#doran peterson | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

embracetheshipping · 5 years

Text

Just a friendly reminder that Danny “Danno” Williams:

1. Graduated from college with a minor in business 2. Posed for a charity calendar 3. Solved 87 homicide cases during his time in Newark 4. Worked a Russian mob case 5. Testified in court against his corrupt partner, Rick Peterson 6. Took out the drug dealers who killed his partner (Grace) by thinking quickly and breaking free of his restraints 7. Gave up his life in New Jersey to follow Grace to Hawaii 8. Endured workplace bullying during his initial time at HPD 9. Helped Adam Charles a.k.a. Toast get leniency from his petty crimes and brought him on as valuable C.I. 10. Made the connection between Hesse and Doran before Steve took over his father’s case 11. Believed in Meka’s innocence when no one else did 12. Solved Meka’s murder and uncovered a mole in HPD 13. Continued to work in the field with a torn ACL 14. Saved Grace from Rick Peterson 15. If you count the air quotes, was the first to say “I love you” to Steve 16. Adopted the orphaned dog of a murder victim 17. Saved Steve from North Korea 18. Helped Rachel deliver Charlie while not knowing it was his son 19. Took photos of Charlie for Stan 20. Learned to surf even though he’s not fond of the ocean 21. Ran Five-0 when Steve took off with no warning except a letter 22. Helped Max exonerate an innocent man and solve the mystery of his mother’s murder 23. Along with his team and NCIS, helped stop an outbreak of smallpox that could have killed millions of people 24. Chased down a terrorist who had a bomb strapped to his chest 25. Stayed with Chin when he had a bomb strapped to his neck 26. Kept the Aloha girls safe and calm when they were locked up in a bunker 27. With help from the Aloha girls leader, found and saved Steve and Lucy 28. Took in his wayward nephew, called him out on his behavior and got him a job working in the lab 29. Gave up Pro Bowl tickets to go with Steve to the hospital for treatment 30. Traveled with Grace to Japan to return a puzzle box to the family member of a deceased girl 31. Opened up to Steve about his anxiety issues 32. Helped his parents reconcile when they were having problems and on the verge of divorce 33. Traveled to Afghanistan to make sure Steve is found and rescued 34. Figured out where his brother hid the money he’d stolen from Marco Reyes 35. Bought Steve a guitar and encouraged him to play again 36. Went to a Columbian prison in order to protect Grace and Steve 37. Competed in the tough mudder race despite not wanting to (and also probably still dealing with the revelation that he has a son and his ex lied to him) 38. Recovered his stolen car (with help) and took out the criminals 39. Landed a plane on the beach in order to give an injured Steve the best chance of surviving 40. Gave Steve half of his fucking liver 41. Took out half the terrorists at Grace’s Winter Formal on his own (at one point crawling through a duct and dealing with claustrophobia in order to do so) 42. Confronted his sister about her almost affair with her co-worker 43. Goes with the team to Mexico to help Chin save his niece 44. Actively tries to help Stan and Rachel with their marriage problems 45. Consoled Adam after his divorce from Kono

Danny is by no means a flawless or infallible character. In fact, his faults and mistakes are a major part of character; it makes him interesting and well-rounded. But ever since about Season 4/5, his character has become less dynamic, often relegating him to the role of a comic relief or cranky side-kick. But there’s so much more to him, and he doesn’t deserve the poor excuse for writing that’s been going on in Season 6 and beyond (especially these last two seasons - bleh!), so I wanted to make an appreciation post to remind the Five-0 fandom what makes him awesome and why he really is “the heart and soul” of the show.

Feel free to reblog and add more notes, as this is by no means a conclusive list.

FYI - this is not the “Assassination of Danny Williams” post I mentioned I wanted to do a while back. That’s still a WIP.

#h50 #hawaii five 0 #danny danno williams #bamf danny #danny is a brilliant cop #and a wonderful father #and son #and brother #and friend #he's smart #and strong #and i wish the who and certain parts of the fandom would stop treating him like a joke #or stop treating him like a side kick to steve #he's damn great detective on his own

1K notes · View notes

challengeborne · 5 years

Text

ROLEPLAY HISTORY

The rules are simple! Post ten characters you’d like to roleplay as, have role-played as and might bring back. Then tag ten people to do the same (if you can’t think of ten characters, just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people). Aside from that, please repost instead of reblogging!

CURRENTLY PLAYING:

lol ‘currently playing’ is used loosely. most of these past the first five-ish fall into the category of ‘semi to barely active that i will jump back on the second anyone has interest in them’

demelza poldark / poldark

sir percy blakeney / the scarlet pimpernel

sam swarek / rookie blue

evelyn o’connell / the mummy

charlie harris / saving hope

aeryn sun / farscape

hoban ‘wash’ washburne / firefly

jessika pava / star wars

sha’uri / stargate

vala mal doran / stargate sg-1

steff mckee / pretty in pink

WANT TO PLAY:

this is a dangerous question to ask because i can’t resist temptation

ross poldark / poldark

harry hart / kingsman

beatrice / much ado about nothing

leia organa / star wars

padme amidala / star wars

leela / doctor who

celia bowen / the night circus

HAVE PLAYED:

hahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaha

fitzwilliam darcy / pride and prejudice

elizabeth bennet / pride and prejudice

romana ii / doctor who

rory williams / doctor who

martha jones / doctor who

emma woodhouse / emma

george knightley / emma

henry tilney / northanger abbey

george o’malley / grey’s anatomy

nandi / firefly

john crichton / farscape

sikozu / farscape

jool / farscape

mrs. white / clue

han solo / star wars

indiana jones / indiana jones

marion ravenwood / indiana jones

missy pantone / bring it on

kat stratford / 10 things i hate about you

benny hanson / pretty in pink

sloane peterson / ferris bueller’s day off

daniel jackson / stargate sg-1

cameron mitchell / stargate sg-1

jack o’neill / stargate sg-1

teal’c / stargate sg-1

janet frasier / stargate sg-1

diana prince / wonder woman

steve trevor / wonder woman

deanna troi / star trek: tng

susan ivanova / babylon 5

probably about 70 more that are escaping me atm...

WILL/WOULD PLAY AGAIN:

oh god... maybe susan ivanova? or a couple of the austen muses. maybe troi. ugh and bby george o’malley. idk, thankfully none of them are pulling me that strongly just now.

Tagged by: stolen (kinda) from @wingedfounder Tagging: everyone!

#guys i have a problem #❀ i. ｢ ooc. ｣

4 notes · View notes

bob-thehum · 2 years

Photo

Special radio show Monday! Last week Alice Peterson, one of the deejays on Humboldt Hot Air, sent our a request for a sub for her upcoming radio shift. “Hi everyone!,” she began. “I won’t be in town Monday night 1/24 for my show Ear Hugs. It’s from 8pm-10pm. It’s a simple show that I just play things more mellow and relaxing. “I like to go on air and talk a little bit about my day and connect to the listeners through positive reinforcement and let them know they are loved and not alone etc. “My main genres are usually folk, indie and Lo fi. But of course you can play whatever you’d like outside of those genres. Thank you in advance! Alice - Ear Hugs” I volunteered, even though I’m still somewhat of a beginner. (I’ve actually never done a show without help from Ishan, my patient co-host on Everything Goes.) I thought it would be good practice, plus I have an idea for a special “Hug” set focusing mostly on the music my son Spencer Doran has been working on in terms of music history. As some of you may know Spencer was nominated for a Grammy in 2020 for the archival collection “Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990.” He also runs a record label with his friend Maxwell August Croy along the same lines. Empire of Signs specializes in archival Japanese releases. Spencer and another music partner, Ryan Carlisle, have also been recording and performing as Visible Cloaks. In a side project they’ve been working with the Japanese musicians Yoshio Ojima and Satsuki Shibano, two Japanese avant-garde artists that Spencer connected with while researching the Kankyō Ongaku project. So, tune in to the special Ear Hugs edition Monday night, 8-10pm which will draw on all of the above. Relax and enjoy some ambient/environmental music with guest host Bob Doran (me) on HumboldtHotAir.org. (at Arcata Playhouse) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZGYj52Lo2p/?utm_medium=tumblr

0 notes

comicsbeat · 6 years

Text

Why can’t the world just be ruled by cabals of mighty librarian queens? Organizing to create policies, looking out for the marginalized, fighting censorship, advocating for the education and literacy of all – we’d be led into a golden age of knowledge and peace.

Or at least that’s the fantasy I conjured after attending my very first American Library Association annual conference this past weekend in New Orleans.

Okay, maybe it’s just the exceptional people who I hung out with – the librarians driving the growing acceptance of graphic novel collections around the world. Whip smart and passionate about their advocacy, I soon came to realize the thing that was most powerful about this group: not only do they love reading, they love it when YOU read, too, and they do everything they can to help more people enjoy reading.

https://twitter.com/librarylandia/status/1011285466560237568

This was undoubtedly a banner year for the graphic novel pavilion at ALA. Perhaps it was the lure of the exotic New Orleans setting – supposedly attendance geos up whenever the ALAAC is held in the Crescent City. But maybe it was destiny. Not only was it my own first ALA (something that shocked everyone I told) but the number of publishers attending for the first time or returning after a long absence was much remarked upon. Titan, Rebellion, Humanoids, the French Comics Association, Europe Comics, Zenescope and several other were set up for the first time. Fantagraphics and Boom were returning after long absences. And even DC, long represented by distributor Random House, had finally returned with a booth promoting their Ink, Zoom and Black Label lines.

The only publisher missing in action? Marvel Comics, a fact often noted that drew some tough talk from librarians. But that will be returned to.

It wasn’t just publishers – the people who were attending for the first time, besides me, Berger Books; Karen Berger, Black Crown’s Shelly Bond, Lion Forge’s Carol Burrell, Aftershocks Steve Rotterdam, Dynamite’s Alan Payne and many, many others were experiencing the library market first hand for the first time, joining such veterans as our own Torsten Adair, and Random House Graphics’ Gina Gagliano.

They all came together in NoLA’s voodoo tinged fever swamp perhaps to present an alternative to the twitter culture wars and comics shop vs Wal-Mart narrative that was keeping everyone else busy. And it was also the cusp of a milestone obscure outside the library world but momentous inside it; the establishment of a Graphic Novel Round Table. In the hierarchy of the ALA this classification allows for membership dues, budgets and greater resources for organizing projects. The drive was spearheaded by Tina Coleman, who’s been organizing the graphic novel pavilion and the artist alley at ALA for several years, with a bold squadron of graphic novel library knights behind her as shown in this photo.

The effects of this new roundtable may not be seen directly outside the library world, but we’ll feel its influence in future endeavors. It also marks a momentous trek from the base camp that began back in 2002, when comics first invaded the ALA with a presentation by Neil Gaiman, Colleen Doran, Art Spiegelman and Jeff Smith, four swashbuckling creators whose talents and charisma could not help but win over the library world.

Anyhoo, I know I’m waxing rhapsodical over a conference. Maybe it’s just the effects of dehydration and overheating as I wandered the 97-degree swamp of Chartres St – maybe it’s destiny.

So let’s go back! I arrived in New Orleans back on Thursday. Looking around the gate at Newark airport, most of my fellow passengers were women reading books. It was a very ALA bound crowd.

The event kicked off with a reception for the French Comics Association at the French Consulate in New Orleans. That was as swell as you might imagine, a huge, gracious mansion opened for the evening to the library cabal plus a few publishers and the French comics contingent of Barroux (Alpha), Cati Baur (Four Sisters), Aurélie Neyret (Cici’s Journal), Benjamin Reiss (Super Tokyoland), Julie Rocheleau (About Betty’s Boob), Eve Tharlet (The Wild Cat: Mr. Badger & Mrs. Fox) as well as French BD industry folks.

Flore Piacentino of the French Publishers Association gave a little talk and mentioned the influence of manga, bande desinee and “comics” coming together. I’ve often heard the three great branches of world graphic literature around the world categorized like this, and maybe it’s time for us in the US to accept the “comics” name with pride for our bombastic yet fantastic strain of storytelling. Standing in the hot backyard of the manse, with its mix of Haunted Mansion moldings and mid-century furniture, it was fun to hear of the panels and meetings to come.

After the reception, I grabbed some dinner with Karen Berger, Eva Volin and Robyn Brenner, Berger Books and the library world exchanging information over some super tasty shrimp and grits. Not only was this to be a weekend of smart talk, but a food marathon of surviving crusty bread, butter drenched fish and the occasional vegetable.

The next morning the conference kicked off. Here it must be mentioned that a teeny little con war broke out, GraphiCon vs Library Con. The first is a forum organized by the ALA GN interest group – and this year focused on adult graphic novel collection, a frontier topic where best practices are still being developed. Library Con was held across the hall and in somewhat the same time period and is organized by Random House. There was some grumbling about the timing, although both programs were arranged to fill up the time before Michele Obama’s keynote and the exhibit hall opening at 5:30. There were some great panels on both programs, and certainly a lot to do. Random House did stack the deck a bit by offering a free boxed lunch. I decided to eat half of an egg salad sandwich from Starbucks instead. This delicacy is no longer available in NYC – probably because it’s too fattening for diet conscious New Yorkers – but one half made a great breakfast and the second half made a good lunch!

Graphic Con kicked off with a panel on “Building and Justifying Adult Graphic Novel Collections in Public and Academic Libraries” with Andrew Woodrow Butcher, Amanda Melilli (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) Marcela Peres (Lewiston Public Library, ME), and creators Ezra Claytan Daniels and Eric Shanower.

The main point of all the programming is that just as kids and YA collections – now well established at most libraries – started out slow, adult collections need to build on the success of those other age groups. Shelving remains a problem though. A recurring villain was “741.5” the Dewey Decimal category where graphic novels are shoved into one big blob. How to organize within this number – by author or series or age rating – is an ongoing issue.

Also what to collect is hard to pin down since there are more lists and awards for juvenile categories. (The Beat was mentioned several times as a resource for more information on graphic novels, giving me a serious case of “must do more!”) Adult collections are still built on a case by case basis. “Going online to find titles is not the best approach. One size doesn’t fit all since libraries don’t all have the same users and needs,” said UNLV’s Mellili. “You want it to be a reflection of the rest of your collection.”

Peres had a few success stories. She said the adult collection at her library has grown from 300 check outs a year to 1300 over the last five years. She’s also used innovative marketing approaches, such as a GN reading group held at a local brewery.

Shanower noted that his Age of Bronze was still finding an audience in libraries. “I don’t think there’s resistance like there might have been in 20th century, but there is still education that needs to be made.” Asked about whether his book has ever been challenged he joked “I wish it would be!”

Subsequent panels delved more into the topic from the publisher and creator sides. Image has a robust library program, led by Chloe Ramos Peterson, a former librarian herself, and the importance of catalogs, lists, newsletter and other resources for librarians was repeatedly mentioned. For creators, sometimes it does become a content issue – one scene may push a title from a comfy home in the YA section to an uncertain future in the adult collection, and it’s a decision creators have to weigh.

Reader resistance was also mentioned a few times. “Some adults are just embarrassed to be seen checking out comics,” said one librarian (sorry my notes don’t say who.) Overcoming this resistance with events and education is a slow but necessary step.

After the library conferences wrapped up everyone but me went off to see Michelle Obama speak. People had been lined up since 9 am – a different kind of Hall H indeed – and I didn’t want to get caught in a long line.

The exhibit hall for ALA has a kind of mini preview night – very mini as it’s only 90 minutes long – and after the keynote, everyone filed in. A big topic when I was around – maybe because I kept bringing it up – was the announcement of DC’s Wal-Mart exclusive. I had a lively discussion of the topic over dinner with retailer Brian Hibbs who, like myself, had been brought to the show by Lion Forge to liaise with the library world. (Brian promises he’ll have one of his epic columns about the experience next week.)

As lot of our discussion can be seen in the piece that I wrote the next morning. Brian feels strongly that exclusives that the DM can’t get are the wrong way to build a bigger audience for comics, but that’s his story to tell and I’ll leave him to state his own case.

Saturday, for me, was more of the same, wandering the vast hall to find the comics folks, and chatting them up. The Ernest Morial Convention Center – a place I haven’t been since before Katrina – is very very long and narrow and the show floor had the GN stage and pavilion at one end, with long stretches of library tech in between, studded with pockets of publishers.

Despite all the excitement over books, many exhibits at ALA are given over to actual library tech. I don’t really know what all those scanners and conveyor belt sorters did, so I will leave librarians to explain what they were looking for. Fantagraphics had set up with Norton, D&Q with McMillan, Uncivilized and Iron Circus in Consortium, Dark Horse and DC set up side by side in the Random House aisle. Some publishers made the decision to be in the distro area, but many other stuck it out in the GN pavilion, notably IDW/Top Shelf, Boom and all of the manga publishers on hand, Viz, TokyoPop, Yen Press and Udon. While it was all the way at the end of the hall, the Graphic Novel Stage served as a focal point.

There were many creators on hand, including a host of the DC Zoom and DC Ink writers, and of course the whole artist alley, which was small but significant. Due to the size of the hall, crowds would tend to come in waves. Much like BEA there were often long lines for signings, and librarians love free stuff just like everyone else.

I did attend the presentation DC Zoom and DC Ink lines led by VP Michele Wells and featuring writers Mariko Tamaki, Danielle Paige, Shea Fontana, Ridley Pearson, Kami Garcia, Meg Cabot, and Lauren Myracle. Unlike the long ago Minx (which this is often compared to) these lines feature veteran YA and kids authors who bring their own followings to an initiative aimed firmly at bookstores. It’s funny how retailers aren’t worried about THESE comics, isn’t it?

The mood was very different from the usual superhero hype panel, which usually consists of something like the following. “Remember issue #327 of Amygdala Man, where he finds a pair of underpants on the beach? Well in issue #600 we’re going to find out who they belong to and how it fits in with what Sprawlmeister has been up to.”

Instead the plans all spoke to the aspirational and emotional state of the young superheroes, with their motivations and family issues being covered to show how they overcame – or didn’t – problems to be heroes. Basic stuff really. The giveaway booklets for both lines featured sizable previews of most titles, and the art is sharp on these! As mentioned on twitter, DC Superhero Girls is the real disruption in the superhero biz, with thousands and thousands of copies sold and a whole generation of girls coming to love these characters.

Saturday night saw a sort of comics social event of the ALA, the Will Eisner Library Grant Reception, led by Carl and Anne Gropper and John Shableski. Grants were presented to two libraries for their projects, and a few speeches were made. Jason Latour (above) delivered a key note, noting how styrange it was “for a kid who spent a lot of time in detention to be talking to a room full of librarians.” Olivier Jalabert of Glenát also delivered some very funny remarks.

The event was another one where the spirit of Will Eisner was conjured. In a display of unique clairvoyance, he foresaw the rise of the graphic novel. Perhaps New Orleans was the place for his ghost to appear and see that his works were good.

Sunday was pretty much just more of all of this. I did the “Underrated and Overrated graphic Novels” panel, a terrifying chance to go on the record with some disses, but I won’t reveal what was said. My fellow panelist Gene Ha did repeatedly ding Chris Hart, whose “anatomy books” for artists are cheesy and full of mistakes, so I’ll go along with that: Christopher Hart isnogood!

I also popped into a panel featuring Mark Siegel in a panel discussion with First Second star authors Vera Brosgol and Ngozi Ukazu. At one point in the free-flowing conversation, Vera and Ngozi were asked why their artwork connects with readers both inside and outside the comics ‘geekdom’. Vera answered with a tip for young artists: “make the eyes bigger.” And the conversation went on into why humans are hardwired to love baby features, and sometimes cartooning might just tap into that – the appeal of “neoteny” in current comics styles hasn’t been much explored, so here’s your cue!

Also the great Raina, so often mentioned, was in attendance, although just to hang out, and led to this epic photo.

https://twitter.com/goraina/status/1010976229065940992

Sunday afternoon was also the big day for the presentation to the ALA governing board about the Graphic Novel Round Table. The librarians presenting the proposal had been nervous about it all weekend. Honestly no one thought it wouldn’t be picked up. When a call for interested parties went out they hoped for 200 responses but got 1000.

And that’s really the bottom line about the ALA. Librarians love comics not because it’s a secret hobby they try to fob off on other people – graphic novels are highly circulated books in libraries. There is an avid readership and a growing need for more information about all of it. I think a lot of first time ALA attendees thought that their job would be trying to persuade librarians to give comics a try, but the reality is that curators are way ahead of that – they’re always looking for MORE information about the publishers and authors their patrons are interested in, and more information to justify their purchasing budgets. They are hungry for more books that people can read and enjoy.

Far from the roil of the DM, graphic novels were clearly on the upswing “Graphic novels are big and they’re just going to get bigger,” someone at the Disney booth, of all places, told me.

Creator Frank Cammuso had an even more blunt assessment. “I think libraries saved comics,” he told me. Looking back at how comics emerged from the wreck of the post speculation market into the manga-fueled era of bookstore comics, and the recovery following Borders going under, library sales have risen steadily, an invisible but integral part of the business for publishers smart enough to get in on it. The numbers don’t lie: There are an estimated 119,487 libraries in the US, including 16,000 public libraries and nearly 100,000 school libraries. A hit in this market dwarfs the direct sales market, and doesn’t even show up on Bookscan.

So yeah, it was a good time. Despite all the shit going on in the outside world, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic as I made one last stroll through the feels-like-105-degree sauna of New Orleans. Perhaps I was just infected with a swamp dream, maybe it was just the low-stress experience of spending a whole weekend surrounded by smart, literate people. Maybe I was just bathed in the smiles and fellowship of people talking about the thing they love. For me, the ALA in New Orleans was the time and place to be feel good about what we’ve accomplished and look forward to doing even more.

https://twitter.com/marcelaphane/status/1011631881396391936

ALA 2018: Graphic novels shine in a very different Hall H Why can’t the world just be ruled by cabals of mighty librarian queens? Organizing to create policies, …

#alaac 2018 #First Second #gnrt #Graphic Novels #hall h #librarians #new orleans #tina coleman

3 notes · View notes

holmesillustrations · 4 months

Text

Vote for your favourite, the top 9 will proceed in the bracket. Since theyre all different shapes and sizes, make sure to click into the full views!

Paget Eliminations / Other Artist Eliminations

Full captions and details for each illustration below the cut:

All Sidney Paget illustrations are for the Strand Jul 1891 - Dec 1904

"I found Sherlock Holmes half asleep." Case of Identity Characters: Holmes

"The roughs had fled at the appearance of Peterson." Blue Carbuncle Characters: Henry Baker, crowd, PC Peterson

"Some woman came talking about Lord St Simon" Noble Bachelor Characters: Hatty Doran, Flora Millar

"Miss Cushing." Cardboard Box Characters: Lestrade, Watson, Holmes, Miss Cushing

"He sprang to his feet." Musgrave Ritual Characters: Musgrave, Brunton

"I saw someone coming towards me." Greek Interpreter Characters: Mr Melas, Railway porter

"Dr. Mortimer turned the manuscript to the light and read" Hound of the Baskervilles Characters: Dr Mortimer, Watson, Holmes

"The escaped convict, sir." Hound of the Baskervilles Characters: Sir Henry, Watson, the Barrymores

"The light of the street fell full upon his face." Empty House Characters: Sebastian Moran

"With difficulty he limped up to the door." Priory School Characters: Reuben Hayes, Watson, Holmes

"Come, come," said Holmes, kindly, "It is human to err." Three Students Characters: Soames, Holmes, Watson, Gilchrist, Bannister

"It hinged back like the lid of a box." Second Stain Characters: Watson, Holmes

#acd holmes #sherlock holmes #tumblr bracket #sherlock holmes illustrations #elim poll #sp elim

19 notes · View notes

ghcstdoctor · 7 years

Text

post TEN characters you’d like to roleplay as, have roleplayed as, and might bring back, then tag ten people to do the same. ( If you can’t think of ten characters, just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people. )

PLEASE REPOST INSTEAD OF REBLOGGING.

CURRENTLY PLAYING:

HAVE PLAYED:

WOULD LIKE TO PLAY:

TAGGED BY: @basiicphysics TAGGING: @teenhero @trilliumjones @cannibalisticwhistler @mcmachine @burnthexashes @lieutexant @firewrought @lionwept and whoever the heck wants to!

#some of the 'want to play ones' are ones are technically on my multi #but I have barely/never used them #✖︎⎜oυт oғ ѕυrgery (ooc)

4 notes · View notes

t-squaredproductions · 6 years

Text

Myst Props: Mysteries of their Own (ALL HAVE BEEN FOUND!)

As a Myst fan, I have been interested in getting props from the various Myst Games since I played Riven all those years ago. The thing is, Cyan seems to be tight-lipped about them, but a few avid fans have been able to find out what real-world items these MYSTerious props are, including me. (In fact, in 2012, I popularized one!) Some, however, have still been out-of-reach for the majority of fans, because of poor archiving, no information of how they were built, or because they simply are custom items.

I’d like to focus on one in particular, the well-known D’ni Trap Book, but first, I want to highlight the props that already have been researched, found, and confirmed by the fans:

Fan Research:

Riven Descriptive Book:

This one is a bit easy. This is a vintage 1950s Webster’s Unified Dictionary and Encyclopedia:

PROP:

(Compare the spine in the above picture to the one found in this prop’s “Unmodified Item” section)

(Above photos by Vaaht, Mysterium 2006)

UNMODIFIED ITEM:

(Photos from eBay)

D’ni Goggles:

(Discovered by Mike Ando [a.k.a. riumplus], re-discovered and popularized in 2012 by me, T-Squared)

These are Cébé 500 Leather Goggles, aged with paint.

PROP:

(Original photo by callidus37: http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/callidus37/media/bWVkaWFJZDo4MTEwMjAyOQ==/?ref=)

(Original Photo by Calumon)

(Original Photo by GoldenWedge)

UNMODIFIED ITEM:

Myst Linking Book:

PROP/UNMODIFIED ITEM:

(Discovered, researched, and popularized by Mike Ando)

This is Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 54. (Thanks, @twitch-eaglehart!) Unfortunately, the book itself has seen better days, and can no longer be used in an official capacity. Thankfully, Mr. Ando did some research and found another copy, this time in better condition, but still in need of work, as can be shown in this presentation from Mysterium 2012:

The New Myst Book also contained something never done before with such a prop: it contains a full-fledged computer that can actually run all the original games up to Myst V, as well as act as a book with an actual linking panel within it.

In fact, the book was so well done that it was later deemed THE new official Myst Linking Book, and used in RealMyst Masterpiece Edition:

(Original image from: http://d.hatena.ne.jp/kijinsan/20141230/p1)

I haven’t had the time to find an actual copy of this book, although I have held a version of it a while back. In my case, though, I own a book, Peterson’s Magazine Vol. 39 (January-June 1861), that looks similar to the 200-year-old version in Myst V: End of Ages.

My Research:

False D’ni Linking Book (Black Trap Book):

I have been aching after this prop for a very long time. I’ve tried so hard to find this, but to no such luck. Every picture I’ve come across of this prop has either been of low quality, the book spine is too far away to read, at the wrong angle to even see the book title, or is too dark to properly equalize in photo-manipulation software.

The only things that I know about this prop are the obvious details, a black book with a golden circular crest in the center, with a mostly-golden-detailed spine with two other circular crests.

I’ve spoken with Mike Ando on multiple occasions, but even for him, the information is locked away, with the only lead being that it’s possibly a mathematics textbook. In trying to translate the text on the spine, I may have part of a title: “THE L________”

I know the title here is probably incorrect, but it’s the best I could do.

(So close, yet so far)

(4-13-2020 Update)

The title of the book is “Omar Khayyam, A Life”, written by Harold Lamb, published by Doubleday, Doran, & Company, Inc., in 1936. It is a semi-fictional biography of the eponymous Persian mathematician.

The book is surprisingly easy to find, as well as inexpensive! It was revealed by MystRiven, and confirmed by Cyan in a reddit post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/myst/comments/dcgz42/actual_prop_books/

We did it!!!

Real D’ni Linking Book (Red):

There’s very little in the way of leads here too, only that the original title seems to have been taken off with a solvent, as there are very faint lightened letters that can be seen on the cover to the top left and top right of the circular accent, as well as on the bottom-to-middle-right corner of the book:

I want to say this was a book published by “Methuen Publishing”, as it’s the closest in similarity to what I could translate: “THUMSNER” from the lightened letters on the top left, when I searched for the letter combination online. The other letters on the top right seem to be either “TaL”, “TeL”, “FoL”, “FaL”, or “FeL”.

(4-13-2020 Update)

The title of the book is “Ferment in the Far East, An Historical Interpretation”, written by Mary A. Nourse, published by The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., in 1949. It is an account of the history and development of Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan.

This one is easy to find on the internet, but not to buy… The mystery letters I attempted to figure out were actually “FERMENT” (which I thought was “THUMSNER”), and “Fa E” (From “FAr East”). It was revealed by Cyan in a reddit post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/myst/comments/dcgz42/actual_prop_books/

Gehn’s Pipe:

Pipe with main Bowl Cap off (unable to paste photo directly into post):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/moietyjean/3789106987

I’ve been able to find some very good pictures of this prop, and it seems to be made out of clay or some moldable material, then painted.

Despite that, making a prop with the correct materials should not be hard, if one has the proper skillset and tools.

Here are the materials I was able to find, with some help from Altrad on the official Cyan Discord (Proper measurements to come later):

Main Body: Dark Cedar, Long rectangular log bought from Lowe’s lumber section, $22

Copper Accents: Buy various thicknesses from metallurgical vendor. Expect to pay about $60-$80 for the thickness of copper at the base of the cone stem

Copper Main Bowl Cap: Bought “Nibco”-brand copper pipe endcap from Lowe’s plumbing section, $1.50

Copper Pipe Stem: Thin Copper pipe bought from Lowe’s plumbing section, about $4

Mouthpiece: Originally thought to be lighter wood. Seems to be ivory, but is unacceptable due to ethical, legal, and financial problems. (Thanks for the info, Altrad!) Probable replacement is either sealed cow bone or deer antler.

Escutcheon Pins: These look like small nails (to affix metal plating to different places, like vintage doorknob plating to doors) that one can buy on the internet, or if one wants to be cheaper (but less accurate), one can buy brass versions, that are used for linoleum, at Lowe’s/Home Depot and modify to fit lengthwise into the wood, about $1.50.

Gehn’s Uniform:

This one I am working on. It’s very difficult to source some of the materials, partly because one of them is so darned expensive.

However, thanks to some resourceful fans (Rivenchan and Ainia, THANK YOU SO MUCH!), and some of my own additional research, a nice replica can be made.

(Original picture from eBay auction of behind-the scenes photos of Riven’s live-action filming)

**Coat Material: **WOOL. That’s all it is; Off-White Felted Wool (Don’t get the kind that is teased so much that it loses the weave texture). I got mine from a brand called “Marcus Brothers”, which uses a slightly more orange-colored yellow, due to budget concerns.

Gold Trim: This is easy to find. BE SURE TO GET THE GOLD METAL-WIRE VERSION.

Golden Leaves: This was previously not easy to find cheaply. The originals come from vintage Naval Admiral caps (The white kind, which also use the same gold trim mentioned before.). I would have suggested going with iron-on versions, BUT someone from Reddit has found bullion appliqués:( https://www.mjtrim.com/3-3-4-scrambled-eggs-bullion-applique) that are more accurate to the costume! (Thanks, PristineObject!)

(Original image by Ainia)

Buttons: These are actually a combination of two different objects: A Russian Naval Cockade Badge turned upside down, (be sure it is not oblong or ellipsoid in basic shape, and it has both a red star on top [to be removed] and an anchor charm in the center), and vintage gold/brass dragon-and-shield-motif buttons: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/322711129524136644 There is one thing I have never been able to figure out, though… How did the Seattle Opera design a button/clasp that perfectly closes down the center of the coat? I’m still having problems trying to design that.

(Original Image by Ainia)

Boots: Unfortunately, these are very difficult to find. I don’t even think they are originally white. I had to buy some superhero boots with zippers on the sides.

** **(Original Image by Ainia)

Gloves: I’ve tried to find proper gloves that match those worn by John Keston as Gehn, but I never was able to find them.

(Original Image by Ainia)

Belt: This is a custom-made prop that seems to be made out of clay and painted. However, I went further and made my own version out of real solid-cast brass. The border of the belt itself can be made out of 3.2 mmm brass snake-chain: https://www.etsy.com/listing/217821640/2mm-24mm-32mm-42mm-18-40-stainless-steel?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=4mm%20snake%20chain&ref=sr_gallery-1-44 (I UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT BRASS. THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE FOR THE SHAPE.)

Releeshahn Descriptive Book (found Nov. 23, 2018):

I have made a new discovery! While searching online for a leather hardcover journal to make an in-character autobiography of my adventures in the Myst games, I came across these through Google images:

Original Guess:

http://www.blueskypapers.com/leather-hardcover-journals.html

New Version, more accurate to the physical prop, and less expensive:

Graphic Image 11″ Hardcover Manuscript

https://www.graphicimage.com/11_Hardcover_Manuscript_Goatskin_p/mbx-goa.htm

The embossed design around the outside, plus the overall proportions of the book lead me to believe this is either THE same type of book, or a very close approximation! (Mostly the former rather than the latter.)

The only things changed on the book prop are the security lock frame, the distressed designs on the leather on the physical prop, the embossed lettering on the cover, and the gold embellishments added to said embossing. Other than that, it’s pretty much a perfect match!

IN-GAME OBJECT:

PROP (Presumably a scan of the prop, for in-game use):

PROP (From Game Footage):

ORIGINAL SPECULATION:

This was originally what I had guessed as the kind of book used as the Releeshahn Prop, but the pages did not have gilded edges, and the pages were lined instead of blank.

(Original image from Blue Sky Papers, used under “fair use”: http://www.blueskypapers.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/m/l/mlx_tr1-2_1.jpg)

NEW THEORY:

This one is much more accurate to the prop. It has blank pages and includes gilded edges.

(Original image from Graphic Image, used under fair use: https://www.graphicimage.com/v/vspfiles/photos/MBX-GOA-2.jpg)

(4-17-2020 Update:) Something I forgot to mention is that the copyright date on the inside of the book is marked “©1997 Graphic Image”, so this is well before the game was released, and thus has no problem fitting into the production timeframe.

(4-18-2021 Update:) Sadly, it seems that this book, in its blank unlined form, is now permanently unavailable. The only available version is now a lined edition: https://www.graphicimage.com/collections/leather-hardcover-journals/products/11-hardcover-journal-british-tan-traditional-leather

(8-14-2022 Update:) Graphic Image seems to no longer have it in stock, and it’s getting rare...:

https://www.sendaframe.com/new_fgallery/items/13133.shtml?a=frame&gg=froogle_13133&gclid=Cj0KCQjwuuKXBhCRARIsAC-gM0hIsLywpBzYDKqsUeUkZQx2YyjET7b1OsD-zx39SEwymvOIbX6XYdUaApOkEALw_wcB

https://studioburkedc.com/products/journal-book-hand-made-in-usa-10-75-by-8-75-inches-hard-cover-with-extra-tooling-cow-hide-leather-gilt-edges-london-tan

J’nanin Linking Book (4-17-2020 Update, found Oct. 28th, 2019):

This is a prop that was a little bit more difficult to find, as the original prop has a pretty generic design. However, there was only one match for the design of the book.

Best Guess:

Epica 6x9″ Thick Variant Journal

https://epica.com/products/classic-leather-journal-with-unlined-pages?variant=28881676097

Why do I say “Best Guess”? Because the design of the book does not exactly match that of the book within the game. It has dark endpages, and the digital version is missing hubs (the bumps on the spine of the book)

However, there WAS a physical version of the book made, even though we don’t exactly see it within the game:

(Original image from “My Ramblings”, used under fair use: http://www.angelfire.com/art/rambling/day2a.htm)

In 2001, Myst fan “Gandalf” visited the now-defunct Presto Studios, as part of a trip to Southern California, and got a few photos of the props used in the production of Myst III: Exile.

I created a reddit post in 2019 about my discovery, but I would like to also leave a copy of my reasoning here for why this is the absolute best guess, even if it might not be THE original brand, without more information:

What leads me to believe this is the same design is:

the color (The J'nanin book is darker than you might think, based on Gandalf’s pictures)

the spine (The spacing of the hubs/raised bumps on the spine)

and the hinge fold between the cover and spine. (The cover has a sharp distinct border.)

On the other hand, unlike the Releeshahn book prop, what may make this difficult to prove as being the original brand is that Myst III was released in 2001, and Epica Journals claims that their business started in the same year. (Unless, by pure chance, one may account that the J’nanin book was designed beforehand, these journals that fit the design were found while the final touches were being performed on the game, that it was one of the final game objects to be CG-modeled, and that the FMV recording and rendering was the final portion to be completed before the game went gold.)

So, this is the research culled so far over the years. I have been looking and looking for years. If anyone has any better photos of the other props, I’d like to add them to a future post.

Oh, and Happy Anniversary, Myst! Congratulations, Cyan, on a memorable 25 years with Myst! It’s been real fun! You have inspired so much of my artistic endeavors that I pursue in this day and age!

#Myst #Riven #props #video game #video #game #1993 #1997 #research #Cyan #linking book #linking #book #steampunk #Myst25 #2001 #Exile

47 notes · View notes