Work Text:
From: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
To: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
Subject: Netherese/Persian apocalypse culture
Thu 9/7/2023 6:58 PM
Professor Dekarios,
My name is Tav Driscoll. I’m a Ph.D. candidate in the Art History department. My work focuses primarily on medieval English marginalia, but I read several of your books during my prelims and would love to ask you a little about your research and some of the archives you visited.
I know the start of the semester is a busy time, so I understand completely if you’re not available. If you are, however, I would be very interested in meeting with you to discuss your work.
Best,
Tav
From: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
To: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
Subject: Automatic reply: Netherese/Persian apocalypse culture
Thu 9/7/2023 6:58 PM
THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGE
I am currently out of the office! I will be back in office on September 11th!
If you are trying to reach me for questions about the Classics Department Undergraduate Certificate please email Rolan Baevyr.
Enjoy your summer,
Gale
Elminster Aumar Professor of Linguistics and Classics
Department of Classics Harvard University
204 Boylston Hall
[email protected]
Text Messages
Thursday September 7th, 2023
Beginning 7:15PM
Tav: you were in Gale’s seminar last semester right?
Lae’zel: why are you asking me this
T: don’t be weird
L: >:|
T: how quickly did he usually email back?
L: not quickly enough
L: are you “in between a rock and a hard place”
T: i’m coming up on a deadline ye
L: I disliked the casual nature of his courses
T: classic
L: in creche K’liir we would not refer to our professors by their first names
T: scary
T: so like? A couple days? A day?
L: did your advisor say something scary to you
T: need to revise my prospectus
T: want to tell him I’ve reached out to some of the people he suggested
L: you have reached out
T: you know what I mean
L: not really.
L: Karlach sent me a really incomprehensible message this afternoon
T: what was it?
L: it went
L: wb later? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
T: “what about later”
L: and the symbols?
T: shrugging
L: what
T: don’t worry about it
L: hmmmmm
L: come out
T: tonight?
L: right now.
From: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
To: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
Subject: Netherese/Persian apocalypse culture
Fri 9/8/2023 1:14 AM
Hi! Hello!
Sorry for the automated response. Hate to be impersonal. I’m coming back late for the semester from a research trip.
A rare thing to hear someone else is interested in this particular niche.
I have some knowledge of English marginalia. Scary little tableaus, no?
Office is fine, but I’m partial to the second floor at Tatte. The apocalypse is best discussed over a hot cup of coffee.
Send me your availability?
Take care!
Gale
Elminster Aumar Professor of Linguistics and Classics
Department of Classics Harvard University
204 Boylston Hall
[DRAFT]
From: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
To: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
Subject: Netherese/Persian apocalypse culture
Fri 9/8/2023 1:15 AM
Gale!
Yes, yes I love love tatte. Great coffee, love to talk about the apocalylse too!
Google Search History
Tav Driscoll’s iphone
Fri 9/8/2023 1:45AM
SEARCH: wehn does /MODIFIED/ when does daedalu s close
SEARCH: Daedalus bar to inman square
Google maps: Daedalus Restaurant, 45 1/2 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138 to Inman Square. 1.2 miles. 27 minutes walking
SEARCH: green line times
Cambridge Chronical: MBTA on the decline?: subway stops shortened in wake of city budget cuts
SEARCH: why is the Charles river called the Charles river
SEARCH: how mant people drowned in Charles river 2023
SEARCH: how manuy people deowned in Charles river all time
Unverisalhub.com: All the drowning victims the press and the public don't much care about
SEARCH: why do I keep having dark thoughts
Psychology Today: Are you feeling The Urge?: Why giving in to your desires might be beneficial for your long-term mental health
SEARCH: how to fix sleep schedule
SEARCH: does therapy actually work
Text messages to Tav Driscoll
Friday, September 8th, 2023
Sent 2:17AM
Shadowheart: did you get home okay?
S: Tav?
S: you just seemed weird tonight
S: distracted?
S: hello?
Phone call between Shadowheart Hallowleaf and Tav Driscoll
Fri 9/8/2023 2:40AM
Duration: 6 minutes 12 seconds
From: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
To: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
Subject: Netherese/Persian apocalypse culture
Fri 9/8/2023 10:37 AM
Gale,
Thank you so much for your prompt response! Coffee at Tatte sounds great.
This semester, I’m teaching Mondays and Wednesdays in the mornings. I have a lot of flexibility outside of that. Let me know what works best for you!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Tav
Tatte Bakery & Café Receipt
Thu 9/14/2023 9:30 AM
Black coffee w room $2.75
Black coffee $2.75
Subtotal: $5.50
Tax: $0.34
Total: $5.84
Change due: $0.00
*billed to Harvard classics dept. tab
c/o Dr. Gale Dekarios
Tatte Bakery & Café Receipt
Thu 9/14/2023 12:10 PM
Black coffee w room $2.75
Americano $3.75
- Almond milk $1.00
Subtotal: $7.50
Tax: $0.47
Total: $7.97
Change due: $0.00
*billed to Harvard classics dept. tab
c/o Dr. Gale Dekarios
The Daily Catch Brookline
Thu 9/14/2024 4:03PM
2x glass red wine $28
muscles siciliano $17
2x espresso $6
2x amaro nonino $36
Subtotal: $87.00
Tax: $5.44
Total: $92.44
Change due: $0.00
*billed to Harvard classics dept. tab
c/o Dr. Gale Dekarios
Text messages
Thursday, September 14th, 2023
Sent 7:02PM
Tav: what’s the over/under on fucking a professor
T: different department
Karlach: omgggggg
K: *tongue out emoji*
K: *heart eyes emoji*
K: all that over coffee???
T: no, dinner
T: can I call you?
K: give me five
Phone call between Karlach Cliffgate and Tav Driscoll
Thu 9/14/2023 7:07PM
Duration: 56 minutes 45 seconds
Text message to Tav Driscoll
Friday, September 15th, 2023
Sent 5:03AM
Lae’zel: [New York Times: Professor Student Relationships are on the rise but what does this mean for academic rigor?]
Text message to Lae’zel al’ K’liir
Friday, September 15th, 2023
Sent 9:50AM
Tav: chilllllll pleaseeeeee
From: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
To: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
Subject: Thursday’s meeting
Fri 9/15/2023 3:15PM
Tav,
It was wonderful to meet you yesterday. I very much enjoyed our conversations.
Looking forward to seeing where you go with your research. Should you ever need someone to bounce ideas off of, it would be my pleasure.
My cell: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Best,
Gale
Google Search History
Gale Dekarios’ iphone
Fri 9/15/2023 3:32PM
SEARCH: Anastavia Driscoll
SEARCH: Anastavia Driscoll Harvard
SEARCH: Anastavia Driscoll Harvard articles
Medieval Feminist Forum, Fall 2019: A Discussion of the Difficulty of Mapping Gender onto Medieval Sources
[downloaded]
Exemplaria, Spring 2020: The She-Wolf on the Silver Screen: Isabella of France in contemporary film
[downloaded]
Medium Ævum, Spring 2022: Who’s Afraid of Anne of Bohemia: Richard II’s first queen in tapestry and sculpture
[downloaded]
Journal of Medieval History, Fall 2022: Frivolity and Torture: Depictions of Edward II and Piers Gaveston throughout the ages
[downloaded]
SEARCH: Anastavia Driscoll Harvard art history department
department profile tab left open
From: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
To: Enver Gortash [[email protected]]
Subject: extension
Sun 10/01/2023 6:58 PM
Enver,
As I intimated the last time we met, I’ve been having some difficulty finishing up my prospectus. I know I said that I’d get the second draft to you by the end of last month, but I was hoping I could have a couple more weeks to really get it in order.
Thanks so much,
Tav
From: Enver Gortash [[email protected]]
To: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
Subject: extension
Sun 10/01/2023 7:00PM
Tav.
We will discuss this in my office.
-E
Ulder Ravengard Esteemed Chair in Medieval Studies
Department of Art History Harvard University
485 Sackler
[email protected]
Phone call between Shadowheart Hallowleaf and Tav Driscoll
Sun 10/01/2023 7:00PM
Duration: 45 minutes and 3 seconds
Text message to Tav Driscoll
Sun 10/01/2023
Sent 7:50PM
Shadowheart: chin up <3
Google Search History
Tav Driscoll’s macbook
Sun 10/01/2023 9:30PM
SEARCH: is burnout real
SEARCH: how to get over burnout
SEARCH: intrusive thoughts burnout
SEARCH: ocd
SEARCH: ocd subtypes
SEARCH harm ocd
SEARCH: auditory hallucinations harm ocd
SEARCH: can burnout cause auditory hallucinations
SEARCH: am I delusional
Buzzfeed: FIVE SIMPLE ways to tell if you’re DELULU
SEARCH: am I clinically delusional
Massachusetts mental health emergency hotline
XXX-XXX-XXXX
SEARCH: Does hallucinating a butler make me bourgeois
SEARCH: how to relax
ASMR SLIME BOYFRIEND TINGLES PERSONAL ASSISTANT ROLEPLAY
clicked out after 15 seconds
ASMR for DEEP SLEEP | Nervoscope, spine tracing & chiropractic exam
clicked out after 2 minutes 5 seconds
SEARCH: what is a nervoscope
SEARCH: is asmr real
SEARCH: is asmr brain rot
SEARCH: am I fucked up if asmr doesn’t work for me
Spirit of the Archdruid | forest sounds to fall asleep to *leaf emoji*
watched five times
Phone call between Gale Dekarios and Tav Driscoll
Thu 10/05/2023 11:10AM
Duration: 1 hour and 4 minutes
Phone call between Gale Dekarios and Tav Driscoll
Fri 10/06/2023 9:15AM
Duration: 2 hours and 6 minutes
Phone call between Gale Dekarios and Tav Driscoll
Tue 10/10/2023 10:04AM
Duration: 4 minutes and 2 seconds
Tatte Bakery & Café Receipt
Tue 10/10/2023 10:34 AM
Black coffee w room $2.75
Americano $3.75
- Almond milk $1.00
Subtotal: $7.50
Tax: $0.47
Total: $7.97
Change due: $0.00
*billed to Harvard classics dept. tab
c/o Dr. Gale Dekarios
Tatte Bakery & Café Receipt
Tue 10/10/2023 1:15PM
Black coffee w room $2.75
Americano $3.75
- Almond milk $1.00
Subtotal: $7.50
Tax: $0.47
Total: $7.97
Change due: $0.00
*billed to Harvard classics dept. tab
c/o Dr. Gale Dekarios
Phone call between Gale Dekarios and Tav Driscoll
Tue 10/10/2023 9:12PM
Duration: 3 hours and 56 minutes
From: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
To: Desiree Florrick [[email protected]]
Subject: Professor Enver Gortash
Thu 10/19/2023 9:45AM
Desiree,
I know we discussed this in person, but I wanted to get it in writing. I have very serious concerns about Enver Gortash’s conduct, especially regarding his relationships with his graduate students. I am not the only faculty member to make note of his Draconian attitudes about work/life balance. I have heard former graduate students refer to him as “tyrannical” and I myself have witnessed him humiliate students both in and out of seminars.
His conduct makes it unpleasant for faculty to serve on committees with which he is a part and, I believe, endangers the mental well-being of our graduate students. This is a sanctuary of higher learning, not an assembly line or, worse, a prison. Our students are human beings first and foremost.
I understand that I am not a member of the Art History department, but I have served on many committees for Art History Ph.D.’s and I care deeply, not only about the wellbeing of the students in that department, but about the culture of this University more broadly.
I’ve said my piece and I’d be happy to say it again.
Take good care,
Gale
Elminster Aumar Professor of Linguistics and Classics
Department of Classics Harvard University
204 Boylston Hall
[email protected]
Intake Session Notes
Clinician: Nettie Silverleaf, MSW, LCSW
Patient: Anastavia Driscoll
Date: October 28th, 2023
Patient is a 29-year-old half-elf female. She is in her fifth year pursuing an Art History Ph.D. at Harvard. She lives with a roommate in a two-bedroom apartment. She has many friends whom she spends her free time with. She is involved in a new, undefined romantic relationship with a professor at Harvard who is not her advisor and is not in her department. She is sexually active and practices safe sex. Patient eats well and exercises “most of the time” but admits it has been difficult lately to stick with her normal routines. Her hobbies include reading, yoga, volunteering at the local community garden. Patient self-reports that she does not consume drugs and drinks alcohol “only sometimes” and only in social settings. She has a difficult relationship with her academic advisor. Patient describes him as overbearing and hard to please. He has an unwelcome and potentially unprofessional interest in her personal life. This appears to be the central source of stress in her life. Patient appears personable but nervous. She looks tired.
Patient complains of anxiety, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, sleepwalking, and night terrors. Her intrusive thoughts center around an urge to harm herself and others, but she claims she has no intention of doing so and the thoughts bring her great distress. She reports intermittent, frightening visual and auditory hallucinations but because these happen exclusively at night, she is unsure if they are related to her sleepwalking and night terrors.
Potential diagnoses: Require more information. Initial thoughts: OCD- harm subtype, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, schizoaffective disorder (unlikely given her overall presentation but difficult to explain auditory and visual hallucinations otherwise)
Recommendations: Continued talk therapy, appointment with psychologist to discuss medications and possible diagnoses.
Text messages
Fri 11/10/2023
Sent 3:45 PM
Shadowheart: What time did we say tonight?
Lae’zel: 7PM
Tav: 7:30?
T: oop
L: We said 7
Karlach: 7works
T: seven’s great
S: I’m driving from campus. Does anyone need a ride
L: no
T: I’m gonna bike
K: can I cop a ride, SH?
S: ofc
House of Chang Receipt
Fri 11/10/2023 9:42 PM
4x Tsingtao bottle $13
Crab rangoon (6) $10.95
Chicken wings (6) $14.95
House special soup (2) $13.95
Szechuan spicy string beans $15.95
Black pepper tofu $15.95
Orange chicken $17.95
Hunan spicy crispy beef $19.95
Subtotal: $122.65
Tax: $7.67
Total: $130.32
Split four ways $32.58
Change due: $0.00
Phone call between Gale Dekarios and Tav Driscoll
Fri 11/10/2023 9:45PM
Duration: 2 minutes 5 seconds
Text message
Fri 11/10/2023 9:47PM
Gale: called the uber. Eta four minutes
Annual Conference of the Medieval Academy of America December 8th – December 13th, 2023
Partial Panel Schedule
Magical, Medieval Discourse and the Concept of the Apocalypse
Mon December 12th, 7:00AM – 8:30AM
Room 315
Chair: Elminster Aumar, Cambridge University
The Supremacy of Magic in Medieval Medical Thinking – Gale Dekarios, Harvard University
“The Stars Chart the End’: Magicians and Astrologers Prepare for the End Times – Richard Lorroakan, University of Michigan
First Hand Accounts of Witnessed Miracles during the Black Death – Mystra Altieri, Stanford University
The Culture of War in Medieval Githyanki Creches
Mon December 12th, 11:30AM – 1:00PM
Room 116
Chair: Kith’rak Voss, Brown University
Wounds Mental and Physical in the Written Records of Githyanki Dragon Riders – Lae’zel al’ K’liir, Harvard University
There were definitely giant bears then – Volo Geddarm, independent scholar
The Matriarchal Control Structure of the Githyanki Center and the Patriarchal Periphery – Vlaakith CLVII, Yale University
The Stories at the Margins
Mon December 12th, 11:30AM – 1:00PM
Room 210
Chair: Kagha Greenspan, Alaska State University
“We Crumble at the Margins”: Body Horror in the Marginalia of the Utrecht Psalter – Anastavia Driscoll, Harvard University
“The Trees Come to Life”: Botanical Renderings in the Diaries of Kings – Halsin Silverbough, University of California – Berkeley
Shapeshifters in Medieval Manuscripts – Strange Ox, independent scholar
Phone call from Mystra Altieri to Gale Dekarios
Mon 12/11/2023 8:45AM
Declined
Phone call from Mystra Altieri to Gale Dekarios
Mon 12/11/2023 9:01AM
Declined
Phone call from Mystra Altieri to Gale Dekarios
Mon 12/11/2023 9:05AM
Declined
Phone call from Mystra Altieri to Gale Dekarios
Mon 12/11/2023 9:15AM
Declined
Text message to Gale Dekarios
Mon 12/11/2023 9:23AM
Mystra: Is that who you’re with now? A graduate student? Really Gale, come on.
Text message to Tav Driscoll
Mon 12/11/2023 1:14PM
Lae’zel: Vlaakith sucks.
L: I hate her I hate her scholarship
L: being on a panel with her was humiliating
L: I can’t believe I applied to Yale. I can’t believe I ever wanted to study under her.
Text message to Tav Driscoll
Mon 12/11/2023 1:40PM
Gale: Well done, Anastavia Driscoll, (almost) Ph.D.
Surveillance camera footage from the restaurant and bar in the Boston Marriot at Copley Place
Mon 12/11/2023 7:45PM
A human man and half-elf woman sit close at two stools on the far end of the hotel’s bar. They both laugh, smiling. The half-elf is drinking a cocktail with a straw. The man swirls ice cubes with the dark liquor in his cup. The woman leans in to whisper something into the man’s ear, cradling his cheek with her palm. The man puts his hand on the woman’s thigh
From: Enver Gortash [[email protected]]
To: Anastavia Driscoll [[email protected]]
Subject: none
Mon 12/11/2023 9:14PM
answer your phone, Tav
Ulder Ravengard Esteemed Chair in Medieval Studies
Department of Art History Harvard University
485 Sackler
[email protected]
Text Message to Tav Driscoll
Mon 12/11/2023 10:13PM
Dad (DO NOT REPLY): did you block your sister’s number?
Google Search History
Tav Driscoll’s iphone
Tue 12/12/2023 1:45AM
SEARCH: surviving toxic family
SEARCH: is it wrong to cut off family
SEARCH: how to cut off family
SEARCH: is my family trying to kill me
r/legaladvice: I believe my parents are trying to poison me what are my options?
SEARCH: can your family give you intrusive thoughts
The New Yorker: Healing the Mother Wound: Seven Experts Explain why it Really is All your Mother’s Fault
SEARCH: intrusive thoughts of hurting someone
Massachusetts mental health emergency hotline
XXX-XXX-XXXX
SEARCH: how to fall asleep and stay asleep
SEARCH: how to barricade hotel doors
Surveillance camera footage from the lobby of the Boston Marriot at Copley Place
Tue 12/12/2023 2:37AM
A young half-elf woman is captured wandering down the hotel’s front stairs toward the lobby. She is barefoot and dressed only in a long t-shirt. She walks with a staggering gait that implies she may be sleepwalking. She stops beside the elevator bank and begins gesticulating wildly. She appears to be talking to someone, but no one can be seen on the footage. She stops gesticulating and stands very straight and very still. The woman turns and looks directly at the camera. She does not move for five full minutes. She walks off-screen.
Phone call from Gale Dekarios to Tav Driscoll
Tue/12/2023 3:03AM
Went to voicemail
Phone call from Gale Dekarios to Tav Driscoll
Tue/12/2023 3:10AM
Went to voicemail
Phone call from Gale Dekarios to Tav Driscoll
Tue/12/2023 3:13AM
Went to voicemail
Phone call from Lae’zel al’K’liir to Tav Driscoll
Tue/12/2023 3:15AM
Went to voicemail
Surveillance camera footage from the lobby of the Boston Marriot at Copley Place
Tue 12/12/2023 5:05AM
A human man carries a half-elf woman through the front doors of the hotel. She appears to be unconscious. They are followed by a githyanki woman. She scans the front desk and then the rest of the lobby. She nods and the human man carries the half-elf woman toward the elevators. The video is black and white, but the half-elf’s clothes are stained with a dark substance. This substance has dried on her legs.
Text messages
Tue 12/12/2023 7:03AM
Shadowheart: I got a really insane text message from Tav
Lae’zel: this is news?
S: this is crazy but I have to ask
S: did Tav kill someone?
L: don’t ask me that
S: hello?????? Did she????
Phone call from Lae’zel al’K’liir to Shadowheart Silverleaf
Tue 12/12/2023 7:06AM
Duration: four minutes
From: Gale Dekarios [[email protected]]
To: Desiree Florrick [[email protected]]
Subject: Anastavia Driscoll
Fri 12/15/2023 8:15AM
Desiree,
I cannot say enough good things about Anastavia’s performance at the conference this weekend. I would not hesitate to be on her committee, and, in fact, it would be an honor. Her scholarship is new and compelling. A Consummate professional.
She is a credit to your department.
Regards,
Gale
Elminster Aumar Professor of Linguistics and Classics
Department of Classics Harvard University
204 Boylston Hall
[email protected]
Boston Globe Article
Sun 12/17/2023
Local Musician found Dead on Waterfront
27-year-old Alfira Bram was found dead this morning in the Seaport District. Her body was brutally mutilated in what Boston PD are calling “an obvious homicide”. They say there are no suspects at this time but are encouraging Boston residents to stay indoors and not to walk alone at night.
Text Messages
Mon 12/18/2023 7:45AM
Gale: please keep going to therapy
Tav: *thumbs up react*
Text message to Tav Driscoll
Mon 12/18/2023 11:36AM
Gale: Tatte in an hour?