#i am making this time vortex bullshit have consequences

[xiaolin-revival]

SPLINTERED TIMELINE

Official au introduction post for the fanmade Xiaolin Showdown continuation

I should mention that this will be updated more, and that this is an implied soft rewrite of the show, getting rid of some characterization and plot inconsistencies as well as new lore, not to mention the last few seconds of the show with the ultimate group battle did not actually happen, as it kinda doesnt make sense.

But other than that, we start right where we left off.

-

After over two years, the Xiaolin dragons have finally risen to Shoku Warrior rank. Raimundo, the Dragon of Wind, has been elected leader after the grand adventure in time caused by Omi's meddling. Luckily the timelines all brought themselves back into balance, reset by the paradox it had all caused.

Still, the entire ordeal did not pass without consequences.

The world they live in is the same it once was, but the people of the Xiaolin and Heylin conflict themselves have not avoided the flashes of timelines of what could have been, and what could be, each getting a different array, scrambling to see how they can use the knowledge to their advantage, dreading what the other side may know. It will change everything, but how?

At least Omi and Dojo are the only ones who went through the bad future with Emperor Jack, so they are the only ones with memories of it, right?

Right?

.

.

.

Jack Spicer sits in his lab, reeling at the possible ways his story could have gone and could go, and most of all, the image of a familiar tear-stained face, surrounded by guns, followed by blood blooming in its place etched clearly into his mind.

Everything will change indeed

[dreamylyfe-x]

God your ask responses are so good. The one about Debbie is super interesting. In a lot of ways she has signs of the person she becomes early on but I do think she changes a lot too. From the beginning of season 3 to the end of season 4 - less than a year in the show - it's like she's two different people. The difference in her concern for Frank, from 3x01 to "he's been dying for years", is so extreme. She also goes from being hyper-responsible and not all that concerned (at least outwardly) that she has no friends in s2 to making seriously, seriously awful decisions in the pursuit of finding connections with people outside her family, especially romantic partners. (Then again, maybe that was always there... I hope aunt ginger is doing well) Do you think those two big shifts are related? Is it just puberty? What do you think changed to make Debbie become the kind of girl who made the all wrong decisions Fiona was so sure she'd avoid?

Hey! First of all -- that you so much. That's really nice to hear.

Secondly, I'm sorry this took me a few days, but I was giving it some thought because I wanted to answer it with some real idea of what is going on with Debbie. I also went and watched the episodes you referenced. ☺️

I do think some of the changes with Debbie are straight up developmental. 4x01 starts with a montage that outlines for us that Debbie is now a teenager and is mirroring Fiona getting ready in the morning. This is clearly a shift that we're supposed to think happened between seasons and to that end, I'm cool with it. (I am not cool with, like, how time works in season 4 -- but we just have to accept that it takes place in a vortex where six months can go by, but it's always February.)

When my Netflix rests on Shameless it always plays the same clip -- Debbie making worried noises because Frank is missing, followed by the kids all going out to look for him. I remember watching the episode for the first time and thinking the divide between Debbie -- scared and upset -- and Ian, Lip and Fiona was something the show got right. Because part of growing up with one or more crappy parents is getting to the point where the switch flips and you realize that everything that's happening with them is complete bullshit, you can't count on them, and you've been worrying about them and caring about them far more than they've been worrying and caring about you. So inevitably, we were going to see each kid have their moment where they go from loving Frank the way kids love their dads to just shutting the door on it.

To get a little bit personal -- I come from a blended family and there's a whole mix of different parental figures in this situation, and not everyone is living their best parenting life. So I've experienced, and watched, several people go from being the kid who is anxious when their dad isn't where he's supposed to be, to becoming someone who will tell their dad to go fuck himself over breakfast. In my experience that shift happens really fast. Because the evidence of their parent being terrible has always been there, and it's like they just have to get to point where they review the evidence and once they have... they're angry.

Debbie shows up angry in season 4 and one thing I find REALLY interesting is that, in her first scene, she's angry about two things. First, the suggestion that she might forget that she's supposed to watch Liam (because Debbie is responsible, damnit) and then the fact that no one knows where Ian is and Fiona won't call the police. Puberty has clearly hit between seasons, but Lip and Ian have also moved out. AND Frank is gone, just like always. She goes to see Mandy -- who was helping her pick out first-day-of-school clothes in season 3 and that conversation ends with Debbie getting a door slammed in her face. You can definitely see how she might have gotten jaded about not just her father, but her whole family.

It's interesting to me that Debbie spends a day with Lip mid-season looking for Ian. That the desire to find one brother, and spend time with another is definitely present. And they find him. And he's frightening. Doesn't make sense, isn't acting like himself, doesn't want to go home with them. Developmentally it's natural for Debbie to start looking outside her family for connection, but also -- her family is getting more and more scattered and looking less and less like the reasonably cohesive people she grew up with.

Debbie does so many infuriating things, and so many of them make her look monstrous because she stomps all over people to make them happen. And that's where she gets Frank-ish, because she's always very "by any means necessary" and she doesn't seem to assume willing help very often -- she assumes she's going to have to trick people. I think part of the reason Debbie decides to get pregnant is because, at a very young age, she feels her older siblings pulling away, she understands her parents are never going to be there for her, and she wants something for herself. Looking at the stuff that is going on with Debbie in season 4, 5 and 6... she's finding herself alone and abandoned a whole lot. Fiona is ruling with an iron fist and won't support Debbie's desire to have a baby. Lip is gone to college and then dealing with alcoholism. Ian is struggling with mental health issues, but has also directed most of his focus on his boyfriend, and their makeshift family. Shelia leaves. Even SAMMI, who originally gossips with her about boys ends up sending turning Ian in to the MP. Debbie just spends season after season not being anyone's priority and not getting what she wants -- which is primarily love and attention. It does make sense that, eventually, she would become someone who just takes, because how else is she ever going to get anything? And when it comes to going after things, she is impulsive and has this almost child-like grasp on consequence -- but I think that might be because the hurt kid is the one in charge. All that too-young maturity and sacrifice to help everyone else left her feeling bitter and abandoned and like she has a right to something. And that's never a place where good ideas flourish.

[fandomimatrix-blog]

Revisiting Life is Strange (Part 4)

(ominous music in the background)

All pictures are taken from the official Life is Strange Wikia.

Fun Fact:  One of the bands Chloe likes in this universe (according to her computer) is PissHead, Skip’s band from LiS:BTS.  

Max has to choose whether or not to kill Chloe.  Foreshadowing.  Clearly the universe wants Chloe to either die or suffer.  There are no good choices when it comes to Chloe’s wellbeing in this game.  Either she gets hurt or someone else does.  But Max, being the champ she is, just wants to keep Chloe alive.

So what exactly was Max’s endgame here?  Find Rachel, find out what happened to Kate, and then somehow stop the tornado with her badass powers?  Max and Chloe literally never discuss exactly what they’re going to do, other than their main mission.  Kind of makes you wonder if they were planning to just ditch Arcadia Bay altogether or if either of them even gave a shit about the tornado at that point.  The latter is an interesting idea, because Max kind of just gets wrapped up in what Chloe wants, which is finding Rachel and eventually taking down Nathan. 

Gal pals.

So why was Max a member of the Vortex Club in the alternate timeline?  I honestly think it’s because she actually stayed in touch with Chloe (to an extent anyway) and Chloe gave her the confidence she needed (because Chloe is about 70% reckless confidence) to actually put herself out there.  We know Max is a good photographer, she just lacks the confidence to put her work out there and try to impress people.  But with Chloe’s help, Max would have been a lot less shy about her work and able to prove her worth as an artist.  One thing led to another and she ended up joining the Vortex Club.

Kate you absolutely precious little bean.  BTS has Samantha, but no one will ever replace this precious cinnamon roll.

 Primary ship in LiS:  PriceField.  Secondary ship:  MarshField.  I hope those two got together after the Sacrifice Chloe ending, because Max could really use someone like Kate in her life after all the bullshit she had to go through.  These two deserve all the hugs.

Opinion:  Justin’s voice in LiS is way too over-the-top.  His voice actor in BTS does a much better job.

Max being on-and-off oblivious to Warren’s feelings for her is more evidence that his status as a “love interest” is practically nonexistent, regardless of player choice.  This supposed romance lacks Max’s affirmation.  While she enthusiastically smooches the shit out of Chloe for a “dare”, at no point does Max express anything other than friendly affection for Warren.  She acknowledges that he has a crush on her, but the game itself brushes it aside so we can focus on Chloe and Max.  Max even seems annoyed and dismissive when Chloe brings up Warren’s crush.  I can tell what the writers were going for, but they kind of wrote themselves off the edge of a cliff in regards to Warren and Max.

Now back on topic.  Interestingly enough, the choice you’re given here (let Warren beat the shit out of Nathan or step in) has no lasting consequences, despite being presented like it does.  Wonder if the writers had some grand storyline to do with Nathan that they abandoned at the last minute.

Frank Bowers, criminal mastermind.

There are about three or four ways this confrontation can end and two of them involve Frank dying.  Poor Frank.  Poor guy just wants to eat beans.

This interaction is also important for Chloe, because it shows how little control she has over the chaos she loves to create.  If you’re unlucky enough to piss Frank off too badly, Chloe ends up shooting Pompidou when he rushes out of the RV and then Frank when he tries to attack her.  And despite all of Chloe’s big talk about how great it is to have a gun, she’s completely traumatized by what she’s done.  Chloe might act like a total badass, but in reality she’s scared and vulnerable.  Having a weapon might have made her feel like she was in control, but it turned out that it just made her more irresponsible and reckless, which in a twisted way is what Chloe thinks being in control means (at least for her).

Just two gals being pals, solving mysteries and kissing each other because they’re gay as fuck.

Everyone else:  Pick a genre

LiS Writers:  How about all of them?

A coming-of-age, slice of life, psychological thriller, supernatural thriller, mystery adventure game starring two gay best friends.  Behold the best genre in existence.

How the hell did this game get so disturbing in such a short amount of time while nailing the atmosphere and maintaining its basic premise?  Because it’s a fucking work of art.  Say what you will about anything else in the game, but this transition from casual to creepy was masterful. 

Ahem.

Kate Marsh (in Episode 2):  “I woke up in a room.  I thought it was a doctor’s office because it was so white and bright.”

Note how when Kate mentions “someone talking to her in a soft voice”, she says “someone”.  Not Nathan, whom she mentioned by name twice in her story.  Someone.  

And here’s a really good one from the second episode:  Mark Jefferson says they’re going to be learning about chiaroscuro.  The contrast between light and dark.  You know, like how Mark Jefferson has both a light side (the one he uses to make friends with all of his students) and a both literal and figurative “dark side”.  

Fun fact:  A full moon was once believed to cause madness.  So would two moons cause twice the amount of madness?

Let’s appreciate the fact that Warren is a total lightweight and neither Chloe nor Max give him shit for it.

Another thing I wanted from BTS:  A better look at the Vortex Club and the idea that it was a cult.  Because this seems like an absurd amount of money and effort for what is essentially just a party where people are going to fuck and get high/drunk off their asses.  Seems like the Prescotts had some kind of angle, but the story never explains what it is and BTS completely ignores the opportunity to expand on it.

So who wrote this?  Probably Nathan, but there’s the slightest chance it was Mr. Jefferson.  He could have meant it to be an extra layer of proof that Nathan was responsible for everything if anyone came looking.

Chloe was almost shot by Nathan, which is what started the whole thing.  Then she actually gets shot by Mr. Jefferson, bringing things full circle in the worst possible way.  

Dun dun dun.

I am going to have a lot to talk about in Part 5.

[kathrynmjaneway]

spoilers spoilers spoilers!

About the end of AAU pt.2!

Now that we have the first bit of information about part three of Aliens Among Us, I am once again wondering how they are bringing Yvonne back to the living world.

Especially seeing that she was converted into a Cyberman and as such pulled into the void, with no chance of coming back and definitely not as a human – after all there was a whole episode right in the first season about the fact, that once converted, there was no going back. The human was gone, made into a machine.

(Additionally, it always said that they would bring someone back that had to be dead, so while I/we/most of us assumed it meant bringing someone who had died back to actual life, maybe instead it means that the person that seems to be back, is still very much dead and didn’t really come back in that sense of being alive again, if this makes sense.)

So the Yvonne here is not the same Yvonne that died in her last appearance on Doctor Who. So what or who is she then?

There has been the theory going around of her coming back as sort of a projection, like Norton Folgate uses, but since the synopsis for episode 9 says that there is a (dead) woman locked into a cell, we can most likely dismiss this theory as well, seeing as Yvonne seems to have an actual physical form. (locking a projection into a cell seems hardly efficient after all) (and there goes the ‘ghost theory’ as well :’D) (jk)

So naturally I have a few theories, some more likely than others [or just, crack :))) ]:

Yvonne from an alternate dimension. Maybe it’s the one from Pete’s world – they noticed in time what their Torchwood was up to, Yvonne could still be alive in that dimension and since Torchwood was shut down there, maybe she’s looking for a different Torchwood to lead now. Or, she’s from a completely different dimension. And the consequences of crossing between different dimensions could be devastating. (if Rose managed to cross dimensions even after the Doctor closed the last bridges, then Yvonne can find a way as well, if she wants to)

Yvonne from the past, pre Doomsday. She could have come through the rift, after all she worked right next to one, and we know that the rifts are unpredictable and go through time and space. (or she got herself a time machine/vortex manipulator)

These theories make me wonder how and if Bilis Manger is involved with bringing back Yvonne. After all he opened the rift (as briefly as it was, it did happen) and sent out a message. (I’ve got another theory about what that was all about that is probably more likely, but still.) Even if Bilis wasn’t directly involved in bringing Yvonne to this time and dimension, maybe she used the instability of the rift for her own purposes. The rift was unstable before already (mentioned before in ‘More Than This’ as well), it’s unpredictable, who knows what the rift is capable of? The rift being opened like that again by Bilis might have just be at the right time for Yvonne to use it. Anything is possible in the world of Doctor Who)

A clone. I don’t really think they’ll go for that, but clones are good old scifi, so I thought I’d mention it.

Evil twin. Also a classic. (or if the original Yvonne was the evil one, it’s the good one now? or equally morally grey twins?) (ok, now I’m just bullshitting)

Shapeshifting alien that changed into Yvonne.

Hand in hand with that theory – the god storyline will be picked up in part 3 of AAU. Now I’m not saying that Yvonne is necessarly a god, but the Sorvix are looking for one and maybe that god has shapeshifting abilities or just takes the form of someone convenient??? (this has to do with my theory about the Sorvix god-search and Bilis’ message through the rift, I’m still working on that post) (I’m back to bullshitting, but who knows. I don’t.)

Yvonne isn’t back after all! Someone (Jack most likely) is dreaming/hallucinating. Jack has been gone for the good part of the last few episodes and his behaviour has changed drastically. Something is definitely going on with Jack, so maybe he got into some trouble that got him knocked out, injected/infected with something, who knows. It’s a possibility and something that Torchwood hasn’t done yet (to my knowledge) (The concept of ‘dream worlds’ has been explored in DW, so while this theory is certainly out there and probably unlikely, I wouldn’t completely rule it out *shrugs*).

Of course the question is (also in terms of the dimension-hopping), how much Doctor Who they are bringing to the world of Torchwood, since while both shows obviously take place in the same universe, they are still different shows, with different recurring themes and plots. The lines are blurring here and there and Yvonne is definitely one of those bridges (especially seeing that in Torchwood One: Machines an old enemy of the Doctor seems to come back [idk, not familiar with Classic Who yet])

Well, to be honest, I have no idea how much sense these theories or I am really making here, but I’ve been thinking about this a lot, even went through all the Yvonne Hartman content we have as of now (I even rewatched Doomsday, not good), but I really have no idea how they are gonna do it. I’m really so excited to find out though in FEBRUARY (that long wait is just mean).

Anyway, any thoughts about this? Any other theories (that make more sense haha)?

[ser-yolomere-of-swagalore]

Man, I’m honestly so exhausted with all of this family-related drama. It’s gone well past the point where it was a “look at how fucked up my family is isn’t in wild” point of conversation and has just turned into something genuinely exhausting, and yes, people are most likely sick of me moaning and complaining about it, but I’m honestly just so tired. This whole crap with my sister-- helping look after her kid, putting up with her abuse, seeing the effect it has on my brother and my mam-- has just gotten so out of hand so long and drawn out and ridiculous that I really just don’t want anything to do with it any more. I love Liah, I really do. I’ve helped raise her for over a year and in that time I’ve learned how rewarding it can be to help raise kids, and it’s made me realize that I definitely do want kids one day, but this responsibility and the drama that comes along with it was something I never asked for. I took it up out of sheer necessity. My mother is 51 years old, with a bad back and a heel spur, and she just doesn’t have the energy to look after a growing, five-year-old girl any more, and so I’ve left to do a lot of what a traditional parent does. I get up with her in the mornings my mum doesn’t have to be up already, I get her ready, I bring her to school, I pick her up, I entertain her while mum is working, feed her, dress her, put her to bed, read her bedtime stories, do her homework with her... the list goes on. And like I said, it’s not like these are the parts that I resent; Liah is so loving and such a funny little kid, and I love her so damn much. These are valuable, bonding experiences that I have with her and every time she tells me she loves me or any time she laughs whenever we’re playing our games or we share one of our little jokes is so lovely that it does make it all feel as though it’s all worthwhile. But, the perpetual, constant effort and the time and the energy that doing stuff like this takes on top of knowing that the whole reason I’m even doing this is because my sister just isn’t capable and to a large part unwilling to is making me increasingly bitter and angry. Then we have the periodic battles with Sean over custody and access, the stuff that my sister does all of the time seeking attention or otherwise just doing what she wants to do without regard to the consequences or other people’s feelings, seeing my mam getting so stressed out and anxious as much as I am, seeing the lies and the horrible things that my sister has said affecting my brother, the anxieties that I have over my own future, over Liah’s future, the impacts it has on my mam’s health... it’s just so enraging. To think that my sister can so casually, so effortless relinquish the responsibility of raising the child she gave birth to, but then turn around and claim me and my mam are X, Y, and Z, cause more drama and more worry and more anxiety, just because she misses her and has decided she wants to be a half-decent mother for five minutes.  I remember when I last met with my aunt and uncle from the states (two of my absolute favourite people in the world, and people who I should try and keep in contact with more) and we were in Brother Hubbards in town, and I talked to them a little bit about what was going on with my sister, the pressure I felt like I was under, and they were so wonderful and understanding. They’ve always been incredibly supportive and encouraging (they see potential in me somewhere, I suppose, or perhaps they just feel sorry for me knowing what’s going on-- god that sounds pathetic) and when I gave them all the details they said that my sister was a vortex, and that I was getting slowly dragged into what she was doing to herself. If I didn’t pull myself out of it I’d end up trapped in it indefinitely, but what does pulling myself out of it even mean? Leaving my mam here alone to deal with all of this? Leaving Liah when she’s already so attached to me and end up hurting the both of us, but perhaps her moreso because she’s already lost her dad and her mam? I don’t want to do that. I don’t think I’d be able to happy knowing that I’ve just jumped so much responsibility and left it all with my mam, and knowing that Liah would miss me. And besides, how am I supposed to get out anyway? That kind of idea requires mobility, which requires money, not something I have a whole lot of. Hopefully, when I do get a job (THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO GET TWO MONTHS AGO HELLO COSTA???) I’ll be able to save up and maybe just get an apartment somewhere? Maybe that would be enough to erect some very much needed distance? Or would I just get dragged into it no matter how far I go? I honestly don’t know at this stage, and don’t know if I’ll even be able to do that if the opportunity does come around.  I mean, I’m sitting at home with Liah, watching Tangled with her, and as much as I’m trying to put on a happy and funny face for her, I’m also waiting for the guards to come because Sean decided that he wasn’t going to pick Liah up like he was supposed to last weekend and moved it to this weekend instead, even though the court order says it’s only every two weeks. He came, I had to argue with him at the door, he said that we breaking a court order for the third time(???) and then went to my aunt Mandy’s, because my sister, on the phone, told him that’s where she often brings her when she’s in work, then he gave Mandy shit when she’s nothing to do with this, said he was bringing the guards to her house too, then my mam got a call off the guards... etc., etc. So right now I don’t know if he’s going to turn up still, with the guards and my loud, unpredicated, batshit insane sister and demand to see her. I’m here, on my own, with Liah, trying to keep her entertained and pay attention to her cute little commentaries on Rapunzel's hair or respond to her silly little faces, but in reality I’m anxious as fuck worrying about what I’m going to do should that happen.  I never asked for any of this. I never did anything in all of this to warrant this. I wasn’t the one who had a child and got with a man who turned out to be a domineering, imperious asshat with the emotional intelligence of a laminated sheet who decided, all of a sudden, that he was Liah’s father. I should be working and saving up for my master’s degree and planning my future rather than rushing home to look after my niece and entertain her. I should be texting friends on my days off and asking if they’re free for a few pints or if they want to head out somewhere and hangout. Instead, I’m sitting here with my niece on my lap, looking out the window like a paranoid schizophrenic every time a car goes by thinking it’s either Sean and the guards and planning about what I’m going to say or do-- I can only imagine what my neighbours think every time I peek my goofy looking head out the window to check if it’s him. I’m incredibly anxious, feeling almost as though I’m on the verge of an anxiety attack (I probably sound like a right Tumblrina atm but that is something I’ve actually started having since all this started), and even when there’s nothing immediately wrong there are still these underlying issues and worries-- how long is this going to go on? Am I even doing a good job doing what I’m doing or am I only making things worse? Is this what my whole life is going to revolve around now? Liah is only 5, how long am I going to have to be an informal parent / steward / guardian for her? Until she’s 18? What impact is that going to have on my future? Despite being unemployed I feel as though I have so little time to myself any more. I can’t really read uninterrupted because I feel guilty about just plopping Liah in front of a television screen for two long and not interacting with her, and the same applies to playing games or even just hanging around on the internet for too long.  And people are probably wondering; well, why not just let Sean look after Liah? He’s clearly quite willing to considering he’s going through so much trouble himself to even just get access. And the truth is that we’re uncomfortable with Sean. Beside me and my mam’s own personal distaste for his character (he’s, as I said, imperious, demanding, condescending, disdainful, etc.) he’s also got a weird personal history that we feel is pretty suspect. I mean, the guy has sort of casually slipped into a number of family’s lives and taken on a very, well, “affectionate” attitude towards these people’s kids. I think he seems himself as a form of surrogate father for these people’s kids, and that makes me... uncomfortable. Why does he feel the need to become so close to these kids? He’s done so against the wishes of at least one family, as people have cut off contact with him for telling them how to raise their kids when he’s not even related to them and their parents are doing a perfectly fine job. Then there’s the duplicity, the willingness to listen to Michelle’s bullshit when he probably knows full well that she’s spouting lies because it provides an excellent starting point for legal invectives in court, the fact that he insists on Liah calling him Daddy when we’ve already expressed we’re uncomfortable with that, the fact that he sent messages to Liah’s father’s biological family implicating that Michelle attacked his mother... it’s just a whole load of bullshit, and we’re not happy with it. But, unfortunately, the courts ruled that he’s entitled to loco parentis because, when Michelle got involved with him, he spent enough time around Liah to be entitled to it. Now, the judge the last time we were in court said that we it up to him and had he been there at the ruling where he had been given it, he wouldn’t have given it at all, but unfortunately due to either a case of the judge’s oversight or simply because it appeared at the time that he was a good man worthy of it, he was awarded it. So that’s what we have to deal with. His constant butting into our lives because he was awarded loco parentis and visitation rights. Plus, Liah does love him. Misguidedly so, but she’s five, you obviously can’t blame her for that. And it’s painful to think about how heartbroken she would be were it a case she wouldn’t see him again-- although we do believe it’d be better in the long run. 

So that’s really it at the moment, anyway. I’m so fed up but I don’t know what to do.