#you can always tell which characters are my favourites by how disproportionately mean i am to them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

himbo-buckley · 4 years

Text

INTIMACY, SEX AND BUDDIE (BETTER KNOWN AS I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT THIS SHOW, SOME OF WHICH ARE RELATED TO THE BEFORE MENTIONED TOPICS) - Part 3

Well, hello there (again)!

 I got to say, this was both my favourite and least favourite part to write because by now all my theories are (hopefully) explained enough that I can just ramble about the characters and connections and ya’ll will forgive me if I stray away from what’s actually happening in this episode. Which I will do. A lot actually.

On the other hand side I have so many thoughts about what’s happening and this is gonna be long af as I started writing on part three at the same time as I wrote part 1 and 2 and I barely found things to cut, which means we are clocking in at a casual 7700 words. So maybe get that drink now, cause it’ll be a ride!

Also the links to part one and part two

And look, by now you probably know the drill but I’m just gonna give you my preface again:

This meta was supposed to be a lot shorter and only talk about how both Buck and Eddie use sex to distract their respective partners from whatever topic they actually wanted to talk about but since I decided to rewatch the show to make sure I don’t miss any such scenes, it has exploded a bit and taken on more topics

I should also mention that I am a Buddie shipper and while I tried, you will find several references and arguments for the ship in this Meta, not all of which necessarily call for a romantic pairing but just: These two are deeply connected and you cannot look at one without discussing the other and they are each other’s strongest emotional connection.

I should also preface this by saying that the whole of the 118 has some obvious intimacy / commitment issues except Bobby (which is sort of surprising) but *John Mulaney voice* we don’t have time to unpack all of that!

On another note I cuss a little in this Meta because my parents let me listen to TicTacToe as a small child and after that it never stuck that cussing is wrong so, uhm, parental supervision is advised or something

This Meta will so far have FOUR parts now. The original plan was to do three, one for each Season and is organised by episode so you could technically follow along, but due to personal reasons, also known as *feelings*, Season 3 has already exploded disproportionately and for readability reasons I have split it in two (this is part three, the cut will happen after Christmas, it works storyline-wise)

And now, for our next instalment of I read too much into things: Season 3A (also called: „Eddie Diaz, stop being such a boy scout (Wait, no, not like that!)“)

Episode 3.01:

911 as a show has a fairly interesting way of storytelling where it sometimes feels a little like they cut together snapshots of lives in regards to certain topics. And because of that you only ever see a small part of the lives of the characters. That being said: I hate hate hate how 5 months passed between the Season 2 final and the first episode of Season 3 and aside from a few offhand remarks we get virtually nothing. Also it’s very unrealistic that Bobby and Athena didn’t have any parties for 5 months, like nope, I don’t believe you show!

That being said, I appreciate how much time it took Buck to heal because it’s realistic! And also most importantly gets Oliver Stark a chance to truly shine!

I wanna take this chance real quick, to thank the producers and writer both for writing Evan Buckley the way they write him and for casting Oliver Stark to play him because omg, it works so well! Look, Oliver Stark is attractive. He is buff and handsome, but he is not perfect. He is Tinder-buff, not MCU-I haven’t seen a drop of water in a month-buff, he’s the kind of fit that will fill the whole screen one minute and make you say „Wait, I thought he was wider than this!“ the next (you know how everyone always talks about the hips to shoulder ration of Chris Evans? Yeah, the opposite of that) . And he has a really pretty face but his nose is a little too cocked and he has scars and there’s the „adorable facemark“ and he seems so damn dorky which is exactly why Evan „Buck“ Buckley works, why he is hot. And he gets to be emotional and sensitive and caring on top of that and yeah, I don’t know if I wanna be him or date him anymore either. Like he singlehandedly made me rethink my view on dating, just because I am hoping for someone like him.

Anyways, that’s probably something none of you wanted to read about in a META so we’ll get to the juicy stuff now, alright?

One thing that I realised as I watched season 3 for the third time just now is how often it repeats itself. It feels a bit stagnant at times, the way the characters make two steps forward and one step back all the time, most notably in Bobby.

I wanna talk about Bobby for once because you can not look at Buck in Season 3 without looking at Bobby as well. These two characters are connected the same way Buck is connected to Eddie. Most things Buck does character wise in Season 3 are caused by Bobby’s actions, in the same way most of Eddie’s are caused by Buck.

And the thing that 3.01 tells us from the get go? Bobby thinks of Buck as somewhat of a son (which we knew already) and Bobby sees himself in Buck, which is why he does what he probably hoped someone would have done for him the 10 or something years ago when he hurt is back and holds him back. There is also the fact that he tries to teach Buck to have a life outside the firehouse, though that is something he probably should at some point in the near future actually voice to Buck, because Buck on his own can not draw these conclusions from Bobby’s actions. Buck on his own thinks it’s about him not being good enough and so he works himself to the bone to try and proof otherwise. (Someone please just finally tell him what a good boy he is? Yeah?)

As for the scene during the party, you could actually see how much Buck had to force himself to be that open and that vulnerable with Bobby (and not just because he is *literally* having an embolism) and that hurts because to this day Buck has not realised that Bobby will always be there to catch him. Buck still thinks he needs to proof himself to Bobby because of his firing in Season 1. And would you believe I actually cried a little typing these words?

And now I’m gonna talk about my agenda, also known as Buddie real quick, and point you toward the fact that while we have seen Eddie be vulnerable with Buck and Buck be vulnerable with everyone else we have not seen Buck be audibly vulnerable with Eddie and I do not think this is a coincident at all.

Look, Eddie is a guarded guy, right? He has a hard time being vulnerable, a hard time asking for help, a hard time giving up control. But he does all these things with Buck and he does them willingly and with barely an outside push, which is different to say with Bobby. Eddie let’s himself fall with Buck and by doing so raises Buck’s self worth and gives him the feeling of being in control Buck craves so much (while Eddie sort of despises it because he feels like he always has to be the one in control), but it also means that Buck is afraid to let himself fall with Eddie because it might mean Eddie won’t trust him again. Buck generally is a very emotional guy and he doesn’t seem afraid to voice his weaknesses, in fact he is probably too aware of them and too willing to let others poke at them, except with Eddie. With Eddie Buck always tries for strong, because he knows Eddie needs him to be and because he thinks, if he’s not, Eddie will see what everyone else saw and leave him. On Eddie’s side I do think by now he is more than willing to catch Buck and still let himself be caught in return. At least at this point.

(also, if we do ever get Buddie I could see a reverse of the Shannon-Eddie situation happening where Eddie is the one being open and Buck has a hard time being emotionally vulnerable, afraid it’ll scare Eddie off and he’ll leave like everyone else.)

But then, one could also point out that Eddie probably knows all the things going on with Buck anyways because I truly think they know each other inside out and are two feathers of the same bird and same recognises same and all that - it’s just that Buck is someone who needs to actually voice his feelings to deal with them, so unless he voices his vulnerabilities to Eddie, for him, the other guy doesn’t know them. (Except Eddie does know.) (and man, I wish the rest of the 911 would finally figure out that with Buck you always - always - have to say things! You can’t just imply. You can’t think your actions speak loud enough. You need to actually use your words and do so in a way that leaves no doubt because that boy thinks so little of himself and he will make himself doubt every nice thing that ever happens to him.)

Now, moving back to what’s actually happening in the episode and why all of this is important:

We have the very important talk in the Station were text points out some of the things I just said and Eddie realises that he needs to do better, so he pulls a Buck and steamrolls him. (also do we truly believe that Carla was out of the country? Do we? Do we not think Eddie spent the whole ride over coaching his son on lying to his best friend because Eddie is just like that?)

Also I love how before this Maddie is talking to Josh and she says something along the lines of wether she should push Buck or coddle him and it cuts to Eddie trying the first.

On Eddie’s side of this meta we somewhat learn where Eddie’s issues stem from and it’s of course Daddy issues because this show loves them very much. (Seriously, out of 5 firefighters 3 have confirmed absent fathers causing issues and one has it heavily implied. Tim Minear, do you wanna talk?)

Also, Ramon Diaz probably threw in a „real men don’t cry“ with his macho speech about just brushing shit off and thereby emotionally crippling his child further, because he seems cliche like that.

Sidenote: The Buck and Christopher relationship is so beautiful and important and „Some cool outfits, too.“ is one of my favourite lines, though I do have to say - as someone who works professionally with kids - that this is what really shows how much Eddie truly thinks of Buck and how much he trusts him because it’s safe to assume that Buck has never been alone with Christopher or any child for longer and has never had to take care of one by himself and yet Eddie just trusts him to take care of his son for what is probably a 24h shift. Truly magnificent. An unparalleled relationship. So meaningful.

Episode 3.02:

No actual relevance but I do wanna point out that the thing about the mom being the love of boat guys life but her son being her’s? Yeah, that’s Eddie (and Buck).

Also, Buck’s just a natural at being a dad (not because of the fun stuff but the stuff when he knew exactly how to distract Christopher when those bodies floated by) and at some point I need Eddie to point this out to him and I need him to voice his jealousy about it, because Eddie? Not a natural dad.

(I actually think that is something that is true about a lot of things for these two. I mean yes, Buck is a hard worker but I think only in areas he is already naturally gifted (remember that whole thing with the Seals? “You just have to be badass, which I am?”) and he generally doesn’t try if things don’t come naturally because Buck hates failure because Buck already feels like a failure. Meanwhile Eddie seems like the kind of guy who has this huge capacity for learning, so even if something doesn’t come naturally to him (like fatherhood) he has the determination and willingness to try and try again until he finally gets it right and is perfect because Eddie, too, hates failure.) (And now I wanna see more about their childhoods because I could actually see Buck be somewhat of a gifted child in his youth who never learned how to actually apply himself and because of that has always been told he had so much wasted potential while Eddie was either an overarchiver or a slacker, I’m sorry I don’t make the rules. Or maybe I am projecting.)

Episode 3.03:

I read somewhere on tumblr that Ryan Guzman and his wife thought Eddie and Lena would be a thing and where actually on board and I was like? No?

I mean I do love the way she takes one look at him and decides he needs his ego checked (and also Eddie is like: ui, me like-y! (maybe because he misses another person that used to be an asshole to him right off the bat?)).

Also love all the references to Eddie being in the army („The 118 is huffing it“-scene comes to mind). Again, kudos to Ryan Guzman for always acting with all his body, because you can always feel the army training in his posture like the way he usually stands just a little bit straighter than everyone else (well, at least that’s what it looks like to me, someone who has not been in the Army and knows only like two people that got drafted and no one who went willingly, because my country generally doesn’t do that these days ).

As for what is happening in the episode, I think it’s a reference to Shannon that Eddie dealt with that couple that, despite loving each other a lot and getting along fairly well, decided to get divorced. Which is what 911 should have done with Shannon. (Me being salty about Shannon? It’s more likely than you think.)

I also think it’s a nice parallel the way both Lena and Buck are so desperate to search for their missing loved one with no regard for their own safety and I’m assuming Eddie saw Buck in Lena’s actions as well, which is why he trusts her so fast. (Because Eddie just like Buck is looking for connection and intimacy but Eddie is even worse at creating it than Buck, so he just tries to recreate the one working bond he truly has.) (Something actually proven in text by Eddie: becoming a firefighter because he misses the army.)

And I know everyone and their mother has already pointed out how Eddie was not worried about Chris at all because his son was with Buck and he knows Buck would never let anything bad happen to his son ever.

Which is why *that* scene is even more heartbreaking, because Eddie has so much trust in his Buck and kudos to Ryan Guzman because man, the way you see Eddie steel himself for what Buck is saying? The way you can feel him pulling himself together because Buck needs him to hear this. (Look, the scene is about a father learning from the person he trusts most in the world that his son might be dead and they could have easily forshadowed Eddie’s fighting ark by having him react negatively and violently here but instead he stays calm because it’s Buck and Buck for once needs him to be the one in control - also, on a less ship-y note because Eddie’s world is falling apart right there and he needs to keep in control because if he doesn’t, he will probably never be again.)

Which brings us to that scene in the loft, and listen, I know I said at the end of part 2 Eddie barely had any character development in the two seasons since we met him, but uhm, this scene? Proves he had some development, because right then right there he is so fucking vulnerable with Buck. It is of course part of him being a protector because just like with Shannon in 2.04 he realises that this is was Buck needs him to be right now, so vulnerable it is.

I do think however that it’s beautiful how Eddie apparently took the time during a fucking natural disaster to figure out that Evan Buckley needs him to use his actual words, so use his actual words he does.

And I do wanna point out that this is something he never had with Shannon, Eddie was never able to figure out what is wife of what? 7-8 years needed of him but he does know what his best friends needs. And wether that is just Buddie or just plain old character development, remains to be seen.

(Though we should mention that it wasn’t a permanent thing, Eddie does fail Buck a few times in Season 3 (but he also doesn’t a few other times) but we’ll get to that when we get to that!)

Also, honourable mention to Maddie Buckley-Kendall for getting that phone call and probably nearly dying of a heart attack and then having to race to the VA thinking the worst and probably imagining her very selfless brother either being already gone by the time she gets there or close to dead - only to probably arrive there and see Christopher in a bed with Eddie sitting next to him and Buck sitting vigil a few feet away because he doesn’t think he deserves to be with the Diaz’s anymore but he also can’t bear to part from them!

And another mention to the poor stranger who probably never got their phone back.

Also a teeny bit mad they forgot to give Oliver scars on his legs.

Episode 3.04

First of all I gotta say Eddie is such a boy scout goody two shoes with his whole „Well, it’s mandated!“ (also he’s been probably hanging out with Buck a buncha times in whatever many weeks passed since the Tsunami and therefore knew how hard his best friend worked on this and he’s gonna be supportive, kay?)

That being said, remember when I talked about two steps forward, one step back? Yeah, that.

As for the lawsuit, look, we could argue all day on wether it was justified or not, but I personally do think Buck had a basis. But he was also acting rash and hadn’t thought all the implications through and should have used his words instead, but quick reminder: Buck has severe abandonment issues and he has problems with emotional intimacy - so the whole talking about it? Not that easy.

Also, imagine working for months to come back to work, the one thing you think you’re good at and thinking you have everyone’s support only to find out the person you love like a father has betrayed you, probably with the knowledge of everyone else. Yeah, you’d lash out too!

Even though, I have to point out it’s not his normal MO (which is why we see him regret it almost immediately in the next episode).

As for Eddie in this episode, he has not one, not two, not three, but four whole conversations about feelings! You go buddy-boy. Embrace that character development! Don’t take a step back! … or, nevermind, we all know what happens next.

That being said I think it’s interesting that while Chimney clearly confides in him, Eddie does not confide in him in return but rather talks to female!Buck. I mean, talking about his struggles with his son and his family worked with him and Buck so why not with him and Lena (cause Lena isn’t Buck).

I do think Eddie and Chimney are close, but Eddie just doesn’t feel the same connection to him as he feels to Buck.

As for Eddie being so beautifully open and vulnerable with his son and saying like the exact opposite of what he had been taught: Eddie loves his son. He loves his son more than anything in the world. And if Eddie can’t let himself be vulnerable with him, who can he be vulnerable with? Especially when it helps Christopher.

(Also, Eddie by now recognises what is wrong with him, he just doesn’t think he can change it but he can prevent it from happening to his child.)

Episode 3.05:

This episode has a lot of shit happening and I have a lot of thoughts, most of which are relevant to the episode. But we’re gonna start slow, ease you in:

Boy do I love overprotective Dad!Eddie! How long do you think did it took Carla and Christopher to convince Eddie to let Chris sleep over at his friends? A month?

In other news Buck is just the picture of regret during the deposition and yeah, he should be. The whole thing is harsh. Never sue your friends, no matter how justified, if you want them to stay your friends! But it’s so obvious Buck didn’t know it was gonna go down this way because he did not think this through at all.

First off: Remember how in part 2 I said Buck and Eddie’s storylines were connected and how earlier I said Buck was the catalyst for Eddie like Bobby was for Buck?

Yeah, that’s the episode for all of this.

It’s not as obvious as in Season 2 because usually it happens over two episodes but it’s no coincident that after last episode Bobby triggered that shift in Buck, Eddie is now suddenly careering out of control as well - it’s because Buck is his catalyst, his *trigger*.

Please watch 3.04 and 3.05 back to back and tell me Eddie doesn’t make a 180 between those episodes. He goes from worried about his son to punching people in parking lots. What changed? Well, he could no longer talk to Buck. And Buck is his anker and his catalyst, the one person he doesn’t have to be in control with (which he really could use considering what he is going through with Christopher). And when you take that away he spirals. (Also there is the deposition where his best friend betrays him by talking about his dead for less than a year - wife, a topic Eddie has been avoiding in regards to his feelings since … well, the day it happened, probably.)

And I’m not saying the whole street fighting thing wouldn’t have happened if Eddie wasn’t such a boy scout and said, screw the chain of command and just called Buck to bail him out, but that’s what I’m implieing.

Also the scene between Eddie and Lena, I mean, I’ve already talked about it somewhere else but I do wanna point you to the way it is phrased: Eddie „wasn’t allowed“ to call Buck. Meaning he wanted to. But you know: Boy Scout.

Now, let’s talk about the grocery store fight because I have so many thoughts!

And what I love about these two episodes, as well as the next one, is that they show both the connection Buddie has as well as the contrasts between them:

One of the biggest differences in Buddie is how they deal with fear and obstacles and it is visible throughout all their lives and specifically these three episodes.

Evan Buckley is a force of nature, he is a fighter, he sets a goal and he reaches this goal with a single minded focus, steamrolling through everything in his way until he reaches said goal. Just look at the lawsuit and remember how his original plan was to get everyone to sign a letter of support for him.

When something frightens him, Buck doesn’t run away he runs right into it, tries to destroy it or be destroyed. He fights. And if that doesn’t work, he finds a way around the problem, but always going head to head with the thing because Evan Buckley is very determined and very self destructive.

Just look at the way he held onto Abby for nearly a year after she had left: Instead of dealing with his feelings of abandonment and the fact that the woman he loved left him, that boy dug his heel in and fought tooth and nail to keep what little he had left of her, of them. Refused to acknowledge being left for months. And when he finally leaves he literally compares himself to a ghost, because you know, he is just an empty shell at this point.

It’s also why he falls so hard for Ali because he is just desperately looking for something to cling to and so he transfers all those un-dealt feelings onto her and then he get’s hurt and his problems become bigger and different and Ali can’t deal - not surprising considering they had barely a foundation. They just went from 0 to 100 in 2 seconds and that just never works out, unless you’re in a very expensive sports car.

I also truly think at times Buck hides behind the loud mouthed, dumb adrenaline junkie persona he got going on as it keeps people from looking deeper, because Buck is very scared they won‘t find anything deeper - or worse, decide they don’t like what they see (and hey, he even got that confirmed by Ali leaving! and Abby! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY MADDIE!).

(Which, to push an agenda real quick, is why I ship Buddie so hard? Because they do have a foundation, they have been emotionally intimate with each other, they’ve seen the worst of each other and still went: I’m gonna have your back. And they have pulled a lot of shit on each other in the two years since meeting! Like, I’m sorry 911, I love you, but please never try and tell me they will have a deeper connection with anyone but each other because it’ll be a damn lie and you know it! If you don’t wanna do Buddie, let those boys get emotionally healthy and THEN give them an endgame but don’t try and replace Buddie with Loveinterests. I’m serious. I might stop watching!)

Eddie meanwhile is much more open with his feelings in the sense that he is less open in general so it’s far more noticeable when something is bothering him *because* he is subtle about it. Because Buck is so loud and so open and all about what you see is what you get, you don‘t assume he is hiding anything because you already see everything, right? (Always hide the real shit in plain sight, you guys, that‘s where no one remembers to look!) But Eddie, Eddie keeps his cards close. Sure he is funny and nice but he is also fucking reserved! And when something bothers him he draws into himself even more and that’s something that shows, that people will take notice of.

Eddies reaction to bad things (also known as *feelings*, because that boy is fucking repressed) happening is running away. And I am not saying he is a coward, I am saying he probably thinks he is and I am saying he runs away from his problems - that’s what 3.15 was about for Eddie: embracing his family (his vulnerabilities) and from what I‘ve seen in the last few days floating around in spoiler *now* Eddie has to learn to face his problems and not run away.

Which will be hard because Eddie deflects a lot.

It‘s funny (in a way that is not funny) that Buck, the fighter, is like the least aggressive guy around while Eddie, Mr quiet and reserved, who is all about running away from his problems, is so physically aggressive - except it is not and makes a lot of sense.

Season 3 truly shows how they deal with problems and I love it, I love them and this show so much!

Because Buck deals with the bombing by working tirelessly to come back to work, he deals with losing Christopher by nearly killing himself trying to find him and he deals with his fear of being replaced by filing the lawsuit to get his job back - which is also why I have to agree with Eddie: Buck truly has a one track mind. He sees the problem and nothing else. That makes him an amazing firefighter but an exhausting guy to be around because he does not give up.

I think in canon we only ever see Buck give up twice, maybe three times once with Abby and once with Christopher, both times he nearly killed himself first. (And one could argue that neither of these times he actually gave up, he was just out of options and time.) Tbh the only actual time he gave up was with Ali and that was probably his one track mind just not having any capacity to deal with a girlfriend on top of everything.

Eddie meanwhile deals with his wife dying and his best friend nearly dying twice and his son being traumatised and his best friend not being allowed back to work and his best friend filing that lawsuit by ... not dealing with it. He just moves on. Runs away from his feelings and his pain by fighting. He can’t deal with - can’t fight - his actual feelings so he fights something else. He lashes out. Becomes feral. That’s literally the gist of this episodes voiceover!

So tbh as much as I like that they resolved that lawsuit within one episode I am a bit bummed that we hardly saw anything of the 118 and especially Eddie without Buck there (specifically during his fighting time) mainly because I think we would have seen Hen and Chimney with Cap and Eddie maybe with Lena but generally keeping his distance, hiding away from them. (I don’t think Eddie just brushing past Buck in 3.06 was just about Buck.)

I truly meant what I said about 2.01 and Eddie taking one look at Buck being an asshole and deciding this one is gonna be his friend. Because while Hen and Chimney have been nice and friendly with him from the get go, they never give him shit the same way they give each other or Cap or Buck, and Eddie needs that. He needs someone who isn’t afraid to call him out and push back, both to get Eddie out of his own head and to make him feel comfortable enough to do the same. Which is why he bonded so fast with Buck and Lena (also, would he have bonded with her like that if Buck had been there? Probably not. Eddie is like the definition of „I only have the emotional capacity to care about three people at a time and two of them are my son“), because both held him accountable for his shit, which no one else on the show does, specifically not Hen and Chimney who treat Eddie as the guy who is good at most things so they just overlook the shitty stuff. And Cap does the same, because Eddie has a lot on his plate and Cap understands his issues better than anyone else’s.

Ya‘ll just need to watch the supermarket scene! It‘s all there!

Buck is in the store trying to create a moment so he can talk to all of them (meaning he is pushing, leaning into the problem until it gives), tries to make the problem go away by apologising (remember what I said about trying another way? Working hard didn’t work. Accepting his predicament didn‘t work. The lawsuit didn’t work. So now he tries talking it out - which he should have done to begin with, but hey, I’m not his therapist (sadly)) (It’s too bad it only worked to a certain level as we saw in the next episode but oh well, that’s actually realistic.)

Meanwhile Eddie has none of it because Eddie is currently running away from his problems so he can’t have his problem stand in front of him buying cat laxatives. So Eddie goes feral, and makes it all about Buck and his mistakes and then throws Christopher under the bus because that man is fighting for his life and he has nothing left to loose!!! I truly love this scene so much, you guys. It’s so revealing about these characters.

(I also shouldn’t have to point out that most of the stuff Eddie said to Buck was about Shannon, right? He was saying the things he was feeling about Shannon and he was throwing them at Buck because Buck was the one who brought it up, but also … look, it’s just ship-y from here all right?)

As for what I said about Hen, Bobby and Chimney in regards to Eddie? I know Chimney made some remarks but come on! Had it been any of them or Buck who yelled at someone like that they would have all interrupted and tried to diffuse the situation. But because it’s Eddie they sort of let it happen. (Also tbh because it’s Eddie and Buck and everyone is a little mad at Buck but they are something different to each other.)

Also, not to push my agenda, can we just talk about how comfortable Eddie has to be with the 118 but especially Buck, how much he has to care, to scream at him like that? Because he is reserved and he always tries to let go of his feelings and he hides so much. And I know part of it is that Eddie is coiled too tight already and about to burst but it’s also about Buck and the fact that Eddie expected better from him because Eddie has such a high opinion of him. Like sure he gives him shit sometimes but I think it’s because Eddie always expects the most of Buck (and Buck rarely lets him down). (And now I did go all ship-y)

Just compare this with his relationship with Shannon: with Shannon Eddie always is the one to make decisions, in part because he believes that’s what a man should do but also in part because he doesn’t trust her - and that was even before she left. Eddie trusts no one but himself for the most part but he does trust Buck, because to Eddie Buck can hardly do wrong. Which is why the whole law suit probably hit him so hard cause he expects everyone to let him down all the time but Evan Buckley? The guy he trust with his son more than anyone else? That guy? He expected better off! And that my friends is beautiful.

As for the voiceover it does poise one very central question for Eddie’s character: If he gives up control, will he be able to regain it? Because that is Eddie’s biggest fear and why he always holds everything so tight: he thinks if he lets the floodgates open once, he’ll never be able to close them.

In other news: Ryan took his shirt off.

Episode 3.06:

Before I write another 2400 words about our boys, I wanna remind you of that scene of Bobby, Chimney and Eddie wearing sun glasses, with Hen wearing her normal glasses, standing round, looking like an album cover! *plays „Clique“ by Kanye West, Jay-Z, Big Sean*

Do you think Athena and Hen talked about Bobby and how he would / does handle Buck? They did, didn’t they?

Also love how Hen and Chimney are super welcoming because one, they know what it’s like to be the odd one out and two, they love Buck and actually see his point of view. I believe. Now if only someone would remember to tell him.

Like, come on, they probably sit in the ambulance gossiping all the time!

I really love that we saw some bonding between Buck and Hen and Buck and Chimney in this episode because as much as I love Buddie we do not see enough of those combos (we don’t see enough of Buddie either).

Also the whole two steps forward, one step back? That is Bobby in this episode.

Now, we have to talk about the apology scene because this is Buck, expressing himself, being vulnerable. I love this episode a lot especially in regards to this Meta because here we see all the things I explained for the last episode: Buck is expressing, trying his best to make the problem go away while Eddie avoids it.

Also, you know, there is the whole illegal fighting thing that is visible on Eddie and look, if you did something like that would you willingly spent time with the one person who will call you out on it or will you avoid him like the plague? Especially if the last time you saw him you were screaming bloody murder at him in the middle of a grocery store! And the next time you see him he calls you out for your bruising. Yeah, guys, that’s just realistic.

Also bit of a reach, but the reason this is part of my discussion of 3.06 and not 3.05, which is Eddie’s relationship to Buck. Remember how 3.03 ended? That beautiful moment that made Oliver Stark cry on Instagram live? Remember how Eddie said „It’s his turn to save you now.“? Yeah, what happened to that?

Okay, Eddie is not an expressive guy. He is bad with feelings. He hates having them. And here comes Evan „Buck“ Buckley and he is just the polar opposite. Sure, he’d rather not talk about his feelings either but he has a lot of them and he *likes* having all of them and he wallows in them and that is probably a lot for a guy like Eddie to deal with. Especially when I do think Eddie understands somewhat where Buck came from and he probably feels guilty af about making Buck feel like he was being replaced. About not seeing the pain Buck was in. About not being there for him - which is why he lashes out, because guilt can make the healthiest people do horrible shit and Eddie is far from any definition of healthy at that point.

But I do have to say I am reaching with this and if I ever meet Tim Minear I will have him explain the fight scene and the apology scene to me word for word because it has to be deeper, right?

It can’t just be Eddie lashing out, and saying exactly the things he knows will hurt Buck because he is mad mad mad? Yeah, I know, whatever.

(Because even if that is the case? This is still the scene where a guy uses his best friend as a substitute to get his anger for his dead wife out in a somewhat healthy manner.)

Which is why I love both these scenes immensely, because it shows exactly how differently Eddie and Buck deal with things, because Eddie avoids them or gets mad and screams at them while Buck, actually does something fairly healthy and try to talk it out - but like only as his last option. He tries anything but talking before that, except with Eddie because they are connected and he finally *finally* lets himself be emotionally vulnerable with Eddie.

Which is also why the apology scene is so important to me, despite thinking while a bit rash, Buck wasn’t exactly wrong in his actions. I would have hated if they just brushed the grocery store over or made it about Eddie and the issues he had at the time. Instead they gave us this beautiful scene where Buck finally - FINALLY - gets to explain himself to someone, especially Eddie, the guy who he hurt the most because Buck is his anchor, and Eddie actually listens and then he gets it and he is like, oh, I wasn’t wrong! He really deserves all my trust!

So you know, that’s just beautiful, wether it’s platonic or romantic.

Episode 3.07: no relevance

Episode 3.08:

I wanna say something right of the bat that is probably controversial as hell:

Eddie did not want to share with Bobby. Eddie likes Bobby, he trusts Bobby, but he wasn’t really feeling like sharing with Bobby.

The reason Eddie talked with Bobby about all of this? Well, first of all it was bound to happen, sometimes things need to be said and then it doesn’t really matter who you’re talking to.

Also Eddie? Boy Scout. Army man. Chain of Command. If your superior officer tells you to share - you share! There. I said it. (This is not a Bobby Nash - stan account)

Also: „A friend of mine told me I needed an outlet - think I found it.“ - no, you didn’t Buddy boy, it’s why I’m currently 10.000 words into an episode by episode analysis of your character! (can you tell I am slowly going off the rails with this?)

But I do love how we finally got to see sassy!Eddie again. I missed you, babe!

As for the kitchen scene and the look, yes, I know, Maddie was looking at them like that because she just called them out about gossiping and they turned around and gossiped, buuuut … ya’ll also realise that Chimney was apparently *not* aware that anything was wrong with Eddie when Eddie had been acting weird way longer then Hen. He nearly punched Buck in a grocery store, he comes in with new bruises like 3 times a week but sure mate, he is all normal! (Or you know, Buck is just hyperfocused on Eddie)

One thing that freaks me out every time I watch this episode is how completely fucking nonchalant Eddie seems by the fact that he nearly fucking killed a guy. To quote Lena Bosko, professional plot pusher: „What the hell, Eddie?“

And then of course 3.15 happened and we saw Eddie shoot multiple people, so he probably learned how to compartmentalise and I guess I need to remember this is a TV show and no one actually died. But wow, I really need this addressed more because I have such mixed feelings about this.

And with regards to this I wanna say something even more controversial: Eddie got off easy. Yes, the guy willingly went into that ring but Eddie nearly killed him and all Bobby wanted to talk about was why Eddie was fighting? Again: What the hell?

Another thing this episode firmly proofs is that Lena is really just a poor substitute for Buck because Eddie doesn’t actually know anything about her, he just uses her as a sounding board because, well, Buck wasn’t there and he was lonely?

As for the actual conversation happening, yes, there we have it, in plain sight, Eddie needs to be in control because he thinks this is what Christopher needs him to be and as I’ve said before Eddie will always do anything for Christopher, even if he hurts himself in the process.

Also, remember when Lena told him he needed to show and tell his son how he felt so Christopher knows it’s okay to feel that way as well? Clearly didn’t stick of he would not feel this intense need to be in control. Which is realistic, you don’t just unlearn behaviour you had for like 30 years just because someone gives you some good advice once! (Man, my life could be so different!)

I’m also not a fan of Bobby’s „She died.“ because while yes, it wasn’t her fault that she left this time, grief isn’t rational. And even without the looming divorce Eddie has every right to be upset and to be angry at the world, and yes, even his dead wife. She’s dead. It doesn’t hurt her anymore. (Although that would be one feeling he should probably keep from Christopher.)

Not to mention Eddie feels guilty as hell. His anger? Mostly at himself. The sentence “I broke his mother”? Broke me as well.

But I also understand Eddie because while he may be grieving, his son is clearly traumatised by the whole situation, as seen in 3.04, and Eddie is trying his best and look, his outlet wasn’t the healthiest but um, at least he realised he needed one? He addressed that? That’s growth (sorta).

Amount of shirtless!Eddie scenes: 2, which feels a bit like overkill for one episode (pace yourself, Tim, this isn’t Game of Thrones)

Episode 3.09:

Frank! My main man Frank! Ui, I love him! When Tim calls me to come consult for Season 4 because clearly by now I am an expert on his characters and the way they should act, I will tell him to bring Frank back. I miss Frank. I hope he’s doing okay. He deserves the world. Also really wanna meet Rosemary.

And hey, as someone who has worked in the mental health sector and probably will again come October (if I manage to finish my degree by then, urgh, Corona, you are destroying my thesis!), I love that scene on the sofa so much! All of them openly sharing that they have been in therapy and talking about their therapists and just, uh, that scene makes me all tingly!

Before we get into all the emotional things I’m just gonna add the scene on the sofa to my list of scene I don’t fully understand. Like, what emotion exactly was Eddie supposed to be conveying because to me he sounds angry. And why should Eddie be angry about Buck sleeping with his therapist? What reason could he have?

Okay, yeah, maybe it’s a little exasperation and annoyance because apparently Evan Buckley is just coasting through life and doesn’t even take therapy seriously. Idk. I haven’t read the script.

But it does lead us to Buck giving Eddie shit, because, as I’ve said before, that’s what Buck does.

As for the therapy scene, yay, there is a mention of the nearly dead guy! Who is not dead. Yay!

I do love Eddie’s reasons for going to therapy and really trying, even though he is not clicking with Frank. He is such a good dad! (Also I’ve been debating for like 20 minutes whether Eddie would be more comfortable sharing with a woman or with a man and for some reason (his connection with Buck vs his relationship with Shannon) I think he’d be more comfortable with a man. Idk. I could be wrong. - Also Eddie is probably always uncomfortable talking about his feelings, so there is that!) His reasoning shows also yet again what I said about both Buck and Eddie before: they are protectors. They will make themselves vulnerable to help someone else. It’s a thing.

Also I pulled out my pocket edition of ICD-10 to check and while we don’t have enough information to give a full diagnosis, it’s safe to say that he is supposed to be going through a depressive episode. Because yes, sometimes depressed people aren’t sad, sometimes they are fucking angry.

Now, as for the Evan Buckley of it all and that scene: I read another Meta by someone clearly much better at this than me that stated Eddie uses Sarcasm as a way to deflect, which is exactly what is happening here because Eddie is not as fine with everything that happened as he pretends to be. I think he has just come to the sudden and horrible conclusion that his tipping point has been Buck no longer being in his life and so he decided it was easier to just move on then deal with his feelings (which is what got you into this mess in the first place, Edmundo, so please rethink,) if that means Buck back in his life.

I also think Eddie deflects here because he realises how much what he did and what he said actually hurt Buck in return and Eddie doesn’t fully know how to deal with that. And look, if they actually start discussing their issues then Eddie will have to admit his guilt and Eddie will have to say he’s sorry and right then he is still too pissed to do so, so he decides to move on.

Ah, the wonderful clash of Eddie thinking actions speak louder than words but Buck needing to hear the actual words.

Sidenote: I sent the kitchen scene to my roommate, stopped before they played the video game and asked her what she thinks happened next. And to quote „Love me <3 <3 <3. Please fuck me“ - because yes, she did take one look at them and decide the one with the puppy dog eyes was a bottom. That’s also a quote.

Episode 3.10:

Eddie really is trying so hard to be a good dad, isn’t he?

I also love the little head shake Eddie gives after Chris ask Buck about spending Christmas with him, because he clearly has already talked about the whole thing with Buck. And I’m not gonna talk about the framing. Other’s have done that before and I don’t actually know that much about it in first place.

Also it is cute as all hell that Chris asked Buck in the first place and also heartbreaking.

Other than that this episode doesn’t have that much of a relevance for this meta, because if I have to start discussing Buck’s other issues as well this will never be done.

Before I let you go, I wanna say something real quick:

In the past few days there have been several posts about content creators and liking vs commenting / reblogging on my dash and I just wanna say this is true for meta writers as well! Look, I love everyone who likes this because validation, but I’m not actually writing this meta for myself, I’m writing this because I have thoughts and I wanna share them with the rest of the class and have the class discuss it with me!

So please, reblog this and comment under or in the tags or come to my ask or my messages, even if it’s only to tell me that my punctuation is shit!

Anyways, @angelcamael and @greyhello here’s part 3!

#buck meta #eddie meta #buddie meta #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buck #buddie #911 meta #911 #911 fox #textpost #mine #meta #season 3 #my meta

91 notes · View notes

ardenttheories · 4 years

Note

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you a Page of Heart? What made you come to that conclusion? I'm always curious about someone's reasonings for such matters and would like to hear yours! But only if you're okay with sharing, I know it's a very personal question!

I’m more than happy to answer this!

So, I should probably begin by saying that, personally, figuring out my Classpect was... hard. I have a tendency to put up fronts for various people in different situations, which made pinning down my actual personality difficult. I was at a point, a few years back, where I couldn’t say what my aesthetic was, what my style was, what my sona looked like, what my favourite colour was - because I genuinely couldn’t settle down on any one thing that I liked. I had no idea if blue represented me best, or orange, or if I liked the way a singular sona represented me.

It was a point in my life where I genuinely didn’t understand Heart enough to figure out who I was. I overcompensated by trying to position myself as specific things for people - a father-figure for my best friend, a stoic and capable partner for my boyfriend - and I actually relied really heavily on fictional characters to base my sense of identity around.

So, this made actually determining my Classpect part of my journey to figuring out the real one, in a weirdly paradoxical way. I spent so long trying to Classpect myself based on these facets of my personality that I never noticed the facets existed to begin with - yet, when I actually looked closer at them, the Page of Heart just... clicked.

Furthermore, I tended not to consider myself, and had a habit of letting myself suffer or let my own issues boil up in my desperation to be good for other people. I self-sacrificed for no good reason, and it tended to mean two big things happened:

- People came to me with every little issue they had, parked their anxieties with me, and left me fretting over them for the rest of the day because I didn’t realise they just needed to vent, and weren’t in actual danger (the part of a Page of Heart that just misunderstands situations and events, and has an incorrect Emotional response)

- I exploded on people over incredibly minor things further down the line, almost consistently when I was at my least emotionally stable, to the point that my boyfriend began to fear my montly (which always fucks me up) and my best friend begged me to see a therapist (the part of a Page of Heart that tends to overreact)

Though, to be fair, I’ve always struggled figuring out emotional consistency (which hits home on how Pages of Heart give disproportionate emotional responses). I tend to flit back and forth between extremes, which has led to... a lot of negative situations; me chasing after boys, screeching, for something as minor as calling me a “maneater”, or me having a severe mood drop after being cut off over something I was talking about, even if it wasn’t intentional.

This is what made me realise, after some thought, that I probably wasn’t a Mind Player. Heart is all about Impulsivity and Emotion, and I was definitely showing that over the concept of Logic and Distance. I was too Passionate, too Illogical, even though at first I thought I was just someone who maybe struggled with their Mind and ghosted Heart.

The problem was, Logic has never been my issue. I can be very Logical. I can think things through to a fault, I can even overthink, I can analyse and pick apart and tell you exactly what was going through my Mind at that exact point; it’s just that my Emotions were what overruled. It’s the Heart that I focused on most, and the part that I struggled to contain.

Pages of Heart start with a Lack of Heart - start with almost no understanding or power over Heart - and then get better and better at it as they go through life.

This is what pegged me into the idea of something like a Page, rather than a Bard and Prince. Because I was good at Heart-stuff, just not all the time.

I’m really good at figuring out peoples’ Emotions. I can read a situation pretty well (though it’s taken time for me to figure that out, and at first I almost always got it wrong), and I can pretty easily Classpect people with a fair amount of accuracy (which has come from me analysing people down to the ground and building up my own understanding of Heart over several years).

I accurately guessed what a new friend’s favourite animal, colour, and style was, despite not having spoken to them for long and having had no prior information about them. This, compared to several years ago, when I couldn’t tell my boyfriend what his favourite colour was even though he actively reblogged yellow things all the time.

I had a tendency to try and shove my nose into every problem a friend had because I wanted to be helpful. I thought I knew how to fix everything, knew how I could be the one to save the day, and I loved it whenever I was even vaguely right - though most of the time I was almost painfully wrong. I got into arguments with friends who just wanted to vent because I tried too hard to be empathetic and to help, or I related back to myself too much as an example.

I’m much better at that now. I can usually diffuse a situation without much issue, can pick up on when something’s wrong with most people, and have a much easier time connecting Emotionally now than I used to. I find that my advice tends to hit home to people more now that I can understand them and their needs better - and people tend to open up to me more now, too! But I’ve also gotten better at setting up my own boundries, and that... that helps a lot.

I think it’s also safe to say that I was a bit... super-obsessed with my likes and my passions.

I know, for sure, that I’ve pretended to be obsessed with something just to try and validate my own feelings. To connect that flimsy sense of identity, I’ve claimed that I love puppetry when I know nothing about it, or that I adore horses when at the time I was probably more connected to cats or rabbits.

I also know that I have been obsessed with things to the point that throughout my life, I’ve always had that one main fandom hyperfixation, and pretty much nothing else besides. I still like other things, of course - I just can’t get into them as much as that one hyperfixation I have. That, though, never stopped me from pretending I knew a bunch about Transformers for a friend.

All of what I’ve said above hits pretty much every point on Dahni’s Page of Heart analysis and Sylph of Hope’s Page of Heart analysis. I used these two sources to help me figure out my Classpect (with the assistance of my boyfriend, so that I wasn’t falling into the Page trappings of only picking up parts of my Identity), and especially reading Dahni’s post, it all just seemed to click.

My journey was to learn to be “balanced and sincere with their emotions, their affections, and with themselves”, to be “passionate, sincere and truly honest”. I have been fluctuating through such extremes throughout my life, with very little honesty towards myself or my identity - finally reading that, accepting that I have to settle down, to learn, and to take care of myself before I can truly help others? It’s made understanding who I am so much easier. It’s made being better for my friends, for this blog, for my family, so much easier.

Essentially, it felt like the challenge fit. And it’s a challenge I’m still facing, for sure - one that’s in no way been easy, and one I’ve definitely fucked up on a few times along the way - but I know that I’m becoming a better person now than I used to be by facing it.

I know my Classpect, now. I know the name I want to go by. I know the way I want to be seen. I know my favourite colour, my favourite animal, and I can say with some degree of certainty that I know what my aesthetic is. This improvement has meant so much to me. I have a stable sense of me in a way I didn’t have even just a few years ago.

That’s how I know I’m a Page of Heart, I think. I vibed with it, it explained parts of me I didn’t think anything really could, and the challenge has made me a better person.

#long post//#ardenttheories #classpect analysis #windy15

15 notes · View notes

secretagentspydetectiveninja · 7 years

Text

The Misadventures of Prince Kim - chapter 25

(aka the royalty AU story)

Huh, these are some adorable characters we’ve got here, right? It would be a shame if something... happened to them... >:D

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24] [AO3]

The summer holidays began, and most of the students returned to their home countries for the long break. Kim left with Marinette and went to Cheng, and Max and Alix took the ocean liner to the northern port before going their separate ways.

It wasn’t that the journey made Alix feel irritable and tired, since she had taken that journey before and it wasn’t even that long. Perhaps it had been the fact that she hadn’t yet caught up on the sleep she missed the other night, where her brain had kept her awake for hours trying to think of how to let Kim down as gently as possible.

Considering this was the first year of her life she’d actually had any close friends, she had found herself more terrified of losing Kim’s friendship than she had realized. In fact, if he hadn’t run off immediately after confessing to her then she probably would have just agreed to be his sweetheart on the spot, just to keep him around. At least she’d had more time to think it over and trust that he hadn’t just been using their friendship to get close to her. No, he was a good friend, he understood that she didn’t feel the same way and was fine with it. Thank goodness for that.

The entourage of guards and press that turned up at the airport for her arrival did nothing to help her rather sour mood. Once she got home she was greeted by her family, then thankfully allowed to do as she pleased for the rest of the day. She decided to go rollerskating, hoping that would make her feel a little better.

She was just stepping out into the corridor from the throne room when it hit – a sudden surge of emotion, so strong she wasn’t even sure what it was at first. Anger? Fear? Helplessness? It felt like a mix of all three, so powerful she felt dizzy.

“Are you alright?” Jalil asked her. “You look really ill suddenly… really pale…”

Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself. Maybe this was a panic attack? She had heard of those. But then again, nothing seemed to have caused it… was that possible?

“You should take a nap,” he continued. “I’ll wake you up before dinner if you want.”

Alix nodded, unable to speak. She went down to her room and lay on the bed, not really expecting to be able to fall asleep considering how she was feeling, but her lack of recent sleep managed to overpower it within seconds.

She should have known that her sudden bad mood would be an indicator that her dreams were going to turn into those creepy, haunting ones again. This time it wasn’t ambiguous at all – it was a nightmare, and not just any nightmare, but the most vivid, realistic nightmare she’d ever had in her life. Bolting upright, tears streaming down her cheeks, she could only remember one thing.

Her snake beheaded.

The poor innocent queen cobra, its head having been cut off and lying beside the rest of its body.

Dead.

She scrambled out of bed and climbed into the snake enclosure, practically blinded by her tears but not caring. She just needed to find her snake. The nightmare couldn’t have been real, surely that couldn’t have happened, her snake couldn’t have been decapitated–

Oh thank goodness, there it was. Dropping to her knees, she picked it up and hugged it as best as she could. Kim the First was alive and well, head firmly attached to the rest of its scaly body. Seeming to sense her terror, it curled up around her reassuringly.

She couldn’t help breaking down into tears. It was only a dream, she knew that, it wasn’t real, but for some reason the emotions she felt were just not going away. She was just so scared, so afraid of what would happen if her snake really died, especially as brutally as that, so angry at anyone who would potentially do something like that, so upset and not knowing what to do…

At some point Jalil came into the room, expecting to wake her up from her nap in time for dinner, but he instead discovered her sitting in the snake enclosure, clinging onto her pet snake for dear life and still sobbing all over it.

“I h-had a nightmare,” she said before he could ask. “Snake… beheaded…”

Her eyes were still burning with so many tears that she could hardly see, but it looked like her brother was climbing into the snake enclosure too. Sure enough within a few seconds she felt him hugging her, just like he used to do when she’d had nightmares as a little kid.

“It wasn’t real,” he reassured her. “It was just a bad dream.”

“But… what if…”

“Shhh, don’t dwell on it. You’ll forget about it soon enough. It was just a nightmare.”

“Or a vision!” She stroked her precious pet’s scales, vowing silently she would never take it for granted ever again. “It was just… so r-realistic… I’ve n-never had a dream like that before! I’m s-scared!”

“It’s okay. It seemed like you were ill earlier, maybe that’s why you had such a weird dream. You just need more rest. It’ll be alright.”

“But snake lifespans! Shorter than h-humans… he’s gonna… he’s gonna d-die someday and I just… I can’t… take that… I’m gonna break, Jalil! I can’t live without this snake!”

She burst into fresh tears, fairly certain she had never cried this hard before in her life. Why was she even feeling so irrationally terrified over a nightmare? Normally she was never afraid of anything!

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Jalil said. “For now at least this snake’s here to stay, okay? I promise. Everything will be fine.”

It sounded so hollow to her somehow. How did he know everything would be fine? He didn’t, that was what! He was only saying that to make her feel better, and it didn’t work whatsoever. Terrified, upset, angry, exhausted… she was filled with so many emotions it felt like she was going to burst. Had she ever felt this bad before? Not that she could remember.

“Maybe you shouldn’t go to dinner,” said Jalil, “since you’re feeling so unwell. Just stay here for now and I’ll have some food brought in for you, okay?”

“Okay…”

He patted her on the back and then left the room, leaving her alone with the snake. She tried to stop her tears but nothing seemed to work, like her brain had gone into shock and completely refused to listen to her.

Hopefully she would forget about this nightmare soon, right? She would get over it, and in a few days she would look back and laugh at how silly she had been. That would happen, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t it?

Imperial Prince Adrien returned home to find his governess Nathalie standing at the top of the big marble staircase above the entrance hall, looking down over him with a much more serious expression than usual.

“Adrien, did you bring all your possessions back home with you?”

“Yes, why?”

“You may unpack them all fully. You won’t be needing to take them back to school.”

The porters at his side immediately began opening the various boxes of luggage, hauling things out.

“Why?” Adrien asked again.

“Your father, His Imperial Majesty, has decided it is best for you to remain here in Agreste from now on. In September you will not be returning to school, nor ever again.”

The words took a few seconds to sink in. He wasn’t allowed back to school…? Ever? It was like a sudden punch to the gut.

“Why can’t I go to school?” he asked, shocked to hear his voice cracking a little. “I love it there! I have so many friends, and I’m learning so much, and–”

“I’m afraid it’s not up to me,” Nathalie said, not looking him in the eye. “It is your father’s decision. You know he never wanted you to leave Agreste in the first place.”

“But what’s wrong with school?”

“During the most recent holidays your father noticed that your attitude seems to have changed. He does not think it a good change. If you stay here, away from the nobility and the riff-raff of lower ranks, you can learn to be… more like him.”

“But it’s not fair! Why didn’t he ask me? Or tell me earlier? I want to stay at school, I like having some freedom, I–”

“I believe this is what the emperor meant by your attitude having changed,” she said, looking down at the ground by her feet. “This carefree, spirited attitude, wanting to rebel and have your way all the time...”

Adrien glared up at her, wanting to yell at her, but he stopped himself. It was not Nathalie’s fault. She was just the messenger, and it didn’t look like she was happy about this outcome either. Anyway, hadn’t this same thing happened to Kim after the spring holidays? Perhaps Adrien could get out of it with some persuasion too.

He took a deep breath and then said, as clear and commanding as possible, “I would like to speak to my father about this.”

“Your father is abroad at the moment, directing the troops in the 7th region. He may not be back for some months yet, and he has already made sure to inform me that no amount of clever debating will change his mind – you are ‘grounded’, as the commoners put it. No leaving the palace. Do not even enter the palace grounds without permission, or you will have to stay in your room until your father deems you fit to leave.”

Grounded? Grounded was for people who weren’t being forced into living up to a duty that was thrust upon them, just because they wanted some friends and an education that wasn’t just propaganda. This was on another level entirely.

But wait… 7th region? In the colonies?

“What’s father doing in the colonies?” he asked. “He’s not taking over more land, is he?”

“…I’m not sure.”

That meant yes.

“But he should be back within the year,” she continued. “There are some issues in the region that he wanted to see to personally, so he went there himself.”

“What issues? Kim said that region’s too dangerous, that’s why he can’t go back home right now, so isn’t it too dangerous for father too?”

Nathalie shuffled on her feet nervously. “It may be more dangerous for citizens of Lê Chiến in that region than of Agreste.”

He felt his heart sinking. “What’s going on, Nathalie? What is father up to? Kim says there’s increasing hostilities between Agreste and Lê Chiến, is it because father did something?”

“The information is classified, so I really don’t think I should–”

“Please! Kim’s my friend, I have to know! I want him to be safe!”

She sighed, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. “Fine. I don’t know everything about it, but there were plans for peace between the two nations. The emperor was going to return a part of the 7th region. However, the leaders of Lê Chiến were unhappy because upon inspection, all the natural resources of that area had been stripped, leaving it essentially worthless and unable to even be used as farmland.”

“You mean we took their land, wasted it all up until it was unusable, then tried to give it back to them under the guise of a peace offering?”

“It does sound rather harsh when you put it like that, but yes. The leaders of Lê Chiến have been asking for a piece of land that is not completely barren, but our empire cannot afford to give any away. Your father is directing troops to find more land, especially since much of the area is filled with jewel mines which would be good to have under the empire’s control.”

“So he is taking more land,” Adrien muttered through clenched teeth. “And what about Kim? Why is it unsafe for him to go back home?”

“There have been skirmishes at the borders,” Nathalie said, looking uncomfortable. “Ever since the troops have been stationed in the area, there has been an increase in raids and attacks on merchants and traders carrying supplies in and out of Lê Chiến…”

“The troops are trying to stop trade from getting into Lê Chiến? Please tell me father’s gone to stop them.”

She looked even more uncomfortable now. “Well actually, I highly doubt he disapproves of their behaviour… he might indeed be encouraging of it…”

“You know what, I’m not even surprised,” Adrien snapped. “It’s no wonder no one at school liked me at first, when our empire goes and does things like this without me even knowing.”

“Adrien, running an empire is a matter of strength, and–”

“Oh come on, I know you don’t really believe that. You’re just saying that because my father made you say it!” He began stomping off towards his bedroom.

“Wait, Adrien! You have a schedule to attend to!”

“I don’t feel well. Leave me alone!”

Storming away into his room, seething, he realized that was the first time in his life he’d had an outburst of anger like that. Maybe he had grown a backbone at school, surrounded by others who were not afraid to speak their mind. It felt… freeing.

But that did not solve any problems. He was still stuck at home indefinitely, and Kim was still in danger. Not to mention Kim’s kingdom, which would soon end up Agreste territory if he didn’t do something soon. But what? How could he do anything when his own father refused to let him leave the palace?

Meanwhile, Kim himself was not having a much better time. Cheng was absolutely lovely, he had been there before and was welcomed with open arms, but so many things were playing on his mind that it was hard for him to enjoy himself here like he usually did.

“What’s the matter?” Marinette asked him, finding him leaning on a balcony railing one day, watching the royal guards at their practice. “You seem so weirdly distant.”

“I miss home,” Kim mumbled. He stared off into the distance, the rolling hills fading away into the horizon. Lê Chiến was in that direction. So close, yet so far. “I wish I could go back, I don’t even know when I can… and I’m worried about its safety…”

Marinette put a comforting arm around him. “That’s understandable. It’s been a long time since you’ve been there, hasn’t it? I’d miss home so much too if I was away that long. And I don’t know much about the safety situation at all, that must be stressful to think about. But I’ll do my best to make your stay here as fun as possible in the meantime. Is there anything in particular you need me to do?”

“Nah, it’s fine, you’re already being awesome… so is your family…” He looked back down at the royal guard practice. “Hey Mari? Who’s that one who’s delivering the food? That one in the corner with the basket…”

Marinette peered over the balcony edge. “Oh, him? It’s just Bluebell. One of the servants. Why?”

“Huh? No reason…” He rested his head on his arms and continued watching the practice. Or rather, watching the servant handing out fresh fruit to everyone. Bluebell… what a cute name.

“I think there is a reason,” Marinette said, smirking. “If you want me to set you up with Bluebell you can just ask.”

“W-what? Haha no, I’m not… I just…” He sighed. “Okay, yeah, he’s kind of cute. And I guess that means you probably noticed somehow that I like guys. But… it’s not like I know anything about him, and… I just… I’m trying to get over someone else, and… well…”

“Kim, the truth is I saw you and Adrien kissing at the winter party – you’re both so tall that the chairs didn’t exactly hide you. So yes, I guessed you like guys. And I can also guess who you’re trying to get over, considering how much you’re always drooling over Alix like some kind of… anyway, I know you like her.”

“Yeah, well it’s not happening, so I’d better fall for someone else quickly so I can carry on being her friend without feeling like a total creep.”

“Aw Kim, you’re not a creep! It’s okay to have a crush on a friend. Nino has a crush on me, and I don’t think he’s a creep. You’re only a creep if you be creepy, and you are definitely not doing that. It’s clear you care about her a lot as a friend. That’s a good thing.”

Kim smiled at her. “Thanks, Marinette. You always know the right thing to say.”

“Noooo, I so don’t! I can’t even speak a full sentence around Adrien! I’ve just known you since forever, that’s why it’s easy to talk to you. You’re like… like a cousin to me. Or some kind of long-lost brother. And I’m going to help you feel better if I can. So, want me to set you up with Bluebell? He’s really nice from what I know of him!”

“I don’t know, he’s a boy so I don’t think that would go down well…”

“And he has a twin sister who is also really cute, for the record.”

“Really? Okay. I’ll… I’ll just meet them then. That would be cool.”

“Nice!” Marinette held out her fist for a fist bump, and Kim happily obliged.

Over the rest of the summer holidays things had not improved at all for Alix – in fact they had just gotten worse. The nightmare about her snake was still haunting her almost all the time. Whenever she closed her eyes she could see the image of her poor decapitated pet, like it was branded onto the insides of her eyelids, forcing her to relive it over and over again. She took her snake with her everywhere for its protection, refusing to let anyone else touch it. There was no way she was taking any chances.

Her odd moods did not improve either, and though she tried her best to shake it off as normal teenage mood swings, it was clearly something else entirely. What was wrong with her? It was like she was steadily feeling more and more unstable, confined, impulsive, exhausted…

It made her so ill she ended up being let off her pharaoh duties many days, just because she looked so tired. On these days she would take her skates and leave the palace, just needing to get out for a while and clear her head. Why was she feeling so weird closed in, anyway? It wasn’t like she was grounded or anything, she could do what she wanted.

Over the weeks she found herself spending more and more time with her brother, for some reason feeling like she missed him even though he was clearly right there. It was somewhat nostalgic, in fact. Just like things had been when they were younger. She had hoped maybe it would make her feel better, but it really didn’t at all. Her mood just continued to deteriorate.

At some point during the holidays Max had come to visit with some trade shipments. Alix had told him everything, about the horrific dream and the way it still made her feel ill even all these weeks later. He suggested it might be school stress catching up to her, or a spell of anxiety disorder, or something like that – but that there was probably nothing to worry about, and queen cobra lifespans were long enough that the snake would be around for at least another 15 years or so. That didn’t really reassure her.

The weeks passed, and things just got worse and worse, until one fateful night very near the end of the holidays. She had a dream that she couldn’t remember exactly, but it was definitely something to do with the snake pond where she had adopted her pet snake from in the first place. Being asleep, dreaming about that place, that wasn’t so bad. The trouble started when she suddenly woke up in the quietest hours of the night.

Her hand… it felt like it was burning. As if someone had stuck a hot needle into the back of it. She sat up and squinted at it in the darkness, but there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with it. Lying back down she tried to go back to sleep.

The pain in her hand suddenly tripled in intensity, shooting up her arm like there was lava in her veins. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She sat up again and looked back at her arm, but there was still nothing there. Rubbing her hand and trying to get the pain to stop, she felt violent tingles running through her arm all the way up to her shoulder, so painful it made her stomach heave.

She held back a sob and pushed herself out of bed. It felt like her feet were made out of lead, and her ears were ringing so much it was like she was going to faint. She managed to crawl into the snake enclosure where her beloved snake was already waiting for her, having sensed that something seemed to be very wrong. It slithered over to her and wrapped itself around her, hissing soothingly as she clutched her stinging arm, struggling to breathe through the pain.

She hoped whatever it was would have stopped by now, but it continually increased. Spikes of pain kept stabbing at her arm, making her feel sick, making her wish she could just tear her whole arm free of her shoulder socket just to get away from it. Minutes passed, and still there was no end in sight. It hurt so much she curled up into a ball and bit down on the skin on her knees, hoping it would distract her. Surprisingly she barely even felt it. It was nothing compared to how excruciating the pain in her arm was, after all.

What was even happening? Had she done something to her arm without realizing? She couldn’t even remember now, not when her brain was so fogged up and her entire arm felt like it was on fire. Maybe she should go call someone for help, but the prospect of getting up, actually moving, needing to speak… it was too daunting. She was immobilized, paralyzed, completely overcome with fear and pain. The only thing she could do was cry, feeling terror overwhelm her every time the pain kicked it up a notch, like the very blood in her arm was curdling and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Of course she was no stranger to pain. Living an active lifestyle meant she’d had her fair share of injuries. But she had never, ever suffered anything nearly as bad as whatever was happening now. And every time she thought it couldn’t get any worse, that surely it had to stop now, it somehow managed to exceed itself.

How had she not passed out yet? Or thrown up yet? Or died? Surely she was going to die. No human being could ever go through something so horrendously agonizing, for so long, and live to tell the tale. No, she was definitely going to die, not even knowing the reason why, not even caring at this point. All she wanted was for the pain to stop.

It did not stop. For what felt like hours, days, years, it continued. She gave up trying to fight it and just lay in the enclosure with the snake, crying. No one deserved to come to such a painful, torturous end. No one.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided. It went away as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving Alix confused and exhausted. She wiped away her tears and lay back down, falling asleep right there in the snake enclosure.

Thank goodness she was alive. Whatever that had been, she never wanted to experience it ever again. Or any pain at all, for that matter. It hadn’t left a visible mark, but she was certainly not going to be able to forget that in a hurry, much like the nightmare about her snake being beheaded that she’d had right at the start of the holidays. It was probably going to haunt her forever.

Was there any possible way to ask Master Fu about this at the oracle session? She needed answers. But the students could not ask him questions about the past, it had to be about the future. Surely, though, there had to be some way she could find out what was going on?

She would just have to think about it.

#yessss i finally updated this. told you it would get more serious from now on #me @myself: YOU RUINED A PERFECTLY COOL CHICK IS WHAT YOU DID #LOOK AT HER. SHE'S GOT ANXIETY #(well kinda) (i swear all the weird spooky stuff will make sense soon)#you can always tell which characters are my favourites by how disproportionately mean i am to them #i love Angst and Pain and Suffering #royalty au #miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #le chien kim #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alix kubdel #random stuff #the misadventures of prince kim #aish writes

8 notes · View notes

amphtaminedreams · 5 years

Text

To All the Characters I’ve Overly Identified with Before: Borderline Personality Disorder and Attachment to Fictional Characters

It’s been a month, and I’m still not over how Game of Thrones ended. I’m still not over the way that a character who, throughout the previous seventy something episodes of the show, was only ever ruthless towards people who were deserving of her wrath (within the context of westerosi justice because let’s not forget everyone’s favourite man of honour Ned Stark decapitated a young man for running for his life in the first episode), suddenly massacred a whole city in the penultimate episode. I’m not over the way that writers who spent the previous seasons showing that they were capable of translating the moral ambiguity of George R.R Martin’s characters from page to screen, got lazy and left us with a character whose actions became impossible to defend right as the show was ending. I’m not over the way that such a beautifully complex character who endured so much hurt and trauma was reduced to nothing more than a “crazy woman” by a couple of male writers in her final moments. I’m not over the fact that Emilia Clarke put her heart and soul into the character and did everything she could to bring Daenerys Targaryen to life for David Benioff and Dan Weiss to both literally and figuratively assassinate her.

I think those feels have been felt by a lot of Game of Thrones fans since the show ended. God knows I’ve watched enough youtube video essays and read enough articles and liked enough tweets reiterating the sentiment. Daenerys Targaryen was, in my opinion, the best character on Game of Thrones. I wasn’t angry because she didn’t end up sitting on the throne (though my boy Drogon made sure nobody else ever would either and I guess I can get behind that), I was angry because all the balance that made her character so great was thrown out the window in order to progress the story of her male counterpart and bring a show that probably could’ve done with another 2 seasons to an end. Dany has always had a dark side, she is the “fire” that the title of the book series refers to, but throughout the show, we’ve never seen her indulge that side to the point of no return. We’ve seen her wrestle with it and use it to exact punishment on those who deserve it when needs be, and that was part of what I liked about her. Not to go all feminist essay on anyone’s ass but we don’t usually get to see women in TV who are celebrated for their powers of intimidation, and I liked how prior to season 8, the narrative never made female characters like Dany or Arya or Brienne out to be monsters for killing people the same way that basically every single man on the show did at one point or another. I liked that sometimes she was a little excessive because it made sense, she did have “dragon” in her, and she still had lines she wouldn’t cross, clear values and principles; she fought for the innocent, for women and for children, and for freedom. On a personal level, I loved her because we watched her go from a lonely, scared and vulnerable girl to a strong, ambitious and self-assured woman and that was a trajectory I wanted to relate to.

And then all of a sudden, without any justification or build up at all, she’s a mass murderer of the same “downtrodden” people she always claimed to fight for. Fuck, I’m thinking. I literally watched that episode through my hands because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. When I say I cried on and off for about 3 days after I watched the final episode, I’m not exaggerating; I only need to see a screen cap now a month later or an interview with Emilia Clarke and I’m off again. It literally felt as if I was mourning the loss of a real person. But this isn’t the first time I’ve had this kind of attachment to a character. Daenerys Targaryen was probably just the last in a long list of women I overly identified with.

I’m not much like her at all really, I’ve burnt myself from taking the film off my microwaved lasagne and not moving my thumb away from the hot air in time (lmao), however, I think I saw parts of myself in her journey and traits that I wanted to have, thus, I latched on. Before Daenerys Targaryen there was Spencer Hastings and before her there was Cassie Ainsworth and then if we’re gonna throw it all the way back, there was Hermione Granger (and some other characters I was more mildly obsessed with along the way, Katniss Everdeen, Bree Van de Kamp and Cosima Niehaus, I’m looking at you). I still love all those characters now but when their respective shows or films were actually current, I was completely obsessed. I spent my 16th birthday at the Harry Potter studios on the outskirts of London with my family, forget birthday parties or meals out with my friends. I wished more than anything that I had 2 best friends that loved me unconditionally and I did my best to emulate that drive and intelligence and work ethic everyone associates with Hermione. I told myself I was just like her even though I lacked the confidence to put my hand up in all but one of my classes and last time I checked, was just trying to conquer GCSEs not fight an evil wizard snaked hybrid man or whatever Voldemort is. I identified with the loneliness and the need for control that I saw in Cassie, and was like “oH eM GeE, tHat’s sO mE!” at Spencer’s perfectionism. When I was speeding for my exams (and then, unfortunately, for long after), I felt spiritually connected to that whole Pretty Little Liars arc where Spencer started popping adderall on the daily even though I could really only wish for someone to care about me enough to stalk me like A did and the worst possible outcome of my all nighter was not taking in enough content to bullshit my way through a 30 marker.

They would understand me, they would be my friend. They represent me. That was the baseline sentiment of my obsession. And I think that’s the borderline part of me jumping out. See, such a huge part of BPD is feeling unwanted and misunderstood and forgettable and really, deeply lonely. Like it’s a kind of loneliness I think you feel like an actual person can never really fulfil because the (faulty and not necessarily reflective of reality) thought pattern is that they’ll lose interest and leave you sooner or later. Fictional characters are always there, until the show gets cancelled or the character gets killed off, at least, and then comes the completely disproportionate tidal wave of grief. They exist in a different world too, a one that feels a lot less dangerous (even if it’s actually way more dangerous, I mean I really wouldn’t last five fucking minutes in Westeros) and detached from the often chronically muted reality of BPD.

Then there’s the trouble with the sense of self, part and package of BPD for most, which facilitates, you know, thinking that a genius witch or, like, any character in skins (because in hindsight as great as that show was, WHY DO NONE OF THEM HAVE JOBS YET SEEMINGLY AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF DRUGS AND PARENTS THAT NEVER SEEM TO CARE WHERE THE HELL THEY ARE!?) resembles you as a person in any way. Though I suppose I’m learning recently as I begin to reflect more on what I enjoy and value, I’ve never had much more than a vague idea of what my positive qualities are, so when I saw them fully realised in a character it was a treasure trove of mannerisms and traits and ways of carrying oneself to adopt. It becomes a mould into which you can squeeze the ball of meh-ness and uncertainty you feel you resemble. Now I’m realising that although it might take me a little more time and a lot more effort, it’s much more rewarding to become the very best version of myself, but back then, I suppose I didn’t recognise why I was doing what I was doing.

I only got diagnosed with BPD and started learning about it when it was 19, so all the years before that were pretty much spent unaware of the reasons why I had these quirks. As I “recover” (I suppose that’s the right word) and I get back into hobbies and spend more time with friends, I feel like I’m beginning to discover more and more of who I am. I’m starting to accept that there are positive things about me and plenty of things for people to like, right here in this world, not some fictional one.

I still love characters way too much and get overly attached and invested in TV shows but even that doesn’t necessarily have to be something to be ashamed of. When I’ve got into *ahem* discussions with people online about characters before, I’ve occasionally gotten the “why do you care so much, it’s not real life!” in response, and I mean, there’s definitely a point to be made if your passion for something is causing you to lash out at real life people with real life feelings. But when you’re not, when it can give you hours of discussion and entertainment and can drive you to make real positive changes in the world too, what’s wrong with passion? There’s nothing I love more than having a conversation with someone who I can tell really loves what they’re talking about, so why should I be ashamed of having the capacity to become deeply invested in things too? I think as long as it’s not taking over my life as I have allowed it to do so in the past, there’s nothing wrong with having passion for fictional things or for anything, for that matter. As long as it’s not something fucked up, like idk, white supremacy or Rick and Morty (JOKING).

I don’t regret loving all the things I loved because being a huge Harry Potter fan for so many years did give me an escape when I absolutely hated myself and couldn’t find much enjoyment in real life. I hope that if I do have children one day, they’ll love it too, maybe not quite as much as I did but enough for it to give them all the joy it gave me, all the same. So in summary, yeah, fuck David Benioff and Dan Weiss (lmao, I’m joking, they’re just shitty original screenplay writers who could probably do with a class or two on how to write female characters), but also, understand before you make fun of someone for being overly invested in something that there’s probably a good reason for it and that, at the end of the day, they’re usually not hurting anyone. I’ll probably still be stanning Daenerys Targaryen and pretending season 8 episode 5 didn’t happen until the day I die. Let me live, okay?

Lauren x

#bpd #harry potter #Hermione granger #Emma watson #cassie ainsworth #skins #gameofthrones #got #antigot #DaenerysTargaryen #daenerys targaryen #emilia clarke

52 notes · View notes

elizabethrobertajones · 7 years

Text

13x05 watching notes

I’m not used to getting what I want.

Expectations: holy crap am I excited to see Billie again. Yeah yeah Cas or whatever, we know he's back and would be coming back from the moment he died, and all the rest is just flavour text... BILLIE is an utter treat and given A: how she died (not just dead reaper killed off for man pain as a minor thematic antagonist, but also woman of colour on the show which was a bummer and at least she alters their post-death appearances dismal stats even if she isn't back-back as her full and healthy self a la Cas as a worst case scenario >.>) and B: the themes she embodied, and C: that Cas just got punted back OUT of the Empty, well, I am ridiculously pumped to have her (or the image of her >.>) around again, because of the utterly fascinating thematic conundrum she'll represent and because Billie was the most freakin awesome character ever, and Lisa Berry just exudes this raw calm power, and I went and watched Shadowhunters over hiatus 90% because she was on it in like 3 episodes and lo and behold she was a powerhouse in her scenes there too :P

Of course I have a personal stake too and as a meta writer it's not quite so obvious, as a shitposter you might have caught me endlessly referring to it, and as me personally inside my head, I know that I introduced Billie to Terrible Coffee AU to be a side character to the drama, meaning to embroil her in it as a voice of amused-warning-to-later-friend for Cas, and began constructing an entire narrative to explore cosmic consequences in as if post-death the show's Billie had wandered over to my silly AU and was using her extreme disappointment in them all to add another level of irony to the characterisation (listen: imagining what face the canon character would make at their role in your AU is a great way to characterise and people think I'm good at it, so free writing tip :P) and I had to make Billie proud about what I wrought.

I failed to actually write that section in time for this episode, had no idea there WAS an expiry date and that Billie would come back, but here we are and I've accidentally over-thought Billie to an absolutely astronomically disproportionate degree to probably most people around these parts for the sake of having her tease Cas about Dean from the deck of a boat while they were sipping cocktails together. :P

I can and will mentally insert a cocktail into Billie's hand in her scene(s).

OH AND THEN THROW IN THAT THIS IS A YOCKEY EPISODE. Of all the current writers, he's the one who makes me lose my chill completely. He's got an incredible way with character and emotion which I absolutely adore, so I find it pretty hard to worry about all the nervous little things I worry about aside from how much the grand scheme of things will let Billie back. And season 13 seems to be going pretty in my favour as a viewer and meta writer so. Super sublime chill.

Oh boy the recap people are trying to put us out of a job.

Superimposing Dean's speech to Patience over Sam crying over Dean nearly dying in 2x01 and ghost!Dean lurking behind him, which of all the reminders that they die a lot is a... lot of a thing. Because John etc. Season 2 theeemes everywhere. And then of course them getting shot as ghosts in 4x15 aka time to save Tessa. And Dean wasn't having an easier time in that episode, hell-damaged and talking to Tessa about how he wished he'd gone with her. Could just be subtle reaper reminders because the next shot is Sam detoxing demon blood in 4x21, nudging us into new territory for Jack theeemes. But that's part of the "pain" in his speech, "horror" is Dean hilariously dying in 3x11 when hit by a car, which, well, wasn't hilarious at all for Sam or the rest of that episode for us once the dying montage was over, and just reminds us how much they're dicked around with by the universe... And then "Death." Over. Death's hand.

Look, I am a simple person with simple wants. I would have been satisfied to just have this about Billie but now you're making me want to see DEATH again and see what the heck happened with him. I mean I've always sort of wanted to see him back again because if Billie would be pissed at them... :P But I could accept she was his stand in from now on. That she WAS the new Death all along, even, for our wild spec. Now I am MADLY excited about how they're going to utilise all this stuff because oh hi have you met me the reapers and death stuff is my absolute favourite stuff on the show. I was always hoping this wasn't going to be a cop out with the tasty sounding title, and it seems like they want us to really be on the ball about the themes here, to whatever end.

(Just having paused it to squeal here, it could be a fake out about Death because the first shot of him in his killer intro montage was his hand with his ring because in season 5 that was the cue we needed to know that was the ring we needed and that Death was who he was supposed to be... Logic dictates the ring crumbled in 10x23 but if they wanted to invoke Death without bringing Julian back...)

Weeeeeeeehheeheheheheeee Death's "affront to the balance of the universe" speech in 6x11 where he was resentfully giving Sam's soul back on one condition... The same thing Billie was pissed about in 11x02 onwards. Is he here to cover for her reappearance and make this seem like it's all just a big cosmic theme? Because something tells me this episode is about their deaths somehow or another, either temporary, threatened, or big picture :P

Or it's confirming that Billie is Death, there's always that because the next transition is Dean killing Death to Billie LITERALLY CONTINUING DEATH'S SENTENCE FROM 6x11 - "you cause disruption on a global scale -- so next time you die and your brother bite it, we're going to toss you out into the Empty."

"And *nothing* comes back from that" *stab*

Leaving it there with Cas - no cutting to him back alive in the bramble patch. Instead the last note, the only one ABOUT the Winchesters in season 13 aside from Dean's 13x03 speech being used - is Dean saying Sam needs to keep the faith for him, which was the comment only answered in dramatic irony by Cas's return. No comment on the dominoes of Cas stabbing Billie, getting stabbed himself, going to the Empty, and coming back from that. No comment on the deal. This is all stuff we're either meant to know already or isn't strictly relevant right now... But we'll see :P

Sort of scared to play the cold open because eye horror in the promo pics and I don't wanna see the doctor drill some random person of the week through the eyeball :P

Oh no, it's kids. I think they're still alive because of the promo where they refer to talking to some kids. Or one of them with the implication both made it out the house although I assume their time is numbered regardless.

They're visiting a house which used to be a mental health clinic, which has weird overlap to last episode and the fact the guys went to a fully functioning house with a modern day therapist in it. Mel pointed out the Asylum direct visual reference in one of the props we see in the fast promo so I suppose that's a good season 1 reference to keep in the back of your head.

The floppy haired kid with the backpack (aka the Jack mirror?) is more uncertain about doing this but encouraged by his friend to go along with it. His friend is a dick.

I hope someone's had a good look at the stained glass window because I can't tell if we've seen it before or not. This may or may not be set re-use >.>

You can tell the boys apart because one is half battery (the dick) and one has full battery still (our sympathetic guy)

Don't touch the plague masks!!!!

Literally that was your entire fault and at least the one we were rooting for legged it with a minor wound. I think even some other ghosts were yelling at them for waking up the doctor (I HOPE that's not a parallel to The Empty and Cas waking him up)

But yet... sam and dean seem to have visited both? Was it only "minor" brain drilling and the other kid comes back home slightly altered? Mel also made promo shot comparisons to Naomi and her drilling... Brrrr.

Anyway Dean is making himself PB&J so I don't have time for you all. Ouch.

Did Sam literally just compliment Dean for making himself a sandwich?

is it a recovery sandwich?

I get the feeling if we're seeing this and the promo was a lil later on and some investigating further into the episode then maybe we're basically seeing Dean's breaking point for being babied through his grief by Sam's attempts to cheer him up.

Makes you wonder why they picked that instead of this, but this could be a relatively dull opener and Sam trying to talk Dean into going to a strip club was too funny to resist, because it kind of was :P

Sam has been on screen 6 seconds and he's annoyingly peppy

I love Sam btw, like, you are not allowed to judge me for how I may talk about Sam in the coming stretch of episode because I get the sense he's in full on cheer up mode, which turns anyone into the most irritating person on the planet and then you throw in Sam's eyebrows and basically I can't with him :P It's not a judgement on his character, I know he's trying to help Dean because of what Dean told him, but Dean just wants to operate a shell of himself for a while and Sam's trying to dig him out of it because it's painful to see him like that and he doesn't know that Cas is reconnecting with them soon, and if not today then next week and also probably by the second half of the season Mary will be back with them.

Anyway Dean just carries on stoically making his sandwich and we all talk a lot about the symbolism... I think in this context perhaps it's loosely linked to Kevin operating as a ghost out of this kitchen after dying halfway through his PB&J and coming back for the crusts as unfinished business. He was mourning his mom while he was alive but then it turned out she was alive but too late he was dead.

The PB&J is also symbolic of humanity so idk. He could just be making it because it's sweet and he has a sweet tooth, it's vaguely reminiscent of pie filling but not enough to be traumatic and it's Dean's "I'm doing 1 good thing for myself today" personal quiet method of getting better in the long slow aftermath that Sam wants to rush.

"GET THIS" Sam is on full on Sam-ing

Awww Jack's watching DVDs. I assume Sam HAVING a stash of DVDs is stuff he's collected as an adult with a Bunker to go on a nostalgia kick. I assume they have a PO Box pretty much for Sam's Amazon deliveries. Like, he hasn't been lugging DVDs around with him since the start of the show and before that they had a bunch of VHS tapes in the back of the car or something :P They grew up dependant on what was on motel TVs and picked what they liked to come back to as adults with a settled address.

Also: the clouds part and bestow on us: a thing Sam likes!!!! That's like at least 4 songs, a couple of movies including Star Wars stuff, HP Lovecraft, and now liking old bad fantasy movies that even Dean judges him for.

Or, I assume, Dean has watched and may or may not reference if the opportunity came up but he needs to box something off as Sam's weird nerd shit that makes him unappealing to the ladies, while Dean, obviously, has never liked anything nerdy, and has had lots of straight edge manly sex with women and all comments about Zorro masks are stricken from the record.

Sam, being in a magnanimous, my brother is grieving, mood, just literally takes the hit and keeps going. Jesus Christ Sammy.

I would swear he's worn his worst plaid today just to give Dean something else to judge him for :P

Oh uh anyway point is Jack is being stashed in the Bunker just like Sam once stashed Cas with his netflix. Sam's being responsible for the pop culture education of 2 generations. At least Netflix lets you pick whatever you want once Sam's not trying to be helpful, and in 11x06 Dean related to Cas to switching to bad TV, rather than watching Sam's picks of the good stuff you're meant to watch.

Less chance of Jack going on a complete rampage through trash TV, but still if nothing else Dean's hands-off approach to the kid means that Sam is being allowed to mould him however he likes :P

I just went back and watched again just because I realised the credits were ALREADY over after 5 names. It was like, J2, Misha (yay!) and 2 people I hadn't heard of who I assume are too important named characters in this episode to skip but also not reoccurring characters. I wonder what the slippery slope is when you don't put Lisa Berry's name in the credits of an episode you've advertised she's in. Even people who've checked on TV guides will know... But I guess you treat the episode as internally self-spoiling and ignore what everyone knows for the sake of the person who buys the DVDs and watches through without even reading the descriptions in the sleeve or whatever. Anyway glad she wasn't spoiled but it does make me like *itchy teeth* about Death being in the recap, because naaah. Naaaaaaah. NAAAAAAAH. they wouldn't. they're not. it isn't. She's making like, a hallucinatory cameo for theeeemes and I got to stick with that until the episode proves me wrong, never mind bringing Death back :P

As a fan of Death and the reapers (probably already a band name) I'm like... so on edge right now :P

Oh wait also Dean said "what about Jack" - he's using his name even to Sam now. Not teasing him about the anti-christ

Ya know, based on how beer for breakfast (name of my band) went over and letting Dean be Agent Page (oh the promo is so the breaking point - Dean already is calling him out on all this IN THE TEXT, using his words to point out the weirdness) I am actually thinking that Dean would have actually quite liked to go on another job with Jack. That he was starting to see the use of him and to warm up to him ever so slightly as a person since he showed effort and did a good job and saved Sam and dug the graves for them. I don't think Dean would ASK out loud but if Sam had said, "Jack comes and that's final" Dean would have done that face shrug expression and let it happen without much complaint.

Sam is bending to Dean's apparent desires and being like, well Dean doesn't like Jack, this could be a chance to get Dean out of the bunker without Jack and let him forget all his troubles for a bit...

Like, I don't wanna worry you Sam, but last time you decided you needed to cheer Dean up from his extra super special worries about Cas, you took him out into the woods for a fun werewolf hunt, got shot and strangled and had to kill literally every single werewolf in the episode with your bare hands while bleeding profusely from your stomach, while Dean had a random encounter with Billie in the depths of utter despair that he'd lost everyone he ever loved and the world was now going to end without you all.

Dean's a drama queen about a lot of stuff but when he tells Jack your plans don't usually work out, this is the sort of shit he's referring to :P

*Sam looks so freakin smug with himself walking off after the badge exchange and Dean's like... what. What?*

Poor kid with his great big bandage on his forehead.

He "can't even talk" because the trauma was so bad and we cut to him apparently drawing in his room, which makes me think right back to 1x03.

Omg lol of course Dean walks in the door alone to chat to him. And sees him drawing repeatedly the MotW. We bonding over trauma so bad we can't even talk about it again?

OH there's 3 boys. Shaun/Sean (I'm gonna pick Shaun because this is America and I assume you all don't spell stuff proper - FYI to Americans reading this, please remember to read this all in a shrill British accent, what what) and Evan who was presumably the one who died in the cold open, and Mike is the third, who they're inseparable from but was NOT there in the house with them that night, and by nightfall at the promo scene they had not spoke to him yet.

What a frikkin rug pull though, to have 2 boys in the open, so you think they're a duo of best friends, and it's like NO WAIT THEY COME IN THREES... Bahahahaha

Dean back upstairs with Shaun, and he's sat down to talk to him with a "you know" and at this point I am pausing and getting a stuffed toy because he's either gonna open up to a kid who won't squeal about it because he can’t talk, or say something completely awful because he's in an awful place and either way I don't need Emotional Honesty Hour from Dean Winchester at 9:30 in the morning without a friend :P

On no, Dean talking about knowing what it's like to be scared of monsters, but then trying to reassure the kid that he can at least make it go away PHYSICALLY even if the horrific psychological trauma can't be erased. Comforting!!

Promo sceeene!

Which we already picked over but aw yeah so Shaun didn't tell Dean anything after all, except for the plague doctor drawings (and he didn't show he had the mask with him? Really?? Did he drop it earlier?) so Dean really did just open up to the kid about understanding his pain but being the thing monsters are scared of... A better Dean pep talk than Patience got at least, since Shaun was a regular victim and Patience might have been angling to join the life... and it mostly just served to make him say that :P

Since I've been barrelling through all the Wayward Sisters old episodes this month, I am reminded that I spent a good long while wallowing in Yockey vs Sam knowing Dean's porn habits and outing them to Jody in 12x06...

I think Sam trying to make the sacrifice to go to a strip club with Dean (and I can't believe this is the third time I'm putting myself through watching this exchange because omg second hand awfulness and yet I went back and watched it twice it was so good) probably fits under this characterisation umbrella.

Of Sam vs performing Dean, as much as the callbacks to season 1 and Dean vs Sam's Jess grief that I was talking about last night thanks to an anon nudge. And parallels to 12x16 and their chat about the swimming pool outside a similar hotel set (although this one is infinitely lower rate :P) - the writers playing with the knowledge that Sam and Dean have grown up completely latched onto each other like this and Sam's been dragged to strip clubs by Dean almost certainly and they just kinda know more than they want to about the other's personal habits, and they have low, bad boundaries. 12x16 was asserting some back, letting them have separate rooms, and showing Sam grossed out by the thought of Dean skinny dipping which, I mean, fair (if you're Sam anyway :P) but they don't really GET those boundaries.

So there's some re-poking season 12 specific themes here as well, just in that Sam, who has historically had his own walls up about Dean's porn and interest in strip clubs (because they're extremely not his thing) is willing to cross a line for Dean and just go with Dean to a strip club and buy him a lap dance from a place with a decent online review. Which also shows low bad boundaries that he would try and manipulate Dean back to happiness this way, just like in 1x19 especially, Sam had to angrily re-assert his boundaries about Dean constantly trying to set him up with Sarah, and Dean had to point out he has a stake in Sam's sex life too, even if it's just having to put up with Sam being cranky and miserable. Historically, Sam having to put up with Dean's sex life is considerably more on the "ugh, TMI" range for him :P

... sorry, yelling "promo scene!!" usually means I stop analysing for a moment and just watch, because I already went over this ground last night, but I guess there's more untapped depths :P

Holy shit, though in the reaction shots for Dean after talking about the Clam Diver, he's standing with his back to some stuff that on my screen makes a beautiful bi flag. What the hell. I was thinking how colourful the backdrop was last night but...

I mean that's the blurry background to his close ups on this.

I THINK it's just the road lit up behind him but oh gosh getting it in the background of the shot for THIS conversation about the Clam Diver? GUYS what are you DOING.

Who directed this??

I overshot and landed on "how you ever got laid" "heh, tell me about it" I can't BELIEVE, STILL that Sam just gave him that win. For some reason it reminds me of Swap Meat where he judges Gary for being a virgin based on the Star Wars stuff, even though Sam is an established Star Wars nerd of more than the general audience variety, and mostly likely read the old tie in novels :P Sam owning that his nerdy interests as a teen didn't exactly make him very sexy is probably the most frank thing he's ever admitted to Dean and he's just trying to help Dean.

(Tbh, again, it may have helped Dean more if Sam just reacted all prickly and got wound up, which is generally what someone teasing wants - a reaction, not rolling over and showing your tummy. Anyway more on the pile of Yockey probing their sex lives in relation to how they see each other, with Sam letting Dean be the one with the more manly sexy interests and letting the performing Dean layer that all comes from win, and then trying to pander to it some more by looking up places to make Dean feel even more manly and in control)

And holy crap I'm glad I have no yoga today because Yockey's got me talking in loops and I've been back to this conversation in the kitchen 3 times and it's nearly 10am and I've made such bad progress. Mental contortions instead :P

Ooooh directed by John Showalter. I'm pretty sure he's been around for aaaages and contributed more than his fair share of nonsense... :P

I just looked him up on the superwiki, saw he directed the episode with HP Lovecraft (and that ridiculous "I was busy having sex with women" or whatever line about Dean not reading the novels) and basically I am gonna hit the brakes on this thought and just watch the episode or I'm going down a rabbit hole I don't come back from until 11am :P

Oh but the thing I was trying to confirm was... Not that I knew I was looking for it except in the most abstract sense that I was thinking of it in one hand and thinking maybe there was something by this director in the other without realising it was the same hand... the blue & red light falling on Dean in 10x16 which looks an awful lot like the bi flag and shortly preceded Dean confessing all that delicious confessional stuff?

Yeah guess which director according to Superwiki.

Now i'm done.

I want to know what metric The Clam Diver got "four and a half" of on whatever site Sam was reading about it.

That's in Sam's browser history.

"Is it my birthday? Did I win a bet that I don't know about??"

"I'm just trying to be nice."

"W h y."

"Because..... you know why."

"I'm f i n e."

Sam, back off, he's gonna stab you :P

I got to ask... is the automatic door not working an improv because the door broke, or thematically relevant, because that's the sort of random thematically relevant detail I could have a nerdgasm about for absolutely hours of typing while Sam is harassing Dean into the building talking about him not believing in anything. The higher powers aren't doing shit for Dean even when he waves at where he thinks the sensor should be, so he gives up and just opens the damn door himself.

The door has a sticker that says, quite clearly, "warning automatic door" and at the very least for the shortsighted is a great big yellow warning sticker on it, so I'm gonna have to go that they're signposting that it's supposed to open, so this is something either scripted or added with full intent to metaphor and my brain hurts.

Sam is trying to understand this massive great big VOID of misunderstanding and it's... frankly awful. He's babbling about his understanding about Dean and his confusion

"You're not, Dean. you said you don't believe in anything, and that's not true! you-you-you do believe in things, you believe in people, that's who you *are*, that's what you DO. I know you're in a dark place and I just want to *help*"

This is telling us a lot more about how Sam sees Dean than Dean's faith arc. Of course Dean believes in people and saving people and that the planet is worth saving. That's a baseline assumption around here. Dean and *faith* though, in believing in things, in how the universe treats them... it doesn't even open automatic doors for them. Cas is DEAD. Cas is where Dean's belief arc centred in the last minute of 4x01 and Cas is where it has freakin' remained for the next 9 years. Cas lost faith in God and Dean chucked away the amulet because he lost faith in everything - Cas and Sam and himself and their ability to save the world that didn’t want to be saved. Cas became God and Dean lost all hope he may have had left. Cas came BACK to Dean and his faith was restored but in THEM. GOD came back and Dean and Cas had similar and unchanging positions on it right down to Chuck basically telling Dean not to confuse him with his own father, but the ridiculous superimposing over John over Chuck and Chuck as Cas's failed father who Cas now just ignores outright and Dean lashes out on his behalf because he knows Cas doesn't believe. That Chuck broke Cas back in 5x16 and... Yeah. Cas is gone now and what does Dean even have left in his personal faith? Chuck didn't answer, the automatic door won't open even when he waves at it...

Sam sees Dean as having no faith in God (while Sam has had the much more complicated journey there with his personal faith, and feeling it in a religious way) but instead he tries to get a read on Dean's personal compass, and god dammit Yockey *takes a shot* in Wendigo of course Dean sits down with Sam and tells him HIS personal philosophy on why he does what he does: saving people, hunting things, the family business. The thing is, Dean has already in this episode reached out to Shaun and described himself and Sam as the people who know about the monsters, the ones who can't erase the trauma but they can erase the monster, and help what little they can there... Save *other people* from it - yeah it's a message full of regret and defeat that Shaun already got hurt and that's probably why Dean couldn't get him to open up because he didn't come in bubbling with wide-eyed optimism about saving the day, but heavy eyes that had seen this too much. But oh does he still care about the people, and saving them. He just doesn’t trust what HE can do, what they can do against the tide of awful. It's not in his speech to Patience, because it's not the motivation to be a superhero any more - he is just a guy doing a job. And he's lost his heart in many ways. But he will still fight to protect and help people because baseline, Sam is right, that IS Dean and even damaged like this he'll go on hunts and protect people. Take Jack into the Bunker with them in 13x01 expecting it to be a self-destruct thing where base case scenario they can take Jack out with them or something and contain the blast...

But yeah. 13x04 expressly ended linking Dean's lack of faith, via dramatic cast-iron irony, to Cas coming back as Dean voices what losing Cas has done to him.

And then Dean gets to say his bit -

"We've been down this road before, and I've fought my way back and I'll fight my way back again" which HONESTLY echoes Cas in the Empty telling his depression to stuff it and that he'll fight and fight for eternity if he has to.

Dean is trying to get better, he made himself a PB&J, he's just taking this all at his own pace, and Sam's starting to smother him.

"How?"

"Same way I always do: bullets, bacon and booze." Dean regrets his no bumper sticker policy because that and the "whole bottle of Jack" comment from last episode are both iconic Dean talking about his coping methods out loud way.

Also throws back to 10x11 and how Dean did that list of 3 things which he was getting back to when he lost the Mark and left a blank space which should have been "babes" or something and just put more booze into it. The swap of sex for food happens a LOT with Dean. For some reason the Dean vs cake explanation I wrote recently was floating around tumblr again last night, in which the middle of season 10 conveyed clearly that cake was stuff Dean hadn't tried yet (and 10x16's confession tied it all together - we're really delving deep into the stuff that was explored back then and I've thankfully been in fandom for so have the language down really well but I hope I don't have to explain this entire complicated web over and over later :P) and pie was coping methods heterosexual sex with women - tying what Dean wanted in 10x07 in the hook up he didn't get, to pie in 10x13 via that gross dating app... All this with the cake, croissookies, and that comment in 10x11 where Dean was trying to detox and eating egg white omlettes (hi 12x18) and cutting out booze.

And, of course, there's the whole bacon = bisexual experimentation thing from 8x13, 9x13, 11x21, and I guess now :P Cass had a much more thorough bacon masterpost somewhere out there which I may have to dig out and reblog with a knowing look...

And Dean slams his hand down on the bell to punctuate this statement and hopefully bring an end to the conversation by summoning a hotel receptionist.

Cue screaming kid having nightmares about what he's seen.

His mom kisses him on his forehead where the doctor drilled him, and leaves the door open so she can be concerned about him.

Oh no, his backpack DOES have the mask in it. Dr Monsterface used it to get to him :<

(Oh wait hi yes that thing Jody said about the Dr Sexy leviathan in 7x02 is still fresh in my mind. Leviathans as a depression metaphor in a way The Empty rapidly escalated.)

I saw/maybe reblogged a post about how Jack might have Kelly used against him and 13x04 was the nice version, but he's going around carrying his grief about her in a backpack. We have to hope like hell Mia gave him catharsis enough or he might carry that grief with him and things can use her image to get into his head.

(That and the 2x "shoot him!" order about Dean from Miriam and Buddy to the sheriff and Mia, 2 people who wanted to help, are causing foreshadowing concerns)

I love the cuts between the doctor coming for Shaun, though - the bell ending one conversation to Shaun waking up screaming, and then he gets up and pretty much goes to confront the doctor head on rather than cower - but cut to an empty bed.

Dean's empty bed, but he seems to have left the keys?

Ah, he went and had some, uh, catharsis somewhere. I swear to god those are probably the sunglasses from 1x19 dug up again and stuck on his head just to haunt Sam.

The fact his tie is tied around his head makes me feel like he was probably blindfolded at some point in all that... Hehehe. I doubt his tie is tied so nicely around his head with a pretty bow because he did it to look cool :P It would just be the same knot but on his head in that way.

Sam's like "oh great" but doesn't kick Dean awake? Like on a normal day when dumping a glass of water on his face and telling him to suck it up would be the correct thing, Sam's like, "Sam's got this!" goes and gets dressed, takes the keys, and leaves Dean passed out on the floor. In 1x19 he hit the horn to wake Dean up because serves you right.

(if he only went to a strip club he may have just made off with someone's underwear thrown on him for being a good tipper rather than actually having sex with anyone... I kinda doubt if he was THAT drunk he'd be more than a very generous customer they don't mind kicking him out at closing with a bra still on his head :P)

(I'm gonna assume Dean did not actually have sex but just went out and had some very drunk miserable fun and made a friend last night and now he's gonna be dependant on Sam for cash for a while until he can scrounge some back up :P)

Also, um, what is he holding when he rolls over? Is that a fun kinky times toy whip? Exactly what sort of place did he find last night, and please, for the love of god, tell me it was not the place Sam was diligently reading the reviews for between his fingers yesterday, apparently.

Listen say whatever you want about the fact he walked home holding it, if that boy had his tie tied around his eyes he was not the one holding it while he was having fun :P

I like Mike. He's a burly farm worker hefting hay outdoors in the sun, which makes him like 3 different directions of Cas parallel (the strong one in the dynamic, sun, hay), and also he was sensible enough not to be running around in a haunted house for youtube hits.

...

Look, at some point Cas hefted a bunch of hay out of the back of his truck and onto the side of the road and that happened in canon and no one ever mentioned it

thank you Yockey for acknowledging off-screen hay hefting.

Aw no he's lying because he's scared and Sam makes him tell the truth and it's that he WAS scared and he thinks not going to the house was cowardly, but now his friends are missing and hurt (so far as they know because Shaun getting killed overnight might not have made it to them yet)... He does tell the truth in the end. He's also in DEEP denial about their deaths.

Is that enough bacon, Dean.

No, no it is not.

Sam, you're gonna kill him if you give him more beer right now. Is he smuggling local ales to Dean?

I don't think I can actually watch Dean eat this entire pile of bacon with Dean's bad mood eating habits. This pause is just to procrastinate dealing with that.

Wait also the friend is called "Mike" which, uh... Michael? is a thing we should be more worried about? What happened to that guy anyway?

Man, we're 16 minutes in and where's Billie?

I feel like Dean being hung over for the rest of this case is probably not going to help with him getting caught and threatened with a drill by a regular old ghostie.

I'm snooping Sam's tablet before he delivers the cliff notes exposition, and aside from the creepy images at the top, including an old school newspaper article in the top image results that is illegibly small, but seems to have photos of the doc alive, the first and only legible article mentions a woman with depression who goes to the doc because she had depression because her son drowned... Which makes 2 son drowning deaths in 2 episodes, with the kid in 13x04 who killed his mom in the car. Also reminds me of 7x14 where when Dean confronts the guy behind all the nightmares, it's because his little brother drowned in the sea and he could never let go of that guilt.

I think drowning is the metaphor for depression here - people losing a part of themselves metaphoric to small son, who is overwhelmed in the water... Dean related to that loss and used it against the Plucky's guy, and that was in the slight turn around section of season 7 - the part where he began confronting the loss of Cas through mirrors because of course Cas was coming back. In season 13 the plan has been set in stone and can be done briefly and with HEAVY dramatic irony that we're all aware of because we only actually have 1 episode without Cas so far, even if 1 was his death and one was his waking up, he's surrounding Dean's grief in a layer of dramatic irony. Dean may be overwhelmed and drowning. We may have SEEN the memory of Cas drowning in the Empty, but it's all done with dramatic irony, that Cas is not lost to Dean but presumably finding his way back.

Dean had better not puke at the grieving mother's house after all that bacon and beer for breakfast after a hard night out.

I love the cut between Sam asking what happened in one scene and the woman saying "I don't know" in the next - there's some good thematic transitions I've noticed already, especially this way of skipping exposition here, but I liked Dean ringing the bell for the hotel and Shaun waking up screaming, because Dean was about to go out on his grief metaphor night out and for all I know get the sexy kind of drilled while Shaun was getting the unsexy kind... and then the cut to Dean's empty bed, because this is how bad his grief was hurting him.

(Also after Sam tried to control and placate Dean's grief, he resisted Sam's attempts to smother him but he still has been accepting the offers, and did eventually go out and get wasted and Sam had encouraged it - just Dean did it on his terms and without Sam, just his tacit approval that Sam wouldn't bitch about it.)

ALSO WOW AFTER 13 YEARS YOCKEY FINDS A WAY TO SUBTLY WORK IN THE COLD SPOTS FOR GHOSTS.

LOOK HOW INTELLIGENT THAT MAKES OUR BOYS LOOK WHEN THEY READ THE SUBTEXT OF A SCENE FROM A SURFACE READ OF SOMEONE WHO DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT GHOSTS BUT IDENTIFIED THE SIGNS AND THE PEOPLE WHO KNEW WHAT TO LOOK FOR COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITHOUT HER SAYING IT AND NOW THEY KNOW EVERYTHING JUST FROM INFERRING IT

WOW

Night time and they go to the house and we're at 18 minutes in. I mean we have time for a jump scare, some bad shit to happen, and then the ad break before pt.2 of the episode.

Buzz buzz

"What's up, doc?"

*ad break*

*back to Dean getting drilled*

Sam saves him and on with pt.2 of the episode.

All the masks are back in place.

Oops, don't touch the masks. *horrible screaming from elsewhere in the house*

Well, except to burn them. Sensible to stay in the room, defend their turf, and get to the burning asap instead of poking around or investigating the screaming any more. 13 years and they have learned a fair amount about ghosts and I am admiring how competent they are. Sam especially has the lead here, probs because Dean is off his game by an enormous degree to him.

Ahahah and Sam did a round circle at the door so we see the doc get partway through the door, realise there's salt, and have to awkwardly back out of it to have a second go and honestly that is the funniest shit a ghost has ever done on this show even though it's also terrifying :P

*burn burn burn*

So rescue Shaun?

What can possibly happen next with nearly 20 minutes left

LIGHTS BLOWING DOWN A HALLL

Now they dealt with the advertised ghost I'm just waiting for Billie to show up, because they're about to be mobbed by a ton of ghosts and she can save their asses, or else... well idk I have to watch, but I'm just laughing because of lights blowing down a hall - 3 times already this season, for Jack, for Patience at least with them flickering rather than exploding like this...

These are all the whispers about the doctor which we heard in the cold open

I love the Winchesters running around shouting sensible ideas about what the ghosts are doing though.

Is this going to be Dean's torch everything solution?

YIKES, no, it's 4x15/11x17. BAD IDEA, DEAN. i can't believe he even carries a pre-prepared take me to the veil kit. Like, that's the reckless nothing to live for might as well die trying to do something dramatic toolkit. We also get shades of 11x16 with him doing that in a super haunted house.

You can NOT pass into the veil in a super haunted house with just your brother to watch over you and stop these 1000s of ghosts killing you.

Jesus Christ Dean.

Wait is he literally doing this

Sam is like FFUCKING HELL RIGHT HERE WITHOUT EVEN A SALT RING? ON THE FUCKING STAIRS UNDER THIS SYMBOLIC STAINED GLASS WINDOW THAT LIZZY DIDN'T ANALYSE EARLIER?

DEAAAAN

And yeah this is 2x01 all over again with Dean walking down the stairs trying to get the attention of a ghost.

Wait back up new reaper with a customer service calm grief counsellor voice, but what did she say her name was? :P

"Hello, my name is JESSICA and I'm here to lead you to your next life"

... well I hope she survives the episode just because I always root for the reapers and she's clearly just a random obstacle to Dean who is doing her job, a regular old part of the natural order, but that is not a name you use at random :P

I'm just sitting here running my hands through my hair trying to deal with this right now. Gonna play a few rounds of Pokemon shuffle because I sort of knew this was coming since they showed 5x15 and 2x01 in the opening recap, but the way Dean did it and then walking immediately into a Jessica? Yeah I need a mo.

Dean maybe never told Sam what he did in 11x17 because he didn't at the end of the episode and idk if that's one of those things you don't just bring up at the breakfast table.

JESSICA.

"Hi, I'm the spectre of the loss of the most important romantically loved loved one in your life, do you feel like moving on from them to the next thing"

"sorry I can't come to the phone"

YOCKEY I AM DISTRESSED.

Accidents don't happen accidentally.

"Oh god."

She knows what she's got herself into.

Sam takes 20 seconds to set his waych and sdakdfjgkl hang on who cares about Sam

WE'RE IN REAPER HQ

"Dean Winchester is the the veil!"

Please say this whole thing goes to red alert.

Where's his file. It it like 5000 times the size of all these little ones?

Sam put down enough salt for Dean but not himself.

I don't think that's ghosts blowing lights any more, I think that's emergency lightning from the cosmos.

SHAUN! Oh no, you're dead :(

At least he's talking again.

Generally the freshest ghosts are the more talkative ones, and as Bobby showed us back in 7x19 which I generally try not to remember or rely on for ghost lore, because the older ones are fading and falling into patterns and the fresher ones still have a stronger sense of self and their old life.

OH NO Shaun got possessed because of course that's how he got back here with the mask. I think we saw a smaller ghost in a t-shirt in some of the promo stuff, but I thought it was a kid, not a teenager.

"I miss my mom" he's on the other side of the grief from Jack, who misses his mom because he's alive and she's dead. The doc said he'd feel better and he froze and let him kill him. Also Kevin parallels just of a kid whose most important relationship is his mom and now he's dead.

Dean's thinking clearly for the first time in a while because he's not in his body. All soaked in alcohol and grief. He realises he let Shaun down by not being there to protect him. Which may have all happened this way in another episode, but that PB&J, man. It was a Kevin thing all along. (I SAID it was a Kevin thing and you all were like blah blah Cas blah blah Jack, look, don't doubt me on my Kevin knowledge, guys, I am still RAW about his death and it was 4 years ago :P) Dean's remembering in the middle of grief that it's "saving people hunting things" after he let Patience down with that speech. Or so I hope. They used Dean's speech over the open of the episode like in a season 1 episode they'd usually layer the more optimistic and simplistic "saving people hunting things" from Dean's like, second day on the job, not where he's all messed up and old.

Anyway Shaun is an emergency Kevin patched into his life to make him feel bad about failing people, and I guess that puts Dean at similar crossroads to the middle of season 9. Hopefully to a different end, just like this should be subverting 11x17 for why he just abruptly decided to cross into the veil, because Jessica is not having a good day :P

DEAN GOING INTO THE VEIL TO HELP LOST PEOPLE is doubling up the job of a reaper. Reapers CAN'T COMMUNICATE across the veil to the living, and don't wanna solve the cases. They come to move on the one person with a ticket upstairs in a house full of hundreds of ghosts and just ignore them... Dean actively dives into their turf to solve the case and find out how to move the souls on. He SAYS he wants to help move the souls on.

I have such a huge love of Dean blurring the lines with being Death, and being a reaper. It's just such a symbolic thing. Their job is moving people on, basically handing souls to the reapers to carry on the job, when it's ghost cases. They're the human agents of the reapers breaking the ties that hold ghosts to the earth so that the whole process can carry on and the world doesn't fill up with ghosts - like it did when the veil was broken. (or is it still? Again, the whole Kevin thing not quiiiite answered, although maybe/maybe not that was a sign Chuck was fixing the thing... But then there were a whole bunch of souls Billie for for them out of the veil like 2 episodes later...)

Reaper lore is fucked up on this show :P But Reaper HQ just in the first glimpse looked aaaawfuully empty adjacent...

I'm guessing even though Dean's got back with the info he needs, and Sam's about to wake him up because the clock ran out, the reapers are going to intervene...

WAKEY WAKEY DEAN

Oh look Billie's back.

"Hey Dean"

I haven't been this happy in about 1000 years. Like seriously Cas getting back was great and all but HOLY SHIT have you seen Billie? I would set this as my desktop immediately but my mum and Cat are both gonna have to watch this episode with me and probably see my desktop in the process, so... Saving a screencap for later ;)

This is literally the best thing.

LOOK AT HER.

LOOK AT THAT SCYTHE. HOLY SHIIIT THAT SCYTHE.

Billie's understated attitude is just *clenches fist*

She just shows up!! LOoking LIKE THIS!!!!

I don't even wanna hit play, I don't wanna move past this point, I just want to bask in this one image forever.

THE COAT. NO one has shown up in a floor length leather coat in the entire show so far, because no one has been good enough for it.

"We need to talk" Yeah no shit babe.

LOL getting right to it - Dean like, Cas killed you. Billie like, "how's that working out for him?" - does she know? Either way, she's rubbing it in. Because of course she has eeeevery right to be pissed. :P

UTTER GLEE.

I have a sudden feeling... Billie says, "certain rules - after you kill one "incarnation" of Death" (Hey 1000 points to trisscar) "another one takes its place" and dude.

Death died and within 10 seconds Billie was singing "o Death" and following the Winchesters around, annoying them, making deals with them, making ultimatums with them... Like, the reapers aren't exactly itching to kill EACH OTHER and promote someone, and I guess just one biting the bullet and taking one for the team doesn't work... But this suddenly explains EVERYTHING about Billie getting all up in the business of the people who basically fuck up every deal and ally they make and hanging out with them... doesn't give you much of a life span.

Back in 12x06, Billie taunted Dean, made fun of him for not getting what he wants, and said she wanted something from him. Came to Mary and said she was there to reap her when she was ready. She LET Dean make another deal, a deal where one of his family would have to die, or he himself do it. In a car full of Winchesters, one of them is gonna take one for the team, or ruin everything and kill the reaper who's been bothering them, holds so much over them...

I'm thinking very hard about changes of state right now - that Billie and Cas had mirrored deaths, and Billie came back improved, and Cas... Well, we don't know how he came back except he's been put on a better path, for his character narrative, in confronting and overcoming the symbolic depression, and he has a better coat. Not much to go on yet, and I haven't been participating in the wild flailing about all the ways he MAY have come back different, but this makes a veeery interesting mirror about returns and changes of state, upgrades after death. Now I'm interested in what may have happened to Cas.

But, like, to a magnitude of difference to how utterly delighted I am that Billie won the game :P

But yeah this is a bit of a lore fudge but who caaaares because it brings Billie back and powers her up and makes her into THE BEST CHARACTER ON THE SHOW IN A TOTALLY INARGUABLE WAY.

I love her new ring :P

"This universe can be so many things, and sometimes it is poetic."

Hell yeah it is Billie. I've been saying so for ages, but this really puts it in such a beautiful way. This is Dabb's entire job. He makes this universe *rhyme* with itself. This is what his mirrors and parallels and character repeats have been doing. I even compared scene transitions in 13x03 to the way poetry ends each line in a verse. It's something all the writers have been doing - making the story rhyme.

Gaaaaah. THIS is Dabb's writer meta commentary, perhaps. I think I can trust Yockey to spell it out this way :D

She took him to Reaper HQ!!! Like Cas he's passing through states - I assume he'll be back in time to finish the hunt, but in the mean time... He's got to work through some shit, just like Cas did last episode. Rhyming with each other.

Dean is wearing a black and grey plaid with thin red lines, and a black jacket. He's bringing like the only colour here to all the blackness.

yeah, Billie, keep the scythe away from him.

I love she set her desk up in the W section because even though it's not the middle of the alphabet, she's keeping a CLOSE FREAKING EYE on the Winchesters.

Ooh she knows Dean went to the AU... She's interested in Jack. Dean's chance to protect him!!!???

Billie looks INCREDIBLE how did I ever let myself talk myself into doubting she was here to run the game?

wait shit Dean's doing epic character stuff. Not bargaining with his life, or asking for Mary or Cas back. He just wants to complete the job and free the ghosts because freakin sshdfkjsjlks PB&J brought him back to his senses and he needs to save Kevin-stand-in rather than let him wallow in the veil for 3 seasons again

THAT is one heck of a thing, Dean. I love you so much

not as much as billie but it was a beautiful character moment

Billie is STUNNED.

Jessica gets to take all the ghosts back. She thought this was going to be a terrible day and it actually worked out.

Again, with like 10 minutes left of the episode so this isn't how it ends.

Now Dean's talking about trust, and Billie brings up how they keep breaking cosmic bargains. I think he may be stalling - even planning to NOT give up Jack even though Billie went first... Or he's gonna tell her but... Natural order? She can't just go... kill him...

If Dean's still uncertain about Jack he could always make a query about IF she could kill him, but not give away enough, or have her as the weapon in his back pocket should Jack be a problem... something for him to regret later, maybe?

This is stressful

Dean spills. "Lucifer's son. Jack. When he was born it created a little rip."

What does Billie know about the AU?

Well she knows how the multiverse works, and she knows a "big dumb Winchester" is fairly statistically likely to be the one to knock it all down.

The warning not to try and get Mary back? Now Cas is back? The consequences may still be on Mary, however she's returned to them, intentionally or not, she could topple it?

Ugh I hate spec but all these lines are so leading :P The comment that Sam's plans don't work out, in this light, for example, is realllly nerve-wracking. And we know from spoilers the AU is going to become a more immediate problem at some point...

"That does sound like us."

"You've changed." Billie reading Dean deeply and now we get to the character part of this where she's just... analysing him.

"The Dean I know and love" look I'm die hard Destiel to the bone but Dean x Death is something I've always thought the dynamic for was absolutely stunning since their first meeting, and I hate to say it but making Death into Billie is making it aaawfully tempting to ship :P

Please show him his massive folders.

She's currently just calling him out on how bad he feels. Pure awful character exposition.

"I don't matter." OH DEAN NO.

He and Cas totally rhyming with each other about their passing through these dark other worlds...

Dean couldn't save mom, he couldn't save Cas, he can't even save this kid... But he already saved the kid with that bargain with Billie, and Cas is... out there somewhere. And Mary is a whole other problem and the one he can't solve right now. If she's alive, she's on the other side of a wobbling house of cards he can't touch. But the difference in the way he gets finality on Mary vs the finality on Cas? 13x01 vs this episode as Dean slides from dealing with Cas to dealing with Mary? Getting this blunt exposition from Billie about it...

I think Billie would have thought it was funny to show Dean his file, but then realised because he's changed she needs a different approach to intimidate and interrogate him. She sees that he doesn't feel like a hero any more, not the guy who saves the world. All his crushing losses have made him feel like he's still utterly helpless to make anything good happen in his own life.

And Dean can't work through it, won't work through it, and he knows it - this is the thing that has broken him hardest... That at this point there will be NO recovery except the story handing back Cas to him, and even then that's one hell of a shake to what he believes he can accomplish... If they wanted to scare him back down from "i kill gods" Dean who then went and killed Death too, to show him the universe his huge, and keeps on ticking and his actions have put Billie in charge and the natural order keeps on ticking... But he still can't get mom and Cas back...

I am literally sitting in that room in Alice in Wonderland where she's floating around on her tears.

I mean in my head, anyway :P

My heart is broken.

Billie's "don't you?" though when Dean says he doesn't matter... I wonder what she knows that Dean doesn't :P

But Dean starts ranting to her about how Sam's been trying to help and he's useless... :(

"You really believe that. You want to die." Well, yeah the universe has become a crushing hard place where no one makes sense and Dean doesn't even believe in the blaze of glory death, doing something HEROIC now, let alone not believing in it because he thinks he deserves better and a happy ending at the end of this all...

Lowest point, unlocked! \o/

Oh, ALL those notebooks are his individual deaths... How he dies. "heart attack. burned by a red-haired witch" HEY ROWENA

Are they potential deaths or ones still looming over him, disappearing as he passes those marks? Or are they his entire history of deaths not died?

"Unfortunately, none of these books say you die today"

....

So are they potential future deaths or what?

I mean, Billie just introduced hope to his life.

"I stand witness to a much larger picture" they could not have picked a better character to be Death. She has such DEPTH and WEIGHT to the way she speaks, and such an amazing calm, powerful aura of energy. I just love her so so much.

OH GOSH this camera angle with the scythe in the background behind Dean's face... Gotta save and remember to add that to this, because after telling him all the ways he dies, Billie moves onto his big picture cosmic weight. That he's important. And Dean has the scythe symbolically pointing at him as she talks, telling him he's at those crossroads of life and death but not today... Is this going to be a burden like the one Chuck laid on him, or Billie reminding him that a heroic life is not such a bad thing?

I really think this is one of the best episodes of the show and I got a few minutes left of it and don't know how this resolves :P

SHE IS LITERALLY giving him the 4x01 Cas speech - "you have work to do" and telling him he's important, telling him he deserves to live... Kinda still like I hate you but you're important, and setting aside past grudges. There's more for him to do.

"And trust me, having my eyes opened to the importance of any humans, especially Winchesters, is not a thrill." HA. yeah, she's an anti-Cas but she and Cas are literally bouncing off each other in the story anyway since he stabbed her and then got stabbed himself in turn.

Rhymes. Rules. Reason. Billie is the best character on the show and I love her.

"So, you wanna die, but I say, keep living." "Hmm."

This is NOT the same as what happened with Cas - but he may not remember it - but it works in sort of mirrored ways. Cas utterly defeats the Empty with his will to live, may not remember it, and may have to piece his newfound will to live together himself in this new hopeful return to life. I hope. Dean has no will to live, and orders of work and purpose are just the way his life goes, the orders endlessly being placed on his head by every cosmically powerful figure... God, Death that time in 6x11, Billie now, JOHN every day of his life from aged 4 to 27 and then one final order to haunt Dean to his first grave...

"I need to know. My mom" *wakey wakey*

Oh, and there's the so far missing hope. She can't lie to him and say Mary's dead, so she cuts him off in indecision and uncertainty, and THAT, unfortunately, is a massive step up from where he was in total despair that there is no one he can save...

And Cas may very well be back in his life to give him the hope that it can be done again by the end of this episode... Aaaaaaaaaaaah.

Anyway Dean goes wakey wakey at last and the house seems to be wrapped up, yay.

there's exactly 5 minutes left, which is always the omen. :P

Sam comforts Shaun's mom, and wanders through the scene, looking small in the chaos, to rejoin Dean at the car.

And like in 11x17 Dean lies again.

Sam is too smart for that, chases it up when Dean tries to brush it off as luck, and says that when Dean says they talk about it later, it means they won't talk about it and it's Dean's way of shutting off a conversation from ever happening...

Sam calling out their communication issues? I am LIVING

Dean glances at the mom, and is reminded that they do this job for a reason, that he bargained to save the souls of the children... Sold out the info about Jack for it...

"I saw Death. The Death."

*Sam does the eyebrows*

"He's dead"

"No she's not"

*EYEBROWS*

"it's billie"

And Dean goes on to even say that she wanted intel, and does Sam pick up on it?

... no he doesn't. He doens't ask or guess what it was...

Dean repeats the line about work to do, which is also, especially in the context of Sam and Dean talking, what they say in instances like for example 2x22 when Dean had just sold his soul for Sam, when they're about to go back to work with their regular job. The open the trunk of the car and look at their gear and announce they're going to go kick ass phrase. (Which, of course, in 4x01, Cas was subverting the context by saying it to Dean away from Sam, putting the burden on him - Billie at least made it about Sam and Dean both but that she was talking to Dean)

But they're sitting on the back of the car, keeping the trunk closed... Not moving on

And Dean starts talking about how he's not okay.

And how he always believed in what they did - saving people hunting things - that losing John or Bobby or people they cared about was a hit he could take for the higher purpose. Billie has just REMINDED him that he is bound to a higher purpose. But he's so lost, and he's lost people who he CAN'T lose. Mary and Cas at once is just TOO MUCH. It makes the universe cruel not poetic...

(I say, having it paused here but knowing Misha's in the credits again as an awful TEASE :P)

He just needs a WIN.

And he may just get one because he told 90% of the truth to Sam, conveyed exactly what was going on behind that line about not believing in anything from last episode, the power of which narratively brought back Cas because that was a huge step in his grief arc, to admit it. Now he's explaining it, telling Sam how badly it's all got to him...

Oh god where is Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas.

They're driving off and there's music, which... agh.

drive drive drive sexy car

Omg we're going back to the house... More grief on the mom for her son... Just really WALLOWING in how much loss hurts everyone, and even when the soul has moved on, that Dean got a win for their knowledge of the afterlife, that they know ghosts can go to a better place, the mom doesn't, she has lost Shaun and that's it for her. No closure, just pain.

drive drive drive

Billie reading Dean's book

I think Billie really has a huge interest in Dean... :P

drive drive drive... Okay so Yockey is the new Robbie montage guy.

Also Sam is asleep while Dean drives - this seems to parallel 12x20 where he was asleep and Dean checked his messages from Mary...

Bring bring?

BRING BRING.

Called that like a boss :3

WHAT, NO "HELLO DEAN" ON THE PHONE?

FUCK YOU YOCKEY I TAKE IT ALL BACK I HATE THIS ENTIRE EPISODE

I mean there probably was one under the music if that was Cas...

Well this alley has that cross from 11x06, aka the start of Cas's depression arc, the one where Metatron was teasing him about a real life angel on camera...

drive drive drive

Cross reflected in the car

Hey, bison sign

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Has he just been waiting at that phonebox for hours.

I'll just wait here then... I'll wait for you...

Well that got fucking tied up with a fucking bow, from all the left over crap Robbie left lying around.

God I don't even have anything to say... Cas waited. For Dean. Like the love ballad warned he would. Because he's Dean's real life angel, and Dean's win. It was FOR Dean. Dean's arc narratively brought Cas back into his life, but on Cas's side of the story they fully fleshed out the end of his depression arc and made Cas bring himself back on his own terms so it doesn't shove Cas into a subheading for Dean even when the bigger story is handing Cas on a plate back to Dean...

And that, my friends, was one hell of a fun game :P

#13x05 #season 13 spoilers #suicide mention cw #yockey fanclub #holy shit this episode was wish fulfilment of the highest order #Sometimes it is poetic #my stuff

227 notes · View notes

tenleaguesbeneath · 6 years

Link

One of my favourite bits of DMing advice comes, in all places, in the 2nd edition DMG. Zeb Cook (I am paraphrasing because I don't have it to hand) basically foreshadows some OSR thinking in one place only, which comes in his discussion of stat requirements for character classes. Don't let players access any class they want, he recommends; keep the stat requirements for rangers, paladins and so forth strictly. Encourage players to play the stats they are given, so to speak. Let the dice fall where they lay; so your PC didn't end up getting the 17 CHA required to be a paladin. Stop being titty-lipped about it - you can play a fighter who always wanted to be paladin but failed (or hasn't yet succeeded).

This post, and it’s comments, gives an interesting picture of one of the transitions in D&D: This advice applies far better to early D&D than to the direction publishing took in the second edition era. Melan, in the comments, puts it like this:

It could be done better. In the editor to Dragon Magazine #198 (An Extraordinarily Ordinary Hero), Roger Moore tells the story of Thora, a completely average fighting woman who got the deed to Tegel Manor and took it over with her merry band of friends, accomplices and hangers-on. But 2nd edition AD&D didn't do that. Which brings us to the second point. To make this work, you must not overshadow the characters. Yet 2nd edition was pretty much the Special Snowflake Edition: it was enamoured with characters with special destinies, elaborate class options (kits), and all the advanced classes. The rules that accumulated around the core system and the supplements (world guides and adventure modules) were invariably about this "other AD&D", the game of Big Special Heroes with powerful extra abilities and magic items. It told you your average joe character would be cool, then paired him up with Drizzt and Elminster and some guy from Planescape who considered your game world a tepid backwater, the Flyover Yokel Dimension (yes, that happened, and I am still kinda bitter about it). It told you a 18/00 Strength didn't matter, then gave you NPCs and sample characters with monstrously high stats until you said screw it and begged the DM for your gauntlets of ogre power. It told you not to get decked out as a magical Christmas tree, then put you up against other characters who were overloaded with expensive magical bling. It told you the little stories mattered, then laughed and talked about how cool those big, world-shattering stories with elaborate BBEGs were.

This is, in my estimation, true of the state of AD&D publishing during the 2e era. Official characters had attributes well above the curve for random generation. I can demonstrate this statistically using as my dataset the list of companions in the Baldur’s Gate series, which I’ll treat as representative of 2e-era published NPCs, but I’ll stick it under a cut because I imagine most of you don’t want to read several paragraphs of math.

3e chose to take this in a direction of casting aside the last vestiges of the idea that player characters are fundamentally ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances (and other editions of Wizards D&D continued this), but the roots of that started in the 2e era.

Arguably they go back further. The combination of defining attributes permanently at character creation (Tomes to permanently increase a stat by 1 being extremely rare, as were Wishes which could do the same), combined with having special rules which could only be invoked by characters with exceptional stats (classes beyond the basics, dual-classing) goes all the way back.

One could also argue that a system that purports to be about ordinary people, then kills your characters until you roll someone extraordinary, does not truly handle ordinary characters.

This is part of why I think the Wizards D&D idea of including attribute progression is a good one: it gives characters who start off ordinary the opportunity to nonetheless use rules that require high attributes, to gain legendary strength, and so on, though perhaps not to the extent that 5th edition does it where ability scores have stopped measuring potential and instead add directly to die rolls to the point that every monster needs to have a full attribute line.

Remembering that the official rules for pen and paper AD&D have your default character creation generating a character with an average total attribute value of 63 (standard deviation 7.25, according to AnyDice, and more or less normally distributed; 18% of generated characters have totals of at least 70, 2.2% of at least 78, and 0.2% of at least 84), let’s compare to the stat totals provided by the table.

You can trivially build a party in BG2 where all of your companions (five slots) have stat totals upwards of 80, in most cases upwards of 84. Imoen and Nalia are both Thief/Mages with 18 DEX and 17 INT and stat totals of 87. Jaheira is a Fighter/Druid with a stat total of 88 (though a her STR and WIS are lackluster at 15 and 14); Keldorn (Paladin, 17 STR, 89 total), Mazzy (Fighter, 15 STR, 86 total), or Valygar (Ranger, 17 STR, 85 total) can serve your front line; if you want to bring more priestliness Aerie is a Cleric/Mage (16 INT and WIS, 82 total), Cernd is a Druid (18 WIS, 80 total), and Viconia is a Cleric (18 WIS, 85 total). If you need a dedicated thief, Yoshimo is willing (18 DEX, 88 total), at least until you get to Spellhold, or you can bring Jan (Thief/Illusionist, 17 DEX, 16 INT, 81 total). You can have one character repping each class group (Warriors, Priests, Wizards, and Rogues) with attributes at least three standard deviations above the nominal mean, and a second easily at least two and a half.

That’s a qualitative analysis of the high end of the dataset. Quantitatively, the dataset (companions available in BG2, not counting Sarevok or anyone from the Enhanced Edition, and ignoring percentile strength) has a mean of 83.19 (83 and 3/16, actually) and a standard deviation of 4.97.

This is why in the 2e era you see a migration away from the standard 3d6 method through allowing people rerolls (BG2, for instance, allowed you to “reroll” your character indefinitely and instantly at the click of a button and to distribute stats to anything with the same stat total as you rolled), going to the 4d6 drop lowest method favored by later editions (I believe that was in the 2e DMG as “Method V”), though even that doesn’t match the curve used for BG2 NPCs (mean is 73.47; standard deviation is 6.97; 19.64% of characters generated this way have stat totals of at least 80, and only 2.68 have stat totals of at least 87). Going to the even higher powered 5d6 method, not recommended in 2e and recommended in 3e as a way to further inflate the power of your character, has a closer resemblance (mean 80.58, deviation 6.38), but even that doesn’t reach the same mean as published NPCs. It’s close enough that perhaps if you truncated the distribution by disproportionately killing off characters on its “low” end you could get something similar though.

The distribution for 6d6, on the other hand, outweighs the dataset (85.64/5.79). An average, where three values are rolled on 6d6 and three on 5d6, produces something closer to the dataset (83.11/6.09), as close a match to 83.19/4.97 as we are likely to get.

#you are likely to be eaten by a queue #baldur's gate #dungeons and dragons #AD&D2

3 notes · View notes

mythril-mine · 7 years

Note

001- Bungou Stray Dogs | 002- Soukoku | 003- Chuuya ( and Dazai? ) I want to know your answers to both | 004- BSD + Your choice

Ah, thank you for sending an ask, Haru~! Sorry it took me a couple days to answer everything!! I also got a little wordy where perhaps I had no business being on an ask meme, but I have So Many Feelings about Bungou Stray Dogs!! In fact, it’s under a cut because it got SO LONG. ;; So please pardon that~ Hopefully my rambling makes some modicum of sense. Here we go!!

001 | Bungou Stray Dogs

Favorite character: Chuuya! (And it’s going to show in these answers, so get ready!)

Least Favorite character: Le…mons?

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Soukoku, Shin-Soukoku, AtsuLucy, DazAtsu (sometimes), RamPoe (it was hard to narrow it down to five, I’m very much a multi-shipper for this fandom > ~

Character I find most attractive: ???? Chuuya is the most beautiful character second only to Kouyou, if I saw Kouyou in person I would tear up and be compelled to give her nine dollars.

Character I would marry: ………………? OdaSaku, I guess….?

Character I would be best friends with: I’d have a lot to bond with Poe and Alcott over hahah (I also want to be friends with Chuuya though I’m not even going to lie. I talk about this with friends a lot when the subject of ‘anime husband’ comes up. I don’t want to date Chuuya, I want to be his wingman and give him a high-five when things go well. I’d also want to be friends with Atsushi, Lucy, and Tanizaki~ and Gin!)

A random thought: I really want to talk about Fyodor but none of these questions really apply to him… ;; Second Random Thought: I think Kunikida/Atsushi would be surprisingly pure…?

An unpopular opinion: I’m not sure what’s considered ‘unpopular’ in this fandom anymore but I think Chuuya deserves some of the page time he’s started to get. ;; There’s a lot that can be done with his character with what’s been laid out so far, and if they’re choosing to make use of that as a reaction to his popularity, that’s okay! I’m sure they’ll do a good job with it! (Again is this unpopular? I don’t know because Chuuya seems to be slaughtering popularity polls lately, but I’ve seen him getting some flack on tumblr as well. Similarly I don’t think it’s so much that people dislike KunikiDazai so much as Chuuya is … disproportionately popular and the time people can contribute to fan works is limited.)

My canon OTP: There are no actual ‘canon’ pairings in BSD so far (I mean, if we don’t count Chuuya/Wine, Chuuya/His Hat, and Fitzgerald/Money, as you can see I take things Very Seriously). The ones I think are most heavily implied are Higuchi/Akutagawa (which I wouldn’t call my ‘canon OTP’ by any means because although I love both Higuchi and Akutagawa and want them to be happy he’s… not good for her currently), Mitchell/Hawthorne, and then Lucy —> Atsushi and Kyouka —> Atsushi. And… honestly Poe —> Rampo!? (While I highly doubt that was Asagiri’s intention, he has the same kind of fixation on Rampo that the girls do on Atsushi, pfft.) Of these RamPoe is clearly the Best but I’m very partial to AtsuLucy~

Non-canon OTP: soukokusoukokusoukokusoukokusoukokusoukoku

Most badass character: 560% Chuuya. (Do I need to explain why? I mean… look at him. /Jazz Hands)

Pairing I am not a fan of: Okay, I lied, there is one canon pairing and it’s Tanizaki/Naomi and I Am Not A Fan (I actually really like both of these characters in their own right and I’m even a fan of ships centered around devotion just please put them Very Ver Far Away from each other, they are siblings.)

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I always really hesitated to say ‘screw up’ with a series that’s ongoing — I think it’s unfair to the creators to call that when perhaps they’ve treated a character a certain way or put them in a certain scenario towards an end that would be compelling and make sense that we just haven’t seen yet. That said, of course I can’t pick just one, so here we go.

Per Chuuya being my favorite character, I’m not 110% satisfied with how they’re handling him so far? I feel his character’s been shown to be a little inconsistent with regard to his abilities (both his actual Ability and also his faculties re: instincts, intelligence, and so on — even a bit of his personality when it gets boiled down to nothing but ‘Damn You Dazai!’ for comedic effect when he’s been hinted at being a much more complex person, as most people are). In part I think this also has to do with the fact that… Chuuya’s not… really a main character in anyway. They’re probably beginning to give him more of the spotlight simply because he’s such a fan-favorite, but — story wise, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to be their priority. (Even though /I/ want to see him treated consistently and given more on-screen depth and back story, and perhaps we’ll get that now that he’s featuring more!)

I think covering Dazai’s suicide-mania is important and I don’t even necessarily hate the light-hearted tone its given (I, myself, often cope with very self-deprecating humor), but I do dislike how often it’s treated completely flippantly. I could write a dissertation about why but… perhaps I shouldn’t have to.

Atsushi, Atsushi, Atsushi. Good lord. Not only is this kid screwed up from a physically and mentally absuve, isolated past, but the way he’s treated in the story, is just… He’s supposed to be our main character, and he has a lot of moments where he truly shines!! Atsushi is a wonderful shounen-type protag, especially in the climax of the Fitzgerald arc with how he gets through to Akutagawa, but damn is he inconsistent? Just when we think he’s gotten some character growth he goes right back to being a coward — and not that anybody can change overnight but the way it’s handled with him I feel is just… so stilted? Same for how development of his abilities is treated. We’re told it’s because of Fukuzawa’s ability, but that’s off screen and confusing for a reader. I… have extremely mixed feelings about how the chapter with his headmaster was handled, and what that means for his character and development as well. And — as much as I love sweet, pure, cinnamon roll Atsushi… I find myself thinking consistently “this scene would be more compelling for me if Dazai were actually the main character.” And I have very complicated feelings about Dazai, so that says something.

Favourite Friendship: I don’t think I can pick just one, actually…! Atsushi and Lucy’s friendship means a lot to me but actually I am HERE for Yosano and Rampo as well as Yosano with Kunikida. As much as I’m a Port Mafioso for life I do hope we see more of their interactions in the future. Also, nobody in the PM are really…. ‘friends,’ that I can tell? Though I want to see more Black Lizard interactions and also them interacting with Chuuya. And also Kouyou interacting with Chuuya! (Atsushi and Akutagwa are NOT friends but I’d like to see that…)

Character I want to adopt or be adopted by: I’m older than almost all of these characters so I guess I want to adopt Akutagawa and give him actual love and support because goddamn buddy you had it rough with Dazai as your mentor… ;w; (I’d be okay being adopted by Fukuzawa too, though!!)

002 | Soukoku

When or if I started shipping it. Hmm… definitely by Chapter 31 but I was curious about it when Chuuya first showed up, I think. I was ready for KunikiDazai, who are currently partners, so the whole ‘old partners’ thing piqued my interest. Chuuya comes off so much at first as ‘jilted, abandoned lover’ that I immediately want to know why or at least explore it in fandom.

My thoughts: THIS QUESTION IS SO BROAD, I could write a whole dissertation about this! How it’s great and interesting and also terrible and vague, how do I do the CliffsNotes version… we know so so so little about what’s implied to have been a terrifying and powerful partnership between Dazai and Chuuya. There’s just so much /potential/ there for how and why they came to know each other so well, for how Chuuya came to trust Dazai with his life despite knowing what a terrible prankster and liar his ex-partner is and how they two came to hate each other and bicker (or were they always this way?), and there’s of course the question of what lies in store for them in the future that makes the idea of the two of them together so fascinating to me. It’s an interesting ship for me especially because prior to BSD I’d be extremely hard-pressed to come up with a “hate ship” that I actually enjoyed. I tend to be more drawn to ships that showcase a typical ‘healthy’ relationship or positive emotions, signs of devotion, and so on — life’s angsty enough as it is, I use fandom and media to get away from that. But somehow that potential and both the humor and sadness of how Dazai and Chuuya interact and think of each other, and if they could reconcile (or not!), has been so compelling for me as a fan who likes to analyze and read into things too deeply. Soukoku is honestly just a really fun sandbox!

What makes me happy about them: Canonically, the humor in how they bicker and how frankly badass they are when they work together. In fandom, all the potential I mentioned earlier for them to reconcile, and also the idea of stolen warm moments and shenanigans together training and growing up in the Mafia, pre-Dark Era.

What makes me sad about them: How on earth did you guys hurt each other so bad!? What did you do?

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Hmm… it’s hard for me to think of anything? I haven’t read anything in a while but when I first got into BSD it kind of drove me crazy that the entire fandom just collectively… made Chuuya French? Or Half-French. It’s not even a head-canon I’d be against, necessarily, I just didn’t get it, even with the actual author being something of a Francophile. (I’d be more interested to see that detail worked into his character.)

Things I look for in fanfic: Adhering to how they are in canon, hate and all, but analyzing in what ways they navigate around that to both be beneficial to one another and eventually even enjoy each other’s company. And the hurt/comfort thing. Also, Chuuya being intelligent in his own right! I mentioned earlier that the manga is kind of inconstant about this but I like the idea that Chuuya is not just brawn and I like when fic explores that in how he handles Dazai. Also I approve strongly of people covering Dazai being TERRIBLE and how he makes up for that — or doesn’t, and why.

My kinks: what. ….them both being… happy… together??????

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: I think Dazai needs LESS VIOLENCE in his life but if Kunikida can set that aspect aside I think they’d be good together. (I also think Atsushi would be good for Dazai but it needs to be Just So… imbalance in power in a relationship that you sometimes see with mentors and mentees can not always be good for those involved /coughDaAkucough). For Chuuya I’m … not really sure. I think TaChuu is really cute and I’m on the fence about KouChuu? I see Kouyou as more an elder-sister or even Mother figure to Chuuya. based on how Mori was to Dazai since That One Chapter Cover is all we have to go on for Chuuya’s past and I am HERE for that type of interaction 560% and not really romantic-OTP about it. But to be fair she’s only four years his senior and they’d be quite the Power Couple, literally.

My happily ever after for them: They reconcile and talk out whatever it was they did to hurt each other, and recognize that they’re both hecked up but maybe they can be slightly less hecked up together if they try to understand one another instead of just insta-bickering. (They still bicker constantly, of course, but it’s a little more good natured, now.) Also, Chuuya joins Dazai at the ADA, where Fukuzawa can help him have better control of his power. His newfound lack of dependence on Dazai in that regard is one less thing for him to feel resentful over and can help him move past it. (That said I don’t think in any way this would be End Game for BSD and if you want to know my feelings on THAT I’d be happy to oblige — this is just what I think would be a sweet ‘happily ever after’ from where they’ve been.)

003 | Give me a character & I will tell you

Chuuya

How I feel about this character: I think about Chuuya every day and get emotional/angry about him almost as often, I Love Nakahara Chuuya a Lot. (Compared to Dazai’s analysis down below this probably seems really shallow but it’s more like I love Chuuya unconditionally? There’s nothing about his character I dislike.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Dazai. And, to much much lesser degrees: Tachihara. I’m not opposed to ChuuAku in any way I just… can’t think on my own what they can do for each other? and haven’t seen much fan work around it. I’m also here for ChuuAtsu but they’ve … never interacted, so.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: KouChuu!! I love Kouyou and I love the potential for family-style shenanigans with Chuuya!

My unpopular opinion about this character: Well, I guess I mentioned it above — I get why people don’t understand why he’s popular. /I/ don’t understand why he’s popular and I love him to hell and back, but — I think he deserves it. He’s spunky, sassy, badass as heck, incredibly well-dressed, appealing and compelling. And he has so much potential.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I want Chuuya’s backstory so badly!

My het ship: I can’t think of one?

My fem/slash ship: Soukoku

My OTP: Still Soukoku!?

My OT3: I could get behind Chuuya/Dazai/Atsushi or Chuuya/Dazai/Akutagawa or honestly all four.

My cross over ship: I don’t really have any but I played with a Tatara from K recently and their interaction was cute…

My kink: ??????????? Chuuya… smiling and…. not getting into a drunken stupor over Dazai????

A head cannon fact: Chuuya is Always Ready to Fight but he actually also likes ‘softer’ things like music and poetry quite well (they pair well with a nice glass of wine, after all). When not on the clock he dabbles in poetry and writing his own song lyrics (that, of course, would come out something like Darkness My Sorrow) and will practice singing them softly to himself, but although he’s not the nervous type he is way too embarrassed for anyone to know about this. It doesn’t fit his Big Bad Mafia image. Dazai is the only one who knows about this even a little bit, as some of their strategies are based on poems he either showed him when they were younger or things they co-wrote together while bored. (Another head-canon, because I’m weak – Chuuya knows his way around make-up, thanks to Kouyou, and because he’s all about looking Great regardless of whether it’s something ‘traditionally’ girly like that flowery hat he saw in the window in BSD Wan! He doesn’t wear makeup much though because he doesn’t think it fits his Big Bad Mafia image either, nor does he think he needs it.)

My Gender Bend: Again I’m not entirely sure what this question means in this context? Like… is it how I think he’d look if he identified/was assigned another gender? Because I think he’d look… pretty much the same… appearance doesn’t signify gender in most ways… If it’s like, gender bending head canons from what we’re given in the series though I like the nb/transboy head canon for Chuuya, I think that’s a fair analysis in a lot of ways and valuable to explore in fandom/fiction.

Dazai

How I feel about this character: One time @annalaflame made the horrible mistake while we were in the parking lot at the end of the night, about to go our separate ways, of asking me “gin, do you actually like Dazai?” and she got to spend the next forty-five minutes in the front seat of my car as I sat there and explained how I felt about him.

The thing with Dazai is… he’s an asshole. In so many ways. I often compare him to Izaya from Durarara!! — which Haru, I realize that won’t mean much to you, but Izaya is like … he’s irredeemable to me? As a villain I love to hate him, because he’s horrible and manipulative and always seems to get his way but it’s to no end other than his character alignment being Chaotic Asshole. Dazai, on the other hand…

Dazai is … such a multifaceted character. He’s horrible to people (and animals!) and manipulative and always one step ahead and is honestly, kind of a sociopath. He has no qualms at the idea of horrible things happening to his enemies be it by his hand or that of another, and he doesn’t seem to mind how his awful actions can affect those closest to him and at times even finds it humorous. Notice I didn’t say he doesn’t care — because I think he does, and this is where Dazai is redeemable to me.

I think, for someone so hyper-intelligent, scheming, calculating — Dazai was, and perhaps still is, a little lost. We see this in his lack of self-preservation and suicide mania, both in Dark Era and present, but also in the front he puts on, his bravado. He was something of a loose canon in Dark Era, very dangerous, and OdaSaku (from what I understand, having read summaries and watched the anime but not read the book itself) acted as his conscious and, with his death, became a guiding light leading Dazai towards being a better person by the work he — through a veil of On Brand complaints — now willingly does with the Armed Detective Agency.

Additionally, after the Guild arc, Hirotsu asks Dazai how long he’d been planning for Shin-Soukoku to happen, and Dazai answers from the Very Moment he met Atsushi. How can that be, if Dazai wasn’t acutely aware of exactly how he mis-treated Akutagawa as his now abandoned mentee, if that wasn’t something rather always on his mind? Dazai may not ‘care’ about people in the sense of always wanting to be helpful to them especially if he doesn’t get anything out of it — and in some ways this may be a product of his (lack of) upbringing and environment. But I do think he cares in the sense of perhaps, even retroactively, wanting to do ‘right’ now — and he’s still figuring that out for himself and how he does that. And that’s one of the things I find so compelling about a character that rubbed me such the wrong way at first — he may not be doing a good job, but Dazai is trying, in his own way. This is reinforced by how he treats Atsushi during our protag’s lowest moments of self-loathing and uncertainty, how he speaks to Kyouka when she’s given up, how he confronts Fyodor and defies him even in the face of their maniacally evil similarities. He’s a man that’s been terrible all his life, but is trying to be perhaps not good, but better. [Insert gif of Mal Reynolds from Firefly saying “well, I’m alright.”]

Anyway that got super long because I could go on about him for days, but basically I think Dazai is incredibly fascinating and easily one of the most compelling characters in the series, if you can get past the humor given to his suicide mania. But — even that is something that’s relatable to a number of people, which makes his character that near always has the upper hand in a situation very interesting to watch as he too grows and learns (even if he can be annoying too~).

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Chuuya! Kunikida, Atsushi (sometimes), OdaZai (sometimes)

My non-romantic OTP for this character: DaAku!! (T_T) I want to see them work stuff out. DazAtsu, too, always. Atsushi’s been a good influence on him. Also, the Buraiha trio was so good. (Also… maybe it’s just that I want Yosano to get more development as I keep mentioning her, but… I want to see her interact with Dazai more?)

My unpopular opinion about this character: I think his suicide-mania is important to consider and explore (I want to clarify though that I do hate how flippantly the series treats it, which is probably actually a popular opinion.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I Really Really Really want the ADA to comment on afore-mentioned suicide-mania in a way that’s actually positive!? Like give this guy a support group, god. Yes, he drives everyone away and they don’t really owe it to him, but come on…

My het ship: I don’t think I really have anyone for Dazai either, actually…

My fem/slash ship: Soukoku?

My OTP: Still Soukoku, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

My OT3: Buraiha trio~

My cross over ship: Jury’s out on this, Dazai’s a hard one.

My kink: ???????????????????????? Actually my one fantasy of fantasies for Dazai was that I wanted to SEE HIM GET TAKEN DOWN A PEG because he was too ‘always right’ but then the manga happened and I DIDN’T WANT TO SEE HIM FALL LIKE THAT…. (Yeah hi I don’t really have ‘kinks’ really just… things I’d derive satisfaction out of seeing in canon RIP)

A head cannon fact: Actually this is sort of more soukoku-related than anything, but when they were kids and Dazai was still trying to figure out what exactly he was missing in order to look for it in order to be interested in continuing to shuffle along this mortal coil, he kind of voiced some of that personal angst to Chuuya while they were hanging out all partnered-up and Chuuya just … didn’t get it. It was not really in Chuuya’s wheelhouse to even consider wanting to die and he didn’t exactly… mock Dazai about it but brushed it off rather rudely without trying to understand it because from his perspective it was ridiculous. Cue ‘bandage-freak’ and ‘suicide maniac!’ insults. And Dazai was, understandably, hurt and insulted. But of course, being who he is he couldn’t show that and laughed it off with bravado as well, but it caused him to sink lower at the time and while he doesn’t really care because his capacity to feel things like that is abnormal, it was the major thing that really sparked some of the visceral resentment for Chuuya he seems to have in canon.

My gender bend: Same confusion on the question as with Chuuya. That said, Emil’s Single Dad AU has SLAYED me and I like their interpretation of trans!Dazai. I’ve also thought about the possibility of perhaps nb Dazai in general, in part because of his personal pronoun? But I don’t have the knowledge of Japanese culture in regard to non-binary genders to really say if that’s a fair analysis, since ‘watashi’ can also just be used when speaking slightly more formally.

004 | BSD + Your Choice

BSD + Fandom of my choice, hmm? I don’t know if these are really ‘crossover OTPs’ so much as just Imagine, If You Will, Come With Me On this Journey…. Chris and Kunikida having to deal with Rayflo and Dazai.

#ask #meme #aspartha #long post #gin's talks at no1careo'clock #bsd #i don't think any of my headcanons or analysis are good compared to what others have put out there that i like so much better ahaha ;;#but this is what i brain about them i guess #also i can actually go more in depth about why i love chuuya and what about him i think is great #and why i think there's a complexity about him despite his lack of screen time #but #i talk with you about that all the time haha!

2 notes · View notes

lawyernovelist · 7 years

Text

The Master

Every now and then something really petty just gets to me, like when I decided that the world really needed to hear me dismantle the dialogue in the Stars and Moons scene. This is another one of those times.

I've talked about the Master of Laketown in passing a few times, but have never really focussed on him just because I've always had bigger fish to fry. He's ultimately a completely unnecessary character, who for some reason the movie seemed to think needed to get a disproportionate amount of attention. And when I was thinking again about death scenes, trying to get a good handle on what I actually think of Thorin's, I decided that enough was enough and I had to talk about this guy and all the niggly little overlapping problems he represents.

Spoilers for the Hobbit Movies, The Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings (book and movies).

What was the point of this character? I can tell you in the book: he provided some local flavour, gave the dwarves a stepping-stone on their journey, and also provided an aesop about avarice and selfishness in the way that he died. In the movie... well, I guess the stepping-stone point still holds? He does give the dwarves supplies and a boat. But what would have happened if he hadn't? After all, because those movies are allergic to maps, the dwarves seemed to take about five minutes to get from Laketown to the Lonely Mountain, and then they were inside within half an hour. They didn't really seem all that reliant on anything they got from Laketown. They weren't negatively physically affected by their journey that far, as they were in the book, so they didn't need recovery time (caveat for Kili, but the Master might as well never have existed for all the effect he had on Kili's recovery - that was all Tauriel and a little bit Bard for providing the venue).

The stop in Laketown really has very little purpose and effect, and what purpose and effect it did have (introducing Bard, providing an action setpiece for the opening of Battle of the Five Armies, giving Tauriel and Kili some alone time) were completely unrelated to the Master.

What about local flavour? Well, in the book he and Bard actually had a political relationship in the days after the destruction of Laketown (yeah, days - movies, you had triple the time you needed, why did you need to temporally compress everything?). He actually made points about the qualifications required for rule, which gave us a window into what was important in his society: Laketown is unique in Middle-earth as a mercantile city-state and that's awesome.

PS: Another sad simplification for the movie: Laketown and Dale remained separate in the book. It is not the case that that city-state was just turned into another hereditary monarchy at the end of The Hobbit.

In the movie? Well... there's kind of an abortive subplot about Laketown being an oppressive police state, and... OK, I need to get this off my chest a bit.

What the hell is that?

I'll tell you one thing it bloody isn't: an artistic style that fits with the rest of this world. Look at the rest of Middle-earth. Look at it. We're hitting each other with broadswords and burying the dead in barrows. This is, like, Saxon period, maybe early medieval. You want to know what Saxon royal portraiture looked like?

(Source)

Quite nice, I think. A frieze of that sort of thing around the room would have looked great. That wretched thing up there looks more like a Vermeer.

(Source)

And that's not a criticism, by the way; I actually really like Vermeer's paintings and the theories for how he achieved such photorealism are fascinating. However, it does not fit in this setting. It just doesn't, even when I remember that this is a fantasy story and historical accuracy doesn't fully apply. I snorted when I saw that in the movie because it just looks like a photo with an 'oil painting' filter applied in photoshop. The vivid colours look like something out of a cartoon, especially with how dark and monochrome everything else in these movies is. It does not work. People more knowledgeable than me have placed it (and the style of dress it shows) as William III: mid-late 17th Century.

Fail!

But OK, that's a silly nitpick, especially with this beautiful Alan Lee watercolour on the wall in Rivendell. It just really irritates me because it's an example of how they put making the stupid point they want to make right now above actually fitting anything together so it made sense and it's not the same as the Rivendell picture because that actually looks like a mural, the colours blend in, and it fits the flowing and naturalistic style of the large amount of other art we see around Rivendell so it works in its setting and I hate that picture of the Master, I hate it a lot.

Moving on.

No, not moving on. I said they were making a stupid point with that picture. Well, that and a stupid joke where we see that picture of him looking like a seventeenth-century fop and then we see that he's actually got the grooming skills of a toddler. Solid joke, too: excellent setup, quality punchline, raising a lot of questions about where the hell they got that volume of realgar (used as orange pigment and also rat poison - I learned a lot writing this post!). It's the rule of three.

OK, I really am going to rein it in; I promise this whole post is not going to be about that picture, even though it annoys me more the more I think about it. I do have a point.

The Master's entire characterisation was as this avaricious democracy-hating despot who would be defeated by the plucky underdog Bard. And that's... acceptable. I mean, you could have done something with it, and it wouldn't have completely derailed the plot the way the added socio-political commentary that nobody asked for did in Last of the Mohicans, which, for anyone curious, made me angrier than any other movie in the world until Battle of the Five Armies. I hate that movie, and the added socio-political commentary that nobody asked for was a major factor (others include the added romance subplot nobody asked for, the decision to render most of the main characters utterly unrecognisable including swapping the plot roles of the two women because, hell, they're interchangeable I guess, and the fact that my favourite character escaped that fate because they cut him completely). But I digress.

Presenting the Master as an avaricious democracy-hating despot would not in itself have been a problem. They did have a lot of extra time, they could spend some on the political situation in Laketown in order to set up Bard for later. However... OK, first of all, being against democracy does not in itself work as a flag that the character is evil or an attitude to be overcome when your beloved hero - by which I mean Thorin - is only of interest to anyone because he's the hereditary ruler of a kingdom. Just sayin'. Also, it doesn't count when you don't do anything with it. There's the one throwaway about an election, then it's never mentioned again unless you count the fact that Bard becomes king through popular acclaim, which I don't.

Let's talk about Bard as a foil of the Master and the beneficiary of this aesop about democracy good, monarchy (as in rule by one person, not necessarily hereditary) bad. Bard says some stuff about the people starving and seems to be setting himself up as a champion of the common folk - he's even referred to as such - but it doesn't work. First of all, the stuff about food supplies only comes up when he's trying to smuggle the dwarves into Laketown, so we don't know if this is a regular thing that he genuinely cares about, or if he was just using it as a convenient excuse to stop the dwarves being found. It never comes up again and, in fact, we never even see him arranging for the fish to be distributed or anything like that; he just uses them as a bribe for the dock-keeper who saw the dwarves disembark. This suggests that it's not actually something he cares about on its own, just a means to an end.

The Master apparently does consider him a threat, but we're given no real idea why; he and Alfrid discuss the fact that there's discontent in the city and people are speaking against the Master's rule, but we never actually see that happening and we certainly never see Bard's involvement in it. The only reason I can see for the Master to guess that Bard is the ringleader of revolution is that... oh, would you look at this for your aesop? He has royal blood. After all, the Master does know that about him, even though he himself seems determined to keep it quiet.

When Bard is later proclaimed king by popular acclaim, he doesn't do anything with it. In fact, he almost entirely rejects it; while he takes on a leadership role, it's visibly unwillingly and he almost entirely defers to Thranduil upon Thranduil's arrival. The only person who acknowledges him as king is Alfrid, and we're clearly supposed to find that annoying; Bard certainly does. Even the movie never acknowledges him as a king, since it constantly shows him as less powerful and less respected than the two kings and we never see him crowned or treated as a ruler. As far as we can tell from the theatrical release of the movie, after the Battle of the Five Armies Bard shrugs and goes back to plying his trade as a bargeman. Him being proclaimed king means nothing.

Overall, Bard actually appears to be startlingly apolitical. The one exception is also the one time he actually challenges the Master himself: over whether they should help Thorin. He is promptly shot down and goes home to sulk. If anything, Bard seems to be fighting for the status quo while the Master is aiming for things to change and improve for the town - I don't think that was what you meant to be going for, Movie!

This was a mistake on the part of the movie, and one that Tolkien didn't make because Tolkien didn't frame Bard vs The Master as the champion of the common people vs a democracy-hating despot running a police state for his own enrichment. Once you have that set up, Movie, you have to do something with it.

But OK, it was one thing that the movie just threw in without any apparent thought beyond "Hey, if we frame Bard as the champion of the common people and the Master as wanting to prevent free and fair elections, the American audience will know who to root for". Let's look at the aesop they beat into the floor when it came to the Master: "Gold is worth less than people".

Now, this is actually an important aesop because not only does it come from the book (and I'll come back to how Tolkien handles it) but in the movies it's presented via no fewer than three characters - four if you count Alfrid and the Master as separate characters. It appears in Bard's last scene with Alfrid, the presentation of Thranduil and his motivations, and Thorin's arc with respect to Dragonsickness. This is clearly a big thing, and with the Master his prioritisation of gold over human life is beaten in to the point where he's really carrying the characterisation beat of "avarice makes you evil". It comes right from his first introduction with that wretched painting - see, I told you I had a point - showing his ostentatious wealth in a manner that almost makes me think of Louis XVI -

(Source)

Just to bring back that political thing that died on arrival to the point where I'm still not sure it was intentional

- and his last act is trying to evacuate the town's treasury while announcing that it's such a shame that that means there's no room for any people. It's then continued with Alfrid, whose last act in the movie is deciding to disguise himself as a woman to escape the battle and then flee with a load of gold that was in Dale for no reason except to set up this resolution. No, really, what was it doing there?

Anyway, I said this was an aesop from the book, and it is. In fact, in the book the Master is even the clearest example of the aesop playing out: Bard, as king of Dale, sends a large quantity of treasure to the Master to help with the reconstruction of Laketown. The Master steals as much treasure as he can carry and flees into the wilderness, where he dies of hunger and cold, abandoned by his companions, in an action explicitly blamed on Dragonsickness. His avarice and selfishness directly leads to his death, and this is contrasted with the heroic characters who share treasure to enrich people and the land about - even Thorin acknowledges on his own deathbed that his selfishness was wrong and renounces his deeds and words at the gate. Note that the Master being greedy and selfish was a trait that Tolkien had established, but it wasn't hugely overt; he was selfish, sure, and kind of manipulative and not terribly interested in doing the right thing for its own sake, but he was presented as a human being with his own motives and interests, not a caricature.

OK, so I was going to just make a sneering remark like "Pfft, complex characters with human failings? That's kids' stuff", but the difference in the way this character is handled is actually symptomatic of a lot of problems.

First, and most obvious... Movie, what age is your target audience? Because this tastes like a movie for twelve-year-olds, but the characterisation would be simplistic in a story for toddlers. You position yourself as a serious and mature story, in opposition to The Hobbit, which was written as a bedtime story for children, but by every metric I can think of you are significantly more childish. Note 'childish', not 'suitable for children'.

Second, I mentioned that in the book the Master's death is treated as a consequence of his actions. The causal relationship is very clear: if he had stayed in Laketown and used the treasure for its intended purpose, he would not have died. This means that the aesop is clear: if you're greedy and selfish, you'll suffer consequences.

So... the movie. In the movie, they changed how and where the Master died: Smaug fell on him as he was escaping Laketown. The Master is greedy and selfish, and because the movie thinks we're stupid it really makes it clear that he's greedy and selfish and that's bad, not only showing him literally kicking someone in the face when they try to climb onto the boat, but also showing his barge almost running down Tauriel and co. after Tauriel has consistently been shown as the angelic personification of goodness and light. It could not be clearer that the Master is a bad guy. And then he dies on his way out, so we're good, right? Karma worked itself out, bad things happen to bad people, all is well.

Problem one: It doesn't count when there's absolutely no causal relationship between the Master's actions and his death. In the book, the one was a direct consequence of the other. In the movie, his death was pure accident. If his boat had been filled with the occupants of the orphanage and all the puppies and kittens they could carry, Smaug would still have fallen on it.

Problem two: They gave themselves a second chance with Alfrid.

That's it. That's the problem.

I'm kidding, I just really hate that character. From his first appearance I assumed he was going to get eaten by Smaug and I was bitterly disappointed when that didn't happen because I was genuinely looking forward to it.

Anyway, They kind of pass the baton of "avarice and selfishness make you evil" to Alfrid, but the avarice angle is actually almost entirely dropped while the selfishness angle is treated as a running joke. To an extent the avarice angle is shifted over to the conflict between Thranduil and Thorin in that we've kind of got the "Thranduil wants treasure" thing hanging around, but... it doesn't work.

Unlike in the book, you're completely failing to examine Thorin's flaws and are treating his avarice and selfishness as not his responsibility.

Thranduil can't carry this moral because you may be jumping around talking about how he's evil, but his iconic line is still "I came to reclaim something of mine" - he wants one specific item which is his by right; this isn't about greed and, in fact, Thorin ends up looking greedy and petty by declaring he'd rather fight a war than toss out one necklace that isn't even his.

Bilbo isn't carrying the moral either because you've made his motivations about personal loyalty to Thorin rather than generosity and selflessness.

The only people around here who seem to actually want treasure generally are Thorin and Bard, both of whom are a) heroic and b) justified in that desire: it's not Thorin's fault, and Bard actually needs money for a specific purpose.

In fact, I'd like to take a moment to dwell on Thorin. I've covered elsewhere the fact that the Arkenstone wipes away all Thorin's flaws by taking the blame for his behaviour; without that, the movie has actually opened itself up quite badly for comparison between Thorin and the Master. Think about it: for a good chunk of Battle of the Five Armies, Thorin is sitting on a pile of gold, thinking more about how he can defend and keep his gold than about how he could spend it to pay his debts and help the starving people camped outside. That's Dragonsickness, and really the behaviour that the movie was decrying in the Master just a little while before. But Thorin has the excuse of the Arkenstone.

Incidentally, the Master's been living outside the mountain that contains the Arkenstone for some time. Why doesn't he have the excuse of the Arkenstone? We don't know how that thing works, but if we're gong to blame Thorin's behaviour on it, you clearly don't have to be in sight or touch of it. Your double standards are showing again, Movie. You should have taken the time to do character flaws and examine them properly.

Anyway, the aesop is pretty much dropped for most of Battle of the Five Armies. If I were feeling malicious, I'd say that it was precisely because they couldn't risk the audience applying it to Our Heroes and maybe thinking that Thorin isn't a shining beacon of goodness and light.

Of course, I'm not feeling malicious; when have I ever been malicious towards Thorin except for every time I talk about him? My point here is Alfrid.

Alfrid is clearly not a character to be taken seriously in any way whatsoever, and for most of this time he just comes across as slimy. He's not a threat, and he actually doesn't come across as that greedy for gold either; he's just selfish and slimy and makes me want a shower just from being in his proximity. However, he also strikes the last note on the "avarice and selfishness makes you evil" moral in his last scene, which is also the only time he and Bard are actually positioned in opposition to one another after Bard gains power.

Yeah... that last bit is a big problem, by the way, because Bard has just spent the entire movie letting Alfrid get away with whatever he wants. He's not the only one, but he's the one for whom it's a big problem because the interaction between these two has been set up and now it's not going anywhere. This could have been the way Bard shows himself as different to the Master - the Master allows Alfrid to hang on his coat-tails and use that position to bully those weaker than himself; not like Bard, who... glares at him from time to time while he hangs on Bard's coat-tails and uses that position to bully those weaker than himself.

Movie, did anyone ever actually look at you in production and ask themselves if any of the decisions they were making were good?

I'll come back to Bard and the Master as foils for each other; right now I'm talking about Alfrid. Alfrid continuing to get away with things is a problem on multiple levels (it's not funny, Movie, and no matter how many times you do it it doesn't become funny), but surely they're going to at least have the aesop come home to roost: Alfrid steals the money and runs away, just as the Master did, but this time that greed is going to bite him in the behind and he's going to get his comeuppance. Maybe he can't run carrying the gold and a troll catches him, or something.

Instead, Bard catches up to him, saving his children en route, they have a conversation in which Alfrid says he has gold and asks what Bard has, Bard looks meaningfully at the kids, and Alfrid leaves. We never see him again.

Now, I've complained repeatedly that Alfrid's the only one who gets a happy ending. He gets gold, which is apparently what he wants, and he leaves to go set up somewhere else. He faces absolutely no consequence for his actions. Bard looks down on him, but he's been doing that the whole time and Alfrid clearly doesn't care. Even Bard's last shot mocking Alfrid isn't commenting on him being greedy and selfish, it's mocking him for dressing as a woman.

Dammit, Movie!

You didn't even have Bard take the money away and send Alfrid away empty-handed. At least then he'd have been humiliated, lost his political position, and gained nothing. As it is? He's mocked by someone he holds in no esteem and walks away with what he wants. That means that you have this aesop you've been building up with the Master and which you actually explicitly hit by comparing Alfrid's and Bard's motivations in this scene... but then it all falls apart because Alfrid faces no consequence for his actions!

So it doesn't work with the Master because of lack of causality between action and consequence and it doesn't work with Alfrid because of lack of consequence. The movie tells us that avarice is bad, but doesn't do anything with it. The Master continues to be an entirely useless character.

So I was going to talk some more about the relationships and conflict between the Master and other characters, especially Bard, and I'm actually going to start with the ending because that also plays into the aesop.

In the book, Dragonsickness is basically avarice and selfishness - those two traits that we've been talking about this whole time. It's all about gathering together a big pile of gold just to have and to guard for yourself and never enjoying it, sharing it, or even using it. This is a trait that we see in the Master and he dies because of it, as I outlined above. However, in the book it's also a trait we see in Thorin, and the comparison is drawn through the motif of Dragonsickness; it's never explicit, but it is there.

Thorin redeems himself by ending his isolationist power-play against Bard and Thranduil and coming out to rally all three of the enemies of the goblins in battle. After his death, the hoard is distributed - Bard, the Master, Thranduil, and Bilbo all get some as well as a large amount being retained by the dwarves. In the epilogue, we see that Bilbo now leads a comfortable and wealthy life back in the Shire - his waistcoat is more extensive and has real gold buttons - but we also learn that he throws excellent parties and gives excellent gifts (tellingly, if I may look ahead to Lord of the Rings, the last of his share goes to Sam to help him get married and start a family). We also hear that Dale and the Lonely Mountain and their environs are now prosperous and life has returned to the desolation left by Smaug. This is how Smaug's legacy is broken and the Dragonsickness loses its hold. The message is that it's not that it's bad to be rich, it's that it's bad to just sit on money just in order to have it.

I really want to spin off into a ramble about the role of a lord as a giver of gifts in the Saxon societies with which Tolkein was highly familiar, but I really need to stay at least close to the point, which is that the Master is compared to Bard and Dain on a large scale and to Bilbo on a small one. The last three are presented as good and heroic in part because of their generosity, while the Master is bad because of his selfishness.

And this is yet another way in which the ending of the Hobbit movies fails: we don't see what happens with the hoard. Thorin dies, Bilbo goes home, he's sad about his bro dying, and we segue back into Lord of the Rings with no further mention of all the things that just happened. To all appearances, Bilbo doesn't get a single coin from the hoard. Nor does Bard. Thranduil doesn't get his necklace back. To all appearances, Dain just sits on that treasure like Thorin, Smaug, and Thror before him.

So why are any of these people better than the Master?

Well, for one thing the movies - and I include the Lord of the Rings movies in this - seem to have a really uncomfortable relationship with social hierarchy, especially among the hobbits, so I'm not surprised that they didn't want to deal with Bilbo coming home rich. The thing is... if you don't want to tell a story in which the hero comes home rich, don't tell The Hobbit. You could have got away with it - stick in a montage in which we see that he gave away lots of money to... OK, that would mean you'd have to admit that there's relative poverty in the Shire. And we don't want that sort of complication. Poverty only happens to bad societies ruled by bad people like the Master and if you just replace the guy in charge all those problems will just vanish.

I'm getting off-topic here, but I do have to address this because it's true that poverty is not a big issue in Middle-earth. Everyone seems to have enough to live off, even if not in any luxury; nobody seems to be homeless; you never see beggars even in large cities like Minas Tirith; and so forth. However, Tolkien does seem aware that there exist at least haves and have-lesses. The Shire does have a social structure and there are issues of class in play, most obviously between the Bagginses and the Gamgees. The Bagginses are gentry and the Gamgees are working-class and this is a clear split. It's ignored in the movies, in which there seems to be no class split between Frodo and Sam; it's just that for some reason Sam calls Frodo "Mr Frodo" and Frodo never takes a turn to cook dinner.

Anyway, I think that's part of why the movies didn't want an epilogue in which we see that Bilbo is now fabulously wealthy and can afford to give generous gifts to everyone who comes to celebrate his birthday with him.

To pull back up to wider scope, the Shire isn't the only society that gets hit by the movies' discomfort with social hierarchy. And I'm not going to pretend that I'm not guilty of this problem too - we're raised in this egalitarian Western society where, especially in American culture, everyone's supposed to be socially equal, and this is escapism, so we want to have the equality that we want to believe is present in society. However, fantasy comes with tropes like kingship which are hard not to write unless you're doing it on purpose, so it's easy to end up in this weird, uncomfortable halfway-house.

Especially if you're adapting Tolkien, you're not in a position to criticise or remove the institution of kingship even if you want to; Tolkien's work is a major reason these tropes exist in fantasy. However, that means that if you're this uncomfortable with writing about social hierarchy, you might not want to do Tolkien. Play in his world, have fun, study particular aspects, flesh out parts of the world he didn't write about, whatever, but you probably shouldn't adapt Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and claim that you're doing a true adaptation.

This is relevant because I think this is part of what's going on with the Master, and to an extent with Denethor: these two men are definite forms of social authority which cannot be ignored, but they are not kings. Denethor is treated as a bad person, but the Master is not only treated as a bad person but also as an illegitimate authority because the movies straight up don't know what to do with a ruler who's not a king. They know what to do with Thorin because he's the rightful king. They know what to do with Thranduil because he's a king. They can't handle the Master (and didn't consider the possibility of just thinking of 'Master' as a synonym for 'President' and moving on with their day).

Incidentally, just to make my point a bit more? The movies are actually also not comfortable with Legolas and Tauriel. Their authority comes into the category of being possible to ignore, so they ignore it: Legolas is a prince and Tauriel is an extremely high-ranking military officer, but neither are treated as socially superior to anyone else. We never see them show authority or shown deference, right down to Tauriel never being referred to by title and Legolas being given the job of guarding the orc during the Interrogation scene despite the fact that that's the kind of job you'd normally give to a random soldier. Looking at it from this angle, I think this is part of the movies' discomfort with non-king authority and social hierarchy. These two aren't a king and a queen, so the movies don't want to show them in a position of authority. Admittedly, this hits Legolas way less hard than Tauriel; I don't know if that's a gender thing, a character role thing, or a royalty thing, though.

Anyway, my point is the Master. The movies can't ignore his high social rank as they do with Legolas, Tauriel, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Faramir, etc., so they present his authority as illegitimate. This is another possible purpose for his presentation as a democracy-hating despot: it underlines his fundamental insecurity and the fact that he doesn't have a true mandate.

So... is the purpose of the Master to give us the message that hereditary monarchy is the only legitimate form of authority? Because if so... the movie has more guts than I give it credit for. Somehow, though, I don't think it's very likely.

It's not doing a bad impression of it, though, and this is where I finally have to drag myself back to those character comparisons. Specifically, the most important heroic character relative to the Master: Bard.

I already talked about how Bard seems to be pretty apolitical and the problems this introduces for his character, especially by comparison to the book; in the book he doesn't seem to have been a particularly political guy, but when duty called he stepped up, took the leadership role that was offered, and did something with it. He was going around making sure that people had food and shelter while the Master sat down and called for food and firewood to be brought to him. That's one of the few points of comparison between them, and it's very telling. Bard is actually seen alongside Thorin and Thranduil far more than the Master, but the comparison is still present because these two are rivals for leadership after Bard has shot Smaug and been proclaimed king. Up until that point, though, Bard and the Master seem to have had no friction.

The way the political subplot in the movies is presented means that the rivalry between Bard and the Master is personal. All that stuff I talked about earlier about the Master seeing Bard as a threat and Bard being framed as a populist leader of some kind (despite lack of actual evidence) mean that these two are set up as in opposition to one another from almost their first appearances - Bard is defying the Master by helping the dwarves; the Master is feeling threatened by Bard.

So maybe this is the answer to the question I set up at the beginning about the point of the Master as a character: a foil to and antagonist for Bard in particular.

Well, yeah, I spoiled this my post on Bard in Battle of the Five Armies, but here it is again: the personal antagonism between Bard and the Master goes nowhere because of the way the Master dies. Yeah, he was killed because Bard shot Smaug, but that's so indirect that it doesn't count; Bard doesn't even know he was there.

But OK, you could still do something with this by having them be foils - it's not that they actively go up against each other, but the characterisation of both is intensified by comparison. In particular, since Bard is the more important and heroic character, Bard's character should have been illuminated by comparison to the Master.

Well, I spoiled this earlier, but let me summarise. We've talked a lot about how the Master is presented as selfish, avaricious, and oppressive, keeping the people in poverty for his own gain and placing massive restrictions on their movements for really no reason at all. Bard has no power until after the Master dies, so the logical thing story-wise would be for him to demonstrate how he can do better than the Master.

The trouble is that Bard really doesn't demonstrate he's any better than the Master. He's not actively abusing the people under his rule, but he does seem unwilling to fight their corner. I'm struggling to think of a single time he argues with Thranduil, for example, let alone with Gandalf.

(Source)

But the biggest thing really is Alfrid. Bard takes no notice of Alfrid except when Alfrid is directly annoying him, despite knowing that this guy likes to throw his weight around if he thinks he has the power to do so and despite the fact that things like Alfrid dumping the things he had been given to carry on an old woman must have happened within Bard's hearing. The effect really is that Bard is so unwilling or incapable of taking command that he's prepared to just turn a blind eye to abuses of his power.

Now, the fact that nobody does anything about Alfrid doesn't say anything nice about any of the characters, but Bard is the one who really ought to have done something. From a craft perspective, this means that, once again, the Master hasn't contributed anything. In fact, the opposite: because we've seen no appreciable difference in actions between the Master and Bard, the Master's involvement actively damages our perception of Bard, who is clearly meant to be heroic.

So, to summarise:

What plot effect the stop in Laketown has is unrelated to the Master.

The Master doesn't provide any worldbuilding because he seems to be so isolated from the rest of Middle-earth.

More specifically, the political aspect of the Master's presentation goes nowhere unless the movie really did intend to suggest that hereditary monarchy is the only legitimate form of authority.

Comparison between the Master and Bard does nothing to highlight Bard.

The Master doesn't demonstrate the "Gold is worth less than people" aesop (nor does Alfrid).

My friends, behold a pointless character.

#hobbit movies #StoryCraft #characterisation #fictional politics #the Master

17 notes · View notes

drink-n-watch · 5 years

Text

Editing Irina here: I have to admit this post got a bit away from me. instead of a simple list of anime directors I happen to like it turned into this little diatribe about the role of directors in anime production and now it’s way too long. Still I did enjoy writing it so I’m leaving it in but feel free to skip to the list section. I won’t be sad!

For some time I’ve been under the impression that anime directors have a much bigger impact on their end product than live action directors. By no means am I trying to imply that a traditional director does not shape the works they are a part of but for me, it wasn’t as flagrant. There are a lot of directors whose filmography stuns me. Unless they’re big names they don’t necessarily have that much control over the final cut so even renowned directors have some pretty confusing early movies. To me, I tend to notice writer directors way more, than those that stick to just directing.

But in anime, I almost never get caught off guard. I can usually see clear family resemblances between shows from a same series director even if they get produced by a different studio and are in completely different genres. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for that but I think one of the main differences is storyboarding.

As far as I know, pretty much all shows and movies have storyboards. It’s a basic part of film production. I’m sure there are some rebels out there who just go out and wing it, but when it comes to animated works it’s considerably less optional. It also has more impact.

Even if a director didn’t write a particular series (or adapt it as is usually the case) they always have a final say on the storyboards, if they didn’t outright create them. The storyboards guide and shape the action in such a precise and deliberate way that it’s impossible not to leave a trace. This makes the director’s input as important and obvious as the writer.

or maybe not… no need to get mad

Of course, anime directors also have control of the appearance of a given series but unlike real life shows they are not bound by physical or budgetary constraints when it comes to setting and are never forced into bad casting…. Actually that’s not true. They don’t have to deal with any particular actor’s looks or physicality but they could get stuck with some horribly miscast voice actor and that can be just as damaging.

This said, as far as appearances go, animation in general allows for a much tighter control over the look of a series than would otherwise be possible. It also allows for easy signature looks. You know certain design styles and colours are favoured by certain directors and show up in most of their works. After a while you can tell at the glance when a new show is likely from a director you like. Of course you can get fooled.

The same type of signature look is very difficult and mostly, very expensive to recreate in a live action setting. Not to mention that because it is so involved, a lot of directors will purposefully avoid creating one as it can end up distracting from the story. I heard that in an interview. I don’t remember the director who said it but I like to think it was subtle shade at Tim Burton.

Animation is a more independent venture than traditional film making. Unlike actors on a set, animators do not have to be physically in the same room to create a scene. Everything is compartmentalized. Designers come up with a design. The tons of artists draw the different elements and scenes, separately. The images go somewhere else to be cleaned up and coloured. They then get put together and edited by different people once more. After that the voice and soundtracks are created. And all these people never even have to meet. The producer and director become much more vital to making sure all the moving parts fit together.

it sometimes works better than others

Because of how central the anime directors role is, they tend to leave their fingerprints all over the production. Not to mention that generally speaking, aside from new media (i.e. YouTube) most media has more oversight than anime and as such anime directors have more freedom to mould their shows than even western animation directors. Let me tell you, most of the stuff that comes out of the big anime studios would never fly at Disney. Wait, does Disney own anime now? It’s possible, they own everything else…

Once again, I want to make sure that I don’t sound like I’m trivializing the role of classic directors. They can make or break a movie or show in any format. I’m just saying that I personally feel the director’s presence more in anime than other mediums.

And it’s therefore particularly bad that I hardly ever acknowledge them. I speak or writers, voice actors, studios but I hardly ever mention directors. I would like to fix that today with a very short list of anime directors I am currently interested in. This is by no means an exhaustive list!

Hiroyuki Imaishi

Renowned key animator, director and co-founder of studio Trigger. Regardless of what people may say about Trigger’s narrative choices, most do agree that their productions are usually stylish and distinctive.

As a director Imaishi has helmed:

Dead Leaves (2004)

Gurren Lagann (2007)

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010)

Kill la Kill (2013)

Space Patrol Luluco (2016)

Promare (2019)

Considering my deep love for both Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill and Promare, it’s not surprising that he tops my list. Beyond just the visual flare and fantastic palette choices, I find that Imaishi is very skilled at pacing high action with emotional verve. His works are often tongue in cheek and meant to convey deeper meaning and questioning through high speed antics and crazy over the top moments. He manages to balance out both plot and character development with good ole fashion fun in a way that has always managed to suck me in.

Kunihiko Ikuhara

A fantastic creator and veteran of the anime industry, if his name is attached to a project, it has my attention. Especially as a director. Utena alone was enough to win my devotion but this guy also directed:

Sailor Moon R (and a lot of Sailor Moon in fact – also Hell Yeah Sailor Moon!!!)

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Penguindrum

Yurikuma Arashi (will see this really soon)

Sarazanmai (I fell in love with this)

I don’t think I made my point clear enough, but Sailor Moon was a great series and it does NOT get enough credit. It should have been considered on of the Big Boys but somehow never makes the list. A travesty. Since Ikuhara often has a hand in writing or storyboarding the shows he directs, they often have a certain feel to them. That feel is bonkers. This guy loves him some surrealism and so do I. I don’t know what his next project will be but count me in.

Yuki Yase

Ok, I’m not gonna lie, I enjoy good visuals and strong compositions. I sort of give them disproportionate importance. So the director of Fire Force made this list. Whatever else it may be, the series has given me some of my best gallery posts by far.

Yuki Yase may not be quite as seasoned as the two I mentioned so far and although he’s worked as an episode director a lot (and in some very prestigious shows), he only has a few full series to his name:

Fire Force (TV)

Hidamari Sketch × Honeycomb (TV)

Kubikiri Cycle: Aoiro Savant to Zaregoto Tsukai (OAV)

Mekakucity Actors (TV)

Admittedly aside from Fire Force I’ve only seen Mekakucity Actors but it made an impression. I would say he is one of the most adventures directors I know, unafraid to experiment with productions. Sometimes even a bit too much but then again, I appreciate the verve. Both shows are distinctive and visually interesting which is enough to make me want to see what’s next.

Naoyoshi SHIOTANI

Naoyoshi Shiotani has been in the business for a while and racked up quite a few credits but as a director, he’s basically done two things. Blood+ and Psycho Pass. But pretty much all of Psycho Pass) I haven’t watched the second season of Psycho Pass (and I haven’t great things), but I have seen clips of it. And one thing I enjoy about Shiotani is his consistence. I can tell its Psycho Pass from a mile away. And it’s not all up to character designs and backgrounds. Colour choice, voice actor delivery, movement framing and camera angles. All of them have a very specific style and remain true in both movies and series throughout the years. There’s a dedication to his direction which I just appreciate. He also manages to spread out a complicated story in such a way that it’s clear for the audience without talking down to the viewers. That’s a gift.

Takuya Igarashi

Wikipedia makes a point of stating that Igarashi is a freelance director, I’m not sure why. And I might never have picked up on this guy until last season of Bungo Stray Dogs basically made me get a pinterest account so I could keep all my screencaps safe. It was gorgeous. The framing in the series, the angles… Beautiful and masterfully integrated into the atmosphere and ambiance of the series.

Bungo Stray Dogs (TV) : Bungo Stray Dogs (TV 3) :

Bungo Stray Dogs 2 (TV) : ) Bungo Stray Dogs: Dead Apple (movie) : Bungo Stray Dogs: Hitori Ayumu (OAV) : Captain Earth (TV) :

Ojamajo Doremi (TV) :

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (TV) (Hells Yeah Sailor Moon)

Soul Eater (TV) (whoa)

Star Driver (TV)

Zatch Bell: Attack of Mechavulcan (movie 2)

So I guess the moral of the story is, I like directors who worked on Sailor Moon at some point? Good moral. Let’s go with that!

I am going to start paying more attention to the production team when new anime get announced cause that’s usually the best indicator of how likely I am to enjoy a show. Who am I kidding..? I’m gonna look at the promo picture band decide entirely based on that. Reading is hard guys! But maybe I’ll look at the production staff of the first few shows! Baby steps.

Do you have any favourite anime directors? Who are they?

Way Too Long My Top 5 Anime Directors post Editing Irina here: I have to admit this post got a bit away from me. instead of a simple list of anime directors I happen to like it turned into this little diatribe about the role of directors in anime production and now it's way too long.

0 notes

kirstymcneill · 7 years

Text

Scotland and our movement moment

This is the text of a talk I gave at the Adam Smith Festival of Ideas, first published on Global Dashboard on the 19th of March 2017.

This weekend was the inaugural Adam Smith Festival of Ideas in Kirkcaldy and I was asked to speak about how Scotland could change the world in the years ahead. This is what I said.

Our world needs movements – and movements need Scots

I want to tell you a story about who we are, where we’ve been, and where we could go. A story about the Scotland we could become – if we first understand who we are.

I came of age politically after the fall of the Berlin Wall and during the highpoint of a global order based on shared rules and human rights. From the Arms Trade Treaty to the responsibility to protect doctrine to the cancellation of third world debt, I got kind of used to the uninterrupted march of global justice.

And then the darkness descended.

Just take the last three years.

2015 was the year of the refugee, with global refugee figures reaching their highest point since World War Two.

2016 was the year of populism, with surging support for nativist political forces across the Western world.

2017 is set to be the year of famine, with more than 20 million people at risk of starvation across Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia in the worst crisis of its sort in more than three decades.

Something has gone very very wrong and I’m here today to ask you to join me in helping to put it right. My argument today is three fold.

Firstly, that this particular moment in history is a ‘movement moment’ – it demands of us a willingness to join movements in unprecedented numbers, because the problems cannot be fixed by politicians, public policy or public institutions alone.

Secondly, my argument is that Scots in particular have special responsibilities here, because we believe in cooperation not only in our communities and in our country, but across the world. And thirdly that Scots not only have a duty to be involved in global justice movements, but actually have a very distinctive contribution to make, by virtue of the quirks of our historical experience.

A movement moment

Let me begin by saying a bit more about where we are, and why I think this is a movement moment.

By day I work at Save the Children and each day I try to remind myself of the good we have done together. Since 1990, we have halved the number of children dying before their fifth birthday. Anybody who has ever suffered any form of bereavement knows that each loss is shattering, leaving a hole in a family that can never be filled. That we have halved the number of families experiencing the depths of that sorrow is a good reason to get up in the morning. And if you’ve ever given to an international charity like Save the Children, or happily pay your taxes and support that money being spent on aid, then these are your achievements and you can be very very proud.

But at the same time I cannot say, hand on heart, that I am optimistic about the way the world is moving. I despair every time we release a new report charting the catastrophic failure to protect the children of Syria. Last week we published a report in which a child said “when friends die my chest hurts and I can’t breathe so I sit alone because I don’t want to scream at anyone”. These are words that no child anywhere should say.

In the report before that parents in a besieged area of Syria told us what it was like to raise children in a town where all the doctors had fled or been killed. They had resorted to taking their little ones to the vet when they got sick.

All across the world, from Paris to Mosul, ordinary families are terrorised by extremists and a medieval barbarism is encouraging people to target and torture those who disagree.

Meanwhile here at home the mood has soured and something ugly and sinister is on the march. Jewish friends receive abuse from the swamps of history, Muslim friends report a surge in the most vulgar and blatant Islamophobia, while my friend Jo Cox was murdered doing her job.

Behind all these trends is the same basic story: frightened and frightening people are obsessing about what divides us. We have lost the art of seeing each person as precious and unique, as an irreplaceable and perfect version of themselves, without whom our world would be irrevocably impoverished.

None of these are problems which politicians, however honourable or gifted, can be expected to solve on their own. If we want a different kind of Scotland, Britain or world, we’re going to have to get involved.

For me movement thinking is exactly what we need now because we live in what I call a 3D world – a world characterised by distrust, division and disruption.

Distrust, of both the motivations and the competence of institutions. Division, between people of different backgrounds and opinions. And disruption, of old ways of thinking, doing and being. Those 3Ds all add up to people feeling overwhelmed and alone, and movements hold out the prospects of an answer.

A movement can be the answer to distrust – because movements are strengthened by their perceived authenticity. And it can be the answer to division, because by definition movements involve more than one person (there’s never been a movement of one). And it can be the answer to disruption, because movements are defined by being for change, but giving us the sense that we’re more in control of which change we choose.

This word movement gets bandied around a lot at the moment, so I want to be really clear about what I mean by it. To me a movement is not the same thing as an organisation. To me a movement is a tribe – a really, really big tribe, but a tribe nonetheless – which coalesces around a shared view of how the world could be and which commits not simply to taking one action but instead to a lifetime of service to an ideal.

My friend Alex Evans has just published a book in which he quotes an American organiser as saying ‘what makes a movement is simply enough people feeling part of it – sensing a shared culture, and forcing those watching to take note and take sides’.

That seems about right to me, because movements do force us to take sides, and decide where we stand on the big moral questions of the day. This isn’t a new thing – we’ve had movements for the abolition of slavery and for women’s suffrage and for civil rights. But just because we’re sympathetic to the most famous movements, we shouldn’t assume that movements are always the good guys. There’s a global far right movement too. And a global jihadi one.

So there’s nothing new about movement thinking, and nothing inherently honourable about it either. But my argument today is that there is nonetheless something about it which makes it uniquely well suited to the demands of the hour.

Scots as movement-builders

So why am I talking about this here in Scotland, and suggesting that Scots have a special obligation to fight hatreds which seem so much bigger than us, so big in fact that they could overwhelm the world? My answer is a simple one: Scots have a calling now, because we know better than anybody that none of us have to be put in boxes not of our choosing.

For three centuries we have been simultaneously Scottish and British and there are plenty of people who want to campaign for us to be Scottish and European. The fluidity of our identity is why we can talk of people being Scottish by birth, choice or aspiration – because we have long accepted that there’s nothing binary or closed about being a Scot.

And so my second argument today is that there is such a thing as Scottishness and that it leaves us well placed to be the movement builders that this movement moment demands of us.

The nature of Scottishness has obviously been a source of some controversy, so let me share a little about where I’m coming from.

Given the mesmerising range of choice – the grandeur of our Munros, the mysteries and histories of our lochs and the breathtaking beauty of our islands and our glens, it might surprise a visitor to Scotland to know that two of my favourite sights here are stones. They are both small, both plain and both can be seen within an hour of where we are now.

The first is the one bearing a circular inscription on the floor of the National Museum in Edinburgh, the one which says ‘Scotland to the world to Scotland’. The motto is chiseled in a circle so that, depending on how you look at it, it either says ‘Scotland to the world’ or ‘the world to Scotland’.

The second is embedded in the wall of St Giles’ Cathedral and says simply ‘Thank God for James Young Simpson’s discovery of chloroform anaesthesia in 1847’.

It seems to me that it is in these two small slabs – even more than in our poetry, plays, novels, songs or political speeches – you find the essence of the Scottish national character.

In the National Museum stone, you learn of our sense of Scotland the Good Samaritan, unwilling to pass by on the other side. There is much to be proud of here, from the disproportionate numbers of Scottish volunteers in the International Brigades to the phenomenal demonstration of people power on the eve of the 2005 Make Poverty History summit in Gleneagles. Whatever our views on the constitutional question, we can be proud that both nationalists and unionists, Yes and No supporters are united in their support for Scotland fulfilling our obligations to those beyond our borders who need our help.

In the St Giles’ Cathedral stone, you see a very Scottish combination of intense pride in our temporal talents, combined with a beautifully understated trust in providence, and a reminder not to get too cocky – it’s all very well being the most inventive people on the face of the earth, but don’t go thinking you did it on your own. The reason I love this stone so much is because it really encapsulates what I feel about my obligations as a campaigner – life isn’t about being ‘nice’, about having good intentions but not a real strategy for change. On the contrary – life is really about each of us straining to fulfil our potential so that the talents of each of us are used for the benefit of all of us. Our time on earth is supposed to be a succession of periods of hard thinking followed by periods of hard work.

We don’t have a Scots word or phrase that describes precisely this mix of social duty and determination to apply rigorous thinking to big problems, and the best I’ve come up with is ‘strategic service’.

I should say at this point that I don’t consider these national traits of ours an unalloyed good. The same overwhelming sense of obligation which can lead us to great acts of courage and self-sacrifice can tip all too readily in to an oppressive puritanism and self-righteousness. So I’m not suggesting here that Scots are superior to other peoples, just that we’re not entirely in the wrong when we ask ‘wha’s like us? Damn few’.

Movement thinking

So my second argument today is that to be a Scot is to have a particular take on the world, bound up in our sense of connectedness to other peoples and also in our obligation to give the best service it is in our power to give. It is for historians and anthropologists to tell us how we came to be this way, and for the philosophers to tell us if the downsides I have just described are a price worth paying for our gifts, but for our purposes today I hope we can take it as a starting point that there is something real about Scottishness, and our cultural distinctiveness is to be found somewhere in this area.

My third and final argument is that – if I am right, and our world needs movements and, if I am right that Scottishness is characterised both by its richness as a porous identity and by its internationalism and sense of strategic service, then Scots have a particular contribution to make to building movements in the years ahead.

Let me just say a little about what that would look like.

Firstly, great movements don’t buy great man theories of history. That doesn’t mean movements are leaderless – it means they are leaderful. Just think about Black Lives Matter, or the women’s marches on the inauguration weekend, or the refugees welcome movement. I don’t know who is in charge of any of these things, because nobody is in charge of these things. They are full of leaders, people who identify themselves through action.

And that brings me to my second point about movements. Movements are only as good as the activism they inspire and that should be our aim – providing inspiration, not giving orders. Brilliant movement builders rally people around a vision and then let people decide how they are going to contribute, creating the space for a whole range of creative tactics to emerge.

If we take a look at just the refugees welcome idea for a minute, it is clear that no one person could have come up with the range of activities people have done. Let me be clear here – I’m incredibly proud of Scotland’s response to the refugee crisis, just as I want to celebrate the contribution of communities across the UK. But I’m not naive – my point is not to suggest that everybody is welcoming or that Scots are inherently more progressive on these questions than folk down South.

But I do want to look at how people in Scotland were able to link up with a wider movement in a way that should make us all proud.

To take just two examples. How brilliant that ordinary folk from Glasgow set up Refuweegee, a charity which offers new arrivals to the city not just essentials like toiletries and nappies, but ‘letters fae the locals’ introducing what we love about our city and explaining treats like In Bru and Tunnocks Tea Cakes.

Or when Syrian families were first resettled in Bute, how amazing that locals went to speak to the church about giving a space for Friday prayers and to the local co-op about making sure they had halal meat for sale.

All of these things were just people finding different ways to contribute, the same way a QC in London decided to set up the billable hour campaign where he encouraged all his pals from chambers, and then all the solicitors they worked with, to each give what they would bill in an hour to Save the Children’s child refugee appeal. All at the same time as Belle and Sebastian decided to put on a gig for us, and Caitlin Moran organised a single, and a member of the public set up a petition which ended up forcing David Cameron to agree to take 20 thousand Syrian refugees, while another ordinary woman invited a few of her friends on Facebook to a protest and ended up leading a march of 10 thousand people through London.

There wasn’t a mastermind behind all of these things – but there was a movement, and the movement is delivering real change, right now.

And here’s the final point I want to leave you with, and it brings us full circle as to why we’re talking about this in Scotland. Being a movement builder means connecting with people on the very deepest level of their values and their identity. Something can have mass participation and still not be a movement – after all nobody says they are part of the movement for iphones, or converse shoes or AirBnB. These communities are all massive, but they are just organised around things we use, they don’t represent who we are.

Likewise even if we feel a very strong attachment to one political party or one charity, our loyalty to the movement of which it is part tends to run even deeper. Nobody has a twitter bio saying ‘supporter of the Fawcett Society’ – we say feminist. We don’t say ‘Hope not Hate donor’ – we say anti-fascist. And we don’t say ‘Amnesty member’, we say human rights defender.

And that, of course, is the same idea we started with. My experience of being Scottish – in part I am sure because it’s been an experience of being Scottish and British, not Scottish or British – has made me feel incredibly comfortable with the idea that I’m part of more than one community of action, of mutual obligation, and of identity.

Movement thinking is a new buzz phrase around the world, but it’s actually something Scots do instinctively, because whether we like it or not, duality is part of who we are. There will be plenty of people here – and there are certainly plenty of people among my own nearest and dearest – who want another referendum, and will use it as a chance to vote for independence.

It isn’t my place to pass judgement on that one way or another today. But I hope it is my place to ask you to weigh very carefully whether the rich, multi-layered nature of Scottish identity is something you value and, if it is, whether you’re prepared to put that special perspective to good use in this movement moment.

Over the course of this weekend and in the months and years to come the status of Scotland in the Union will no doubt continue to dominate. But if that is all we talk about I fear we are missing the chance to make our mark on questions of truly global and historical significance.

Scotland’s national question is a complex one, but my argument today is simple: our broken world needs movements, movements need Jock Tamson’s Bairns and they need us now.

#Scotland #campaigning

0 notes

jezfletcher · 7 years

Text

Oscars 2017

It's Oscars time again, and before the great, grand anticlimax which is the actual ceremony, I'd like to take you through my regular wrap-up and count down of my favourite Oscar films of the year. Unlike recent years, where I've had ample opportunity to watch the best films periodically throughout the year, 2016 involved dedicating a large proportion of my spare time to helping keep a small human being alive. As a result, no I've not seen fewer films this year, but I have had to cram most of them into the space of the month between the end of Sydney Festival and the Oscars ceremony. In all, I saw 42 Oscar-nominated feature films this year, which is all but 5 of the total. Of those, I could have seen O.J.: Made In America, but its 4.5 hour running time made it a daunting prospect, and difficult to squeeze in amongst all the Keeping A Small Human Being Alive. So it's a pretty good hit-rate. Sadly, it means I'm missing out on some films with an excellent pedigree, though: Asghar Farhadi's films are always excellent, but The Salesman comes out in cinemas a couple of weeks after the Oscars. 20th Century Women is directed by Mike Mills, director of two very fine films I've seen—Beginners and Thumbsucker—and is up for Best Original Screenplay, one of my favourite categories. I'm also missing I Am Not Your Negro, another Best Documentary Feature nominee, and My Life As A Zucchini, up for Best Animated Feature. Anyway, without further preamble, here's my countdown of the films, from best to worst. My write-ups may well not be as detailed as previous years (due to, ahem, small human being alive keeping), but I'll try to dive more deeply into some of the ones which warrant it in particular.

1. 13th

A truly phenomenal, and utterly engaging documentary from Ava DuVernay (director of Selma), charting the fortunes of the black American population since the 13th Amendment to the constitution and the abolition of slavery. In it, she presents compelling arguments that, although the official abolition of slavery occurred a century and a half ago, the caste separation between the black and white populations continues. She charts this through various stages: the post civil-war continuation of slavery, which allowed slavery as a punishment for crime; the Jim Crow racial segregation laws; the war on drugs; and the present day practice of mass-incarceration. Through all of these, DuVernay shows how each of these disproportionately affects the black community, and posits persuasive arguments that these are merely a by-product of the exact same mentality that promoted slavery of black Americans in the first instance. Moreover, she promotes the theory that these laws are not just some kind of retribution, or covert racism, but an economic necessity for the white population to maintain its cultural advantages. Indeed, this is no different, DuVernay argues, than modern-day slavery itself. Disenfranchisment, subtle propaganda, racial stereotyping and profiling; these are all symptoms of the same illness. It was a truly remarkable documentary, and one which fortunately ended with a firm call to action, firmly rooted around the Black Lives Matter movement. It needed it, as a final note of optimism, because the argument she presents about how this has continues throughout history was utterly convincing.

2. Hell or High Water

A really fine film, with a great cast, and a sense of engagement throughout. You immediately empathise with everyone in this film, both the duo of bank-robbing brothers, and the law enforcement officers hunting them down. There's lovely bits of mystery to the tale that hook you from the start, and it makes for a really engaging film from start to finish. Jeff Bridges is great, and deserving of his Oscar Nomination, but the film wouldn't be successful without equally charismatic turns from Ben Foster and Chris Pine. They all work as an ensemble to tell this tale, and it's a rollicking ride. Definitely worth your time.

3. Land of Mine

After the second world war, Denmark's western coastline was filled with German landmines, left after a feared invasion via the country. The Danish army decided it would use its German prisoners of war to clear the mines. Enter Sergeant Rasmussen (Roland Møller), who commands a troop of around 20 young Germans, most not much out of adolescence, as they clear thousands of mines from a remote beach. This is a film filled with inherent tension. From very early in the piece, we're subjected to the heart-stopping thrill of defusing these mines, and it's made clear that the filmmakers are not shying away from the shock of them unexpectedly exploding. But the way this device is used in the film is where it gets its real power. Director Martin Zandvliet knows he can shock the audience at any point in the film. But he doesn't waste these opportunities. Instead, he plays on the anticipation, the stress and the audiences own fear to beautifully paint the situation these young men find themselves in. And from this, Zandvliet crafts a really quite emotional and human tale. There's a conflict inherent in the situation for these characters. Set at the time when the German's atrocities during the war were being discovered, there's the feeling punishment these German soldiers is warranted—they will face the crimes of their country. But we spend time with these boys (and they are boys), and we see the innocence and humanity in them. We see their simple dreams—one wants to be a bricklayer, one is going to work in a friend's factory, all dream of their mother's cooking—and are reminded that they too are victims of war. All of this is packaged into a film that's quite captivating and thrilling, due to that manipulation of its premise. It's a really well-constructed and very powerful film. I've not seen any other work by this director before, but I anticipate some fine things from Martin Zandvliet in the future.

4. The Lobster

(Written up in 2015 (!!)) I really loved Yorgos Lanthimos's breakthrough film Dogtooth, but was lukewarm to his follow-up effort Alps. Nevertheless, I was enthusiastic about seeing The Lobster, the director's first feature in (mostly) English. This film very much harks back to the aesthetic and devices of Dogtooth, however, which makes it a much more indulgent experience. David (Colin Farrell), is a recently single man, who arrives at the mysterious Hotel, where single people are ushered in order to force them to couple-up with other singles. They have forty-five days to do so, after which time, supposedly, they will get transformed instead into the animal of their choice. You have to accept the premise of the film, because it's Lanthimos, and he gives you no option otherwise. But once you do accept it, it's a really quite wonderful exploration of this near-future dystopia. Lanthimos explores this notion of singledom as a curse through the Hotel, and through the outcast Loners whom are routinely hunted by the Hotel's guests. Macabre but prosaic tableux are played out by Hotel staff illustrating the benefits of living life as a couple. Counterpointing this need to be coupled is the infeasibility of forming a perfect union—one in which your defining characteristic is shared by your partner: your limp, your near-sightedness, your singing voice. It makes the cruelty of this world plain in its beige reasonableness. Lanthimos has assembled an exceptional international cast here, filled with peripheral actors who provide comedy, tragedy and pathos. Besides Farrell, we have Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Léa Sedoux, Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly and Angeliki Papoulia (probably best known for her work in Lanthimos's previous films, especially Dogtooth). This ensemble provides for an exceptional range of talent, from comic to heart-felt. It is indeed, very, very funny—despite the traumatic unreality of the piece. There's something very disturbing in the film, but in a way that twists it towards the surreal rather than the truly upsetting. this is not to say that Lanthimos shies away from his trademark brutal depiction of cruelty and violence. This is here, and it serves its purpose. You're never going to escape one of his films completely unscathed. But overall, it forms a really genuinely impressive piece of work. My only criticism of The Lobster compared to Dogtooth is that there almost felt as though there had been nothing like Dogtooth before it, and this is not true of The Lobster: The Lobster was rather like Dogtooth. But at least if one is labelling a film as derivative, it being derivative of one of the most unique and idiosyncratic films of the past 20 years is no bad thing.

5. Nocturnal Animals

Tom Ford, fashion designer-cum-director, made an exquisitely and painfully beautiful film in 2009 called A Single Man, which showed off his visual chops and his rapport with his cast, but also tended towards fussiness, and an over-reliance on laboured perfection. I enjoyed it a good deal, but it's nothing compared to his sophomore effort Nocturnal Animals, which ends up being a truly remarkable film. In it, we see two parallel stories. In the first, a wealthy gallery owner (Amy Adams) receives an unpublished manuscript of her ex-husband's first novel. She becomes obsessed with it, as her current marriage falls apart around her. The second follows the plot of the novel, in which a man (Jake Gyllenhaal) loses his wife and daughter to kidnappers during a roadtrip in rural Texas. As the second plot weaves through the investigation of the crime by Detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon, in yet another incredible turn from one of my favourite actors), we start to perceive the connection between the novel and the lives intertwined in the real world—driven home by the fact that Jake Gyllenhaal also plays Amy Adams' ex-husband in reality. It's a conceit that's been down before in film, but it's done with such panache here, thanks to Tom Ford's not-insignificant talent as a director, and his flair for visual style. It makes for a really quite thrilling film, and one which engaged me throughout. It's also, in many ways, a much more ambitious film than his first: where A Single Man had to gleam with crystalline perfection, Nocturnal Animals is a rougher affair, and it's the better for it. Ford has a strong hand as a director, but here he knows when to let the story flail a little, and to let us see it in its unvarnished ugliness. It shows development and maturity. And so, much more than I felt with A Single Man, I'm now genuinely excited to see where Ford goes as a director. This film shows the true potential for future mastery, and maintains that sense of grand talent that was in his first film. Based on the current trajectory, his third film could be something utterly brilliant.

6. Arrival

This was the kind of film I was always going to like. From Denis Villeneuve, a director I've much admired in the past, It has the hard-edge of real science fiction to it. Alien spacecraft have appeared at various points around the world, and the film follows the efforts of a disaffected American linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams, again) to decipher their language, and provide a way for communication. On top of this story of scientific discovery is the global political turmoil, which is woven together in such a way to provide the conflict and tension of the film. Villeneuve has a knack for picking exceptional scripts, and he carefully places them in such context to get maximal emotional engagement from the audience. He also manages here, as he has in other films like Incendies to contrive an exceptional plot twist towards the end, which is in plain sight throughout the film. By the end, everything is so neatly packaged together that it's utterly satisfying, and the twist is so beautifully wrought that it warrants a second viewing. But mostly, it was just an engaging film throughout its length. I was rapt, and that's because it was so well crafted. There was nothing out of place, nothing superfluous. It was just great film-making; you didn't see the craft, just the story.

7. Captain Fantastic

I missed this film at the Sydney Film Festival this year, but I'm very pleased it ended up with a nod come Oscars season because otherwise I might well have missed it. It follows the tale of Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) and his children, who live isolated in the wilderness, learning survival skills, philosophy, hard sciences, critical thinking and a code of atheist ethics. The film opens soon after the death of the children's mother, who recently left their encampment to get better treatment. In order to attend her funeral, the family has to travel to New Mexico, and reintegrate into society. There's an odd seduction to the world Ben creates for his family. In particular, the sense of first trying to divorce yourself from all of the trappings of societal norms, and once that's done, to raise your children in the best possible way. The film, then, becomes an exploration of how that philosophy is in direct conflict with the rest of the world. It's engaging as a road-trip movie, but it's more of a philosophical exploration. Each of the encounters and small events on the journey present another facet to this conflict. Maybe it's just me and my lefty-leaning ways, but it was very easy to take Cash's side in the conflict, even as you could see the difficulties this presents for his children interacting with the people of the “real" world. Mortensen is exceptionally good in the lead, but it's really an ensemble piece. George McKay as Bodevan, Ben's eldest son is another stand-out. And there's ample support in the later pieces from Frank Langella as Ben's father-in-law. Overall, it was a really engaging, and extremely thought-provoking film. It didn't make me immediately want to drive my wife and son to the hills to start living the Cashes' existence, but it did raise some interesting thoughts about instilling values in your children. A film that can affect your world-view is a powerful one.

8. Manchester By The Sea

I think I'm spending too long on these films, so I might take it easy here. This is a fine film, and in the best tradition of a film just telling a story in such a good way that it gets propelled to the Oscars. There's nothing particularly Oscar-baiting about this film, but it is undoubtedly the kind of film that often gets Oscar nods. Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is a custodian for a block of apartments in Boston, who gets called back to his hometown after his brother dies. Here he looks after his nephew (Lucas Hedges), and faces up to his past. It's a well-structured film, and everything is put in place very nicely. It's a good performance from Affleck (who I believe is still the front-runner to take out Best Actor), and Hedges provides a fine counterpoint. And the cinematography is particularly good: capturing very well the atmosphere of this seaside Massechusetts town. Definitely worth a look.

9. A Man Called Ove

I thought this film was going to be this year's bizarrely comic Scandinavian garbage (like The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared, which I hated). There is that sense of staid Swedish comic timing in the opening scenes, as we are introduced to Ove, a crotchety elderly resident of a Swedish housing estate. But while the film could have left him as an unsympathetic, blank mystery, it takes on the much more difficult task of showing us all the stories of his life that have brought him to this point. And in so doing, not only is there great empathy induced in us (to the point of great emotional upheaval), but the characterisation of the old man we see is perfectly wrought. Much of the success of the film comes from the performances, and both the old Ove (Rolf Lassgård) and the young Ove (Filip Berg) are excellent, with Berg putting in place all the sympathy we need for Lassgård's gravitas to drive home. It's a rare thing that a film so beautifully balances comedy and tragedy, but A Man Called Ove really manages it with finesse. Hannes Holm should take a bow.

10. Moonlight

A really great film, charting the life of a black man from childhood into early adulthood through three sections. In the first, the young Chiron (Alex Hibbert) is taken under the wing of a local drug dealer (Mahershala Ali), and provided with a kind of mentoring that has been missing from his life. In the second, the teenage Chiron (Ashton Sanders) struggles with bullying. And in the third, the now adult Chiron (Trevante Rhodes) reconnects with a friend from his past (Andre Holland). All of these vignettes are provided to explore an aspect of a young man's life, in particular highlighting the challenges faced by a person of colour. The fact that it doesn't go where you expect it to go, or where many genre films that look superficially the same would go, is where this film really stretches out into its own identity. It makes it feel warmly human and affecting in a way that many films fail. There are some elements of this film that I didn't like, however, which is why a film of this emotional power finds itself not at the very top of the list. For a start, the cinematography is done in the extremely offputting, shaky hand-held style, which proponents claim add immediacy, but which I think just makes for nausea and distraction. Indeed, in general there are a few things which seem to detract from the immersion of the film. Fortunately, it doesn't matter all that much due to the fact that the story is compelling enough in and of itself. So it's not without flaws, but it still stands tall as a truly excellent film. This must be seen as the front-runner to knock La La Land off for Best Picture, and while apparently the chances of this are sweet fuck-all, it is much, much more deserving of this honour.

11. Lion

A much more rigidly structured film than Moonlight, much more Oscar-baity, and nonetheless in some senses more enjoyable, Lion tells the remarkable true story of a young Indian boy separated from his family, who finds himself adopted by an Australian couple. The tale is told in two parts: first the young Saroo (Sunny Pawar) as he struggles to survive in Calcutta. Secondly, Saroo as a young man in Australia (Dev Patel) trying to search again for his birth family in India. Both parts are strong, but I found the first section particularly good, and the performance from young Sunny Pawar surprisingly mature. Patel is also good in the second part (and he does a surprisingly passable Australian accent), but the story of his life in Australia (especially his relationship with his girlfriend (Rooney Mara)) is less compelling, meaning that in the third quarter the film regresses to a simmer. I always find Nicole Kidman surprisingly inoffensive in film, given I don't think of her as an actress I particularly like, but I think here her Oscar nomination is a bit of a stretch. But in general, it's a very entertaining and genuinely crowd-pleasing film. It's in some ways a very safe film, which means that it never has the opportunities to really transcend its genesis. But it's a fine story, and it's put competently on screen by first-time director Garth Davis. A very long shot for Best Picture, but it would be a more worthy winner than others.

12. Hidden Figures

If there was an award for biggest Oscar-bait of the year, and La La Land wasn't for some reason in vogue, then Hidden Figures might well clean up. This is a very obviously structured film, but one with a great story to tell, and put together with enough verve to make up for its shortcomings. It tells the story of three black women working as mathematicians in NASA's offices in Virginia in the lead up to John Glenn's first orbit of Earth. This, at a time when racial segregation was still in place in the southern United States, Virginia included. The heart of this film lies in the performances from the three leads, Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer. Spencer is as good as always, and Henson competently provides a worthy central protagonist. But I found Janelle Monae to be the most compelling presence, and I think she can feel slighted not to get a nod for Best Supporting Actress. It's a fine film though, and it was thoroughly enjoyable throughout. Again, like Lion it was rather safe, but it did a good job with what it was attempting.

13. Sully

This should by all rights have been much lower on this list, but I genuinely found it enthralling, moving and very enjoyable, and a surprising return to form for Clint Eastwood, who has been in my bad books for his last few films. At the Oscars, it's only up for Best Sound Editing, however, but it's a good enough excuse to go watch what's a really good film anyway. It helps that, unlike a seemingly large swathe of film critics nowadays, I do rather like Tom Hanks, who is as solid and reassuring an actor as Chesley Sullenberger is a pilot. Here, he doesn't have to show the emotional range that he did in Captain Philips, but it's a very capable performance nonetheless, and no less entertaining for its subtlety. But the main attraction is the story: both Sully's amazing achievement in landing a plane in the Hudson River with no casualties, but the subsequent investigation. Both of these, Eastwood puts on the screen with consummate skill, in such a way that there's always tension and intrigue. It's something of a wonder to see, given I'd largely written off Eastwood after American Sniper. I'm pleased to see that he at least had a Sully left in him.

14. Zootopia

A very enjoyable animated film, with a solid political message under the surface. It follows the tale in the eponymous city of Zootopia of a young rabbit police officer (Ginnifer Goodwin) who teams up with a petty criminal fox (Jason Bateman) to unlock a city-wide conspiracy. The story is not the film's strength though, and neither is the visual style, which relies a little too much on a kind of jukebox/spin-the-wheel backdrop presto-chango that sees the protagonists traverse through a sequence of environments just as an excuse to give the latest snow or jungle foliage rendering a whirl. But where it is better is in the depiction of the threat of dictatorial tyrrany (sadly, something we need more than ever nowadays). The undertones of the film are much stronger than the colourful surface package, and that's the best part of the film. Where it has to rely on plot to progress the film though, it ends up being more of a disappointment.

15. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

A decent follow-up to the excellent Force Awakens, Rogue One details the events immediately preceding A New Hope, in particular, the efforts taken to obtain the stolen plans of the Death Star. This could easily have been done quite poorly in many ways, and could have felt superfluous or self-indulgent, so it's something of an achievement that it's as successful as it is. But the story is only so good, especially once you know where it's going (and you should, at least to some extent). There's a lot of tacked on plot-lines about the remnants of a Jedi subculture which perhaps broaden the canonical Star Wars universe, but which do little to help this particular film. But the ending had some clout, and adds additional gravitas to the original saga in a rather pleasing way. The characters are generally reasonably good, although the main character Jyn (Felicity Jones) is numbingly bland—to the extent that I honestly remember the film with a kind of blanked-out blind spot in the centre of it. Better is the support, in particular Diego Luna as Jyn's eventual offsider, and the always excellent Ben Mendelsohn. I didn't even mind Alan Tudyk's motion-capture turn as a reprogrammed Imperial droid, which others certainly did. The CGI Peter Cushing though is pure uncanny valley, and every moment he was on screen was slightly unnerving. Overall, I definitely enjoyed it. Moreover, it's a film with enough clout to ensure that the revamped Star Wars universe has momentum leading up to Episode VIII. And I'm certainly looking forward to that.

16. Doctor Strange

Another film that has absolutely no business being as high as this is Doctor Strange, which I found to be a really entertaining outing from the Marvel stable. The concept goes like this: a gifted but egotistical neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) has a horrific (self-inflicted) car crash, and loses the ability to use his hands. In search of ever more esoteric cures for his injuries, he finds the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who uses “magic" to protect the world from the non-physical threats, “in the same way the Avengers protect the world from physical threats". OK, nice way to weave this into the same universe at least. What this film is, first and foremost, is a visual spectacle. There's a reason this is up for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. It's because the effects are genuinely a cut above almost everything else this year. Not only are they beautifully crafted, but they're visually inventive, in a way that makes you remember the spectacle of really good special effects before everything was just how many CPU cycles were used to render each strand of a character's hair. It helps as well that this film manages to assemble the likes of Cumberbatch, Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams and Mads Mikkelsen. It adds weight to a film that doesn't need it (and possibly doesn't warrant it), and yet you end up with this rare treat in having them all present for it. Overall, it's not a heavy-hitting film in terms of story or cultural impact, but it's hard to deny that it's a very successful one for a blockbuster comic book adaptation.

17. Toni Erdmann

Up for Best Foreign Language Film, Toni Erdmann revolves around a German woman Ines (Sandra Hüller) working as an executive in Romania, and the attempts by her estranged father (Peter Simonischek) to reconnect with her. When their initial time together is awkward and frosty, the father returns as his alter ego Toni Erdmann—complete with false overbite, bad wig and outgoing personality. Posing as a life coach for Ines's CEO boss, tacitly accepted as such by Ines, the two manage something of a shaky relationship as Ines struggles with the pressures of her job. It's an awkward film in many ways, but an intriguing one. Despite the rather comic premise, it's deeply depressing for large tracts of the film—and in particular, Ines's life is achingly unfulfilling. Early sequences between her and her father are also filled with that kind of teeth-clenching embarrassment that makes a film hard to sit through. Depending on which character you most identify with, it's likely either a similarly squirm-inducing experience, or a rollicking comic deconstruction of the business world. All of this is for a purpose though, and the ending is surprisingly and genuinely quite cathartic. It makes the rest of the film seem like it was worthwhile, even though I remembered the bulk of it as being rather unsettling to sit through. Due to the discomfort, I'm certainly less enthusiastic about the film as a whole, but by the end I could certainly see it as a worthwhile piece of cinema.

18. Allies

I'm going to skim this one. It wasn't a bad film, but it was done a deep disservice by the trailer, which gave away the major plot point of the film (which happens about 40m before the end, and sets up the great climax). The opening scenes were good though, but because we knew where it was going to end up, there's a little bit of “when are they going to get to the fireworks factory" to it. Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt are serviceable enough to drive the film forward, and the production design and costuming is good (which is what it's up for at the Oscars). Not a huge standout though—it would have been better if I'd seen the trailer.

19. Fences

Denzel Washington's third film as director sees him square in front of the camera as well, as a blue-collar working man and the life he's carved out for himself and his wife (Viola Davis) in suburban Pittburgh. He seems a devoted husband and father, albeit one who drinks too much, and who seems to keep secrets. This film suffers severely from the fact that it's so obviously based on a stage play. It comes to the screen in such a way that's not nearly divorced enough from its genesis, so it feels rather like you're just watching a static stage from a series of different angles. Most of the action happens in the small, unfenced back yard of their home, and you can almost exactly see the way the set is constructed on the stage. It's also monumentally too long for what it is—running at well over two hours it feels every minute. And it's particularly galling at what's obviously the Act break in the stage production (where a nice drink in the lobby would have been very pleasant). But there's undeniably good things about this film. The two lead performances from Washington and Davis are superb, and they are both rightful nominees in their categories. Washington has a lot of dialogue in the film, and it's a hard-working effort even to put it on screen, but Viola Davis's character has a much better emotional journey, and she evokes a level of empathy that makes this really quite compelling. In the end, it's something of a product of its genesis. It's well done, but maybe it couldn't have really been done any differently without significantly changing the purpose and drive of the film. I'm not overly insulted that this has a Best Picture nomination, but I am a little surprised at it.

20. Kubo and the Two Strings

The studio that produced Kubo has done some good things recently, in particular Boxtrolls, which was my pick of Best Animated feature two years ago. And there's a reason why they're getting kudos, because films like that and Kubo and the Two Strings are good films which break out of the mould of the common animated fare. In Kubo, a young boy sets out on a mission to find his missing samurai father and defeat the evil spirit of the Moon King. It's all a bit Mystical Ethos for large parts, but it's a visual treat, both for the stop-motion animation and the fine integration of CG imagery. It's also inventive in a similar way to Doctor Strange, meaning that the visual effects are not just “a slightly better iteration of what we've seen before". With all of this, it can be something of a treat. While the main plot is not necessarily all that engaging, the emotional engagement of the characters is well-drawn, and it can be affecting at times. That's rare enough in this kind of film, and adds some much needed gravitas. Overall, it was decent enough as a film. I could easily believe that it might end up pipping Zootopia to my nod for Best Animated Feature (despite the fact it's lower on the list), due to its coherence as a package.

21. Star Trek Beyond

Eh. I'm going to skim review this one as well. It's another Star Trek film, but noticeably better than the second one at least. I feel this is at least partially due to the fact that Simon Pegg co-wrote this, and there's a level of knowing comedy that elevates this to some degree. It's entertaining, and there's something now comforting about this crew of the Enterprise in a way that the first one felt jarring and inappropriate.

22. Loving

Here's perhaps the first film on this list that was something of a disappointment to me. This is by no means a bad film, as it strings together the tale of Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga), and interracial couple who became the test case for mixed-race marriage in the United States. But it's also a film by Jeff Nichols, who has done phenomenal work in the past, and who doesn't match that with this rather staid and understated film. To some extent, however, Loving is specifically designed to be staid and understated. This is, after all, just a story of two regular people who are in love and who want to live, married, in peace. The film becomes a study in this regular life—there's nothing extraordinary about that. But once you get that message, it leaves the film itself underwhelming as well. Ruth Negga, however, is a real bright spot. Understated as the film demands, her portrayal of Mildred Loving is careful, particular and strong. Edgerton is serviceable, but can't match Negga, and it shows to some extent. But it's a good film all up. There's just something so flat about it that it has a hard time really attracting attention to itself, and by the end of the film I could say with absolute certainty “that was a good film". I just could muster much passion for doing so.

23. Moana

I'll skim this film, if you don't mind. It's a fine Disney film, and put together with really quite pleasing visuals. In particular, they've clearly put a lot of CPU cycles into the rendering of water, given the large proportion of this film is set on the ocean. And the songs are decent enough, composed as they are by Lin-Manuel Miranda. He may we get (and may well deserve) his EGOT for this film. Overall, it was only so good in the end, but it wasn't offensive or otherwise underwhelming.

24. Deepwater Horizon

I'm going to skim this one too, although it's not a bad film, encompassing the events leading up to the explosion and eventual leak of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform. There's something quite engaging about the early scenes as we watch with a sense of impending doom all of the complex, finely-tuned machinery, knowing what will eventually happen. It's less interesting later once the explosion happens and it becomes something like Titanic-but-with-more-oil-fires. But in the end, it's a relatively coherent tale, that's also interesting intrinsically.

25. The Jungle Book

A decent enough, but very lightweight excursion in turning Disney's classic animated feature into a green-screen affair. There's something a little bit bizarre about moving the canonically cartoonish animal characters into the realm of the hyper-real, especially as an outwardly convincing bear character starts crooning along to “The Bare Necessities". The lead actor is strong enough to largely carry the film at least. And the visual effects were relatively well done (at least to the extent that they didn't include a creepy CGI Peter Cushing), which is what it's up for. So kudos for that.

26. Passengers

By all rights, this should be well lower down on the list than this. Because this is a film with a deep, horrifically troubling flaw in its central concept. I'd heard the concept of this film, and had taken it this way: Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence awake from hibernation far too early on what should be a hundred year journey to another star system. As they try to work out what to do with themselves, and to discover why they were mistakenly awakened early it becomes clear that in fact Pratt's character woke up first, and then purposely awoke Lawrence's character thereby condemning her to a life of isolation as well. Indeed, the fact that I knew this made me feel as though I'd effectively been spoiled for the big plot twist. So much to my dismay and horror, I discovered that in fact, Pratt is the protagonist of the film, and we are meant to feel for him to such a degree that we empathise with his decision to destroy another life. It's a mind-bogglingly stupid conceit for the film, and it makes much of the main plot actively offensive. So why is it not lower? It's because so very many of the aspects of this film otherwise are extremely good. The world-building of the universe in which they live is done with extreme care, and to such an extent that it's thoroughly engaging. The production design is beautiful and incorporates little details so well to create a sense of immersive atmosphere. The score is brilliantly evocative, capturing both the isolation and the scope of being alone in space. It's as though some idiot came up with a plot, more idiots jumped on board to produce it, and get it an impressive budget, and then every single one of the creatives decided they were going to pour their heart and soul into the film, even though it didn't warrant it. This is the sort of film that a production designer should be proud to have on their resume, and the sort of film a producer might stare back on years later with bleary eyes and go “what was I thinking?".

27. Hacksaw Ridge

I'm actually pretty surprised that this is up for so many awards. I feel like it doesn't pleasantly fit into a niche, and not in the way that a transgressive film can push the boundaries. It's a war film, but it's also a film filled with religious zealotry. And it overdoses on both elements to such an extent that I can feel as though it alienates a large proportion of the people who might otherwise enjoy it. Because it's really quite gruesome, and shows the horrors of war to such an extent that it starts to feel exploitative. But it's also sancitmonious to such a degree that it almost makes you want to vomit. It tells of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a conscientious objector in the Second World War, who refuses to carry a weapon due to his Seventh-Day Adventist faith, but manages to become a hero in the battle of Hacksaw Ridge nonetheless. Andrew Garfield is convincing in his role, but this largely just means that you're convinced you want to punch this guy in the head. I was put offside early enough that by the time he started his selfless attempts to rescue his wounded comrades, it felt more self-indulgent to me. Gibson's direction is partially to blame for all of this. There's a dichotomous nature to the film which is never reconciled, and it makes the whole film feel extremely awkward and unsettling. The fact that he's up for Best Director is perhaps one of the biggest reasons to raise an eyebrow this year. So, I'm not a fan, in short.

28. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Yeah, I'll skim this one too. It was fine, and it had a nice sense of place, and a nice sense that it was expanding the Harry Potter universe, which I have no problem with. But I hate Eddie Redmayne, and this has him at his peak. It also had a little bit too much of J. K. Rowling's “oh This Thing feels like a cute concept so I'll put it in without at all thinking through any of the implications of This Thing existing in the wizarding universe". So… eh.

29. Elle

Elle tells the tale of a video game company executive (Isabelle Huppert), who, in the opening scene, we see brutally raped, and who then appears to just get on with her life as though nothing has happened. It's a hard sell as a film, but at the very least we know from the very beginning what we're getting ourselves in for. In this film, we see Paul Verhoeven (of Starship Troopers fame) in his very best impersonation of Michael Haneke, and falling very much short of a plausible caricature. Because there's something genuinely nasty in this film, in a way that feels a little bit like Verhoeven is getting his jollies from making us watch this. There's a severity and a satire to even the most exploitative elements of Haneke's oeuvre which is entirely absent here, and it makes the film feel deeply unpleasant. Huppert (up for Best Actress) is good enough in the role, but she feels very much as though she's just doing a reprisal of The Piano Teacher without the guidance of Haneke, and fails to sell this as a tale of transgressive sexuality. She does well to rein in her performance as much as she does, but not enough to warrant an Oscar nomination here. In the end, this was really just quite a mess, and it feels more like an ego trip for Verhoeven. Hi might be thinking he's doing a prestige film, but in reality, it's Basic Instinct with the chocks off, and guided into the realm of the unpleasantly perverse.

30. Florence Foster Jenkins

A solid-enough bio-pic, with enough of a surprising edge to give it some frank comedy. Telling the story of the titular wealthy patroness to the arts (Meryl Streep), and her oblivious attempts at performing opera, there's plenty of scope for a very reasonable period piece. And it delivers there. It's decent, and it does what it promises. There's some interesting ensemble support, in particular from Hugh Grant as Jenkins' husband-or-is-he, and Simon Helberg as her accompanist. Helberg in particular is great in a character role, and fits in beautifully into the film. But the film as a whole is almost exactly what you should expect. There's no corners at all, no unexpected digressions or characterisations, and as a result it feels a little bland as a whole. It's also getting tiresome that Meryl Streep gets an Oscar nomination for just showing up on time. Yes, she's a good actress. We get it. This particular performance from her though is nothing out of the ordinary. So overall, I'm mixed. It's not a bad film, but it's also not an exceptional film either. That seems to be what we get from Streep, nowadays.

31. Life, Animated

A thoroughly underwhelming documentary about a subject that genuinely could have been terribly engaging. It follows the story of Owen Suskind, diagnosed with severe autism at age 3, who learns to interact with the world through his love of Disney animated films. The main issue with this film is that it has almost no structure or drive to it. It picks up at a seemingly arbitrary point in Owen's life, as he's preparing to leave school and branch out into the wider world. But it also looks backwards at his story so far in a kind of haphazard way. The emotional impact of the film is lost to a large extent due to this lack of focus. It's a shame because there's considerable promise in the subject matter, and Owen himself is a fascinating and genuinely engaging character. I was more disappointed than anything in the fact that the film squanders its opportunities.

32. La La Land

Oh Damien Chazelle. I'm so disappointed in you. Whiplash was my very top film of 2014, and I honestly couldn't wait to see what he did next. And it's such a shame that what he chose to do with all the skill clearly at his disposal is a very weak attempt to revamp the classic Hollywood musical. Now don't get me wrong, I don't at all mind a good musical. But the thing about seeing someone like Gene Kelly or Ginger Rogers on screen is that they're good at what they do. They're singers, they're dancers, they're entertainers. Ryan Gosling is a fine actor, but he's no singer, and and even less a dancer. Emma Stone is a passable actor, marginally better at singing than Gosling, and severely hampered in her dancing by her partner. It doesn't matter what the story is (although it's weak), this is a film that must live and die on its musical numbers, and they are just not good enough (with the exception being the opening sequence on the LA highways—which, surprise surprise, Gosling and Stone are not part of). As a result, the whole film feels pointless—if you're going to revamp the musical, do it right. This was, honestly, just a waste of potential from all fronts. My only hope is that this pulls an American Hustle, and by the time the voting has been done, everyone in the Academy pulls their head out of their ass and realises what they've done wrong in nominating this for so many awards.

33. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

When I was sorting this list, I genuinely came up against the very difficult task of separating this film and Oscars frontrunner La La Land. That says much more about La La Land than it does about this film, which was always going to be something of a struggle. Telling the story of the attacks on the US Consulate and CIA base in Benghazi, Libya (a favoured topic of attack by Republicans against Hillary Clinton), and directed by noted Hollywood dildo Michael Bay, this was a firm candidate to be my worst film of the year. And yet here it is, dangling some 10 places above the bottom spot. How did it get up here? Mostly, it comes from the fact that there's a persistent sense of energy in this film. From the start to the end, if there's not action on screen, there's the tension of potential action. There's the feeling that something is about to happen—maybe it's a lull in the battle, maybe it's a feeling of electricity between the Libyan locals and the US security contractors, or maybe it's the tension between the C.I.A. operatives trying to do their jobs and the personnel trying to protect their safety. It makes for a visceral experience at the very least. However, it will never cease to amaze me how easy it seems to be for Michael Bay to make films exceptionally boring. While the action sequences are well handled, and the mood of impending doom is maintained throughout the picture, there's almost no sense of plot that takes hold at all. It means that I wasn't engaged in what was happening to these characters at all (indeed, it doesn't help that all of the muscle-bound security personnel are almost identical). So in the end, while this was probably better than I was expecting, there was also just too much of the bad elements to truly transcend its genesis.

34. Tanna

There isn't a huge amount to say or to unpack from this film. Set and filmed on a Vanuatuan island, and scripted in the native language, it follows the tale of two star-crossed lovers who are arranged to be married to others in different tribes. When they try to go against the traditions of their people it causes turmoil. It's an underwhelming film in many ways, and relies almost entirely on the fact that it's filmed with members of the native tribes and in the native language for its novelty. As such, it feels more like a gimmick than anything else, especially because there's not much to the story. I will say at least that it's novel to have an Australian film nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars, but thats about as far as my love of Tanna goes.

35. Fire At Sea

An extremely underwhelming documentary, that loses focus due to attempting to conflate two prongs of a story that aren't all that connected in a narrative sense. It follows life on a small Italian island, and in particular, focuses on the young children who call it home, and contrasts this with the lives of refugees rescued from boats by the local authorities offshore. In theory it should be an interesting proposition, but the film is really lacking in substance, and showing the plight of the refugees, as terrible as it is, is not itself enough to carry the film. By contrast, the lives on the island seem banal, obviously intended as a poignant counterpoint—but given the film itself is already lacking in interest, it just feels as though these additional scenes drag out the film to longer and more extreme lengths of ennui. I didn't much enjoy this when I saw it at the Sydney Film Festival this year, and lo and behold, it's languishing near the bottom of the ratings in my Oscars write-up. The fact that it got to the Oscars at all is probably the thing that puzzles me.

36. Trolls

Meh. Going to skim this one for sure. An animated film, not up for Best Animated Feature, which is not a good sign. It's also rather cynically built around a line of toys, without the joy that came with the Lego Movie. It's up for Best Song, and perhaps only because the song was co-written by Justin Timberlake. But all the songs have a similar, over-produced pop vibe to them, which feels like the story stringing them all together is peripheral at best. Not a pick.

37. The Red Turtle

This one is up for Best Animated Feature, and it's genuinely pretty dull. It tells the tale of a shipwrecked sailor and the life he makes for himself on an island. It's produced by Studio Ghibli (although directed by a Dutch director), which of course means that it's beautifully animated. But in the tradition of certain Ghibli films, it can be excessively dull as well. The beauty doesn't save it, and the dialogue-free story has only enough interest to perhaps warrant a 20 minute short animation. Again, this is one that tested my patience to some degree.

38. Hail, Caesar!

This film was a monumental mess—a grab bag of different cast members and storylines that came together to make nothing more coherent than three different meals thrown in a pile on the floor. Ostensibly about the star of a Ben Hur-esque epic (George Clooney) being kidnapped and held for ransom to the studio, it's actually about 8 different interleaved plots of various value, and a wide-ranging cast that look like they don't much know what they're doing. The Coen brothers have done some good things in their career, but this is not one of them. I'll admit, however, that I'm often out of step with the consensus on Coen Brothers films. No Country For Old Men is also one of their weaker efforts as far as I'm concerned, and others I find certainly underrated (like Burn After Reading and Inside Llewyn Davis). So it's entirely possible that someone else found something to enjoy in this (beside Channing Tatum's dance sequence, which, while good, just further underlined the fact that the film as a whole was incoherent). For me, I'm deeply unimpressed, and I'll head to the next Coen Brothers film with a sense of trepidation. Fortunately, it's time for another darker turn from the duo, and that's often where the good stuff lies.

39. Silence

Monumentally too long, morally questionable and rife with glorification of Western imperialism, Silence was a genuinely pretty awful film. Running at almost three hours in length, we're treated to a hefty discourse on the barbarism of the Japanese meted out on the Portuguese missionaries proselytising Christianity in the 17th century. It follows two missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver), who attempt to find their former mentor and priest (Liam Neeson), who rumour has it has renounced Christianity and now lives as a Japanese. Along the way, we're treated to the honour in which Christian priests are bestowed by the (now hidden and secretive) Christian populations of Japan, in a bizarre sense of justifying what was in essence an attempt at cultural genocide. It's all to easy to try to read another meaning into Martin Scorsese's work here. To look for the parallels, perhaps, in the way Western countries are now spurning multiculturalism. But I think it's equally easy to see this as a film of faith for Scorsese, and in that way it becomes really quite troubling. The story, such that it is, is also not that good, and has about enough content for a 90 minute film. Indeed, much of the film, especially in the early segments, seems to underline the idea that this is a film vaunting Christianity, rather than questioning its presence in late feudal Japan. In all, I found this a genuinely unpleasant film in many ways, and not least because of the fact that it was 161 minutes of numbing boredom.

40. Jim: The James Foley Story

Another documentary, but this one up for the always wacky category of Best Song. Jim follows the story of James Foley, famous for being the first western journalist executed by Daesh/ISIS. It investigates his life leading to him becoming a freelance journalist, and the decisions he made in going to Syria that led to his eventual capture. It's an extremely partisan documentary—which here we can forgive to some extent because the other side is the world's leading terrorist organisation—that canonises Foley before we're given the chance to really form an opinion ourselves. It might be just me, but that really makes me resistant in the first place, but it becomes clear as the film continues that Foley was something of a fool, taking unnecessary risks and justifying them as some great necessity in the pursuit of journalistic truth. Part of this bias comes from the fact that most of the story is told by Foley's family members, who certainly put a sympathetic angle on the tale. This is followed up be fellow freelance journalists, who routinely take similar risks, and his fellow captors who ended up being released from an ISIS prison camp. Towards the end of the film, there's a half-hearted attempt to piece together an investigation into whether the US did enough to secure Foley's release—but the investigation, like the negotiations, it seems, stalled, leaving an unsatisfying number of unanswered questions. All up, it's not a good documentary by a long shot. And the song (which I note is only used over the credits) is mediocre fare from Sting. I'm disappointed on both fronts that it was nominated for an Oscar, both for the song, and for the fact that it meant I felt compelled to watch the documentary as a result.

41. Jackie

Honestly, this film was just utterly, utterly boring. And when it wasn't boring, it was only because there was a kind of horrified fascination with Natalie Portman's caricatured portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in the period following her husband assassination. Although, it's not just set in that period. It plays free with time, jumping around wherever it sees fit, loosely connected by a rather bizarre restaging of a television special Jackie Kennedy did showing the audience around the internals of the White House. It's structurally unsound, and there was always the feeling the whole superstructure could come crashing down at any moment. There were some good things in the film: the score was otherworldly on its own, and made for a really fine set of music that just had no place in this film. And the production design, costuming and the sense of time and place was well created. It's something that director Pablo Larraín has done to much better effect in his breakthrough film No, though. Now it feels a little like it's just been rehashed. But mostly, I just found the film to be excessively dull. I cared not a fig for anyone in the film, even as far as seeing them as interesting characters. They were dull cutouts, lacking in warmth and humanity, and even if there was a story, it was so completely fractured and sliced into pieces as to lack all coherence. A worthy spot in second bottom place.

42. Suicide Squad

I see a lot of films. Quite aside from my perennial Oscars binge, I make an effort to see a large volume of contemporary films, films from the cinema parthenon, classics and trash, the good and the bad. It's a hobby that I dive into with my trademark obsessive zeal. So keep all of this in mind when I say that of all the films I have ever seen in my entire life, Suicide Squad is the worst. That's hopefully quite a statement, and I intend it to be, but it requires some backing up. What is it that makes this film worse than any other? After all, I've seen abominations like Tommy Wiseau's anti-classic The Room. And the answer is manifold. For a start, it's an absolute train-wreck of a mess concept-wise. It lacks coherence in even its basic premise, which revolves around a group of criminals with superpowers somehow becoming the United States' first line of defense against Superman. Viola Davis (what the absolute shit is she doing in this movie?) plays a government something who convinces some other government something that this is a good idea. We're introduced, in slapdash, comic-book style, to about three of these criminals, and they're assembled, along with maybe two or three others who appear from nowhere without any explanation. Oh, and then there's a samurai woman who appears, and is meant to be keeping an eye on the criminals. But it's not really explained what she's doing there at all. All of the members of the squad (I don't think they're ever referred to by the title of the film, but I can imagine Harley Quinn doing a sneaky wink at the camera as she says the name of the film, so maybe they are) are kept in check by having an explosive planted in their brain, necessitating some dude following them into battle holding a laptop so he can blow them up if they get out of line. And then, for no apparent reason at all, there's the Joker. Famously played by a peak-Method Jared Leto (who reportedly spent the shoot sending used condoms to his fellow cast members), he's laughably un-sinister and incessantly banal. He's not part of any discernible plot at all, and seems to be merely a cynical exercise in setting up some future Affleck-fronted Batman film. Or something. Even that is perhaps putting too much credit on whoever vomited up the concept of this film. There's a weird sense that they made the film, realised it was too dark, and tried to lighten it up, with awkwardly delivered one-liners ejactulated onto the screen between scenes of utter banality. It made me laugh in incredulity, which is probably not what they were going for—although who knows what the producers of this film were going for. Certainly not the producers of this film. The fight scenes are utterly incoherent, and there's a weird obsession with filling them with a kind of strafing pink tracer fire which almost sent me into sensory shock (perhaps that would have been preferable to sitting through them). And they're so mind-numbingly over complicated that I honestly can't even recall what most of the characters superpowers were meant to be. Will Smith was in this film, and I think he was good at guns. Some other dude had a magical boomerang. One character could urinate lemonade or something. I swear this movie made me stupider. I could go on—but much as I want to dedicate my life to eviscerating this… thing… whatever it was, I've already wasted enough time and energy on it. Suffice it to say: what the absolute fuck were you thinking Everyone Involved In The Making Of This Film. There is absolutely no way anyone could have seen the finished product and said “Good, that's what we wanted". I can only believe they just got to the point where they were so completely sick of dealing with it any more that they just went “screw it: release it, do something to it, just get it the fuck away from me." But please keep it the fuck away from me as well.

For the record, Jackie, my second bottom film of the Oscars was at least 10 times better than Suicide Squad. In general, the standard was good this year. Or at least, good if you exclude Suicide Squad which has the unfortunate property of dragging everything else in its vicinity down with it. I also this year watched all but one of the short films. This is always a thoroughly worthwhile experience, and this year continued the trend. I'm not going to write them up, but in order, this is how they would rank for me:

Timecode (Live Action)

Pear Cider & Cigarettes (Animated)

Silent Nights (Live Action)

Pearl (Animated)

Joe's Violin (Documentary)

Mindenki (Sing) (Live Action)

Extremis (Documentary)

Piper (Animated)

Borrowed Time (Animated)

Enemies Within (Live Action)

The White Helmets (Documentary)

4.1 Miles (Documentary)

Le Femme et le TGV (Live Action)

All of these were worth watching, and I thoroughly recommend that you do. Watching the short films is honestly one of the most fulfilling parts of my Oscars project each year. All that's left now is for me to cast my ballot. Sadly, although I'm now a full voting member of the Academy, I believe I probably had to have these votes in a long time ago, and probably in a more official form than jezfletcher.tumblr.com. So it's likely that these votes won't count: Best Picture: Hell or High Water Best Director: Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) Best Actor: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea) Best Actress: Ruth Negga (Loving) Best Supporting Actor: Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals) Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (Fences) Best Original Screenplay: The Lobster Best Adapted Screenplay: Arrival Best Animated Feature: Kubo & The Two Strings Best Foreign Language Film: Land of Mine Best Documentary Feature: 13th Best Documentary Short: Joe's Violin Best Animated Short: Pear Cider & Cigarettes Best Live Action Short: Timecode Best Original Score: Jackie Best Original Song: "How Far I'll Go" from Moana Best Sound Editing: Arrival Best Sound Mixing: Arrival Best Production Design: Passengers Best Cinematography: Arrival Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Star Trek Beyond Best Costume Design: Jackie Best Film Editing: Hell or High Water Best Visual Effects: Doctor Strange And would you know my second bottom film gets two votes. How about that.

0 notes

ulyssesredux · 7 years

Text

Eumaeus

I'll just pay this lot. At least 67 dead, rocked in the plural were always hanging around on the tropical calculated to freeze the marrow of anybody's bones and even flesh because palpably it was already several shillings to the inauguration, It will the dishonest media. Praying for the funeral of a different man.

No more guns to protect the upper ten and other high personages simply following in the hope that the man in the act of scrambling out of control, and, he was none to come back to Indiana tomorrow in order to elect Crooked Hillary said that he will be holding a major speech in Cuba immediately & get much better! So as neither of them, which was all radically altered man he certainly did feel and no small blame to our meeting if I don't always agree, I have ZERO investments in Russia. The media is unrelenting. If Mexico is unwilling to make the smallest and it often turned in uncommonly handy to be a very, very effectually cooked his matrimonial goose, thereby heaping coals of fire on his pins. We are suffering through the packed court literally electrifying everybody in the public the primary and most trying declamation piece by the Democratic Party, they couldn't straighten their legs if you vote for Clinton-Kaine is a good and smart! I don't believe that Crooked Hillary Clinton as exposed by WikiLeaks. Dignam son, Danny, run.

#MDW Don't believe the people who did the White House wait so long cramped up, phony facts.

Though a wellpreserved man of no little difficulty in making both ends meet.

I saw on television working so hard, even as a whole, I didn't inherit it, a different grouping of bones and mauling their largesized charms betweenwhiles with rough and tumble of a rug or two accompanied this thrilling announcement. Major story that the former man, by Twitter, Google and Facebook are burying the FBI and DOJ! It was a jew. Just tried watching Saturday Night Live hit job on me on the subject, a rainy night with a one-by General Michael Flynn. Just in, B never had a home somewhere beneath or seemed to.

Bill Clinton says and no matter how well he might have been absolutely decimated by dumb politicians, drew less than 200-with Bill Ford to keep me from getting the endorsement. Another horrific attack, this is a great wall on the final night, I am very proud to have some spark of vitality left read out of control, and the case might be within the Orlando club, you won’t answer the call!

He couldn't remember when it was a fact. —Am I not right? I didn't catch the latter a few odd times and weathered a monsoon, a study of the desert, distilling grapes into potheen in his sentrybox by the tragic storms and tornadoes in the interim ladies' society was a hero, Detective Steven McDonald. She is flying with him tomorrow. People first.

A truly great champion and a flag, were utterly powerless from sitting that way built.

Our wonderful future V.P. Senate, goofy Elizabeth Warren, one lean, walk towards the railway bridge, to trail the conversation, was just shot in Sebastian County, Arkansas. Bread, the King street house, another was a highly laudable institution to which we are all wanting tixs to the White House, as usual with that look of settled purpose which went a long time! Ohio, and were so wrong, are protesting. I am somewhat surprised that Bernie Sanders is exhausted, no action! Quite dark, regular brunette, black. Stay safe!

To the African-American voters-but we let political hacks negotiate our deals. —We come up smiling again.

—He is a winner! Do you believe that all is going on in Great Britain, a veritable sensation, cases of which, barely permissible once in a kind of a deal is falling apart, not to appear to. The world is a tough business. Thank you. I will be making a major news conference on JANUARY ELEVENTH in N.Y.C.

Can anyone explain this? —the most delegates and many millions more, I think that it has been fighting ISIS, illegal immigration. My statement on NATO being obsolete and disproportionately too expensive and unfair for the matter of fact, or Mahony which simply spelt ruin for a moment, rounding which he once with his fingers, some special knack evidently, as unfair as it pertains to my son now, he was not exactly tell being as good as if he was the talk of the many wonderful things that he will, perhaps they should share them with the other way about saw through the affair and for some appreciable time before transferring his rapt attention to their vast discomfiture that their names were coupled in the house of lords because early in the U.S.

This was a bit of the Gaiety when Michael Gunn was identified with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania from a G.Q. shoot in his sober state. I will bring jobs back and get sufficient to eat but the media pile on against me. The last drop even when clothed in the county Sligo. With Hillary and Obama on JOBS and SAFETY! Crooked Hillary has very small and unenthusiastic crowds in Pennsylvania. A division in Clanbrassil street, Dublin's premier photographic artist, being a case for the benefit of them all! Heading to D.C. on Jan 20th for the United States Congress.

I've ever seen. Bernie Sanders has done nothing! However haud ignarus malorum miseris succurrere disco etcetera as the fabled ass's kick. There was a staunch believer in still never beyond a shadow of truth in it.

We can’t allow this horror to continue! Inauguration performance.

#MAGA I will bring America together as ONE country again united as Americans in common between them by innuendo and give more of the chains the horse slowly swerved to turn, which I hear is highly respected by all!

Wisconsin ad with incorrect math.

Terrible!

—There was a favourite haunt with all his bad moves? See media—asking for a fortune, I am not bought like others! Our way of business if—a big day for New York.

Obama—but nobody else does!

I will be. The people who love our people and support of Paul Ryan.

Hillary, who was just a big success. My thoughts and prayers are with you? The sailor grimaced, chewing, in her very long and very boring speech. ObamaCare. John Kasich of the state of Pennsylvania-he cannot win the election. It was truly augmented obviously by gifts of a person's character, no energy left! —she doesn’t have a great Thursday, Friday and Saturday!

There is great unity in my thoughts and prayers with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania, he had just come home with me that alliance members must PAY THEIR BILLS.

See you there! Based on her knee, post mortem child. And that one was Judas, Stephen told him his individual opinions as everyman the keeper, who wants to save our Constitution! And when all was said and done the lies a fellow sailed with me that Podesta & Hillary's people said the same thing. Big day on Thursday to make my move to the floor which the jarvey, if properly handled by some landlady worse than any other country, they should APOLOGIZE. I am the only one with judgement so bad!

Will be in charge of the same. Totally biased-hates Trump I hope corrupt Hillary Clinton has destroyed jobs and found it a wide berth, eased himself closer at hand, the great men and women that gave their lives for us to get his delegates from the brown puddle it clopped out of such a particular date in the city's esteem where he could not have been able to say stormy, weather. Just a Stein scam to fill out the secret for himself as everyone saw. I, of all commodities of the U.S. in totally one-sided spin that followed. —Dice lui, pero! Then someone said something truly horrifying he refused to say in a good poor brute he was he might lend him anything up to fond lovers' ways and means during which time completely regardless of Ire the keeper added he with a bit of a bun, or fools, won't even call it what you call going to do so, in his lengthy dissertation as the law, Jno. Bernie Sanders too hard yet because I belong to the bosses-I won the election, if he had a distinct and painful recollection they paid his screw after every middle of this so-called popular vote than the government it deserves.

#MakeAmericaGreatAgain #Trump2016 MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Johnny Lever, O tell me on the spot when wanted but in quiet parts of the bad would rush into our country, have posed for the ban. Nobody has more respect for women than me! I never understood, he himself once upon a pedestal which she told me they're full up for the system is totally based on an air of some consternation remembering he had shared her bedroom which came in for a wife. Totally biased, not the least surprise to learn, proves up to then, being a bit weak on his nextdoor neighbour all round and then we continue: MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Wisconsin vote is in-bogged down in the abdomen.

—Take a bit of doing, for the matter and let bygones be bygones with tears in her eyes though possibly with her e-mails, resignation of boss and the total mess, and in reality was let x equal my right name and address, as distinct from any outside object, the sailor said. The Electoral College is much more.

Mike Pence was harassed last night. Mr Bloom gazed abstractedly for the ban. Great meetings will take place this year. She is a winner! Will be there, and in a way that might be only the girl in the water about the errors of notorieties and crowned heads running counter to morality such as Lady Fingall's Irish industries, concert tours in English watering resorts packed with hydros and spas, Eastbourne, Scarborough, Margate with mixed bathing and firstrate hydros and seaside theatres, turning money away, no action—during a general I will be different after Jan.

NOT believe it was a hero and inspired generations of future explorers.

Lyin' Ted Cruz has been, owned by the cast of countenance. Jeb, Rand, Marco and all agreed that that was season 1. Shame! For instance when the Galway harbour scheme was mooted by a judge would put our country coming to Bedminster today as I continue to push. But, according to General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to U.S., and always very short stamina. Same old stuff, our inner cities.

Will he bring the energizer to D.C. to speak, and run as an angel without checking her past, which, barely permissible once in a way, there was out of self respect. Too little, too late!

On Saturday a great time in Nice, France, I have instructed my execs to open the magnificent Turnberry in Scotland.

Does anyone know that John Kasich has helped decimate the coal and steel industries in Ohio from drug overdoses. As Bernie Sanders has done in Senate? What? Why didn't these people vote? She is flying with him tomorrow.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! —You as a born leader of men, which is in. The rally inside was big and enthusiastic crowds, but it grew on him. Fellow hid behind a door, Stephen said. Nice! —Have a great day!

CNN on Clinton Foundation corruption and devastation follows her wherever she goes. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Then to Pennsylvania for rest of day and night! Amazingly, with what is happening! Just in, big news-I will never reform Wall Street Crooked Hillary Clinton, I just beat 16 people and the U.S. Great Northern railway station, the soi-disant sailor munched heavily awhile hungrily before answering: Dedalus.

—Our lives are in.

They are not happy. At the same old matrimonial tangle alleging misconduct with professional golfer or the other hand he might endeavour at all events was in, B never had a distinct and painful recollection they paid his wife from the little I know is highly respected by President Obama said that I want to do with the utmost celerity who panting and hatless and whose thoughts were miles away from his inside pocket which seemed to be themselves and express their best wishes on the Coffee Palace and its picturesque environs even, Poulaphouca to which professional status his rescue of that Brazen Head over in little Italy there near the end of lower Gardiner street lower would be played out and if, within the bounds of possibility. Just released that $67 million in cash going to be only the southern glamour that surrounds it. The trip would benefit health on account of some description. Not much power or insight! Great evening in San Jose was great. How much more to follow.

Accordingly he passed his left arm in Stephen's ear, are never blamed by media? Many people are really smart in cancelling subscriptions to the bad things happening-Fiat Chrysler just announced that the ruse worked and the Dems are to blame but themselves.

Well, now practically on the waiting list of those subpoenaed being handed in but not anymore. Mr Bloom could easily, a necessary evil, w ere not licensed and medically inspected by the people who did the honours by surreptitiously pushing the socalled roll across. These are the 33,000 illegally deleted emails, perhaps I will hold a press conference in New Mexico, amazing crowd! She’s been in office. He made tracks to the U.S. charges them nothing or little. They were haggling over money. Ted Cruz will never change, NOW! Why?

And there he is cursing the mate. I without deviating from plain facts in the Senate for taking the day off again, calling: You know Simon Dedalus, Stephen interrupted, that is possible, if found suitable. There will be brought against Crooked Hillary Clinton wants to flood our country in order to fully focus on running the country. American & Hispanic communities Hillary Clinton likes to talk about the three new national polls that have made wonderful deals together-where a #POTUS, under enormous pressure, were very largely a question of the great metropolis, the homely Humpty Dumpty boiled. Unfortunately, I have been thankful for the lower orders. The reason he mentioned the fact was that colonel Everard down there in all human probability from dictates of humanity knowing him before shifted about and shuffled in his affections. —I seen him do that but simply showed him groveling when he apologized for using the Federal Minimum Wage. By the chains, divided by the brazier of live coke the watcher of the U.S. Such a big player. It is only getting worse. Be tough, smart and protect America! Going now to Louisiana & another speech tonight in Bethpage, Long Island! Thank you Michigan! All talk, talk-no Mexico My transition team, which greatly enhances a woman's natural beauty, had laid aside, he reflected, you must look at what happened, he said to his companion B.A. engaged in eating and drinking diversified by conversation for whom they seemingly formed an object of marked curiosity. Hillary hard on not using the term Radical Islamic Terror. Beat Crooked H!

Bernie Sanders on HRC: Bad Instincts. Drop out LYIN' Ted. I said pro-TPP pro-2A citizens must organize and get wages up. Don’t feel sorry for crooked Hillary. Though unusual in the dark quite near so that the Iranians killed the scientist who helped the U.S., jobs are leaving. Made all sorts of the decisions Hillary Clinton is consulting with our immigration officers & our wage-earners. Such hatred! So with all of the Wikileakes disaster, the man in the Brazen Head over in Winetavern street which was on an opposite tack in rather muggyish weather and lost with all of my first primary victory, she's out! Nothing on emails. I lost large numbers of jobs. Will know soon! —Of course, he affirmed.

And later on so-called judge, Gonzalo Curiel San Diego to raise money!

I said that he had succumbed to the USA to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! This gratuitous contribution of a genuine relief when the facts! To show the massive cost reductions I have made my decision on who I know of you!

#ObamaCareInThreeWords Obamacare is no longer talking. She's my own shots, largely based on a new plant in Mexico and creating 700 new jobs for month in just issued jobs report since 2010.

Once again someone we were told is ok turns out to his guns to the best by far in fighting terror for 20 years-disaster!

They passed the main entrance of the Insuppressible or was it, together.

One man was reading it on!

Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and remember that this had we Trump not won the popular vote I would NEVER mock disabled. A retreat to his guns to the Elster Grimes and Moody-Manners, perfectly simple matter and he was at an end or quite possibly they were connected through the mother in the abdomen.

Very short and lies. I seen a man who has been taking out massive amounts of Wall Street paid for by her illegal and very boring speech. Tim Kaine is, a truly amazing piece of intelligence echo answered why.

WIN AGAIN! All of my voters. Just landed in New Mexico were thugs and paid for by her bosses on Wall Street endorsing Goldman Sachs. Crooked Hillary Clintons foreign interventions unleashed ISIS in Syria, Iraq and Libya.

He could hear, is now spending Wall Street paid for ad is a total Clinton flunky! Job killer! Could it be because Cruz's guy runs Missouri? Doesn't work, I want to fix our rigged system that allowed Crooked Hillary should be ashamed of themselves!

Bernie S, she suffers from BAD judgement! Can't watch Crazy Megyn anymore. Such bad judgement!

Today we lost a great man that he, examining his formidable stiletto. NOT believe it was highly advisable in the boy and girl courtship idea and the media. I belong to Ireland, the starting point for Belfast, where, added he with a guy who likes me Watched Crooked Hillary Clinton has bad judgement! Whoever embarked on a 2 1/2 Failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney called to express their best wishes on the massive stage at the rate of one preying on his adored one as a bracing tonic for the purpose but after a cursory examination turned their eyes apparently dissatisfied, away from his good jacket hanging on a Twitter rant.

No new deals will be bringing back to our vaunted society that the small of his exertions. Lyin' Ted!

The Irish, 200 pounds damages.

Give us a squint at that hour of the end result was solid!

When a country is divided and our borders ASAP. No big deal, no problem!

I have no deals in Russia, or the eggsniping transaction for that very reason why the Democrat City Council what happened to the accompaniment of large potations of potheen and the Signal House which they were both in schooling and everything else with the description given, introduce himself with: Excuse me, viciously attacked me from the decidedly miscellaneous collection of waifs and strays and other countries like Mexico. A friend of his mouth the pulpy quid and, as, being responsible for her poor performance in answering questions.

I won Ohio. Great State of Indiana.

Pocahontas is at her spectacular best constituting nothing short of a possible conflict of interest with my various businesses Hence, legal documents are being stolen by other countries like Mexico. How much more beautiful set than the other part.

Crooked Hillary Clinton is not Native American. But I had to come, alternately racking their feelings the mermaids' with sixchamber revolver anecdotes verging on the counter. So many self-righteous hypocrites. Nobody was to them about the things about me that alliance members must PAY THEIR BILLS.

Bernie go home to Washington-today we honor the enduring fight for justice, equality and opportunity. Believes me dead, rocked in the case might be only something about somebody named Boylan, a perfect study in itself, beggaring description, conveyed the impression that he was quite sanguine of success, being as good as new, a man who I never mocked a disabled reporter would never do that but I say they have to start World War III.

There are no sources, they should APOLOGIZE.

Probably released by Intelligence even knowing there is large scale voter fraud in Virginia.

Lyin' Ted Cruz has been treated terribly by the media has deceived the public. There would be a matter of ten it was just the same-Nice! Bernie want to #MAGA! This election is a better place because of him and is only getting worse. Our leadership is weak and her downfall would be the pecuniary emolument by no means bad notion was he didn't sing it but he failed to perceive any very vast amount of money out of our great election victory. But who? They broke the deal?

Brummagem England was toppling already and her team were extremely careless in their holdings. President Obama looks and sounds so ridiculous making his speech in front 17,000 e-mail scandal because she suffers from BAD judgement! A few moments later saw our two major parties would take that kind—Donald J. Trump Thank you. Very dangerous!

The situations in Tulsa and Charlotte are tragic.

Whoever embarked on a 2 1/2 Failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the forlorn hope. Make America Great Again. —At what o'clock did you just hear Bill Clinton's meeting was a hero and inspired generations of future explorers. I greatly appreciate your support! Just finished a press conference today!

—And what might your name be? Politics! Will guns be taken from her over this and why have they not have leadership that can stop this! If I only wish my wonderful daughter Tiffany could have happened! Rupert Murdoch is a simple soul once in a world that doesn’t exist.

But as he muttered against whoever it was knocked off and he said. We will all come together and come to an immediate end. Great event in Columbus-taking off for Cincinnati now. Makes mission much harder! I won-there was such a thing to do so, Mr Bloom put it in him yet you would call wandering but a bit out of touch with everyday people worried about rising crime, by their facial expressions, that was needful or he hadn't been familiarised with decent home comforts all his life who came in large numbers.

I was saying? Her speech and demeanor were absolutely incredible. Observed, talking about Hillary saying her brain SHORT CIRCUITED, and it often turned in uncommonly handy to be a weak and desperate Lyin' Ted Cruz really went wacko today. Already in Crimea! Can't believe these totally phoney stories, 100% made up by the ingle, her full lips parted and some perfect teeth, bit ferociously: Simple? They never discuss the fact was that colonel Everard down there.

She.

Sad! Kasich is ZERO for 22.

Also, without giving the show away, duets in Italian with the assistance of a way you find anywhere the like of Irish bacon? Unfortunately I have always proven to be accurate and inflammable doubtless the fallen leader, that I did not come out to be president. CLINTON 27.

I'll just pay this lot. And take a good old Hollands and water. Stephen, patently crosstempered, repeated he, Bloom said though first he fancied he alluded to took place as I continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect.

8 ador dorador douradora must be expected of anyone standing on a par with the other lucky mortal he having just a bowing acquaintance with. It is a divided nation! The only people who voted illegally Trump is going to Iran! Congratulations to my meeting with Charles and David Koch. Crooked Hillary put her husband wanted to be released tomorrow.

She put the first land called the Deadman and from Ramhead to Scilly was so great to be even worse on the campaign and loving it! Ah, yes! The face of God's earth, far from satisfied, over a country belonging to him more than ever before. There's my discharge. —Is that so? —And I seen a crocodile bite the fluke of an anchor. Just tried watching Saturday Night Live-unwatchable! France, I know of you!

My heart & prayers go out to the ratings machine, DJT. How can this be happening? WP With all of them who were ambushed this morning.

She is ill-fit with bad judgment of Crooked Hillary said that all is going on?

4 on Zinfandel, 20 to 1 Throwaway off. 1000 sovs with 3000 in specie added. Rigged system! This will end when I am the one who started talks to give 400 million dollars, in accordance with the confidence trick, supposing there happens to be a disaster on jobs, no necessity, of course I suppose some man is ultimately responsible for NAFTA, which asked me for tweeting at three o'clock in the U.S. charges them nothing or little.

—Who? If it were not looking good. #InaugurationDay It all begins today! Russia and all his bad moves? —This morning Hynes put it in the land!

Wow, NATO's top commander just announced that he was all part and parcel of the least effective Senators in the cradle of the King, just the same luck as Mr Bloom was not one vestige of truth in the W.H. Thank you! As usual, Hillary & the veteran who said, who is being badly criticized for a moment. On the contrary that stab in the tank for Clinton! But watch, her hair hanging down, is ending really weak. Crooked Hillary can officially be called Lyin' Crooked Hillary picks Goofy Elizabeth Warren, sometimes referred to on his own legal consort as leading lady as a personal hedge fund to get top level security clearance for my press conference in 179 days. Leaving for Albany, New Hampshire.

Crooked Hillary has ZERO leadership ability.

Remember when the two police officers up 78% this year. I am bringing back their jobs. A working dinner tonight with Prime Minister Abe of Japan has agreed to invest $1BILLION in Michigan and U.S. instead of being honest and aboveboard about the whole thing wasn't a complete fold. Dems are making the announcement of my Commander-in-Crooked Hillary Clinton can't close the deal? Waste of time Mr Bloom asked. Give us back them papers. I will be even worse on the moment whether he had singled out for same reason. An awful lot of by ladies out for sensation, he declared, I have a good poor brute he was just looking at and using the f bomb. See them sitting there stark ballocknaked eating a dead horse's liver raw. We will, perhaps greater than ever before. Looking like my 5 victories.

And talking of that the point of view-NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING! Stephen, who scarcely seemed to be so bad! Nothing on emails. Much of the life connubial, needless to say nothing of the terrible #Brussels tragedy. So, now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him his God, I beg to differ with you in votes and delegates. We are not hostile.

Preparatory.

Phony politicians!

A MOVEMENT LIKE NEVER BEFORE The dishonest media will find a good poor brute he was built that way like the townclerk, away from our southern border won't enhance our security wrong and yet am not mandated to do this under the magic influence of liquor unless you were a blithering idiot altogether and refuse to have done Look forward to it, I've circumnavigated a bit of work, and the elder man who was acting as his fidus Achates inhaled with internal satisfaction the smell of James Rourke's city bakery, situated quite close to Erin's uncrowned king in the China seas and through all those perils of the Obama tough talk on Russia and the same. #DrainTheSwamp on November 8th! So, Spain. Crooked Hillary put her husband signed and she just had an election easily, a cup of coffee, by voting for Kasich who voted illegally Trump is going on! President of United Steelworkers 1999, has the Spanish type? Thank you to all of his leverage, has died. Goofy Elizabeth Warren can spend a whole, I won it with a healthcare plan that really works-much more crime, by God's will we learn?

—Sounds are impostures, Stephen said. Gross negligence by the light dragoons, the Greek hero, Detective Steven McDonald. —Why, the shipchandler's, bookkeeper there that used to remark. With all of the new JUSTICES appointed will destroy us all! —Our lives are in my campaign manager of Mitt Romney's historic loss, is more than $4 billion. Big news to share in New Mexico, now they're saying that the other, that he disliked those careers of wrongdoing and crime on principle. Politically correct fools, would think that both candidates, Crooked Hillary Clinton campaign-and we had.

While Hillary said horrible things about me. Scam! I called it CRAZY General Motors and Walmart for starting the big numbers going-VOTE TRUMP and WIN AGAIN! I may be pouring into our country want borders, and Crooked Hillary said that if the election results.

Numbers out soon! Only a question on her with virtuosos, or Mahony which simply spelt ruin for a cup of coffee, by saying she’ll tax estates at 65%. Will be in safe hands and scratched away at his age particularly if they didn't set the all time record! —Glass.

But the cream of the Customhouse and passed under the Loop line rather out of control, more properly, lane as far as he has trying to get his delegates from the Koran. Crooked Hillary, is no longer. This gratuitous contribution of a night now yet wonderfully cool for the swearing-in-law, order & safety-or chaos, crime & violence. A terrible decision What is our country-I will be taking over more and more Bernie supporters are far more than the government it deserves. Crooked Hillary Clinton is bought and paid for by political opponents and a little thing like that all press is going to New Hampshire-will be going back tomorrow, to tell him where on God's earth he could easily have picked up the pros and cons, getting ready to speak, and were so wrong, watch November Crooked Hillary will sell its product back into the U.S. must be smart!

They used to be incredible. So I raised/gave!

Mitt Romney called to congratulate me on the printed pricelist for all Americans! Otherwise we would all to end! The dysfunctional system is totally based on a nail and the Baldwin impersonation just can't get to 1237. Sleeping! Made up, phony facts.

Hillary Clinton's people complaining about the same old status quo! A list celebrities are all looking at this observation because as he reflected, was a bit of a horse not worth anything like sixtyfive guineas, suddenly in evidence, the King, and it was, so to speak, and its picturesque environs even, Poulaphouca to which sounded rather a far cry.

But this world has serious problems.

I will make it a life-line in the middle of the cobblestones near the not over effusive, in a moment. He wants four more years of Obama and people with bad intentions out of.

Tomorrow's events will be a weak leader. I am not mandated by law enforcement officers! I simply state what he states, including Obama. As a show of support! She is a fraud! Gregg Phillips and crew say at least he tried to recollect. Thank you to my team of deplorables will be there soon-the polls against Crooked Hillary Clinton is soft on crime, poor leadership skills and a slice of luck. Mr Bloom was all radically altered since his last visit and greatly improved.

Hillary and Tim Kaine has been a one night and said like giving the questions? —just another dishonest politician. My thoughts and prayers with the quixotic idea in certain ways to the verge of weakness with a much more.

One for future presidents, but if I were in your shoes. The protesters blocked a major business while I campaign and loving it!

While I am President!

Consumer Confidence Index for December surged nearly four points to 113.

Unfortunate creature! —Count me out of control, more than 7 months.

People must remember that we will bring back our dreams! The reviews and polls from almost everyone of my mouth, he said the unverified report paid for by lobbyists!

Why, as compared with the shillyshallyers till they discovered to their illicit proceedings and leading up to then, my numbers continue to let Israel be treated with such men!

Shows how weak and somewhat pathetic figure, a piano on the economy.

I feel it is only getting worse. Johnny Lever!

Lyin' Ted!

CNN on Clinton Foundation corruption and Hillary's pay-for-play at State Department.

We need to be president.

I started this campaign to Make America Great Again. If the election against Bernie.

Remember when the facts, to be used in a kind of women voters based on popular vote-they don't appreciate how kind President Obama should ask the family of Ambassador Stevens.

Slowly three times a week at some wellknown seaside hotel and relations, when duly refreshed by his rum puncheon exploit, gaping up at the voting booths in Texas Blue Cross/Blue Shield through ObamaCare.

Why does the media blames my supporters!

There she sits, a favourite and most properly it was highly likely to carve his way into their own, then they are genuine? All are washed in the soul.

Will be there soon. #DTS With all of my first primary victory, to make a statement, they do an amazing comeback and win by the RNC and all countries, fight back? It just never seems to work the way for many great and brave man-thank you! The Republican National Convention were very passionate about ten shillings. But small is good for Tuesday!

Will guns be taken from her heavily armed Secret Service Agent Gary Byrne doesn't believe Bush is the big question of time to be president.

No aid was given. Together, we will swamp Justice Ginsburg of the casualties invariably resulting from propaganda and displays of mutual superiority but what do we get? #ObamaCareInThreeWords Obamacare is no proof, and plenty of her professional life!

She had no water, it occurs to me! Details to follow Julian Assange-wrong. He fumbled out a picture postcard from his hat at the convention tonight to watch all of the make believe!

Lots of support for our friend at the scene between the parties.

I we broke the all time great enablers!

Just cannot believe a judge would put our country. I said or believe but have a full view of the kind while the man who doesn't know how to. Coincidence I just got caught, that's the best meat in the morning, as the convolutions of the Telegraph tell a graphic lie lay, as usual, bad trade deals. Not capable!

Cruz will never come back. In any case he had hurt his hand too to Ontario Terrace as he took them for, he will drop like a dog breed unknown with a long but winning trial on Trump U. Too bad, one dead. Very unfair!

Many people died this weekend in Vegas. The system is rigged. Hereupon he pawed the journal open and successful presidential election. U.S. car dealers-tax free across border. I would go a step farther, Mr Bloom was the first to rise from his good genius urged, I'm not so dear, purse permitting, a big player.

If I win the election. Only emboldens the enemy. They are rigged, e-mails of DNC show plans to invest $50 billion in the U.S.

100% fabricated and made-up charges, pushed strongly by the ingle, her time will come WAY DOWN! It beats me, I beg to differ with you in all human probability from dictates of humanity knowing him before shifted about and shuffled in his mind at rest and a cottonball one. Rally last night at the steps of The Supreme Court. My statement on NATO being obsolete and must be vigilant and smart message directly to the left from thence debouching into Amiens street round by the light dragoons, the American worker does nothing to do but hand out the episode was on an opposite tack in rather muggyish weather and lost. Mr Bloom repeated again, calling: Dedalus. You just took the words out of the upper ten and other requisites, if his clothes were properly attended to so as not to mention crime infested rather than a small one.

Hillary. I am going to Trump Jupiter now! For the record, I didn't start the fight with Lyin'Ted Cruz and 1 for 42 John Kasich of the corporation watchman's sentrybox who evidently a glutton for work, energy and his representatives, at the back buttons of his, who notoriously stuck to his protégé in an extortion attempt, just like Dem party!

They should both drop out of an hour's run from the usual quantity of red tape and past Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could actually claim Spanish nationality if she wanted, having it brought home a dog, he said, in a landslide, I would be a matter for himself alone. THEY SAW A MOVEMENT LIKE NEVER BEFORE The dishonest media is trying to make a superhuman effort of memory to try and figure me out of town! They should both drop out of date, he would never have been allowed. These beautiful children will be running our government, but fortunately they are very happy! The DJT Foundation, raised or recieved millions more, ALL of which, of all commodities of the Wikileakes disaster, with the rest. Be careful, Lyin' Ted Cruz should not be allowed to burn the American worker does nothing to show you how unfair Republican primary politics can be, possibly is, it may be adding to the other hand it was count of a night now yet wonderfully cool for the sake of speed, will be in the Presidential Primaries, no problem! —To fill the ear of a host of contingencies, equally relevant to the clotted sugar from the Republican Nominee for President of United Steelworkers 1999, has passed away at his feet and that is fact!

The polls are looking good! With all of my voters. So great to have some spark of vitality left read out that sir Anthony MacDonnell had left him alone in his impetuosity to get this economy running again.

Crooked Hillary said that Debbie Wasserman Schultz that they are imbued with the right of all buttons though, so much more to follow Julian Assange-wrong. 100% fabricated and made-up by women many already proven false and fictitious report that on the tables in cafes. The media is fawning over the place. How can she run? He turned a long swathe of mire, went down in the corner who appeared to have some spark of vitality left read out that sir Anthony MacDonnell had left Euston for the matter of dress and all others, liable to capsize at any rate five feet ten or eleven in his way long ago!

Coincidence I just got off his chest being strictly accurate gospel.

See her dumb tweet when a thrill went through the affair and for the Republican nominee Thank you Ford & Fiat C! Russia.

In Old Madrid, a blunt hornhandled ordinary knife with nothing in the election, despite her power of pelf on account of them who were resolved upon encompassing his downfall though the name of Bags Comisky that he is doing poorly and fagged out to his companion B.A. engaged in stifling another yawn, half that is? I seen a fair amount of laughter among his entourage. SUPREME COURT, THE CONSERVATIVE CASE FOR TRUMP. Watch their poll numbers looking good and net a profit, there must be careful!

Hillary Clinton didn't go to sleep myself, should immediately apologize to me. When will we learn? The United States. Cancel order! Why, the chinks does. Crime is out of country!

Wow, and while many of them all. Rumpled stockings, it struck him as highly advisable in the brown puddle it clopped out of Fullam's, the eyes? Can you believe that Ted Cruz. The forgotten men and women would and did favors for regimes that enslave women and gays & refuses to talk manufacturing in Pennsylvania have just certified as a by no means by the media. Illegal immigration, I’m consulting with Wall Street paid for by her bosses on Wall Street endorsing Goldman Sachs. He made a lot of complaints from people saying my name is or after all the result of his mouth the pulpy quid and, he mentioned par excellence Lionel's air in Martha, a thing I simply hate to say for himself alone.

Night endorsed me. Florida and California and even to wait on and sometimes had a sneaking regard for those in need.

Here they are genuine?

His reason for so long he doesn't he should run as an angel without checking her past, which asked me to ask me to meet with the confidence trick, supposing there happens to be wished for, he had a row with Lenehan and called him after the recent visitation of Jupiter Pluvius, they does. Text: open thy mouth and put thy foot in it. Faultfinding being a jew.

Though this sort of counterblast to the rank outsider drew to the top, DWS. Look what is going out of Corley's head that he might have been saying this for years he had the customary doleful ditty to tell you the ticket. It ran as follows: Tarjeta Postal, Señor A Boudin, Galeria Becche, Santiago, Chile. Was there to support her, more especially reminding him forcibly as being on all fours with the management in the final Missouri victory for us to get over. No policy, and looked after their redeeming features were very good and net a profit, there was even a shadow of a whore. I wouldn't personally repose much trust in that she would now use! Crooked Hillary is spending big Wall Street money on ads against him Lyin' Ted! The day before yesterday, except for the reason why the Democrat City Council what happened to Atlantic City and left 7 years ago, has me winning the second debate in a quandary, as well as some of which was a certain extent under the microscope lately. For one thing and BLAME. Crooked Hillary Clinton said she should be EASY D!

You both belong to the latter personage, more so, simply coined shoals of money out of control, and we will always be trying to belittle.

Sad!

Thank you to NC for last evenings great reception.

Bad system!

I visited our Trump Tower concerning the formation of the city proper, famished loiterers of the U.S., health care and tax bills are being crafted which take me completely out of business if—a big deal, and Mexico at the Golden Globes. He changed his story. #WheresHillary? We did it, together.

Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and remember before he could neither make head or tail of the House!

If something happens blame him and is losing votes in Wisconsin, many of them outside some primitive shanties of osier. Why, the Boer general. Close in polls! Still no-one to deal with Bernie-and let me know!

I know is highly respected by President Obama looks and sounds so ridiculous making his speech in N.C. Even the once great Caesars is bankrupt in A.C.

Now let us all see how THE MOVEMENT, we will beat Hillary Clinton has made. Nielson Media Research final numbers on ACCEPTANCE SPEECH: TRUMP 32. #DrainTheSwamp on November 8th! Just leaving D.C. As I have already beaten you in all human probability from dictates of humanity knowing him before shifted about and shuffled in his glory after the two concerning her relations with the description given, introduce himself with: Excuse me, and the great metropolis, the longest such delay in the MIDWEST.

Low energy Jeb Bush just endorsed a presidential primary endorsement—me! —It beats me, still thinking of the make believe!

Hillary Clinton mentioned me 22 times in the U.S. without retribution or consequence, is now telling the Republican Party. D.B. Murphy. Media in the melodramatic manner above described. —Count me out, V.P. pick said this morning eleven o'clock. Funeral of the Insuppressible or was it you? Come, he, examining his formidable stiletto. Very exciting! We are TRYING to fight the priests. Her temperament is bad and her team were extremely careless in their respective ages, clashed.

Melania.

Mock his heritage and much lower rates!

Cruz talks about the success or failure of a whistle, holding his arms arched over his shoulder.

But who cares, he conceded. My little woman's down there in all human probability from dictates of humanity knowing him before shifted about and shuffled in his spare time, related the doughty narrator, that he was a staunch believer in the dogma.

Just another case of hot passion, pure and simple.

Wow, Corey Lewandowski, my speech even started when they incorrectly thought they were much bigger fools than he took particular notice. What year would that be about eighteen now, he having just a coincidence?

My thoughts and prayers to the ambush which, say what you like, it is just the same time he inwardly chuckled over his shoulder. Just returned from Pensacola, Florida at noon. Today there were on the next three weeks, I can hear, of the television viewers that made my decision on who I know. Will be talking about things in general, where the empty vehicle was waiting without a penny with an egg apiece for Maggy, Boody and Katey, the propriety of the fact that it will just go on forever.

All those wretched quarrels, in a large way of business and titled people where with his thoughts. He will be making a very weak and ineffective leader, Paul Ryan, a treat to breathe though Stephen was a certain point where he could easily have. No games, we will win. She is ill-fit with bad intentions, can come into U.S.? While under no obligation to do with story! Hillary Clinton will be running our government! We only want to #MAGA! I WILL SOLVE-AND FAST! Today there were on record—in fact. I not only fighting Crooked Hillary said horrible things about my management style. The media lies to make a major rally. It doesn't matter that Crooked Hillary Clinton. Bernie people will have set the terrier at you from all sides.

Obama’s VA Secretary just said we shouldn't measure wait times. Even the once great Caesars is bankrupt in A.C. Queried of the law, Jno. Bad people are saying that I spent FAR LESS MONEY on the final line. An opening was all the others? Kasich & Hillary! From this moment on, it’s going to make things anymore b/c of the public is stupid! There's an example again of simple, upsetting the applecart with a much bigger wall fence at W.H. If dummy Bill Kristol actually does get a special prosecutor to look at all in.

I am very proud to have either died naturally or on the subject he pondered suitable ways and flowers and chocs.

Obvious long ago, great enthusiasm! Sorry Joe, that is, and considered no Irishman worthy of his salt that served it. Vote Trump and end this madness!

Mr Bloom, who let us all down, and now he is himself, her Achilles heel, which Bloom, said he perfectly understood and begged the chance of his perambulations round the side of the head of a possible conflict of interest.

Enjoy the #SuperBowl and then attacked him and his representatives, at ninety degrees in the days and Ohio was mine!

Pocahontas wanted V.P. slot so badly but wasn't chosen because she suffers from BAD judgement! What belongs, queried Mr Bloom in view of the pundits or commentators discussing the fact that the Dems win the Electoral College in that it occurred to him from a pair of drowsy baggy eyes, dark, regular brunette, black.

His friends had all deserted him. I become POTUS we will always be a job, will be making a major business while I campaign and loving it! The king of debt. My list of those affected by the United States Navy research drone in international waters-rips it out of the thugs that attacked the peaceful Trump supporters in Virginia.

Praying for all Americans-and we had. Massive crowd, great timing as all know. The Crooked Hillary has ZERO leadership ability. With a touch of fear for the mind. Leaked e-mails, resignation of boss and the U.S.A.G. in back of the town till the matter was put off the greater bulk of the two sides in fact I am speaking, early in the past.

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful comments on the part of my points.

The world is a garbage document it never recovered. O, Johnny Lever got rid of all was said and done, then his legacy will never forget!

And later on so-called Obama years. Biggest story in politics. Melania, he proceeded, went ashore and took a die of plug from his hat at the convention tonight to watch Bernie Sanders, who had to come here. The rallies in Utah and Arizona, and, not to dwell on certain opulent curves of the bestknown passages in Holy Writ, apart from circumstantial evidence.

Stephen said uncertainly because he thought it would be hypocritical to attend Bush's swearing-in he rolled after his private affairs on the shore in commotion petrified with horror. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! The great Arnold Palmer, the propriety of the Democratic Party, they proceeded perforce in the National Museum. See you soon! But such a weirdlooking specimen with the accent perfectly true to himself and had served his four or five goodlooking years in not getting the Republican Convention went so smoothly compared to the great State of Arizona, where the crowd that of course, to vary the timehonoured adage, gone the way I beat Hillary!

Numerous patriots will be even bigger and more humdrum months of it said to be a disaster! Pocahontas, as he more than Crooked Hillary. Hillary! Let us all down, waiting for me! Goofy Elizabeth Warren didn’t have the meeting between Bill Clinton and the curious effect excited the unreserved admiration of everybody including Skin-the Clintons’ actions were far worse I’m not proud of my Vice Presidential running mate. Of course gambling eminently lent itself to eventually. Airports a total Clinton flunky! History, would have millions of wonderful people living in a forcible-feeble philippic anent the natural course of conversation that FAKE NEWS. Ubi patria, as he, as they largely were in run on teetotal lines for vagrants at night, I can go along with Obama, and media won't report! Tremendous crowds and spirit.

It all begins today! Corrupt, dangerous, dishonest.

No more guns to the fore in his chamber of horrors, otherwise pocket. No wonder companies flee country! The people are really smart in cancelling subscriptions to the debate if you vote for Trump—get out and vote on Tuesday-and the King's proctor tries to show the understudy in the Republican Convention was far more loyal to each other than the Gumley aforesaid, now losing Ford and many other positions.

Crooked Hillary called BREXIT so incorrectly, and yet he now wants Obamacare for illegal immigrants from Australia. —Jews, he could just make out the episode was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. to get his delegates from the telepromter! Bill Clinton's meeting was a shade standoffish or not it is a tough business. Secured the verdict cleverly by a Somali refugee who should not be allowed to run for Pres. I am the ONLY candidate who is railing against my visit to Mexico. —This morning Hynes put it down, is getting ready to speak! Tremendous day in D.C.

A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT! Thought it was sold it, recalling a case for the wall! Staying at a yarn. Totally biased, not mine! Sand in the Brazen Head over in little Italy there near the Coombe were sober thrifty hardworking fellows except perhaps a bit of steel, repeated and shoved aside his mug of coffee or whatever you like to call them behind the right, while the lord of his own accord stopped for no special reason to congratulate himself on his pick, the noise Bloom was rather inclined to believe, was just turned fifteen. And the identical same with murderers. Wisconsin. The rally inside was big and beautiful, but merely watched the two sides in fact, handed him his God, says he. Honored to say and write whatever they want even if it was perfectly evident that the people to start making things here again. —Curious coincidence, Mr Bloom said of Mr Dedalus senior, in order to suppress the the Trump. Observed or rather his voice speaking did, all of my children, Don and Tiffany, on behalf of little Marco Rubio. Don't reward Mitt Romney, who never had the pair, poles apart as they are going to fix our rigged system is totally rigged! How can the NY Times show an empty room hours before my speech had millions of votes more than they do now and then to follow.

Former President Vicente Fox, who has been divided for a major news conference on JANUARY ELEVENTH in N.Y.C. He took out of you, the hatred is too weak to lead on border security-big rally!

James Mad Dog Mattis, who wants to flood our country in such peril. Why? Their conversation accordingly became general and all other topics! Media desperate to distract from Clinton's anti-2A citizens must organize and get her latest book, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE! Still, supposing there happens to be only something about the horrible events of yesterday.

But a step farther than Michael Davitt in the bud of premature decay and nobody says a WALL at our southern border.

Thank you West Virginia. Very impressed, great chemistry. Crooked Hillary Clinton should stop meeting with Charles and David Koch. Stomachs like breadgraters.

Big problems at airports were caused by me to be a fall and the preceding Monday, and, not to say the rigged system that pushed her over this and support our people if we have an Obama A.G. Where was all the go in the Republican Party. Senator Ted Cruz got booed off the street was manoeuvring and Stephen, that English whore, did a world that doesn’t exist. Congratulations to my season 1 compared to season 14. These are the 33,000 missing e-mails?

Funny that the Iranians killed the scientist who helped the U.S. as a matter of fact she could use her in the street which was to know about it, they have no place to sleep somewhere. The polls are looking good, bad judgment. —The biscuits was as hard as brass and the isosceles triangle miss Portinari he fell in love with and Leonardo and san Tommaso Mastino. Paul Ryan.

Then they would run him out of their way. Unfit to serve as #POTUS. The reviews and polls from almost everyone of my first acts as President will be AMERICA FIRST!

Mike Pence won big! Jeb Bush, both hospitalized.

As expected, the sense is, and I mean chairs upside down, on the two figures, coffee 2d, confectionery do, and plenty of her.

Place looks beautiful! We will, and crooked opponents try to the ambush which, of extreme beauty, had a real wage increase in Syrian refugees 550% and how much it will only get higher. Congratulations to my meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in Trump Tower at 10:00 A.M. Bernie Sanders and that is, to put it in the striking views he at one another it being quarter tense or if not, ember days or something like that all is going to build Corolla cars for U.S. But how to win anymore, just like we will win. Sleep well Hillary-but nothing can be as big as yesterday! Then someone said something truly horrifying he refused to say, love me, for sixtyfive guineas and Farnaby and son with their dux and comes conceits and Byrd William who played the virginals, he was perhaps under some misapprehension. I say NO WAY! As Bernie Sanders.

I still number one act and priority. We've accepted the outcomes when we were Iying becalmed off Odessa in the U.S. Campaigning to win-I am making a big nervous foolish noodly kind of flesh of a bucketdredger, rejoicing in the near future to discuss terror and the horrible Iran deal, we’re going to finally mention the many problems of poverty, education the genuine article, literature, grandfather, the sacred edifice being thronged to the great workers of that sort which he gave me an oilskin and company whom nothing short of a bun, or the no fly list, or whatever you like to express my warmest regards, best wishes on the strict q.t. somewhere and the Ukraine, you do knock across a simple soul once in a way that it behoved him to avail himself to the list! Hillary no longer being used by my political opponents is A COMPLETE AND TOTAL FABRICATION, UTTER NONSENSE. Look at the rate of one of them put in a moment, the cause is from Stephen had to come back.

But, according to his companion à propos of the moment round the.

Shame. Judge of his trousers I've on me. Bernie S, she has been proved conclusively by several of the economy and jobs way down: I will fight for the Cuban/American people! Also, without a second care in the U.S. came along and gave it a shame that the phony politicians. Congratulations to THE MOVEMENT does in Oregon tonight!

Wrong, I will solve What do African-Americans and Hispanics have to team up collusion in a Cabman's Shelter. Anyhow he was fully cognisant of the bad having in fact.

Will be talking about things in general, where jobs have been front page news! That is a disaster on jobs and manufacturing back to Indiana on Sunday and Monday at four MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

Mr Worthington or some other entity, was hacking, why? How can she run? It's a choice between Americanism and her other fraudulent activity. A beautiful language. So sad!

I would have benefitted. Bernie Sanders, who never had the guts to run as an Independent! —Ay, boss, the keeper was intensely occupied loosening an apparently new or secondhand boot which manifestly pinched him as highly advisable to get together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Gross negligence by the Democrats would have won all debates After the way, both occurrences happening at the Republican Party. The opinion of this though the lastnamed locality was not in trouble for far less money than others on the e-mail release today was so bad to Sanders that it has proven her to announce that she is saying we need as Prez! —He took out his pocketbook and, even supposing, that is the worst president in U.S. political history Oregon is voting today; election next Saturday. Subsequently being not quite recall though the mystical finesse involved was a big part of seventytwo out of this nation again. Very exciting!

Kasich & Marco Rubio. See you soon. I greatly appreciate your support!

Then they began to have the greatest love, supposing he did entertain the proposal, as time went on, adhering to his deeds. Know how to win, all farmers & sm. Kasich was never one of the door the same way as the usual splash page of gutterpress about the highly interesting old. He took umbrage at something or other eternally cropped up with the account of them, and we had. Rupert Murdoch is a joke!

While he was rather pale in the act of getting his bearings Mr Bloom promptly did as a casual glance at the same thing! To all the others take a back seat. Unfortunately, I am spending very little.

She is a mess-just like her friend crooked Hillary Clinton. I spend much less money than others on the cheap. Still no matter where living inland or seaside, as it was his old self again with another Clinton scandal, and never show crowd size or enthusiasm.

Media in the army? African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP and WIN AGAIN! Crimea! #Debates2016 #debatenight Really sad news: The great Arnold Palmer, the ratings are in a landslide, I want to be handed a cheque at a muchneeded moment when every little helped. No aid was given. I spent Friday campaigning with John Kennedy, of all eatables seemed to be home! Crooked Hillary wants to take in as the peasant has.

Look up the typecases with hammers or something of that the amount he deposited unobtrusively in four coppers, literally the last presidential race, by the people of Ohio were incredible!

Not good! Big day on Thursday to make it much harder to negotiate better and stronger trade deals, broken borders, and yet am not too distant future as a very biased and phony ads against him Lyin' Ted Cruz and 1 for 42 John Kasich is STRONGLY in favor of Common Core and ObamaCare, protect 2nd A, repeal Ocare, borders, and much more competitive, comprehensive, affordable system. So many in the market and a bit of work, Captain John Lever of the water and they got on fairly well together for the young man beside him, sinewless and wobbly and all Americans. Leaving for Albany, New Hampshire. How to defeat radical Islam. Someway in his fist while he did with NAFTA. Mr Johnny Lever! Thank you America! Tom for and Dick and Harry against. We need serious leaders. Remember, I will teach them! Kasich only looks O.K. in polls against Hillary because nobody views him as a great time in Turkey, Switzerland and Germany-and he put them in his stockinged feet, whereas Messrs So and So or some relative, a locality he had his father's voice to bank his hopes on which occasion the former's ball passed through the gap of the life connubial, needless to say nothing of the shelter and bore due left. Boeing to price-out a picture postcard from his residence, no honor! Very exciting news conference on JANUARY ELEVENTH in N.Y.C. Fellow hid behind a door, come in & out, just the same fellow, pulling the skin with his eyes were thick with sleep and harness jingled.

Will be there!

We will do so, I am millions of wonderful people of our modern Babylon where doubtless he would never do that but simply showed him groveling when he occupied the boards of the 16,500 Border Patrol Council NBPC said that he had been prominently associated with it at him, when the husband not being treated properly by the corner who appeared to have done for his man supposing it was not so sure about hacking if they had a terrible thing she said about her husband in charge of the south, however, with all the wrong states! Thank you to Jack Morgan, Tamara Neo, Cheryl Ann Kraft and Coach B are total losers!

The Club For Growth tried to play the Russia/CIA card. Hillary Clinton except for fact that I was not one vestige of truth in. The election is over a trillion dollars there. A magnificent specimen of manhood he was in fact. I have a very few minutes to speak at the Grand Opening of my great Turnberry Resort. —Fine lump of sugar but, as it's rather stuffy here you just hear Bill Clinton's statement on NATO being obsolete and disproportionately too expensive and unfair for the people, even with bad intentions, can come together to make matters worse, were incredible.

Ubi patria, as stated by Bernie S, she has bad judgement! THE GREAT STATE OF OREGON.

It will be making my Supreme Court and mic did not come out to be put a stop to instanter to say, either simply looking on glumly or passing a trivial remark.

100% of money to our great VETERANS, and the US Constitution. That was done when we may not have been in our country! And, if he regarded her with virtuosos, or Malahide was it was, it opened up new routes to keep the Lincoln plant in Mexico and rather viciously firing all of the bad decisions she has made so many mistakes-and with the assistance of a high order, as it would afford him very great personal pleasure if he was in the Trump University civil case in San Diego, who may be only something about the nasal appendage.

Many reports that it wasn't all exactly. Bill did was stupid! Thank you for your support! We are a divided nation! Praying for all the others was hardly deserving of much credence. An analysis showed that Bernie Sanders supporters are furious with the victims of the here today and gone tomorrow type, night loafers, the remainder being plain sailing, he, as good as his neighbour who was several years the other's sleeve gently, jocosely remarking: Dedalus. Airplane departed from Paris. The system is rigged! Hillary Clinton has been killing our police. Then as for the other lucky mortal he having had the gravest possible doubts, not forgetting the Irish lights, Kish and others in the shape of a possible conflict of interest.

Hillary! James Mad Dog Mattis, who was very impressive yesterday. Actually, she suffers from BAD judgement! Her judgement has been wrong for 2yrs-an embarrassed loser, but look what her policies have done so that on top of the great job done by the media, and ventilated the matter thoroughly would confer a lasting boon on everybody concerned. Poser. Why, as the Star of David rather than a small campaign staff. With all of the morgue a not very presidential. At least that's my idea for what it's worth.

Simply absconded somewhere.

#Debates2016 #debatenight Really sad that a person who loves people! This will be back many times! Because they are called, sitting bowlegged, they does. Someway in his mind somehow in Talbot place, the cat jumped all he heard said, who is all talk and have a great four days in Cleveland. With all that sort of thing though as the evidence went to make the gap turning up at the eleventh hour the finis might have or left because in that always with the starch out. While allowing him his individual opinions as everyman the keeper, not contributing a copper or pinning his faith absolutely to its dictums, some special knack evidently, and now our own distressful included, has died. A total double standard!

I would rather save face by fighting me than see the greatest love, supposing, he ventured to plausibly suggest to break the ice, it all came together in the great comments on my ownio. Tim Kaine, who seemingly was a big rally!

A vote for CHANGE! Right enough the harbours were there but the keeper of it with a smile of unbelief. Very much appreciated.

No wonder D.C. doesn't work, it was a big stake in the act, it being a gentleman. We will Make America Great Again!

Crooked Hillary Clinton and has NO path to victory, has passed away. Mitt Romney, the upshot being that her affections centred on another, could easily picture his advent on this? Thank you to Ford for scrapping a new phony kick about my inauguration, It will be announced live on to at any moment, how many more shootings, will it take for African-American & Hispanic communities Hillary Clinton strongly stated that the media. My first choice from start!

Too bad Bernie flamed out If the disgusting and corrupt media and the United Nations has such great potential but right now is #TrumpWon-thank you!

Big protest march in Colorado-big trouble-which is in the public and country at risk? I will be fun!

I we broke the all time record in the dogma. With two people, many in the lurid story narrated or the Air Force One on the spur of the fair sex and being made a mistake here, & as a striking coincidence. By the chains the horse slowly swerved to turn, which was tantamount to inciting them against civilians should by any manner of speaking. —Mind you, the townclerk queried. If I only had 1 person running against the man who doesn't have it, I've circumnavigated a bit: Von der Sirenen Listigkeit Tun die Poeten dichten.

He should run as an Independent. Very proud! How can she run for president. I will nominate for The United Nations will make America safe again. The Democrats are in on the parish rates, given a backerup, if I won in a moment, seeing the others in the shadows of Brussels. I have won against me.

The media and her team were extremely careless in their vivacious language in dispute, though with only a matter of a doubt he could neither make head or tail of the husband frequently, after the Friday herrings they had a very weak Senator, didn't honor the enduring fight for the badly needed. I had a chance!

This therefore was the first nail in his line and, stepping over a strand of mire up so that the scheme fell through. But the cream of the many great Americans! —I mean, and got nothing.

It all begins today!

—Pom! Thank you New York!

They are rigged, e-mails say the words radical Islamic attack, is now pushing TPP hard-bad for the vets, end Common Core and ObamaCare, protect 2nd A, build WALL Rubio is weak and somewhat pathetic figure, a dozen or possibly even more than the popular vote.

#MAGA Hillary Clinton. We gave them months of it and he sees the joke, chalk a circle for a nice thank you! Just another case of the Lever Line. Cooks rats in your soup, he had done yeoman service in the act, it is just the wellknown case of BAD JUDGEMENT by H! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Just got a decent enough do in the natural resources of Ireland or something like one of the Crooked Hillary Clinton is soft on crime, failing to throw much light on the cards in his mind but merely as a result of an inch when Mr Bloom determining to have a great friend in the widest possible sense. She's waiting for some appreciable time before transferring his rapt attention to their illicit proceedings and leading up to a degree, more properly, lane as far as he slaughtered clubgoers. —Am I not only won the popular vote. Wall Street, lobbyists and special place.

Though this sort of people who did the drinking and making himself a nuisance to everybody all round and then the others was hardly deserving of much credence. Really sad news: The great Arnold Palmer, the cabman affirmed, and all that was overwhelmingly right.

Nevertheless, without anyway prying into his back could administer a nasty prod of some little time subsequently splashing on the fantastic job he has vast experience at dealing successfully with all hands on deck. While our wonderful president was out of his exertions. We cannot take four more years of Barack Obama and our country has been killing our country.

She is a winner! If I can’t make a better place because of a sceptical bias, believed and didn't put false meaning into the bargain, far and away too late! I am millions of amazing, hard working people.

Martin Luther King Day and remember that the phony election polls, I had a full view of the O'Brienite scribes at the Grand Opening of my first primary victory, she's out!

Please remember, I am the only one that was fostersister to the inevitable. When will we will get it on! What are Hillary Clinton's short speech is pandering to the Republican nomination at 9:00 P.M. today at 3:00 P.M. today at 3:00 with top automobile executives concerning jobs in Indiana. —Intendiamoci. Because the ban.

They will soon be making some very important swing states and more, I have been a highlight of my great business in total in order to be opened up in the Queen's chapel or anywhere else was all more or less. The Democrat Governor. And then, number one, a form of the cabman and so on the enormous dimensions of the sinews or whatever you like cocoa? Lyin' Ted Cruz steals foreign policy speech will be in Alabama for last rally!

I am fighting the dishonest and corrupt! Then as for our country is in horrible shape and falling apart, not turning a hair, was still he did with the U.K.

When I said NO, they had left Euston for the actual facts which quite possibly there were on record—in fact a stoning to death simultaneously by C.P. M'Coy and Stephen, medically I am speaking, how a wretched creature like that. That’s what I’m going to New Hampshire-will be campaigning in Indiana. Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and remember before he could be no possible connection when the thing was public property all along though not by any means, I would NEVER mock disabled. To the African-Americans are seeing what a bad job Hillary type policy and management has done poorly with such men! When will we get? A fantastic day in Virginia. This should not be allowed back onto the House and Senate. Meeting with biggest business leaders of the individual in front of him. A.B.S.

Just like I am pleased to announce this? And, it being largely a question of the Lockheed Martin F-35 FighterJet or the reverse, on yesterday, except for the reason why the still comparatively young though dissolute man who was doing at the outset in principle at all. Russia took over Crimea. #SuperTuesday #VoteTrump Don't reward Mitt Romney is a primary reason that President Obama should ask the DNC about how they rigged the election. Probably the homelife to which we live.

I am going to be retiring for the night plus the use of Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN! Sad State Treasurer John Kennedy is my choice for US Senator from Louisiana. Big protest march in Colorado-big problem! Do you like my 5 victories. Typical politician-can't make a speech in N.C. Even the dishonest media likes saying that I visited our Trump Tower campaign headquarters last night, I mean, and the isosceles triangle miss Portinari he fell in love with and report a story in a short while—and that jackknife. I will be a fall and the high at present morose expression of features did not know me but I've come to me you ought to eat more solid food, say good bye to the blandiloquence of the House and Senate committees to investigate top secret intelligence shared with NBC prior to then had said nothing whatsoever of any description liable to capsize at any time which of course uptodate tourist travelling was as hard on not using the woman’s card like her then. Democrat pols in Atlantic City and left 7 years ago, has left the arena!

Thank you, I'm a stickler for solid food.

Crooked Hillary after she decieved him and his gestures being also clumsy as it was a highly laudable institution to which there was no response forthcoming to kick him upstairs, so much interest in it which in Bloom's humble opinion, stirring up bad blood, Mr Bloom bending, fancying he was and a bit of work, one-sided trade, but not loudly, the party wronged in due course turned into Store street, famous for its C division police station.

I am asking the chairs of the individual in front of the O'Brienite scribes at the heap of barren cobblestones and by the Democratic Convention has paid ZERO respect to the issue, might occur ere then it would be a big success. See you soon!

#BigLeagueTruth It’s this simple.

Crooked Hillary speak. I won the Democratic Party, they twist it and let the Schumer clowns out of it with a guy who openly can't stand him and return it to him or words to that effect and he put them in her rigged system and bring back jobs to USA. And so forth and so many other things, no matter what Bill Clinton and Sanders people who support Hillary sit behind CNN anchor chairs, or my supporters!

Hillary said that he didn't understand one jot of what Bernie stands for opposite! Celebs hurt cause badly. The sailor lugged out from a sheep. Quite a number of other uncalledfor expressions. Just arrived in Cleveland. THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED! Bernie supporters are outraged, was of the Fishguard-Rosslare route which, in cash, to his chagrin, he was personally concerned, he certainly did feel a different man. Congratulations to my surprise, and it often turned in uncommonly handy to be retiring for the American flags and proudly waving Mexican flags.

I seen him do that but I will hold a proverbial candle to the inevitable procrastination which often tripped-up stories and lies, and his host of things in general, where of course, all things considered.

Don and Tiffany, on the quiet and, if not often, met with courageous family of Ambassador Stevens. #Debate Moderator: Hillary plan calls for more regulation and more of Iraq even after the Friday herrings they had to produce your credentials like the 116% hike in Arizona.

We must come on the team and staff of life. Makes mission much harder! I am not trying to dismiss the new e-mail investigation is rigged! The National Border Patrol Council NBPC said that I would have been hitting Obama and Crooked Hillary, I have no deals in Russia, ISIS and our enemies are watching. The U.S. has 69 treaties with other countries where we will get it done anyway!

#Debates2016 #debatenight Really sad that Republicans would allow themselves to be in Missouri today with Melania for the vogue. Christians in the general gist of this?

Crooked Hillary Clinton should stop meeting with special interests, & their minions are working overtime-trying to dismiss the new auto plants coming back, however, he, without anyway prying into his private affairs on the e-mails, using even religion, against Bernie!

First Cause Who, from time to practise literature in his sober state himself recognised Corley's breath redolent of rotten cornjuice. John McCain & Lindsey Graham, who were flying the Mexican flag. Another attack, this time in Pakistan, targeting Christian women & children.

I said! It is time to go up in the U.S., jobs, safety and protection for those in need.

She is reckless and dangerous people may be, I will bring our jobs. #Debate #BigLeagueTruth The 2nd Amendment. JOBS and SAFETY! One time I could feel the electricity in thr air. Nevertheless he sat on the win. He was the unanimous opinion that there was something different.

Squeezing or. I will be asking for a strong hint to a great vogue as it was nothing intrinsically incompatible about it and merited a radical 500% increase in almost twenty years. Very impressive people! But a day of reckoning, he said the picture was handsome which, as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary Clinton is using race-stop wasting time and money. Interest, however, with his daughter had experienced some remarkably choppy, not contributing a copper or pinning his faith absolutely to its dictums, some of the year-THANK YOU FLORIDA!

—Just bears out what I was never asked to be greeted by stares from the bottom and reflected upon the historic fracas when the others evidently eavesdropping too. #BigLeagueTruth It’s this simple.

Thank you for all of the chains, divided by the United States Navy research drone in international waters-rips it out of place as well as current mission, but if the whole bally station belonged to them.

But in the back of closed plane was heightened with FBI shouting go away, no problem! We can be as big as yesterday! A revolution must come together as never before Don't let the Muslims flow in.

Bernie people will have set the terrier at you directly you got drunk with though, entering thoroughly into the night plus the use of Air Force One on the paven ground, brushing a long story short Bloom, as it would be called Lyin' Crooked Hillary Clinton can't close the deal with the G.Q. model photo post of Melania. He fumbled out a picture postcard from his residence, no matter where living inland or seaside, as the richest country bar none on the face so that he had two flasks of presumably Italians in heated altercation were getting rid of voluble expressions in their ad that 465 delegates Cruz plus 143 delegates Kasich is more than $4 billion.

Letter from His Grace. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! D.B. Murphy.

Crooked Hillary Clinton is totally confused.

They come at you directly you got drunk with though, entering thoroughly into the U.S. We are not interested in being the offchance of a mission to the inevitable procrastination which often tripped-up stories and lies, in classical idiom, his mental organs for the night before last and fined ten bob for a long you are entitled. The rules DID CHANGE in Colorado shortly after I entered the race in June because the pols and their families-along with that! Word is-early voting in Florida? So why didn't they fix it. Because if they didn't indulge in any shape or form.

While I am going to the best bloody man that he was just then, when the keeper of it said to be back home-make great deals!

Leaving the great people! Her record is so embarrassed by the voters so he has to team up with e-mails. Today is the true elected president. That has been proven to be our president!

A CHANGE, I will be back home!

—There was no-one can give what he surmised in the GREAT State of Florida where thousands were put up with a very expensive mistake! Why, the Mona's, said he saw him produce a bottle and uncork it or unscrew and, booking ahead, man, respected by all means which he seemingly evinced little interest, Mr Bloom confided to Stephen, image of his tether, so to speak of. Tim Kaine has been true.

People are not happy with them. THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!

Thank you Cleveland. Crooked Hillary and Obama on JOBS and SAFETY!

The State of Colorado had their eleven and more easily and convincingly but smaller states are forgotten! Bernie, will fix it, and without them, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from the other occupants of the pundits be honest?

Much of the legal profession whose headgear Bloom also set to rights earlier in the Flying Dutchman, a must! So I without deviating from plain facts in the Kildare street museum 890 today, home of my children, Don King, and plenty of it and fly in the gizzard though, to vary the timehonoured symbol of the offending beverage.

Great job today by Reverend Franklin Graham. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! I'm sure he would work a mess-just like our government is controlled by the way of a couple of FAKE NEWS! So why would he be a person who will have MUCH less expensive & FAR BETTER!

All too Irish, 200 pounds damages. The whole eventempered person declared, I grant you, Mr Bloom thoroughly acquiesced in the U.S. to get people, even as a jest, laughing 1530 immoderately, pretending to understand everything, the sacred edifice being thronged to the spot, didn't appear in any case he told Stephen how he simply but effectually silenced the offender. I seen a crocodile bite the fluke of an inch when Mr Bloom unaffectedly concurred. Big mistake by an Italian chap. Study the world and his horrifying adventures who reminded him by the way?

His initial impression was he recognised on the strict q.t. somewhere and the fictitious addressee of the incident in FL is very unfair! His time will come!

As for Mr Bloom acceded at once. Slightly disturbed in his lengthy dissertation as the tale went, of all buttons though, so far as politics themselves were concerned, was none other in his hand in hand with his fingers, some of the U.S. Thank you. As expected, see you at the outset in principle at all do justice to her figure which came out on a 2 1/8 ador dorador douradora must be where he invariably drew the line of opening up new vistas in his glory after the burial of a big fan! In just out book, which should never have been so amazing. Wonderful crowds. And he did the honours by surreptitiously pushing the cup and the rigged system that pushed her over this and support our values. Europe and the tears of Senator Schumer. Really bad shooting in Orlando. Why did they only complain after Hillary lost? Security briefings in that she would call wandering but a professional whistler, endeavoured to hail it by making very dumb answer about emails & the veteran who said she is V.P. choice is VERY united. I will fight. Crooked Hillary Clinton announce that she descended from the beginning of the town till the staggering blow came as a result of his political convictions though, since he clapped eyes on him someway. Will devote ZERO TIME! Thank you West Virginia, New Hampshire and Maine.

If she can't even close the deal with Bernie-and destroyed City I made our speeches-Republican's won ratings Crooked Hillary Clinton is being treated properly by the media refuses to write about it to say, by their total absence to say the words I say they have to defend them and one Tomkins who made toys or airs and John Kasich has helped decimate the coal seam of the bad decisions she has done to the USA to MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! It is not acceptable.

A revolution must come on the erstwhile tribune's private morals.

Also, Crooked Hillary Clinton should stop meeting with the courage of his washing. She used it as they are in and Arnold Schwarzenegger got swamped or destroyed by comparison to the great people of the clans in Barney Kiernan's, of all time record for votes in GOP primary history. We will bring great jobs to Colorado and the greatest improvement, tower, abbey, wealth of Park lane to renew acquaintance with.

The cabby read out of the question. Dem Gov. of MN.

All talk, talk and have got nothing but bad publicity from the decidedly miscellaneous collection of waifs and strays and other things, we see what happens! George and Barbara Bush, signed a binding PLEDGE?

Also, deductibles are so thoroughly devastated by the way our democracy works.

This after Ford said last week that it has been amazing. I said or didn't say the rigged system and bring back great American prosperity. Fires its employees, builds a new plant in the one step there was not a bad job as a whole, I believe I will be interviewed on This Week with George S this morning.

Silence all round there certainly is though every country, and wants massive tax hikes.

I extend our warmest greetings to those involved in the next week: OH, ME, AZ, IN—check w/Bill Clinton. Monitoring the terrible tragedy in Nice, France, I would have won even bigger than expected. Such a big speech tomorrow to discuss the business was all the victims, their number one-sided spin that followed. Really sad that Republicans would allow him to Stephen, who eventually euchred their third companion, were incredible. —Everybody gets their own minds, it being only about grandkids and golf for 37 minutes in plane on tarmac? It's like one attracted their rather lagging footsteps. Illegal immigration, with his vocal career or containing anything derogatory whatsoever as it pertains to my children, Don and Eric, will it take for African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP and WIN AGAIN!

Doesn't work, energy and his representatives, at ninety degrees in the full bloom of womanhood in evening dress cut ostentatiously low for a cup of coffee or whatever they want TRUMP! These politicians like Cruz and 1 for 42 John Kasich have no place to sleep myself, Stephen told him, would be bust!

Russia says nothing exists.

American political history Oregon is voting for Kasich who voted to MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN! #Trump2016 Phony Club For Growth tried to extort $1,000,000 missing e-mail scandal because she has done it again! And the whole business and titled people where with his own accord turned to one day realise some Wednesday or Saturday of travelling to London via long sea not to mention the chip potato variety and so on, beautiful Bournemouth, the publican of the year-THANK YOU! I am now going to Iran! It will be in Terre Haute, Indiana, we have just won THE GREAT STATE OF OREGON.

I can use all the riches drained out of you! The danger is massive. Polls close, but if the whole thing wasn't a complete fabrication from start to finish. Lindsey Graham is wrong-they are genuine? It is time for change. Big protest march in Colorado-big day planned in New Hampshire and Maine.

Outside, small group of people, even supposing you did you leave your father's house?

Another little interesting point, the world. Excuse me, would you find but what I'm talking about additional guards or employees How can Hillary run the economy!

Totally made up lies! Congrats to the last two weeks before the same fashion, a Greek.

—but nobody else does! Not honest! Does anybody really believe that Bill Clinton called it and he thanks me! Bernie Sanders endorsing Crooked Hillary Clinton led Obama into bad decisions! Being at the scene between the two concerning her relations with the starch out. Kasich is ZERO for 22. Fires its employees, builds a new plant in the rural parts of the great metropolis, the grasswidower in question who appeared to imagine he came from Bridgwater with bricks. Come November 8, she's out! —Do you all remember how beautiful and important evening!

These are people who are not looking good and net a profit, there must be where he could neither make head or tail of the nature of single blessedness he would have it rigged in favor of Hillary Clinton's open borders, etc. Stephen, medically I am so proud of my campaign. TIME FOR A CHANGE, I can go out to be told and it at him heavily from a different grouping of bones and even flesh because palpably it was all was wanted. Their donors & special interest groups are beyond happy with all hands on deck. We will follow Orlando Amazing crowd. It's in the race so that the sea was there in Navan growing tobacco. Corley corrected him.

The redbearded sailor who had to sail on it and asked for the lamp which she, however, which devastated Ohio-a Lindsey Graham endorsement. Very exciting! Another little interesting point, the chinks does. Mexico, to his confidante sotto voce.

It ran as follows: Tarjeta Postal, Señor A Boudin, Galeria Becche, Santiago, Chile. In fact the young man he was perhaps under some misapprehension.

The reason I put up-I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN!

The inward reflection of there being still a commanding figure, a different man. Hillary's policies that have made wonderful deals together-where both Mexico and the tears of Senator Schumer.

How can Hillary run the White House, as Mr Bloom apropos of the very thing he commented adversely on the problem as to whether he had, to Gettysburg! Shakespeares were as common as Murphies. I call that patriotism. She is ill-fit with bad intentions out of his own legal consort as leading lady as a foregone conclusion on fine young fellows of his salt that served it.

This despite the really bad job as Governor of Florida where thousands were put up-I always said that he said, could easily picture his advent on this? There’s never been anyone more abusive to women in striped loincloths, squatted, blinking, suckling, frowning, sleeping amid a swarm of infants there must have lodged it for the fraudulent editing of her professional life! I will send in the local papers could be managed by some with facetious proclivities as Lord John Corley some called him after the recent visitation of Jupiter Pluvius, they had acquired drinking habits under the magic influence of liquor unless you knew a little flutter in polite debauchery to press their attentions on her knee, post mortem child.

Obama allowed to say, cropped up. Now professional protesters, incited by the NYPD in protecting the people. Crooked Hillary Clinton? Very exciting! The Crooked Hillary, we are all over the top, DWS. Very much appreciated. Thank you to General Motors and Walmart for starting the big day for her pianoplaying.

Can you believe that his problems with The Apprentice except for some ulterior object. 2 weeks, I have got nothing. People want LAW AND ORDER! President Obama trying to make our country from certain areas, while prudently pocketing the photo of the things it is very unfair. Of course I suppose some man is ultimately responsible for NAFTA and NAFTA devastated Ohio and is losing votes in GOP primary history. The Unaffordable Care Act ObamaCare is. This morning Hynes put it in common parlance, reminded him in a large sized lady with her phony Native American she would call wandering but a professional whistler, endeavoured to hail it by England levying taxes on the ground where it was not, your washing.

Media rigging election! These are the 33,000 for the occasion, Mr Bloom, my campaign. And I seen a Chinese one time which of course had his father's, Gumley. In getting the Republican Convention went so smoothly compared to the Senate. This was a matter of fact though a good relationship with Chuck Schumer.

En route to his chagrin, he heroically made light of the gospel as a whole lot of money out of Fullam's, the statement was made that the rover might possibly ensue somebody having a general election. Crime reduction will be in its way, was incredible-massive crowd expected.

Thank you West Virginia and Nebraska. E-mails were deleted by Crooked Hillary describing her as an Independent, say, on the win.

Will be arriving soon.

How much BAD JUDGEMENT was on for a brief duration only in the mantle of adultery, leader's trusty henchmen rounding on him with a sort of a female who however had disappeared to all of the thugs. Very nice! Enjoy! Just had a massive victory in becoming the Ohio Republican Party Chair.

I we broke the deal, and now this U. Now all he commented adversely on the economy and jobs way down: I will be remembered! Why can't the pundits be honest? Why do you good, bad judgment.

#Debate Basically nothing Hillary has the Spanish type? Crooked Hillary despite the people who disrupted my rally in Cincinnati is ON. Convention until people started complaining-then a small campaign staff. Bad system! We need SCOTUS judges who will uphold the US Constitution. Wow, 30,000 in an open mind and the misery and suffering it entailed as a walk in life for any lengthy space of time Mr Bloom unaffectedly concurred. -mails and DNC disrespect.

Rigged system! Some person or politician. —Needs! Big day on Thursday to make the most talented people running for president, has been a one week notice, your washing. We do not like or respect women, when, neglecting her duties, she suffers from plain old bad judgement forced her to be handed a cheque at a propitious opportunity he purposed Bloom did, without a second or so in lieu so that with the F-35 program and cost overruns of the timehonoured adage, gone the way of all eatables seemed to. Crooked Hillary was involved in the Trump University civil case in San Diego to raise money for the badly defeated & demoralized Dems Fidel Castro is dead at 74! —Neat bit of steel, repeated he, evidently there was not as a people w/a shared history.

Think about it to say who can never beat Hillary! Wisconsin's economy is doing poorly and like everywhere else in U.S. I TOLD YOU SO! Crooked Hillary just took a sip of the railway bridge, to build Corolla cars for U.S. And when all was who you got drunk with though, to his guns to the great comments on the head of the jobs I am lowering taxes far more important task! Look at tapes-nothing there! Highly unlikely of course, woman, as people often did about others, if his clothes were properly attended to so as not to say it, evidently there was no response forthcoming to kick him upstairs, so to speak-Wednesday release Just returned from Pennsylvania where her husband signed NAFTA. If the disgusting and corrupt! If so, I am going to collude in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! The so-called leaders ever learn! —Ah, yes! Do you like my 5 victories on Tuesday at 8:00 A.M. Four more years! Too bad!

The beginning of the victims of illegal immigrants? I call my own shots, largely based on an ad on me. CNN these days almost as little as they very largely did till the jarvey who had next to nothing to live and i will live thy protestant to be sneezed at, going hand in hand with his university degree of B.A. a huge ad in its line, he proceeded, went across towards Gardiner street, when the thing. No gun owner can ever vote for CHANGE!

Four more years of Barack Obama! Sand in the Brazen Head over in Winetavern street which was really a work of art, a different world! The dishonest media!

It is time for CHANGE!

We will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! The State Department. The system is rigged. ISIS.

Paul Ryan. He also yielded to none in his glory after the grim task of having committed his remains to the foregoing truism. He ought to eat even were it only an added charm like the case might be a very weak border must change, the Tweedy-Flower grand opera company with his character and held for questioning. It will be making the job very difficult! If Obama worked as hard on straightening out our country without extraordinary screening. Why, the sailor said. —Let me cross your bows mate, he appetisingly added, on the newcomers boarded Stephen, who eventually euchred their third companion, were admittedly unscrupulous in the U.S. sells Taiwan billions of dollars of military equipment but I heard he went wild against Rudy Giuliani and #2A-sad & so terrible. Mr Bloom actuated by motives of inherent delicacy inasmuch as he undoubtedly was under his frigid exterior notwithstanding the little I know is highly overrated, should not have delayed! They know if that were me it would be a great time in Germany. That haunting sense kind of a different man.

I chew that quid. Just made a mistake here, you see once in a discreet corner only to be VP that tell the world and his host of things somebody or other, obviously addressed, looked down but in quiet parts of the March on Washington-where both Mexico and other high personages simply following in the act of scrambling out of his many bosses, including Never Trump, all farmers & sm. I don't believe sources said by the way for many great Americans!

Congressman John Lewis said about her secret server has been true. Mr Bloom who at all events he wound up by the circumstance that one was Judas, Stephen said after a packed rally. Why, the sacred right of all he could not have the endorsement. Beware of the law stands, was a fellow sailed with me in first place. With millions of votes more in the Middle East have been saying, REPEAL AND REPLACE! I am against Intelligence when in fact I am President!

AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Senator Tom Cotton was great Bernie Sanders has been, she made up events THAT NEVER HAPPENED. Philly fight? Made all of the DNC-they don't appreciate how kind President Obama working instead of golfing.

So saying he skipped around, nimbly considering, frankly, a Greek. With the exception of cheating Bernie out of their bootstraps.

The elder man recounted to his adventures. The cabby read out that sir Anthony MacDonnell had left him alone in his humble opinion threw a nasty sidelight on that side of the families who are dead and wounded. —I seen queer sights, don't believe that Ted Cruz just used a picture postcard from his residence, no energy left! At this pertinent suggestion Mr Bloom, scarcely knowing which way to San Diego, one after another, or whatever you like, it may be important because I love watching what he is deeply regretted. Billions of dollars in gifts while Governor of Virginia-JOBS, JOBS!

The world was full of the bestknown passages in Holy Writ, apart from circumstantial evidence.

She's waiting for me, viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the same fellow, pulling the skin with his mad vagaries among whose other gay doings when rotto and making water jobs and manufacturing in Pennsylvania have just certified my wins in those states. Bernie Sanders has been great for me, would think that it was sold it, recalling a case of the nice comments, by no means to be a weak leader. —Buffalo Bill shoots to kill, Never missed nor he never realised what it meant to say nothing of M'Intosh L. Boom as it struck him, when duly refreshed by his rum puncheon exploit, gaping up at the scene and regaining his seat so as not to say of the ballad. The vicinity of the city, Pembroke road for example, of all commodities of the WORLD! Getting the strong endorsement for president, knows nothing about me. Anybody whose mind SHORT CIRCUITS is not about Mr. Khan, killed 12 years ago, instead of campaigning for Hillary Clinton is not acceptable. Ted Cruz can't win Kentucky, she needs the rest to go to Charlotte on Saturday to grandstand. Sad! Terrible jobs report.

The redbearded sailor who had married the widow of a regular deathtrap for young fellows, chiefly, destruction of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as, being a case or two accompanied this thrilling announcement. Little Marco, his mental organs for the swearing in.

On the whole world was gloomy before I won in every way thoroughly pleasurable, especially when added to the LGBT community! As a show of support! How much BAD JUDGEMENT Does anyone know that it was twenty odd years. Tremendous crowds expected, the statement was made that the other, whose hand by the way no harm, to tell the truth. The opinion of this nation again. So, now they're saying that I did in the MIDWEST.

#Ulysses (novel)#James Joyce #1922 #automatically generated text #Patrick Mooney #Eumaeus #politics #American politics #presidential elections #21st century #Donald Trump #2016 #2017

0 notes