Gideon's Wake

So a few bits for those paying attention and reading this blog in one form or another – the book is done. Yes – book two was completed and the editing’s final run through was done and the book was sent off to copyright because you gotta make it official right? I also launched our first newsletter and it seemed to go off relatively well. The next one will be coming out November 1st so if you have no clue what I’m talking about – you can find the sign up link on the contact page. Come next month – we will also be looking at charging up the engines and begin the final brainstorming for Book Three.

So aside from the obvious news and updates – the point of the blog was to create something of think space as well as air out a lesson or thought to myself. First off – painting miniatures. It is TIME CONSUMING – but at the same time therapeutic. Its forced me to slow down, utilize even more patience with things and understand that you can always go back and fix things. I’ve also found myself getting better and understanding the medium in which I dip the brush into. Sometimes – things just absolutely click and I find myself doing better blending, glazing, and feathering – while at other times I am screaming obscenities at tiny pieces of plastic. The more I paint, the better at it I become – and the more ‘stillness’ I am seeming to find. At this point I am literally halfway done with my Crusader style Tyrranid army. What’s even more curious is that I find myself being more creative in what I paint. Sure I have the paint scheme for all the models – but adding things to the scenery to give them more life – more bleakness and horror has suddenly become a thing. The Tyranids are neither good nor evil in comparison the Warhammer 40k Universe. They are an all consuming entity. In a way – they are simply the final entropy of a dying galaxy. They are frightening because they cannot be reasoned with, and there is no politics or niceties that must be adhered to. All the do is consume everything before them and then move on to the next world.

I see various other examples from folks on Reddit – and sometimes they go heavy with the “grimdark” or with copious amounts of gore. I didn’t want to follow that route, instead – I wanted horror without the blood. Horror is not the blood dripping from the claws and fangs – but it is expression and realization of the victim as a fate worse than death is about to befall them. For me – horror movies are more frightening when someone gets taken away – there are screams of panic and fear as they are dragged below into the darkness. You don’t need to see what happened – but your mind fills everything in and gives the horror a life of its own. We create the worst possible circumstances many times over.

It kind of reminds me of a story I once heard. A political prisoner refuses to talk, so a professional interrogator is called in. The political prisoner knows of this man’s reputation – but still refuses to talk, even though he know that terrible interrogator is on the way. When he arrive, the man is not some lumbering hulk of cruelty, nor does he exude terror. He is simple a plain looking man – almost non-descript. He stares at the political prisoner for a few silent moments, and then motions to a guard. “Bring me bucket of water – half full, a ball of twine, and” he look back at the man but does not meet his eyes. Rather the interrogator is looking at him as one would size up an animal, “five – yes, five nails.” The guard exists the room to retrieve the requested items. A moment goes by as the interrogator says – but instead pulls out a small note pad, a pen, and begins to writing things down – occasionally looking at the prisoner. The guard soon returns and places the items on the table – the interrogator begins to line them up with hidden sense of order. The bucket he moves to one end of the table, the twine he unrolls several lengths, and the nails are separated an inch apart. After that – he leaves the room. Once outside – he looks at his watch and waits a minute before telling one of the guards to go in and take the prisoner’s statement. The guard enters and sure enough – the hardened prisoner answers all the questions put forth in both stunning detail and accuracy. The warden is obviously delighted and amazed at the results, but was curious about the process. “Why did you ask for those things? What sort of horrible things could you have done with a bucket of water, nails, and twine?” The interrogator answered, “I have no clue. The prisoner is the one who made up what could be done with those things. Anxiety and fear of the unknown are more powerful than any implements of torture.”

It is October, isn’t it? Halloween and horror is what I walk hand in hand with this month. Until then – have a good week.

-TF