#(in actuality it's mag 146 i think)

[jazzically]

RHSHSSVSSHHDHF JONATHAJ SIMS (canon) WHY ARE YOU SO DUMB WHY DO YOU DO THIS

OH PLEASE WALK THE BETTER PATH I BEG OF YOU

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 146 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: taking a bubble bath.

"I suppose I do probably owe you some sort of explanation. (big sigh) Right." It’s been a while since we had a statement that made me go: “Nobody writes like that” xD That's something you'd use verbally, but not written down. Maybe it’s one of those dictated statements.

"But dad was weirdly protective of me, kept trying to keep me around, like he was terrified that the world outside was going to hurt me." He kinda was right?

There is something deeply terrifying about luring children into a trap like the Distortion did with the green jumping rope. Horror genre-wise my thoughts immediately jumped to It, when Pennywise baited Georgie with the paper boat. Otherwise, for me personally there seems to be more to this concept because I often have nightmares about this. Can’t remember any event that might have triggered this though. Maybe it’s just a horror favorite of mine. That moment in those nightmares, when I realize it's a lure, always hits so hard...

"Something was holding the other end, and it was trying to pull me. For one, awful moment, I found myself frozen in a tug-of-war with whatever was inside that door, clinging desperately to that rope as it stretched away and vanished into blackness." Getting goosebumps! I love horror stories with something we can't see interacting with our world. (Absolutely loved this in MAG 9 for example, the beast pounding on the door. Or MAG 63, the shadows holding the statement giver's friend. Hm, usually this is a Dark thing...)

"I told my parents, of course, but they didn’t believe me. They just thought I’d lost it, and was making up wild stories to cover it up." Ahhh, typical Spiral, one of these very real fears. I have very bad childhood memories about this. I hated being a child and not being taken seriously or an easy scapegoat. Not that it got better when it comes to being taken seriously... Yeah, really looking forward to MAG 177... /sarcasm

I love the just-a-few-sentences door stories!

"I’m… sorry; I didn’t mean to get so deep into my issues." Ha, effect of the Eye/Archivist presence?

JON: "But now I decide to start looking properly into Hill Top Road, and all of a sudden I’m drawn to rearrange a filing cabinet, and what do I find behind it?" All of a sudden drawn to do something, you say. After digging into Hill Top Road... I mean, at least Jon seems aware of this being weird. That perhaps contributed to him thinking he's being manipulated by the Web (+ trying to deny it's really him seeking out live statements). And... he actually was manipulated, just not in the way he thought...

HELEN: "No. I imagine not. I decided it was time to finish that game a few months ago." A few months ago... like 10 months ago maybe? When Helen came to Jon in MAG 115? And now he comes to her... Luckily not about the feeding thing. Helen steered the conversation into this direction. And Helen is a terrible conversational partner when it comes to talking about their relationships with the Fears. Daisy is way better for this.

HELEN: "Is it? We do what we need to do when it comes to feeding, don’t we? (pointed) Don’t we, Archivist?" JON: "Yes." Yeah, pre-empted it in the previous bullet point, Helen knows whats going on and of course she's rubbing salt into that wound. Jon sounds so scared when he answers. Like, he's coming to terms that it's actually him choosing to feed and perhaps that scares him even more than being manipulated into doing it.

HELEN: "There is something wrong with Hill Top Road. You know it as well as I do. Some strange scar on reality at the center of – whatever it is that the Spider is spinning." Oh, the foreshadowing^^

JON: "I, I want to know: Can the Web control another avatar, one that serves a different power? Make them do things they don’t want to, make them –" JON: "– find victims, feed –" [HE BREAKS OFF; HELEN IS CLEARLY GETTING TO HIM.] HELEN: "Oh, perhaps. Perhaps not. Would that make life easier for you? Are you so sure you didn’t want to?" Yeah, that. Helen always knows how to twist the knife.

Just like we heard a few short horror stories about doors, we now get short statements! I wonder, if these were ideas which didn't make it into a full statement.

JON: "I was walking the streets; I – I thought I was trying to clear my head…" DAISY: "But you were hunting." Oh course, Daisy knows that feeling. I'm glad she's here.

JON: "I don’t record anything anymore, not, not really;" Not really-counter of S4: 16!

BASIRA: "You’re a danger, Jon. A monster. You’re hurting innocent people." JON: "So did Daisy." BASIRA: "Shut up. It’s not the same thing at all." DAISY: "Basira. He has a point." Until this point Basira was  admittedly cold towards Jon, but never hostile. Sometimes she even (tried) to help him in a caring way (coffee after trying to Know, telling Jon he doesn't have to look at the Dark Sun...) That ship has sailed now. She wasn't trusting Jon when he woke up and it looked like that gradually changed a bit, but now that trust is destroyed, and even worse, Basira probably feels verified about not wanting to trust Jon. Jon immediately brings up Daisy, he probably thought about this long enough and hoped Basira would cut him some slack because she didn't care about it either when Daisy did it. He kind of throws Daisy under the bus there a bit, but she knows it's true and relevant to Basira. Really, reeeeally glad Daisy is here. She's adds an important perspective to this situation.

BASIRA: "You didn’t know what you were doing." [DAISY MAKES A PAINED SOUND, AS IF TO CONTRADICT HER, BUT STOPS.] BASIRA: "And since you did, you’ve spent every waking hour resisting. He knows exactly what he’s doing." We already heard Daisy's view on this in MAG 142. She said "I hate a lot of what I did back then; doesn’t mean I’m not responsible for it, doesn’t mean it wasn’t me." Basira fully loses the capability of seeing this situation in a more objective way. Seeing, that Daisy was like this as well. But Daisy has been doing this for a lot longer than Jon and probably had a lot of time thinking about it in the coffin and since she's been out. To Jon this is rather new and he has almost no support. No wonder he's not handling it well...

Here's the thing. If you give people the feeling, they have no right to contribute to a discussion, it will scar them and in the future they will handle situations like this badly, even if they get an equal vote. Hmmm, does that come up later...?

MELANIE: "B-Basira – Come, come on." [BASIRA LEAVES, SHUTTING THE DOOR BEHIND HER.] [MELANIE SIGHS.] JON: "Well, that was…" DAISY AND MELANIE: "Shut up." For the comedic effect it was better that Daisy also says "Shut up", but I think it's a bit out of character given the way she just engaged in this conversation.

@a-mag-a-day

[itchyeye]

Do you ever think about how, canonically, the only entity that can deny the End is the Buried? How other entities can stall death and extend their lifespam, but the coffin can make anyone inside it safe from death? Even if their bodies break, they remain alive.

The End gets everyone in the end, everyone EXCEPT those trapped in the Buried: the entity that gets the least attention from canon, the only one that doesn't get an avatar for Jon to meet. Literally the only entity that can remain forever self-sustained without having the issue of "all the victims keep dying".

Guess what I'm saying is: the story would have gone quite differently if Jon had aligned with the Buried instead of the Eye.

i don't follow your logic re: the buried because i feel like it being "the only entity that can deny the End" is just demonstratively untrue

yes, everyone trapped in the coffin is untouchable by death. their suffering is endless. but, so are all the buried victims who were on that one subway car in mag 71

so are all the extinction-victims trapped in the eternal apocalypse theme park in mag 156

so was helen when she was trapped in michael's hallways for three days without food or water in mag 47

so are all of the devotees of the lightless flame, who give up their mortal form and therefore their mortality, which is why gertrude was able to cut off eugene vanderbilt's head and keep it in a drawer in mag 146, an experience it is confirmed that he was very much alive during and after

that's four examples just fresh off the top of my head, there are definitely more. the "fate worse than death" thing is a pretty consistent theme in magpod, where you're in a hellish circumstance and you cannot hope that death will bring sweet release

so, the buried is actually far from the only entity that has an "all the victims keep dying" problem? i actually don't think any entity has this problem. helen confirms in mag 146 that she finally ate marcus mackenzie because she got bored of playing with her food after almost 30 years. i think it's made very clear that entities, avatars, and monsters can decide when they are done with someone, and death doesn't get in their way

i mean, just look at the flesh. this isn't a martyrs (2008) situation. jared can pull really important pieces out of people for ages before they finally die. and like, do they finally die?? we can only hope so. for their sake.

i also don't understand your mic drop at the end here. "the story would have gone quite differently if Jon had aligned with the Buried instead of the Eye."

what if the moon were made of green cheese. what if a mouse drove a hyundai elantra. like what are you saying?

[chilling-in-the-void-alone]

I want to make pathetic rambles about the distortion for a second,, so I’m gonna do that 👍 (if you don’t like “critique” (barely that) for the common neon colours portrayal of the distortion just scroll past I guess?)

While I am an enjoyer of the neon eye-scorching distortion/spiral,,, I won’t argue its fun to draw and its fun to look at. But it honestly isn’t how I imagined the distortion and I want to ramble about how I imagined it (before fandom changed it a bit for me I guess??) I imagined it as slightly off desaturated warm colours if that makes sense. Like the colours you find on your grandparents floral sofa, but off. Like colours that should look nice together but they are just slightly the wrong hue and saturation and end up clashing when put together. Kind of like a long hallway with warm lights that end up warping the colour of the wallpaper into something just slightly different.

(Maybe its just that I’ve been thoroughly affected by the horribly long hallway to my therapists office,, it could have come out of a horror story, one day I’ll write something based on it lol). Now for my “reasoning” eg I want to dissect why I got these vibes from the statements about the distortion. 

So in Helen’s statement (Mag 47: The New Door), which I’m pretty sure is the first time we get to know what is in the hallways properly, “the walls were papered over in a swirling green pattern. Running down the middle of the faded yellow carpet was a rug, black and thick”, the colours just read as off for me here, it does rely on the green I’m imagining but yeah weird desaturated colours that don't fit together. 

There’s also the general ties to childhood/nostalgia?? that it has a couple times, I’m not actually sure if that was intentional (as many other statements regarding the distortion don’t have this but oh well some did and I latched onto it I guess)

One statement that stands out to me is ‘Mag 146: Threshold’ with the distortion following the statement giver since childhood. The vibe of the first segment of the statement with the skipping rope, has the kind of feeling I’m talking about, "I look over, and in the weak orange glow of my nightlight, I can see the heavy wooden handle of my skipping rope moving slowly across the floorboards" its hard to find a quote that really works for it that doesn't just include me copying and pasting the first segment but yeah that part is what I'm talking about.

As I've said before, the colours you find on your grandparents floral sofa, sun bleached from time and just slightly off from what it looked like originally, currently being affected by the orange light of the kitchen in the evening before being picked up. you know, nostalgia.

Or (can't forget my favorite person to subject my friends to rambles about) Michael Shelley and how he was affected by the incident of his his friend getting taken by "something like [the distortion]" (Mag 101: Another Twist) during his childhood which caused the whole domino affect with the institute and The Great Twisting. 

It’s Warped nostalgia I guess?

Generally, I find it all really interesting seeing other peoples interpretations of how things look and such, as tma is a podcast. I guess I just wanted to throw my hat in the ring for how I imagined the distortion 👍 and explain why I think I imagined what I did during my first listening :D

also I didn't mean for this to get so long, apparently instead of writing my comparative essay I wrote this instead

[fakecrfan]

Do you think Basira and Daisy had a healthy relationship?

I am so glad you asked! I have had a lot of thoughts about their relationship, but had decided to shelve those thoughts because I was worried it would come off as me telling people to not ship Daisira, which is... not what I want to be doing. But you sent me an Ask and so I am compelled to answer!

My answer is: no. Their relationship is toxic in one of the most interesting ways I have seen portrayed in media.

This might be a bit confusing to hear, though. Normally when we call a relationship toxic, it means that one or both of the people involved are making each other feel bad. But Daisy and Basira seem to make each other feel... good. Basira is apparently Daisy’s last human attachment, and according to Elias in MAG 92, and “not being able to see Basira again” is one of Daisy’s biggest laments in the coffin. And on Basira’s end, Daisy seems to make Basira feel... secure. Supported.

From MAG 117:

BASIRA

But at least Daisy’s coming. I mean, I know she’s… difficult. Everything they say about her, it’s true, it’s fair. But, she’s solid. She��s a… a fixed point, and if she’s there, I know exactly where I stand, exactly what I’m doing, relative to her.

From MAG 178:

MARTIN

We’re here for you.

BASIRA

No. She was there for me.

So, “attachment to humanity” “support” and “security” are good things in a relationship, right? Their love for each other (whether you read it as completely platonic or not) seems genuine, and they put each other first. That should mean that their relationship is Good!

Wellllllll no. Sometimes, a relationship can feel good while also... trapping you in a harmful cycle, or stunting your growth as a person. Think: a friend who is charming and fun who you love to drink with--to the extent that, even when you’re trying to manage an alcohol addiction, you end up going into situations with them that trigger your urge to drink. Also think: a friend who keeps bringing you sugary food even after you’ve been diagnosed with serious diabetes with potential life-altering complications--because you like donuts, they used to make you so happy.

Daisy and Basira are that to each other. In particular--Basira’s attachment to Daisy draws Basira back into dangerous situations and, by extension, causes her fall deep into that “siege mentality” that shuts down Basira’s more thoughtful side. 

When Jon confronts Basira about Daisy’s crimes in MAG 178, this exchange occurs.

MARTIN

[Loudly] Enough. Enough! Someone has died! Show some respect. Or don’t you care?

BASIRA

[Incensed] Of course I fucking care!

…

[Quieter] That’s the problem.

MARTIN

I… I don’t understand.

BASIRA

I just… I don’t need him laying everything out for me like I’m some kind of idiot. I know, all right.

I don’t think Basira is making anything up here to make herself seem better. Basira already knew there was a problem with the police, before Jon confronted her. She already knew Daisy was corrupt to some extent, even if she had trouble facing it head on. And--she already cared.

That’s why she quit. She didn’t need a revelation from Jon or anyone else to open her eyes. She didn’t even need to see harm happen to an innocent bystander. Instead, she saw how the higher ups were covering up the killing of Maxwell Raynor, of all people--

BASIRA

They’ve given us a few days ‘compassionate leave’. I think they just want us out of the way while they figure out the official version of what happened.

--and she quit after that. 

So, here we already have someone who is coming into an understanding of the police as a flawed system without anyone needing to tell her. Here we have someone who is already extricating herself from that system, because she cares about her impact on other people. From this point, she could easily have gone her own way, taken time to reflect and never hurt anyone again.

So what brings her back into the whole mess in MAG 88?

BASIRA

I’m looking for Daisy.

MARTIN

Oh for – Okay, I don’t know where she is! I don’t know where anybody is! Why does everyone… okay, why does everyone think that I always know where everyone is, all the time?!

BASIRA

Alright, okay, alright, sorry. They just… well, they said at the station that this was the last place she checked in.

--Her relationship with Daisy, of course!

She wants to leave the supernatural and the police behind. She tells Jon the Institute is bad (MAG 73) but she walks back in because she’s worried about Daisy. And then she throws herself right back in the fray to stop Daisy from killing Jon. Shortly after that, Basira has to sign herself off as a hostage to Elias…

ELIAS

She’s quite the killer, your partner. All in the public good, of course. And she was correct, I spent some time acquiring that evidence. Or creating it. And while your superiors don’t much care about the killings, the fact there is proof… They’re not happy. And they want you brought in.

--because of Daisy’s murders, Daisy’s reckless actions giving Elias leverage. Basira throws herself in with Daisy, and it draws Basira right back into a world of violence and the paranormal that she was trying to quit. It motivates her to, once again, cover for Daisy’s errors and justify them. This takes away any chance Basira could have had to gain distance from the violence, reflect, and get some perspective. Instead, she’s thrown right back into the siege. 

Basira doesn’t even show any sign of frustration with Daisy at this. It’s not that Basira is 100% meek. We see her get frustrated with people later, express grievances, and hold people accountable later--but with Daisy she doesn’t do any of this. Instead, she immediately re-affirms that she’s on Daisy’s side.

BASIRA

Daisy, it’s… it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.

Of course, it’s not a one-way street, either. It’s not an uncomplicated “Basira good, Daisy toxic and bad” story. It’s a mutually reinforcing cycle where they are both complicit. We see that in season 4, when Daisy tries to stop feeding the hunt.

People like to rag on Basira for her actions in this season but... her actions are actually also more complicated than a simple story of “Basira sabotages Daisy’s progress.” Because Basira misses the more resolute Daisy, yes, and wishes she had a strong protector instead of another person to help... but even with that, she’s still willing to support Daisy’s progress away from the Hunt!

In MAG 133:

ARCHIVIST

You’re not happy she’s back.

BASIRA

I didn’t say that, John. I will never abandon Daisy, and… having her back is… (she sighs) But right now she’s dead weight, and I need to be able to travel light.

Basira wants someone powerful to protect her, is conflicted that she doesn’t have that but still will never abandon Daisy regardless. And, true to her word, she does support what Daisy is doing.

From MAG 140:

BASIRA

We’ve talked about it. If the Hunt takes her again, we don’t know if she’s coming back. And neither of us want that.

In MAG 146, she even praises Daisy’s path of resistance.

BASIRA

You didn’t know what you were doing.

[Daisy makes a pained sound, as if to contradict her, but stops.]

BASIRA

And since you did, you’ve spent every waking hour resisting.

So, Basira is--true to Elias’s word--being Daisy’s anchor to humanity. True to her own word, she’s having Daisy’s back, supporting her decision to quit the hunt even if it means Basira has less back up. So what changes?

MAG 155:

BASIRA

Because I’m not going to lose her.

ARCHIVIST

She goes hunting again, you might anyway.

BASIRA

And if she doesn’t, she might die.

Even at this point, Basira’s worst impulses are always about Daisy. Even when she undercuts Daisy’s progress, it’s about Daisy’s wellbeing. All she wants to do is make sure Daisy’s alive and okay, and to that end she will throw out all of her rationality and moral principles.

And then, when Daisy does finally give into the hunt, it’s for Basira.

It’s... funny to analyze and critique this behavior, because I have seen this sort of behavior in Jon/Martin fics treated as a sweet and romantic thing. You know, the “I want you to keep being a monster because I don’t want to lose you!” thing. And also the “prioritizing each other over everything else in the world” thing. Because the concept of unconditional support, of putting another person first above everything else in the world--it’s an alluring one.

But with Daisy and Basira, even though their relationship isn’t necessarily romantic, we see how harmful that mindset can be. How someone can care for you, prioritize you, make you feel like the whole world, and... the main effect of that is to stunt you, to give you so much comfort you never get out of a harmful cycle or change your behavior at all. How it can cause you to enable horrible things in the world, like police brutality. 

That is the story of Daisy and Basira’s relationship. It’s about the effects of this cycle on Basira--yes, Basira specifically and not Daisy, even though the cycle is mutually reinforcing and affects them both.

Basira appears in nearly twice as many episodes as Daisy. Because of this, Basira is the one we see discussing the relationship and what it means to her. Basira is the one we see grappling with the psychological fallout of their relationship. It’s more Basira’s story than Daisy’s--not because she’s the “victim” or that she was morally pure but because... Basira is the one who ultimately grows past this.

After episode after episode of “she needs me” and “I can’t leave her” and “I can’t let her die”--after Basira endangering herself and stunting her own growth by centering Daisy

DAISY

Partner… Come…

[MORE FOOTSTEPS]

BASIRA

Not now. Not after everything.

--Basira finally breaks free, and moves on.

[sleepymarmot]

Opinion: MAG 187 doesn’t invalidate Helen’s more sympathetic moments

It is possible to interpret the episode as retconning everything the Distortion has ever said and done into a manipulation targeted at Jon, which would undo the character’s complexity and make them revolve entirely around the protagonist. The key for this interpretation seems to lie in the following exchange: 

ARCHIVIST You worked to hurt us and help us, all with the same smile, until we can barely tell one from the other. Keeping us off-balance, constantly second-guessing our own opinions of you. Never quite crossing a line we could never forgive, but never putting yourself on the line either. And when one face finally stopped smiling, you just changed the face.

HELEN Fine. So if that’s all true… why? Why would I do any of that? What’s my actual motive?

ARCHIVIST I don’t think you even have one. It’s just what you are.

But I don’t think most of what was said here is new information.

Let’s go back to season 3. Here’s how the newborn Helen Distortion explains her identity:

HELEN Michael isn’t me. Not now.

ARCHIVIST What happened?

HELEN He got… distracted. Let feelings that shouldn’t have been his overwhelm me. Lost my way.

In other words, the Distortion’s modus operandi is a long, long game of cat and mouse (see also: MAG 146 Threshold). Michael got sidetracked by his (or Michael Shelley’s) revenge against the Archivist(s) and decided to actually kill the mouse. But it was unnatural for the Distortion, so it shook off the troublesome identity, and Helen was both an instrument to get rid of Michael and a continuation of what was started by him and worked so well.

ARCHIVIST A-are you still going to kill me?

HELEN No. That was Michael’s desire, not mine.

The Distortion doesn’t want to send the Archivist into its corridors. Why would it, when it’s so rewarding to misdirect and mess with him in other ways?

Now, for episode 115.

HELEN I… I’m not… I’m not entirely sure. I’m… having trouble. I don’t think I was meant to be Helen.

ARCHIVIST I’m – I don’t understand.

HELEN Neither do I. Michael was… pulling away. His anger was interfering. I don’t, I don’t think I have a choice but to be Helen. Self is difficult.

ARCHIVIST Michael, he, uh, he, he wasn’t meant to be you either, though, was he?

HELEN No.

There’s an internal conflict between Helen and the Distortion -- just like there was between Michael and the Distortion. I don’t think the new episode invalidates or undoes that. On the contrary: it restated that Michael strayed from the Distortion’s purpose, which means Helen could have done the same.

HELEN Something happened when I became ‘Helen’. She wasn’t right, she wasn’t ready.

ARCHIVIST I don’t…

HELEN Before, talking to you made Helen feel better.

ARCHIVIST You’re not that Helen!

HELEN I just want… I just want to feel better.

Helen was supposed to be a meal that replenished the Distortion’s energy. But it seems that the food was not as fully digested as the Distortion would prefer, and tried to bite back.

ARCHIVIST Wh-what? Why should I believe… a-a-any of this? You’ve told me over and over that you’re… what was the phrase? The ‘throat of delusion’? All of this is –

HELEN I have never told you a lie, Archivist. I wouldn’t dare. I, I just thought you might understand.

ARCHIVIST Uh… How could I possibly…

HELEN We’re both changing, Archivist. I had hoped, that together –

The Distortion has never lied (and now we know why). The Distortion has truly changed. Its new face genuinely wanted Jon’s company, just like the previous face had wanted him dead. But both faces interact with Jon in a way that leaves him confused and upset, because such is their nature.

In MAG 131, Helen insists that her identity is not a mask but a new but inseparable part of herself. As we now know, she is not lying: 

ARCHIVIST

You’re still wearing her face.

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.

We get a double confirmation that Helen is different from the Distortion’s previous incarnations in MAG 146, in the words of both Helen and her victim:

This wasn’t like before; there was no playfulness here, none of that malicious joy that I had always felt coming off it. Now there was just a cold hunger, a deep anger, as though I had no right to just stand there looking at it. The street was silent, but I could feel it screaming at me to open it.

HELEN (all business) Oh, well; the son, I was pursuing long before I was even Michael. And technically, I didn’t eat the old man. He passed away from terror long before I got a chance to open properly.

ARCHIVIST His son Marcus – he – he was fine when I read his father’s statement two years ago, but now, suddenly, I can’t get through to him.

HELEN No. I imagine not. I decided it was time to finish that game a few months ago.

ARCHIVIST You – Why?

HELEN Not sure. I suppose Helen didn’t have quite the same attachment to him as a project. I’m not quite as much for decades-long campaigns of subtle terror these days.

ARCHIVIST (soft) That’s horrible.

HELEN Is it? We do what we need to do when it comes to feeding, don’t we? (pointed) Don’t we, Archivist?

Helen Distortion doesn’t derive joy from terrorizing people for months or years with doors. That’s just food now. Now she gets the same joy from messing with people with the help of her humanlike appearance and personality.

An often-quoted line from MAG 152:

HELEN Even if it were capable of doing so, what possible reason would the Eye have to change how you feel, when it makes no difference to your actions? Helen was like you, at first. She felt such guilt over taking people. Until one day she realized she wasn’t going to stop doing it. So she chose to stop feeling guilty.

Again, the new episode confirms two things: 1) Helen wasn’t lying. 2) Helen was telling this to Jon to make him doubt his loyalties. And again, this is not new information! She laughs at his misery and confusion very openly!

Episode 157. Jon gets a shocking reminder that Helen is Just Here To Troll:

HELEN Because I have a good enough sense of what’s going on to know that it will be much more fun without my involvement! (begins laughing)

...

ARCHIVIST Just tell me what’s going on. Please.

HELEN (gleefully) Bad things, Archivist. Really bad things.

MAG 164, Helen’s first appearance in s5. There’s so much going on, let’s try to list at least some of it: she congratulates jonmartin on their relationship, immediately tries to play them against each other, cheerfully deflects all blame onto Jon and also Georgie and Melanie, admits to betrayal, announces she wants to be friends “again”, then expresses pity that Jon isn’t hostile to her enough. Absolutely everything she does is about creating relationship chaos.

MAG 166, second encounter with Helen post-Change, and she is delighted to see disagreement between Jon and Martin unprompted by her:

MARTIN Yeah, I, I, I think we should go for it, get our murder on!

ARCHIVIST (disbelief) Sorry, what?

HELEN (surprised delight) Yes, Martin!

In MAG 177, she moves the focus of ridiculously blatant manipulation and provocation onto Basira, and also doesn’t bother to hide she enjoys scaring her “friends”:

HELEN Not interrupting anything, Am I?

MARTIN Christ, Helen, you scared the life out of me.

HELEN [Insincere] Sorry, darling.

And finally, MAG 183. By now, everyone in the scene is aware that she’s here just to get a rise out of our heroes and metaphorically eat popcorn.

MARTIN Look. Listen, I’m getting really sick of all thi–

ARCHIVIST Leave it, Martin. She’s just trying to get under your skin.

MARTIN Yeah? Well, she’s really good at it!

HELEN Aww. Thanks, sweetie. But to be honest, I’m mainly just here to see which path you choose.

Which brings us to MAG 187. We already know that Helen isn’t Jon and Martin’s “friend” as in “ally” -- she hangs out with them to provoke strong responses and sow chaos. The plot twist is that she’s not just doing it for fun, like a human would -- it is her way of avatar feeding.

The Distortion has always been a trickster. I am glad that they died this way, instead of becoming either an over-the-top villain or a reluctant hero -- before the plot could corner them into becoming one. And as Jon said, the reason Helen had to die was not her trickster nature, but the side she picked on the “Eyepocalipse: keep or cancel?” issue. 

The reveal in 187 does not contradict the information we had before, and so it doesn’t retcon or undo the complexity or character development that the Distortion had. The fact that the Distortion fed on Jon (and others’) reaction to them does not mean that they never had any motivations or thoughts beyond that. Jon says it himself: “keeping us off-balance” is not the Distortion’s motivation, it’s “who they are”, it’s the natural, instinctive way they conduct themselves. We have learned that the Distortion's behavior was Eldritch Trolling instead of Regular Trolling, that's all.

[shineyfish]

Okay Actually no I'm talking about this otherwise I'm just gonna be Filled with Energy™

Spoilers for The Magnus Archives (Specifically later events, I just finished off MAG 146) :>

I adore that they added not only that Jon is starting to Feed off of other people's stories, statements, it seems Specifically traumas at points, and that,, he doesn't seem to be doing it Consciously?

Like he had said with the person in the shop, he didn't intend to go out asking for statements, it just kinda happened

I also love how he asks Helen if other avatars can influence or control others thoughts and feelings.

Jon doesn't want to believe that he wants this

He wants to believe that, I think it was Specifically The Web, is controlling his decisions, and not that he's (Albeit unintentionally) going out and searching for statements to feed on

I am so so SO facinated with this direction

And for the love of all that is good someone get this man into therapy

[unaskedformagnustheories]

UNASKED FOR MAGNUS THEORY #6: EXTINCTION IS COMING (AND HELEN WILL BE THE ONE TO OPEN THE DOOR)

If the title didn’t make it readily apparent, this post contains speculation on MAG Season 5. Please do not read if you haven’t made it to 160 in the pod. There be spoilers ahead.  We good?  All the new offerings listeners gone? 

Alright!  To my dearest Red-Stringers, I know it’s been a minute. I’ve been gearing up to this one for a while. Teased it on discord, even, but I’ve put off sharing, because this might be the theory I’m most attached to. Seriously, half the other ones on here are rambles at best (an exercise in futility at worst), I'm tired of letting this one collect dust, and want to share with you folks before I lose my nerve.  The short of it? I suspect the birth of The Extinction is still a threat in this post-apocalyptic world. I believe Elias’ ritual was just a stepping stone along the path, and Adelard Dekker and Peter Lukas were looking in the wrong place when they assumed this new power would be born from The End. Instead, I think The Spiral has been has been laying out the red carpet from the start with Distortion’s help, and The Archivist’s a little foolish for not questioning whether or not the apocalypse could get worse.  While I’ve been wary of Helen for a while (as lovely as Imogen Harris is), I have to admit the seed for this train of thought was planted by Simon Fairchild in MAG 151: 

“Peter seems convinced that the Extinction is different, that its actual birth will be as bad - or worse - as another power fully manifesting. He believes its advent will be heralded by all sorts of disasters, and catastrophes, and global upheavals, and whatnot. That kind of thing”

Upheavals? Catastrophes? Seems a fitting description for an escalating few decades worth of failed rituals, wouldn’t you say? Even Adelard Dekker mused in his last correspondence with Gertrude “perhaps the birth of such things is longer and more complicated than I believed” (MAG 157). It could even include an eyepocalypse on the way to greatness, and I don’t think it coincidence a familiar set of corridors has been on the sidelines munching popcorn for most of the story so far. One of the first descriptions we get of Michael is through a distorted window pane in Sasha James’ apartment building, the glass warped like a “funhouse mirror” (MAG 26). This description is echoed in A New Door when Helen Richardson describes the paintings in Michael’s corridors “each distorted [him] differently, like a selection of funhouse mirrors”. Curious then, isn’t it that one of Adelard Dekker’s statements regarding The Extinction tells the tale of a man who stepped from our world into a horrifying, inhuman reality via a very similar pathway? While the mirror world in Magnus 156 - Reflection isn’t usually tied to The Spiral (from what I’ve seen around the fandom) I would argue the funhouse aspect and the maze imagery should make us reconsider. That being said, I’d like to draw your attention specifically to the three odd mirrors this unfortunate dark tourist finds: 

1. “expanded him into a short, squat reflection”  2.  “bent him out of shape”  3. “squeezed him, made him thin and gaunt, and that was the one which took him” 

Is it just me, or do the first two distorted goldilocks mirrors remind anyone else an awful lot of The Maker of Clay “short and squat, with knobbly bare arms that seemed to reach down almost to his knees” and The Distortion (do I really need to explain why? ha, you folks have been listening to the same show I’ve been listening to). Is it such a reach to imagine that the third mirror represents a facet of The Spiral that’s still marinating? Biding its time until full emergence. Have we forgotten already that Extinction-prophet Garland Hillier left a warning telling us that “the door is the door” after presumably losing himself in an alternate Paris full of inhuman inheritors so twisted that the researcher who accidentally followed him couldn’t even put into words how terrifying the creatures that come after humanity are (MAG 134)? Or is The door THE DOOR, and we should really be more concerned about her machinations.  It’s not exactly news the Distortion’s motivations have been foggy from the start. In the very beginning Michael told Sasha he didn’t care if she and her friends at The Archives lived or died. And yet he hung around treating their handling of The Unknowing like it was a spectator sport. Then when he became she, Helen stayed around the Institute to offer ‘help’, but happily denied Jon assistance when he came asking for an ally before entering the panopticon. Post-apocalypse? Martin’s not the only one who’s noticed she’s gleefully getting “worse”, and I can’t help but get the sense she’s not riding the chaos so much as riding the tide of a plan finally coming to fruition. Thriving.

It could explain (if we assume The Spider is working to re-establish the world that was) why The Distortion was so intent on getting into Hill Top Road when it was torturing Marcus MacKenzie (MAG 146). When approaching the house, Marcus remembers feeling the door’s playfulness disappear as “a cold hunger” set in “as though [he] had no right to just stand there looking at it. The street was silent, but [he] could feel it screaming at [him] to open it”. Was The Distortion aware that the time-warp house might be the only real threat to Extinction’s birth and wanted to cut it off at the head? I know I’m spiraling into conjecture a little, but this post could turn into a novella if I didn’t. I just think it would be a great twist if while we’re focusing on Elias as the big bad something worse could be lurking in the shadows, and Helen seems like the most likely candidate. Elias had his villain moment. His arc (while not complete) felt like it reached its zenith at the end of Season 4. Tell me it doesn’t sound like a Jonny Sims bait and switch to have our intrepid heroes deal with ‘The King of the Ruined World’ only to find out he was the least of their worries. 

Random, but if this theory holds any weight, I wonder (with the whole through-line that the fears are inextricably tied to humanity), if Gertrude accidentally helped Extinction’s ascension by feeding Michael to The Distortion. It seems horribly fitting that if in trying to stop one ritual she lay the groundwork for a power so disgusted by its own existence it had to become something else. Something with the potential to raze things to the ground even further and build an entirely new world unrecognizable to those that came before. 

I’d like to leave you with one last (and arguably weakest) point. Ha, but if that’s not proof I do this for fun, I don’t know what is. This isn’t an essay. It’s me rambling, and if you’ve come along this far I appreciate you as a human. All the same, I’d like to draw your attention to episode 99 - Dust to Dust. The statement regards a town in Oklahoma that was built on a lie, a storm that felt like the end of the world, and a man named Stefan Brotchen who became something inhuman during the course of events. While Gertrude mentions that the town’s foundation reminds her of The Spiral, she ultimately admits that The Buried more likely stands to be the entity at play. However the prevailing reality of fear soup doesn’t negate the possibility that something else could be in the works too. Something that starts with an ‘e’ and ends in ‘xtinction’. I’d also like to put these two descriptions side by side: 

“Stefan Brotchen was, to all appearances, much the same as any other Okie farmer: strongly built, with a mess of short, curly, blond hair and a round, smiling face. But his eyes were different. There was… something there. I-I was never quite sure what, but they had a depth, a quiet intensity to them that struck me the first time I saw him.

“He was tall, maybe six and a half feet? And he had long, straw-coloured hair that fell onto his shoulders in loose ringlets. His face was round and unthreatening” (MAG 47, The New Door) 

Funny that at the end of that statement a very human Michael Shelley interrupts. Like I said. Could be nothing...or it could be the kind of move a certain horror writer likes to play which’ll make you want to bang your head on a desk for not seeing that maybe Extinction has been hanging around longer than anybody noticed. Maybe it’s been a part of The Distortion all along. Maybe it merged with it’s sib during the ritual at Sannikov Land, and has slowly been splintering since. 

All I know is we have no idea what Michael looked like pre-transformation. We just have a voice on a tape. And Helen is up to something. 

[bubonickitten]

TMA fic: Reciprocity

Summary: Sometimes, listening to the quiet just doesn't work. Jon and Daisy drown out the noise with tea, board games, and some heart-to-heart conversation.

Notes: Writing this one put me in the mood for more Jon & Daisy friendship, so I decided to write a fic to expand on this silly headcanon I had.

Cross-posted to AO3 here.

CW: brief descriptions of claustrophobia; panic attacks; discussions of canon-typical trauma; brief psychological self-harm (i.e. punishing oneself by purposely exposing oneself to a triggering situation). Spoilers up to & including MAG 146.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The storage room is claustrophobic: cramped, cluttered, and dark. Pitch dark, actually – there is no gap between the door and the floor, nothing to let the light from the hallway filter through.

 Shelving units line the walls, sagging under the weight of boxes and papers. Daisy has managed to squeeze herself into a tight space between the shelving and a wall, knees hugged tight to her chest, wrapped tightly in a heavy blanket from the cot in the corner. A precarious column of boxes sits in front of her, crowding her and half hiding her from view should anyone come in. She’s become rather gaunt lately – a combination of eight months in the Buried and her failing appetite – and even through the blanket, she can feel her vertebrae pressing up against the cinderblock. She anticipates bruises.

 All of this is fine.

 Until the door creaks open and a thin streak of light shoots across the floor. Daisy hisses and presses the heels of her palms into her eyes, leaning into the pressure.

 “Daisy?”

 Jon’s voice, soft and tentative. It reminds Daisy of the tone one might use when approaching a wounded animal, or perhaps to avoid provoking a bear after unwittingly stumbling into its path. 

 Prey or predator. She isn’t sure which she hates more. 

 “Did you Know I was here, Jon?” She grits her teeth against the snarl climbing up her throat, but doesn’t bother to keep the edge out of her voice.

 “I… yes,” he admits, after an uneasy pause. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to – to Know, it just… it came to me.”

 “It’s fine,” she says, voice clipped and teeth clenched so tightly her jaw aches under the tension.

 “Are you –” Jon stops himself short of asking a question. “I would like to know how you’re feeling,” he says instead, reframing the sentence. He speaks each word carefully, deliberately; he’s trying to keep the compulsion from creeping into his voice, Daisy knows. 

 “Fine,” she repeats, unable to stop the hint of a growl underlying her tone this time. “And stop talking to me like I’m a frightened rabbit, or – or a rabid dog.”

 Jon is quiet for a few moments. When he speaks again, he does take on a more conversational tone: still calm, but without that timid tinge to it.

 “Daisy, I’m going to turn on the light,” he warns. “You should close your eyes if you don’t want to get blinded.”

 Daisy hears the flip of the light switch, followed by Jon’s footsteps crossing the room. She pulls her hands away from her face but keeps her eyes closed, letting them adjust to the sudden influx of light. She doesn’t open them until she hears Jon stop, followed by the rustle of clothing as he lowers himself to the floor. Squinting against the light, she sees that he’s sat a few feet away on a diagonal from her, placing himself within her line of sight while still giving her space.

 He settles back on his haunches, leans back against the shelving unit, and draws his knees to his chest, an unconscious mirroring of Daisy’s posture. When he looks in her direction, he doesn’t actually meet her eye, instead staring at the wall just over her head. He’s been self-conscious lately about eye contact, she knows, ever since he listened to the tape of his victim: He’s all eyes. He’s all eyes.  

 Even so, Daisy still feels exposed. Vulnerable. Known. Seen –

 “What?” she snaps. She’s far too tense right now to care how harsh she sounds.

 It’s fine; they both have a tendency to lash out when they feel cornered. They’re working on it, but in the meantime, they’ve reassured each other that when it does happen, it’s not personal. They’ve been through this song and dance many, many times – which is probably why, when Jon replies, he sounds utterly unfazed.

 “You already know what I want to ask.”

 “Did you rummage around in my mind, then?” It comes off as caustic and accusing, and this time she feels herself wince – yes, there’s the guilt. That was a low blow, and she knows it.

 After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she chances a glance at him. There is the slightest trace of hurt in his eyes, but otherwise, he keeps his expression neutral.

 “No,” he says simply. She can tell he’s trying to keep the conversation from becoming about him, from turning into Daisy comforting him rather than the other way around. Which means she's not getting out of this easily. “I just recognize self-harm when I see it.”

 “I am not –”

 “You’ve hidden yourself away alone in a cramped space, in the dark, and you’re smothering yourself with the heaviest blanket you could find,” Jon interrupts. Then, more gently: “I don’t have to read your mind to know what you’re trying to –”

 “Leave. Me. Alone.” She nearly chokes on the last word, hating herself for how weak it makes her sound. Tearful and timid, like easy prey.  

 “No,” Jon says resolutely.

 Daisy groans. On the whole, Jon tends towards doubt and indecision, but he can be stubborn when he wants to, and she recognizes this tone of his. She has one just like it, though she uses it more often than he does. It exudes an attitude of no, you move – and it’s infuriating to be on the receiving end of it.

 “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I’m not just going to leave you here to torture yourself.”

 With that, he looks away, giving her back her privacy, and lets the silence settle between them. Fine, Daisy thinks. Jon might be stubborn, but she matches him in that regard. Moreover, she has the advantage of patience. She can sit with silence a lot longer than he can, and she determines to wait him out.

 As expected, it only takes a few minutes before he looks down and focuses his attention on his hands, flexing his burned hand, rubbing his fingers together on the other, tapping them against his knee. Daisy knows by now that Jonathan Sims can’t sit still even when his life depends on it. After he was abducted by the Circus, she saw the bruising from the ropes they bound him with. It wasn’t unexpected, but it still seemed more extensive than it should have been, as if he’d struggled against the restraints the entire month they had him. Even in the Buried, he’d never stopped squirming.

 Usually, his fidgeting doesn’t bother her. Right now, though, it’s grating on her nerves, and she can tell that Jon is in this for the long haul. She cannot handle hours of this.

 Daisy heaves the loudest, most exasperated sigh she can muster, and Jon – damn him – smirks. It’s a private little thing, probably unconscious – a nearly imperceptible upturn at the corner of his mouth, just the faintest hint of self-satisfaction that for once he’s managed to outlast her in one of these conversational stalemates – and then it’s gone.

 It still takes some time for her to compose a sentence, but when she does, the words tumble out in a rush.

 “In the coffin, I couldn’t hear the blood.”

 “I know,” Jon says softly. “But I don’t think forcing yourself to relive the Buried is going to drown it out.”

 Daisy opens her mouth – whether to agree or to make a snide remark, she isn’t entirely sure – but no sound comes out. She can hear her own heart thundering in her chest, can feel the throb of her pulse in her throat. Suddenly, she is all too aware of the blood coursing through her veins – and through Jon’s.

 She jams her fingers in her ears, but it only amplifies the sound of her pulse; she leans back as far as she can, chasing the ache of the wall against her spine, trying to ground herself in the present. That distant but ever-present roar is creeping up on her, though, building in volume, commanding her to seek, to chase, to hunt, to sink her teeth into the prey and let its fear revitalize her.

 The Archivist is right there, the blood tells her, vulnerable and exposed. For too long now, he has delayed the death that dogs his steps. She allowed him to escape, and his continued existence an unforgivable insult to the Hunt. All she needs to do is finish what she started so long ago, grant him the end he knows he deserves, and then she can be whole again –

 “I can’t – I can’t handle the quiet right now,” she blurts out, slamming her hands onto the hard floor. Her voice cuts through the silence, sharp and abrupt, reminding her all too much of the bark of a wild dog. She gives Jon a pleading look, and she doesn’t care how helpless she sounds right then; he’s already seen her like this, in the coffin and so many times since. “I – I need a distraction.”

 “Come on, then,” Jon says, standing and extending his hand. “I’ll pull out the board games. I already made tea.” 

 As he pulls her to her feet, Daisy starts to speak, but Jon heads her off. 

 “Yes, I made yours extra sweet,” he says, rolling his eyes. It’s only faux annoyance, though – there’s fondness in his little half-smile, and he gives her hand a light squeeze.

 Daisy tightens her grip in response before loosening and letting go. Jon lets her hand drop without comment.

 Over the months, they’ve both become adept at offering different varieties of reassurance and comfort, while still giving each other the space to withdraw when necessary. Jon has admitted to her before that he’s always had difficulty reading people, and it’s only gotten worse since working in the Archives. His long bout of paranoia demolished his ability to trust in his own judgments of others, and his constant hand-wringing about his own humanity doesn’t help matters. Lately, he seems to spend every interaction nearly tripping over himself trying to read people’s cues and body language and speech patterns, frantic in his attempts to avoid hurting anyone and constantly dreading the rejection he has come to expect.

 It’s hypervigilance, plain and simple. When it’s just him and Daisy, though, it’s… different. It comes more from a place of mutual understanding, of shared experience. They both know what they’re capable of; they both know that they are things to be feared. With Daisy, Jon can retreat without flinching away and tolerate disengagement without curling in on himself. With Jon, Daisy can let her guard down and trust that he will not patronize her with pity, will not judge her for her moments of weakness. They see each other for what they are. It’s a simple thing, but it makes them both feel just a little bit more human all the same.

 Jon pauses at the threshold, glancing back to make sure she’s following. With a sigh, Daisy steps out of that suffocating room and into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

 Even she has to admit that sometimes, it’s nice to be seen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A short time later, they’re cloistered away in Jon’s office with two mugs of tea and a stack of battered old board games. Jon had insisted that Daisy choose, so she kneels on the floor and sifts through them.

 “How about Uno?”

 “Hmm. We can, but you seem a little wound up right now, and Uno can be a little… intense.”

 “Fair,” Daisy says after a moment of consideration. “I did get competitive last time.”

 She doesn’t take offense. When they first started spending time together after the Buried, they had promised to be honest with one another. They both had trouble trusting others; reassuring one another that they would be explicit about their thoughts and feelings removed that extra roadblock of constantly questioning the other’s sincerity. Mostly, though, they were both deeply terrified of their own potential, and blunt honesty was the best way they knew to keep each other in check.

 Daisy tosses a few more boxes aside before settling on another. “What about Clue? You’re all about solving mysteries.”

 Jon visibly flinches at that.

 “Did I touch a nerve?” Daisy asks, keeping her voice as neutral as she can. Jon is always primed for rejection these days; all it takes is a hint of disapproval, and he’ll start apologizing for feeling things and setting boundaries.

 “It’s fine.” Jon waves her off, but she gives him a pointed look until he relents. "Just - something Elias said to me once. 'You never could tolerate an unsolved mystery.' He wasn't wrong, but... well..." He trails off and shrugs. 

 "Got it," Daisy says, making a mental note to avoid that particular subject. "So, Clue?"

 He bites his bottom lip, considering. “Unsure. With my luck, the weapon will end up being the lead pipe, and I don’t expect I’d handle that particularly well.”

 He chuckles, but she can detect the seriousness beneath it. She can vividly remember the crime scene. Jurgen Leitner had been bludgeoned so thoroughly that his corpse was unrecognizable, and the blood spatter had traveled so far that Jon was stumbling across overlooked droplets of blood in his office for weeks after he returned. Daisy was desensitized to that sort of thing, but that was likely the first time Jon had seen anything like it. He’s seen worse since then, no doubt, but sometimes the firsts are the ones with the most lingering impact. 

 Daisy holds up another box. “Trivial Pursuit?”  

 Jon seems to perk up at that. The bright spark in his eyes is reminiscent of a child unwrapping a present, and Daisy flashes a knowing smile. “I take that as a yes?” 

 “I… I like trivia games, alright?” he says, a little defensively. “When I was in uni, I used to go to the pub with Georgie on trivia nights –” He cuts himself off, a pained expression dawning on his face. Georgie is always a sore subject, Daisy knows. He has to take a long moment to compose himself before continuing. “She, uh, used to tease me for taking it so seriously. Apparently I can be a bit competitive with it, and – what?”

 Jon stops when he hears Daisy's snickering, and he looks so affronted that it only makes her laugh harder. “Nothing, nothing. That just sounds very… you.”

 “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 “Sims, you’re the biggest nerd I know.”

 He huffs. “We can play something else –”

 “No, I think I want to see what you look like when you get competitive,” Daisy says, already unfolding the board on the floor between them and setting up the stacks of cards. “Youngest goes first,” she says, tossing the dice to him.

 Jon still seems a bit petulant about the ribbing, but she knows it’s just a mask he puts on sometimes, whenever he feels a bit too seen. They’ve spoken a lot about the things they can tease each other about and the things they can’t. Sometimes it’s inconsistent – something can be fair game one day, and the next it’s salt in an open wound – but they try. Jon told her that it makes him feel more alienated when people walk on eggshells around him. Daisy’s light teasing makes him feel included – like she’s treating him as she would treat anyone else she’s friendly with.

 Also, Daisy has found that Jon is actually pretty transparent, once you hang around him long enough. And right now, she can tell he’s inordinately pleased. If he’s trying not to seem too enthusiastic when he rolls the dice, he’s failing magnificently.

 “Purple space. That’s… Art and Literature.”

 “Right,” Daisy says, picking up a card. “Question is… ‘How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?’”

 “One hundred and fifty-four,” Jon blurts out, not missing a beat. 

 Daisy raises an eyebrow. “Didn’t even have to think about that one, did you?”

 “I majored in English as an undergrad,” Jon mutters, sounding a bit embarrassed. “And I already told you, I explored AmDram in uni for a stretch. Did some Shakespeare.”

 “Hm. You’ll have to show me your Hamlet one of these days.” Her voice drops to a lower register as she mimics him: “‘To be, or not to be -’”

 “Absolutely not.”  

 “You’re no fun.” Daisy rolls her eyes in mock annoyance and rolls the dice. "Looks like… Sports and Leisure for me.” 

 Jon dutifully picks up a card and begins to read, modulating his voice the way he does when he’s afraid of letting the compulsion slip through. “‘What are the three positions in roller derby?’”

 “Jammer, blocker, and pivot,” Daisy recites automatically, counting off on her fingers.

 “Didn’t need to think about that one, did you?” Jon says, mimicking Daisy’s previous tone.

 “Is it really that surprising that I like women’s contact sports?”

 Jon laughs. “I suppose not. My turn.” He rolls the dice and moves his piece. “Ah… purple again.”

 “Right. ‘What is the translation of the Russian proverb “chemu”…’” Daisy frowns. “I can’t read this.”

 “Give it here,” Jon says, taking the card from her. “‘Chemu byt’, togo ne minovat’,’” he reads out. Daisy doesn’t speak Russian, so she can’t know for sure, but… she swears his diction sounds indistinguishable from a native speaker. At the very least, there’s no hesitation in his voice, no false starts, no hint of unfamiliarity with the words. 

 “That’s… a weirdly difficult question for Trivial Pursuit,” she says slowly. “How is someone supposed to guess that if they don’t know any Russian?”

 Jon just stares at the card for a few moments, brow furrowing, before placing it face-down on the floor and looking back up at Daisy. “Can I pick a different one?”

 “You can’t just pick a new card whenever you don’t know the answer.”

 “No, I… I do know the answer,” Jon murmurs, shifting uncomfortably. “I just feel like answering it would be cheating.”

 “Why? Are you fluent in Russian or something?”

 “Not… exactly.” Daisy stares at Jon insistently until he sighs. “Sometimes when I read things, the Eye sort of… translates it for me.” He flaps his hands nervously. “It’s – it’s a whole thing.”

 “Right. Different question then,” she says, cutting him off before he can start berating himself. “Let’s see… ‘In Egyptian hieroglyphs, the symbol of a decorated eye most commonly represents the eye of which god?’” Daisy frowns. “That’s a little on the nose.”

 It’s most likely just a coincidence, but she can’t help the feeling that the Eye is laughing at them. Or maybe the Web. Is it able to just magically manifest cards that didn’t come with the game, just to mess with them? Or maybe it’s Helen, having a laugh. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s played a prank that falls just on the side of cruel.

 Daisy is about to say so – mostly but not entirely as a joke – but when she looks up, she sees that Jon has that peculiar look on his face again. He reaches over to the stack of cards and picks one up.

 “What are you –”

 As he reads it, he shakes his head and tosses the card aside, reaching over to take another one. He glances at it, mutters something under his breath, and discards that one as well. Then he picks up another card. And another. And another.

 “You… you alright there, Sims?”

 Jon says nothing, just continues reading and discarding cards, increasingly agitated.

 “Jon.” Daisy reaches over and puts her hand on his wrist. He freezes in place. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

 “I Know all the answers,” he says dully, pulling his hand back.

 “Okay, so you’re good at trivia. I already know you stay up most nights bingeing Wikipedia articles –”

 “No, I – I Know all the answers.”

 “Ah.”

 “Yeah." He steadfastly avoids eye contact, plucking absently at a loose thread on his sleeve. 

 “Alright, out with it,” Daisy says.

 “What?”

 “You’re moping.”

 “I’m not moping –”

 “Yes, you are. I can practically hear your brain going through the five stages of grief over there. So, spill it.”

 “I’m supposed to be comforting you, not – not making it about me!”  He makes a frustrated little groan and buries his fingers in his hair, tugging lightly.

 “We don’t get to choose when the hurt comes.” He said much the same to her just the other day. Both of them seize every opportunity to parrot each other like that, especially when making allowances for the other while refusing to accept the same. It's almost become a game at this point. 

 “Don’t use my words against me,” Jon mutters.

 “No double standards, remember? If it applies to me, it applies to you, too." 

 Jon makes an irritated little sound, blowing a stray lock of hair out of his face. “It’s stupid, anyway.”

 Daisy stares at him, undeterred. She can wait him out all day if she has to. But she won’t have to. Their standoff in the storage room notwithstanding, Daisy usually wins these contests of will. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Predictably enough, Jon only manages to withstand the silence for a few minutes before he crumbles and lets out a heavy sigh. He catches Daisy’s fleeting, victorious grin and shoots her an annoyed scowl, but there’s no real bite behind it.

 “I just… I feel like I can’t go ten minutes without being reminded how much I’ve changed.”

 “We’ve all changed.”

 “You know what I mean,” Jon says sullenly. “It’s just so… so invasive, having some – some thing put knowledge into my head. I’ll just suddenly Know the answer to a question I never asked. It's just there where it wasn’t before, interrupting whatever I was thinking before, like – like tripping over a piece of furniture that shouldn’t be there. And when I actively try not to Know things, it’s like opening the floodgates – it’s more likely to slip through the cracks, once the idea is there. Like a…” He gives a short laugh. “Like a compulsion, I suppose. Intrusive thoughts, but with a supernatural origin.”

 “Sounds like how the blood feels for me. Sometimes I can listen to the quiet, but other times – like earlier – there’s no drowning it out.” Daisy’s expression darkens. “I let down my guard for a second, hear the first note of it, and then it has its claws sunk into me. And it doesn't like letting go." 

 “That’s… that’s it exactly," Jon says. "Seems like you’re better at controlling it, though.”

 “I’m not, really. It keeps getting harder and harder.”

 “Well, you’re better than me, at least. I couldn’t even ask you how you take your tea without accidentally compelling you. I can recognize on sight when someone has a statement, and it’s everything I can do not to – to gravitate towards them, like a shark to blood.” He grimaces. “I can’t even look people in the eye anymore. I’ve noticed lately that if I lock eyes with someone, they can’t seem to look away, and sometimes I can’t either, and then – then I have to watch as the dread starts to dawn in their eyes. They always sense that there’s something about me that they should fear, even if they can’t put their finger on why, and I have to watch it play out on their faces. It's like the nightmares, but... bleeding over into real life, now. And I’m constantly bombarded with – with facts and figures, almost all of them completely useless, or –” 

 That familiar sense of dread creeps up on him, and with it comes the pressured speech, a stream-of-consciousness torrent of words that spill from his lips before he can even process what he’s saying. He threads his fingers through his hair again, pulling lightly, trying to ground himself in the sensation.

 “I passed someone in the lobby the other day, and suddenly I Knew the cause of death for their Year 9 maths teacher. I can’t be in crowds anymore – too much floods in at once, I can't separate myself from the noise. And – and just yesterday I was making tea, and between one thought and the next, I Knew the exact number of casualties in the Nivelle Offensive – right down to the single digit.” Jon knows he’s rambling, can hear his voice rising in volume – louder, louder, anything to drown out the sound of his own heartbeat thundering in his ears – but he can’t seem to stop himself. He tugs even harder on his hair, just to feel some semblance of control over something.  “That’s – that’s not even a thought that would occur to me naturally, I’ve never – never wondered about that, military history was never my thing, but – but there it was. I – I can’t even read a book anymore without having the ending spoiled for me before I even finish the first chapter.”

 By the time he stops, Jon is nearly panting. Daisy says nothing for a moment, leaving an opening for him to continue before she speaks. 

 “That sounds…”

 “Yes, stupid, I know,” he mutters darkly.

 “I wasn’t going to say ‘stupid.’”

 “Well, it is. So much has happened – Jane Prentiss, the Circus, the coma, the Buried, the – the existence of potentially world-ending Rituals constantly looming over all of us. Losing Tim, and – and Sasha, and… and Martin being…” Jon leans forward and puts his head in his hands, covering his eyes. “And then I read, and experience, and – and feed on – other people’s trauma, and what I finally break down over is some silly little thing like this.”

 Daisy sighs. “It’s not stupid, Jon. This place keeps finding new ways to make us all miserable. Sometimes it gets to be too much. Especially when we aren’t even allowed a good distraction from it all.”

 That’s really what it is, isn’t it? The Eye has stolen everything from him – from all of them. They have no respite from its watchful gaze, no sense of safety within these walls, and any ounce of comfort they can scrounge up is promptly wrung out of them. And Jon – Jon doesn’t even have the space to think, to process any of what’s happened to him – not when his own train of thought can be unceremoniously derailed without warning, replaced with the details of some hapless stranger’s darkest secret. Even his dreams aren’t his own.

 He keeps trying to listen to the quiet, but he can’t find it in all the noise.

 Before he went into the coffin, it was only the Eye keeping the Lonely from claiming him for itself – and yet, he was still never alone in his own mind. It was jarring, feeling isolated and watched and possessed all at the same time. He wanted companionship, yes, but he also was desperate for just a moment to himself – just one inch of himself that belonged to him and him alone. He has Daisy, now, and she keeps some of his loneliness at bay, but it doesn’t dispel that fundamental sense of ostracism he feels when interacting with any of the others, and it doesn’t change the fact that he hasn’t been his own person in a very, very long time – and probably never will be again.

 He doesn’t know how long he’s been lost in thought, but he snaps out of it when Daisy adds: “Sometimes it’s the little things that wear you down the most.”

 She isn’t wrong. Jon distinctly remembers what finals week during uni was always like for him. He’d pull back-to-back all-nighters, let that ever-present fear of failure drown him, bottle up all the stress until the pressure became too much and he would finally, inevitably break down. It was always some little thing that would finally set him off: someone playing music too loudly outside, a car alarm startling him into heart palpitations, not being able to find a particular page of notes in the constant clutter that was his desk. There’s always been some seemingly insignificant last straw that leaves him crying over spilled milk, figuratively speaking. (And, on one occasion, literally: Georgie had walked into the kitchen one time to find him sitting on the floor just staring at an upended milk carton and fighting back tears.)

 Apparently that hasn't changed much in the intervening years. 

 “Yes, well,” he says, “I don’t see you breaking down over every little thing.”

 “Hmm.” Daisy stretches her leg across the gap between them and nudges him with her foot. “Want to know why I was hiding in the storage room?”

 “Only if you want to tell me.”

 “I fell in the tunnels. I had been doing fine down there, but then out of nowhere the walls felt too close together, and when I tried to run, I tripped. Scraped my hands on the floor when I fell. When I looked at them, they were covered in dirt, and that made me think of the coffin. And there was blood – just the smallest amount, but it was enough to make me think of…" She gives a humorless chuckle. "Well, it’s a cliché, but it made me think of all the blood on my hands.”

 “And then you felt guilty,” Jon says slowly, putting the pieces together, “so you decided to punish yourself by simulating the Buried and cramming yourself into it.”

 She gives a little half-shrug. It’s as good as a confirmation.

 “We… we’re a mess, aren’t we?” Jon says with a wry smile.

 “Yeah. But at least we have that in common.” Daisy gives Jon a purposeful glance. “Better than dealing with it alone.”

 It takes a moment, but Jon nods.  

 “Well,” Daisy announces, clapping her hands on her knees. “I’m going to go out back and burn this.”

 “Wait – what?” He watches, completely bewildered, as Daisy folds up the game board and starts shoving cards haphazardly back into the box. “Daisy, you don’t have to –” His hands flutter anxiously for a few moments before he throws them up in exasperation and sighs. “Why is everyone’s first plan always arson?”

 “I get to destroy something that upset someone I care about,” she says, matter-of-fact, smashing the lid onto the box, “and no one gets hurt in the process.”

 “It’s not the game’s fault that I –”

 “Yeah, well. I can’t exactly set Elias on fire," she says, punctuating Elias' name with a low snarl. “The next best thing is a reminder of what he’s done.”

 With that, Daisy stands, tucking the box under her arm.

 “I –”

 “When I get back we can play Candy Land,” she says, overriding Jon’s protests.

 “Candy Land?” He laughs, bemused. “Really, Daisy?”

 “What, are there any statements on – on evil sugar that I should know about?”

 She means it mostly as a joke, but there’s still the hint of a genuine question there. Given everything they’ve both seen, malicious, sentient candy would just be one more impossible horror on the pile.

 Jon tries not to think too hard on which of Smirke’s Fourteen would be its domain.

 “No, uh –” Jon laughs again, not quite able to disguise the nervous uncertainty that creeps in. “No confectionary horrors so far, thank god. As far as I know, anyway.” He wrinkles his nose. “Just – just meat.”

 “Good. Now go make some more tea. I’ll meet you back here.”

 “Fine,” he sighs. “Just don’t – don’t set the dumpster on fire while you’re out there? Last thing we need is for someone to call emergency services. They would send Sectioned officers over as soon as they saw the Institute on caller ID.”

 “Right, right.” Daisy starts off down the hall. “Extra sugar in my tea, Sims,” she calls over her shoulder.

 “I know how you take your tea by now, Daisy!” he shouts after her, smiling as her laughter echoes back to him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

The "you never could tolerate an unsolved mystery" line Elias is from one of my other fics.

The Russian is a transliteration Чему́ быть, того́ не минова́ть. It loosely translates to "fate cannot be avoided"/"what will be will be" (or, that's the gist, anyway). Baaaaasically I needed to manufacture some kind of conceit to have Jon translate a thing, and I figured I may as well make it something that would feel just a little too personalized for him specifically. (And also handwave how out of place that question would be in your standard Trivial Pursuit deck by saying 'the Web or Helen probably did it just to bully Jon, idk, that seems pretty on-brand for them'.) Anyway, I checked the translation and transliteration with a friend of mine who knows Russian; hopefully I got it right.

[swordofsun]

MAG 146 Early Release

Spoilers yo! On mobile so no read more, scroll like it's the 2000s!

Only listened to it once so far, but I loved this episode. It's always great to get the other side of previous statements.

More importantly is Jon and his feeding habits. I love his struggles with it and his conversation with Helen. She won't let him hide behind pleasant lies even though he really wants to. I really don't think the Web is making him feed on people and that's something he's going to have to deal with.

It's noticable though that it's when Jon is alone and stuck in his own head for the most part that it happens. Lends more to the idea that people keep Jon grounded. I get the disgust everyone felt, but it's hard for a normal person to not go a bit weird in the head when isolated, someone who's also connected to a god of fear is probably having a hard time.

It's nice to note that Daisy had some sympathy and understanding. I really like her and Jon's relationship.

In other news: ARE WE FINDING OUT EHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON AT HILL TOP ROAD?

One hand: I hate spiders and the only episode I've never finished was Arachnophobia.

Other hand: Motherfucking Hill Top Road!

The Mage hand: Jon doesn't bother with actually turning on the recorders anymore and that is vaguely hilarious.

[dutifullylazymiracle-blog]

Unturned Items Database & Wiki • Search and Browse Unturned Items

You will want to kill zombies or chop forests to gain XP. You are able to use the XP for stepping up your skills. WARNING! In case you die you'll shed a bit from your skills expect to see the "Choosed" variety of character's knowledge. Forms of the Character: -Civillian (no extra) -Spec ops (sniper) -Fire Fighter -Police Officer -Farmer -Fisher -Lumberjack -Worker -Chef -Thief -Doctor You'll find three modes: Easy, Normal as well as Hard (Gold is gotten rid of :c) In effortless method the enemies are actually less strong that in other modes. There's very little item breaking. In standard method the zombies hits much stronger plus they've more HP. Weapon is usually weak if you do not repair after much use. Foods and Water is usually unhealthy For hard mode zombies are incredibly dangerous. Weapon is usually weak if you don't restore after a long use. Now it breaks easier. Foods and Water are usually more unhealthy. You can break up your leg or even bleed. There are 4 types of standard zombies: Standard zombie: Speed: Normal, Punch: Normal Crawler zombie: Speed: Very slow, Punch: highly effective, can deal bleeding. Sprinter zombie: Speed: Fast, Punch: Weak A radioactive zombie: Notice the green radiance around it. Flanker zombie: Very sneaky, rapidly, and not completely invisible. It goes on your back and wipes out you. (purple colored) Burner Zombie: It has a bunring impact, if you eliminate it, it explodes into fire. A fire Fighter Suit should shield you from the explosion Acid spitter: Added in 3.15.10.0 update. These zombies when alerted will attempt to spit at you cyan acid which will start to minimize your overall health. In case you're bleeding, you want a Rag/Bandage/Dressing or even any Medikit (worst/medium/best) If you Broke your leg you need a Splint and hold out. You can't leap or even manage while your leg is actually broken. In case you're cold you should use Heatstim or even visit near a Campfire or even go to the building. Environment effects: Freezing Effect: Received when a Player is actually subjected to the wind/snow. Causes Blood to lower fast. Frigid Effect: Received once the Player is cooling down from being indoors or even out of a Campfire. Basic Effect: Received anytime the Player is actually sheltered within an item. Comfortable Effect: Received when becoming warmed by a Campfire. Using up Effect: Received when a Player is short on the flame in a Campfire. Brings about Blood to lower rapidly. First: the state bar (left, down corner) The Red colored colored bar is your overall health. In case you have 0 %, you die and also you drop your things. The Brown colored bar will be your foods amount. If it is on 0 % you're hungry. You need to eat or perhaps you'll die. The Blue colored bar will be your normal water quantity. When it is on 0 % you start to expire. You have to drink The Green colored bar will be your Radiation level. If it is on 0 % you get started to die. You've to draw medical items (like Vaccine,Vitamins ect) You are able to forfeited this level by getting hit by a zombie. The Yellow colored bar will be your power. You make use of it for running, lunging, then force pounding. if it is on 0 % you can't run, go and do a huge punch. You really need a rest or enjoy an Adrenaline, enery beverage or energy bar. The White colored bar will be your oxygen. You use it for Steading your scope as well as swimming underwater. If it is on 0 % (underwater) you will drown. In case you've 0 % (Steading the scope) you'll inhale as well as your accurate decreases. (you cannot notice it yet) You will need to update your crafting abilities to craft complex issues. You are looking for an Axe or a Chainsaw or Explosives to chop down a tree. You'll achieve XP for Maple, Pine, or maybe Birch Log as well as Stick. You can easily craft building parts and work up the best home or even platform with traps (recommended) or even camp in locale, but you will find zombies. Often you are needing to head to any kind of community or farm to get food or perhaps liquid. unturned item id wiki Full moon In detailed moon zombies' range is significantly bigger. They may spot you easier. They are stronger and spawning rapidly. Each zombie has reddish glowing eyes. Its duration is an night. Group controls You can easily make a group when you as well as friends join to the identical Steam Group. You can establish the Steam Group at Survivors -> Groups You can discuss structures along with your friends. You cannot hurt your buddies. And You are able to see their name on the map. Radioactive, Deadzones You will find more than five Deadzones (I think) in Unturned. On Yukon: In addition, on Washington: You have to have a Gasmask with Radiation filters. (you need the light screens in case the gasmask is actually on 0%) When you do not go with Gasmask you will rapidly suffer a loss of you Health. On PEI: At the broken Scorpion 7 base's sign On the russian chart there's a heap of deadzones. Weapons as well as Guns You need guns to make it. Great weapons at : -Military bases -Ranger bases -Scorpion bases -City (sometimes) You can mod Gun by Holding [T] for attachments for it. Mega Zombie This is the most powerful Zombie. It's unusual but it's good drops. It throws boulders what deals lots of damage. Ammos In case you ran out of Ammo you can fill your publications in the Crafting window out of Low or even High caliber Military or Ranger crates. These can be bought at Military locations or Ranger bases. Base strategies Set barbed cables on your bottom to stay away from zombie raids. You have to have: -1 Generator (filled with gas) -2 Spotlights (at enterance) -2 sentries (filled with guns) -Campfire -Torches -Doors -Barbed line or even Barbed wire fences -Spikes -1 Bedroll or perhaps one Cot -Crates -Build it with metal (more durable) -And if perhaps you wanna make desinge for it. ;) Over Powered Base Example: PvP tips On PvP server there are many people with maxed out guns > :C Effectively, you'll be able to mix up them. You can actually disguse yourself to be a zombie (if you are premium) But everyone can get Ghillie garments. Conceal themselves in a shrub and wait for your enemies c: ID 8: Vertical Grip ID 21: 8x Scope ID 22: Reddish Cross Scope ID 143: Bipod ID 144: Ranger Suppressor ID 145: Horizontal Grip ID 146: Red Dot Sight ID 147: Cherry red Halo Sight ID 148: Cherry red Chevron Scope ID 149: Military Barrel ID 150: Military Muzzle ID 151: Tactical Laser ID 152: Tactical Light ID 153: 7x Scope ID 296: 16x Scope ID 302: Shadowstalker Scope ID 476: Makeshift scope ID 477: Makeshift muffle ID 1007: Adaptive chambering attachement ID 1008: Rangefinder attachement ID 1004: Red kobra sight ID 1190-1191: Ranger Muzzle and Barrel ID 1201: Nightivion Scope Construction & Storage Maple: ID 29: Maple Fortification ID 30: Maple Barricade ID 31: Maple Foundation ID 32: Maple Doorway ID 33: Maple Wall ID 61: Maple Plank ID 34 Maple Window ID 35: Maple Roof ID 36: Maple Pillar ID 39: Maple Log ID 40: Maple Stick ID 281: Maple Door ID 316: Maple stairs ID 319: Maple Hole ID 322: Maple Ramp ID 325: Maple Ladder ID 366: Maple Crate ID 359: Maple Torch ID 383: Maple Spikes ID 442: Maple rampart ID 443: Maple post ID 450: Maple garage ID 451: Maple gate ID 1262: Maple Triangular Floor ID 1266: Maple Triangular Roof Pine: ID 41: Pine Log ID 42: Pine Stick ID 46: Pine Barricade ID 48: Pine Fortification ID 50: Pine Doorway ID 52: Pine Foundation ID 54: Pine Pillar ID 56: Pine Roof ID 58: Pine Wall ID 60: Pine Window ID 63: Pine Plank ID 283: Pine Door ID 317: Pine Stairs ID 320: Pine Hole ID 324: Pine Ramp ID 327: Pine Ladder ID 368: Pine Crate ID 361: Pine Torch ID 385: Pine Spikes ID 445: Pine rampart ID 448: Pine post ID 453: Pine garage ID 456: Pine gate ID 1264: Pine Triangular Floor ID 1268: Pine Triangular Roof Birch: ID 37: Birch Log ID 38: Birch Stick ID 45: Birch Barricade ID 47: Birch Fortification ID 49: Birch Doorway ID 51: Birch Foundation ID 53: Birch Pillar ID 55: Birch Roof ID 57: Birch Wall ID 59: Birch Window ID 62: Birch Plank ID 282: Birch Door ID 318: Birch Stairs ID 321: Birch Hole ID 323: Birch Ramp ID 326: Birch Ladder ID 367: Birch Crate ID 360: Birch Torch ID 384: Birch Spikes ID 444: Birch rampart ID 447: Birch post ID 452: Birch garage ID 455: Birch gate ID 1263: Birch Triangular Floor ID 1267: Birch Triangular Roof Prison: ID 284: Jail Door ID 285: Metal Bars ID 286: Vault Doors ID 287: Bars Fortification Metal: ID 369: Metal floor ID 370: Metal Doorway ID 371: Metal Wall ID 372: Metal Window ID 373: Metal Roof ID 374: Metal Pillar ID 375: Metal Stairs ID 376: Metal Hole ID 377: Metal Ramp ID 378: Metal Door ID 379: Metal Ladder ID 328: Locker ID 386: Barbed Wire ID 449:Metal post ID 454: Metal garage ID 457: Metal gate ID 446: Metal rampart ID 1113: Snare ID 1119: Barbed wire fence ID 1130: Festive Barbed Wire ID 1131: Festive Barbed wire fency ID 1158: Claim Flag ID 1265: Metal Triangular Floor ID 1269: Metal Triangular Roof Brick: ID 1210: Brick Doorway ID 1211: Brick Garage ID 1212: Brick Pillar ID 1213: Brick Post ID 1214: Brick Rampart ID 1215: Brick Wall ID 1216: Brick Window ID 1217: Brick Doorframe ID 1218: Brick Garagerrame Campfire: ID 362: Campfire Baracades: ID 365: Sandbags Lights/other: ID 458: Generator ID 459: Spotlight ID 1050: Safezone radiator ID 1202-1204: Rifle Storage Racks ID 1220: Metal Storage Racks ID 1205-1207: Trophy Case ID 1208: Rain Barrel ID 1219: Oil Derrick ID 1220-1221: Metal Reck/Trophy Case ID 1222: Cagelight ID 1223-1226: Shutters ID 1230: Industrial Generator ID 1231-1234: Flags ID 1235-1238: Double Doors ID 1261: Oxygenerator ID 1272 - 1277: Flare Signs: IDs 1095-1097:Wood signs ID 1098: Locket metal signs Freeform: IDs 1083-1090: Door/garage frames IDs 1091-1094: Freeform metal IDs 1058-1075: Freeform wood ID 1130-1131: Ornamental Buildables Decoration and Defense ID 1243: Cot ID 1245-1248: Counter Cupboards ID 1249: Fridge ID 1250: Oven ID 1251-1254: Counter Sinks ID 1255:Lamp ID 1256: Couch ID 1257-1260: Library ID 1278-1281: Wardrobe ID 1282: Umbrella (This one is for Decoration) ID 1283: Cooler ID 1284-1295: Tables ID 1296: Beach Chair ID 1297-1299: Weak,Bulletproof and One of the ways Glass ID 1327-1328: Book/Note ID 1329-1332: Hatch ID's 1347-1352: Minnow, Goldfish as well as Bass ID 1244: Sentry Throwables: Explosives : ID 254: Grenade ID 1100: Sticky Granade ID 1101: Landmine ID 1102: Claymore ID 1132: Snowball ID 1240: Remote Detonator ID 1241: Breaching Charge ID 1242: Makeshift Grenade ID 1346: Flashbang

[babytastemakermentality-blog]

Unturned Items Database & Wiki • Search and also Browse Unturned Items

You will want to eliminate zombies or chop trees attain XP. You can use the XP for upgrading your abilities. WARNING! If you die you will shed a little out of your capabilities count on the "Choosed" form of character's talent. Forms of the Character: -Civillian (no extra) -Spec ops (sniper) -Fire Fighter -Police Officer -Farmer -Fisher -Lumberjack -Worker -Chef -Thief -Doctor You will find three modes: Easy, Normal as well as Hard (Gold is actually removed :c) In simple method the opponents are weakened that in some other modes. There's simply no product breaking. In regular form the zombies hits much stronger plus they have even more HP. Weapon can be weak when you do not restore after much use. Foods and Water is usually unhealthy For challenging mode zombies are extremely dangerous. Weapon may be weak when you don't restore after much use. unturned item id chart At this point it breaks easier. Foods and Water are usually more unhealthy. You can break up your leg or even bleed. At this time there are 4 kinds of normal zombies: Classic zombie: Speed: Normal, Punch: Normal Crawler zombie: Speed: Very nonchalant, Punch: potent, is able to deal bleeding. Sprinter zombie: Speed: Fast, Punch: Weak A radioactive zombie: Notice the green glow around it. Flanker zombie: Very sneaky, rapidly, moreover not completely invisible. It goes to your back and wipes out you. (purple colored) Burner Zombie: It's a bunring effect, if you kill it, it explodes into fire. A fire Fighter Suit must guard you from the explosion Acid spitter: Added in 3.15.10.0 update. These zombies when alerted will aim to spit at you cyan acid which will start to minimize your health and fitness. If you are bleeding, you want a Rag/Bandage/Dressing or even any Medikit (worst/medium/best) If you Broke your leg you will need a Splint and wait. You can't jump or even operate while your leg is actually broken off. In case you are cold you should utilize Heatstim or even go to near a Campfire or perhaps go to the house. Temperature effects: Freezing Effect: Received whenever a Player is exposed to the wind/snow. Leads to Blood to drop quickly. Frigid Effect: Received once the Player is actually cooling down from being inside or out of a Campfire. Neutral Effect: Received anytime the Player is sheltered inside an item. Comfortable Effect: Received when becoming warmed by a Campfire. Burning Effect: Received when a Player is short on the fire in a Campfire. Causes Blood to lower quickly. First: the status bar (left, down corner) The Reddish colored bar is your health. In case you have 0 %, you kick the bucket and you decrease your things. The Brown colored bar is your foods quantity. When it is on 0 % you're hungry. You need to eat or you'll die. The Blue colored bar will be your water quantity. If it is on 0 % you start to give out. You have to drink The Green colored bar can be your Radiation level. If it's on 0 % you start to give out. You've to fill health-related items (like Vaccine,Vitamins ect) You can forfeited the degree by getting hit by a zombie. The Yellow colored bar can be your power. You make use of it for running, pouncing, and force pounding. if it is on 0 % you cannot run, go or do a significant punch. You really need a rest or perhaps ingest an Adrenaline, enery drink or even energy bar. The White colored bar will be your oxygen. You make use of it for Steading your scope and swimming underwater. If it is on 0 % (underwater) you'll drown. In case you have 0 % (Steading the scope) you'll inhale and your precise decreases. (you cannot notice it yet) You need to update your crafting skills to craft advanced issues. You want an Axe or perhaps a Chainsaw or perhaps Explosives to chop down a tree. You will achieve XP and get Maple, Pine, or maybe Birch Log as well as Stick. You can easily craft building parts and generate a good house or even platform with snares (recommended) or even camp in community, but you will find zombies. At times you are looking to go to almost any locale or farm to get food or perhaps rain. Full moon In full moon zombies' assortment is a lot larger. They may spot you much easier. They are stronger and spawning fast. Every zombie has reddish glowing eyes. Its duration is one evening. Team settings You can certainly make a group if you and your friends attend to the same Steam Group. You are able to set the Steam Group at Survivors -> Groups You can discuss buildings together with your pals. You can't hurt your buddies. And You are able to observe their title on the guide. Radioactive, Deadzones You will find more than 5 Deadzones (I think) in Unturned. On Yukon: Additionally, on Washington: You require a Gasmask with Radiation filters. (you need the light filtering system in case the gasmask is on 0%) If you don't go with Gasmask you'll rapidly lose you Health. On PEI: At the smashed Scorpion seven base's sign On the russian map there's a heap of deadzones. Weapons and Guns You should have guns to survive. Good weapons at : -Military bases -Ranger bases -Scorpion bases -City (sometimes) You can mod Gun by Holding [T] and get attachments for it. Mega Zombie This's the most powerful Zombie. It's rare but it's excellent drops. It throws boulders what deals big damage. Ammos In case you ran out of Ammo you can seal your magazines in the Crafting window out of Low or even High caliber Military and Ranger crates. These can be found during Military places or even Ranger bases. Base ideas Set barbed wires on your foundation to avoid zombie raids. You need to have: -1 Generator (filled with gas) -2 Spotlights (at enterance) -2 sentries (filled with guns) -Campfire -Torches -Doors -Barbed insert or even Barbed wire fences -Spikes -1 Bedroll or one Cot -Crates -Build it with steel (more durable) -And if you wanna make desinge for it. ;) Over Powered Base Example: PvP tips On PvP server you will find many those with way too busy guns > :C Effectively, you can confuse them. You can actually disguse yourself to be a zombie (if you are premium) But anyone can get Ghillie garments. Hide out in a bush and wait for your adversaries c: ID 42: Pine Stick ID 46: Pine Barricade ID 48: Pine Fortification ID 50: Pine Doorway ID 52: Pine Foundation ID 54: Pine Pillar ID 56: Pine Roof ID 58: Pine Wall ID 60: Pine Window ID 63: Pine Plank ID 283: Pine Door ID 317: Pine Stairs ID 320: Pine Hole ID 324: Pine Ramp ID 327: Pine Ladder ID 368: Pine Crate ID 361: Pine Torch ID 385: Pine Spikes ID 445: Pine rampart ID 448: Pine post ID 453: Pine garage ID 456: Pine gate ID 1264: Pine Triangular Floor ID 1268: Pine Triangular Roof Birch: ID 37: Birch Log ID 38: Birch Stick ID 45: Birch Barricade ID 47: Birch Fortification ID 49: Birch Doorway ID 51: Birch Foundation ID 53: Birch Pillar ID 55: Birch Roof ID 57: Birch Wall ID 59: Birch Window ID 62: Birch Plank ID 282: Birch Door ID 318: Birch Stairs ID 321: Birch Hole ID 323: Birch Ramp ID 326: Birch Ladder ID 367: Birch Crate ID 360: Birch Torch ID 384: Birch Spikes ID 444: Birch rampart ID 447: Birch post ID 452: Birch garage ID 455: Birch gate ID 1263: Birch Triangular Floor ID 1267: Birch Triangular Roof Prison: ID 284: Jail Door ID 285: Metal Bars ID 286: Vault Doors ID 287: Bars Fortification Metal: ID 369: Metal floor ID 370: Metal Doorway ID 371: Metal Wall ID 372: Metal Window ID 373: Metal Roof ID 374: Metal Pillar ID 375: Metal Stairs ID 376: Metal Hole ID 377: Metal Ramp ID 378: Metal Door ID 379: Metal Ladder ID 328: Locker ID 386: Barbed Wire ID 449:Metal post ID 454: Metal garage ID 457: Metal gate ID 446: Metal rampart ID 1113: Snare ID 1119: Barbed wire fence ID 1130: Festive Barbed Wire ID 1131: Festive Barbed wire fency ID 1158: Claim Flag ID 1265: Metal Triangular Floor ID 1269: Metal Triangular Roof Brick: ID 1210: Brick Doorway ID 1211: Brick Garage ID 1212: Brick Pillar ID 1213: Brick Post ID 1214: Brick Rampart ID 1215: Brick Wall ID 1216: Brick Window ID 1217: Brick Doorframe ID 1218: Brick Garagerrame Campfire: ID 362: Campfire Baracades: ID 365: Sandbags Lights/other: ID 458: Generator ID 459: Spotlight ID 1050: Safezone radiator ID 1202-1204: Rifle Storage Racks ID 1220: Metal Storage Racks ID 1205-1207: Trophy Case ID 1208: Rain Barrel ID 1219: Oil Derrick ID 1220-1221: Metal Reck/Trophy Case ID 1222: Cagelight ID 1223-1226: Shutters ID 1230: Industrial Generator ID 1231-1234: Flags ID 1235-1238: Double Doors ID 1261: Oxygenerator ID 1272 - 1277: Flare Signs: IDs 1095-1097:Wood signs ID 1098: Locket steel signs Freeform: IDs 1083-1090: Door/garage frames IDs 1091-1094: Freeform metal IDs 1058-1075: Freeform wood ID 1130-1131: Ornamental Buildables Decoration and Defense ID 1243: Cot ID 1245-1248: Counter Cupboards ID 1249: Fridge ID 1250: Oven ID 1251-1254: Counter Sinks ID 1255:Lamp ID 1256: Couch ID 1257-1260: Library ID 1278-1281: Wardrobe ID 1282: Umbrella (This one is for Decoration) ID 1283: Cooler ID 1284-1295: Tables ID 1296: Beach Chair ID 1297-1299: Weak,Bulletproof and A way Glass ID 1327-1328: Book/Note ID 1329-1332: Hatch ID's 1347-1352: Minnow, Goldfish and Bass ID 1244: Sentry Throwables: Explosives : ID 254: Grenade ID 1100: Sticky Granade ID 1101: Landmine ID 1102: Claymore ID 1132: Snowball ID 1240: Remote Detonator ID 1241: Breaching Charge ID 1242: Makeshift Grenade ID 1346: Flashbang