Ask the Demon

[SexyCleric]

OH, AND THAT'S A REAL GREAT AGRUEMENT, THERE, LEMME TELL YA.

Because the Bene Gesserit were all well loved, had great benefits and were always happy with their lives, which they got to live any way they liked. Really. In case you hadn't noticed, Frank Herbert built a Distopia, not a paradise.

Magneto is Chaotic.

You'll get no argument on that point.
I was merely referencing their ability to predict, plan, and adapt to dangerously unstable political/military/social situations.
Besides, I'd rather be hated than loved.
Love can become hate rather easily, but hate....
That's longevity right there.

Any organization run entirely by women strikes me as a bad plan.

Magneto is a halfwit whose time would be better spent using his abilities in more interesting ways.

Step one: Locate the seven or so master servers for the continental US.
Step two: Magnetically wipe them.
Step three: Laugh maniacally.

Or, just threaten to drop Asteroid M onto the planet.
No, scratch that, don't threaten to drop it, just drop it.

 

[VandalHeart]

You'll get no argument on that point.
I was merely referencing their ability to predict, plan, and adapt to dangerously unstable political/military/social situations.
Besides, I'd rather be hated than loved.
Love can become hate rather easily, but hate....
That's longevity right there.

Any organization run entirely by women strikes me as a bad plan.

Magneto is a halfwit whose time would be better spent using his abilities in more interesting ways.

Step one: Locate the seven or so master servers for the continental US.
Step two: Magnetically wipe them.
Step three: Laugh maniacally.

Or, just threaten to drop Asteroid M onto the planet.
No, scratch that, don't threaten to drop it, just drop it.

The Bene Gesserit were a religious organization, and thereby fatally flawed because they were locked in doctrine. That's why they always got fucked by the end of the story.

And any organization run by any single demographic is a bad fucking idea, gender-based or otherwise.

Magneto is at least a 3/4 wit. And he already tried the Asteroid M thing, remember?

 

[SexyCleric]

The Bene Gesserit were a religious organization, and thereby fatally flawed because they were locked in doctrine. That's why they always got fucked by the end of the story.

And any organization run by any single demographic is a bad fucking idea, gender-based or otherwise.

Magneto is at least a 3/4 wit. And he already tried the Asteroid M thing, remember?

No, I don't remember.
I don't read many comics, xmen, least of all.
With the xmen, there's never any consequences.
Main characters die and come back to life more often than I change my socks. And I'm very hygienic.

How, exactly, did a plan like 'drop asteroid, from low orbit, onto planet' fail?

 

[VandalHeart]

No, I don't remember.
I don't read many comics, xmen, least of all.
With the xmen, there's never any consequences.
Main characters die and come back to life more often than I change my socks. And I'm very hygienic.

How, exactly, did a plan like 'drop asteroid, from low orbit, onto planet' fail?

I think they trapped him on ground zero and said, "Go ahead. Dumbass. You'll be just as dead as the rest of us."

Oh, and just so you know, the Marvel characters aren't as bad about that as the DC characters are. DC has killed entire universes and brought them back. Plus, entire districts of cities get destroyed and are back in working order by the end of the storyline. XMen are Marvel. Marvel has a lot of foundation-rocking storylines that do have lasting effects and some characters do die permanently sometimes.

Still, you have a point. I stopped reading them about eight years ago, but I still ejoy a good graphic novel every now and again. ALL HAIL AND BOW BEFORE THE WATCHMEN. Sorry, had to.

 

[SexyCleric]

Still, you have a point. I stopped reading them about eight years ago, but I still ejoy a good graphic novel every now and again. ALL HAIL AND BOW BEFORE THE WATCHMEN. Sorry, had to.

Ex Machina. Read it.
And yes, the Watchmen was terrific, as is V for Vendetta.
That's the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel. At least, in my eyes, that's the difference.

Books vs literature.

 

[VandalHeart]

True, true.

What happened to all the people asking me questions?

 

[littleone77]

True, true.

What happened to all the people asking me questions?

1-I tend to avoid romantic couple threads on Lit. *chuckles*

And 2-You and cleric do not seem to need any help or distractions in regards to questions. Thus why I said my goodbye pages ago.

 

[gesshoku]

*lol* I'm sorry, I like teasing Vandalheart! Plus, he's fun to flirt with.


Vandal,

If I was going to research Cthulhu, what books should I start with?

 

[SexyCleric]

1-I tend to avoid romantic couple threads on Lit. *chuckles*

And 2-You and cleric do not seem to need any help or distractions in regards to questions. Thus why I said my goodbye pages ago.

Hey now, we've formally moved our... Disagreements to another arena.

I, for one, shall shut up here, unless I know the answer to a question or have an inquiry of my own.

 

[VandalHeart]

1-I tend to avoid romantic couple threads on Lit. *chuckles*

And 2-You and cleric do not seem to need any help or distractions in regards to questions. Thus why I said my goodbye pages ago.

And yet, you return to grace the thread once again. Welcome back.

I'm so glad the allure was irresistable.

(I am such an asshole)

 

[Lady Reiha]

Question Time:


How come the nerd thread doesn't have a secret santa thing going on?

 

[VandalHeart]

*lol* I'm sorry, I like teasing Vandalheart! Plus, he's fun to flirt with.


Vandal,

If I was going to research Cthulhu, what books should I start with?

Here's what my research says is the best books to look for, but in general, any book or story by H. P. Lovecraft or August Derleth will give you insight to the Cthulhu mythos. Here goes:

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by H. P. Lovecraft & Others

Edited by August Derleth and published by Arkham House in 1969, this collection was considered the first Cthulhu Mythos anthology. The first edition had just over 4,000 copies and had only two reprints, one of which was overseas, so good luck, but keep an eye out for it, nonetheless. There may be a copy in the Chicago Library, you never know. In any case, this collection contained the two cornerstone Mythos stories that Lovecraft himself wrote, as well as 16 stories written by those in Lovecraft's pen-pal style author's circle who had contributed to the Mythos and six other stories that had never appeared before the publishing of this collection. This is the Holy Grail of Mythos books, but I'm pretty sure the stories contained in it were reprinted at one time or another.

The Disciples of Cthulhu by various authors, edited by Edward P. Berglund

When August Derleth released the above book, he prefaced it with an outline that he titled, "The Cthulhu Mythos," which essentially described the rest of the book as the last of the storyline, saying that no-one would ever be able to continue or expand upon the Mythos, it being a dead niche of the written word artform. Eddie Berglund obviously took issue with this statement and released The Disciples of Cthulhu, which included his own foreward, which stated, "Whether or not there is a market for the Cthulhu Mythos stories, established and amateur writers will continue to write them for their own and their friends' amusement and enjoyment. It is inevitable that one or more readers of this volume will be influenced into trying his hand at writing within the Cthulhu Mythos genre." Time has proven Berglund right, and Derleth is likely in the underworld smiling at the grandeur of his underestimation of the genre he helped create. Lovecraft, on the other hand, is likely shaking and hanging his head in disappointment that we all missed the point. You'll understand once you get into the Mythos. It should be noted that this collection doesn't actually contain any stories by Lovecraft or Derleth, but some of the writers from the original pen-pal group are included here, and it is no less valid a part of the Mythos.

New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos by various authors, edited by Ramsey Campbell

Once again in the publishing hands of Arkham House, this publication broke what was becoming a formulaic stasis on the Mythos writings. Every story was beginning to include the same things: deranged cultists, shoddy towns that were obviously once very nice, if quaint, and monsters that seemed to all posess the same horrific features, which was making the genre boring. Lovecraft began writing horror to create a remedy to the banality that was the repetitive macabre stories of his time, and the genre that he created was becoming a victim of the very banality he sought to break. This book may very well have saved the Mythos. Someone else owes a lot to this book as well, as a matter of fact. The first story in the book was "Crouch End" by Stephen King, which was his first contribution to the Mythos. King had already garnered quite a bit of public success at this point, but "Crouch End" gave him credit with the hardcore traditionalist horror crowd. It was republished in Nightmares and Dreamscapes, which is a far easier book to get ahold of.

Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos: Golden Anniversary Anthology

Or as I like to call it, the slap in the face to the Cthulhu Mythos origins. James Turner, the editor of this "rerelease" of the original collection, couldn't make up his godsdamned mind about whether he loved the Mythos or hated it. I seriously think he was forced into doing this collection. First off, though this book is a lot easier to find, most of the original works from the first version of Tales are gone. Second, the foreward attempts to explain these changes as a representation of Turner's hatred of, "Mythos pastiches in which eccentric New England recluses utter the right incantations in the wrong books and are promptly eaten by a giant frog named Cthulhu." This is still a decent addition to the Mythos because of the stories that were released for the first time therein. Regardless, Turner still missed the point. At least twenty books have been written around the person who does the exact wrong thing and gets the unnamed horrors called down upon him/her, and quite a few have been written around what I believe to be the least mentioned yet popular Mythos story ever....

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

An inauspicious looking little book, it was a novella about a twisted and disillusioned man that was always on the lookout for the next big thrill. Anything to get his ever-slowing veins pumping again. This man embodied the statement, "Been there, done that," and it was always spoken in a bitter, bored tone. Then one day, he met a Chinese merchant who asked him a simple question that he had no answer to..."What is your pleasure, sir?" You may know this story by it's more popular Hollywood name: Hellraiser. At least seven film sequels and more than fourty spinoff books have been written about the universe that was spawned with this book, but they all seem to look to the movie instead of the book for their inspiration. The original book was far better, in general, but it also tied in with the Mythos as a portrait of what happens when mankind decides to take the power of the Elder Gods for themselves, instead of submitting to a slumbering world-eater.

All the other books that compile the Lovecraft Mythos are essentially the same thing, but always offer new spins on the series and new insight to the horror of Cthulhu. They are:

The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath
At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror
The Best of H.P. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre
The Road to Madness
Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft
Waking Up Screaming: Haunting Tales of Terror

Most of these are strictly Lovecraft written stories in collection form, and because they were all published by Ballantine/Del Ray, they are all fairly easy to find: look for a black book with red highlights and a blueish gray band of horrific depiction wrapped around the middle. They all look like this. Bacically...

-------------------------------------black-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------black-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------black-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------red--------------------------------------
---horrific nastiness-- TITLE WRITTEN HERE --horrific nastiness---
-----------------------------horrific nastiness------------------------------
-----------------------------horrific nastiness------------------------------
-----------------------------horrific nastiness------------------------------
-----------------------------horrific nastiness------------------------------
-----horrific nastiness---by H.P. Lovecraft---horrific nastiness-----
--------------------------------------red--------------------------------------
-------------------------------------black-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------black-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------black-------------------------------------

Hope that makes sense.

Anyhow, the next thing you'd need to read is The Cthulhu Mythos by August Darleth. This contained no work by Lovecraft himself, but Darleth is essentially the father of the Modern Cthulhu Mythos, and he knew Lovecraft personally, so he is part of the Eldritch Trinity, which included Lovecraft, Derleth, and Clark Ashton Smith, although Ashton Smith's work is a lot harder to find.

And although there is a small mountain in the Ozarks that might be able to house a single copy of all the videogames, movies and music inspired by the Mythos, really the only movies that do the genre justice are what John Carpenter reffers to as his "Apocalypse Trilogy." These three films include, "The Thing," "Prince of Darkness," and "In the Mouth of Madness." One or all are very easy to find in most movie rental stores, as all are insanely popular with horror movie buffs. Each is a take on unknown and unknowable forces wreaking havoc and posing a very real threat to civilization at large. While not patently Mythos material, they could easilly be incorporated, especially "In the Mouth of Madness," which is a fusing of Mythos elements and a modern horror writer's ultimate delusion of grandeur and control.

Hope this helps.

 

[VandalHeart]

Question Time:


How come the nerd thread doesn't have a secret santa thing going on?

Because we're all broke.

Or because you haven't started it, yet.

 

[Lady Reiha]

Because we're all broke.

Or because you haven't started it, yet.

I'm thinking on doing it next year. The cut-off date for Christmas packages is coming up soon, and since the MAJORITY OF YOU GUYS live in the states, us Canadians might not be able to get them there on time.

So I think next year works.

 

[VandalHeart]

I'm thinking on doing it next year. The cut-off date for Christmas packages is coming up soon, and since the MAJORITY OF YOU GUYS live in the states, us Canadians might not be able to get them there on time.

So I think next year works.

I agree.

 

[Lady Reiha]

Yay!


also, HOW COME NO ONE REMEMBERS CLOAK AND DAGGER????!!!!!
(well except me...)

 

[SexyCleric]

Yay!


also, HOW COME NO ONE REMEMBERS CLOAK AND DAGGER????!!!!!
(well except me...)

My dearest Rei, I fnucking live cloak and dagger.
There's a very good reason why I has Xellos as my avatar from time to time...

Edit: I see now you refer to the movie.
Disregard earlier statement.

 

[VandalHeart]

You two are going to have to be more specific as to which version of C&D you're referring to.

But to answer your question, ReiRei, because it's likely extremely old.

 

[Lady Reiha]

gotcha!


Okay, how come Mikey can't find a girfriend yet???


he's been 11 years old for 5 years now and still hasn't aged!!!! What's his secret?

 

[VandalHeart]

gotcha!


Okay, how come Mikey can't find a girfriend yet???


he's been 11 years old for 5 years now and still hasn't aged!!!! What's his secret?

Creepiness. Plain and simple, and in large quantities.

 

[Lady Reiha]

Creepiness. Plain and simple, and in large quantities.

*laughs* I'm wearing a home-made babytee that says "Hello My future Girlfriend" on it lol

 

[VandalHeart]

*laughs* I'm wearing a home-made babytee that says "Hello My future Girlfriend" on it lol

That's sexy. Hey, Tenk, can I borrow her for a Convention someday?

 

[littleone77]

Thank you dear Vandal.

You did help. Quite a bit.

Plus you made me laugh *small smile*

 

[VandalHeart]

Thank you dear Vandal.

You did help. Quite a bit.

Plus you made me laugh *small smile*

Not a problem, kiddo.

 

[littleone77]

Not a problem, kiddo.

Kiddo? *unladylike snorts*

You aren't much older than me. No one calls me kiddo unless they have at least 40 years on me~