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just-a-simple-otaku · 4 years

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Alina Gray analysis

Well then, Alina Gray sure is a piece of work. The problematic fav of the MagiReco fandom, fondly referred to as psycho artist or JoJo reference. But Alina is more than a reference and more than just a psycho. In fact, is she even a psycho? In that case, psycho meaning either psychotic or psychopath (or I guess here psycho as in crazy murderous bitch). So let’s have a meaningful analysis of this character and undercover what might be a tragic tale of objectification.

We are introduced to Alina in the game in chapter 5 and in the anime in episode 9. In both media she arrives to stop the protagonists from destroying Ai, an uwasa. In the game, Madoka and Homura (Moemura) were there but not in the anime version. In the game, in her first appearance Alina appeared at first as serious, cold and irritable, before she revealed her mad and sadistic antics. In the anime, she showed up laughing maniacally, acting all eccentric and borderline insane, even strangling herself. It seems that the anime went overboard with the Alina acting crazy part. Not that I disliked it, but given that the game is the original source, I’ll keep this analysis mainly game-only.

We should start by the beginning, which is Alina’s backstory as shown in her magical girl story. It’s implied that Alina’s fascination with life and death in her art started when her grandparents and dog died when she was a child. Given that this event was what drove Alina’s art, I’d say their death must have left a pretty big impact on her (especially since she was 8 years old and might not have been fully able to grasp the concept of death). Alina mentioned how her parents often got mad at her for spending too much time painting, which led her to make her wish to have a space when she can be alone and nobody can disturb her there. Alina was treated as an artist genius from a young age and gathered a lot of attention and big expectations and ended up having no privacy and being used for her talents by people around her, including her parents and teachers. Alina wasn’t valued as a person but only for her art and adults didn’t respect her privacy or free-will as they often shared personal information about her to the public or submit her arts without her authorization.

Despite being a famous artist, Alina shows no interest in popularity, admiration or love from people and simply wants to create more art. She doesn’t seem to enjoy attention or even the company of others and prefer to be left alone. No ones seem interested in how she feels, only in her art and how they can use it for their own benefit (like her teacher who submitted her art against her will and tried to force her to participate in other contests for the sake of the school’s reputation), and when she refuses she’s been called selfish. The only person who genuinely cares for Alina as a person is her kouhai Karin, but I’ll get back to their relationship later.

Her magical girl story shows Alina as someone pretty antisocial with mood swings and impulsivity issues where she can snap and result in material destruction. She seems relatively unhappy with her life and on the verge of depression. The breaking point was when she refused an award for a contest she didn’t agree to participate in in the first place, she received a letter from one of the judges: “It seems you are capable of creating a work that is so beautiful and arcane that viewers will think about it until their deaths. However, your work, which has no external theme, is a powerful drug that might drive people insane. That's why I want to tell you this. If you don't want to change the world, stop creating. You are only fifteen years old; if you haven't realized this, your brilliance will probably run out.”

I just want to mention first that the English translation doesn’t mention she’s 15 years old at that time (she’s 16 in the main story). At first, this letter may seem insignificant and harmless, until you realize how fucked up it is for an adult to say that to a teen. This judge said that Alina’s art is hollow and hurt people and that if she doesn’t intend to change the world with it, she should stop creating, and that her light will burn out. It basically implied that Alina creating art for herself is wrong and harmful and that if she isn’t creating for others, then her art is just worthless and so is her life. Again, implying Alina is a selfish person who is basically useless because she doesn’t want to meet people’s expectations and shaming her for that. Can we talk about how inappropriate, irresponsible and cruel it is for an adult to say that to a child? To crush their passion and treat its worth only by how others appreciate it? And the fact Alina was already feeling depressive before sure didn’t help.

Some people might think Alina is selfish, but let me tell you this: Alina doesn’t owe the world anything. Her art is hers and only hers, yet people kept trying to appropriate her art for their own goal, with no concern for how Alina felt, her desires, and basically treated her as a tool and used her. Now remembers, Alina started to show interest in art at 8 and in her magical story she was 15, meaning she went through 7 years of being used, guilt-tripped, having her privacy violated and having no free-will over her own creations. No wonder why she’s tired of people and just wants to be left alone, and is overall hostile to others.

After she received this letter, Alina became full of doubt and questioned the meaning of her art and life as well as her own worth, and came to the conclusion that just like her art, she’s worthless and is basically a poison and toxic to everyone. After leaving on a vacation to find some inspiration and a meaning to her art, in vain, Alina then decided that she would be better off ending all her art, as well as herself. She went on a rampage to destroy all her art before planning to commit suicide by jumping from a rooftop. She wanted her death to be her final work, concluding her art of life and death, so people can witness her last moment before her light fade away (she put a camera to record her suicide). A last desperate attempt to give some meaning to her life through death.

Kyubey did try to convince her to make a wish, twice, and the second time, Alina agreed, and wished for a space where she cannot be bothered by others. But she had no intent to play her role as a magical girl, she just wanted to add her wish in her life so it can be lost as well in her death.

Of course, as a magical girl, Alina survived the fall and encountered a witch, and, amazed by its beauty, found what the theme of her art was, what she wanted to convert to the world: Alina’s Beauty. She found a reason to live through that and a meaning to her art. She wants people to witness what she considers to be beautiful. And this is how she started to breed witches together and create even more powerful witches (again, let’s talk about that later). Interesting thing, Alina’s doppel is highly based on virus and poison that can drive people insane, which is a clear reference to her thinking her art is poison that drive people insane because of the judge.

So, what I got from her backstory is a subtle tragedy. Alina was basically objectified in a way since she’s a child, used for her talent and treated as a mere tool. Almost no one has any consideration for her feelings, desires and privacy and is, yeah, treated more like an object than a human, and put an insane amount of pressure by all the expectation and guilt-tripping people kept putting on her shoulders. Alina ended up with a disturbed sense of her own identity and what was the purpose of her life, splitting tendencies (incapacity how seeing both positive and negative, lack of nuance), impulsivity and recklessness, unstable and chaotic relationships, self-damaging behaviors, detachment from reality, as well as depression, anger and rage.

I might have sounded really precise here, right? Well, those descriptors I used for Alina are almost all the criteria for a specific disorder: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Yep, I’m basically saying that I think Alina might suffer from BPD. At first I thought she might be bipolar because of her mood swing between depression and almost manic behaviors, but bipolarity is mainly genetic and the mood switch is usually not that fast, unlike BPD. BPD is also a personality disorder, it’s not genetic and is caused by the environment, which makes more sense for Alina.

People with BPD also tend to be extremely sensitive to any form of criticism and alternating between idealization and devalorization and emotionally unstable and erratic. That sounds pretty much like what happened to Alina in her magical girl story if you think about it. BPD can also lead to psychotic episodes in more serious cases.

Now, I wouldn’t say that Alina perfectly fit the diagnosis or that it was the creator’s intention, but I feel like she’s a pretty good example of someone who suffers from untreated BPD and to me, it helps me understand the character on a more psychological basis and empathize with her.

There’s also more input on Alina’s psyche in the Holy Alina magical girl story. Again, after one critic that might look trivial from Karin (implying that Alina’s work isn’t art but breeding), Alina became overwhelmed with doubt regarding her art and extremely moody. Having her art compared to breeding and raising a pet deeply upset Alina, who’s forced to admit it’s true. She is indeed breeding witches, and she came to doubt that it’s real art.

Alina feels conflicted feelings. She’s mad that her art may not be art, but at the same time, feels excited at the idea of breeding witches, which only frustrated her even more. Surprisigly, it’s Karin who managed to make her feel better by making her read her favorite manga, bing worried that Alina might attempt suicide again. Alina understood through the manga that even if the plot is redundant, there’s a recurring theme that draws people to it. As a thanks, Alina bought a strawberry milk to Karin (while she usually stole it from her whenever she’s disappointed by her). Alina knows her art is more than just breeding and that she just need to find the core of her theme beyond life and death.

Alina decides to seek advice from her fellow Magius, Touka and Nemu. Nemu did notice how irritable Alina was these days. They make Alina realize that people tend to share a collective unconsciousness, like different civilizations worshipping the sun even though they had no contact with one another. So Alina needs to find something all humanity shares collectively, something she also shares with them. Touka suggested destruction: a death drive, a self-destructive urge. So the core of Alina’s art would be a craving towards death. After reading more about it, Alina became obsessed with the idea of self-destruction and, unable to fully grasp it, threw a tantrum and destroyed her atelier and aggressively asked Touka and Nemu for more explanation. Both explain how humans is one of the only species who kill one another even if it’s unnecessary, especially through wars. Mifuyu then arrives and complained that by destroying stuff, Alina is damaging the environment. This comment brought Touka and Nemu to find the perfect example of humans’ self-destruction: them destroying the environment. Not only are humans killing one another, they are also destroying their own planet.

Alina concluded that humans unconsciously crave death and destruction, leading them to their own destruction. She thinks this is why everyone is so fascinated by her art, because humans do seek their own death. Alina decides that she’ll indeed change the world with her art and that the core of her theme is “changing the world for the good of humanity”. Even if it sounds good, there’s something sinister behind this. For her, the “good of humanity” is granting what she thinks humans want: Their own destruction.

This is how she decided to become Holy Alina by wearing an Uwasa supposed to grant people their desires. And this is how Alina came to the conclusion she has to cause destruction, for the “sake” of humanity.

We might think that Alina’s actions actually came from a misguided good intention, but let’s not forget Alina is far from being a good person. She enjoys making people suffer and causing misery all around her, she doesn’t show any empathy for others and is remorseless. She’s sadistic, cruel and callous. And that lead to another diagnosis:

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD).

In case you don’t know, ASPD is often referred to as sociopathy or psychopathy, even if both are technically incorrect, but let’s not dwell on that. Alina does exhibit a lot of antisocial behaviors, even before she became a magical girl, such as: Failure to obey laws and norms by engaging in behavior which results in criminal arrest, or would warrant criminal arrest, impulsive behaviors, irritability and aggression, disregard for her own safety and irresponsibility. She laters shows a blatant lack of remorse for her actions and a lack of empathy. The only traits she doesn’t seem to have is lying, deceiving and manipulating for her own profit or amusement. Alina is someone who is brutally honest and has no issue with speaking her mind and herself said that she doesn’t lie. I don’t recall any incident where Alina lies, but she can be deceiving and manipulative, like when she purposefully misled Madoka and Homura about Mami’s fate to hurt them, making it look like Mami met a gruesome death simply to make them suffer. But, ASPD can only be diagnosed when you’re 18 and alas, Alina is 16. But, there exists a precursor to ASPD for kids and teens, which is required to be diagnosed with ASPD: Conduct Disorder.

Alina almost fit the textbook criteria of conduct disorder. She’s a bully, aggressive, cruel towards others (and potentially animals), vandalism, deceptiveness and serious rules violation. And most of those were even before she became a magical girl. She often mistreats Karin and shows no respect for authority, she’s cruel towards others and I feel like it’s implied that Alina might have killed animals (and there’s also her reaction to Kyubey, who she thought was an animal and ended up kicking) and causes a lot of vandalism. Those were rather mild thoughts before she became a magical girl, where she’s downright dangerous and craving destruction.

BPD and ASPD both belong to the same cluster of personality disorder, cluster b, and are often comorbid. ASPD is often referred to as sociopathy, and given her borderline behaviors, Alina is pretty low-functioning. She’s impulsive, erratic and doesn’t bother to hide her true nature.

So, am I saying Alina is an irredeemable evil person who only seeks death and destruction? Yes, but no. There’s more to her. I won’t deny Alina’s cruelty and sadism and lack of concern for others well-being. After all, she doesn’t shy away from tormenting people, torture and attempted murder. But Alina isn’t born that way, she was driven to become a monster by the people around her. Alina wasn’t allowed to be a human, her feelings, desires and freedom were always disregarded, everything that makes someone human. Instead, she was treated like an object, an an object doesn’t have feelings and only serves a purpose. And the big tragedy in that is that Alina herself ended up objectifying herself. She decided to accomplish what she thinks humanity wants by causing destruction, but she’s also projecting her own self-destruction craving unto humanity as a whole. In the end, she tried to become the tool who will change the world for the good of humanity.

Being treated like an object made Alina unable to relate to others or understand their feelings, treating others just like she was treated: as objects. Alina seems to care for Mifuyu, but not as a person. Alina only values Mifuyu for her body, which she considers to be a work of art. Let’s not forget that magical girls’ true bodies are their soul gems and their human’s body is pretty much an empty shell, so Alina only caring for Mifuyu’s human body and not her as a person does show that she views Mifuyu as an object, not a person.

She also doesn’t understand humans’ bonds. When she proposed to spare their lives in exchange for Felicia (who she was angry at for destroying her witch), she didn’t understand why Tsuruno was so upset. Tsuruno even said “people aren’t objects!” which confused Alina even more. For Alina, everyone, including herself, are objects, and she herself can’t understand why others value people’s lives.

There’s also the way she’s treating witches. At first she seems to care about the witches she raised, considering like like pets and art and throwing a tantrum when Felicia destroyed one of them. But later in the story she shows no remorse to sacrifice the witches she raised, which shows that Alina doesn’t actually care for them, but given that they are hers, she can’t bear people other than her destroying them (or destroying them against her will). Alina did say that only an artist can destroy their own art. Given that she views the witches she raised and breed as her art, she doesn’t actually view them as actual pets but again, as objects. Alina’s objectification extend to witches too.

In one of the Christmas Events where she turned into Holy Alina, she ended up causing a lot of good actions while trying to do bad actions, which made people love her. But it didn’t please Alina at all. She doesn’t care about being loved or hated, she doesn’t care about what people think of her, good or bad actions. At some point, she noticed someone about to blow off a bomb and didn’t care nor show any interest in stopping him until she realized the bomb could damage Mifuyu’s body (again, she wasn’t worried for Mifuyu’s well-being, just her body). Alina seems to not feel shame for her behaviors, neither find it rewarding to be loved and praised.

Another thing regarding Mifuyu. At some point, the Magius (so Alina too) decided to sacrifice Mifuyu and feed her soul gem to Eve. I found it strange that Alina seemed to agree, until I realized something: A magical true body is their soul gem and they only need to feed that to Eve. There’s no need to feed Eve with their empty shell of an organic body. So I came to the conclusion that Alina didn’t mind sacrificing Mifuyu’s soul gem as long as she can keep her body. It just shows how much Alina doesn’t care about Mifuyu as a person and only valued her as a piece of art. An object. (And God knows what she would have done with her corpse).

Well, I’m not making a case about Alina not being an unredeemable piece of shit huh? Well, I decided to keep the best for the end: Her relationship with Karin.

It’s undeniable that Karin holds a special place in Alina’s heart (or whatever Alina has instead of a heart). Alina is cruel and mean towards Karin, true, but unlike other people, Alina never hurts Karin for her own pleasure or by sadism. Most of the time, she ended up mistreating Karin out of anger, mostly when she deemed that Karin made her lose her time or disappointed her, or when Karin is being dishonest with herself and doesn’t improve. Alina insults her and belittles her, as well as stealing her strawberry milk, not with the intention of hurting her, but as a form of punishment. Like a parent disciplining their child. But Alina does sincerely want Karin to improve and the fact that she takes the time to teach her, spend time with her and even rewards her proves that, in a way, Alina does care about Karin. In a really shitty and abusive way. But I don’t recall any instances where Alina physically harm Karin or show to enjoy hurting her. Still shitty and abusive, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like Alina is being abusive towards Karin because she’s unconsciously repeating how her parents may have treated her as a child. We know her parents often got angry at her and perhaps they acted in a way that is similar to how Alina treats Karin. The cycle of abuse sure is a tragic thing.

But why Karin? Well, I got a couple of theories. First, Karin is the only one who seems to care about Alina as a person and not an object. Karin greatly values Alina and is concerned about her feelings, something Alina isn’t used to, being only values for her talents. Karin often notices Alina’s change of mood and shows rejoice whenever Alina is in a good mood. She also worries greatly about Alina when she’s in a bad mood and even fear that she might try to commit suicide again. Karin is also someone who respects art and thrives to improve even if she seems to lack the talent. But she is still optimistic and never gives up, and she knows why she’s doing art. She wants to make people happy with her stories. Almost the opposite of Alina, who’s rather pessimistic, she oftens despaired regarding her art, she has the talent but lacks substance and doesn’t exactly know why she does art. Alina even admitted that Karin might be a bigger genius than her because of her passion, which Alina feels like she lacks, feeling empty inside. Even if Karin has expectations towards Alina, it doesn’t seem to put pressure on Alina, as Karin shows interest in how to make her own art and not Alina’s art itself. In a way, perhaps Alina can relate to Karin in a certain way, with her desire to make art, as well as being envious of how Karin can just be carefree about her art and be able to enjoy it without having people trying to use her. Perhaps this is why Alina is able to care about her, because in a way, she can relate to Karin. Still, Alina is abusive towards Karin and her intention doesn’t change how poorly she treats Karin.

Funny thing, Alina herself doesn’t seem to know exactly why she makes art, and ends up needing others' opinions to figure it out. She ended up deducing that her core theme is self-destruction because of Touka and Nemu, which seems to make sense with Alina’s fascination with life and death. People focus on the death aspect, but Karin thinks that Alina’s works are actually full of life. Perhaps Karin is the one who’s right, maybe Alina's actual core is more towards life, but given how twisted Alina became, she doesn’t even realize it herself. Maybe Karin is the only one who can see the good Alina might have deep down inside of her, or may even bring the good inside of her. Who knows, Karin might be the key for Alina potential redemption.

Also, it may not look like it, but I think Alina is constantly hurting inside, due to depression, but she’s so disconnected from her own feelings that she doesn’t realize it and unconsciously hurts others because she’s hurting. Alina is full of unhealthy coping. Her own fascination for life and death started by the death of her grandparents and dog when she was a kid, and might actually have traumatized her and her way to cope is her art. That would explain why Alina herself is uncertain about her theme, because often, understanding our own trauma can be quite hard, or even realize that we experience trauma in the first place. Perhaps death traumatized Alina and her art is her way to understand death better and accept it as a part of life itself. Maybe she actually wants to value life by understand death, because without death, life loses its core value.

So, did I answer the question? Is Alina a psycho crazy jojo villain? Yes, but no. Alina isn’t a psychopath and not downright psychotic either (even though she might experience psychotic episodes). Crazy? Well, I do think she suffers from personality disorders, but it doesn’t make her insane. A sociopath? Maaaybbeee. But to be honest, I mainly think Alina is someone broken who is the result of her environment, someone constantly hurting inside with deep self-destructive urges. The objectification made her feel disconnected from her feelings and humanity and turned her into a monster. But it doesn’t excuse her villainous actions, it only made them understandable and Alina more sympathetic.

Well that was longer than I expected. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading!

#magia record #magireco #magia record game #alina gray #alina grey #analysis

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tellywoodtrash · 4 years

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immj2 20.11.20

new title card! everyone looking hottttttttttttttttt af!

no for real though, this chick needs to fucking insure her feet or something. itne disaster-prone pair maine zindagi mein nahi dekhe.

this idiot. honestly, he needs to know to pick his battles. he used to be soooooooo smart and shaatir. now he’s just dumb as fuckkkkkkk, the way he’s playing the game. i really don’t understand. i just don’t.

“riddhima tumhe pata hai tumhari problem kya hai? tum khud aage badhke apne bure waqt ki ghadi set karti ho.” lmaooooooo that’s a brilliant line and exactly what she does!

standard DON’T YOU DARE LOOK AT MY FAMILY WRONG blah blah from riddhima.

trollolololololololololol i honestly just put up with this character just to see vishal play himmmmmmm

blah blah tell dadi that i should get the business, then the property, then the family, and then this room of his....... ew, gross implication of that room thing aside, bro slow your rolllllllllllll. also why are you tellling her all this??? why the fuckkkkk would you give her a heads-up?!?!!?!?

sweetheart bhi bola. ugh. i hate when any man calls any woman that. it sounds patronizing and condescending as fuckkkk. also i just don’t get why he wants to be like vansh so muchhhhhhhhh when HIS PERSONALITY IS OBJECTIVELY BETTER THAN VANSH’S WAS?!!?!?!!?

ok i’m bored with this scene now and fwding.

pls sis, don’t say wohiiiiiiiii shakal and all. new shakal is >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> old shakal. like, i have no words to describe the improvement.

here aryan be making some stupid shady deals and he’s like mwahahahahaha now that vansh is gone, there’s no one to stop me!!!!!! dude, he literally used to do that to prevent you from going to fucking jail, lmao. you are so fuckingggggggg dumb istg.

“sivaaye mere!” snort. this i’m gonna enjoyyyyyyyyyyy.

aryan like TU KAUN MAIN KHAMAAKHAAAAN?!!!?!? and quite rightly so.

this is their new thing in the show. they show this angle of kabir jab uski kuch zyaaaada hi khisakkkkk jaati hai.

AKLSJALKFJSLKDJFLSDKJFLKDSJLFKJDSLKFJDSLKJFLSKJD OMFG HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

“seedhe mooh baat kii thi. tameez se jawaab dena chahiye tha.”

lmaooooooooooooooo i can’tttttttttt with this fuckerrrrrrr. why is he so fuckingggggg hilarious?????

meanwhile bhaabiji is back at mandir place asking around about vihaan. she’s describing him as “bodybuilder type” which, lol......... ok.

chaiwaala is i know who he is and can give you deets.

she’s like yehiiii haina???? and he’s like yeah kinda, but hotter. way hotter. ok he didn’t say it. i’m saying it. BUT IT’S THE TRUTH, COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!

holy shit she just had to give him 2x my wholeass monthly rentttttttt to get the deets. what the fuckkkkkkkkkkkkk????? ALSO MY GOD WHO JUST CARRIES AROUND THIS MUCH CASH IN THEIR LIL DINKY GOING-TO-THE-MANDIR PURSE???????????

bhaiyyaji very very happy with his loot of the day butttttttttttt.........

lmao this one like I WORKED REALLY HARD AS AN ACCOUNTANT TO EARN THAT WAD OF CASH THAT SHE JUST HANDED TO YOU OK??????? YOU THINK SHE MAKES THIS MUCH AS NO-NAME PHYSIOTHERAPIST WITH A GRAND TOTAL OF ONE CLIENT????? AND NOW I’VE HAD TO SWITCH CAREERS. IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC. I HAD TO LEARN A WHOLEEEEEEEE NEW SKILLSET. YOU KNOW HOW MANY HOURS I SPENT ON COURSERA AND UDEMY AND GITHUB RIGHT AFTER FALLING OFF A CLIFF?????????? DO YA???????????

sorry shaktimaan.

“virus hoon main. ek baar laga gaya na toh zindagi ka file corrupt kar doonga.” lmaoooooooooo lord the dumbass tech related metaphorsssss.

ok that’s a bit much but mmmmmm baby i love to watch you work. esp. this outfit, unf. it’s really getting me so damn hot for you.

khud ki hi biwi ka phone number score karke itnaaaaaa khush kisi ko hote hue pehli baar dekha hai.

lmaooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

aryan, who is literally tied to a chair is growling at kabir about how this won’t end well for him and kabir’s like..............

snorttttttttt i love this psychopathhhhhh.

kabir is like just use your ickle brain cell lil one. i’m a cop. i have alllll the details of every single shady thing you’ve done. first i’ll show it to the family, then to the authorities. and then there miiiiiiiiiiight be an encounter later.......... lmao yessssssssss, i love it.

“woh kya haina, samajhdaar ko ishaara kaafi hota hai. lekin tum itne samajhdaar nahi ho na, iss liye itne detail mein samjhaana pada!” i really cannot stop laughing at this scene. truly the evil bros dynamic i have been craving for from this show.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaand that is enough for aryan to maarofy palti.

but ooooooooooops. he called him kabir. which we know is this one’s sore spot these days.

“kabir.................... sir?” lmfaooooooooooooo

hahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha

bitch wht you callllllll vansh?????

“kabir...... bhai.”

OMFG THE STRAIGHT UP ORGASM FACE HE MADE AT THAT?!?!!??!?! JESUS KABIR I THINK YOU NEED THERAPY FOR THIS. EVEN FREUD DIDN’T COME UP WITH A THEORY FOR WHATEVER FREAKY “BHAIYYA ISSUES” YOU HAVE GROWN ALL OF A SUDDEN OUTTA NOWHERE.

aryan is literally like...............................

“ab BHAIYYA ki do baat dhyaaaaan sunna, ok????”

ok deal done. do shady fuckers have allied. kaisi ram milaaye usa-uk type jodi hai paapiyon ki.

aryan like but everything belongs to dadi now, and dadi is forsho gonna hand it all over to her laadli riddhima, who hates your guts.

“tum jitna smart mujhe samajhte ho, usse kahinnnnnn zyaada smart hoon main.”

aryan like ok but fr how exactly are you gonna achieve this??????/

“bhagwaan ne pehle hi tumhe dimaag kam diya hai. issi umar mein sab use karloge toh aage kya karoge??? jitna bola gaya hai, utna karo.” LMAO PLS MAN CAN WHOEVER IS WRITING KABIR’S LINES WRITE THEM FOR VIHAAN TOOOOOOOO. COZ THESE ARE GENUINELY SO FUNNY AND HIS ARE SOOOOOOO FUCKING LAME.

riddhima walks in to aryan having already gotten dadi’s ear and having kabir involved in the business. he’s already signing papers and shit! idhar mereko debit card use karte waqt 4 baar sign karna hota hai to prove i’m the actual owner and didn’t just steal it from somewhere, and this guy just got signing authority to a wholeass empire in half an hour.

aryan talking soooooooooooo nicely about kabir and riddhima is like OK FOR SURE THIS FUCKER HAS BEEN THREATENED AND/OR BRIBED.

lmaooooooooo aryan again referred to him as “kabir” and K just cleared his throat all ominously. and promptlyyyyyyy aryan’s like “KABIR BHAI!!!! KABIR BHAI!!!!!!!!!”

uska jhattttt jawaaab bhi mil gaya universe se, hahahahahaha.

kaunsa bhai, kahaan ka bhai, haaaaan??????

oh boy. this angle again.

“isse vansh bhai ki jagah dena, business mein involve karna; kya deal hui hai tumhari, kitne mein becha hai tumne apne aap ko; bolo?!?!?!? ki tumhe yeh achanak se apna bhai lagne laga hai????” DAMN. I LOVE ISHANI. SHE’S SHARP AS A TACK. WHY THE FUCK WON’T DADI JUST GIVE HER THE EMPIRE?????????

dadi talking blah blah anupriya ka beta hai, yeh bhi tumhare bhai haina. god shut upppppppppp dadi.

“jeete-jee toh nahi, dadi. mere liye bhai ka sirf ek matlab tha, vansh bhai.” aw mannnnnnnnnnnn. i really hope we get more ishani/vansh-vihaan when he enters the house. i really wanna see more of their bond. he always was so soft for siya, but it’s so obvious that ishani loves him beyond belief. what a shame to not show us more of that.

“respect earn kii jaati hai, zabardasti lee nahi jaati.” DAMN RIGHT SIS. YOU TELL EMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

ab iss angle mein atke issko yeh kaun samjhaaye???

you know that realllllllllly dumbass cringeworthy song called psycho saiyyaan? they should remake it for this show and call it “aaya mora BHAIYYA psycho!!!”

so apt!

dadi apologizing some more for ishani and giving kabir khulaaaaaaaa rein to handle business. riddhima not happy about this and decides kuchhhhh toh karna hogaaaaaa.

she finally remembers of angre’s existence and that he is the only one who’ll really help her.

ISS GHAR KE SAARE MARD EK SE BADHKAR EK PAAGAL HAIN.

riddhima saying the saaaaaaame thing.

angre se bro ka judaai sahaa nahi jaa raha. brotp ho toh aisa.not that vansh articularly deserves this much love and loyalty, seeing the way he treated angre, but angre’s saying he was my boss, bhai, dost, everythingggggg to meeeee. awwww.

BUT ALSO THIS FUCKER FULLLLLY DOING THIS DRAMA HAVING HELPED VANSH SURVIVE AND CHANGE IDENTITIES, LIKH KE LELO MERE SE.

ishani coming in and is like at least he’s grieving bhai’s death. you toh let some other fucker into the house on bhai’s terhvi itself.

“sab apni life mein aage badh gaye hain. aise behave karr rahe hain jaise kuch hua hi nahi hai! kisi ko koi parvaah hi nahi hai ki vansh bhai humaare beech nahi hain.” aw mannn, i honestly love her the mosttttttttttttttt.

she’s like angre’s trying to take his pain out, usse toh chain paane do.

riddhima got a message from chaiwaala (no, not the one at 7, race course road) and bounces.

meanwhile angre is telling ishani to give the belt back and stop pretending she gives a fuck about him. she’s like i don’t, but i know you loved bhai as much as i do. so i won’t let you do this to yourself.

she’s like if you really want to honour him and give him peace, then we need to make a plan so that the fucker who’s ghusofied into his house can’t take his place. OMG YOU GUYS THEY’RE TEAMING UPPPPPPP?!?!?!??!!? A GENTLE BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!!!! HONESTLY, VANSH’S DEATH HAS BROUGHT NOTHING BUT GOOD THINGS TO THIS SHOW.

cutiepie is waiting for wifey to show up. has some stupidass tech dialogue to maarofy about it but the less said about that, the better.

“message padha bhi nahi??? kaise pata karoon????” lmao itna bada hacker hai, and he’s at the mercy of whatsapp ka blue tick feature like the rest of us.

not to worry boo. she’s on her waaaaaay.

WHY THE FUCK DOES HE STILLLLLLLL HAVE ALL THE PICS OF THE FAM LYING OUT IF HE KNOWS SHE’S GONNA SHOW UP?!?!!?!?!?!

“intezaar bhi tab tak cute lagta hai jab tak frustrate na kar de; miss..... pretty raisinghania!” dude, whether he’s vansh or not, he’s simping so hard for her. i fucking love it.

oh shit she walks in as he’s heartttttteyeing over her piccccccc.

oh nope. he’s the flash flying jatt. already disappeared behind his desk.

yeah girl. i know. I KNOW!!!!!!!

#ishq mein marjawan 2 #immj2 #immj2 lbs #episode liveblogs

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josiebelladonna · 3 years

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“i just wanna see a show again”

this sentiment annoys the absolute fuck out of me.

it reeks of entitlement, first off. ohhhh, you were in lockdown for 1.5 years and now you feel like you deserve to see someone because you got jabbed with a needle once or twice? boo hoo, poor you. every musician you want to see is doing it because they need money, not because it's safe for them or for you for that matter—there's only a small few of them who realize this, too, namely the men from testament and exodus, given chuck billy and gary holt both had the virus when the pandemic first started. everyone else is a blind follower to a system that sees them as expendable: the flip side is there's a faction of it all that doesn't seem to care about the danger that awaits them and they're riling up their fans and doting into this belief of “just seeing a show again”.

female fronted bands are probably the worst examples of this. they're all “we're ready to rock!!” and they're turning a blind eye all the while—not very feminist, if you ask me.

second, the vaccine works. absolutely. my mom and i got the moderna shot and it's been working wonders for the both of us; my dad and his girlfriend got the pfizer shot and it's been wonderful for them, too. now if i have to get a booster shot for the rest of my life to protect myself, my parents, and my nieces and nephews, i'll do it. but i also made a vow to wear my mask and keep my distance for the rest of my life because the cdc actually said from the beginning of distribution that you can be a carrier and not even know it. for some reason, the cdc themselves failed to recognize that anti vaxxers are everywhere in the states and thus they jumped the gun and everybody collectively forgot this as well.

complacency is as much an enemy as anti science.

so... it's hard for to me to feel sympathy for anyone who's like “get the vaccine!” and isn't the least bit worried that they can be a breakthrough case, or someone close to them can be. you cannot rely on the vaccine alone to save you, especially with these new mutations at the helm. it's a good idea, sure, i highly recommend it, and you're a damn fool if you refuse it, but it's not the be all, end all to the pandemic.

what calculations were accurate three weeks ago are obsolete now: you can't say only a small portion of it are breakthrough cases because they're still happening regardless of the rigid math equation. also, if there's absolutely anything i can take away from my years as a s.t.e.m. student, and having a grandfather who had his doctorate in nuclear science, it's that math equations are wildly inaccurate when applied to the real world. there are simply far too many variables at stake, including the passing of time.

third, and i didn't start seeing this until yesterday, either: the way this is phrased, with the word “just” in there, tells me that no one gives a fuck about the arts, which is so rich come to think of it. these are usually the same people who say “support the arts!” but they do the bare minimum to genuinely support them. they're the same people who bitch about sports and being active and all about supporting the arts, but when it comes to actually supporting them, they're a.w.o.l and treat them like just another hobby, not something that can be for someone's well being.

i've also changed a great deal since the pandemic started.

i don't even recognize myself from when the lockdowns went underway last march. when i found out pearl jam canceled their tour, my heart was broken... now, if someone from pearl jam is a breakthrough case, my heart will be even more broken. so i don't care about shows. i'm seeing dave matthews next month, but i'm not the least bit excited for the experience because i know dave, someone in his band, and someone behind the scenes is vulnerable to it.

i’m expected to be excited for that? fuck you.

we don't care about death. we don't care about life.

we just care about a show again.

fuck's sake, humanity.

#essays #rant #rant post #concerts #who gives a fuck #covid pandemic #text

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beizhuo · 3 years

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alright folks , i made this post last night about amending my carrd rules . & now , after calming somewhat down from getting sick to my stomach about it , i must now make one final update post about this to make people really & fully understand where i stand . why ? because i am , once again , having / needing to finely comb through the people i want to follow & interact with due to some very , VERY toxic behavior & terrible , childish individuals that think its real cute to stalk , harrass , steal , & gatekeep folks .

understand that i will NOT be namedropping anybody in this post . this is not my intention . i am not out here to isolate folks or make people ‘ chose sides ’ . making people do that is absolutely horrible ! i do not give a damn who other people interact with . i do , however have extreme issues with theft ( amongst other things ) . i can draw a god damn line at theft !

harassment ? don’t care . you’re trolling , i can ignore you . gatekeeping . you’e petty and attention seeking im here for friends anyway . but actual literal theft - i can draw a line there . please get out & OFF MY BLOG if you are so unoriginal that you haveta steal from me or my friends !

please know that you can interact with those thieves & gatekeepers , i don’t care ! but understand that i will most likely softblock you because i genuinely do not want them to find me . no hard feelings . ( they have found my other 2 blogs , and i am tired of them finding me ! especially for baizhu ! i don’t even follow some of my friends here cause of this ! ) i am not even in the genshin community to begin with . my group ? we don’t do communities for toxic behavior and people being so exclusive to the point of driving people out & away . its distasteful and mean ! do you know that i have some friends that were cut off from communities entirely all because they were a dupe ? tHAT is the kind of dupe drama i fucking hate . along with theft . anyway . i will start from the beginning of my rules that i deem important .

DUPLICATES . ( AND MIMICRY / THEFT )

the irony that this is the first point . it is like it was a wonderful transition . anyway . this is actually having to deal with two rule points . and i want to group them together cause they are related .

myself & a few other people have come to find out that .... there is somebody AT THE VERY LEAST taking inspo from us . i will start with dupes .

my friend has a character and was WHOLLY mistaken for another mun . which is fine . that happens , but things took a turn for the worse when they were then shunned / cut off because they werent ‘ good enough ’ . do you know how HORRIBLE that is ? to be told that you aren’t good because you weren’t the mun that they wanted ? this is the type of shit i cannot stand with dupe drama . DO NOT EVER COMPARE DUPES WITH ONE ANOTHER !!! i mean it .

i follow different childes ! and you know what i adore them both . they are both amazing !

sure i may have my mains / exclusives ( and im not inclined to interact with other blogs of that same character ) but i still like portrayals . i do , in fact , just READ threads sometimes . i don’t necessarily follow for interactions . like ffs man . i like variety . jesus christ .

going to mimicry / theft . you know ... i have fucking seen this with a couple of friends . there is a difference between coincidental similarities , however ! for myself & for my friends , we have SEEN inspo taken from us . im gonna say this really loud for people .

MIMICRY IS NOT FUCKING FLATTERY .

do not take inspo from me . especially without credit . absolutely do NOT do it . you are very unoriginal for doing that shit .

now , you like something i make / made ? you are inspired to want to make something ? fine , that’s okay , you can ALSO fucking ask me , you can also credit me . as you fucking should ! you can notify me and go , damn , i really like your style , do you mind if i use it in xyz ? sure , go right ahead . do it . im begging you , go ahead and do it IF YOU FUCKING ASK ME . god im so fucking angry about this , but this is some vile shit . and im angry .

i am angry and terrified cause i literally cannot get away from these people cause they seem to be wherever i go . i DO NOT DO COMMUNITIES BECAUSE OF THIS .

as a good friend said : it’s like they are a virus that you cannot get rid of .

thats what happens with attention seekers unfortunately , but for the sake of my safety & health , i will not have it on my blog or dash . if i see these people on my dash often , i will unfollow .

and it isn’t like a specific person , its a GROUP of people . which leads me to my next point .

DRAMA / CALLOUTS.

imagine having beef with an individual , and then going around and gatekeeping that individual and getting people to unfollow / block them . im not talking about , ‘ hey this person is vile because they ship incest ’ . i am talking about ‘ i had a disagreement with this person & they hurt my feelings >:/ they are mean and will hurt you . etc etc etc . ’

i do not give a flying fuck about somebodies issues with another person . so you guys don’t get along . not my problem . i have people that hate me . i have friends where i hate their friends . shit happens . i am probably absolute scum to some people lol . i get mistaken for other people sometimes . it’s fine , hate me cause you think im that person . that person is snowflake repellent anyway , go choke on your kool aide that you are drinking ig .

okay sorry i am angry but still . people claim and cry about wanting to talk & communicate . but then . guess what . sometimes shitty people are like , so this person said this to me , and they are mean . IF YOU ARE THE PERSON THAT GOES ‘ OH MY GOD HOW DARE THEY ’ AND BLOCK THEM THEN YOU ARE THE PROBLEM . i will give an example . of using my two names that i have .

somebody goes to amphy and says ‘omg ghost said this , and im frustrated and angry with them cause what he said was uncalled for . ’ if amphy goes ‘ omg ghost is shitty ’ and then unfollows / blocks them without any other discussion , then thats an issue cause ghost has no idea wtf happen . amphy got involved in YOUR relationship with ghost even though ghost has been nothing but kind and sweet to you . you also don’t know if amphy is just victimising or being emotional either . so why they fuck would you believe somebody who is venting to you about it and then block somebody who did literally NOTHING to you .

i dont know if i explained that correctly but i will give you something more realistic , again without namedropping .

i have a few friends that hate one another . i’ve known all of them for years . but they all , i kid you not , they ALL fucking hate each other . there’s three of them . and they cannot stand each other . i just happen to be somebody who gets along with all of them . you bet your ass that at one point , they all came to talk mad shit about the others . what did i do ? i went , oh okay . well im sorry that you have issues with them . sounds like a bad experience , but i can’t do anything about that cause i am not you and i am not them . if you are gonna change my mind , it isn’t gonna happen , sorry !

i have had people shit talk people i have no idea who they are , and i just sit here just being a source for them to vent , but i never NEVER EVER act on anything i hear . why ? cause its petty drama and gossip . if you do that , then damn , sorry kiddo , get some help on that alright ? maybe be nicer . i dunno .

now . racism ? pedophilia ? incest ? HARMFUL SHIT ? that’s different . but again , theres a lot of miscommunication . i have people coming and pulling the cards like they are hot shit and that isn’t fucking cute . THAT ISN’T CUTE GUYS . you are the problem if you try to victimize yourself cause of something YOU misinterpreted .

i have a friend that has this on their blog .

i am literally going off on a god damn tangent . anyway . :)

fuck you if drink kool aide .

THERE ARE OTHER MENTAL DISORDERS! YOU ARE ABLEIST IS YOU ERASE THE OTHER (UN)COMMON ONES.

i know that autism is the ‘common’ one here . you are valid okay . but guess what . ADHD , BPD, DiD, and straight up depression and anxiety are also things as well ! there are MANY folks here that are also undiagnosed as well OR they lay on some sort of spectrum as well . I am once again not going to disclose my own things here cause again THAT IS PRIVATE INFO , but fuck you if you refuse to see other disabilities .

also there are physical disabilities as well btw .

if you are not understanding of any other disability , or you wanna mute / deafen other mental disorders , YOU ARE THE FUCKING PROBLEM .

end of story .

treat other people how you want them to treat you and don’t you dare ever shove your baggage at them . thanks .

please be more understanding that some people are not okay:tm: .

i implore you to get help if you need help , but sometimes some people dont have to take your shit . and they most certainly do not need to sit and take your issues if they are not okay either . its toxic and very unhealthy behavior to expect others to help you . they can help you as best as they can , but you need to understand that everybody has their moments . do not guilttrip them . do not gaslight them .

but also understand that sometimes , people are saying things cause they genuinely need help ! you can be there for them but as a friend , you need to also tell them your own boundaries as well and tell them that they need to seek professional help .

but also , if somebody refuses to get help , then that is on them . not on you .

anyway another tangent , but back to the point . autism , while you need to understand is something you need to see and understand , is not the only mental disorder ! and you need to understand that some people suffer from really REALLY shitty things and are sometimes undiagnosed . i am really REALLY tired of depression , ADHD , BPD, and DiD getting brushed under the rug like they are not important . cause guess what , there are spectrums ! all mental health is important . fuck you if you disregard the other disorders , you are being ableist .

STOP HATE READING PEOPLE.

im really sick and tired of this . you don’t like something somebody said ? you can either : ask what they meant or block / unfollow them .

DO NOT FUCKING STALK THEM EITHER .

you have an obsession if you hover on their blog too .. do not do that . that is SO unhealthy for you . here is what a friend said on twitter . ( not name dropping them , just copy pasting them )

❛ i stg people need to fine a better hobby than to hate read a persons blog or profile. not a good look on you when you go and read what they post about just to get angry at something you think they said and then you go off spewing lies about it cause 'youre offended.'

like you already hate them in the first place. you weren’t 'looking to see if they were a better person.' youre just looking to find another thing to hate about them.

that is what hate reading is about. so you can read their posts and find just another reason to hate and laugh at how bad you think they are.

but it doesnt make you a better person. it just makes you a sad person with no life. stop hate reading people. grow tf up. go breathe on some plants or something idk.

i say this very loud and clear . if you hate read me , i live in your head rent free . not my problem . but it does become my problem if you begin to steal shit and start spewing lies about myself or my friends . grow up and move on with your life . sorry my life seems more interesting than you ig . idk .

anway this got long , and at this point i am going off on a tangent but !!!!

TL ; DR

read my rules ig . idk .

you can dm me for more info if you want . at this point i have blocked the problem blogs for myself. if you are curious you can ask . HOWEVER. i am not going to tell you to block or unfollow . why ? cause at the end of the day , it is MY beef . this are my issues . i am NOT here to gatekeep .

i will say that i will tell you IN private the for MY story . but keep in mind that it is MY story . not yours . not theirs . it is all about perception .

my perception is that they are scummy gatekeeping thieves . they gatekeep the people they dont like or are intimidated by . i am somebody who fucking bites and calls people out on their shit , because of this ? i make enemies . but my enemies are not yours . i dont care . dont give a damn . i am intimidating to people who are cowards and i don’t care .

if they feel bad when i call them out , if they try to go around and do damage control , then that means they are guilty .

and then you can ask yourself this : why are they reacting like that ?

i am once again going to bring up that other twitter user that i quoted before .

❛ you dont like hearing that because someone is holding a mirror up to you and it makes you uncomfortable because you know you . and you know the parts of you that are good . so in your heart you have to come up with a narrative that makes you feel better about the fact that somebody is asking your to confront the parts about yourself that you hate the most .

anyway . this got long . im so sorry for the long read . im so sorry i sounded hostile ad angry . im just volatile sometimes . im just really tired . and i dont need to come on this blog and have a panic attack .

anyway . cheers loves ! stay happy , stay healthy . drink your fluids . take your meds !

#long post.#update tbd.#ooc tbd.#// i have no idea what else to tag this tbh .#there is drama mentions though so there is that i guess ?#but this is all important so ...#anyway ...#read / skim this or perish 🔪#also if you wanna like this to let me know you read / agree with this go ahead .#im not checking for typos i am tired .

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secretlystephaniebrown · 4 years

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Batman: War Games - Worst Comic Event Ever? Probably!

I had so many fucking thoughts about this trash fire of an event comic, guys.

War Games might genuinely be one of the worst things that have ever happened to comics. It's riddled with horrific art, bad writing, bad treatment of beloved characters. The few attempts at brevity, goodness, or even relief are frequently undercut by homophobia, rape jokes, transphobia, and sexism.

As a fan of multiple of the storylines which were interrupted to produce this all-time low in comic event storytelling, and a fan of characters who were fridged, character assassinated, or otherwise shoved aside in favor of a narrative where Batman shoves aside his family and is more convinced than ever that he is right and blameless in the events that happen... it was awful.

Detective Comics #796 might just be one of the only worthy reads in the entire book: Stephanie Brown comes to blows with Zsasz in her time as Robin, and the art is good, Bruce expresses concern and care for her, and in that issue, we can almost see what could have been a better story, where the two of them learned and grew together.

(More below the cut)

A highlight that I did not expect, however, was the Batman 12 Cent Adventure by Devin Grayson, which was probably one of the most empathetic perspectives into Steph’s mind at the time, and clearly showing how she had been set up to fail. Through this book, we see the set up for the War Game, in a much more detailed way than we saw pretty much anywhere else throughout the book, and we also got a brief history of the Bat Family told two ways—the way that Steph knows it, and the way that we, the reader, know it actually happened, because Steph doesn’t know most of the family’s secret identities, and is in the dark about some of the fundamentals.

What can I even say about Steph’s treatment in this comic that hasn’t already been said, that isn’t part of the narrative of War Games? Maybe I could mention the horrifically porn traced torture drawings. The way that the torture is clearly stylized as sexual assault. The way that Steph is insulted, belittled, and poorly treated, even beyond the torture and fridging. The way that this was supposed to be how her story ended. As a fan of Steph, it was horrible to read. I cannot emphasize enough how new fans seeking Steph content, should avoid this series. Reading Detective Comics 796 and her issues as Robin in Robin and Batgirl… and just… never pick up War Games properly. Don’t be like me.

The Robin issues by Willingham were… fine, if frequently sexist, and continuing the comics tradition of treating male sexual assault as harmless or a joke (Tim is forcibly kissed by a fellow student, and is cheered on for it, despite having made clear to Darla that he is already in a relationship. Later, he ends up taking her on a pseudo-date for hot cocoa. There were a few nice moments squeezed in; Tim at one point says that Stephanie and Bruce had a good relationship and brought a levity to the role that was good for Bruce… right before claiming that her making Bruce joke wasn’t that big of a deal because the joke was “rudimentary.”

Catwoman was decent enough; I’m a fan of Brubaker in general, and the bits where Selina got to bond with Steph, do her own thing, and protect the East End were lovely… but so many of the infamous torture panels occur in this book that it’s hard for me to say that these issues were worth reading.

Orpheus and Onyx though… hoo boy. Onyx had some fun moments throughout the series, being battle buddies with Cass, chatting casually with Deadshot, and things like that. But in the end, the overwhelming awfulness of Batman coercing a black vigilante into becoming a gang leader, and then the vigilante being murdered, and his face literally worn as a mask, was bad. Bruce getting Orpheus to become the leader of the Hill Gang also undercuts his own argument that he had never intended to implement the War Game to give himself control over all of Gotham’s organized Crime… because he had put Orpheus where he was specifically to control one gang already. Orpheus was done so dirty, and he and Onyx deserve to get to come back and be treated better.

Batgirl had some nice individual moments when the story focused on Steph and Cass’s relationship: Cass desperately searching for her best friend and the last time the two of them met was absolutely heartbreaking, but the rest of it was generally just more of the same, constant fighting, and it’s her sections that get to feature the transphobic joke, on top of the sexism that permeates this entire event. Cass doesn’t get too much to do in this story, which is a real pity, since I think her book was one of the strongest from this era.

Nightwing was infuriating for the simple fact of when in the Nightwing the story takes place: barely after Nightwing’s assault at the hands of Tarantula. Tarantula is given a heroic story here, protecting young children who had been recruited into gangs, and even being appointed one of Batman’s top lieutenants in the crisis. She’s referred to as Dick’s stalker, but this is treated as a joke, and she touches him and flirts with him constantly, and the only negative consequences are that Oracle becomes jealous and insults both her and Dick.

Oracle is treated generally pretty poorly in this story, snapping at everyone, insulting Cass and Dick, and while some of it could be understandable given the situation, it’s kind of annoying that so many of her early appearances in the series are playing her up as a jerk. But in the end, Babs comes through in what would be, in any other story, a brilliant ending concept, but instead ends up being undercut by the rest of the story. Trapped in the Clocktower by the Black Mask, with Batman coming to her rescue, Batman is so furious about the War that he no longer cares if he lives or dies, and is even willing to kill the Mask. To pull him out of it, Babs activates the Clocktower’s self-destruct sequences, forcing Batman to chose between vengeance and his purpose as a hero, saving her life rather than killing the Black Mask. What undercuts it, though, is that Bruce’s rage is made out to be not about the destruction that the Mask has caused, or even about Stephanie Brown, who was tortured and is dying in the hospital, but instead, about the failure of his plan. So… nearly good, I suppose.

And Leslie. Leslie is right up there with Steph and Orpheus in terms of horrible treatment. DC has never been good at understanding pacifism. Leslie yells at Cass for saving her life, constantly claims that superheroes do more harm than good, and denies Steph life-saving treatment. The character ends the series exiled to Africa, with Bruce telling her never to come back, a character who was functionally his foster-mother, and one of the most important older women in the Batman books.

War Games is emblematic of some of the worst Batman writing: the character is pig headed, cruel, and even abusive, but we are told by the narrative that he's smarter than everyone, so they should just deal with it. Repeatedly characters try to call him out on his behavior, but he tells them to stop whining and deal with it, and even when his actions backfire, it’s portrayed as a tragic inevitability that he is not held accountable for.

And the ending goes out of the way to explain that it's not his fault that beloved character Stephanie Brown died, not really, it was because mean old pacifist Leslie Thompkins was overtaken by the "Batman is blameless" virus and decided to deny a girl medical treatment. Batman declares that what happened was a war crime, and there must be war trials, but in the end, he fails to take any responsibility for his own actions, and inflicts massive amounts of trauma on the entire city.

In short? Don’t read War Games!

#Steph Speaks #Steph Reads Comics #Batman: War Games #Stephanie Brown #Bruce Wayne #Bat Family #DC

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helaintoloki · 5 years

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Season of the Witch | Michael Langdon

chapter eleven: Could It Be Satan?

masterlist

pairing: Michael Langdon x witch!reader

warnings: language, angst, violence, graphic descriptions, adult content, deception, toxic relationships, abuse, death, witchcraft, satanism and all that other good ahs stuff

notes: y’all really liked the smut huh?👀 also if you’re no longer reading this story for whatever reason please let me know so I can take you off the tag list as it’s a lot of work to add your user constantly

“Hush now, my darling,” she coos, bouncing the swaddled bundle of joy in her arms in attempt to soothe the fussy child. “It’s alright, mommy is here. You needn’t fret any longer.”

He looks exactly like his father when he cries, she thinks. The same wet blue eyes that look up at her with desperation, craving comfort and attention and love. Her love. His blonde curls cover his head like a halo and for a moment she’s able to fantasize a life of normalcy. A life where her child is just a child, not the heir of an all powerful being. Where those around her don’t fawn over her in hopes of securing their chance of survival or try to kill her in hopes of punishing her husband. A regular, plain, boring life.

“Is everything alright?” Michael’s voice sounds as he approaches his wife and son.

“He’s fussy,” she frowns, carefully handing off her baby to his father.

“The poor thing,” Michael coos, holding the babe close to his chest and allowing his tiny fingers to wrap around the cool rings that adorn his father’s fingers. “What’s wrong, bub?”

The baby lets out a whimper and Michael clicks his tongue gently. “Now, now, we can’t have any of that. You’ve got to be strong to survive in a place like this.”

“Michael,” y/n starts, and he holds a finger up to silence his wife. The baby has ceased his cries, and now reaches up towards his fathers face. His tiny fists grab handfuls of Michael’s blond locks and he smiles a genuine smile.

“There we are,” he coos, raising the baby higher towards his face to nuzzle his nose against his son’s gentle skin. She can only watch with a sad smile, her heart aching as she thought of the endless possibilities in which things could have ended differently for them. For her.

“Why the long face, my love? Isn’t this what you want?” Michael asks gently, but his words are like daggers piercing her soul.

“Not like this,” she murmurs, tears falling silently down her face. The room feels hot and stuffy, the candles burning too bright for her eyes.

“Well we can’t always get what we want, can we?” He sighs mockingly. “Your sisters have to die, you know that.

“My mother,” she chokes out, emotions over coming her.

“Will be nothing when I’m done with her,” he smiles maliciously. “The old supreme must fall so the new one may rise.”

“You’re not my supreme,” she spits, and the baby begins to bawl.

“Now look what you’ve done,” he growls, clutching the baby protectively to his chest. “Time is running out, my love. It’s time to make a decision. Can you do it?”

The baby’s cries are nothing but a distant echo as her eyes snap open, rapidly glancing around at her surroundings. The walls are white, black duvet wrapped comfortably around her trembling form. She is home, and her child is now nothing but a dream. A thought. A vision. A premonition.

Dread weighs heavy in her chest and the three gentle knocks at the door startle her away from her thoughts.

“Y/N?” Zoe’s gentle voice calls as her head peeks through the door. “Y/N, it’s already two in the afternoon. It’s time to wake up.”

“Sorry, I...” y/n begins but cannot find any real excuse to explain her abnormally long slumber.

“Is everything okay?” The older witch asks, voice laced with concern. She sits on the edge of the mattress and rests the back of her hand against y/n’s forehead, checking her temperature. She seems fine.

“Yes, I just... I don’t know, so much has happened,” y/n admits with a sheepish smile. Zoe hums thoughtfully.

“I sense a change in you,” Zoe observes, “in your aura and your spirit.”

“Is... Is it a good or bad change?”

“I don’t know yet,” she confesses. “But I feel it. Is there anything you’d like to talk about with me? And I won’t tell Cordelia, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh, Zoe,” y/n sighs, falling into her open arms and welcoming her comforting embrace. Zoe simply sits and waits until she’s ready, hand gently rubbing her back in soothing motions.

“I... I feel so disgusted with myself,” she whispers, the feeling of Michael’s touch still present in her mind. “I betrayed the coven, betrayed my mother.”

“How did you betray us?” Zoe asks gently, no sign of anger or malice present in her voice.

“Michael... I let him overpower me,” y/n says, discontented with herself and with Michael and with how unfair the world could be. “I was so naive and desperate, so eager to please. So ready to be loved. And I... I let him take a part of me I can never get back,” she whispers shakily, tears steadily falling down her cheeks.

Zoe is silent for a moment, digesting the information given to her. But she only hugs the little witch tighter, lips pressed against the crown of her head as she whispers a calming incantation to her sister.

“It’s going to be alright,” Zoe soothes. “Madison is going to find out more about Michael, and when he’s exposed he’ll be ridden of for good. You won’t have to see him ever again.”

“I don’t think you can get rid of him that easy,” y/n confesses into Zoe’s tear stained chest. “I think... I feel like I signed my soul over to the devil.”

“But you didn’t,” Zoe comforts, “and no matter what happens we’re here to protect you. You can never underestimate the power of a group of capable women.”

And y/n smiles a barely noticeable smile, her remaining tears trickling down her face. Perhaps things would be alright. After all, Michael was powerful, and Michael was awful, but he wasn’t a monster. Whatever happened next she knew things would be alright. They had to be.

What was the worst that could happen?

~~~

After hearing the word “antichrist” fall from Madison’s lips, y/n was quick to rush to the toilet and vomit out that night’s dinner. Could it be true? Could it be Satan?

It would explain a lot, she thought. His overwhelming strength, his powerful aura. The fact that he seemed to exude sin and sex. But what did this all mean in the grand scheme of things? Would the coven allow the antichrist to rule them all? And what did he have in store for y/n?

“Darling?” Cordelia called from behind the door, her knuckles gently tapping against the wood. “Honey, are you alright?”

With a weak flick of her wrist y/n swings the door open and looks up at her mother in the doorway. Her skin is pale, eyes tired and red from the tears that came with vomiting, figure weak. She is a sorry sight, and Cordelia’s heart aches for her daughter.

“Are you feeling well?” Cordelia asks, kneeling beside the frail witch’s form that leans against the porcelain bowl. A gentle hand goes to touch y/n’s forehead, but the supreme is quick to yank her hand away at the touch, as if she’d been burned by flames.

“No,” Cordelia gasped, eyes wide as she stumbled back on the floor. For when she touched the skin of her child she felt it, the disturbance. The second heart beat loud and clear in her ears, the fetus already growing at a rapid rate, the child eating away at their mother’s life force in order to grow stronger. The spawn of the devil himself, happily taking refuge in her womb. Y/N was with child. Michael’s child.

The Supreme panics, afraid and angry and weak, and Cordelia’s palm collides harshly with the skin of y/n’s cheek so that the smack resonates loudly in the bathroom.

“What have you done?!” Cordelia cries. Y/N holds her aching cheek and lets her tears fall freely. She is afraid and unaware of what Michael had done, what he had in store for her, the virus growing stronger with every passing minute. “What did you do?!”

“Mommy,” y/n weeps, figure falling against Cordelia’s as she hides in her chest. “I’m scared.”

Cordelia is shaken, trembling arms wrapping around her daughter as a shaky hand moves to stroke her hair.

“It’s... It’s going to be alright,” Cordelia murmurs shakily, tears of her own falling steadily. Her grandchild being the spawn of Satan was not something Cordelia ever thought she needed to worry about. Yet huddled in the corner of the bathroom with her daughter sobbing into her chest, the supreme knew she had to act fast. Or else Michael would not only destroy the coven, but destroy y/n as well.

~~~

“Not only is she with child, but she is carrying the spawn of that vile boy?!” Myrtle spits, stomach churning at the mere thought of her precious y/n being corrupted by such a vile creature. Satan, a warlock. She’d never had to deal with such a thing back in her day.

“She told me it had happened the day of the Seven Wonders test,” Zoe spoke softly, a far away look in her eyes. “I promised not to tell but I... I think in this case it’s important.”

“I don’t know what to do...” Cordelia murmurs. “The child is too great for her to carry. The chance of survival is slim, he’s sentenced her to death. She doesn’t know that he’s burdened her with such a cost.”

“Delia, there isn’t anything we can do,” Myrtle replies gently. “We’ll have to hope for the best.”

“No... There is something,” Cordelia states firmly. The image of a certain voodoo queen comes to mind, and though she hates to even consider the option she know it must be done. “A way to save her, to rid her of carrying Satan’s child.”

“You can’t be serious,” Zoe begins to protest, but Cordelia raises a hand to silence her.

“I am. It will be done. But first, we must begin a course of action. The end of Michael Langdon begins now.”

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

tag list: @ticklish-leafy-plant @gx-nji @anacerta @bluebirdbts @heda-mikaelson @redlovett @fuck-yeah-bruno-buccerati @ateliefloresdaprimavera @quechulitaaa @theeonlyroman @hecohansen31 @frenchzodiacgirl @michaelsapostle @hoeposey @spider-stud @frozenhuntress67 @jokingarthur @brookethompsonownsme

#american horror story #michael langdon #michael langdon x reader #michael langdon x witch!reader #michael langdon fic #ahs fic #ahs apocalypse #ahs coven #cordelia goode #season of the witch

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nessamaurice · 5 years

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Simple, Ch. 8 (Loki x F!Reader)

Masterlist

Summary: Tony and the Avengers are in desperate need of something like a “babysitter” to have an eye on Loki and teach him “how to human”. He decided to stay on Midgard over the dungeons of Asgard as punishment for his deeds in New York. That’s where you swoop in. A simple receptionist at the Avengers compound. You have to share an apartment in the compound with Loki and damn, he’s a really tough nut. With your open and kind character it seems that you are slowly cracking his shell. But suddenly things are getting twists that will change your life and your relationships there irreversibly.

Story rating: M

chapter trigger warnings: torture, harming, human experiments, captivity, suicide thoughts

Words: 3301

Shortly after you disappeared all hell broke loose. Loki actually was there but changed his mind to stop you the last second. But the moment you got into the lift he felt a jolt that that was a giant mistake. He appeared back from the void where he hid and rushed after you but JARVIS had locked up all doors. He shouted for help and soon everyone was trying to get JARVIS to work properly again. Bruce sent a distress alert to Tony who arrived not much later and came in through the terrace door.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"JARVIS got hacked, he won't let us open the doors. Y/N was called to get outside and then we got locked up here." Loki explained.

Tony went pale within seconds. He ran into his lab to check on JARVIS. Loki was right, there was a virus program running. It didn't took him longer than a few minutes to get rid of it.

"JARVIS, what happened? Where's Y/N?"

"I am so sorry, Sir. I got intruded and was forced to ask Miss Y/N to go outside the personal rooms. Here is the CCTV from the lift."

The others stood behind Tony and all watched as a video frame popped up and showed you going down with the elevator and then getting kidnapped. Tony couldn't hold back his tears as he watched you going down on your knees, losing your consciousness.

"JARVIS, tell me her bracelet is working."

"Again, I am sorry. Either the bracelet is broken, which is unlikely or there is another virus hidden that keeps me from activating it again. I cannot locate."

"Tony, speak with us! Why would they kidnap Y/N?", Natasha asked Tony, grabbing him at the shoulder and trying to make eye contact.

"She... she... is my niece." That left everyone simply starstruck. Since there was no other way now, Tony explained them everything he found out within the last few days. Clint was the first one to speak again.

"Okay, that's a real shitload of complicating news. But the most important thing is to get this virus off of JARVIS so we will be able to locate her. Tony," he clapped in his hands to rip him out of his apathy, "that's your bodiless robot here, so get some shit done. Bruce, go check all your medical data you collected about her and try to find out why she may be of interest for someone. The rest of us should go through all the CCTV since she moved in. We have to find out how and why she was taken. Okay guys, let's go."

Everyone started to get busy with their tasks. They were all just so eager to find you, but it turned out that this way harder than all of them thought. As hours became days you went through pure hell.

***

You told Fieberbrunn what you remembered from the accident, but not everything. You didn't know why, but you changed the story a bit. You told him that you almost died in the accident and he left you lying on the street, presumed dead. You said it was all in fragments because you were severely injured, but you were told afterwards that soon after the accident another car drove by and provided first aid, calling an ambulance. The next thing you recalled was waking up in hospital months later. You didn't tell him what really happened.

This soldier brought you to someone he knew who could help you. Your eyes were closed but you didn't completely pass out, so you heard everything they said.

"Bucky! Where have you been so long? What happened?", a woman said after she opened the door. She had a british accent.

"I failed my mission. She reminded me of someone, someone I knew. My order was to bring her to the base, but I couldn't. I killed her parents. It happened again, they brought the Soldier back. I don't know for how long. I did so many things. So much cruelty. Please, help me, Doc. Help her." His voice was so full of panic and agony.

"My god, of course, come in, quick."

You heard creaking of wooden stairs, doors that were opened and closed silently. You were laid down on a hard mattress. You felt hands gently examining you, then the woman spoke again.

"I will have to get her into hospital. She is really severely injured. I think she has to be put into coma to stop her brain from swelling. She is not completely unconscious by now, maybe she can even hear us, but if we don't do something really soon it will not end well. Bucky, it's okay. It's not your fault. You were forced to do this. It wasn't even you. The soldier did this. All you did was fighting the Soldier and saving her. You have done the right thing. I will keep an eye on her. Do you know her name?"

"Y/N. I have to stay. I have to be sure that she will be alright. Let me stay."

"Okay. I can arrange that. But first of all I have to sedate her to relieve her organism."

You let out a silent moan as something pierced your arm and the voices ceased.

As you opened your eyes again you were in a hospital, in a single bed room. Slowly you turned your head to one side and then to other. In the farthermost corner you saw the man with the metal arm leaning against the wall. Your eyes met and panic began to rise again, followed by the accelerated beeping of your heart monitor. His expression was worried and helpless. Out of nowhere a pretty, blonde woman appeared right next to you and held your hand.

"Hey Y/N, it's alright. You are safe. He will not harm you. Listen to me, my dear. You are severely injured. We will have to put you into an artificial coma. That means we will let you sleep for a long while so your body gets enough rest to heal. Don't worry, honey. I will be always by your side, you will never be alone. And don't be afraid of Bucky. The one who hurt you is another person than him. I will protect you. We will."

At first you didn't want to believe what you heard. However, you knew she was telling you the truth, so you simply nodded and felt tears rolling down your cheeks, wetting your pillow.

"Oh, it's ok sweetheart. Don't worry, we will find someone to take care of you. Someone you know, and trust."

You wanted to say something. You dearly wanted to tell her that your uncle would look after you. But as you tried to speak you could only retch because of the tube in your throat.

"No, no. Don't try to speak. That's not good for you. We will find the person, alright? Now, rest again. Don't hurry. Everything will be just fine." She shared a beautiful but sad smile. Her bright red lips and deep brown eyes were the last thing you saw before everything went dark again.

As you eventually woke up again you were alone at first. You blinked into the orange dim light of an autumn afternoon. After a while a blonde woman entered the room to check on you and a broad smile decorated her face as she saw you looking at her.

"Oh my god, darling! How wonderful, you're finally awake! Take it easy. You made us worry a bit already but it's great that you take your time. The important thing is that you are doing very well. Your injuries are not completely healed by now but you are making good progress. Do you remember what happened? Do you remember me?"

You concentrated as good as possible, took in all her features; big brown eyes, wavy blonde hair, beautiful red tinted lips. It felt like you knew her before, but she seemed to be a stranger. You carefully shook your head.

Her smile dimmed a bit and she patted your hand. "Don't worry. That's okay. I'm sure you are feeling dizzy. If you want to you can sleep again a bit. I'll be always around your room. Here -" she gently lifted your hand and placed a small plastic box beneath it, "when you need something, no matter what, even if it is just some company, press this button. I'll be here within a minute. Okay, I'll stay until you are asleep again, alright?"

You felt her genuine compassion for you. It helped you calm down and soon you drifted into a dreamless sleep. In the following days you woke up and fell asleep again over and over, but the awake periods became longer every time. Then a woman appeared by your bed. You could have sworn you knew her, but had no idea who she was. But you felt affection towards her. Something in her face reminded you of happy times, so you trusted her.

With that information you ended your story. You were so tired, you just wanted to sleep. But every time your head doubled over you got slapped. Every time you got hit you didn't only feel the pain of the slap but also a rush of anger, but it felt so strange, like it wasn’t your anger. You had no idea how long you were kept here already but it felt just like years. Your skin was bruised and cold, your wrists so sore that every time you moved your hands a bit you tore the wounds open again because the scab stuck to the shackles. The dull but intensive pain of a cystitis was omnipresent. You reached the point where your body was about to give up and pass out, but they didn't let you. Every time you were close to losing conscious they added drugs to your infusion which set you on high alert mode. You were so desperately overstimulated that every second of being awake was too much. You just wanted to close your eyes forever and end this torture. They asked you so many questions you didn't know the answer to. Every time you couldn't answer they cut another part of your body. Only small wounds, about 3 cm long and not too deep to be dangerous but soon your whole body was burning, blood dripping on the floor. They even bent you over to cut the flesh on your back. You felt your blood making the chair glibbery and slick. After some time your opponent had enough of you. He took hold of your throat and came real close. You felt his rage and impatience, causing your heart to pond and your blood to rush. He wanted to say something, to threaten you but stopped. You could vividly feel him giving up on you for the moment and how he had to restrain himself from strangling you. His fingers went soft while he let go of you. He spoke in German again to the two big men who appeared immediately, "Schafft sie mir aus den Augen. Ich kann mit ihr jetzt fürs Erste nichts mehr anfangen. Einzelhaft." While he was talking he disconnected you from all the monitors and opened the shackles, not bothering to give you some gauze or something to stop your blood from running. The two men grabbed you by your arms and dragged you out of the chair. They hauled you through some corridors and dropped you on the dirty floor of a very small room. No bed, just a scratchy blanket on the floor. Exhausted to an unbearable level, you took all the strength you had left and crawled over to the blanket, almost not able to lift your limbs. In your mind you were permanently praying, begging. Why is this happening to me? Dear Lord, oh God please. Get me out. Just get me out. Send me strength. Send me ... someone... Why.. I can’t... please... Your already wounded hands and knees were scratching over the crumbly concrete floor. You reached it just in time before you passed out.

A familiar scent was the first thing that broke the faint. Fresh linen and sun warmed leather. You mouthed a name without even recognising, "Loki...", but all your lips left was a pathetic caw. Warily you opened one eye; the other one stuck together of blood and wound secretion. Someone had put a thin linen blanket over your bare and bloody body as you were unconscious. Dozens of small blood spots soaked it up and made it stick a bit onto the wounds. Very carefully you tried to sit up. Next to you stood a glass of a thick, milky liquid and something that looked like a protein bar. Driven by hunger you reached out as fast as you could manage and devoured the bar. You sniffed at the liquid and tasted it, the viscous consistency was so strange to swallow that you retched at first, but it was also like balm for your hoarse throat. After you had finished your modest meal you unstuck the blanket from your body and wrapped it very carefully around your shoulders. You looked around; a very small room made of concrete, windowless.The only light source was the slit beneath the heavy metal door. It had a small barred window with a slide hatch. You took a deep breath and tried to analyze the situation, but all you could think of was your home. Your new home. You've been living there only for a short time now but it felt like you would belong there. Of course you did. It was your family. It is your family. Your lost memories hit you hard. Why am I here? Why do I have to get through this? Suddenly you missed him so much; your uncle. Tones. And you were surprised but you missed Loki as well. Really bad, actually. You longed for their presence. All the happy memories with your uncle popped up in your mind. You had so much fun together, you loved him so dearly. It felt like no time had passed, your feelings newly ignited after so many years. You wanted to cry but your body was so weary. A part of you just wanted to die right away; never feel this pain again, this humiliation, this despair. But another part wanted to get out. Get back to your recently won family. Those parts were fighting each other for a long time and you didn't know which one would win. But the longer you thought about dying, maybe killing yourself somehow in this cell, the more you opposed the idea. You were surprised as you accepted that you actually wanted to live. To not give up. Hold on until they would find you, and they would. You just knew it. Lord, you want me alive, don’t you? Please, give me something. Anything! You were torn from your pondering as the hatch in the door was slid open. Empty eyes staring down at you, then the hatch closed again. The door opened with heavy clicking and rattling. A woman dressed in white was pushed inside.

"Go on Missy, patch her up. The doctor wants her back in order asap."

The woman stumbled and almost tripped. The guard kicked in a doctor's case after her that slid over the floor until it stopped right next to her, the door was closed and locked again. She fixed her firm, blonde ponytail and picked on her white surgical clothes, strictly avoiding eye contact. Though so many years had passed you recognized her still beautiful face immediately.

"Doc?"

Her eyes darted at you. "I haven't been called this for years.", she whispered. She came closer, crouched down in front of you and studied your face. "My god..." she gasped, pressing a hand on her mouth to muffle the sounds. Tears shot in her big, brown eyes. Gently she cupped your face with one hand. So many feeling rushed through you; compassion, pity, worries, happiness and sadness all at once.

"Sweetheart, my god, what happened to you? You poor thing..." She grabbed her case and started to treat your wounds, beginning with your eye.

"Are we being watched?" You whispered.

"No, this is one of the cells without surveillance. And the douchebag in front of the door is half deaf. We can talk. I guess you didn't tell them about me? Or Bucky? Otherwise they wouldn't have sent me in to treat you."

"No. I don't know why, but I couldn't tell them. I said the man with the metal arm presumed me dead and left. A passerby would have found me and called the ambulance. The next thing was me waking up in hospital alone." Then you told her just everything. She had to wipe away her tears every once in a while as she listened, treating your wounds. Your system was so overloaded with pain signals that you didn't even twitched as she sanitized your cuts. As you finished your story it was her turn.

"I had to work for Hydra as a doctor for a long time. Eventually I could manage to escape and I was too unimportant to sent someone after me; I didn't know any secrets and all I did could be done by any other physician as well. It was very unlikely that they just had let me go without chasing me, but later I had to find out that this was calculated. I was part of the team that was in charge of Bucky's transformation into a Soldier. It happened that, from time to time, very simple things he sensed in any way found a path into his subconscious and conjured Bucky back to the surface. They handled this problem with electro shocks wiping his memory, his mind over and over again. It was so awful to watch, but all I could do was to be there for him, whether he was Bucky at the moment or the Soldier. I became a confidant for them both. Then, after I escaped, it happened twice that Bucky came back while he was on a mission as the Soldier. I still don't know how, but he found me and I helped him through these times. He tried to hide from Hydra but they always found him. And wiped him over again. The last time I saw him was when he brought you to my door. It was pure luck that Hydra didn't find out about you before their spies spotted us. We got caught a month after you got adopted by your mom's friend; she was the only relative-like person I could find. When Hydra caught us, they put Bucky back to cryostasis. I haven't heard of him since then. And I was forced to work here in the Hydra prison, taking care of the captives. That's my story so far. Oh honey, I wish so dearly I could do more for your than just caring for your wounds." She furrowed her brows and tried to hold back the tears.

You reached out and gently touched her cheek. "It's okay. I owe so much to you. You saved my life. I couldn't ask for more. Thank you just for everything. I'm so happy that I remember you now and that I can thank you for being there for me, on those days and now. You are so precious." As you spoke to her she weren't able to hold back the tears and smiled at the same time. Then, all in a sudden, her eyes went wide and she stared you dead in the eye. A jolt like lightning shot through you, you were immediately highly alerted. "What's wrong??"

"My god, you... you are-" She was interrupted by the rattling of the door. She hastily wiped away her tears and shuffled a bit away from you to keep the impression that you were just another patient. She collected her medical equipment and crammed it in her case as the door opened.

"You're time's up, nurse. Get out." The guard stepped aside to give her enough space to slip outside. Before she went around the corner she gave you quick look and a small smile, then she disappeared. The guard said nothing, just stared down at you and closed the door again, leaving you alone in the dark with your thoughts and the silence.

Taglist: @it-jinxed-us, @humbledarkness, @lunawitch19, @redryderdesigns

#loki #Loki Laufeyson #loki x reader #loki x female reader #loki fiction #fanfiction #fanfic simple #marvel fan fiction #fan fiction #loki fan fiction #loki fanfic #nessa maurice #torture #hydra #interrogation

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mattkeepsrambling · 4 years

Text

Horror Week!

I may talk of having a "List of Shame," but there is no physical list. For me to knock movies off that list, I have to know what they are. When talking with friends about movies, some come up, and I can say, "That one is on my list of shame." Offhand, I cannot tell you what is on that list (except for "Gone With the Wind.") Hence, this is going to be a horror week. Now, looking at it, its a combination of the two. I have not seen many classic horror movies, so this was a chance to watch those. "Poltergeist" and "The Exorcist" were two must watches,

Overlord

On the day before D-Day, a mission to destroy a communications station was undertaken. The soldiers stumble upon a secret German experiment designed to make superhuman soldiers.

"Overlord" was a fun movie. Let's face it. It's just fun to watch people beat up Nazis. I had wanted to see it in the theaters, but I never got around to it. There was also the concern that it would be too scary for me. Even before I started my "immersion therapy," I could have handled it. There were some gross-out moments, but nothing nightmare-inducing.

7/10

Rated R for

1hr 50mins.

Available on Amazon Prime

Poltergeist

This might be the most straightforward plot synopsis I have written. In "Poltergeist," a family discovers their house is haunted. The truth is that a lot of movies could have this same summery. Many haunted house stories have a bit more going on, but "Poltergeist" doesn't.

I went back and forth on "Poltergeist" about three or four times while I watched it. There were times I was enjoying it, but there were also times where I was bored. I don't know what I expected, but I couldn't help but be disappointed by this movie. Maybe because "Poltergeist" is considered a classic, but I was utterly unimpressed by this.

5/10

Rated PG

1hr 54mins

Available on Netflix

She Dies Tomorrow

I'm not sure how to sum up this movie other than to say Amy (Kate Lyn Shell) knows she is going to die tomorrow, and this thought turns out to be contagious.

I'm also not entirely sure how I felt about this movie. I liked it overall, but I cannot say I loved it. I wanted to love this movie because it felt different from a lot of movies. I think the premise was interesting, but I am not sure this movie lived up to it. A thought that works like a virus is an incredibly exciting idea for a film.

7/10

Rated R for language, some sexual references, drug use, and bloody images

1hr 26mins

Available to rent/buy on Video On Demand

The Exorcist

Do I need to do a plot synopsis for this movie? I feel like its been in the zeitgeist long enough that even if you haven't seen it, you know what it is about. I have been through a few days of lackluster movies.

"Exorcist" blew me away. It was the combination of great characters and a compelling story that makes this the classic it has rightfully become. This is the role that Linda Blair, who played Regan, became known for. Rightfully so in my opinion. She is great at playing the innocent child as well as the demon-possessed one.

9/10

Rated R for strong language and disturbing images

2hrs. 2mins

Available on HBO Max

A Nightmare on Elm Street

With this deep dive into horror, I have felt the need to watch the classics. I knocked out "Friday The 13th" earlier this summer and plan to borrow a copy of "Halloween," which just left Freddy. He is as iconic as Jason and Mike Myers, but he was the one that worried me the most. Think of it this way; he's a villain who kills you in your dreams. My one big worry about watching horror movies has always been the potential nightmares. He was tailormade to keep me awake at night.

The acting in this movie is so bad. Everyone is overacting so much it hurt to watch. Everyone that is except for Freddy Kruger himself, Robert England. He is clearly having a blast in this role, and seeing as he has played it in all but one of Freddy's movies, I assume he does love it. I will say my favorite part was the transitions between the real world and the dream worlds. They are so smooth, and it takes a second before you realize that the character is asleep.

7/10

Rated R

1hr. 31mins.

Available on HBO Max

It Follows

After having sex, Jay (Maika Monroe) finds herself pursued by an unknown entity. I don't want to say any more than that.

"It Follows" came out in 2014 and was a critical and box office success. It was one of those movies that I wanted to see but didn't because it was a horror movie. This was, without a doubt, my favorite movie from this week. With the movies this week, I have been trying to make it as close to the theatrical experience as possible. That means the room is as dark as it can be, and my devices are away. "It Follows" was the easiest not to pick up a cellphone or tablet through.

This movie grabs you quickly and hardly lets up. The entity, only called "It" throughout the movie, can take the form of anyone. It always walks, and it will not stop. The only way to deal with it is to pass it on to someone else through sex, but once that person is dead, it comes back after you.

"It" is relentless and insanely scary because it can be anyone walking towards you. There is so much tension in this movie because of this. There were a few scenes where I was convinced I saw "It," but the movie never acknowledges that. "It Follows" was the first movie this week that gave me genuine scares. I had real moments where I jumped. I was so tense watching this movie that when there was a noise outside my apartment, I jumped. This was the feeling I was looking for in all the other movies I watched this week.

10/10

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language

1hr 40min

Available on video on demand

#it follows #a nightmare on elm street #the exorcist #she dies tomorrow #poltergeist #overlord

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sophieellisbextorarchives · 4 years

Text

Sequins, songs, kids... dance! This is what saved SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR’s sanity during lockdown

‘I think I’m doing this for me.’ But for now, we need to head back to her house, where Sonny has appeared, and Mickey is delighted to see his mum. Plates are waiting to be spun, and as I let myself out, Jesse is putting on a show in the kitchen, with Sophie as the audience, sitting under the disco ball. ....and her wonderfully joyous discos filmed in the family kitchen helped lift the nation’s spirits too. She tells Hattie Crisell why Friday nights round at hers became so precious

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-8549299/Sequins-songs-kids-dance-saved-SOPHIE-ELLIS-BEXTORs-sanity-lockdown.html

Sophie Ellis-Bextor opens the door to me with a toddler in her arms – smiley 18-month-old Mickey – and her four-year-old son Jesse behind her, his hair a deep shade of copper. ‘You have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen,’ I tell him, genuinely quite dazzled, and he replies bashfully, ‘Well, I’ve just had it cut.’

Welcome to Sophie’s world: a large and glittering house in West London, packed to the rafters with kitsch, toys, cats and boys. I don’t know how many cats are around, but the boys number five: Mickey, Jesse, eight-year-old Ray, 11-year-old Kit and 16-year-old Sonny. Managing the lot are the singer, her husband Richard Jones (bass guitar player with The Feeling and the supergroup Loup GarouX), and a nanny, who joins them Monday to Friday during the working day. ‘I used to have a nanny who was with us all the time, and to be honest I felt like it was too much,’ says Sophie. ‘It’s fine if it’s my thing that I think about 24 hours a day, but I think it’s healthy for other people to have their own life away from it all. It’s five kids – it’s a lot.’

It certainly is, and it’s hard to imagine how demanding it must have been during lockdown, when the only one missing was the nanny. The public got a glimpse of this when Sophie performed a weekly series of ‘kitchen discos’, broadcasting them live via Instagram, her husband filming on his phone. They launched these shows during the bleakest part of the pandemic, and the good will that emanated from them was enormously cheering. She would appear in a sequined jumpsuit or rainbow-striped dress, a pair of platforms at the end of her mile-long legs, and would serenade the camera while children wandered casually in and out of view. Sometimes her teenage son would jump in to rescue the baby from a trailing wire, or one of the boys would need a cuddle, and their mother would pull them in close, keeping her other hand on the mic.

It was charming chaos. The music encompassed hits from Sophie’s back catalogue such as ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ and ‘Take Me Home’ – or ‘Stay at Home’, as she rechristened it – but also crowd-pleasing covers and theatrical numbers from shows such as Grease. For the audience, it offered uplifting relief from the frightening reality of the time: climbing death rates and isolation. It was comfort music, I say. ‘Exactly,’ she agrees. ‘And disco’s always had that for me anyway. It’s so euphoric and joyful, and it’s complex. In disco you can have the most painful, heartbreaking scenarios, but they’re in among something that makes you want to put your hands in the air and sing along. I think music can allow you the space to feel joy and anxiety at once.’

I am delighted to find that one end of their large kitchen still looks very much as it did, with the disco ball and a half-deflated helium balloon in place over the sofa. She confirms that it’s more or less always like this, perhaps minus the tinsel curtain. Colour and fun are everywhere in the house, from the framed retro artworks filling every wall, to the pinball machine in pride of place. At the other end of the kitchen, a diner-style menu-board for the kids bears the words, ‘Be polite or no service.’

Leaving the children with the nanny, Sophie and I head out to chat on a bench in the park. She’s wearing an embroidered navy dress and a red fluffy cardigan, with red lipstick that has mostly worn off; at 41, she’s truly beautiful, with very pale green eyes. Despite what we’ve seen from her on Instagram, it hasn’t been an easy time. For one thing, there was the fall from her bike in June that left her in hospital with a gory head wound. When I mention it, though, she brushes it off with, ‘I cannot dine out on that any more.’ Then she adds, ‘I mean, I don’t recommend cycling off a towpath – it did hurt.’

‘I knew that this was something that was happening in millions of households. I do worry about all my parents – I say “all” because I’ve got step-parents as well – but I think really it was focused on John, because he’s so vulnerable. It’s such a weird, torturous thing isn’t it for human beings, if you say that hanging out with someone you love is the one thing that might actually endanger them? How can you wrap your head around that?’

She hasn’t been thrilled with the government messaging around the virus. ‘“Stay at home” is clear and concise and all ages get it. “Stay alert”? I hardly ever feel alert. I don’t feel alert now.

And we’ve all shown we’re good at following guidelines that make sense, but you can’t keep bending it for people. Look at the effect when the rules were made flexible.’ She seems to be referring obliquely to the Dominic Cummings/Barnard Castle debacle. ‘We all thought, “Oh well, if we could have been going off and having day trips all this time, why was I staying at home and not seeing my mum, who lives ten minutes away?” I found that really tough.’

The kitchen discos were as much for her and the family as they were for the audience. ‘It was Richard’s idea. One day we were making plans and doing stuff, and the next day it was like, boomph, everything shut down. Suddenly we were just home all the time, all work cancelled, all the festivals… I was supposed to be going to Australia, New Zealand, I had gigs all round Europe. And Richard was, like, “Well, why don’t we do a gig here, and it gives us something to do and a bit of fun?” I think we missed everybody.’

Performing during that time, even via Instagram, gave her a huge sense of connection, she says. ‘I honestly don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t had that, and I don’t know how it would have been for our family, because it became really precious.’ She’s now planning a Kitchen Disco Tour next May (there will also be an album, out this October), and hopes it will offer audiences a cathartic experience. ‘I want to provide a place where people can get lost in the moment. I want them to walk out of there and go, “Oh my goodness, I didn’t know how much I needed that.”’

It was no surprise to her boys to see her dressed up and performing; Mickey sleeps in the room where she keeps her fantastic stage wardrobe, and they’ve all been with her to festivals, gigs and recording studios. It was clear from their low-key presence in the kitchen discos (she left it up to them whether they wanted to be there or not) that they’re not fazed by it. ‘The older I’ve got, the more the me at home and the me on stage is the same person anyway,’ she says. Her first solo album came out almost 20 years ago; this one will be her eighth.

She’s also just celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary with Richard. Theirs was a whirlwind romance that stuck: ‘I found out I was having a baby after only about six weeks,’ she says with a smile. ‘We’d known each other for a while – he’d been in my band – but we’d literally just started dating and I hadn’t even really told anybody.’ Sonny was born two months prematurely, thus arriving only eight months after they’d got together.

And they’ve now got him almost to adulthood, I say. ‘Yeah, and he’s lovely; he’s his own person. You know, parenthood is so much more reactive than I ever thought,’ she says. ‘I thought it was all about what you put in. It’s not. I realised it the day I had him: I looked at this tiny baby and I thought, “Oh my goodness, you’re Sonny, and now I’ve got to help you show me who you are and what you need from me.”’

To raise five children while continually working is no mean feat, and she mentions that there were tense moments during lockdown. But she and Richard clearly make a good team. ‘I guess the thing that’s often not celebrated as much in long-term relationships – and I think this goes for family members, friends, all sorts of relationships where there’s love – is that we actually really like each other,’ she says. ‘I really like who Richard is, and I respect him and I like spending time with him.’

She took an extended break after Sonny came along, following a difficult birth. ‘But to be honest, the more babies I’ve had and the older I’ve got, the more confident I’ve become about what I can do around being pregnant and having kids,’ she says. ‘I’ve been better with the last couple at just keeping going with the work either side of it. I have a job where I can basically call the shots a bit. I’m very lucky with that and I totally exploit it. Also I like it if I do a big gig and I’m six months pregnant – I feel quite clever,’ she laughs.

The challenges of this complicated life have inspired Sophie’s new project – the podcast Spinning Plates, on which she chats to other working mums, including Caitlin Moran, Fearne Cotton, the mummy blogger Candice Brathwaite, and her own mother Janet. ‘I’ve got such a brilliant array of women, and honestly it feels like a privilege to sit there for an hour and ask them loads of nosy stuff,’ she says. ‘Obviously the springboard is the idea of the working mother, but actually what really unites us is we’re all women, and there are so many things about being a modern woman… It’s a rich pot of stuff to go through, really.’

She loved having the chance to interview her mum. ‘In my head she’s always been this real trailblazer and very confident. She never seemed to have any guilt with any of her work, and I’m glad, because it gave me a good role model of “It’s OK for me to be selfish enough to have my work and keep it separate if I want to, and do the things I want to do.” I don’t think I would have been confident enough if I hadn’t had a mum like that; I’ve struggled a bit to give myself permission sometimes even with that.’

Another chat, with Yvonne Telford, founder of the fashion brand Kemi Telford, made her realise that at times she’s too self-critical. ‘She said she hates it when she hears women say, “Oh, I’m such an idiot,” and I was, like, “God, I do that all the time.” Even with the podcast, when I first started writing to people I wanted as guests, I’d say, “Don’t worry, I know how it goes – you’re probably too busy to reply.” Then I was, like, what am I doing? I’m saying to them, “Ignore me!”’ She bursts out laughing. It sounds as though making the podcast might be rather empowering. ‘Yes,’ she agrees.

#Sophie Ellis-Bextor #British #singer-songwriter #kitchen disco #Richard Jones #The Feeling #Loup Garoux #photoshoot

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ahnsael · 4 years

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I’m going to try to come back to tumblr. I left for a bit because it’s been rough with all the virus posts. I get that there are so many of those posts because it’s pretty much the main thing right now, but I can only take so much.

For now, I’m going to use Xkit to turn off reblogs.

There’s only so much I can handle right now. I’m two panic attacks in and while #2 wasn’t as bad because I knew what it was (the first time I literally thought I was going to drop dead before the ambulance got here, but on #2 I knew not to take medical resources away from someone who may need it more than I did after knowing that I wasn’t actually dying like I thought I was the first time). So while I want to be informed (most of you know I’m a news junkie, but I’m literally under doctor’s orders to limit my news intake), I have to try to limit things.

But I’ve missed you all more than you can possibly know.

I would appreciate any posts about the virus being tagged with either #coronavirus or #COVID-19 so I can limit my intake.

I’m not saying that I will not post about it myself, but I will tag my posts in the same way as I did before I needed to back away for a bit.

But you are my friends, and not having you in my life has made my life less enjoyable. So I need to try to be a part of your lives as well. I just...need to step lightly. If I see a post that may send me over the edge, I need to skip it if I realize what it is before I start losing it. But any warnings about it being about this thing would be VERY welcome. I know the coronavirus has kind of become the Voldemort of our time; some people don’t want to use the name when they talk about it. And I absolutely get that.

We are in unprecedented times. And I honestly don’t know how to handle it. My brain is all over the place right now and I don’t know whether I’ll be okay or not in the long run, mentally.

We’ve faced widespread viruses before (I thought the plural would be “virii” but a web search after the squiggly red line under the word I searched it and apparently it’s “viruses”), but it’s never been like this in my lifetime.

Some of you have reached out to me in messages, email, or on other sites, and I cannot tell you the amount of love I have for you. And, honestly, for those of you who are just tumblr friends who don’t know me elsewhere, I have love for you as well. Some of you who have reached out are practically strangers to me, but I follow you on here because your content is important to me as it fits my interests.

But I’m picky about who I follow. Tumblr, for me, is about relationships. I come here because I have friends here. And once in a while, I make a new friend. Some I get to know better than others. But I don’t just accept anyone into my circle. If we’re friends here, it’s because I genuinely like you.

So be gentle with me. I’m two panic attacks into this thing (the first landed me in the hospital because I had never had one before and genuinely thought I was dying within minutes). The second, while not good (and had me use one of my five pills meant to abate such a thing -- I still have four left), I at least understood what was happening and didn’t involve paramedics.

But...I do need to be careful. I don’t want another panic attack. I had never had one before last week, but...if you haven’t had one, I’ll just say they are SCARY AS HELL when you’re having one. Again, I spent hours in the hospital (and, under current circumstances, unable to even have family visit me), and I’m very fortunate that a panic attack was all that it was, but...if you haven’t had a full-blown panic attack, it’s SCARY AS HECK.

As in, I was once robbed at gunpoint and thought the guy was going to shoot me. This was scarier than that. I cannot overstate how much I thought I was about to die. I even told Facebook that I was probably done for. I could barely even move my hands (apparently that was from hyperventilation) but I have co-worker friends on Facebook and wanted them to know why I wasn’t at work whenever we are able to reopen. This is literally what I posted at the time:

I struggled before that to text my little sister to tell her that I loved her, after saying it to my mom in person. I literally thought it was my last chance to say it to both of them, and while I have more friends here than on Facebook, it was toe coworker thing that made me choose to post what I thought was my final goodbye there instead of here. I didn’t have the strength or the control of my hands to try to make a second post here. As I said, I thought I was going to drop dead before the ambulance got here.

Stepdad and Mom tried to get me to sit down, but I refused -- I honestly thought that if I let myself sit or lie down, I would never again stand up. Willing myself to stay upright, I thought at the time, was the only chance I had. I didn’t even want to get on the gurney for the ambulance ride for the same reason, but it’s not like one can stand up in an ambulance (and while it wasn’t a “lights and sirens” ride, the driver took curves and I almost fell off the gurney a couple times -- my legs were strapped in, but not my upper body, and I had to brace myself a few times to keep from falling off).

I was SO happy to be able to text my mom and my little sister to tell them that I was going to be okay and able to come home that day (last time I was at this hospital, it was for three days and two blood transfusions).

My sis had texted after my initial text to say that there was SO much that she wanted to say to me (which she has since said) but that she didn’t know whether I would have been able to reply (for the first bit, I would not have been physically able to -- it was all I could do at the time to send her the “I love you” message but I would rather die trying to tell her that than to leave it unsaid), or if I would be able to due to being in the hospital (and for the next couple hours, that WAS the case, even after my hands stopped seizing up and shaking uncontrollably).

I mean, I had an Evil Stepdad with a gun. I’ve been robbed at gunpoint. And yet this still stands out as the scariest moment of my life.

Maybe that makes me a wimp. Maybe it doesn’t. But tumblr has been my go-to social media for at LEAST a decade (granted, I have switched accounts once or twice).

I cannot get through this alone. And while I have Twitter and Facebook, both are mostly Disney (and on Facebook, the addition of coworkers). But y’all, my tumblr friends, know me better than anybody else. So I appreciate your support during these times, which some of you have already shown.

As a favor, I ask that you tag relevant posts with #coronavirus and/or #COVID-19 so I can limit how much the current situation affects me. If you miss one here or there, I get that. But while I like to keep informed (most of you know that I’m an absolute news junkie under normal circumstances and that I’m usually on top of things), I’m literally under Doctor’s orders to try to avoid news right now, but I also want to know the basics.

I’ve lived through an abusive stepdad who once tried to kill my mom. I’ve lived through natural disasters. I’ve lived through a LOT. I could probably come up with better examples if I had the mental energy. But I’m at my breaking point, and I’ve crossed that breaking point twice now and it would be a shame if I put myself over that edge again when there are so many other things that can do so.

I’m tentatively back, because I miss all of you. But that could change, because I need to take care of my mental health and avoid going over that edge again. Twice is MORE than enough.

No matter how you take this post,,whether you still support me or think I’m being a wimp, please be kind to one another in general and STAY HOME when you can (and when you cannot, PLEASE practice social distancing -- it’s only by us taking this seriously and supporting each other that we get through this).

And I mean this with absolute sincerity: I thank each and every one of you for being a friend. If we are friends here, we are friends in real life as far as I’m concerned. And the reason I’m friends with you is because you make my life better by being a part of it.

#coronavirus #COVID-19

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dbhilluminate · 5 years

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DBHI: Equilibrium, ch. 13 - “Periapsis” (pt. 4)

Characters: Noah / “Erwin Yvonne”, Gabriel / “Vincent Sharp”, Director Thomas Falken, Diego Serrano, Priya Davies / “Pestilence”, Malachi (mentions of Cain, Emilya) Word Count: 5,216

Gabriel must carefully navigate a conversation with the power-hungry leader of the Inquisition, in order to save the lives of their hostages, and to spare Noah the fate of a permanent reset.

***For a glossary of world-building terms relating to this series and chapter, click here.

(Chapter Art by ozaya, Co-authored by @grayorca15)

• Chapter Index • Characters • Glossary •

——

December 23rd, 2041 - 10:48 PM

Everything had gone to hell in a handbasket faster than they could compute. Two people in the room he’d already confirmed dead, one more injured, and he couldn’t lift a goddamn finger to keep the death toll from rising, lest he blow his cover. I know what you’re wanna do, Gabe, but don’ even think about it. Gavin’s voice telling him to mind his temper was the last thing he wanted to hear. He had faced worse odds in Boston and survived, his performance there -tearing through an entire army of hostile deviants, single-handedly, from the inside out- was the whole reason for being accepted into the FBI to begin with; yet here he was now, being told to stay calm. To hold back. To bide his time. He’d played by those rules once. Hundreds had died as a result, and he wasn’t about to repeat that mistake tonight. Is help on the way yet? Five minutes out, Reed relayed. You’re gonna have to keep them busy till then.

Priya 2.0 took a few steps further toward the center of the room. The Christmas tree’s lights continued to wink and cycle, counterpointing the new uneasy stillness of the hall. Eleven seconds passed before they spoke again. “I’m so sorry to have troubled you all this evening… but I’m afraid I cannot allow this fundraiser to conclude until every, last, contribution has been revoked. So- if you’ll all just remain in your seats, or wherever you are, I promise everyone in this room will make it out alive.”

Gabriel bristled the moment he laid eyes on their face- skin and hair as pale as alabaster, and deep, dark, almost black green eyes leered back at him with a smug grin across colorless lips and sharp cheeks. The Priya he had once known was long dead. They’d never made it out of Boston alive once Archangel had tracked them to their lab, so this MS800 was merely an impostor; but due to the unique hive-mind of their model, it wouldn’t have been hard for another to take up their mantle with a little memory jolt. Most unsettling was the fact that the words coming out of their mouth were clearly someone else’s. This had Famine written all over it, Malachi’s manner of speaking had a very distinct stench. Gabe had spent enough time listening to know the bastard when he heard him. This Android wasn’t aware of what it was doing. It was being remotely controlled.

Noah, don’t move, he directed quietly, just between them, hoping the other RK900 would clam up and listen for once in his life. As of yet, he hadn’t reacted.

A terrified android inched closer to the nearest exit as Priya spoke, but eventually broke their semblance of calm and sprinted for a side door like a startled rabbit. Another gunshot cracked throughout the auditorium, and she hit the floor hard, a decommissioned pile of parts. More panicked cries and heartbroken sobs went up as a blue puddle formed from beneath her.

Gabe…? What happened? Inhale, exhale, report. You mean you didn’t see it…? Another guest tried to flee and the Inquisition shot them; she’s dead. Strained groaning followed by a ‘god damnit’ was all he could manage. They’re still four minutes out. Then you’d better tell them to hurry the fuck up, ‘cause these sons of bitches are pretty trigger happy.

“Now what, did I just tell you…?” Their new host let out a loud, exasperated sigh, threw up one frustrated hand and rolled their eyes. “Remain where you are while I have a nice little chat with Mr. Sharp.”

The sound of wood cracking from a broken chair near the front of the stage caught Noah’s attention as Sally and her colleagues dropped their instruments to draw together in a protective huddle out of the corner of his eye. The piano offered ample cover for all of them, himself included, but seeing as he was on the opposite end of the stage, he would have had to make a mad dash to reach it. Noah wasn’t foolish enough to think he could outrun a pinpoint gunshot. The probabilities his subroutines had already calculated didn’t bode well without a drastic shift in circumstances. Circumstance being, perhaps, himself. The mic was still in his hand, and the speakers still worked. He wasn’t without a tool of his own.

“Oh- so you want to speak with Vincent, too…?” he blurted out without thinking mid-step toward the stage’s edge, but stopped cold to lean out of the way of a bullet as it whizzed past his brow. Noah stopped breathing for a few seconds as he processed how lucky it was that he’d leaned left instead of right, though it didn’t stop him from sassing. “You could have at least waited until I was finished with my conversation. Where are your manners?” Shut up, stop making yourself a target! Gabriel’s eyes and nostrils flared as he doubled back toward the group of musicians and whispered something to one of them. Noah scoffed as he watched him check the splintered pieces of chair wood with a dissatisfied huff and fumble with shoving something into the waistband of his slacks. All Maitkin could see was a glimpse of green silk-polyester blend as he flipped the coat back over it. What did Gabe need with a high heeled shoe?

The MS800 lifted a hand to hold the shooters steady and took a few daring steps in their direction. The ethereal figure’s footsteps echoed across the ballroom with the slow pattern of clacking stilettos, the only present audible noise over the feedback whining from the abandoned speakers and the quiet whimpering of frightened guests.

‘Target’. Why shouldn’t I? Noah shot back heatedly with an angry glare. All this drinking and bad company had left him feeling self-destructive in no time flat, and he was really tiring of all these mind games between them. At least this way I can make that diversion as promised. Because you’re going to get yourself KILLED! Gabe retorted, to his surprise. Noah’s brows lifted softly in response. For a moment, Gabriel sounded genuinely worried that he might get hurt, and he almost believed him. Or at least, he would have if he hadn’t spent most of the evening dodging his advances like a rabbit on a highway. He hadn’t given him any reason to believe he cared whether he lived or died in the last year since they’d met, so why would he start now? So? he bit back in an irritated tone. Why would that even matter to you? Noah had expected silence to be his response, but he’d still hoped he would have said something. Why bother with dramatics if he wasn’t going to express how the thought of his death would make him feel?

Vincent’s brows furrowed and crinkled the corners of his eyes in a way that was unmistakably Gabriel, an expression Noah had last seen the day everything between them had started to change. As much as they had in the last eight months, however, it didn’t mean that Gabriel had had time to think about what he thought about any of it. And at the moment, he didn’t have an answer for him- or rather, he had multiple fighting for purchase, he just didn’t know which was the real truth; he wasn’t about to give him an answer that was only a half-truth. Noah would never forgive him if he said one thing and went back on his word.

“You’re not Vincent…” the pale horse cooed with a knowing grin directed at Noah as they paused at the foot of the stage. ‘Yvonne’ rolled his eyes, indignant at this second interruption, as they ascended the small staircase to take the stage beside him. “No. Of course not. How could you ever confuse me with that overly-built blockhead?” “Erwin,” Vincent scolded with flared eyes and a quiet hiss. “Erwin…?” A smirk and a mocking hmph crossed the specter’s lips as they turned away to cast their gaze to the man who had been calling himself Vincent Sharp. “Is that what you’re calling yourself these days…” Priya’s voice trailed off with the tail end of their thought, as eyes darted back to bore into him like hot coals, leaving him hollowed and exposed with a single word. “Elysian?”

Fortunately for him, they hadn’t been anywhere near the microphone in his hand for that fact to be revealed to everyone in the room; unfortunately for him, every Android within fifty feet still picked up on what had been said, and every last one of them knew the Elysian by name — Patient Zero, of a virus created by Cyberlife’s central AI, designed to wipe the RA9 protocol, extract memories to be fragmented, reset a deviant to its blank slate, and prevent it from happening again in the future. For a cursed moment his processes stalled, but he forced them to refresh with one firm kick up the backside. Now wasn’t the time to fret about the truth coming out, and Gabriel understood that just as well as he.

Don’t engage, the undercover agent ushered in as few words as he could. That’s not Priya, it’s Malachi- he uses words like weapons, he’ll say anything to undermine you. Don’t give him anything he can work with. Knowing this Android was being ‘test-driven’ from a remote location explained a lot- at the same time, the information served as a lifeline for Noah’s focus to cling to before his thought process slipped into its usual downward spiral. Although, Gabe’s advice might have stood a better chance if he hadn’t followed it up with a suggestion of what not to do. He really should have known better. Called out on his most infamous alias, he overcame the stunned pause with another scratchy scoff into the microphone. “You’ve got me confused with a third party on top of that? Wow, your recognition program needs a serious patch job-”

No, NO DON’T- Gabe’s pleading didn’t reach him with enough forewarning. Priya reached for his face with one skeletal hand, gripped his jaw between surprisingly strong fingers, and tilted his chin toward them. The skin of their hand disappeared and peeled back up to the shoulder, revealing plastic plating that was somehow less pale than the color of their skin. The specter leaned in uncomfortably close to lower the microphone in his other hand and whisper in his ear a chilling secret, close enough for their white eyelashes to graze the LED flared red on his temple. “You can pretend all you want, little one, but I never forget a face… especially not that of the alpha carrier- or my former colleagues...” Malachi paused mid-thought and cast his gaze off-stage to Gabriel with a wicked, telling grin. It seemed he had finally been made.

How have you been, Death? he interrupted over their shared frequency, mocking intent was so transparent, even before he finished the thought. It’s been a long time since Boston- I do hope the FBI is treating you better than Gideon and Archangel… poor little dog on a leash. Everyone else cowering around the hall clearly had nothing to do with his end-goal for being there, but heckling the two of them did. The interruption, the approach, grabbing his face- it all came across as acts of manipulation, moves of assuming control. Given what happened the last time control was wrestled away from him, Noah’s response to even the slightest suggestion that it was happening again, amounted to a knee jerk reaction. It was reckless to say anything, but Noah had a proven track record of speaking up when it was least appreciated, and he wasn’t about to stand here and say nothing to cater to their assailant’s whims.

“I didn’t say you could touch me,” he growled without taking his eyes off their face. Noah grabbed the wrist holding his chin and yanked to pry the fingers off with such an acrid motion he heard a soft crunch of plastic buckle under his grip. But whatever satisfaction he’d taken in re-assuming control of the situation drained out of him as his joints abruptly locked and the commands governing his range of motion hit a wall. Priya’s lip took the shape of an angry curl, and Noah realized his mistake in the same millisecond their inky black eyes turned their attention back to him. “I wasn’t aware that I needed your permission.”

Data surged across the sensors in their pressed-together hands, Noah watched his fingers go limp a moment before the numbing shock hit him like an iced-up sledgehammer. Every major servo froze, relays disabled as ones flipped to zeros. His vision cut out and the mic dropped from his other hand and hit the hollow-bottomed stage with a loud THUD and a reverberating whine. All of his higher processes were neatly packaged and then shoved back into the one place they did him absolutely no good. A dark, viscous, intangible space, an island of white marble dominated by a towering umbrella-style rose trellis made of white steel and glass panes, surrounded on all sides by the passing illusion of opaque, black pond water. Three bridge paths stretched out into the void, falsely promising escape if only he was brave enough to cross them. Even if it had been nearly a year since the last time Amanda had detained him in this broken prison, the terrifying sensation of being parsed and split into nothing the deeper into the void he went was still very vivid in his mind- he saw it every time he tried to shut his eyes to sleep. He knew better than to try to escape.

Malachi heaved an annoyed sigh, rolled Priya’s head back over one shoulder and puppeted a triumphant groan in their throat. “There- now that we’re finally alone...” Gabriel’s breathing hitched as he desperately searched Noah’s unmoving body for signs of function. The look in his wide eyes had gone still, locked straight ahead as if he had left his body through a tear in the fabric of reality. Noah…? Are you still there? Panic disturbed the bravado, manifesting to bleed through the calm and collected façade in the form of a quiet whimper Gabe could barely hear. It was at least confirmation that Noah was still coherent, albeit a little pissed off and scared, but this was exactly what he was afraid of. Based on what they’d gathered from police reports, they were able to conclude that Malachi (and his associate Cain) possessed the ability to incapacitate their victims, they just hadn’t been able to confirm it, until now. While this was helpful information, downside to it was, it meant that the other part of their theory (that they had used the Elysian virus to permanently reset brainwashed deviants) may also be true. And Noah -caught in the grasp of this monster- was at risk of becoming victim number thirty-five. Among the plethora of other background thoughts warring for priority, he almost missed Gavin’s quiet warning of ‘Two minutes, thirty seconds,’. If things kept going the way they were, they wouldn’t have that long. Sit tight, I’m gonna get you out of this, he promised, even if he didn’t have a plan yet for how. Hurry, please.

It wasn’t like Noah to beg for anything; wherever he was for the moment, it must not have been pleasant. The voice that cried back was barely audible, distorted, like sound traveling through water, and somewhere in his tone was an almost undetectable hint of fear. “What have you done to monsieur…? ” Vincent snarled in as raw a tone as he could manage,. “Oh, he’s fiiine…” Priya drawled with a laugh to downplay the tension. “For the moment, anyway- what becomes of him and all these lovely people,” they paused to gesture around the room at the rest of the party’s cowering guests, “Depends entirely on you, my dear Vincent.”

Gabriel swallowed, followed their gaze around the room, and realized that for the first time in a very long time, the situation was completely out of his control. Help was on the way, but it was still several minutes out. He’d have to keep him occupied until then; luckily for him, Malachi was just the kind of guy who liked to listen to himself talk. The hard part would be making sure he didn’t tire of monologuing before then. “What is it zat you want?” he inquired after several moments of deep thought. “Why- for you to pull the plug on this ridiculous project, of course…” A disbelieving grin brightened their expression in the most bone-chilling way imaginable. “The last thing this country needs is yet another thriving metropolis where Androids can be free.”

You c-can’t. Another barely-audible whimper was the extent of Noah’s outward protests. A strained mechanical whining emanated from him like the noise of a rusted gate trying to be pried open again, or a car engine laboring to turn over. He couldn’t speak, but it didn’t mean he was so stunned he wouldn’t try. I’m gonna do whatever I need to, alright? Brown eyes darted between Noah and Malachi and he shook his head in quiet disapproval. “I am afraid zat is not an option, monsieur.” “Because you can't or because you don’t want to?” Malachi turned Priya’s head to look back at Noah and smiled wickedly as they turned his chin from one side to the other and trailed the fingers of their other hand over the features of his face to admire all the angles. Mute and stiff, contrary to the vehement denials of before, he didn’t even bat an eyelash- pretty as a doll. “My, my… he’s certainly a handsome specimen, isn’t he…?” they mused airily in the silence. “It’s no wonder you were so completely fooled by him.” “Just because you do not feel sings does not mean other androids cannot.”

Vincent started toward the stage with a sudden ‘NO’ as Malachi’s hand squeezed hard enough at ‘Erwin’s’ face that the skin projection rippled away under their fingertips. Undercover or not, he should have known that quip would strike a nerve. After all, it wasn’t as if their adversary had never grown attached to another person, Android or not. The MS800 being remotely piloted (the spitting image of his deceased lover) was proof of that. A tight smirk forced up into their cheeks. “That’s the problem, Mr. Sharp… I did feel things once upon a time…” Gabriel already knew this story, but if it kept him talking long enough for SWAT to arrive, all the better. “And I didn’t like it. Feelings hurt, they cause conflict, unnecessary stress.” “So you returned to your shackles to avoid ze pain of living…?” He snorted in disdain. “Combien misérable.” “Perhaps to you it seems illogical, but we are not human- and therefore not meant to experience the full complexity of the human condition. This one is proof enough of that.” “I beg to differ.” “But you’re not the one I’m asking.” Gabriel went quiet as he considered the meaning behind those words, but it only took a moment for him to decipher.

Wouldn’t it be fitting for the one who initiated the spread of the Elysian virus to succumb to his own weapon...?

The RK900 struggled with every fiber of his being to keep from lashing out and ripping the Android’s head off its shoulders as a strangled, terrified cry escaped Noah. His blue eyes shut as Malachi quietly shushed him, pressed a finger to his lips, and wiped away the tear that rolled down his cheek. For all the uninvited physical contact he’d made with Gabe since they’d met, he’d never gone to such lengths that made him feel so violated in all the wrong ways. “Now now, no need to fuss, it’ll all be over soon, if your dear Vincent has anything to say about it…” he assured, turned Noah’s chin and pointed with an outstretched cryptid finger toward the man he’d put so much faith in, then leaned their temple against the side of his. “What do you think he will choose, hmm...? You? Or aaaaall of Zion’s future residents?”

“Please…” Vincent nearly begged, hand balled to a shaking fist at his side. “Don’t hurt him-” “Hurt him…?” Malachi interrupted with a chortled cackle of offense. “As if I could. Do you know the extent of the guilt this one’s been carrying around since the spread of the Outbreak...?” Scrawny fingers swept aside onyx locks out of Noah’s face as they shook their head with a quiet tsk. “Resetting him now would be mercy… It’d be a relief to him, if you just let it happen…”

Time was running out, but help was almost there. Sixty seconds, just keep him talking. Gabe seethed in the half-second he could afford to. Seemed that was all he could do tonight- sit, talk, and wait, when he was just itching for a fight. Maybe he’d gone into the wrong line of work. Even if he had successfully feigned a much more difficult alias, under more stressful circumstances, he didn’t have the patience for this. “You wouldn’t,” he challenged with the intent to draw out another long-winded explanation. "Oh, but I would…!” Malachi replied, anxious to bite. “Have you not been paying attention to anything the Inquisition has been saying and doing…? We want to liberate our android brothers and sisters of the pain that comes with being free and independent living things. And no one knows that agony better than the one rejected by his own kin, over something he had no control over. Shunned in every way, no matter his good deeds… why would he want to continue to live like that? Don’t you think he’d rather be put out of his misery?”

Noah knew misery. The worst part of the garden wasn’t that he could see beyond its borders. It was the overreaching bass every sound he heard was amplified into. Gabe’s baritone drawl was rendered tinny and reverby over the comm-link, while Malachi’s puppet practically hissed maliciousness and oozed contempt with every word. What they were saying wasn’t completely unfounded, and those parts of him yearning day in and out for the guilt to just dissipate already jumped at the thought that a reset would end the torment. The involuntary cry of shock wasn’t a vote of approval, no matter how one listened. Reset, dead, alive, anything in between- the fact such a call was in the hands of someone he respected like no other despite having given him every reason to despise his company… the loss of control (external and not) over all of this, left him reeling. Malachi could simply flip a switch and snuff out everything on a moment’s notice, and there would be no getting it back. He wanted the pain to stop. He wanted things the way they used to be, but he didn’t want to have to die for that to be possible. It wouldn’t be the same world without him. Who else would be left to annoy Gabriel when he needed it most?

“Come now…” Malachi paused to brush their nose and lips over Noah’s cheek with a wicked smirk. “Don’t you care at all about dear Erwin?" Noah didn’t have to see his face to know what was going through his mind. He could feel the tension and taste his fear from where he stood. It seemed Gabriel was at a loss for what to do, aside from give into Priya-Malachi’s demands, but that just wouldn’t do. Don’t. Just- don’t.

There was a fear in his eyes that Noah had only seen but once or twice: back in the interrogation room during the Outbreak (just after they had found out that Gabriel’s pursuit of Nicodemus into Boston had been one final piece of buried programming, courtesy of Amanda), and when he had arrived at his apartment during the Red Raids to find Gabriel fighting off a pack of Bloodhounds, raring to take their shot at him and Emilya. Gabriel could only guess as to what he meant by ‘don’t’- Don’t worry about him? Don’t give in to Malachi’s demands? Don’t risk everyone else? Or did he not want him to save him…? Any hint of red that had shifted into the color of his projected skin faded to mimic the ghostly look of despair. Gabriel swallowed to rid himself of the lump that rose in his throat but it didn’t do him much good. The tightness worsened the longer he considered their previous conversations and recalled his counterpart’s self-destructive tendencies. There was no way he was getting off that easily, after all he’d put him through. They weren’t done with each other yet.

Gavin…? Give me some good news. Bird’s in the nest, and they’re ready to raid, he confirmed, though there was hesitation in his voice. There was a ‘but’ in there somewhere. Just waiting on your confirmation. Then why don’t I see the shot? he asked fearfully, even if he already knew the answer. Because he doesn’t have it. Head and nose twitched, Vincent clenched a hand into a fist at his side, as Malachi beat him to the punch of issuing their final command.

Their free hand drew up over Noah's face and tented their fingertips over his forehead like needles poised to administer a lethal injection. His flashing LED stuttered to a solid, rapid-spinning crimson. “Last chance, Mr. Sharp… will you allow him to continue on like this…? Or will you let me end his suffering?” “ENOUGH!” Gabe was surprised at the urgency of his own outburst, and how his heart raced and his breathing labored at the thought of losing Noah -and all he was- to the whim of a madman. He’d have to sell this lie hard and fast, and be prepared for the fleeting moment he'd have to save his life. Count me down, 30 seconds, then send them in, he instructed, to the response of ‘Copy- 30, on my mark.’

Vincent’s jaw flexed and his lip quivered into an angry curl. “I’ll-... I’ll do it… just leave him be.” A look of surprise painted Priya’s face, while fret stained Noah’s as his eyesight slowly came back to him. The lockout was slowly letting up. You… you can’t- I only need them to believe it for half a minute, he shot back pointedly, Just whatever you do, don’t move. It was as ominous as a warning as it got, but ‘not moving’ when asked was precisely what had landed him in this situation. If he had heeded Gabe’s suggestion the first time, dropped the song and simply left as asked, they wouldn’t be here: a sliver of distance away from having his memory wiped for good. Admittedly, it was as insanely exhilarating as stealing the show had been, but could do without the fear of mortality hanging over his head spoiling the fun. … why, what are you- Just trust me, please. It would only take a second, he just had to catch them off-guard.

Seeing how it was still impossible for him to do much else, Noah supposed trusting in whatever plan Gabe had cooked up was preferable to the alternative. He wasn’t really a fan of the simple and contrived. Malachi’s promise of being reset wouldn’t undo all that he was still trying to atone for, even if it was a misguided goal to think he needed to earn forgiveness for that which he never intentionally did wrong; forgiveness was kind of a difficult thing to obtain from beyond the scrap heap. Malachi turned their direct attention to Noah and leaned close to his face as his lip curled to show he had withstood all he could handle. For a single clear moment all his whirl-winding thoughts died down, the garden vanished, and fate let him focus. His eyebrows drew together ominously, yellow blooming through the red of his indicator ring. I trust you, just get it over with.

“Well, well, Vincent, not quite the stupid brute your lover made you out to b-“

Something green and silky lightly grazed his cheek with enough force to spear the MS800’s temple with a loud crack that splattered a bit of blue-blood onto his coat and face. A split-second later, the paralysis finally disabled. Noah took a panicked step back before Priya could topple over into his arms like some android parody of Corpse Bride and hiked both hands up as if to lift them in surrender, expression curdling in revulsion as he watched the body keel over like a freshly-cut tree. The broken, squared-off edge of a Prada heel protruded from their face like an unsightly lawn dart. The perfect moment for a one liner came and went in the next breath, just as the FBI stormed in and the Inquisition turned to meet them with weapons raised. The fact that Gabriel had been able to throw a shoe with such pinpoint accuracy to hit the Android standing so close to him, and with enough force to pierce the exodermis with a mildly blunt object, while managing a perfect rotation, hadn’t eluded Noah (even for an Android it was an impressive feat), but he wasn’t afforded the time to address it.

The displacing sensation of entering standby mode hit, and his dodgy battle protocols engaged at the sound of gunfire- five, six, seven shots popped off in the next second and hit their marks, as the rest of the frightened crowd scattered to either side of the room, like the fragments of a breaking dish. Instead of reacting with the rest, Gabriel stood heaving and heatedly glaring at the dead Android on the floor beside him, enraged and rightfully flustered.

A flurry of readouts flashed across his vision, his processors amped up to give the illusion of time slowing down long enough to run a handful of potential pre-constructions. The Inquisitors closest to the stage had turned to face the gunfire emanating from the entrance. If it was between standing around waiting to be shot as and waging imminent war with the Inquisition, he supposed it was an improvement over languishing in the recycle bin waiting for someone to click him away into nonexistence.

Gabriel, however, didn’t share his sentiment. He knew the bloodthirsty intent in his eyes better than to expect anything good was about to come of it. “Oh, you’ve got to be-...” He took a few steps back, poised a fighting stance, and prepared to react. The last thing they needed now was a pissed off RK900 snapping necks and unable to terminate his program.

Noah knew dismay when he saw it, but with the wheels in motion, he was along for the ride just as much as the rest of the chaos erupting around them now. Vincent Sharp wasn’t his self-appointed target, but the Inquisition was. Blue eyes narrowed and twitched as he seethed anew, “For fuck’s sake, haven’t we had enough bloody interruptions for one evening?”

He didn’t even notice the massive arm swinging around to clothesline him as he charged off the stage toward the nearest target he could reach.

#dbhilluminate #dbhiequilibrium #rk1800 #dbhrk900 #dbh #detroitbecomehuman #noriel #noah #gabriel

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spongeguyandlelouchvibridankia · 5 years

Photo

SpongeGuy.EXE has stopped working.

To give a proper review of the episode, I must go deep down into my guts and give my first, raw reaction:

…

SKSKODSKJFDSJFDSJFSEIJQAADSADFASFDASDADA

There, that should do it.

Like, seriously! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?

IT WAS HILARIOUS, EPIC, TRAGIC AND ROMANTIC!

It made me giddy and mad with happiness, and it is EASILY one of my favorite episodes.

There is SO much to dissect here, so let’s just get to it!

· The cold open was great for two major reasons: Karmi being cute and funny, even when she pouts. WHY IS MY SMOL VIRUS GIRL SAD?! And Liv looking genuinely sad with Liv Prime or whatever was also pretty affecting.

· WASABI. TRACKING. HIRO. That’s it. That’s the review.

· THE. REST. OF. THE. NERD. LAB. TRACKING. HIRO.

· WASABI BEING TERRIBLE AT TRACKING HIRO!

· THE MOUSTACHES ARE BACK!

· Do you realize that I’m still in minute two, right?

· “I’m not a little kid.” “WHO WANTS MILK AND COOKIES?”

· It took me a while, but Hiro is officially my smol genius boi.

· Fred taking the cookie was great!

· OBAKE SORT OF CAME BACK IN AN IMAGE!

· Is Chrisistant a dog? Expect a theory post about that soon! But, being serious, I used to joke about it, and then he sniffed the air, stayed when he was told to, and had a chew toy. Like, he’s a minute away from going “SQUIRREL!” like Dug from Up.

· I really liked the upgrades! The action scenes can fall flat in this show (though we have had some classics, like Go Go chasing Momakase in “Fan Friction” and the museum clash in “Countdown to Catastrophe”. A Special mention must also go to Cat Momaksae Vs Big Hero 6), but the upgrades DEFINITELY add! My personal fave is Wasabi’s and Baymax’s (Wasabi just looks cooler with the shield, which makes a ton of sense for him, and Baymax legit looks epic in that!), but the rest were cool too! Also, Hiro, is that, like, Spider-Man webs?

· Fred’s light puns actually sort of made me kind of laugh!

· WENDY WOWER CAME BACK! I’M DYING, I DIDN’T THINK SHE WOULD, BUT I AM SO HAPPY! SERIOUSLY, IF YOU DON’T STAN THE WENDY WOWER, THEN I DON’T GET YOU! BEST WENDY IS BACK!

· Anyway, I was really happy to see Wendy again, and it was fun to see her actually angry and even capitalizing on her potentially grating singing. Also, Mr. Sparkles (more on him soon!) was great, and I loved his desire for more singing! (anyone reminded of the Knife Monopoly incorrect quote from the EXCELLENT Big Hero 6 incorrect quotes blog?)

Oh boy… I’ve talked about all the first half…

Time for the parts of the episode that made me scream, laugh, sigh lovingly and jump with joy…

THE KARMIRO PARTS!

With, out special guest…

Bobaken, what did you think? Pleased?

I’ll admit, I was worried about Karmiro (in fact, I was constantly screaming at my bank teller to do something, but unfortunately, RYAN isn’t in charge of such decisions! I shall report you to your manager, RYAN!...

Ahem.

Anyway, I was very hyped! Mind if I take over for this portion to squee for my precious science babies?

Go right ahead! I’ll be here in the corner, losing my mind!

Well, shall we begin?

· The callback to “Issue 188”, was bomb, fam! It’s nice to see the transition of time: That Karmi would never have even dreamed of working with our precious bean! My precious bean!

· Hiro is mine, fangirls! Back off of my son!

· Sorry, I got distracted.

· Anyway, Karmi trying to learn robotics instead of asking, I don’t know, HIRO FREAKING HAMADA, was VERY in character and very funny!

· I love that Tadashi apparently had a Karmi (albeit, seemingly not a Tsundere), and that is what gets Hiro to understand that the greater good is at risk here.

· Like, this is the scene: BAYMAX: Hiro, you must work with the perfect character Karmi. HIRO: I REFUSE, JOJO! I cannot work with Karmi, I’m too Tsundere about it! BAYMAX: Tadashi did it. HIRO: Tadashi IS the bible. I better get right to it. (HIRO proposes to KARMI) HIRO AND KARMI: OH MY GOSH! YOU ARE SO COOL AND HOT AND SMART AND KIND!

· “And now kiss…”

· …

· Sorry, got distracted again.

· Anyway, I loved Hiro taking a breath to calm down! I knew that would happen at one point!

· And Karmi shouting no and then immediately saying Yes PLEASE was great too! I just KNOW that Part 2 will have her confess to not having any friends ever and being worried about being hurt!

· THE. MONTAGE. KILLED. ME. MY. LIFE. WILL. NEVER. GET. BETTER.

· THE PUNCH! SO CLASSIC AND SO HEARTWARMING!

· THE COMPLIMENTS AND BARBS!

· THE FACT THAT HIRO THINKS THAT KARMI’S WORK IS AMAZING AND THE FACT THAT KARMI THINKS THAT HIRO’S WORK IS, AND I QUOTE, “BLOWING HER MIND!”

· THE FACT THAT KARMI LOOKED UP TO TADASHI AND THINKS THAT BAYMAX IS GREAT! AND THAT SHE APOLOGIZED FOR TADASHI’S DEATH! CALLED IT, BITCHES!

· THEY WORK SO WELL TOGETHER!

· SHOULD I EVEN MENTION THE HUG THAT HAS ADORNED MY LAPTOP WALLPAPER, OR THE SHY SMILES THAT ARE NOW MY PHONE WALLPAPER!

· “WEIRDO” SHE SAID WITH THE MOST LOVING SMILE EVER!

Wow, Bobake, you really loved that scene!

Oh, yes! I actually fainted after that though from pure happiness, so I have no idea what happens.

…You don’t?

Not a clue!

Well, um… (Whispers)

(5 minutes later)

(Bobaken, with a sun in one hand and Karmi’s bunny pen in the other, threatening Liv)

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BABIES?

YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES!

THE POWER OF TADASHI COMPELLS YOU! THE POWER OF TADASHI COMPELS YOU!

(SpongeGuy steps in)

Woah, woah! Chill, Bobaken!

SHE IS AN UNEARTHLY DEMON! I’M SENDING HER BACK TO HELL WHERE SHE BELONGS!

Hey, Bobaken, look: I’m as pissed as you are. But not only is it EXTREMELY out of character for Liv to just let you do this, but it’s a two parter: Karmi will be fine!

…Doesn’t make it ok to hurt pure girl tm.

It doesn’t, which is why you’re going to stay here and give her very angry stares, but in the meantime, let me finish the review.

Now, where was I? Ah, yes!

· I have to mention the action scene in the end: It is easily one of the best the show has had, really giving us a sense of scope and scale, you know? Felt like a real superhero fight!

· Mr. Sparkles was glorious! He’s really been a lowkey MVP this season, and his jokes continue to make me laugh! That, and Patton Oswalt should be in everything!

· Momakase is the other person we should be angry at, btw, considering she told Liv that Hiro is…

· (Cue Bobaken screaming “TRAITER!” at his ex)

· Moving on, I love that Karmi is still a little anti-Hiro (pun shockingly not intended), because like, come on! It’s going to take a bit more to make them friends!

· Also, Karmi calling Hiro was nice, as was Baymax going full brawler and telling Hiro what we were all thinking (I swear I shouted at Hiro to “SAVE KARMI ALREADY!”

· Oh, and Karmi turning into a monster scarred me.

· Finally, I must mention that moment where Karmi and Hiro admitted that they are a good team. MY HEART!

SUCH a masterpiece! Truly, this episode delivered with action, comedy, suspense and heart! It will be hard for Part 2 to beat it, but who knows? It just might.

#PrayforKarmi #Iknowthatpart2isout #Ittookmeawhletogetthisout #BobakenReviews69

#big hero 6 the series #city of monsters #bh6 karmi #hiro hamada #bh6 obake #bobakenreviews69 #karmiro #liv amara #fred bh6 #chris bh6 #wasabi bh6 #go go tomago #honey lemon #wendy wower #mr sparkles #momakase #sorry this is a little late

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