{"id":22368,"date":"2024-07-16T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T15:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/?p=22368"},"modified":"2024-07-15T10:07:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T17:07:16","slug":"guest-post-speed-ramblings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/guest-post-speed-ramblings\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Speed Ramblings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Guest Post is from our Creative Consultant: Timothy Quinn<\/span><\/p>\n

A snippet of Speed’s Ramblings.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t like that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wait!<\/span><\/p>\n

What was it like then?<\/span><\/p>\n

It was\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

What?<\/span><\/p>\n

What was it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Fascinating.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, that\u2019s it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Makes me sound like a lunatic for saying so out loud, but I was fascinated. And curious? Yeah, curious is a good way to put it.<\/span><\/p>\n

And not in a morbid way. It was all research and assessment at first. Then the harder stuff kicked in.<\/span><\/p>\n

I like Langdon, but Sweet Jesus, he can be a pain in the backside when you\u2019re trying to concentrate. Still, I didn\u2019t slap him, smack him, knock him on his backside, or otherwise do him any kind of physical harm, despite wanting to on more than one occasion.<\/span><\/p>\n

And no, we\u2019re not talking about Papa making fun of me for saying I\u2019d eat Langdon\u2019s book\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, there it is.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been wrong about stuff before, but That Night?<\/span><\/p>\n

That Night was a whole different level of stress.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so stress is a good word then.<\/span><\/p>\n

But there was no time to be afraid.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was just\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, come on man, you know you have more words than Tony, you can figure out what that all was, surely?<\/span><\/p>\n

Right?<\/span><\/p>\n

It was just, what you had to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah.<\/span><\/p>\n

Really?<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, really. It was. I was there. We<\/em> were there. It was just what had to be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the best I got.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rossi\u2019s looking at me like I\u2019m two years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

What?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the truth!<\/span><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t want to be believe such things can be done, but they were.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fascinating?<\/span><\/p>\n

The bomb! What did you think I meant?<\/span><\/p>\n

And Patrick.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an Irish thing. Don\u2019t worry about it. You\u2019re Italian. It\u2019s fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

No. Really, it\u2019s fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

I know this isn\u2019t what he wants me to talk about. He wants me to talk about what happened with that French bitch who thought drugging me for that other French prick was a good idea. He wants me to confess my emotional trauma and get it out of my system. But he\u2019s not my Priest.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t actually have a Priest, per se, but that\u2019s not the point either. He\u2019s not the one I confess to, and that\u2019s that.<\/span><\/p>\n

So he gets whatever I want to talk about, or fudge my way through, in this rectal probe of a psych session.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s all there is to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

He could at least provide a couch with a pillow, and a glass of water, and that obligatory box of tissues on the coffee table. Not that I\u2019d use it, but that\u2019s irrelevant. Those things are like comforting imagery somehow, for those of us who don\u2019t like saying out loud all the things we\u2019re really thinking.<\/span><\/p>\n

I used to do that.<\/span><\/p>\n

It got me locked in the fuckin\u2019 Tower of London.<\/span><\/p>\n

English people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now there\u2019s a sexy topic for the doc here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gobshites, for the most part. All of them. Bar a handful I\u2019d just about, maybe, at a pinch, if there no one left on planet Earth, trust with my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so way off topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wait, there was a topic?<\/span><\/p>\n

Sue me, Doctor Rossi.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to spill my heart out like some idiot Millennial.<\/span><\/p>\n

I met Jung once, did you know that?<\/span><\/p>\n

And Freud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strange guy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reminds me of someone\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, you think that pretty little French whore was the first person to beat me half to death? Rape me? Abuse me?<\/span><\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t even the second.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve lived a long time, doc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s par for the course when you\u2019ve got an accent people despise, and an attitude to match.<\/span><\/p>\n

You should be luck I can contain at least the accent these days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mostly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ish\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Americans just love the Irish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does he note all my eyerolling?<\/span><\/p>\n

Probably.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, okay, whatever with that. But it\u2019s true. America doesn\u2019t exactly have a love for the Irish.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one does, but the Irish. And even then that\u2019s a few car bombs short of being completely valid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where was I?<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, yeah. Those lovely signs saying \u2018No Irish\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

Very welcoming.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019re welcome for the canal digging, rail laying, and road building by the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I know only about 30% of the Navvies were Irish. What am I, stupid? They were segregated then too, \u2018cause God forbid the damn English ditch diggers should have to share a tent with anyone but a fellow Englishman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did I mention they were pricks?<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuckin\u2019 English nobs.<\/span><\/p>\n

No! No, I wouldn\u2019t go out of my way to hurt one. What d\u2019you think I am?<\/span><\/p>\n

I might not piss on Buckingham to put the flames out if he caught fire, but we\u2019re not talking about him. Let\u2019s not ever talk about him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wait, what was<\/em> I talking about it?<\/span><\/p>\n

Langdon? No, done him. Rather have his Mate though, to be honest.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rome.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ah, yes, beautiful Rome.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have a statue by Bernini upstairs, did you know that?<\/span><\/p>\n

If he was Illuminati I\u2019ll eat the next volume of Langdon\u2019s book. With mayo.<\/span><\/p>\n

But for all the shit That Night, Rome still stands. The Vatican still stands.<\/span><\/p>\n

And from time to time it\u2019s Patrick who hears my confessions, doc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pretty sure that would make Tony green with envy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anyway, he can go with Papa on whatever the hell else our local friendly Symbologist gets his nose stuck into next time. Why? \u2018cause it\u2019ll happen sooner or later, that\u2019s why! Langdon can\u2019t let a good conspiracy theory go to waste.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe he\u2019s the one should be on your \u2018not a psychiatrist\u2019s couch\u2019 program right now? Just saying.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are we done yet?<\/span><\/p>\n

Is he even listening?<\/span><\/p>\n

Am I speaking out loud?<\/span><\/p>\n

My butt is aching in this damn chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the longest hour in the history of hours. And that\u2019s saying a lot after That Night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, I was aware we could all die. But so too could a lot of other people. Trying to estimate that kind of death toll is impossible. D\u2019you know how many people turn up in Saint Peter\u2019s Square to watch for that smoke every time there\u2019s a Conclave? To pray for a new Pope? To be part of history? How do you even calculate the damage? It would be global. Devastating. Let alone the damage to history itself, to the paintings, books, art.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, of course it\u2019s hard to dwell on, but the damage that we did<\/em> have was survivable and it\u2019s still being corrected. It\u2019ll probably take a couple more decades, but Rome\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Nope, I\u2019m not going to say \u2018wasn\u2019t built in a day\u2019. It would be too trite.<\/span><\/p>\n

And possibly funny.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I\u2019m not really known for my humor.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s funny is Michelangelo repainting his ceiling. Talk about the ultimate \u2018do over\u2019!<\/span><\/p>\n

Why am I smiling?<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, nothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Explanations are not always required.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seriously, they\u2019re not.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes you totally gotta go with the ferkin\u2019 mystery of life, doc.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now you got me sounding more Irish.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you happy now?<\/span><\/p>\n

Must be tired.<\/span><\/p>\n

If I yawn some more, can we be done yet?<\/span><\/p>\n

If I pay you to tell Papa I did this session, could we be done now<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously I didn\u2019t say that out loud, or I\u2019d\u2019ve gotten the \u2018disapproving teacher\u2019 look, like he\u2019s known me my whole life and I\u2019ve had the audacity to spell something wrong on a manuscript in the Monastery.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019l start all over again, Father, I swear\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026or maybe make it look like one of those snails in armor, doing battle with a little gargoyle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Apparently I\u2019m smirking again.<\/span><\/p>\n

What?<\/span><\/p>\n

Tony\u2019s not the only one who can draw.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026doodle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, doodle. It\u2019s totally a thing. Even back then it was a thing. In the margins and shit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so I did say that out loud.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018cause bored! Bored now! Totally bored! Do you know how long it takes to copy a Gospel by hand? With flourishes, and not make a mistake?<\/span><\/p>\n

Those stools were actually softer than this damn chair.<\/span><\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t all get nice school, high school, college experience, university time, friends to bond with and teachers to love for the rest of forever and name your kids after. Some of us got our education with bare feet and a burnin\u2019 ass when the Bishop decided it was fun to beat little boys for being rowdy in the Cloister.<\/span><\/p>\n

Painful? Schooling is meant to be painful or you don\u2019t learn anything.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shoes? What about shoes?<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, not wearing any.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t if I can help it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?<\/span><\/p>\n

Socks are for conformists, doc, and shoes are the tools of the oppressor.<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s laughing now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m outta here.<\/span><\/p>\n

Later, doc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Much, much later.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today’s Guest Post is from our Creative Consultant: Timothy Quinn A snippet of Speed’s Ramblings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[850,975,66],"tags":[67,704,849],"class_list":["post-22368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-posts","category-snippets","category-sylum-stories","tag-timothy-quinn","tag-guest-post","tag-sylum-snippets"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Da1M-5OM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2350,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-advent-december-27th-snippets-from-upcoming-sylum-stories\/","url_meta":{"origin":22368,"position":0},"title":"Sylum Advent – December 27th: Snippets from Upcoming Sylum Stories","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"December 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"December 27th \u00a0 Title:\u00a0Snippets from Upcoming Sylum Stories Author:\u00a0BJ Jones, Timothy Quinn, Gil Grissom, Jack Sparrow, John Sheppard, and Taibhrigh Summary: Snippets of upcoming stories for Sylum - including a snippet for each of the teaser trailers that's already been shown. \u00a0 Link to Sylum Advent","rel":"","context":"In "Sylum Advent: 2013"","block_context":{"text":"Sylum Advent: 2013","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-events\/sylum-advent-2013\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"banner_advent2013","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/banner_advent2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7577,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/happy-birthday-timothy-quinn-aka-sylums-creative-consultant\/","url_meta":{"origin":22368,"position":1},"title":"Happy Birthday – Timothy Quinn (AKA: Sylum’s Creative Consultant)","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"May 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 To my partner, bunny herder, plot wrangler, and creative consultant. 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And as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sylum Information"","block_context":{"text":"Sylum Information","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-information\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/9700bfda75d98232e3dd6b7c44d03f04.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2359,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-advent-december-31st-at-dusk-by-timothy-quinn\/","url_meta":{"origin":22368,"position":2},"title":"Sylum Advent – December 31st: At Dusk by Timothy Quinn","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"December 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"December 31st\u00a0 Happy New Years Eve!! \u00a0 Title: At Dusk Author: Timothy Quinn Summary:\u00a0Altair takes control. \u00a0 Link to Sylum\u00a0Archive","rel":"","context":"In "Sylum Advent: 2013"","block_context":{"text":"Sylum Advent: 2013","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-events\/sylum-advent-2013\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"banner_advent2013","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/banner_advent2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10179,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-fic-hoot-by-timothy-quinn\/","url_meta":{"origin":22368,"position":3},"title":"Sylum Fic: HOOT! by Timothy Quinn","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"March 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Sylum Timeline: January 2008 AD Link to Archive","rel":"","context":"In "Nicolaus Meridius Weekend"","block_context":{"text":"Nicolaus Meridius Weekend","link":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/category\/sylum-events\/nicolaus-meridius-weekend\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/taibhrigh_banner-Hoot.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":589,"url":"https:\/\/www.sylumclan.com\/sylumblog\/sylum-advent-december-30th-the-battle-by-timothy-quinn\/","url_meta":{"origin":22368,"position":4},"title":"Sylum Advent – December 30th: The Battle by Timothy Quinn","author":"Nicolaus Meridius","date":"December 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"December 30th Title: The Battle Author: Timothy Quinn Pairings\/Characters: Maximus, Quintus Rating: FRM Summary: The battle looms. 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