houndofbaskerville

[houndofbaskerville]

Been re-watching X-Files and had to draw a 90′s grunge Dana Scully.

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[houndofbaskerville]

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Climb aboard, then!” But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown. “Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.” 

“I can’t help it,” said the scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

___

…But no sooner than they were halfway across the river, the frog felt a subtle motion on its back, and in a panic dived deep beneath the rushing waters, leaving the scorpion to drown.

“It was going to sting me anyway,” muttered the frog, emerging on the other side of the river. “It was inevitable. You all knew it. Everyone knows what those scorpions are like. It was self-defense.”

___

…But no sooner had they cast off from the bank, the frog felt the tip of a stinger pressed lightly against the back of its neck. “What do you think you’re doing?” said the frog.

“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

They swam in silence to the other end of the river, where the scorpion climbed off, leaving the frog fuming.

“After the kindness I showed you!” said the frog. “And you threatened to kill me in return?”

“Kindness?” said the scorpion. “To only invite me on your back after you knew I was defenseless, unable to use my tail without killing myself? My dear frog, I only treated you as I was treated. Your kindness was as poisoned as a scorpion’s sting.”

___

…“Just a precaution,” said the scorpion. “I cannot sting you without drowning. And now, you cannot drown me without being stung. Fair’s fair, isn’t it?”

“You have a point,” the frog acknowledged. “But once we get to dry land, couldn’t you sting me then without repercussion?”

“All I want is to cross the river safely,” said the scorpion. “Once I’m on the other side I would gladly let you be.”

“But I would have to trust you on that,” said the frog. “While you’re pressing a stinger to my neck. By ferrying you to land I’d be be giving up the one deterrent I hold over you.”

“But by the same logic, I can’t possibly withdraw my stinger while we’re still over water,” the scorpion protested.

The frog paused in the middle of the river, treading water. “So, I suppose we’re at an impasse.”

The river rushed around them. The scorpion’s stinger twitched against the frog’s unbroken skin. “I suppose so,” the scorpion said.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Absolutely not!” said the frog, and dived beneath the waters, and so none of them learned anything.

___

A scorpion, being unable to swim, asked a turtle (as in the original Persian version of the fable) to carry it across the river. The turtle readily agreed, and allowed the scorpion aboard its shell. Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell. The turtle, swimming placidly, failed to notice.

They reached the other side of the river, and parted ways as friends.

___

…Halfway across, the scorpion gave in to its nature and stung, but failed to penetrate the turtle’s thick shell.

The turtle, hearing the tap of the scorpion’s sting, was offended at the scorpion’s ungratefulness. Thankfully, having been granted the powers to both defend itself and to punish evil, the turtle sank beneath the waters and drowned the scorpion out of principle.

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” sneered the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back.”

The scorpion pleaded earnestly. “Do you think so little of me? Please, I must cross the river. What would I gain from stinging you? I would only end up drowning myself!”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Even a scorpion knows to look out for its own skin. Climb aboard, then!”

But as they forged through the rushing waters, the scorpion grew worried. This frog thinks me a ruthless killer, it thought. Would it not be justified in throwing me off now and ridding the world of me? Why else would it agree to this? Every jostle made the scorpion more and more anxious, until the frog surged forward with a particularly large splash, and in panic the scorpion lashed out with its stinger.

“I knew it,” snarled the frog, as they both thrashed and drowned. “A scorpion cannot change its nature.”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. The frog agreed, but no sooner than they were halfway across the scorpion stung the frog, and they both began to thrash and drown.

“I’ve only myself to blame,” sighed the frog, as they both sank beneath the waters. “You, you’re a scorpion, I couldn’t have expected anything better. But I knew better, and yet I went against my judgement! And now I’ve doomed us both!”

“You couldn’t help it,” said the scorpion mildly. “It’s your nature.” 

___

…“Why on earth did you do that?” the frog said morosely. “Now we’re both going to die.”

“Alas, I was of two natures,” said the scorpion. “One said to gratefully ride your back across the river, and the other said to sting you where you stood. And so both fought, and neither won.” It smiled wistfully. “Ah, it would be nice to be just one thing, wouldn’t it? Unadulterated in nature. Without the capacity for conflict or regret.”

___

“By the way,” said the frog, as they swam, “I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s on the other side of the river?”

“It’s the journey,” said the scorpion. “Not the destination.”

___

…“What’s on the other side of anything?” said the scorpion. “A new beginning.”

___

…”Another scorpion to mate with,” said the scorpion. “And more prey to kill, and more living bodies to poison, and a forthcoming lineage of cruelties that you will be culpable in.”

___

…”Nothing we will live to see, I fear,” said the scorpion. “Already the currents are growing stronger, and the river seems like it shall swallow us both. We surge forward, and the shoreline recedes. But does that mean our striving was in vain?”

___

“I love you,” said the scorpion.

The frog glanced upward. “Do you?”

“Absolutely. Can you imagine the fear of drowning? Of course not. You’re a frog. Might as well be scared of breathing air. And yet here I am, clinging to your back, as the waters rage around us. Isn’t that love? Isn’t that trust? Isn’t that necessity? I could not kill you without killing myself. Are we not inseparable in this?”

The frog swam on, the both of them silent.

___

“I’m so tired,” murmured the frog eventually. “How much further to the other side? I don’t know how long we’ve been swimming. I’ve been treading water. And it’s getting so very dark.”

“Shh,” the scorpion said. “Don’t be afraid.”

The frog’s legs kicked out weakly. “How long has it been? We’re lost. We’re lost! We’re doomed to be cast about the waters forever. There is no land. There’s nothing on the other side, don’t you see!”

“Shh, shh,” said the scorpion. “My venom is a hallucinogenic. Beneath its surface, the river is endlessly deep, its currents carrying many things.” 

“You - You’ve killed us both,” said the frog, and began to laugh deliriously. “Is this - is this what it’s like to drown?” 

“We’ve killed each other,” said the scorpion soothingly. “My venom in my glands now pulsing through your veins, the waters of your birthing pool suffusing my lungs. We are engulfing each other now, drowning in each other. I am breathless. Do you feel it? Do you feel my sting pierced through your heart?”

“What a foolish thing to do,” murmured the frog. “No logic. No logic to it at all.”

“We couldn’t help it,” whispered the scorpion. “It’s our natures. Why else does anything in the world happen? Because we were made for this from birth, darling, every moment inexplicable and inevitable. What a crazy thing it is to fall in love, and yet - It’s all our fault! We are both blameless. We’re together now, darling. It couldn’t have happened any other way.”

___

“It’s funny,” said the frog. “I can’t say that I trust you, really. Or that I even think very much of you and that nasty little stinger of yours to begin with. But I’m doing this for you regardless. It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s strange. Why would I do this? I want to help you, want to go out of my way to help you. I let you climb right onto my back! Now, whyever would I go and do a foolish thing like that?”

___

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”  

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

[houndofbaskerville]

will graham, the collector of strays with no home, no family. left out in the world to fend for themselves. giving them a place that is warm and welcome, someone to trust. loyalty and love. strays he would risk his life for. and then he meets hannibal. another stray without a pack, and then will becomes the first person hannibal is truly vulnerable and open with. the fact will tells hannibal he would miss his dogs but not him, directly comparing hannibal to his dogs, almost admitting they were comparable to him in some way. chiyoh telling hannibal some beasts should not be caged. hannibal seeing himself as better than people and will seeing dogs as better than people, preferring the company of his dogs and hannibal. hannibal having an extremely heightened sense of smell, able to detect disease and cancer. hannibal also asking will after three years apart if he "came to get the old scent back" like a dog trying to recognize and remember an old friend. "man's best friend" being a dog, and will is constantly trying to figure out where he and hannibal stand, eventually saying "he was my friend. I wanted to run away with him." dolarhyde killing the family dog first to eliminate the alarm system and shooting hannibal first. the fact will was told "I’ve muzzled the dog, now you need to put it down" when he was asked to kill hannibal. how desperately hannibal wanted a family, trying to curate a pack of his own to run away with him. the "prized meat" of wolves and dogs being the organs, eaten first and often leaving the lean muscle of the carcass behind. the fact dogs will hunt in packs and by the end of the show, will and hannibal finally kill together and that was all hannibal wanted for them. and while it isn't the true origin of the word, the word "cannibal" as we know it today was connected to the word "canis" aka dog by 16th century writers in reference to their shared voracity.....

[houndofbaskerville]

“I… I forgive you.”

#good omens #aziraphale #god that hurts

[houndofbaskerville]

With the knowledge that Vulcan has regularly high winds & subsequent sandstorms I propose a type of guy: midwestern dads watching tornadoes but for Vulcans. Somebody's uncle Sovar standing outside with his hands on his hips watching a massive cloud roll closer. Unconcerned because this happens, like, every couple of weeks. He's like "this one is large, is it not" yes it is go back inside Sovar

[houndofbaskerville]

ALSO. the destiel language barrier is so sweet. bc Dean communicates in these abstract referential little circles that Cas can't quite parse. The Michael sword is saying incomprehensible riddles again. but Cas is SO charmed by it that he starts studying it and experimenting with it and trying to meet Dean on his level. and his butchering of idioms is played for laughs but he's mimicking Dean's linguistic patterns as a way of getting closer to him. because he loves him <3

#spn #destiel #that's adorable!

[houndofbaskerville]

Rip Dean Winchester, you would have had an existential crisis watching Buck kiss a man in the 4th episode of the 7th season of 911 on abc

#ha! #he totally would have #imagine if that had happened on spn #I think I would have had a heart attack! #spn #911

[houndofbaskerville]

helen, do you remember still the smoking ruins of troy? do you recognise, in the cavern of your husband's mouth, the hunger that once drove paris to your chambers?

in the middle of the rabble stood athena, eyes of steel and hands of marble. unblemished armour, unmarred peplos, polished speartip, she opened her mouth, all at once the softness of a woman whose skin has not once cracked and the sharpness of an owl's beak.

and screamed.

helen, your daughter is beautiful. cupid has spanned his bow perfectly over the coral of her lips. her hair curls as yours does, and catches within its depths the gleam of the sun. her eyes are large and dark, an echo of the sleep-shrouded silent movie star.

her pupils swallow her iris whole. she does not wobble in her heeled shoes. when she turns, her petticoats fan open, a perfect rustle.

when she laughs, can't you see the many-rowed marks of Aphrodite's teeth buried in the meat of her tongue?

"she's gorgeous", said once a veteran who had bled and died with your husband. "the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. she must fight the boys off with both hands." when he laughs, it is the same cadence as menelaus'.

susan was not yet seventeen, then. helen, doesn't troy still burn?

at night, theseus-melenaus-paris creeps into your bed. soft-voiced and harsh-handed, he rucks up the thin fabric of your skirt. presses his mouth to the curve of your throat, leaving smears of still-warm blood in the dip between your clavicles. helen.

greatest of beauties. most valued of treasures. can you blame him for wanting, just for a spell or a dream, the fairness of your skin draped across his sheets and hanging off his arm?

how could you possibly tell him no?

would not athena, unmarred by the blood and the flesh, look at you as she once did medusa? do you not look down upon the spectacle from the top of your ivory tower? the windows are barred, and there is a latch nailed to the door that you cannot lift.

he does not give you sandals. he does not give you hairpins. come, grind the stone to pigment and dye with it the tips of your breasts and the flush of your cheeks. he likes you that way.

it makes him laugh and his gaze grow heavy. come, now, helen. the boy outside of your window is choking on his blood.

spread your legs.

when susan paints her pouting mouth, and pinches the high points of her cheeks until they flush, dark with blood, do you remember, for a moment, the feeling of a beautiful boy with shining eyes looking upon you as though you might one day be dragged down far enough to touch? the soft words, the whispered promises, and the feather-downed touches; the parties. the dresses.

the invitations.

"susan", you say. "darling." the english weighs heavy on your tongue, as hammered jewelery once did, when you wore your hair open and your voice like a gem in your mouth.

susan squares her jaw. "it's just a party, mum", she says. her eyebrows lie in a perfect curve. her lashes are dark, and her nails are shaped just so. "i simply don't understand why you are still so gloomy. the war is over. cheer up a little!"

"susan", you say.

"mum", she replies, eyes of steel and hands of marble. "let me go."

when she comes home, shoes in one hand, nylons in the other, her neck is bruised and the colour on her lips is smeared. her skirt is creased, and half hidden underneath the clasps of her dress lies a many-rowed mark of teeth. the mascara on her lashes is clumped, and when you turn on the kitchen light, she flinches.

for a moment, the light reflects in her pupils. her mouth sharpens.

she sways.

"mum", she says, voice like cold molasses. "leave it be. i'm tired."

helen, won't you open your mouth? won't you scream?

#ohhh #love it

[houndofbaskerville]

he protecc

[houndofbaskerville]

where you go, i go. that’s the deal.

lyrics from “work song” by hozier

click for higher resolution. close ups and progress shots under the cut!

Keep reading

#jonmartin #tma

[houndofbaskerville]

The funniest sword fight scene in the history of cinema. 

#stage combat #basil rathbone #fencing #very cool

[houndofbaskerville]

My Electric wheelchair is sadly now 12 years old and is being held together with gaffer tape and love! I really need a new one and as it is my 50th Birthday this year I thought I could try to fund-raise and ask folks to please help with buying a replacement chair.

'Just Giving' Wheelchair fund-raiser link Here

About Nixxie - My Wheelchair is my lifeline. I use it inside my flat to get about as my body sadly doesn't work anymore (please read the Just giving page for details on my disabilities). I also use the chair to get out into my garden... and also anytime I need to leave the house - it gets a lot of mileage - hence why it is sadly starting to show its age! About 3 years ago the welding that holds on the arm failed and cannot be repaired - so the arm bracket is held on with gaffer tape and hot-glue. The batteries hardly hold any charge anymore, one of the wheel-arches got plastic fatigue a few years ago and just plain twisted off! Also all the under panels are held on with velcro, tape and hope! (pictures of all this on the donation page).

I originally bought my powerchair in 2012 to go to London as I'd won tickets to visit the Paralympics with a carer... however I don't trust it now to even go a few miles as I'm petrified another bit will fall off!! A while after I bought my chair I went to a Sci-Fi convention and dressed my wheelchair up as the Tardis to match my costume... I liked it so much that my chair has been Tardis cosplaying ever since!

I try my hardest to still live a life worth living - and even though my body needs to recover for ages afterwards I still try to get out every now and then to do something good.

So that's about it - my diagnosis is that I will never get any better (In fact it's likely I'll carry on getting worse as I get older), so I thought to put this page up to get help in the fundraising as wheelchairs cost a huge amount more than people think and sadly there is no way I can afford it alone. So please if you could, donate - Even if it's only a bit - anything towards being able to go out safely would be SO Amazing and I am utterly thankful to you for your aid.

And please please share this page to spread the joy! *hugs*

#I used to go to the Sherlock Holmes watchalongs regularly #unfortunately I don't really have time anymore #I miss hanging out!

[houndofbaskerville]

im actually an anatomy students defender until i DIE they didnt do anything wrong!!! they just wanted to learn about the body they even WAITED FOR THE TEACHER TO LOOK AWAY before they adjusted anything!!! they didnt want to scare him!! they showed up every class and waited for him and paid FULL attention you KNOW if that man just stopped fucking judging them for not being able to get their hearts right the first time they would be the best class he ever had. they even left him an apple!! they didnt know apples dont have teeth its not their fault!! anatomy student haters dni actually

#the magnus archives #tma #okay while listening to that ep #I did think that professor could have really taken advantage of the opportunity #like what if we had three lungs?? #what would happen? #they just wanted to learn!!

[houndofbaskerville]

Jon sketch

#tma #jon sims #pretty much exactly as I picture him

[houndofbaskerville]

the least realistic thing about star trek is that starfleet uniforms don’t have pockets and nobody complains about it

#star trek #very true

[houndofbaskerville]

Three decades of dealing with your crap.

#sherlock holmes #poor watson

[houndofbaskerville]

#holmes/watson #granada holmes