example sentencesSynonyms VERB 4. Mmmm yummy things so rewarding n awesome, a mysterious thing kind of. So appreciated, tasty things like that yummy looking ice cream cone. Kind of not so a match for the current environment though i must say so as to not be misleading. Then people are not really present to enjoy the treats but they still mean something for their seeming occurrence to have them. 5. 35,108 likes halleberry Sometimes the perfect #SelfCareSunday is about bringing joy to the ones we love, and nothing feels better than making my little guy smile. When we honor others we honor ourselves.🍦 lylaesme3 ❤️❤️❤️😍 bikeradd You tell them Halle, I've cream makes everyone happy even me! Love you Halle! God Bless You, 🙏 marlaluster Mmmm yummy things so rewarding n awesome, a mysterious thing kind of. So appreciated, tasty things like that yummy looking ice cream cone. Kind of not so a match for the current environment though i must say so as to not be misleading. Then people are not really present to enjoy the treats but they still mean something for their seeming occurrence to have them. 16 HOURS AGO 6. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx8NfEyjJ_q/?hl=en 7. pretty top n pretty on halle berry. things like this that are something meaninful somehow to people. dont wish things to not be okay, aging maybe suggested as not what it is traditionally w some things like this maybe. thats good. #pretty 8. 84,483 likes halleberry Today is a very special Fitness Friday because it’s Wick Night as well. A true warrior like JOHN WICK starts within, and you fight only as good as you fuel ⚡️ Today’s #PHITTalks is ALL about nutrition and ritual, and @peterleethomas and I got the hook up! We talk transitioning into the keto lifestyle, why cheating on your diet is the BEST, the pros & cons of creatine (+ vegan friendly options!), AND I give y’all the inside scoop on my go-to meal replacement shake 🥤 - Head to IGTV to check it out & happy #FitnessFriday! ♥️ laurajuarez15 U killed that role in John wick!! ❤️ laurajuarez15 U killed that role in John wick!! ❤️ marlaluster pretty top n pretty on halle berry. things like this that are something meaninful somehow to people. dont wish things to not be okay, aging maybe suggested as not what it is traditionally w some things like this maybe. thats good. #pretty MAY 17 9. https://www.instagram.com/p/BxkW9cMjUdS/?hl=en 10. pretty dress. pretty things can be underestimated n idolized here which is not good. But whatever they mean to people maybe we will never know here but this present way of things should end n would end. #pretty #yayhalle #endtheruleofthedevil 11. 94,409 likes halleberry In living color. 💃🏾 @antonioberardiofficial georgelovingjackson GJ c marlaluster pretty dress. pretty things can be underestimated n idolized here which is not good. But whatever they mean to people maybe we will never know here but this present way of things should end n would end. #pretty #yayhalle #endtheruleofthedevil MAY 8 12. https://www.instagram.com/p/BxNTl0hD6OC/?hl=en 13. 677,641 views halleberry Out here walking on sunshine 🍎 @johnwickmovie borngentleman34 Legs @halleberry forever the goat👏👏👏 djfatpockets Flawless marlaluster #pretty #yayhalle #yayhalleberry another unique n pretty item to express something wished n really more meaningful than so to be told when things are not able to be more okay to be central to people that people would wish. Too trivialized here things that people wish. I have to say its okay here or what im saying could seem less pleasant n more misleading because it is such a coverup here that its not okay to people how things are here. APRIL 28 14. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzxKIrjaKc/?hl=en 15. #pretty #yayhalle #yayhalleberry another unique n pretty item to express something wished n really more meaningful than so to be told when things are not able to be more okay to be central to people that people would wish. Too trivialized here things that people wish. I have to say its okay here or what im saying could seem less pleasant n more misleading because it is such a coverup here that its not okay to people how things are here. 16. 677,641 views halleberry Out here walking on sunshine 🍎 @johnwickmovie borngentleman34 Legs @halleberry forever the goat👏👏👏 djfatpockets Flawless marlaluster #pretty #yayhalle #yayhalleberry another unique n pretty item to express something wished n really more meaningful than so to be told when things are not able to be more okay to be central to people that people would wish. Too trivialized here things that people wish. I have to say its okay here or what im saying could seem less pleasant n more misleading because it is such a coverup here that its not okay to people how things are here. marlaluster #pretty #yayhalle #yayhalleberry another unique n pretty item to express something wished n really more meaningful than so to be told when things are not able to be more okay to be central to people that people would wish. Too trivialized here things that people wish. I have to say its not okay here or what im saying could seem less pleasant n more misleading because it is such a coverup here of that its not okay to people how things are here. APRIL 28 17. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwzxKIrjaKc/?hl=en 18. blacks n nudes - so much for artistic expression having any chance to get away w anything. I guess its the illusion. so much/so many things become some extremism that is some area other than what is not so bad. whatever art does to distance a challenging thing to some degree from being the red hot target (but still really it would be a target though) as a person would be a red hot target to more directly act like something questioned as okay is okay, i dont know but its still like a smoking gun or a trace of that its quite stark n extinguishing of the other kind of challenge or envelope pushing other than is disturbing in a way its not to be possible to exist. This order is too challenging of peoples sentiments as to be anything worth anything. A persons sensibilities n cares n gripes n etc are supposed to be worth nothing at all here. Then something disrurbing is to be okay other than more reasonable challenges such as nudity or things characteristic of black people or other things questionable as okay that could be not that bad. #yikes #nomansland #uninhabitablehere Art post by Tessa Thompson having some relevance for the times. Perhaps the intention. That would be better for the situation. 19. 35,705 likes tessamaethompson This Energy. angiereads1 Thank you for posting all of the art from yr Paris trip busta_rupert Damn. Everytime I come across your post. It's always loneliness. Now it's naked loneliness. Girl I like you. Stop putting goddamn images in my head. This is frustrating. You know what I'm saying 😒 marlaluster blacks n nudes - so much for artistic expression having any chance to get away w anything. I guess its the illusion. so much/so many things become some extremism that is some area other than what is not so bad. whatever art does to distance a challenging thing to some degree from being the red hot target (but still really it would be a target though) as a person would be a red hot target to more directly act like something questioned as okay is okay, i dont know but its still like a smoking gun or a trace of that its quite stark n extinguishing of the other kind of challenge or envelope pushing other than is disturbing in a way its not to be possible to exist. This order is too challenging of peoples sentiments as to be anything worth anything. A persons sensibilities n cares n gripes n etc are supposed to be worth nothing at all here. Then something disrurbing is to be okay other than more reasonable challenges such as nudity or things characteristic of black people or other things questionable as okay that could be not that bad. #yikes #nomansland #uninhabitablehere Art post by Tessa Thompson having some relevance for the times. Perhaps the intention. That would be better for the situation if it was intended. 14 HOURS AGO 20. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx8ehufBVBR/?hl=en

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Nights of Villjamblah

by Wardog

Friday, 24 June 2011

Wardog tries and fails to like Nights of Villjamur.~

I really should have liked Nights of Villjamur more than I did. And that's the sort of line that sets one up for a damning review but I honestly feel quite bad about it. It's full of the sort of things I generally appreciate but for some reason it left me frustrated that it wasn't, with all this promise and potential, somehow better. Without attempting to make uncontrolled, unsupported declarations about a genre as complicated and evolving as fantasy, I'd put Mark Charan Newton on the same team as writers like Abercrombie and Abraham, although if you're into literary genealogy you can certainly trace the influence of Vance and Mieville in there too. But what I'm trying to get at here is that we're talking punchy, modern fantasy; brutal, cynical, self-consciously anti-Tolkeinesque and hopefully weighing in at five hundred pages or less. The problem is, however, that as much as I enjoy this uppity, edgy, fantasy, there's already an extent to which it's becoming stale. Maybe if I'd read Nights of Villjamur two years ago, my tiny mind would have been appropriately blown, but I came away with the distinct impression it was like Abercrombie without the style and Abraham without the sophistication. On the other hand, it is a début novel and it is not by any means totally awful so I'd certainly be at least mildly interested in seeing how Newton develops.

The Jamur Empire is yer typical rich, sprawling, corrupt fantasy Empire, except there's an ice-age coming, and the Emperor has just killed himself in a fit of crazed paranoia. Cue: political shenanigans, and some other stuff. The reason I'm having a hard job summarising the plot effectively is that it's one of those multi-stranded jobbies, but the threads only come together right at the end, if at all, which makes the experience of reading Nights of Villjamur rather disjointed. Some of the involved parties are: Commander Brynd Lathraea, doing soldiery things, Inquisitor Jeryd investigating the murder of a city councillor, and Randur Estevu who hails from some kind of island race of martial artists / sex workers / dancers and has been brought to Villjamur to teach the Emperor's daughter how to dance.

I liked, in abstract terms, nearly all of these characters but their plots arcs were so wildly different in tone and style that, rather than illuminating different aspects of life in Villjamur as I suspect must have been the intention, they interfered with each other. Jeryd, for example, acts like he's in The Maltese Falcon - he's old and weary and tormented by the failures of his personal life. He's also a weird cat-person-creature but let's not go there. I had no idea what was going on with the rumel, and the last time I encountered a cat-based race it was in Green, so I'm still scarred. But his consistent failure to solve the crime, when even I was sitting there able to solve the crime, was infuriating and the the whole “one honest man versus political corruption” theme does not, in this case, co-exist comfortably in a world where you also have Brynd dealing with the brutal slaughter of entire populations. I know the counter-argument to this is “ah, but that's the point” but if it isthe point Newton does not carry it off particularly successfully, especially when Randur's swashbuckling antics are entirely at variance with both. Newton goes to great pains to create a society on the verge of ruin, a city rife with decadence and cruelty, and a world overrun with monsters and yet Randur is able to semi-thwart a massive political uprising, and stage a daring rescue, with a jolly group of peasants, who, despite living in deprivation and povert, are suddenly willing to fight to the death in defence of their oppressors. I don't, per se, have a problem with the more cartoon elements of fantasy but you can't serve up Chandler, Owen and Disney simultaneously.

It doesn't help that the supporting cast is extensive and depressingly one-dimensional. You have a Tuya, the jaded prostitute, Tryst, Jeryd's ambitious Iago-like aid who does, in fact, spend two thirds of the book engaged in acts of motiveless malignancy, Marysa, Jeryd's tediously virtuous and personality devoid wife, Eir the feisty Emperor's daughter who has her eyes opened to the true poverty of her kingdom, the fence with a heart of gold, the scheming councillor, the mad cultist, and so on and so forth. The three main characters are marginally better drawn but they lacked any true psychological depth or complexity.

Jeryd, for example, is manipulated by Tryst into believing his wife has cheated on him. Heading home in a partially drug-fuelled rage, he strikes her. Conveniently she wakes up somewhat confused and Jeryd lets her believe it was a dream. Neither the dimensions or the consequences of this are ever properly explored, nor are we really given opportunity to ponder how much responsibility (if any) Jeryd bears for either the action itself, or lying about it afterwards. Brynd's big secret is that he's gay, in a society where homosexuality is punishable by death, due to a line in one of the scriptures. I actually quite liked Brynd, but being tormented and alienated is still not really a substitute for having a personality. The presentation of his homosexuality wavers between the quite good and the horrendously heavy handed. Something that does come across well is the fact that it would be incidental to his character if not for the world in which he lives. And the chapter in which he meets up with his lover, Kym, struck me as reasonably successful, as the encounter is recounted with neither sentimentality nor sensationalism. But it's the only moment of subtlety in the entire text, and the rest of the time we're treated to reflections like this:

“Where's the big freak?” Apium said, before yawning and stretching with the grace of a tramp, astride his black horse. “I take it you mean Jurro?” Brynd said, after considering for a moment that he himself was the freak, or maybe Kym – men who loved other men, and who'd be killed if discovered. He could never shake off the paranoia.

I understand that this would be something on his mind a lot, but it's the clumsy exposition that really sinks it for me. This exchange takes place on page 331 of my edition – if I haven't got that Brynd is gay, and that being gay is punishable by death, by this point in the book, I don't think there's much more an author can be expected to do for me. Much of the interior life of the major characters is narrated to us in this flat, expository way. I don't want to fall back on trite maxims about writing but I would have liked to see character traits illuminated or demonstrated more through thoughts, interaction and behaviour, rather than simply being told about them.

Randur, for example, comes to the city through a slightly spurious set of circumstances in order to raise enough money for a cultist to bring his mother back from the dead. In order to get the cash, he has his job at the palace, teaching Eir to dance, but he also sleeps with rich, older women and steals their jewellery. He does explain, at one point, that he feels like he owes his mother a debt for all she has sacrificed for him but it never really feels convincing. After all, sense of filial obligation is one thing. Necromancy another. Needless to say, over the course of the book, he and Eir fall for each other and it turns out that resurrecting his mother isn't going to be possible, even with the money in hand. Here is the description of Randur's response:

His world imploded. Lying on Eir's bed later, he felt he wanted to vomit, but instead he cried like a ten-year-old as he told her everything. She sat next to him and waited for him to finish – he knew that, and he felt ashamed, to expose his emotions like this. But, despite her age, she possessed an unexpected, motherly quality. He liked that. After that, he got up and left, walked for two hours across the city bridges, then returned, damp and cold. Then he resumed crying. Eir held his hand. “It's understandable you're upset, Rand, so don't be so harsh on yourself.” She got up and lit lanterns and soothing incense and waited for him to compose himself. He realised he was comfortable being vulnerable in front of her. Soon he began to feel better, until somehow his failings as a son didn't seem to matter quite as much.

Given that this is a significant moment in Randur's personal development, and his relationship with Eir, I felt it was rather over-narrated but I read the ease which he apparently gets over it as evidence that his original goal was immature, and not something we were really expected to take seriously. However, a chapter later we're being narrated at again:

Eir had even given him some jewellery: a plain silver chain to go around his neck, two rings for his fingers. She had supported him so much that he felt he owed her is very soul if only he could give it. Eir's biggest gift to him wasn't monetary but psychological. Perhaps all he'd ever needed was to actually love someone else.

Once more, I can't quite unpack the tone of this. It sounds so ludicrously trite that I was half-tempted to read it as being in some way ironic. And I'm, incidentally, not thrilled with Eir's sudden detour into maternal saviour, although I can't tell whether that's meant to be Randur's distorted perspective, since Eir only has about three personality traits and none of them, thus far, have been even remotely maternal. But ultimately it's just another example of the way that heavy-handed attempts to explain the psychological development of the characters ruins their portrayal.

The other thing you can see from these quoted paragraphs, is the occasional banality of the writing, and its general clumsiness. For example, we have three awkwardly repeated 'thats' far too close to each other in “he knew that, and he felt ashamed, to expose his emotions like this. But, despite her age, she possessed an unexpected, motherly quality. He liked that. After that...” The book is riddled with such unnecessary annoyances, and the style itself is as inconsistent as everything else. Dialogue is generally naturalistic, with a fair few fucks thrown in for good measure, the prose style is plain and expository to the point of tedium, but occasionally Newton struggles towards a Mieville-like excess, which often just falls flat:

A truculunt pain shot through him and he screamed … he stumbled forwards, his hands clutching for wet stones, then began to spit blood on the ground … Sensing his life fluid filling the cracks between the cobbles, the blood beetles came and began to smother him, till his screams could be heard amplified between the high walls of the courtyard. One even scurried into his mouth, scraping eagerly as his gums and tongue. He bit down so he wouldn't choke, split its shell in two, and spat it out, but he could still taste its ichors. Councillor Ghuda was violently febrile.

I honestly have no idea what that means. I understand the individual words but the connection between them, and the the being eaten alive by bugs, not so much. A major component of Newton's Mieville Aspirations is the city of Villjamur itself, which I'm sure is meant to exist as vividly in the narrative as New Crobuzon in Perdido Street Station. I'm honestly not a huge fan of Perdido Street Station and I found the descriptions of the city a little overweening but I will admit that they got the job done. By contrast, Villjamur never became real to me and, if anything, Newton is trying so hard to have it make an impression on the reader that the overall affect is one of artificiality. Devices over conviction. For example, there's a self-conscious weirdness to Villjamur - it has blood beetles and banshees, and garuda – but these just feel like a checklist. And scenes or chapters tend to end with the narrative moving away from the thoughts and actions of the characters to more general statements about the mood of the Villjamur. The contrast, I suspect, is meant to create a sense of distance between the struggles of individuals and the vast intricacies of the city itself:

After that the three of them watched the falling snow in companionable silence. Street fires and lantern lights glared defiantly for another bell, but one by one they fell into shadow. Voices in the streets beyond quietened and soon there was only the sound of the wind probing the city's countless alleyways.

However, the more Newton falls back on this technique, the more transparent it becomes, and the more I resisted his attempts to “sell” me Villjamur. As the book progresses, he takes to refering to the city as if it should now be familiar to us (“Another one of those melancholy nights of Villjamur, in which a pterodette called out across the city's spires so loudly it sounded like a banshee”) but by that stage I was already convinced that Newton had failed to force me into a relationship with the city, and therefore this assumption of familiarity annoyed me and further alienated me from the Villjamur Newton was so desperately trying to evoke.

The thing is, barrage of negativity aside, it's not as bad as all that. I did, after all, read the thing and I was mildly engaged by the plot and some of the characters, even in spite of the heavy-handed narration and my increasingly irritation with having Villjamur forced down my throat. As a personal, rather than general, criticism I realised at about the halfway point that there wasn't a single interesting woman in the entire book. Obviously having diverse and well-rounded female characters isn't a moral necessity and it's perfectly reasonable for any writer to simply not be interested but for me to really enjoy a text I'd probably prefer it wasn't a massive sausage party. The Emperor's eldest daughter seems intriguing but she isn't in it enough for me to be able to judge. Eir is feisty-by-numbers and, consequently, irritating. Tuya starts off promising and then gets drugged and abused by Tryst, in his pursuit of revenge over Jeryd, so she essentially becomes a cipher. Jeryd's wife is so lightly sketched she's barely a character at all. To be fair to Newton, the men aren't that interesting either but they at least get more page time. However, the one thing I did like was what I perceived to be a fairly healthy attitude to sex, both heterosexual and homosexual. There are a few non-explicit but nicely down-to-earth sex scenes. But, like anything else in Villjamur, sex is largely another commodity – and the men trade it as much as the women do. I liked the fact that women, incidental though they are to the text in general, were as active in pursuit of sex as men, just as acquisitive of pretty young things, and seemed to derive as much pleasure from it.

This being so, and because we haven't had one for a while, I present: Fantasy Rape Watch for Nights of Villjamur.

Number of non-straight men: 2

Number of non-straight men killed: 0

Number of non-straight women: 0

Number of men who sell themselves: 3 maybe*

Number of men who sell themselves who are killed: 0

Number of men who sell themselves who find twu wuv: 2

Number of men who sell themselves where the woman obligingly makes herself look hot for them: 1

Number of women who sell themselves: 1

Number of women who sell themselves who are killed: 1

Number of women who sell themselves who find twu wuv: 0

Number of women who sell themselves who manage to survive a bomb: 0

Number of virtuous, married women who manage to survive the same bomb: 1

*I am including in this category, Randur who sleeps with rich old women in order to pay for necromantic magic, Tryst who sleeps with an old cultist in order to acquire something he needs, and Kym who it seems to be suggesting gets around a bit.

Obviously, I'm being slightly unfair on Newton here. I wasn't actually all that bothered by the fact that Randur manwhores his way around Villjamur and this is sort of portrayed as being vaguely cool, whereas Tuya is stuck in a cycle of loneliness and bitterness. I saw this as being largely down to the fact they are very different people, and Randur is young whereas Tuya is forty. However, I was a bit annoyed by the fact Tuya, who had all the markings of being quite interesting (shock!), was treated the way she was by the narrative - victimised, sidelined and then conveniently killed.

In conclusion I would say that although I have really hammered into Nights of Villjamur, it's not actually as bad as all that. I found it quite frustrating to read but I didn't actively hate it: I liked Brynd, and Newton seems to have quite a good grip on his gender politics. It certainly has some promise and I can only hope that this goes some way to being fulfilled in the later books.Themes:

Fantasy Rape Watch

,

Books

,

Sci-fi / Fantasy

,

Emocakes

~

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~Comments (

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valse de la lune

at 16:05 on 2011-06-24I remember really wanting to read this at one time, then a friend told me it was meh and I wrote it off. To this day I'm still vaguely curious but the fear of terribad racial/cultural appropriation compels me to keep my distance. Alas.

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Wardog

at 16:23 on 2011-06-24Well, as I said in my usual lukewarm fashion I quite liked Brynd... but my dominating response was "meh" over "ick." The novel is so bland that it's quite hard to get really wound up about it. I felt that the social issues, related to the coming ice-age (climate change, ho ho), Brynd's homosexuality and ye typical fantasy racism were pretty shallow, and consequently there wasn't really anything to get a grip on, either to praise or to criticise. I did think the islanders of Folke - they do dancing, swordplay and sex apparently - were a bit dodgy though, but to be honest I dismissed it as typical of the genre. I can see how there would be plenty to bother you though. I guess I was too busy fighting the bored to pay sufficient attention. Oh, and of course, you get the prejudice towards non-human races ... but, come on, cat-people are not a stand-in for people of colour.

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Vermisvere

at 16:48 on 2011-06-24Hmm...this doesn't sound like something I'd be keen to enter into my usual compulsory reading list, although it might be something I could probably sit through some cold winter night when I'm bored out of my mind.

And the way you describe it, Villjamur seems to strike me as being a bit like a fantasy version of Gotham City, minus all the crazy supervillains and Batman running around.

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Wardog

at 17:03 on 2011-06-24It is incredibly well-regarded so it's possible I've just experienced a profound failure of taste.

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Arthur B

at 17:10 on 2011-06-24

I don't, per se, have a problem with the more cartoon elements of fantasy but you can't serve up Chandler, Owen and Disney simultaneously.

This sounds like exactly one of the problems I had with

Steve Cockayne's debut novel

- it tried to fuse the conventions of so many different takes on fantastic material that it ended up tripping over itself. Ah well.

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http://everythingisnice.wordpress.com/

at 17:34 on 2011-06-24Not much point whiting out that spoiler about Tuya when you've got the Fantasy Rape Watch right above it!

I reviewed the book for Strange Horizons and came to a similar view to you. This was against the prevailing view at the time but I wonder if that has changed a bit. I've certainly seen lots of people suggesting Newton has improved as a writer as the series has progressed and have perhaps recalibrated their view of

Villjamur

(which is, after all, a debut novel). I've not read any of his other novels but I will definitely try him again at some point.

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Wardog

at 17:50 on 2011-06-24

Not much point whiting out that spoiler about Tuya when you've got the Fantasy Rape Watch right above it!

That is a good point - I fail at spoilers. But I guess you'd have to be paying attention to notice, or already familiar with the book.

I feel quite bad about not liking this more but since I remember a flurry of "zomg!awesome" at the time it came out I was genuinely a bit shocked. I am quite curious about his other books though, even in spite of my lack of enthusiasm for this one.

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Cammalot

at 22:05 on 2011-06-24Oddly enough, I'd just read through the entire thread on this book on Westeros.org last night. I came away feeling very intrigued by the premise(s) but with very mixed feelings about the (potential) prose.

But basically with so many things that have been really hyped in the last few years, elements have come out that have made me not only want to avoid the books like the plague, but wonder if I'm the crazy one, that everyone else in the world is not having a problem with this. (Emiko from "Windup Girl" springs to mind.)

I think I'll still try this one when it comes either to Nook or to trade paper, though.

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Michal

at 03:09 on 2011-06-25

but wonder if I'm the crazy one, that everyone else in the world is not having a problem with this. (Emiko from "Windup Girl" springs to mind.)

Well, count me as one other person who wasn't so crazy on The Windup Girl (and 'specially not Emiko). I didn't even finish it.

Also, I'm starting to notice our tastes are weirdly similar. Are you sure you're not my doppelganger?

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Cammalot

at 06:31 on 2011-06-25I can neither confirm nor deny. :shifty eyes:

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Wardog

at 14:43 on 2011-06-25

Oddly enough, I'd just read through the entire thread on this book on Westeros.org last night. I came away feeling very intrigued by the premise(s) but with very mixed feelings about the (potential) prose.

I'm, err, not not recommending it. I didn't like it much, but it certainly has potential and perhaps the series as a whole is better.

Also I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that Michal is Cammalot's sock puppet... :)

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Vermisvere

at 15:40 on 2011-06-25

Also I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that Michal is Cammalot's sock puppet... :)

*Gasp*

IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!

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Cammalot

at 16:48 on 2011-06-25So I can take credit for Michal's coherence! I am willng to go along with this.

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valse de la lune

at 21:27 on 2011-06-25SPOILER: everyone on FB is a sockpuppet of everyone else.

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Arthur B

at 21:46 on 2011-06-25And Charles Dickens hypnotised all of you into believing in everyone else.

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Vermisvere

at 05:11 on 2011-06-26

And Charles Dickens hypnotised all of you into believing in everyone else.

But wait...if I was hypnotised, then nobody exists...but if I was hypnotised, the one who hypnotised me must exist...but wait, if he exists, then my first statement must not be true...but, but...hey, wait a minute, ain't Dickens dead anyway?

Arghh! *goes into Rene Descartes overdrive-mode*

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Arthur B

at 09:05 on 2011-06-26It's all a game in Wilkie Collins' head.

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Alasdair Czyrnyj

at 20:35 on 2011-06-26

SPOILER: everyone on FB is a sockpuppet of everyone else.

Well, everyone except for me. I'm actually an artificial intelligence who covertly created Ferretbrain as part of a method for controlling mass society. So congratulations, everybody! You have no free will!

(BTW, secretly running America is nowhere near as much fun as it looks. I still wonder how the hell GW talked me into it.)

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Ash

at 20:55 on 2011-06-26

I'm actually an artificial intelligence

Wait, I thought that was me.

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Shim

at 23:46 on 2011-06-26I'm not a sockpuppet, I'm a bot-mediated copy-paste from a less well-known site.

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Arthur B

at 00:38 on 2011-06-27I'm a worm from LulzSec. That time the other week the site was down for hours? Yeah, that was me.

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Vermisvere

at 10:17 on 2011-06-27

So congratulations, everybody! You have no free will!

Free will? That's SO last century...

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Robinson L

at 20:30 on 2011-06-28

Alasdair: I'm actually an artificial intelligence who covertly created Ferretbrain as part of a method for controlling mass society. So congratulations, everybody! You have no free will! (BTW, secretly running America is nowhere near as much fun as it looks. I still wonder how the hell GW talked me into it.)

As I recall it was two batches of homemade cookies, a case of premium vodka, and a three-year subscription to the Reader's Digest. I always did wonder about the subscription part.

... Damn, there goes my cover.

“It's understandable you're upset, Rand, so don't be so harsh on yourself.”

Oh, that's some scintillating dialogue right there.

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Wardog

at 20:45 on 2011-06-28

Oh, that's some scintillating dialogue right there.

I know :( Not precisely sparkling in Villjamur, is it?

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Shim

at 21:14 on 2011-06-28

“It's understandable you're upset, Rand, so don't be so harsh on yourself.”

I just read that along with the

Playpen Freud-Jung film discussion

and absent-mindedly read it as Ayn Rand in some bizarre They Fight Crime scheme.

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Arthur B

at 22:02 on 2011-06-28That'd be a good teamup.

All Freud linking Rand's admiration of architects to phallic symbols implicit in skyscrapers.

All Rand trying to convince Freud that charity and compassion are illnesses that cry out for treatment more than schizophrenia or neurosis.

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Robinson L

at 00:36 on 2011-06-29Cast Liv Tyler as Ayn Rand and you can have Mortensen's Freud desperately attempting to convince Jung that there is not unresolved sexual tension between them whatsoever.

Jung: Sigmund old boy, you just said you wanted to get into Ayn's pants.

Freud: I mean

plans

- get in on her

plans

.

Jung: But you said

pants

.

Freud: Sometimes a slip of the tongue is

just

a slip of the tongue!

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Wardog

at 09:42 on 2011-06-29Hahaha!

Robinson is on fire today.

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Robinson L

at 15:30 on 2011-07-01

Kyra: Robinson is on fire today.

Yes, it was touch-and-go for a while there, but they managed to dowse me and get me to a treatment center and the med droids tell me I won't have to spend the rest of my life in a mechanical suit.

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Robinson L

at 15:30 on 2012-02-24

Mark C Newton: "Things I got wrong."

Re-posting from the Playpen (credit Cammalot for the original discovery) because the Playpen is such a transitory space and because this specific post and this sort of authorial self-reflection need a lot more love.

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Wardog

at 15:46 on 2012-02-24Well...I'm happy he's noticed he was crap but ... I don't really feel like blowing him for it ;)

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Robinson L

at 20:30 on 2012-02-24

Kyra: Well...I'm happy he's noticed he was crap but ... I don't really feel like blowing him for it ;)

No reason you should. And yes, this sort of thing should probably be the baseline for authorial self-reflection, but since so many authors fail to reach such basic levels of insight, it's important to point out when they get even this much right. I also like the way he articulates the point that "gritty" doesn't automatically = "mature," and I'm a bit taken with his tone throughout the piece, but that's a personal thing.

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Cammalot

at 22:19 on 2012-02-24Heh -- I'm not even too inclined to *read* him for it, but I've been seeing so much bad authorial behavior in my lurkings lately I felt compelled to point it out. It made me a happy.

I'm still not planning to pick up this one, but with Strange Horizons blurbing his second one as "What Villjamur wished it could be," I wouldn't toss it away if it wound up in my hands, so to speak. The premise is still intriguing, and it would be interesting to see what he's done with this insight.

(I've been hearing it in my head as "Vjillamur" all this time. This is the first I'm noticing how wrong I am!)

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Wardog

at 23:42 on 2012-02-24Hee! Authors Behaving Badly! I am kind of imagining cheap documentary film-making with GRRM and Pat Rothfuss and Joe Abercrombie all wearing skimpy outfits in hot-tubs and making out with each other for the camera... Actually that's basically what they do anyway, isn't it? Except on the Internet.

(also that image hurts my brain)

That's the thing, I think I probably quite like MCN. Like Daniel Abraham (I love you Daniel Abraham, you do not need to put on the bunny tail and go in the hot tub) most of the things I've seen him writing that aren't, y'know, fiction I've quite liked. He seems kind of down-to-earth, not *ragingly* sexist and moderately humble ...

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Arthur B

at 00:02 on 2012-02-25"Authors Behaving Badly" make me think of an overrated sitcom in which R. Scott Bakker and Jay Lake are slovenly flatmates who are constantly taken aback by their inability to convince the feminists living downstairs that they're totally on their side.

[isaacathom]

oh yea in case i forgot - so! when necromancy was invented/discovered/???? in like, idk, 1st or 2nd century AC, the early spells were all translated from Elven into Vostan, and this continued up until the point that one of the researchers went on a bit of a power trip and caused a small zombie uprising, at which point necromancy was banned. HOWEVER! some stuff remained.

for one, the reason Waal Zaimyatl has the seer loophole is because seers and mediums complained. WZ passed just as strict a legislation as anywhere else, but received great enough pushback from mediums, who had been a cultural staple since before the Collision, and so an amendment was passed which allowed mediums and seers to continue to operate. this wasnt supposed to give them the ability to use necromancy, but when their exemption from the ‘no spirit contact EVER’ law was combined with a pre-existing law about seance confidentiality, it made it so that whatever happened in a mediums tent stayed there. and thus, the Seer loophole, where mediums learn basic necromancy to improve their services, and they can’t be arrested for it so long as they abide by the legislation about public use of such techniques. that wasnt the intention of the exemption, but even once the loophole became apparent, amendments designed to curb it just sorta failed to pass because even with the fear around necromancy going around, it was felt that the specific spells mediums were using were harmless. so they kept on keeping on. because the Vosti Empire and Republic of Skarhu didnt have such a cultural tradition of mediums and seers, no such amendments were passed, and thus, no such loophole.

second. the bans are on Necromancy, yes, but its specifically on spirit contact and communication. this does provide a very specific use of necromancy, that being banishment. essentially exorcism sort of stuff. the basic banish spell was actually amongst the initial set of spells, used by the researchers to make unruly spirits leave the premises. and it can be used to get rid of possessions and dismantle zombies. it is perfectly legal to use a banishment spell when you suspect a malevolent spirit is around, so long as you do not try to see or talk to it using magic. so you cannot use another of the basic necromancy spells, which lets you actually see spirits, but you can banish the spirits. which is a bit awkward. but because spirits can only interact with the world while inhabiting a vessel, as long as you can direct your spell at that person, you’re fine.

so thats fun stuff. the seer loophole was because of an amendment meant to protect a pre-existing, harmless, and culturally important occupation which accidentally gave them the ability to do Whatever the Fuck, and banishment spells are technically necromancy but like, the one allowed type of necromancy :)