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soveryanon · 4 years

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Reviewing time for MAG167!

- I did appreciate a loooot that little “break” to deal with (past) interpersonal problems and how they intertwined with the Fears. Characters-of-the-day in this season have been feeling mostly interchangeable since they’re rewritten/decontextualised from their past lives, and the narration covering multiple individual nightmares doesn’t really help, so… It felt safer and more comforting to go back to characters being themselves, even when that also ended miserably?

- I got super excited on first listen because !! New names!! New random tiny tidbits of lore regarding the past of the Institute! Pre-Gertrude era!

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “When she first joined the Archives, she took the place of a man named Angus Stacey, whose face was torn from his skull by a creature of masks and smiles. Gertrude had thought of it as “The Grinning Wheel”, and it was one of the first things to fall at the hands of the Institute’s new avenger. Appropriately enough, Gertrude used fire. […] Angus Stacey had, in the long tradition of Institute Archivists, been a disappointment to the man whose eyes then sat in the smirking face of one ‘Director Richard Mendelson’. Angus had been too keen to learn, too ambitious in his academic legacy. He had had grand plans to revise Smirke’s Fourteen and, in trying to do so, burned through his resources; his luck; and ultimately all but one of his assistants. When Gertrude was appointed to the role, there was a single survivor left in the Archives: a woman by the name of Fiona Law.”

So:

* Angus Stacey was the previous Archivist, killed by a creature of The Stranger… which, aouch (Gertrude wasn’t killed by one, but had spent a good amount of time thinking about their ritual before her death, didn’t feel like she was putting out as much energy against The Dark honestly? And Nikola wore her skin during The Unknowing. The Stranger was all around there at the beginning and at the end, uh…).

* Interestingly, Angus was aware of Smirke’s taxonomy, and so was Gertrude at least towards the end of her life (since Gerry mentioned that he liked to use his classification in MAG111); I wonder if there used to be documents about it in the Archives, potentially by Smirke himself, before Jonah possibly hid them away to ensure that Jon would be kept in the dark about it…? (It’s also possible that such documents exist and Jon didn’t have the time to stumble upon them: he’s been Head Archivist for only three years).

* OOFT that the Archivist pre-pre-Jon wanted to “revise” Smirke’s classification… which highlights, once again, that that classification was subjective and an interpretation, but not something set in stone – despite what Smirke was attempting to do with his architecture.

* Confirmation that Gertrude knew another one of Jonah’s identities when she began to work in the Archives! James Wright was Head from 1973 to 1996, so that had always been a possibility. When Elias commented about how “Fifty years is a long time! [CHUCKLE] End of an era.” in MAG158, it really wasn’t an exaggeration. Gertrude lived through three of his identities.

- I’m really glad to know that, since Jonah used to be a “Richard Mendelson”… his nickname must have been “Dick”.

As Jon, master of redundancy, said in MAG096: “Cocky prick.”

(My only regret is that Tim didn’t live enough to know that. He would have made Elias’s life hell about “Dick” TT__TT)

- Laughing very hard that Jonah’s main characteristic is definitely… his way of smiling.

(MAG092) ELIAS: Now, you have something to ask me? BASIRA: Go for it. DAISY: Before I strangle the grinning bastard.

(MAG108) PETER: I have a meeting with him today. He suggested… I’m sure he’s watching from his office, grinning from ear to ear.

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “Angus Stacey had, in the long tradition of Institute Archivists, been a disappointment to the man whose eyes then sat in the smirking face of one ‘Director Richard Mendelson’.”

HOW the heck did he manage to attract and to give that aura of seriousness to his peers back in the 18th century? Is it a case of arrogance being perceived as confidence back then, when it’s just making Jonah obnoxious and insufferable nowadays? (It’s also SUPER FUNNY that Elias was, at the beginning, identified as kind of… bland and unremarkable, passive, a bit lazy, thanks-for-nothing-dude? While, once he reveals himself, it seems to go hand-in-hand with grinning/smirking faces. Gods. Basira, you should have punched him some more.)

- I recognised the name “Fiona Law” on the spot, since MAG029 was one of the first episodes to mention past details of the Institute, with the Elias Timeline Problem! Statement of Nathaniel Thorp, left on June 4th 1972:

(MAG029) ARCHIVIST: Fiona Law, the research assistant who took the statement, passed away in 2003 from complications following a liver transplant, and with two exceptions no-one else working for the Institute at the time is still employed here. Gertrude Robinson was there, of course, but we can’t exactly ask her, and Elias was working as a filing clerk at the time. I followed up with him, and he does remember there being something of a commotion around that time about someone self-harming while giving a statement – rumours said they’d cut off their finger or something – but he wasn’t directly involved and didn’t know much more about it.

Regarding “Elias”, since he’s meant to sound “middle-aged” (and not “old”): I’m still choosing to assume that MAG049’s information was correct, and that Jonah slipped up and mentioned a time when James Wright was working as a filing clerk, since he would become Head of the Institute the following year and that’s probably when Jonah took his body. The strange thing is still that Jon just accepted without a question that Elias was 20+ years older than he looked, but eh.

The HILARIOUS and accurate detail is that, regarding Fiona’s tendency to pass out when in danger?

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “Fiona was the most fascinating combination of curiosity and cowardice, pushing forward and forward into the unknown, until the very first moment of threat… crystallised. And then she was away. Of course, retreat is not always possible in such a line of business, and when that proved to be the case, there was a single trait which Fiona possessed that saw her surviving encounters which had killed far braver souls than her. Because when she was pushed to the very limits of her terror, Fiona Law… would faint. And while there are those things in the dark that would kill you as you slept, most get no real delight from it, unless you are awake enough to know what is happening. And so, through cowardice and unconsciousness, Fiona had survived an entire generation of Archivist.”

It may have been A Thing that happened in MAG029!

(MAG029, Nathaniel Thorp) “The end, I suppose. Thank you for indulging me, you’ve been very patient. I’m well aware I came in to tell you my own story, and instead have rattled off some old folktale, which you’ve dutifully taken down. I do feel now, though, that I’m at a place where I can tell you of myself. But for one final bit of context, I need you to watch this. Pay attention.”

ARCHIVIST: Archivist’s note: After this point the rest of the page is covered in what appears to be a large bloodstain. The statement resumes on the page afterwards, in a somewhat shakier hand.

“Apologies for that. A bit dramatic I know, but I always feel a demonstration is best in these situations.”

She might have passed out and then resumed taking the statement when she woke up x”)

- Sarah Carpenter took me a few more seconds on first listen, but given that Paul McKenzie had been put back on the foreground with MAG146, the name still quickly rang a bell (statement given on August 24th 2003):

(MAG027) ARCHIVIST: When this was originally logged, apparently we did send a then-member of the research staff, one Sarah Carpenter, to take some readings of the house. Apparently she felt there was little enough danger to justify an overnight vigil at the place, but like everyone else in Mr. McKenzie’s tale, she encountered no strangeness or intruders on the upstairs landing, or in any other part of the building. […] The only other thing that stands out from this as strange is that Sarah Carpenter, the researcher originally sent to look into this back in 2003, took some rather detailed photographs of the interior and layout of the house. Looking through them now, it strikes me that the bedroom door, to which Mr. McKenzie refers so often, does not appear to have a keyhole, or any sort of lock.

“Research staff” (Fiona was also identified as a “research assistant” in season 1) but, given that Jon didn’t even know that Gertrude used to have assistants by MAG080, it’s likely that the data about (past) Archives staff is… hard to get / hidden a bit.

HEAVY SOB IN GERTRUDE/AGNES that the thing Gertrude saw in Sarah was her “fire”:

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “Eric was replaced by another assistant, not so young as Michael, and hardened with some encounters of her own. She was eager to prove herself, and exactly the sort of person to intrigue the ageing Emma. There was a fire to Sarah Carpenter, perhaps the one which led to Gertrude hiring her, and Emma’s curiosity ignited once again, this time keen to find out exactly what it would take to break this brave investigator of the unknown.”

Like, wow, Gertrude, please, you had a type.

- I love how, with just tiny brushes, it really felt like Emma-Eric-Fiona-Gertrude were indeed once upon a time a team, with their own dynamic?

It gave me season 1 flashbacks, with Tim&Sasha commenting a lot about Martin being jumpy, Jon groaning about Tim’s April Fools Prank, etc. Own team with its own flavour.

It also reminds me that Jon had mentioned that some files were in better order:

(MAG060) ARCHIVIST: The mid-to-late 20th century seems marginally better filed than most of the archives, so we haven’t seen as many rogue statements cropping up from that period.

So: Emma-Eric-Fiona-Gertrude used… to do the work, back then, probably? Eric, at least, had the qualifications.

- I was really hoping that we would learn about “Emma” since Eric had mentioned her, Jonny had announced in the season 4 Q&A that we would:

(MAG154) ERIC: You know, you were never actually that nice to me when I worked for you, Gertrude. Not like Michael, or Emma.

But WOW, I. wasn’t expecting her to be that bad. It’s really strange, because for the first half of the statement, I thought that Emma was the quintessence of Beholding? Scheming bad things to experiment and observe them from afar? And turns out she was going Web?!

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “But Emma had a sickness. As much as she might have despised the ageing Fiona, it was the same one that plagued her: curiosity. That desperate, grasping need to know. […] The experiments were simple enough. When a statement was close enough, and real enough that finding its source seemed a possibility, Emma would volunteer herself and Fiona to investigate it. […] Once out near danger, Fiona would always find herself… ever-so-slightly ahead; always seeming to be inexplicably the first through the door. And more often than not, it would close behind her. By the end, the poor woman genuinely believed spontaneously locking doors were a tell-tale sign of the supernatural. Emma would do her best to observe from safety, making notes, only retrieving the often unconscious Fiona when the danger passed. She watched, as her poor guinea pig stumbled through a maze of whispering grubs; she timed the intervals at which Fiona emerged from a hungry fog; and recorded her barely escaping the Sandman, who came to take her eyes. Poor Fiona never suspected a thing. […] When Emma came to tell Gertrude what had happened, she found the first of the cobwebs in her hair, the ones she would wash from it every morning for the rest of her life. And Gertrude mourned the first of many losses, and did not suspect the truth. […] And all through it, Gertrude could not see what was happening. And certainly the Spider smoothed things, elided questions, wiped away evidence, but it barely had to. Far better to feed Gertrude a steady string of plans to foil, and rituals to derail. […] When Emma Harvey awoke to the searing heat, she knew she was already dead. As the fire took her, and left her flesh running off her bones like oil, all she willed was not to give it the satisfaction of being afraid.”

* Down to the detail of Gertrude dealing with it with fire, when it’s been highlighted by The Lightless Flame that The Web is vulnerable to it (Eugene’s statement in MAG139, Agnes against Fielding at Hill Top Road, the spiderwebs burning in Jack Barnabas’s flat when Agnes was waiting for him).

* It’s interesting that Emma didn’t seem to be aware that she was going Web-y? Or, at least, had no particular devotion towards The Web as a concept, and felt like she was simply doing her stuff – like she got involved with the Fears, and they twisted natural traits into something terrible. Or is it that The Web was using her and hollowing her out without her being aware?

* We know that Raymond Fielding’s house burned on Hill Top Road around 1974, and that Annabelle was “created” (shortly?) before November 2010. There was a gap in Web avatars/activity in that time, potentially filled by Neil Lagorio (culminating with Annabelle visiting him in 2012). But Emma’s activity does coincide nicely in-between Fielding and Annabelle – was the Web focusing on her in that time, until the tree got uprooted at Hill Top Road?

* It was already a surprise in MAG145 to learn that The Web had been active in the Archives during Gertrude’s youth (it didn’t arrive there with Jon and Neil Lagorio’s original cuts), I’m even more surprised to learn that it had rooted itself this deep and so close to Gertrude back then. It couldn’t have been closer to an Archivist than by touching an assistant! (Well. Or by touching/marking/digging its roots into an actual Archivist. *squint at Jon*)

* Emma really reminded me of Leitner experimenting on his assistants, and of Annabelle’s creation? It’s interesting that “arts/stories” and “experiments (on humans)” seem to be the two main Web-related activities. It’s also interesting that Emma’s experiments… led to Fiona and Sarah being touched by multiple Fears (and just barely escaping them), as if prepping the modus operandi for Jon?

* I’m still REALLY surprised that Emma didn’t turn out to be the Quintessence of Beholding budding associates; Webholding…?

* … My main question being: if Emma turned out to be Web, HOW COME Jonah Magnus is officially of the Beholding. I MEAN.

(MAG092) ELIAS: Jonah Magnus did leave him in that place, Jon. He got the letter, oh yes, and was on good terms with Mordechai Lukas. He could have interceded, perhaps even saved him, but he did not. And it was not out of malice, or because he lacked affection for Barnabas Bennett: he retrieved those bones sadly enough when the time came. Bones that you can still find in my office, if you know where to look. No, it was because he was curious. Because he had to know, to watch and see it all. That’s what this place is, Jon, never forget it.

(MAG160, Jonah Magnus) “When Smirke first gathered our little band – Lukas, Scott and the rest – to discuss and hypothesise on the nature of the things he had learned from Rayner… I felt what I believe we all felt: curiosity, and fear.”

Down to the “curiosity”?? Sacrificing people just to see what would happen??? That’s textbook what he did??? (But then, I’m REALLY not sure that part of Elias’s head hasn’t been filled with cobwebs for a loooooong time.)

- I’m gonna laugh for a looong time that Elias gracefully allowed murder as long as it didn’t take place within the Archives.

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “It was a trivial matter to convince the man who now watched from the skull of Elias Bouchard to allow it, so long as the deed did not take place within the Archives itself. But it didn’t need to. An employee’s home address is a simple thing to acquire.”

Too much paperwork to fill? Or afraid of fire in the Archives? (I was surprised that he allowed it in the first place, because… what were his feelings towards Emma? Loving that little monster? Annoyed that this little shit was killing off employees and that he had to work on the cover-ups? Frustrated that The Web had invited itself within his Institute? Irritated that their methods looked so alike? With MAG145/MAG158, I had gotten the feeling that Jonah might have tried to smooth over his relationship with Gertrude with the death of James Wright – since Gertrude had identified that he was spying on them, and that Elias&Gertrude seemed to collaborate from time to time afterwards (Gertrude had realised he was Jonah, but Jonah only understood that right before killing her). So maybe it was just to appease Gertrude?)

- Regarding the “curiosity”, really loved how it felt like a form of disease taking hold of the assistants and pushing them to their dooms (taking risks / experimenting on them):

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “Fiona was the most fascinating combination of curiosity and cowardice […]. She had never got deep enough into the mysteries that plagued her to slake that burning curiosity. And she never would. […] But Emma had a sickness. As much as she might have despised the ageing Fiona, it was the same one that plagued her: curiosity. That desperate, grasping need to know. […] There was a fire to Sarah Carpenter, perhaps the one which led to Gertrude hiring her, and Emma’s curiosity ignited once again, this time keen to find out exactly what it would take to break this brave investigator of the unknown.”

And… crying a bit about Sasha and Jon, once again ;;

(MAG026) SASHA: I should really quit, you know. We, we all should. I don’t think this a normal job. I, I don’t think this is a safe job. ARCHIVIST: You’re probably right. Do you want to quit? SASHA: No. I’m just… I’m just too damned curious, I suppose. You? ARCHIVIST: No. Whatever’s going on, I… need to know. Get some rest.

“Curiosity” was something Jon&Sasha both shared… if Sasha had stayed around for longer, would she have turned like Emma over the years/decades…?

- The episode’s title seemed to refer both to Emma (and the assistants)’s “curiosity”, and to Martin’s own – Martin deciding, after the story, that he didn’t want answers to some of his own questions (he learned! ;;). But also, it puts to mind what Jonah had said about Gertrude:

(MAG160, Jonah Magnus) “More than once, I thought [Gertrude] must secretly be of The Hunt, but there was never that sick joy in her, that thrill of predator and prey. She had simply decided that this was her position in life, and went about it with a practicality that even I found disconcerting at times. I once asked her… what drove her, what had started her down that path. She told me The Desolation had killed her cat…!”

Curiosity Kills The Cat. (Though: in this case, it was The Web/curiosity which “killed” Emma.)

I’m also CRYING because this exchange took place in 2013-2014, so after Gertrude had already got rid of Emma:

(MAG162) GERTRUDE: Find anything [ITEM FALLING ON THE GROUND] interesting– GERRY: Oh…! GERTRUDE: –back there? [DOOR CLOSES] GERRY: Yeah, sorry, I was just, hum… yeah. GERTRUDE: Curiosity is a very dangerous trait in our line of work, Gerard. GERRY: So is ignorance.

And what did Gertrude THINK and FEEL when she saw Gerry trespassing and taking an (unauthorised) look at her things? When he looked like he himself was succumbing to “curiosity”?

- Regarding The Web’s threads being involved in the derailing of rituals…

(MAG111) ARCHIVIST: And Gertrude wanted to stop [the rituals]. At… any cost. GERRY: She worked out they’d all be happening quite close together. She’d already been doing it a while, and the Unknowing was the next on her list. That and the Watcher’s Crown.

(MAG134) PETER: There are two Powers that, to my knowledge, have never attempted to fully manifest, never had followers set them up for a ritual: Mother-of-Puppets, and Terminus. The Web, and The End. The Web, I’ve never really been sure about: if I were to guess, I would say it actually prefers the world as is, playing everyone against each other, and so on.

(MAG151) SIMON: And honestly, the idea that this is all some… “grand cosmic joke”, thousands of us running around spreading horror and sabotaging each other pointlessly while these impossible, unknowable things just lurk out there, feeding off the misery we cause… [INHALE] I find that interpretation quite appealing…!

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “By this point, Gertrude was fully lost to her plots and plans and struggles, and as long as her assistants played their parts when asked, she paid them no more mind. And the frequency of genuine encounters grew, as the season of hurried rituals came nearer. […] And all through it, Gertrude could not see what was happening. And certainly the Spider smoothed things, elided questions, wiped away evidence, but it barely had to. Far better to feed Gertrude a steady string of plans to foil, and rituals to derail.

Was it to ensure that they wouldn’t succeed? Or was The Web having its kick with organising and derailing the rituals around? It really reminded me of Simon’s words, the idea that even if rituals weren’t successful… they were still feeding the Fears with the overall commotion.

- Was the man who killed Sarah Diego Molina? He fits the description:

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “He was bald, dressed in dreary office clothes. To a cursory examination, unfit and unremarkable, save for his peculiar surroundings. […] He split open like a flower bud blooming, and inside there was only the most terrifying heat. She had no time to run, and by the time she thought to scream it was too late as the thing enveloped her, closing tight – until she was simply more ash, trapped forever inside that charred and hollow shell.”

… And ;_; Gerry killed Diego Molina in December 2011. One or two years before Gertrude would contact him and offer to free him from Mary, and they began their collaboration. Did she feel some gratitude that he had avenged Sarah, back then…?

- Regarding Gertrude’s collaborators, I’m surprised to see Salesa included in the list:

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “And with that, Gertrude Robinson was without assistants. She never hired another. She worked with those that seemed useful until they were no longer so: Leitner; Dekker; Keay; even Salesa on occasion. But she never again allowed herself to trust.”

From what we know, Salesa was occasionally selling items to the Institute and had given a few statements (MAG115), but I don’t recall clear-cut examples of them working together. Are we meant to learn a few more things about Salesa…? There is still the mystery of his death (?), the explosion (MMMMM…), the absence of body and the camera being retrieved in Floyd’s statement (MAG141)…

- Alrighty, elephant in the room with this episode: ~*timeline problems*~!

This is the information we had so far regarding the chronology of events surrounding Hill Top Road, Agnes, and the Archives/Institute drama during Gertrude’s tenure:

* Since 1957: Raymond Fielding inherited a house on Hill Top Road, where he raised teenagers for spider egg sacks material. (MAG008)

* In the mid-60s, in the middle of a winter: Agnes was send to Raymond Fielding’s house by The Lightless Flame. (MAG059, MAG139)

[* For the estimated date above: Ronald Sinclair was born in the late 40s and saw Agnes’s arrival before he turned 18; he lived for three years with Raymond Fielding, just managed to escape after Agnes broke the threads binding/puppeteering him. He gave his statement on November 29th 2005. (MAG059)]

* 4th of June 1972: Fiona Law took Nathaniel Thorp’s statement, and Elias “was a filing clerk at the time” – possible slip-up of Jonah who had trouble recalling which body/identity he was using at the time. (MAG029)

* 1973: James Wright becomes Head of the Institute. (MAG049)

* In 1974, a five-year-old named Henry White goes missing near Hill Top Road, is not found; the house burns down shortly after, and Raymond Fielding’s corpse is found, missing its right hand. (MAG008)

* Shortly after (since Gertrude was around 25 years old): Gertrude found “a tin box in the ashes of Hill Top Road” containing strands of Agnes’s hair and, thinking she was working on a counter-ritual, was manipulated by The Web into binding her existence with Agnes’s. (MAG145)

* 1991: Elias Bouchard began to work at the Institute, in Artefact Storage. (MAG049)

* 1991–1996: Eric managed to quit the Archives, before getting killed by Mary Keay a few months afterwards. He had crossed paths with Elias before he became Head of the Institute, and remembered Emma and Michael fondly; Gertrude was already suspecting (and had shared that information with at least Eric) that James Wright was spying on them through eyes. (MAG154)

* 1996: Elias Bouchard became Head of the Institute / Jonah Magnus body-hopped from James Wright to Elias Bouchard. (MAG049, MAG154, MAG158)

* 1999: Statements were leaked to the public, deteriorating the Institute’s reputation. (MAG068)

* 2003: Fiona Law died “from complications following a liver transplant” according to Jon’s follow-up. (MAG029)

* August 2003 and some time after: Paul McKenzie left his statement on August 24th 2003, and Sarah Carpenter was sent to investigate, took pictures of his house. (MAG027)

* Autumn 2006: Jack Barnabas went on a few dates with Agnes Montague, as described in a statement left on March 18th 2007. (MAG067)

* Mid-November 2006: Ivo Lensik reported the strange occurrences happening in a house on Hill Top Road, crossing paths with Father Edwin Burroughs. He left his statement on March 13th 2007. (MAG008)

* 23rd of November 2006: Agnes Montague and Jack Barnabas went on a final date; on an impulse, Ivo Lensik hit Hill Top Road’s tree, which started bleeding, and then proceeded to “destroy” it. He found a wooden box containing a green apple, which turned into spiders; Agnes made a phonecall about a “tree falling” and gathered members of the Lightless Flame in her flat in Sheffield, one of them bringing a container full of tiny spiders; Agnes told Jack goodbye, kissed him at his request, and was later found hanged in her flat, with a human hand tied by a chain to her waist. (MAG008, MAG067)

* 30th of November 2006: Eugene Vanderstock was sent on Arthur Nolan’s behalf to tell Gertrude about Agnes’s death. (MAG139)

* 2nd of September 2007: during one of Gertrude’s recordings, her assistant Michael is heard on tape. (MAG099)

* 3rd of July 2008: Mary Keay visited Gertrude in the Archives, left Eric’s page with Gertrude. (MAG062)

* 21st of July 2008: Gertrude invoked Eric’s page and had a conversation with him. Eric mentioned that Emma and Michael were “nice” to him when he was working in the Archives. (MAG154)

* June 2008: Gertrude fed the Vast-touched Jan Kilbride to the pit, stopping The Buried’s ritual. (MAG097, MAG126)

* October 2008: Gertrude, with Adelard’s help, stopped The Flesh’s ritual. (MAG130)

* 2nd of February 2009: Arthur Nolan was ~invited~ by Gertrude for a talk, and they discussed amongst other things Agnes’s death, Eugene’s report of it two years earlier, Gertrude’s protective ritual having been disrupted and things having gone badly for the trespasser. Gertrude told Arthur that she had never met Agnes. (MAG145)

* “in the middle of February” [2009]: Jason North discovered and disrupted Gertrude’s ritual hidden in a forest in Scotland, was cursed by The Desolation, left his statement on August 6th 2009. (MAG037)

* Early October 2009: Deborah Madaki reported having received an invitation to assist The-Worker-In-Clay in Sannikov Land. She left her statement on October 11th 2009 and said she had received the letter a week earlier. (MAG126)

* ??? in-between: Gertrude took Michael to Sannikov Land and used him to disrupt The Spiral’s ritual, making him fuse with The Distortion. (MAG101)

* By 2011: Gertrude had lost all her assistants – Leitner mentioned in February 2017 that he had met Gertrude “about six years ago, after she’d lost the last of her own assistants”. (MAG080)

* 14th of August 2013: Adelard Dekker sent a last message to Gertrude, informing her of his incoming death. (MAG157)

* Around 2013: Gertrude and Gerry began to work together, for two years until Gerry’s death. (MAG111)

-> Michael replaced Fiona. Since Eric had left before Elias became Head of the Institute and worked with Michael, it means that Fiona was imprisoned by the Coffin before 1996 – although she was reported dead in 2003 from complication following a liver transplant (MAG029).

Proposition: anyway she was a prisoner in the Coffin, so there was no body found, and the operation-thing was just a cover-up. Back then, seven years were necessary before a missing person was presumed dead; so she could have disappeared anytime, and the Institute/Elias finally decided on a cover-up years later, when it was safer, to clean the records. (+ given how Jon asked Elias directly in MAG029, it’s possible that Jon got the information about Fiona’s “death” from him, and he could have falsified/provided whatever).

-> … really really more bothering: the idea that Agnes and Gertrude met after Gertrude had fed Michael to The Spiral. Considering that the day of Agnes’s death was reported multiple times as being the 23rd of November 2006; that Michael-as-an-assistant was recorded in September 2007; that the Great Twisting happened after October 2009. So, when Agnes had been dead for three years.

Jonny’s allusions to it doesn’t feel like it was intentional, but rather that it was a genuine mistake, which ;; (What is the fun in trying to unravel some mysteries if some information is accidentally contradictory, aarrrrg…). If it were to be intentional, I would suggest that Agnes… actually managed to free herself from The Desolation by self-sacrificing for them (in the same way that Eric quit the Archives by blinding himself), and hid from them afterwards? Or that she was a fire ghost, or that Gertrude met with her at Hill Top Road, where we know from Ivo Lensik and Anya Vilette that time is weird (Anya experiencing time differently, Ivo meeting with a young Ray Fielding and catching a glimpse of Agnes as a kid)?

If the Great Twisting indeed happened circa late 2009-2011, and Gertrude met Agnes “in some manner or shape” afterwards, it would mean that her declaration to Arthur in February 2009 wasn’t a lie:

(MAG145) GERTRUDE: Well, for all The Web bound us together, I never actually met her. What was she like?

Since she would only meet Agnes after making that statement.

- SOBBING a lot about the concept of Gertrude and Agnes meeting, since:

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “The rage she felt was ice-cold. And so, Gertrude went to the one person she was certain she could trust on the matter. Agnes Montague and Gertrude Robinson only ever met once in their lives. Even if The Lightless Flame had allowed it, what would there have been to say? The bond between them, real as it was, was no one’s choice but The Web’s, and neither of them were keen to play its game any further than they had to. Their discussion was brief, and tinged with a melancholy, an awareness of mistakes, of their choices and duties and destinies. Neither of them smiled. But Agnes did confirm what Gertrude knew, and the details of Sarah’s suffering only sharpened that deep and wounded hatred.”

It’s so powerful and beautiful and sad? My shiiiiip…

- Speaking of fire ghosts: could the one mentioned in MAG100 actually be Emma…? (Since it didn’t match with the location of Agnes’s flat.)

- I really liked how this statement humanised Gertrude: season 2 had shown her more in control than Jon previously thought, aware of what was happening around her; season 3 cemented that she knew how to navigate and survive around the Fears, cruelly efficient (feeding Michael to The Spiral and then able to protect herself from him, being work-orientated in Gerry’s eyes…); season 4 had shown her in control, but also needing to think and discover things (learning that The Slaughter didn’t need to be one of her concerns in MAG137) and not immune to getting manipulated (The Web binding her to Agnes in MAG145). I like how this episode really conveyed that Gertrude… hadn’t grown out of thin air; that, yes, she impressively managed to survive for so long in that world (around fifty years!), but that what we heard from her… was mostly her last twenty years of life. She used to be young! To operate slightly differently! She made mistakes, and hardened herself, and even though she traded sentimentality for a form of “efficiency”, it wasn’t perfect, she made her choices and they had consequences:

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: “Alongside this inherited survivor, Gertrude would add two more assistants: Eric Delano, and Emma Harvey. They were young, like her, keen to delve deeper into those strange secrets that back then were spoken of more openly. To them, Fiona seemed something of a joke; a middle-aged chatterbox who told stories of the Blitz and jumped at the long shadows in the corners of the Archives. Emma in particular was Gertrude’s confidante, the one whose knowledge and instincts she trusted, and the only other member of the Institute who ever knew of the strange bond between Gertrude and Agnes Montague. […] This time, Gertrude did have an inkling as to what was happening, but had her own escalating conflicts to concern herself with, and recognised the potential in a truly ignorant assistant. […] By this point, Gertrude was fully lost to her plots and plans and struggles, and as long as her assistants played their parts when asked, she paid them no more mind. […] And all through it, Gertrude could not see what was happening. And certainly the Spider smoothed things, elided questions, wiped away evidence, but it barely had to. Far better to feed Gertrude a steady string of plans to foil, and rituals to derail. […] And with that, Gertrude Robinson was without assistants. She never hired another. She worked with those that seemed useful until they were no longer so: Leitner; Dekker; Keay; even Salesa on occasion. But she never again allowed herself to trust.”

True, Gertrude worked as an Archivist wayyy longer that Jon; he probably would have worked differently over time too, experienced more losses, changed his mind about a few things over decades. But it’s interesting that Jon’s trajectory, right now, has been the reverse of Gertrude’s; where she decided to stop trusting, he…

(MAG117) ARCHIVIST: Still, it does sometimes make it hard to… fully trust them, I– [SIGH] You– you know what, no. I’m… I’m done with that. No more paranoia. It’s almost got me killed more than once, and… Georgie was right. If I am… slipping, then I need people I can trust. And I… I don’t think that can happen naturally for me an–anymore, so… I’m making a decision. I trust them. All of them.

(It wasn’t pitch-perfect trust: he dissimulated that he had been attacking people from Daisy&Basira&Melanie in season 4. He trusted Martin but ultimately decided that the news of Adelard being dead and acknowledging that he might have been wrong about The Extinction was a deal-breaker and that he needed to help/save Martin from Peter’s plans. But he also decided to save them at all costs: rescuing Daisy in the Coffin, sharing the information about how to cut oneself from the Archives to Basira and Melanie, allowing Melanie to escape, and saving Martin in The Lonely.)

- Aaaaand the answer to whether or not Martin was going to immediately tell Jon about Annabelle’s call seems to be… no. Since Jon used his powers to find out about it.

(MAG167) [CLICK–] [FOOTSTEPS] [STATIC RISES] ARCHIVIST: Help us with what? MARTIN: ‘xcuse me? ARCHIVIST: Annabelle, help us with “what”? Our–our, our journey, killing Elias, vanishing the Entities – what? [FOOTSTEPS STOP] MARTIN: Please don’t do that. ARCHIVIST: Do what…? Oh! Oh. Right, I, I see, yes. [STATIC FADES] Well, I– … [FOOTSTEPS RESUME] Sorry.

But it was apparently still on Martin’s mind, so… even if she had told him things he already knew, it had been enough to make him insecure/ill-at-ease. And to not share with Jon. (Because he feared that Jon would panic over The Web and what Annabelle was doing, trying to second-guess and getting lost in interrogations? Confirmed by the way Jon erupted into questions as soon as he Knew about the exchange.)

- The fact Jon did another breach of privacy, while confirming that he had more control, felt very well-handled to me?

(MAG167) MARTIN: It doesn’t… feel great, having someone looking inside your head…! ARCHIVIST: You can… feel it? MARTIN: No, but that’s hardly the point– ARCHIVIST: Oh! MARTIN: –Jon… ARCHIVIST: No, I see. Sorry, hum… Alright…< MARTIN: I mean, I don’t want to keep secrets from you, but– ARCHIVIST: You should at least… be able to. MARTIN: Basically, yeah…! ARCHIVIST: I–I suppose that’s fair. […] MARTIN: You said you could control it now. ARCHIVIST: I can, I–I just… It… [INHALE] You’re absolutely right. I will refrain from knowing anything about you. MARTIN: Thank you. ARCHIVIST: Unless you’re in danger. MARTIN: Physical danger. If I’m in danger of being mad at you or something– ARCHIVIST: I… [SIGH] MARTIN: –you’ve got to figure it out the old-fashioned way. ARCHIVIST: Fine, agreed.

* “It doesn’t feel great having someone looking inside your head” => HI. REMINDER OF WHAT ELIAS DID TO HIM IN MAG118. It’s trigger-potential territory for him, so Martin honestly took it kind of well, considering his own experiences?

* Mmmm, setting up a situation where Martin will be in physical danger and Jon would have to use his powers to try to reach him again…?

* ! Jon messed up on his first instinctive preoccupation (whether his powers were hurting Martin and/or whether the subject could feel something when he did), but he quickly understood the nature of the problem – that Martin should have the freedom to choose to keep things for himself, that there is an imbalance, and that, plainly, it’s making Martin uncomfortable so, if Jon values Martin’s comfort, he should stop. I like how it felt like both of them worked on finding a consensus? Overall, I really liked how Martin managed to express his discomforts and when Jon’s powers were bothering/frightening him; he didn’t shame Jon for it, but didn’t fall in the trap of bottling up his feelings either. At the core of it, he still has the fear of losing Jon – so, it’s good that he was able to convey his discomfort.

(I feel like next step should be about Jon’s own discomfort about using Beholding powers to murder monsters, but I feel like they might be laying groundwork for this and for Martin to acknowledge that Jon… is still ill-at-ease with it and about his situation, and that clinging to his discomfort has also prevented him from going full-monster until now. We’ll see!)

- There is a discrepancy about Martin’s description of Annabelle’s call, and the call itself, and I’m not sure what to think about it:

(MAG166) MARTIN: Hello? ANNABELLE: Hello? Is that Martin? MARTIN: Don’t do that. ANNABELLE: What? No stomach for games? MARTIN: Well, your “games” aren’t exactly fun for everyone, are they? ANNABELLE: Very few games are…! MARTIN: [SIGH] Look, look, look, I’m talking to Annabelle Cane, right? ANNABELLE: You never gave me your name – so why should I offer mine? MARTIN: Just, what do you want? ANNABELLE: I want to help you, of course. [SILENCE] MARTIN: … No. Thank you. ANNABELLE: It’s a hard place to find yourself in, maybe I can be of some… assistance…! MARTIN: You can assist me by giving the… “creepy phone” thing a rest…! ANNABELLE: He is more powerful here than he’s ever been, isn’t he? [PAUSE] And you’re not sure what that means for you. MARTIN: [INHALE] I’m hanging up now. ANNABELLE: Does he even need you at all? MARTIN: Bye! [BEEP]

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] … So. What did Annabelle say? MARTIN: She offered to help, but she didn’t say what with; she… asked us where we were going. I didn’t tell her, but… [SNORT] it was pretty obvious she had a good idea. ARCHIVIST: Did you… feel like she was… influencing your mind at all? MARTIN: I don’t think so, but I mean… who knows? ARCHIVIST: I could. MARTIN: But look. She didn’t control me into asking you not to look into my head, if that’s what you’re thinking. That’s all me. ARCHIVIST: Martin, I’m not… looking for a l–loophole. MARTIN: Well, good! ‘cause this isn’t one.

Jon had already uncovered the bit about Annabelle offering her “help”; but after that… on the one hand, Annabelle didn’t ask about their destination at all (contrary to what Martin said); and on the other hand, she needled Martin about Jon’s powers and whether or not Jon needed him (which Martin didn’t mention at all).

It could be faulty memory – that Martin got the impression she was probing about their destination, and that it became part of the exchange for him. It could be to test whether Jon was still using his powers (he wasn’t, we didn’t hear static, but Martin couldn’t have known). It could be a deliberate lie.

Personally, I would lean towards the interpretation that Martin was indeed checking whether Jon was still using his powers (it’s not a damaging lie: Annabelle knew when and where to contact him, so they’re quite clearly monitored already and Annabelle probably does know where they’re heading to and why); and didn’t mention the other part of his exchange with Annabelle because… he managed to get his answers in his own ways, without having to “involve” The Web in his discussion with Jon. If Martin had mentioned that Annabelle had asked him whether Jon needed him, would Jon have answered this easily that Martin was his reason? Or would Jon have panicked, thinking The Web might be manipulating him into saying it?

- Anyway, I feel like this episode might have been exactly what Annabelle was trying to instigate last time, which is… to get Jon&Martin to talk about their feelings, and for Martin to get a reassurance from Jon that he wasn’t managing to ask for, and that Jon had trouble wording without being pushed by the context.

(MAG167) MARTIN: [INHALE] [SNORT] Ssso. If you say Gertrude wouldn’t have been able to go on without a reason… ARCHIVIST: Yes, Martin, you are my reason. MARTIN: Just wanted to make you say it…! ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] MARTIN: Cool.

Not sure that it was what Annabelle was aiming for, but it’s a possibility: that she needed Martin to be reassured before they would reach The Lonely’s domain or something, because she wants them to get through.

(I loved Jon’s tone! I pictured him rolling his eyes because there was no way to say it without sounding too sappy to his own ears =D)

- Jon The Theatre Kid confirmed.

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: … Methinks the Spider doth protest too much…! [BAG JOSTLING] MARTIN: Jon. ARCHIVIST: Joking! Just joking.

(Fun fact: in the play, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks” is pronounced… by Queen Gertrude. Jon, please.)

(It’s a joke, and a bit of truth and self-derision at the same time: how The Web… made Jon second-guess everything. When The Web tells you to go into X direction, is it reverse-psychology? Reverse-reverse psychology? So Martin denying being under influence could just be the proof of influence, or genuine. No way to know! But Jon has made the choice to trust him.)

- I felt like Martin was still… touched-by-Beholding in this one, mainly because of his probing, but also learning to keep his own curiosity/questions in check to not fall into the Fears’ influence?

(MAG167) MARTIN: [DEEP INHALE] Why did it have to be us? ARCHIVIST: You’d rather be a bystander? Trapped in… one of those places? MARTIN: I don’t know. “No”…? I just… [INHALE] I bet Gertrude would be able to do this, you know? She, she would eat a hellscape like this for breakfast…! [SILENCE] ARCHIVIST: I… don’t think she would have done very well here… MARTIN: No? ARCHIVIST: No… MARTIN: Do you… know that…? [STATIC RISES] ARCHIVIST: [DEEP INHALE] “To say that Gertrude Robinson never had a friend would not be true. […]” MARTIN: Well, let’s… try to avoid that next time…! ARCHIVIST: … Yes. Quite. MARTIN: [EXHALE] So, what? Without assistants, she’d be bad at the apocalypse? [RUSTLING OF CLOTHES] ARCHIVIST: Wi–without… trust, without a, a reason… Gertrude needed both the purpose her mission gave her, and the control her position allowed. To be here, like us, without a, [INHALE] a reason, without someone to ground her, she… She’d have power but… no control. No real… purpose. Perhaps she’d dedicate herself to a, a doomed quest like us, but– … [QUIET] No… I think this would have broken her. And she’d have resigned herself to… ruling her domain. MARTIN: What domain? [RUSTLING OF CLOTHES] ARCHIVIST: We all have a domain here, Martin. The place that feeds us. MARTIN: Oh. [PAUSE] Where’s yours? ARCHIVIST: [MIRTHLESS CHUCKLE] I mean, we’re… traveling towards it. MARTIN: Oh! Right, obviously. [CHUCKLING] Duh. Hum… What about me? ARCHIVIST: … Would you… like me to… ? MARTIN: No, no. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know. ARCHIVIST: … Okay!

* I felt like there really was a progression from Martin, from asking and asking (and accidentally making Jon spill about Gertrude’s life) to… refraining himself and choosing that he would rather not know about things that are not impacting him right now.

* ;; So, Martin has a “domain”, “the place that feeds us”. I’m… not sure about what Jon meant by “us”: monsters and avatars? That would be acknowledging that Martin indeed is regarded as one after his involvement with The Lonely? Or is it about everyone, and the places are “feeding” people through their own fears? After all, they don’t need to drink or eat or sleep – what is sustaining them? Are the Fears “feeding” them in turn through the pain they cause to each other, following the “feed it or it will feed from you” that Jude had told Jon?

* If Martin has a domain… Where? Hill Top Road? The Panopticon?

(MAG158) PETER: It’s a significant site of power for The Beholding. From the tower in the centre of this room, you can see everything. MARTIN: But there’s nothing in the cells…! PETER: [CHUCKLING] I don’t mean the cells, Martin – I mean everything. […] I want to use the powers of this place to learn about The Extinction: what it’s doing, where it’s manifesting. Then we can stop it. MARTIN: And you need me for this? PETER: Correct! Without a connection to The Eye, any attempt to use it would likely end… very messily indeed! But thankfully, it just so happens that you hold such a connection. MARTIN: So that’s it… Both “lonely” and “watching”. PETER: You must admit you’re the perfect candidate. MARTIN: I suppose I am.

“Both Lonely and Watching”, so…

* I really loved how that episode made it clear that… right now, Gertrude wouldn’t have been able to do what Jon & Martin are doing. That Gertrude was good at some things, bad at others. That there are things that only Jon&Martin can do, that they don’t have to live in her shadow. It follows what Jon said at the end of MAG162, that Gertrude didn’t think there would be a way to reverse the apocalypse – but also that they’re not her, and will try to find one themselves.

(* I’M WORRIED, THOUGH, THAT JON SAID THEY WERE ON A “DOOMED QUEST”? NOT VERY OPTIMISTIC ARE WE ;;)

- Gertrude might have crumbled if she had been plunged into the apocalypse, and Jon&Martin aren’t since they have each other… So there was this part of relief, of removing one’s guilt a bit about not being “enough”, that we also found with what happened this episode:

(MAG163) MARTIN: Jon… ARCHIVIST: They sit here – [STATIC RISES] the image of everyone they hold dear locked in their mind, knowing they’ll never see them again. Waiting for the order; dreading the bullet or the drone or the barbed wire that will tear them to shreds and leave them nothing but a bloody– [STATIC REACHING A PEAK] MARTIN: J–Jon, enough! Enough! [STATIC FADES] … Please don’t tell me these things.

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: I… don’t think she would have done very well here… MARTIN: No? ARCHIVIST: No… MARTIN: Do you… know that…? [STATIC RISES] ARCHIVIST: [DEEP INHALE] “To say that Gertrude Robinson never had a friend would not be true. […] . But she never again allowed herself to trust.” [RUSTLING OF CLOTHES] [STATIC] ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] I, I–I’m sorry, I–I didn’t, hum… MARTIN: No! No, it’s, uh… I–it’s okay. [COUGH] I just… I couldn’t… not listen, or interrupt, or… ARCHIVIST: I–I–I promise I–I didn’t know I was going to do that…! MARTIN: I, I understand…!

Back in MAG163, Martin had managed to interrupt Jon, which was not the case this time around – probably because he didn’t recognise what was happening as a statement soon enough? But since Martin was “trapped” in the flow of the story… it’s also confirming something that wasn’t addressed, but could have been a cause of guilt on Martin’s side: the thought that perhaps, if he had been there in MAG160, he could have stopped Jon from reading Jonah’s letter. If this episode was any indication, no, he wouldn’t have been able to. His not being there didn’t change anything.

- Reaaaally curious because the way Martin described it reminds me of Jonathan Fanshawe in front of Albrecht:

(MAG127, Jonathan Fanshawe) “Again he ignored me. Instead, he took the seat opposite me, and started to tell me… a story. And then another. And another. A stream of… strange tales began to pour out of him, and I just sat there, transfixed, [STATIC] desperately wishing I had the strength of will to stand and leave, but all I could do… was listen. […] He told me so many terrible things. [STATIC FADES] And at the end of it all, the only thing I could think to ask him… was where he read them. […] [STATIC] ‘You do not understand,’ he said to me in German. ‘I do not read the books. They read me.’ [STATIC FADES]”

Was Albrecht Jonah’s first attempt at creating an Archivist…?

- I’m still wondering WHO is narrating in Jon’s statements this season… a few “you” and “I”:

(MAG167) ARCHIVIST: [DEEP INHALE] “To say that Gertrude Robinson never had a friend would not be true. She was close in her way to many people but, looking back, [STATIC FADES] I wonder if she ever realised just how strongly she herself reeked of The Lonely.”

Is it Jon-as-an-omniscient-entity-that-might-be-The-Archivist/Archives? Is it something else…?

- I feel like this episode also brought an interesting contrast to season 4 overall. On the one hand, we had Jon admitting that Martin was his “reason” (anchor?) to not crumble, to keep moving forwards as long as they’re together; that’s… a healthier approach than Jon being Martin’s “reason” in season 4:

(MAG158) MARTIN: I… When I first came to you, I thought I had lost everything. Jon was dead, my mother was dead, the job I had put everything into had trapped me into spreading evil, and I… I really didn’t care what happened to me. I told myself I was trying to protect the others, but honestly? We didn’t even like each other. Maybe I just thought joining up with you would be a good way to get killed. And then… [SHAKILY] Jon came back, and… and suddenly, I had a reason: I had to keep your attention on me. Make you feel in control, so you didn’t take it out on him. And if that meant drifting further away… so what? I’d already grieved for him, and if it meant now saving him, it was worth it!

… where Jon was Martin’s “reason” to push forwards into sacrificing more bits of himself. (A shift might have happened with Jon making Martin see him in MAG159, but I wonder if we’ll go back to Jon-as-Martin’s-reason too, and whether Martin has changed his opinion about it. In what aspect is Jon “Martin’s reason”, nowadays?)

The other contrast is about Jon’s self-destructiveness – I’ve seen a lot of discussion about it, but I didn’t really feel like the end of episode was tense, or horrible for Jon, or that Martin was being insensitive by twisting the knife in a wound?

(MAG167) MARTIN: Oh, ju–, uh, just, uh… Before we do. ARCHIVIST: Mm? MARTIN: A moment ago, when you were talking. ARCHIVIST: Right. MARTIN: The old Archivist, Angus. ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] MARTIN: You said Fiona was… “released”– ARCHIVIST: [EXHALE] MARTIN: –when he died. ARCHIVIST: … Yes. MARTIN: If you had died… ARCHIVIST: [FAINT EXHALE] MARTIN: … Would the others have been able to quit? ARCHIVIST: … Yes. [RUSTLING OF CLOTHES] I didn’t know. MARTIN: If you had… would you have told them? Would that have, have changed what happened? ARCHIVIST: … [SIGH] I don’t know, Martin. I… [PAUSE] I don’t know. [BAG JOSTLING] [FOOTSTEPS] [CLICK.]

… I actually felt like it was Progress regarding Jon, and how he valued his own life.

First of: there is a possibility that Jon didn’t want to answer Martin because he knew, was convinced, 100% sure that he would have killed himself to free the others, with or without telling them first. But I find it interesting to think that Jon answered genuinely, that no, he truly doesn’t know if he would have! That he’s slowly admitting to himself… that no, he doesn’t, and has never wanted to die, even when he was ready to take risks, harm himself, endanger his life:

(MAG159) ARCHIVIST: Listen – I know you think you want to be here, I know you think it’s safer and w– … well, maybe it is… But we need you. I need you. MARTIN: [DISTANT, VOICE ECHOING] No, you don’t. Not really…! Everyone’s alone, but we all survive. ARCHIVIST: I don’t just want to survive! MARTIN: [DISTANT, VOICE ECHOING] I’m sorry. ARCHIVIST: Martin… Martin, look at me. Look at me, and tell me what you see.

I still feel like Jon has always clung to the hope that he could make it out somehow, and the end of season 4 had him… acknowledge that he didn’t just want to “survive” – that is, he wants to “live”. He wants some quality of life. He wants something out of living.

But more importantly: season 5 began with a string of interrogations of hypothetic scenarii. What would have happened, if Sasha had been chosen as the Archivist? What would have happened, if they had listened to Gertrude’s testament at the beginning? Here, Jon was able to tell that one of the “what if” scenarii (Gertrude being thrown into the apocalypse) wouldn’t have been better; so him also admitting that he didn’t know whether he would have told the others… might be saying that no. He can’t know. It didn’t happen, since he didn’t know. And if he had known, maybe it wouldn’t have changed a thing; maybe it would have made things worse, too. I feel like it’s more optimistic than “I regret that I didn’t know, because then, I would have done it in a heartbeat”? So, I don’t know, but I felt like Martin’s probing was a way to try to get Jon to acknowledge that… maybe Jon telling the others would have changed things, maybe it wouldn��t have; but mostly, things wouldn’t have been necessarily better if Jon had chosen to sacrifice himself.

(I’m not convinced that Jon would have done it, and I’m not convinced that the others would have tried to kill him (even Tim!), and I’m not convinced that it would have made things better for everyone – by the time there were tensions, Tim probably wouldn’t have wanted to feel like a murderer when he had just been accused of being one, and would still want a shot at revenge for his brother; Melanie was already curious about the ghosts and was already infected by The Slaughter when enrolled; Martin didn’t have many other options for a job and wouldn’t have had a reason to not fall into The Lonely with Peter’s guidance; Daisy would have still been under The Hunt’s influence, and Basira involved with her.)

MAG168’s title is MMM again. I really love how last titles make a lot of sense in retrospect but were so hard when trying to guess! It feels like a lore-heavy one, but probably not twice in a row? But if it’s the case, it could relate to the Institute, to Jon, to Jonah, to Martin.

Fears-wise: could be The End (it has… a connection); I’m obviously thinking about Hill Top Road/Albrecht’s end again, so could be Web-y…

#the magnus archives #tma season 5 #mag167 #tma liveblog #long post/#tma spoilers/

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onewaigu · 4 years

Text

Books

Genre : strangers!au

Theme : mild fluff

Pairing : Kanghyun(Onewe) X Reader

Description : The Little Prince was a popular newly-released book and you can't seem to get your hands on it.

“They're literally just words, Y/N”

Sadly, it's a recurring theme. Being told that books were just words. Nothing more. Nothing special. To which you would always shrug your shoulders dismissively or force a smile on your face.

You loved your friends. You really did but you just wished they'd open their hearts to reading books more. Unlike them, books meant a whole lot to you.

Books were apart of your memories with your dad when you were little. Every night before bed, he would read a book to you. Different books for different nights. And he never missed a single day. Even when he'd come home late.

The day you lost your dad in a car accident was the day you found solace in books. They reminded you of the happiest moments in your life when you had your dad beside you. Since his passing, your love for books only grew stronger. Whenever people saw you, you're sure to have your nose buried in a book.

Recently, you overheard some people in your Literature class talking about this new book that'd just been published— The Little Prince. Being the bookworm that you were, you naturally wanted to get your hands on the book.

Instead of buying books, you had to borrow them from the library because your dorm didn't have enough space. Besides, borrowing books saved you a ton of money and as a typical college student, that was the best option.

You planned on dropping by the library on one of the weekends when you weren't drowning in homework and presentations. You had checked online for the book and it turned out there was only one copy left available. Looking at the computer screen, you tapped your fingers nervously on the table. Hopefully, you would get there in time before anyone else did.

The weekends finally came and you were excited.

You checked your computer once again and thankfully, the book was still available. Breathing out a sigh of relief, you got yourself dressed in a simple black tee and jeans. You decided to skip breakfast entirely and headed out to catch the bus. The library was a bit far from your dorm so after alighting from the bus, you had to take a short trip on the subway.

After all that travelling, you arrived at the library. The place itself was like something out of Harry Potter. It wasn't the typical modern library. The bookshelves were all made of wood and the decor in the library had that sophisticated feel to them. You were always amazed whenever you visited the library. It was your happy place after all.

Once you were inside, you immediately disappeared into the shadows of the large bookshelves, searching for The Little Prince. What you thought would take a few minutes, turned out longer than expected. It wasn't because you couldn't find the section where the book was supposed to be. No, you found the exact spot. It's just that there was no book there.

Your dramatic self spent around thirty minutes staring blankly at the empty spot because you couldn't believe you were too late.

Beside you, someone cleared their throat. Snapping out of your sadness, you slowly turned your head to the person.

“Do you need help, Miss?”, a young librarian asked while giving you a weird look.

He looked at the empty spot on the bookshelf where your hand rested and something clicked in his mind.

“Ahh, were you trying to find The Little Prince?”, he placed the books he was carrying on one of the shelves and pointed his thumb behind him.

“Someone already checked it out a few minutes ago”, he gave you a kind smile.

Your eyebrows furrowed even deeper.

“Are there any other copies that I can borrow?”, you pleaded with the boy.

“I'm sorry Miss, we only have that one left”, he shook his head apologetically.

With the way your head was lowered and shoulders were slouched, anyone could tell you were visibly heartbroken. The young librarian stood awkwardly in front of you, without knowing what to do to comfort you.

After a few seconds of sulking, you crouched down to pick up your backpack and turned around to leave. That's when you heard the librarian calling out for you.

“Hey, Miss!”, he accidentally shouted out which caused him to cower his head as if to hide himself in case some other librarian heard him.

You raised an eyebrow at him.

“The book is due in three weeks' time”

Oh.

Your spirits lifted a bit.

Perfect. You just had to wait.

So for the whole three week's you waited patiently.

Sike.

Who were you kidding? You weren't patient at all.

Occasionally during the weekdays of those three weeks, you would randomly drop by to see if the book had been returned yet. Unfortunately, every visit turned out to be a failure. The only highlight was that the young librarian from the other day was the one who helped check the book out. Meaning, he had a glimpse of who borrowed the book.

Male. Blond hair. Lean build. Looked about your age but slightly taller.

This could be anyone but it was at least something to help you spot him.

When the three-week mark came, you were crossing your fingers. He might be there or he might not be. You just had to go and see for yourself.

Taking the same usual route to the library, you arrived in no time. Without even bothering to check the shelves again, you went straight to the librarian's desk upfront to ask if the book had been returned. Only when you got closer did you realise that there was already someone at the desk.

And that someone turned out to be a blond-haired male with a lean build and looked about your age but slightly taller than you.

He's the one. Tsk, slow reader.

You walked your way towards his side quietly. Unfortunately, he was too focused on whatever he was telling the young librarian that he didn't even notice your presence. But you, on the other hand, could hear their conversation clearly.

“Are you sure it's not possible to extend it?”, Blondie pleaded.

“No Sir, you can only borrow it for three weeks max”, the librarian calmly explained.

“But I really need more time with it”, he said with a slight pout.

“Not possible, Sir..rules are rules”

With that, Blondie heaved a sigh, “It's okay then..”

As he slowly walked away from the desk, you shifted yourself so that you were in front of the librarian.

“Oh hey Miss, you're back..again”, he chuckled.

“Well, you're in luck because..tada! The book's here”, he lifted The Little Prince off the desk and waved it around lightly.

“Hahaha thanks, could you help check it out for me real quick? I gotta be somewhere soon”, you scratched your head sheepishly.

“Sure, no problem”, he did what you asked while you stood there waiting.

“Your name, Miss?”, he looked up from the book with his pen hovering over the name card that was in it.

“Y/N”, you said while turning slightly to look behind you. He was still there.

“All right, there you go Miss..remember, it's due in three weeks' time”, he gave you a knowing smile.

Turning your attention back to the librarian, you gave him a polite smile and thanked him for the book before grabbing it off the desk and heading somewhere else.

While you were walking, you flipped open the book to look at the name card.

Hyungu. So that was his name.

You stopped walking once you saw his blond mop of hair. Tapping gently on his shoulder, you finally got to see his face clearly as he lifted his head up. A sense of familiarity hit you. You knew him from somewhere but you weren't so sure-

“Hyungu?”

“-uhh yeah, that's me?”, he gave you a surprised look.

He's probably confused as to why you were there.

“Um..I overheard that you needed the book for a little more time”, you stretched out your hands that was holding the book to him.

“I was actually waiting for the book since a few weeks' ago but thinking back now, I'm really not in any rush compared to you..w-which I assume you are in..a r-rush I mean”, you stumbled over your words as you stood awkwardly in front of him, trying to explain why you were giving the book to him.

He was surprised, to say the least. His cheeks reddened and he looked beyond flustered.

“Oh..um it's fine really”, he gingerly refused and pushed the book back to you.

But you insisted. And he gave in.

His hands held onto the book like it was precious and his eyes softened as they looked at you gratefully.

“I don't know how to repay yo- actually, let me buy you a coffee”, he offered kindly.

You felt like you were being asked out by someone but you shook away your ridiculous thought. Blondie just wanted to offer his thanks and here you were, daydreaming. Tsk.

Well, he was kinda cute..not gonna lie.

“I don't drink coffee-”

“-tea?”, he said a little too enthusiastically that made his eyes widened. His fingers fiddled with the loose strands of his purple sweater.

You pursed your lips trying to suppress your laughter before nodding your head.

“Yeah, tea sounds nice”

[a/n]

this might probably be the last time i write hyungu as a blond-haired boywhkabskwbdkw

LIKE CMON KANG HYUNGU MY HEART WASN'T READY TO BE ATTACKED BY YOUR GRAY HAIR

I HATE HIM

sobs

oh yeah why did hyungu look familiar? that's probably cause y/n had seen him on tv a few times when he was in mas0094 or something~

stan onewe, oneus, weus everyone

#onewe #oneweoneshot #onewefic #onewekanghyun #kanghyun #kanghyungu #onewekanghyungu #kanghyunfluff #kanghyunfic

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boglog · 5 years

Text

HoC Onion !

[TW mention of sexual abuse/violence]

I’m foregoing the pros/cons format here but generally-speaking my negative points are still gathered at the top w the highlights near the end.

Obviously, between letting a sex offender have a platform in mass media and potholes, I’d choose the latter. My below crits absolutely are not a demand for Spacey to be brought back and he can die in a fire for all i care. I just wish his character’s absence was not the nº1 reason for this season not making any sense

as far as i can gather, this season’s primary arc is as much about Frank’s death (in lieu of Doug’s) as it is Claire’s emotional and political divorce from Frank while she undergoes your traditional postbreakup analysis of who she was pre Frank and post Frank and were Frank actually there this idea might have legs

...but instead we have Doug ://

the level of intensity that the plot demands cannot be carried by forcing Doug into being a deeper character than he was intended, all the way until the end, he truly just reads as either a pitiful sadist or a henchman. It’s disharmonious and dangerously close to bad.

Frances Underwood makes more sense if Frank dies in episode 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She’s literally going to be his reincarnation!!!!!!!

literally...who cares if Doug gets stabbed by Frank’s letter opener? whomst?

Doug can’t be Frank’s proxy, but sans a certain pedoph*le, the plot will just have to suffer.

Other side effects of Doug’s undeserved promotion include but are not limited to:

forcing Doug to share the role of antagonist with the Shepards, yet another New Villain © that feels totally unnecessary and confusing (the Conways at least got two seasons)

Frank’s diary feels forced and out of character for someone decidedly so unsentimental

How does Claire have a bun in the oven when she clearly didnt sleep with Frank for all of season 5 and locked herself in her room while he was being assassinated? How is a Dramatic paternity test not going to be insisted upon in the show’s universe?

fixation on Frank’s will as a McGuffin is really... I don't know boring considering no one cares for the guy? What property of his does claire stand to lose? I’m sure the rich people fandom can speculate but i honestly needed this manifested in the show via some examples instead of the grand abstraction that is The Will bc losing Frank’s assets would set Claire back but it would not directly threaten her presidency. Not to mention that i’m not entirely sure Frank’d have Doug of all people as his sole heir if it didn't serve as revenge against Claire, which just lowers Doug’s importantance even more

Frank never cared for Doug, a largely unlikeable character, which we already knew from the beginning, so Doug’s entire arc is pathetic at best as well as his tangential inclusion in the Cliare v Frank arc

My major problems with Doug’s character began as early as season 4.

Did not understand why they didn't actually have Doug switch sides by joining the Dunbar campaign in earnest in season 4. Like... it’s such an obvious opportunity to Thicken The Plot © that it’s reached this gif levels of dropping the ball:

P much everything about Doug’s character since then is just so.... lacking, while for the last few seasons they give him depth when he magically has empathy for one (1) woman before she dies (possibly as a direct result of his actions). This entire plot about him evaluating why he was so loyal to Frank could've been unpacked whilst he avoids Dunbar finding out about the murders he did commit. I’d rather him having agency than be a flat, troubled underling.

Aright I'm going to stop complaining about Doug. In season 3 and 4, his insecurity over being replaced and his sacrifices for Frank (and subsequent guilt) came close to giving us a real Moment with him as we delve more into how colourless his life outside of work really is. But beyond that, when his character started getting repetitive, there’s very little to compensate for his alternating acts of extreme narcissism/violence versus his childish confusion / self pity when he doesn’t get what he wants.

Anyways I'm basically at a point where I’d be okay if Frank’s long-lost cousin replaced Doug replacing Frank

I’m appreciating the writers’ distinct refrain from plot formats and that the seasons progressively move towards the Underwoods but what if just for circularity and added balance we return to having a full-on reporter B plot in s6? More emphasis on Janine and Tom’s sleuthing, culminating in Tom’s assassination and Janine publishing the tell-all expose against Frank---including a reference to Zoe---that becomes the magnum opus of her career (and Claire using that against Frank). I just think the season needed more balance that Doug, the Shepards and Tom were not offering

The Shepards and Tom, meanwhile, are decidedly banal. First of all, I had a hard time even telling Bill and Tom apart esp given that they were introduced one after the other. All white guys are the same.

Bill just kind of sits around until he has a platform to reference his favourite action movies doesn't he?

Moreover what does Tom do!? he doesn't want power, he doesnt seem to want anything. He’s just kind of there?

Unlike the Conways, the Shepards don’t have a clear goal and are not often in direct conflict with Claire the way Frank and Conway were. They want to control the presidency for money and Claire is always bouncing back from reliving her girlhood to political rivalry w Anette, yes, but what does that mean? What are the consequences? The logistics are so indirect and complicated, what precisely does Anette want? And why does anyone care? The Shepards are extremely boring.

Frank’s asides were purple and long af so I appreciate Claire’s succinct style not to mention her fantastic screen presence. I’m left to wonder, though, if maybe hers and every other aside in HoC is a little too on the nose. Like, they didn't hafta spell it out that the bird in the wall was a representation of Frank’s shadow trapping her, I think we got that

The artistic intercuts to Claire’s troubled childhood wherein a group of bullies coerce her into stripping naked through the forest, while visually stunning and clever for its self-explanatory nature, feel really passive. They don't visually show us any reason for her not to resist, the bullies even let her keep her clothes after cutting them off her so we’re left to wonder why she does nothing....

Claire was raised to be ~proper~ so her resistance (likely) comes in the form of biting, passive-aggressive poise which is hard to get across in a silent montage but it just feels.. weird

Frances Underwood is going to have a very sad childhood

nearly all the Claire flashbacks are cinematic masterpieces and as much i think Claire’s backstory deserves more attention, i also appreciate the minimalism and the choice humanising moments of her adolescence

listen I'm sure we all agree Robin Wright is peak acting but the actor for young Claire, who has the arguably harder task of copying Wright is fantastic

Of all the characters who crop up every season seemingly out of nowhere only to disappear once more once when the plot the Underwoods are done with them, Jane is one of my favourites and possibly one of the greyest characters alive. Smart, mysterious, worldly, a bit of a hippie despite her job, severe despite her sense of humour. Really loves her extremely pedestrian surname. We stan.

Secondary characters rarely get anything close to a backstory on this show, esp ones that were introduced so late. Still, her motivations seem more complicated then others (i.e. betraying Cathy, one of two people she cares about) and I wonder if they deserve a bit more of an explanation. Especially seeing as she has a relationship with every major character.

If anyone deserves a spin-off it might be Jane and her name-dropping career/social life

Cathy faking her own death with a terrible french accent? On stan !!!

Seth teasing Doug even while he’s completely undervalued by everyone around him is a power move

Impressed that they managed three characters named Tom, their distinctly different appearances and the fact that they're almost never in the same POV shots works to separate them.

Claire using the word “female” even facetiously is cringe

Whenever they use the cinema room, the movie they watch is always symbolic. Before the 2017 election, Frank and Claire imitate the characters in Double Indemnity, and this season a pregnant claire watches Rosemary’s Baby. Clever.

i liked the whitehouse tour guide’s inclusion and the cameo from _____ though this season was especially white without their usual token secondary character

So overall i liked season 6 as an exploration of Claire’s character even while it did v little justice to most of the other characters and unfortunately spacey’s absence did affect the storyline

and finally: that cinnamontography !

Not that the series should be pushed past its prime, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see Claire as a mother?

#hoc #house of cards #robin wright #claire underwood #hoc season 6 #house of cards season 6 #u #c #onion post

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jordanlucidimage · 3 years

Photo

Final Images

The final images in my series were purposely selected not only from my viewpoint but from discussions and reflections with my models. This was important to me as this wasn’t my journey. I was telling their stories so I needed to respect their choices and feelings about the final images.

Noah

This final image was selected as it captured his playfulness as well as his feeling of his pride to his Cook Island heritage. Noah is a joker but when there are things he is passionate about, he will commit 100% and these qualities are evident in this image. Noah’s personality was one where he had learnt to appear a certain way (be plastic). Because he was not full Cook Island, he never felt fully comfortable that he was accepted so had developed a joking persona to compensate. The lighting effect mirrors this as one side of him may appear jovial, but the other side is that part of him that feels as though he is pretending.

Willy

We selected this final image of Willy as it captured his happiness but shows a hint of sadness that he doesn’t like others to see. As Willy talked more, the less he looked at the camera so this captured image reflects that moment that we can see through the smiling face and catch a glimpse of what is inside. Again the lighting used capture how conflicted Willy can feel. Happy to the exterior and what people see but on the inside, he feels sadness. This would not have been possible if the lighting was even across his face. It was also highlighted by the fact he was more facing the light. The use of shadows again highlights the contrast between what people can see and what lies beneath.

Taiala

Taiala’s final image was chosen because it showed the journey of this photoshoot. The beginning stage where he appeared defeated and opened up straight away to the feeling of the weight off his shoulders and felt comfortable enough to remove his shirt. Tauala subtle change of where he turns slightly away from the light shows his intentional decision to accept his more vulnerable side. It also helped to have more shadowing on the opposite side of his face for an added dramatic effect.

Coedey

This final image was selected as again it was a mix between the tough guy exterior that Coedey portrayed and the softer look of when he started to open up to me. There is still that tough-guy exterior appearance and he is facing the light almost in a confrontational way with his face turned up to the light. The shadow provides the appearance that something is under the exterior and the eyes look softer with the light reflecting in them.

None of these final images would have been made possible without the relationship I developed with my models. Mutual respect and trust was formed and they felt comfortable enough in the end to show me their vulnerable sides and talk about things they had not spoken about before.

All images were shot at a close distance which ensures there are no distractions and that intimacy is present. It also makes the subjects face stand out as I wanted the face and in particular the facial expression stand out. I was able to do this as my models trusted me and by the time I was shooting these final images, they were not uncomfortable with me being too close to them.

For all these final images I used a very low f-stop number between f/1.8 - f/2.0 because having a lower f-stop has the ability to have a main feature in focus and the rest of the image out of focus. I had no background to blur out so the result of having this low f-stop means that part of the model is blurred. The reason I have done this is so that the main focus is on the facial expression. I feel the result draws the viewer straight to the eyes and the look on the viewers face subtly but intentionally none the less

My ISO was set at between 400-800 because I had less light. I did however have enough light which ensured I did not have to increase my ISO too high which would have resulted in my images having less quality and lead to the images being overexposed. If my ISO was too low (which meant my lighting was too low), it would have resulted in possible blurring. One way of combatting that is to use a tripod but this goes against the relationship between the photographer and the subject. You need to be able to get in close to your subject to get the sort of portraits I wanted which meant I needed to introduce my light source. It did not need to be a powerful studio light. I just needed it for ambiance and enough to cast the shadow which empasized the emotional and dramatic effect.

All my final images show the internal struggles my models have between showing everyone an almost fake side and what is really going on in their heads. It is an internal struggle and the only way I could capture this was firstly building a relationship with them so had had respect and trust and then using the correct camera conventions to capture these internal struggles. If the lighting was not so direct to the one side, then the emotion and the double sided feel (the contrast) would not have been present. If I had not shot so closely to my models (which I firstly had to build the trust for), then I would not have captured the deep facial expressions. If the background was light instead of dark, then the depth of these emotions would not have been present. If I had used a different lens, I would not have had the focus on the eyes and face that I needed to focus the viewer and draw them in to the facial expression. If my ISO was too high or low, the quality of my final shots would have been compromised. By having the f-stop at this low level, then I would have not had the ability to focus on the facial expressions. As for my shutter speed I had used around 1/400. In result, I had to make sure my light source was strong enough so I wouldn’t need to use a lower shutter speed number, as my models were not always completely still. If I had a darker light source I would have needed to use a lower shutter speed as camera would have needed more time for the light to hit the sensor to capture a clearer image.

Everything and every camera convention I used was a deliberate choice and my end result was to portray each of my models wish to show their true feelings and thoughts. Everything linked together and if one element had been different, I feel I would not have had the end result that I and more importantly my models were happy with. The research I completed regarding what camera conventions were best for the type of portraits I wanted, enabled me to do this but again, what also made it possible was the trust I built with my models which research also showed me the importance of.

I am most grateful for this assignment as before I felt I took good portraits but from what I learnt, in order to make really great portraits, you need to have a deeper understanding of the relationships between the photographer and the subjects and what camera conventions best give the desired final outcome. This has changed my direction with photography and has given me the depth I needed.

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itsmkjones · 7 years

Photo

Imagine: Hiking with Sam.

Sam x Reader

Content: Fluff & Smutty beginnings

Request @har-rystyles: Hiiii! Hope you're well, I absolutely adore your work! Your way with words is just beautiful. If it's alright, could I request a Sam/Reader fic? Loads of fluff, with a large helping of smut on the side; perhaps where the reader is interested in photography? A walk through the woods with Sam and her camera, or small intimate moments where the reader cant help but capture every detail of Sam that she adores- take it wherever you want! Thank you Xx

Salt mingled in the cool morning breeze, drifting through the forest carrying the scent of the sea from the west. The relaxing psithurism soothed and excited your mind drawing unending waves of energy despite the early hour. As the crisp air kissed your cheeks you grinned unrestrained at the path before you as if the babble of the creek to your right spoke amusing tales to the canopy of new green above. Lingering snow in the pockets of shadows patched the browns of tree bark with bright white allowing the infantile shoots of grass and flowers to appear in the richest of greens. You paused on the path leaning back ten degrees to view the scene through the lens of your camera. You twisted the focusing ring to compensate for the wide landscape and clicked.

“Did you get a good shot?” Sam’s voice; as soft as the spongy soil below your boots, warm like the dancing rays of sunlight drifting through the leaves, and as clear as the brook following the path, asked.

He stood in stealth like silence behind you, body heat mingling between his chest and your back, his breath whispering over your neck. You smiled happily. His company on this adventure of yours enticed joy to well in your chest often provoking the question, “is it a sin to be this happy?”. You tipped the camera to view the picture preview, letting Sam look over your shoulder.

“I think so.” You glanced at him, watching as he studied the picture with considerate attention. “What do you think?”

His lips parted in a fleeting grin. “It’s good, real good.”

Your eyes flickered over the features of his face in rapt interest. Sam Winchester was an ever changing work of art. Emotion and expression twisted, toyed, and colored every inch of his face, whether it was the way his lips twitched in different levels of amusement or disappointment, or the way his brows knitted and smoothed with sympathy or realization- in those fleeting moments the essence of art was born. Perhaps, it was his features, so alike the pallet of the forest you loved.

“What?” Sam chuckled softly as he noticed your staring. “Do I have something on my face or something?”

You shook your head softly, a whimsical smile gracing your lips. “Just thinking…”

“Yeah?” You caught sight of a dimple as he grinned, eyes averted.

“Yeah.”

He scratched his jaw line just under his ear before readjusting his backpack. “So, what else do you wanna take pictures of? We still have time before we get to the top.”

You shrugged, “Whatever interests me.”

You took your time fiddling with the settings on your camera, allowing Sam to step ahead. He stopped taking a moment to look up the length of a Redwood tree. The wind sighed against his hair, tendrils of light caressing the lines of his face. Your heart slammed against your chest, breath stolen. Your camera lifted to your eye automatically. You clicked quickly, afraid to lose the moment. The camera captured the full body shot of Sam at trail’s edge. You zoomed in, trying to steady the excitement vibrating through your hands. Your finger pulled the setting to take multiple shots, then pressed down on the shutter button. Rapid clicks sounded from the camera capturing the scene. You glanced at the result.

The session showed a crystal clear image of Sam’s face bathed in the elfin light. Gold rays highlighted the length of his eyelashes, flushing the brilliance of his eyes to the surface. The color recorded was devastatingly breath taking. As you studied it you couldn’t breath nor tear your focus away. It was like staring into the brook: pale shades of river stone grey touched by flawless cerulean skies formed the backdrop for flecks of liquid amber and touches of new leaf green. As you clicked through the pictures his dark lashes lowered causing the colors of his eyes to deepen richly with every millisecond. The last few pictures were of his eyes completely closed, face luxuriously serene with pale pink lips barely parted.

“You comin’?” Sam startled you from your revere. Your head snapped, mind blank and faltering. “Y/n?”

“Yeah!” You laughed awkwardly to cover your embarrassment. “I’m right behind you!”

You trailed behind him snapping shots of the way light played in the trees and bounced off the stream, yet you always seemed to find Sam, naturally candid and strikingly beautiful. You captured images of him holding up a leaf, dipping his hands in the water, looking into the forest, and many more of him simply existing amongst nature. With every snap, you were unknowingly sucked deeper into determination, vying to record every fraction of Sam with greedy unwavering intent. It wasn’t until you reached the crest of the hill, where the forest opened to a clearing that you realized that you had forgone taking any purely nature oriented pictures. As Sam unpacked his backpack for an early lunch you forced yourself to take a few superficial and thoughtless photos of the area.

“Alright,” Sam shrugged, hands falling to slap his thighs, “All good to go, I guess.”

You flipped off the camera, capping the lens. Sam offered an adorably unsure expression as he glanced from the threadbare blanket spread out below a Pine tree to you. You lips curled as the sight warmed your chest. The spread was by no means fancy, consisting of a couple of pre-wrapped subs and two different kinds of canned soda.

“Aw, how cute!” You gushed plopping down on the blanket.

“Really?” He peered out from under his brows with reserved doubt. “You think this is cute?”

You unlooped the camera strap from your neck, rolling your head to your shoulder as relief flooded the weighted muscle. You set the camera down carefully on the edge of the blanket, then stretched across the blanket to snatch a sandwich. You smiled up at Sam earnestly.

“Of course!” Your brows came together in teasing confusion, “You brought a picnic… How is that not cute?”

Sam lowered to the blanket slowly, tongue pressed behind his teeth as he searched for words. “I don’t know… it’s not like I brought a home cooked meal and a bottle of champagne or something…”

You quirked an eyebrow, “First of all, simple can be cute. Secondly… can you even cook? Also, I hate champagne,”

He laughed softly, “Alright, alright. I guess, I just thought you’d expect more, is all.”

A hesitant vulnerability with a hint of guilt colored his features. The tender expression pulled at your heart driving affection to feel your gaze.

“Maybe I’m just easy going,” You replied with a soft shrug, “but a meatball sub can buy my love.”

“Fair enough,” His dimples reappeared as he grabbed his sandwich.

You emitted an exaggerated moaned as you bit into the sub. “God, this is good. A+ sandwich, Winchester.”

“You can thank Dean.” Sam grinned at your dramatic reaction before taking his first bite. “This is good.”

“I know…” You continued, mouth full, “The bread is still crispy and warm, and the cheese…” you moaned appreciatively, “so much cheese… so gooey…”

“Want some privacy there?”

You pouted. It lost some of its sting accompanied with puffy cheeks. Sam just shook his head with a laugh. Despite starting first, Sam polished off his food and cracked open a soda before you reached the halfway point in your sub. He pointed to your camera.

“Can I take a look?”

You shrugged automatically. He reached across the blanket, shirt pulling up his side as he stretched for the camera. A flash of tan skin caught your eye, the curve of his hip bone held it. The sight made your mind wander and you averted your gaze lost in thought. Suddenly, your brain snapped to reality. You scrambled to grab your camera first only to find Sam already sitting upright again and switching the power on.

“Wait!” You dropped the remainder or the sub to the side, bringing your feet under your knees to lean forward. “Don’t look yet!”

Sam’s face twisted into bemused confusion. “Why? You let me look before…”

You wavered, “Er, yeah, but…”

“What? Don’t tell me this is self-doubting artist type thing…” He nodded to the screen where the last picture you took appeared. “See, this is really good!”

Heat seeped under your collar rising up your neck bringing a nervous sweat to bead. “S-sam… it’s not that…”

“Then what?” He tilted his head finding your eyes with soft concern. He continued with an exhale, “But if you’re uncomfortable, then I won’t look.”

A blush bloomed over the bridge of your nose and swept across your cheeks. You closed your eyes and let out a long breath through pursed lips.

“I’m embarrassed, okay?” You peeked out at him to see him steadfastly watching you with sincere invested interest. The confession tumbled from your lips, unable to hide from his warm eyes. “I took some pictures of you.”

His brows twitched up in surprise. His face brightened, lips pulling back into beguiled flattery. “Really?”

You groaned, rocking back on your heels hiding your face in your hands. “Yes, okay? So, please give it back!”

“No!” Laughter shimmered in his voice. He pulled away as you reached for the camera. “I want to see.”

Your mouth fell open. “You’re seriously not going to give it back? I thought you were the nice one!”

“What?” His brows knitted together good naturedly. He blocked you with his elbow, fending off your grabbing. “Who says I’m the nice one?”

You shot him an exasperated look. “Literally everyone.”

“Well, considering you took my picture without asking, I think it’s fair that I get to look at them without permission.”

Words died on your tongue leaving you to gape in response. His eyebrow lifted in pointed victory before his gaze dropped to the display. You snatched your sub up, taking a rebelliously petulant bite in response. As he flipped through your pictures you eyed his back wearily. Minutes ticked by after you finished your meal, leaving you with nothing to occupy your time, forcing you to wait in building anguished anticipation. You tapped the expanse of metal atop the soda can with a fingernail. The metallic ting cut through the ambient birdsong. You inhaled sharply, spine straightening, when Sam lowered the camera. His expression was unusually indiscernible as he handed the device over. You held your breath as his tongue wet his lip.

“Not your usual stuff, but I can tell it’s still good.” He commented evenly taking a long laid-back, distinctly and annoying nonplussed sip of his drink.

You frowned. Alleviation and discontent thoughts waged a mental battle. Before your emotion could find resolve, your tongue pushed forth your incredulity, “That’s it?”

Sam lowered his soda meeting your skepticism with measured query. “What do you mean?”

“N-nothing!” You set the camera down, careful to keep it safe.

You sighed. Disappointment drifted below your gut and dry, hot emotion squeezed your heart. You heard Sam shift, but managed to keep your pre-planned pace steady instead of glancing his way. Your eyes dragged along the line of navy blanket. An excuse of natural optical movement repeated itself in your mind, but it was all too obvious you were avoiding Sam’s eyes. With a deep breath you lifted your gaze. A yelp caught in your throat, body jumping as you found Sam’s face inches away from yours. The corner of his lips twitched with a ghost of amusement, as if your surprise pleased a hidden patch of sadism. You scowled playfully. The glare vanished when his smile deepened allowing dimples to pinch his cheeks.

“So, why were you taking pictures of me?” Those fascinating eyes kept you pin to the spot. Your gaze darted between them, studying the color. They appeared slightly different in the shade of the tree and so close. Copper hues bloomed from the iris, shading between tones of brown and gold, behind lay the clearest of blues- the type of blue that could only be found in the the purest of flawless skies and virgin pools of water- jade bridged the amber to azul. A burning in your lungs alerted to reality. You exhaled a shuddering breath that caused the tips of his hair to flutter. Sam smirked.

“You’ve got pretty eyes!” You snapped defensively.

His head tilted slightly, eyelashes clicking lower hooding his gaze, bringing the browns to prominence. His gaze found your lips and for a heartbeat you could imagine his lips touching yours. “Just because of my eyes, huh?”

“Well,” You pulled back a fraction before you could lean forward. “Maybe…” He moved forward, chin tilting up, angling to catch your lips from his lower angle. “You’re distracting…”

His gaze flicked up to yours with a charming adoring smile, before falling to your lips again. His hand came to your cheek, fingertips brushing the hairline under your ear as his lips pressed into yours. You gasped at the tender warmth. A tingle like a burning feather sweeping over your heart elicited an achingly frail emotion to surface. His mouth sealed against yours in a soft deliberate reconnoitre; exploring, savoring. His fingers curled behind your neck, thumb caressing your cheek. You gasped for air as he broke away. His nose brushed against yours. You struggled to catch your breath as he waited, gauging your reaction.

“Y/n…” His husky voice retained a breathlessness.

“Sam…” You exhaled. Your vision seemed hazy as you gazed at his beautiful face, brain swimming in euphoria. “Do that again.”

He smiled, chin ducking to chuckle shyly. You touched his cheek, mirroring the gesture he was still doing, but you raked your fingers through his hair at his temple gently, sweeping through his hair, clutching his head as you moved forward to catch his lips. He leaned back, laying against the blanket as you slid beside him. You brushed back his hair, teasing and stroking his lips with a meticulous kiss. His hand slid up your spine, diving into your hair gingerly. The hand on your cheek cupped your chin. When the second kiss broke, you gaze at Sam below you with a sweet smile. He studied your face leisurely, knuckles trailing over your lips before skimming the side of your face and sliding over your brow and into your hair. A painfully fragile smile touched his lips.

“You have gorgeous eyes.” His thumb rubbed the line of your cheekbone.

Your head snapped back in surprise, “Have you seen your eyes?”

A deep chuckle vibrated in his chest, “I prefer yours.”

A tide of heat gushed against your heart. The muscle stuttering in your chest. “Damn Winchester…” A heavy breath rushed from your lungs. “That’s some line.”

Affection tinged his gaze. In an effortless movement, he rolled to his side sweeping you to your back. He pushed back a strand of hair with a callused finger, framing your face with the side of his hand as if to garner an unrestricted view of your visage. He dropped a lingering chaste kiss to your lips.

“It’s true.” He admitted. “You have the most expressive eyes…”

Your eyebrow raised accordingly. He kissed your cheek before you could respond. A blush rose under his unwavering attention despite your wavering efforts to remain calm.

“I love the way the light up when you see something you like…” He kissed your temple eliciting a delicious vibration of butterflies to flutter from your chest through your stomach and into your knees. “I love the way you get lost in your photography, losing sight in everything, but what’s on the other side of the camera.”

He kissed a tender spot beneath your ear that made you squirm. His brows lifted at the discovery, a satisfied smile following. He found your lips, his kisses still gradual and passive. You slipped behind his head, deepening the kiss. His body sank, chest flushing against your side. Seeking a new angle, he turned his head. Your teeth clashed together igniting a primal urgent need. A sudden powerful lust slammed against your core. Your fingers tightened in his hair, back arching instinctively to find his. Your mouths moved together greedily, desperation thriving with every touch. You pulled at Sam’s shirt urging him closer, vying for closeness. His hands clutched the sides of your head, holding you still as he responded in turn. His tongue slipped between your lips, the tip massaging and enticing the nerves of your tongue with practiced control, swallowing the heady moans his ministrations earned. Your hands skipped down his body, finger hooking in his belt loops. In frenzied thoughtlessness, you yanked his hips forward. You could feel his muscles tighten down his body. He paused for a beat, as his hips tilted against you, grinding against your side. A primal groan rumbled in his throat, ending his lapse of movement.

You gasped as he found the sensitive spot on your neck. Hands digging into his shoulders, you arched into him. His kisses became fervent, breaking form your lips to suck a trail down your throat and along your collarbone as he pushed the collar of your shirt lower. His hand, warm and rough, pushed up your torso finding intent in cupping over your chest. He massaged, thumb slipping below the material to toy with the hardening nub. He lowered, mouth parted in purpose. You tugged at his shirt and he paused his goal to wrestle away the material revealing the length of his toned tanned arms. You watched in fascination as he grabbed the back of his shirt’s neckline and pulled it forward. His naked torso wasn’t foreign to you, but knowing it had been revealed for your gaze and touch had a breath catch in your throat. You reached out tracing the lines of his muscles, idly following the path where twin lines disappeared beneath his jeans. He gasped holding back a small shudder when your finger dipped below the fabric teasingly.

His tongue passed over his lips, tender eyes fixated with smoldering captivation on your body as he encircled his hands about your waist and pushed up your shirt. His gaze flicked between the slow reveal of your body and the exposure of emotion in your expression. As you sat up to allow the final emancipation of the fabric, He quickly unfastened your bra, dragging his fingers over your shoulders and down your arms to expedite the divest. The articles littered the blanket in disregard as you dove together again. He grabbed your thighs, sliding his grip under your ass before yanking you from repose to straddling his lap. He kissed you hard sending your mind reeling and body aching with anticipation. Your head fell back in need of air. He spared no moment, ducking his head to seek the sensitive skin along your neck, kissing lower hands supporting your back. His mouth found the peak of your breast. His tongue flicked the nerves, evoking a gasp of pleasure, your fingers flying into his hair pulling gently as you arched your back, breasts pressing against the heat of his mouth. He moved a hand away, thumb skimming along the inside of your thigh.

“A-ah, wait!” You interrupt on a groan.

“What?” Sam pulled back quickly alarm in his voice, concern trading lust. He searched your face, “What?”

You breathed out an amused chuckle at his considerate reaction. “Protection?”

Realization widened his eyes. “Oh, that.”

“Yeah, that.” You smiled. “Unless you have that, then maybe we should stop.”

His head rolled back with a groan of disappointment. The candid reaction was unusually childish for the serious Sam you knew and you couldn’t help, but giggle at this unseen side.

“I have a condom in my wallet, but it’s probably unsafe.” He admitted reluctantly.

You slid from his lap detangling your bra from the pile of clothes. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah,” He shot you a dazzling sheepish smile, “Sorry.”

You grinned pressing a quick kiss against his lips. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not going anywhere.”

Your clothes fell in place just as a group of teenagers broke from the trail into the clearing. You exchanged a guilty look with Sam before laughing at the timing. You laid back on the blanket, head resting next to Sam’s holding your camera precariously over your faces as you clicked through the pictures, explaining excitedly about your favorite aspects in each photo or what your attempted intentions were. When you finished he grabbed the camera and held it awkwardly at arms length, shaking slightly with the weight, and snapped of photo of you together.

#supernatural #Supernatual #supernatural sam #supernatural sam winchester #sam #sam winchester #sam fluff #sam winchester fluff #sam winchester smut #sam smut #sam x reader #sam x y/n #sam x you #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester x you #sam winchester x y/n

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ladyloveandjustice · 7 years

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The Great Ace Attorney Replay: Apollo Justice finale

I pretty much plowed through the non-Phoenix-Wright-Depression-Power-Hour and Phoenix-and-Trucy-being-cute parts of the last case without bothering to livechat it or anything, but now that I’ve finished I will collect my thoughts on it and on the game in general.

I think I definitely enjoyed it more than I did my first playthrough because I knew how “eh” the plot was going to be and just paid attention to little character moments and ignored it. Also I wasn’t tormented by the “WHERE THE FUCK ARE MAYA AND MILES” question since AA5 and AA6 mostly answered that. I could also appreciate it was a very nice game visually and the mechanics were pretty good.

But I do have to stand by my assessment of it as being very lacking in several ways. Like, Klavier for instance, had potential to be a way better character than he was. He was pretty amusing/ridiculous and it’s novel to have the prosecutor be pretty friendly and actually constantly blatantly flirt with you, but wow, they dropped the ball SO HARD on the storyline with Kristoph for both him and Apollo. And what’s too bad is there were hints of it’s potential to be a WAY better storyline.

Like. Klavier was the prosecutor for the trial where his own brother was convicted for murder, and also discovered that his brother manipulated him into ruining innocent people’s lives. That is a BIG deal.

The dialogue between Kristoph and Klavier during that trial was genuinely a little unsettling at first too- Kristoph saying stuff like “sorry, it looks like my brother’s lost the ability to behave rationally” and Klavier kind of freaking out sort of gave the impression Kristoph manipulating and seemingly gaslighting his brother wasn’t a new thing- but then all that tension is completely ruined by how easily Klavier is able to get over it. There wasn’t really enough build-up to make the turnaround where he asks Apollo to prove bro guilty meaningful. We didn’t get enough of a sense of their relationship or what this meant for Klavier for it to matter.

It was the same for Apollo- there was like, a single moment where he felt kind of intimidated by Kristoph and like he was still his boss, but then it was gone with the wind. They really could have gotten something more out of the dramatics of the situation- like how the hell did Apollo end up working for Kristoph in the first place? Why did he choose his company? Why did Kristoph hire him? How did they meet? What did he think of him before all this? The game wasn’t really interested in developing Apollo to make any of this matter for him or by extension, the player. It was way more interested in what it meant for Phoenix. (AA6 cared about exploring Apollo waaaay more than this game did, so it’s so weird for me his fans still don’t feel it did him “justice”)

This also extends to Klavier and Apollo’s relationship- like they do have a pretty fun dynamic- Klavier basically hitting on Apollo 24/7 and Apollo not really noticing/mostly being kind of annoyed/intimidated and like “UGH COULD U STOP BEING SO COOL AND PRETTY” is a goldmine for funny shippy fic and I can see why fandom runs so hard with it, but the reason I could never really get into it is there’s not much beneath the surface- and there really COULD have been a lot more of an interesting story between the two of them. Apollo was present for the part of Klavier’s life where he discovered everything he did was wrong and even was the one who finally exposed that to him- that’s a HUGE thing and a similar thing happened with Miles and Nick and is a huge lynchpin for their relationship- but it was just not at all treated with that level here.

The one single moment where they seem to connect on something deeper is Apollo going “omg he’s being consumed by darkness i’ll pull that darkness out of him” but like with all the other examples, it’s just a single moment that isn’t supported by the rest of the text. I saw no other indication that Apollo was the only one who could pull the darkness out or even that it actually was in any way a big deal for Klavier. There honestly doesn’t feel like much of a connection between them and anything that could potentially be meaningful is glossed over.

(I could grumble a lot about how fandom seems to be willing to do the extra work for these two and fill in the holes for that characterization and doesn’t at all do the same for female characters who have as much or more going for them and are even more neglected but i’ll spare you that rant.)

(like i see tons of post lamenting Klavier disappearing from the games and it’s hard for me to care even though i don’t dislike him, because 1. he did not, he still shows up in both of them even if one was only an au ep in 6 that’s more than other missing characters have gotten. like yeah they didn’t bother to develop him with those appearances??? but they NEVER developed him IN THE FIRST PLACE, THIS IS NOT NEW??? and 2. meanwhile Franziska and Kay have legit vanished from the games why don’t i see 20 billion posts about them. They both genuinely have unresolved character arcs that were in progress and demand a conclusion, unlike Klavier, who just didn’t really have one in the first place because he instantly got over his problems, yet somehow they’re not getting stanned and lamented in the same way)

(ok so i guess i didn’t spare you) (but god I want to see if Franziska was able to become a prosecutor free from her dad’s shadow, if she was able to stop feeling inferior to Miles! I want to see if Kay was able to find her own path and what she chose to do with her life! these were legit goals they had and were striving for!)

This game had a lot of fun parts- Ema in particular was a highlight I forgot how much I love her in this game- and it excelled in giving us stuff that’s interesting the play with if you cared to- the seven year gap where Phoenix was a depressed hobo is angst central and there’s SO much you can play with there, from the twisted relationship he seemed to have with Kristoph to adjusting to being a parent to the idea of him even pushing Miles and Maya away since that’s the only explanation for them not being there- the fact that the stuff it didn’t bother to explain is the most interesting aspect of the game and not anything to do with the title character or what we saw onscreen is kind of sad, though.

One thing on screen that was interesting about the game I would have liked to see develop more was the jurist system, especially knowing this was meant to reflect the jury system returning to Japan irl and was meant to be a commentary on that. It’s weird how that was just dropped. I know it would be a hard mechanic to incorporate, but you could do SOMETHING with it. I wish it had been built up to and explored a little more in this game proper, and also stuck around for later games.

Anyway, yeah. Apollo Justice: full of gaping holes, but at least there’s some fun stuff to play with if you so chose. I’ll be looking forward to see how I weigh DD and Investigations against it upon replay. Investigations is next! Then DD! Then I play the Professor Layton crossover for the first time! Look forward to it! Or don’t! I don’t run yer life!

also i do love these characters so ima gonna do an apollo justice mini-spam today in honor of my finished replay.

#the great ace attorney replay

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monkeydluffy19920 · 7 years

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Chapter 856 - review

New chapter brought something we all been waiting for, Sanji and Luffy back together ! (well technically it happened already in last chapter but this is where the most important things happened)

Let’s start with Bobbin who is shot. Honeslty I thought he would be capable to do more but somehow understand that Oda wanted to keep him away from Sanji and Luffy. We only get to know that there are 3 shadows Bobbin sees before collapsing. So the big question is who did it? These all again just guesses but I think there are few good culprits and the first one that crossed my mind was Capone and his gang who decide to backstab. I think @yakkionigirizoro summed up this so well here so all I can say is that it is highly possible that this theory would become true. I mean we have a gang that reminds us of mafia and secondly Capone really hasn’t been much around, weird isn’t it?

The we have Judge and others partying at BM’s castle. It seems like they have had some sort of drinking competition and they just talk trash like always. If Sanji only heard that Nami is “it” for them he’d be so pissed off.

While we discussed with @ayumiyui about this newest chapter she brought up a interesting detail, that even though Sanji’s brothers have had lots of girls around (Cosette, Puding and now those barmaids) still, Nami is the only one they seem to want. So maybe their interest in Cat Burglar will offer us a chance to see something like Sanji lashing out totally if they end up threatening Nami later. Again referring to his words back in Skypiea:

Oda is still keeping us unaware of Vinsmoke’s identity without the mask. Since it’s such a huge secret I assume we can wait up to see something “shocking” once someone makes that mask fall of but what would Judge hide? Curly eyebrows maybe? Anyways, it better be something worth waiting for ! on the other hand who cares about that insane man. Reiju is the only one awake, I wonder what she is thinking.Well she has pretty much accepted her faith to get shot by BM pirates but maybe she is planning something?

Before focusing on the main event let’s take a look to Mirror World where are important details to find as well. They have no idea where Sanji would be but luckily they have Nami with them and she finally has time to speak about that incident between Sanji and Luffy (and also with her). Whoever still dares to claim that Nami has no importance in this arc or in OP in general will be wrong. Knowing what a stubborn captain they have and what has happened Nami can give a good guess about where both of them are.

More importantly (from the shipping perspective), take a look at Nami’s expression after Jinbe’s comment. This was very well summed up by @besanji93 here so hope you don’t mind me borrowing a bit of your thoughts mate. First of all, it’s clear that Nami feels uneasy. It must be quite a burden to try not to cry meanwhile recalling such a sad story. Secondly it must be quite painful to hear Jinbei saying that it won’t be easy to bring him back. Well she knows it already but who knows, maybe she is also still afraid of the worst. Let’s not forget that she is the only one at the moment who knows that Sanji is about to get shot by Pudding (Luffy knows it as well but he is elsewhere).

By the way, while Nami is speaking there are those things floating on the background. I don’t know the right term but seeing them around in those panels is kind of interesting because aren’t those “dustballs” always appearing when there is something dramatic happening (for example when Sanji bid farewell to them) ? I wonder if that has been made to highlight Nami’s feelings bout this current situation?

Then we have Sanji and Luffy reuniting in the outskirts of the town, this scenery is so damn beautiful and sad at the same time. We see half mummifed Luffy so happy to see his cook aroun and then we have Sanji who seems to avoid the eye contact. It’s just unimaginable how he must’ve felt at the moment, the mixture of joy to see Luffy alive and keeping his promise but also all the self-hate abou driving his captain into situation like that.

Like said earlier, this arc is full of parallels and here are listed few of them - Sanji having a mask to hide his bruises --> little Sanji wearing a iron mask - Sanj bringing food for Luffy in rain --> little Sanji bringing food for Sora in rain - Luffy eating bento --> Sora eating bento in chapter - Luffy punching Sanji --> Sanji kicking Luffy in chapter 844

Sanji still tries to play it cool and name reasons why he can’t leave while still avoiding the eye contact. This leads to Luffy showing him piece of his mind. He threw quite a punch but we all agree that Sanji deserved it. It was again Luffy’s way to tell “you’re not alone, you have us” just like he said for Vivi back in Alabasta (more detailed thoughts about Luffy puncing his nakamas here)

Then it finally happens, Luffy manages to break Sanji’s walls. He is able to see something he wanted to witness already in front of that castle, a honest side of him. This is another powerful scene because Sanji has now seen more than enough. He has tried to keep his emotions stable meanwhile having a enormous mental breakdown and tried to hide all the “negative” emotions that would show his vunerability. Now he is crying from the bottom of his heart, how he would want to go with them but he simply can’t because he feels bad if he lets them just die, even though his father and brothers have caused nothing but pain.

One thing I absolutely love in Luffy is his incredibly huge and warm heart. I have a feeling that he sees so much deeper to the core than anyone would expect. If we look at Mugiwara group they all have carried so much burden in their hearts, they have made questionable life choises and even turned their back to their crew but still, Luffy has never judged them for being what they are and has stayed loyal to them.

Sanji makes no exception, no matter how hard he hurt his captain he still sees understanding in Sanji’s behavior (his expression in that panel where Sanji burst into tears says more than thousand words). Seeing him going through such a painful situation, not being able to be his true self, backstabbing his friends and even seeing his vunerable side which he never would like to show and what does he do? He comforts Sanji, with such simple words “I like you the way you are” and look at Sanji’s face, how happy he is to hear it, after all the crap he gets finally something he has been looking for ever since Pudding broke his heart, genuine love and trust.

#one piece #opspoilers #chapter 856 #manga #sanji #luffy #nami #chopper #jinbe #carrot #reiju #ichiji #niji #yonji #judge #vinsmoke family #charlotte linlin #zoro #robin #brook #speculation

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javierfilmreviews · 3 years

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Families, Film, and Everything in Between

I was always family-oriented.

Being the eldest daughter in a Filipino family, I had no choice but to put my family first in everything. I had expectations and responsibilities thrown at me and will be thrown for the rest of my life. You might think I’m complaining but I’m not. It shaped who I am today and I wouldn’t change anything. I became independent, responsible, and resourceful. Sure, it made me more mature compared to people my age but there’s nothing wrong about it. People always talk more when they feel intimidated and I guess I already turned a blind eye from the years of gossip I had.

But why am I talking about my family? Because recently, I watched a certain set of films that made me ponder my current relationship with my family. I didn’t follow the films I was supposed to watch since there are certain films I wanted to watch instead.

Bleached Bones Avenue by Akio Fujimoto was about a team from the local Zomi people venture to former battlefields of World War II, their mission being to dig for the bones of Japanese soldiers who died in the mountains near the border between India and Myanmar. The sites they visit are connected to the notorious "Battle of Imphal", a reckless fight that lost more than 30,000 Japanese soldiers and involved many local people. Talking About Love by Asoka Handagama where love is explored in this drama from one of Sri Lanka's most prolific directors, Asoka Handagama. Tenebrae by Nicole Midori Woodford where it showed residents of a high-rise apartment in Singapore vacating the premises for the last time before its demolition and a young girl questions its demise. Autumn (L'Automne) by Jean-Marie Villeneuve was a short film where a little girl thinks about her dad. Go Back 3 Spaces (Ate Tre Passi Indietro) by Stefano Schiavone where it showed a story with the typical coldness of board game rules and instructions, a Merchant tells the regret of a man isolated from the world. With the Man, only a family photo - replacing the affections - and a roll of film that keep his life rewinding, in an attempt to give it, and him, a meaning. Despite everything, this also is a love story. Basurero by Eileen Cabiling' is about Bong, a Filipino fisherman, working in an urban fishing village on the outskirts of Manila. Desperate for cash, Bong dumps bodies into the ocean for the drug war's faceless vigilantes. The story follows Bong after he disposes of the "trash." He wrestles with guilt and tension rises when the killings' hit close to home after he discovers his neighbor has been murdered for selling shabu (crystal meth).

Now how does these films even relate to one single factor, family?

Bleached Bones Avenue was a story about Japan claiming back their fallen soldiers. The whole nation considers every one of them as family and I think that’s beautiful. What’s more beautiful is how it was captured. The film does have a lot of visual charm, thanks to both minor experiments and the landscape itself. Nevertheless, it's difficult not to credit the stunning cinematography to the lonely and scenic setting of the mountains. The final product is stunning in its exploration of the land, which is enhanced with stylised black and white portions. The labor and the people 's emotions provide a fascinating portrayal of these employees and their society, which is an understudied subject. As a result, even learning about the scenario in such a brief and frank manner delivers a wealth of information. However, because the film focuses on the goal rather than communicating historical facts, the factual substance is restricted. The film's duration also limits its capacity to provide further insight into the operation, limiting its appeal. The time constraints, on the other hand, result in a documentary that is quick and easy to watch, making it a worthwhile experience despite its flaws in production.

Talking about Love was lighter compared to Bleached Bones Avenue. From a documentary to war then suddenly thrusted to a vibrant conversation about relationships in everyday life, I was shocked by how far we, humanity, came from the dark times. As family was mentioned in passing as one couple was expecting a baby, I think you can see how my family came into my mind as well. What is really interesting about this is how they showed the transition to the couples. It wasn’t the average transition and I was honestly amazed a thow smooth characters interchanged and even made the story more beautiful and clearer. This kind of set-up had me wondering, it was unexpected and even made it more great. The certain flow they did with the story was what made this film above the rest.

Tenebrae was in the very essence of it about a family leaving their home since it was getting demolished. In a glance, you would see that this was a black and white film but the quality of its unsaturatedness was something to note of. It was crisp clear and if you look close, you might even see the blue hue of the clouds in this black and white film. I think that certain effect on me and perhaps many others as well was one this film’s edges to others. They played with the lighting despite it being unsaturated and it paid off. It was geometrical in the way, with how the shadows cutted off in the architecture of the apartment. In certain scenes, they made it symmetrical and with how it was colored or rather uncolored, gave a different vibe. Melancholy, regret, and maybe even the very feeling of saying goodbye that you know won’t see again. The play of light again at the end when they were in the truck was the highlight of the film, you can’t really explain it with your words so I guess you just have to see for yourself.

Autumn struck me. Within a minute, it had me crying. I am very close with my dad and watching the film made me realize how I take life for granted. It was short and simple, yet the most emotional film out of the bunch. I never wanted to imagine the what-ifs but this made me think about the past, present, and the future. That was the scariest part though, not knowing the answers to those what-ifs. Looking at the film technically was a bit of a problem to me since it made me emotional. The color grading really made me feel that it was autumn, it was warm and had hues of vibrant oranges and the likes. The duration of the film couldn’t be more perfect. For me, some might say that it was too short, since it’s just one minute, but I think it’s perfect. Just like life, film can be short as well.

Go Back 3 Spaces is a metaphor for life shown in a board game. Rules were even mentioned and every action has its consequences in the game of life. I think the best thing about this film like Tenebrae was how it was shot in black and white. Tenebrae made the film cleaner and sharper, Go Back 3 Spaces made the film more dramatic and emotional. That’s due to the lighting, the music, and of course the very concept itself. The film follows a man’s life and is related to a board game by saying you have certain choices you can make when the man has been in a very bad place in his life. It was a fresh and different take on how to perceive life. The man as well has choices that show what he can do going forward with his life and how his family was affected as well. This was fast-paced and made me feel like I was being rushed into doing something when in reality, life really feels like it’s going too fast but I guess once in a while we have to take a deep breath and realign ourselves to our focus.

Basurero is another film I would like to commend. The story follows Bong that with such a big family to sustain, Bong runs out of money and resorts to dumping a body in Manila Bay to make ends meet. The production portrays poverty and murder in the Philippines in a disturbing manner. The aesthetics in the production are rather outstanding. The opening night picture, which includes a vision of a body sinking under the sea, establishes a powerful mood that is maintained throughout the film. This one is at the top of my short film list since it is sure to create a lasting impression on any spectator and encourage deeper discussion. It was incredible how the story of human tragedies was told while focusing on the sufferings of a single person. Although the movie may have succeeded only for some people on the strength of its message, it also features a keen sense for visual storytelling and a powerful performance from Jericho Rosales, one of the best Filipina actors.

I think it’s also amazing that different genres of stories from different countries could have a single point of similarity which is family. In films, you have to read between the lines as well.

I was always family-oriented.

So it’s not a surprise that I fell in love with these films.

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freebestbettingtips · 5 years

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Tactical Analysis: UEFA Nations League 2018: England Vs Croatia

New Post has been published on https://bestfreebettingtips.com/football-match-analysis/tactical-analysis-uefa-nations-league-2018-england-vs-croatia/

Tactical Analysis: UEFA Nations League 2018: England Vs Croatia

England went some way to get revenge for their World Cup exit at the hands of Croatia on Sunday afternoon as the Three Lions secured a ticket to the inaugural UEFA Nations League semi-finals following a dramatic 2-1 victory over the men from the Balkans.

In this tactical analysis today, we will give an overview of my observations throughout the game and attempt to highlight key areas where the game was won and lost.

First Half Observations

England began the game in what has become since the World Cup their customary 4-3-3. While Croatia also set up in a familiar way in a 4-2-3-1.

England were able to dominate the first half and really should have been one or two goals up by the time the referee blew his whistle after 45 minutes. One way in which England were able to control the first half was through their effective use of combinations when they had the ball. Across the field, there were some interesting link-ups between the players and it was clear that England had an obvious plan with what they were doing. Below are some examples.

Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling are, of course, very used to playing with each other by now and their movements should be second nature to one another. Here, we can see Sterling operating in that dangerous half-space position in behind Croatia’s midfield and thus attracting the attention of the two Croatia defenders on the far side. With Sterling dropping in and taking with him the attention of the two wide defenders, Kyle Walker is able to make a break in behind with which Ross Barkley is able to pick him out. Although the move eventually broke down, it was an ominous warning sign for the Croatia back four.

Above, we can again see that Sterling has picked up some space in front of the Croatia back four but in behind the midfield five. Ross Barkley and Fabian Delph have positioned themselves fairly wide to allow Sterling to find this space. In the World Cup, one of England’s biggest threats was when Sterling was able to pick up these positions and play in close proximity to Harry Kane. Kane, who himself is pictured off-camera, eventually picks up the ball following a dummy by Sterling and England established themselves in a dangerous position. With both Sterling and Rashford coming in from their wide positions in order to link play with Kane, Marcelo Brozović was often swamped by England players.

Above is a perfect example of Rashford and Sterling coming in from their wings to link the play with Kane. Without the presence of a nominal number ten, Kane is often required to drop a little deeper to link the midfield and attack as he often does for Tottenham. In this case above, England managed to lure the Croatian midfield into pressing high and as such Brozović is not in his defensive midfield position. Dejan Lovren is forced to go with Kane as he drops off creating huge gaps in the Croatian back four for Sterling and Rashford to exploit.

The space between Croatia’s midfield and their back four was there to be exploited for the entire first half. When watching the game, it seemed that Croatia didn’t really have a cohesive plan on how to fetch the ball back from England. Luka Modrić and Nikola Vlasić tended to press aggressively against Barkley and Delph, with Brozović aiding the press. However, the back four were stuck between coming and going. Above, we can see that the Croatian back four is being forced backwards by England’s attackers, who have positioned themselves very high. Although this space was there to be exploited, England just couldn’t find the killer instinct when they found this space.

Croatia weren’t just struggling without the ball, they had real problems developing and sustaining any attacks when they had the ball. Kramarić was often left isolated against the much more physical England centre-backs and as such, he began to drop deep in an attempt to find the ball (below).

With their central striker coming short, Croatia began to find themselves quite limited in options when trying to progress the ball forwards.

Neither Jedvaj or Kramarić are making particularly helpful movements in order to receive the ball and are both being well marshalled by Delph and Rashford, who are cutting off Lovren’s passing options.

With Kramarić coming short for a lay-off, Ante Rebić instinctively moves inside to occupy that central striker position, something at which he is very adept. However, with the passing lanes well blocked by the England midfield, he is never really in a position to receive the ball and instead Lovren plays the ball into a space where Rebić was originally and they turn the ball over easily.

It wasn’t all positive for England in the first half, however. They did go in at nil-nil and if Croatia had been a little bit more efficient with the ball, they could have caused England some more problems. The role of Eric Dier was slightly perplexing throughout the game, especially in the first half.

Although Dier was operating as England’s holding midfielder, he was often the highest pressing of the midfield three but wasn’t all that effective in this role. Above, we can see that Dier has tracked Brozović and forces a long clearance by the goalkeeper.

However, the clearance falls into the area in which Dier would’ve been occupying which forces Joe Gomez to attack the ball in a much more advanced position than the rest of the back four. This leaves Kramarić and Rebić 2v2 against Stones and Chilwell which is not a situation in which England want to leave themselves. With Dier pressing the opposite holding midfielder, Nikola Vlasić (Croatia’s number 10) is able to move into space as he doesn’t really have anyone tracking him. Vlasić does eventually pick up the ball but Gomez is able to recover and drop back into position.

Again slightly later in the half, we see Dier being not only the highest midfielder to press but the highest player full stop. Here he is following a pass into Vida and attempting to press him.

Dier is easily bypassed and is now forced to chase back the Croatian midfielder, who can carry the ball into England’s midfield.

Again, Joe Gomez is forced to commit out of his defensive line, this time to try and cut-off a ball into Luka Modrić’s feet.

With Gomez pressing up out of the back four, this again, leaves Croatia with a 2v2 opportunity and England without their holding midfielder to protect them.

Eric Dier is a very capable presser of the ball, however, he would often break out alone and look to charge the ball wherever it was on the field. His pressing would often disrupt England’s defensive structure and leave them in potentially vulnerable situations.

Second Half Observations

The second half began in much the same way as the first had gone. Croatia were still leaving large gaps between their midfield and defence. Below, we can see that four of the five Croatian midfielders have been attracted towards the ball, leaving a huge space for Rashford to break into. Unfortunately, the move again breaks down but it appeared as though Croatia hadn’t learnt their lessons.

However, it was Croatia who took the lead somewhat against the run of play.

The goal did arise from some similar issues that England were having in the first half. Above, we can see the build up for Croatia’s goal and I have highlighted the positions of Eric Dier and Ross Barkley in relation to Croatia’s attacking midfielder Nikola Vlasić. They are poorly positioned. With Dier being the assigned defensive midfielder of the midfield trio, you would expect him to be positioned much closer and possibly goal-side of his opposite number Vlasić. However, both him and Barkley are caught ahead of the ball.

With neither Barkley nor Dier providing effective support for Stones and Gomez, Stones is forced to make a decision. He either stays in his line and allows Vlasić to pick up the ball in space on the edge of the box or he tries to anticipate the ball into Vlasić’s feet by stepping up to intercept the pass. If Dier was in a position to stop the ball into feet then Stones could stay in his defensive line and the danger may well have been averted. However, Stones chooses to step up and Brekalo plays a smart ball in behind him into space.

With Stones stepping up, Joe Gomez is forced to move across to cover the pass, leaving Kyle Walker 1v1 at the back post which allows Kramarić the eventual goalscorer time and space to bring the ball down following Vlasić’s cross.

The goal stunned England and the game fell into a bit of a lull for 20 minutes and Croatia were able to grow into the game and England’s attacking dynamism from the first half disappeared. Croatia began to press England much more effectively and started to lay traps for England as seen below.

Croatia manage to cut off all but one passing option for England and are thus able to win the ball (below) in an advantageous position and Kramarić is fed through by Brozović who eventually has his shot blocked on the edge of the box.

The combination play from the first half had deserted England and the players ended up getting into each other’s ways more than anything. Below, we can see both Chilwell and Sterling making a similar run into the same space and leaving Dele Alli with very little options on the ball.

Alli is forced to play the ball back to Stones (below) and he himself moves into the already congested half-space. With four England players within a couple of yards of each other, it becomes very easy for Croatia’s players to shadow press and block off the passing lanes for England’s deep players. Stones is forced to dither on the ball as he doesn’t have a clear pass into a teammate’s feet and eventually loses the ball.

On the other side of the pitch, England were having the opposite problem. Below, we can see Kyle Walker with the ball with very little options. Croatia have left a fairly sizeable space between their midfield and defence but no England player is breaking their neck to offer an option in this dangerous area. If one of Lingard or Sterling, for example, moved into this space, they would begin to ask questions of the Croatia defenders, who would be forced to make a decision to move up out of their defensive line and press the half-space player or to stay and give the player time on the ball.

With no clear option for a pass, Walker attempts a hopeful ball into the box which is easily gathered by Kalinić.

Nonetheless, England were able to turn the game around thanks to their trusty set pieces. Throughout the game, England were causing numerous problems for Croatia from dead ball situations. Below are some examples.

England have a clear plan with their corners. They want the likes of Stones, Gomez, Dier or Maguire, if he is on the pitch, to attack the initial delivery. The cross is usually an out-swinger. When the ball is on its way in, Harry Kane will loop around the back and position himself in the six-yard box alongside Raheem Sterling or Fabian Delph on occasion. We can see on the three images above that they are rarely tracked. Kane’s headed goal against Tunisia in England’s first group game came from this exact situation. Although England didn’t manage to take advantage on Sunday, they certainly posed a threat every time.

England’s first goal instead came from a long Joe Gomez throw-in.

The same principles applied, however. A select group of players would attack the initial delivery with Kane and another looking the pick up the second ball at the far or near post. On this occasion, Harry Kane won the second ball at the far-post before playing it across to Lingard at the near-post, who had a tap-in.

England’s second goal and the eventual winner came from a wide Ben Chilwell free-kick. Chilwell struggled with his delivery all game up until this point when he picked the perfect cross. Note in the first image that Vida and Lovren are trying to push their defensive line upwards and out of the box in order to force Chilwell to put in a pin-point ball but also to give their goalkeeper time to come and claim if he can.

This doesn’t work, however, as the Croatian line is staggered and everyone is played onside by Ivan Perisić at the back post. Eric Dier makes an intelligent run to the near post which distracts the Croatian defenders and also blocks their view of the ball.

Harry Kane gets the first touch on the ball as it bounces just outside the six-yard box which is a testament to the quality of delivery. Croatia will be disappointed to concede from two set-pieces but England worked both incredibly well and deserved to score from a number of dead ball situations earlier in the game.

Conclusion

Overall, England deserved to win following their first-half exploits. It is difficult for National sides to play the way club sides do and as a result, they may not always score free-flowing goals that a Manchester City would be proud of. However, England at the moment are one of the best sides in the world when it comes to set-pieces and as of yet, no-one has worked out has to stop them. It is a great achievement to progress from this group of three strong sides and is a testament to the work done by Southgate in galvanising a young group of hungry England players.

Croatia, however, looked like a team who had recently suffered a devastating defeat in Russia and a shadow of the side who dispatched with England in the semi-final. With many of their star men moving into their twilight footballing years, it is going to be a difficult task for them to move on from the likes of Modrić, Lovren and Perisić in the coming years. Relegation into League B will be disappointing for them but it may give them an opportunity to bleed in some of their younger stars and build their competitive experience against sides that are less imposing than England and Spain.

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