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stxleslyds · 3 years

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MY TOUGHTS ON THE END OF RED HOOD BY CHIP ZDARSKY.

Dishonour! Dishonour on you, dishonour on your cow!

Well Jason Nation, it happened again, fanon wins over canon. The amount of bullshit that DC made Zdarsky write in this issue is insane, I have never seen this many fanfiction tropes shoved in a single issue in my life.

This book has been a constant insult to Jason’s character and his Red Hood “persona” since the very first issue but I never thought it would end this badly. It’s incredibly sad.

I will go ahead and say it, this tumblr and this post is not “Batfamily” friendly and it definitely isn’t fanon friendly when it comes to Jason Todd.

Fanon is destroying canon for Jason Todd. I am sorry but that’s how I see it, fanon doesn’t belong in canon, I would never get tired of saying that. But here is the thing, DC latches on to Jason’s fanon version because it fits their narrative of “the Batman is all that is right and all must follow his rules or they shall disappear”.

DC has been dying to make Jason bland and flavourless just like Batman. And now here it finally is.

Let’s be honest the story in this book, the new drug, Cheer, Tyler and his mom, none of that shaped this story, none of those things were the support beams for it. It was all about this never ending “daddy issues” thing that DC pretends is going on between Jason and Bruce.

It was all about those two fighting because they “think differently” so in the end they can push Jason towards the “no killing rule” being also the Red Hood’s modus operandi.

Its utter bullshit.

From the moment that Jason had to put a bat suit on I knew that this was going to be a mess. Luckily like I predicted they didn’t make a big deal out of him wearing it but the “Jason admires Batman” feeling was very present in the issue.

I will not talk about how easy it was for that one thug to land a punch on Jason while he was distracted and I will also not talk about Jason being a dumbass for not securing his dumb mask better when he knew the fight will involve gases. I will not talk about it.

Anyway, let’s talk about the Cheer Gas induced illusion, shall we?

In Jason’s illusion he finds Bruce at the manor looking at the picture of Joker’s death (?) and even though that is strange what Bruce says next is even weirder, he says this: “I did it. He was the last one, but I did it…Joker is dead. I am done.”

Now what the hell was that? This is Jason’s illusion, and by the looks of it in his illusion Bruce has killed every baddie in Gotham and left the Joker for last? Am I reading that right? Is this this a joke?

I understand that this is an illusion so the gas is making “real” things that Jason probably doesn’t know he wants, like wanting Bruce to go on a killing spree, which Jason never wanted because he said it himself, do you guys remember the iconic “I’m not talking about killing Cobblepot and Scarecrow or Clayface. Not Riddler or Dent…I’m talking about HIM. Just him.” Because I remember and it’s so important to Jason’s character, Jason never wanted Bruce to go on a killing spree, he wanted Bruce to kill the clown who had killed him when he was only fifteen. Is that so hard to remember DC?

And then it gets worse! Since WHEN has Jason wanted a perfect family life with the people that he has tried to kill, harm or looked down to? Why is “being with a bunch of people who NEVER get together for anything other than “help” the Bat in a fight against a fucking clown” the idea of happiness to Jason? Has this man ever interacted with any of these people in a positive way without the intrusion of a Batman/Robin event in the way? I will give you the answer, it’s no, the answer is no.

Jason Todd doesn’t care for your “Batfamily” bullshit DC, why would it matter to him? Because he was Robin? He was killed by the Joker when he was Robin, and he was killed because the man in charge of him didn’t pay enough attention! Jason Todd who was written as Dick Grayson’s number one hater for so long (and fandom loves that) is now having an illusion where he enjoys happy times with him along the others? Cass and Stephanie? What? Am I missing something, is this actually AO3, is this fanfiction?

I think Zdarsky got confused, this illusion is what would happen if Jason were dosed with fear gas. That must be it, I solved it everyone! Zdarsky just got confused by his own writing!

I wish.

Let’s go back to the sad reality, Jason has a moment in which he actually puts all his training in motion and shakes of the gas’s grasp on him. He does that but he is grabbed by so many people (who are this people?) and he is unarmed and I believe that’s the only reason why Cheer is still alive after saying that he has someone in Tyler’s mom’s hospital room ready to kill her if he doesn’t join him.

(If this were the real Jason, Cheer would have dropped dead instantly.)

But this is not the real Jason and this is not a *real* comic, it’s fanfiction! So just like that time in Batman #100 when Dick was fighting alone as Nightwing (for the first time since his “family” left him alone after losing his memories) the rest of the “family” shows up to fight Cheer and four random thugs.

Yep, its like the MCU had considered having Cap say “Avengers Assemble” when they were fighting a couple of robots instead of Thanos.

What a mess.

Also having Jason say, in real life (not illusion world), “You know what happiness is? It’s knowing that others have your back.” about this group of people is the perfect recipe for a big OOC moment for absolutely everyone. I cannot believe they have dragged Jason back to this awful concept and that they have sank him so low. It’s quite honestly, disgusting.

But the horrors don’t end there, we have a wonderful moment after Jason gives Batman the antidote, Jason stops Batman from punching the living shit out of Cheer. Because I am not stupid. There is no way in the world that you can convince me that Jason just stopped Batman from killing Cheer.

How incredibly delusional do you have to be to write Batman finally killing someone and that someone being Cheer, a guy that was introduced to comics two months ago?

Yes, later its said that between the gas and the antidote Bruce was a little too crazy and couldn’t help himself BUT I call bullshit once more, because Bruce has gone completely bat-shit-crazy on people before! I remember two recent instances in which that happened. Batman #57 in which Bruce beats the living shit out of KGBeast after he shot Dick. And the other one is Batman beating up Jason more brutally than he ever beat up Joker in RHatO #25.

DC cannot fuck with me. I might has bought this digital comic for 8 dollars but I am not buying that bullshit.

ALSO, there was no need for Zdarsky to do Jason as dirty as he did him when he made him say: “If you are going to come down from mount judgement to MY level for once… he’s not the guy to do it for.”

Zdarsky, why did you write a Red Hood story when you hate Red Hood? Couldn’t you have just told DC that you wanted to write a love letter to Batman? Once again, I am reading a Red Hood story for RED HOOD content not Batman content. Is it really that hard? I bet that if Zdarsky had asked DC to let him write a Batman story they would have said yes, there are like 20 Batman stories, they wouldn’t say no to one more!

Can you tell I am mad? And salty?

This post is so long and so full of anger, I am truly sorry for that but I have to write these feelings down or I would explode. And I am not even done, our suffering, Jason Nation, continues.

But first a little break from the pain, Tyler. Thank you after all the pain this book has given me Tyler is back and just like I predicted his mom is fine and he will stay with her, they both have been given a place and money to rebuild their life (not given by Jason nor Dick but I was close enough). The only happy ending that Tyler could have, he had and I am thankful for that, we even got a little adorable moment between the Red Hood and the Blue Hood.

I am weak for these little glimpses of a good Jason take in the middle of an incredibly awful/OOC story. And just to live in my own fantasy world I will headcanon that Jason promised himself to keep an eye out for Tyler and his mom. He would have wanted to know about their life and that they are still out of trouble.

Jason is a good man, don’t you forget that DC, I don’t care how much you twist it. Jason killing Tyler’s dad wasn’t a horrible act, it was fair game. That man was a horrible person, he drugged his child and made his wife (?) almost overdose. You never gave context as to why that man was working as a drug dealer but you told us those things so Jason should never feel like he did something wrong. As far as we know, Tyler and his mom are better off without him.

Having said that, lets go back to the pain of what is reading a Red Hood story.

“I’m giving up the guns.”

You know what, fine, as long as DC doesn’t pull another “I will stop being Red Hood for you Barbara” I will be fine. He can kill people with other things, he used to have the all-blades, he had normal swords and he had crowbars.

I will sacrifice Jason looking hot as hell when he pulls out his guns just to keep him as the Red Hood, all DC has to do is not give him that stupid… bat… symbol… oh no…. oh my god I can feel it… that thing, that horrible thing is making a comeback! NO!

Jason and Bruce’s talk is basic and it doesn’t do anything for anyone, in the end saying that Jason isn’t changing his ways for Bruce but that he is doing it for himself is more of the same. We know he is doing it for Bruce and we know DC is doing it because they cannot handle good, complex and interesting characters. We know that and sadly we have to live with it.

About Bruce’s illusion, well, Bruce has said that he wanted to kill the clown for a very long time and in the King run it was basically said that if Bruce were to be happy then the idea of Batman would die.

Listen, between me and you, sometimes I think that the Joker isn’t that big of a problem for Gotham as a whole, that clown has beef with the Bat and no one else. If Bruce has killed the Joker Jason would have been happy with Bruce all those years ago but killing the Joker wouldn’t make Gotham a safe place and any of his kids happier.

Bruce needs to care for his children, but he won’t do that, he has Dick for that. Taking care and raising Damian? No, thank you, I will not do that. Giving a shit about my son who lost all his memories and is alone? No thank you, I won’t do that and then I will lie about having watched him over. Tim? Oh, never heard of him, sorry.

The last page of this story is the one of Jason arriving home and finding a new suit that Bruce gave him with the bat symbol on it. That symbol that he had ripped off of Jason’s beat up body back in RHatO #25 (nope, I am not letting that one go).

Oh, and Bruce leaving that suit in Jason’s home gives me the same exact vibes as the time that Bruce was like “Long overdue. This is where you belong. As one of us. One of the family” in Nightwing #74 a second after Dick had regained his memories.

I don’t know why but they make him sound incredibly cold and like these people are just his pawns that he needs to rope back in every time they get away from him. It’s very disturbing.

Anyway, that’s all from me, I obviously LOVED this book, best Jason Todd/Red Hood characterisation ever! 11/10 would recommend to everyone including my enemies!

🙃

#jason todd #Jason Todd #red hood #Red Hood #batman urban legends #urban legends #urban legends red hood #red hood and the outlaws #red hood outlaw #dc comics

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jack-is-lost · 3 years

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PATCHES & PINS (CH 1)

A/N: This story revolves around a transgender, female to male, original character. LGBTQ+ topics are a given within this story. Gender and body dysphoria will come up as well since he is not out to his family — only close friends. If you dislike such a story premise please understand you do not have to interact with it at all. Leaving hate comments will be removed. Of course, constructive feedback is always welcomed.

Pairing: Eventually Marko x OTMC

Story is still in progress and updates will be slow

Eventually it will be posted on A03 once I’m a few chapters in

Currently on Chapter one | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 coming soon

Chapter one

My life, for the most part, has always been unusual — a little different. Despite having parents that looked like any successful mom and dad ought to, and an older brother willing to stick up for me, things just didn't go according to plan.

You see, my mother was excited to have a daughter finally. Someone to doll up and buy dresses for, maybe even enroll in a dance class. A stark difference to her firstborn, Tyler, who was all about karate lessons and throwing the ball with dad. Which eventually evolved to working on cars as he grew older. Our mother wanted somebody to share girly interests with, understandably. And, for a while, she was able to have it. The baby pictures are proof of that. Yet, as I grew older and became more aware of what I liked, the fewer things seemed cookie-cutter-perfect for my family.

"Are you not taking your bag to school, Jacklynn?" The mentioned item was nowhere in sight as the youngest of her children poured coffee — the action resembling someone needing every drop left in the pot as if to survive.

"It's the last day," came the grumbling response after a long, soothing sip. "I doubt most kids will even be showing up."

"Yeah, about that," Tyler, the oldest, spoke around a bite of toast. "Can't I be a minority and just stay home?"

"No, you only have one day left, guys." She smiled at her two kids. A graduate who had already filled out college applications, and is ready to further his engineering career. The other, soon-to-be senior, that seemed to have no real drive in anything but drawing and reading — and staying up too late apparently.

"Seriously," she spoke up again as they sighed in unison, deflating with their last hope crushed. "You two will survive."

Tyler nudged his sister, who leaned across the counter, jostling the coffee dangerously enough to receive a seething glare. "Want me to take you?"

It wasn't like Tyler to offer that too often, "Sure."

They both pulled away from the kitchen and made their way to the door, hollering goodbyes as Tyler grabbed the keys — the other sibling still nursing the coffee.

"Don't stay out too late!" Their mom called back, knowing full well she wouldn't see her kids after school. It seemed the closer summer drew in — the fewer tests to study for and homework to do, the more they came home later.

Tyler stepped into the car, unlocking the passenger door as he slid inside his cherry baby — A beaming red, 1983 Audi Sport Quattro, followed by his sister plopping down less elegantly. He glanced at her while starting the car.

"Talk to me, Jay." It was the last day, after all. Weren't kids supposed to be excited about that? "What's bouncing 'round that head of yours." He barely received any notion his sister was listening till she drew out a long sigh, head hitting the back of the seat.

"I don't know, man." It was drawn out, tired. "Didn't get much sleep, I guess."

Tyler nodded while giving the steering wheel a turn, making his way down the road. The school building wasn't very far when on wheels, and he pulled into a parking lot marginally less filled than it ought to be.

As his sister made to get out, he placed a hand on her shoulder, their eyes meeting as she paused halfway out the door. "Ever need to get a chip off your shoulder come talk to me, okay?" Her eyes rolled to the side, and Tyler gave her a little reassuring squeeze, "I'm serious. What are big —"

"— bro's for? I know, I know."

Tyler chuckled as he released her shoulder, "Good. Now," he slammed the door shut and leaned over the roof, "Go sleep in class or something." That at least drew a chuckle out of his sister as she turned away from the car.

The last day of school went how one could expect it to go. Some teachers put on movies and had extra treats for their students. Others went over lessons in the last semester, hoping it would stick to impressionable minds before three months of freedom — minds that were only thinking about freedom and not math.

It was by mid-day when a note made its way into Jay's locker. In gruff, almost unreadable handwriting, it merely said, 'Meet us by the big tree'. Jay instantly knew who it was from and folded the paper up.

A long night was probably ahead.

When the final bell rang, Jay had to wipe the drool off an impromptu pillow-desk before heading out and down the hall. Many of the kids loudly boasted about their summer plans while cleaning out lockers, jostling each other, and hurrying outside. Jay maneuvered around the hoard and quickly escaped out a side entrance, locker already empty since lunch.

It didn't take long to walk a block to the park, down a jogging trail, before splitting off into a cluster of trees. There, in the center of it, laid a large trunk of a dead tree. Upon it splayed out a makeshift map, bags, and — unsurprisingly, two brothers.

"Finally," Grumbled Edgar while raising his head, a red marker still poised over the map. "Where's Sam?"

Jay stared, unaware that Sam was supposed to tag along for the stroll after school let out. "Was I meant to wait for him or?"

"Forget it," came the short grunt, and Edgar was back to the more important matter at hand as Alan turned around to face Jay.

"I'm sure he'll show up. He's got the same note as you," he started to unravel what appeared to be a chaotic ball of cord in his hands. "Oh, hey—" he stopped as a thought struck him, "—Still a no go on the knife?"

Oh, not this again.

Jay leaned against the bare trunk, arms crossed and brow lifted. "Alan, we've been through this. Keep me on the books, but hand me a knife, and someone will lose a finger."

Of course, no one knew if Jay meant their fingers or not, and that was on purpose.

"Maybe some training will help," Edgar spoke up again, pausing on circling locations. "You need to prepare yourself for—"

"— the unexpected. I get it, Ed." Jay cut him off while peering closer to get a look at the map.

"Edgar," he corrected with a tired mutter despite it being useless. They've known each other for an entire year now. One would think it wouldn't matter at this point.

Jay tapped a finger on the closest circled spot, the cemetery. "Thought you marked this off?"

"One can never be certain," He nodded to his own words of wisdom. "It is a common ground for the dead."

"I'd say," Jay suppressed a snort, "It is where the deceased go to be laid into the ground."

Rustling noises announced Sam’s arrival as he pushed through, almost smacking himself in the face with a thin branch. His strained voice drew attention to him. “Guys,” he dusted a leaf off his overly styled coat, “We really need to find a better spot to meet.”

Jay lazily offered a salute wave, “Hey to you too, Sammy.”

“I’m serious,” Sam huffed while taking up a spot near Alan, hands shoved into his pockets. “What about the shop? Y’know, with school now over and stuff?”

Edgar grunted in thought. “Yeah, that ought to be doable.”

“Your grandpa still against us being at the house?” Alan spoke up.

Sam gave a partial shrug. “Sort of,” he eyed the map, then glanced at Jay, who returned the unspoken question with a tired look. Sam returned to explaining when Edgar motioned for him to continue. “You guys can visit, as you have, but you can’t — you know —” he shuffled his hands for the right phrasing, “— bring hunting business there.”

Jay had never actually been to Sam’s place, but the stories shared made it sound like a lot of stuff went down there — destroying property kind of stuff. So Jay could understand what the man was trying to avoid. The Frog Brothers being walking time bombs of destruction, after all.

“The cemetery again?” Sam squawked at noticing it. “I am not doing that again.” The sound of Jay snickering redirected Sam’s defiant stare. “Make Jay do it this time.”

“Wait, wha—”

“—He doesn’t have the qualification for it, Sam.” Edgar cut in before an argument could occur. This only made Sam huff, arms crossed and brows furrowed.

“So? I didn’t either last year.”

Alan stopped weaving the cord at this point, placing it down on the dead trunk. “Jay needs the experience. It could be good for him.” He simply spoke, agreeing with Sam.

“Hey, Jay’s right here,” he had pointedly avoided parading around Santa Carla for a whole damn year. Sure, his knowledge of supernatural things is what drew the Frog Brothers to him in the first place — and the free charge of ordering books at their shop kept Jay in the circle, but he was a good year older than them and didn’t feel like playing make-believe.

Sam smirked in the way that screamed challenging, “C’mon, Jay, or are you scared of the dark?”

Jay narrowed his eyes, “I know what you are doing.”

“Then prove me wrong,” Sam continued.

“No.”

Despite that, Jay found himself amongst the dead at one in the damn morning. It was eerie, the cemetery, sitting in absolute silence and blanketed by a coat of darkness. The only noise now filtering through was shoes scrapping against the ground and low grumbles around him, voices hushed as not to alert anybody — or anything. Even their flashlights were ordered to stay off unless it called for it, as directed by Edgar.

“Exactly what should we be expecting to find here?” Jay spoke up quietly while trailing behind the two brothers, hands stuffed into his jacket. It was chilly tonight.

“Any signs of the undead.” Edgar simply said without much explanation, to which Alan filled in.

“Disturbed graves, tombs broke, drag marks.” he ticked off like a list.

“Ah,” Jay deadpanned. “So zombies?” the brothers turned to him, the moonlight hitting their frames but leaving their faces shadowed. “What?”

“Could be vampires too.” Edgar simply grunted. “Fresh ones crawling out of their dirt bed.” Alan nodded along with his brother, and Jay sighed.

“Sure, yeah. That too,” It wasn’t like anything of the sort actually existed, but Jay would humor the guys. They put up with his oddities, after all, so he could continue to do the same for them.

“Didn’t any of your books mention that?” Edgar continued while turning around, walking along a worn-out path again, and avoiding stepping on actual graves.

“A little,” Jay admitted as they continued on their trek.

A majority of Jay’s supernatural books were all about how one became something, the signs, and lore behind creatures — not exactly if they crawl out of graves or not. It made sense, though, if considering how people feared vampires in the past. How they would stake and behead someone during burial just in case their loved one decided to raise again.

Same could be said about leaving a bell.

Alan suddenly crouched down near the edge of a grave. “Look,” his flashlight clicked on to bask the empty hole in light. Edgar followed promptly as Jay stared at the two figures eyeing an obvious dug hole for a burial happening soon.

“It might be a sign.” Edgar rubbed a finger over the crumbling edges, dirt smearing and falling back inside the pit.

“Or,” Jay leaned over them to get an exact look at the perfect outline, “It is the groundskeeper getting ready for a funeral. There’s not even a casket down there.” Jay simply summarized before leaning back.

Alan clicked off the light and stood, “He’s right, Edgar. It is too perfect.”

“Hey!” the voice resonated out, cutting the muffled talking off as a beam of light frantically flailed in their directions. “What are you kids doing?!”

Without a shared word between the three, just mere glances at one another, they quickly split. Or at least Jay tried to do just that, but the brush of Edgar flying past him in a rush entirely threw him off balance. It wasn’t until tailbone smashed into dirt that Jay even figured out what happened.

“Fuck…” he muttered, then covered his mouth as the light grew brighter over the grave from above, rushing footfalls growing closer before fading away in the direction the brothers ran. Once it was clear, the curse slipped again with more fever.

Jay eased to his feet and stared above his head, the wall towering almost a foot over him. “They truly mean six-feet-under,” he muttered while raising a hand to the ledge, just able to cup fingers over the lip, only to stumble back as it gave away.

The recent rainfall was not making it easy.

Again Jay tried to grab, shoes scraping along the wall in an attempt to gain some height — thinking if he just rushed up the wall it would give him enough momentum, only to fall back against the adjacent wall.

“Shit — fuck,” Jay didn’t even care if his voice traveled that time. He was stuck in a damn grave, after all! Screw it!

“Need a lift?” came a voice from above, and Jay shot his gaze upward to see a hand reaching down toward him. The moonlight didn’t offer much else to see but light curls and the frame of a coat.

Even if it were the security guard, Jay knew this would be his best bet. It wasn’t like waiting till daylight to be discovered was an option. It would not help much in regards to needing to be home before Jay’s parents could find out he even snuck out.

He reached for the hand, feeling leather against palm and uncovered fingers wrap around his wrist. It took only one good heave, shoes against the wall and other hand clinging to the edge, to be entirely pulled out. Despite mud caking Jay from front to back, he could even feel it in his shoes; it felt good to be back on the surface. It wasn’t like he had a fear of enclosed places, but it still sucked regardless.

“Thanks,” he looked over at the stranger, still only catching the slightest glimpse of a smirk within the darkness. It was hard to make out any features, and the way the guy stood didn’t help anything.

“Were you takin’ a dirt bath?” he joked inquisitively, and Jay chuckled under his breath.

“No, not exactly.” Who would want to do that in a cemetery anyway?

The beam of a flashlight washed over them again as rustling sounds drew near, and Jay stepped away from the pre-dug grave. Definitely not wanting to repeat that incident all over.

“Looks like we should start running,” spoke up the other guy, head turned away from Jay to peer toward the security guard.

What was once hidden was now lit up like a spotlight. A smooth curved jawline, willowed eyes bright with brown, and curly dirty blond hair glowed on display for a split moment. Until the flashlight jostled by the running security guard fanned over the area. And Jay would be lying if he said he didn’t stare.

“Avoid any more holes, yeah?” he easily teased before seemingly stepping in a direction with no real speed.

Jay floundered for a moment before taking off after him. “Wait.” Jay didn’t know the grounds that well, and the two idiots that did had left him.

The guy laughed while reaching behind him, grabbing Jay’s wrist again with no problem, then started to run as the worn-out guard hollered something. He seemed to avoid any lifted tombstones, flower arrangements, and small fences like it were daytime. All while Jay tried his best not to stumble, gaze more on the ground than anywhere else.

When they neared the exit gate, chained to prevent people at such odd hours to visit, he let Jay’s arm go and placed both palms out while crouching down. Jay didn’t have to ask and quickly stepped into the waiting hands. He felt the guided push upward as his own hands grabbed for purchase, trying to avoid being nicked by the gothic-style fence. Yet, as Jay’s leg swung over, his pants snagged and ripped — the gravity of his body spilling over the other side holding little resistance.

Surprisingly Jay landed on his feet, if not a little wobbly, and quickly looked through the fence to see the guy still standing there undeterred. “You coming?”

“Don’t worry about me,” he simply said. Jay wanted to comment, but the sight of the guard pushing past the nearest tombstones shut him up. “Go.” he laughed again — actually laughed as if nonplussed by the whole thing. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep him distracted.” Then he turned around and fanned his arms out as if directing air traffic before darting down the side of the fence.

And that was the last Jay saw of the guy before quickly hiding behind the bushes lining outside of the cemetery, not wanting to be seen as the flashlight shown in his direction.

The walk home was slow as he picked flakes of mud off his jeans. Jay could feel the dry mess on his face and in his hair. A shower was needed as well as a talk with the Frog Brothers tomorrow. No way were they getting off free from abandoning him in the damn graveyard! Even as he climbed back through the bedroom window, Jay was envisioning how he’d throttle them. It wasn’t until he was in the shower, scrubbing extra hard to clean the grime off, that his thought wavered to the stranger.

“Why was he even there?”

#My writing #the lost boys #fanfiction #LGBTQ+ story #transgender fanfiction #Marko x OTMC #patches & pins

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aurirising · 4 years

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Potentially unpopular/controversial opinion

The squad overreacted to Kal's parentage being revealed and he's still a good person

I've had a lot of these thoughts swirling around in my head ever since it cleared enough to process Aurora Burning and I just wanted to get them out since I've also seen a lot of people really hating Kal after this book. Kal isn't, never has, and never will be my favourite character, or probably even top 3, but I have a lot of feelings about this and I think that everyone, including the characters, is being harsher than reasonable.

Okay so, they were all perfectly justified in feeling betrayed and upset because that is an upsetting thing to hear, especially for Scarlett since the Starslayer is the reason her dad is dead and now she's lost Tyler because of the Unbroken and Auri would definitely be questioning everything after all that time together. BUT, they know Kal better than that, he's defended and protected them plenty of times and he's shown that he's loyal to them even if he hasn't told them everything about himself. It's not like every person on that squad gave up their entire life story the moment they met, is it? No. Because People. Have. Secrets. I don't care how much of an open book someone might be, every single person who has ever lived has kept secrets, however mundane or earth-shattering they may be.

I guess technically he lied by saying his father was dead but it's understandable given the circumstances and how he feels about him. But that's not what we're discussing because no one needs another Empire Strikes Back "from a certain point of view" argument. Whether his father was dead or alive, good or evil, it wouldn't matter all that much because, and here's the important thing, PEOPLE ARE NOT THEIR FATHERS.

Kal even explains and makes it clear to them his position and why he did what he did. Like yeah, he hid who he was and used his mothers name to forge a new life - at a place where he could HELP PEOPLE no less - but, can you blame him? Like, he's a better person who tries so hard all the damn time to be better than he was taught to be and people already judge him before they know him on the basis that he's warbreed, there's no reason he should also have to have his life ruined because of his father, whom he wishes to be nothing like. And if anyone, including them, wants proof that he's genuine in his actions, just look at what he has to deal with every day. His own people despise him because of his Cabal - both Unbroken and refugee alike for their own reasons, other species are instinctively distrustful of him due to the same thing, and he's basically all alone in the universe with no one who cares about him or shows him anything but hatred, contempt, or indifference until he becomes part of Squad 312. Like, life would be so much easier if he just joined his father and became what he was raised to be, but he chooses always to be better than that and to fight on the side of good, even if it's the harder path. And if you think about it logically for a minute, the idea that it might be some sort of spy/infiltration thing is completely unfounded just based on the Unbroken's ideals and way of operating. They wouldn't care about that kind of sneak tactic - which also would basically be a pointless exercise given Kal is a 19-year-old student at the academy, if they wanted to destroy the legion or anything, they'd just do it. Like these people are built for and love war, they'd just attack if they wanted to.

Maybe Kal should have told the squad, but I completely understand him wanting to leave that part of his life behind, and how was he to know Saedii would find and come after him? He had no idea what would happen on their mission, no idea the Unbroken would turn up and discover who he was and put everyone in danger. None of them knew any of this would happen. And look, I agree, after Saedii and the Unbroken started coming after them, he probably should have said, but I still get him not wanting to. Yeah being the Starslayer's son probably made the Unbroken getting him more of a priority, but even without that, he's still a warbreed with a Templar sister who hasn't joined them, and that's more than enough for the Unbroken to want to hunt him down and either kill him or get him onside.

Also like, Kal ain't an actor folks, he wouldn't be able to fake the Pull or how it makes him react, I'm sure of it. And you know 6 months of that relationship with Auri and all the feelings that went with it - that he clearly showed since Auri was so sure of it before the reveal - is in no way something he or probably anyone else would be able to fake so convincingly, especially given Auri's gifts.

Now, you might say, "but Amy, he went and joined his father in the end!" and to that I ask, did he? Did he really?

This boy showed clearly in his POV chapters that he despises his father and what he was made into at his hand. And this isn't some third person narrator which leaves us room to doubt, this is first person, this is his actual thoughts. He doesn't want to be part of the Unbroken.

Now, we don't know Kal's entire thought process but I highly doubt he didn't have some kind of plan in going to his father - the only one on the side of good who could possibly get anywhere close to him without being killed. Whether or not his plan was to murder his father from the begining or if that idea only came when he saw Auri being hurt by him is debatable, but he for sure wasn't there to truly join the Unbroken. Maybe it was even just that he had absolutely nowhere else to go. He was abandoned by his squad, he's a wanted criminal by multiple governments, and, as a warbreed, no one else of his species would trust him. Awful as it sounds, to his father is about the only safe place he can go. You can tell he's not happy about it, but I have a feeling he had a plan, or at least the beginnings of one - whether that plan was to help Auri if she succeeded in getting there, kill his father at some point while he was occupied with something else during the attack, or bide his time in the hopes of stopping this all in some other way, is what I don't know. To be honest, if it weren't for the way Auri and the others think and act in the chapters after they abandon him, I wouldn't be surprised if this was actually some part if their plan.

But anyway, that's my 2 cents on the matter of Kal in this book. This was written moments after waking up so I hope it's coherent and I actually covered everything I meant to. But,

Tl;dr: Kal had very understandable reasons for doing everything he did and people shouldn't be as hard on him as they have been.

Edit: I just had a quick skim back through the chapter and although Kal had no real solid plan, he wanted to kill his father and planned to whenever the opportunity presented itself. So, literally how anyone can still be mad at him (except the squad who have no idea), I truly don't understand.

#aurora cycle #aurora burning #aurora burning spoilers #kal gilwraeth #discussion #im sorry this is long without a read more but im on mobile and can't add one #rant

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #336

"get back, you’re never gonna leave him / get back, you’re always gonna please him”

What were your favorite things to draw when you were a lil kid? When I was a very little kid, idk. But once I got into meerkats... I drew them like crazy. Do you think there is something with or around you, like a spirit, angel, ghost or something else? How does this make you feel? No. Imagine you’re a stranger looking at yourself. What things would immediately catch your eye? Ugh, let's not. When did you feel the most confident in your life? Probably my senior year of high school. I was happy with Jason with plans for the future together, I was doing excellently in school... I thought I was really going to go somewhere. Do you think love is needed to have good sex? For some people, no. For me, loving one another is an absolute must. Do you think, or want to, die in the city you currently live in? Fuuuuuuuck no, I hate it here. What is the strangest thing you have ever encountered? Probably when I was otw home from my doctor appointment and we passed a random guy in drag walking on the side of the street... That guy is an icon. Favourite soft drink? It's really strawberry Sunkist, but I love it to a degree I don't even allow myself to drink it, because I will fucking destroy that shit so quick. So I tend to just say Mountain Dew Voltage is my fave. What do you like to put gravy on? I hate gravy, period. Have you ever gone canoeing/kayaking? No, but it sounds fun. What is one thing you know about your family history you’re proud of? Uhhhh idk. Who depends on you the most? My snake. Are you related to anyone famous or historical, if so who? Yes; William Clark and Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth, idr which. Would you ever donate a kidney to anyone, and who? Mom. She only has one kidney, so, y'know. She kinda needs at least one. I wouldn't even hesitate. What is the main quality you think makes a great parent? Unconditional love. What three things do you think of most of each day? My weight is #1. Every second of every day, it, as well as Jason, are somewhere towards the front of my mind. The final is financial and job-oriented stuff. Does/did your high school have pop machines? It did. Do you know anyone who’s won the lottery? No. Have you ever slept in a water bed? Yeah. How often do you use Flickr? I pretty much abandoned my account; nowadays I only occasional check my friend's profile who works at the Kalahari Meerkat Project because she uploads wonderful pictures of the 'kats as well as gives interesting info about them! Who is the last child that you took a photo with? Mom took a picture of me holding my youngest niece Emerson because it surprised everyone; I NEVER hold babies. She crawled over to me and reached up though, so of course I was going to pick her up. How often do you wear hats? Never. Would you ever get a nature tattoo? Sure! Idk what, but I'm rather sure I'll get at leaast one. Is anyone in your family sick at the moment? No. Where do your siblings work, if anywhere? My older sister is a mammographer, and my younger sis is a social worker. Where is your favorite place to buy groceries? Wal-Mart, I guess. Who do you generally talk to the most? My mom. Is anyone saved in your phone under a nickname? Mom is "Mama Bear," and then my siblings are "Little Sister" and "Big Sister." Whose birthday is coming up? My lil sister has her birthday in April. Have you ever ordered from an informercial? No. When, where, and why did a needle last pierce your skin? I needed to get blood drawn for some testing. It was drawn from my inner elbow, obviously at the doctor. Have you been to an escape room? Was it a success? I never have, but it'd be fun. I enjoy puzzles. How many followers do you have on Instagram? I don't feel like checking. What’s the most recent music video you watched? Thoughts? "Mutter" by Rammstein. I picked a screenshot from it to draw, so I rewatched it to select one. It's a beautiful video, but also strange, which Rammstein is great at. Have you ever recorded a cover of a song? No. What makeup products are your go-tos? If I wear makeup, the bare minimum is black eyeliner. Are you going to school this year? No. I gave college as many shots as I could handle both sanity-wise and with finances in mind. I do NOT want to even ATTEMPT to imagine the debt I have after going to three different colleges and dropping out each time. What is your favorite water activity? I enjoy just kinda swimming around aimlessly, relaxing. What are your favorite video games? Okay, I talk about SH2 and SotC enough on questions like this, so I'll mention some others I really enjoy as well: the Silent Hill franchise in general, Spyro games, The Last Guardian, both The Evil Withins, The Last of Us, some Resident Evil games (the 4th in particular), etc. etc. I just love video games. Do you like jello? I enjoy the flavor, but the texture makes me squirm. When was the last time you gave someone "the finger?" Probably while riding in the car with Mom when a dumb motherfucker swerved into our lane. Or something like that, idr the exact occasion. Have you ever held a snake? Yesssss, I want to hold all the snakes. ;_; Most unique place you’ve ever been to? Uh. I guess maybe the Whirligig Park/"Acid Park" nearby us? It's just this large expanse of unique architecture that are mostly, as you guessed it, extravagant whirligigs. You've got to see it if you come to the town. I have some pictures on my deviantART if you wanna see a few pieces. If you were a superhero, what color would your cape be? NO CAPES! Have you ever slept out on your porch all night? Oh fuck no. I'd feel way, way too unsafe. Do you like horror movies? Yeah! What’s your favorite Coke product? Just normal Coke. Watergun or water-balloon war? Watergun. I don't like being hit with stuff. Do you know anyone that’s afraid of elevators? I kind of am. Is there anything in your room that belongs to a boyfriend, or a friend of the opposite sex? I have three plushies from Jason, Tyler, and Girt. My Marilyn Manson poster is also from Juan. Who’s your favorite Beatle? I don't know; I was never a big fan, so I don't know any of them as people well at all. Have you ever texted an ex whilst drunk? How’d that go? I've never been drunk, but no, I've never texted an ex because I was drinking. Do you have to stand on your tip-toes to kiss your boyfriend? I don't have one. The only instance where I had to do that was with Girt. Tall motherfucker. Have you ever been tackle-hugged? Yes. Those are the best. Have you ever rejected someone’s kiss before? Girt once tried to make out with me and I noped the fuck outta that situation. It was so fucking awkward. Is your mood or the overall tone of your day often affected by the dreams you had the night before? My nightmares definitely can. Do you think that there are any positive aspects or outcomes of suffering from a mental illness? If you have a mental illness, do you think it has changed you for the better in any way? I definitely believe my mental illnesses forced me to mature faster and also instilled a great sense of empathy in me. And don't forget emotional endurance. What is your opinion on celebrity culture and celebrity worship? Have you ever been guilty of putting a celebrity on a pedestal? Do you think it’s somehow more acceptable/understandable to obsess over certain types of celebrities (musicians over YouTubers, say) than others? At what point do you think an obsession like that crosses the line? It's dangerous and can be very blinding. An outsider could say I put Mark on a pedestal, but I've always been very aware that he's not perfect and really just another human, I just happen to love him a lot for the human he is, haha. As time's passed, my vision of him has become healthier though (not to say it ever reached the "unhealthy" threshold); it's gotten easier for me to judge him and stuff like that. I think an obsession crosses the line when you put on rose-tinted glasses to look upon someone and entirely ignore their flaws, or if you try to invade their personal lives, ex. being one of those creeps that loiter outside their houses and stuff. If you were to pursue a career in photography and had the opportunity and means to photograph whatever you wanted, what would most like to photograph? Ah, livin' the dream. If I had to choice and would be paid well regardless of focus, I would absolutely travel and photograph the local nature/wildlife. Is there a certain type of clothing (outerwear, activewear, loungewear, etc.) that you enjoy shopping for more than others? Shirts, 100%. Are you ever afraid to post your ideas, artwork, photography, etc. online for fear that they will get stolen or not credited? When it comes to OCs, yes, given that things have been stolen from me before. Photography doesn't worry me much because I don't think I'm good enough for someone to possibly want to steal it (and besides, I use a watermark), and I do the same for drawings. It's the unique characters I make I worry about being stolen if I share them. When is the last time you did something sexual? A few years back. Who is the last person you showered with, if anyone? I haven't showered with someone since I was a little kid and my younger sister and I would to conserve water. What do you think when you see roadkill on the side of the road? It really makes me genuinely sad, and I always wonder if it could have been avoided if the driver was more alert, slower, and thinking about more than the damage it could cause to their car... I enjoy photographing roadkill, brutal as it may be, out of respect for them and the desire to make their individual stories known and just kind of like, raise awareness of it. Too many people are just annoyed by hitting an animal versus more concerned. "Stupid deer," stuff like that. I sometimes worry that doing so can be interpreted as disrespect, to photograph and publish pictures of their corpses online, but I sure hope not. It's the least of my intentions. I just want people to see and care. Have you ever had an ex that just didn’t understand that it was over? Biiiitch I was that ex, 120%. But besides my situation with Jason, this was how Tyler was. I had to tell him about five thousand times to stop texting me. Are your fingernails currently short or long? They're always pretty short. Would you rather have big or small dogs? I like medium-sized dogs most. I'd have to pick large dogs between the two, though. What is your favorite sports drink? I'm not a fan of sports drinks. What was the last compliment you gave a guy? Yesterday, a guy in PHP shared two poems he wrote while hospitalized, and they were wonderful, so full of passion and emotion. I sure as hell told him they were amazing. He's going for his Master's for poetry, so he knows what he's doing for real. Does your jaw ever crack, pop, or lock? It's popped on very, very few occasions. Have you ever thought of how you would give your kids “the talk”? I don't want kids, so no, I've never thought of this. I certainly wouldn't wait for sex ed in school, though. I feel like it's a bit late. I feel children need to know what it's about at a younger age with how disgusting some people are... I want them to be informed on what consent and molestation are so they know to let Mama know so I can punch someone's face into a whole new galaxy if they're ever violated. Do you ever feel like you’re missing out on something? Oh, always. Do you ever write/draw on windows that are fogged up? I did as a kid, sure. Not so much now. If you were married, and your spouse’s parents became ill, would you let them move into your home? If they were truly sick enough to need assistance but not actual hospitalization, yes. I'd want my spouse to do the same for me. Have you screamed in a pillow before? Yyyyep. What do you like more, acoustic or electric? Electric. Did you actually have a cookie jar? We have a Santa one, though I don't even know if we ever used it versus just having it as a decoration. What’s worse, having someone mad or disappointed in you? Disappointed. What do you bite on more, your tongue, lip, or nails? Bottom lip. Do you think that knowing when and how you’re going to die would ruin your life? "Ruin" it seems a bit extreme, but I definitely wouldn't like it. Do you have a favorite bromance? From TV or a movie. Not really, if we're only talking those two options. Do you find flea markets and thrift stores enjoyable? Yeah, you really can find the coolest shit for great prices. What color is your wallet? Mostly red and white; it's a Harley Quinn design. Have you ever been somebody's photography subject? No. Nicki Minaj fan? I believe she's a very talented rapper, but I don't enjoy her actual music. I just don't like rap. Have you ever seen the Niagara Falls? No, I wish tho.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''angel with the scabbed wings'' by marilyn manson

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bathroombreaks · 4 years

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gg 1x01 rewatch

the questions are from @pynkhues, you can find them here.

1. What was your favourite scene of the episode? Tell us why!

oooh it’s def the scene where the girls are getting ready to rob fine & frugal. i just find it hilarious that they’re about to rob a store and they’re talking about how their kids are doing in school?? like, what absolute lunatics!! and i think it sets up their dynamic very well right from the beginning, idk. everyone’s always saying that the three girls have a very lived-in chemistry and i agree and i think you can feel it right from this first scene of them together

2. Was there any scene that missed the mark for you? And if so, how?

idk?? i’m very bad at reading and watching things critically, i’m very easy to please, i think?? and this ep just makes me pleased as punch!! but i guess that the scene with beth and amber, while funny, doesn’t really hit the mark for me?? idk, the way she’s framed as a “beautiful dummy” and not as much at fault as dean kind of irks me. i totally get that dean is the married one, but amber clearly knew he was married and somewhat regularly saw his wife, i don’t think she should really be absolved of that. and, idk, i don’t like that she basically got a prize for cheating - like, “here, you helped my husband cheat on me, so take some money to go live your dreams” is such a weird response?? beth was very scathing in the delivery and i get the point was for amber to be out of their lives but, like, still?? why not just tell dean he has to fire her?? this just further proves that beth is an idiot and an absolute lunatic, which we already knew

3. Let’s talk about the Big 6 Character Intros – Beth, Ruby, Annie, Dean, Stan, Rio. What did you think? What did you like? What did you dislike?

oooh i really liked all of them!!!

i absolutely love annie’s, it’s so fun with the car speeding and then with her banter with ben. i love the way they set up their dynamic right from the get go!!

and then ruby and stan’s intro was also amazing!! you get right away that they love each other so much and are so supportive of each other!! the way they both gesture when sara is talking about the women standing next to the men is so cute!!! i love it!!

rio’s is also amazing, he’s a snarky little bitch right from the get go and they really did a great job of also surprising us, thanks to the camera angle, and really driving home that he’s the boss.

i think the one i liked the least is actually beth and dean’s?? i mean, they do a good job of immediately letting you know that beth is the overworked mother and dean is the lazy, good-for-nothing husband - i mean, she’s running around, taking care of everything, and then he just strolls in and asks the kids to go to the car, without even having his tie done. but i think it’s a little misleading and i think it’s one of the reasons why the fandom (including myself) maybe has a harder time accepting beth staying with dean (aside from the fact that dean is a fucking asshole and he deserves nothing less than a horrible death, i mean)?? it really sticks in your mind this contempt she seems to have for him?? and, of course, then you get the flashback to beth getting waxed for him, and so you understand that they were maybe going through a bit of a rough patch but she wanted to work through it, but what sticks in your mind is that first scene, where she’s full of contempt, not even able of saying a perfunctory i love you back. and since they seem to want to drag out the boland marriage as much as possible, i think they kind of failed there.

4. Ruby tells Stan to fix the damn door! Is Stan an amazing handyman? A terrible one???

i think stan is anywhere from ok to amazing, they’re just so overworked that he hasn’t had time?? idk, paired with the fact that he says he’s pulling a double at the beginning of the ep and that it doesn’t seem to be a new or uncommon thing, it just reads to me like a thing he really does want to take care of at some point but hasn’t found the time to do yet

5. Do you think Beth, Ruby or Annie had a way out of their individual financial situations that didn’t involve crime?

in short: nope. in long:

ruby and stan are desperate. they mention stan’s parents at some point, but i assume they just don’t have the money to help them?? and, i mean, they’re both working double shifts and they mention that they’ve had their gofundme page up for years. i think if they had any other way they absolutely would’ve already taken it, for sara’s sake.

we can assume from the flashbacks we get in 2x08 that annie and beth didn’t have as stable a home life as all that. i assume that either their parents are both now dead or they just have no communication with them. either way, they don’t have them as a safety net.

when it comes to annie, she’s working a minimum wage job, driving a very shitty car and her kid’s laptop has been broken for a month without her being notified, because said kid knows they don’t have the money to get a knew one. she does ask for help from the richest person the girls know later (that’s how i think they phrased?? i’m pretty sure), her ex, who promptly says no. so, yeah, it’s safe to say she doesn’t have a way out of her financial situation either.

and, in regards to beth, i think she would absolutely help ruby (and annie) if she could. so the fact that she doesn’t, paired with the fact that we get mentions later that this is not the first time dean has managed to basically bankrupt the car dealership, makes me assume that either the bolands were living close to paycheck to paycheck, but stable enough that she didn’t worry, or that she did think they had some spare money and did give that to them when she could?? because i don’t see how she would not give ruby the money for sara, if she thought she had it, especially when she does it later in the season.

so, no, i don’t really think any of the girls had safety nets or ways to get out of their financial situation. except for beth. she could’ve gotten a job. i know it would’ve been hard because of her lack of work experience, but she could’ve at least tried instead of immediately jumping to robbery!!

6. Is Beth’s backsplash dope? Or was Rio just being a dick??

both!! i mean, i personally like the backsplash, but rio was absolutely just being an asshole, whether or not he did believe it was dope had nothing to do with it.

7. Five major story locations were set up this episode – Ruby’s house, Beth’s house, Annie’s apartment, as well as Fine & Frugal and Boland Motors. Was there anything that jumped out for you about these locations in this episode? Do you think that they were well established given what happens in each across the course of the series?

ok so i don’t know enough about like tv shows and storylines and all that stuff to answer this, i’m sorry. but, like, i think it’s very cool that fine & frugal is robbed in the first and last episodes of season 1, it’s a fun full-circle type of thing, and i love that we’re introduced to boland motors via dean’s affair and beth’s destruction of it because it’s something that permeates the place throughout the whole time?? i mean, beth later “borrows“ one of the cars, rio smashes the corvette because of beth, it gets raided by the fbi because of beth’s illegal activities - beth is always destroying it, even when she’s not literally destroying something like in that first episode. and in season 2 we have beth fully realising just how deep dean’s betrayal was in the middle of the boland motors showroom. both of those things are always there!! it’s cool. and saying that, i mean, they kind of went the same route with boland bubbles, if you think about it?? we get dean cheating on her there, her fully realising how deep his betrayal is via gayle’s comments and then her clearly robbing the place?? boland bubbles really is just a continuation of boland motors

8. We met lots of supporting characters this episode too – in particular Boomer, Baby Tyler, Amber and Greg. Based off of what we saw of them in this episode, pick one, and tell us what you think!

i love baby tyler and amber!! i love that we’re introduced to baby tyler being all smiley and y’know a little bit ridiculous eating ice cream while on the job and maybe obviously inept because of it. and maybe you expect him to not do anything during the robbery because of that but then he really tries?? he thinks he’s facing off with 3 armed criminals and he really goes for it, he doesn’t cower like boomer!! he’s adorable!! and amber i already talked about and i know i was a bit harsh but i really do love her!! her oblivious comments are gold.

9. Screenshot and/or tell us about your favourite character look~ this episode.

frankly, this ep doesn’t really have any stand out looks for me?? the one exception is annie’s outfit when she picks up ben in the porsche. you can really tell how happy she is that she could one up nancy, that she’s proud of herself because she’s gonna get to give ben the laptop he needs.

10. This episode gives us some sharp character notes on Beth, Ruby and Annie – from Beth’s capacity for violence to Ruby’s visceral anger around being ignored, particularly when it comes to her daughter’s wellbeing, to Annie’s tendency to run a mile when given an inch. Is there a moment that stood out to you, particularly in light of future seasons?

ohhh i mean, there’s something to be said about beth’s capacity for violence uh? she keeps refusing to acknowledge it, because that doesn’t fit her stepford wife without a pulse image as annie calls it, but it’s always there - she’s always ready to blow up and throw some keys at your face. and ruby’s response to being ignored kind of screws her over?? she was very lucky jt only wanted her address for his nephew and didn’t become a second mary pat. idk, i’m sorry. like i said, not very good at critical thinking.

#stfu #txt #ggrewatch2020 #gg #nbc good girls #good girls nbc #omg this took me so long to write!!#also i didn't really understand the speed round which is why i ignored it.#when i see how other people do it i'll start doing it too

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bamon4bamily · 5 years

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TVD 9x06 (part 1) Enjoy! =)

Cut to – freaky old mansion, Darius’s room. A portal closes; we see Bonnie laying on Darius’s bed, in a deep sleep, Danae still holding her hand.

DARIUS: Hello, sister.

DANAE: (Looking terrified) Darius…

DARIUS: Don’t look so frightened, Lish, I’m the one looking at a ghost. God, it’s crazy seeing you in the flesh… (he tries to touch her, she quickly steps aside in a panic).

DARIUS: Calm down, I’m not going to hurt you. You made me a promise (looks at Bonnie) and you kept it.

DANAE: I did, now let me go.

DARIUS: I’m sorry, sis, but I can’t do that.

DANAE: We had a deal…

DARIUS: And I will keep my word. I said I wouldn’t hurt you, and I won’t, pinky swear. But I’m sure you can understand why I can’t let you go; can’t have any loose ends…

DANAE: You bastard!

DARIUS: (Sarcastic laugh) I think we both know who the bastard is; mother was always such a flirt.

DANAE: Please, just let me go. I followed your instructions; I swear I’ll keep my mouth shut and disappear.

DARIUS: (Changing the subject) You know, it truly baffles me that you would think I wasn’t aware that you have been alive for all these years… Come on, Lish, I thought you were smarter than that… Do you really think all that tragedy came from karma? Granted it must’ve had a hand in it, but… really? You couldn’t figure it out? Guess the genius genes do come from my father’s side…

DANAE: You’ve known all this time?

DARIUS: Of course, I have. The only reason you are still alive is not because of your flawed immortality serum, which I’ve perfected, by the way, but because I’ve allowed you to… What can I say, I’m a sucker for family drama.

DANAE: You are insane…

DARIUS: We all go a little mad sometimes… (with sarcasm) Yet, I wasn’t the one locked up in an Asylum for years.

DANAE: It was you... You were the one that got me locked up…

DARIUS: Oh no, you did that all on your own; I only suggested the pertinent treatments.

DANAE: (In painful wrath) They put a needle through my eyeball, you crazy fuck!

DARIUS: Trial and error, sis, that’s the only way to verify a theory… just ask your “friend” Marie… Oh wait, you can’t…

DANAE: (Charges him) I’ll kill you!!!!

DARIUS: (Restrains her with his hands; Bonnie starts to move) Shhhhh… you are waking her up. It’s time for you to take a time out; I’ll take it from here. (Some freaky hooded people come in and take Danae away, Darius sits by the bedside, holds Bonnie’s hand).

DANAE: (As she is being taken away) She is going to destroy you, and I’m going to enjoy every minute of it!

DARIUS: (To the hooded people) Put her in the bunker.

Cut back to – The Mikaelson mansion, 12:05 am. It’s pitch dark. Everyone is passed out on the floor; after a few seconds, they start to react.

DAMON: (Confused) What the hell happened?

ALARIC: I have no idea, but… (before he can even finish his sentence, Damon vamps upstairs to check on Bonnie; she and Danae have vanished… Damon, desperately, vamps his way through every inch of the mansion looking for her, she’s nowhere to be found).

KLAUS: (Also searching) Damon, we have searched everywhere, they are gone.

DAMON: How? We were all by the door, there is no way…

KLAUS: Cloaking spell, who knows? You seem to forget how magic works, my friend, anything is possible. Now, let’s go get the others. (They regather with the group downstairs, Klaus lights some candles so that everyone can have some visibility).

ALARIC: What is going on?!

KLAUS: Bonnie and Danae are gone.

ALARIC: What!? How?

KLAUS: Enough with the how; we need to focus on the where and why.

TYLER: Uhm, guys, I think we have another problem (points to Katherine who is in a catatonic state, they try to snap her out of it, but she is unresponsive, completely lost in a daze).

LEXI: Can’t believe this is happening! I thought we had the perfect plan...

ALARIC: They must have figured it out, orchestrated some sort of stealth attack…

RADKA: All I remember was waiting by the door to attack upon arrival, then I saw an overwhelming light and blacked out.

KHUYANA: Me too…

ALARIC: I think we all did.

DAMON: Enough with the chit chat; we need to find Bonnie.

ALARIC: And we will, Damon, but we have to figure out what we are dealing with first.

DAMON: What is there to figure out, Ric? We know what we are dealing with; a lunatic mind-freak asshole, and his cult groupies. So, let’s skip the over rationalization, and get to the action. Plan is simple, find these bastards, kill these bastards, get Bonnie back.

KLAUS: I agree with Damon, for once.

CAROLINE: Me too.

ALARIC: I would like nothing more, but we don’t even know where these cult freaks are!

KHUYANA: I have a feeling someone might… Matt.

KLAUS: Well, love, that’s not very helpful given that your husband was a no show.

TYLER: My bet is that he’s at the Mayor house; Matt told me he was hosting a Halloween ball; and, for some fucked reason, Matt always seems to be wherever he is.

DAMON: So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!

CAROLINE: I’m game, but first we need to stop by the house and make sure everyone is okay. And leave this one (referring to Katherine) to someone’s care.

DAMON: We can’t waste any time, Care. Klaus, Tyler and I will go find Matt, you guys go back to the house. Once we find Donovan, we’ll drag his sneaky ass back and figure out our next move.

CAROLINE: Okay, just please, don’t do anything without us.

KLAUS: We won’t, love, I’ll make sure of it.

DAMON: Whatever; (to Klaus and Tyler) wolf-boys, let’s move.

Everyone leaves; as they are driving, they stare in disbelief at the scenery; the entire town seems to be having a total blackout; not a single light at sight.

Cut to – freaky old mansion. Darius takes Bonnie into a private section of the mansion. It’s a strange ballroom, set up as a worship haven, reminiscing of Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” scene…

DARIUS: My queen… behold your kingdom. (He takes her by the hand and leads her to the center of the altar, inside a Hecate symbol. All the guests, wearing hooded togas and masks, kneel upon her).

DARIUS: At last, the goddess has arrived! (They start chanting in her worship).

BONNIE: (Whispers to Darius) Darling, this is a bit much, don’t you think?

DARIUS: Nothing is too much when it comes to you. Bonnie Sheila Bennett, you are a goddess, you just need to believe it. You can do anything you set your mind to, no restrictions, no consequences. You are the alpha and the omega…

BONNIE: No restrictions... that does sound tempting…

DARIUS: Just let yourself be free, my love, embrace your destiny...

Bonnie, seduced by the feeling of absolute power, lets go of the last hold she has over who she is and embraces her power to the fullest. A huge energy field emerges from her, the biggest one yet...At this precise moment, a new Bonnie is born, a child of fire and desire, a purely instinctual creature with the power to create… and destroy.

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Cut to- freaky bunker. Matt, sitting outside the heavily sealed door, which is now open. He is crying.

MATT: (To himself) What have I done… what have I done…

MILITARY MAN: General…

MATT: Don’t call me that! I’m not a General! I am the Sheriff of Mystic Falls, that is all…I don’t belong here...

MILITARY MAN: I’ll give you some space, Sir. (Walks away, approaches another military man) I think the General has lost his mind…

MILITARY MAN 2: Cut him some slack, he’s under a lot of stress. How would you react if that order had to come from you? That has to break a man...

MILITARY MAN: Do you think we are doing the right thing, here?

MILITARY MAN 2: Not sure if it’s the right thing but it’s the only thing we can do if we want to have a fighting chance.

Cut to – The Salvatore mansion. Stefan, Elena, and Sam are in the living room. The gang walks in. Caroline sees Stefan and runs to hug him.

CAROLINE: Oh, thank god, you are alright! The girls?

STEFAN: They are sleeping, they fine; we are all fine, it’s just a blackout.

CAROLINE: Oh, trust me, it’s much more than that.

ELENA: (To Caroline, looking quite pissed) Uhm, hello?!

CAROLINE: Elena! Oh my god, you are here! I totally forgot to…

ELENA: Oh, I know! Stefan put me up to do date… what the hell, Care!?

CAROLINE: I’m sorry, we thought you didn’t want to be involved in these things anymore. (To Sam) Hey, Sam…

SAM: Hey… (looking quite uncomfortable, given the situation).

ELENA: Where is Bonnie?

CAROLINE: We don’t know, something went wrong…

STEFAN: What happened?

CAROLINE: As soon as the clock stroke midnight, there was this huge light blast, then everyone passed out. When we woke up, Bonnie and Danae were gone.

STEFAN: Where is Damon?

CAROLINE: He went with Klaus and Tyler to look for Matt; we think he might know where Darius is.

STEFAN: (Looking at a catatonic Katherine) And what happened to her?

RADKA: We don’t know either… she won’t snap out it; she is physically fine, but…

CAROLINE: She’ll be okay, she is just in shock. (To Alaric) Let’s go check on the girls…

ALARIC: They are asleep, Care, we don’t want to wake them.

CAROLINE: We won’t; just as kiss so they know we are fine. (They go upstairs).

ELENA: Lexi, glad to see you made it back…

LEXI: (With a bit of disdain; still resentful for how she hurt Stefan) Well it was all thanks to my girl Bonnie… now that’s what I call I real woman.

STEFAN: So, Lex, can you tell us exactly what happened?

LEXI: I’ll try my best…

Cut to – The Mayor’s mansion. Damon, Klaus, and Tyler arrive.

DAMON: How come this is the only place that has electricity?

TYLER: Privileges of the elite…

KLAUS: Please, Lockwood, if that were the case, there be electricity at my house as well. (Tyler rolls his eyes; they ring the doorbell).

ANTHONY: Fashionably late, I see. Invitations, please.

DAMON: One vampire and two hybrids, how is that for an invitation?

ANTHONY: I’m afraid I don’t follow your sense of humor, Sir. So, once again, invitations, please.

KLAUS: What he means is that if you don’t invite us in, we will rip your insides out… how is that for a sense of humor?

ANTHONY: Gentlemen, I don’t want any trouble, but I cannot allow you inside without an invitation.

EDWARD: (Edward comes to the door, sensing something is up) Anthony, what is going on?

ANTHONY: Sir, I…

TYLER: Wow, you really went all out with your costume…

DAMON: (To himself) I freakin hate clowns…

EDWARD: What is the trouble here?

KLAUS: We are looking for Matt Donovan, we were told he might be around…

EDWARD: Well, you have been misinformed, the Sheriff is not here. Granted he was invited, but he declined. Feel free to come inside and see for yourselves.

ANTHONY: Sir…

EDWARD: It’ fine, Anthony. Come in; you are also welcome to indulge if you like.

Cut to back to – the old freaky mansion. Darius and Bonnie inside his illusion realm.

BONNIE: That kiss made me thrust, care to offer this lady a drink?

DARIUS: I would be delighted (holds her hand and takes her to the bar).

DARIUS: (To the bartender) Champagne for the lady.

BARTENDER: Coming right up, Sir.

BONNIE: Actually, I’m bourbon kinda a gal. (Mocking) I thought you knew me better...

DARIUS: Sorry, love, I assumed…

BONNIE: Well, you know what they say about assuming (winks, Darius looks confused). Just teasing, dear. (Gives him a peck on the cheek, then looks around). This is quite the party…

DARIUS: It’s all for you, my love.

BONNIE: You spoil me too much.

DARIUS: Anything for you…

BONNIE: You are making blush…

DARIUS: I love to see you blush.

BONNIE: Careful. I might not be able to control myself.

DARIUS: Neither will I…

(They kiss passionately, find themselves a private spot, and...)

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Cut back to – the Mayor’s mansion. Damon, Tyler, and Klaus are looking for Matt.

TYLER: (Looking at the decadence) Damn, and here I thought I had seen it all… These people are freaking insane…

DAMON: Concentrate, Lockwood! (Getting frustrated) Where the hell is Donovan!?

KLAUS: I think the clown was telling the truth...

EDWARD: (Who has snuck up on them) I told you...

DAMON: (Jumps in a fright) Jesus, holly shit hole!

EDWARD: I take it you don’t like clowns (smirks)? I’m sorry, gentlemen, but he is not here. And, now that I know he wasn’t with you either, I think I just might know where, or rather, who he is with. As much as it hurts that he would betray my trust, I’m almost certain that he is with a man called Darius.

KLAUS: You know Darius?

EDWARD: Unfortunately, I do. Has been the stone in my shoe for quite some time now.

DAMON: Where can we find him?

EDWARD: At a freaky old mansion… thing is, it’s not easy to find.

TYLER: What do you mean?

EDWARD: Well, it seems to appear and disappear; making it quite difficult to track.

DAMON: I’ve seen that trick before, we just need the location; we’ll figure it out from there.

EDWARD: You make it sound so simple. You are aware of who you are dealing with, correct? Darius is the master of illusion, capable of making you believe whatever he wants…

DAMON: (Getting pissed off) Can you tell us the location, or not!?

EDWARD: Temper, temper… Listen, Damon, is it? All I can tell you is that the last time I was able to locate the mansion it was at this address (shows them a location on his phone).

TYLER: That’s impossible; that’s where Matt’s old house is.

EDWARD: Well, that´s uncanny...

DAMON: (To Klaus and Tyler) Let’s go...

EDWARD: If you are thinking that the trick is a cloaking spell, I can assure it’s not. Like I said, Darius is an illusionist, the only way to see through his illusions is to find a loophole; and trust me, that is not an easy thing to do; especially if you don’t have the proper abilities. So, unless one of you is a psychic-witch, it’s pretty much useless.

DAMON: How were you able to find him before?

EDWARD: With a little help from my friends (points to a mystery lady, and a strange man).

KLAUS: (Completely taken with her) She is breathtaking... (stares in intrigue) seems so familiar...

EDWARD: Does she, now?

TYLER: What’s with the freaky glove?

EDWARD: Let’s just say, she has quite a peculiar taste.

DAMON: Can she help us find Darius?

EDWARD: She can, but I must warn you, with her, there is always a price to pay.

DAMON: I really don’t care, as long as she can lead us to Bonnie.

EDWARD: Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Come with me. (They approach the mystery lady) My dear, I’d like to introduce you to some friends of mine...

LADY: Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, gentleman.

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TVD 9x06 (part 2) coming soon! Hope you stop by, read and enjoy! =)

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aurirising · 4 years

Text

Another potentially unpopular/controversial opinion

From the girl who brought you the long defense of Kal/call out of the squad, comes the thrilling and really rather contradictory sequel. I humbly present to you A Defense of Squad 312 because nuance is fun and important and I'm nothing if not fair in a situation like this.

Okay, so, to clarify, I'm not necessarily going to be saying that their actions were morally right or that I agree with them per se, but, what I am going to do is explain why some of them make sense and are understandable given the circumstances and who the characters are as people.

I'm gonna go character by character here and first up we have Scarlett. Go big or go home right?

So, Scarlett has possibly the worst reaction, but also the most justified. Everyone in that squad has gone through absolute hell but Scarlett has at this point suffered the most, second only to maybe Auri (who has had time to process and let go and move on and stuff in the Echo but we can get to that later). Let's remember that both books in their entirety span less than 2 WEEKS and in that time Scarlett has:

Had a death scare for her brother on the very night all this started

Been shoved into an incredibly dangerous mission which she, along with everyone else, was completely unprepared for

Been attacked by God knows how many different groups of people almost everyday INCLUDING AURI, even if that wasn't really her and she didn't want to do that

Lost her absolute best friend in the universe thanks to this mission neither of them really signed up for

Had to watch her brother, the only family she has left who she absolutely adores, fight a monster with a TINY KNIFE and almost watch him get killed right in front of her

Watched all the people she's grown to care for and feels at least somewhat responsible for get hurt and nearly killed over and over again

Actually lost her brother to the clutches of the very people/being that took away her best friend maybe a week ago and doesn't know if he's even still alive or what might be happening to him

Been thrown into a leadership role she has never wanted or trained for under the absolute worst circumstances and doesn't have time to grieve anything that's happened to her and is now being slowly crushed under the pressure of leading the squad and keeping them safe that even Tyler - the best Alpha in their year - struggled with

And this isn't even to mention the fact that the Starslayer killed her father and his relation to Kal did in fact put them all at higher risk from the Unbroken even if, like I mentioned in my Kal post, this can't all be blamed straight on him.

Now, although this isn't all Kal's fault and, if Scarlett was thinking more rationally, she'd realise that, you have to remember that she ISN'T thinking rationally. Look at that list and tell me that if you'd been through all that, you'd be thinking clearly and I will straight up call you a liar because we humans are incredibly emotional beings and stress and loss makes us do all kinds of things we'd not normally do. And Scarlett, well Scarlett is one of the most deeply emotional people of all.

Throughout both books, it's repeatedly said and shown how much and how deeply she cares, even about these people she's only just met, and, I mean, she's a FACE for gods sake, feelings and caring about people and being in touch with the emotions of others to better negotiate is literally part of her job and one of her core personality traits. If that kind of stuff would destroy any one of us, it would without a doubt destroy her too. And then to get such an earth-shattering piece of news that could at first glance link directly to most of her problems? Well that is just the straw that breaks the Camel's back and so she lashes out. It makes sense, it's understandable and an emotional response that doesn't come out of nowhere. It's been built to all this time and no, it's not fair and it's not right, but when you snap, you snap and Kal is about the only thing right in front of her that she can see having caused her some of these problems that she can let it out on.

I want to reiterate once again that this isn't right. It's not an action that's supposed to be okay, it's one that highlights the flaws in good people and that doing what's right isn't always easy and people sometimes act selfishly. But the fact remains that she had a reason for behaving how she did, even if it wasn't a good reason, and though she acted incredibly harshly, that doesn't make her a bad person, it just makes her a person.

Also like, if I remember rightly it wasn't her who was first to tell Kal he needed to leave but choosing as the leader to do so also makes sense in circumstance. Something like that reveal will create something of a rift whether people want it to or not. When you find something like that out, you absolutely would start questioning what you know about a person in even the best of times and, as we've already established, this is far from the best of times. With everything going on and the crushing weight of grief and anxiety and fear and doubt and everything else she's feeling, it isn't surprising that she would opt for the simplest solution to this. Whether Kal was trustworthy or not and regardless of whether he'd been the cause of any problems before or would be in the future, if he's not there, he can't possibly cause any further problems and they can focus on what they have to do without that extra worry on their minds. In both a tactical leadership sense and from a highly emotional view, it makes sense and I get why she and the others chose that.

Once again, I'm not saying it's fair or right or just, but it is understandable and one poor and somewhat cruel decision does not make Scarlett a mean person.

Okay, moving on. You'll be glad to know I'm not gonna go on so much with the other characters because there was significantly more to talk about in regards to Scarlett than any of the others.

I'm actually gonna talk about Fin and Zila together because I feel a lot of their reaction comes from a similar place and they handle it in ways not too different from each other.

So for both of these guys I got the impression that they were more shell shocked and a little hurt rather than truly angry like Scarlett. They don't do or say a whole lot in this scene in comparison to Scar and Auri and Zila even tries to mediate just the tiniest bit at the begining. Both of them really seem to mostly be puzzling it out and trying to deal with the hurt of being deceived somewhat (especially Fin after he'd shared some meaningful bonding moments with Kal and had also come to him about the note and been lied to then) and barely get involved in the whole thing. Fin really only does when it looks like things are about to get physical between Kal and Scarlett and it's more out of worry that her rage is going to get her hurt if she tries to punch him or something (which is exactly what happens). And Zila is just in distress throughout the whole thing and again this doesn't seem to be specifically because of Kal but more from the fracturing of this group she'd started to feel at home in and like she belonged. She'd been coming out of her shell in the last few days after finally letting these people in and starting to feel safe with them and then this huge fight and breaking up happens and it's like another family unit is all being ripped away from her again and it triggers that trauma response that makes her start shutting down again.

Similarly I can see some of that response happening a little bit in Fin because he also has never felt like he belonged and has always been cast out and he finally found a group that cared about him and didn't consider him a burden because of his disability and he's also having that torn apart which can't be easy even if he seems to handle it better than Zila since it's more traumatic for her.

They both have milder reactions that are able to be somewhat more logical in approach since they comparatively have less emotional investment in some of the implications of this reveal than both Scarlett and Auri do. However, they're both still deeply hurt by the fracture this has caused within the group and Kal is in fact part of the cause of that fracture for them so they go along with Auri and Scarlett (who is literally their leader now and following orders and sticking together is so important to these two now that they have this group. They don't want to lose any more of it). And like I mentioned in the Scarlett section, they're smart and they recognise that distrust within the group as they head into what's next is incredibly dangerous and a huge detriment to the mission so since they are understandably hurt and a bit unsure now, they make the logical decision to reduce the potential risk in keeping him around.

Okay so a quick bit on Tyler. He, like Scarlett, is understandably hurt by finding out about Kal but his reaction is muted and more reasonable after what he's gone through with Saedii on the TDF ship and also due to the gravity of his situation and everything going on with Cat somewhat overshadowing it all. I don't think anyone is really mad at Tyler so I'll move on, but I think his level of hurt, betrayal, and anger is more in line with what I'd expect from him and probably Scarlett if she hadn't been through all she had and was being more rational.

So, where my irritation starts coming into play more is with Auri. She's spent 6 months with Kal in the Echo where they grew closer and more in love and I guess I can see questioning all that because if he lied about that for all that time then what else could he lie about? But there's also the debate to be had about certain point of view like in Star Wars and whether omission of something that might never really have needed to be said is acceptable. And the thing is, I can't give a definitive answer on that because every person is going to have a different opinion on that idea in general and on Kal's handling of this situation in particular based on what we've experienced in our own lives and where we draw the right/wrong line or handle the grey area of morality. With something like this, there really isn't much in the way of a right answer and that's okay.

But I think the thing I see with Auri which makes her a bit more understandable here is how she's using Kal's OWN WORDS to rationalise this and figure out how to feel. "And I remember you said our past makes us what we are." That part in bold is what Kal told her, what she knows he believes. When you know someone holds that belief and then you find out THAT is their past, there will be a question mark over them no matter how well you think you know them.

Also, Auri has dealt with so much loss lately and time and again people and systems she should have been able to trust and feel safe with have let her down or turned against her and, speaking as someone with some level of trust issues, I know it's incredibly hard to get rid of doubt after it's started to set in and all too easy to call up any small moment that might support that doubt, so I can see why Auri might be doing that now.

I am still personally of the opinion that Auri should have reacted better and known him well enough to not have acted that way but remember this is a defense post and I already gave the other side (at least most of it) on my Kal defense post.

I think we're gonna leave it here now. And in conclusion of both of these posts, whichever side of this you come down on more (or even if you sit in the middle like me), that's completely fine and valid and you're not wrong for feeling a certain way about a situation like this. Fundamentally, it comes down to which characters you most identify with and who's experiences most resonate with you.

It's not a clear cut right and wrong thing because literally every single character handled something badly and everyone's motives, including Kal's, were understandable in some way and believable. They're all people and people are flawed and selfish and jump to conclusions and lash out and although we have to remember that those aren't morally sound things to do, they're a shared human experience.

I know no one asked for this long-ass analysis of this scene and situation but as a writer and film student, scene and character analysis is kinda what I DO so I thought I'd go ahead and make this post. Something like this is actually brilliant writing from Jay and Amie because there's a lot more nuance to it than a quick glance at the situation might suggest and since it's such a hot topic in this fandom after Aurora Burning, I wanted to address it and make sure a bit more of an in depth look was taken into exactly what happened.

Anyway,

Tl;dr: this is something of a counter point to my Kal defense post and every member of the squad had understandable reason for reacting the way they did in this situation, even if they may have been too harsh. People are flawed and these characters are no exception, but that's okay.

#aurora cycle #aurora burning #aurora burning spoilers #again I'm really sorry i can't put this under a read more on mobile #discussion #rant

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

Text

Survey #438

“i won’t let you die, keep you alive just to remind you of what you are not”

What is your favorite card game? Probably Magic: The Gathering, even though I'm not great at it. I just ADORE the artwork, mainly. Is YouTube one of your favorite websites? Yeah, given I'm constantly on it. Does your mother have a sister? If so, what’s her name? Yeah, named Kelly. What are you doing tomorrow? I'll be going with Mom to the pool at the gym. She goes Tuesdays and Thursday, so I'm going to start joining her to help ease soreness from my exercise days. Would you ever want to go to Africa? It's high on my bucket list! I am DESPERATE to visit the KMP and photograph and pet and pamper the meerkats. :') Last time you went bowling? Not since I was on a date with Girt. Would you ever want to own a bakery? Noooo, I don't enjoy cooking of any sort. I'm way too impatient. Do you like to text? It's funny, I don't enjoy it as much as I used to. I make typos too much and autocorrect only wants to work at the WRONG time, it seems. I'd still rather text than actually talk on the phone, though. You want your next pet to be what? To be realistic, it'll probably be a western hognose snake. I REALLY want a tarantula, but Mom absolutely will not allow it for as long as I live with her, lol. Trust me, I've pestered her about it. Would you rather be a vampire or a mermaid? Eh, probably a vampire. Do you prefer white or black electronics? Black. Do you like Nerds candy? Yeah. Is your favorite animal something you can have as a pet? I could write a college-length essay on why you absolutely shouldn't, but it's sadly legal in some countries. Thankfully, not America. What was the last classic novel you read? Did you enjoy it? Oh yikes, I have no idea. Name three movies which have a soundtrack you really love: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Tarzan, and The Blair Witch Project: Book of Shadows. What’s the scariest video game you’ve ever played? I know it's super cliche, but I genuinely found Outlast terrifying. As well, SCP Containment Breach is a game I can't even play because the jumpscares startle me too much, lol. They're just too loud. Do you own any pet fish? What kind of fish are they? No. I'm not really interested in keeping fish as pets. What is the most irritating thing that a boyfriend or girlfriend has ever done to you? Tyler wanted to talk CONSTANTLY. Barely even two weeks in and he got all bent out of shape over there being days we just didn't text. Like dude, especially this early in a relationship, I don't want to talk 24/7. He acted like we were together for years or some shit. Like sorry I want alone time. That relationship was just a bad idea. Have you ever known someone who was in an abusive relationship? Sadly. Out of all of your friends/relatives, who would you say has the best vocabulary? Probably Girt. He's just in general very smart. When yawning, do you cover your mouth? If out in public, yes. If you had a garden, what would you plant in it? Would you actually tend to it, or would it wind up neglected & withered? I could NEVER maintain a garden, but if I had the motivation and tolerance for the heat, that'd be nice. I'd love mostly flowers, and a grapevine would be pretty! Plus some strawberries. Do you like peanut butter? Yeah, definitely. What about marshmallows? Yep. How do you roast your marshmallows? They have to be BARELY brown at all. Like it has to be the liiightest toast. Do you eat s’mores? Ugh, hell yes. I really want some now, thanks. Own a lava lamp? No, but I'd love a pink one. :( Or black. Own any sort of glow-in-the-dark room accessory? No. Ever done something sexual in public? No, I have common decency. Do you like the taste of squid or eel? I COULD FUCKING NEVER TRY EITHER. Slimy or rubbery stuff like that is such a massive no. Ever date anybody in middle school? Yeah, Aaron in the 7th grade for a few months. Did you like to get dirty when you were little? I think I did. Like I know I loved speeding through mud puddles on my bike as a kid. Own anything that has to do with dragons or unicorns? I have a lot of dragon decor. Ever wanted to be a vet? Yep. Ever written your number in a public bathroom or a school text book? If so, did anyone actually call you? No. What type of weapon do you prefer? Uh, none...? I don't like weapons. Is there something that you haven’t told anyone that you actually would like to tell someone? No, not really. Would you rather watch a full season of American Idol, or So You Think You Can Dance? The latter, by far. I used to love that show. I really enjoy watching dances. Have you ever worn boxers? Pretty sure no? Last hickey was from? I've only gotten to that point with one person, you can figure it out. Have you ever put a kick me sign on the back of someone? No, that is so rude. Are there any inappropriate pictures of you anywhere? No. I've never taken an inappropriate picture. How many times do you tend to sneeze in a row? Two or three. Karma; believe or don’t? I don't believe it's a thing. I wish it was. Ever changed a diaper? Once. Or maybe twice? No plans on ever doing that again. When you see anything smaller than a quarter on the ground, do you pick it up? I don't even pick quarters up, really. Can bald guys ever be attractive? Um, yes? Do you like hugs? Yessss. Would you ever donate blood? Yeah, I have before. I'd just have to get better about drinking water so I don't faint. Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth? No. Ever had the opposite sex over when no one was home? You make that sound so scandalous, lmao. Yeah. What is the last song to make you cry? "Another Life" by Motionless In White. Have you ever kissed someone in the rain? Yeah. Have you kissed someone with braces? No. Are you anyone’s first love? I don't believe so. Anything happen to you within the past month that made you really happy? I'M LOSING WEIGHTTTTTT. :') The gym is paying off! Is there a person of the opposite gender on your mind? That's kinda a permanent thing. He's always there, even if only in the back. Who was the last person to wink at you? My cat, ha ha. Did you parents know what gender you were before you were born? Yes. Are any of your really close friends pregnant right now? REALLY close friends, nope. Are you for or against inter-racial relationships? ... You know it's 2021, right???? This never should have been controversial. Have you ever been addicted to something unhealthy? Well, there's caffeine... When the holidays come around, do you watch holiday movies? No. When was the last time someone insulted you? What was the insult? I don't recall. Do you say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” in order to avoid offending people who don’t celebrate Christmas? I honestly just say "merry Christmas." Have you ever made/played with a sock puppet before? Yes. Have you ever seen a waterfall (aside from in a fountain or other manmade things)? Only small ones. Are you a frequent sufferer of heartburn? Yes; I actually have a prescription for chronic heartburn. If I don't take it, I'll get heartburn to the point I come near tears. How many different colleges have you gone to? Three. How much stress can you handle? Ha, not a lot at all. What is one thing you thought you’d never do but have done or are doing? I'm 25 and feel like I've just... wasted so much, and I continue to. I never thought I'd make it to this age and to have gone so short a distance in terms of being a successful adult. Have you ever disowned a friend or family member for their beliefs? I've stopped being friends with people, yes. Do you ever feel like your life is too boring or predictable? It 120% is. Do you think you will die happy? To be honest... I think no a lot of the time. Do you like looking at pictures? Yeah. Are you a submissive person? Very. Do you believe the dead can have connections with the living? I do. What are your views on the death penalty? I support it in extreme cases. Once you prove to be a thorough monster that deeply endangers other humans... you don't deserve life. We as a society have to work together, not destroy one another. Do you like horror movies? Why or why not? Yeah! I like the thrill of them. Would you ever be able to become a vegan? No; I am FAR too picky with my food. I want to be vegan, but I just wouldn't survive. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a whole story based around some plastic dinosaurs, alligators, deer, and Pokemon figurines. Who was your first best friend? What is your favorite memory of/with them? Are you two still friends? Brianna. I don't know what my favorite memory is... We made a lot. We're Facebook friends, but we don't talk anymore. Would you rather hang out with someone who is always high or someone who constantly wants to get drunk all the time? High, I guess. Drunk people I think get sloppier and, in some cases, angry. The (few) high people I've been around have just been chill and friendly. How did you meet your newest friend? I'm not entirely sure who I consider to be my newest friend. The last time you kissed someone, were your arms around their neck? I don't think so? I'm pretty sure I was just hugging her around the waist. You have to get a facial piercing, what do you get? I've mentioned how I wanna get my nose re-pierced in multiple surveys. Do you straighten your hair? No. When is the next time you will see the person you like? Who knows, dude. I really want to be able to walk for two minutes without feeling like I'm dying before I go to an airport again, and even more importantly, even as a fully-vaccinated person, I want Covid to chill out before I travel again. And who the fuck knows when that'll be since people don't want to listen to goddamn professionals. Did you get to sleep in today? I actually slept through my alarm and was late to gym today. :x Your first dog? I was born into the family with a collie named Trigger, but she passed when I was a baby, so I don't have any memories of her. We got what I want to say was a Rottweiler mix named Angel at one point, who I consider our first family dog, but she was born with that disease that some puppies have where they just... die. Who I consider MY first REAL dog was Teddy. <3 Stood loyally by my side as my furry son and most devoted friend for around 13 years. Do you prefer mint, citrus, or cinnamon toothpaste? Mint. Are you one of those people who are always cold? No, I'm always hot. Have you done anything sneaky lately? No. Have you ever had feelings for someone and thought “This is the person I want to be with forever”? Yeah, twice. Do you keep notes, drawings or letters that people give you? Of course! Have you had a significant other that you never kissed? Well, boyfriends, but I wouldn't count the ones I haven't kissed as truly "significant other"s. Has anybody ever dated you only for your looks? I don't think so. Do you have any handshakes with anybody? Nah. What are you listening to? "Necessary Evil" by Motionless In White & Jonathan Davis. Would you take back your last boyfriend/girlfriend? Yeah. Who is your favorite band? How long have they been? Ozzy Osbourne. Since middle school. Who is your favorite author? I don't have a fave. Do you like cheesecake? BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH- How did you meet the last person you kissed? YouTube, back when it had more social aspects. Do you wake up cranky? Not usually, no. I'm actually in my best mood in the morning. Have you ever met your favorite band/singer? No, but holy fuck would that be awesome. I want to thank him for his music so badly. Do you have a good relationship with your parent(s)? Yeah. Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? My old house, yes, but not this one. Do chickens have feelings? Yes. Have you ever been to a spa? Yeah, even though I really wasn't interested. I just went with Colleen because she invited me. I appreciated her wanting to hang out and include me of course, so I was happy to go, but it's not something I'd do of my own volition. The last time you were in the fridge, what were you looking for? The lemonade. Favorite South Park character? I don't have one, given I'm not interested in the show. How often do you have to shave? When/where I shave grows back FAST, so frequently. Ever go ghost hunting? No but omg I'd love to. Someone date me just to go do this together one night lmao. Do you have any family in the military? No. Can you talk to your mother about most things? I know I CAN talk to her about absolutely everything, but I don't always. Would you ever homeschool your children? If they wanted it and it'd be beneficial to their health and educational success, then yes. Are you afraid of change? Oh boy, am I. Who’s your favourite character from one of your favourite books? I'll go with The Outsiders, in which case I remember it was Dally.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''necessary evil'' by motionless in white (ft. jonathan davis)

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spaceiplier · 5 years

Text

SPACEIPLIER: Kenopsia

Mark’s earliest memory was of his dad.

It was of a vacation the family had gone on. A planet whose name he couldn’t remember, but he remembered the colors. Trees towering what seemed like miles up into the air. Winding streets, lively music, and a sticky feeling on his hands from all the sweat and sweet treats. He’d been riding on his father's shoulders, head above the crowds, watching the bob and sway as they moved from attraction to attraction.

His mother and Thomas were ahead of them, looking through racks of brightly colored scarves and cloaks. The memory was blurry and faded from time, but he remembered his brother’s laugh as a small yellow-and-green bird landed on his head. He remembered the way his dad bounced him on his shoulders with his own rumbling laugh. He remembered all the little details he shouldn’t, but stuck out so clearly in his mind.

To this day, Mark remembered what happened next.

The crowds had been dense; it was nearly impossible to distinguish face from face. Mark had been let down, off his father’s shoulders. He’d wandered off, distracted by a dancer with bells attached to their clothes and a smile that was haunting. The song they created just by dancing. The dancer had grinned, twisting and spinning fluidly. Mark had been entranced.

The dancer had been adorned in clothes that hugged them in some places, but fell loosely in others. Bells and chimes hung from their ears and fingers. Hair, braided with the bells, flew from side to side as they spun. Two lines of color ran from their eyes, reappeared on their exposed stomach, and then on their feet. Mark had never seen a species like them. So agile and nimble, grinning brightly at the crowd with gold-tipped fangs.

Their eye caught his, and they winked.

“Mark!”

He turned to see his father run up to him. Pushing through the crowd gathered to watch the dancer, he dropped to his knees, taking Mark into his arms.

“Don’t wander off like that!” Mark’s dad said, pulling back and staring him right in the face. There was something off about him. His gills fluttering, as if trying to take in more air. His eyes darting all over Mark, making sure he was okay. That face that Mark would grow into. All the features handed down from father to son. “I was worried sick.”

“Sorry, Dad,” Mark said. “I just wanted to see the dancer.”

Mark’s dad looked up.

It was the clearest part of Mark’s memories. Out of an entire week of fun and wonder, only of that moment had every detail been burned into the memories he carried. Not the sounds, the smells, and attractions or sights. None of that escaped the hazy fate of time. Only that one moment as his father’s eyes locked onto the eyes of the dancer.

Color drained from his face as it went slack with shock, and then fear. Mark had never seen his dad so scared, so utterly terrified as he had held Mark. The enchanting song of the dancer came to a crashing halt. Mutters swept through the crowd, but in that moment, it was just the three of them: Mark watching his father, and his father staring at the dancer.

Then, without a word, Mark’s father scooped him up into his arms. Turning, he pushed through the crowd, running away, never looking back. Mark looked over his father’s shoulder and saw the dancer take the credits given to them and flee in the opposite direction.

He had never talked about that day again. Whenever Mark asked about the dancer, his father’s face would grow cold. The same answer, time and time again, until Mark got the idea and stopped asking.

“Some things are better left in the past.”

Mark hadn’t slept well that night.

Memories, twisted by nightmares. Shadows, dancing at the edge of his vision as he woke time and time again. Fear and exhaustion, mingling to create a mess of a night.

Mark had always had nightmares. He couldn’t remember a time without them. However, last night… last night had been bad.

It didn’t matter. He had things to do. They were approaching Unohsket.

The planet looked less like a planet and more like an asteroid or a moon at first glance, given how craterous it was. Its surface was littered with dents of varying sizes, displacing crumbling structures and vast fields. He could see the buildings now that they were closer. All were collapsed, but it was obvious that they had once towered over the planet’s surface. Shattered walls of stone surrounded the many craters.

Whatever had happened here, it had been absolutely devastating.

Red dust billowed around the Barrel as they touched down on Unohket’s surface. Mark stared straight ahead, waiting for the door to open and the dust to settle. They hadn’t seen Dark’s ship anywhere, but PJ’s coordinates had been precise. Dark would be nearby. He had to be.

There was a hand on his shoulder; one that was familiar in every sense of the word. A hand he had seen help, create, destroy, heal, and harm. Amy’s hand, holding his shoulder. Tethering him to his crew, standing behind him.

He didn’t look back.

“We need to be careful here,” Tyler said, a hint of worry edging his words. “The structures around here are unstable, and we don’t want to get separated here. There’s no maps of this place. Nothing in the GAAP data bases that aren’t outdated by… whatever happened here. We can’t rush. No running off anywhere without the rest of us. Dark could be anywhere out there, and if he’s targeting you…” Tyler’s voice trailed off, letting out a shaky breath.

“Nothing bad is going to happen to any of us,” Amy said, hand still firm on Mark’s shoulder. She believed what she was saying. She believed in her crew. In him. “If we’re careful, we’ll be able to find Dark before he finds us.”

Mark’s hands felt hot.

“Remember,” Marzia said, striding up to Mark’s side, staring ahead as he did, “none of you are to engage with the target. That is my job. I will take down the target and subdue him to be taken back to the GAAP for his trial. You are here to locate, and provide backup. No harm will come to you if you stay back, and let me do my job.”

Something was ringing in the back of Mark’s head.

“Understood,” the crew said with varying levels of certainty. If Mark hadn’t been so tired--so frustrated and angry--he would have laughed. It wasn’t like his crew to stay out of trouble. They ran towards it. They dove into the trouble, seeking it out and fighting tooth and nail.

Amy’s hand tightened once more before she let go.

Mark’s skin was itching. His back… he wanted to claw at it, tear until it stopped burning and bubbling. He knew there was nothing there. He’d looked. But his hands ached to scratch whatever was itching at his back.

The door opened.

The crew walked forwards.

Unohsket was a wasteland. It almost reminded Mark of Earth. Buildings, torn asunder and laid across the planet’s surface to let the red soil retake it; foliage creeping in to overtake what had once held it back; wind whistling through empty craters; the chilling sense of loneliness permeating everything. Empty homes… empty cities… Unohsket was a dead world. Whatever had lived here before was long gone.

Now, only rubble remained.

Ethan, Tyler, and Kathryn spread out, searching for lifeforms with their comms. Marzia hung back, keeping an equal distance between them all. Her scales rippled, blending with her background as she warily watched the horizon, Maya in her arms, with the red light of the setting sun filtering around her.

They looked so far away. Unreachable.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Mark snapped, jumping from his blasé observation to a flash of anger, heat running in his veins. Amy jumped, startled by the sudden change of mood.

“Yeah, okay,” she said, taking a hesitant step towards him. “I get it. Tired, frustrated, and feeling hopeless.”

Mark just grunted. He didn’t trust himself not to say something he would regret. Why was he so angry? Amy hadn’t done anything to be angry at. Fuck, why was he even angry at Amy? He never got angry at Amy. He was never this volatile before. So why was everything on the surface? One word away from snapping into a harsh remark.

Amy frowned.

“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “I didn’t mean… I’m sorry.”

“Come on,” Amy said, giving him a small, tired smile. “We’ll look this way.”

The two walked a short distance away. They were still within eyesight of the others, but were now exploring some of the crumbling buildings. They weren’t within what had used to be a bustling city, but rather the outskirts. These places used to be homes, small shops, places where kids ran and played. People used to live here.

Now it was empty.

“What happened here?” Amy wondered aloud. She stopped, crouching to pick up a stone bowl, cracked and damaged. “An empty world… isn’t this weird?”

“What do you mean?” Mark asked, stepping over a broken wall. Cold wind blew over him, bringing with it more rust.

“There are broken buildings,” Amy said, pointing the towering buildings in the distance, “and a lot of decay, but that’s all from time. Nothing here was destroyed intentionally. It’s all… it’s like everyone just up and left. There are no gravestones. No burial markings. Not even the remains of bodies. Just… everyone is gone.”

She was right. That chilling loneliness sinking its teeth into Mark now made sense. Not only was this a ghost world… it was an empty ghost world, with no sign of the departure of those who used to live here. All that remained was what had managed to withstand the weathering of time.

“It was disease.”

Mark and Amy looked over to see Marzia, her face cold. Maya slept in her arms, and she stroked her fur. Underneath the cool exterior--in her eyes--Marzia looked sad.

“Who used to live here?” Amy asked.

Marzia winced. “I can’t tell you that. All I can tell you is that this planet--this people--were wiped out long ago. It was a devastating loss to the GAAP, and out of respect their history is kept out of the public eye. Or… that’s what they told me.”

“What do you mean, you can’t tell us?” Mark said, folding his arms. “What could be so dangerous about a species?”

“As a Camaltare I am privy to many things kept from the general public,” she said. Maya shifted in her sleep as Marzia stared down the two, standing in the remains of a broken world. “If Dark is here, you’ll learn what I cannot tell you.”

Marzia walked away.

Mark had never held suspicion for the GAAP. They were the government. They kept the peace, governed laws between differing planets, kept them from falling back into the chaos that had ruled despite the weak hold of the Federation. They righted wrongs, like the android rights. They kept them safe from criminals. Hell, Mark had grown up in a GAAP home, on GAAP planets. His father had worked for the GAAP, and so would have he, if he hadn’t dropped out. All his life, Mark had trusted his government to do what was right.

He had trusted that his dad worked for those doing what was right.

But then Mark had seen Opreneam. He’d seen the androids who couldn’t look him in the eye, and he’d seen the androids that held him with fear and contempt. He’d seen the androids harmed by a past now covered up with propaganda and twisted history. Mark had seen criminals and civilians, both held under laws that both kept them safe and harmed them.

The GAAP wasn’t perfect. Mark had never expected them to be. But as he delved deeper and deeper into Dark and his workings… Mark didn’t know what to think now.

“Hey guys!”

Mark and Amy looked over to see Ethan standing on a pile of rocks. He waved them over, Tyler and Kathryn behind him with Marzia close by. The two jogged over. Ethan held out his comm, showing the heat signature.

“There’s somebody here. Two somebodies by the look of it. They’re deeper in the city, by that big dome building if the coordinates are right.”

Marzia set Maya down. The little dog snorted, then took off, waddling surprisingly quickly as she disappeared into the twisting streets. Marzia turned to Tyler and Mark.

“We’ll all go, but hang back. I don’t want anyone hurt.”

The two nodded. The crew of the Barrel started walking through the streets, following the pinging on Ethan’s comm.

Unohsket was beautiful. Even in its destruction, there was something so hauntingly captivating about it: the design of the architecture that had withstood the passage of time; the flora that reclaimed its home; the flow of the city, obviously showing that this civilization had been once been a thriving society.

And now there wasn’t even a clue to show what had happened.

Closer and closer they walked. The farther into the city they made it, the taller the buildings grew. There were no statues or carvings or paintings to show what the species that used to live here looked like. As they reached what they could only assume was the center of the city, the buildings parted, forming an open circle to show what must have been a bustling city center. In the center was a series of smooth spheres, each with streaks of differently colored stone. The ground was inlaid with mosaics of color and designs that none of the crew recognized.

At the far end of the center was the domed building. A wide arc formed the entrance, and standing on the steps were two beings.

Marzia stepped before the crew.

“Dark!” she shouted. “By order of the Galactic Assembly of Allied Planets, you are under arrest. You are under arrest for treason, for mass murder, and for escaping justice. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to a fair trial. Please surrender yourself immediately.”

There was no response.

Mark’s head was throbbing with pain. The ringing in the back of his head was piercing, as if someone was drilling a hole in his skull.

Catching Mark’s pained expression across the plaza, Dark’s cold features cracked. For a moment, he appeared furious. Then his expression melted into something more chilling; something that made Mark take a step back.

Dark looked resolved. Resolute, determined, and burning with distaste.

Then Dark leaned over to the other one. Wilford, Mark remembered, who looked exactly like him, but brighter, more careless and excitable, with his thumbs hooked into a pair of suspenders. Dark said something, lost across the distance of the plaza.

Wilford laughed, pulled out a gun, and fired.

“Get down!” Marzia shouted, pushing them down as the blast barely missed her and instead grazed Tyler’s arm. All it left was a scorch mark, but Tyler yelped with surprise. Amy and Marzia both pulled out weapons; a gun for Amy, and a pair of knives for Marzia. Tyler stepped in front of Kathryn and Ethan, and Mark jolted forwards instinctively.

Dark cocked a smile at Mark before turning and walking into the domed building.

He was getting away.

Wilford sprinted across the plaza, continuously firing off blasts towards them. He dodged every shot fired by Amy, reaching them in seemingly no time. In a blur of motion and practiced action, Wilford began engaging them. All of them. Mark could only stare as Wilford ducked and dodged, dealing out his own blows and shots as equally as the three members of his crew fought back.

Marzia tried to disengage, to leave the fighting to Tyler and Amy, to run after Dark. Each time Wilford carefully dragged her back into the fight. Noticing Marzia’s plan, Kathryn jumped into the fight, attempting to give her a chance.

Wilford didn’t even pause, accepting yet another combatant and keeping them all engaged and unable to go after Dark.

He was ignoring Mark, though. Mark could go after Dark. He could get him.

“Mark, don’t!” Marzia shouted.

Mark ran across the plaza after Dark.

His skin was burning.

The building was empty, with no hallways leading to other rooms, no decorations or furniture. It was just an empty circle, lined with arches around the edge of the room. The dome ceiling had once been clean colored glass, but was now dusty and cracked. The last rays of light from the sun streamed inside. Illuminated at the opposite side of the dome was Dark, watching as Mark ran into the room.

A gold ring was inlaid into the floor edging the room, encircling where the sunlight touched the stone. Dark stood at its edge. As Mark reached it, Dark began walking around its circumference, keeping to the edge of the room. Mark walked the other way, keeping an equal distance between them.

“Hello again,” Dark said. The ringing spiked for a moment in Mark’s head, and he winced. Dark smiled, hands clasped behind his back. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, gret?”

“God, just shut the fuck up already,” Mark said. His back was burning even more than his hands. “Surrender. Marzia has called the GAAP by now. They’re coming to get you, and I’m not letting you leave unless it’s in cuffs.”

Dark laughed. “That Camaltare? Oh Mark, you need to learn to see. The Nasazza are a loyal species. It runs in their blood. The need to form unbreakable bonds. The need to cling to those they can never betray. But where does her loyalty lie? Who does she really work for? You’re so focused on me, you can’t even see who she’s really reporting back to.”

“Wha…?”

“She hasn’t called the GAAP,” Dark said. “And she won’t. She knows what you need to learn.”

“What I need to learn,” Mark said, a growl in the back of his throat. “That I’m a worthless gret? You won’t shut up about that, and I’m not going to lie down and take that. Not anymore.”

“Oh, please,” Dark said. He had reached the entrance, and Mark had reached the back of the room. Outside, Mark could hear the sounds of fighting. Of gunshots, and the shouts of his friends. “During my time in this body, I’ve learned the universe has changed. I have learned, and have evolved. The traditions of my people… they are gone. What I once thought was certain has been proven to be malleable. That means, however, that you must learn as well.”

“Learn what?”

“That what I am setting out to accomplish is not what you think. It is so much more.”

Mark shook his head. “You’ve killed people, and you’ve tried to kill me. You’ve tried to kill my friends. That’s all I need to know that you should be behind bars.”

“Don’t you feel that?” Dark stopped, facing Mark directly. Then he took a step forwards, into the circle. Mark was frozen, watching him walk towards him. “That burning in your skin? That nagging tug at your heart? The ringing in your ears? Your body knows. You know. But you ignore it.”

Mark couldn’t move. Dark’s eyes held him in place as he strode forwards. He didn’t know what Dark was talking about. He didn’t know what was going on. Everything was turning upside down. Nothing was making sense. He couldn’t think straight, and Mark… Mark didn’t know what to believe.

“You’re not the good guy,” Mark said, forcing himself to speak.

Dark smiled, coming to a halt before him.

“Nobody is the good guy,” he said. “And it’s about time you understood.”

Grabbing Mark’s arms, Dark pulled him into the ring.

Everything went white.

And Mark was falling.

Home.

This was home.

For a moment, Mark couldn’t tell who he was. Feelings… memories… thoughts that weren’t his own rushed through him. So overpowering that, for a moment, Mark forgot who he was. The memories tore him apart until he wasn’t sure if he was Mark… or if he was this person. This being, standing on the bridge of a ship, looking down at their home.

A red planet, perforated with craters.

The bridge of the ship was deathly silent. Despite the three other beings standing near the viewing screens with him, there was no sound. Just the hum of the ship, and his own ragged breathing.

Home.

Pain. Agonizing, soul-shattering pain sunk into his heart. He couldn’t move, only stare as he registered what had just been said to him. The world was in sharp focus as his mind scrambled to make sense of what he had just heard.

All he could do was stare.

“NO!”

His comrade fell to her knees, screaming. Tears poured down her face as she crumpled, screaming, punching the ground, cursing and begging in every language she knew. The leathery wings on her back lashed out, only to snap back and hug her body closely.

She cried and screamed.

And he didn’t move.

Another turned and ran from the room. A few moments later, he heard vomit. They didn’t come back.

The last one, a friend he had known since childhood, wavered. His hands were crushing the back of his chair. His eyes were closed, but tears were falling steadily. He wanted to reach out, to grab him and tell him that this wasn’t the end. They would continue to fight. They would continue to struggle for what they deserved.

But it was the end.

It was all over.

“Are-” His voice broke, cracking with grief. Clearing his throat, he tried again. “Are there any survivors?”

A voice--the ship’s AI--spoke. Mechanical, but there was a tone of sympathy and grief underlying it. “There are no survivors. Casualty count: 2.034 billion. Everyone on the surface of Unohsket has perished. I… I am sorry, my crew.”

It was as if the knife that had been plunged into his heart the first time he had heard it was being twisted, driven deeper, tearing and shredding until all he felt was pain. He wanted to scream like her. He wanted to throw up like them. He wanted to cry like him.

All he could do was stare.

“How did they die?”

“Jedlem,” the AI said. His heart sank. Then, in a flash, the sorrow was gone. Agony fanned the flames of rage and hatred. His hands grew hot. His eyes burned. Every part of him ached to strangle. To tear. To kill.

Jedlem: a deadly poison that was the one sure way to kill a Xanhull. This poison had been cultivated and perfected in times of war; now extremely rare, and banned by the newly formed GAAP.

“How was the Jedlem released?”

“Unknown.”

“How. Was. The Jedlem. Released?”

“Unknown. I’m sorry, sir.”

“It was them.”

He looked over to see his friend looking back at him. There was no hate in him. No anger. No fight left. Just broken grief. His words weren’t harsh. His hands weren’t clenched with righteous anger. Just sadness.

“No.” He shook his head. “No, they wouldn’t. They wouldn’t!”

“The GAAP killed us,” his friend said again. “They poisoned our planet. They killed our home.”

“We created the GAAP!” he shouted. He lashed out, slamming his fist into the wall. It crunched, caving in under his hate. He knew that was his friend was saying was true, but he couldn’t accept that. He couldn’t accept that his friends, the people who had sworn to protect them, would do this. “The Xanhull… we were a founder… we created them. We held a seat!”

“You know why they did this,” his friend said. “You know.”

The wall melted under the heat of his pain. Of his anger.

He knew why.

But Mark didn’t.

Everything went white, and he was falling.

“The subject is waking up.”

Too bright. It was too bright.

All his senses were dulled, pushed under by whatever they had injected him with. His vision was blurred. His sense of smell and touch felt as if he was covered with thin cloth. His hearing sounded as if he was miles under water. Everything was so fuzzy. So faded.

It was bright.

“Unresponsive. Still under anesthetic.”

“Proceed.”

Poke.

Just dull pressure against his skin. Then he could feel the needles break through. He could feel them press one after another into him. Into vital points. Into his joints. One after another after another after another. He couldn’t struggle. He couldn’t fight against it.

Everything was so dull.

And then it was pain.

Every needle was shooting volt after volt of electricity into him, every point a conduit into his ruined body. His body was on fire. He couldn’t move, but he was thrashing. He couldn’t speak, but he was screaming. He couldn’t see, but it was so bright.

Just was quickly as it appeared, the pain was gone.

He gasped for air.

And then the pain was back.

Over and over, the cycle repeated. Pain, then momentary relief. Pain, and then silence. Pain, then dull agony. He didn’t know how long it went on for. Time blurred. He just wanted to breathe, but he couldn’t stop screaming. Soon, he kept screaming even through his relief.

Then it stopped.

Raggedly breathing, trying to take back any semblance of control, he tried to move.

He couldn’t. Tied down. Restrained. Trapped.

Someone was leaning down next to him. Chuckling in his ear.

“Welcome to Earth. You’re going to be here a long time.”

Mark fell back into white.

“What’s happening!?”

Amy clutched at her robotic arm, hugging it close as it flopped uselessly. That damn pink bastard wearing her boyfriend’s face had gotten a good shot on her arm. That had been moments before the dome had lit up. A flash of light, and then it had disappeared.

Wilford had stopped attacking them. Pulling back, he’d run back to the dome. The crew had quickly followed.

Stepping inside, Amy gasped and then yelled.

Mark was lying on the floor shaking. His eyes were wide open, but completely white. He was breathing heavily, and his hands twitched as if trying to grasp something. Amy rushed to his side, dropping to her knees and taking him into her arm. He felt hot. He wouldn’t wake up.

Next to him was Dark. Similarly phased out, but still. Not shaking. Just staring blankly as he laid there.

“What happened to them?” Amy said again, looking up at Wilford.

He shrugged, glancing uneasily at Dark. “I don’t know. He just told me to seperate you guys from Mark until the lights got bright.”

Tyler looked moments away from punching Wilford’s lights out when Dark groaned. Amy whipped out her gun, Mark lying in her lap. The others jumped into fighting stances. He was still a threat. They couldn’t let down their guard.

Dark got to his feet. Seeing them, he sighed.

“What happened to Mark?” Amy demanded.

“We shared.”

“Shared what?”

“Memories,” Dark said, cracking his neck. “This is the Circle of Rozumi. Roughly translated, the Circle of Understand Another's Pain. A place for reconciliation of my people.”

“Your… your people?” Ethan said. Their faces all clearly showed shock.

“So stupid,” Dark said to himself. Louder, he said, “Yes, my people. Don’t you know where we are? Or have they erased even that too from history?”

They all shared a nervous glance.

Then Mark flinched, and flinched hard. Amy didn’t drop her gun, but her eyes flickered down to him before returning to Dark. “What did you do to him?”

“He is experiencing my worst memories. I must say, there are quite a few of those. I don’t pity him. What I have seen… what I have felt… it could very well drive him insane. In return, I have experienced his worst. To better understand each other.”

“Why?”

Dark stepped back, hands clasped behind his back. “Mark will explain once he is finished. I have things still to do. A road that I must travel, and an end goal that must be accomplished. Also, that pesky Celestial finally agreed to sit down for tea. He is waiting for me, and I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.”

Looking over at Marzia, Dark smiled. “Do let them in on those dirty secrets the GAAP likes keeping its sticky fingers on.”

Marzia scowled.

Snapping his fingers at Wilford, the two left. Walking out of the dome--out of the Circle of Rozumi-back into the ruined city as their footsteps faded. They were gone. Lost once again to the vastness of space. This time though, Amy didn’t feel completely lost. So hopelessly frustrated.

There were new questions to be answers, and a boyfriend to get back.

“Mark, wake up,” she said, quietly begging him.

He flinched.

There was no end.

They cut him open and looked through every piece of him. They hooked him up to machine after machine. They monitored every vital. Every part of him, scrutinized and looked over time and time again. Every form they forced him to take was a new slew of torture. He couldn’t escape. He’d tried. He was too weak.

Time became meaningless.

Living became meaningless.

It was just session after session.

The memories began to blur together. Each brought with it pain and hatred. Hatred for these straps keeping him down. Hatred for the blank faces of the scientists pulling him apart and putting him back together. Hatred for every detail of this facility. Mark wasn’t sure if he was Mark, or these memories. They were so mind-numbingly horrific. Some he felt himself forget the moment they were over, so bad that his mind wouldn’t allow him to remember.

Most he did.

Most he experienced.

This was Dark… wasn’t it? He couldn’t tell. The anger was familiar. From a nightmare long ago, he knew this hatred. These surroundings, however… they gave him pause. These were GAAP facilities. This was a GAAP lab. Why were they doing this? Why were they hurting him?

Why?

The only answer Mark received was another memory of torture.

Twenty years of torture.

His chest was open. Clamps held his ribcage apart, showing the interior of his chest--showing his orb. They’d barely dulled the pain with anesthetic, but he was used to it by now. He was used to being torn apart so they could see how he worked.

This time, however, he could hear them talking. They never bothered hiding anything from him, but they never spoke to him. He was a test subject. A tool. A slab of meat to poke and prod. His thoughts and emotions played part only in how it affected his body. Not in who he was.

They were talking over him, and they were talking about his orb.

“Extraordinarily resilient,” said the man to whom he had come to refer most of his pain, the head scientist who had so kindly welcomed him to Earth his first day here. In his hands was a holo-board, showing his vitals from all the nodes attached to him. “The orb here is the one part of it that we haven’t been able to see inside. Impervious to X-rays, scans, heat signatures… this shall be the first time anyone has seen the inside of a Xanhull heart.”

No.

No, they couldn’t.

They couldn’t be that stupid.

“No,” he said weakly. His voice was ruined from screaming and disuse. They didn’t like when he talked back. They didn’t care if he screamed.

They ignored him, bringing over the drill. He could hear it whirring as they started it up.

Mark wanted to feel fear. He wanted to be scared that they were positioning a drill directly over the thing that kept him alive. He wanted to thrash and beg and do anything to get away. But he didn’t. He wasn’t scared.

He was laughing.

“What is it doing?” one of the assistants asked.

The head scientist huffed, “What does it matter? It’s probably gone insane. Continue on with your work.”

The light was brought over his face, blinding him. He could feel them prodding his sides, making sure that he couldn’t struggle and move when the began. Immobilizing him even further. Holding him down. Making sure he couldn’t escape.

“Attach the node to its brain. I want to see every reaction.”

Something hummed by his ear. He tried to move, but he couldn’t.

His vision went dark as they drilled into his skull, feeding the node to his brain, making sure that he was still alive and full of hate. That hatred would never go away, but he couldn’t stop laughing.

The idiots.

“Begin drilling,” he heard the head scientist say.

The noise grew closer.

“I am not an it,” he said through his laughter. “I am not an it!”

The drill touched his heart.

“My name is Madapriel!”

The drill entered his orb. It pierced his heart.

And he exploded.

Noise disappeared in an instant. His sight was gone. Everything was gone, in deathly silent bliss as everything around him was destroyed, and he sunk back into his orb. Sank back to await some new organism who would drop their blood onto him. He could wait.

Madapriel could wait forever.

It wouldn’t stop him from taking what was his.

Mark was falling.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”

Mark jolted upright, screaming. His heart was pounding, the heat in his skin flashing wildly. He felt as if he was having a panic attack. Everything was too bright. Too much. God, why was everything so loud?

“Mark,” Amy’s voice said. An arm was holding him. He could feel the cool metal of her other arm on his back. “Mark, it’s okay. I’m here.”

“We’re all here,” Tyler said.

Slowly, everything calmed. The noises and lights dimmed. The memories that had been so sharp and so real were now blurring into the background. He remembered, but now they weren’t so bad, so destructive. He could see his crew standing around him with worried eyes. He could see Marzia standing a ways away, holding Maya and watching him regretfully. He could see that Dark and Wilford were gone.

“What happened?” Mark asked, croaking as if he’d gone a month without water. “Where is Dark?”

“He’s gone,” Kathryn said.

“What happened to you?” Ethan asked. His hands were shoved into his pits as he hugged himself. “You were just shaking and whimpering. We couldn’t wake you up. You were just staring… you wouldn’t wake up.”

Ethan looked away, obviously ashamed that he was so distraught. After what had happened with Blank--and having to say goodbye to him once again--Mark knew that Ethan had been panicking over Mark’s condition.

“I’m okay,” Mark said softly. Ethan looked back at him, the corner of his mouth twitching into a sad smile.

“I think I got dragged into Dark’s memories,” Mark said, sitting upright. Amy helped him, moving to sit next to him rather than under him. “I… I saw what happened here. What happened to Unohsket.”

“Mark…” Marzia said, quickly walking over to him. “Be careful.”

Mark struggled to his feet, helped by Tyler and Amy who stood with him. He glared at her. At the GAAP uniform she wore. At the determined, but terrified look she wore.

“Of what?” Mark snarled. Amy hissed with pain, moving away from supporting him. He didn’t look over, but kept his eyes on Marzia as he strode forwards. “What should I be so careful of? Keeping my mouth shut like you?”

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with,” Marzia said, voice low and dangerous. “There are powerful people who will kill to keep what you saw secret. Those people won’t hesitate to destroy you, Mark. I’m just trying to keep you safe.”

“You knew,” Mark said. “Sean knew.”

“Yes,” Marzia whispered. “Or, I knew what they told me. I know what I have found. So what are you going to do now, Fischbach? Whose life are you going to destroy?”

His head was still spinning. The entire universe seemed flipped and scattered. Nothing made sense, and yet it made more sense than it ever had before. This was wrong. But it had happened, and now he was beginning to understand.

“We need to talk to Sean,” Mark said, turning back to his crew.

“Alright,” Tyler answered, stepping forwards. He placed a hand on Mark’s shoulder, staring him in the eyes. “Are you okay? Mark… you were out for nearly an hour.”

Mark huffed, “I just went through twenty years of torture. Don’t worry.” He looked back at their horrified and shocked faces. “I’ll explain back on the Barrel. But we need to move. We need to find Sean, we need to figure out what is going on, and then we need to find Dark again. Let’s go. Now.”

“Alright,” Amy said. The crew began walking back to the Barrel, Tyler keeping a close watch on Mark as he stumbled, still dizzy and unsure with his steps.

There were still so many questions, but now Mark understood.

He understood that the GAAP was using them. For exactly what, he didn’t know. It still made his head spin that they would use him to get to Dark. There was obviously a connection, but what? And how did the GAAP know about that connection? How did they know that Dark would come to him? That they feel that string dragging each other across space?

But they were using him, and they wanted to use Dark. Or, Madapriel.

That was his real name, wasn’t it?

Madapriel.

Who was he? Mark had thought he’d known who Dark was, but now he wasn’t sure. Before he’d been a criminal, a mass murderer who plagued the GAAP. Now he was something else. A person who had lost everything. The subject of torture and experimentation. A revenge-driven being who would stop at nothing to… to do what?

The GAAP had said he was going after a doomsday device. Had they been lying about that too? What was real? What could Mark believe?

He didn’t know anymore.

But he knew that what he used to believe was falling apart, and now he understood Dark, if only somewhat.

He understood.

#official story #markiplier #darkiplier #Amy Nelson #marzia #Tyler Scheid #ethan nestor #kathryn knutsen #Wilford Warfstache #spaceiplier

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darkarfs · 4 years

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This is gonna make so many horrible people unhappy. EVERY Takeover has had at least one match-of-the-year candidate on it. Some of the most emotional moments in that brand have come from cards that even aren't quite as good. I even considered not doing this list, because, by all accounts, NXT Takeover: Tampa isn't even going ahead. But then I thought, fuck it, let's celebrate, taken all together, for my taste, the best wrestling product in the history of mankind. It's not just moves; it's emotional investment, sharply-focused, character-based storytelling, intricately-performed spectactle from the greatest physical specimens ever to lace their boots. It FINALLY legitimized Western women's wrestling in the mainstream (Michelle McCool, Trish, Molly, Mickie, Jazz, Victoria, you all were stunning performers in your own right, but you and your kind were, until NXT, only given 3 minutes: the longest women's match IN HISTORY, until 'Mania 32, was Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James at Wrestlemania 22, and it got 9 minutes.), it's got some of the greatest tag wrestling ever seen on ANY brand, it's created the longest-drawn storytelling ever, it's the best of the indies, the best of the WWE, wrapped up in a sequence of shows that were epic without being FIVE FUCKING HOURS LONG.

Where do I even start...?

Honorable mention: Takeover: R Evolution (I have to, because I've only got 10) Sami Zayn spends over a year, clawing and sweating and tearing walls down, just to get to the top of the mountain in NXT. He has the opportunity to cheat, but does it his OWN way, as beautiful, unique babyface Sami Zayn...before being no-scoped by his best friend, who debuted THAT NIGHT. The undercard isn't as strong, so I can't officially include it, but this payoff, this triumph, and this tragedy represents everything the first era of NXT was, and kickstarted it, truly, onto its first golden era. So, properly, then...

10. Takeover: Rival If you leave this list feeling like the title reigns, and thus, ERAS, of Zayn/Owens are a little under-represented by it, I completely understand. After all, so much good came from that time. American Alpha soldifying themselves as the dominant tag team, the Iron-Woman match between Sasha and Bayley, Becky Lynch putting all the pieces together, Enzo and Cass actually being GOOD...it was, still, at its heart, a developmental brand at that time. It had indie megastars, yes, but it also had the likes of Bull Dempsey. And that's not a dig at Bull Dempsey, it's just that those early Takeovers were an eclectic mix of skill levels, which is what NXT was at that time. It was a place to showcase these people. That said, some of these cards were truly *fantastic.* Case in point: Takeover: Rival. Not only was the undercard completely stacked (Hideo Itami vs. Tyler Breeze over-delivered; we had the first and still SOMEHOW ONLY Fatal 4-Way match between the Four Horsewomen; and Finn Balor vs. Neville was a solid match of the year candidate), but the main event was the first step in one of the most storied rivalries in the history of wrestling: Zayn vs. Owens. The video package is one of the best NXT ever did, and the match...was a masterpiece of simple-but unexpected booking. Zayn mistimes a leap to the outside, hits his head, and Owens responds by powerbombing him over...and over...and over again, until the ref stops the match. Zayn loses nothing, because he was never pinned, Owens is made to look even MORE the loathsome monster, and Zayn's title reign ends after just a month, without the champion nor the championship devalued in any way. It showed that NXT knew, even then, how to reward fans for their emotional investment.

9. Takeover: Portland Right now, NXT feels like it's approaching the very end of a special time in its life. Like it's on the verge of hitting critical mass. One of either Gargano or Ciampa probably leaving the company after the next Takeover, and the reign of the Undisputed Era seems to be crumbling, too. In yesteryear, this would indicate a raft of very important call-ups, neccessitating a shift in the roster and a period of calm centered around more patient character-building. NXT's existence now as a third brand throws that formula into uncertainty, but it definitely feels like they're ramping up to a finale, because goddamn, this is NXT almost at a point of self-parody. Every match is so. MUCH. Lee/Dijakovic is the pinnacle of HOT wrestling (and Lee, will you marry me?) Bianca Belair breaks out as an actual superstar...just as Charlotte decides to visit and to ruin everything, which is just dreadful timing. Gargano/Balor being everything we need it to be, and also Balor pinning Gargano with his fucking dick. And the Broserweights being VERY DUMB...but also VERY, VERY GOOD. The only thing that lets this card down...and this is obviously subjective...is that NXT has almost come TOO FAR, now, in its delivery on its main events, in that every kickout starts to beggar belief. On the level of Triple H/Undertaker at Wrestlemania 28, in that I still love it, but...hoo, it can be exhausting. Depends on how much Ring of Honor you like in your gumbo, I guess, but it feels like everyone on the roster is racing toward Tampa to explode, like a wrestling Crisis on Infinite Earths, and then MAYBE...things can calm down. Just a hair. Y'know, if Tampa even...still happens.

8. Takeover: Philadelphia If there's one man that's become synonymous with NXT, it's Johnny fucking Wrestling. You know, what would happen if a meerkat put on muscle mass and became the best set-piece wrestler this side of Daniel Bryan. We knew since he started his tag team with Tommaso Ciampa that he was an exceptional wrestler, but it wasn't until Philadelphia, and his INSANE match with Andrade "Cien" Almas, that we saw him as truly the industry's next star. It was the first Takeover match to go over 30 minutes (Sasha/Bayley at Respect went EXACTLY 30, don't @ me), it was the first NXT match to get 5 stars from Dave Meltzer (if that matters to you), and it set a new bar for Takeover main events. And while the undercard doesn't live up to it, it's still loaded with excellent matches. A.O.P. vs. the Undisputed Era is something special. Shayna Baszler makes her Takeover debut, and while she's nowhere near her prime, it cemented her immediately. Velveteen Dream and Kassius Ohno have a very fun match, and Aleister Black and Adam Cole have a ludcriously stupid no-holds-barred match, featuring two men doing with chairs what no one ought to do with chairs. But as good as all of that is, it's really a one match show, but what a match, and Ciampa ending it by being an utter bastard yet again.

7. Takeover: Brooklyn I Does the first Brooklyn Takeover feature Canadian Destroyers, 18 kick-outs and "fight forever" chants? It does not. Does it create moments of wrestling happiness that are rarely, if ever, replicated? It sure does. Firstly, Blue Pants appears and helps the Vaudevillains defeat Blake and Murphy. Seems quaint to look back on it, but it made everyone SO goddamn HAPPY that night. If you're forgetting, Leva Bates (that wrestling librarian in AEW right now) was once a comedy jobber in NXT, who wore Blue Pants. Adorable. Ignore what happened on the main roster (which is something you'll probably have to do with a lot of these shows, I imagine), but the Vaudevillains were once incredibly over (I promise!), and their win was one of several beam-inducing moments from this stellar night. Samoa Joe destroyed Baron Corbin at the height of his game, Apollo Crews debuted brilliantly (again, ignore what happens next!) and Balor and Owens' ladder match was also fantastic. Also, what's Jushin Thunder Liger doing here?? Wrestling like he's in his early 30s, that's goddamn what!! But of course, the reason we're all here is Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, and...there's still something in my eye. Anytime people want to rag on NXT for being "predictable," remind them that giving the people a moment they've genuinely prayed for...is a good thing. Bayley besting Sasha Banks at her prime just made us all...so happy. All of us. Everyone. When that curtain call took place, it was so earned. The narrative of women's wrestling dominated most of 2015, and this moment, this match, was the apex of that narrative.

6. Takeover: Chicago I And speaking of feelings...hello, Ciampa, you godless fuck. And so begins maybe the actual greatest rivalry in all of NXT. It is truly an odyessy, with twists, turns, injuries, betrayals, wounds torn open, and this is the nexus point. Well, the seeds had already sort of been planted, because Triple H knows what he's doing. Ciampa almost ALMOST turns on Gargano after their terrific match in the Cruiserweight Classic, only for the team to die another day...and what a death it was. After a great ladder match, the two stand atop the ramp, and you think "will it happen?" And the absolute bastards show you the copyright logo, just to make you think the show ends there, because it always does, seconds after that happens. You unclench, you breathe out, relax...Ciampa whispers "this is MY moment" and then...It is a perfectly engineered bait-and-switch, and exactly as vicious as it needs to be. Pats on the back, all 'round. This moment alone makes this a worthwhile Takeover, but there's also a hell of an undercard. The women's triple-threat (Ruby Riott vs. Asuka vs. Nikki Cross) is stellar, Bobby Roode and Hideo Itami have their respective best Takeover matches ever, and then there was Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne. An absolute show-stealer of a match, a star-making performance for both men (especially Dunne), it cemented the career of several men, and was a fully-formed GREAT show, as opposed to a good show in service to a storyline.

5. Takeover: Brooklyn IV Gargano and Ciampa's battle of brotherhood, betrayal and brainwashing was supposed to blow off at Takeover: New York, but because God hates necks, Tomato Champion was out of action, making this the final singles encounter to date, until Tampa (again, IF it even happens). This is the weakest of their 3 excellent encounters (which still makes it better than any match over SummerSlam weekend), but it also features Johnny Stupid running into a speaker, because his dumb ass can't seem to quit Ciampa. It's one of the greatest long-form feuds for a reason, mirroring Bret and Owen from 1993 into 1994, with all the repeated imagery, the callbacks, the nuances, the psychological cruelty. The street fight at Chicago II is MAYBE better, but this undercard, for me, is a lot stronger. It featured the Undisputed Era vs. Moustache Mountain, aka the Brothers Shithead vs. the Proud Circus Bear and His Beautiful Son. Velveteen Dream vs. EC3 was the closest NXT got to WWE-style storytelling and was still brilliant (remember when EC3 wrestled?), and HEY, wouldn't you know it, Kairi Sane was once a character with dimensions, as evidenced by an amazing match with Shayna Bazsler. But what makes this undercard truly stellar is Adam Cole vs. Ricochet. It is so nice to see Ricochet used well, etc., but I will still never stop pissing myself at Cole nailing him square in the jaw with a superkick WHILE HE'S MID-MOONSAULT UPSIDE-DOWN SWEET JESUS. Sometimes...sometimes...things fall exactly into place.

4. Takeover: WarGames (2018) The WarGames Takeovers are just so silly. It's a silly shoebox, filled with huge, silly men who only barely know why they're killing each other. It's as close as we ever get to WWE's now-terminal problem of "set aside whatever feuds you have right now, because it's Stipulation Month!" (see: Hell In a Cell, most Money In the Bank shows, though Elimination Chamber largely sidesteps this). The other Shoebox Takeovers are really good, no doubt, but this one stands head-and-shoulders above the rest. But there is not a bad match on this card. Kassius Ohno rides Matt Riddle's knee all the way to heaven; NXT shows why 2-out-of-3-falls is fast becoming its signature stipulation with the excellent blowoff between Sane/Baszler; Sexy Mindgames Prince had a star-making match against Tommaso Ciampa, showing why he may be the best overall character in NXT right now, and sweet lord, Aleister Black vs. Johnny Wrestling. It somehow showed that Gargano was JUST AS, if NOT MORE engaging as a dirtbag than as a good guy. And those Black Masses are presents just for me, a guy who tends to like more community theater in his wrestling than flips ("I ABSOLVE YOU...OF ALL YOUR SINS!"). And then we get to the Shoebox, and gosh it's silly! The Viking Experience, Ricochet and Pete Dunne take on the Undisputed Era, and...its a fucking LOT. 45 minutes of spots and smashing, with just a sprinkling of story, with Fish locking Dunne in his cage so he can't participate in the match. Since this seems to be what this match is designed for...let's rattle off some spots! Ricochet, jumping from one ring to the other! That amazing face-off that recreates the Captain America: Civil War poster! Perhaps the beefiest Tower of Doom in all of wrestling! And then Ricochet proving just how amazing he is...with the double moonsault off the top of the cage. What a stupid thing to do in an amazing, amazing show.

3. Takeover: Dallas I get it; a lot of people might not rank this Takeover quite so high. But it might be my actual personal favorite...? Overall...? More than any other Takeover, this show feels the most like it's filled with living, breathing superheroes. Many NXT stars are seen as just indie guys whose only gimmick is "I'm a very good wrestler," making them almost anti-WWE at the core. But NXT doesn't get enough credit for being, at its core, the best aspects of WWE. The showmanship, the things that elevate mere wrestlers to things like monsters, gods, and demons. I will always like my NXT WWE-style: the best wrestling cut with the most theater, the most camp. And Dallas is that concept, writ large. Baron Corbin coming out with lil' skulls on his shoulders. American Alpha finally becoming Super Saiyan Nerds. Asuka killing our hero, because Bayley is a person, and Asuka is a goddess who can perform brain surgery with her feet. Finn Balor coming out and going actual Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Samoa Joe. It's excellent wrestling, near-mythic visuals...and then we get to Nakamura/Zayn. The most special moment of a very special night. It is, from nearly every perspective, perfect. The hype of the crowd, salivating with anticipation. That moment when Nakamura appears in silhouette, and that violin note slides like a knife across steel, to reveal the man who set New Japan aflame. Sami Zayn getting the best possible swan song in a promotion built almost entirely on HIS back. The end of his era. That bit where they just KEEP PUNCHING ONE ANOTHER. I know it's not a perfect show (Balor/Joe stops for 3 minutes to address a cut on Joe's forehead, stalling its momentum; that Corbin/Ares match isn't as good as it could be) but that all means nothing. It's a sentimental choice, and I'd make it #1 if I could.

2. Takeover: New Orleans I went around and around in my head, and this one and #1 kept jockeying for position in my brain. But these top two Takeovers are literally note-perfect, from ship to shore, soup to nuts, top to tails. So if this is YOUR favorite? (Honestly, maybe 1 person I know who loves wrestling as much as I do will even see this mess). I'm here for you, and I understand. But this show has TWO 5-star matches from the Wrestling Observer, and I don't ever agree with that. In this case, I agree with BOTH, in the North American Championship ladder match, and the first (and so far, BEST) match in the Gargano/Ciampa feud. Everything. Is. Amazing. Shayna Bazsler became Women's Champion after BEAST-MODING her SHOULDER back INTO IT'S SOCKET to show that, YES, she gets pro-wrestling. Roderick Strong shocked the world (and the System) by joining the Undisputed Era and becoming the final Chaos Emerald needed to make that stable Super Sonic. Aleister Black took the championship from Andrade "Cien" Almas and SMILED, I fucking SAW IT! And it all depends on what you want from your wrestling, but Gargs/Tamps might actually be the best main event in Takeover history, at least from a storytelling standpoint. The crutch, the neckbrace. Each man going back to their DIY roots (the tag team - they didn't build another ring when that one broke), and then sitting side-by-side, like they did at the Cruiserweight Classic. Brothers. Completely spent. Destroyed. No one but each other. And then Ciampa shits any chance at redemption up the goddamn wall, cementing his own destruction. Every. Bit. Counts.

and #1...

Takeover: New York For a whole bunch of other wrestling fans, this has the greatest main event in Takeover history. But first, let's take a minute to appreciate how lucky we are, or were, that NXT exists. It justfies the existence of WWE, artistically, almost by itself. If this one's only slightly worse than New Orleans, it is argued, it's that the North American title ladder match was TOO good, and hurt every other match on the card. It has been argued. Not by me, but this one is somehow the most perfectly paced, perfectly sized wrestling card, on its own, ever. Every match, through alchemy or magic, manages to enthrall the crowd equally, and completely. The Viking Raiders vs. Grumpy Smaller Undertaker and the Human Pinball was off the hook incredible, and that warm "thank you" feeling has translated, currently to a man trapped in a room and a man trapped in Vince McMahon's scorn for smaller wrestlers, respectively. Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream put on an absolute fantasy match, pitting the best of MMA vs. the best of WWE-style theatricality, and adds to the complete, demented character-world of this brand, and the fact that Dream WINS against one of the hottest new prospects is so deserved, and shows that he can, and will, shine forever brighter. Then AAAAGH WALTER vs. Pete Dunne! WALTER LAYS into poor Dunne, his chops alone having you believe that after the match, he's going to run into the arena's parking lot to FIGHT THE CARS. Then Shirai vs. Baszler vs. Sane vs. Belair and goddammit how do I even expound on that without crashing thesarus.com? And then Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole wrestled for. 40. MINUTES. With Gargano as the defacto heel because it was allegedly Cole's time. And by the match's end, he had the crowd more behind him than maybe they ever had been before. Is it a bit much? Yes. Too many kickouts? Probably. But it stands as the apex of Johnny Wrestling's journey. After everything had been taken from him: DIY, his health, his sanity, even his chance at revenge...the only thing he has left is the NXT Championship. And in that moment, he is invincible, he is more than enough.

What a show. What a host of shows.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

#long post

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mothermaidenclone-blog · 5 years

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Ad Astra or This Movie Was the Brad Pitts

Ad Astra was the worst movie I have paid to see since 2015’s Kill Your Friends, which is my least favourite cinema experience of all time. It was a dry and dreary story about emotionally stunted white men in a bleak and boring capitalist version of space, with jarring and superfluous Christian undertones. The plot and everyone’s motives were so non-existent that Brad Pitt had to narrate the whole thing in a monotone so flat and dead I literally screamed all the way from the cinema to the bus stop when it was over, partly out of a frustration so deep it was non-verbal, but also just to finally hear some pitch variation.

*Ad Astra spoilers follow*

There technically were women in this movie. Lots of women, particularly women of colour, occupied high ranking positions and were addressed by their titles, a touch I think is important and that usually tips the scales in favour of a good review for me. We were graced with Adjutant General Vogel (LisaGay Hamilton), Captain Lu (Freda Foh Shen), Sergeant Romano (Kimmy Shields), Tanya Pincus (Natasha Lyonne) and Lorraine Deavers (Kimberly Elise), as well as several unnamed female personnel (Kayla Adams, Elisa Perry, Sasha Compère and Mallory Low). I would like to particularly highlight Natasha Lyonne’s performance as apparently she was the only actor employed to play a human being and not a replicant. She was on screen for maybe twenty seconds, as is sadly the case with most of these women, but was a glorious breath of fresh air as the only character to simultaneously emote expressively and speak with inflection and enthusiasm. The only one! In a two hour movie!

All of these women appear to be respected and capable members of various illustrious teams, but are always outnumbered by men. There are two male generals alongside Vogel and Deavers is initially outnumbered 4:1 on her space craft by men. Tragically, whenever a team is being picked off, it is always the people of colour who die first. Not only is this obviously racist, it is just a disgusting cliché that we just don’t need to see anymore in movies. Deavers dies first when Roy (Brad Pitt) forcibly invades their vehicle, followed by Franklin Yoshida (Bobby Nish), an Asian man, and Donald Stanford (Loren Dean), a white guy, is the last to go. Roy cradles him in his arms and attempts to save his life. I hope it’s not just me that sees something wrong with the order of events there.

A similar scenario takes place in the lunar chase, which absurdly seems to occur in the same crapy looking buggies as the original moon landing, a confusing visual choice considering we’ve just seen a vast and impressive modern concrete moon base. The film takes the time to introduce us to Willie Levant (Sean Blakemore), a black officer who will be escorting Ray across the moon. As soon as we see he has a photo of his wife and child taped to his tablet screen I knew he was going to die - in the year 2019 I should not be able to predict that a black character is going to die because we saw a family photo. Can we just not anymore? Again, aside from the racism, that’s just shitty writing. I like to think that as a species, if we can conceptualise something as vast and seemingly impossible as solar travel, we can also move beyond basic and derogatory cinematic tropes.

I was most excited by the appearance of Helen Lantos (Ruth Negga), a woman of colour who occupies a position of power on Mars and introduces herself assertively using her full name. Also, her whole look was excellent. However, this brief release of serotonin was very short lived as she literally walks Roy down a corridor then is immediately cut off and superseded by a white guy with a man bun. Lantos does return later, but alas, as an exposition machine to give Roy some plot news about his dad. Even as she explains that her parents were murdered by his, Lantos falls victim to the dire, emotionless monotone that I can only assume was forced on the entire cast of this film. Then, she is an actual chauffeur and drives Ray to a manhole so he can continue his dad quest. A character brimming with original potential is presented as nothing more than a device.

The final woman to mention is the first one we see, Roy’s ex-wife Eve (Liv Tyler). We see the blurry, out of focus back of her head in the background of a shot before we see her face, and this is incredibly telling, because that’s all Eve is, the simulacrum of a woman. She could be anybody - so why she is Liv Tyler defies belief, I can only assume they held her loved ones hostage - her story is untold and entirely irrelevant. Again, she is only a device, although this time not for Roy’s forward momentum, but this time seemingly to emphasise that Roy is a total sociopath with no emotions whatsoever. We don’t learn Eve’s name for another twenty minutes, and it is an hour and twenty minutes before we hear her speak. Even then, it’s not a live conversation, because god forbid this film have too many of those, but a voice recording explaining that their relationship is over. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was, but everything she said was so generic I have no memory of it whatsoever. She is presented as a ghost, a blurry image on a screen, a memory fixed in time, not a real person with agency and personality. At the end of the movie we finally see her in real time, and that is when she has made the unfathomable decision to meet Roy for coffee. Even her face in that moment gives no emotion away, perhaps because Tyler had no idea how to act this entirely nonsensical decision. To our knowledge, she would not have seen any change in Roy, only received news that he survived a dangerous space mission, which is apparently enough of a reason to get back with this emotionless egg of a man?

I almost didn’t want to devote words to them, but I think it’s important to address just how dire Roy and his dad H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) are. This is their film, they are the reason that all of these women’s stories are passed over. It is made clear over and over again that both Roy and Clifford believe they are the only people capable of completing their various missions. Roy hijacks a ship and inadvertently kills everyone on board because he thinks that it’s his destiny or whatever to get his dad back, never mind that they were all highly trained space personnel who were arguably better suited to the mission precisely because it wasn’t their dad. Clifford straight up murders his whole crew because they are too “small minded” to fly off further and further into space forever on a mission that has yet yielded absolutely no evidence of their goals. A variety of talented human beings are destroyed because of the entitlement of white men, their delusional and unshakable conviction that they are at the centre of the universe and that no one else could possibly accomplish the lofty goals that kismet apparently calls them to.

The way they speak about themselves and to each other is absolutely psychotic. Roy’s solo musings include, “The flight recorder will tell the story, but history will have to decide,” and “In the end, the son suffers the sins of the father.” Clifford imparts his son with the delightful greeting of, “There was never anything there for me, I never cared for you or your mother or your small ideas.” In addition, they both physically flinch from human contact at various points in the move. Now, I totally understand that we live in a neurodiverse world and that many people experience emotions and social interactions in any number of ways, and that is a beautiful thing that makes our world so interesting to live in. However, that these men both abjectly state that they have no empathy is presented within the context of their megalomaniacal ideals that they must accomplish their god-given quests irregardless of how many people they have to kill along the way. It is a facet of their strangely two-dimensional, arrogant and narcissistic personalities, not one part of many complex features that make a complete and relatable human being.

Roy has to literally say out loud that he is a human being at the end of the movie; “I will rely on those closest to me…I will live and love,” which makes him sound more like a learning AI trying to pass a Turing test than anything else. The music swells as Clifford throws himself towards the surface of Neptune in an orchestral deluge that is unsubtly significant in this very quiet film, as though I’m supposed to start crying and think anything other than, “well thank fuck, it’s about time this murderer dies in the cold vacuum of space, I hope Roy stays spinning and screaming here forever too.” We are supposed to feel sympathy for them as the heroes of this movie, despite the fact that they show no care for anyone else throughout the whole thing and act entirely in their own self interests.

Overall, the women in this film are given about five seconds of potential as they introduce themselves variously as decorated soldiers and otherwise capable personnel, before being shoved to the side, or murdered, for Roy. This is obviously objectionable, but is made so much worse by the fact that Roy is an emotionless, entitled, empathy-less white man who doesn’t care if other people have to die for him to get what he wants. That is what these women are being passed up in favour of. I felt like I was watching a two hour long Voight-Kampff test. Space movies like this should be about what we can achieve if we work together as a species, not about how white men will still be the kings of dreary capitalism, even on the moon. We can do better than this.

And now for some asides:

What the actual fuck was the font at the beginning? I guess a red serif all caps should have alerted me to the fact that I was about to watch a horror movie.

As a lover of space horror, I was absolutely gutted that it was a bad CG angry baboon and not a cool gross alien. Also, what was that scene? “Hmm, we need to get rid of this loser because Brad Pitt is the best at space ships and he needs to be the captain. Uhh…what about…space monkeys? Yeah! Space monkeys on a deserted Norwegian ship. That makes sense.”

Can I just have a film bout those moon pirates fighting space capitalism please? I was more invested in them that anyone else in this garbage movie.

Credit for the Bradd Pitts joke goes to the talented and lovely Ed Cheverton

#ad astra #Film Review #movie review #feminism #sci-fi #scifi #science fiction #brad pitt #liv tyler #tommy lee jones #ruth negga #freda foh shen #lisagay hamilton #natasha lyonne

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firelxdykatara · 5 years

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This is for the ask meme, but how about top 5 underrated characters or movies? (also your blog has easily become one of my favs, thank you for existing and for your excellent commentary/takes!!!

kjfdgkdjfg well thank you! i’m glad you enjoy my ramblings

TOP 5 UNDERRATED CHARACTERS: UHMMM this is hard, cause some characters are underrated by the show but loved by the fandom, and sometimes the opposite, but these are the ones that come to mind:

1. Tyler Lockwood, from The Vampire Diaries. In the first two seasons of the show, he had a pretty fantastic ‘jerkass jock to decent human being’ character arc, and his relationship with Caroline was beautiful to watch. In season 3 Forwood lost all of the emotional depth it’d had and became almost entirely about sex, and then Tyler got put through the absolute ringer and then... kind of vanished? He came back every once in a while to get shit on by everyone (I will never not be pissed that Stefan punched him in the face for daring to be upset that the woman he loved had slept with the man who murdered his mother and slaughtered his pack--he had every right not to want to be around her after that, and to get upset when she refused to back off), and then got unceremoniously killed at some point, I think over on The Originals. I don’t know, cause I stopped watching TVD after season 6. Anyway, Tyler Lockwood deserved better, and that is that on that.

2. Wells Jaha from The 100. It’s been, what, five years since season 1 of that show? And I’m still fucking pissed about the way Wells was unceremoniously killed off in the third episode, and barely referenced again. After having been Clarke’s best friend for most of her life. Meanwhile, the ghost of Lexa, Clarke’s two-week fuck buddy (god, ok, before anyone comes to yell at me, I’m sure they were in love and it was longer than two weeks, whatever, I never cared for the relationship and I didn’t buy it in the slightest) has been haunting the show ever since she died, turning up every season like a bad fucking penny. But Wells who????

3. Alistair Theirin from Dragon Age. Now, don’t get me wrong, a lot of the fandom loves him, but I see a lot of that love centering on like... cheese jokes and ‘lol he’d be a terrible king he’s a fuckin dork’ and like, I get it, but also??? This man has been through some shit. He was abandoned by his mother, his father dumped him on Arl Eamon’s doorstep where he grew up feeling lonely and unwanted because Eamon’s wife thought he was Eamon’s illegitimate son and treated him like trash because that’s the kid’s fault of course, then he was shipped off to the Chantry because said wife was sick of having to look at him--and he didn’t even fit in there, it wasn’t until he joined the Grey Wardens that he finally felt like he had a place in the world, and he had a family he loved, and he lost literally all of them. Including the man he’d grown to care for as the father figure he’d desperately wanted all his life. And it of course depends on the choices made, but Alistair can be a damn good king if given the chance, and sometimes I get tired of people acting like he’s some helpless fop who exists to be the butt of jokes.

4. Clint Barton from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’m sure I don’t have to go into detail regarding how he was criminally underutilized from the very beginning--he was taken out of half the action of The Avengers via brainwashing, and it only got worse from there. A family was dropped on him out of nowhere, effectively cutting off any potential development and growth he had via any other relationships. And all of that aside, there is a wealth of potential characterization and personality in the comics that MCU!Clint just... doesn’t get. There are glimpses of it, and Jeremy Renner absolutely could’ve pulled it off.... but nope. And I don’t even want to get into what Endgame did to him. But basically, he was written off as the ‘boring human’ (where even Nat got to be The Gorgeous Superspy) from the start, and just... never got to grow beyond that. And it was incredibly frustrating to watch.

5. Luther Hargreeves from The Umbrella Acadmy. I’m still mad about the way the fandom treated Luther and his trauma vs how they treated Vanya’s (and there are exceptions on both sides but you still can’t throw a stone in the general tags without seeing some anti luther crap), and how it’s totally ok and understandable that Vanya slit her own sister’s throat because she couldn’t control her emotions or her powers, but Luther was evil incarnate for believing she was dangerous and trying to keep her contained until they could figure out how to help her without risking her destroying the planet (remembering that he had no way of knowing what a trigger that room would be for her). Anyway, Luther deserves better and I hope season 2 treats him well.

TOP FIVE UNDERRATED MOVIES: Probably won’t get as detailed here but!

1. Aquamarine. I actually wrote a post a while back about this movie cause it’s??? So good??? And such an amazing take on how love is important in all forms, not just romantic, which is pretty rare for a romcom, and I just really love it.

2. George of the Jungle. There’s a post floating around out there about why this is such a great movie, and how it flipped the ‘sexy/objectified female love interest’ trope on its head, but I don’t see this movie talked about enough and it should be. (The first time I saw this movie, I was six years old, it had just come out on VHS, and my father laughed so hard he fell off the fucking couch. It was the kind of thing that can only happen once, the first time, because after that you know it’s coming, but it’s still great on rewatch and I just. It’s such a good fucking movie ok.)

3. Sky High. Why isn’t there more of a fandom for this movie. It was great, and I’m still mad it didn’t get a sequel yes I still ship layla/warren don’t judge me, but it had so many great comedic beats and had a great take on superhero school and breaking down the superhero/sidekick dichotomy and they’re still teenagers with teenage problems but that won’t stop them from saving the day. And also Ron Wilson, Bus Driver, was absolutely fucking priceless.

4. Cinderella (2015). In fact, Cinderella herself routinely gets a lot of flak just in general, I guess because people can’t understand why someone in her position wouldn’t just stand up to their abusers and leave (and where the fuck would she even go?? it’s not like she had anyone she could trust to take her in, and being treated like a servant in her own home was better than starving in the cold), but I just... love so much that the live action remake focuses on her kindness and her courage and just... Have courage, and be kind, and she offers forgiveness to the Lady Tremaine, even if she didn’t deserve it and wouldn’t take it, because that’s who Ella always was. There was no room in her heart for anger and bitterness, and that’s not to say that anyone who is angry at their abusers is wrong for it, but that’s not the only way to cope. And Ella got her happy ending because she never stopped being true to herself, and it’s just. So very beautiful.

5. Enchanted. It was a really cute movie but also a great look at the typical Disney Princess formula and turning it on its head while still showing such a deep love for the source of that formula and I just love it so much. Plus Patrick Dempsey. A+++

#underrated characters #underrated movies #ask meme #syques #asked

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douxreviews · 5 years

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Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2′ Review

"Let's see what the future holds."

By nature I love brevity: Star Trek: Discovery delivers on the promises of the season in its dramatic finale that warps off into Season Three ready to try something new. My predictions were mostly correct, with a few surprises. Some of those surprises were substantially more welcome than others.

Last week's episode made us a whole lot of promises and set up a lot of things to happen here. All the emotional stakes of that episode hinged on the fulfillment of those promises and set-ups, though, so no matter what, if they didn't follow through we were going to feel cheated. I went into this finale with a small bit of trepidation that they might fake us out and not deliver, but those fears were happily quashed. If nothing else, I want to applaud the show for delivering on its promises, and for doing so in a way that provided entertainment and diversion for an hour and left me feeling mostly satisfied.

But, of course, I do have to talk about what went wrong. Most of this episode's problems, and indeed the whole season's problems, are the result of logical inconsistencies. For example, if they had a map of the red bursts the whole time, why couldn't they figure out where each burst was going to appear? Even if they didn't know which burst corresponded to which one on the map, after the first three they should have known the location of all seven. That was the main thing about the season as a whole that bothered me.

The biggest and most egregious problem in 'Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2' is the entire situation involving Cornwell and the torpedo. How contrived can you get, really? This seems to me to be the most stupid and pointless sacrifice since Captain America: The First Avenger, and it's certainly the dumbest thing this show has ever done. I can't even begin to fathom why anyone would think that little tiny door could do anything at all when we were told it would take out four decks/half the ship. If the door is so powerful, why isn't the whole ship made out of the same material? How is the window still intact after the blast? For that matter, why the actual heck did they put a window in a blast door? Even the reason Cornwell decided to stick around in that room with the torpedo was hopelessly contrived. Pike made some very good points about time travel and his future, and she dismissed them for no reason at all. Very disappointing and completely unnecessary. Jayne Brook and Admiral Cornwell deserve way better.

The second major issue involves Controlland and his death. First and foremost, if the Control AI was destroyed when Georgiou killed it, why do they even still need to go to the future? If destroying Control was as easy as magnetizing a whatever for a few minutes, why not focus your efforts on that rather than the time travel stuff? They even had a golden opportunity to solve all these problems and bring back some nice continuity at the same time. Why not just have Georgiou use the spores to send Controlland somewhere else, like Lorca did with Burnham way back in 'Context is for Kings'? Plus, the magnetizing the whatever solution is really dumb and sounds contrived.

All this makes it sound like I hated 'Sorrow II.' I didn't. It was largely entertaining, and despite those two major things that grated on me and a few other minor gripes, the finale did its job well. It managed partly to earn the melodrama of 'Sorrow I' and to wrap up the season's arcs in a neat and tidy manner. Let me dive further into the things I liked.

Firstly, Olatunde Osunsamni's direction was on point this week. His stylistic, swooping camera and weird, dynamic directorial choices are actually really well-suited to big action setpieces like this one. While I may not like his apparent vow to never allow the camera to be still at any moment, even in dialogue or other low-energy sequences, Osunsamni gets to infuse his energy here into a show that warrants it. On that same note, all the action was quite good and interesting to watch. The production values on this show continue to be absolutely through the roof, and it works really, really well.

I also loved, though it can very easily be dismissed as fan service, the ending with Pike, Spock, and the Enterprise. The show is certainly leaning into fan hopes for a show centered around them, for no clear reason. Clearly, they could very well do something like that, and it would be highly anticipated and probably very well received. It's ultimately up to the producers, but I really think that if they do intend to do it, it will have to be really far down the pipeline. If it were coming in the near future, we'd have heard something of it by now.

The portion of the end that deals with Discovery's supposed breaches of canon was a long time in coming. I think I'd made my peace that time travel would fix it all about a month ago, so bringing my feelings about it back is a bit difficult. If the writers had all this planned from the beginning, then kudos to them. If not, then at least they found a decent way to fix everything they'd broken. One of the things that's in the grand tradition of Star Trek is taking mistakes and discrepancies and using them for the benefit of later stories, so I'm quite pleased that this occurred here. Did they have to force it because it was necessary for the show? Yes. But let's not lose sight of the fact that it was necessary for the show.

A few surprises lurked in this episode, even though the resolution went more or less as anticipated. The first of these was that Georgiou was on the Disco as it went off into the wild blue yonder. I had expected, since Michelle Yeoh's Section 31 series is coming, that Georgiou would be left behind in the past in light of that. Not so here. This raises many questions about that Section 31 show, what Yeoh's role in it will be, and how she will play into DIS Season 3, so many that I won't go into them all here. Suffice it to say, I was surprised, and I will be interested to see where it goes from here.

Secondly, I was surprised at the arrival of everything the rest of the season had done, now coming back to help the Disco accomplish its mission. Although I suppose everything did have to be a part of a grand design like Pike and Spock have been saying all along, I was not expecting Siranna and the Kelpiens in particular. A nice touch, certainly, as was the timely arrival of L'Rell and her Klingon armada. Speaking Klingon under heavy makeup does tend to work much better when it's being yelled angrily at one's enemies in the heat of battle than it does when discussing Imperial politics while sitting at home. Plus, Mary Chieffo got to say 'Today is a good day to die' before the show left her behind.

So overall, I think I liked it. It did what it needed to do, and not a whole ton more. What more it did was mixed material, but so is this show in general. I left it feeling satisfied, and even excited for the road ahead. Take her out, folks. Let's see what she can do.

Pensees:

-Holy crap, that's a lot of shuttles. Voyager's jealous.

-I half expected Reno to die, and Po to go to the future. I'm not sad that those things didn't happen, though.

-Keep on being sassy as heck, Dr. Pollard.

-I thought Burnham and Spock's goodbye was just fine the first time, in the shuttlebay. At the end of the episode it was terribly overdone, although Ethan Peck did his darnedest to help it along.

-Is Anthony Rapp's return to the show for Season Three in doubt? They left his life still in danger at the end of the episode. I hope not; I like Stamets. His resolution with Culber felt a little out of place amid the chaos of the episode, though.

-Lots of visual cues to Star Trek: The Motion Picture in this episode, from Burnham's travel through time to the same streaky-light wormhole effect when the ship does the same.

-That really is a dang useful blast door. Voyager's jealous.

-Number One STILL doesn't have a canonical name. Why couldn't she just have given it in the debriefing scene. It's not hard!

-So Tyler has been made the head of Section 31 for now. I guess that means he'll definitely be in Yeoh's series, right?

-Clean-shaven Spock in uniform was great to see, and the shot that panned out from the bridge to the ship in space was a definite nod to 'The Cage.'

-Props to Jeff Russo for his awesome mix of the classic TOS theme and the DIS theme. I really like the music of this show in general.

Quotes:

Po: "First, I invoke diplomatic immunity for stealing this shuttle."

Reno: "I'm going, I'm going! Get off my ass! Sir! Get off my ass, sir!"

Saru: "Promise me you'll be safe." Everything: *continues exploding*

Burnham: "So you're asking me to take a leap of faith." Spock: "One that is only logical."

Controlland: "Where's my data?" Nhan, searching for the most useless response possible: "Hell!"

Controlland: "This doesn't have to be this hard!" Georgiou: "Not hard is boring, and I hate boring."

Number One: "Plans A and B didn't work. This is the Hail Mary part of the operation."

Burnham: "Find that person who seems farthest from you, and reach for them. Reach for them."

4.5 out of 6 really useful blast doors.

CoramDeo is a reviewer, not a bricklayer.

#Star Trek #Star Trek Discovery #Michael Burnham #Spock #Christopher Pike #Saru #Ash Tyler #Disco #Star Trek Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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looselucy · 6 years

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Sixty One - Finale

I hadn’t cried. Not when I saw the article, not when I stormed out of his home unnoticed, and not for the hours that had passed. Not a single tear had been shed.

And fuck, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I had seen it coming, or that I didn’t care, I think the thought of it just exhausted my entire body, and crying was almost like too much effort. I was absolutely broken, destroyed and lifeless. I actually couldn’t even begin to comprehend how much I was hurting, how much physical pain I could literally feel in my chest, just thanks to the thoughts of him with someone else. I had crystal clear images in my mind of them together, their hot naked bodies writhing around with each other, their bare flesh sticking together and the beads of sweat trickling down his back as he thrust slowly into her. I could see it all, and it was so vivid and real I may as well have walked in on the act whilst it was happening. And it ached my whole being, like an illness, an illness that would eventually kill me. I didn’t want to sleep, because I didn’t even want to begin thinking about the nightmares that would take over my mind as I slept, the possible images that may eclipse my slumber. Nightmares had always been more common than dreams for me, so I knew it would be bad. Yet there was one dream that had been having for the past few months, a dream that finally felt somewhat kind. I would dream of standing on a platform, the train lazily pulling into the station. In the dream I was nervous and cold, waiting for the train to arrive, but when it pulled up, Harry got off the train. We would stand there for a while and just look at one another, the cold air would disappear and a warmth would replace it. My nerves would disappear and everything would just turn from a nightmare to a dream in mere seconds. I had this awful idea that if I was to fall asleep, I would have that nightmare, but the dream would never come. I would wait and wait and wait at the station, the cold air getting colder still, my stomach in knots and shapes it shouldn’t be. And then the train would arrive, but he wouldn’t get off. The doors would open, but there wouldn’t be anyone there. The inside would be empty, and I would feel just as empty as it, and then it would pull away. I was terrified about it. I didn’t want to believe the articles; I usually brushed past them as the bullshit they were spreading, but this one was different. The pictures actually told a story. It wasn’t just words this time around, and it seemed to be heart-wrenchingly clear the story those images told. There was no way he could deny it, no way he could say it hadn’t happened when there were literal pictures of him walking into her house, pictures of their eyes on each other and his lips lingering audaciously on her cheek. He couldn’t deny that. Usually, I would have just asked him about it, I would have been paranoid and worried regardless, but I would have asked. But judging by the way things had been between us, the way he had acted and his apparent contact with his ex-girlfriend, how hostile he had been on the phone and the giggling I heard in the background, I didn’t feel like there was any need. It wasn’t hard to add two and two together and just figure it out. I wanted to be angrier with him, but I was too sad about it. I was sad that after everything we had been through, everything I thought he felt for me, that things could end up being this way. I put it down to the fact that he was scared, that our relationship had gone from being so private to incredibly public when we hadn’t expected it to, and maybe it wasn’t what he wanted after all. I felt like it scared him, and that’s why he had done what he did. This was his way of acting out, releasing his negative emotions. He had always had a toxic filter for his harmful thoughts and feelings, whether it was using someone like Kate or fighting, but I really thought he had changed, I thought he had grown and learnt and found a healthy way to deal with those parts of him, but it seemed he hadn’t. I was just praying that it wasn’t through lack of love for me. He must just be scared. He still loves me, I know he does. But I suppose it didn’t make a difference. He had done that, and I wasn’t sure I could forgive him. I wasn’t sure I could let him touch me and hold me ever again without thinking of him with someone else. I didn’t think I was strong enough to deal with that, to overcome that. It would be the death of the relationship before we even tried to fix it. Everything ran itself over twice in my mind as the day passed. It was around 4pm, April 16th, and Harry hadn’t made an appearance. I put it down to guilt, to be honest, because I thought he would have been begging for me back but he just hadn’t been there all day. I thought he would have woken in an empty bed and figured it out, coming round to sort things out and get on his fucking hands and knees to apologise to me. But nothing ever worked out how I thought it would. Because he eventually arrived, but it wasn’t quite in the manner I had been expecting. Angry knocks were smashed on the front door of my flat, loud and belligerent, and he didn’t stop banging until I reached the door, swinging it open to see him stood there, clearly so angry with me, though I couldn’t see sense as to why that would be. Unfortunately for me, he looked beautiful. Though his heavy breathing created a stern look on his face, there was no denying the true beauty to the boy, his hair swept back and his eyes sparkling an unreadable darkness. I hated how much I loved him, even then. He was too raged to speak for a while, he just looked down to me, his fists clenched whole body flushed, clearly trying to relax before he spoke. But I was just as angry as he was, that was a given, and I wasn’t going to falter under his stare. Because suddenly every sad emotion was gone, and the anger I was due to feel hit me hard. “I don’t want to speak to you.” I spat. “You don’t have a fucking choice!” He hissed, pushing himself inside. He slammed the door behind him and walked threateningly up to me, which would usually make me back against the nearest wall, weak for him, but that was not a case at this point. I stood my ground, taking him off guard as our bodies almost crashed together, Harry towering over me and making me more than aware of our height difference. “I don’t want you here.” I told him. “Are you fucking kidding me, Anna? Fuck this. You fucking-” “STOP ACTING LIKE I’M IN THE WRONG!” I yelled aggressively. He growled, running his hands through his hair and pacing up and down, completely lost in his frustration. I moved back to the door and pulled on the handle, holding it open for him, insinuating I wanted him to leave. He looked at me wide eyed, unable to believe what was happening. “Is that it?” He asked. “Unless you want to admit it.” I said.

“Let me explain myself-” He tried. “Fuck you!” The fact he hadn’t straight out denied it and begged just made me so angry I wanted to push him and throw him outside and yell things I knew I would later regret. Thankfully, I found control and didn’t do that, but there was a major part of me that wished I could have just physically pushed him from my home and slammed the door in his face. I wished I wouldn’t want to see his face again, that it would end and I would feel better about myself for it, that I would give myself credit for being strong. But it was him. It was Harry. How could I just forget and move on when it was him? “Just let me explain!” He tried again, his voice raising. “I bet you fucked Grace as well, didn’t you?” I grimaced. I could see him wishfully thinking there was something near him that he could grab and throw, something he could smash, but there was nothing around. I’m sure he would have swung for the wall and hit that but his knuckles were still red-raw from the evening before, when I had rung him from outside Brandy Boys and his anger had triggered the same need. He was raging, though I still wasn’t sure why, not that it ever took too much to spur that side of him. “You’re fucking ridiculous! You don’t know anything!” He howled. “And I don’t want to know! I don’t want the details! The thought alone makes me sick.” “I didn’t fuck Grace!” He yelled. “No. You just text her and go round to random girls houses whilst you’re ignoring me and acting out, like you always do! And then you’re angry at me? That’s fine, Harry, don’t worry.” I frowned sarcasm. “Don’t you trust me?” He cried. “I DON’T KNOW ANYMORE, HARRY!” That was as honest as my answer could be, because I genuinely didn’t know. It all flipped so quickly, I went from trusting him with all my heart to believing those pictures in a second, simply because the way he acted with me. The way he had been when we ran into Grace and then the phone-call. For some reason, it blocked out the fact that I had rang him when I was scared, when I thought I saw Tyler, and he was there so quickly. I hardly even had time to breathe and he was there with me, taking care of me, making sure I was safe. He did deserve time to give me an explanation, after everything. I should give him that time. I just sighed heavily, and looked at him, like I was silently asking him to speak. He calmed, just for a moment as he sighed out his next words. “I didn’t cheat on you.” “Why don’t I believe you?” I whispered. “I DIDN’T FUCKING CHEAT ON YOU!” His anger returning so quickly made me flinch, scared of him once again. But I really didn’t want to back down, like I had done before, I wanted to fight back. “THEN WILL YOU PLEASE FUCKING EXPLAIN THE PICTURES?” I screamed. “I BOUGHT US A FUCKING HOUSE, OKAY?” Suddenly, I had nothing to say. Fuck, I didn’t even have a damn gasp of air in my constricted lungs as I thought about what he had just told me. He did what? Suddenly all the anger I had built was replaced with confusion, and there was absolutely nothing I could say. He panted out hot puffs of frustrated air, running another hand through his curls, seeming more irritated than anything now, definitely more calm than he had been only moments before. He exhaled, and spoke. “Graces sister is an estate agent, and I knew I could get in touch with her and she would keep it private. She wouldn’t let the paps know, or let anything leak. She’s a professional, and I trust her. But things are so… intense right now, with them knowing about us two, they practically follow me everywhere! They found, and fucked everything up, but I went to her in the hope of keeping it private. And to surprise you.” This isn’t happening. I’ve been losing my mind about nothing. He loves me. He loves me. He’s still mine. I still couldn’t speak, I just kept looking at him, missing his touch suddenly, wanting so much to go to him and hold him but I was still utterly dumbfounded, it was almost like I couldn’t! “I’m sorry that Grace acted that way with me in the café. I’m fucking sorry, she can be a real bitch sometimes. And I’m even sorrier that I reacted the way I did. I… I freaked out. I was nervous and scared that she was going to say something, and worried that you would… think it meant something it didn’t, which you did, and I got so… Fuck. I just freaked out, okay? I’m sorry, Anna.” Still no words. Harry was looking at me as though he was waiting for me to say something to him but it just wasn’t happening, there was no way in hell I could muster the strength to say anything. I was lost in all this new information, and it was messing with my mind so much that I had gone from being so firm in my opinions and guesses one minute, to being completely unaware the next, this new information completely catching me off guard. “Anna?” He attempted to get words from me, clearly rather desperate for me to say something, anything, but as much as I tried, my throat wouldn’t even give out any pathetic noises in an effort to speak. I just stood staring. “I’m sorry.” He continued. “About everything. I’ve been so on edge, I didn’t want you to find out yet, so I lost myself a little and I’m sorry. And I thought maybe it was good to have you angry and wanting distance from us, even just for a few days! I wanted you to be mad, maybe so I could just have a little time whilst I sorted out the final stages and you wouldn’t be around to witness it. But then everything got so fucking out of hand and then the fucking pictures and... I don’t know.” “Why were you angry at me?” I asked from nowhere. To be honest, I was impressed that I had managed to say anything at all, but I really did want to know why he had banged on my door the way he did, why he seemed so fumed. “Because you believed it, I guess.” He shrugged. “Wouldn’t you?” I inquired. I thought he was struck for words, I thought I would have caught him out with that question and left him not really knowing what to say in response, but he knew. “After everything we’ve been through? After… the heartache we’ve gone through? The battle we’ve fought to get here? Scarred skin? I would have… at least waited for you to wake up. Waited for you to speak.” Fuck. Suddenly I was the guilty one, I was the one in the wrong, because he made a really fair point. I didn’t wait for even a second to hear him out. I saw the article, and I left. Maybe my head was just all over the place that night, and that morning. Being on such bad terms with Harry was unnatural, him acting that way with me was unnatural. And thanks to the experience in Brandy Boys, I was all over the place. But even so. “Did you really think I’d do that?” He questioned. “Wh-what?” “Did you really think I would cheat on you? Really?” He was welling up. “After every single fucking thing. I tell you all the time how I feel and...” He rubbed his palms against his eyes, getting rid of the few tears that were more than likely spilling behind them that I couldn’t see. He controlled his breathing and became as poised as he could before looking back at me. I didn’t even feel like it was worth saying that I’d thought it was because he was struggling, returning to a dark place, one he’d been to before. He had been doing so much better, and I didn’t want to doubt him or see the worst in him at every given opportunity. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t believe in him or his ability to change, because I did. “I will never hurt you, Anna. I promise you. You are my everything!” He gasped. “You’re sometimes the only fucking thing that makes sense. I am in love with you, and I’m not fucking this up. I don’t wanna do anything that could jeopardise this, because I need this. I need us. I’m not fucking letting go and I never will.” In no time, my arms were around his neck, my face buried into the dip of his collarbone and I just held him, as tight as I could. It felt amazing to have his arms wrapped around me, to have him squeeze me in such a desperate manner. Everything released in that moment. Every sadness, every bit of anger and disappointment, every doubt I had, was nowhere. Absolutely fucking nowhere. It was me and Harry again, and I knew the truth, finally. It wasn’t how things should have gone, and he was a bloody idiot for being such a dick about the entire situation but it was classic Harry, unsure how to deal with his feelings, unsure how to comprehend it all, and he just ended up being awful to me, like he had when he saw me with Will. It wasn’t on the same level, thankfully, but there were still patterns of behaviour that made sense to me. “I’m sorry.” I mumbled to his skin. “So am I.” He sighed. He moved so his forehead pressed against mine, almost seeming to breathe me in as he closed his eyes and still held me close to him, not letting go. “I thought I was going to lose you.” He whispered. “Never.” I told him. “I didn’t… think you’d believe me. I thought I would try to explain but you would-” “I’m sorry I didn’t give you the chance. I should have, I’m sorry.” “It’s okay. I know how strong you are, and this just proves it again. You won’t take shit from me, will you?” He smirked. “No.” I giggled. “Are we okay?” He asked me. “Of course. I... I love you.” “I love you more, Honey. Now can I kiss you?” He smiled. I moved my lips tenderly to his, and the relief that swallowed me was insane. I had kind of ended our relationship over my day of overthinking, when I didn’t have all the facts. Now I knew the truth, and all I needed to do was hear it, I didn’t need any more proof than that. It clicked then how much I really did trust him, and how out of character it had been for me to just run away from the situation without any words shared. I fell deeper in love with him, feeling his mouth widen and our tongues brush and I just caved to him. He really did seep into me, it was the most incredible feeling in the world, no alcohol or drug could ever give me the high that my love for him did, and in that moment I knew that. And then suddenly I remembered what he had said that made me shut the fuck up in the first place. I pulled away from him with my face skewered in shock, my eyes wide enough they could have been being held apart by an invisible force. Harry looked worried right away, maybe thinking I was still angry for some reason but I wasn’t. I was just baffled. “What?” Harry gulped. “You bought us a house?” I stammered. The grin that shaped his mouth was stunning, truly beautiful, and I soon found myself grinning back to him like an absolute idiot. “I bought us a house.” He confirmed. “Me... and you? You wanna...” I couldn’t find the words. “Anna,” He grinned. “Will you move in with me?” I jumped and he grabbed me, our movements beautifully automatic, wrapping my legs around him and yelping the word yes over and over again as he laughed and spun us round on the spot. I couldn’t really describe it as anything other than elation, what I felt as he did that. It was a magic I hadn’t felt before, like this surreal confirmation that we were for life, just like we wanted. Harry had bought us a house, and I couldn’t even imagine the thought he must have put into everything about it, location, what it was like inside, keeping it a secret and making sure it was perfect for us just. I had practically lived with him for so long, but there was such a big difference in this new development. We were actually going to live together, completely in love and entranced with each other, as we always had been, but amplified and heightened and boosted to a new extreme. Once again, after some time Harry pushed me up against the nearest wall, grinning with his bottom lip gripped between his teeth, grinning like a total idiot as he stared at me, and I couldn’t stop smiling either. “Honey?” “Hm?” “I love you. Always.” He told me. “I love you too.” “I promise I’m never going to let you go or fuck this up again, okay? You’re mine. I’m yours. You’re… You’re my weakness, Honey. I just… I fucking love being weak.” And he held me all night that night, he made everything okay. But things didn’t return to normal, they got better, if that’s even possible; we just got stronger and stronger, and it started right away, when he was holding me. And each day it got stronger, each day I made Harry weaker. And the once promise of not falling in love with him began to feel like a false memory, and new promises replaced them. The day by Nathans grave, Harry promised me he would never let go. And he never did.

#I'm away on holiday soon and wanted to get this finished so sorry for an irregular update but HOORAY ENJOY #AMG61

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