cptnbatel

[cptnbatel]

I'm just sayin'... I don't owe anything here, and we should really fix that.

[cptnbatel]

sometimes, I have to stop and reprocess that in the span of one season, marie

had to prosecute a trial she really should not have been prosecuting, all while having her arm twisted behind her back by an admiral who didn't trust her to do her job.

lost a promotion because she lost said trial, despite it not being her fault.

lost her ship and nearly her entire crew, was infected by the gorn, watched the massacre on the surface, and still kept herself together well enough to do everything in her power to bring together and protect the survivors.

( for the record, we all don't appreciate that last bullet point nearly enough... )

[cptnbatel]

there is nothing that goes the way it is supposed to in space. it's a philosophy that has served her well over the years — mitigating expectations, lessening the sting of disappointments, easing burdens of guilt. if she had wanted things to go right, marie ought to have remained on earth, a lawyer whose exposure to the stars would never be more than pinpricks in the sky.

at least sometimes, reality, while baffling, is at least less dire and not more than at first it seemed. she would take a questionably injured medical professional over an assaulted medical professional any day. no matter how exasperated she may remain.

❛ I'm not sure 'nothing happened' and 'I did this' can be applied to the same situation. you'd better decide which story you're sticking with, doctor. ❜

❛⠀ ⠀captain, i know this is hard to believe,⠀ ❜ he begins, pushing himself into a sitting position. his broken leg rests comfortably on a pillow, slick with the red oil the lasswade diplomat who had been with him insisted on applying. ❛⠀ ⠀but i swear to god, nothing happened. no one hurt me, i wasn't attacked, i, uh, well-⠀ ❜ lips press together, shame rising like a ride, a bright red flush creeping from his cheeks to the tip to his ears. ❛⠀⠀i did this.⠀ ❜

@cptnbatel

[cptnbatel]

okay, to be fair, I likely will be able to be talked into hybridizing my post!s2 canon with whatever s3 does, but the point of this post, if poorly executed, was 'no one should be surprised, I'll be doing it my own way so please don't make assumptions...'

since it seems we have a new trailer ( I haven't seen it yet ), this seems an opportune moment to say that, no matter what happens, I'm really not planning on acknowledging or incorporating s3 canon on this blog. I came up with my own post!s2 plan for marie two years ago, I'm attached to it, and I plan on sticking to it.

[cptnbatel]

since it seems we have a new trailer ( I haven't seen it yet ), this seems an opportune moment to say that, no matter what happens, I'm really not planning on acknowledging or incorporating s3 canon on this blog. I came up with my own post!s2 plan for marie two years ago, I'm attached to it, and I plan on sticking to it.

[cptnbatel]

PROMPTS FROM LABYRINTH *  assorted dialogue from the 1986 film, adjust as necessary

that's not fair!

you say that so often, i wonder what your basis for comparison is?

it's only forever. not long at all.

give me the child.

i have been generous up 'til now. i can be cruel.

generous? what have you done that's generous?

everything that you wanted, i have done.

you cowered before me.

i have turned the world upside down, and i have done it all for you.

i am exhausted from living up to your expectations.

i move the stars for no one.

i have fought my way here to the castle.

look what i'm offering you.

just fear me. love me.

do as i say.

you have no power over me.

you're horrible.

let's handle this thing logically.

may we have your permission?

how you turn my world, you precious thing.

i can never remember the line.

she'll never give up.

your eyes can be so cruel, just as i can be so cruel.

i've brought you a gift.

did you say hello?

you don't by any chance know the way through this labyrinth, do you?

come inside.

don't go on.

go back while you still can.

this is not the way.

soon it will be too late.

don't pay attention to them.

i'm sorry, i'm just doing my job.

don't expect a big reaction.

the path you take will lead you to certain destruction!

you're him, aren't you?

i didn't mean it.

this tastes strange.

ah, what have we here?

in 9 hours and 23 minutes... you'll be mine.

what do you mean "help?"

you're hurting!

would you like us to let go?

come on, which way?

we haven't got all day.

was that wrong?

i need you, [name].

i don't know why, but every now and again in my life... for no reason at all... i need you. all of you.

what did you have to go and do a thing like that for?

you kissed me!

go back to your room.

what have i done? i've lost my only friend. that's what i've done.

it bit me!

does anyone want to play a game of scrabble?

unlock the door!

throw down your weapons.

i can bear it no longer!

i have to face him alone.

that's the way it's done.

what's the matter, my dear?

what kind of position is that?

the way forward is sometimes the way back.

it's very rude to stare.

i was just wondering which door to choose.

what were you saying?

wait, i can't understand you.

it's not fair!

call out the guards!

you're going the wrong way!

i can conquer this mountain!

it seems like we're not getting anywhere.

it seemed solid enough.

you know your problem? you take too many things for granted.

thanks for nothing, [name].

i think we've got them surrounded.

things are not always what they seem in this place.

what choice have you got?

it's hopeless asking you anything.

don't try to embarrass me.

[cptnbatel]

if only the book were the extent of the matter. if only her only problem were bad literature, and not...

❛ you know... I am not sure it's fair — strictly speaking — to place all the blame on the book... ❜ — even if it might carry the responsibility of being the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back', and at that point, doesn't one blame the final weight that renders the rest unendurable, and not the rest? — ❛ but I'm also not sure that I'm willing to defend the thing even from unjustified accusations. ❜ marie's not willing to defend the thing at all. ❛ so, yes. we'll say it's because of the book. ❜

the book and all its horrors are easier to face, anyways.

❛⠀ what outburst? ⠀ ❜ it was nothing. to captain batel, it might be an outburst, a shock she needed to get out of her system, but to christine, it was just another regular hour -- and she even got an apology out of it! it usually took people an hour, or a day, or in one impressive case, three weeks, before they retracted their claws and scurried back with their tail between their legs. ❛⠀ oh? because of the book? nah, that's... i get it, i really do. ⠀ ❜

[cptnbatel]

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010) PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue, adjust as necessary.

it snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three. any food that grows here is tough and tasteless. the people that grow here are even more so.

it's a mess.

that's for kidnapping me.

you must feel horrible. you've lost everything.

thank you for summing that up.

the rest of us would have done it. so why didn't you?

that's not an answer.

why is this so important to you all of a sudden?

i was a coward! i was weak!

i wouldn't kill him, because he looked frightened as i was. i looked at him... and i saw myself.

i really did hit one.

you're thinking about this all wrong. it's not so much what you look like, it's what's inside that he can't stand.

the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not.

i just wanna be one of you guys.

everything we know about you guys is wrong.

what are you gonna do about it?

i could get used to it.

most people would leave. not us. we have stubbornness issues.

i admit it. this is pretty cool. it's... amazing.

get me down from here!

you have to give me a chance to explain!

i am not listening to anything you have to say!

get me down.

see? nothing to be afraid of.

you don't have to go up there.

i'm really beginning to question your teaching methods.

watch out babe, i'll take care of this.

i can do that, but i don't have the time right now.

we're leaving. let's pack up.

looks like you and me are taking a little vacation. forever.

i want to know what's going on.

start talking!

you scared me!

stay out of my way! i'm winning this thing!

this time, for sure.

you brought him back alive!

oh, i'm hurt! i am very much hurt!

i don't want to fight dragons.

can you not hear me?

this is serious.

this conversation is feeling very one-sided.

i love this plan.

let me out, please?

i need to speak with you.

get your hands off my shield!

this one has blood on it!

nice of you to join the party!

i thought i was crazy!

remember, a dragon will always, always go for the kill.

i knew it. i'm dead.

i should have seen the signs.

it's not what you think. you don't know what you're up against.

careful with that dragon.

just... promise me it won't go wrong.

i can't miss.

your most important piece of equipment is your shield. if you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield.

get to the ships!

i think i'll stay, just in case you're thinking of doing something crazy.

so i guess it's just you and me, huh?

will you please stop that?

no turning back.

why read words when you can just kill the stuff the words tell you about?

chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now.

there's one more thing you need to know.

their job is so much cooler.

don't worry, we got it covered.

just do what i told you!

i'll be back as soon as i can!

[cptnbatel]

the dilemma of wanting marie to have her own space... because as a character she ( like una ) requires that in how much I have rewritten her from the ground up and how bad I am about writing headcanon posts on my multi and feeling comfortable to deep dive that way... but also I don't have the people and interactions to keep her to her own blog...

[cptnbatel]

❛ no, christine, after everything I think that I am absolutely at my best. ❜ the sarcasm, scathing as it is, catches even marie by surprise, and she grimaces. ❛ I'm sorry. that was... ❜ — uncalled for probably doesn't even begin to cover it — ❛ rude. ❜ although, so is giving her this book, and so is keeping her prisoner. so, maybe they're even.

with a wry twist of a smile and a shake of the head, she asks, ❛ I suppose that little outburst is going in the chart too, huh? ❜

❛⠀ so you agree you're not at your best, ⠀ ❜ christine retorts. contrary to popular belief, there is nothing in the nurses' manual, nor in the starfleet guidelines, advising against arguing with patients. somewhere along the line, someone realized that this was not just a facet of the job, it was a public service. ❛⠀ just so we're on the same page. ⠀ ❜

picking up the discarded book, she smoothes a finger over the crinkled corner of the cover. ❛⠀ sadistic? oh, dear, you're delusional, i should note that on your chart. ⠀ ❜

[cptnbatel]

no, marie supposes that, ultimately, the adjective doesn't matter. it doesn't change the point. though, considering the varied and horrified ways in which one might die, she remains dubious of applying 'boring.' it's not a debate with any purpose, and she quells her natural instincts in order to let it go.

❛ well, there are to be no dealth-related side effects on my watch. boring or otherwise. I am decreeing it. ❜ such a decree is scarcely within anyone's purview, but despite the humor in which she couches it, marie has no desire to extend her own familiarity with loss. ❛ I'd rather none of us had to consider what's next. ❜

❛   does the adjective even matter ?   ❜ it's not as if they will actually feel anything. after all, they'd be gone. then again, Carol supposes it would be rather distressing to their friends & family, & anyone else who's left behind. ❛   it's bound to happen to all of us sooner or later. we are here for a small BLINK before we rejoin the stars. i have a lot of experience with losing people, so maybe that's what makes me . . . less afraid to talk about it.   ❜ she offers a quick shrug. ❛   never really thought about what's next, hence the whole boring scenario.   ❜

[cptnbatel]

❛ I wasn't doubting your motives. ❜ she recognize the source of the lieutenant's assumption, but circumstances spoke loudly in her favor. ❛ ultimately, I'm not even necessarily saying you did the wrong thing. ❜

circumstances, marie knew all too well, were rarely so simple. therein lay the problem though, for by what standard did one measure the rightness or wrongness of any action? did one rely upon the letter of the law, or the bounds of perceived necessity in a universe that at all times attempted to surpass the bounds of what its inhabitants could anticipate and prepare for.

❛ though you have to know that, if someone wished to, they could build a case. ❜ after all, when one stands squarely upon a line, to which side of it are they considered to fall? she keeps to herself, however, the thought that any mention to the wrong person of the terrible things one sometimes needed to do would only add fuel to a fire once sparked. she does not wish to verge into apparent condescension.

perhaps, the blonde should have worded that a tad differently. another prime example of her opening her mouth without much thought. it's only a matter of time before it gets her in serious trouble. ❛   that's not━━i said that very poorly.   ❜ the lieutenant sighs in frustration before trying again. ❛   we both know how it is out there. reaction time can be nonexistent & some calls are difficult to make, but someone has to make them.   ❜

Carol isn't necessarily an advocate for violence, but she will DEFEND her crew. ❛   i admit that i towed the line a bit there, but it worked in our favor.   ❜ there were a few injuries but no real losses of like for either party. ❛   however, i am willing to accept the consequences of my actions.   ❜ clearly, she needs to stop being too creative. ❛   i understand my being half-Kree & their inability to cooperate might make me seem like i may have ulterior motives, but i do not. i believe in the Federation & what it stands for, & i intend to continue protecting those beliefs.   ❜ after all, she'd grown up entirely as a human.

[cptnbatel]

⤷ ✧ @jennifershepard said, ❝ there's always a bigger fish. ❞

❛ is that supposed to make this feel any less frustrating? ❜ if so, it serves instead only to accomplish the opposite. always a bigger fish, but if they can't manage to put away even the small ones, how are they to catch the large ones? to not have their entire boat capsize beneath the strain.

marie grimaces — more at the metaphor taken much too far than at her own cynicism. that they had been confident in their case, only for all to fall apart on a technicality — and a technicality that, in her present mood, marie swears she ought to have foreseen ( though in truth it relied upon information she had not had and therefore could not have foreseen ) — only made it all the more infuriating. with a sigh, she promises them both, ❛ next time. ❜

[cptnbatel]

❛ well, since you've already determined I'm not fit for work, surely I can't be expected to argue at my best. ❜ marie does not add that, at least in starfleet's eyes, her track record is rather tainted at present, besides. self-deprecating humor, she fears, might open floodgates better left sealed.

there are a dozen threads she might tug upon in christine's protest, but there is nothing of the lawyer in her at present, none of that fighting spirit. ❛ but I wouldn't put twisted past you, christine. you nurses are a sadistic lot. ❜ if they weren't, they wouldn't be so delighted to confine patients to rest and relaxation — merely kinder words for captivity.

❛⠀ is this the sort of argument that won all your pretty awards? you seriously think i had a terrible book lying around my room for the express purpose of... what? let me get this straight - for the express purpose of forcing my patients to listen to me ramble on? i'm a nurse, not a captain. ⠀ ❜ with the aplomb of a court lawyer used to getting their way, christine crosses her arms over her chest, disbelief marring her features. ❛⠀ that's twisted. ⠀ ❜

despite christine’s dramatics, marie wasn’t right. and like any good trial lawyer, she’s not about to let something as minor as the truth get in the way of a virtuoso performance. if it kills time and keeps her from planning escape attempt number four, she'll just have to lean into it. time to defend atlas and his gang, or whatever they were.

[cptnbatel]

the book is a monstrosity, and the only thing keeping marie from throwing it at christine's head in retaliation for giving it to her is the reminder that it would be rude, recent events considered. there is also the matter of her rather dubious aim with her right arm. ❛ you picked it deliberately so that I would have to listen to you. ❜

marie had already attempted, unsuccessfully, to bargain — to promise no work and rest if christine set her free. now, a less logical part of her — a part she recognizes and thought she was done with years prior — suggests that an attempted escape, should it force christine to render her unconscious, might be a compelling option. nothing is worse than time to think.

in fairness, marie doubts there is a book ever written that could entertain her right now. ❛ I am going to lose my mind, and you are going to ensure it happens sooner rather than later. ❜

❝ i think i might just be happier not knowing where the rest of that conversation goes. ❞ ( from marie )

❛⠀ you say that now, and then when i turn around, you're trying to break out of sickbay because you're bored. ⠀ ❜ okay, the last part was a slight exaggeration, but the captain was getting a little antsy for her taste. ❛⠀ i told you. no work for the next day, so either you shoosh or let me finish my fabulous story, or i'll let you return to - ⠀ ❜ blue eyes drop to the cover of the paperback marie had given up on after thirty-pages, ❛⠀ -that monstrosity. ⠀ ❜ @cptnbatel

[cptnbatel]

also this is a memes call to get things started here again ( specify muses for multis! ) or here's my memes tag

[cptnbatel]

I never make questionable decisions, and returning to this blog definitely isn't one. but I've gotta. I've gotta.