#or another event like vigilo

[joyeeuxe]

One thing about ling i love is this dragon doesn't try to hide anything

Suppose doctor truly is immortal or at least, has lived for a long long time it is not surprising if they encountered each other (pre-babel era). Back then i thought that doctor settled in yumen for a while or maybe worked for Yan when the two siblings are still there because so far only both ling and chongyue expressed familiarity with doctor (nian and dusk didn't, afaik) but then chongyue lines stated this:

I doubt chongyue would forgot doctor if, let's say they met just a century ago. Maybe they met waaaay back then. That is to say:

Don't be shy hypergryph. Drop the lore.

[shuttershocky]

Which character/operator's dynamics with the doctor you enjoyed the most??

Kal'tsit and Doctor. No one else comes close to how incredibly funny Kal'tsit's antagonistic relationship with the Doctor is once you get a good idea of who these two actually are.

Once you read through a Walk in the Dust and Vigilo you realize these two have such a strong antagonistic relationship their attitudes actually change when in the presence of each other.

Kal'tsit everywhere is the immortal, wandering doctor. She is in the background of every major event in the history of the continent, unparalleled in her experience and unshakeable in her composure. You could flip the truck she's riding in with a bomb in order to hijack her convoy and she doesn't look surprised. She goes to dinner parties dressed in a tuxedo and then engages a demonic supersoldier in mortal combat and rips a chunk out of their throat before going back inside and telling the guests some wild animals had entered the gardens. You could tell her you wish to commit suicide by murdering the two politicians who killed your lover and when she sees she can't dissuade you she helps you assassinate one of them with poison. She's seen the rise and fall of entire civilizations, there's nothing that isn't just another Tuesday for her.

But then you put her near Doctor and the petty bitchiness hidden for millennia comes right the fuck out. She will criticize their actions. She will criticize their clothes. She will criticize their eating habits. When there's bad news to tell Amiya she makes Doctor tell her instead of doing it herself, and god help them if Doctor's newest shenanigans costs astounding company property damage.

Meanwhile Doctor's normally this unhinged, tactical genius that slightly unnerves everyone but everyone relies on to save the day. They eat originium slugs, they pour boiling water into their mouth to cook noodles with, every god or monster of incredible power is entrusted to Doctor to handle because their unhinged, almost alien ways allow them to foster good relationships with the stranger beings aboard their landship.

But also when they have to do anything that eventually will be reviewed by Kal'tsit, the perfect walking disaster in them comes out. They go to Achuahalla and the plane gets shot down by a rocket, then they bring the domestic terrorist with them back as a new employee. They go to Columbia to ink a business deal with Papa John's, then get thrown into jail for allegations of running an illegal drug ring that Papa John's is the distributor for (Doctor's excuse is that "they learned it from you", the perfect reply to piss off Kal'tsit). They return to the ancient sacrophagus that Kal'tsit originally sealed Doctor in, only for Doctor to have a flashback of a completely different woman doing it instead. They go to Siesta for a beach vacation and then leave it having interfered in the sovereignty of a city-state and also got into concert brawls. They go to Kjerag for a ski vacation and leave it having sparked a civil war that resulted in all power being coalesced into the Saintess, because the scion of the Silverash family really, really likes them and wanted to force them into helping him seize power.

Kal'tsit and Doctor are supposed to be these two impossibly ancient beings that operate beyond the boundaries of humanity. They're alien almost, in both their strange bodies (does anyone remember that Doctor's blood can be used to heal wounds) and their ways.

But when they actually interact they're the most ridiculously human pair: a long-winded nag and a disastrous buffoon, attempting to raise a teenage girl that's had to be mature enough for all three of them.

[arkiwii]

For the ask game, AK 9 and and 17 + Saria/Silence 9, 16, and 18? I really love your art, so I'm curious which of your own art and fics are your favourites :D

This is from an ANCIENT ask game, I just straight up had this in my drafts and forgot about it LMAO I'll just reply to the two last asks about it, so don't ask more questions on this ask game so it's not confusing!

woaah many questions, and thank you a lot!!

9. Which character of Arknights should have interacted more in canon.

WELL! I already replied to both 9 and 17 in this post in fact, BUT I will use this as an excuse to talk about other blorbos with the question 9. how about mmm, every Catastrophe Messengers? Eyjafjalla did got a whole event about her, but I don't think we ever saw her doing her job as a Catastrophe Messenger, but more as a geologist. Provence and Skyfire really didn't shine a lot in Heart of Surging Flame, Leonhardt is pretty much absent, and Earthspirit and Tsukinogi, who? well to be fair Earthspirit did a good job in Vigilo. but the rest, well, huge shrug. I'm personally weak towards Leonhardt, because I enjoy Ayerscape a lot, and I think it would be really nice to have more of them in canon! Catastrophes are a huge part of Arknights, and yet we rarely get to experience them in the game. I'd love an event that is all about escaping a Catastrophe, with the Catastrophe Messengers involved! and Leon and Ayers relationship is pretty interesting, they're both huge dumbasses but they can't be without the other and trust each other a lot. I'd love to see a situation where Leon is a weak point and Ayers has to come to face that both need each other... my bad that's literally Ayers's Operator Record. well I don't care!! I need more of them anyway. give love to my bunnies!!

9. What is my ideal endgame for Saria and Silence.

in all honesty, Lone Trail was quite enough what I wanted. it's really bittersweet, but it did a good job with their dynamic and Silence alter's files give away what happened after the story. BUT, the only thing I'd love more is a conclusion, about just the two of them - where Saria is now weak and exposing her feelings, how much she has to carry, and Silence showing her that she's here for Saria, and that she's loved... ah, yes, the question, right

I can hardly imagine what could happen beyond what happened. they're reunited, and try to balance their professional and personal lives, trying to see Ifrit while having to get regularly absent... if I'm being a dumby lovey dovey, I'd say that my ideal is them being together and happy and free from their responsibilities and a family and yada yada. but I'm not, so something bittersweet and where they are bound to continue to fight, but all together and with each other, is perfect to me. all I ask is to give them a temporary break from time to time, but it's good enough to me!

16. Three of my fanfictions involving Saria/Silence, and which one I'm the most proud of.

mmmm I'll name Divorced lesbians and a creature for the first - and you will very much notice it's my first fanfiction with them... well my first Arknights fanfiction at all. my first fanfiction actually!! I wrote it in the plane and the writing is... probably bad! but it's not too annoying to reread it again, so I guess that's a win. I mostly picked this one, because, well, first work, and because it was made before Lone Trail. I think I did well in making it interesting, with the Musbeast echoing Ifrit, and how both are brought together and able to collaborate and communicate when it comes to saving a life. I don't remember if I went for the headcanon "they are exes" in this one, but it's a headcanon I no longer have honestly.

another one would be the chapter Nightmare, in my collection of one shots Grass and Rock. I love to write Saria's weaker side, and the idea that she's the one who is more affected by the past events is more interesting than if it was Silence. and most of all, the discussion they share is really sweet, I like how I explored Saria's feeling that she has to protect and be of use, or else she thinks she's not worth of being loved, and how Silence asks nothing from her but to know that she loves her and Ifrit. it's a nice story about insecurity and self love, and it's something that is deeply needed in Saria's character

and finally, the one I'll pick up as my favorite, Remission, which is a fanfiction I had the idea to write for MONTHS. I knew that Saria would be hurt after the events of Lone Trail (I got spoiled :( ), so I waited for so long for the event to drop so I could get the context and everything. it's my longest fanfiction, and even tho I was trying to not make it too much of a ship work, it's very much about Saria and Silence, so teehee I failed. but otherwise, I really am proud of the way I wrote it, the way Saria keeps looking at the sky, because she refuses to accept that Kristen is gone, and this line Silence tells her, "Look down Saria, there are still beautiful things to be seen on Terra." in reference to herself and Ifrit, and how she wishes for Saria to move on and stay at their side, where she could be loved back and heal. I rarely am proud of my own fanfictions, because I am not a huge writer and my difficulties with English make them not written very well, but I am proud of this one, yep!

18. Three of my artworks involving Saria/Silence, and which one I'm the most proud of.

aw hell nah, complimenting my art!! /silly

if I have to pick up three artworks, I'd say mmm this one, I had it in mind for a long while and I love to put bird headcanons into bird characters!! it's really important to me and precious.

this artwork is really good too, it's less a ship art, but family is important, and I'd love to do more pieces like this!

but if I have to pick the one I'm the most proud of, it'd be this one. not necessarily in terms of ideas but purely in terms of art. I rarely draw fullpieces nowadays, and even less full painted fullpieces, so it was nice to do one again, and it turned out good! I still have a lot to go to be frank, I'd love to achieve a level close to some artists I admire, but recently I've been extremely focused on human anatomy rather art techniques, I'm getting better at it!!

[meeblo]

Top 5 fave Arknights events (be it story, gameplay, or both), GO!

Oh, this is a tough one. These won’t be in any particular order, and I might merge a few events I think of as related into one entry.

Il Siracusano is phenomenal. An interesting story executed very well, with good pacing, great character moments, and strong themes. The Azione Solos, map, and other bonus parts of the presentation complement and accentuate the already great elements of the main event story. No one who read Il Siracusano will ever forget Rubio's speech. Gameplay-wise, I don't think its mechanics are especially exceptional but they aren't bad either. They're fun, they make you approach stages in different ways from usual, but they aren't why I love the event. The music is a highlight as well, with an excellent battle theme, menu theme, and one of the most memorable boss tracks in the game, as well as great operator EPs.

Lone Trail, even accounting for recency bias, definitely makes my top five. It's an effective and evocative conclusion to multiple longrunning narrative threads, with numerous delicious thematic parallels drawn between members of the cast. Its presentation is wonderful, and like Il Siracusano the bonus text entries benefit the overall experience greatly. Unlike Il Siracusano, the event welfare character is usable, as well as being unlike many alters in that she's a well deserved alter; Silence the Paradigmatic great way of capping off Silence's arc, with a kit that reflects her character growth and some juicy file entries and voicelines. The event's mechanics are quite fun. Running enemies over with balls never gets old, and the enemies that are tanky but lose defense/res on hit open up strategies that allow fast attackers and multi hit characters to see use where most of the time they aren't as valuable next to characters who have big damage per hit. And of course, there's the mechanics that encourage shifting, which is always a blast. Once again phenomenal music that I find myself listening to frequently. I'd also like to shout out Mansfield Break. It is, imo, one of the most ambitious event stories. Not only is it told via frame story in a fascinating structure that no other event replicates, it begins largely in medias res. As the first Rhine Lab event, it pulls no punches with the preestablished character dynamics and complex landscape of the internal politics of Rhine Lab. Mansfield Break is a strong story on its own with a great cast of characters and well articulated themes, but it's even stronger when taken in full context of the Rhine Lab narrative that followed it and just how many things that Mansfield Break set up or alluded to in ways that trusted the reader's intelligence without outright spelling things out or leaving things unsaid entirely. Dorothy's Vision is great too of course but it lacks that special something to have me rank it as one of my top events, whereas Lone Trail and Mansfield Break absolutely have it. The Columbia events all have some of my favorite societal critiques Arknights does. As someone living in the U.S, they get so much right about the issues they bring up.

Darknights Memoir, A Walk in the Dust, and Vigilo I'm all lumping together. Honestly, I'm not sure if I should really include them at all given they tie so closely to the main story. All three provide fascinating looks into W, Kal'tsit, and the Doctor respectively, as well as being thematically rich and filled to the brim with important lore information. Vigilo has, in my opinion, the most interesting and well executed story of the three, with one of the only dialogue choices in the entire game that had me stop and think for a few minutes what I wanted to choose. All three are mandatory reading imo for someone who has finished main story act 1 before they move on to act 2, though Darknights Memoir can be read earlier than the other two. I also want to mention What the Firelight Casts as another main story adjacent event, but Reed's story doesn't have direct ties to W, Kal'tsit, or Doctor so it felt odd listing WtFC with the other events. For all intents and purposes you can consider it part of this entry as well, the "basically part of the main story" events. It's another great character focused story with a relatively smaller scope so it can focus in on its subject, while simultaneously having a number of notable connections to the main story regarding its themes of what a resistance/nationalist movement should prioritize and the setup for Eblana's entry into the Londinium Crisis.

A Light Spark in Darkness is one of the game's most interesting events structurally. The shifting PoVs make excellent use of dramatic irony, with events the reader knows are coming looming over the story as you see another character's view of what led up to them and what happened in the aftermath. The event is thematically focused and has a smaller scale and lower stakes relative to many other event stories that allows it to laser focus on how the stakes and events of the story are relevant to the characters in specific ways. In addition to being a wonderful self contained narrative, it also has additional depth when taken with the context of what happens in other events regarding Grani, what neo-Reunion's role in the main story as a whole is, and Cannot Goodenough's sparse narrative threads the game drops into a number of events. I would recommend it to everyone were it not for it having episode 8 spoilers by implication.

Lastly, I'll shout out Who is Real. It's definitely my favorite of the three Sui events I've read (I haven't read Where Vernal Winds will Never Blow yet). I love Kroos, Mr. Nothing, and Lava as a trio of characters, Nian is both fascinating and fun, and Dusk herself is very interesting. The star of the event for me, however, was Saga. I loved how Saga embodied so many of the event's themes, with her philosophical debates with Dusk on the nature of art and of life in general and her decisions within the painting to help its false inhabitants, refusing to stop treating them morally. I really want to know more about what happened with Kroos prior to the events of Who is Real and what caused the breakup of A1 Preparations Detachment. Dusk's presence through the event was very well done. Though she herself doesn't appear in person until relatively late in the event, everything about the painting and her actions through the storyteller inform the reader as to her characterization and disposition. Invitation to Wine feels like it tries a similar thing with Ling only appearing fairly late into the event, but it doesn't stick the landing like Who is Real because Who is Real had so much directly tying Dusk to the nature of the events unfolding and the direction of the conflict occurring while Invitation to Wine's central conflict was spurred by the second brother, the Sui Regulator, and others rather than being as tied to Ling as the setting and conflict of Who is Real's painted world were to Dusk.

There's plenty of other events I loved too but didn't list here. Twilight of Wolumonde is the strongest of the game's early events, Under Tides and Stultifera Navis have some great stuff in them, Near Light has tons of outstanding scenes but as I'm yet to read Maria Nearl or Pinus Sylvestris I couldn't properly appreciate it, ditto for An Obscure Wanderer, Break the Ice is great and I have a lot of respect for the story staying true to Silverash's characterization despite his popularity in the fanbase as it would have been all too easy for the writers to have caved and painted over his actions and make him Not That Bad Actually He Said Sorry, Guide Ahead is very solid but didn't resonate quite as much as I had expected it would from things I'd heard about it going in, Ancient Forge is a ton of fun and has very nice subtle characterization for Lava and Nian as you can see what parts of the script were Nian's choices and what of Lava's original script survived the rewrites, To be Continued has some great followups on other past events, and the Luo Xiaohei crossover It's Been a While was way way better than I had expected it to be going in. There's a few notable events I haven't read yet since they haven't been rerun or I haven't had the time, so don't worry Lingering Echoes fans, I'm not snubbing it I just haven't read it.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

TMA Liveshow Relisten

Activity on my first listen: cutting the jasmine and Buddleja in my garden.

ALEX: "The audio in today’s episode was recorded at our first Magnus liveshow as part of the London Podcast Festival Presents audio drama event in 2019." First (?) Magnus liveshow? Just curious, were there more than one shows? I only ever saw content from this on.

ALEX: "The events take place prior to the first episode of The Magnus Archives, and can be considered canon." Canon you say, eh? So does this mean, occasionally, The Magnus Archives actually IS a workplace comedy???

JON: "Right. Well, I’m sure I can figure it out, I was – (shaky inhale) – thinking of, uh – digitising some of the more commonly accessed statements and then – some – general… (trails off) …archiving." Everybody always asks "What is archiving?", but nobody asks "How is archiving...?" xD (plus it’s a show called “Archives” and nobody actually knows what that means in a workplace environment XD Comedy at its finest xD)

I love how with the laughs and how the actors actually... pause for laughter this actually feels like a 90s sitcom!

ROSIE: "Miss Robinson was getting… on, a little bit- and it must have been very hard for her. Did, um. Did you ever meet her at all?" JON: "Erm – not really; a few times – I don’t think she liked me much." [[SCATTERED LAUGHTER]] ROSIE: (audible grimace) "…No." So is it true, what the Stranger was leading on. Gertrude would have been so disappointed to see Jon become the new Archivist and how that's going.

JON: "I mean, there were a lot of rumors, floating around Research, obviously. According to them, she  (sensationalizing) ‘died at this very desk.’" Always the curious one, always asking one too many questions.

[IMMEDIATELY, HE REACHES FOR A GLASS OF WATER, DRINKS IT, THEN PUTS THE GLASS DOWN WITH A HEAVY, CONTENTED SIGH.] [[AUDIENCE LAUGHTER]] Apparently drinking water was funny? xDD

MARTIN: "Hey, sorry; you haven’t seen a dog, have you?" I love that we get to see that scene! It has been already established in the launch trailer (the one with the vigilo audio opperior whisper) where Jon says "I swear, if he’s brought another dog in here, I’m going to peel him." after calling out for Martin.

JON: "I’m s– Sorry, what?" MARTIN: "Um – Uh, a dog, a-a Spaniel, I think." JON: "In – In general, or?…" And that was the last time, Jon said anything not laced with contempt to Martin for about a year!

It's so funny how extremely anxious Martin is here. Because when we meet him for the first time in MAG 22 he doesn't sound THAT intimidated by Jon at all. Still, I guess it's pretty stressful already fucking up on the first day of your new position.

JON: "So I’m your boss." [PAUSE.] MARTIN: "I mean, I guess." [SMALL HEH.] [[SLIGHT LAUGHTER]] JON: "Which means that technically – (small, smug *heh*) – I have the power to – dismiss you, if this dog situation is not resolved immediately." [SLIGHT LAUGHTER]] MARTIN: "I mean, yeah, probably." [HE GIVES A SMALL LAUGH.] [[LAUGHTER]] Martin is just too deep in the gay headspace to realize that this has a subtext.

JON: "Well that’s – (exhale) not ideal." I mean, I kinda get it... He took a job he knows he's not qualified for. He asked the person to move down to the Archives with him who actually is qualified for this Job and is constantly overshadowed by her. He takes the job over from someone who mysteriously disappeared or died with the possibility that she had been the victim of a crime. The Archives are in an absolute state of chaos and he realizes he probably bit off more than he can chew. He gets that creepy feeling of being watched. And then, someone who at least seems less qualified than him (he later learns that Martin also might be more qualified and then again later learns that Martin is indeed super not-qualified at all...) has been assigned as his assistant without him knowing anything about it and that very person let a dog into the Archives! I'd probably be on the verge of a breakdown (without being an asshole though, most likely I’d beg the others to help me.)

So the statement of MAG 2 takes longer than the ambiance track xD

TIM: (coming into view) "Right, yeah. Oh! The Gillespie statement! That’s a proper weird one, right?" Ah, the old Tim energy!

TIM: "Oh, uh, yes, uh – mm. Hypothetically –" [[LAUGHTER]] TIM (CONT’D): "What would you say, if I said that there was a…" [HE TRAILS OFF. THE ARCHIVIST SIGHS.] TIM (CONT’D): "Dog." [[UPROAR OF LAUGHTER]] TIM (CONT’D): "Situation. In the Archives." Seriously, I'm pretty pleased with the amount of jokes there are in TMA, there are sooo many good ones. But I surely wouldn't mind something like these three scenes every once in a while as bonus! So I hope this stuff keeps coming occasionally in Protocol. These three scenes here are such a gem!

JON: "I would ask if it was getting worse?" TIM: (relaxing) "Okay, alright, cool, so, right –" Tim be like "Okay considering Jon's grumpy worksona, this is going pretty well so far!!"

JON: "Tim." TIM: "Hypothetically –" JON: "Tim!" TIM: "I – Yeah, yeah, there’s a dog situation in the Archives. There’s a – there’s a mess –" Tim gave up, he knows that Jon knows, no way to salvage this xD

JON: "Come on, let’s – (inhale) Let’s deal with this before it escalates." I love how they all went to hunt that dog down together xD Right after the pack dynamic domain episode!

TIM: "Oh, recording equipment, um – (blows air through teeth) Oh! Yeah, the – I think there are some old tape recorders in the storage." [BRIEF PAUSE.] JON: "That could work." You know, that is not sooooo out-of-this-world-ish... Just 2 weeks ago I came into the office fully bracing myself that I had to use the tape recorder that day because there was a big maintenance the week before (that was actually the reason I even showed up at all. Usually I’d stay in home office). System shutdown for several hours. Turns out, no one wants to use the bloody tape recorders anymore, so god knows what they did during maintenance.

Magnus outro song starts. Everybody sitting on nails like "Say the line, Alex!" Alex: "The Magnus Archives is a podcast distributed by Rusty Quill and licensed under..."

@a-mag-a-day

[marahuyos]

Arknights Summer Carnival 2022 Recap

Translations sourced by twitter/TwilledW

01 | New Sidestory - Summer Carnival 2022

- Focuses on the underground domed paradise that are inhabited by Durins

- Something happened in the dome that made water leak out and flood the land.

02 | New Operators

6* LIMITED Operator - Gavial The Invincible

- Centurion (same as Blaze)

- Skill 1 has unlimited duration (basically can lanehold just as well as Mountain)

- Skill 2 ATK UP, ATK range expands, pulls enemies closer to her range

- Skill 3 ATK UP, Lifesteal

6* Operator -  позёмка (Pozyomka, subject to change)

- Heavyshooter (same as Schwarz)

- Can summon a ballista in battle (like Faust). Ballista will share the same skills as her.

5* Welfare Operator - Minimalist

- Mech accord caster (same as Click)

5* Operator - Cantabile

- New Vanguard subclass

03 | New Stage Gimmicks and Enemies

Each stage there will be a station where you can use 3 DP to shoot out a car. The car will do something that depends on the mods that you get. You can also use switches to manipulate where the car will go.

PvP mode where players can pit their own modded cars against one another

04 | New Skins

Coral Coast skinline for Surtr, Roberta, Elysium, and La Pluma

NOTE: If you bought the Gavial skin, you’ll get a skin voucher for free

Surtr skin will be Live2D

05 | Other major updates

- Another ticket orundum event, free 10x headhunting and daily free pulls for the duration of the banner

- Trials for Navigator #01: a vigilo-like event where there are multiple boss enemies in one map and for each boss, a section of the map is used

- I don’t quite know what this means but I think there are squads that you can use for the Trials just like monthly squads for IS2

- Integrated Strategies 3 where Mizuki will be the main focus, plus new stuff like: signal light, dice rolls before each stage, etc.

- NEW MODULES for Pullers, Ambushers, Specter Alter, and позёмка

- Operator Records for Thorns, Gavial Alter, Flint, Indigo, April and Pinecone

- Episode 11 Act 2

[paradizetobefound]

The thing about Beagle's complicated future situation is that she is a character who, if we be honest, was not the most popular. I heard many folks find her voice annoying, and her initial skin meh. In terms of gameplay she is viable but like, all 3* are to a degree and unlike Melantha she found herself with less attention. But then Bloodline Combat skin came out and it was well received. And then came out the event that hinted at the first (from perspective of arknights storytelling, not chronologically bc we just don't know yet) possibility of a playable character being killed within plot and that very character is Beagle, as if the writers are now trying to gut-punch us for overlooking the young Bolivar Perro.

(then Vigilo came out and gave her some more development but it's another matter)

[tmabguide]

Okay, taking a break from relistening to the series to talk about MAG 170 -Recollection. Spoilers ahead.

There's talk of the tape recorders being an Annabelle Cane thing, and while there are some good theories, here's mine on why the tape recorders are specifically tied to Jon.

Martin picks up a tape recorder that's found earlier in season 5, and it records the discussions with Annabelle Cane when he's not around Jon. He's used to these recorders and they are kind of a familiar set piece through his employment, specifically after Jon wakes from a coma. It's that little reaching out to check in on things, sometimes with other people, sometimes to catch what background stuff is happening around Jon and his friends.

The unknown voice chanting in the prequel episode (Vigilo, Audio, Opperior = I watch, I listen, I wait) seems to bind these tape recorders, perhaps specifically to the Archivist, or just because it was a recording device.

Elias, already powerful enough to see people and their thoughts, to pull them out of his employees, doesn't need the tape recorders for himself. But he makes a point that often they are recording, and notes that whatever is happening must be important for Jon to hear later. As if their true purpose was to be specifically for Jon.

When Jon goes into The Buried to save Daisy, he hopes that his totem, his rib, will be the thing that helps him find his way back, but in the end it was Martin putting dozens of tape recorders on the lid and playing old statements that seemed to give him strength to find his way back.

The tape recorders are like his totems. There is something about them, that are tied to him, that even though he isn't omniscient of everything, he can tell contents or focus on one place or another like Elias did. He can Know by focusing on people or things, but the tapes also record other events for him to listen to, like clues. Maybe they are the next best thing, a way to keep an eye on people without Knowing them when he knows they don't want to be.

This doesn't necessarily exclude Annabelle Cane as tied to the tape recorders, but it does seem to reflect that Elias doesn't really have need of them. They served a means to an end to get Jon on the right track for the Watcher's Crown. And when Martin says the Eye has already won, why would it need a statement? It's more for Jon tha anything. A way to keep him talking, a part of him bleeding in to the recorder's presence, doing what Jon has been doing for most of the season. Making statements.

So, onto the subject of the tape recorder. Some say it's the reason Martin forgets, but I disagree.

Slowly through the episode, Martin keeps greeting the tape recorder and describing it. Sometimes, after he is emotionally unsettled, he sits still for a moment and forgets where he is, blocking out the painful feelings and sheltering in the fog, but he seems to see better each time he recovers.

First time, he can only feel it in hand. The Lonely's fog is so thick that he can't tell what it is. He says it stores memories, like a computer. Or it could be blank like he is.

Second time, he still can't see it but it feels familiar. Then he talks about Jon, but can't remember his face. He doesn't even recognize his own face.

Third time, he still has trouble making it out but actively calls it a tape recorder. While trying to orient himself, he's distressed about the state of the house and needing work to afford it. This triggers the static we usually hear with The Eye and he remembers Jon, despairs that he's lost and alone.

Fourth time, Martin even calls the tape recorder retro. He seems to have more resilience for uncomfortable memories, recalling his mom when he's done wrong, his guilt for the state he left her in, that he can only remember Not!Sasha and not the real Sasha's face, the fog is still hard or getting thicker around him, and then his job interview and Elias. As soon as he thinks of Jon, everything snaps into place and we hear the static again, but Martin quickly gets overwhelmed and sits down.

Fifth time, Martin comments on the funky lo-fi goodness for his poetry. He's remembering what he used these for! But he also remembers a very sad memory of his grandfather's funeral. He sits down again.

Sixth time, Martin remembers the other important duty of the recorders. Statements. This is the first pull of the Eye for a statement, perhaps a sign of Jon trying to reach out to find him. Martin, quite deadpan, seems to voice what the Lonely thinks. The Eye has already won. What's the point of a statement? Unless it's Jon, either trying to reach him or to keep him talking, to stop him from trailing off. The statis is there through this entire part until Martin seems back to himself. But he focuses on the people he wanted to help. On the way Jon said his name. On the way Martin perceives himself. Like the kind of place he would live, being warm and happy, on running away from the shades of people who have forgotten. He almost succumbs to that himself. And right when he starts to feel abandoned and forgetting Jon's name again, the static comes back, and Martin clings to his name and his feelings and starts repeating them over and over again.

It's just too damn appropriate that Martin used a tape recorder to bring Jon back from the Buried, and the recorder also brought Martin back from the Lonely.

[paradizetobefound]

So the stuff we might be getting in the event (Vigilo):

a) Some context for Doctor's past (but judging by Kal'tsit's event, more questions than proper answers)

b) Babel-period Doctor, possibly development of other veteran Ops, like the rest of Ace and Scout's comrades. Also, more of Theresa-Doctor-Kal'tsit-Amiya dynamics

c) Maybe some context for Closure's entire character? She is mysterious.

d) Whatever Doc is holding, it seems important but I don't think they are going to explain what it is.

e) Considering upcoming chapter 9, the event might act as build-up for it or as an addition to whatever will be uncovered there about the past. So I don't think they gonna explain a lot here.

f) Priestess.

g) They might give a glimpse to another perspective on events of that fateful day. Maybe also a glimpse on Amiya's own past.

h) Sarkaz courts? Sarkaz courts.