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randomfoggytiger · 2 months ago

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Mulder's Alien Baby Baby Trauma In-Depth (Part XXIII): Alien Babies, Shared Fears, and Hoped-For Escapes

Essence is chaotic and messy; but it also raises one or two intriguing points, as well as continues to establish Mulder's evolving dynamics with each character. It's a shoddy craft you have to cut around in order to refurbish; but it's salvageable-- at least, for this analysis.

Disclaimer: if you, like me, enjoy Season 8 up to a point-- and that point is midway through Essence-- I suggest you consider this post the end of the Alien Baby Baby Trauma series. Or at least skip over the next part when it's posted; and come back for the third and final addition. That way, Mulder and Scully run off into the night, together, and don't reappear until Existence's final five minutes.

Regardless, this part of the analysis marks the beginning of the end. There are a few loose threads the series strives to conclude-- or elucidate, for future (non-) exploration: namely, the mystery behind Per Manum's there-and-gone alien fertility clinic, the intrigue behind the hybrid alien replacements, and-- most importantly-- the mystery and happy ending for the Mulder-Scully family.

Now: let's tackle Mulder's slow descent into chaos.

ESSENCE AND EXISTENCE'S MAIN THEME

Mulder's monologue sets the tone for the finale two-parter:

"We call it the miracle of life. Conception: A union of perfect opposites-- essence transforming into existence-- an act without which mankind would not exist and humanity cease to exist. Or is this just nostalgia now? An act of biology commandeered by modern science and technology? Godlike, we extract, implant, inseminate... and we clone.

"But has our ingenuity rendered the miracle into a simple trick? In the artifice of replicating life can we become the creator? Then what of the soul? Can it, too, be replicated? Does it live in this matter we call DNA? Or is its placement the opposite of artifice, capable only by God.

"How did this child come to be? What set its heart beating? Is it the product of a union? Or the work of a divine hand? An answered prayer? A true miracle? Or is it a wonder of technology-- the intervention of other hands? What do I tell this child about to be born? What do I tell Scully? And what do I tell myself?"

The last three lines are the cornerstones of this finale two-parter: "What do I tell this child... what do I tell Scully... what do I tell myself?" And the order is important, too: Mulder knows this child will have questions-- how does he answer them? One layer deeper: he knows Scully harbors questions and doubts-- what can he say to her to assure them both? And at the center of these ponderings are his own fears and doubts: what does he believe, truly; and can he hold to that belief indefinitely.

The monologue is also a logorrheic oration of Mulder's struggle with his identity post-abduction: reborn to a life he'd at first assumed moved on without him, one with more questions than answers, still. And with these swirling questions looms his old skepticism with too-neatly tied bows on top of too-neatly provided miracles; and his new dominating PTSD. The triple combination is over-powering, and leads him to believe then question, believe then question throughout the latter end of Season 8-- and not just him, but Scully, too (as Essence's script notated, post here.)

If Essence through Existence had been well-written, it would've effected a succinct one-two-three masterstroke of Mulder and Scully's seven-year arc: finding the truth in themselves, turning "I want to believe" into "The truth we both know."

That aside, the monologue steers the remainder of Season 8: Mulder's mission, Scully's reactions, Mulder's and Scully's and Doggett's and Skinner's cumulative irrational actions. The problem, of course, comes down to execution.

THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP

We pick up from Mulder's perspective the day after Scully's baby shower. He arrives at Doggett's door on a Saturday, ignoring the charms of the man's porch trellis (post here) and NASCAR ritual to wheedle him onto an open investigation.

From his demeanor, Mulder appears more at ease, parrying Doggett's "Agent Mulder" with a muted, "You can drop the 'Agent', Agent Doggett. It's just plain Fox Mulder now." His voice is wistful when referring to his former status; but not disheartened, nor uneasy. He's made progress towards peace-- would probably be more at peace if he wasn't bearing bad tidings.

Doggett nods neutrally, figuring out how to navigate that landmine; and decides to face it head on, changing gears a little too familiarly with an inviting, "Right. You want to come in, Fox? I was just watching a race."

His guest accepts with a double entente. "That's what I was doing. Slightly different race, though." Walking in and switching the channel, he then hooks Doggett's interest with the suspicious, recent burning of a fertility clinic-- a link to Scully that Mulder doesn't spell out but anticipates the other agent will connect independently.

Doggett follows along, helping Mulder access the crime scene through his credentials and even skillfully avoiding a fight between on-site investigator Agent Crane. The patience for Mulder's antics begins to thin when nothing suspicious turns up; and he's about to call it quits when Agent Excommunicado-- who is having a good time with Agent Doggett in tow--

--uncovers a professional association between the deceased victim and Scully's former obstetrician, Dr. Parenti. Connection firmly established, both X-Files men sneak over to Parenti's clinic.

Mulder blatantly ignores proper procedure-- as usual-- but thoroughly enjoys roping Doggett in as an accomplice; and the latter rewards this inclusion by unquestioningly having Mulder's back.

During their snooping around, the two split up. Doggett finds the stash of preserved fetuses while Mulder comes face-to-face with an incensed, mid-procedure Dr. Parenti. Catching a glimpse of the vulnerable woman sitting just behind the doctor, Mulder's face changes, angry himself over what he suspects is diabolical predation.

The intruders leave after a fruitless altercation; and, back at the crime scene, Mulder overhears Agent Crane's remarks and triangulates a confrontation between the third man, himself, and Doggett. Why, you ask? Because the X-Files exists-- as he told Agent Doggett earlier-- to make people angry in its pursuit of the truth. This moment is a test, measuring his replacement's backbone against friendly but oppositional forces.

The entire scene of dialogue discusses unidentifiable biological material-- possibly alien in origin-- that neither files man shrinks from observing out loud; and Mulder, addressing Crane directly at the end of their exchange, knows that the FBI team is listening in. Doggett knows, too; and doesn't attempt to save face, either-- which is exactly what Mulder wanted to see.

The second trip to Parenti's is not as profitable-- their suspect is dead; and Billy Miles knocks Mulder through a glass wall, leaving him unconscious on the floor (and Doggett barricaded in another room.) Still, there are brief glimmers of success: (e.g. Mulder trusting his not-partner to simultaneously wander off and cover his back; and the substantial link between possible conspiratorial forces and Scully's pregnancy.)

OUR CONCERNS ARE NOT SO DIFFERENT, YOU AND I

Back at Scully's apartment, Mulder submits to his partner's doctoring until she touches a particularly tender patch. Gently, he snatches her wrist away-- "Oh, Scully"-- acknowledging her quiet "Sorry" with a slightly lessened grimace.

Mulder being Mulder, he spots an opportunity for a quip. "I see why you gave up a career in medicine--"

"Mulder," Scully interjects, smiling disapprovingly: knowing, already, where this is going. (Perhaps an old joke between them?)

"--for the FBI, Scully. You've got manos de piedra."

She does not let this mischaracterization slide, picking up a cotton swab and unexpectedly booping his nose before returning to her work.

Mulder brushes at boffed dignity, had.

"Sorry," Scully adds, referring to her earlier mistake.

Off of a brewing thought, her partner mulls, "Imagine if he'd connected."

"Who?"

"Billy Miles."

"Billy Miles?" she repeats, straightening her spine to engage eye contact. "He did this?"

And out it comes: Mulder and Doggett's misadventures, Doggett's corroboration-- to a point-- and Mulder's theory: " Well, Billy Miles is a whole new deal. He's an alien abductee who was returned after hideous procedures were performed on him. And who miraculously returns to so-called perfect health when his body completely sheds its skin."

Scully presses her lips together ever so slightly; and Doggett voices what she and he are thinking: "Same thing happened to you."

"Same thing would've happened to me," Mulder insists, bluntly setting the record straight, " if I'd been left alone." Locking eyes with his partner, he spells out, " If Scully hadn't treated me."

Mulder, then, is laying the credit of his recovery completely at Scully's feet: not a surprise, but a sweet touch.

Scully turns the page away from unpleasant thoughts, piping up with an insistent, "And what were you doing there?" When he doesn't answer right away, her eyebrows shoot up momentarily, and she adds, "Mulder?"

And it all comes out.

"Listen, Scully, I'm sorry, but I just need to know that this baby of yours is going to be all right."

"My baby is fine, Mulder. I've had it checked over and over again with my new doctor that I trust implicitly."

Lizzie Gill momentarily interrupts their discussions-- "She's just helping me out here at my mother's insistence", Scully excuses, hiding the fact she'd warmed to the idea herself.

And Mulder-- never failing to grasp an opportunity-- uses the brief interlude to his benefit. "That's... that's all I'm trying to do. Just make sure nothing happens to you; that this baby you're carrying is born without any surprises."

A few noteworthy details here: Scully, as previously remarked, is not as sure about "her baby" as she pretends. The script mentions that she is "overcompensating" here; and that correlates with Scully's own confession in Existence's conclusion: ("From the moment I became pregnant, I feared the truth... about how... and why. And I know that you feared it, too.") Even though she works hard to be impenetrable, to embrace this chance with open arms, Mulder sees right through it-- said plainly that he's already seen through it in his opening monologue. "What do I tell Scully?" is answered in Existence's conclusion-- "I think what we feared were the possibilities. The truth we both know"-- but that's after the dust has settled and the day has been saved. What can he say now? That is why Mulder is running around: to give his family answers-- answers the Mulders never had (post here), if one wishes to extrapolate his motives farther.

(Side note: Is this the best writing? No. Is it the worst writing? Not yet. Is it, in its current form, serviceable. Yes-- if the "your baby" and "my baby" would be dropped, it would zip along rather nicely.

Why doesn't "your baby" and "my baby" work? Because Mulder and Scully have gone weeks now referring to their child indirectly or not at all; and, though that in and of itself was a tease, it was a tease in line with both characters' minimal communication. "When he's old enough, tell the kid I went down swinging" and "You gotta worry about the little boy" are cleverer ways to hedge around the baby-- adding on "your" and "my" only confusingly detaches and depersonalizes its connection from Mulder, or Mulder's consideration of that connection.)

THE KNOT BEGINS TO TIGHTEN

Another tie to Parenti's clinic is murdered that night-- Per Manum's Duffy Haskell-- and his death draws Doggett and Skinner and Mulder to the scene of the crime.

Skinner, fed up with improper answers, pulls Mulder aside and questions him about the baby: "Some business we need to clear up. Personal business. About Scully's baby, about who the father is." Blowing over his former agent's quip about the FBI betting pool, he continues, "I've had my suspicions. That is, until I found out that you had questions. Questions about Scully's pregnancy itself."

Mulder warms to the A.D.'s candid, no-nonsense consideration; and confesses, "You want to know who the father is, that's Scully's business. But if you're asking me how a woman who was diagnosed as barren and unable to conceive is about to give birth in a couple days, that's an answer I can't honestly give."

It's a tricky game of disclosing only so much to minutely advance the plot; and, considering the writers' later tactics, one of the more sophisticated methods. Mulder is questioning where the baby came from-- at the present, whether it's even human. He does not trust Scully's scans because Parenti referenced them earlier; and he does not trust in convenient miracles-- never has, never will. And because he cannot explain these considerations with a clear conscience, he cannot answer his, Scully's, and now Skinner's questions.

Unappeased, the A.D. reaches for his phone, ready to worm clarification out of Scully for once. Mulder intercepts this attempt, politely; and Skinner lets him, cognizant that both agents know how to handle each other best.

Scully ditches the shower to answer the phone, dashing (as much as she's able) to catch it before the line goes dead. Mulder, hearing her irregular breathing, immediately pivots from his rote "Hey, Scully, it's me" to an alert "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she assures, "I just ran from the shower."

Mid-conversation, Scully realizes Lizzie Gill might be a spy; and the call cuts short when she catches the other woman swapping out the prenatal vitamins.

The scene changes to the hospital where she stands distraught-- barely holding onto her dignity until Dr. Speake walks over to reassure her. Mulder and Maggie wait in the hall until the doctor slips by; and he continues to stand guard as Mrs. Scully embraces her daughter comfortingly (and apologetically.)

Skinner joins Mulder in the hallway--

--and the latter follows him out to interrogate Lizzie Gill. (Though absent by necessity, his departure reinforces Scully's long-held worry that the X-Files will always dominate Mulder's attention-- a concern that will resolve itself in two scenes.)

The interrogation is conducted by Mulder, Doggett, and Skinner, who take turns grilling Lizzie on her involvement in the Parenti project. She is equally forthright with her answers, unabashedly laying out that her former boss and his associates were working under the orders of "government men"-- adjacent, then, to the Syndicate. And that part is important: Lizzie Gill's assignment was tangential to the Project's work on Emily Sim-- creating a child cloned from a human egg and alien DNA.

"Alien babies. Birthed by human mothers desperate to conceive. They didn't live more than a couple of days, but tissue and stem cells is what we were after for other experiments."

Mulder rubs his temples, disgusted by this revelation: and immediately launches into what is most important to him. "What did you do to Scully?"

When Lizzie's answer doesn't satisfy, he repeatedly yells, "What did you do to her! Tell me what's wrong with her! Tell me what's wrong with her baby!" It's not until Doggett intervenes with a gentle, "Listen to her-- what she's saying," that he calms long enough to hear the rest.

And, of course, the revelation is somehow worse than everyone assumed: "There's nothing wrong with her. That's what I'm trying to tell you. The child she is carrying is very special. One could only hope to create that in a lab. A perfect human child but with no human frailties."

This means one of two horrifying things:

The Parenti clinic did not create this child-- worse, they marvel at, and are invested in, its existence.

The baby-- normal or not-- is a wanted asset; and Scully a target by proxy.

This may act as confirmation that the child was most likely conceived by Scully under "human" conditions-- i.e. with Mulder's involvement-- but that merely allays one fear while breeding ten more. Scully previously had a child-- born-and-bred by the Project-- that she let go to protect. Now the Syndicate-- or their scattered allegiances--are restarting the cycle with this pregnancy. Her only hope is that this baby is not what anyone is expecting; and, luckily for Scully, that is what what the ending of Existence establishes (and the beginning of Nothing Important Happened Today throws away. But I digress.)

Mulder doesn't know what to do or who to turn to; so, he stands and runs back to Scully, ignoring Doggett's initial attempts to haphazardly trail behind.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Arriving at his partner's apartment, he makes sure she's alone before insisting she start packing, immediately.

Scully, confused and frightened, becomes frustrated after he cryptically recounts, "No-- your, your baby is fine. It's you who's in danger now, Scully."

"From who? Mulder, from what?"

Part one of the truth reveals itself-- one that will guide his actions the rest of Essence and Existence: "I don't know, I'm not sure. I'm not sure about anything. I just know I've got to get you out of here."

Mulder is not thinking rationally anymore-- he is out of answers or solutions, and is now relying solely on adrenaline-fueled gut instinct. This leads him to a multitude of questionable choices (as will be explored in the next post) that no one bothers to checkmate or pump the breaks on. He is in panic mode-- one that rears its ugly head whenever aliens or Conspiracy are mentioned post-Deadalive (i.e. tearing up over continued abductions, post here; beating a black-oiled worker nearly to death, post here; and currently jumping to alien baby conclusions and continued catastrophic thinking.) He desperately needs someone to reason with him; but, alas, no one will because the writing says so.

Fed up with the overreach of evil in her life-- having lost her sister and her health and her fertility to the monster of the Conspiracy; and having left the files without plans to return-- Scully snaps, incensed. A limit has been reached, and a line in the sand drawn. "Look, Mulder, look, I can't take this! I can't live like this—as, as the object of some unending X-File."

And part two of the truth reveals itself-- one that has grown and taken root in Mulder's life over the past eight years: "This isn't about the X-Files, Scully. It is only about you."

He expands this truth to include the little Scully-- "Now, you are going to have this baby and I'm going to do everything I can to protect it. I just can't do that here"-- and waits for his partner to process his promise and trust it.

After a long, assessing pause-- weighing Mulder's transparency against other (or any) alternatives-- Scully acquiesces, gliding away to hastily pack her things.

But as fast as she is, Billy Miles is faster. While Mulder is on the phone with Doggett, Billy arrives, cutting the power lines as he works his way up to Scully's apartment.

Both former agents freeze, taking in the sudden darkness; and realize their chance at escape is fleeting. They make it down the hall and out the stairs mere seconds before their pursuer arrives, fleeing into the night towards her car.

Mulder outstrips Scully's pace effortlessly; and she passes over the keys so he can jump behind the wheel and unlock her passenger side door-- both fluidly in time with each other's movements.

Having escaped, all is well; and both speed off into the night.

...Right?

CONCLUSION

The next part will tackle the egregious errors of Essence and Existence-- the bits that can be (I posit: should be) tossed into the garbage truck that crushed Billy Miles.

In the meantime, we bask in the bare minimum: story beats that aren't egregiously expositional, with moments that navigate previous characterization through formulaic, tension-building Chris Carter rhythms. It's not a clean break, overall; but it's not too sloppy, either.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #xf meta #x files #the x files #Mulder #Scully #Doggett #Skinner #Mulder's Alien Baby Baby Trauma #x-files #xfiles #mine #thoughts #analysis #S8 #Essence #In-Depth

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david-talks-sw · 2 years ago

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"The idea of it..."

This is obviously a reference to the ol' argument:

"The Jedi weren't bad but the Jedi Order as an institution needed to go."

So as a quick reminder I thought I'd point out:

1) George Lucas describes the Jedi's eradication as a sad thing, not something sad-but-necessary:

"[The] Jedi getting killed through the Order 66 of the clones is just done as one of those kind of inevitable pay offs in terms of getting rid of everybody, the Emperor is getting rid of all his enemies, but there’s a certain inevitability of it all and a sadness to it. - Revenge of the Sith, Director’s Commentary, 2005

2) Out of 770 George Lucas quotes, I've never seen him refer to the Jedi Order as "an institution" once.

He does refer to the Republic itself as an institution.

"[In The Phantom Menace one of the many storylines is] the story of a young queen who's faced with the total annihilation of a people, and how she can get a sluggish political institution to pay attention to what's going on." - Premiere, 1999

He might be referring to the Senate instead of the Republic as a whole, but the point stands: he's not talking about the Jedi.

Which tracks with what Lucas defined as Dooku's reason for leaving the Order: his disenchantment with the Republic/Senate, not the Jedi themselves.

But let's go slightly further:

The Jedi Temple was designed as a place of worship that would contrast with the corporate coldness of the Senate.

Also, the Jedi were originally designed as a more organized police force. As the script evolved, they were turned into peacekeepers, diplomats.

Mace's room was redesigned so as to not convey that the Jedi were mired in bureaucracy and protocol.

And when describing the political situation of the Prequels, Lucas doesn't blame the Jedi, but rather the corporations and Senate:

"But as often happens when wealth and power grow beyond all reasonable proportion, an evil fueled by greed arose. The massive organs of commerce mushroomed in power, the Senate became corrupt, and an ambitious named Palpatine was voted Supreme Chancellor." - Shatterpoint, Prologue, 2004

Wow, it's looking like not only is the "Jedi Order as an institution needed to go" narrative not a thing per Lucas, but

3) Lucas went out of his way to make it clear that the Jedi aren't the issue, here, the Republic/Senate is.

So how did we get this narrative?

Well, it comes from a generation of fans and Star Wars creators who were not the target audience.

You know the type. It's the kind who, when asked if they like the Prequel Trilogy, will respond that they liked...

... but not the execution.

AKA they disliked the Prequels, but then EU books and The Clone Wars came out and provided them with enough material to form a headcanon justifying why they didn't like the Jedi, despite wanting to: it's because the Jedi are meant to be disliked! Totally!

The Jedi failed as an institution is an idea that comes from authors who wanted to engage with the material (it IS Star Wars, after all) but not the narrative that George Lucas had crafted, whose work then influenced older fans who preferred the author's retconned version of the story to the original one.

The rest is history.

As Prequels producer Rick McCallum put it:

"The myth begins on paper. During preproduction, filming, and postproduction, the myth becomes visible through the work of hundreds of dedicated people. Following the film's release, the myth becomes public and the public makes it its own." - Rick McCallum, Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones, 2002

#I find it ironic that Filoni unwittingly gave Baylan the same line repeated by 'Prequel fans' who only became fans by...#... injecting gray morality into the films and said “it was there all along! the Prequels are subversive films!”#They're not. They're films for kids. The SITUATION is more complex than in the Original Trilogy... but the morality is still good vs evil.#baylan skoll #ahsoka series #jedi order #george lucas #meta #star wars #ahsoka spoilers #ahsoka show #ahsoka #in defense of the jedi

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nobodysdaydreams · 26 days ago

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Okay. So I just watched severance 2x6 the other night (no spoilers please) but I’m just gonna say this now: I don’t know what Burt and Fields are hiding, or if they are good guys, bad guys, or something in the middle, but Irving kept his cool wayyyy more than I would in that situation.

First of all: the whole backstory about the pastor saying they should work for Lumon was sketchy. I get that it was just supposed to be a funny short snippet, but I’m sorry, their pastor said: “oh, you made a bunch of very bad mistakes? Well, then forget the whole Jesus and repentance thing we’ve been talking about. Obviously the only way to heaven is to create a clone for yourself, lol. I know last week we said AI was a disgrace to human dignity, but severance? That’s a-okay, go for it man!” Either “Pastor Gale” is a Lumon plant OR Burt and Fields made him up. At first, I was like “oh, he’s probably a Lumon plant” but THEN they pulled the whole “you know, pastor Gale says it’s okay for innies to have love so it’s hypothetically fine if you see my husband” and “didn’t Lumon only start 12 years ago, not 20? Haha yes, silly us we misspoke” thing, and I started thinking. How did Burt know where to find Irving in the first place? Irving knew where Burt lived, but as far as I know unless I missed something that doesn’t work the other way around. Not to mention that someone was searching Irving’s house right when he was invited over (coincidence?) AND the fact that Irving and Burt’s convo parallels Helena and Mark’s in that episode. Is this the Outtie trying to help their Innie and bring Lumon down + the outtie that’s a company man/woman and knows more than the other’s know symbolism?

And then I started thinking more about what Burt and Fields were saying. We don’t know much about Outtie Irving other than he’s older and lives alone with his dog. But: Regardless of his religious or moral background, if Irving, like Burt in his story, has mistakes he’s running from, the whole “Lumon gives a version of you a chance to be better” script could be a targeted attempt to seduce him back to being open to Lumon’s influence.

I hope it isn’t. I hope Burt and Fields and everyone are good guys. I hope that the “mistakes” part of their stories is now, when they are working for Lumon, or before, when they did work for Lumon, and they’re either making better choices now, or will go on to make better choices. unfortunately for them, that particular dinner made them look ridiculously suspicious, and I don’t think I could have kept my cool. I’d just be sitting there like:

“Ah, I see. So your Christian pastor told you that you were 100% going to hell and the only way out was via severance, not Jesus or love or being better or self improvement? And now you’re hammering in that “Severance is the only way to make a good version of yourself if you’ve made that many mistakes” mantra pretty hard and looking at me as if you might know something… Oh, and you’re also totally okay with me having a relationship with your husband provided it’s because my innie wants love? And… now you’re letting it slip that you’ve worked for Lumon wayyy before anyone else. Okay. You know what, this has been a lovely time, but my house is 100% being searched right now, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to attempt to flee the country. Enjoy the wine.”

But Outtie Irving? He sat through the dinner, he didn’t rush out early or draw any suspicion even though I know he’s a smart guy and had to have been freaking out internally. 10/10 spy work right there.

#Severance #Bods rambles #I appreciate the lack of spoilers and discourse this is just me rambling #severance apple tv

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frostycatblr-fandom-files · 8 months ago

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NFITH Chapter 1 - New Territory [Commander Fox x Fem!Reader]

Warnings and Information: New to Coruscant and adjusting horribly to your new job as a senator’s aide, you often find yourself lost on the best of days, and the target of her wrath on the worst of them. You could almost swear she’s setting you up to fail as your job standards become more and more impossible. Fortunately for you, you have someone in high places looking out for you before long. Second Person POV, undescribed Fem!Reader, save for *very occasional* mentions of makeup. Establishing chapter where Reader moves to Coruscant for intentionally vague reasons. Reader does not meet Fox in this chapter. Reader has a very helpful neighbor. This series contains depictions of anxiety and panic attacks. Star Wars and real-world swearing. Narrative and stylistic use of italics.

Word count: 2,748

New Territory

Moving to the centermost jewel of the Core Worlds for a career change was an impulsive decision spurred on by the start of the Clone Wars some time ago. Feelings of great uncertainty for your future in this developing chapter of your life became a dragging, tugging weight you could no longer ignore. What once provided anchorage to keep you stable and sure threatened to drown you in the ever-shifting tide if you did not rid yourself of these hindrances.

Something new was waiting for you on Coruscant, the city that never sleeps. You just wouldn’t be sure until you got there.

Loved ones had rallied around you when you made preparations for the plunge, showing you support and lending a helping hand in packing most of your life away in tidy little boxes and crates. It proved easy with their help. You truly couldn’t have done it without them. Choosing cherished items to leave behind was no walk in the park, but it was easier than what would come next.

The fretful farewells and yawning maw of a whole new galactic timezone between you and your loved ones were bitter pills to swallow. The first coils of dread pooled in your stomach upon the drop out of hyperspace, slowly gnawing away all the while as you met up with the moving company in the early afternoon.

Getting the keycards and address to your new Coruscanti apartment marked the start of an aching loneliness.

There was no one to stand behind you in silent support when the new neighbors came sniffing around at the sight of the moving company, leaving you to greet them on your own. None of the bittersweet laughter that lovingly tucked your holoalbums in boxes accompanied you when it came time to unpack them. No one would help you decide where you should put your travel-wilted houseplants when you introduced a little greenery, something to fill up the empty space.

(The corner would have to do for now.)

Dinner was eaten alone.

Too travel-tired, and the whole of your body aching at the thought of a few minutes more on your feet after a busy afternoon of scattered unpacking, you purchased something from one of the many street vendors just outside the complex.

The signage was not in Galactic Basic, but thankfully, the Dug vendor knew enough to provide “something filling” when you asked. Anything would do so long as it took the claws of the gripping hunger and filed them down. Credits changed hands for a carton of breaded nuna nuggets in a vegetable and grain blend, which was taken back upstairs and enjoyed quietly in the solitude of your kitchen for a moment, just savoring the flavor of your first meal on a new planet.

To disrupt the unfamiliar room tone, you eventually tune in to a radio drama for the first in a long time. Something to fill up your apartment with a little more sound until you’re ready to unpack a final box or two for the night, then head to bed. The script’s corny and amateurish quality has you reconsider that idea pretty quickly.

The longer you listen, the more it sounds like an office drama, complete with catty watercooler talk and power tripping micromanagers.

Pass.

You turn it off and put the rest of your meal in the conservator for tomorrow.

You make just enough progress on a pair of boxes before you’re content both with the day’s progress and the prospect of finally getting some shut-eye.

Leaving the process of wrestling your mattress in place when you’re running on fumes likely wasn’t the best idea, but it should serve its purpose for draining the remainder of whatever energy reserves you have. Once settled in the bed frame, extracting your bed linens and dressing things up is all that’s left before your nightly routine, and finally, sleep. Fixing the mattress cover and fitted sheet in place takes the most time, the rest proves a breeze.

The new sleeping space is capped off with final addition of the comforter. A loved one packed your sleep set in the same box as the bed linens, meaning you don’t have to sleep in the day’s now-dirty clothes, or dig through any more boxes.

It smells like home.

And it’s the first time you sit here—truly sit here—in the newness and the unfamiliar of what you’ve gotten yourself into… and struggle not to cry. You deny the brine-water in your eyes its purpose, wiping and washing everything down the sink drain instead. The cold creepings of loneliness and regret are placated with self-soothing nonsense.

You’re just tired. There was a lot of information to process today. Everyone feels completely overwhelmed their first day on Coruscant.

It could easily be the first of many days…

Finally reclining in bed, you find it hard to sleep now that there’s nothing else to occupy your mind with, taking notice how full of sound this foreign environment is. Understanding this planet is one massive, incomprehensible city, it’s easy to see why rather than the occasional, irregular sound, the noise pollution will be constant, coming from countless sources.

The hummed harmonies of neon signs glowing in the smog. A million skylanes warbling and purring with speeder cabs in every color of the light spectrum. The steady, endless drum of foot traffic on a million and one walkways. The voices of trillions of galactic lifeforms living above and below the surface; all parading around on the planet that never sleeps.

Sleep eludes you all night, or proves restless when you wink out of consciousness, however temporarily.

Your neighbor from down the hall is not surprised to see you propped up in the doorframe, folding over in exhaustion when you answer the door just before mid-morning. You force drooping eyelids back in place, praying this is a quick matter as you greet the elderly woman perched on your welcome mat next to a large bag.

You were in the process of sniffing out which of the many boxes filled with kitchenware contained your caf machine so you could brew yourself a cup of much-needed energy when there was a knock at your door.

“Can I help you…?”

She was Tholothian, judging by the scaled skullcap and tendrils that bobbled over her shoulders from the force of the gentle, bubbly laugh she breaks into in her amusement.

“Oh no, dear; I’m here to help you. May I come in?”

Her smile is warm, and kind; emphasized and complemented by both smile and age lines. You’re pretty sure you saw her the other day when the movers brought in the first of the boxes, but you can’t remember a name.

Figuring there’s no harm, you invite her inside, at which point she collects the sizable bag at her feet and finds a way to gracefully squeeze it past you without so much as a bumped elbow. “Do you… need any help with that?” The offer to help is made only after the moment has passed, brain sluggish and more than a little forgetful of your manners.

Fortunately, she’s forgiving of the situation before her. “I’m plenty strong in my old age, don’t you worry! Got up nice and early this morning to get some things that’ll help you settle in. Groceries, too.”

No longer quite sleepy, you now stand there, stunned. “You- you brought me groceries?”

With a smile, she hoists the bag a little higher than before. “I sure did. Where would you like me to put everything, dear?”

“T-the counters in the kitchen’s fine…” you stammer.

Your neighbor brings the grocery-laden bag into the apartment’s small kitchen, and lines everything up on the countertop as you instructed. Blue milk, a loaf of polystarch, eggs, caf creamer, and generic breakfast mixes are among the lot.

“Here you are! A few essentials to get you started.” Previously crammed in one singular bag, there are now fifty or so items to be put away. (That’s a few?)

You would be speechless if it wasn’t the polite thing to thank her.

“I, uh… h-holy shit, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” she replies cheerily. “Mrs. Helios is always here for her neighbors. I’m just a knock away down the hall in ol’ 4546Besh if you ever need me.”

Mrs. Helios. Tholothian. 4546Besh.

You could remember that. (Probably.) You properly introduce yourself while the two of you begin putting away the perishables first, the conservator and cupboards looking a little less barren than before. (And she thinks you have a lovely name; says it suits you.) Keeping up the momentum, the boxes of kitchenware previously poked through for the caf-maker are tackled next, at Mrs. Helios’ offering.

“You look like you could use a hand.” she says with a knowing smile.

“I would certainly appreciate it…” you say, not for the first time.

Steady progress is made over the next half hour or so until the beverage machine has been located, at which point you dig only long enough to find the caf powder and a suitable mug before the Tholothian encourages you to have a rest. Mrs. Helios takes the opportunity to present you with a few more things out of her bag while you wait on your cup to brew.

The first is a sound device, the price sticker subjected to some rather thorough redacting of monetary value. The packaging is pretty nondescript, save for a few lofty promises—over 150+ new and improved audio files!—but the machine itself has a rather nice, sleek design when you extract it from the box. Coincidentally, it happens to be in a softer shade of one of your favorite colors.

“It may help mask some of the... less pleasant ambience you’ll find here.”

Her reasoning sagely segues into the next item, handwritten advice on how to deal with the high amount of crime and the pickpockets that plague the planet. The stack of hair-thin acrylic sheets must be half an inch tall, and again, handwritten. Each letter is crisp, with a print-like quality to it. It must’ve taken her several hours to write this much, and so tidily.

You’re kind of at a loss for words. You’re wondering if you’ve made a terrible mistake uprooting your comfortable life to live here.

“Just how bad is the crime?”

“It’s not so bad here on the upper levels, dear. Biggest concern would be pickpockets, day to day. But the sub-levels; now those areas you’d really need to take care of yourself.” Mrs. Helios understands that's not much comfort, so the subject is changed for now while you fetch the finished cup of caf. (You set another to percolate for good measure; you’ll likely take it for yourself if Mrs. Helios declines.) “Speaking of upper levels… I also wrote down a few of the good shops not too far from here that you may find helpful as you're settling in. Nice variety, and all that.”

You take the first of the pages and study its directions, telling you how many turns to take, nearby signage, types of shops you should be seeing along the way. She’s thought of everything. Mrs. Helios has made a point to include the name and species of the shop-owners, and the languages they speak as well.

Nursing your caf, you select a passage at random.

Hasher (Dug) speaks Basic, but be sure to greet him in Huttese first. The word ‘Hello’ is ‘Achuta’.

“You must be pretty familiar with these shop owners.”

“I’ve been doing business with them for years,” Mrs. Helios confirms, head bobbing.

Though the two of you had proper introductions little more than an hour ago (if the chronometer is to be believed), the elderly Tholothian has given you the impression she’ll answer any question with honesty. She’s given no reason for you to suspect otherwise so far, anyway.

“Are they… friendly?”

Mrs. Helios has given you an ace up your sleeve, and she knows it. “They should be! If they aren’t, telling ‘em Mrs. Helios sent you their way ought to remind them of their manners. I won’t tolerate them being unkind to my neighbors just because I’ve known them for years.” Reaching across the small table, she takes your hand and gives your forearm a gentle but reassuring pat. “You’ll find your footing here in no time, dearie. Don’t you worry.” Her smile lines deepen, and her tone is full of confidence.

“I hope so…” you reply, sleepy in your optimism.

Not much later, the caf-pot indicates the second cup you’ve set to brew has finished, strengthening the robust aroma wafting through your tiny apartment kitchen. Getting up, you collect the mug full of bitter brew and offer it up to your new neighbor, asking if she’d like some sugar or cream to sweeten it. You should have thought to do the same with your own, but you’d been so desperate for a stimulant after a near-sleepless night that you only waited long enough for it to cool to a more comfortable temperature, at which point it was drunk straight.

“Oh, that’s a very kind offer, but I’m afraid caf and I don’t agree with one another. I suspect I’m mildly allergic to caffeine; always seem to break out in hives after a cup. You go ahead and have it for me, dear.” Mrs. Helios encourages you. She promises there’s no sense worrying about the possibility of a contact allergy, either. More than one broken cup of caf has been cleaned by her thin fingers throughout her lifetime without ill effect.

That brings up many questions, she’s all too sure, but you’ll have to find your answers another time.

“Judging from the amount of boxes, you’re planning to be here for a while. There will be plenty of time to get to know one another better.”

“I came to Coruscant for a career change.” you confess, stirring in a few spoonfuls of sugar into the second cup of caf. “So I hope that’s true.”

The Tholothian’s expression quickly becomes one of mild interest. “Is that so? And do you have a career lined up for you already?” Interest morphs into gentle disapproval and concern when you tell her there’s no new job lined up yet. “Oh good galaxies, child. That won’t do at all… Coruscant can be such an expensive place to live. Well. In that case, I ought to give you some directions to the nearby career centers before long. You deserve a little time to settle in, first.”

First groceries, then a noise machine and a sizable stack of hand-written advice. Now Mrs. Helios is offering to help you find resources to pick up a new career. You must have accrued and cashed in some seriously good karma or something to have such a helpful neighbor just down the hall. It almost feels too good to be true. You know your family would be as relieved as you are grateful to have met someone so generous and helpful so shortly after moving to Coruscant.

“Stars, I… I don’t know how to possibly thank you enough, Mrs. Helios...”

Your neighbor smiles, humored, as she begins gathering her things. She’s taken enough of your time for the day; ought to be on her way and let you get back to setting your apartment in order at your leisure. Boxes that have piled up in the joint search of the caf-maker are kicked aside, helping her get to the door unencumbered.

“Settle in first. Then you can fuss about thanking me,” the Tholothian tells you with a matronly smile and a deciding nod. “But there’s no pressure. This is new territory for you, dear. Your story is just getting started.”

That’s certainly one way to look at it. “Yeah… I guess you’re right.” you agree softly, returning her pleasant smile. Her words are simple, but so very comforting. You linger at the door, waiting until Mrs. Helios makes it down to 4546Besh before slipping back inside your own apartment with a departing wave.

She’s absolutely right.

The day is still young, and with the caf in your system, you should be able to make decent work on emptying these moving boxes if you work in waves. Your first night was rough, but it’s behind you now. Given an incredible leg up by your generous neighbor, tonight should be better.

And tomorrow, you’ll start properly exploring the planet at the heart of the Galactic Republic.

Starting out this series on the small-side for chapters; be warned that future chapters will (likely) be on the longer end going forward!

2/24/2025 UPDATE: This series will no longer be continued as a reader-insert. It will instead be re-worked and written as a OFC fic going forward. I apologize for the disappointment!

Fic taglist: @dukeoftheblackstar @dystopicjumpsuit @msmeredithrose @lonely-day3636 @returnofthepineapple

[FFF Masterlist] [Taglist] [New OFC NFITH Masterlist] [Requests: OPEN]

#frostfics #No Foxes In This Hole #star wars #tcw #the clone wars #tcw x reader #tcw fox #commander fox #commander fox x reader #fox x reader #fox x fem!reader #commander fox x you #fox x you #x reader #the clone wars fanfiction

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lbibliophile-sw · 10 months ago

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Codywan Masterpost - 2022-2024

@codywanweek - day 8: 5th Anniversary

This year marks the fifth aniversary of Codywan Week, and the third year I've participated (2022 was my second Star Wars event!), so I decided to celebrate by creating a masterlist of all my Codywan works to date.

Works are ordered approximately from least to most angsty. They are mostly drabbles, and the Codywan relationship is usually left ambigiously platonic/romatic. All SFW.

Fluff and Shenanigans (occasional background angst)

Distraction (affectionate) (AO3) | drabble | Cody tries to reason with his General, who is distracted by other priorities.

See No Evil (AO3) | drabble poem | Cody and Obi-wan stare into each other’s eyes. All in the name of plausible deniability.

Tea Party (AO3) | script and comic | Obi-wan likes taking his tea in the communal rec room, likes when his troopers come past to say hello. But this might be taking it a bit too far...

Post-battle Ritual (AO3) | drabble | As a Jedi, your lightsaber is your life; so keep hold of it. ...Yes, you too.

Face to the Sun (AO3) | drabble | Armour Markings have meaning. Cody's isn't a sunburst.

Shared Custody (AO3) | drabble | Obi-wan keeps losing his lightsaber. Cody takes a different approach to preventative measures.

The Force Provides (AO3) | drabble | One proposal is gracefully declined, and another gleefully accepted.

Multitasking Meditation (AO3) | drabble | A Jedi practices many exercises which increase in complexity over the course of their training. Obi-wan has mastered this one, and so lost the benefit of the lesson it teaches.

Hurt/Comfort (with eventual happy ending)

Harmonic Motion (AO3) | drabble | As a Jedi, maintaining a long-term romantic relationship is hard. But with Cody, with the war over, he finds the right balance.

Sueing for Emotional Damages (AO3) | drabble | Cody might have his General back, but he's still upset that he was tricked into thinking he'd been killed in the first palce. And he knows just who to blame.

Taboo (AO3) | poem | A clone trooper's helmet is as much their face as the one they were created with; something deeply personal to those who have so little. But when Obi-wan tentatively asks to try on Cody's, he doesn't refuse him. His own feelings are no less taboo.

Just Another One of Those Faces (AO3) | drabble | Most plans involving a clone going undercover are doomed to failure… unless it takes place in the heart of the Republic. Obi-wan still worries.

There Were Two in the Bed, and the Little One Said... (AO3) | drabble | Nightmares are never fun, but company makes the aftermath easier.

Silence is Golden | poem | Cody loves his General, but he'll never tell.

Angst (aka. Order 66)

The Nightmare (AO3) | drabble | The Nightmare is unsettling in a visceral way, but after years of the nightly visions they are used to the feeling. And they always wake up. He just needs to wait until he wakes up...

Degrees of Trust (AO3) | drabble | Cody doesn't understand why his General's ‘I trust you’ suddenly stopped being a promise and instead became a pain-filled thing of guilt and grief.

Bonus (not specifically Codywan, but they provide significant inspiration...)

31 Days of Jedi Lies (AO3) | poem | "No, you are NOT fine."

#i'm impressed by how many of these are on the fluffier end of the scale #unusual for me #codywan week #masterpost #codywan #commander cody #obi-wan kenobi

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ariel-seagull-wings · 8 months ago

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IMAGINARY FILM TETRALOGY: THE MAGNIFICENT X-MEN

@s10127470 @a-roguish-gambit @knivxsanddespair @thealmightyemprex @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @professorlehnsherr-almashy @amalthea9 @thestreamweaver

Having recently read the 1991 and 1994 scripts for unproduced X-Men films (the first titled Wolverine and the X-Men and the second titled simply X-Men), I started to think which approach I would take in idealizing an X-Men film series, taking some elements I enjoyed from the unproduced scripts, while cutting out others and also mixing up my own ideas.

For me personally, the main appeal of the X-Men compared to other Marvel hero teams is how vast their own universe is, which gives the chance to not be limited to other super hero genre conventions of good guys fighting bad guys of the week to save the world from a catastrophe, but also takes many chances to deescalate the conflict to small stories that take the influence of other genre sources: romantic melodrama, gothic horror, science fiction comedy, urban fantasy, high school drama and work situational comedy.

So far the science fiction thriller and action comedy genres have been the aproach that studios and filmakers have taken to be safe.

I would like to give the X-Men a chance into the potential for exploring the urban fantasy, romance and horror angles, with a sprinkle of light sci fi and comedy, into a viewer’s digest of the existing story material provided not only by the main Uncanny X-Men comic books, but also take some elements from The New Defenders #125-152, Excalibur and the graphic novels and limited series staring the characters, and I would call this encarnation The Magnificent X-Men homaging the movies The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven.

There would be relationship overhauls where characters who only casually flirted, had a will-they-or-will-they not long running unresolved romantic tension (that while can be taken for granted in the long running medium of comics, is not very satisfactory in the formats of movies and TV shows) would be official couples in the adaptation.

The timescale and timeline would avoid convolutedness by having characters who, in the comics, were originally clones or alternate timeline children to be children born in the main movie timeline born and raised by previous characters that while mentioned as important, are not the main characters of the narrative, exploring the idea that as a group, the X-Men have a history that goes back to the 60s, where there were founding figures, partisan dissidences, characters went to college, graduated, retired from the battlefield to get married and raise children, or died while fighting for mutant rights.

The influences and narrative style would come from shows like Gargoyles, The Real and Extreme Ghostbusters, and movies like Streets of Fire, 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles, Wesley Snipes Blade and Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy, being a rock and roll fable exploring the communities and culture built by mutants beyond just the Xavier Mansion in the cities undergrounds, where they built their own clubs, bars, safe spaces to live together, while borrowing fashion and architecture from the 80s and 90s with a little touch of the 50s, in contrast to the swashbuckler fantasy and circus influence, borrowing from Earth 5311, that would be highlighted in the battlefield costumes of the X-Men team members themselves.

There would be a total of four movies, and the main team would be formed by:

ALISON BLAIRE (DAZZLER)

ANNE MARIE (ROGUE)

ORORO MUNROE (STORM)

RACHEL GREY SUMMERS (PHOENIX)

ELIZABETH BRADDOCK (PSYLOCKE)

JAMES LOGAN HOWLETT (WOLVERINE)

HENRY PHILLIP MCCOY (BEAST)

KURT WAGNER (NIGHTCRAWLER)

PIOTR RASPUTIN (COLOSSUS)

WARREN WORTHINGTON III (ANGEL)

VISUAL CONCEPT ART INFLUENCES

DAVE COCKRUM

MARIE SEVERIN

ALAN DAVIS

PAUL MARTIN SMITH

BRENT ANDERSON

I will be slowly thinking of the plots that would narrow down each movie as time goes on.

#x men #mutants #the new mutants #the magnificent x men #marie severin #alan davis #paul martin smith #paul smith #brent anderson #dave cockrum

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selfixsworld · 9 months ago

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I´m bored...

so i´ll give some ideas for quirks for BNHA DRs or OC:

Script Template: @/mx.levias on TikTok — linktree (NOT MY SCRIPT)

HYDROFORCE:

Powers MASTERLIST

Quirk Inspired By: Waterbenders (Avatar: Legend of Aang) - Aqualad, Mera and Aquaman (DC Comics)

¦ ⌈Quirk Type⌉ ⩵ Emitter

APPLICATIONS:

Condensation

Freezing

Water Manipulation

Tidal Wave Generation

Underwater Walking

Water Attacks

Water Breath

Water Detection

Water Generation

Flood Creation

Water Separation

Water Solidification

Water Walking

Whirlpool Generation

Healing Water

Hydrokinetic Cloning

Hydrokinetic Combat

Hydrokinetic Invisibility

Hydrokinetic Regeneration

Water Exoskeleton

Water Mimicry

Water Teleportation

Special Moves:

💧 Liquid Mirror: By manipulating water, the user creates a reflective barrier that mimics their opponents' attacks. The barrier can also absorb energy-based attacks and reflect them back, with added water energy.

❄ Frostbound Cascade: Combining freezing powers with water manipulation, the user releases a tidal wave of icy water that instantly freezes on contact, trapping foes in thick ice, slowing down their movements, or immobilizing them completely.

💠 Crystal Waters Form: By solidifying water, the user creates crystalline, weaponized structures such as blades, shields, or spears. These weapons retain fluidity but are sharp enough to slice through metal.

🌊 Aqua Nova Burst: A concentrated sphere of water energy is created and launched at high speed, causing an explosive force on impact, drenching and disorienting opponents. The water pressure can crush solid surfaces.

🌬 Hydrokinetic Veil: The user surrounds themselves with a rotating veil of water, which deflects projectiles, cools the air around them, and provides healing by absorbing moisture from the atmosphere.

Backlashes:

🔱 Energy Drain: Creating and maintaining large bodies of water or powerful waves requires immense energy. Prolonged battles or high-energy moves can drain the user’s stamina, making them weaker over time and forcing them to rest.

🌀 Backlash of the Whirlpool: If not controlled properly, whirlpools or strong currents may spiral out of the user’s control, potentially trapping or harming the user and their allies along with enemies.

🌬 Weather Sensitivity: The user’s powers can be affected by the weather. For example, during extreme heat, their water may evaporate faster, and during storms, the unpredictability of the environment can interfere with their control.

💠 Solidification Strain: Constantly creating solid water constructs like weapons or barriers puts strain on the user’s mind and body, leading to severe headaches or muscle cramps if overdone.

#reality shifting #shifting community #desired reality #shiftblr #shifting blog #shift #bnha #shifting stories #dc comics #bnha oc #quirks ideas #powers ideas #oc ideas

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tbshorts · 7 months ago

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Burmy is just a really well-constructed take on its real-world inspiration

youtube

Wait, hang on, the Combee line is AMAZING!

youtube

Pachirisu is where Pikaclones begin to have their own ideas

youtube

Video scripts below the cut

Burmy:

Burmy is an interesting one. It's based on bagworms, which make their sheltering cocoons out of materials they find in their environments as camoflage, hence the different forms it can take on. The body itself is neutral black with bright yellow eyes in large part to create a neutral canvas on which its various cloaks can provide a high contrast, which is quite effective design.

Wor-madam does much the same thing but More, and dials up the femininity of the presentation by adding "pigtails" out of its materials and taking on a top heavy "fancy lady with a fur coat" sort of profile, again reflecting the way female bagworms remain in their larval stage their whole lives. It's solid stuff.

Mothim, then, gets the traditional bug pokémon final stage, subtyping into flying and growing wings. The black body remains and is used the same way, as a means to create contrast, but it adopts a bright yellow orange and white scheme, with especially those antennae giving its face a sharp, slightly dangerous-feeling character. It's a honey thief, according to the pokédex, which is perhaps why it has those "fingers" on its wings?

This whole line is just solid design craft, I have no complaints.

Grade: B

Combee:

I've never really given Combee a second thought, but upon re-examining it for this review I realized, hang on, these are freaken brilliant. It's a bee made of hexagons that are fused together into one body, quite literally embodying the way that a bee hive is a kind of gestalt entity, a unity composed of thousands of individuals joined together into one organism. The bees ARE the hive, in this case quite literally.

Vespiqueen takes the metaphor one step further, being a queen bee who is quite literally her own hive. I do feel like she ought to be designed to be way bigger, but the idea here is killer, and if you made it even slightly less kid-friendly, it would make for a killer horror monster.

But this is Pokémon and it's not going to go that far. Still, the top half of the body literally carrying a bee hive around beneath it, shaped in a way to evoke a big regal gown, that's clever, and the blood red eyes and sharp mandibles make a sharp contrast in deadliness with the cheerful adorableness of Combee, visually communicating the scale of difference in power between the two, but also that Vespiqueen isn't ruling by consensus, it's pheromone mind control and she is a tyrant. It rules.

Grade: S

Pachirisu:

Oooh, they keep trying to make Pikachu 2 happen, and Pikachu 2 just isn't gonna happen.

That's not Pachirisu's fault, of course, and does a much better job of distinguishing itself from Pikachu than Plusle and Minun did last generation. It's a squirrel rather than a mouse, and gets its electric theming from that bright blue streak on its body, as well as from sharp spikes in the blue fur that contrast with the soft, round adorableness of the rest of the design. I kinda feel like it woulda been better if it hadn't gone for the bright yellow cheek pads, because, again, that just reminds of Pikachu's iconic red cheek pads and invites comparison, but also, it confuses the color scheme a bit. Am I meant to understand the blue color and spikes as representing its electric power, or is it the yellow? Even the Pokédex gets a bit confused whether it stores its electricity in the cheeks or in the big fluffy tail. Electric cheeks is Pikachu's thing, so focusing on the tail and designing that out would have given it much more of its own identity.

For all the comparisons I'm making though, it's not fair to call it just a Pika-clone, it does have its own ideas, and frankly I would have loved to see an evolution for it that really leans into the static electric fluffy fur concept.

Grade: B

#tb posting #pokemon #pokémon #pokémon diamond #pokémon pearl #pokémon gen 4 #burmy #burmadam #mothim #combee #vespiqueen #pachirisu #Youtube

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socksbro1 · 2 months ago

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Date: April 19th, 2025

Scouting mission 1

Today we completed the first scouting mission. Our OOB friends live in a rather interesting place. Instead of providing video, Remington-Gede and I will give out observations, alongside some timestamps.

00:00 Alpha arrives at the UPV. They are facing a stone wall.

00:03 Alpha approaches the wall. It looks to be made of stone, and has small carvings inlaid within. They are reminiscent of Viking runes, if the Vikings did calligraphy instead of pillaging.

00:07 A flash of Error Red races down a line of carvings. Mana?

00:13 Another flash

00:20 Alpha turns around. The room they are in is circular, and columns are placed equidistant from the wall in a semicircle. On the other side of the room is a door made of an unidentified material. There are several glowing orbs throughout the room, seemingly unsupported. Lines of runes cover everything, with the occasional flash of Error Red tracing them.

00:36 Alpha moves back towards the center of the room.

00:38 In the center of the room is a series of concentric circles made up of runes, with two irregular octagons drawn in the center, touching individual runes. There are lines of runes leading away from the circle towards the walls. One of these lines is broken, and an unknown marital is sticking out. Connected to this unknown material is a cable , which is then connected to some sort of computer monitor.

00:51 the computer screen displays an unrecognizable language (not Sim Code) and changes color.

00:52 Alpha is sent to the ground, and is unable to move. Post-Op rundown has me believe that they somehow overrode the gravitational pull of the circle. At the same time, the surrounding pillars emit a sort of light, creating a cage.

00:53 Bluetooth Access lost. Video is still recorded, but it’s not being sent.

00:54 Autorecall script 1 activates. Does not work

00:56 Autorecall script 4 activates. Light Fence changes color. Does not work

01:03 Autorecall script 3B activates. Sort of works.

Autorecall script 3B can only be triggered by Alpha themselves. It essentially creates a testing scenario using their current DataFile as values. Since their AdvUript is one of their DataValues, it would normally cause an error. In order to address that, they temporarily delete the reference to an AdvUript within their own DataFile. The process was mostly theoretical, and was slightly reminiscent of the Star Trek Teleporter problem, but it worked, and Alpha was able to get back with all memories intact.

There might still be an issue of cloning, but Alpha fortunately does not experience existentialism yet. I do, but the fact they chose makes me feel better about it. If there is anything left, it will be dead, and Alpha is… alive? Intact.

Pleasant day,

Tester

#the default cube #writing #coding #fiction

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savior-of-the-ink · 3 months ago

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The essay on Eramis's redemption arc is taking longer than I thought, so we're padding out by analyzing the Path of Least Resistance loretab.

First of all, credits where credits are due, as this reflection was actually inspired by a very specific fanart that back in the day made me pause and go: "wait, this makes perfect sense" (which in turn inspired me to write the Spider Dance short fic, but that's another story).

So, what is the situation with this loretab then?

A quick sum-up because we're talking about 2022 stuff: the Witness offers Eramis "a gift", which is a fallen comrade of hers called Phyris, being returned as a Scorn. Eramis, predictably, is not thrilled at the prospect of seeing her friend' bodies horribly violated by being resurrected as literal zombies.

This is not the only instance of the Witness bringing back Eramis's acquaintances with this method, as later on in the season it does the same with Praksis for the exotic mission of the warsat station. After seeing this, most people, both fans and in-game characters, were quick to label this "gift" as a punishment for Eramis after failing at seizing Nezarec's relics the previous season.

Although I haven't played through Seraph, so it is possible that I have missed any clarifying dialogues, I would beg to differ.

As I have already stated once, I prefer to consider what the Witness calls gifts as clumsy attempts at fulfilling its Disciples' needs, more than supposed manipulations. I just fail to see any genuine malice, as anything the Witness does always feels like it is struggling with doing favors while also being confidently incorrect regarding its Disciples' needs. In this case it is quite subtle, but Calus's cutscenes in Lightfall (the first one, mostly) shows it a little clearer: The Witness Does Not Get The Point (but not in a bad way).

It is implied that the Witness cares little for material and/or present benefits, as everything is going be perfectly resolved with the fulfilment of the Final Shape: why give something now when everything will be granted later on? Regardless, it has to keep its Disciples faithfully at its side for the time being and to do that it must make a few concessions.

Rhulk and Nezarec virtually had no reason to want anything more than the already present opportunities while Eramis and Calus seem a little more demanding before offering their service: they have their own agendas, they require that "something now" and, because it needs practical support, it will allow it. But, because it doesn't get the importance of what it is asked, it is unable to connect with its followers on a deeper lever.

Without a clear purpose and because it can't work without one, it goes for the safest route, one that it can easily understand, and tries to satisfy the most immediate requests and needs. It's a mathematical process, a scripted exchange, logical and infallible: for Calus, it's a glorious new body and a ship filled with luxury and devoted followers, even if the space is void of any joy and his is a legion of brainless clones; for Eramis, it's the promise of companionship persisting even after death, even when it is warped beyond recognition and (ironically) salvation. Perhaps Eramis's company itself was presented to bring solace to Xivu's loneliness in the absence of her sister, although the Kell greatly resents her new allies and it's impossible to create a connection.

If there is something it can do, the Witness will do it because it made a vow of providing its children in ways the Traveler could never, yet the struggle is so painfully clear with every interaction, how it just doesn't know where to bang its head against when it comes to actually relating to its followers. Every "gift" is its way to say: "Was not this what you needed? It was? No problem then, get settled so we can get back to work because this is getting pretty awkward for me and I have no idea whether I'm doing this right". It just doesn't make sense to it, but it could make the Disciples happy, so it's worth a shot.

Going back to the loretab, here is my overall interpretation under this point of view:

upon freeing Eramis at the beginning of Plunder, the Witness was well aware that her comrades had all been killed and her house was in shambles

for this reason, while still needing her on the field, it assigned her to an alternative eliksni group, the Old Crews, to make sure she had affinity with her new allies and was to quickly bounce back from the coma to her role as the Kell of Darkness

unfortunately, with the death of the pirate leaders culminating in that of Araks, Eramis was thrown out because her mission kept the Guardian coming back for more slaughter and that was highly unconventional

on top of that, the Darkness feeds on emotions: if Eramis was feeing somewhat hopeless/suicidal after the season's events, wouldn't have the Witness picked up on it in some way?

seeing how she was alone once again at the beginning of Seraph, the Witness decided to "think outside of the box" and used the Scorn as a way to give her back her dead comrades and hopefully keep her morale high

of course, Eramis didn't catch any of that because the Witness's response to her failure had been immediate and felt like mockery, a desecration of her people and everything she held dear wearing the face of her dead friends: it was deemed a punishment because it hurt her on a spiritual level

but the Witness couldn't even begin to imagine that: it needed Eramis alive and mentally stable, so it had given her what she was lacking, by all accounts she was meant to be fine

not like Eramis could have ever voiced her refusal, so it probably believed it was doing pretty good at it as well

TL, DR: it is now confirmed that half of the plot points in this game could be solved in three seconds flat if the characters FUCKING COMMUNICATED WITH EACH OTHER. Also, the Witness is autistic-coded on an eldritch level, quod erat demonstrandum.

#the witneramis relationship is SO wasted...#this is more of a witness post than an eramis post i'm noticing #i require the witness and eramis experts to come and beat me up with a stick #i want to have a debate #destiny the game #destiny 2 #the witness #eramis #the witness/eramis #chains of darkness duo #midnight and dusk duo #season of plunder #season of the seraph #path of least resistance #destiny lore #loretab #lore discussion #character interpretation #cross tries to essay

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jamiesmithblog · 5 months ago

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david-talks-sw · 2 years ago

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"Bring in the flamethrowers!"

The above moment from The Clone Wars gets brought up a lot to illustrate Ki-Adi Mundi or the Jedi's moral decadence, a fall from grace caused by the war.

Figured I'd point out a couple of things in support of Ki-Adi!

1) Simple answer: the situation called for it.

The Geonosians attacking Ki-Adi were:

enemy fighters

with the element of surprise

who could fly and were thus harder to hit with the clones' blasters, hence why more wide-ranging weapons like flamethrowers were called for, as the clones were getting picked off one-by-one.

Time was of the essence, men were dying, Ki-Adi made a choice.

Wanna know what Jedi choose when a Geonosian isn't actively trying to kill them? They save its life (and get praised for it by their peers).

2) In-universe, the Geonosians are assholes.

From Attack of the Clones - The Illustrated Companion, 2002:

"Geonosians are a physically intimidating race conditioned to live and work in caste-segregated hives. The vast majority of Geonosians are subservient to the ruling caste, and throughout Geonosian society, there is evidence of a biologically engineered class system. Some Geonosians have wings, while drones do not. [...] The blind obedience of menial Geonosians makes them an easily exploitable workforce for the upper classes, who have built a highly profitable business manufacturing Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids, and Droideka Droids for the Trade Federation and its allies."

"For unusually intelligent Geonosians unlucky enough to be born into the lower castes, participating in the games provides the only chance they will ever get to escape the misery of their downtrodden lifestyles and the rigid social expectations of the upper classes. Triumph in the arena is often a hollow victory, however; while lower- and middle-class Geonosians may win the right to talk to their superiors, they can never earn their respect."

Okay, so the winged upper class are obviously elitist bastards, but how is that even remotely relevant--

-- oh. But hey, two of them don't have wings! Those are members of the drone caste, and they're all begotten underdogs, so--

"If there is one thing that unites Geonosians of all classes, it is their xenophobia. A traditionally isolationist species, they fear espionage attempts by rivals eager to learn the secrets behind their latest droids."

-- oh. Huh.

Bottom line: yes, they're sentient... but they're xenophobic, have an elitist caste system, and earn their living by forging weapons that melt your insides or blow up planets.

Now sure, this notion has been explored and deconstructed in Star Wars: Rebels...

... and I'm not entirely sure if the quoted info still holds true in current Disney canon (the lore is from 2002, after all), but if you ask me?

On a normal day, ol' Klik-Klak would be actively trying to murder the entirety of the Ghost crew for daring to even step their dirty non-Geonosian feet on his pure red planet.

3) Out-of-universe, the Geonosians are just "bug aliens". Nothing more.

The production team of Attack of the Clones referred to them as the "termite people". The script describes them as "winged creatures" who are heard "chuckling" once Anakin and Padmé are sentenced to a gruesome death. At some point, the storyboard artists considered introducing the Geonosian workers like you would a horror monster.

Hell, the whole Lucas decided to base them on termites is because his house was besieged by them.

They're not people, which is why they're not designed to look like people. They're purposefully dehumanized so that when one of them gets killed by our heroes, it's ethically "okay" and the audience doesn't need to stop and think "oh my God, that's murder!" or "hey! that's racist" whenever a clone calls one of them a "bug."

A similar logic is applied to the stormtroopers, who have face-covering helmets that dehumanizes them.

Functionally, a stormtrooper is a fascist goon, nothing more.

Same goes for the Geonosian. It's a bug alien, that's about it.

4) The flamethrowers were probably just added because they're cool.

Dave Filoni described how the decision to add flamethrowers came up, and it doesn't sound like George had deeper storytelling motives:

"You know, we're going through the tunnel with the Geonosians and George is like: “Yeah, well, here, we'll have the-- the tunnel and the flamethrowers. Yeah. How about that? ‘Bring in the flamethrowers!’ have Ki-Adi Mundi say ‘bring in the flame throwers!’” And it's like “flame—- What? Flamethrowers?!”" - Dave Filoni, “Return to Geonosis” Featurette, 2010

It sounds like he came up with it on the spot.

The flamethrowers aren't indicative of "the moral degradation of Ki-Adi and the Jedi Order." They're likely just in there 'cause they're cool (and if you've played Team Fortress 2, you know that's true)!

At the end of the day, when it comes to the Geonosians, I think that there's a certain irony to how their story ends.

They gleefully created the battle droids that tore the galaxy asunder and the Death Star, a weapon that enables the Empire to commit genocide... but fell victim to genocide themselves, at the hands of an even bigger monster.

They reaped what they sowed. They're not meant to be mourned.

And it's nice to see this aspect of the narrative doesn't get ignored as much as I would've expected.

I came across this video that basically rips into Ki-Adi for using flamethrowers, and I was ready to roll my eyes when I scrolled down to the comments section...

youtube

... but then, a happy surprise!

Most of the comments disagree with the video's stance! For once, logic prevails over anti-Jedi bias.

So yeah, that put a smile on my face.

#Ki-Adi Mundi #geonosians #geonosis #the clone wars #in defense of the jedi #on the jedi's involvement in the clone wars #tcw #clone wars #star wars #jedi master #21st Nova Corps #commander bacara #for the record: I'm an engie in TF2 not some WM1 Pyro

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blockchainxtech · 5 months ago

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Binance clone script — Overview by BlockchainX

A Binance Clone Script is a pre-built, customizable software solution that replicates Binance's features, connect with BlockchainX

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#binance clone script #binance clone script development #binance clone script development service #blockchain technology #blockchain #cryptocurrency #cryptocurrencies

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