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mystlnewsonline · 8 months

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Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier Sentenced to 262 Months

Foreign National Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier Sentenced to Over 21 Years for Mailing Ricin to President of the United States in 2020 Defendant Also Mailed Threatening Ricin Letters to Texas Law Enforcement Officials (STL.News) Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 55, a dual citizen of Canada and France, was sentenced today to 262 months in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for sending threatening letters containing homemade ricin (a toxin), in September 2020, to then-President Donald J. Trump at the White House, and eight Texas State law enforcement officials. Ferrier pleaded guilty on January 25 to prohibitions with respect to biological weapons in two separate criminal cases. One case was brought in the District of Columbia, and the other was brought in the Southern District of Texas and transferred to the District of Columbia for purposes of plea and sentencing. According to court documents, Ferrier admitted that she made ricin at her residence in Quebec, Canada, in September 2020. Ricin is a deadly poison made from castor beans. Ferrier placed the ricin toxin in envelopes containing letters she wrote to then-President Trump at the White Housnd to eight Texas State law enforcement officials. Ferrier had been detained in the State of Texas for approximately 10 weeks in the spring of 2019, and she believed that the law enforcement officials were connected to her period of detention. In early September 2020, Ferrier used the Twitter social media service to propose that someone should “please shoot rump in the face.” The letters in the envelopes contained threatening language, and the letter addressed to then-President Trump instructed him to “ive up and remove application for this election.” Ferrier mailed each of the threatening ricin letters from Canada to the United States. Ferrier then drove a car from Canada to the Peace Bridge Border Crossing in Buffalo, New York, on September 20, 2020, where border patrol officials found her in possession of a loaded firearm, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and other weapons and arrested her. Ferrier has remained in custody. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia, and Assistant Director Susan Ferensic of the FBI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate made the announcement. The FBI Washington and San Antonio Field Offices investigated tThe U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service provided assistanceon Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Friedman for the District of Columbia; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rob Jones, David Coronado, and David Lindenmuth for the Southern District of Texas; and Trial Attorney David Smith of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Justice Read the full article

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fridaythe13ththeseries · 1 year

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A Friend to the End

Episode Recap #44: A Friend to the End Original Airdate: April 22, 1989

Starring: John D. LeMay as Ryan Dallion Louise Robey as Micki Foster Chris Wiggins as Jack Marshak (credit only)

Guest cast: Keram Malicki-Sánchez as Richard 'Ricky' Radwell Zachary Bennett as J.B. Donna Goodhand as DeJager Ted Roop as Dean Noam Zylberman as Harley Devin O'Brien as Jimmy Susan Kyle as Model Fred Hill as Howard Harper Freda Ridout as Marjorie Harper Russell Ferrier as Delivery Man Johnie Chase as Cop Victor Ertmanis as Victorian Dad

Written by Scott Schneid & Tony Michelman (teleplay) and David Morse, Scott Schneid & Tony Michelman (story)

Directed by David Morse

Open on a spooky graveyard at night, in a storm. A older couple is breaking in the locked gate into a crypt. They take the body, just a skeleton really, of a 12 year-old-boy who died almost 100 years ago, and head home.

At their home, they place the skeleton in a coffin. The doorbell rings, and the old lady lets in a young woman who answered their ad for a nanny. The man sends her into a room, tells her to introduce herself, and shuts the door. The young woman is confused to see a coffin by the bed. She approaches, a boy jumps up, and we hear her screams. Soon, the door opens and a young boy approaches the old couple.

Next, we are at an art studio, where a model is posing and complaining. She is holding the Shard of Medusa, and it is heavy. The artist keeps sketching, ignoring the model. The woman complains again of pain. Outside, we see a car pull up and a guy gets out. The model is having trouble breathing. We see the man entering the building, and it is Ryan. The model, in pain, drops the shard, screams for help, but is ignored by the artist. Ryan tries to get to the studio.

The artist picks up the shard, thanks the model for her contribution to her work, then stabs her in the back with the shard. The model is turned to stone. Ryan rushes up the fire escape to the roof, and he looks in the studio and sees the stone model and realizes he is too late.

At Curious Goods, he tells Micki want happened, and she says it is her turn. She has been reading Louis letters, and they prepare to leave so Micki can volunteer as a model. They open the store door and a young boy is outside. His name is J.B., he is Micki's nephew, and apparently this isn't the first time her sister has dropped him off unannounced. J.B. says he can go to a hotel like last time, and Micki and Ryan are shocked. They bring him inside, then Micki and Ryan argue a bit about her sister. J.B. hears, and him and Ryan have a tense moment of silence. Micki brings out a bike Ryan and Jack fixed up for J.B. to use while they go out. They send him to the park. Ryan comments on J.B. making up stories. They head off to the artist's studio.

J.B. rides the bike to the park, where a bunch of kids on bikes are showing off for each other. The boys approach J.B. and tease him. The resurrrected boy watches from a window.

At the artist's gallery show, Micki and Ryan browse around. Micki heads to talk with the artist, DeJager. Ryan sees the model-turned-statue and looks away.

The boys are having J.B. do tricks on his old bike, telling him he has to do things to prove he has guts to join their gang.

Micki gets DeJager to set up a session for her to pose. Ryan smirks.

At an old abandoned house, the boys want J.B. to go inside, after telling him about the place being haunted and that people enter and never leave. J.B. insists he isn't scared and approaches the front door. The boys plan to steal his bike. J.B. goes inside, seeing furniture covered in sheets and dust everywhere. He goes upstairs, almost falling through a broken step. In what was the boy's room, he finds a spinning top on the floor, then a boy asks if he'll be his friend. J.B. takes off, and finds the boys, and his bike, gone. The front door shuts, he sees someone moving behind a boarded up window and he runs off.

At the store, Micki and Ryan go over their plan to get the shard, then go to make dinner for J.B., who comes running in, telling them he saw a ghost. Ryan asks about his bike, and J.B. said it was stolen. He tells them about the other boys and the haunted house and the ghost. Ryan doesn't believe him, and J.B. runs off. Ryan tells Micki they have to get him out of here, and she snaps at him.

Later, Micki goes and talks with J.B., telling him they have to go out for a bit. Micki apologizes for the fight with Ryan, and for his mother's lack of compassion, then leaves. J.B. plays with the top he took.

That night, he is back at the old house, with a flashlight. Bravely, he goes back inside. He calls to the ghost the other kids called Ricky. He heads upstairs and sees a lit candle, then more of them. The room is filled with books and toys. The boy, Ricky, appears. He says he knew J.B. would be back. They go off to play. Micki arrives at DeJager's.

J.B. and Ricky play games, J.B. says he thought Ricky was a ghost. Ricky then stops his new friend from entering one of the rooms, then Ricky hears horses and a man yelling at, then whipping him. Ricky cries and J.B. tries to comfort him.

DeJager asks if anyone knows Micki is here, and is happy to know Micki told no one. She poses Micki, then tells her to take her clothes off. As Micki undresses, DeJager gets the shard out. As she tells Micki about Medusa, Micki opens a window for fresh air. DeJager puts the shard in Micki's hand, and Micki takes it to the window and drops it to Ryan below. She struggles with DeJager, hits her, then escapes.

J.B. is helping Ricky recover from his trauma, and tells him he also gets nightmares, due to the treatment from his mother. They laugh about grown ups being jerks. Ricky says his father hated him and used to beat him. J.B. says he should go home, and Ricky wants him to stay, saying he lives alone. Ricky asks J.B. to send someone from the drugstore with something for his nosebleed. J.B. agrees, and tells Ricky he will see him tomorrow.

Later, Ricky is looking in the mirror and seeing his face is bearing the marks of the past. He remembers his childhood and being chased and beaten by his father, who whips him without mercy. Outside, a delivery man from the pharmacy arrives. He knocks and enters the house. The man hears Ricky crying upstairs and heads up. He sees the coffin in the candlelit bedroom, then he is attacked by Ricky, who repeats his father's words. The man fall off the balcony to his death, Ricky dragging the body away.

Micki and Ryan arrive back at the store after getting the shard, but find J.B. is not alone - DeJager is already there. She found the store because Micki left her coat behind. She has found out where J.B. lives and goes to school. She wants the shard back and threatens J.B. with a chisel. Ryan hands over the shard, and she holds J.B. with her until she is at the door. She takes off, Ryan chases. Micki asks how J.B. is, but Ryan comes back and is angry, asking why he let her in. J.B. talks about Ricky, angering Ryan more. Micki tries to stop them from fighting, but J.B. knows they don't want him there. They try to apologize but he runs upstairs. Ryan goes after DeJager, Micki stays behind with J.B.

The next morning, Micki is making pancakes, but J.B. wants to leave. She pours him a glass of milk, and asks about Ricky. J.B. tells her, but she doesn't believe. He says no one watches him, so why is it so weird that Ricky lives alone. Micki doesn't want him to leave, but when her back is turned, he takes off.

At the old house, Ricky has just finished cleaning up when J.B. arrives. J.B. asks about staying, and Ricky says sure, saying they are friends to the end. They run off to play.

Micki is going through old articles, and reads about Ricky's house and all that happened there. She recognizes the names of the older couple who are missing, and finds a letter they wrote to Louis, thanking him for helping them get their child, Ricky, but that he has gotten harder to deal with, since his 'hunger' has grown. We see a flashback of the woman hanging from the top of the staircase balcony. Her husband tries to help her, but they are both pushed to their death by their 'son' Ricky. Seems the old couple were Satanists like Louis. Micki realizes J.B. has been telling the truth.

At the house, J.B. and Ricky are playing hide and seek. Suddenly, Ricky collapses. Ricky asks if they are good friends. J.B. says yes, then Ricky asks him to bring someone to the house. When Ricky turns around, we see the lash mark on his face has returned. J.B. rushes off to find someone. He finds a cop and asks him to come quick, his friend is hurt.

J.B. brings the cop into the house, and the man heads upstairs to where the sounds of Ricky in pain are coming from. He approaches the coffin, and then heads back to the landing. He is attacked by Ricky.

Ryan has called Micki and tells her DeJager has gone to the airport, but they can still catch her. Micki says to forget her, that J.B. is in trouble. She fills him in on the letter and all she has found out. Seems the coffin is the cursed item Louis gave to the old couple, allowing them to resurrect a dead child to be their own, but with a price. Ryan asks where J.B. is, she gives him the address, and they both head there separately.

J.B. is trying to get Ricky to leave the cop alone, but Ricky says he needs to kill to stay alive, and that adults don't matter. J.B. doesn't listen, saying killing is wrong. He runs but trips, and Ricky blocks the door. J.B. hits him, then says what happens when he grows up? Will Ricky kill him, too? Ricky growls, and chases him. J.B. heads to the cellar, but the stairs collapse. He sees dead bodies all around. He is stuck and asks for help. Ricky creepily makes his way downstairs.

Micki arrives and calls to her nephew. J.B. calls back from the basement. She tries to make her way to him, but he warns her of Ricky, who pushes her and tries to kill her. J.B. begs him to stop, saying friends don't hurt each other. Ricky finally listens, dropping his weapon. Ricky continues to regress, then collapses and turns back into a skeleton.

A later day, Ryan gets off the phone and says the cop is going to recover, and doesn't remember much. J.B., on crutches, is glad to hear that. He says it is going to be hard not telling anyone about Ricky, and is still amazed that Ricky had died 100 years ago. He laments being bad at picking friends, but Micki tells him you have to take a chance. Ryan also apologizes and asks J.B. to come back, and that the cops found the kids and recovered the bike, which Ryan is sending to J.B.'s house. They shake hands and Ryan says maybe he can be his first new friend.

My thoughts:

Wow. Quite an episode.

First off, where the heck does Micki suddenly have a sister? Why wasn't she then also an heir to Louis' estate? We never see her in the episode, and she is never mentioned again. We also never see or hear from J.B. again. I get that the show ended abruptly at the end of the third season, but just weird to add in such close relatives to Micki, who apparently live close enough to visit, but are in the end just one-off characters. Would have made more sense to say the woman was Micki's best friend or old sorority sister or something.

I do like the double cursed items featured. With one, the shard, we come into the action with Micki and Ryan already at work trying to get it back. In the end, they lose it, do to a mistake of Micki's, so that is also something different.

The other antique, the coffin, has a different path for them, having been given to fellow Satanists by Louis. And it is a unique cursed item, in that those who used it have since perished, but the boy who was resurrected lives on and is trying to remain alive by killing. Almost like the item is continuing to work on its own. Quite different.

Ryan here gets on my nerves. I get that they are in the middle of trying to get the shard, but that isn't J.B.'s fault, and Ryan is outright mean to the kid who needs understanding more than anything. He evens gets mad at J.B. for being held hostage by DeJager! C'mon, Ryan, what the hell, man?

I like that Ryan apologizes at the end, but it wouldn't have surprised me if J.B. told him to pound sand. But J.B. gets a quick character fix in order for them to all have a happy ending. Maybe he had the crap scared out of him by Ricky, but it is a quick change, for sure.

Micki comes off better, trying to do the best by her nephew while still trying to uphold her responsibilities with the store and retrieving the antiques and keep Ryan from going unhinged. Long week for her.

Also, if the bike gang is correct about the missing people at Ricky's house, why did no cops ever go inside to look around, and then find the bodies, the coffin, and the 100 year-old-boy? I know, so we could have a story, but still. People went missing when entering the house, enough that even kids knew, but no one investigated?

And that pharmacy guy - wow. Above and beyond! Delivery after a call from random kid, to an old abandoned house, and he still went in to complete delivery! Trying getting that service these days!

Next week: The Butcher

#episode recap #season two #a friend to the end #micki foster #ryan dallion #j.b.#nephew #sister #uncle louis #satan #coffin #shard of medusa #shard #john d. lemay #robey #louise robey #80s tv

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misscrawfords · 5 years

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So you want to read something like Jane Austen?

I see lots of posts where people answer this question with recommendations for classic historical romance authors like Georgette Heyer or more modern bodice-rippers like Julia Quinn or Tessa Dare. But to me that’s never quite the appropriate answer. Sure, if what you want is romance with country dancing and breeches, that’s fine, but surely if you want to read more things similar to Jane Austen, the best way to do that is to delve into her lesser known contemporaries. People Austen admired and people who admired her. People writing on similar themes and using similar language.

So this is my list of 10 novels from the 18th and early 19th century that you might like to try if you’ve read Austen and want to branch out more. These are just personal recommendations and based off what I’ve read; I’m very happy to hear other suggestions!

Worth noting as well that all of these are available online or free for kindle download. :)

1. Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World by Fanny Burney (1778) Summary: Evelina Anville is a shy, innocent country girl who is invited to London by friends. Here, she attempts to navigate the complicated social mores of the season while keeping her integrity. She encounters handsome men, vulgar relations and gets into numerous alarming and hilarious scrapes along the way to discovering her true noble heritage and winning the love and hand of the charming Lord Orville. Why you should read it: A great first novel for Austen fans to get into who aren’t otherwise familiar with literature of the period. Burney’s first novel is sparkling, witty, filled with dialogue and not very long. The humour is more robust than Austen’s - it’s definitely Georgian rather than Regency - but a lot of the scenarios will be familiar to Austen readers. Particularly recommended for fans of Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice and readers who like historical romances set during the London season.

2. Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress by Fanny Burney (1782) Summary: Cecilia Beverley is an orphaned heiress who will only inherit her fortune on the very specific condition that her husband takes her name. Until she turns 21 she is left with three very different guardians - the profligate Mr. Harrell, the proud Mr. Delvile, and the vulgar Mr. Briggs. Cecilia must protect herself from the advances of the unscrupulous fortune hunters she meets and deal with her feelings for young Mortimer Delvile, whose family is excessively proud of its ancient name. Why you should read it: IMO Cecilia is a masterpiece. It’s a much longer and complex novel than Evelina but it contains fierce social satire and commentary of a world where women are horribly vulnerable and money rules all interactions pointing forwards to authors like Dickens and Eliot. Burney is a little more moralistic and less witty here but it’s a fascinating portrayal of a highly intelligent and capable, independent woman in a world where she is constrained by the men around her, in the kind of plot that romance novelists can only dream of. It’s also worth noting that Pride and Prejudice was arguably written as a response to Cecilia and it is very interesting to spot and consider the ways in which Austen was explicitly influenced by this novel and what she changed in writing Pride and Prejudice. Particularly recommended for fans of Pride and Prejudice and Emma. Please note that this novel contains a suicide and (period appropriate) mental illness.

3. Belinda by Maria Edgeworth (1801) Summary: Belinda Portman is sent to live with the fashionable Lady Delacour in London with whom she develops a strong friendship. Part of the plot deals with Lady Delacour’s fear that she has breast cancer and part with the customary romantic entanglements of a young girl out in the London season. Why you should read it: Maria Edgeworth was one of the most popular novelists of Austen’s day - and was far more commercially successful. Belinda is her second novel and has been compared to Austen for its natural portrayal of character. Lady Delacour is the most interesting character - a slightly older woman, independent, strong-minded and fearless. Particularly recommended for fans of Persuasion, Lady Susan, Sanditon and of potentially queer subtext, intriguing references to interracial marriages (look it up!) and 18th century surgery.

4. Patronage by Maria Edgeworth (1814) Summary: A magnum opus almost Dickensian in scale charting the rises and falls of two neighbouring families, the hard-working and virtuous Percy family and the ambitious, scheming Falconers. The daughters need marriages, the sons need careers and the paterfamilias of each family must make tough decisions about what he wants his family to stand for. Why you should read it: This novel is admittedly a brick and tough to get through at times but it really is worth it. You are plunged into Regency society in a way no other contemporary novel succeeds in with a large and varied cast of characters. The novel also takes you into the world of men and their professions in a way that Austen never does. Particularly recommended for fans of Mansfield Park (which was published in the same year) and people who want to learn more about Regency society in all its forms.

5. Rob Roy by Walter Scott (1817) Summary: Romantic Frank Osbaldistone leaves his father’s business in London to visit his cousins in north England where he meets and falls in love with the beautiful and charming Diana Vernon, gets caught up in a Jacobite plot and the scheming of his wicked cousin, Rashleigh, and meets the famous Scottish outlaw, Rob Roy. Why you should read it: There were several Scott novels that could be included here but I picked Rob Roy for its attractive portrayal of Diana, since Scott is not always great at writing 3D heroines Austen fans will like. Scott was the most successful novelist at the time, bursting onto the novel scene writing novels with a male protagonist at a time when most novels were by, for and about women. Scott and Austen admired each other a great deal despite writing in very different genres, with Scott writing historical romances rather than contemporary social satires. Particularly recommended for fans of Persuasion, Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice.

6. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (1794) Summary: Set vaguely in the 16th century, this most famous gothic novel follows the adventures of Emily St Aubert from her father’s French estate to Venice with her aunt, Madame Cheron after he dies and then, when her aunt marries the sinister Montoni, to his castle in the Italian Apennines. Why you should read it: C’mon, it’s Udolpho! Don’t you want to know what’s behind the infamous black veil? Northanger Abbey will be 10 times better once you’ve read Udolpho and despite the excessive amount of fainting, overuse of the word “sublime” and far too many spontaneous reciting of poetry, it’s a genuinely engaging adventure novel with larger-than-life characters, daring adventures, and some really beautiful descriptions of France and Italy. Particularly recommended for fans of Northanger Abbey, obviously.

7. Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock (1818) Summary: Utterly ridiculous gothic satire with a tenuous plot about a morose widower who lives with his son, Scythrop, in a crumbling mansion in Lincolnshire, but you’re not reading this for the plot. Why you should read it: I read it for university, having never heard of it before, and found it hilarious. Published in the same year as Northanger Abbey, it is similar in poking fun at gothic conventions. It depends on a reasonable knowledge of gothic novels and contemporary literature and philosophy so not a novel for beginners to undertake unless you have an edition with a commentary, but it’s very short and absolutely absurd. Particularly recommended for fans of Northanger Abbey and the Juvenilia.

8. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson (1740) Summary: Pamela is a maid in Mr. B’s house and must use all her ingenuity to fend off her employer’s advances and convert his many and increasingly desperate attempts to seduce her into a marriage proposal. Why you should read it: Pamela was a sensation when it was first published. Written in the form of letters, it was arguably the first novel to really get into the brain of a young woman and was quite radical in its treatment of the relationship between the sexes, consequently being highly influential on subsequent novels. Any of Richardson’s novels could deserve a place here - Clarissa is arguably his best but it’s ridiculously long and I haven’t read it, and Sir Charles Grandison was apparently Austen’s favourite novel but I also haven’t read it. Pamela is probably the most approachable but please note, in case the summary didn’t set off enough alarm bells, its depiction of consent is very much of its time. Particularly recommended for fans of the literary culture into which Austen was born.

9. Marriage by Susan Ferrier (1813) Summary: Lady Juliana rather foolishly elopes with an impoverished Scot and must adapt to living in his rundown estate in the Highlands. The first half of the novel deals with Juliana’s comic attempts to deal with this rough kind of living while the second half, set 17 years later, follows Juliana’s daughter, Mary, a virtuous girl, who goes to live in Bath with her cousins, including the “naughty” Adelaide. Why you should read it: Ferrier was another author much more popular than Austen at the time. Marriage is similar to Burney and Edgeworth in its plots and scopes and there are moments when she almost reaches Austen’s wit. It is, however, rather more heavy-handed in its obvious morality and in the way it contrasts its good heroine and bad (but far more appealing) anti-heroine. Very typical of women’s novels of the time. Particularly recommended for fans of Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park.

10. St Ronan’s Well by Walter Scott (1824) Summary: This novel follows Francis Tyrell and his attempts to marry his former love, Clara Mowbray, and fend off his rival, the engaging but sinister Lord Etherington. All of this is set under a backdrop of the gossip and scandal-mongering of a fictional Scottish spa town. Why you should read it: This is a self-indulgent inclusion - I wrote my dissertation on it, Scott’s least known and least loved novel. It’s Scott’s only attempt to write a contemporary novel and it is obvious that he is influenced by Austen and trying in many ways to emulate her. It’s not entirely successful and the novel is an uneasy mix of sparkling dialogue and social satire with melodrama and romantic tragedy. The characters are really great, however, particularly Scott’s portrayal of Clara’s deep unhappiness, and the plot quite shocking- make sure you get hold of a first edition or at least read up on it, as Scott was later forced to remove his earlier references to pre-marital sex, which is really key for the plot. Particularly recommended for fans of Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion.

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cupofteajones · 3 years

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Quote of the Day - July 19, 2021

Quote of the Day – July 19, 2021

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#Books #British Literature #Classics #Life #Pride #Quote of the Day #Quotes #Quotes from Books #Scottish Literature #Scottish Writers #Susan Ferrier

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beforevenice · 3 years

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But who can count the beatings of the lonely heart?

// Susan Edmonstone Ferrier

#venice #venezia #lonely heart #empty streets #travel photography #street photography #photography #ph #susan edmonstone ferrier #quote #q #beating heart #lonely #italy #italia #life

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harrypotterhousequotes · 5 years

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RAVENCLAW: "Great imaginations are apt to work from hints and suggestions and a single moment of emotion is sometimes sufficient to create a masterpiece." –Margaret Sackville (Introduction to The Works of Susan Ferrier, Vol. 1)

#harry potter #house quotes #ravenclaw #margaret sackville #the works of susan ferrier #hphq

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the-busy-ghost · 2 years

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"You have much too nice a conscience," said Lady Emily (...) "What a pity it is you and I cannot change places. Here am I languishing for a little opposition to my love. My marriage will be quite an insipid, every-day affair: I yawn already to think of it. Can any thing be more disheartening to a young couple, anxious to signalize their attachment in the face of the whole world, than to be allowed to take their own way? Conceive my vexation at being told by papa this morning, that he had not the least objection to Edward and me marrying whenever we pleased, although he thought we might both have done better; but that was our own affair, not his. That he thought Edward a fine, good humoured fellow- excessively amusing- hoped he would get a ship some day, although he had no interest whatever in the admiralty- was sorry he could not give us any money, but hoped we should remain at Beech Park as long as we liked. I really feel quite flat with all these dull affirmations." "What! you had rather been locked up in a tower- wringing your hands at the height of the windows, the thickness of the walls, and so forth," said Mary. "No: I should never have done any thing so like a washerwoman, as to wring my hands; though I might, like some heroines, have fallen to work in a regular blacksmith-way, by examining the lock of the door, and, perhaps, have succeeded in picking it; but, alas! I live in degenerate days. Oh! that I had been born the persecuted daughter of some ancient Baron bold, instead of the spoiled child of a good natured modern Earl! Heavens! to think that I must tamely, abjectly submit to be married in the presence of all my family, even in the very parish church! Oh, what detractions from the brilliancy of my star!"

Lady Emily, being 100% herself as usual, in “Marriage”, by Susan Ferrier (1819 edition as edited by Dorothy McMillan)

#Honestly if it weren't for one instance of casual antisemitism in her speech and the fact that she wants to marry her first cousin #I would find it hard to believe that she was written in 1818/19 #And yet at the same time she is such a thoroughly Regency character #It's just a pity that so far we haven't seen her go head to head with Lady MacLaughlin #I do get the impression that Ferrier (and Charlotte Clavering) had a lot more fun writing funny or downright strange women characters #than they did plotting the actual marriage/romance plots and to be honest I can totally sympathise with that #Other than Dr Redgill the men mostly seem to read newspapers or propose marriage in manly emotional fashion off-screen #Though they have their own foibles too- see Mr Douglas' umbrage at the aspersions cast upon his venison by Mrs Macshake #But it's the women who steal the show #And ok so far Aunts Grizzy Jacky and Nicky and many other female characters haven't actually played a huge role in the plot development #But damn me if they aren't hugely entertaining and interesting figures #So I'm willing to plod through hundreds of pages just for these- admittedly fictionalised- pictures of late 18th/early 19th century women #Scotland's Jane Austen? Eh maybe #But there's also a comparison to be made with Wodehouse I feel #A Regency-era female Wodehouse to be sure but nevertheless #A little bit racier than either Wodehouse or Austen tho #Well for the time period anyway #Ach what do I know I'm just here to enjoy myself #Quotes #Reading log #Books

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motherwasapapafucker · 3 years

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The rock came down and...

The primitive was injured, dying probably. Slowing them down almost certainly. The action was born of cold logic, they'd all be caught if they continued to support him. The Doctor grasped the yellowing boulder in his hand, focused on the injured man and resolved to do what had to be done.

The rock came down and…

In the Dalek City on radiation blighted Skaro the Doctor slipped through the carnage. Brave, noble Thals dying around him; Susan and the two irritants doing their best to keep up even as that fool Chesterpot nattered on about helping where they could. There were more important matters to attend to, they needed the fluid-link. Once it was recovered he could turn his attentions to dealing with the Daleks.

It wasn’t like the teacher’s words were reflected in action anyway, this tended to be the case with lofty speeches in the Doctor’s experience. Still, he’d been useful in radicalizing the Thals. A direct assault on the city was the perfect cover for recovering the device and if the planet was saved in the process? Well that would just be one less issue he had to deal with, wouldn’t it?

The rock came down and…

He is Ramón Salamander, the world’s shopkeeper. Beloved in public, he has used his status to manipulate and corrupt the powers of the World Zone Authority to his own ends. Pursuing a ruthless, single minded conquest of the world he has murdered and schemed for decades. Or at least, that’s what they think.

Ramón Salamander is dead. His corpse left rotting in a tunnel, the Doctor once again slipping into his life. Astrid Ferrier and her allies only wanted him stopped, the delicate balance of power restored, but there’s so much more he could do with Salamander’s influence. It would have been easy to run off, leave things as they were. Afforded a few more hours in the life of Ramón Salamander the Doctor changes the face of the world.

The rock came down and…

On a cold, rain soaked moor he finalizes the last explosive in a chain that will collapse the cave system. The Brigadier pensively watching as he works. Dutiful even in discomfort, the man is grimly determined to see the matter through to the end.

"Not getting cold feet are we Alistair?" The Doctor smiles grimly.

"No, I...we both agree this is necessary it's just...is there really no other option Doctor? The peace treaty…"

"In better circumstances perhaps," he sighs. "You saw what happened to the infected, the chaos at Waterloo. We simply cannot rely on their good will." He offered the detonator. Alister was a friend but he was a commanding officer above all else. It was only fitting he be the one to pull the trigger. "For the future," he prompted, guiding Alister's hands around the device. "For all mankind."

When Liz finds out what they’ve done she can't look either of them in the eye.

The rock came down and…

Skaro again. A younger Skaro, bursting with life and blighted as always. An irritating diversion foisted on him, the price paid for his continued freedom. The Daleks emerging from their conflict with the Thals eons ago and centuries in their own future to spread out across the stars with a single-minded drive. A toxic spill in the waters of eternity. His fault allegedly.

The Daleks must die, that much is clear. The Doctor has no argument there, but the suggested method is crude, lacking in finesse. Allowing himself to be captured, he plots their downfall from the comfort of an interrogation cell. He is a stellar manipulator, words echoing down the centuries as he tells Davros exactly what he wants to hear. The empire dead a scant two-thousand years after its founding. Undone by advice that was only ever beneficial on the surface.

The rock came down and…

Castrovalva, the flirtation is at an end. The city collapsing around them, the Master’s attention darts between the Doctor and the body hanging in a network of something that only looks like web on the surface.

“You...you.” he stammers through a stolen voice. “A mercy after everything you’ve done to him.” the Doctor declares, gun shaking with the effort it takes to get the words out. They’re objectionable things, but useful in the right hands. It could easily become a crutch but faced with the scale of the Master’s latest scheme and his own weakened form there was no other option. He’s indulged his old friend too long, his presence in his life as much an affectation as dress capes and vintage cars. It has to end.

The rock came down and…

Home, or near enough. He’s facing himself allegedly. His shadowy accuser bleating indignantly deep within the matrix, voluminous robes sagging with a faintly comical weight as he attempts to posture through the collapse of whatever grand ploy he had in mind with the trial.

“Don’t you see!” his arms flap wildly. “Don’t you see where you’re taking us, the depths you’re dragging us into.” “You know if I really were you, or you really were me I’d never be this sore a loser” “Oh you conceited little shi...” the voice snarls, but by then he’s all but gone. Robes collapsing in the wake of his sudden, wholly involuntary abdication.

The rock came down and…

The Doctor guides the girl from Iceworld out of the TARDIS, a firm hand on her shoulder ejecting her from this world back into her own. Perivale, nice enough if you like that sort of thing. She wanted to stay of course, especially after everything Mel had told her. He couldn’t blame her, he’d want to escape this sort of life as well, but there were too many coincidences. Something was pulling her strings, something familiar. The girl watches the box vanish and sighs, trudging back towards her old routines having caught a glimpse of something larger, more important than any prospect she can imagine.

Nearly forty years previously a bonfire built on the scrubland beyond Maidens' Point draws sleek, rumbling bombers off-course. The village and nearby military base are all but destroyed in the ensuing inferno. A dismal little house in a damp little street in Perivale forty years later barely registering the sudden change to the people living within it.

The rock came down and…

He’s in the DEEP, Vollmer’s corpse continuing to mutate even in death. Low, warbling klaxxon warning him that his own death is close if he doesn’t take action soon. He moves the body as best he can, slipping the still warm gun into the back of his trousers as he clambers into the escape pod. He can feel the TARDIS at the back of his mind, itching away at him even as the pod draws him further from the facility. He doesn’t want to abandon it, doesn’t want to be trapped on this planet but what choice does he have? The facility explodes, subsonic rumble shaking the escape pod violently as the detonation wave reaches him.

The rock came down and… There is a girl, young, uncomprehending. He delivers the news personally, hates every second of it. Vollmer’s words hanging heavy as he does his best to etch out some sort of existence here. Trapped again.

Self-inflicted exile. He helps the family as best as he can; at a distance at first but inevitably he is drawn into their lives. Inevitably they are drawn into his, doing what he can to preserve Vollmer’s memory even as he hides his own role in the man’s death for the benefit of them all. He fights the good fight, indulges his adventurous spirit where he can. Continues to fight to preserve stability, to limit the chaos, the death. The ship lingers in his mind, a phantom lover kissing softly, calling out to him from somewhere dark and cold. In time the radiation will subside, in time he will return to her.

The rock came down and… He is reborn, cold and confused. Throat dry and scratchy, struggling to remember how he got here, how he died. A woman is pointing a gun at him, something horrendous lurking over her shoulder. The two figures are faintly familiar.

The bullet hits before he can properly place them.

The rock came down and…

...his hand stopped, hovering just above the stricken man’s skull. Gently dropping the rock, the Doctor produced a handkerchief and applied it to the man’s forehead. This was no time to be rash, he could remove the obstacle, of course, but in doing so he would alienate his allies.

He had few of them here, and those he did have were already cautious around him. The savages were bad enough, but ensuring the two teachers continued to support him was imperative. Killing the injured man would only cement their view of him, it would even risk driving Susan away. Better to show compassion, mercy, it was important to be canny about these things.

The end would ultimately justify the means, he was sure of this.

#doctor who #doctor who unbound #collings!doctor #full fathom five #dweu #fp adjacent #fanfic

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