#why do people steal from artefact storage

[the-magnusinstitute]

How long would a totally not stolen totally not missing artifact from artifact storage go unnoticed?

For your own safety, please return it within the next 48 hours. A few of the puppets have gone missing and Artefact Storage aren’t sure if they ran off or were taken. If you’ve lost them, or more likely, they escaped…well, Elias will be wanting to see you, to put it lightly.

[soveryanon]

Reviewing time for MAG141, once again abridged edition because What The Heck Is This Month on my side /o/

- Fun little thing: it was precisely as he was talking about Mikaele Salesa’s ties with the Institute (and the fact that some items in Artefact Storage were bought from him) that Jon spotted the spider in MAG038, leading to the discovery of the worm invasion and the  Prentiss attack overall. As usual when spiders are involved: was that a coincidence, or fucking not.

Anyway: it’s interesting how, between MAG115 (the statement that Salesa himself gave in 2007) and MAG141 (Floyd’s statement about his last year working under him), Salesa turned to sounding… more tragic, almost sympathetic? (I said “almost”: I’m not forgetting how easily he was throwing people overboard, or the fact he allowed people to get their hands on items that would hurt them or other people… although yeah, technically, he was leaving them to deal with what they had asked for.) With only MAG141, it sounded like he was someone stuck in Spooky, pursued by spooks and never able to escape them ever since he’d worked with Leitner:

(MAG141) FLOYD: He was tired. Everyone could tell. The man had been doing this job non-stop as long as any of us could remember, and he was clearly starting to feel it. Once found him pouring over an old photo album. The ship was there in the pictures, but a different captain, different crew. I asked him who they were, and he just looked at me, eyes sunken like hadn’t slept, and for a second I felt like he was seeing someone else, not me. But then he just shrugged. “Dead now,” he said, “doesn’t really matter.” […] This time, though… felt different. He was distant, quiet. His words, when he spoke to you at all, were blurred with alcohol and regret. Nobody knew what the plan was, so we just kept going.

(Can’t help but think about Leitner, Gertrude or Jon, here: being the sole survivor of their little circle, because everyone else… slowly got killed or sacrificed around them, whether they took an active part in their circle’s demise or just watched them as they all died off one by one…?)

- Small similarities, between Salesa’s own statement (MAG115) and Floyd’s description of him (MAG141)! Salesa was indeed the only one to deal with the merchandise during the journey, and installed the rule in 1999, and we know why:

(MAG115, Mikaele Salesa) “You see, in this game there are a few rules it’s a good idea to keep to if you’re looking to stay alive. One of my mine, is that only I take stock of the merchandise. You want to know how I came by this rule? I know you do.”

(MAG141) FLOYD: Way the others talked about it, he’d been at this for a long time, decades at least, and when I sailed with him it was clear he knew exactly what he was doing. He was the only one ever allowed in the cargo bay during a voyage.

And overall, if Floyd said that the crew trusted Salesa… it wasn’t one-sided, at all (especially when it involved throwing people overboard.):

(MAG115, Mikaele Salesa) “His movements were clumsy, like a drunk, and even at his best I’ve killed worse than Cook. He went down easy. That’s another good thing about having a crew you can trust. They tossed him overboard, and cleaned up without asking any sort of prying questions.”

(MAG141) FLOYD: He never lied to us about the sort of thing he was into. He didn’t exactly volunteer specifics, but we all knew what we were doing wasn’t legal, and we trusted him because he knew what he was doing. […] Salesa was a big guy, you know, but he never really made anything of it. He always used to say he needed a crew to follow him out of trust, not fear. But he didn’t have a problem using his size against Jésus when he found him. He threw the little rat overboard without a second’s hesitation, and there was nobody on that ship unhappy he did it. They’d all seen what could happen when someone else got in the cargo bay.

- We know that Salesa was one of Jurgen Leitner’s assistants for a time, but took off before his library was attacked (so before 1994), and that he had left with a copy of Leitner’s clients list, that he first dealt in “regular” illegal antiques before beginning to accept dealing with spooky items, out of greed, though avoiding books; he was already in the nautical Spook business in autumn 1999, when “Cook” grew fond of the Flesh-related meat grinder (MAG115). On January 19th 2000, Vincent Yang got imprisoned in an old (Buried-related) wooden box from Salesa’s stock, and was freed by Peter Lukas (MAG066). Salesa gave (“another”) written statement to Gertrude/the Institute/Elias? on January 4th 2007, after a Slaughter weapon bought from him caused damages, and Jon mentioned that some items from Artefact Storage have been purchased from him (MAG115). In the spring of 2010, he bought Neil Thompson’s “totem” syringe, which had likely been protecting Thompson from The Corruption and/or unleashed a Corruption curse on him when he sold it (MAG045). He tried to sell something to Paul Noriega in May 2011 (MAG014), contained in “a square wooden crate” by four men, although they didn’t settle on a price. He was the one to sell/give The Spiral pot from the Jiajing period to Andre Ramao in March 2012 (MAG038). He was transporting a (Spiral? Stranger?) rug when it attacked Gantulga in 2014, prompting him to apparently try to stop/flee from that life, taking on one last mission to would retrieve “an old camera with a broken lens” from an island (MAG141). Jon had already pinpointed that Salesa had apparently disappeared in 2014, back in season 2:

(MAG045) ARCHIVIST: […] I’ve been having a word with Rosie about whether we can make contact with him. Apparently, he hasn’t been seen for almost two years now, with rumours in the trade running through everything from “he had a quiet retirement” to “he’s trying to dodge a jail sentence” or even “he was shot dead in Columbia for stealing a priceless artefact from a drug lord”. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t look like he’ll be answering questions any time soon, though I have urged Rosie to keep trying.

Which was now kind of confirmed by Floyd Matharu, who worked with Salesa from 2011 to 2014 (MAG141) – according to his story, Salesa is presumably dead, although Floyd himself didn’t see anything directly and the most direct witness is already dead:

(MAG141) FLOYD: I didn’t hear the explosion myself. Dantez told me about it, as it had apparently woken him and a few others of the crew. A big explosion, they said, further into the port. […] We were still stood there, arguing amongst ourselves about what to do, when Captain Gaultier made his dramatic reappearance. His clothes were torn and his hair matted with blood. […] Some tried to ask the captain about Salesa, but he just shook his head. He wasn’t making much sense. We managed to gather the two of them had left early to deliver the artefact, but something had gone wrong. There had been an argument. They had been betrayed. Salesa was dead. The captain died soon after; the shrapnel trapped in his skull finally getting the better of him.

So, hum. Suspicious death, no body found, still not sure whether he’s still alive or not.

- Salesa was acquainted with the Institute, made a few phone calls, and officially died in an explosion… so had he made a deal with Gertrude? In which case, did she indeed betray him, or hide his escape? (It would seem… very “kind” from Gertrude, though.) Using him to retrieve a spooky item before discarding him sounds ruthless and not totally un-Gertrude, so…

Of course, big creature under the sea sounds like a Vast thing, so I wonder if the thing with the island was The Vast’s ritual attempt? We’re still missing… everything about that one (date, place, name, people involved). And was the camera lens related to them, or to Beholding, or to The Dark? Why was Jon interested in that statement in particular – because of the mystery of Salesa’s disappearance, or because of the island, or because of the camera lens…? We did have multiple occurrences of cameras or lenses being used around Dark activities:

(MAG009, Julia Montauk) “Asking him about it, my father told me he had been trying to learn photography, but didn’t trust developers not to ruin his films, as he’d apparently had problems before. I suggested he make himself a darkroom for developing them himself. […] There were no photos stored there. To this day I don’t know where my father kept his developed pictures. But there were about a dozen images hung out to dry. They’re still vivid in my mind – black and white and… washed in the deep red of the darkroom. Each photo was of a person’s face, close up and expressionless, their eyes were dull and glassy. I had never seen corpses before, so didn’t really understand what I was looking at. On each face were thick black lines that, formed these symbols that I didn’t recognise – but they were clearly drawn on the faces themselves, not just on the photographs. I don’t remember the symbols in any great detail, I’m afraid, just the faces that they were drawn onto, though they weren’t people I recognised. Nor did they match any of the photos the police showed me later.”

(MAG057, Carter Chilcott) “At some point on the first day, I remembered the camera. I focused my attention on it and began to scream, and shout for help in the vain hope that someone might be watching a feed of it and might be able to make contact. I cried, and begged, and pleaded with that camera for almost four hours, before I was suddenly struck by a terrifying thought. I floated over to it, and gently took hold of the cables that fed, out from the back into the wall. I followed them along, looking for where they connected to the power or broadcasting apparatus. What I found instead were a pair of neatly severed wires – transmitting nothing, powering nothing, connected… to nothing. The camera had never even been turned on, and had certainly not been transmitting anything to Earth. So what data had they been collecting? I still have no idea the answer to that question, but I did feel like I gained some… small sliver of control back after spending an… all-too-brief hour smashing up the camera.”

(MAG063, Erin Gallagher-Nelson) “It’s always been me and Luke Nelson – he was my wife’s brother, and did all the lighting for our shoots. At least, until he was… eaten by the darkness, last week. […] Then the scraping came again, now from the other direction and I sank to the floor, clutching my camera to my chest like some sort of protective talisman. It was silent, once again. […] Somewhere in my mind, I remembered… the flash of my camera, and my fingers instinctively flipped the switch. As I pressed the button, the screaming stopped with a wet snap, and for the worst moment of my life, an explosion of light shot through the darkness. […] It was the rector of St. Paul’s, and a small group of what I assumed to be parishioners. […] The rector was very understanding, though I wasn’t making much sense. He spoke soft words of reassurance, brought me out into the sick pale blue of dawn, and called an ambulance to look me over. I didn’t get his name, and it was only after I’d reached the hospital I realized he had taken my camera.”

And we know that a company involved in the Daedalus project, Optics Solutions Ltd, was based in Ny-Ålesund and specialised in cameras. It’s one of the numerous companies reportedly tied to The Dark, along with Outer Bay Shipping and D.K.N. Systems:

(MAG025) ARCHIVIST: Also of note, the words “Ny Alesund”. I don’t know for sure if Mr. Bilham remembered them correctly, but Tim pointed out that Ny-Ålesund is actually a small town in Norway. In fact, except for research installations, it is the most northerly human settlement on Earth, located at a latitude of North 78°55′30″. It is a company town, owned and operated by Outer Bay, but what it has to do with Mr. Bilham’s account is anyone’s guess. Assuming it isn’t all… coincidence. That far north… during the winter… nights can last for a very long time… Mm.

(MAG057) ARCHIVIST: Tim was, however, able to get a list of the businesses involved in the venture. Three names stand out: “Pinnacle Aerospace”, majority owned by the Fairchild family; a large private investment by Nathaniel Lukas; and “Optics Solutions Ltd”, a relatively benign-seeming company manufacturing specialist cameras for research and industrial application, who are nonetheless notable for having their business address listed as being in Ny-Ålesund, in Norway.

(MAG073) BASIRA: The building was in an industrial complex up in Harringay. It was a two storey brick building, with a weathered sign claiming it belonged to “Outer Bay Shipping”. […] ARCHIVIST: I can’t help but feel I’ve got the last chapter of a story and I… don’t even know the title. At least I hope it’s the last chapter. I still can’t find much about the company “Outer Bay Shipping”. Looks like a shell corporation, but tracking corporate ownership is not something I’m skilled at.

(MAG106, Jan Kilbride) “[Manuela Dominguez’s] research was kept entirely separate from mine, and while we spent plenty of time together, I never did figure out exactly what it was. Something to do with lasers, I think. […] She said she’d felt the station shake, bu–ut when I pressed, she… claimed she hadn’t heard anything. Her eyes were red and I noticed for the first time that the tips of her fingers were burned.”

(MAG109) JULIA: Sometimes, a start-up would make it big, but usually it was the inevitable bankruptcy that moved them out. All except “D.K.N. Systems”. I never really figured out what it was they were meant to be doing; something full of meaningless buzzwords, like “business networks” or “media solutions”. Thinking about it, it might actually have been “Business media network solutions.” Point is, there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious about them. At least not at first. […] There was only one of them that ever spoke – at least to me. A young guy called [Vardan Darvish]. He seemed to be the manager, at least as much as there was any clear structure. And unlike his colleagues, he seemed happy, almost eager, to talk. […] TREVOR: I’d been tracking Darvish for a good few weeks by then. There’d been a couple of homeless I knew gone missing around Parrs Wood, where I were keeping back then. […] Third night, I spotted him at work, taking a delivery. It were a big truck for some company called “Outer Bay”. I tried to follow them up since, but didn’t find much.

So, mmmm. Lot of lenses, and still the mystery of… Robert Montauk’s photographs.

- In the same way, there is the year of Salesa’s death/disappearance… Because 2014 (and 2015) were definitely activity-heavy for The Dark: in MAG141, Salesa was revealed to have officially “died” in 2014, after retrieving the camera lens. In MAG063, Erin Gallagher-Nelson and Luke Nelson had an encounter with creatures(or followers?) of the Dark underneath St. Paul’s Church, on the night between March 25th and 26th 2014. In MAG135, Manuela Dominguez left her statement on July 14th 2014, announcing that The Dark and Maxwell Rayner were ready for their ritual and challenging Gertrude to stop them. In MAG025, Mark Bilham recounted the events at the Hither Green Dissenters Chapel, involving followers from the People’s Church of the Divine Host on March 11th 2015, and Jon added that a scream was heard on the evening of May 15th 2015 (the day Gertrude passed away according to the “official file”, although in MAG040 Elias reported the blood in Gertrude’s office and her disappearance to have occurred on March 15th).

So whether there is actually a direct connection or not, it’s still a bit suspicious that Salesa disappeared in the timeframe he did…

(- Thinking again about how both Jon and Tim had specifically mentioned that they had watched what was happening during their first spooky encounter, and how they both ended up in the Institute and Beheld, it’s interesting to note that Floyd:

(MAG141) FLOYD: Something began to break the surface as I realised the deep rumble was no longer the thunder, and I closed my eyes and fell to the deck, gripping the rail with all my might as a wave hit us from behind, propelling us away from it.

… precisely closed his eyes. Not everyone would watch, as their childhood bully is snatched by Mr. Spider, or as their brother or what’s left of his skin is played with again.)

- Interestingly, Basira had said that she would book the trip, and now it turns out that Jon changed their plans?

(MAG140) ARCHIVIST: So what’s the plan? BASIRA: I’m getting us passage on a boat heading up there. ARCHIVIST: … Right.

(MAG141) BASIRA: What the hell was that?! ARCHIVIST: He had information about Salesa. I thought it would help. BASIRA: Is that why you were so keen on this ship? ARCHIVIST: I wasn’t sure; just had a hunch there was something here. BASIRA: And what? You thought the best way to find it was by… slurping it out of his brain?

… So it looks like Jon now has a radar for people with spooky stories. To quote Tim in MAG114: “Fan–tastic”.

- AND ONCE AGAIN… about how Jon Behaved and… compelled someone to do things (to give his statement, then to leave and get some rest):

(MAG141) BASIRA: Jon, I’m not sure about this. ARCHIVIST: I am. Tell me what happened. [STATIC INCREASES] FLOYD: W–what…? What is this? ARCHIVIST: Whenever you’re ready. FLOYD: A–a–alright. [STATIC DECREASES] … Sure… [SILENCE] He… he–he w–was a good boss, you know?

[…] ARCHIVIST: It’s alright, Floyd. You just… [STATIC INCREASES] need a break! FLOYD: … Yeah. [STATIC DECREASES AND FADES] Sure. [RINGING FOOTSTEPS DEPART]

… I’m just baffled about how Web Jon sounded here?! Especially since MAG134 (with Peter making the distinction between The End being passive, and The Extinction being active), I’ve been wondering about the possibility that Beholding and Web were a bit like that initially, having emerged from the same “shade” (Beholding passive/Web active), or on the contrary that they might be merging now with the rise of technology and surveillance society… And once again, mMMMMMmmm, it’s. Definitely strange. There is also the fact that The Web sent Oliver to wake up Jon (supposedly in order to push him to choose to become a Beholding avatar?!); the fact that Jon is unable to tell the details of his coma (he knows he made a “choice”, to become inhuman in order to avoid dying, but hasn’t been able to provide more specifics), and there is his childhood connection with The Web…

Though: there was static, too, when Elias hired Melanie in MAG084, specifically when he asked her whether she wanted to work in the Archives. So. That’s another kind-of similarity between what Elias did, and what Jon is currently doing. (Or is it that, like Elias, Jon is now able to put thoughts in someone’s mind, and that’s what he did to Floyd? But even that sounds awfully Web, if it’s about getting someone to do something by getting into their head… Once again, what the heck is happening re:Spiders at the Institute and around Beholding agents…)

- ;; I’m especially SAD about what happened to Floyd since… he specifically wanted to stop thinking about what had happened to him. And here he is.

(MAG141) FLOYD: My last voyage with him was the one that killed him. [Four] years ago; I still have nightmares sometimes. Tried to escape it, but some things follow you no matter where you go. A smarter person might have stayed off the water, but this job, it’s all I’ve ever really known. So here we are. […] I’ve gone over that memory so many times, trying to think what I might have missed, but even now, whenever I think of it, it just looked like an old camera with a broken lens. […] And I have tried, ever since then, to leave those memories behind me.

Doomed to get the nightmares.

Curiously, Lucia had also mentioned to Gertrude that she was already having nightmares – and Gertrude knew she would get them too.

(MAG130) LUCIA: H… uh. Will it help? GERTRUDE: I’m sorry? LUCIA: Telling my story. To you. Will, will it help with the nightmares? GERTRUDE: If that’s your primary goal, my dear, I would suggest you speak to a qualified counsellor. We can suggest one, if you like; that said, I do believe most people find the process of giving a statement to be rather… mm, cathartic. And whatever nightmares your experience has left you with, I’m sure they won’t be bothering you much longer. […] GERTRUDE: Sad about the loss of history but Miss Wright didn’t seem to think the old Gnostic church got many visitors anyway. I’m honestly impressed she had the strength to get through it, even if she does seem to have been… deeply affected by it. Shame about the dreams; I would avoid them if I could.

So does someone need to have nightmares for them to be “given” to the Archivist? Or are they different things, “normal” nightmares due to trauma vs. spooky nightmares due to the Archivist extorting the statement from someone?

- Overlook of season 4, time-wise:

MAG121 (+MAG122?): February 15th 2018 MAG123: February 17th (“Two days out of a coma, and I’m already tired.”) MAG124: February 24th~ (“It’s been a week and… Melanie’s attitude towards me hasn’t softened.”) MAG125: ? MAG126: ? MAG127: ? MAG128: 3rd March MAG129: ? MAG130: 17th~ March (Gertrude recording; “It’s been two weeks since I heard from Basira”) MAG131: 20th March MAG132: 24th March (given that Jon has been in the coffin for three days, either 21 to 24th, or 24 to 27th?) MAG133: ? MAG134: ? (Martin, chronologically after the coffin things) MAG135: ? MAG136: at the very least two weeks after MAG132 (since Jon hasn’t seen Daisy in his dreams “for the last couple of weeks”) MAG137: ? (Gertrude recording) MAG138: ? (Martin) MAG139: ? MAG140: one day after MAG139; end of May 2018 (“Summer solstice is the 21st of June. So we leave in a fortnight, and should arrive about a week before.”) MAG141: June 11th 2018 (two days before arrival)

… So: Jon’s average rhythm tends to be around one statement a week, and it was… more intense before the coffin, and then it just slowed the heeeck up. After MAG132, from March 24th to June 11th excluded (MAG141), he only recorded five statements, so roughly one every other week… and he hadn’t recorded one for 15+ days between MAG140 and MAG141, when he just… jumped on Floyd.

(And surely, he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to not have packed written statements…? So why didn’t he record any in the timelapse…?)

- Aaaaand I’m especially horrified by the fact that:

(MAG141) ARCHIVIST: He didn’t exactly seem inclined to volunteer the information. Besides, you said I needed to be ready for Ny-Ålesund. BASIRA: [SNARLS] ARCHIVIST: “Full power”, I believe were your words. The statement helped.

… is the same kind of logic we had seen with Manuela talking about her “Fear Battery” (MAG135). (And yeah, Basira also didn’t seem to be seasick anymore after the statement. Which could be due to the adrenalin/revulsion rush or… because Beholding.)

- Alright, so. The biggest thing for me was clearly Jon in this episode. As in “What the hell, Jon” (and/or “What the hell is happening”).

I… have a lot of trouble taking Jon’s behaviour in this episode at Face Value; and I don’t know if I can still hold on with the wishful thinking that it’s not as bad as it looked, or if… it is like That, and kind of “over” for Jon. At the very least, Basira seemed scandalised so we might get more insight into Jon’s behaviour, whether it’s a call-out or special measures taken to shackle him or someone clearly expressing that “Jon, no”. He was… flat. Almost casual. Just barely softer at some points, but mostly Elias-sounding (really reminding me of how Elias had treated Melanie in MAG106: fake concern and softness and benevolence, offering her the afternoon off when he had been the one to wreck her). And the thing that that threw me off the most wasn’t so much what Jon did, but how… casual he was about the whole thing, without berating himself or having some moral dilemma about it afterwards…? As if it was a logical and natural thing to do…?

See: Jon behaved in this episode the way I feared he would be when he would wake up from his coma – taking what he needs, without caring much about the fear and pain he spreads, as long as it feeds him/feeds what feeds him. And then, season 4 rolled out, and it wasn’t the case at all! Jon expressed, multiple times, that although he was aware of being different, he was still feeling many things: he even expressed empathy for victims and disdains for the spooks that terrorise them…

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: No notes or follow-up here that I can see, just… [SIGH] It looks like the statement came in just after Gertrude disappeared. Another gap. And whoever took it didn’t do any follow-up, just… filed it away. I may be the first person to actually read it, so… sorry Angie, I suppose.

(MAG124) ARCHIVIST: Simon Fairchild is one of the… recurrent figures that I think disquiets me the most. Not simply for what he does, the endless spaces of highs or depths to which he’s so quick to condemn his victims, but… the joy he seems to take in doing so. And I don’t think there is much to this tale beyond that: an evil man tormenting and killing simply for his own pleasure, and to feed the power that sustains him.

(MAG126) ARCHIVIST: A “Great Twisting”, that Gertrude stopped at the cost of a single life. … I thought… moving away from my humanity would have made that seem more acceptable. That sort of sacrifice… but it just makes me sad…

(MAG127) ARCHIVIST: Hm. “Jonah Magnus”. I’ve never really given much thought to him. Not nearly as much as I should have. I suppose I had always hoped there was a chance he was… innocent, in all this. I know, I know! But I had… [EXHALE] I had just… hoped that maybe the founding of the Institute was in earnest. And not simply the foundation stone for all the terrible things that have happened here. … But no. Whatever is happening now… has its origins two hundred years ago. In the work of an evil man.

(MAG129) ARCHIVIST: I just– I worry. You’re working for someone… really bad! MARTIN: Yes, I’m not an idiot, Jon, but it’s no… worse than working for something really bad, so… ARCHIVIST: At least, The Eye hasn’t gone after our own. Lukas has vanished two people!

(MAG129) ARCHIVIST: With one or two notable exceptions, the only statements the Institute receives are those where the witness has… successfully escaped whatever terrible place or being has marked them for a victim. … I wonder how many don’t make it out. How many of those shapes in the water were once just like Mr. Shakya. Hm. Or perhaps I shouldn’t wonder. [HUFF] Even as I say it, I can feel the knowledge, pushing in my mind. Eager to find a way in. But I don’t want it. I don’t want to know. … I don’t want to see. … No more than I wanted to see how Gertrude stopped The Buried and their ritual, but that came to me as well. [HUFF] They called it “Sunken Sky”! And she calculated, correctly, that casting a void-touched body down The Pit at the right time would be enough to disrupt it. Something she found in… Jan Kilbride. … But Gertrude also realized that the body need not be alive. Or in one piece. She thought it was a mercy. It wasn’t.

(MAG132) ARCHIVIST: I… heard someone. He was begging for me to save him. Said he couldn’t breathe. … I can barely breathe. I couldn’t find him. But I am… n–not here for him. I don’t even know him. I can’t… I can’t see… anything here… for all this… this place closes around me, I… I feel adrift. Like nothing can get through the dirt, and the muck, and–

(MAG135) ARCHIVIST: Is locking [the coffin] up the right thing to do? There are other people in there. And Daisy and I got out, but– … No, I, uh… I can’t think about that. Even if I could somehow be sure of recreating our escape, I–I can’t save everyone that’s been taken. I–It’s not my job to try, I– And I can’t spend another three days in there, I just… I need to let it go.

He was sad and horrified about Jan Kilbride; he didn’t sound onboard with Gertrude’s methods at all. He expressed that he was feeling so, so many doubts, about himself and what he had to do:

(MAG122) ARCHIVIST: They can be hard, though, sometimes, oth–other people… feelings. I’m… I’m… I’m trying to focus. Trying to make sure I’m the same me as before, but… how can anyone really remember that? How do you know… you’re the same person that went to sleep…? […] BASIRA: Me first. What are you? ARCHIVIST: … Honestly… I don’t know. I don’t feel… inhuman, or… … I want to say I’m the same. But I don’t… really know if that’s true. I know I’m different. I feel… more real, somehow. BASIRA: So what does that actually mean? ARCHIVIST: Probably nothing good.

(MAG127) ARCHIVIST: [STATIC] Look, I don’t know, Basira. I hope I’m still human, but it… but it’s seeming more and more unlikely. BASIRA: … I didn’t ask. ARCHIVIST: No, I suppose you didn’t. […] I’m sorry Basira, I–I will try to keep anything I learn about you to myself. My priorities haven’t changed; I hope you can believe that. [SIGH] I’m still on your side. You can trust me.

(MAG131) HELEN: Not this again. I’m not “wearing” anything, Archivist. I am at least as much Helen Richardson as you are the Jonathan Sims that first joined this institute. Things change. People change. It happens. ARCHIVIST: … We’re not “people”, though, are we? Not anymore. HELEN: Names, categories… it’s all so important to you, isn’t it? You do know none of it is actually real. It’s all just… meaningless boxes.

(MAG132) DAISY: Realised what was happening then. Realised you weren’t human. Needed to die, as soon as it was safe. Never mind Elias and his… insurance. ARCHIVIST: And now? DAISY: Don’t know. I miss dreaming. Y–you don’t sleep… down here. ARCHIVIST: Daisy… you should know I’m… If I wasn’t human before, I’m, uh… I’m even less now. DAISY: Yeah. Well. At the moment, I don’t care…

He understood people’s stance and wariness towards him. He highlighted that he was still feeling fear, sadness, concern. We got glints of guilt, of melancholy:

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: Melanie, Melanie: it’s… it’s me. MELANIE: Oh! Okay, so what, “Hi Jon, how are you, get anyone killed lately?” ARCHIVIST: … I… MELANIE: Wipe that look off your face. Like you’re not the reason all of this is happening. Like you’re any better than– ARCHIVIST: [MESSY STUTTERING] MELANIE: –than him! ARCHIVIST: Basira said Elias was gone!

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: I have no theories on it, no… no sudden insights. [SIGH] I wish I could talk it through with Martin. … Or Tim. [SHORT SAD CHUCKLE] Or Sasha. But we never really did that, did we…? … Everything’s changed. … [SIGH] Two days out of a coma, and I’m already tired.

(MAG126) ARCHIVIST: I’ve been… trying to check on Melanie’s condition. She refuses to see me – understandably, I–I suppose, and Basira has been looking after her. [SIGH] It hurts, of course, but… [SIGH] I really hope getting that bullet out of her helps. At least… stops it from getting any worse. I can’t have been too late again.

(MAG132) ARCHIVIST: Wish me luck…! … Although I suppose if you’re hearing this, then I… I didn’t have any. I don’t know. I’m… I’m scared. [SHORT CHUCKLE] When does the fear go away…? A–anyway, I–I’m sorry. You too, Basira, if you’re hearing this. I know you’d… stop me. You’d be right to, but… But if this goes wrong, all you lose is– …  I’m not risking anyone else. And I know– … I–I think… I can get her out.

(MAG135) ARCHIVIST: […] they can’t wait until they don’t have to talk to me anymore. Can’t honestly say I blame them, none of this is easy. Everyone’s just trying to get through as best they can. Living one day at a time. [SIGH] But I can’t afford to be just living one day at a time, I need… a plan. But I don’t even know what I’m trying to achieve… And no one… no one wants to tell me.

(MAG136) ARCHIVIST: I… [SIGH] I don’t feel like I’m exactly in the best place to judge the… intersection [CHUCKLE] between free will and humanity. Still trying to figure that out myself. […] DAISY: You need to stop swanning around, being all sad. ARCHIVIST: I’m, I’m not “swanning around”– DAISY: “Boo-hoo, I’m so alone and a monster!” ARCHIVIST: I am alone, Martin is– DAISY: Busy. doing. paperwork. Not like he’s dead. Beside, he’s not the only other person here, you know. There’s me; Melanie; Basira– ARCHIVIST: Traumatised; traumatised; and paranoid, because of me. DAISY: Get over yourself! You’re always talking about choices – we all made ours.

(MAG139) ARCHIVIST: Why were we chosen? Agnes was created – crafted with a specific purpose so finely tuned that even a grain of uncertainty threatened the entirety of her being. [CHORTLING] But I’m so full of doubt it feels like there’s no room for anything else, and… I’m sure Martin is the same…! Is there “destiny” here? B–bloodlines and… prophecies, or did we just… stumble into this? Maybe we’re the opposite of Agnes; maybe our doubts are exactly what we need. I–if that’s the case, I’m a… an amazing chosen one. … [LONG EXHALE] Don’t know how that would work, though. … [SIGH] I’m just worried about Martin. … Christ… Every other Avatar gets to have their feelings… burned right out of them, but me? I’ve… just got to sit in mine.

And it’s been a constant throughout season 4! Nothing “bad” recently happened to sharpen him or to make him change his mind like this! The last time he went into a tangent about, precisely, his still having to bear all these “feelings” was two episodes ago! And nothing life-threatening happened to the assistants on his watch, no near-death accident which could have made him… change his mind and adopt that “the end justifies the means” attitude that he was strangely deadpan about in MAG141. Jon knows what the dreams do. When he apparently cracked the code, he seemed to been keen on avoiding further cases:

(MAG113) ARCHIVIST: I’m not too concerned, to be honest, my dreams are, uh… well, let’s just say I don’t think they’re going be letting anyone else in any time soon.

(MAG115, Mikaele Salesa) “So I suppose if it’s a statement you’re wanting… it’s no inconvenience to me. I don’t sleep well anyway.”

(MAG132) DAISY: I realized you were in my dreams. Reliving t… this. The coffin. You were there. ARCHIVIST: … Yes. DAISY: Didn’t think it was real. Not really… Just my mind putting you there, because I h–hated you but… no.

(MAG136) ARCHIVIST: And you’re not… worried about… DAISY: Basira’s trapped here. So are you. Not like I can be going anywhere anyway. ARCHIVIST: … I suppose not. So… no more dreams. DAISY: Not of you and your weird eyes. Just the coffin. ARCHIVIST: Is that better…? DAISY: ’T’s mine. ARCHIVIST: … right.

It’s not just nightmares for the victims – it’s a loss of control, it’s something that could potentially wreck their lives and reduce their lifespan. It’s not just “a few bad dreams”:

(MAG141) BASIRA: And now he’s going to see you in his dreams as he relives that for the rest of his life! ARCHIVIST: [INHALE SHARPLY] BASIRA: Because… because a tape recorder told you to do it?! ARCHIVIST: Yes, Basira, he is. And I am sorry about that. But we needed it. Anyway: you’re the one who wants to be like Gertrude. [SILENCE] You think she’d give a damn about a few bad dreams?

True, Jon has already taken live-statements in season 4, but under specific circumstances: he neutralized Breekon when he was ready to fight with Basira (MAG128), and took Jared’s statement to know more about the fact that his attack on the Institute had been orchestrated by someone else, as part of a deal offered by Jared (MAG131). Both cases were known multiple murderers and in urgent situations (both Breekon and Jared were capable of wrecking him) – and he even wrote down Breekon’s statement rather than speaking it outright. It had… nothing to do with forcing someone who, all right, had dealt in illegal business in the past but hadn’t killed anyone as far as we know and wasn’t a spook himself, to give a story that he was adamant to forget about! It’s not even a natural evolution (small steps would require some urgency or no other option), it’s going from 1 to 10 with no apparent incentive…? Jon had just checked that they still had two days on the boat. He could have chosen the (still very morally reprehensible) option to blackmail the guy through compulsion (like he did with Kurt in MAG103), in order to get his written statement…? There were other options than this!

So what is happening? Because I trust Jonny to destroy me emotionally, yes, but this was… so abrupt, so I still have trouble taking it at face value, I still feel like there must be something happening to explain the complete turn-over that Jon did between MAG140 and MAG141. Though yeah, I guess that it would also be a real tragedy (I find this infinitely sad, depowering and tragic so – it’s doing its job if it’s the case), but after so many talks about “choices” in season 4, and about how, maybe, the spooks we had met so far were… mostly Very Bad People to begin with, or people easily convinced to kill others if it would mean surviving themselves…

(MAG121) OLIVER: The thing is, Jon, right now, you have a choice. You’ve put it off a long time; but it’s trapping you here. You are not quite human enough to die, but – still too human to survive. You’re… balanced on an edge, where The End can’t touch you, but you can’t escape Him. I made a choice. We all made choices. […] Make your choice, Jon.

(MAG125) ARCHIVIST: In many ways, The Slaughter fascinates me. There seems to be, in all cases, a question at its heart about… control. Is it a mindless dance, dragging participants along by the beat of a drum or… is there a kernel of will in there, a lucidity and deliberateness to the random fury and violence? I suppose that’s the question with so much of “violence”, “war”: how much are you really in command of yourself or of others? I’m not sure what scares me more: the idea that deep down, everyone is in complete control of their actions, that everything is, on some level, intentional; or that ultimately, we don’t have any control of ourselves at all, and the rest is just… rationalisation.

(MAG131) MELANIE: And then, one day, I suddenly have this thing that takes all that rage, and it holds it. Tells me it’s right. That it’s me. It didn’t stay in my leg because of some Ghostly Masterplan; it stayed… because I wanted it.

(MAG132) DAISY: I don’t want t–to be a s–sadistic predator again… I–I don’t want to… hobble around, like some pathetic, wounded prey either… I don’t know which would be worse. And I’m sc–scared, now, that I’ll never get the choice… ARCHIVIST: One thing I’ve learned, Daisy, is that we all get a choice. Even if it doesn’t feel like one.

(MAG136) ARCHIVIST: My– [PAUSE] [INHALE] [SIGH] My memories of the coma are not clear. But I know I made a choice; I made a choice to become… something else. Because I was afraid to die. […] DAISY: Get over yourself! You’re always talking about choices – we all made ours.

… we would reach the conclusion that… no, the atrocities of the past will constantly repeat themselves; that Jon wasn’t able to learn enough from his mistakes and Gertrude’s; that in the end, Tim was right in MAG114 when he spat out that Jon “couldn’t not” because these spooks are pure instinct and you can’t do anything to refrain them, cue Jon now being unable to not jump on anyone with a Spooky Story, and finding it natural to doom them to get nightmares about it for the rest of their lives, without finding it problematic at all nor expressing any internal conflict…?

I’m not ready to give up on Jon as character-person (someone struggling, someone trying). If the Jon from MAG141 is What He Is Now and we’re getting that until the end of the season/series… I’m not ready ;; He would still be interesting to me as a character-character but I couldn’t empathise or sympathise with him much anymore if… he casually accepts to hurt people without sadness nor regret. So: I might be grasping at straws, I might be uselessly hoping, but… I don’t want this to be the end of it? Not yet? So, multiple possibilities that I am thinking about regarding this whole situation:

* The major difference with the rest of season 4 so far (except for MAG121 and MAG122) was that Jon wasn’t inside of the Institute/in the Archives. It could be possible that in Beholding’s temple, he is more “in control” of himself (and able to avoid casually hurting people if it serves him). Though: he was outside of the Institute in MAG122 and didn’t jump on Basira (who had More Spooky Stories, since she had experienced Peter Lukas’s reign over the Institute and The Flesh attack while Jon in the coma) nor Georgie (who had just met Oliver).

* Drinking at the Lonely Bar at the end of MAG139 actually messed Jon up more than he was aware and he was submerged without realising that he had “drowned”. Though: he… acted normal-Jon in MAG140 – wise-cracking, sighing a lot, being awkward and critical and… not glad about the whole necessity of the trip.

* This one feels more akin to wishful thinking to me than something actually likely, but orz I wanna hope and have faith in Jon, gdi.

Jon sounded… oddly focused on Basira after taking that statement – as if… making a point. He kind of cross-checked everything Basira expected from him: just answering to the call of a tape recorder:

(MAG123) ARCHIVIST: And we’ve got an audience. Perfect. I thought you said you decided to throw them all out. BASIRA: Yup. And I did. And here’s another one. ARCHIVIST: Maybe it’s hungry. BASIRA: Seriously? ARCHIVIST: I mean, I did have a statement I was planning to record.

(MAG141) BASIRA: Yeah, I heard. ‘anks. … What? ARCHIVIST: The tape recorder. BASIRA: [INHALE] Get ready. Any idea what’s coming? [QUICK FOOTSTEPS] ARCHIVIST: N–no, I’m… No, I–I don’t think that’s it. BASIRA: It’s not recording for nothing. ARCHIVIST: No, I… [STATIC RISING]… I think… [LOUDER] Excuse me? […] BASIRA: And now he’s going to see you in his dreams as he relives that for the rest of his life! ARCHIVIST: [INHALE SHARPLY] BASIRA: Because… because a tape recorder told you to do it?!

and being unable to not answer to the Call of knowledge and actively pursue it:

(MAG127) BASIRA: Don’t snoop in my head. ARCHIVIST: I’m not “snooping”, I’m not looking. That’s not… how this works.

(MAG128) BASIRA: Keep it safe, I’ll be gone a few days. I have some leads I need to follow up. ARCHIVIST: Sorry…?! BASIRA: You heard me. Don’t ask about them, and don’t know about them either. ARCHIVIST: I can’t exactly control that! BASIRA: Learn.

(MAG141) ARCHIVIST: I had to know. Basira. BASIRA: It wasn’t right. ARCHIVIST: … You could have stopped me. [SILENCE] But you wanted to know as well, didn’t you…? [SILENCE] [INHALE] Get some rest. Two days yet.

(And Jon, as far as we know, had managed to learn? Unless he hid it from us, he still doesn’t know that her intel was Elias, still doesn’t know what she was doing apart from what she told him. He also stopped meeting Martin when Martin told him to stop “finding” him. True, Jon tried to use his powers to see what The Dark was doing, and what Peter’s plans were, but… he was more in control, trying to use instead of being used, and it was to protect people!)

And Jon also reversed the dynamic by reminding Basira that she had elected Gertrude as role model, and he was merely behaving like she would have, ruthless methods included:

(MAG133) ARCHIVIST: You were hoping for a defender. BASIRA: I was hoping for someone I can trust to share the load. Because right now, it’s all on me. ARCHIVIST: [EXHALES, SLOW] It doesn’t have to be. BASIRA: Hm. ARCHIVIST: You’re not happy she is back. BASIRA: I didn’t say that, Jon. I would never abandon Daisy and, having her back is… [SIGH] But right now, she’s dead weight. And I need to be able to travel light. ARCHIVIST: … You’re starting to sound like Gertrude. BASIRA: Good. As far as I can see, Gertrude Robinson was the most effective person in this place.

(MAG141) ARCHIVIST: Anyway, you’re the one who wants to be like Gertrude. [SILENCE] You think she’d give a damn about a few bad dreams? BASIRA: … No. ARCHIVIST: No. She got the job done, and didn’t care about the costs. BASIRA: But I thought you did.

And it seems so… pointed? So orientated? So “look at me being the monster you needed”?

So I wonder (/probably: hope) if… Jon wasn’t mainly trying to disgust Basira, with this. Playing a role, and keeping calm and quiet because he needed for the lesson to sink in. Season 4 has been about him more or less saving the assistants: removing Melanie’s bullet; getting Daisy back. Martin is still inaccessible and a sore spot. He’s tried to reason with Basira, and she deflected every time, even when he capitulated and offered for her to “use” him even if she still didn’t want to trust him. He is making himself usable here, but also… making himself loathable. And I’m wondering if this might be the way he has found to try to “save” her, too, by making her realise that the system she wants to adopt is messed up, and disgusting, and not… very “her” either.

* Not incompatible with the above, there is technically another option, when Basira told Jon that Floyd would now get plagued with nightmares:

(MAG141) BASIRA: And now he’s going to see you in his dreams as he relives that for the rest of his life!

… the other option is: “for the rest of Jon’s life”.

Because another thing in season 4 so far has been Jon’s research on rituals: how Gertrude dealt with some, how some others cancelled themselves or failed independently from Gertrude (for example, in MAG135, “I’ll keep digging. If there is another ritual upcoming, I’ll need all the information I can get on it.”). The fact that Beholding still has its chance has been looming since even before Jon’s return to the Institute, and he went back to that notion much later, with restlessness – it’s absolutely possible that, with his digging about rituals, Jon has been trying to find something that could help prevent Beholding’s:

(MAG123) BASIRA: [SIGH] Alright. Best I can understand it, Beholding, or The Eye or… whatever you want to call it, we’re one of the only powers that hasn’t actually taken a shot at our ritual. Yet. And everything out there knows it. ARCHIVIST: … No, I mean, we… we can’t be the only ones, surely? BASIRA: I don’t know. Probably not. But we made a big noise with The Unknowing and… other stuff, and… now they’ve taken notice.

(MAG137) ARCHIVIST: Ever since I crawled out of that damn coffin, I feel like I’ve been… adrift. Filling in blanks and diving into History, but only…! [EXASPERATED SIGH] The breadcrumbs I’m finding are… stale. Old. … What the hell is The Watcher’s Crown? So far the only mention of it I’ve had is from Gerry, and he didn’t seem to know much about what it actually meant. [PAUSE] And he’s gone now. But if it is the grand ritual of Beholding, then I– … I mean… I need to know about it. Right…? I feel like I’m on a deadline, like I’m running out of time somehow – and I don’t even know where to go! What to look for, o–or… [EXHALE] Just casting around blindly for more clues to just… drop into my lap.

Gertrude’s methods mostly consisted in using either explosives or the Fears’s antitheticals – Vast-touched Jan Kilbride neutralised The Buried, and she had planned for a Beholding-touched person to be the one activating the explosive during The Unknowing:

(MAG137) GERTRUDE: To be sure, I–I think the detonation would need to happen from within The Unknowing, while it was going on. Gerard may have a connection to The Eye, but I’m not convinced it will be enough. And I will admit I’ve grown… fond of the boy.

… which ended up happening with Tim. And, right before Basira came in with Flamsteed’s statement, Jon read how… Agnes had asked her own followers to hang her, officially to allow their cult another chance soon – and possibly, given Jack Barnabas’s statement and Agnes’s melancholia about how she hadn’t chosen this life… to plainly make sure that their ritual wouldn’t happen? And Jon did confess to Daisy that he wasn’t sure that he had been right to choose to “become” something else, that he felt like a potential danger, and that he was actively willing to sacrifice his life if it meant saving others:

(MAG136) ARCHIVIST: My– [PAUSE] [INHALE] [SIGH] My memories of the coma are not clear. But I know I made a choice; I made a choice to become… something else. Because I was afraid to die. But ever since then, I… I don’t know if I made the right decision; I–I’m stronger now, tougher, I can… … If I do die, now, or get sealed away somewhere forever… I don’t know if that’s a bad thing. And I don’t want to lose anyone else so, if I can maybe stop that happening, and [DRY CHUCKLE] the only danger is to me, I– I’ll do it in a heartbeat; worst case scenario… the universe loses another monster. DAISY: That’s messed up. ARCHIVIST: [LOW SELF-DEPRECATIVE DRY LAUGHTER] … Yeah. I suppose it is. DAISY: Did you know the coffin wouldn’t kill you? ARCHIVIST: I– guess I thought imprisonment wouldn’t… wouldn’t be as bad as it was. And it’s a lot easier to make that choice than it is to actually… endure the result. You might have noticed when I was in there with you, I… I had regrets. DAISY: Yeah. I remember. ARCHIVIST: Plus, I thought… [PAUSE] W– [SIGH] Well, I didn’t know what being down there had done to you. DAISY: You thought I was gonna kill you? ARCHIVIST: It was a possibility. DAISY: Guess so.

… so I wonder if Jon isn’t trying… to make Basira disgusted enough with him for her to be ready to sacrifice him when they fight against The Dark, because that would be his logical conclusion to both neutralise it and Beholding in one go, without having to lose anyone else…? He said that Melanie has been doing better; that Daisy and Basira seemed a bit warmer. Martin has cut him out. From Jon’s perspective, he probably doesn’t have a lot to come back for…?

(Or yes, maybe I’m just in denial. SHHHHH.)

Title for MAG142 is out, and MMMMMM does it sound like a Beholding title?! (So not necessarily Jon&Basira-related; could be back to Martin at the Institute. Poor Martin.) Potentially Hunt, I guess, too??

And Anil teases Things and I don’t know if I can get my hopes up for Julia&Trevor………….. because The Dark is Julia’s family story, and she became a Hunter to survive them… (And OOOPS, remember how Trevor had described Darvish in MAG109? “Point is, soon as I saw [Darvish], I knew he were there one I were after. There was a smell to him. Something dark and sick, rolling off him in waves. [SCOFF] Sure, he didn’t smell like a vampire, but he smelt like something that weren’t meant to be in this world. So, I reckoned I best help him out of it!” … I wonder if another-Hunter-than-Daisy would react in front of Jon, nowadays…)

[the-official-account]

Tell me about ur dnd campaign 👀

(I got excited and this jumps around a lot)

OHOHOHOHOHOHOOHOHOHO SO!!!!!

Its a sci-fi fantasy world in a solar system of five planets and two stars. The premise is that the party need to go around collecting artifacts to bring their celestial patrons back to full power so they can get paid. I have to keep it pretty structured cause of reasons i won't get into but I think the players appreciate the balance of clear goal and freedom to explore.

I'm so excited about this coming session cause everybody leveled up and I'm putting together my first ever battlemap for the first miniboss; she's an archivist who the party needs to convince to give to give them info on the artefacts. I have all her shit set up & even altered the combat system slightly so that information is a big part of the encounter and talking requires an action (thematically appropriate!) I MIGHT even force players to use their communication only in character as a limited resource. But I'll think about it.

I'm also really excited about the world. Party said zero child harm. I said okay! The seven year old queen is insanely powerful. Problem solved. Her mother is...well I'm leaving her open for BBEG reasons but she's A Lot.

The coronation is also next session so I've gotta prep some magic items my rouge might wanna steal in the crowd. I've written some stuff for the event that is in essence "ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE INSAAAAANELY WEALTHY"

I have a feeling that this session's event may span two sessions, which is fine, but I'm excited for the next bit. I think I'm going to send them to the desert planet next. I've got worldbuilding to do. Like, imagine the kind of creatures who might lurk in dried up ocean beds, scrambling up the sides of continental cliffs to get to the villages sit above in safety or quietly waiting for someone with too much courage to climb down. It'd be great if they stumbled upon a political mess to find out the monarchy is not great. Ehehehe ideas...

But YEAH! That's a lot of it (not all cause holy fuck) but we've been having so much fun. Ended up with three bards in the party which is hilarious and they get up to so many shenanigans. Its the kind of role-play forward game I love.

The players got into a predicament that I knew they were going to solve some batshit way so I didn't even take notes for what would happen next. The three bards dressed as palace maids approached the eight guards stationed outside the dungeons to rescue their party members (who were in there for drinking smooth brain juice, why the FUCK would you attack the first maid you see????) And, knowing that they reeked of food from working in the kitchen, rolled ridiculously on charisma to convince the gaurds they were there to have the prisoners taste if the food was poisonous (point of inspiration for that), then used a steel string to pick an easier lock and access the storage room with the rouges lockpicking tools to finally open the cell. I didn't even give them anything I was all but on mute.

Other things that happened that session:

The dragonborn rolled above 20 on charisma to roar and ended up harmonizing with himself

On bard approaches the head guard for a handshake and takes one "ouch my hand" damage

After giving his party members sonic damage from rolling super high on roaring as loud as possible right next to her, the dragonborn "roars politely"

CPS = Carrots per second

Bard rolls a 2 on mopping the floor and creates a domino effect which sends a chef flying into the soup. Frames a poor little kobold for his crimes.

I'm having fun. Already thinking of a few NPCs I'm hoping the party will like. Including the guy who'll share thier quarters: Rue M. Ate.

[downtowns-universe]

A visit

Characters: Jack, Chris, others

Words: 3079

* Jack

 “So… where are we going again?” Chris asked, giving the portal a distrusting look.

“You’ll see.”

Jack grinned when he noticed his well-filled backpack. He didn’t need his power to know what was in there. He hoped Chris wouldn’t use any of it. But why would he? They weren’t going to any dangerous place; they wouldn’t even leave earth this time. No reason to freak out at all.

At least he’d followed Jack’s advice and was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, despite it being a bit too cold for those. He didn’t seem all too happy with it, but would probably thank him for it once they got there.

“Ready?”

“I doubt I will ever be…”

“Relax, we’re just visiting a friend. No reason to panic.”

“I’m not panicking!”

“Good. Come on, let’s go.”

Jack stepped through the portal, hoping that Chris would follow him. He’d been through portals before, so this one shouldn’t be much of a problem, but you never knew. Jack had experienced first-hand how unpredictable he could be regarding his current situation. He hoped that introducing him to his world and his friends would ease him up a little.

It took a moment and Jack was just about to head back to check on him, when Chris finally stepped out next to him. He cautiously looked around the small room filled with portals he had ended up in, like something could appear from one of them at any moment. After seeing that the coast was clear he relaxed a little.

“So… where are we?”

“Madagascar.”

“You have friends all the way over here? Wow.”

“My friends are everywhere. That’s why those portals really come in handy.”

Chris sighed. “At least we’re still on earth… right?”

“Yep,” Jack grinned. “Come on, let’s see if anyone’s around.”

“You didn’t… call in advance or anything?”

“Nope.”

“Oh…”

He could tell Chris had his doubts about this, but he’d just have to deal with it. The worst thing that could happen is that they found no one there, then they would just head home again and go for a coffee or something. But his head told him they had nothing to worry about today, and this was soon confirmed by laughter coming from outside of the house.

“Come on,” Jack smiled, and opened the door.

  * Chris

 Chris wasn’t sure what he’d expected the house to look like, but this certainly wasn’t it. It was light, with big windows looking out over the sea. The place was decorated with furniture from all over the world, and from different time periods, that seemed to be randomly put together. On one wall hung a collection of swords; Chris could tell they were not just for decoration. The opposite wall was covered by shelves filled with all kinds of things: old artefacts, kid’s toys, and items that could be either. The house had a huge open kitchen, from which came the smell of baking. In front of one of the windows a wind chime softly tinkled. He didn’t see anyone, but Jack resolutely walked towards one of the glass doors, so Chris just followed him.

Outside they ended up on a deck which to his surprise featured another kitchen, with a sunroof made from an old sail to protect them from the midday sun. Chris blinked against the light, feeling a bit jetlagged since it had been the early morning where they’d left off, and he hadn’t had his coffee yet.

“Jack!” someone called.

The voice had come from their right, where a group of people sat on lounge chairs. One of them, a blond guy wearing shorts and a t-shirt, jumped up.

“You’re just in time for cake! But you knew that already, didn’t you?”

Only when he walked past them he seemed to notice Jack hadn’t come alone, and halted to take a look at his guest.

“And who have we here?” he grinned. “The hunter friend you were talking about?”

“Yes, this is Chris.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Seb.” He gestured towards the chairs. “Sit down, I need to get this thing out of the oven.”

Jack immediately dropped down on the couch.

“Uh… hi,” Chris said, following his example. He put his backpack on the floor – within reach, of course – and nervously looked at the people around him, trying to assess whether they’d be a danger to him, even though Jack had said they were friends. He wondered what Jack had been telling them about him.

The first to catch his eye was a guy on the right, who had the reddest hair he’d ever seen. One of his ears was full of piercings and his arms showed several scars as well as tattoos.

“Hi, I’m Zian,” he nodded when their eyes met.

“Chris, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Arianne,” the woman next to him said. “But you can call me Ari.”

She smiled at him while brushing her long brown hair out of her face. Chris saw she had tattoos as well, although not as many as Zian. The one that stood out to him was of a ship with blood red sails. Hadn’t Jack mentioned something about them being pirates? He suddenly wondered how old they all were. If they all had powers, surely they must be way more skilled than Jack – and way more dangerous.

“Where’s Patrick?” Jack asked.

“On the beach with Dariel,” Zian said. “I thought you’d know that, Jack. Very disappointing.”

“Well, we can’t all be perfect. Speaking of that: it’s very rude to rummage through people’s stuff.”

Chris had no idea what he was talking about, but Zian just grinned and said not to worry since he didn’t steal anything. He glanced at his backpack. Did he imagine it or had it been moved an inch to the left? He didn’t dare pick it up to check, in case it would be interpreted as a move. How would they’ve been able to get to it unnoticed from that side of the table, anyway? Unless…

Chris suddenly regretted turning off his scanner. Even though its buzzing wouldn’t tell him anything as long as Jack was around, he still felt safer with it enabled. He was currently trying to get its latest software installed, which could be programmed to allow exceptions, but getting it was always a challenge since the website’s domain changed constantly for safety reasons. As did a lot of the sites hunters used. Not so weird seeing as they mostly dealt in weapons and questionable magical items.

Chris nervously shifted in his seat as Jack made small talk about how awful the weather was back home and how nice it was to just get away. He nodded in agreement when Jack said “don’t you think?”, and hoped they would stop looking at him. Luckily then Seb returned with cake and their attention shifted away from him.

  * Jack

 “You’d better hide this cake or I’ll come back tonight and steal it,” Zian said with his mouth full.

“You could just ask for the leftovers, you know?” Seb smiled.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“Why wait, when you can steal the entire cake right now?” Jack suggested.

He grinned, since he knew what would happen next.

“Great plan!” Zian laughed, and suddenly all of their plates were gone.

Jack did his best not to laugh at Chris’ dumbstruck face when he looked around for his slice of cake. Perhaps he shouldn’t be freaking him out like that while he still had to get used to the company, but he just couldn’t resist. Besides, this was as accurate an impression of his friends as he was going to get.

“Please tell me you didn’t just eat all of that?” Ari said.

“God, no. I’d be sick.”

“Then where’d you put it?”

“Just inside.” He hadn’t finished speaking or all of the plates were back on the table.

Chris shot him a glance, asking for an explanation, but Jack just winked back at him. He’d either have to figure it out for himself or ask Zian. Sure, he’d brought him here to get to know the other side of the world he’d gotten caught up in, but he wasn’t going to hold his hand while doing it. If Chris had managed to talk himself into the hunters’ circle he could surely do this. The challenge wasn’t in making sure his friends trusted him, but if he could bring himself to trust them. So far he’d yet to loosen up; Jack could tell he was ready to jump for his bag at any second.

Chris was the first one to spot Patrick returning from the beach, even though Jack had known she was coming. She had a towel wrapped around her waist and her wet hair glistened in the sunlight.

“I see we have guests!” she called. “Or at least, more than usual.”

She approached the table.

“Hi, I’m Trish, but you can call me Patrick.”

For a second, the look on Chris’ face expressed surprise, and something else Jack couldn’t quite place.

He cleared his throat. “I- I’m Chris. Nice to meet you, …Patrick.”

She giggled at his confusion.

“Patrick’s what the crew used to call me, and it stuck,” she explained.

“Right… I see.”

Patrick sat down on the couch next to Seb, playfully tickling him with her wet hair.

“Is Ray still with Dariel?”

She nodded. “I think he fell asleep.”

“Not for long, probably,” Seb laughed. He turned to Jack. “Will you be staying for dinner?”

“Dinner? We just had breakfast.”

“Well, that’s not my problem,” he grinned.

“Fair enough. What do you think, Chris?”

He surely hoped Chris would agree. And if not, he’d just have to inform him of Seb’s amazing cooking skills.

“Uh, if there’s enough… I guess?”

They all laughed.

“If there’s enough! That’s such a Dutch thing to say. Of course there’s enough. You’re staying.”

“Then I guess we are.”

“Good.”

  * Chris

 “So Chris,” Patrick asked. “What do you do? Do you have a job? Hobbies?”

“Well, I guess hunting is kind of my job,” he said awkwardly. “But I also work security a couple of nights. Not as thrilling as it sounds. Mostly means I’m asleep for half of the day.”

He thought for a moment, frantically searching for facts about himself that didn’t involve hunting.

“I’m on a football team. We suck. Most of us are in it for the drinks afterwards.”

“He also plays the piano,” Jack added.

“Used to. Did you see room for a piano in my apartment?”

“Maybe if you threw out some weapons,” Jack muttered under his breath.

“Very funny.”

“I’m actually serious!”

“I’ve thought about getting a storage unit, but stuffing it full of weapons didn’t seem like a very good idea.”

“It could be,” Ari said. “You just need to find the right place. Some place where the regulations aren’t very strict and no one will come snooping around. I could probably help you find one.”

Of course a pirate would know where best to hide illegal objects. He had no doubt she’d find him a place, but should he? Being discovered wasn’t the only issue; he also wanted to keep his weapons at hand when he needed them. A trip to some storage facility before every hunt wasn’t ideal. Besides, if he was going to do this he’d prefer if no one else knew about its location.

“Uh, thanks, but I’ll manage. Wouldn’t know how to get a piano into a five-high apartment anyway.”

“I do,” Jack grinned.

“I won’t let you and your magic anywhere near it.”

“A shame.”

Chris sighed.

“I’d have to get my hands on a piano first. No way I’m going back to my parents’ place to get my old one.”

“You’re not close to them?” Patrick carefully asked.

Fuck. He didn’t mean to open up that can of worms.

“I don’t see them much,” he sighed. “They didn’t agree to me wanting to transition. I think they’re over it by now but I still keep them at a distance. Wouldn’t want them to get caught up in… whatever this is.”

“I see…”

Chris stared at his feet, hoping the awkward silence wouldn’t last long. Why was he so bad at social stuff?

Luckily Jack seemed to catch up on what he wanted, as usual.

“Who wants to play cards?” he asked, and reached for a box under the table for a pack of cards he knew to be there.

Seb jumped up. “Good idea, I’ll go get the rum.”

“The rum?” Chris asked, partially confused, partially glad the topic had changed.

“Can’t play cards without rum, now can we?” he shrugged.

“Can’t do anything without rum,” Ari corrected him.

“I see. Well, that’s one pirate stereotype confirmed,” Chris said.

“Right. I’ll also go get my eyepatch and parrot, then.”

Seb disappeared inside while the others cleared the table.

“Just so you know: everyone cheats. But we’ll go easy on you, seeing how it’s your first time,” Jack explained while shuffling the cards.

“No, you won’t. I’ve known you longer than today.”

“Of course we won’t go easy,” Zian laughed. “Loser has to do the dishes.”

“I heard something about cards?” a voice sounded from behind them.

When Chris turned around to find out the origin of the voice, he had to try his best not to grab his weapons. A winged creature came walking towards them, holding a little boy by the hand. The demon – or at least that’s what Chris assumed it was – was covered in colourful scales, ranging from blue to orange to green. He was wearing swimming shorts, just like the boy next to him, and carried towels. Even though his posture seemed relaxed, his tail swished around cautiously.

“Don’t scare him like that, Ray,” Patrick said.

Ray shrugged and his scales disappeared. He retracted his wings. Chris wasn’t sure where they’d gone and decided he didn’t want to know. He almost looked human now, except for his piercing yellow eyes with slit pupils.

“Ray isn’t scary!,” the little boy protested. “He’s just my dragon!”

“I’m not scary?” Ray sounded disappointed. He looked at Chris. “What do you think?”

“Uh… I thought dragons were supposed to be… bigger?”

“I can be bigger,” Ray grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. “Come along to the beach and I’ll show you.”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

“I promise I won’t eat you?”

“…Let’s just play cards.”

“Can’t. I promised Dariel to play Mario Kart.”

“Come oooooon,” Dariel whined while pulling on Ray’s arm.

“Alright buddy, I’m coming. Nice to meet you,” he said over his shoulder.

Chris nodded, still a bit dumbfounded.

“So what game are we playing?” he asked once he’d remembered what they were doing again.

“It’s a game they invented on the ship. So obviously they designed it so they can win,” Jack sighed.

“Don’t be so salty,” Zian laughed. “If you can’t win it just means you’re bad. Simple as that.”

“And like you couldn’t possibly win, mister know it all,” Ari added.

“Alright, it’s on. You’re all going down!”

“Could someone at least first tell me what to do?”

“…Fine, listen up.”

  *Jack

 “Well?” Jack asked as soon as they were on the other side of the portal, out of earshot.

“They’re alright, I guess,” Chris shrugged. “And the food was great.”

“I know, right?” Jack grinned.

He opened the door to the hallway.

“I haven’t seen you relax much, though.”

“Would you be relaxed if I put you in a room full of my friends?”

“Depends on whether they’ve brought weapons. And I thought you said the hunters weren’t your friends?”

“…They’re not. Well, maybe some of them. But those are exceptions.”

When they entered the living room, Chris looked disoriented for a moment when he noticed it was still light outside. Jack had gotten used to it by now, both because he’d travelled by portal so much and because his power helped him adjust. Now if it would only stop giving him headaches…

Chris regarded him with suspicion when he took out the pill bottle Tharryn had given him.

“What’s that?”

“Just something for my headache,” he explained while getting some water.

Chris followed him to the kitchen and lingered in the doorway.

“That bad, huh?”

“Yep. Cheating comes at a price,” he shrugged, after taking his pill.

“Then… don’t?”

“Nah. Where’s the fun in that?”

“It would surely have been more fun for me…”

“Aww… sore loser, are you?”

He playfully punched Chris’ arm.

“When I’m the only one without powers, yes, I am!”

“Patrick doesn’t have powers, and she still managed to beat you. And I was the only one using mine to cheat, anyway.”

Chris sighed.

“Alright, alright. I suck, I admit it.”

“No, you don’t. You did great today.”

“Oh, now you’re being nice.”

“Shut up,” Jack mumbled.

It was true though. Even though he’d been on edge, Chris seemed to have enjoyed today. He hadn’t acted weird or hostile towards his friends, something he’d been having issues with regarding the agent Dai had assigned to be his contact. The two couldn’t stand each other, but Jack suspected it was rather the authority Chris had a problem with, not the fact that the guy was a demon.

Jack lit a cigarette with a small flame he conjured.

“I promise we won’t be playing card games the next time I’m taking you along,” he said while moving to the couch in the living room.

Chris followed him but didn’t sit down. Instead he crossed his arms.

“When will that be? And more importantly: where?”

“It’s a surprise. But I won’t mind if you bring your weapons.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jack smiled mysteriously.

“Are we going to fight something? Is it some kind of mission?”

“You’ll see.”

Chris let out a frustrated sigh and started pacing.

“It’s a friend. He likes weapons,” Jack hinted, afraid the suspense might kill him. “Not guns, though. Blades and such. He has quite the collection.”

“Hmm, alright.”

Chris stopped pacing and sat down.

“I think I can handle that.”

Jack knew this would convince him. He’d seen the way he’d looked at the swords on Seb’s wall. Who knew, perhaps he could even learn a thing or two.

“So, wanna play a game where I at least can win?”

Chris pointed at the Xbox.

“Sure, but don’t think I’ll go easy on you,” Jack grinned while getting the controllers.

[bloodclawfr]

Q&A with the Lair

75 FR Lore Questions

1. What Flight is your clan?

The BloodClaw doesn’t really have a flight since they fight for themselves and the Assassin, but they generally float around light territories.

2. Why did they choose this Flight?

Living in the sky can be dangerous and the light territory is the most sunny.

3. Have they been loyal to other Flights before this? Or will they never move?

Most dragons come from different flights and most of them are okay with it, fights are not seen kindly in the citadel.

4. What would be the deciding factor in a move, if the clan had to?

The Assassin usually chooses where to move, unless there are more urgent problems. Last time they moved it was due to a meteor shower in the arcane territories.

5. Is the clan spiritual and highly loyal to their deity? Are they indifferent?

Most dragons believe in the dragon deities, some of them in less known religions but so far no cult has risen in the citadel.

6. How does the clan view those from different Flights? Are they welcoming to all dragons, or suspcious of newcomers?

Being in the BloodClaw citadel means business so everyone is kind of suspicious of newcomers but they treat everyone equally.

7. What does your lair look like? Go into detail.

The BloodClaw Citadel is a giant floating island, there are some minor shops and laboratories on it as well as a giant dorm with some parts reserved for guests. There is an Inn, an alchemy laboratory, a forge, a small market to exchange goods, a vault, the Star Tower where the Assassin lives, a giant garden with fountains and an underground area where most animals and goods are kept along with training rooms.

8. Who founded the clan?

Hsin Thelanor also known as The Assassin. Son of a very famous mage from another part of the planet, their heritage is now lost and he’s gone rogue.

9. Who is your clan leader? Why are they the leader? Have there been any leadership changes?

Hsin was the clan leader when they were few, Evron became the ultimate leader when the clan grew because everyone found him reliable while Hsin was always busy.

10. Was the leader chosen? Were they elected? An heir to the throne? Or maybe they achieved something within the clan?

Evron was never really chosen, just usually people find it easier to go to him for complaints, requests, questions and such things.

11. Who handles interclan relations? Any diplomats? Peacekeepers?

12. How does your clan view the Beastclans? Who handles Beastclan relations?

Most Bestfolks are welcome as long as they don’t cause a mess, the citadel rule is there will be business along peace. Some of their member made friend with dragons and was welcomed into the lair. The clan is generally non aggressive toward Beastclans as long as they don’t attack first.

13. Does your clan have specific roles for each dragon?

All dragons living in the lair have a job unless they are minors or offer other services to the lair, like consulences and such.

14. Does your clan have any Flight ambassadors? What do they do?

15. Does your clan have a council? An elected group of dragons in power?

There is more of a hierarchy in the clan, Hsin orders are absolutes, Evron after his and then Lilith. Other dragons in working positions have more authority then others but only regarding the job. There are guards trained to remove those who disobey.

16. Are all dragons in the clan expected to contribute in some way? Or are they left to their own devices?

If a dragon wishes to live in the lair permanently will most likely be asked to contribute in some way, everyone is free to leave if they don’t like the place.

17. Who protects the clan? Who is in charge of battling/guarding?

Nightbane, Dathris, Mordekai, Katamite are guards of the citadel, Kur’Talos and his wife are mercenary in case there is a need to eliminate some uncomfortable guests.

18. Does your clan trade with any other clans? Any allies? Enemies?

The BloodClaw clan welcome all clans to trade and interact. For now, no other clan as showed themselves as an ally or an enemy.

19. How is exalting handled in your clan? Any ceremonies? Is exalt fodder something that is part of your lore?

Exalting is seen as a willing sacrifice from a dragon to their deity or a kind sacrifice for corpse found while gathering. (fodder exalting)

20. Who does the gathering in the clan? (digging, scavenging, hunting, etc.)

21. Does your clan have a healer?

The BloodClaw Clan has a medic, Aelerya; a “doctor” (more like a mad scientist for prothesis and augments) Raigeki; and a spirit counselor, Vanilla.

22. Who looks after hatchlings? The parents, or a general hatchling-sitter?

Lilith was paid to look after hatchlings if theyir parents don’t want bothers. Sometimes Ayrin helps.

23. How does your clan educate younger dragons? Is there a scribe, scholar, or mentor?

Lilith is a basic teacher, when they’re old enough they can choose what they want to do in the future and will be sent to other dragons to learn.

24. Do you have any artists within your clan? How do they make a living from their crafts?

Symmetra is an architect, she builds custom rooms for dragons, she generally gets payed by guests to do their room.

25. Does your clan have a cook? Who handles the food?

Hsin used to cook then Evron started to help, but since both of them were trained to cook but used to live alone it was a kind of a mess. As the clan grew they hired a cook, Tahm Kench.

26. Who is on the Coli team? Who trains future warriors?

Evron, Electra and Lilith are the main team that goes into the Coliseum. Rhys and Kaya are fighters in the arena. Generally dragons gets trained by Evron or Dathris.

27. Any messengers? Scouts? Delivery dragons?

Keith is the flight master, he gives directions to dragons and help with cargo. Cinthyaq is a messenger for friendly requests to other clans and Deathwing is a messenger for war. There are a few more dragon that help with resource deliveries.

28. How does apparel work in your clan? Are any pieces of apparel status symbols, or indicators of the role the dragon has?

Apparel is mostly seen as normal clothes, the way a dragon dresses is the way to find out what they do in the clan and their wealth.

29. How are familiars viewed in the clan? Pets? Companions? Friends?

Most animal familiars are pets to dragons, most humanoid familiars are friend or for some even lovers.

30. Do you have any familiars that are intelligent enough to directly interact with the dragons?

Any Beastfolk in the clan is intelligent enough to interact with dragons.

31. Who cares for the familiars? The familiar's dragon, or a general caretaker?

There is a kind of adoption center for unused familiars, most dragons care for their pets, Maiev and Shadris care for the others. Eyrin usually wanders in the pet hallway to pet all of them daily.

32. Are extra familiars/non-bonded familiars free to wander around the lair? Or do they not exist in the lore?

All unused familiars are neatly organized in cages and habitats they can live in, they are taken good care of by Maiev and Shadris.

33. Does your clan have any Beastclan members living among the ranks?

The only Beastclan member actively participating in the lair life is a Serthis Alchemist called Eris.

34. Who hoards what? Do the dragons each have a personal hoard, or is there one big storage area?

There is one big storage area even though some dragons tend to hoard certain items.

35. Does your clan specialize in anything?

Some members are trained assassin from another corner of the world, the others are just plainly common dragons.

36. Does your clan stand for anything? (truth, might, knowledge, etc.)

Business. Plain and simple. Hsin got bored of the hight and mighty life so he’s just hoarding money and artefacts for fun.

37. What is the origin of your clan's name?

Hsin and Evron the founders of the clan both share a very bloodied past, being a dragon clan Hsin opted for BloodClaw.

38. Does your clan have a set of rules or guidelines for the members? What happens if a dragon breaks these rules?

There are very simple rules in the Citadel, no fights, no stealing and everything has a price. If someone breaks the rules they will be warned, after a couple of warning they will be banned from the citadel and not allowed to fly in anymore.

39. How does your clan view Gen One dragons?

Mostly orphans or dragons who don’t remember about their parents.

40. Does your clan have a territory? Or just the lair?

The BloodClaw clans has a flying citadel and a small territory with the ruins of an Elune temple with a nearby garden and arena.

41. Do any dragons in the lair have a bias or dislike towards certain breeds or a Flight?

42. Which dragons are good friends within your clan? Any enemies? Best couple?

43. Who's the cinnamon roll, and who's the problematic fave?

44. Do you have any dragons that aren't part of the lore? Just for show?

There are a lot of unlored dragon as for now, but i plan to write lore for most of them.

45. Are there any dragons in your clan who dislike hatchlings?

Evron is very good with hatchlings but he just doesn’t really like them he never grew up near them. Shiryu doesn’t like hatchlings because they are too naive.

46. How do permababies work in your lore? Do you have any?

47. Who manages the treasure and gem hoards?

48. Has your clan gone through any unfortunate events? Tragedies, even?

49. Are roles assigned to dragons when they are born/come into the clan, or do they choose their role?

Some dragon will have their parent urge them to take a precise role but most are free to choose.

50. Who kills the spiders?

Dathris.

51. Who eats all the food?

Eyrin.

52. Do you have any tricksters or prank loving dragons? Do they cause mischief?

53, Most intimdating dragon?

Evron and Dathris.

54. Most friendly dragon?

Tahm Kench.

55. Dragon most likely to bring back a stick from gathering?

56. Laziest dragon?

Kelpie and Rhys.

57. Funniest dragon?

Katamite.

58. Do you have any sub-clans? What are they called?

For the time being only the Kor’Kon Clan lives in the lair, they are a small clan of dragons who can shapeshift into orcs like humanoids. They work as mercenaries for the Assassin.

59. Does your clan decorate the lair at all? How so?

60. What markers does your clan use to let others know they live in the area? Flags? Banners? Runes?

There are some runes near the ruined temple, but the shadows of the floating island is enough to warn others of their presence.

61. Smartest dragon?

Symmetra.

62. The dragon everybody loves?

Lilith.

63. The dragon everybody hates?

64. Do you have a clan rune?

65. Pick a song that best describes your clan.

66. Who gets into arguments the most? Who keeps the peace?

67. How do skins and accents work in your lore?

68. Best dressed?

Kirye.

69. Does your clan have any elders?

70. Does each dragon in your lair have their own space, or is the entire lair shared?

Every dragon owns their own room but the common spaces are shared.

71. How do you handle gene scrolls in your lore?

72. Who loves festivals the most? Who parties the hardest?

73. Pick two dragons and talk about their relationship.

74. Choose one dragon and talk about them.

75. Choose a dragon with a familiar and talk about their relationship.

[isprava]

Isprava Villa Verde beckons, heritage style takes centre stage and more - Isprava Luxury Holiday Home and Luxury Villas for Sale in Goa

Isprava Villa Verde beckons, heritage style takes centre stage and more

Monsoon staycation at Isprava Villa Verde

A monsoon in Goa has its own special charm. And when it’s spent at Isprava Villa Verde, we promise you will not miss the sun, sand or sea.

Immerse yourselves in Isprava’s luxury, as you plan a day or many at Villa Verde. Located in the fashionable area of Anjuna, Goa, the home sits on a beautiful plot that comes lushly to life as the rain pours down. A flower garden leads you to the entrance, as the pool quietly calls your name. Before you jump in, appreciate the pergola that is designed with hand-cut sandstone from Udaipur. A piping hot cup of coffee is what beckons next — the villa’s kitchen comes fully stocked with Isprava’s Peaberry Coffee Blend to satiate your temptation. Enter the villa through one of the pastel green heritage doors, which line the courtyard, and walk into the spacious living area, which features a floor in herringbone pattern made from stunning hand cut white and yellow stone. Soak in the architecture and beauty, but do not be surprised if you feel like spending most of your time in the Juliette balcony in the master bedroom, from where you can enjoy the rain-drenched outdoors from the inside. With four bedrooms and a study, this is the perfect place to come with family or friends and indulge in the best monsoon staycation you have ever had in Goa. For when you want to step out, the nearest beach — Vagator Beach — is just a 5-minute drive away — looking pretty and tranquil in the rain.

Celebrating heritage in design

Where classic meets contemporary and heritage architecture takes the spotlight — Isprava takes vintage aesthetic to a new level with how it decks its homes.

Antique wooden panels from old doors that transform into wall art. Art decor items that find its pride in modern spaces. Handcrafted wooden furniture from a bygone era in rooms that are amped with the latest technologies. These things are what make Isprava homes, heritage masterpieces. Discerningly sourced, you will find curated artefacts, fabulous vintage lights, metal and brass pieces spread across the interiors, each with a story to tell. The whole idea is to bring a refined sense of antiquity to new spaces and transform a house into a home. From old wooden statues to heritage doors sourced from palaces around India, antique glass bottles to kitsch items that lend a pop of colour — Isprava prides itself on its interior treasures. Every Isprava home has novelty items like vintage dressing tables, age-old lanterns, majestic wrought iron and wooden chandeliers that perfectly show off their old-world grandeur on Isprava’s double heightened ceilings. Walk in and appreciate heritage décor at its best, and immerse yourselves in rustic luxury that is hard to find anywhere else.

To read more about Isprava’s sense of aesthetic and its story, grab this month’s Elle Décor Issue — or click here to read the article online.

Wake me up when September ends!

From the grasslands to the tea fields, the Blue Mountains to the purple flowers — all beckon you, to spend a September to remember in the Nilgiris.

This September arrive in the beautiful Nilgiris and leave the world behind. Discover the nirvana of the Nilgiris. Hop onto the steam engine, ‘The Nilgiri Mountain Range Train’ that runs from Mettupalayam to Ooty and back as it stops along the beautiful hill stations of Coonoor, Wellington, Kenny, and Lovedale. Keep your cameras ready for many picture-perfect vistas, waterfalls and tea gardens. If you are a nature-loving traveller, do not miss the Tropical Gene Pool Gardens, located in the heart of the Nilgiri Mountains. Lose track of time as you take off on long treks and bicycle tours to explore the lush greenery. But do not leave without indulging in a tea tour — visit the factories, tea bungalows, interact with tea workers and pluck your own tea too. Rolling hills, stone cottages, British colonial architecture, stunning botanical gardens — there is much to love about the Nilgiris.

Spaces of style with Robin Chhabra

Where you work matters — and how its styled matters even more. In conversation with Robin Chhabra, the founder of Mumbai’s newest, coolest co-working space, Dextrus.

1. How important is it to balance style with utility, when it comes to spaces of work? In the design of great spaces, form and function always talk to each other, inform one another of the changing parameters and finally a balance is achieved. If a space is designed to just look nice but cannot functionally serve the user, then the user will feel unsatisfied. Nowadays everyone has started to ask for good working environments and we are seeing higher attrition rates in companies that do not think about this. In fact, architecture that has been designed by having the employees as its central focus are the ones that thrive.

2. What is the concept behind Dextrus? We wanted to create a workspace where people enjoy coming to work every day. One that people are proud to call their office. A workspace, people enjoy coming to and one that boosts effective working habits and productivity. This does not necessarily mean bean bags and foosball tables. Design has to be thought through holistically to balance collaboration with focus while keeping the target audience in mind. Our space has so far managed to attract a multitude of companies that range from online gaming to a large private bank, giving us the confidence that we are moving in the right direction.

3. Luxury in your own words… Luxury is where you can put your feet up and get some peace and quiet. It is getting harder and harder to come by. Our city life speeds up the notion of time since it has so much packed into it. So, if you can steal some time for yourself and do the things you love then that is luxury.

4. What are the 5 most important elements of design in a workspace to inspire great minds? 1) Light — Dextrus will always work with expanding the use of natural light. Mumbai office buildings usually have deep floor plates and hence light can be a luxury that not all can afford but there are many ways design can help alleviate this. Staying connected to light uplifts the mood and keeps things positive.

2) Color & Texture — These two can create magic if used right. We have used light pink plaster ceilings to help bring colour while also texture to the space. Texture adds complexity to colour which always changes how it looks depending on the lighting and the angle you see it from.

3) Plants — Plants help layer the design and soften the edges of the space and people!

4) Function — Attention to detail here makes all the difference, details as simple as having power points in the right locations, giving storage space to clients, etc.

5) Systems — This is all the stuff you don’t see — air-conditioning, fire systems, servers, electrical design. This has to be planned hand in glove with aesthetics. If you don’t think creatively here, then designers are missing out on huge opportunities.

5. Taking a break from work can be a great formula to crack the best ideas — which Isprava villa would you pick and why? My diplomatic side would pick all of them! I have stayed at Villa Evora and it was a great experience. Great rooms, I enjoyed the pool and the living space. The peace was invigorating. I had a chance to get a sneak peek at Villa Capela while it was under construction and the view back to the paddy fields is one that has stuck with me. I am looking forward to seeing the ones in the Nilgiris.

Office Address: 12, GD Ambekar Marg, Wadla Village, Wadala, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400031, India, Email- info@isprava.com, Tel: (022) 6708 0502