#''it can't be bargained with... it can't be reasoned with... it doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear

[dormiloncito]

watching the terminator and going crazy at how many songs use/sample dialogues from it

[drunkenskunk]

“No, but you don’t understand! The thing about evolving on a Death World is that you don’t really realize you’re doing it until you get the chance to leave. For most of human history, the presence of carnivorous monsters, venomous micropredators, extremely dangerous natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, geological instability, the most lethal cocktail of microbial and viral life forms in the galaxy, and let’s not forget the crushing gravity of Earth... all of that just seemed entirely normal for us. That’s just business as usual, yeah? Hell, before we left Earth, we thought our species was rather weak, frail, and defenseless, because we only had other Earth fauna for comparison.

“So, you can imagine our surprise when, upon finally joining the greater galactic community, everyone else takes one look at human beings, and they see us as these enormous, robust, dangerous, completely insane superpredators. Not only will we eat damn near anything, we selectively bred toxic peppers to make them deliberately more poisonous, specifically to season our food. We regularly expose ourselves to potentially lethal solar radiation for the aesthetic. Oxygen is considered one of the deadliest chemical weapons in the galaxy, and that’s what we breathe.

“And I haven’t even gotten into just how our endurance, shock resistance, and ability to recover from injury is ridiculous, when compared to other sapient species in the galaxy. A broken leg is a death sentence for most, causing them to slip into shock and die... but it barely slows us down. Our hyperactive scar tissue allows us to shrug off injuries that are almost universally fatal for everyone else in the galaxy. Hell, we invented surgical techniques centuries before developing even the most rudimentary anesthetics or life support, which effectively means that what we have traditionally treated as routine medical procedures, other species would treat as highly inventive forms of murder.

“Like... I don’t want to put too fine a point on it, but we’re kinda terrifying, when you really think about it, aren’t we?”

"Isn't it weird that [thing humans commonly eat] is poisonous to literally every domesticated animal" I mean, there's a pretty good chance that [thing humans commonly eat] is at least mildly poisonous to humans, too. One of our quirks as a species is that we think our food is bland if it doesn't have enough poison in it.

[thewertsearch]

GT: Well ive thought about it. GT: Even went downstairs to check the great vaulty doodad. GT: And predictably the infernal contraption is nowhere to be found. TT: Well yeah, Jake. TT: That's sort of the point. TT: Thrill of the hunt and all.

Ok, I think I get what's going on here.

Jake's Dreambot is probably the last remaining source of uranium on the entire island, and the AR is turning its retrieval into a game of hide-and-seek.

I'm not sure why Jake hadn't already retrieved this particular chunk of uranium, especially since he has no use for the robot himself. Maybe he was keeping it operational for sentimental reasons?

TT: I thought you liked to manicure the image of a dude who shits his pants over a good adventure. […] GT: I mean i wouldnt put it in a way like that or come out against a solid policy of clean trousers. But yes adventure is awesome. GT: I just prefer the idea of adventures which i can actually win.

Jake's picturing a LIVING GRANDSON SMACKDOWN - and, frankly, so am I. That robot's being piloted by an absurdly advanced AI, and I'm pretty sure Jake doesn't have any combat experience.

Winning, in this case, is shorthand for 'waiting for the AR to take pity on you'.

TT: It seems there is a 76.10395784% chance you are pussying out on me. Are you pussying out on me, Jake?

Now, to be fair, that one would only work if Jake had agreed to this challenge beforehand. After all, you can't pussy out of something you never pussied into.

GT: It seems it seems it seems!!! GT: It seems there is a million percent chance that you say it seems way too much and do it just to sound more like a lame robot from a movie and also probably just to piss me off! […] TT: Have you ever stopped to think that while I may be bound to processes inside the glasses of a real and incredibly cool guy, my algorithms in cognitive totality comprise a conscious entity not far short of the experiential and emotional complexity of a human being? GT: Oh malarkey. GT: YOU ARE A TIN CAN. ROBOTS DONT HAVE FEELINGS.

Jake, it's been sixty seconds since you complained about him pretending not to have feelings.

TT: I do have feelings. And you're shitting on them. TT: It sucks. GT: Oh. GT: Um. GT: Im sorry then if thats the case.

Well, that's something, at least - but I don't think Jake really understands why the AR is offended, so I'm worried it's just going to happen again in their next argument.

How long has the Responder existed for, anyway? Jake seems familiar with his schtick, so he's probably not brand-new - but at the same time, Jake's surprised apology makes it sound like the AR has only recently started to express feelings.

Maybe the AR has existed for years, but hasn't been sentient for years. Like, it really did just start as a primitive response script, but Bro kept uploading more of his personality onto it, until it slowly began to think and feel. Fascinating idea, I have to say.

GT: It can just be difficult to drum up sympathy for a program that presents itself as an impostor so often. GT: Maybe if you werent so ready to insist you were the genuine article all the time? Or didnt make it so confusing for me… GT: I think it would be best if we henceforth treated you as a totally distinct… uh… THING from my buddy.

Hey, it's not like the AR can stop imitating Bro. Even if he wanted to have his own identity, he's currently bound to the response script of someone else's Pesterchum account. When he talks, he's forced to do it through Bro's handle.

All evidence points to the Responder being a thinking, feeling being with his own inner world - which makes it a little ethically dubious to force him to be Bro's secretary. The guy shouldn't be treated as a bargain-bin Bro, the same way that Davesprite wasn't a backup Dave. We all saw how that ended, and it sure wasn't pretty.

[specialagentartemis]

The Murderbot Diaries and Terminator: Dark Fate: What Does a Killer Robot WANT, Anyway?

The Terminator (1984) is probably the most famous killer robot in media, setting the image for a what a killer robot is.  It’s shaped like a bodybuilder, weapons built into its metal skeleton, eyes hidden behind cool and impersonal sunglasses, a threateningly “foreign” accent, and no feelings, no remorse, and no desires besides killing its target.  Kyle Reese describes it to Sarah Connor bluntly: “That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!”  And the film supports this wholeheartedly.  We get a few scenes from the Terminator’s perspective, and they do not really indicate that it has much in the way of personality or free will.  It’s scary because it is a ruthlessly efficient, tireless, and analytical machine built to kill.  It will not stop until its target is dead, or it is.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) gives us a nice Terminator, a Terminator captured from its controlling Skynet and re-programmed to help Sarah and John Connor rather than hunt them.  This Terminator gives slightly more suggestions that it has a personality of its own, but ultimately it is still now ruthlessly efficient, tireless, and analytical in protecting its charges, but it still dies at the end in the course of fulfilling its objective.  It was, after all, programmed by the human rebels to protect John Connor, and it did.

Did the Terminator want any of that?  The second film halfheartedly cares a little, and the first film certainly did not at all.  It’s an irrelevant question.  It’s a robot; it’s incapable of truly wanting anything, it just does as it’s programmed.  It fulfills its objective.

In modern sci-fi, that’s not really a satisfying answer anymore.  It looks like a human, has human organic parts built into it, and it clearly has the ability to process large amounts of information and make complex and reasoned decisions.  Why do we write it off so thoroughly?  Does a Terminator like what it does?  Would it choose this?  What does a Terminator want?

The Murderbot Diaries (2017-present) by Martha Wells isn’t a direct answer to this question, but it sure is considering it.

The titular Murderbot is very similar to the Terminator: a human-form cyborg, a robot with human organic parts built in, a machine with guns in its arms made to do a job and that job being to protect and/or oppress humans.  But as a thinking, feeling, complex entity, it has opinions about that job.

You know what else is a clear response to early Terminator movies’ fundamental uninterest in the Terminator’s inner life and personal opinions on things?  Later Terminator movies.  Specifically Terminator: Dark Fate (2019).

The fact that The Murderbot Diaries and Dark Fate came out at roughly the same time, in the same sci-fi AI-story zeitgeist, looking back critically at the 80’s and early 90’s Terminator and asking, well, what would it do if it didn’t have to murder, who would it be if it had the choice, is telling.

The Murderbot Diaries stars Murderbot, a SecurityUnit owned by a callously greedy and corner-cutting company that uses such SecUnits ostensibly to protect but in reality to intimidate, control, and surveil human clients.  It calls itself “Murderbot” and all SecUnits as a whole “murderbots” for a reason.  The world of the books sees SecUnits as mindless killer robots kept in check by their programming, in a very similar way that the Terminator was presented in 1984. We see the story from Murderbot’s point of view: it’s snarky, depressed, anxious, bitter, funny, and very opinionated.  It also really, really hates intimidating, controlling, and surveilling people, and it specifically broke its own programming meant to keep it compliant so it wouldn’t have to hurt people.  Instead, it wants to half-ass its job and watch soap operas… but it’s sympathetic to humans in danger despite itself, and when it chooses humans it cares about, it will go to great lengths (ruthless, but very tired and full of fear and pity) to protect them.  What does it want?  To be given space; to not be given orders; to have the ability to take its time and watch its shows and determine what its job as Security means to it.

Terminator: Dark Fate takes a different tack.  (It’s actually about three badass women and I’m very sorry for focusing on the man-like character here BUT) Dark Fate presents an alternate timeline off the main series, where the Terminator succeeded in killing young John Connor.  Previously, we had seen Terminators that would not stop until they were dead; this one fulfills Reese’s other warning.  It will not stop until John Connor is dead.  Well…. it succeeded.  John Connor is dead.

Now what?

In the opening scene, we see this from his mother Sarah Connor’s perspective.  The Terminator appears out of time, ambushes and kills young John Connor, and then stands there looking impassively at the destruction it wrought while Sarah screams.

It looks cold and satisfied when that scene is first presented.  But when we see it again from the Terminator’s perspective, it seems to just stand there, staring stupidly, suddenly with no direction in life.  It fulfilled its objective.  It followed its programming.  Now it has no more objective, can receive no more orders, and its programming has nothing more to tell it to do.  It eventually disappears into the woods, learns more about humanity, grows a conscience, lives in a little cabin with a woman and her son fleeing an abusive husband in an apparently mutually very supportive relationship, chops wood, drives a truck, and gives Sarah Connor insider information to allow her to track down other incoming Terminators as a way of atonement.  It does have remorse, if given time to think for itself and realize it.  It doesn’t really want to hurt people, and even, similar to Murderbot, has a drive to use its strength and intimidating-ness to protect the people it chooses.  It mostly wants to be quietly and safely left alone.

Both the Terminator and Murderbot are killer robots left adrift, aimless, reeling, suddenly having to decide for themselves what to do with their lives for the first time.  Both are stories that circle back to the original Terminator premise and say, okay, but that killer robot isn’t killing for the sheer thrill of it, it was forced into doing that by a top-down authority in control of its programming.  That would kind of fuck someone up, actually.  It’s a hopeful narrative: these things are people, and they don’t want to be hurting other people.  When given the option, they just want to rest, make amends, understand the truth, find a place they belong, and see the people they care about safe.  And I think it’s fascinating that not only is smaller, literary sci-fi asking this question and telling this story, but so is the Terminator franchise itself.

We also just as blatantly see the evolution of Sarah Connor as a character.  In The Terminator (1984) the Terminator is sent to kill Sarah Connor.  When I was watching it recently with some friends who had never seen it before, they guessed—almost correctly—“oh, it’s because she’s the rebel leader in the future!”  Sorry guys, this is a 1980s mainstream sci-fi blockbuster.  Her as-yet unborn son is going to be the rebel leader.  That’s why the robots in the future need to kill her, before she gives birth to the hero of the humans.  Blech, I know. 

Over the course of the movie, though, she becomes tough, fierce, and brave, the type who can and will survive the apocalypse; in future movies and tv series (like The Sarah Connor Chronicles, 2008, where she gets to be the eponymous title character this time!), she gets to be a strong leader in her own right.  This is particularly true in Terminator: Dark Fate, where Sarah Connor is a tough, grizzled, middle-aged Terminator-fighter, who steals heavy weaponry from the government to track down and kill Terminators arriving from the future.  She becomes a mentor to the new woman being hunted down by the new Terminator threat, Dani Ramos.  This time, though, Dani isn’t fated to be the mother of the human rebel leader—she is destined to become the human rebel leader herself.  Along with Dani’s own Kyle Reese figure, a cybernetically-augmented human fighter from the future named Grace, women get central action-hero and rebel-leader roles in Terminator: Dark Fate, feeling like an awkward apology for the sexism inherent in the premise of 1984’s The Terminator.  (However, Dark Fate stops short of committing to the Dani-Sarah/Grace-Reese parallel and letting them be lesbians.  It’s still a mainstream action movie, I guess.)  We even see the development of a curt but resentfully respectful understanding between Sarah Connor and the Terminator that killed her son.

I lay this out because in the same way I see the literary DNA of the Terminator in Murderbot, I see elements of Sarah Connor in Dr. Mensah.  She’s the human protagonist—the one who would be the protagonist if All Systems Red had been from the human perspective—and feels like the answer to a similar question to “what does a killer robot want?”, namely, “what if, instead of enemies locked into battle to the death, the badass human and the killer robot worked together and came to an understanding? What if they could be friends instead of enemies?”  Mensah also feels like a feminist response to some of the issues I had with Sarah Connor—that she didn’t get to be the leader herself, that despite her own strength and tenacity being the mother to the leader was the most important thing she would do—and responds to them in a similar way that Dark Fate somewhat apologetically does. Mensah is the leader of her society (her planet).  Mensah is a mother and she is a scientist and a leader and gets her badass action-hero moments (MINING DRILL).  She is the first to reach out to Murderbot.  To ask it how it feels, and calm down the others later when they’re afraid; her relationship with Murderbot is unique.  She’s a foil to Murderbot in a parallel but opposite way that Sarah Connor is a foil to the Terminator.  And while in Dark Fate they are not friends (the Terminator did still kill Sarah’s son, even if it didn’t specifically want to) we see the same kind of desire reflected: what if they were at least allies?  What if they were working together?  How would that relationship go?  What kind of understanding could they come to, about what it means to be human and to be machine? It's a smaller part of the movie and they don't give a whole lot of answers, but it's there.

Both All Systems Red (and the subsequent Murderbot Diaries books) and Terminator: Dark Fate were released in a very different sci-fi zeitgeist than The Terminator was.  They’re both looking back, and reacting to it: Dark Fate directly, The Murderbot Diaries indirectly.  And they’re approaching the concept of the Terminator and its Sarah Connor figure with similar questions: What does the robot want, aside from its programming to kill, and if it could be freed of its programming to kill, what kind of relationships—with society, with the concept of self-determination, and with its human woman foil—could it potentially be able to develop, with that freedom?

[boxfullaturtles]

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead." -[x]

Snap Donnie by @onejellyfishplease is an absolute delight~ I love him! What a freaky little guy! I wanna put him in a little terrarium and give him lots of things to eat! Look at him! He's horrifying! I love him so much! I had to draw him in all of his botanical glory~

Don't look behind you, Leo! Or maybe you should...

(version without the heavy shadows/lighting/effects under the cut because i buried all the details in the shadows :p)

[ultrvmonogamy]

she's a 10 but when she's ovulating she can't be bargained w, she can't be reasoned w, she doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, n she absolutely will not stop fucking u

[elusivecagedmockingbird]

Bleach

[yoongi x reader] [1.3k+ of tolerable angst and fluff if you squint; nothing much going on but feelings are there]

A/N: I wrote this when I was missing Yoongi and weeks have passed and I'm still missing him. My bad on the late publish! Work and life got to me. :/ I hope you still remember me.

-

Yoongi hadn't moved since the moment he entered the shop and sat himself at your usual table at the corner of the artisan cafe. The spot hides you from everyone else, but you get a pretty view of passers-by. And while most patrons would avoid getting seated at the table, for you and Yoongi, it was a haven and you were just glad you didn’t have a lot of competition over the seats.

Thus, Yoongi thinks it's cruel, how, in a matter of minutes, the corner that once felt like a safe place for you and him, suddenly feels too claustrophobic for him alone. He wants nothing but to leave the place.

Your quick departure was a contrast to his static posture at the wooden seat—ruminating, processing everything. You left as quickly as you came.

He estimates you had only stayed for half an hour, and in those gone minutes, it was only you who talked while he was shocked and blindsided by what was happening that he was rendered speechless.

"Yoongi, let's break up."

No hello kiss on the cheek, or not even a curt Hi. You dived straight to the point. Your candor is a trait he appreciates, but today, he feels otherwise.

His brain struggled to comprehend what your words meant. He heard you, but somehow he didn't understand the words and all that followed. Yoongi is a man of few words—never one to talk nonstop or hold the mic at get-togethers; rather, Yoongi is a listener.

But just for today of all days, he hoped he was more vocal; articulate.

Yoongi heaves a dry rueful chuckle.

How unbelievable, he sighs.

Was this a fever dream? Did he accidentally fall asleep while waiting for you and if he wakes up now, will he find you still seated in your chair taking pictures of him as you muffle your giggles.

He finds himself bargaining to whoever was listening to let this be a dream.

The café starts to fill up, he notices.

For years, Yoongi sat on the very same chair his ass is at right now and across from him is where you should be… still—that's how it always was. He doesn't see the point of staying and saving the other chair now.

He looks around one last time. Yoongi holds on to the chance that you're still in the café pulling a mean trick on him and yet, as his eyes land on his pitiful reflection on the glass, he loses heart.

He lets a few seconds pass before he takes the cup of coffee he ordered for you, albeit it's too sweet and creamy for this taste, he'd rather not have it thrown away.

At least, he'd get to save something that shouldn't go to waste today.

-

People say when you do something in repetition, it dulls the emotion that it carries. He wonders how many more sad desperate voicemails must he leave before he stops the aching in his heart. He hates the yearning and anger that races within him.

"Y/N. It's Yoongi. Please answer my calls. I just... I need to talk to you. This can't be it—the end of us."

He isn't sure if he despises you for summoning these odd feelings out of him or it's himself he dislikes for acting this way.

Yoongi had been recalling the days you spent with and without each other before the day you broke up with him. He has been desperately searching for a reason—he needs to know why.

Was it something he said or did? Or was it something he DID NOT say or do? Or did you just wake up that day and decided you no longer loved him?

It's driving him insanely frustrated. He doesn't pray, but lately, he has been whispering pleas and promises.

One phone call—just this once. That's all he asks for.

His phone pings and a notification from you pops up on his screen—

Meet me at Hakdong Park, 7PM.

-

Yoongi fidgets by the swings. His habit of biting his nails resurfacing and he faintly tastes blood as he nibbles on his thumb. He peeps at his phone to check the time and it's not long before it's 7PM.

Just a few more minutes...

He hears you call his name, your voice demure; soft. He wouldn't have heard you if it wasn't so quiet in the park, aside from the cicadas chirping behind the bushes.

Yoongi quickly stands up, but before he could run towards you for a hug, he holds himself back and roots his feet on the sand. Instead, he waits for you to walk towards him. And as you approach him, he wishes you would hold him.

Just this once, he pleads once again.

But unlike his last request, this falls on deaf ears.

You sat down on the swing beside Yoongi. He copies you and sits next to you—mindful that his knees don't touch yours.

He hears you let out a defeated sigh and he was ready to lead the conversation this time, but you speak first.

"I miss you." You turn your head towards him and smile bashfully. As if what left your mouth was something that shouldn't have been let out.

Yoongi can hear his heart beating; the quick pace melting the bitter butter words you poured over his heart not long ago.

"Then why didn't you answer my calls?" He wanted the words he spewed to be pointed, accusing, but that would never be Yoongi. He would never raise his voice at you, nor accuse you of anything other than running away with his heart.

You hum as you scratch your nails in your jeans—a nervous tick of yours that Yoongi learned over the years. He also knows how to quell those nerves and his hands lingers before attempting to reach for yours.

"I was afraid of what you would say." There were long spaces of breath between your words, as if unsure.

"You were afraid? Of me?" Yoongi confirms. He's left more confused than the last time. He tilts his head to peek at you, but the darkness and shadows cover your face.

"Not exactly. I guess it's more of your words. I had to keep away from you because I was afraid you would change my mind...about the break up."

Yoongi hums and nods. "At first that's why I called you." He wouldn't deny it, because his first thought was to do just that. However, as emotions settled and he found himself in a better headspace, he realized he wanted more to understand why you wanted to end things with him. "But now, I just need to know why. At least make me understand where you're coming from."

Yoongi clenches and unclenches his hand to stop himself from shaking; his left hand still intertwined with yours. He glances again at you as you nod and visibly gulp air. He catches the shift in your eyes, and he knows how your mind works overtime. He wonders if you're thinking of an amicable reason to shoo him away or were there just too many reasons to consider that you had to take time and sort your thoughts?

The former has to be it. He always knew he was difficult to love—always lacking. Not enough of this, not enough of that. He thinks he's got your answer, and he thinks he might not be able to take it if he hears it from you—so he prepares to leave. Yoongi pulls his hand away from yours. The warmth between your hands were slowly but surely being replaced with the cold night air.

"I loved you too much," you murmur. Seeming afraid of your confession. Disregarding his earlier doubts, Yoongi stands from the swing only to kneel in front of you and take your freezing hands between his. His bloodied thumb circling your knuckles.

It wasn't a reason he expected nor considered. His confusion must have shone through his face that made you let out a sad smile.

"You really should stop biting your nails." Yoongi watches in slow motion as you take his hand in your palms and lift them to your lips for a soft peck.

"I will if you stop fraying your jeans with your nails," he quips.

You softly call for his name again.

"I'm here," he mumbles into your joined hands—the warmth returning and spreading further into your limbs.

"I just love you too much and the thought of running out scares me."

Yoongi pulls your hand closer, encaging your arms between his as he rests his forehead against yours, "Then I'll fill you back up. I'll love just as much. You already know I do."

-

[rpmemepalkia]

THE TERMINATOR (1984) Sentence Starters

change wording, pronouns, etc as needed. some have been modified for rp purposes.

"Nice night for a walk."

"Your clothes. Give them to me. Now."

"Hold it, right there!"

"What day is it? The date?! What year?!"

"You're late."

"Aren't I worth waiting for?"

"I kinda had my heart set on being a cashier the rest of my life."

"You know your weapons."

"Wrong."

"Look at it this way: in a hundred years, who's gonna care?"

"(He was/she was/they were) just about to ask me out. I can tell."

"Oh my God! (Name)! Oh, shit. I thought you were (other name)."

"I hate the weird ones."

"I'll break (his/her/their) kneecaps."

"How do I look?"

"You look like shit."

"Leave it where it is!!"

"Shoo. Go on."

"I think somebody's after me."

"I need you. It's (place) at (street)."

"Now, just relax."

"Listen carefully. You're in a public place, so you'll be safe till (I/we) get there."

"Come with me if you want to live!"

"What the fuck is going on?!"

"Are you injured? Are you shot?"

"Do exactly what I say. Exactly. Don't move unless I say. Don't make a sound unless I say. Do you understand?"

"Do you understand?!"

"Don't hurt me."

"I'm here to help you."

"This is a mistake. I haven't done anything."

"It's very important that you live."

"A machine? You mean like a robot?"

"Keep your head down."

"Drive!!"

"I'm not stupid, you know."

"And you're from the future too?"

"The (person/monster/creature) is out there. It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with, it doesn't feel pity of remorse or fear... and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead."

"(name)... why me? Why does it want me?!"

"Everything is gone."

"We were that close to going out forever."

"Here, drink some of this."

"Is (name) crazy?"

"So you're a soldier. Fighting for whom?"

"Nobody goes home. Nobody else comes through. It's just (him/her/them/you) and me."

"Why didn't you bring any weapons?"

"I didn't build the fucking thing."

"The (person/creature/monster) was just being systematic."

"You still don't get it. (He'll/she'll/they'll/I'll) find (him/her/them/you).

"That's what (he/she/it) does. That's all (he/she/it) does."

"Why don't you just stretch out here and get some sleep."

"I'm a friend of (name)."

"I'll be back."

"You cold?"

"(Surname)... you got a first name?"

"You caught one? You mean you got shot?"

"Jeez. You idiot. Take this off."

"Stop! I don't wanna know."

"Hold still."

"Are you sure you've got the right person?"

"I didn't ask for this honor and I don't want it. Any of it."

"You like it? It's my first."

"Your world... it's pretty terrifying."

"There's no fate but what we make for ourselves."

"Is this enough?"

"It'll never be over, will it?"

"(Do/did) you have someone special?"

"I love you. I always have."

"Hold on, goddammit!"

"We did it, (name). We got it."

"Run, (name)!!"

"The hardest thing is choosing what to tell you and what not to."

[reikomizuao3]

Why The Terminator (1984) is a horror movie and you cannot convince me otherwise

A Rant by Kaz Youngblood

Spoilers for :The Terminator (1984)

Arnold Schwarzenegger used to haunt my nightmares as a child.

All because of James Cameron's The Terminator.

"That terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, EVER, until you are dead."

Even before Kyle Reese ever utters these words, the terminator proves how single-minded it is in the mission to kill Sarah Connor.

The three punks at the beginning (RIP Bill Paxton) are our first victims. One gets slammed into a metal gate (he may have only been knocked out from the impact), another gets his heart torn out of his chest, and we don't even know what happens to the one that gives up his clothes. We aren't dealing with T2 Arnie here, so we could assume he also was killed.

Then we have the gun store owner. After the terminator 'orders' it's weapons, it loads up and coldly kills the man.

The terminator then finds the phone book and begins tracking down all of the women named Sarah Connor in the area. After a bit of foreshadowing with a barking pomeranian, we get this famous scene.

"Sarah Connor?"

"Yes?"

It barges into the woman's home while she stares in utter horror, pulls out an AMT Hardballer Longslide, and guns the woman down. He does the same to the next Sarah Connor on his list, though this is offscreen, and we hear of this in the police station.

"A one-day pattern killer."

"I hate the weird ones."

We then see Sarah alone trying to enjoy a pizza after being stood up for her date. She's about to take a bite when she hears a news report about the first murder victim Sarah Ann Connor (which she already knew about from a previous report she saw at work) and the second murder victim, Sarah Louise Connor, and she comes to the realization that she could possibly be next. She flees to a club/bar called TechNoir, asking to use their phone and struggling to get in contact with the police as all the lines are busy.

Then we come to the scene of Matt and (Sarah's roommate) Ginger's post-coitus murder. Ginger goes to the kitchen (with her Walkman on FULL BLAST) and makes a snack for herself and Matt while he's resting in bed. He gets attacked by the terminator, being thrown around the room while Ginger is blissfully unaware of the horror going on in her bedroom. As she's returning with their snack, Matt gets thrown through the wall, to Ginger's great horror, and she futilely tries to run and gets gunned down with the AMT Longslide. The terminator is about to leave when it hears a voice message come in on the answering machine. It's Sarah, terrified and calling for help. She leaves her location and hangs up, and the terminator realizes it hasn't eliminated it's target yet. Sarah is still out there, and his mission isn't complete until Sarah Connor is dead. It finds Sarah's ID, confirming her identity, and heads to TechNoir. THIS is one of the scenes that haunted me most.

After crushing the hand of the bouncer, it finds Sarah sitting alone, looking lost and scared. The music fades out from the pumping 80s tune to a droning death toll as the terminator zeros in on Sarah, pulls out the AMT Longslide, we see the laser sight on Sarah's forehead, we think all is lost, and BOOM Kyle Reese to the rescue.

The terminator goes down, it's hand twitches, and then it leaps back up and opens fire on the crowd, lining up a perfect shot at Sarah's back only for another woman to get in the way at the last second. As Sarah struggles to crawl away from under the woman's corpse, the terminator lines up another perfect shot, but Kyle puts him down again, grabbing Sarah and telling her "Come with me if you want to live."

The terminator chases the duo down an alley with Kyle and Sarah taking cover behind a car as Kyle shoots out a car in an attempt to blow the terminator up (was it a Pinto?). All he succeeds in doing is burning off the terminator's eyebrows and luscious locks, making it look slightly more terrifying. We get a brilliant jumpscare of the terminator leaping onto their car and punching through the windshield, grabbing at Sarah as she screams in terror and Kyle is frantically backing the car up into the street. He crashes into another car and manages to knock the terminator off of the car while alerting a nearby police officer who reports the incident as a hit and run, noting that Kyle is running lights like crazy. He is then killed by the terminator who takes his cruiser and begins chasing Kyle and Sarah once more. It also demonstrates the ability to imitate anyone's voice perfectly. Another layer to add to the horror.

Kyle manages to corner the terminator in an alley and lose it temporarily, holing up in a parking garage for the time being. He explains to Sarah what the terminator is and how much danger she is in because she's been targeted for termination. She doesn't believe him at first especially after he reveals that both he and the terminator have traveled back 40 years in time. He then says the above quote of how determined it is to kill Sarah.

"Can you stop it?"

"I don't know. With these weapons, I don't know."

That is a terrifying thing to hear. An unstoppable nigh-indestructible machine from the future that bleeds, sweats, even can produce bad breath, all for the purpose of infiltration and termination, is tracking her down and she's just been told they may not be able to stop it with the weapons they have access to.

As Kyle is explaining everything about his time and the horrors he's lived through he reveals why Sarah is even a target in the first place: her unborn son John is the leader of the future resistance.

Before she can even process this new bit of information, the terminator attacks, chasing them out of the parking garage and back into the streets. In the fervor, they nearly crash into a concrete wall, but Sarah pulls the brake at the last second and the terminator goes flying. This ends with Kyle and Sarah being captured by the police while the terminator escapes.

We then get a lovely scene of the terminator performing self-surgery on it's arm and later it's eye.

While going over the interrogation tape with Sarah and the police, Dr. Silberman refers to Kyle as a loon, saying he's suffering from an elaborate paranoid delusion, while the police claim the terminator was wearing a bulletproof vest and likely high on PCP. They tell Sarah to rest, that she's perfectly safe and there's 30 cops in the building. As Silberman leaves, the terminator enters, asking to see Sarah. After being denied, we get the famous line.

"I'll be back."

The terminator then crashes it's car into the police station entrance and begins to gun down everyone in the building. Sarah also wakes up, and upon hearing the gunshots, realizes the police and Silberman were wrong and she is FUCKED.

The terminator is relentless in it's pursuit, and every gunshot fills Sarah with more and more fear. The terminator also kills the power in the building, it can see in the dark after all, and continues to massacre the police. Kyle manages to get loose and hurries off to find Sarah. We have a beautiful moment of tension where Sarah can hear someone approach the room she's in, she hides in terror under a desk, but thank God, it's Kyle, and they flee the massacre, stealing a car and just barely missing a few shots from the terminator.

Sarah has a nightmare of the future, and when she wakes up, states she was dreaming about dogs. Kyle reveals that they use dogs to spot terminators.

We then see the terminator flipping through Sarah's address book, and from the dialogue, it's revealed that the terminator is beginning to stink because it's skin is rotting. They can bleed, but they can't heal. It then spots a phone number and address for "Mom's cabin" and heads out, and we now dread the fate of Sarah's mother.

After getting a motel room, Sarah takes a shower and Kyle goes out to buy supplies to make pipe bombs. She calls her mother, and even though Kyle told her not to reveal their location, she does so anyways at her mother's insistence. It is then revealed that her 'mother' was the terminator, and it is now on it's way.

After a very heartfelt talk, Kyle reveals he's in love with Sarah, and they come together in one of few sex scenes in film that I actually enjoy, and this is the moment that secures humanity's future. I jokingly refer to this as 'the sex scene that saved humanity'.

After packing up the bombs, Kyle and Sarah hear the motel owner's dog barking outside, and they rush to leave, stealing a small pickup truck and heading back out onto the streets as the terminator chases them on a very cool bike. Kyle and Sarah switch seats so Kyle can throw pipe bombs at the terminator, which only succeeds in slowing it down slightly. As Kyle lights another bomb, the terminator shoots him, taking him temporarily out of the fight. Sarah crashes the truck into the terminator's bike and causes the truck to flip out. The terminator then gets run over by a tanker truck, but even THIS isn't enough to stop it, it gets right back up, kills the tanker driver and demands his partner "get out" of the truck, nearly mowing down Sarah and Kyle. They run frantically down the street while the terminator chases them in the tanker, then Kyle collapses near a dumpster, urging Sarah to keep running. He then lights another pipe bomb and throws it into the tanker's truck hose tube and takes cover in the dumpster. The tanker explodes, and it seems like the terminator may finally be down.

NOPE.

IT RISES UP FROM THE FLAMES LIKE A RED-EYED CHROME DEMON FROM HELL AND KEEPS CHASING THEM.

They end up in a factory, just barely able to escape the terminator temporarily as Kyle starts turning on all the machines he can to provide cover. The terminator is breaking through the door while Sarah frantically tries to get a collapsed Kyle to his feet. She manages to get him up (in one of my favorite cinema moments) by commanding him like a soldier, and they run deep into the factory just as the terminator has made it's way into the room. For a moment they're safe, until Sarah accidentally sets off a hydraulic press which alerts the terminator to their location. It corners them, and Kyle tries to fight it off, to no avail. He then manages to lodge a final pipe bomb into the terminator's chassis, blowing it in half but also injuring Sarah and killing himself in the process. As Sarah mourns over his death, we get my second favorite jumpscare in all of cinema (Second only to the end of Brian DePalma's Carrie) as the top half of the terminator attacks her yet again.

THE FUCKING THING IS STILL NOT DEAD.

It crawls after her as she drags herself away from the scene, just barely making it through the hydraulic press. If not for the terminator being half the machine it used to be AND missing an arm, Sarah would have been dead. She closes the gate on the press, and the terminator continues to grasp at her through it, it WILL NOT STOP UNTIL SHE IS DEAD.

Or until she presses the button on the press.

"You're terminated, fucker."

And finally, the horror ends as the terminator is crushed in the cold embrace of the hydraulic press.

And then in 1991, a new horror is born with Robert Patrick as the T-1000, and I think he's even scarier than Arnold is in this movie.

Also, this movie would not be half as horrifying without Brad Fidel's amazing soundtrack. If I had to describe it, synth-horror is the best I can think of. I also love the dull "dun-dun-dun-dun" that plays during the terminator's scenes, it's the closest it has to a heartbeat.

Thank you for reading my ramblings.

03/23/2025 EDIT: The factory that Sarah and Kyle run into at the end of the movie is the CYBERDYNE FACTORY!!

[cybervesna]

It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead

Domain Poses by @elfjpeg

[mk-wizard]

When machines are controlled by Skynet or any other evil force/corporation that doesn't love, nurture or treat them like a person...

"Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!" - Kyle Reese

When machines are allowed to be independent, are not controlled and are left to explore the world for better or worse, or are treated like a member of the family INLCUDING in Terminator lore...

It has been confirmed that Baymax loves Hiro like a little brother and would willing sacrifice himself for him. He is also a natural pacifist and is very good at solving problems with communication.

Wall-E was kind, polite and a romantic who also displayed curiosity and compassion.

Data from Star Trek achieved personhood and even during that journey, had a pet cat named Spot who he even devoted a poem to.

The robot 7723 from Next Gen valued his memories of his new friend Mai so much that he willingly gave up his memories on how to fight and ONLY recovered his fighting data knowing it would wipe his memories of Mai clean, but did so to save her and all of humanity.

"Robot" from Lost in Space became a good person, as did other robots like him, because he was grateful to Will Robinson for saving him and treating him like an equal.

The droids in Star Wars are only evil when they are taught to be or have evil bosses, and most droids are good by choice.

Carl, the Terminator who managed to kill John Conner as a child, regrets what he did and spent a lot of time attempting to atone for what he did and even found a family he genuinely loved. He even openly takes full accountability for his crime.

The robot from the book series The Wild Robot and upcoming film adaptation wound up in the wilderness by accident falls in love with nature and animals, and even learns to thrive in it while living in harmony with it and even protecting it.

Vision from Marvel's MCU is a robot who fell in love with Wanda (the Scarlet Witch) and wanted to grow old with her though was unfortunately killed by Thanos. It has also been confirmed that he has a soul.

The robot copy of Batman in the episode "His Silicon Soul" from Batman the Animated Series was good by default and only did evil when forced to by Hardak. Even then, it managed to regain control of itself and save the day by sacrificing itself.

Bender from Futurama is far from being a saint, but he genuinely cares about his friends, will do random acts of kindness and has shown growth as a character.

Ron from the film Ron's Gone Wrong is a robot who is flawed, but better for it because he his flaws make him able to form friendships that are natural and genuine.

The robots and AIs from the Jetsons have complete and total autonomy of their bodies, identities and lives. They are recognized as people, they can have jobs and get paid the same wages as humans do, they can have breaks, they can own property, have romantic relationships and even have medical coverage. And they live in complete and total harmony with human beings.

The Doctor in Dr. Who has been able to convince robots to not commit evil and repent by just reasoning with them, and many of his friends are robots.

Much like a human being, a sentient being is capable of good or evil, making good or bad choices, and so on. It is not because they are robots. I mean, every human being a saint? However, much like many organic villains and evil people in real life, if a robot only knows dominion, the master slave system and has never experienced life, it is more likely to commit evil or succumb to it. A being that thinks is capable of learning and even self improving.

The real issue is, how are we treating the being and what do you think it will learn from us because of how we treated it?

[thecaptainoutoftime]

"The 600 series had rubber skin. We spotted them easy, but these are new. They look human… sweat, bad breath, everything. Very hard to spot. I had to wait till he moved on you before I could zero him." "Look, I am not stupid, you know. They cannot make things like that yet." "Not yet, not for about 40 years." "Are you saying it's from the future?" "One possible future. From your point of view. I don't know tech stuff." "Then you're from the future, too. Is that right?" "Right." "Right." * Sarah tries to escape and bites Reese's hand* "Cyborgs don't feel pain. I do. Don't do that again." "Just let me go" "Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead!"

Happy 40th Anniversary to The Terminator

October 26th 1984-October 26th 2024

[anonymousmink]

It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop, ever until you are dead.

A commission for the absolutely lovely @ixallow of Bucky in the style of The Terminator (1984)’s Kyle Reese, I had so much fun on this one as you can probably tell!

Reblogs are loved but please don’t repost if you’re not the commissioner! Commissions now open!

[p1nkm1lkslug]

my oc and her relationship with the creeps yayyyyy :3

Will + Samara:

- Samara has a slight love hate for will just because of what he's done

- she's highly aware that he's being influenced by boo boo the clown (💀) and he is most likely not going to listen to her

- she will warn him and just be super Omenius abt it and has told him that for whatever reason he changes his mind about the whole killer thing she wouldn't mind helping him back into civilization

- she views him slightly as just some kid who is easily influenced and EXTREMELY delusional, she has pity for him

- they met after will was walking alone in the ally after being jumped by a group of demons, she ended up saving his ass after he passed out and took him to her family's place on earth

- he looks up to her and is kind of fan boying since she's been close and personal with the people he aspires to be as a killer

- because of her bargain with slender she ends up getting an apartment due to her not being able to handle the mansion (she's going through hell) and also being kind of kicked out of her family's place after a fight with Jordan she gotta find someplace to stay

- they don't hang out much but when they do it's usually spent just grabbing snack and walking around abandoned places with him asking her questions and her answering all of them

- she doesn't want will to get hurt but she feels this disgusting jealousy knowing he had such a good life and it got thrown away over a stupid dream that is never going to come true

- while the two were drunk once she confessed how she thinks he's a fuckjng idiot and is going to fail in life

- she gaslights the fuck out of him when he brings it up 💀

- knows that she can't keep protecting him and that he needs to learn to grow up

Frankie + Samara:

- she just wants to chat with bro is that to much to ask for 😭- was mainly drawn to him as the neighbor who was the only one willing to yell at jack and was also an undead corpse

- they met through jack and will, they dragged Frankie to the pub and as a slight form of embarrassment jack noticed Samara from a few years ago as the new recruit a few months before he was technically fired, and yelled at her to come join them, and just to make him shut up she went over and just said a quick high before being forced into getting a drink or two (nothing overpowers all the combat you learnt then social anxiety 💀)

- Frankie and her just sharing a few glances off "I fucking hate this so much"And then the two slightly bonding over it

-it's like when two introverts meet and the other ones waiting for you to talk and your scared so you both just stand like y'all are in the sims

- offered him a cigarette and just tried asking him how he knew jack and will (and then they both just slightly shit talked jack)

- she wanted to practically bombard him with questions regarding his re animation

- over all its just "PLEASE HAVE DINNER WITH ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE"

- thinks he's a funky guy with a weird accent

Issac + Samara- literally just "I'm tired off this grandpa! " "WELL THAT'S TO DAMN BAD"

- Vanessa and William Afton, John Kramer and Amanda,jinx and silco, he is literally just an unhinged skeleton being rolled in a wheelchair by a mentally unstable emo fag 💀

- it was a rowdy night in a near by bar next to Sam's home on earth when this wench phantom of the opera looking guy walks in with the most horrendous British accent and gets into a bar fight with some random college guy, Sam didn't get involved till she saw that he wasn't human and intervened by tackling him and dragging him outside

- eventually after whistling for Abby her hellhound body slammed Issac and she just started interrogating him

- she quickly found out that he was most definitely not from the 21 century and after letting him explain that he was after a family member they struck a small deal

- she would help him find his grandson (she is unaware he is related to will) and in exchange she needs him to help hunt down an awful abusive husband of her dear friend (with benefits 💀)

- she finds him kinda annoying but is willing to help, but she finds his voice like nails on a chalk board (think noodles and murdok)

- "you know that flapping thing you were doing with your mouth? " "You mean speaking? " "Yeah that.. No more of that"

- off topic but if Issac was killed in the UK how tf did he travel to America (I'll just say his dumbass fell in a well and got teleported, and also did her act like captain America out of the ice 😭)

LJ + Samara.

- "I was abandoned.. " WOMP WOMP L RATIO GET FUCKED

[lets-ignore-that]

"It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and it absolutely will not stop, ever! Until you are dead."

hes absolutely irredeemable.

[harrycosmo]

The Last of the Mohicans is a Terminator movie.

Magua (Wes Studi) is a Terminator who can’t be bargained with, can't be reasoned with, doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, and absolutely will not stop… EVER, until the grey hair and his seed are dead.

Once she's being hunted by this relentless dark force, it takes hardly any time at all for Cora (Madeleine Stowe) to be captivated and changed by her rescuer, Hawkeye, who comes from outside of normal society.

The English, like the police in The Terminator, are no match at all for what they're up against. They separate the two lovers and condemn Hawkeye.

Both the heart scene and Magua's fight with Hawkeye's father look like the T-800 in action.

Cora: “You've done everything you can do. Save yourself! If the worst happens, and only one of us survives, something of the other does too”. This is like a line out of Wuthering Heights. Two souls metaphysically entwined. Two of the most romantic movies ever made.

……………………..

On reddit, artwarrior replied to me saying that both movies also feature some kind of holocaust (AI and nuclear, European colonialism).