Black Hand Flavor Text


Animal Magnetism
I am no orator, as Brutus is;
But, as you know me all, a plain blunt man.
Shakespeare, Julius Ceasar, act III, scene 2


Babble
Half of what he said meant something else, 
and the other half didn't mean
anything at all.
Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead


Black Gloves
We know more about war 
than we know about peace, 
more about killing than
we know about living.
Gen. Omar Bradley, 1948 speech


Blooding
He who has died need not fear death; 
for him it is the arms of his Father
welcoming him home.
The Admonitions


Bloodwork
His shrieks were confined to the repetition 
of a single, mad word of all too obvious source.
H.P. Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness


Brick Laying
She spoke with the cold-blooded complacency 
of the aged throwing earth
into the grave of young hopes.
Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence


Circumspect Revelation
All Sabbat shall support the Black Hand.
The Code of Milan


Creep Show
Beware Of entrance to a quarrel; 
but being in, 
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.
Shakespeare, Hamlet, act I, scene 3


Deed the Heart's Desire
I'll pick up your hand and slowly blow your little mind
When you've made your mind up forever to be mine.
Donovan, "Sunshine Superman"


Deep Cover Agent
Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? 
Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
Sir John Harrington


Día de los Muertos
We play very dangerous games with life 
and no one knows our rules.
Parke Goodwin


Flaming Candle
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends --
It gives a lovely light!
Edna St. Vincent Millay, "First Fig"


Foundation Exhibit
It's like a kind of torture to have to watch the show.
Waldorf, Toreador antitribu


Information Network
Knowledge is of two kinds: 
we know a subject ourselves, 
or we know where we can find 
information upon it.
Samuel Johnson, in James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.


Last Stand
There may come a day when I'll dance on your grave
Unable to dance I'll still crawl across it
The Grateful Dead, "Hell in a Bucket."


Lessons in the Steel
Knowledge by suffering entereth,
And life is perfected by death.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, A Vision of Poets. Conclusion.


Loyalist
Old-fashioned Loyalists don't last all that long, 
even when they've got your potential for power.
Andrew Emory, Lasombra bishop


Martial Ritus
Sometimes, just saying that you hate something, 
and having someone agree with you, 
can make you feel better about a terrible situation.
Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning 


Mayaparisatya
One should always be a little improbable. 
Nothing that actually occurs is
of the smallest importance.
Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love


Mesmerize
He holds him with a glittering eye --
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years' child:
The mariner hath his will.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"


Path of Evil Revelations
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act I, scene 3


Quicken Sight
So scented the grim Feature, and upturn'd
His nostril wide into the murky air,
Sagacious of his quarry from so far.
John Milton, Paradise Lost


Random Patterns
Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.
Samuel Johnson, Rasselas


Recure of the Homeland
Earth helped him with the cry of blood.
Sir John Beaumont, "Battle of Bosworth Field"


Rooftop Shadow
Just follow. If you can't see, listen. 
If you can't hear, feel.
Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass


Shakar
Ar-Rashid said, A true assassin has no ego, 
which is well, for he receives no glory.
The Admonitions


Sociopath
When he is best, he is little worse than a man,
and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act I, scene 2


Talons of the Dead
Their fatal hands
No second stroke intend.
John Milton, Paradise Lost


Tenebrous Form
Be as a shadow on a dark night; 
unseen, unheard, 
let there be no sign of
your coming in or going out.
The Admonitions


Under the Skin
The brain may devise laws for the blood, 
but a hot temper leaps o'er a cold decree.
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act I, scene 2


Vendetta
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act I, scene 3


Vox Domini
Are you going to force me to stop? 
We both know that you can. 
If you are my master, or speak on his behalf, 
you can make me do anything you want.
Lucita, Lasombra


Watch Commander
One who is prepared and waits for the unprepared will be victorious.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War


Winchester Mansion
I am glad that it is old and big. I myself am of an old family, 
and to live in a new house would kill me.
Bram Stoker, Dracula


Zillah's Tears
Caine's Promise is not intended for everyone, 
but only for his true childer, 
Zillah's childer, born of her tears.
Blackhorse Tanner, Ventrue antitribu