#Evil Morty mannerisms

[glitteringcrab]

Evil Morty mannerisms (part 3)

WAIT.

Is this Evil Morty instinctively reaching for his eyepatch before recalling it's not there and camouflaging his action by scratching his head????

[bubblegumr1ck]

btw

5.9 (Forgetting Sanrick Mortshall)

7.5 (Unmortricken)

[plainandgeneric]

Tis the season of the spooky! I recently delved into a rabbit hole about the 僵尸 (Jiangshi) and 湘西赶尸人 (Xiangxi necromancer), both Chinese folklores regarding the undead. These are very underrated topics so I’ve found some fun info to share under the cut!

僵尸 (Jiangshi) directly translates to ‘rigid corpse’ (corpse with rigor mortis), but it’s better known as the Chinese vampire in pop culture. 

Jiangshi is an undead that sustains itself by consuming the energy of the living, and moves about by hopping (cause rigor mortis).

湘西赶尸人 translates directly to the corpse herder of Xiangxi. It is considered as a traditional witchcraft practice of the Xiangxi area, and thought of as ‘good magic’. According to traditional lore, families hire these necromancers so that their loved ones (usually people who died in war) could be returned and buried in their homeland, so to encourage the spirit to pass on properly. 

The stereotype of the undead in Qing dynasty officials garb was made popular by horror films and pop culture of the 80s. In traditional folklore, the dead are often clothed in black death shrouds or otherwise have their face covered by large hats. The yellow talisman in movies are depicted to render the undead docile. Here, it is said to be used to keep the spirit within the vessel of the body during transport (I read cinnabar is also used for this purpose).

The necromancer guides the dead with a bell. They would rest during daylight in lodgings specifically made to accommodate this, and only travel at night. This is to avoid frightening the living during day time. 

Of course, there is no verifiable proof for this profession, though it is speculated that some sort of performative corpse transportation existed in history that helped to generate this fascinating legend. The usual portrayal of raising the dead in pop culture is often seen as evil and malicious, so it’s a lovely change of pace to see necromancy depicted in a positive manner. 

[presidentpawn]

Hey,other evil Morty. What's up,bitch? Huh? HUH?! HUH?!?! - Teen Rick

What?

Interesting to see your manners aren't formed in youth nor in old age.

[starheirxero]

hey gayboy, tell me why evil sun is So? :keeptalkingily: what are his crimes, does he speak with gay little hand gestures, give me the Details

AHEJAHAJAHS HELLO BELOVED ^_^ I won't lie I used to find him kinda mid but in today's episode just Switched something in my brain. Something about his calm, collected voice very plainly stating that if Eclipse tries to do anything, he'll rip him to shreds.... UGHHHH IT HAD ME TWIRLING MY HAIR N GIGGLING FOR REALZIES HEJAHAJSHD

He's a pretty secretive and "speaks in riddles" kinda guy, so while we don't outright know everything he's done, he did very much tell us today that he 1) basically killed his Moon to take his knowledge because he thinks that his Moon just wasn't using it right, and 2) he has installed... something, into Eclipse's head painful style. We don't know what it is yet but he said that if he can do that to Eclipse, then he'll tell him how to maybe bring someone back from a dimensional collapse. Not that Eclipse had a choice either way LMAO

Before, I thought his collected mannerisms were a bit cheesy because it's so blatantly inspired by Evil Morty and it was like OOOOKAY MAN but he's actually shaping up to be pretty a damn interesting character!! He's more involved in the multiverse side of things and, considering he said he "reprogrammed" a bunch of the people in his dimension (<which, looking back, could be another blatant lie, like how he said he just made his Moon more "compliant"), he's just a very eerie presence.

He knows a lot and that leads to him being a very important person to talk to in most scenarios, but he also knows he's valuable to talk to, so he strikes these deals that people aren't thrilled about but usually just go "well. its this or I know absolutely jack shit" and it fascinates me.

[countlessrealities]

Can you name one thing you like about meg? (for evil morty)

Unprompted asks || Always accepting !

Morty's expression curls in a small pensive frown at the question, as if he was seriously pondering it. Of course, it's nothing but a façade, because the answer to that question is an extremely easy one for him.

As things are now, there is nothing that he likes about that annoying spoiled brat. There have been some moments when she has been vaguely more tolerable, but that's all.

He could be straightforward and just say that, but that would be plain and boring. He can do much better.

"Meg and I don't exactly...get along." And what an understanding that is. "I suppose it's because we have different, often incompatible views on almost everything that matters. And also about each other's place in my counterpart's life."

He might have stopped calling her "pet" to her face, for the sake of faking good manners, but that's how he still sees her.

"However, there is one thing I enjoyed about her." His tone doesn't change, remaining colloquial and friendly, but his eyes look sharper for a moment. "Watching her scrambling to jump into every hoops other me tells her to jump in, no matter how unnecessary or humiliating it is...It's very entertaining."

And the other president's requests at times obviously have the only purpose to amuse his counterpart himself.

"Just as it is seeing how blind and deluded she is. She bends over backwards, desperate for the smallest crumbles of fake attention and a dismissive pat on the head."

All her words about how good her "boyfriend" is to her, about how she's living the life of her dreams, about how she's finally free. And she doesn't even know that she has an inevitable expiration date.

His lips curl in a little grin. "It's just so funny, you know? Seeing how she mistakes being turned into someone's puppet for love."

{ @evilmcg - mentioned }

[thcpresidcnt-archived]

@countlessrealities sent; It's the middle of the morning when a small portal, large enough for a hand to slip through, opens right above the surface of the President's desk. Before anyone can react, a vial filled with a pearly white liquid is deposited on it by slender fingers and the next moment the portal has already closed, as quickly as it has appeared.

Attached to the vial, there's a brief note.

“I'm aware that you can get your hands on effective truth serums, but this is for when you feel like being less boring. One drop on the skin and the subject will bleed out in agony a little more with every lie they tell. Have fun.”

It's not signed, but then again, it's an easy guess. After all, how many people deliver this kind of gift?

[[ from my Evil Rick to your E-Morty || My E-Morty never kids when he says that his second-in-command most of the time forgets that manners are a thing xD ]]

It'd been a busy morning. Not because of the fact that the president had a lot to do, it was with the speed of what he wanted to. He wanted to get through all of the boring necessities so he could conduct his special surprise later for his counterpart. And in order to free up all of his evening time? He would have to spend all morning hunched over work.

Though, a quick distraction came and was welcomed. After all, seeing a small hand-sized portal and a mysterious substance land on his desk, he found it intriguing. And he couldn't have been mad at that.

As he read the note, ideas sparked within his mind. Evident in the half smile that now appeared on his face. Who knew that birthday gifts could actually be fun and useful at the same time?

A hummed chuckle left his throat as he took the vial and set it within the drawer of his desk. He knew exactly who he would use it on. There was no other person he loved to torture the most and this would be perfect.

Even if he knew his own second-in-command would never lie to him. That wouldn't stop him from having as much fun as he wanted.

[hpmort]

Was looking at some Rick and Morty fanart, and there was an idea of an “Evil Miami Morty” (created in the context of him hanging around with canon Evil Morty and an Evil Morticia) and he was just a recolor with wires hanging out of his left eye?

And I am of multiple minds of how an Evil Miami Morty would go-

Indistinguishable from a normal Morty other than longer hair

Actively covering up more in response to being over sexualized

Looking like one of those redesigns that “fix” him

Or him being so messed up from his years as a child prostitute that he can’t think of dressing in a manner that isn’t weirdly scanty so he wears even less. Like he’s a brainwashed female comic book superheroine in a very skimpy black outfit

(Or, like, him just liking showing a lot of skin as a result of doing it for years, or maybe even for its own sake with the shame being burnt off, but still definitely not in an 80s fashion)

or like the idea of him getting the information out of Ricks not by luring them with a dome, but by seducing them and perhaps not even killing them if he can get their memories while they’re unconscious

He probably wouldn’t run for President himself, but perhaps angle to become First Morty? Probably still manipulating the election, even if he could count on literally every Rick being a hebephile, there’s no telling if that Rick would choose him as his Morty as opposed to just sleep with him, or maybe keep him locked up somewhere, or even if that Rick did choose him as his Morty, that said Rick would leave him with the opportunity to get the information he needs, or to work on his plan…

[favvnsongs]

not to rick&morty post on main (that's a lie♡) but I can't shake the feeling that evil morty has vaguely summer esque mannerisms lmao

[sciencespies]

Evil doppelgängers, alternate timelines and infinite possibilities: the physics of the multiverse explained

https://sciencespies.com/space/evil-doppelgangers-alternate-timelines-and-infinite-possibilities-the-physics-of-the-multiverse-explained/

Evil doppelgängers, alternate timelines and infinite possibilities: the physics of the multiverse explained

You might have noticed, if you’ve set foot in a cinema this year, that Hollywood has fallen in love with the multiverse. From Marvel to DC to Disney, alternate universes, realities and timelines are being written into scripts to wow audiences and make life a bit easier when A-list celebrities tire of yanking on the latex.

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It’s not just the big studios that are at it. The sublimely joyful indie film Everything Everywhere All At Once asks and answers, ‘why, if everything is happening everywhere and all at once, should any of it matter?’

Likewise, Rick And Morty, Dark and Man In The High Castle use the idea of alternate universes as a kind of funhouse mirror to ponder (sometimes) serious questions about our own Universe. And it’s fair to point out that the idea is nothing new. Who could forget Spock’s evil doppelgänger with his suitably sinister goatee? Clearly, the idea of the multiverse has permeated the fabric of our culture. But what do the scientists think about multiverses? Is there the science to back them up?

Many physicists believe that multiverses could exist, ranging from universes lurking behind the event horizons of black holes, to growing universes expanding like bubbles in soap foam.

“A multiverse is something which is really not that strange if you think of it historically, from the point of view of science,” says Prof Ulf Danielsson, a theoretical physicist at Uppsala University, Sweden. “Our horizons have continuously been expanding. At some time, we thought that Earth was the only planet and that this was the whole world. We now know there’s a Universe full of other planets. It’s also quite natural to speculate that there is another step and that our Universe is not the only one.”

So what are some of the leading multiverse theories, and which of them could harbour an evil, possibly moustachioed, you.

Read more about the multiverse:

The cosmological inflating multiverse

This is a theory that has grown out of cosmology, particularly from the discovery that our own Universe is expanding. This concept of a multiverse asks if the initial rapid inflation that our Universe underwent some 13.8 billion years ago, could be happening in distant regions of space-time disconnected from our Universe.

“The basic idea is that our Universe is one particular patch of space-time that is evolving as a well-defined entity,” explains astrophysicist Prof Fred Adams, from the University of Michigan. “This region is homogeneous, isotropic [the same in all directions] and expanding in a well-defined manner. If you trace the evolution backward in time, then you find an age for the Universe of about 13.8 billion years from this initial expansion.”

Adams, who wrote the book Our Living Multiverse and authored a Physics Report paper on the topic, also believes that other regions of the multiverse could be experiencing their own Big Bangs, and therefore their own expansions. This means that they are not able to affect our Universe. “They are thus other universes and the collection of all such universes is the multiverse,” Adams says.

This multiverse idea caught on in fiction because it is an excellent storytelling device. It became popular in cosmology because it could address lingering mysteries, while still fitting with existing physics.

“One reason that the concept of the multiverse became popular is that it can naturally arise from the theory of inflation,” explains Heling Deng, a postdoctoral researcher in cosmology, particle physics and astrophysics at Arizona University.

“It was shown by [physicists] Andrei Linde and Alex Vilenkin, in separate works, that if inflation did occur, it could create infinite disconnected regions.”

Although inflation ended 13.8 billion years ago in the Universe we are living in, Deng says that quantum effects can always bring inflation back in another region of space-time. This results in bouts of inflation never ending – referred to as ‘eternal inflation’ – and the possibility of an infinite number of ‘different universes’.

Stages in the history of the Universe after the Big Bang © Science Photo Library

Russian-American theoretical physicist Andrei Linde puts forward one suggestion for the arrangement of this multiverse. He sees the universes as ‘bubbles’ expanding on something resembling a cosmic canvas, squeezing away from each other in bouts of eternal and chaotic inflation.

More like this

How these universes within a multiverse would differ is also currently the topic of speculation, but Adams suggests there’s no reason to believe that the laws of physics would be the same in these separate regions.

“One reason that these other universes are of interest is that they could have other versions of the laws of physics,” he says. That variation could apply across a range of physical parameters, including gravity and the rate at which that universe expands.

That means some of these universes could have laws of physics that aren’t fit for the formation of large-scale structures like galaxies or stars. They may not even have the same fundamental particles.

Consequently, these universes aren’t variations of our Universe and thus could not host any life at all, never mind some version of you or I.

The string theory multiverse

String theory is a suggestion put forward by physicists to connect quantum mechanics and General Relativity, which are the best descriptions we have of the infinitesimally small and incomprehensibly large. The underlying idea of string theory is that fundamental particles like quarks and electrons are actually a single point in one-dimensional strings, vibrating at different frequencies.

This ‘string-landscape’ provides a popular setting for the multiverse, thanks to one of the key elements upon which string theory depends. In order to be mathematically sound, string theory needs ‘extra dimensions’ to exist.

These aren’t parallel dimensions like we see in science fiction. Instead, string theorists believe these extra dimensions are curled up within the three traditional dimensions of space. They remain invisible to us, as we evolved only to see in three dimensions. These extra dimensions could offer a ‘way in’ to the string theory multiverse.

String theory attempts to explain all the fundamental particles in nature by modelling them as tiny strings © Science Photo Library

“You need to have these extra dimensions, and the number of dimensions needed in total is 10 or 11,” Danielsson says. “It could also be that you would need to go into some extra dimension in order to get to these other universes.”

Even if this was the case and a connection via these dimensions of space to other universes existed, they may still remain permanently out of reach and view, thanks to the fact that the inflation of the Universe means that there is a cosmic horizon beyond which we can’t see. If there is no ‘connectivity’ between universes in a multiverse, it makes the cosmological concept of a multiverse almost impossible to test experimentally.

“The ‘evidence’ to date is theoretical, not experimental. And, unfortunately, we just cannot do any direct experiments to verify or falsify what goes on in other universes,” Adams explains.

Our inability to test these ideas is a double-edged sword. While the lack of ways to test a multiverse means we can’t prove its existence, it also means we can’t disprove it either.

The black hole multiverse

At the end of a massive star’s life, when it has run out of fuel for nuclear fusion, it’ll collapse into a black hole – a region of space-time bounded by a surface called an event horizon from which nothing, not even light, can escape.

Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity tells us that a large mass can curve space-time. The theory also says that the heart of a black hole has a singularity where the mass is so great that the space-time curvature becomes infinite and, consequently, the laws of physics break down. This is a concept that troubles physicists, but one hypothesis could do away with the singularity and replace it with an entire universe and in turn, a multiverse.

“Singularities are unphysical because they cannot be measured. That means their existence indicates that a theory is incomplete,” says theoretical physicist Dr Nikodem Poplawski, from the University of New Haven, Connecticut. “In my hypothesis, every black hole produces a new, baby universe inside – on the other side of the event horizon – and becomes an Einstein-Rosen bridge, also known as a wormhole, that connects this infant universe to the parent universe in which the black hole exists.”

Could a black hole spawn a new baby universe? This illustration is of a wormhole, a hypothetical shortcut connecting two separate points in space-time © Science Photo Library

In this theory, when viewed from the new universe, the parent universe appears as the other side of a white hole, a region of space that cannot be entered from the outside and which can be thought of as the reverse of a black hole.

“An analogy of the matter going to a black hole and ending up in a new universe could be blowing a soap bubble through a circular wand,” Poplawski says. “The wand is the event horizon – albeit in one dimension less – the soap liquid is the matter crossing the event horizon, and the surface of the bubble is the new universe.”

In the hypothesis suggested by Poplawski, a universe may produce billions of black holes and each of them could produce a baby universe. In January of this year, researchers at the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Italy estimated that there could be as many as 40 trillion – that’s a four followed by 13 zeros – black holes in our Universe alone. That’s a lot of baby universes!

These infant universes would be hidden from the occupants of their parent universe by the light-trapping surface of the event horizon, and once that event horizon is crossed there’s no going back. That, and the fact nothing can enter a white hole (which is still purely theoretical but allowed by General Relativity), means no interaction between parent and infant.

According to Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, large objects cause space-time to curve © Science Photo Library

However, if two black holes existed in the same universe, and each of these black holes created a new universe, then there is a possibility that these two sibling universes could merge, “just as two black holes merge to create one black hole,” says Poplawski.

He adds that this would manifest in a baby universe as a large-scale asymmetry in space. This means that if we ever discover some preferred direction in our Universe – a direction with increasing matter and energy, for example – it could be attributed to our Universe interacting with a sibling.

As for the possibility of an alternate version of you existing beyond the event horizon of a black hole, Poplawski concludes that chances are not good. “There would be no ‘alternate you.’ At any time, an object can only exist in one universe,” he says.

But one pop culture mainstay reflects his concept: “I think the closest thing could be the TARDIS in Doctor Who. You enter the police box and you realise that you are in something bigger than the box.”

The many-worlds multiverse of quantum mechanics

In quantum physics, which deals with the physical laws of the subatomic, the term multiverse doesn’t exist. Alternate universes are instead referred to as ‘many worlds’ and are part of a radically different concept, as these aren’t geographic in nature like the multiverses explored previously.

The many-worlds hypothesis was first suggested by the US physicist Hugh Everett III to explain how a quantum system can exist in seemingly contradictory states at the same time – called a ‘superposition’ – and how these paradoxical states seem to vanish.

The effect of many worlds on the existence of a superposition of states can be imagined by considering Erwin Schrödinger’s infamous thought experiment, Schrödinger’s cat.

Schrödinger’s cat can help explain superposition, but also quantum multiverses © Science Photo Library

In the thought experiment, a hapless moggy is placed in a sealed box with a device containing a vial of lethal poison, released only if an atomic nucleus in the box decays. Treating the box, the cat and the device as a single quantum system, each state – in this case, ‘dead’ or ‘alive’ – is described by a wave. As waves can overlap to form a single wave function, the cat can exist in a superposition of states. This means that in quantum mechanics the cat is both simultaneously dead or alive.

This seemingly contradictory state persists only until the box is opened – analogous to making a measurement on the system – and the wave function collapses meaning the superposition is gone and the state is resolved. The cat is either dead or alive. Yet why measurement causes this collapse of superposition, also known as ‘decoherence’, is still a mystery.

The many-worlds hypothesis does away with decoherence altogether. Instead, it suggests that rather than the opening of the box collapsing the wave function, measurement causes it to grow exponentially and ‘swallow’ the experimenter and eventually the entire Universe.

“In the many-worlds formulation of quantum mechanics, each state of a system is a physically distinct world,” says Prof Jeffrey Barrett, a philosopher of science at the University of California Irvine.

This means each flick of a light switch would create a near-infinity of worlds. One for each possible path of each photon as the light fills your living room, not just a world in which you didn’t flick the switch at all.

That means that in terms of Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, the experimenter isn’t opening the box to discover if the cat is dead or alive. Rather, they are opening the box to discover if they are in a world in which the cat is dead, or one in which it lives.

At first, the worlds that comprise this quantum multiverse are similar, with infinitesimally small differences. But these changes grow from universe to universe, meaning those that diverged earlier could be strikingly different from each other.

“The objects, events and physical records of observers are different in different worlds. There is a world where the Eiffel Tower is in Los Angeles,” Barrett says. “All of the worlds – universes – are part of a single global universe. It looks just like this universe from the perceptive of our branch world.”

Barrett addresses the question of how likely it is that one of these ‘many worlds’ would contain an alternate ‘you’. He reveals that it isn’t just possible, it’s demanded.

“It certainly would contain many alternate copies of me,” he says. “That is fundamental to how the theory addresses the quantum measurement problem.”

All of this makes the quantum version of the multiverse the one that most closely resembles pop culture , at least in principle. This is because it doesn’t just probably contain infinite versions of you, it definitely does.

Read more about quantum mechanics:

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#Space

[fukia]

What makes “C-137″ The Rickest Rick?

Someone probably thought of this already, but I interpreted the title of “Rickest Rick” as an individual with all the identifying qualities of Rick (super-intelligence, addictions, nihilisms, seemingly random moments of initiative, etc) but exaggerated. It’s both a combination of his natural self and the way his universe shapes him which allows him to encompass all the common/defining characteristics of a Rick to wild, but rather reasonable degrees - he’s not “the most”, he is “one of the most” in our list of Ricks.

Not all of the qualities of a Rick are exaggerated, but the major ones that are involve his motivations. Then you add that to how our Rick has been both an incredibly loving individual, to one passionately selfish, and to an individual who became so apathetic he’d commit genocide as a byproduct of his recklessness. I will keep my observations as close to the area of the multiverse that would soon be the Central Finite Curve because... yeah I don’t have the capacity to work with anything bigger and more irrelevant to canon.

The Traits of Rick “C-137″

•He easily takes down other Ricks, making him one of the most versatile fighters of the Ricks.

•He loses his family; a major Rick anchor to reality judging by the farming of simple Rick. In this way, he’s one of the saddest Ricks.  •He seeks revenge for decades. He is one of the Ricks with the most passion regarding a vendetta.

•He commits Rickicide; combine the notion of making his own face the face of an enemy and survivor’s guilt, and it makes him one of the most self-loathing Ricks. It also makes him one of the guiltiest.

•He commits Rickicide for such a long time and in the aftermath of his anger high or wrath withdrawal, refrained from killing himself until the Unity rehook-up/rebreak-up. He is one of the most determined Ricks.

•He becomes extremely apathetic; he is one of the most nihilistic Rick, fed by personal loss.

•He becomes so rebellious against the unsaid/common sense law between his kind to “Don’t Commit Interdimensional-Rickicide,” that he forces his alternates to make a government. Which he refuses to voluntarily participate in. He is one of the most antisocial (in the actual definition of the word) Ricks.  •He kills and destroys so much, making him one of the more Eviler Ricks in terms of body count, as Evil Rick/President Morty would say. •He tries to prevents his newer loved ones from leaving him; of which includes Bird Person, Morty, and so on. He is one of the most tragically lonely and selfish Ricks. Also one of the most abusive on account of... playing with the entirety of Morty’s psyche and more. Add that with his compulsive need for control in even the smallest manner and you have one of the most petty Ricks.

•He consistently pushes people away despite his codependency, such as with Morty, Beth, Summer (?), and even Tony. He clings to his enemies as well; President Curtis and maybe Mr. Nimbus, treating their hatred as a vehicle for someone caring for him in a twisted way. It’s possible that his hatred for Jerry keeps him from having to deal with the guilt of “ruining” his own family/families. It’s also possible he realized too late with his various replacement families that even though they’re not his, he still cared about them to some extent and is legitimately hurt when they reject his recklessness/attempts to disassociate emotionally. He is one of the uh, most tsundere-ish.

It’s not that he’s the single kindest Rick, the evilest man-child Rick, or possibly even the smartest (who knows, maybe there’s a greater Rick intellect in the CFC who’s passive or cognitively incapacitated for some reason. Straight-up, my bet’s on Slow Rick). 

Notice again how I repeatedly say he’s “one of the most [Rick trait].” And that’s because he’s not the single most extreme example of a chaRickteristic, let alone all of them. He’s the Rickest Rick because he encompasses all these qualities to a substantially significant amount that he is just the Rickest - of course, within the constraints of the CFC. He’s paradoxical but not in a way that’s totally nuts, and it’s because he has all these conflicting needs and attitudes. If you wanna go meta, he is the most dynamic and round CharRickter.    More likely, he may not even be the Rickest CFC Rick. Maybe he managed to eliminate the Rickest Rick or all the Ricker Ricks above him in the line-up due to luck or an accident. Or he’s just one of the Rickest that ended up receiving more attention/notoriety than the other “Rickest Ricks.”

Or, I mean, he’s deemed the Rickest Rick because he’s the cutest every Rick is low-key aware he’s the one with the most screen time idk lul rickrick rike what even is this word anymore

Edits: grammar and ELi5/TL;DR of sorts

ExplainlikeIDidn’tRead: Ya got a character customizer in the Sims, but all the traits are Rick personality traits. You pull every bar (or just most bars) within every trait up really high but not all the way. That’s pretty much “C-137” and what it means to be the Rickest lmao

Didn’tReadI’m5: You have bad fruits and good fruits to make a smoothie. A random Rick can be a smoothie with some number of bad and some number of good fruits together. “C-137” is a certain mix of bad and good fruits; but the fruits are abnormally large in size. Rick is smoothie. Smoothie Rick.

[glitteringcrab]

Evil Morty mannerisms

Evil Morty curling his (tiny) fists...

(oh, it's so hard to be a genius... couldn't you just die?)

(and it's the only visual cue that he's mad in this scene)

...means this might be your last or only cue that he's ready to make the leap into murder, and your last chance to fix whatever it is you've done wrong.

Evil Morty saying "you're right"...

...means "by the time you realize you're wrong it will be too late".

[thesoftboiledegg]

One thing I want to point out is how insanely complex Rick and Morty's relationship is. Most of the relationships in the show are straightforward--Morty and Summer argue but stick up for each other, Beth and Jerry have their moments but are ultimately shitty parents, Beth and Rick go back and forth between arguing and shallowly trying to gain each other's approval.

This isn't a bad thing since we're talking about side characters. But while the basic leader/sidekick dynamic is the public perception of Rick and Morty's relationship, their relationship is so complex that you could write pages of meta and still not catch every angle.

It's true that Rick drags Morty on adventures. But they fight, bicker and antagonize each other because their personalities clash--and yet, they work well together because they're so different (unlike Rick and Beth, who don't get along because they're too similar.) Even when they're fighting, they're still working together to meet the end goal.

They engage each other in a power struggle where Rick tries to maintain control and Morty tries to knock him off his feet. Rick smacks him down when Morty challenges him, but Morty's getting cockier and Rick's having an increasingly difficult time controlling him.

Despite this, Rick still craves Morty's attention and approval. He has a full-on mental break whenever Morty leaves him and lashes out in violent, self-destructive ways. And Morty's got no problem walking away--he turns his back on Rick as soon as he finds his replacement. Still, he always runs back when it doesn't work out, and Rick takes him back like nothing happened.

And it's not always bad times. We usually don't see their "good" adventures onscreen, but sometimes they screw around and have fun like a couple of teenage boys. Rick jumps at the chance to regress back into childhood. Usually, Rick doesn't even have bad intentions with their adventures. Something always goes awry, but he's not deliberately trying to get Morty killed.

Still, it's not healthy. In the beginning, Rick sees Morty as a sidekick; later, he sees Morty as a peer. He treats him like an adult until he wants to take charge of the situation--then Rick suddenly takes a position of authority and talks to Morty like he's a child (which he is.) But while Rick wants control over Morty, he also wants to be a teenage boy again and get on his level.

And let's not forget that Rick is just straight-up an asshole. He backs off a little as the series goes on, but he bullies Morty, manipulates him, makes fun of him and insults him. Instead of showing him love, Rick tries to control every aspect of his life to keep Morty from leaving him. He's terrified that Morty will abandon him, but he's also terrified of getting close to people, so he clings to him and pushes him away at the same time.

Morty thinks he's nothing like Rick, but that's not true. As he gains confidence, he takes on Rick's mannerisms and his brutality. Watch "The Old Man and the Seat" and see how Morty talks exactly like Rick. And he's slowly losing himself because he has none of the life experience Rick has that occasionally stays his hand.

Funnily enough, Rick and Morty get along well when they want to. Unfortunately, that's not always a good thing. When they team up in the Glorzo episode, they cause more destruction than ever. Getting along only reinforces their codependency and makes it harder for them to walk away from the relationship.

And yet, despite all the insanity that I just pointed out, despite the extreme highs and lows, there's genuine love in their relationship.

Morty won't say it to Rick's face, but he sticks up for him when he's not there. He shows off Rick's inventions to impress Jessica and Bruce Chutback. In "Rickmurai Jack," Morty sides with Rick over Evil Morty even though he's just seen the depths of Ricks and their cruelty.

Likewise, Rick looks after Morty and protects him, albeit in backhanded ways that Morty often doesn't know about. At the end of season 5, he shows him sincere love and affection for the first time. This time, Rick's the one walking away--and Morty cries because he's never dealt with this before. He always had control over that one aspect of their relationship.

You also can't deny that Rick's the only person in Morty's life who gives him attention and actually wants to be around him. He has a healthy relationship with Summer, but she's got her own life. Morty seems to have no friends at high school, and his parents are cold and distant. Rick gives him attention, affection and adventures beyond his wildest dreams, although it all came with a price.

Other people have noticed. Summer calls Morty a "creepy little grandpa's boy." In a later episode, she says "Rick has Morty" when she talks about feeling alone, implying that Rick is the most important person in Morty's life and vice versa. Rick seems to be genuinely attached to Morty even though he could've picked up a clone any time at the citadel.

And when you get to the end of season 5, you learn about the reasons behind some of Rick's behavior. It's not an excuse, but he's so traumatized that he can barely function. He jumped into a situation where he had to be a grandfather to kids that never existed in his universe. He doesn't even know how to be a father. He chose this life, but this life didn't choose him--just looking at Morty is a constant reminder of everything he lost. No wonder it breaks his heart every time Morty walks away from him.

With all that in mind, this is one of the most complex relationships I've ever seen in a TV show. And we've still got five seasons to go (well, unless something changes), so who knows where this is all headed. But as it stands right now, this show isn't about adventures or cartoon nihilism--it's about Rick and Morty and their fluid, obsessive and devouring relationship. Rick and Morty, a hundred years--right?

[secretshinigami]

Maybe Maybe Maybe

Author: @lightsredapple / Zara_Zara (on AO3)

For: @danthegeek

Pairings/Characters: Light/L. Soichiro Yagami

Rating/Warnings: G. Mentions of alcohol

Prompt: “Soichiro and L go out for drinks, discussing the case in the beginning, then talking about Light, L sharing his feelings for Soichiro’s’ son.”

Author’s notes: Happy holidays everyone! Hope you like this danthegeek, I had fun writing it :)

In the early hours of the morning, L was surrounded by warmth. And he was holding onto that warmth at all the points that mattered: there was a warm waist in his arms, a forehead pressed against the perfect space between delicate shoulder blades, the soft rise and fall of a chest under his hands, and legs entwined into a mess of infinity. Between the slits of his slowly waking eyes, the world was a sleepy ocean of twilight. The world felt so soft in the moment. It was something he often forgot the world could be. It was easy to be blinded by all else when he surrounded himself with the indifferent light of computer screens, scrolling, scrolling, searching… 

For the longest time, L had been deeply acquainted with empty rooms. He’s seen it all, rooms violent with furnishings to rooms desolate with sparsity, and after many years of traveling they all ended up looking the same. This was because, at the root of it, the essence of any hotel was rooted in its transience. The rooms within its building were meant only to be lived in for a certain amount of time before its guests moved on. This sort of transience suited L just fine. He went wherever a case called him and inhabited many hotel rooms but never lived in them. These places were never home. He’d never sought for such a thing in his life. However, when he woke up that morning, feeling well-rested, easy, slow, warm, all of these states which were caused by one young man—he found that none of these things were easy to ignore. What happened to him? he wondered. Normally, at this time he’d be vividly awake and deep within a case. Normally, he wouldn’t even have slept at all and would’ve been on his fifteenth coffee by then. Even after over a year of this set-up, sleep and rest and calm were consistently very novel things for L…but, honestly, he wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

The seconds ticked by and it would’ve been so easy to have slipped back to sleep. And L would’ve done so, but he could feel Light waking. And if Light was awake then he was most certainly going to be leaving soon. In that moment, stopping that from happening was L’s first and most pressing issue of the day. To win, you must attack, so making like a boa constrictor, he tightened his hold on Light. It was the perfect plan. Light wouldn’t want to move because he wouldn’t want to wake L. He was considerate like that. L didn’t get enough sleep, he always said. It would not only be hypocritical of Light to wake L up but it would also go against Light’s  code of honor and all that jazz. Yes, this was good. More than good, L thought as he nuzzled Light’s back with this forehead and sighed contentedly. With his victory insured, L contendly closed his eyes but frowned when Light moved. It seemed as if he was trying to escape the pirate knot of limbs L had on him, “L,” Light whispered. L remained quiet because he was “asleep.”

Light fidgeted once more. “L,” Light whispered again and sighed when he got nothing in response. A minute passed where Light stayed with all his warmth and all was well. “I know you’re awake,” Light said, voice just barely a whisper. “I need to get up now…I have class.” 

L still refused to respond or let up on his tight hold on the other man. “L, come on.” Light exasperatedly said as he began trying to pry L’s arms off of him. It was difficult because they were as tight as a dead body in rigor mortis. Did L die during the night? After Light gave a good struggle and finally got one leg loose from L’s own, L inhaled deeply as if he were waking and mumbled, “Mmm? Morning, Light-kun.” He felt Light’s back untense somewhat at signs of life from L and L took that opportunity to strengthen his hold on him. At this point it wasn’t cuddling anymore, they were wrestling in a strange sleepy manner. 

“Good morning, L,” Light said in a conversational tone, entertaining him even if he definitely knew that L had been awake this whole time and was just being difficult. “I need to get up. Let me go.”

“Do you really need to? Is it urgent? Life or death?”

“Yes, so will you please let go of me?” 

“I’m not convinced. If this were truly a life or death situation, you’d sound more distressed.”

“How’s this for distressed…” Light grumbled. And with far more energy than was fair in the morning, Light rolled them over, commencing a brief tussle in the sheets. In one horrible move, Light completely escaped. L stretched one hand towards him, like a dying man reaching for help, but it collapsed when confronted with the merciless look of triumph on Light’s smiling face. With half his face pressed to the pillow, one of L’s eyes watched as Light gracefully walked away and pulled the curtains open, “I’m sorry, L. I have to go.” Light needlessly repeated, except, this time with a pointless apology. 

L rolled more comfortably onto his side and hugged his aching shins as he silently watched Light dress. The morning sunshine was spilling in through their window, flooding the room with daffodil yellow. It burnished Light’s skin a golden color, much of it methodically getting hidden away by needless layers of fabric. The soft sounds of his dressing were simple and sensual. They were the only sounds that moved in the otherwise sleepily still room. Head crushed to his pillow, L catalogued Light’s motions with a passive intensity and sighed to himself. 

“C’mon, don’t pout,” Light chuckled and finished fixing his tie that didn’t need fixing. He then bent down to peck L on the mouth. Both their eyes were slitted open. The peck was chaste. What was with that? It had to be corrected. L’s hand kept Light’s head from moving away. He tried deepening the kiss but Light pulled away with an apologetic grimace and said, “Morning breath.”

L flopped on the bed as if he’d been shot, “You’re so mean to me, Light…Denying me my rights…You should be prosecuted,” L yawned and sleepily glared at Light. 

“A lawsuit from the Greatest Detective in the world? Scary. We’ll talk more about this later, yeah?” Light was a blur as he swept out of the room. The room went quiet.

  ***

  Light wasn’t in fact coming home soon that day. Light enjoyed acting on his freedom and often stayed out of their pent house just because he could. Whether he went out for a walk in the park, or to sweat off energy at the gym, or study in a cafe, he always returned to their place at 9 p.m. sharp. This suited both of them just fine. Each of them were independent creatures at their core, so the time apart was a welcome gift to that part of themselves. Light’s habit on that particular Thursday night was ideal, as L was going to meet someone he had evaded telling Light he was going to see. 

  ***

  Like looking through a fishbowl, L gazed at the explosion of colors in his drink. Instead of sipping it just yet, L picked the colorful umbrella off the rim of it and twirled it in his fingers so that the colorful pattern blurred. With his other finger, he slowly pushed the food menu towards his company, “Shall we order an entree?” It occurred to him, perhaps belatedly, that it was just about edging on dinner time for most people and Soichiro might be hungry. 

  “I’m fine, Ryuzaki. Thank you for the offer, though.” Some beats of silence rested between them. It would’ve been devastatingly awkward if they were anyone other than who they were. L was unbothered by such silences, in fact he often encouraged them, because when suspects were confronted with an uncomfortable silence they tried often to overcompensate for the silence, slipping up in the process. However, he didn’t need that particular advantage of silence in this instance because Soichiro wasn’t under interrogation, of course. Anyhow, the gravity of the awkwardness was dulled somewhat by Soichiro’s unrelenting efforts to keep up the appearance of being unphased by such things. 

  Years of experience in the force curated a disposition that was as cool as a glacier; but, historically,  L was responsible for testing that coolheadedness. Particularly when it came to the terrible suspicions cast against his son that ended up proving untrue. The emotional trauma from that whole period had yet to leave Soichiro and it made him somewhat embittered towards the detective in front of him; this was despite knowing that the things that had to be done during the investigation were necessary for catching as big an evil as Kira. Soichiro only wished Light hadn’t had to go through everything he was put through. 

  Soichrio watched as the little pink umbrella spinning in L’s fingers escaped and whirled to the ground. L blinked at where it fell but did not pick it up, that was when Soichiro decided to speak and go straight to business, “Ryuzaki, why did you ask to meet me…Is everything ok? How is Light?”

  “Light-kun is well. He has his three balanced meals a day, follows a reasonable sleep schedule, and is working very diligently in his studies,” L ticked off on his fingers as if consulting a mental list, “He has also begun trying his hand at baking. A skill of which you can imagine I am very appreciative of.” 

  “Oh that is good. I am glad to hear it.”

  “And how is Yagami-san?” L pressed his fingers to his drink and slid it towards himself to take a sip of it. After L did so, Soichiro lifted his sake and drank from it. The burn from his drink tickled his throat and offered a little bit of comfort from the unease of having L’s big fish eyes looking directly at him. 

  “I’m doing fine, thank you, Ryuzaki. I feel better than I have in months actually.”

  “If I may ask, how so?”

  “Well, the Kira case may have closed two years ago but I haven’t felt this way in a long time,” He thoughtfully paused, “Like things are finally starting to settle.”

  “Settle?” 

  Yagami senior swirled the dark liquid in his glass very quietly. It was quite busy in the bar, but not the loud sort of busyness. The noise level in the place was just enough to hear the clink of the ice cubes inside. That was the only tick that betrayed Soichiro’s discomfort with sharing about himself. He was not a man used to sharing the more introspective parts of himself but he would try for the sake of his former boss, the detective who had caught Kira, and most importantly the man who his son had chosen to spend his life with. 

  When Soichiro had found out that Light and L were in a relationship, he was admittedly very surprised…And not exactly thrilled. The two of them had told him, Sachiko, and Sayu just the previous year during Christmas dinner. Soichiro had already been surprised when Light had asked if he could invite Ryuzaki to it, but he just thought it was because the two of them had become very close friends during the investigation and had kept in contact. However, it did strike him as a little odd that Ryuzaki was still in Japan a year after the Kira case closed. But he had reasoned that any number of things could’ve led L to stay in the area or even draw him back—another case, perhaps. But no, through a series of subtle gestures during that fateful dinner, the nature of their true relationship came to light. Admittedly, Soichiro was a little uncomfortable with this revelation. He was not alone in this because Sachiko was as well. The two of them were of the same generation and mold, one that was generally more conservative in their beliefs. Sayu was shocked but no less understanding. She got over her surprise quicker than her parents. Soichiro regretted his reaction. He wished he had been quicker to accept and understand. It felt like he failed his son by not doing so, and it hurt him to know the way he acted had hurt his son in the process. Their relationship suffered for it and grew weaker than it had ever been. 

  It was through some self-discovery and acts to educate himself in areas he had previously been blind to that he came to understand this relationship Light had built with the man before him. Ryuzaki, or L, may have been quite an odd personality and not at all the sort of person who he and Sachiko thought their son would give his heart to. But he understood it—at least, Soichiro thought he did. L may have been a bit strange, but no one could deny the intellect nestled behind the explosion of black hair. Soichiro wasn’t blind, during the investigation he noticed the way Light and L seemed to click. Listening to them talk to each other was like watching a million fireworks go off at once. It was beautiful to see his son’s intellect and genius at its peak but it was like the sorts of conversations Light and L would have were far above the world’s heads. Soichiro also noticed that just as much as those two connected they also crashed violently against each other, quite literally at times. Both of those things were novelties to him in regards to Light. Soichiro had never seen his normally patient and even-tempered son lose his temper at someone else. Much less throw himself into a physical altercation with another person. That uncovering of his temper was surprising. Equally, on the other hand, he had never seen his son so engaged with another person. It was like all this time his son had been sleepwalking through life, doing everything perfectly, of course, but he’d never seen him so alive until then. It didn’t make sense but then it completely did. 

  “Crimes have returned to the numbers they used to be at before Kira. And with that, they are very…Normal. Nothing on the scale of Kira and his madness. It’s almost like how things used to be a couple years ago but not quite. For one, I’m trying to be home more.” The Kira investigation had forced him to confront his mortality on more than one occasion. Such a confrontation left a lasting impression and was not so easy to shake off. Soichiro may have watched how work life and criminal life may have returned to normalcy; however, he knew that he himself couldn’t follow in those same steps and go back to living life as he used to. Light was already living away and making his life elsewhere, but Soichiro decided to make efforts to try and be there for Sayu and his wife. “I’m still very busy, but my daughter recently showed me an article about the benefits of balancing work and private life…So, I’m trying to do that for them..”

  L nodded and took a long draught of his drink. Soichiro took that opportunity to nurse his sake. L set his sweet drink down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before saying, “Please don’t take offense at my saying this, but I notice Yagami-san has changed.”

  Soichiro blinked. He had not expected that. “I’m not offended. I appreciate it,” He coughed and quietly said, “I’m trying.” 

  “I think it’s admirable. I cannot boast of such a thing,” As if to emphasize that comment, L suddenly pulled out a cherry stem he’d twisted to a knot in his mouth. That, and his familiar way of sitting combined to send a message that said:  I’m the same as always.  It was strange receiving a compliment such as this, especially from the person who was giving it. L was putting himself down to give Soichiro that compliment. But on the other hand he also could’ve been mocking him. It was always hard to tell these sorts of things with L. 

  Soichiro’s discomfort with the situation had only begun to wane but he still felt compelled to get up and order more drinks. So, after getting a slightly stronger glass of sake and another colorful concoction of a drink for L, he felt ready for anything. The extra fortitude the sake gave him did not quite prepare him for L’s next question, “I was thinking over what you’ve said and my attention has caught onto one particular thing. You said you have been trying to change for ‘them’ .. your family, but what of yourself?”

  Soichiro paused, “I’m not sure I understand the question. Isn’t the fact I’m trying to change already to do with myself?”

  “I suppose,” L looked away and sipped his drink as he thought. The truth was he was kind of bored with this train of conversation even though he was the one who had put it in this direction. These kinds of things, the sorts of things to do with hearts and feelings didn’t really interest him unless it was to do with…No one, really. No one except Light. That exception refocused him on the topic at hand and why he was there, “I only meant to ask, are you changing entirely for your family? Such a thing seems like a very selfless undertaking to me.”

  “Well, my family are a very big part of it. Almost everything I’ve done has been for my family, keeping them safe, secure, and cared for,” Soichrio paused in thought and initially took a sip of his sake before he thought of something painful and took a much longer drink of it. Fire tumbled down his throat as he remembered requesting to be imprisoned with his son. He had spent long hours in that cell of his just hoping and praying that the real Kira would slip up and clear his son of all suspicions. Just even thinking about the well of love he had in his soul for his family made something expand in his chest like a bomb exploding in slow motion. It was just too much. He loved them all fiercely and would tear down the world for any one of them. The emotion pounded through his skull and shone sharply in his eyes, “Everything I do, I do for them. At least that’s what I always believed. Yes, my job took me away from home for many many hours, but I always thought it was worth it because when I finally got home at the end of the day I knew the streets were a little safer for my family and everyone else. That was something that always drove me to this field of work. It was why I became a detective. The world can be so cruel, as I’m sure you already know, and probably know far too much of, but there is also good in it. People can be kind just as much as they can be cruel. My family gave me balance because when I returned home, I returned to love.” Soichiro wiped a corner of an eye that was burning with something mysterious. 

  “Out of the darkness and into light.”

  “Pardon?”

  “Forgive me, it was an ill-timed joke. Thank you for sharing what you have, Yagami-san. Speaking as honestly as you have is no easy feat.”

  “Thank you,” Soichiro said. Feeling very odd after unpacking all those thoughts. He hardly remembered L’s original question and he felt he didn’t quite answer it. Or maybe he did.. He wasn’t sure.

  “Have you spoken to Light-kun recently?”

  Soichiro looked down, “No, I haven’t.”

  L extended his hand, “If you’ll allow me your phone I can give you Light-kun’s number. He changes it every so often.” After poking Light’s number into Soichiro’s phone—Light most definitely wouldn’t be too pleased with that but he’d get over it—L slid Yagami senior’s phone back to him and then said, “So as to not take up anymore of your time, I will tell you why I asked us to meet here,” Soichiro leaned forward slightly, alert. “As you know, Light-kun will be graduating just a few months from now. With his incredible skills and talent I feel he will be an invaluable asset to my team. I already offered the job to him and he has accepted. We will be leaving Japan in early June.”

  “I see,” another surprise. But to a certain extent he also expected this. Sparkling pride filled him at the news but it also made him a little sad. Although he already rarely saw Light now, his son would be leaving the country soon and that would stretch their distance to a grander more physical sense. But he was a little confused as to why L was telling him this. “Are you asking for my approval? Light is an adult and can make his own decisions. If that is what he wants to do, I support him.”

  “I wasn’t asking for that. But I’m certain he would appreciate hearing that anyway.”

  And then it clicked. L giving him the phone number and then telling him that he and Light were going to leave… “I think so too,” He blinked at L and saw him differently. He felt he just saw a layer to the man that he was not aware existed. So, he was changing as well. He thought that much of it must’ve been Light’s influence and Soichiro smiled very faintly at the thought of it. He didn’t drink nearly enough to feel a buzz or loosen his tongue, but the knowledge that this was probably the last meeting he’d ever have with Ryuzaki gave him enough courage to say, “You know, I think you’ve changed as well, Ryuzaki.”

  “Oh?”

  Now that he said it, he pushed away embarrassment because such a comment felt too familiar, but Ryuzaki had told him the same thing so it couldn’t be as impolite as it felt. Especially since Soichiro meant it well. “Be honest, Ryuzaki. How do you feel for my son?” When Ryuzaki and Light had visited their home and announced their relationship a year ago, the status was all that they had shared. Of course, such a thing had to be backed up with feelings and he was more than certain they existed. But he wanted to hear it confirmed in some way. Specifically, from the man who was soon going to take his son away.

  “I love your son, Yagmai-san,” There it was. Said factually and flatly, almost coldly. But that was Ryuzaki’s way, and perhaps the factual way in which it was said lent it an undeniable weight of honesty that could not be ignored. 

  Soichiro released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and asked, “He feels like home?”

  L blinked at Soichiro. It was an unexpected question given the sentimentality of it. It was even more sentimental than the one about L’s feelings. L knew of his own feelings but he’d never romanticised them in the way Soichiro’s question was asking him to do. Did Light feel like home? he wondered. What was a home anyway? Despite the questions that were stirred up inside him, L bluntly answered, “He is my home.” L  told himself he’d contemplate that statement later or discard it as something trivial. He reconsidered the latter due to Soichiro’s big smile of happiness and relief. He’d never seen Light’s father smile that way and it made him curious, “What is your home, Yagami-san?”

  “My family, of course.”

  “Is it true even if Light is away?”

  “Yes,” Soichiro’s grin dimmed somewhat, but it was not sad. 

  “I don’t need to apologize for taking him away then.”

  “That’s right.”

  L lifted a corner of his mouth, “Good. I wasn’t planning on it.”

***

  Later that night, when L had his head on Light’s lap and was dozing away, Light’s phone rang. L blinked his eyes open and watched as Light impassively checked it. L said, “You should get that.”

  Light raised an eyebrow at him, phone held aloft and vibrating in his hand probably with only seconds left to live, “Oh?”

  L just stared at him without an answer. Light frowned slightly but his curiosity was a persuasive force. He flipped his phone open and tucked it between his shoulder and chin with one last weary glance down at L. “Hello?” One of his hands resumed idly running through L’s hair but with less intent than before. 

  The volume was too low to hear anything, especially with the tv. But a low and staticy “Light” could be heard.

  “Dad?” Light said in initial confusion before looking down at L. A flash of realization passed in his eyes as Light realized the answer was right there in his lap. Quickly getting over his surprise and trading it for weary caution Light asked, “Are you ok?” He moved L’s head off his lap and got up, walking away to another room where he closed the door. Sealing away his voice as he spoke on the phone. 

  Hmmph, why didn’t Soichiro call a little bit earlier? Preferably, before L had his head on his son’s lap? Lolling on the couch for a bit, he waited for Light to return, but the call was taking longer than expected. When he tried listening through the door, he couldn’t hear anything, which led him to believe Light had gone into the room’s bathroom to add an extra layer of distance. 

  Forty minutes passed before Light finished his call. L had lost interest in the movie he had not really been watching and turned off the tv to read. But he was not really interested in the book either and put the book down when he saw Light reappear. Light remained in a meditative silence as he returned to the couch. L watched him the entire way, trying to pick up on what Light felt and what he was thinking. Light reclined on the couch and moved so he faced L, propping his chin on his hand he matched L’s stares and quietly regarded him, “That was my dad,” he needlessly said.

  “I know.”

  “Of course,” Light rolled his eyes but turned more serious and said, “I don’t appreciate my phone number being handed out so freely. Nor do I like how you’ve interfered in my family business. But I appreciate the inventions behind it all, just don’t do it again. I can handle these things on my own.”

  L nodded and found his toes a very interesting thing as he stared at them. “You’re mad at me.”

  “I’m not. Sure, I’m a little put-out but I’m not angry. As I said, just don’t do something like that again.” 

  Unable to contain himself anymore, L asked, “How did the call go?”

  “It was fine,” Light shrugged in a far too deliberate manner. “He just talked about work and I talked about university. Nothing important.”

  “You spent 45 minutes in there.”

  “He was very intrigued by my class to do with the history of Japanese Criminology.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Where did we leave off again?” Light turned the tv on again and resumed the movie they’d been watching. 

When they were in bed once again, drifting off to sleep, L wondered about what Soichiro said, did Light feel like home? He felt an arm encircle his waist and drag him back into Light’s chest. So Light really didn’t mind what I did, he thought and relaxed into his hold. It was a reverse of earlier that morning when L was holding him instead. Now Light was mirroring that position of the past but in his own way. His forehead was pressed to the back of his neck and their legs were fitted together, not tangled. Is this home? He thought, as he idly played with Light’s fingers. L sighed and then Light sighed with him. Maybe.

[creepychippy]

Twisted Truth - Luigi’s Mansion 3 Fanfic

The whirring of Machinery, static Noises of Light and the occasional Chit-Chatting between some Ghosts echoed throughout the Laboratory that belonged to a certain little Ghost Researcher, who was currently researching something on his Computer.

17 Spectras were given the Duty of protecting valuable as well as important Elevator Buttons that were handed out to them away from a green clothed Plumber.  “He’s a malicious Ghosthunter who wants to stuff you into Paintings.”, as they were told. Most of them have put up a Fight against said Menace but were captured by him in the End regardless, including another Ghoul that was being deployed into one of the dome-shaped Capsules at the Moment, prominent by the all to familiar humming Sound that the trapped Souls got used to after a While.

“Gloria!”, the muscular Swimmer beside her called out, knocking a few Times on the Glass to get her Attention. He in Return got a sheepish Wave from her, her other Hand readjusting the Wig she was wearing on her Head as it got a little bit messed up during the Exchange Process.

“Yeah, I... sadly got captured. The Plumber’s got some groovy Moves however, I tell ya that.”

For a few Minutes, the ghostly Residents exchanged many Words between them, which however died down after a While, as there was seemingly nothing to discuss about anymore. That is however until the quiet Pianist took Note of something.

“Kruller, you seem to be pondering about something. What is on your Mind, if I may ask?”

Upon hearing his named being mentioned, the ghostly Cop snapped out of his deep Thoughts, resulting him glancing around in a confused Manner for a few Seconds before he turned towards Amadeus.

“Ah, I- it’s just-... n-nothing, really...”, he stammered out, his Hand shakingly fixing his Sunglasses. Even though he was one of the few Ghosts who got caught early on, he seemed still shaken up about it.

“Are you sure it is nothing? It appeared as if something is troubling your Mind, at least so it did to me.”, the ghostly Pianist calmly explained while having one Arm behind his back and gesturing with the other.

“Uhm, well...”

For a Moment, Kruller hesitated, but he quickly collected himself.

“Isn’t... it weird? All of this?”

“What do you mean, Dearie?”, a sweet Voice beside him suddenly chimed in. Apparently, the Conversation between the Cop and the Pianist has gotten the Attention of the ghostly Maid.

“I mean, what I’m- uhm... what I’m going to say next may sound strange, but... I don��t believe that the Plumber that Miss Gravely t-told us about is as evil as she makes him out to be...”

Upon noticing that some confused Stares were aimed towards him, his Voice went quieter at the last few Words, as some Sweatdrops were building on his Forehead again.

“Elaborate, please.”, the ghoulish Pianist told the ghostly Cop, his Eyebrows furrowing a little bit.

“I just mean- I mean, look at him. Miss Hellen told us that we potentionally have to face off against an evil Baddie who along a malicious Scientist wants to lock us into P-Paintings and keep us trapped in them forever. However, when I-I watched him through the Cameras from Time to Time, even encountered him-... all I saw was a scared and frightened Human, p-perhaps... lost even...” 

At this Point, every Spectra’s Attention was turned towards the nervous Mall Cop, quietly listening to him explain.

“Lad, Ah fought against Enemies that wanted me dead when Ah was alive, regardless if they were wetting their Pants or not. Just 'cause he was frightened doesn’t mean that he's innocent or that he doesn’t have any ill Intentions.”, a booming Voice that had an scottish Accent to it suddenly broke the Silence that had built itself around the Room just mere Seconds ago.

“Actually... I-I think I have to agree with Kruller in this Case. For someone who is supposed to be ‘a scary and vicious Ghosthunter who wants us locked away forever’, he appeared quite hesitant with attacking me, at least for the first few Moments. Not only that, but we have been trapped inside of these Capsules for Hours now instead of these terrifying Paintings that were mentioned.”, the thin Bellhop chimed in out of the blue as he folded his Arms, him seemingly pondering about something as well.

“Erm, t-that’s not the only Thing, though... P-please take a Look at that Capsule that stands besides Dr. Potter and Ug.”

As everybody turned towards the transparent Device, it turned out that said Capsule was empty.

“N-now look at all of us. Which one of us is missing?”

Thinking about it, everybody eventually came to the same Conclusion.

Morty.

“That is indeed weird. Where is he?”, the green Gardener scratched the Back of his Head, as he was puzzled as to what could have happened to the Movie Director.

Raising his Cap slightly with his gloved Hand, the ghostly Hillbilly decided to throw his own Argument into the Round.

“Well, maybe dat good ol’ Pipsqueak of a Plumber jus’ snatch'd dat shiny Button right out of our dear and beloved Director’s Hands when he wasn’t lookin. After dat, he jus’ left him ’lone to do his own lil’ Thing.”

“B-but don’t you realize something?”

Kruller was now staring at Clem, hoping that he would understand what he was trying to get across.

“It means that the supposed ‘malicious’ Ghosthunter and his little Scientist Friend wasn’t out to capture all of us like we were told and previously had assumed, else Morty would be here with us at this very Moment.”, Serpci exclaimed as the Revelation suddenly came to her Mind.

“Exactly! A-and besides that-”, once again, the intruiged Glances were being directed at the ghostly Cop, “- I-I think there’s something else I noticed...”

Timidly adjusting his Sunglasses as they slipped off a little bit before, he voiced the other Realization he made out aloud to everyone.

“E-every Ghost, i-inside this Hotel, us included, behaved much more... how should I say this... ‘agitated’ or ‘aggressive’ than usual...”

The ghostly Residents quietly looked at each other. Now that Kruller mentioned it, the ghoulish Inhabitants of this Place did indeed act out much more strangely as of lately.

“T-take Steward for Example. Remember when we talked about the Encounter we had with the Ghosthunter?” 

“Yes, I did.”, the red clothed Bellhop answered while staring at the purple Cop.

“Y-you said that you threw the Luggage inside the Garage at him when he fought against you, right?”

“You did what now?”, the sweet Voice that the undead Maid carried turned into a much more shocked Tone upon hearing this sort of Information.

“I know that you work a lot and are probably under a lot of Stress, but it isn’t like you to suddenly act out like this, Dearie!”

“Well, I... I don’t know what came over me. I just saw the Luggage and my Mind instinctively went ‘throw it at the Plumber’.”

This Time, some concerned as well as worried Glances were shared around the Group.

“A-and you, Chambrea. Please tell us how your Encounter went again.”

“I was peacefully cleaning the Room and saw a pretty Suitcase, but the green Ghosthunter appeared out of nowhere all of the sudden. Out of Panic, I... swallowed the Suitcase and fled the Scene...”

A slight Blush crept across the Maid’s Face as some murmuring from others could be heard. Meanwhile, Kruller decided to explain his Part of the Story, and at the End he finally turned towards the ghostly Chef beside him.

“Well, I was cooking in ze Kitchen as usual, until ze Plumber and his weird Doppelganger suddenly broke into it, which caused me to drop my Dish and.... suddenly lash out... at zem...”

At first, the orange Cook was confidently telling his Part of the Story, but his Voice dropped as soon as Realization dawned on him and he uncomfortably rubbed his Neck.

“Mister Wolfgeist, do you may want to continue?”, Chambrea calmly asked him, however Worry was now stretched over her Face.

“I was playing on my Piano, until that green Plumber walked into the Auditorium. I thought I could ignore him and simply just throw some Chairs at him to scare him off, but he turned out to be much more persistent than what I had previously assumed him to be. After that, he captured some Goobs, causing my Concentration to be thrown off and ulimately leading me to become really mad at him. In a Fit of Rage and Attempt to finally get rid of him, I... possessed my Piano and tried to slam it into him... destroying it in the Process...”

The well known nonchalant Expression that the Pianist carried on his Face was suddenly replaced with that of Dread, as he slowly looked down upon his Hands.

“Um Himmels Willen... what in Lord’s Name just came over me...”

On and on the Explanations went, with most Ghosts expressing the Feelings of Regret and Guilt as well as that of Unease and Concern along the Way and everybody making Revelation after Revelation.

“Just what the Hell is going on?”, Johnny blurted out while holding his Hands against his Head, as the current Situation admittedly made him more and more anxious as well as puzzled.

The DJ next to him tried to talk to the ghostly Swimmer in order to calm him down: “Johnny, Sweetie, please chill out. I’m sure we can find out what exactly is going on!”

“I be sure that Hellen be behind all o' this! I swear on me other Eye!”

“Miss Gravely? Why would you think that she would do something like this?”, Dr. Potter questioned the aquatic Pirate while adjusting his Glasses.

As every Soul was beginning to get into a heated Argument, including Ug who only was able to speak Gibberish, the ghostly Maid noticed that the Bellhop beside her was starting to act more nervously.

“Steward, Dearie, is everything alright?”

“...’s all my Fault...”, he mumbled in a tense Manner, his Sentence being barely audible, and he anxiously rubbed his Arms.

“Steward?-”

“It’s all my Fault!”, he blurted out all of the sudden, causing the Discussions between the Spectras to come to a Halt and look at him.

“How is this your Fault? You can’t be behind all of this, now can you?”

Crossing his Arms, Amadeus proceeded to stare at Steward questioningly, like he was trying to knock some Sense into the Bellhop for even bringin up such Claim.

“A-apologies, Stress got over me again. It’s just... I could have maybe prevented this and I’m blaming myself for it.”

The ghostly Cop gave him a sympathetic Glance and spoke up: “How so?”

“All of you perhaps heard about how a special Guest came to the Last Resort to visit us, correct? King Boo, as I recall. Before he arrived here, everything was running pretty smoothly and-”

“So ya think it was him?-”

Promptly, the ghoulish Pianist held up a Hand towards the pink Electrician.

“Clem, let Steward finish, it is rude to interrupt him when he wasn’t finished talking.”

“M’sorry.”

Clearing his Throat, the blue Spectra continued: “As I said, everything was pretty normal. That is until I went onto Miss Gravely’s Floor to retrieve the Elevator Buttons as well as Instructions and hand them out to you...”

He stopped for a Moment and grabbed at his Bowtie slightly, but collected himself and proceeded with his Story.

“No matter where I looked, there were Sculpures as well as Painting of this particular Guest everywhere. I... I think I even caught some Glimpses of Merchandise of him... Gee, I-I should have warned all of you and talked about it after all of what I have seen instead of keeping it to myself. In Hindsight, it was definitely a red Flag and certainly not normal...”

Some disturbed Expressions where exchanged in the Round, until MacFrights finally spoke up.

“So ya think a small wittle Boo who calls himself a ‘King’ could’ve done all of tis?”

“It wasn’t a small Boo, far from it! He was far bigger than Miss Gravely, his Appereance was much more different as well as menacing than that of a regular Boo and he wore a Crown with a Gem on it!”

“A Gem?”

The intruiged Queen chimed in as her yellow Eyes stared into those of Steward’s.

“Yes, a giant purple one.”

“Hmm, you’re definitely onto something then.”

In a Matter of Seconds, the entire Attention was now focused solely on Serpci.

“When I was alive, I was told Stories about how Kings and Queens amongst the Lands would use Gems that contained great Powers within them to rule over their respected Kingdoms. Even in todays Era, Tales of Folks using these particular Gems to harvest their powerful Abilities and utilizing them to their Advantages still make the Rounds.”, she recalled to the Group, one Hand resting against her Cheek while the other supported her Elbow.

“Of course!”

Ths Time, everybody turned their Heads towards the Capsule that contained the Triplets, since one of them, Ginny to be precise, seemingly remembered something.

“It has to be Mind-Controlling Magic that he’s using against us! Me and my Sisters know about a Tale that took present inside of the Evershade Valley a long Time ago. A Being with powerful Abilities apparently was able to use Mind-Controlling Magic against the Ghosts that reside there in said Area. We were so impressed an fascinated by that Story that we even have a small Replica of the Gloomy Manor inside an Aquarium in one of our Rooms!”

“So-”, Soulfflé kneaded his Temples, “if I’m understanding zis correctly, all of zis Trouble is happening because our dear Hotelowner has an Obsession over a big oversized Marshmallow who decided to trick and manipulate the entire Hotel? Just great...”

Even though it was pretty apparent what was going on, there were still some unanswered Questions that lingered in the Air.

“But what Reason would they have to bring a Ghosthunter here out of all Places, let alone send him after all of us? It just doesn’t make any Sense in my Head!”

Seeing Gloria getting so frustrated, Clem let out a tiny Snicker followed by a sarcastic Comment while he casually leaned back in his Rubber Duckie Floatie that he was lying on.

“Before ya totally break yer Head over such complicated Question, why don’‘t cha ask the Lady who’s behind all of this hersel-”

A familiar humming Noise once again echoed throughout the Room, interrupting the undead Electrician in his Speech, and every trapped Soul turned their Head towards the Source of the Commotion.

A certain ghostly Hotelowner with her beloved Pet was deployed into one of the Capsules this Time.

This was going to be one long an interesting Discussion.

[seras-elessar]

Brooklyn 99 and Copaganda: My Two Cents

I’ve been reading many of the posts about cop-propaganda and how Brooklyn 99 as a diverse comedy police procedural hits all the hallmarks of whitewashing the police, but I’ve been reticent to engage because a) the posts are getting oh so long already and b) my thoughts haven’t been fully formed until about now. Just disclosing my credentials I’m going to come at this from a bachelors of film- and media-studies with a minor in moral and ethics philosophy, as well as my many years as an educator. 

I will also disclose that I really enjoy Brooklyn 99, and anyone can continue to do so while being aware of the issues. Being aware of problems with the media you consume is not a weakness, it’s a strength.

I’m going to go, point by point on why I think Brooklyn 99 Ended up the way it did and what we need to be aware of as we move forward. I will however put a tl:dr up here as well as a more in depth conclution at the end.

TL:DR: Brooklyn 99′s copaganda is an unfortunate combination of socially aware creators using the show as a platform to raise awareness and being part of two genres (comedy and crime) with problems inherent in the way stories in those genres are told. It’s not deliberately trying to whitewash the police, they do so by trying to do the right thing as creators with a large platform.

The Case of the Creators and Cast

The first part is looking at the people who are showrunners, producers, writers and the cast. The originators Dan Goor and Michael Shur have many series to their names, and all follow similar patterns; starting with a comedy premise and then developing as the seasons continue, often using their platform to raise points about social and moral issues. Andy Samberg is also a big part, being the main lead and credited as producer.

The cast is racially diverse and the show brings attention to that, both for comedy and to highlight social and political issues. They also appear to have a working relationship with the writers and directors, so the cast are allowed a lot of input into how their characters are portrayed and how they develop.

It’s clear to me going through the series, looking up creators and cast in interviews and their social media presence that most of them are socially and politically aware and wanted to use their platform to highlight and raise awareness about injustices the see in American society today. This is something many creators have been asked to do for many years and it’s admirable that they want to actually at least bring these issues up in the time they have. However this brings us to the second part which may be the biggest contributors to why Brooklyn 99 is seen as not just copaganda, but even insidious.

The Problem of the Premise (or Faulty Framing)

This is the long part.

Much, so much, of the problems of Brooklyn 99 and it’s place in cop-centered media is the premise. And I don’t mean that it is cop-centered. No I mean it becomes a problem that it’s a comedy. I will take the cop-part first and circle back to the comedy to better show why.

Police procedurals as a form of media follows certain patterns and tropes, many of which are inherent to the genre. The structure of each episode being “awareness of crime - investigation - reveal and capture of guilty party”. This structure is very easy to work into three acts with a classical dramatic curve, following the conflict introduction, advance the conflict, and climax.

graph from kurser.se illustrating their course in scriptwriting

A police procedural follows the cops, detectives or investigators as they solve a crime and punish the guilty. For our purposes that is not in and of itself a problem, however it shapes our point of view of the events that transpire and how we react in the climax. The cops are the main characters, the heroes of the narrative, and we’re made to empathise with their struggles (to punish the guilty).

They also use many tropes. The Box episode is one such trope, where the entire episode is one long interrogation and it reoccurs in almost all crime and punishment TV-shows. Homicide: Life on the Streets had a very intense Box episode, and holds the same problems that the similar episode in Brooklyn 99 has (no lawyer, racing against the legally allotted time arrested, manipulation tactics et cetera). Police use of force, antagonistic internal affairs investigations, powerplays among the higher-ups and many other tropes make their way into Brooklyn 99.

One thing not brought up a lot is the episode where Peralta and Santiago track a criminal breaking into an upscale hotel. During capture of the suspect Peralta causes some collateral damage as he throws himself at the suspect. The jump hits a bystander and breaks his leg, and from the reactions and the dialogue it’s shown to be a very serious injury.

The ensemble of detectives are portrayed as socially conscious and (mostly) competent. Even the butt of the joke character displays this (Hitchcock: “He was arrested for being black. Get woke, Scully!”)

This is where playing it for comedy can be an issue. Comedy is a release of tension, a cushion to the impact of the narrative. It’s not for nothing that the funny person in otherwise serious media has been dubbed as the comic relief. This makes the unhealthy tropes inherent to the crime and police TV-show come off as less of a problem and more cute, quirky and fun. That I think is one of the main reasons why Brooklyn 99 in particular feel insidious when they tackle social issues because

1) whitewashing police in a cop show is expected. The story comes from a person we can root for catching a bad-guy.

2) simplifying issues in a comedy is expected. Comedy is difficult on it’s own, jokes are hard to write well, so when that is the focus much of the rest needs to be smoothed out.

3) when these come together, portraying cops as good and simplifying issues for the comedy, it downplays their importance and impact.

4) this becomes troublesome when tackling real-life issues of injustice and problems with society today. First we’re sympathetic to our main characters, being shown as good cops, second we have issues brought up in a serious manner, and some issues being very serious, but then they’re played for comedy.

The premise is flawed when they lean toward social issues and the framing of the show and the characters enhances that.

This is where I also want to note again that I don’t think this was intentional. The show wasn’t crafted to be propaganda. The cop-show as an entity, a type of media, is propagandistic because of how stories of crime and punishment is told.

Series and Syndication

This will be a short bit, but I want to bring it up. When Brooklyn 99 was created it was syndicated to run at Fox. The channels, not just their news network, has unhealthy connections to not only the police, but the military, conservative think tanks and political initiatives. To be green-lit they likely had to pass screeners with an extreme pro-cop filter. But it was green-lit, so how did that happen?

Media, art in general, is always a compromise, and I think the positive portrayal of the cops and the police as a whole (some bad apples, sure) was part of the compromise to get syndicated. Police is a touchy subject in American television. I already cited Homicide above and they whitewash planting a weapon on a suspect one of the main characters murders. They spend the season building up how bad the suspect is, but how they can’t find evidence directly connecting him to the crimes. They get enough to go in, and they shoot this unarmed Black man. Then they put a gun they brought in his hand to plead self defense. The audience is told this was a necessary evil, the only way to get him “off the streets”.

This is a worse example than much of the abuses portrayed in Brooklyn 99, but again, Brooklyn 99 plays the abuses off with comedy. Homicide did not, they framed it as morally right.

Media and Literacy

Media literacy is a problem. When I worked as an educator very few if any age group was able to read media and see connections to real life biases and politics. The way we consume media impacts the way we feel and react to things in real life.

I’ve explained framing countless times, and how media tells us who’s right and wrong and who we as viewers should sympathise with. This is illustrated really well in this video-essay by Renegade Cut concerning the framing in Rick & Morty.

https://youtu.be/X-8ICfWsUVw 

Consuming Brooklyn 99 without thinking about how the framing of the actions of the characters and the events of the stories impacts our reading and thereby out feelings towards cops in general is why some people have expressed that they “grown to understand and like” the police after watching it. This is again an unfortunate combination of creators and genres.

We do need media literacy as a part of our education, and it grows more and more important the more accessible media becomes.

Conclusion (or The Monkey’s Paw)

I think the problem of Brooklyn 99 stems from the cross between comedy, crime fiction and creators who want to do more than tell jokey-jokes and actually use their platform to lift issues they care about. This awareness isn’t bad, in and of itself, I actually think it’s something all creators should try. They had a platform and they wanted to do the right thing. 

This is in my opinion the cruel joke of this discussion. The creators know they should raise awareness when they can and they try to do so, but in doing so they’ve created a propaganda tool for the police geared toward the most vulnerable demographics, racial and sexual minorities. That’s why I find this conclusion to be a Monkeys Paw, we got a high performing show, with a diverse racial and sexual cast, that displays knowledge and understanding about topics of injustice, from a politically aware creative team... and it’s smoothing out the injustices committed by the people they portray.