#stand on zanzibar

[madcat-world]

Work Collection IV (4 of 9) - Sija Hong

#Work Collection #Sija Hong #cover art #scenery #magic #merfolk #snakes #jaguar #butterflies #Stand on Zanzibar #The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water​​​​​​​ #China South Angel #surrealism #fantasy art #digital art

[70sscifiart]

Murray Tinkelman’s 1976 cover to Stand on Zanzibar

#Stand on Zanzibar #Murray Tinkelman

[thelastofthebookworms]

You'll find the other polls in my 'sf polls' tag / my pinned post.

That'll be it for me + SF for today but who knows about tomorrow ? If you want to make suggestions for other polls, please do.

#polls #science fiction #sf polls #a scanner darkly #philip k. dick #the demolished man #alfred bester #dhalgren #samuel r. delany #samuel delany #cryptonomicon #neal stephenson #the day of the triffids #john wyndham #roadside picnic #arkady strugatsky #boris strugatsky #stand on zanzibar #john brunner #downbelow station #c.j. cherryh #the lady astronaut of mars #mary robinette kowal

[rhube]

This reminded me of something I hadn't thought on for a while: muckers.

In 1969, John Brunner wrote a wonderful, challenging, prescient, complicated science fiction novel on overpopulation, called Stand on Zanzibar.

50 years on, it's not flawless, but a lot of what I've wrestled with because I thought they might be flaws, I now see were simply misreadings. For example, I thought SoZ was a warning about overpopulation, but I now see it is rather a critique of the response of historically colonial societies to dense populations.

It's also predicts a detrimental rise of the American Christian Right (although he focuses on Catholicism, rather than Puritanism), critiques globally monopolistic companies, the military-industrial complex, white middle-class complacency, exploitation of AI, media that presents itself AS you to shape YOUR views... it's got a lot going on.

But one thing SoZ got both right and wrong is muckers.

In Stand on Zanzibar, Brunner predicts that in dense population areas, there will be an increase of people flipping out and going on murder-sprees, because in the overpopulated world, crammed into ever tinier spaces, with complete loss of privacy and sense of self, mental health plummets. When this happens, the people who flip out are called 'muckers'.

All this tracks reasonably well to reported psychology of many US mass murderers.*

But.

Firstly, Brunner predicted a global phenomenon, and frequent mass murders is by quite a long way a distinctly US problem. A distinctly white, male, US problem.

Secondly, he imagined people just, like, flipping out in crowds and going on axe murder sprees. He didn't foresee the guns.

This is an American writer growing up with American gun culture. But you gotta know that the 2023 gun culture of the US was not how it was in 1969. Heck, I don't think it was like that when I was out there in 1990.

It changed after Columbine. When every other high-income country had their watershed moment with a school shooting, they introduced laws to prevent it happening again. But in the US, the NRA felt threatened. And their response was to ramp up the industry before it could be ramped down by politicians.

And this is why gun deaths don't really have anything to do with population density. They have to do with politics and the power of the NRA.

Because people don't become muckers, the way Brunner thought, in response to a world that is increasingly isolating, increasingly crowded, where our identities are stripped by work and invasions of privacy, where people in their 30s and 40s do still have roommates to afford rent in cities. All the things Brunner thought would make us lose our minds are in fact causing rising mental health issues. It's just that a) mental health issues don't actually usually make you violent, the person you're most likely to hurt is yourself; b) it's white men who have been taught to feel a right to the compliance of others who are most likely to take turn their frustrations into violent action towards others; and c) in most places, disillusioned, angry, mentally unstable people don't have access to guns.

Access to a gun is what causes someone who becomes violent in public to turn from harming one or two people before being subdued into a murder spree.

Because it does still happen elsewhere. Very occasionally. I can recall a couple of high-profile knife- or axe-weilding cases in the UK since 2010 (when the book is set). And in those cases, despite the shock of it all, the person only ended up killing one or two people.

It's having a gun that makes it extremely easy to kill a lot of people.

And also, these people aren't ordinary people who 'just snap'. Mass shooters plan their incidents and often turn up with a whole arsenal. An arsenal that proper gun laws could have prevented them from having.

People are, on the whole, less unstable than Brunner imagined. And those of us that are made depressed and anxious by the modern world usually go home and feel miserable, or hurt ourselves, rather than anyone else.

But he also, crucially, didn't imagine we would have such easy access to guns. And that has made all the difference.

*Set aside for now the issue of whether overpopulation is really a problem - Brunner suggests at the end of the book that it isn't really, the problem is colonialist values... although it took me a while to get that because the trope by which that comes out is a little problematic. IIRC the people of Beninia had evolved pheromones that just made everyone more chill, and we could use that somehow to solve everything (?), whiiiich is a bit Magical Black people. It was 1969. It's still the most thorough attempt to provide a truly global perspective on a book about a global issue that I can think of, and the very structure of the book says 'Look, guys, it's complicated.' Which makes me think I need to read it again, because did it really come out so hard against colonialism and then end with that? IDK.

#guns #stand on zanzibar #john brunner

[koty-witha-k]

I did a little graphic design exercise today and remade some book covers for novels I'm fond of:

#graphic art #graphic design #book cover #book cover design #novels #judge a book by its cover #cover art #moby dick #stand on zanzibar #we #confessions of a mask #infinite jest #the sun also rises #don quixote #the woman in the dunes #crash

[tenth-sentence]

Brunner created his world-picture from a collage of materials, real and imagined, intercalated with episodes of the narrative in the manner of Dos Passos.

"Frankenstein's Footsteps: Science, Genetics and Popular Culture" - Jon Turney

#book quote #frankenstein's footsteps #jon turney #nonfiction #john brunner #stand on zanzibar #world picture #collage #dos passos

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage 2x12 - "The Zanzibar Marketplace Job"

[ID: A Leverage gifset. Sterling walks into the bar that the crew is in, and and Nate briefly looks up to meet his eyes before saying, “Eliot, I’m gonna ask you not to do anything violent.” Eliot frowns, “What? What are you talking about? I only use violence as an appropriate response.” Sterling is revealed standing behind Eliot.

Sterling smiles and says, “Hello, Nate,” and Eliot’s expression freezes before slowly gaining intensity. Eliot shoots out of his seat and delivers a strong right hook to Sterling’s cheek.

Eliot looks furious, and the camera freezes over Sterling’s shocked face before swiveling to Parker and Hardison standing at the bar. The bartender starts to move away, but Hardison hands him a wad of dollar bills and shakes his head. The camera stays on Parker and Hardison, who smile with clear amusement and appreciation. End ID]

ID courtesy of @princess-of-purple-prose

#christian kane #leverage #eliot spencer #alec hardison #aldis hodge #parker #beth riesgraf #nathan ford #timothy hutton #tara cole #jeri ryan #jim sterling #mark sheppard #the zanzibar marketplace job

[bcacstuff]

The Zanzibar Saga

Disclaimer: Everything is open to interpretation. Opinions, theories or speculations I write are my own, they are not facts I merely try to make sense using logic. Opinions, theories or speculations in the comments belong to the commenters and do not necessarily reflect mine. This also goes for all the Anons quotes, which I posted in italics. I had to take parts of Anons, and could not post all I've received. (Sorry for the ones I left out)

Some advice in advance, put the kettle on and make a good pot of tea or coffee, whatever you prefer. This is going to be a very long post. I tried to be thorough expressing my thoughts during and about this saga and as unbiased as possible. I also want to do as much as possible justice to the many people who sent me their messages.

For people not having the time to read the whole post, I wrote a TLDR/some end conclusions at the end of the post.

Where to start... perhaps at the beginning. Two weeks ago, on a Friday (night my local time) 1st of September stories appear on accounts that were involved in the SS-tour having a boat party. At first on private accounts, which I did not use, but soon they were reposted on public accounts as well. So I reported about what I saw. Some accounts we know were tagged on it so it wasn't that hard to find more footage. A tiktok was posted and later on posted on the SS account as well. Another tiktok occurred later on. Little was I to know about the aftermath of this party.

What enrolled in the following days or week could be best described as a soap worthy masterpiece saga script writers would be envious of. Depending on the agendas of the several fractions in this fandom the most fantastic fiction was written in no time, all mostly based on some tiny snippets of the videos. I was honestly wondering if I was watching another season of Bravo's Below Deck.

But first let me introduce you to the producers, the main cast and the guest stars in this saga. (for the full experience, sound on!)

Besides some nasty messages:

[I shall spare you the ones with more colourfull language and the one that took more that 5 paragraphs to share her angry thoughts with me... 🙄]

...my inbox got flooded with generally one question:

Did you recognize the girl with the white sunglasses sitting next to Marina?

At 0.11 second of the video, you can see a girl with blue bikinis and white sunglasses and Sam is sitting next to and behind her could be his date?

I suddenly noticed a new person on the boat!!!!! She sit next to Sam and Marina. She has a bandana, white sunglasses, blue bikini and some kind of white skirt. Sam is very close to her even when he sit with his back. She lool like a model and I doubt she is from the team.

... and numerous similar ones...

Oh blimey, I thought, he appears to be sitting NEXT TO A WOMAN!!!! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 Seriously....????

All about a few tiny snippets in the tiktok videos, blink and you will miss her. But yes, we all know how this fandom is superior in examining videos frame by frame and analyzing it into dept.

The snippets, I'm sure you've seen them, but for the sake of completeness:

Both where he sits with his back towards her, more interested in the sea and as it looks having a conversation with Marina. It does look close, but those seats on the boat are rather large and deep. She appears to have a conversation with Melissa.

And there is one he's seen from the front, watching Joshua dancing as all others did. Joshua is blocking the view on the woman next to Sam.

In another snippet you can see the size of these seats on the boat as well

There's one more snippet she appears in, and seems to be standing alone while the food has apparently arrived, and again look at the size of those seats.

In other parts he's just having conversation with others, here with Marina and her friend Michelle

So far the snippets. I called it a day for that night, it was already quite late and I felt slightly disappointed and appalled by the reactions. Only to come back the next day to feel even more appalled finding a name in my inbox and learning that on another blog, well known for creating fanfic only from a name drop in an inbox as we have seen since the hiatus began, the woman was already declared as the new one, as well as 'she's the one'. Not only on that blog btw. but also in my inbox.

Sam is not going to join Matt because he is with his new date, Sam is so excited about this one. They are already in a romantic place together.

I think Sam has made his best choice. I like her. Sam seemed very happy and excited both on the boat and with his meeting with the fans. Maybe he has finally found the love of his life,

Sam wants everybody to know about her maybe he never thought her name will be out too soon.

And a fair number similar ones. Now I admire all your romantic feelings Anons, but I'm afraid you read too many dime novels or have seen LA a couple of times too much. I often get these Anons telling me I know nothing because social media isn't showing the real life. So it looks to me turning these one frame snippets into a romantic novel DG could use for her last book, is a bit too much for my taste to make all kind of these assumptions on.

🤦‍♀️

What if that is not her at all, those were my thoughts. This woman will just get bombarded with all kind of idiocy, as we could already see how the number of followers on that private account increased. While at the same time other sides quickly created versions of the saga including some horrific names the woman was called fitting a certain agenda.

Haven't we seen this all before a fair number of times? Haven't we been appalled by this before a number of times? Does this fandom never learn anything from the past?

My inbox had questions

For months, no one reveal CM's name, then this girl's name is outed immediately, why?

and

How did we learn bikini woman's name? How did someone first figure out who the woman was?

and

The whole thing is suspicious to me. Who is this or these people who give info to Purv? No way she could be recognized so fast. someone is playing here

To be honest, I was looking for the same answers and had the same suspicious feeling as well. Profiles were searched out on other platforms, her job and a picture from Linkedin was found. Now I do the same when a name gets dropped as well, but to post it already in a fashion that it is all a fact before anything can be confirmed...not so much. And quite honestly, identifying someone from a few snippets where the person is wearing huge white sunglasses and a bandana hiding most of her hair and face.... doesn't gave me a positive confirmation at all.

Now I do not believe in some kind of PR plants or TPTB narratives dropping names in inboxes. Even me and my blog have been accused of being part of his PR team when I merely posted just a pic or video of some events happening, when it didn't fit the agendas of said fractions of the fandom. Now if only they would tell me where to send my bill!

But in all fairness I must say, this summer, or already since OL S7 wrapped, the number of names dropped of totally unknown women who could not be connected to him in any sense, got quite astonishing to me. Yes, in my inbox as well, but I just don't like to put names of women out there just throwing them under the bus, or against a well known wall just to see what sticks. We've seen quite some curious ones, just reminding fake Emily and Cinderella's Hyrox patches and all the innuendos of women being in Miami, NYC, LA, places where many go. I'm not accusing P of mischief or making things up herself, let that be clear. If anything, than I rather think she's the one that has been played on, she turned out to be an easy target. She posts most of the time blindly without any or sloppy research and doesn't question where the information actually comes from if it fits her agenda.

I chose to step away a bit, besides the weather here in the Netherlands was extraordinary for the time of year. All week temperatures in the high twenties, and last weekend even 30+.

My inbox didn't calm down, more messages but now asking me to shed my lights on things, valuing my take on it. My silence didn't go unnoticed it seems. One Anon wrote:

Hi BC I am a little surprised that this time you prefer to be quite and not to tell us about your thoughts on the new date.

While another wrote

I really enjoy your blog, mainly because of you. Whenever something happens in Sam's life, and others present a different perspective, I tend to trust your viewpoint, and more often you are correct. However, this is the first time you haven't posted anything about Sam and the girl in the blue bikini. There are some aspects that don't quite make sense to me, and I was looking forward to you confirming or addressing that. It appears that this time you do agree with Purve and have decided not to post anything.

And

Are you not writing anything about the new SE girl or are you investigating to find out the truth? ☺️

Yes, I was quietly doing my own research, looking for information and here and there discussed some ideas and opinions in private chats. And no I do not agree with everything P wrote.

I also was (and still am not) in the clear whether Susie is the same woman on the boat. Therefore I call Susie, Susie and the woman on the boat SusieOrNotSusie. At the end of the story, it doesn't really matter as it doesn't really change my view on things.

Some Anons were a bit more humorous

If you are on vacation again....come back right now....I repeat it is an emergency. Composition of the alphabet soup: ship, SH, dolphins, music, gin, employees with appropriate clothing, shirtless boss, new secret employee with seductive clothing, CP costume. Solution?

As well as some Anons using their logic writing to me, I had the same questions and misgivings [note some of these are parts of longer messages]

We REALLY need your take on this whole blonde in the blue bikini on the yacht with Sam story. P has already created a relationship with a couple name... again. The shippers are rabid to prove it was staged for PR and nothing else. Tell us your thinking..please! Do you think, based on Sam's patterns and history, that he would bring a date on this trip knowing she would be filmed more than once? So out in the open knowing this fandom would figure out who she is?

Can't really see SH having a date on a boat with his employees and cameras everywhere. Seems too public for him. Too hard to keep her hidden from every camera. P now thinks she's on holiday with SH. Marina tagged a woman in a story over the weekend about the yacht day and that woman follows this Susie on IG. Doesn't look to be a new follow either. Perhaps she's a friend of a friend who was visiting LA and joined Marina and her other two friends?? Just seems so different from Sam's normal MO. Especially since there were multiple TikToks.

Logically, I just cannot believe that SH would have an event for his team on a yacht, let them film what looks like some promo (AN with a gin bottle, for example), and allow his team to post two TikToks that would show a woman with him that he is dating. It also looks like his new manager, Duncan Millership was on the yacht with them. I can't imagine that private Sam (when it comes to dates) would have his new mgr, his work teams, Alex and Marina there with a new date. He knows, surely by now, how different elements of this fandom search through every photo and meeting of him with possible new gfs. I just can't get my logical brain to be okay with him allowing it to be out in the open.

Am I crazy? I just cannot believe that Sam would allow those boat videos and TikToks to be shared everywhere- including on the SS page- if he had a date on the boat. He has had some terrible experiences in the past with how potential dates/gfs were treated. He didn't even follow AM or MC when he was supposed to be dating them, probably to try to protect them or keep it quiet. Would he really do this? It doesn't seem to fit his patterns- especially since Gia. Loads of speculation about how he met the woman, but we don't even know if he knew her or if she was a friend of someone he knew was coming on the boat. It also just feels off to me. Do you think he would share or let others share so many videos with a potential date on the boat? Of course, on the one blog they've apparently known each other and/or hooked up since his visit to Austin. On the other end of the spectrum it's just fake- smoke and mirrors. Just can't see Sam going this public until he's really ready to make a relationship public.

Yes, that was, and still is, my first huge red flag 🚩 as well. I agree, he will not take a date he barely knows (even if people try to make it credible that he knew her for a longer time because of 'likes' 🙄). I don't think he had much time to date and get to know anyone that well that he'd be comfortable to take her on that boat trip with all of his team. We've all seen he worked all the while in Belgium with some visits to NYC for promo and his b-day in Miami with friends, no women involved. On top of that, if you look at the people on that boat, they're part of the SS team or the MPC team (or both), all associated to SS or MPC or GGC some with partners and friends who were invited along.

Marina posted a story of the dolphins, tagging 2 women. Michelle who is a friend of hers she took with her followed already by her and her boss as well. And she tagged Melissa P, who she started to follow after the boat trip, clearly met her first time during the trip. Melissa also followed Marina back a few days later on. However Marina didn't tag SusieOrNotSusie nor followed her! In fact nobody did.

After Marina posted her story tagging Melissa, it wasn't hard to find out that Melissa seems to be the only connection to Susie, following her on IG. She already followed Susie before the boat trip though. This is the only connection that can be made between Susie and anyone on that boat trip as far as I can see.

Now I do not know what the connection between Melissa (and her partner) to Sam, or his business is. I could find out that Melissa seems to be a sales manager at Hyundai. I don't know what the name of her partner is, he could as well be associated somehow to the business team on that boat and how these people were invited on the trip.

Anyway, for me, this boat trip was for team and the business associations. SusieOrNotSusie could easily be a connection to anyone else on that boat. What I did notice from what we can tell from the footage is how the SS (tour) team mostly interacted amongst the ones they know from the team on one side of the boat, while on the other side the rest was mostly placed and interacting. Looks a bit like 2 parties not really knowing each other.

So anyone claiming he must have met Susie in Austin, it doesn't occur they knew her to me. As for nobody following her from that boat trip nor Susie following anybody else from that trip than Melissa she already followed upfront, people claiming Sam told them not to sounds quite contradictory to him having her on that boat with everyone and allowing all the footage, not to mention the ones that are convinced they're a romantic couple for real and want to go public.

And a final thought on connections, I didn't hear or see from anyone, but what to me was quite curious. How is it that from all the people he met in Austin, or on his tour for that matter, or could have picked someone from Raya, how is it that Susie curiously is connected to one more guest on that boat! Now there's a coincidence, no? Or is it not a coincidence??? Did SusieOrNotSusie bring them along like her chaperone? I don't think so...

btw. The Anon mentioning Duncan Millership, I reckon this came from a shippers blog where this was mentioned, together with something Sam said during the private fan con in KC. Which I'm not sure was serious or just a joke. It's about this man with whom Alex seems to be in conversation:

Now firstly I doubt this is Duncan Millership, just search his picture via Google and you find he doesn't look like this man.

Secondly fwiw, Duncan Millership is an old friend of Sam, from even before his OL breakout. he's one of the first followers of Sam.

For the ones that do not know, Katie Rebekah, friend his London time and has been named as one of his first gfs. VickiLawson is his ex SIL, Faye Thomas took his first photographed for his Portfolio.

Meanwhile I was told by a number of people that

Susie Evans ALSO posted from Shutters a few days ago.

and it took a bit of time before this screenshot was shared...

Now, I'm not sure when exactly she posted this story, which as I learned from bts chats, was originally a video (so people saying it's photoshopped or anything, I rule that out).

It is the Beach House Suite at Shutters, as pointed out, the same suite the interview with the tastingalliance was conducted. I have no doubts about that.

The Tasting Alliance interview due out tomorrow was also done at Shutters , wearing the kilt he had on on Sunday .

Yes for the kilt, other shirt though. (where is the interview btw.?)

Sam's interview with the lady from The Tasting Alliance was filmed inside a suite at Shutters on the Beach that costs over $5,000 a night. Looks like that hotel is about 10 mins from Marina del Rey. P is sharing a photo supposedly from Susie Evans' IG inside a suite like that. She claims it's Sam's suite and that SE wouldn't have an expensive suite like that. She also posted late yesterday that SE is back in Austin now. .... Could this Susie E have been there as a friend of a friend, gotten to go into the suite where they were meeting/ working and took a photo of herself there? The photo looks really filtered. It's interesting to me that if you are staying in a suite that nice with a great view that you would take your photo in front of a messy table that doesn't really show the cool place where you are. Why not a video of the whole suite to show what an awesome and gorgeous place to be?

[note the above Anon is part of a longer message of which I took the relevant parts]

Of course the easiest thing is to conclude she was staying there with him in that suite, if that is what your agenda fits. And if you don't question yourself the obvious questions. Like would he conduct an interview in the same suite he was staying with a date? Quite a huge red flag 🚩 for me again. Turning it into some kind of romantic weekend or week sounds a bit reductive for my taste.

The screenshot of Susie seems to have been a video, as I was told, but not from the entire suite. As above Anon points out, why is there such a mess on the table? And for sure the helmet on the table indicated Sam was there, well we already knew because of the interview of course. But tell me if you are staying there, would you put your helmet on the table and bags on the chair, or put it in the hallway f.i. where there is room to leave stuff like that? And it is right when you enter the suite.

The suite was for biz. He has money but not thst kind of money. Shutters has no reason to comp him a suite. It was a set for interview which is often done, not as costly, and biz expense.

I tend to lean towards him driving on the bike to the suite on Sunday, that was hired for an afternoon or day perhaps to conduct the interview and for him to change and get to the event and back. The recent fan pic at Shutters shows him in the shirt (and SS pin) he wore at the event. It also gives merit to what Anon above wrote, being possibly a friend of a friend gotten to go into the Suite to record her video. And as the other Anon above points out, he has money and he does live the luxury live at hotels for what we can see, but he doesn't spill that kind of money on a date. And if he would do so, he better put her into the the Four Seasons Hotel, where he only stays when he's in LA on Starz's account.

I heard there were people saying other team members posted from that location or suite as well. I think that's a myth, I didn't see anybody from the team post from it. I do not think it was some kind of base for the team to stay and from there went for the boat trip. Only Chrissy stayed at a hotel, as she is not living in LA, and I haven't seen her posting from a hotel. So saying so in order to make it look like the hotel Suite was hired for the whole team is false information imo. However it's still credible to me it was hired for the Sunday interview and base from where he went to the event.

Other thoughts I had were, why is this the only screenshot of her in LA? Nothing from the boat, nothing from anything in LA we've seen. Didn't he take her out to diner somewhere? Not a fancy motorbike ride along Abbot Kinney and Venice? Btw. Where is her helmet? Only one helmet on that table! And to this day I haven't seen the white sunnies nor the same bandana in any of her pictures. Older or new ones.

Typically, my attitude is, if you weren't there you don't know what happened and don't get into the hoopla, be open. This time I felt the same, until the fan picture with him at the coffee shop displaying the helmet. He's really been caught the past years in LA by a fan or at least they haven't posted such encounters. This time within 48 hours, a coincidental fan picture with him in sane Shutters clothing with same helmet in the suite picture with the woman, who was the woman on the boat. Sorry too many coincidences to not be a story someone is selling. And as you know there are many stories around. This time, seeing the watchers, the drama creators, the examiners and researchers, all with an agenda, it's becoming more strange than ever. Thoughts?

Coming back to the part I wrote above about how Susie's name came to be known at all in this realm. My inquiries did put me on a trail of an infamous group in this fandom. I do not have the answers on the how, what for or why, and I think I don't want to touch that lid of a pot so full of 'Stranger Things'! 🤐 [for the ones longer in this fandom, this should tell you enough.] Don't sent me any (anon) questions about it, I wont answer, I do not have the answers. I just have my suspicions that I keep in mind and that's enough to me.

About the picture outside Shutters and the fan pic at the coffee shop on Abbey Kinney Blv. I do not think they were 'planted' though. This are not the things I wrote about above. There are bloggers pointing out how the picture outside Shutters is removed and the fan that saw him at the coffee shop is now private. The simple reason for that we can all guess. These people are bothered and even perhaps harassed about their post. We've seen it before, some told us about it, remember how the journalist in Ratingen showed us why she removed his pic? I even noticed how that Friday when the videos of the boat party were posted, some where on Joshua's account. I didn't mention him but his account name was on one of the pics. I caught the dolphin story, and was just in time to get the video of Sam dancing between his team members. A moment later he was private! And now even Melanie has changed her tiktok account name and removed one of the videos. Going by the things I find in my inbox, you can draw your own conclusions from that.

Some other thought that was sent to me

Why hasn't anyone assumed the woman or women were Alex's date? Does one dare ask that question and get hit with body shaming comments? Certainly he was in the suite too.

No Anon, others made that assumption as well. I feel hesitant to post this, yet took this one only to show people who wrote to me thought of this as an option. But let's not forget, the man has 2 young daughters so I feel very reluctant making assumptions like this. And in fact, I don't think so.

TLDR or some end conclusions:

Is Susie the woman on the boat or not? I do not have an answer on that. Many of you wrote to me and I posted these images to compare. Her nose and chin seem different. Opinions are mixed. But it's quite hard (and to me unlikely) to confirm a positive ID on the woman on the boat as her face is hidden for a great deal. And as an Anon pointed out to me, do these women he dates not all look the same...? 🤔

Anyway, it doesn't matter that much as eyes are now peeled on Susie who seems to be Susie and took a video in the suite at Shutters. No other footage, nothing else from this supposed weekend. Only this one screenshot from a video that miraculously reached this fandom #justsaying

Red flags all over, no I don't think he'd take a date he can't have known long, on a boat with his team members and business associates where video's and pictures about the event were happily shared on known accounts. Despite P naming how he took Abby and MM to work events, he learned what the consequences are. He's not always smart, but he isn't that dumb as well.

Conducting an interview and clearly using an hotel suite as base to get to the last announced event in the same suite he's staying with a date is a huge red flag and a big no to me. There are other options how Susie got this video recorded there with his stuff so obviously showing. In no way would he be okay her showing and posting this.

He stayed at AN's house all the time he was in LA, he does so since AN owns this house. Before Sam always stayed at Airbnbs when he was for a longer time in LA, when for shorter times, say a few days, like last year when he came back from LV and went to Mexico a few days later on he stays at Shutters. When he's there on Starz's account, he stays at the Four Seasons. We've seen him doing zoom interviews from Shutters and the Four Season, as well as from airbnb's in the past. When Nic R was there, he posted a picture of the motorbike at a fuel station, which I located and was near to AN's house in the HH. As to why not use that as a base, if you know this house you know it is not the most accessible place in the HH with a huge stairway to the entrance.

Social Media times showed, how he was online most of the usual hours. Though not posting that much, as he's restricted of course because of the strike. Liking and even commenting on posts was no less. Nothing that implicated dating or having someone over for a date.

I doubt we'll see anything more from Susie. Expect the usual innuendo, but I know where to put my money. Just another is/was she or is/was she not soap bubble for this fandom, gotta say a weird one because of the suite screenshot. I do agree with the many people that notice how things do not add up to what we know about SH and his MO. And frankly he's a creature of habits he shows that all the time. But hey, stranger things happen.

For all we've seen now, she was back in Austin quite soon after the weekend and currently in Denver. While we've seen him for a week in LA at least biking around with AN, and last we've seen and heard he's been all week in NYC. So much for the 'happy couple'....

[icarusallusion]

Gray Fox's last words in both games will always be so important to me in understanding him as a character in whole. Especially his relationships with war and people and how he views them

Starting with this dialogue about Big Boss.

These are Frank's dying words and he uses them to praise Big Boss. These lines and their relationship shows Frank's devotion and loyalty on it's own. Countless times he has left friends, family, and lover behind to pursue Big Boss and his goals. This, while not a very healthy attachment, does speak greatly about what kind of a man Frank is and how devoted he can be.

Because he is not just devoted to Big Boss, he is also devoted to Solid Snake, he doesn't want Snake to die, he feels bad about betraying FOXHOUND, and he feels bad about lying to him in general. He pretended to be "#1 Fan" just so he didn't have to fully betray Snake. Not to mention Metal Gear Solid, but he's practically overjoyed at the chance to die in front of Snake and for him to be his means of death, while sickening in context with the experimentations it's incredibly showing how much they mean to each other. Also his clear devotion to Gustava, He risks getting arrested or killed just to be with the woman he loved. Frank is a character that is immensely devoted to people, but it does tend to rule out to Big Boss being the most important it still says a lot. It is also something that ruins him in the process, he dies for Big Boss and he destroys the relationships he has outside of Big Boss, which is also why I think he's so attached to David as well but I'll save that for some other post.

These lines also show Frank's values towards morality and loyalty, before this he says along the line of "I am in an awkward position [unlike snake]" he is pretty much saying that he's in-between peace and Big Boss. These, combined with the dialouge after it, imply that Frank fully understands Snake's amnesty towards Big Boss. He does see that Big Boss is bad, and why people do not like him. This shows off his devotion can cloud his morality, he still fully believes in a what's right and what's wrong but that dependency on Big Boss stumps it.

Scooting away from his last words to talk about his second last moments in Metal Gear Solid.

Fox : Snake, we're not tools of the government or anyone else! Fighting was the only thing... the only thing I was good at, but... At least I always fought for what I believed in.

This is almost a clearcut show of his morale, he fought because he was desperate to cling to war but he never lost sight of his values. While his values aren't very expanded on in themselves, the fact he clings to them as much as he does, does stand out to me. A clear show of determination that's been muddied by violence. He sides with both FOXHOUND and Zanzibar in his own way, as he understands the good purpose of FOXHOUND but sees Big Boss in Zanzibar and ultimately that loyalty makes his morality hazy and destroys the relationship he had with FOXHOUND.

Frank shows a very heartbreaking attitude towards war and also furthers the last point.

that he fully knows war is bad, Big Boss is not good, etc. I am always so glad when bad guys aren't written blind to the good in the world 🙌

Frank outright says he despises war, he shows this attitude a lot throughout his life. Even as a teen, he expressed his disgust at the death caused by war. He takes in a young Naomi to prevent the war from making an influx on her. He is incredibly caring to those suffering from battle filled places, yet due to the constant conditioning he has faced he's forced to constantly bring himself back into battlefield.

To Frank, war is an addiction. As a baby, he's in wartorn Vietnam kept in a camp, as a child he's in wartorn Africa trafficked as a soldier, and as a teenager he's in wartorn San Hieronymo memory wiped. When he is saved by Big Boss all these times, he ends up scooped back up into war anyway. When he's an adult and with Big Boss, he still chooses war. It's an incredibly saddening cycle that his character goes through.

However, to Frank, conflict and battle acts as a comfort to him. It's all that he knows and all he's grown up with that he cannot bring himself to separate from it.

When he's happy with Gustava, he still finds a way to break the law and accidentally ruin Gustava, still thinking like a soldier. I think this behavior also stems to Big Boss as well, Frank is happy with Big Boss, views him as his hero, but when describing him, he's just his CO that saved him a few times when there's so much more to their relationship. It makes me think Frank, as a soldier, already regards CO as an important role because he's stuck with thinking like a soldier that he can't see Big Boss past military ranking. Same with Solid Snake, Snake regards Frank as his best friend, while Frank always sticks to calling him Snake or rookie. It's always codenames or ranks for Frank.

Comparing himself to the children of Zanzibar also stuck out to me. While, Gray Fox is certainly not childish, he does have some child wonder and impulsivity that undoubtedly stem from the fact he'd never had a chance to grow up properly. He makes several impulsive decisions where he doesn't think about the consequences of what he does, this could also come from that same exact soldier mentality.

Also on the topic of the kids in Zanzibarland, the small dialogues they have about Big Boss is something that reminds me of how Gray Fox himself speaks about Big Boss, albeit he says it in a more jaded way but I feel that's really only because we see him as a teen and the Zanzibarland kids are like five.

Into the suicidal behaviors of Frank. In his life, he's on autopilot for most of it and when he's not, he's hurting others or he's hurting himself. He shows a deeply depressive attitude in life.

Within Portable Ops, he says: "You help me fill the void inside" towards Big Boss, describing his own self as a void showed how he felt his life had no meaning, including the whole null motifs, literally calling himself nothing always stuck with me. His impulsive behavior also stands out. While his impulsivity probably comes from the instinct of a soldier, sometimes it comes across as just suicidal. Piloting and fighting with a metal gear when he's never done so in his life, trying to elope with a woman in an authoritarian Czechoslovakia, killing Gene's staff, etc etc. Some actions he takes could end up killing him, having him tortured and he doesn't care about consequences.

Scooting away again to mgs1..

Liquid says this: "Foolish man! He prayed for death and it found him." While Liquids words can't express Frank's feelings it is a generally accurate statement, throughout his life Frank finds death and destruction and it follows him everywhere. This leads him down his own path of wanting to die, not actively but a passive auto pilot thought of knowing one day he will die and hoping it's in battle. While not a typical suicidal thought, hoping for death in whatever way definitely counts.

Onto more with his relationship with David, because it's always the moments when Frank is the realist. David is highly impressionable when he first meets Frank, probably one of his first few real friends after foster care and green berets. Frank himself regards their friendship highly. The last few words exchanged between them before they talk about Gustava: "I will never be like you" it always struck me and the way Frank just accepts that, he knows he's not a good role model anymore, not to anyone by how he talks about Naomi in MGS1.

David looked up to Frank, that much is evidenced by Kasler saying how everyone loved and looked up to Frank in FOXHOUND and how every opportunity he can Snake brings up Frank's advice. Metal Gear 2 shows the final crumbling of Frank, he's tries his hardest to have that moral compass, to be a sense of good to the war orphans he comes across, to his peers, and to his subordinates in FOXHOUND, but then in 1999 it fizzles away and he's fully accepted the fate laid out for him.

It's incredibly depressing but accurate. Frank is a veteran, he's fought enough wars and solemnly accepts his death. I think killing Gustava, and fighting Snake were turning points for him. Especially realizing Big Boss was most likely going to die in Zanzibar. He forces himself away from all parts of his life that made him whole so that he can accept death.

All in and all, Frank's last words in both Metal Gear 2 and Metal Gear Solid crack open a lot of depth into his character that so many people I've found ignore. The original Metal Gears tend to get overlooked but dive so deep into the characters that it's so shocking when so many fans haven't played or watched it. MG is the baseline for understanding Gray Fox and I find so many people boiling him down to himself in Metal Gear Solid when he's so impactful in Portable Ops, in Metal Gear 2, like please show Frank love because he will always be one of the most impactful characters to me

#mgs #metal gear solid #gray fox #frank jaeger #solid snake #gustava heffner

[sgiandubh]

Whereabouts

Instead of hijacking @wildfernflower's excellent reblog of this post (https://www.tumblr.com/bat-cat-reader/728749633773404160/cait-looks-hot-happy-and-content-both-her?source=share), I decided to write my own.

But first, I have to quote @wildfernflower, because she is damn right:

'There is a lot of time in his life, far away from his socials, filled with stuff we'll never know about. People read his post one day, learn what he's currently doing or where he currently is (or rather where he wants people to think he is), they're impatiently waiting for the next post that comes e.g. in 2 or 3 days, and have an illusion nothing happened in between. They put these posts one after another on a fictious Sam’s timeline they create in their minds. In reality, these 2-3 days in between is a significant time gap, yet it miraculously disappears.'

You might find me insolent, but: this whereabouts obsession is one of the original sins of this fandom. Where are they right now? And with whom? Alone? Together? When did he/she went online last time, in which time zone and to do exactly what?

Let's face it: we wouldn't do that with our best friends IRL, perhaps and I would not do that with SO or my child(ren) if I had that privilege, which I don't. I remember my mother calling me at 7AM on a Sunday with that question and I also remember my very insolent answer - she understood very quickly it was not a good idea and never tried it again. So while I can see why this online timelines game was cute at the start, I can't, for the life of me, understand why it still apparently is a big deal and why some keep on playing it on behalf of two strangers? Especially when they know, by now, everything he posts is either a) advertising of his own projects and b) latergrams and also that she was never an enthusiastic poster (oh, yes: the banter - that is, I am afraid, long over, now).

This is the surest way to feed a never ending obsessive cycle and this is way above and beyond fandom behavior. This is also why I think timelines always have an agenda, especially when they pretend to explain a context in all its complexity, to a very thirsty and easily bored audience.

Take for example what Miss Marple called The Zanzibar Saga. At least fifty pages of multimedia content, with an almost frame-by-frame découpage and the proper identification of about 20% of the people on that damn boat. All of this in order to cover events that probably unfolded in the space of eight to ten hours tops of a single day.

In which world is this normal and in which legal system is this not stalking? Why is this happening: to feed the Fandom Beast or to further discredit a B-list actor, allowing all sorts of innuendoes, among which the a) high-functioning alcoholic, b) cheap womanizer and c) closeted gay are all 'possible', depending on each faction's (not fraction, Geachte mevrouw: that's algebra) POV? How is that evidence of anything else than an inordinate, obsessive and somewhat worrisome interest for that person?

This is OL. Not The Truman Show:

PS: In case you wonder, I will always stand up if what I consider to be red lines are being crossed, no matter who the person (cast or blogger) is. Yesterday/early morning today (timezones) it happened again and while I admit my reaction was uncharacteristically strong, so was the troll's message.

Next time, it could be anyone of us. Think about it. And next time, I will stand up again in solidarity, no matter who you are or what your shipper/believer take on SC is. And no, I do not expect anyone to do the same for me. It's not how these things work.

#fandom #Youtube

[fablesrose]

Ch 15 - The Zanzibar Marketplace Job

Series Rewrite Masterlist 

Pairing: Eliot Spencer x Ford!Reader

Description: Maggie gets arrested in Ukraine for stealing a priceless artifact. The team's got to go work with Sterling to get it back and clear her name

Words: 6560

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

Nate decided to let us help sort through possible clients, so the four of us, Nate, Tara, Eliot, and I were sitting around a table in McRory’s, looking through files. Hardison and Parker stood at the bar chatting, not wanting to over crowd. Nate explained his file which described a family whose pension disappeared and had their land seized by the state under eminent domain. 

“So these are all your lost sheep?” Tara asked, flipping through her own folder.  

“Excuse me?” Nate asked. 

“Well, you know, you can’t save them all.”

Nate didn’t have a response to that and just stood, saying he was going to get a refill of coffee. 

Tara looked between the two of us, “You know he’s drinking again.”

“I know,” I sighed at the same time Eliot said, “I’m not an idiot, Tara.”

“I was told this was a problem,” Tara said. 

“Drinking’s not a problem,” Eliot corrected, “It’s a symptom.”

The conversation didn’t go further as Nate came back. I kept my head down, looking at the file I had randomly selected, but I wasn’t actually reading it. They were right, but I didn’t know what I could do about it. I couldn’t do anything, really. Nate made his own decisions and he was one of the most stubborn people I knew. While I could support him, and hope he stopped again. I couldn’t make him. 

As I was lost in my thoughts I didn’t realize Nate had focused on someone who had walked into the pub until he said, “Eliot, I’m gonna ask you not to do anything violent.”

I looked up at Nate with a curious expression, why would he say that? I looked over to Eliot to see he had a similar look, but what caught my attention was the fact that Sterling was standing behind him.

“What?” Eliot said, “What are you talking about? I only use violence as an appropriate response.” 

“Hello Nate,” Sterling said. 

I watched as Eliot’s expression shifted for a split second before he stood quickly from his seat, turned and clocked him across the face. Sterling tried to fight back, even whipping out a baton, but he was nowhere close to even slowing Eliot down. A quick look at Parker and Hardison revealed that they were enjoying the show. 

“And this is…?” Tara asked. 

“James Sterling,” Nate answered, “we used to work together. Insurance.”

“Seems to rub Eliot the wrong way.”

“You could say that,” I answered this time. 

Nate walked up to the pair as Eliot pinned Sterling to the table he had been beating him on. “Hello Sterling. What are you doing here?”

“Actually, I came to offer you a job,” he strangled out. 

“There’s nothing you could say to make us work with you,” Eliot said. 

“It’s Maggie.”

Nate looked at me for a moment before telling Eliot to bring him upstairs. Eliot hauled Sterling up and kept a tight grip on him until we all got to Nate’s apartment. Sterling, of course was being a bit whiny and dramatic about being beat up, particularly that first punch across the face. I grabbed an ice pack out of Nate’s freezer and, a bit pettily, tossed it at him. I was aiming at his face, but miscalculated and it hit lower at his chest and shoulder. Though, he still flinched at the pack being cold and hard when it hit, so I called it a win. 

Sterling held the ice pack to his face as he explained the situation. A Faberge egg worth nine million dollars due to its rarity, was stolen from a Ukrainian museum. Maggie, who was working in that museum verifying Russian artifacts, was the only one in the building when the egg was stolen, therefore, she had been blamed.

“Who is…?” Tara asked. 

“Maggie is Nate’s ex-wife,” Eliot answered quickly. 

“Okay, is there any chance she took the egg?”

“No,” Parker answered this time, “Maggie is the most honest person we know, but besides that she’s okay.”

“Tara, she is probably a significant reason why I turned out, quote on quote, ‘normal,’” I added. 

Nate came rushing down the stairs from his room, “Maggie is being set up.”

“You live, and work here?” Sterling asked incredulously. 

“Yeah.”

“I like the old place better.”

“Do not mention the old offices,” Hardison demanded. 

“Maggie is where, precisely, right now?” Nate asked before that anger could get too far. 

“She is currently awaiting trial in the Kiev jail,” Sterling answered. “Of course when I heard that poor Maggie was being held without bail, I rushed-”

“Please,” Nate interrupted, “As soon as you found out that the Faberge egg that your company insures went missing, you-”

“Rushed to the Ukraine,” Sterling finished. “Of course I was unable to clear her name.”

“But I’m assuming you have another suspect.”

“Absolutely,” Sterling put a picture on the screen, “Alexander Lundy, international real estate mogul. Very rich, very powerful. My only problem is that he works at the American embassy, which makes him untouchable by normal law enforcement.”

“Guys we’ve got to book it, our flight to Kiev leaves in three hours,” Hardison insisted. Luckily we had all been multitasking getting our documents together. 

“Hang on,” Eliot said before we all scattered to finish packing. “I’m not working next to this guy,” Eliot stated, pointing accusingly at Sterling. 

“You don’t have to,” Nate assured, “I’ll work with him. You have a different job.”

“What?”

“Well, you’re the retrieval specialist,” Nate said, “retrieve my wife from jail, let’s go.”

Once we got to Kiev, Nate and Sterling went to meet with Alexander Lundy, and Tara, Hardison and Eliot went to get Maggie released from jail. Parker and I didn’t have anything to do at the moment, so we decided to go sightseeing for a little bit. We went to the museum, though I think Parker and I had different focuses. While I was admiring the art and artifacts, Parker couldn’t take her eyes off of the cameras and motion sensors. 

We returned to the I.Y.S. offices where Nate and Sterling were holding their investigation. They had boards with paperwork pinned to it, trying to figure out just how to prove that Maggie had nothing to do with the missing Faberge egg, and that Alexander did it. 

“That lying son of a-” Nate said, “I mean, look at these financials, the credit crunch wiped him out. He’s maybe three, four months from declaring bankruptcy.”

“Lundy offers up the egg to the museum exhibitions, so it falls under their insurance policy,” Sterling said, “hires a bit of local muscle to help with the heist, tidy payout.”

“Now, we just need some proof.”

Parker sighed from where she was perched on the counter, “It was an inside job. Average keypad hack time is one minute nine point three seconds, inner door access card takes at least thirty seconds for anybody but Hardison, and the vault was an old Mark two Remington.” She puffed, “In and out average, seven minutes forty seconds. With these thieves, they did it in five minutes twelve seconds. Maggie had the best access, so the real thieves only had to get her codes and badge… yeah, only way they could pull it off that fast.”

Sterling looked at Nate and I, “How long has she been sitting…”

I just nodded at him since she had been there the whole time, but Nate didn’t even bother. 

“Maggie’s on his calendar,” Nate said as he looked through some files, “he had lunch with her the day of the heist to discuss his collection. So while he’s keeping her busy at lunch, his men take her ID card and access codes… She gets framed for the heist, oh boy, I’m gonna nail this son of a-”

The door opened across the room and none other than Maggie, the woman of the hour, walked into the conference room. 

“I can explain,” Nate said quickly. 

I walked over and gave her a hug while Parker laid out some supplies on the table to show Maggie. Maggie hugged me back a bit confusedly. 

“We’re here to help,” I assured. 

“Maggie, it’s not what you think,” Nate also assured. 

Parker dragged Maggie over to the table, “It’s your first time being a fugitive, so I made you a bag.”

“Thank you, Parker,” Maggie said, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate getting out of jail, I just can’t live my life as a fugitive.”

“But you're not a fugitive,” Nate corrected, “You were released, not broken out.”

Parker was busy telling Maggie all the supplies she included in Maggie’s go back including a lock pick, toothpaste, and explosive gel, important not to mix up. 

“But you released me to run. I’m not going anywhere until my name is cleared.”

“That’s what I’m here to do!” Nate said, “to get the egg back and to clear your name.”

Maggie looked at me, thinking I was less likely to lie to her.

“Yes,” I backed Nate up, “That is what we’re trying to do, we just didn’t want you sitting in jail while we do that though.”

She turned back to Nate, “but you’re clearing my name with thieves! No offense Parker.”

Parker gave her a puzzled look, “at what?”

“Actually,” Sterling said cooly, “Nate and Y/n here have been rehabilitated.”

I scoffed, “Please Sterling, freelancing is a more honest profession than whatever you do.” The fact that I hadn’t done freelancing for months was not a fact that either him or Maggie needed to know. 

“Fine, Nate has been rehabilitated,” Sterling amended, “he’s here on official I.Y.S. business as a consultant. I brought him on.”

“You’ve gone straight?” Maggie asked.

Nate nodded but didn’t directly answer her, “the only reason they’re here is to deal with the authorities and to get you released and everything. They’re not staying.”

“Absolutely not,” Sterling said, “I don’t trust them, they don’t trust me.”

“Eliot already punched him,” Parker added, trying to help. 

“Yeah, it’s all above board,” Nate concluded, “it’s perfectly legit. You know, I think, really the best thing you could do is go back to the hotel, get cleaned up and everything, and I’ll call you if anything happens.”

Parker then ushered Maggie away with the intention of further explaining the go bag without the discouragement of Nate. I followed after them to maybe help Maggie escape if need be. I was eventually able to convince Parker that we needed to go and get her ready to ‘leave.’ It was a small lie in front of Maggie, because in reality Parker did have to get ready to leave, but it was for the American Embassy, not for home. Parker and Hardison went to the embassy pretending to apply for a marriage visa in order to get information off of Lundy’s phone. 

“Alexander has a travel visa to the United Arab Emirates,” Hardison said once they gleaned the info, “He’s also setting up accounts in the Caimans, Macao, and Switzerland.”

“Yes,” Nate said, “countries with no extradition treaty. Tax havens. Yeah, this does not look like someone who is going to wait around for the insurance payout.”

“And this guy showed up on his phone.”

“I know him,” Parker said. “That’s Adrian Chernov, he’s a fence.”

“Fence? So he’s selling it,” Hardison said. 

“Oh yeah, sure he’s selling it,” Nate responded, “He’s going to sell that egg on the black market and run.”

“Gotta hand it to the guy, it’s a pretty good plan,” Parker remarked, “I almost feel a little bad for screwing it up.”

“Really? I don’t,” Nate stated. 

I shot him a look, questioning his attitude for this job. Sure, Maggie was involved, but this pettiness wasn’t going to help in the long run. 

“Uh, Hardison? Can you get Chernov’s location for Tara and Eliot, please?” Nate requested. 

Hardison did as requested and sent Tara and Eliot on a mission. I was surprised at how quickly they were able to get some information, though it didn’t seem like much. The only thing that Chernov had on him was an envelope with a plain blank card inside. None of us could figure it out, so when they got back we called someone who might. 

“It’s a Zanzibar marketplace,” Sophie said when we showed her the card, “The marketplace is a one time event, it crops up in a city when an important piece has been stolen. You should have seen Stockholm after the Rembrandt heist. Parking was a bloody nightmare!”

“If it’s a one time event,” I started, “how do people know to come? It’s not like you can advertise.”

“Well, the prospective buyers are invited by their black market contacts,” Sophie answered. “They show up, verify the merchandise, and they make a sealed bid. Hey, shine an ultraviolet light on that card.”

Hardison dug through his bag, pulling a small one out. 

“Seriously?” Eliot asked, “you have one, just laying around?”

“And you’re surprised?” I asked in return. I had been eyeing the two braids he had in his hair the past couple of days. They originated from underneath layers of his hair, but were accentuated with beads at the end. I took the opportunity to give a playful tug to one of them, playing a bit with the bead. 

Eliot lifted his eyebrow at me, but didn’t tell me off. I gave a soft smile before dropping my hand, turning part of my attention back to Sophie and the card. I felt a bit bold touching his hair like that, I hadn’t attempted to do so until now. I didn’t want to push it though, even if he didn’t have a negative reaction this time. In fact, I hadn’t touched Eliot in any capacity very often. Still, the bit of hair I did touch was soft, and I theorized I would be thinking about it in the future. 

“The bidder’s ID number and the time of the auction’s encrypted on the card,” Sophie continued. “The bidders write their bid on the back of the card, one number, no zeros, and they hand it to the seller in a sealed envelope. They leave town immediately. A week later, if they win, they transfer the money, and the merchandise is couriered to them by a messenger as soon as the heat’s died down.”

As Sophie was explaining this, Hardison shone his little UV light on the card, and sure enough a time and bidding number appeared. 

“So no names, no contact with the money, or the item?” Hardison clarified. “Nice.”

“Alright,” Eliot said, “so marketplace means multiple buyers at the same time. Where’s he gonna do this without drawing attention?”

“At the embassy,” Nate answered as he entered the room. 

The three of us shared a look, glancing at Sophie who made a cutting motion on the screen. In response, Hardison slowly lowered the laptop screen, effectively ending the call. 

Nate continued as if he hadn’t noticed, “Yeah, the American Embassy is having a party tonight. Perfect cover.”

“It’s a great place to store stolen merchandise,” Eliot pointed out. “Pretty much American territory, local cops can’t even get through the gate.”

“Well, even if we can prove that Alexander has the egg, police can’t touch him or search for it.”

“If we can’t let loose the dogs of law enforcement on him, what do we do?” Hardison asked. 

“We, uh, steal the damn thing back,” Nate replied simply. 

I guess it was settled. Luckily formal attire has been permanently placed on my packing list, it seems you can never predict when there’s a time to dress up. All of us attended the party, courtesy of Sterling and I.Y.S., except for Hardison due to Sterling being petty about almost being blown up. At least, so I hear. 

The plan was for Tara to be the buyer and once the egg was located, Eliot and Parker would snatch it back. Hardison was in a van to run any technical support needed and I was there for additional personal support. Probably to be a distraction at some point. 

This plan was quickly foiled when Sterling conveniently forgot to tell us that Alexander and Maggie were in a relationship. This was only revealed when they walked into the party together. That meant that Alexander saw Tara with Nate, blowing her cover to be the buyer. It also meant that Eliot and Parker had to be extra careful to avoid being seen. Nate had Eliot be the bidder now, which required the envelope that Tara had with the card. 

“Parker,” Tara signaled, “Double reverse on three.” She took an empty glass and placed it along with the card on a waitress’s tray who was heading in her direction. 

I watched from a separate corner as Parker snatched the card off the tray and handed it to Eliot as they passed each other walking in different directions. “Damn, that was smooth,” I said, mostly to myself, clearly impressed and slightly jealous. 

Eliot gave me a quick wink through the crowd as he headed off to the auction which caused a blush to cross my face. 

I kept my distance from Nate and Tara as Maggie and Alexander approached, not wanting to get in the middle of that if I didn’t have to. 

Tara and Maggie introduced themselves to each other after a pointed exchange between Nate and Maggie. Alexander then thanked Nate for helping get Maggie out of jail. 

“Oh, don’t mention it,” Nate said. “After all, what was I supposed to do, let her sit and rot in a Ukrainian jail, to think about the poor choices she’s made? Without setting things right, or explaining herself?”

I sighed and said to myself, “What is it with everyone being petty today?” I then said pointedly, “ Nate, what the hell? Stop-” I wasn’t sure what to say, “Just stop with the attitude please, you’re acting like a toddler.”

Tara grabbed a drink off of a waitress’s tray and raised it to the group, “Cheers.”

Eliot made it to the auction saying, “Alright Nate, he’s hired some local security on the payroll, watch yourself.”

I glanced around the ballroom, picking out the few security personnel I could see. There was enough that suggested that there was plenty between who he hired and regular security to make certain menouvers difficult if not impossible. Hopefully if everything went to plan, it wouldn’t come to that. 

The two pairs made painfully awkward small talk across the room; I was glad I had decided to stay out of it. When Alexander excused himself, we knew it was go time. Eliot signaled they were about to present the egg and the rest of us prepared to get it back. What we didn’t expect was that the egg was presented as a video feed, meaning we didn’t know where it was. 

Hardison worked on tracking the signal of the feed and Eliot delayed the auction by having them move the egg on the screen ensuring it was a live feed and not a recording. Luckily, Hardison was able to work his magic and identify that it was not only still in the embassy, but what room it was in. He sent the map to us and Parker went to grab it. 

I was not as successful at blending into the crowd as Parker was, Maggie spotted me and wrapped me into a conversation with her and Tara. It was pleasant conversation, small talk at first, Maggie getting to know Tara. That’s to say, it was pleasant until Maggie just had to catch up with me.

“So…” she said, “anything happen between you and Eliot?” She had an innocent smile, but the intonation was more suggestive. 

I gave her a pointed smile, signalling her to drop it. “No, nothing’s happened. You know, with Nate cleaning up, going straight, I’ve only seen Eliot a couple of times since LA,” I lied. “Besides, we both know it was just the job, his character,” I said, this statement much less of one, if not completely true. 

Maggie gave me a hum and a, ‘if you say so’ look.

I glanced at Tara who had a lifted brow, curious. I lifted my own brow in return, almost daring her to say something, but desperately hoping she wouldn’t. 

Luck was on my side in this particular instance as the conversation shifted from my imaginary dating life to specifically them dating Nate. I saw Nate was walking towards us, so I gracefully excused myself to ‘grab a drink’ despite all the waitresses walking around. I started after Parker just in case something came up and she needed help. 

Unfortunately, something did come up. When the video feed ended, the guard who was in the room with the egg exited, and started guarding the door. Parker had no way in. Everyone else was out of position. I was on my way to help distract him when I ran into Sterling. 

We looked at each other for a moment in the hallway. He raised his bottle half empty bottle with a tilt of his head. I nodded, inferring what he was going to do and encouraged him down the hallway, leaving me a gap to follow. 

He started to coughing and staggering down the hallway just before he turned the corner where the guard would be. I left a roughly ten second gap before I started calling down the hallway after him. I jogged a little bit at the end, not very fast in the shoes I was wearing, but enough to show I was chasing. 

“Dad!” I said as I finally spotted him drunkenly leaning against the wall. The guard was already starting to approach him cautiously. I grabbed Sterling’s shoulder as if trying to stand him up again. “God dammit, I turn away for one second…” I feigned struggling to help him and turned to the guard who had closed the gap. 

“Do you need help, miss,” the guard asked. Well, for a goon of the bad guy, he was sweet.

“Would you please?” I asked, stepping away from Sterling to give the guard some room. “He’s a drunk, I can barely keep track of him sometimes.”

“I’m not a drunk,” Sterling slurred, “you are very strong.”

“Thank you,” the guard said as he supported him down the hallway we came from. 

I glanced to the other side of the hallway to see Parker sneaking around the corner towards the room. I nodded at her before turning back to Sterling and the guard, keeping him occupied. Parker communicated no issues when grabbing the egg and getting out. It didn’t take too long for the guard to get Sterling to a more respectable part of the embassy and for us to let him go back to his now empty post. 

“Your welcome,” Sterling said after the guard had gone. “I don’t know how you people ever manage-”

He cut off and stuck his finger in his ear. Hardison apologized for comm feedback, but everytime Sterling tried to talk, the feedback came back. I saw that Parker was cracking a smile similar to mine each time it happened.

We were prepared to clear out with the egg, but Nate was suddenly nowhere to be found. We decided to regroup back at our temporary base of operations, aka the I.Y.S. conference room, before doing anything too drastic. When we got back, Hardison tried everything he could think of to contact Nate, but to no avail. He couldn’t find him anywhere. 

“The case is closed, people,” Sterling whined, “the egg is back, I’m sure Nate is breaking it to Maggie about her continued bad choice in men.”

Before I, or anyone else, could snap back a retort, Hardison’s laptop rang with a call from Nate’s cell. When he answered, it was not Nate on the other end of the line. 

“We have your people,” the deeply disguised voice said. “No police. Await further instructions.” It then hung up. 

I immediately looked to Eliot, but my gaze shifted to Sterling who had begun to dial his phone. 

“What are you doing?” Tara asked, reading my mind. 

“Calling the police,” he said simply, “they don’t get to-”

Eliot snatched the phone before he could finish, “We’re not calling the cops. Two hostages means they can kill one to make a point.”

I nervously started chewing on the tip of my thumb, purposefully avoiding the nail. The focus and pressure on both my thumb and teeth was a distraction and outlet from the rising panic and anxiety rising through me. I couldn’t remember the stakes being this high, and for some reason, it felt that all the previous jobs and even my life before this was on easy mode, or even a dream, and that we had just entered the real world. Or maybe this was a dream, not really happening. Before I could spiral further, Eliot took charge, bringing my attention back to him. 

“Alright listen, there's three types of calls we can get next,” Eliot began, “One: amateur. Cash and a dump site. Number two: professional. That’s wire transfers and multiple location drop offs.” Eliot then hesitated for half of a second, “And three: targeted.”

“Targeted towards us?” Hardison asked hesitantly. 

“No,” Eliot answered, “towards a specific ransom demand.” He looked at the egg that was sitting in a case on the table, “not cash.”

Sterling was not having it, “You know, risking a nine million dollar artifact-”

“It might be the only chance!”

“On a hunch!”

Eliot was clearly irate as he rolled his eyes and rounded the table to stand behind the rest of us, facing Sterling.

“Let me run this,” Sterling continued, “we track the calls, find out whoever it is, let the police-”

“Sterling,” Eliot finally cut him off, “I’m the retrieval specialist. That’s my job.”

Sterling took a hard look at us, “Your friends’ lives hang in the balance, and you’re gonna take your cues from a punch up artist, instead of me?”

None of us verbally answered, it was clear where we stood. Sterling shifted his gaze across every one of us individually, testing the waters until he came to me. 

“Even you, y/n? You trust him to save your dear Uncle Nate and Auntie Maggie and not me?”

I swallowed with a set jaw before answering because it was clear this time that he wanted an answer, “Yeah, Sterling. I trust him. I’d trust him with this any day of the week over you. And to top it off, I like him better too. So let. him. do it. Or there’s gonna be problems.” I could feel myself trembling softly, mostly through my hands which I was hiding behind the table. I couldn’t decide if it was fear, anger, or something else, but I started to chew on my lip once I finished talking to release some energy and keep myself from saying something stupid. 

Sterling made an expression of acceptance and closed the case with the egg in it and grabbed it off the table. “Call me when you need me. Cuz you will need me.” He then walked out of the room with the egg in hand. 

The rest of us looked at each other once he was gone. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. I guess this was it. We had to get Nate and Maggie back. 

Eliot directed Tara and Parker to try to see where Alexander was, Tara to check his house, Parker to check around the embassy. Hardison continued to work on his laptop, trying to prepare or find anything that would help.

I paced around the room a couple of times before turning to Eliot. I was about to ask what I could do when he shook his head. 

“There’s nothing you can do right now, we just have to wait,” he placed his hand on my shoulder which comforted me more than he would know and directed me to sit at the table. “We’re gonna get them back, I promise. I’m gonna get them back.” He held eye contact long enough for me to know that he meant it. 

I nodded, letting him know that I believed him. He then removed his hand and sat at his own seat, thinking. I was so tired, this night had been long and now the stress was draining my energy even faster. I folded my arms on the table and rested my head. Just for a second, to rest my eyes. As hard as I tried to not fall asleep, Hardison’s quiet clacking on his keyboard slowly lulled away from consciousness. 

I awoke with a start when Tara and Parker walked in the room sporting no news of where Alexander was except not at his house and that his embassy car was checked out. 

“He’s angry,” Eliot said, “We took his payday.”

Just then, the phone rang. Eliot spread his hands with an ‘alright’ and pulled the conference speakerphone towards him. 

“Go,” he said simply when he answered it. 

“If you follow our instructions, your friends will be returned unharmed,” the distorted voice on the other end said. 

“We agree. Tell us what you want.”

Hardison worked on reversing the distortion and succeeded which revealed Alexander’s voice. 

“You owe me nine million dollars,” Alexander said. “I still have a buyer for the egg, return it, and I return your friends.”

“I want proof of life, now,” Eliot demanded. 

Alexander hesitated, “Agreed.”

It wasn’t long before a webcam video was provided showing a storage room where Alexander’s assistant was handcuffed. The accountant was talking about Alexander’s finances when Nate walked into frame, saying that we had found all of the fishy stuff in his accounts. Maggie then walked into frame and started arguing about us being here.

“There’s our proof of life,” Eliot said. 

“I was in that room earlier,” Parker said. 

“That’s the room the egg was in.”

“They’re at the embassy.”

“That doesn’t do us any good,” Tara pointed out. “We can’t storm it and the police can’t touch it.”

The feed cut out.

“I sent you the address,” Alexander said, “Come alone, at dawn. Bring the egg, or your friends die.”

Eliot hung up, shoving the speaker away.

Hardison pulled up the address Alexander sent, “Okay, the address is one of Alexander’s construction sites. Local project. Abandoned once his business got in trouble.”

“So now we have to go convince Sterling,” Tara said. “Who hates you-”

“Us,” Parker corrected, “He hates us.”

“To loan you a nine million dollar antique,” she continued, “so you can bring it to a ransom drop.”

“Listen,” Eliot said, “We know who’s behind this. We know what they want. We have the upper hand here. We do.”

We started to prepare for the drop. Eliot was coming up with the plan, predicting an elevator drop since we were directed to go to one of the higher floors of the building. There was a moment where he stopped mapping it out and stared at the screen again where the webcam feed used to be. 

“What is it?” I asked him when I noticed the furrowed brow. 

“There wasn’t sound on the video during the auction, but there was sound for our proof of life,” he said thoughtfully. 

I sat and thought on it for a minute, trying to find an explanation. The video played over in my head a couple of times before I thought I noticed something. 

“The assistant…” I thought out loud, “He didn’t seem… right. For someone who had been taken hostage. It sounded almost…”

“Rehearsed,” Eliot finished for me. He finally broke his gaze at the screen and looked at me, “I think it’s him doing this, not Alexander.”

I rested my head on my hands, “So what does this mean?”

He tilted his head, “He kept this pretty well covered up, blaming Alexander, he might try to pull something.”

I hesitated, “Like… leave no witnesses, pull something?”

Eliot nodded, “Yeah.”

I took a deep breath, “So what now?”

He turned back to his notepad, scribbling a bit more before setting his pen down. “Well, I have a plan. Now to see if Sterling will give up the egg long enough for us to get Nate back.”

“Do you want me to handle that?” I asked, trying to be helpful, knowing full well the tension that would be there. 

“No,” he responded simply, “I’ll talk to him.”

I sighed a little annoyed, “Eliot, don’t baby me, let me do something. I’ve felt useless the last few jobs, I want to help. I want to help get Nate back.”

“Hey,” Eliot stopped me, “I’m not babyin’ ya. I know you’re capable. I didn’t like the way he spoke to you earlier, to be honest. Just… don’t worry about anything, okay?”

I nodded meekly before saying a bit more light heartedly, “yeah, you’re right, you should do it. The underlying threat of him being punched in the face might help our case, huh?”

He gave me a crooked smile and a wink before going to make the call. 

I looked up after him as he walked away when my eyes caught Tara’s from across the room. It looked like she had been watching the exchange with a tilt of her head. I tilted my head back at her and she walked over to sit across the table from me. 

“How’re you holding up?” She asked. 

I rubbed my eyes, “You’re the grifter, I’m sure you can tell.”

“It’s still polite to ask,” she said pointedly. 

I gave a murmured agreement before answering, “I’m… okay. I trust the team. It’s just…” I trailed off, trying to find the words. “It’s just another one of those moments where it hits me how useless I am. I can’t contribute anything, I’m just dead weight that they have to worry about in case something goes wrong. You all have done this for years, you know the risks, how to navigate them. I’m trying, and I want to be here, but…” I didn’t know how to finish, but I figured I didn’t need to. I didn’t need to dump on Tara, she was here for the paycheck.

“Well, maybe they need a little bit of normal in their lives. Keeps them grounded,” she answered unexpectedly, to me at least. 

I looked up at her for a moment, “That’s kind of you to say, Tara.” It was clear I didn’t quite believe her. 

She stood up again, “Fine, if you won’t listen to me, at least listen to Eliot. Stop worrying about it. You said you trust the team. So trust them.” She walked out of the room, most likely going to the hotel to sleep. 

That wasn’t a bad idea. 

The next morning I was still stressed, but resting helped me feel a lot better. I wanted to wait with Eliot on the higher floor to be there when Nate and Maggie arrived, but he told me to go help Tara with her task. I was going to protest, but the stern, yet reassuring look he gave me encouraged me to go. 

Tara and I waited around the corner, waiting for the embassy car that the assistant would come in. Once they pulled up, he and his guards entered the building with Nate, Maggie, Alexander, and a suspicious looking bag in tow. I handed Tara a screwdriver and she handed back a license plate that Hardison had linked to a stolen vehicle. 

We each took a side and began to switch the embassy plates, making it officially a civilian car. When I had just finished up, Sterling came out of the building, the Faberge Egg in hand. I was going to ignore him, but he walked right up to me and the car. 

“Can you get me into the trunk?” He asked seriously. 

I furrowed my brow in confusion, “The trunk? You want me to stuff you in the trunk?”

His face twisted in a way that told me that he didn’t like the way it was phrased, but finally replied, “Yes.”

“Okay,” he didn’t have to tell me twice. 

They had been stupid, or confident, enough to leave it unlocked so I simply pulled the trunk handle that was beside me and opened it up.

“In ya go,” I grabbed his arm and shoved him towards the opening. 

He barely was able to catch himself and landed ungracefully. He twisted around to face me and said sarcastically, “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” I closed the trunk lid on his head, bumping it a little. I heard a muffled swear. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I’m sure a bruise wouldn’t hurt the act,” I answered loudly at him. I didn’t wait for another muffled answer and went to the other entrance to head up to the floor where everyone else was. Tara and I waited around the corner to watch them speed off first though. 

When Tara and I arrived, Hardison was explaining how he sped up the elevators and then stopped them to give Parker time to switch out the bomb from the elevator and then put the elevators on track to arrive on time. 

“Looks like we missed the party,” Tara said.

“Did they do what we thought?” Eliot asked.

“Yup,” I popped the ‘p.’ “Hopped into their ‘embassy’ car and sped off towards the airport.”

Tara and I raised the license plates, showing the switch. She dropped hers on the ground while I inspected mine for a moment. 

“Might keep a souvenir,” I commented. 

“How did you…” Nate asked.

Eliot explained the sound on the webcam and how he figured out who was really behind the theft and kidnapping. 

“After that, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out,” he finished. 

“You know, people underestimate you Eliot,” Maggie said. 

“That’s kinda the point,” Nate replied. 

Eliot turned towards the rest of us with a content smile for a moment before Alexander asked where the egg was. 

“Yeah, in order for us to get the egg from Sterling, he made some additions,” Eliot said.

“Wouldn’t let the egg out of his sight, or too far from his grasp,” I added. I thought back to him coming out of the building with it and pushing him in the trunk, “He’s got it safe and sound.”

That settled it, so we left to go pack up and head home. Once we got there, we gathered in the pub for our celebratory drink. Except, the news was on. It showed Sterling crawling out of the embassy car trunk and telling the news how he discovered who had the egg and got it back.

“Based on his work recovering the priceless artifact,” the news anchor said, “He’s been invited to join Interpol. He’s a real life Sherlock Holmes.”

“That son of a gun,” I said. “I should have hit him harder with the trunk, knocked him out.”

“Yeah,” Parker said to me, “Interpol? Seriously?”

“Sterling’s career gets another bump because of our hard work,” Hardison said. 

“We didn’t even get paid,” Tara added. 

“Nope,” Hardison answered. 

“I hate this guy,” she concluded. 

Eliot knocked his beer against hers, “Now, you’re part of the team.” 

I raised my glass, “Cheers.”

A/n: Reblogs and comments are welcome and encouraged! Thank you for reading!

Tags: @instantdinosaurtidalwave @kniselle @technikerin23 @kiwikitty13 @plasticbottleholder

#eliot spencer x reader #eliot spencer #leverage #rewrite #slow burn #multichapter #nate ford #sophie devereaux #alec hardison #parker #ford!reader

[worldhistoryfacts]

A British man in a pith helmet and khaki stands in the middle of a market in Zanzibar, early 1900s. The island had been a Sultanate subject to British influence before the British overthrew the Sultan in 1896 and took direct control. The colony would not regain its independence until 1963, although in 1964 it became an autonomous region of Tanzania.

{WHF} {Ko-Fi} {Medium}

#history #zanzibar #tanzania #imperialism #black and white #photography

[midnightcowboy1969]

My bookshelf

Hey, @beanifred <3 So, here's a big peak at my bookshelf (way too many books as I said)

Beginning with my treasures:

The "Real" Bob Steele and a man called "Brad" by Bob Nareau

The Photostory of "Battling Bob" Bob Steele by Mario DeMarco

2. The Columbo Collection

Just One More thing by Peter Falk

The Grassy Knoll by William Harrington (my enemy)

Murder by the Book by Steven Bochco

And now there's chaos:

3.

Psycho 1 & 2 and Night-World by Robert Bolch (Norwegian edition)

Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

The Body Snatcher by Jack Finney

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Trash by Dorothy Allison (lesbian but at what cost)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

The Buddah of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (I also have American Gods but I cannot find it)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

The Complete Short Stories: Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie

Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell

The Hunter by Richard Stark

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The System by John Burke (novelization)

Alien Nation by Alan Dean Foster (novelization)

Edge of the City by Fredrick Pohl (novelization)

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Collector by John Fowels

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Norwegian edition)

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (novelization)

Ninteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Jaws by Peter Benchley

Wanderer by Sterling Hayden (the actor)

The Wicker Man by Robin Hardy & Anthony Shaffer (Novelization (?))

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

4.

Terror by Dan Simmons

Papillon 1 & 2 by Henri Charrière (Norwegian editions)

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers (book of all time)

The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Midnight Cowboy by John L. Herlihy

Shooting Midnight Cowboy by Glenn Frankel

Cape Fear by John D. McDonald (watch the movies)

The Bretheren by John Grisham (Norwegian edition)

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorgood

Glitz by Elmore Leonard (Norwegian edition)

The Big Sleep and Other Novels by Raymond Chandler (the other novels are Farwell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye)

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Client by John Grisham (Norwegian edition)

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

Legion (Exorcist 2) by William Peter Blatty

La Peste by Albert Camu (Norwegian edition)

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffery Cranor (not read)

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg

The Day of the Dolphin by Robert Merle

Local Hero by David Benedictus (novelization)

The Glass Cage by Colin Wilson

American Psycho by Brett E. Ellis

Fools Die by Mario Puzo (Norwegian edition)

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

The Sicilian by Mario Puzo (Norwegian edition)

5.

Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin (Norwegian edition) + Four different Game of Thrones books in Norwegian

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

The Betsy by Harold Robbins (Norwegian edition)

Aliens by Alan Dean Foster (novelization)

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian

The Auctioneer by Joan Samson

Timeline by Michael Crichton

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

Dune, The Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

Hitchiker's Guide to the Galxy by Douglas Adams

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

6.

Trumpet by Jackie Kay

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman (short story collection that made me dislike short stories)

Mr. Monk in Trouble by Lee Goldberg (my enemy)

Mr. Monk and the Dirty Cop by Lee Goldberg (I hate him)

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Wolf

Oranges are not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Maurice by E. M. Forster

The Case of the Gilded Lily by Erle Stanley Gardner (Norwegian edition)

The Case of the Glamorous Ghost by Erle Stanley Gardner (Norwegian edition)

Something Happened by Joseph Heller

Marathon Man by William Goldman

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (Norwegian edition)

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurt

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Norwegian edition)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey (bad)

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Killing Time by Della Van Hise (Star Trek Spinoff Spirk book)

Star Trek: Department of Temportal Investigations: Forgotten History by Christopher L. Bennet

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Missing by Una McCormack

Star Trek Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: Uncertain Logic by Christopher L. Bennett

7. Stephen King Collection

Outsider

If it Bleeds

On Writing

Blaze

Carrie

The Stand

Hearts in Atlantis (Norwegian edition)

The Tommyknockers

Cujo

Thinner (Norwegian edition)

The Shining

Night Shift

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (Norwegian edition)

Dreamcatcher

Doctor Sleep

Rose Madder

Pet Sematary

Christine

Salem's Lot

Dolores Claiborne (Norwegian edition)

The Bachman Books

The Institute

Insomnia

Misery

Finders Keepers

End of Watch

Firestarter

The Body

Needful Things (Norwegian edition)

Bag of Bones

8. Not pictured

A collection of Sherlock Holmes books

Many Hardy Boys books

Chilly Scenes of Winter by Ann Beattie

Some comic books

I believe this is approximately everything lol.

My dream is to have a small cozy rooms dedicated to the books I own. It won't happen any time soon.

[tilbageidanmark]

Movies I watched this week (#172):

"May I watch you eat?"

The taste of things is the latest French 'Food-porn' movie, following the recipe of so many before it, and paying homage especially to 'Babette's Feast', with Juliette Binoche playing the simple cook Stéphane Audran in a similar style. They knew what they were doing, romanticizing the 'olde thyme' vision of culinary bliss, making it like a summertime Renoir tableaux [but without any of the dozens of assistants needed to chop the wood, peel the potatoes, pluck the geese, and do the dishes]. Food as love.

I saw it on the same day I read this article about 'The Hottest Restaurant in France', which got me in the mood.

🍿

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Please forgive me..."

Samsara is not Ron Flicke's film of the same name (him of the The Qatsi Trilogy). But this 2023 film too is a meditative, spiritual essay about life, death and change. It specifically tells about the Buddhist idea of re-incarnation.

Like the Italian poem 'Le quattro volte' it transforms the philosophical concept of 'Bardo' into a visual story about a bed-ridden old Laotian woman who turns into a new-born goat in Africa after her death. And like Philip Gröning's patient 'Into Great Silence', it follows the simple life in a monastery, quietly and poetically. (Photo Above).

It tells two separate stories: A young boy reads from 'The Tibetan book of the Dead' to a dying woman in a village in Laos. And exactly at midpoint, there's an unexplained, abstract 2001 "Star Gate" light show, where the (Spanish) director asks the audience to close their eyes, and get lost in the vortex with her for about 15 minutes. Long stretch of strobe lights and strange dead sounds, as her soul travels though the afterlife into new birth. Then her spirit transmutes into an another form, as a pet goat for a young Muslim girl in Zanzibar. It's a fragile, silent and unfocused vision about the circle of life.

🍿

Thoroughbreds, my second unsettling thriller by Cory Finley (after 'Bad Education'), his accomplished debut feature. It tells of two rich, psychopathic Connecticut girls who scheme to murder, a-la Raskolnikov, the mean father of the richer one. Terrific direction choices and well-made execution, but I can't stand the young, unlikable actresses (and actors!), and their emotionally-stunted upper-class coldness left me cold too.

I loved JunePictures's lovely animated logo at the beginning!

🍿

Invention for Destruction, a Jules Verne steampunk'ish adventure fable. It was made by Karel Zeman, the "Czech Méliès", in 1958, and is considered "the most successful film in the history of Czech cinema". It's a fantasy sci-fi story that includes rollerskating camels, underwater biking pirates, a giant man-eating octopus, submarines with duck-foot paddles, Etc. It mixes real-life acting with special effect Victorian engravings and animation, including traditional, cut-out, and stop-motion, along with miniature effects and matte paintings. 4/10.

🍿

2 by French feminist Germaine Dulac:

🍿 Dulac was a radical, impressionist, avant-garde film-maker who had made ground-breaking surrealist silent films even before Buñuel and Dalí made 'The Andalusian Dog'.

The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923) is a strong feminist story of an intelligent woman unhappily married who's dreaming of killing her boorish husband. It includes a literal Chekhov's gun. [*Female Director*].

🍿 The Seashell and the Clergyman is based on an experimental story by avant-garde artist Antonin Artaud. A year before 'Un Chien Andalou', it's just as opaque & untamed. Anybody interested in early Buñuel, should visit her films. It's about the "erotic hallucinations of a priest lusting after the wife of a general." Distorted images, bizarre fantasies, impolite subversions... [*Female Director*].

🍿

Another silent era classic, made by a towering pioneer, Alice Guy Blaché's 1906 The Life of Christ. [On IMDb, Alice Guy is credited with directing 464 (!) films, producing 32 and writing 18!]. Composed of 25 individual tableaux, telling of mostly his last days, and noted for her focus on his mostly women followers. The poor baby who had to play Jesus in the manger!... [*Female Director*].

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Crack-up, a confusing 1946 Film Noir, made by a second-rated director, with a terrible script and bad acting all around, including the miscast Pat O'Brien. A stolen art piece, not up to 'The Maltese Falcon' levels. 2/10.

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"I was drugged and left for dead in Mexico, and all I got was this stupid T shirt."

A single re-watch this week: the sophisticated mystery The Game, again♻️. Still my favorite David Fincher film, even more than 'The social Network'. With the magnificent Memory montage opening, which was also copied successfully by the show 'Succession'. Chasing a "White Rabbit", a birthday present to remember...

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2 more selections from the US National Film Registry:

🍿 I am somebody is a 1970 documentary about a strike by 400 black hospital employees (all but 12 women) for better pay in Charleston, South Carolina. Racist discrimination against poor blacks in Amerika is so appalling and so deep, it's hard to watch. The fight for equality and civil rights never ended. 9/10. [*Female Director*].

🍿 Jammin' the Blues is a 1944 Warner Bros. jazz short featuring Lester Young and (new to me) singer Marie Bryant. Oscar nominated in 1944. 'Smokin'!

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I used to really like British magician Darren Brown, and saw many of his shows. Pushed to the edge (2016) is a disturbing experiment in social compliance, a-la Stanley Milgram, taken to the extreme. With dubious morality, he manipulates an unsuspecting guy to push another man from the roof of a building. But the more elaborate the set up, the more uncomfortable it is to watch it.

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Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a lame, loud, shallow music mockumentary by The Lonely Island. It had only one good number, "Fucked Bin Ladin" (which came at 46:00, exactly one hour before the end, so they did follow some script writing rules after all..) and about one million celebrity cameos, including Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney. 2/10.

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In They're Made Out Of Meat (2005) two aliens meet in a night Diner. One of them tell the other, dressed in St. Pepper-type uniform that he discovers that all people on this planet are "made out of meat". It's a cute concept, but that's the whole thing, and there's not more to it.

RIP, Terry Bisson!

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Semiotics of the Kitchen was an angry installation piece by artist Martha Rosler, at the heights of the second wave feminism years (1975). A parody of a cooking show, where the host gets more and more agitated. [*Female Director*].

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(My complete movie list is here)

#movies #samsara

[rhube]

It's supposed to be semi-automatic for the people, but actually you have to press this button.

#this shit post brought to you by references almost no one is likely to get #stand on zanzibar #rem

[lemissingmask]

[ID: Three sketches roughly from the Leverage canon of people stopping Eliot from killing/fighting/aggression. Top is Nate standing next to Eliot as Eliot strangles Sterling, from The Zanzibar Marketplace Job. Middle is Nate stopping Eliot from running straight onto Moreau's plane from The Big Bang Job. Bottom is Sophie standing between Nate and Eliot while Nate is sitting with whisky in hand and Eliot standing glaring at him, from The Snow Job. End ID]

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One of my favourite dynamics is Eliot being in feral and/or super-protective mode, and other members of the team stopping him from killing or generally smashing to pieces someone else.

Part 1 of a bunch of random sketches of this type of thing (because all of them on the same picture broke my computer).

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#leverage #sophie devereaux #nathan ford #eliot spencer #sketches from episodes #feral eliot my beloved