#Rapture of the Deep

[karvivore]

slaps fords tongue rapidly :)

[belfrybattt]

you should read Rapture of the Deep on Facebook or Webtoon

[slrmagazine]

Deep Purple Release Remixed Single "Clearly Quite Absurd" Featuring Previously Unheard Instrumental Take of "MTV". #deeppurple @_DeepPurple

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Nitrogen narcosis, the dream and the reality!

@lord-vermin

Feels like the person writing about Lovecraftian seas would appreciate this. I would link that submarine fic, but I'm on limited typing because I'm pretending I'm missing an arm this week. (It's to rest a chronic pain thing - out of desperation, mostly.) Woo, I can Tumblr one-handed! In a non-perverted way!

I know people on tumblr looove stories of underwater cave diving, but I haven't seen anyone talk about nitrogen narcosis aka "raptures of the deep"

basically when you want to get your advanced scuba certification (allowing you to go more than 60 feet deep) you have to undergo a very specific test: your instructor takes you down past the 60+ foot threshold, and she brings a little underwater white board with her.

she writes a very basic math problem on that board. 6 + 15. she shows it to you, and you have to solve it.

if you can solve it, you're good. that is the hardest part of the test.

because here's what happens: there is a subset of people, and we have no real idea why this happens only to them, who lose their minds at depth. they're not dying, they're not running out of oxygen, they just completely lose their sense of identity when deep in the sea.

a woman on a dive my instructor led once vanished during the course of the excursion. they were diving near this dropoff point, beyond which the depth exceeded 60 feet and he'd told them not to go down that way. the instructor made his way over to look for her and found a guy sitting at the edge of the dropoff (an underwater cliff situation) just staring down into the dark. the guy is okay, but he's at the threshold, spacing out, and mentally difficult to reach. they try to communicate, and finally the guy just points down into the dark, knowing he can't go down there, but he saw the woman go.

instructor is deep water certified and he goes down. he shines his light into the dark, down onto the seafloor which is at 90 feet below the surface. he sees the woman, her arms locked to her sides, moving like a fish, swimming furiously in circles in the pitch black.

she is hard to catch but he stops her and checks her remaining oxygen: she is almost out, on account of swimming a marathon for absolutely no reason. he is able to drag her back up, get her to a stable depth to decompress, and bring her to the surface safely.

when their masks are off and he finally asks her what happened, and why was she swimming like that, she says she fully, 100% believed she was a mermaid, had always been a mermaid, and something was hunting her in the dark 👍

[orangexmachina]

that's basically how Rapture went

[ID: Three screencaps from Star Trek DS9 with tumblr textposts overtop. The first screencap shows Julian Bashir looking down and speaking with a concerned expression. The textpost by @kalgalen reads "you're not ascending to godhood you're just dehydrated." The second screencap shows Captain Sisko staring ahead with an optimistic or speculative expression. A reblog from the first post by @podcastwizard reads "outta my way gayboy i'm boutta liberate my divine self from the mortal shell." The third screenshot shows Captain Sisko unconscious on a biobed with people standing around him. another reblog by the same user reads "hopital" /End description]

(id by @sadfransisko)

[katabay]

”—ah. seems like mother goose has been playing around in your egg salad. if you won’t dance to that tune, I got others.”

honestly, the would you kindly scene is whatever to me*, code yellow is the more interesting violation/betrayal of the body because of how beautifully it escalates the Fontaine reveal/betrayal and shows how ugly some of those ‘locks and keys’ that Tenenbaum mentions are. not only have you been a tool in another man’s hand this entire time, it goes deeper. your body is not your own.

*there used to be a meandering thought here about the would you kindly scene, but it was really just talking around the fact that I spent way too many years seeing people discuss it in the most insufferable and reductive ways possible when it’s a combination of three or four other things that make that moment compelling lmao

collage credits: heart one/heart two

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[lady-lazarus-13]

"imagine being the pope who sucked so bad jesus keeps making excuses not to see you" - @horrorfilmlesbian

[videogamesincolor]

Not to sound like an uncritical gamer with a Twitter checkmark, but it feels like, since it came out, major gaming outlets are looking for reasons to be unsatisfied with Still Wakes the Deep.

Which is to say, for a conglomerate of media centers that barely kick up a fuss about half-made games being delivered to the general population, "this game didn't need monsters" and "the monster encounters fall short" doesn't feel... honest?

[im-perialism]

American Imperialism in Star Trek: Bajor and the Federation (a case study in 'middle ground' imperialism)

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the government systems within the world of Star Trek are significantly fleshed out. In the first episode, 1993’s “Emissary,” the United Federation of Planets swoops in to aid Bajor, a planet that has just overthrown a brutal imperialist occupation. This aid comes in the form of the jointly operated titular space station, but the human Federation commander – Commander Sisko – is given orders from his superior officer, lead of the previous spinoff series The Next Generation, that his job is not aid Bajor, but to “do everything… to make sure that they are [ready to join the Federation].”

[Sisko (left) receives orders to prepare Bajor to join the Federation in “Emissary.” Image from comicbook.com.]

The Federation’s involvement with Bajor presents a perfect example of the imperial theoretical model that Chris Gosden calls the “middle ground theory.” This theory is one of a mutually beneficial socio-political system for both the imperial power and the conquered nation, achieved through a connection with the indigenous population and attempts at shared governance (Gosden 31). In theory, middle ground imperialism is a stepping-stone towards a shared cultural milieu in which both cultures are blended together (Gosden 32). In practice, however, middle ground imperialism typically falls short of this goal due to the imperial power’s attitudes of cultural superiority over conquered peoples. Commander Sisko’s orders are essentially to establish a good relationship with Bajor for the purpose of conquering them later, and space station itself, with its joint military control, is an example of smaller-scale shared governance that the imperial power hopes will make way to eventual control over Bajor.

[Sisko, the human leader of the space station, stands in solidarity with Major Kira, the Bajoran liaison and second-in-command of Deep Space Nine. Image from Memory Alpha.]

A season 5 episode of Deep Space Nine, entitled “Rapture,” explores the question of whether Bajor should join the Federation in great detail. Ultimately, Sisko puts a stop to it because aliens known as the Prophets, who exist outside of time, have shown him that Bajor aligning itself with the Federation will only be beneficial for the latter power, and will in fact put Bajor in danger. Although this plot development is steeped in the fiction side of science fiction, it’s still a fascinating aspect of the show that characters like Sisko only support Bajor’s integration into an imperial power when they’re sure it will be suitably beneficial for Bajor as well. This is a very nuanced take for 1996, and one that ultimately doubles down on middle ground imperialism as an acceptable and admirable method of imperial expansion.

Project Bibliography

[stopthatbluecat]

The Wire - Rapture

I'm simply not going to walk out of here and let you die.

If I don't operate, sir, you could die...I can't go against the decision of my patient.

[winterfieldfrontiers]

Still Wakes the Deep is Amnesia: The Rig

Still Wakes the Deep set in December 1975, on an oil rig named Beira D in the North Sea. After fallen from the roof, Glaswegian electrician named Cameron "Caz" McLeary must navigate through the oil rig following a catastrophic event looking for a way to escape while surviving the harsh weather and evading the pursuit of a mysterious creature.

The Thing meet The Rig meet Deepwater Horizon meet Annihilation meet Lovecraftian horror

that's my short review

(8/10)

I hope Amnesia fans will takes this

because Developer is The Chinese Room (Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture)

I love Caz's relationship between Brodie, they cared and banter each other.

[sshbpodcast]

Character Spotlight: Kai Winn Adami

By Ames

So far, all of the subjects of our spotlight series have been people for whom we’ve had both good and bad character moments to discuss. But what do you do when you’re highlighting an antagonist character? For a villain, being bad is actually very good and that’s so perfectly the case for Kai Winn Adami. So this time A Star to Steer Her By will simply feature a bunch of our favorite moments overall.

Boy, do we love to hate this bitch. Somehow she’s only in 14 episodes even though it feels like she’s always looming somewhere with a passive-aggressive gaze and a “my child” on her lips. Louise Fletcher plays this power-hungry religious icon with such depth and nuance that it was easy for us to come up with a ton of favorite moments. So flip open the Book of the Pah-wraiths below to check them out, listen to our Bajoran chanting over on this week’s podcast (jump to 1:12:58), and walk with the prophets, my child.

[Images © CBS/Paramount]

Favorite moments

The Bajoran Scopes Monkey Trial Winn makes a big impression in her very first appearance in “In the Hands of the Prophets” when she’s displaying big Karen energy while challenging why Keiko isn’t teaching Bajoran religious ideology in a public school. And she does it with a smile. And also with a can of gasoline since she surely got that school blown up in one smokin’ power move.

The sacrifices the Prophets call on us to make are great sometimes Somehow there are even more layers to “In the Hands of the Prophets” than teaching religion in classrooms and committing arson. Winn also puts Neela up to assassinate Bareil so that she can work on amassing power. And when Neela fails to secure a getaway plan, Winn straight up declares that’s fine with her. What does she care as long as her hands stay clean?

We’re a match made by the Prophets Winn continues to keep her hands clean in “The Circle.” Even while covertly supporting the Bajoran extremist faction, the Alliance for Global Unity, and bedding down with Minister Jarro Essa, Winn manages to direct blame away from herself when their plans have been exposed and gone thoroughly sideways. Jarro can only watch his downfall from under the bus.

You will never speak to me with such disrespect again!! Kai Winn’s “my child” may sound like a catchphrase, but it’s always delivered with such emotion which Fletcher was so good at. When Kira’s been sniffing around how Winn extracted information from Kubus Oak in an attempt to get Bareil out of the kai election in “The Collaborator,” the soon-to-be kai sends chills down your spine with her cold threats.

He’s more machine now than man When Bareil’s health keeps failing in “Life Support,” Winn pushes to keep him cognizant as long as is convenient for her. All she wants is the credit for his negotiations with the Cardassian Central Command while also keeping open the option to use him as a scapegoat should things fail. This woman plays her cards so strategically that she always comes out on top.

See ya later, reclamator To make a good political statement by getting some soil reclamators to Rakantha Province, Winn ends up sending in the Bajoran Militia after Shakaar’s resistance cell in “Shakaar.” And what’s more, she’s presumptuous enough to ask Sisko to send in Starfleet security or else she’ll pull out of Federation membership talks! All for farming equipment. Well that escalated quickly.

You think you’re the only ones who fought the Cardassians We learn just what Kai Winn was up to during the occupation, and it’s surprisingly humanizing. Winn throws in Kira’s face during “Rapture” how she was put in a Cardassian prison camp for five years, and never stopped preaching about the prophets despite the beatings. And per “‘Til Death Do Us Part,” she also sold gemstones from the tabernacle to bolster the resistance.

No. We are nothing alike. Nothing at all. What could be better than a Louise Fletcher–Jeffrey Combs scene? We get just that in “In the Cards” when Winn is trying to delay the decision between allying with the Federation or the Dominion because in either scenario her backwards little planet will get stomped on. But it’s her short scene with Weyoun that takes the cake when she reads his pagh and judges him hard!

Please leave your message for the Prophets at the beep There’s plenty for Winn to be judgmental about in “The Reckoning” when Sisko borrows an ancient tablet without asking and then destroys it utterly. But at the core of Winn’s motivation is desperation for the Prophets to communicate with her, which they’ve never done, so she puts an end to the Prophet–Pah-wraith battle because she isn’t the center of attention for once.

The Password Is: Restoration Winn’s whole arc in the final ten-parter of the series is a work of art, and so perfectly portrayed. Let’s break it down here, because it all starts with getting fully taken in with Anjohl Tennan in “‘Til Death Do Us Part.” All Dukat-in-disguise has to do is drop some buzzwords and the Kai is immediately enamored with the guy, and bedding down with him by the next episode, “Strange Bedfellows.”

Everything will change once you step down as Kai. You’ll see. When Winn is having a crisis of faith in “Strange Bedfellows” after receiving a vision from the Pah-wraiths, she wisely seeks out Kira. And the Corporal gives Winn the perfect advice to step down as kai so as not to be tempted by power anymore. And for a split second you think Winn will listen to reason. But she’s still Winn, after all, entirely blind to what she doesn’t want to see.

Catfished by the Prophets Stepping down as kai is not an option for Winn, who doesn’t believe she has too much power. In fact, she believes she doesn't have enough power! So by the end of “Strange Bedfellows,” she fully denounces the Prophets because they’ve never done anything for her. She admits to Anjohl that she’s never felt their presence and has been faking it for years, but blind faith will serve her no longer. Now she wants results!

Don’t you recognize the face of your enemy? May the Prophets bless Solbor for giving us such a great reveal scene in “The Changing Face of Evil.” He’s found out that Anjohl is actually Dukat, and Adami’s reaction to this news is so layered and cathartic that we love it. But that tippy top layer is a sense of self preservation that can only be maintained by murdering the hell out of Solbor, that gossip hound!

Hit it and quit it But that isn’t as cold as Winn can get, as is proven in the next episode in “When It Rains…” after Dukat has gone blind from reading the Book of the Pah-wraiths. Winn cruelly kicks the blind Cardassian out on his ass to beg on the streets of Bajor. “You may return when you’ve proven yourself worthy and your sight has been restored,” she mocks, and it’s stone cold!

The Pah-wraiths demand a sacrifice The whole series culminates in “What You Leave Behind” in the fire caves with Winn casting aside her devotion to the Prophets and summoning the Pah-wraiths. What she hadn’t told Dukat (with his sight returned for reasons) was that she lured him there to use him as the ceremonial sacrifice, and she righteously poisons his ass with absolutely no hesitation.

Too little, too late Finally, Winn comes this close to redemption in “What You Leave Behind” when she comes to see the error of her ways (or maybe she’s just bitter that the Kosst Amojen picked Dukat’s husk over her). For the hottest of seconds (cause it’s the fire caves, get it?), she tries to get the book to Sisko when at last she has an epiphany moment, but her fate is ultimately sealed when Pah-wraiths toast her in flames.

—

What a journey for a character that only appears a handful of times, and we were here for every second. Next week, we’re continuing to give in the Pah-wraiths as we recount our favorite Dukat moments, which will surely be a trip. So keep your eyes here for that, keep following us through the Delphic Expanse as we watch through Enterprise over on SoundCloud or your favorite podcast place, praise the Prophets with us on Facebook and Twitter, and practice your “my child”s in the mirror.

[brinaarcadia]

Now, you were just a deep sea explorer with iron cojones, pal … the public gave ya the nickname. But Ryan was sure you were a spook, so his people locked you up … erased your damn name! Goodbye Johnny Topside -– hello Subject Delta.

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Gilbert and Erzsé.... they're one word in two fonts. Soldier and warrior. Dragoon and hussar. Monk and priestess. He lashed himself to Ludwig, to make a nation where Prussia could not possibly be dominant on its own. She wed herself to Roderich, because exchanging her sword for the crown of an empress was better than losing everything. These parallel paths, only intersecting when there is a boy to teach to ride and to fight and to read and sing. Or when corsets finally unhook and a chemise can be pulled down and a mouth can lavish attention from her throat to her thighs....

[queen-mabs-revenge]

the boys over at trillbilly worker's party being exvangelical marxists is truly one of the only things keeping me going these days

there truly is smth about someone outright saying 'i don't even believe in this shit anymore but I'm offended on behalf of the decades of indoctrination I suffered that these depraved levels of blasphemy are being upheld as sacred by the self-same ppl who forced that indoctrination onto me' that just hits yanno?

[misscatholmes]

Hey the Chinese Room company figured out how to animate people! Awesome.