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cotton-tails · 4 years

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So I saw this last night, and the little angsty plot bunny in my head woke up and I just had to write something. Fully intended to be a drabble of sorts, but of course it turned into a four page tear-fest, so grab the tissues and strap in.

Oh, and I haven't edited this, it's just 3am word-vomit, so enjoy the mess!

“So, this hasn’t exactly gone to plan.”

Della snorts cheerlessly at Donald’s deadpan comment, struggling into a sitting position and wincing at a twinge in her elbow. The chains dig into her arms with every movement, a very clear upgrade from the ropes they’d all been able to break out of within several minutes not too long ago. These idiots don’t know who they’re messing with.

Or they do; probably a little too well, hence the plan that fell apart very quickly. And the chains. And the scary looking red lightning below them.

“Shut up!” Heron snaps behind them, cuffing Donald a little too roughly around the head.

He doesn’t react more than a sharp hiss and a dark glare behind him, and Della can’t help the sharp pang of guilt under the surge of anger. She bites back a comment, keeping her eyes fixed on the ground until the villain is out of earshot.

“I’m sorry,” she breathes, keeping her voice low.

“What? Why?” Donald sounds confused but she can’t bring herself to look at him.

“You should be with Daisy right now,” she says, “I’m the one who guilted you into staying, into coming on this stupid trip. And now we’re facing the very real possibility of dying.”

Donald is quiet.

Forcing herself to look up, she frowns at the look on his face. He still doesn’t say anything, but the expression says it all; ‘Della-you-absolute-idiot-what-are-you-blathering-on-about?’

“I came on this stupid trip cause our kids were in trouble,” he hisses eventually, “my family were in trouble! You think I wouldn’t ditch my vacation in a heartbeat for any of you?”

“I-” Della starts, but her voice catches, rendering her utterly speechless. He’s not lying, she knows exactly what he would do for the family, for her. Yet, somehow that knowledge isn’t exactly helping.

She misses her chance to reply, all conversation cut off with the explosive arrival of Scrooge and Bradford through the roof.

Della clenches her fist and almost bites through the inside of her cheek as he slams to the ground. She manages to chime out a ‘Hey Uncle Scrooge,’ with Donald when his pained gaze finds them. Beakley mutters a sarcastic ‘Fantastic,’ from her other side. She can only watch as a now armoured Bradford, armed with the sword, picks him up by the back of his coat and drags him up the stairs. He’s blathering on about something, but she’s stopped listening; too busy focusing on her battered and beaten uncle and how this could have gone so completely and utterly wrong.

It’s the usual spiel anyway, threats to destroy his family, his adventures, everything he had worked for, blah blah blah.

Then the contract is revealed, and her stomach drops to somewhere around her knees. If they don’t find a way out soon, Scrooge will have to either sign his life away or they all die, and frankly, neither option sound particularly appealing.

It’s only when Bradford sacrifices his own agents that the desperateness of the situation really sinks in. It’s one thing to talk about murder, it’s entirely another to actually do it. And if Bradford is willing to throw away his own agents, Della can’t imagine what he would be willing to do to her family if Scrooge doesn’t sign.

He tries to buy some time. Della can almost hear the cogs turning in his head as he tries to figure out how to get out of this one. She huffs out a half-hearted laugh at the sharp quip about the fine-print. He’d figure something out, he always does. Not to mention the kids are bound to have found a way out by now, they’d pick up the rest of their allies and be on their way to disrupt the whole evil plan.

It’s just a matter of-

“Ugh! Enough stalling!”

Never mind.

“You need some incentive.”

Della does not like where this is going.

“Perhaps the life of your most trusted ally?”

The three of them snap their heads forward as Bradford stalks towards them, sword dragging on the concrete threateningly. As the screeching rings in Della’s ears, the only thought racing through her mind is ‘not Donnie, not Donnie, please, don’t take my brother.’

Her heart almost stops when he scoops Donald up by his collar, his cry echoing in her ears.

“Donald!” Three voices scream.

She can barely breathe, crippling panic bubbling up inside. All she wants to do is close her eyes and scream, break these chains and drag him back to safety, but she can’t move, she can’t take her eyes off her twin as he’s dangled over the edge.

“What will it be Scrooge? Adventure? Or your Family?”

‘Just do what he wants!’ She’s not ashamed of the thought. They’ll figure out a way to reverse the contract, there’s always a way, always a loophole. Just do it so she can see her brother safely on solid ground.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

She can’t say she’s surprised at how quickly he gives in.

“No! Don’t!” Donald screams, “find a way out! You can beat him!”

The pen is already in his hand. “It’s not worth the risk lad.”

They can only watch in horror at the golden glow that circles around him, lifting him up and binding him with unbreakable chains that drag him to the ground.

“I did it!” Bradford crows triumphantly. “The great Scrooge McDuck, now only a poor old man!”

Della’s heart breaks just a little at the look of absolute misery on her old uncle’s face, but she doesn’t have time to mourn properly, because Bradford is talking. Again.

“Normally I wouldn’t indulge in such petty villainy,” he says, his gaze turning back to Donald, still dangling over the edge, with a glint in his eye that makes Della’s blood run cold. “But since this is a special occasion.”

He lets go.

Della’s eyes meet Donald’s for an agonising second, and then he’s gone.

There’s a flash of red, and someone is screaming.

She doesn’t even realise it’s her until a rough hand knocks her back.

“Shut it! Or it’ll be you next!”

Hot tears stream down her beak and she presses her forehead into the cold concrete, not even bothering to choke back a sob. Over the pounding of her own taunting heartbeat in her ears, she hears the sound of the machine powering down (‘Too late’ her traitorous mind provides), of her kids voices yelling something, and Scrooge shouting for them to be careful.

And Bradford, confused and angry as her family finally, finally step in to save the day.

His voice sets off something inside that she hadn’t felt since the day Lunaris betrayed her. A raging anger that burns through her, overwhelming any other emotion and completely taking over her mind.

The chains are no longer an obstacle, and even Beakley can’t stop her from launching herself at the buzzard. They tumble down the stairs, fists flying and feet kicking. Everything blurs after that, which may or may not be a side effect of a rather painful bump on the head as they hit the ground at the bottom of the staircase. She’s kicked off, then it’s just a cloud of lights and bodies and a strong arm holding her back from doing anything overly-reckless and potentially stupid.

The kids, her (their) beautiful, wonderful kids, figure out the loophole and the ever-binding contract disintegrates.

It’s done.

The maniacal villain is defeated once more. The world has returned to rights and the sounds of celebration fill the air.

But Della can only stand and watch, her hands trembling and eyes burning. Beakley stands behind her, hands hovering just behind her shoulders, ready to give comfort if needed.

He’s gone.

Her brother, the other half of her soul; just… gone.

And… oh.

Her knees buckle, a wrecked sob forcing its way from her throat. Beakley catches her with a arm round the shoulders and a hand under her elbow, lowering her gently to the ground as she crumples into a ball. She presses her hands to her eyes in a hopeless attempt to stem the tears as everything comes crashing down.

“It’s okay, let it out dear.”

He shouldn’t have been here. He should’ve been on that amazing adventure with Daisy, sailing together on that old houseboat. After everything life had thrown at him, after all the madness they’d been through, he’d finally caught a break, finally found that amazing person who loved him as fiercely as he loved her.

Then Della had come along, crying about lost time and not being ready. She hadn’t wanted to him to leave, even on a stupid vacation that he would very clearly be coming back from.

Now he wouldn’t even get the chance to go.

And it’s all her fault.

“Mom?”

The obvious confusion and concern in Huey’s voice is enough to send her tumbling over the edge all over again, fresh tears springing up at the thought of having to explain what happened to her- to his kids.

Scrooge hurries them away, and she tries not to listen to the hushed explanation, the startled gasps, and she has to cover her ears for the rest. She can’t stand it.

It’s all her fault.

“DELLA!”

‘What?’

There’s no mistaking that voice.

Her head snaps up so fast she’s half sure she’s given herself whiplash. Even through blurred eyesight, she knows that silhouette, that outfit, that stupid hat. She blinks, sniffing and scrubbing at her face with her sleeve, hardly daring to believe.

It shouldn’t be possible, there’s no way it’s possible. She saw it, she saw him fall, saw the flash of lightning, the empty space where he had been only moments before. She watched her own brother die. So how was he standing ten feet in front of her, laughing as he’s tackled by several small and colourful blurs?

A hand appears in front of her face and she looks up into the stunned face of her uncle. He looks almost as much of a mess as she feels, tearstains tracking down his cheeks and spotting on his coat.

“I think it might be best if we just don’t question it,” he says, helping her to her feet.

His hands are shaking as he holds hers tightly, but she doesn’t comment; it can’t be any worse than her own trembling limbs. They turn back to Donald, who’s ended up sat on the floor under the collective weight of the kids. He’s got a tearful Louie on his shoulder and several kids wrapped around his torso as he struggles to his feet, and Della can see him mouthing a headcount as he takes them all in.

“I swear every time we see you, you have more children.”

She hadn’t even noticed Panchito and José just beside him, grins wide and eyes twinkling with amusement and, in José’s case, something else that she can’t quite place. Donald just laughs at Panchito’s observation, the sound sweet as honey and causing even more tears to well up all round. The pure relief that sweeps through her is almost enough to make her knees give way again, but Scrooge’s hand gripping hers and Beakley’s arm still around her shoulders is just enough to keep her grounded.

Then he catches her eye.

“Hey Dells.”

The kids must see something in her face, cause they have to good sense to dart out of the way just moments before Della hurls herself at her brother. They almost topple backwards, but Donald is able to keep them just about upright while Della just focuses on wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder. His arms circle her waist, holding her just as tightly. The tears are streaming freely now, but she’s beyond caring. He can yell at her about ruining his shirt later and she’ll just take it with a grin.

“You idiot!” she yells, her voice muffled by his shoulder, “I thought you were dead!”

“For a minute, so did I,” he says into her hair, “how about we just call it even?”

The soft jibe only makes her laugh, and she holds him just that little bit tighter.

Miracles do happen, and in the end all that matters is love, family and adventure.

But if he thinks she’s going to let him go galivanting off on some adventure without her now, then he’d better think again.

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smallnico · 4 years

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Nico’s Book Reviews: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ stars.

no real spoilers under the cut, but the book is a prequel, so bear that in mind. i’m not including information from the original hunger games trilogy in my definition of ‘spoilers’. the cut exists because it’s longish, my dudes!

I thought it was alright. Many of the philosophical concepts raised in the book I found intellectually stimulating -- the question of "what did you enjoy about war" being one of those that stuck out in my mind. It made me think about the reasons I enjoyed the original Hunger Games trilogy, and when I found this book (admittedly) somewhat lacking in those same regards, it set my brain cogs spinning in the right directions. As engaged as I was in THG's sociological meditations and its highly symbolic dystopia, as horrified as I was by the violence, I'll admit I enjoyed the series for many of the same reasons Coriolanus admits he enjoyed the war. Reading this book made me miss the bombast and drama of the original series, particularly the first book, and while I consider that a message delivered with rousing success, I recognize the irony and dissonance in praising a book because it made me hyper-aware that I missed having a more entertaining book in my hands. Bear with me. Definitely, this one's a tough case. In a lot of ways I'd compare it to Catcher in the Rye, if Catcher were easier to read from a pure accessibility standpoint. Collins's writing is refreshingly easy to devour while still packing a lot of strong symbolism and questions that make you really reflect on your own beliefs and consider what lies you've been told, what propaganda you've been fed. Ballad, like Catcher, is positioned in the mind of a protagonist deeply disconnected from his own life and surroundings, retreating into a world of ideals to replace a dissatisfying reality. Also like with Holden Caulfield, I read Ballad fully expecting Coriolanus Snow to tip over the edge into murderous dissociation, though Holden never ended up actually doing that. I wasn't disappointed -- not that I was excited, but I was expecting it to happen in that good "setup and payoff" way. The book makes more liberal use of symbolism than THG, almost to the point of surrealism, but I felt that worked for the protagonist, again mirroring Catcher. Coriolanus is the type of person to consider elements of reality as symbolism in order to further entrench himself in his own beliefs, so I can’t fault the narrative for that. But like Catcher, Ballad does drag. Just because it works, doesn’t mean it’s inherently enjoyable. Collins's writing style is a mercy, because if this book were harder to read, I would've put it down unfinished. As addressed in my first paragraph, reading Ballad made me long for something more entertaining. As symbolic and reflective a book as it is, it lacks the dramatic substance necessary to keep me interested in the story. I never found myself asking "what happens next", only "so, how many more hundreds of pages is it going to take for Coriolanus to finally accept that he's a bad person?" -- I had come to terms with that by the first few chapters, even without considering the events of THG. This is not the origin story of someone's tragic descent into villainy, this is more like a character study of someone who’s already lost, living in a Hobbesian society eager to praise his cutthroat pragmatism, his obsessive and idealistic personality, and his lack of empathy. It's fairly straightforward, and at times where the plot might have become more interesting, it frustratingly refused to do so. Coriolanus's life, in spite of how much he complains about its difficulties, is too easy. I grok this to be the point of the book -- his success is as hollow and corrupt as he is -- but god, does that ever make for a dull book. He wants something and gets it. It's a classic example of class privilege, but it makes for insipid narrative. So, really, I'd recommend this book if you're a fan of THG who also, like me, is a huge weirdo who loves a book that makes you think about whether a story about war and murder and dystopia should, morally, be entertaining. But if you're more into satisfying tension, emotional stakes, interesting characters living by their wits, and just enough spectacle to make you feel both delighted and disturbed simultaneously (or if you have a less generous answer to the question of whether a book has to be entertaining to be worth reading), you're probably better off reading the original series again. That all was what I liked most about the war, so I'm torn. Really, why read a book about children being sacrificed to bloodsport in a society that dehumanizes them so badly they barely care? Why read a book about how immoral the situation is without doing anything to fix it? Why read a book about how depressing it is to be exposed to the contents of the book, as the despondent sociopath protagonist makes helpful suggestions toward making the contents, and therefore the book itself, more entertaining? If your answer to these questions is "who gives a shit", then this isn't the book for you. If you're curious about that sort of thing, though, then it's worth a read.

#nico's book reviews #loquor

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toonirl · 6 years

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Allow me to expand on my responses to this prompt a little further:

1. can Toons die in your lore?

Several of my Toons have or are at risk of dying from various causes. Illness, heart conditions, mental unwellness, etc. are among the more natural ways while the rest were sought out and killed by the only means in which a Toon can go. All of these however are cases that, in absolutely no context would ever be deemed “funny” enough for a Toon to survive.

2. can Cogs die in your lore?

If you haven’t noticed and even if you have, there are a lot of Cogs. Whole facilities are dedicated to pumping them out on the regular. If a Cog is defeated anywhere, be it on the streets or in an HQ, it’s no valuable loss. Part of my reason for believing that the majority of Cogs don’t posses any form of unique personality is that they’re so mass produced it’s unnecessary. If a Cog fails to do their job they can be dismantled and replaced. If a Cog is deemed defective in some way they can be destroyed on the spot. All the better reasoning for any standout Cogs to either conform to their rigid lifestyle to the point of villainy, remain secretive about their more “Toony” interests or go completely rogue out of fear of this ultimate fate.

3. Are the Cogs inherently evil?

To expand upon my last point, Cogs on their own aren’t really anything. If you want to go by the 2003 intro cutscene, the Cogs were commissioned by Scrooge McDuck for the purpose of performing work-related tasks and not much else. If they had been successfully released into his care, I’d safely assume that the public at large would perceive them more as “good guys” (unless you’re extremely adversed to the idea of machines “taking your jobs”). They’ve been shown time and time again to possess an AI smart enough to negotiate with the more free-thinking Toons, but with someone with more sinister intentions at the wheel, they’re also susceptible enough to propaganda that would paint them as the enemy. Furthermore, Cogs may be intelligent machines, but they’re not independently thinking or feeling beings. Those that are are considered oddities amongst their own kind, sometimes made obvious by possessing physical defects, but as long as they’re willing to do their job and don’t ask questions they don’t have to worry about anything mentioned in #2.

4. Are the Toons inherently good?

Watch any Looney Tunes media, you’ll see how varied and three-dimensional a Toon’s personality can be. Watch Roger Rabbit and you’ll see just how much being the comedic center of attention matters to a Toon. Whether or not they prioritize amusing others over amusing themselves is as random and unpredictable as whether or not you would keep the lone wallet you found on the sidewalk or turn it in to the police. However in the advent of what is basically War combined with the Robot Uprising, the Toon Council is having to reach out to it’s citizens and promote the importance of working together and being helpful to one another in this time of crisis. More Lawfully Good Toons are coming to the forefront while others either end up changing their stance to help the cause or avoid it altogether out of indifference.

5. Do your characters play a large part in the overall world? Or do they live their own lives that only affect there own surroundings?

I have a list of Toontown stories that I want to tell, but time has yet to allow. It’s mostly just Toons and Cogs living their lives in the midst of a growing conflict with some small connections to one another in the background that’ll eventually build to a larger theme. Ever ask yourself what the Cogs plan to do with the Toons captured in buildings, field offices or VP battles? Or why a bunch of Polar Bears suddenly went missing after Doomsday or where Team LHAAFBBHQ went? Maybe you’ll like what answers I have in mind.

#toonblr #toontown rewritten #bold text #text post #long post #death mention #lore #the brief version is in the tags of the linked post at the top if this is too many words for you #supermarketorphan

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kinetic-elaboration · 3 years

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April 21: Mr. Robot 4x06

Very discombobulated at this point in the week. Watched Mr. Robot, though! My computer was also feeling tired and slow, so it was a little...stop and start lol.

This episode was... okay.

I appreciate the ‘hostage’ theme of the episode. Three story lines all with essentially the same main event, not a lot else going on so we can focus on them. In general, I like how Mr. Robot doesn’t stuff too much into each episode but has long scenes and isn’t afraid to linger with a character for a while.

The strongest story line was Dom and Darlene. Dom’s been in kind of a holding pattern so far this season, imo. I always enjoy watching her but she hasn’t really moved at all so far: she’s a Dark Army mole and she doesn’t like it, that’s basically it. I wanted something interesting to happen now that she’s been put in the way of Darlene and Elliot and this ep didn’t disappoint in that regard. Her reunion with Darlene was everything I wanted it to be: emotional, scary, tense, unpredictable--it was a meeting with the highest possible stakes, and I just thought it was really well done. I’m glad they acknowledged their affair, also. I really needed to hear that.

Plus they both looked really hot.

I think Janice is simultaneously the scariest and the most annoying character on the show. And like the same traits make her both.

I liked Vera and Krista a lot, too. This was a pairing I never would have thought of, but it works very well! When Vera isn’t on the screen, I think he is a weak character, because like the idea or concept of him I don’t think seems worth it, but when I’m actually watching him, he’s so magnetic, such a character, and weird and unpredictable, that I enjoy him a lot in practice. Where Janice is scary and annoying, Vera is in that intersection between scary and funny. And Krista was actually a pretty good match for him tbh! They can psychoanalyze each other.

“Miss Krista, did you just call me a little bitch?” is easily a top ten line of the whole show.

I was not as into the Elliot and Olivia story. I’m a little... iffy on Elliot in general this season, honestly. He’s so closed off, following Angela’s death, that he’s also less... easy to identify with or even care about (?) and that’s just a hard narrative to tell. I think the show struggled similarly wit him in S2. Because his relationship to the audience IS a relationship between characters, when he needs to retreat from that relationship, he also needs to retreat from the audience, which can be frustrating. And I remain uncertain about the Mr. Robot narration thing. He is VERY preachy lmao. (Him getting cut off in his voice over by Elliot being kidnapped was truly hilarious though.)

I liked the relationship between Elliot and Olivia and even though I’m not at all surprised it took this turn, I am bummed out. They could have been good for each other!

I am very skeptical of this idea that Elliot has really crossed some kind of major line with how he treats Olivia here. Like... I can kind of see the argument: a lot of the rest of the damage he’s caused, both globally and locally, to people he doesn’t know and people he does, doesn’t have a strong proximate cause link to him: other people, including the casualties themselves, contributed to their own tragedy. Also, many of his worst actions lack intent and sometimes even knowledge. Here, he acted with knowledge and intent to do something unarguably terrible to a specific person to a specific end that was more important to him than the individual damage. And fair enough that she called him out on doing something terrible.

BUT the amount of effort the narrative puts into proving this was terrible of him, and perhaps even terrible in a different way than his other bad acts, not just through Olivia’s dialogue but through the Mr. Robot narration, was not convincing to me, at best. Like IS it worse than other actions of his that have led, indirectly or directly, to the death of several of his friends and uh literally a huge terrorist attack? I’m not sure lol.

He’s targeted specific people before, too. He’s hacked individuals who are doing bad things and blackmailed them. He’s used individuals for larger ends. As my mom pointed out, what he’s doing with Olivia really isn’t vastly different from a lot of his other actions: it’s just a little more. She’s a little more innocent, his actions are a little more directly harmful, etc. But I’m not convinced that this is the big deal the narrative wants it to be specifically because it actually seems very IC and because seeing it as The Line basically means ranking all of Elliot’s bad acts and saying this is definitely the worst one, which is a complex and ultimately pointless inquiry imo.

Maybe the narrative and I are on the same side, I mean, it’s good that Elliot seemed IC or this episode would have been very jarring. And maybe it is a line, idk. But it seems a little late to worry about lines or about whether Elliot might Secretly Not Be the Hero. Like even asking these questions, to me--is the hero worse than the villain? did taking down the villain turn the hero into exactly what he hates? is any larger purpose worth the casualties along the way? how many? if intention/greater purpose is what matters is there a difference between heroism and villainy at all or is it all a matter of ~ perspective ~? at what point do we turn into monsters for the greater good? etc.--is to turn down a Supremely Boring path. ARE humans secretly monstrous inside? Oooooh who gives a fuck. This is probably (definitely) residual bitterness about T100, which was solely interested in this question and milked it for everything it was worth for way longer than it warrants, but at this point, I just immediately think, ‘what a dumb (male) question that completely misses the point of everything interesting in life.’ Imo there just isn’t that much to say about this because if you really think all people, when pushed to extremes, are just Bad then you’ve said all you need to say.

I might be pushing this more on the show than it warrants and, again, just being bitter about a completely different show but some of the dialogue and a lot of Mr. Robot’s preachiness just really seemed to be inviting some kind of reckoning with that “who’s the real villain huh?” question. And I think Mr. Robot is above that. Morality has always been complex here and people and their motivations equally so: the intersection of the personal and the political, the devastation of unforeseen consequences, the constant presence and effect of manipulation, the complex interactions of different persons and groups with their own unique motives and their vastly different arrays of power--all of this has been present at every stage of the show. Elliot is the main character so he’s a particularly important cog but he is only one cog.

So, yeah, because it’s done such a good job overall, I’m probably too angry that 1-2 characters called Elliot out on being mean sometimes lol.

Also as my mom pointed out, it’s possible Elliot did not drug Olivia. Whether or not that matters is questionable. Now that she said it, I’m sure he did not. He doesn’t need her drugged--or even want her drugged, she’s much more useful lucid--he just wants her scared. Also, where is he going to get the oxy? This is the SAME DAY as the previous episode lol. When does he have the time? Either way, it was a cruel psychological trick, with very real consequences for her, but if he was only doing some social engineering, along the lines of what he often does, and if he could justify it by saying she wasn’t really drugged and that she “deserved” it in a sense for taking this job at all, and that it was worth it given the stakes--it all seems very in line with what Elliot does. And again...he’s done worse. If you’re not with him at the mid-point of the final season idk why you’re here.

My mom and I also talked a little about the Hacker personality and its relationship to Mr. Robot. What’s weird to me is that Mr. Robot seems to be the place where Elliot stores his rage and anger, but he ALSO appears to be the handler, for lack of a better term, of the Hacker. The Hacker is pretty obviously the most important personality--the only one that uses Elliot’s face, for example--arguably the oldest, too. In our discussion, we hypothesized that the Hacker is Elliot’s ideal vision of himself: stronger, tougher, bolder, more closed off, incapable of being hurt, prone to single-minded pursuits. I think he was the original personality, too. First he looks like Elliot. But more importantly, he’s so clearly the Protector, and that’s the paradigmatic reason to have a separate personality: to protect the person from their own trauma or abuse. He doesn’t seem to have a strong sense of Elliot’s past: consider the murkiness of the Window Incident throughout the show (was he pushed? did he jump? why did he jump? what immediately precipitated this incident?) or how he doesn’t remember Darlene in S1. This fits with him as an ideal, also. He‘s very similar to Elliot, but he doesn’t remember a lot of his worst trauma and he’s not open to new relationships that could cause him more pain. He can shut off absolutely everything else to accomplish a task, and that task is usually about fixing some kind of wrong or injustice: often sending (child) abusers to prison, but sometimes, y’know, solving the world’s inequality crisis or whatever.

Mr. Robot is Elliot’s anger but he’s also that voice in Elliot’s head giving advice, moving and manipulating his main alter, the counterpart to that alter--I think this is because he looks like Elliot’s father, and this weird duality reflects Elliot’s feelings about his father. He’s terrifying but Elliot is dependent on him, too.

So, here’s sort of how I see it at this point. Mr. Robot is a later-formed personality that for some reason hatches this fsociety plan, this major hack against ECorp focused on debt eradication specifically. He brings a lot of it together and then recruits the Hacker to the plan. The Hacker is necessary because he has skills, or personality traits, that are integral to the plan. In many ways, its great for him: he likes helping people and he likes throwing himself into big projects and this is both! Mr. Robot is always supposed to be the Hacker’s handler, in a sense, keeping him focused on the job, directing him, but the Hacker (unlike the other personalities) does not know he is an alter, and he takes increasing amounts of control. What we perceive as a fight between “real” personality and alter in S2-S3 is really, of course, a fight between 2 alters, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, but I do think ultimately it is about this alter taking too much control. I don’t get quite HOW Mr. Robot was supposed to wrangle him because he does not seem to be much of a better angel in the first 3 seasons, other than perhaps keeping him on task. BUT now the Hacker seems too much on task. He is solidified into an outsized version of all of these traits: he’s cut off from feelings, he’s protecting himself from everything, he will do everything for this mission, he has no morality outside of this mission, no second thoughts, etc. Cold and safe and focused on the Greater Good. I’m not sure how Mr. Robot as he’s seen in S1-S3 is supposed to mitigate that.

Another question is: why the ECorp hack? Why that target? This is very different than going after child molesters. It’s not just bigger, it’s a completely different type of evil. Also, while he has a personal stake in hating ECorp, he’s not directing his energies to the disaster at the plant specifically. We know what that looks like--it’s what Angela does in S2. Also, both Angela and Darlene seem much more upset about that than Elliot; for Elliot, it’s wrapped up in his complicated (to say the least) relationship with his father. Going after the debt ECorp holds is a pretty random target everything considered. He doesn’t seem deeply in debt himself.

BUT Angela is and we’re reminded of this often in S1. Could it have been about her?

I’m still not entirely sure why the plan originates with Mr. Robot, except that his skills--more people-oriented, for sure--would have been more useful in collecting the group in the first place. Also, the Hacker was shielding himself from Darlene’s existence altogether at that time, which would make reaching out to her, an apparent stranger, more difficult.

Anyway these are a lot of thoughts.

One more thing: I know I’ve previously been ambivalent at best about the last minute inclusion of a giant world-spanning, history-spanning conspiracy centered around a singular group of powerful international figures. It’s not satisfying--imo it’s less satisfying than whiterose, head of the Internet Mafia--but this is S4 and it’s easier to wrap things up when you have a singular bad guy so like I get it, I guess. But the way Elliot described it to Olivia today was definitely like Illuminati Time and I rolled my eyes a little.

NO idea where all this came from but it’s late and my eyes hurt. Still two more days this week ugh.... Can this week be salvaged in ANY way?

#the year 2021 #2021: fandom thoughts #2021: mr robot

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richaldis · 7 years

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Characteristics of the new conspiracy theories – a primer

1. The victims are always prominent men rather than traditional theories where the state is the instigator and the public (usually shortened to ‘the truth’) the ultimate victim

2. The villain of the piece is always a woman – there are currently no conspiracies (that I could see) where the villain is a gay man or the victim a prominent woman

3. She (the villain) is invariably evil, driven, and responsible for amazing feats of villainy – from false registration of birth to bribing the entire British state and yet is simultaneously stupid and a tool of bigger forces such as the Ukrainian mafia or Simon Cowell.

4. In spite of being a small cog or a tool of powerful men she is never, ever a victim

5. Standards of public Victorian morality are applied to her behaviour, career, dress sense, former relationships. She is always a badly dressed narcissist drug addict whore who has failed in everything.

6. The ‘victim’ has a perfect state, referred to as ‘the real X’ which the theorists want him to return to

7. The victim is above averagely innocent, naïve and vulnerable. None of his previous choices, actions, dress sense or behaviours can or should be criticised.

8. The victim is almost always closeted and or being blackmailed about a very minor indiscretion, mostly things only the most Victorian of moralists would find problematic

The theorists

1. Came to the ‘fandom’ late, after the normal groupings and structures of fandom had been in place a while. So, are looking to find a space where they can be a big fish

2. Always have ‘sources’ close to the victim

3. Often have two identities, ordinary fandom and ranting conspiricist

4. Insult and belittle ordinary fandom behaviour , even if they are secretly part of it, by claiming fans are uncritical, overprotective etc

5. Paint other fans as the worst sorts of obsessives even though they know dangerously obsessive fans are few and far between and are also derided by the mainstream, while exhibiting those behaviours themselves.

6. High involvement/interest in other areas of irrational thought, conspiracy theories, astrology, religion, anti-science

7. Superficially involved in social justice while claiming misogynistic, anti-Semitic or anti-poc comments are only aimed at the villain not at a whole group.

8. Are experts on everything even if it is outside their social, national, political group e.g non-UK experts on British culture, experts on technical issues such as Photoshop who it’s obvious don’t know their pixels from a hole in the ground. Their expertise is always at odds with the mainstream viewpoint of normal fans with the same expertise.

Feel free to add anything I’ve missed

#modern entertainment conspiracies #Cumberbatch #Harry Windsor #1D

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muthur9000 · 7 years

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Alien: Engineers vs Prometheus

As you’ll already know if you’ve followed the progress of Prometheus through its production, Jon Spaihts was the screenwriter from its early stages, back when it was still described as a true Alien prequel. After turning in successive drafts, screenwriter Damon Lindelof was brought in to rework Spaihts’ script and incorporate director Ridley Scott’s ideas.

By this point, the project was no longer a prequel, but a less direct predecessor - a directive, we later learned, which was handed down from the people in suits at Fox. This origin story immediately begs the question: what was Prometheus like before it was Prometheus, and prior to Damon Lindelof’s involvement? Was Spaihts’s script a superior piece of work that became sullied and muddled in the process of its rewriting, as some had hinted?

November 2012, those questions could finally be answered, as a leaked copy of a Spaihts draft appeared online. Although there were initial doubts over its provenance, Spaihts later confirmed that it was genuine. Titled Alien: Engineers, it’s unclear exactly which of the writer’s drafts it is, but one things for certain: it was written before the project mutated into what we now know as Prometheus.

So what’s it like? Old gods Initially, it appears to be markedly similar. The story opens in Earth’s prehistory, and we see an Engineer descend from a shadowy spacecraft, and in a ritualistic fashion, sacrifice himself to further life on our planet.

Moving forward in history, we meet our two central characters, a pair of archaeologists hunting for clues of alien visitations in ancient art. In this draft, the duo are rather different; the one played by Noomi Rapace in the movie is called Jocelyn Watts in this version of the script, and not Elizabeth Shaw.

Although roughly the same age (early 30s), Watts is less overtly religious than Shaw, and no reference is made to her being unable to conceive (a fairly major plot point which was clearly introduced in later draft. Her fellow academic and lover is still named Charles Holloway, but he’s a much older (48 years old) and erudite chap than the bullish, somewhat unsympathetic character played by Logan Marshall-Green.

This version of Holloway does, however, have an annoying habit of quoting the Bible all the time in the second half of the film. Broadly speaking, the spine of Spaihts’ script is entirely recognisable. Piecing together a star map from ancient art, Watts and Holloway lead an expedition to a distant moon, all funded by the unfeasibly rich Peter Weyland.

A refined and faintly sinister robot butler named David is sent along to assist, as is Vickers, Weyland’s corporate attack dog with a heart of ice. Some of the character motivations, meanwhile, are somewhat different. For one thing, Weyland isn’t obsessed with the pursuit of eternal life, but with further lining his pockets with new technology.

Buying into Watts’ and Holloway’s theory that the alien Engineers have the ability to terraform planets, Weyland bankrolls the expedition in order to acquire that ability for himself. Naturally, things go awry when the ship touches down on that distant moon, which, in this draft, is LV-426: the site of those nightmarish events in Alien.

After a brief search, Janek - the ship’s captain, who still plays an accordion as Idris Elba did - brings the craft down near the entrance of an alien pyramid. Within lurk long-dead Engineers, scuttling, centipede-like creatures, and leathery pods containing some very familiar parasites. It’s at this point - roughly around page 40 - that the Alien: Engineers script diverges more obviously from the events in Prometheus.

Yet even here, there are two comically hapless chaps named Fifield and Milburn, and they still end up spending a stormy night in the alien pyramid. Milburn is still attacked by something weird that wraps around his arm, and Fifield still mutates into a big, fleshy monster with an elongated head.

One thing is missing, though: alien goo. It’s a relatively minor detail, but the goo of Prometheus - a substance that could both create life and mutate it into new, aggressive forms - is described as a cloud of tiny black insects, whose bites cause those savage mutations.

Its presence is also far more limited here, and the insect cloud only shows up twice in the entire script: once to devour that luckless sacrificial Engineer at the start of the movie, and again to turn Fifield into a rampaging beast. Instead, Spaihts concentrates on gradually reintroducing the acid-spitting xenomorph immortalised by HR Giger in 1979.

As he does so, it’s notable how some of the events which seemed so mystifying in Prometheus make far more sense in this early draft. Watts and Holloway still find a severed Engineer’s head (pulled off aeons ago by a xenomorph here) and take it back to the ship, but this time, it simply dissolves in the ship’s atmosphere. It doesn’t explode like a pumpkin with a firecracker inside it, and it doesn’t start peering around and curling its lip like Elvis before it goes pop.

Moreover, the kidnapped head actually serves a dramatic (if rather peculiar) purpose. In her scientific probings, Watts discovers that the Engineers wear goggles that allow them to see rays of light invisible to the naked eye - rays that David already knows an awful lot about. Ah yes, David. An android with murky agendas in Prometheus, he’s the outright villain in Alien: Engineers.

While Vickers and her minions begin to saw sections of the pyramid apart to work out how the alien terraforming tech works, David’s sneaking around other parts of the ancient structure with mischief in mind… Impregnation As in Alien and Aliens, Spaihts’ prequel takes its time before letting the acid spitters loose. It’s at the mid point where the true horror begins; Holloway, while exploring the alien pyramid, falls down a shaft and disappears.

He’s found later, dazed, without his space helmet and unable to remember where he’s been or what happened. A tell-tale mark on his neck - like the bruise left from a stranglehold - is a clear wink to the audience: he’s doomed. It’s during a sweaty love-making session with Watts that Holloway goes into labour; the infant starbeast erupts from his chest, spattering Watts in blood before scuttling off into the bowels of the ship.

It’s a shocking, blackly comic scene even on paper, and while it’s difficult to imagine Fox allowing this nexus of sex and death to be committed to film - they were, after all, still toying with making the movie a PG-13 at the time - it’s difficult to fault the grim power of Spaihts’ imagination. Nor can we fault the brilliance of a later incident, which ranks alongside Vincent Ward’s abandoned wooden planet idea as one of the greatest Alien franchise moments never filmed.

In it, David reveals his true villainy. Dragging Watts into an alien egg chamber, he teases open one of the leathery pods, and coaxes out the facehugger within. The creature, he explains, isn’t interested in the cogs of an android. But Watts’ body, on the other hand, is a far more enticing prospect.

David handles the facehugger like a kitten before he deposits it onto Watts’ screaming face. Here, then, is the genesis of not only the med-pod scene - perhaps the most convincing moment in Prometheus - but also the whole idea of David spiking Holloway’s drink with a spec of goo, Holloway’s impregnation of Shaw, and her later caesarian section at the clanking hands of an automated machine.

These moments in the script exemplify the difference between earlier drafts and what ended up on the large screen. Many of the same elements ended up in Prometheus, albeit in distorted form. Holloway is still ‘infected’ and dies, yet the process bears more dramatic weight in the script. This isn’t to say, however, that Alien: Engineers is perfect.

The earlier introduction of the med-pod is just as clunky and pointed as it is in the finished movie, and the Fifield monster still reads like an extraneous addition to a story already overflowing with monsters of all sizes. And, as was the case in Prometheus, it’s sometimes difficult to tell the various secondary characters apart, or even keep track of how many are alive or dead. For the most part, they’re screaming alien fodder.

What’s most notable about Spaihts’ draft, though, is what it lacks when compared to Prometheus. Peter Weyland is introduced at the beginning of the script, and never returns. He doesn’t make a dramatic last-act appearance on the ship, and there isn’t the rather tepid late revelation that Vickers is Pete’s daughter. Although an Engineer is still prodded from his slumber, and still pulls David’s head off like a champagne cork, the old gods are less of a presence in Spaihts’ script, and the story feels leaner and more focused as a result.

There’s a greater sense that events are building inexorably to a climax, in which David, in his eagerness to speak to an intellectual superior, kicks back into action the Engineers’ plan to wipe out humanity. Admittedly, the motivation for that extermination is still obscure.

The Engineers wanted to “destroy their wayward children” is David’s somewhat glib explanation, before launching into another of the script’s quotes from scripture: “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth… for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

In an early scene, one character makes the suggestion that Jesus may have been an Engineer - an echo of Ridley Scott’s frankly worrying idea that the Engineers’ facehugger Armageddon was intended as punishment for crucifying one of their representatives. Reading Alien: Engineers is a bittersweet experience.

On one hand, it’s a gripping read, rattling along like an express train full of ghosts and monsters. On the other, it’s frustrating that what’s on these pages was never filmed. Had Fox not insisted on downplaying the presence of aliens, chestbursters and facehuggers, it’s likely that what we’d have seen in cinemas this year would have been fairly close to this draft.

Ridley Scott clearly liked it, because, for all the curious choices made afterwards - the thawed-out old men, the exploding head, the flutes - Scott worked hard at keeping most of its salvageable elements in, even though they didn’t quite make as much sense in their amended form.

Although some have been quick to point an accusatory finger at Damon Lindelof for Prometheus’ faults, it’s arguable that he faced a thankless task: taking what was an Alien movie and dreaming up ways of writing all those xenomorphs back out again. Sadly, we’ll never know for sure what Alien: Engineers would have been like. We can only read the script’s final confrontation - a battle between Watts and an alien freshly emerged from the corpse of an Engineer among the debris of the crashed ship - and imagine what might have been…

#prometheus #jon spaihts #Alien: Engineers #yutani assets

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god-hunter · 7 years

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Secret Empire #0

This was the big one folks. A giant sized 0 issue, which apparently wasn’t even the first one you were supposed to read.

There are 3 other prelude issues to this, which I won’t bother collecting. One from U.S Avengers, where it seems Captain America shook things up with Roberto DaCosta. Another in the Thunderbolts book, I think. And finally his own Captain America: Steve Rogers book, where he finally revealed his outward villainy, apparently.

...Before I go any further, I should mention to anyone not in the know, that since the Pleasant Hill event ended and Steve Rogers triumphantly returned with his youth, Nick Spencer left us with a nasty cliff-hanger. And that was the fact that, Kobik (the cosmic diety that brought him back) was being manipulated by Red Skull.

This only spelled bad news for Cap, as Spencer spent an entire year setting up the idea that Steve was never a genuine American Hero, but really a Secret Hydra Agent, deep deep undercover for years. [Come on, man. Really!?]

Now.. this is old news. People hated Captain America: Steve Rogers #1 the world over. Then others saw through the whole ploy when they stayed on for Steve Rogers #2. Since then, I think Marvel audiences have been split between hating on this entire plot thread, and others finding it downright brilliant.

I... have avoided it like the plague. Brian Bendis had the chance during Civil War II to hint at us that Cap wasn’t being genuine, or secretly harboring evil thoughts or whatever, and he didn't. He left Spencer to his devices, who handled a pretty well written Epilogue to Civil War II.

That very same epilogue hinted at what’s to come right here in Secret Empire. Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter were in power once again. And this time, as Top Cop, he was going to make sure he was going to follow through with his “true” mission.

[Give me a break man. He’s obviously gonna break out of this. But in the meantime, Marvel audiences are beyond frustrated at the straight up blasphemy and downright betrayal that Spencer has created for the Captain America fanbase.] And I think that’s a fair Pre-Assessment.

As for this issue. It was really well written. It’s very dense. There’s a lot going on. And some of it is a bit much. And I was definitely left feeling bummed out by the end of it. Steve Rogers is definitely breaking my heart a little bit, here. But I’d also like to think I understand where Spencer is going with this. And I can only hope that he’s going to deliver a major redeeming factor somewhere down the line, towards the end of all this.

In the mean time. Let the Secret Empire begin.

[SPOILERS]

Warning. This was a very long issue, and I don’t want to leave a single detail out. So the rest of this review may be tl;dr. I’ll do my best to move the points along though.

We start with a “Flashback” from 1945 in Japan where Captain America secretly reported to his Hydra boss, Kraken. [Already, I’m not in love.]

Along with Kraken is what I thought was Sir Isaac Newton from the Sorcerers Supreme book, but I could be wrong. Anyway, they tell him that the Allies are about to use a ‘Cosmic Cube’ to rewrite reality itself. And not to believe them when he falls into their will. {To make us believe that all those years as an Avenger, he was somehow being manipulated.}

Through some really nice visuals, we see Cap’s heroic history unfold, even though he now believes that it was in-genuine. That is to say, he believes his “true mission” is to betray them.

After that strange flashback, we’re treated to an interesting Character Page.

This book is going to host Steve Rogers & Sharon Carter at S.H.I.E.L.D. Command [obviously], both Ironheart AND Iron Man in Michigan..

The Ultimates and other cosmic favorites like Hyperion and the new Quasar, (which was kind of nice to see.) The Guardians of the Galaxy minus Drax will be around.

At New York City, we get to see the Defenders in action for the first time, which is pretty exciting. I’m no stranger to Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Daredevil, but to see them finally get the Team Treatment and recognition since Bendis wrapped up New Avengers vol. 2, is really nice. Also with them is Spider-Woman, Doctor Strange, Cloak and Dagger. The Uncanny Avengers will also be featured in this book, which I enjoy. [Guess I’ll be collecting those tie ins.] Did I mention The Wasp is there too? Janet Van Dyne. Not the new one.

And of course this event wouldn’t be complete without some Hydra Forces such as Baron Zemo and his Army of Evil.

Now... Before I continue, I noticed a significant lack of ‘Actual’ Avengers. ...is Waid staying out of this?? Does Spencer not care about them??

What of Clint Barton? Won’t he have something to say about an evil Cap in Power?

Well. We’ll see I guess. I’m getting ahead of myself here. Apparently Captain America: Sam Wilson explained his absence from this event already. =/

Once we finally get into the issue, I’m already confused. I’ve already missed something. There are apparently 3 red dots on the trouble map, which S.H.I.E.L.D. has failed to stop for months, and now it feels like the end is nigh.

[Also, I’m completely thrown off by her old appearance in this issue, meanwhile in Infamous Iron Man, she’s totally young and fresh looking. I could’ve sworn she looked the same in CWII’s epilogue as well.]

Well, anyway, we get to see Captain Marvel, the Ultimates and other Cosmic friends take action in space against the Chitauri.

[You would think Al Ewing would set some of this up for Ultimates 2 tie-ins, but he definitely has some other pointless things going on in his pocket of the universe.]

As the Ultimates fight in space, Ironheart, and apparently Tony’s mobile armored A.I. is able to fully work alongside her. [As if Tony was never in a coma or something.. Hah!]

I have no idea what they’re doing. I wish I could say what they’re analyzing. But outside, New York is burning.

This is where we find that The Defenders are up against Nitro, who has nothing but vengeance on his mind since Pleasant Hill, which happened more than a year ago at this point. [Where was this before?]

“Know that it is their sins you die for now!”

The action is pretty awesome on the ground and in space as Sharon worries with a pensive Steve from the Helicarrier. The panels are scattered and frantic, although aligned neatly along the page.

Narrations build things up in past tense.

“This is how we were betrayed.” The mysterious story continues to unfold.

Apparently in space, the new Quasar dies, or we are lead to believe that, as a huge alien swallows her whole.

From the Helicarrier, Cap commands, “We need that shield!”

[THATS what Riri and Tony A.I are working on!!]

{I have a weird theory that Tony’s A.I. slacked on getting the shield up in time, but I have little-to-nothing to back up that theory.}

In New York, Jessica Jones definitely saves the Defenders from getting blown up by Nitro, who just suicide bombed the area.

It almost seems as if something fatal happened to her, but we find that is not the case the next time we see them.

Cutting further to the chase, Riri and Tony A.I get the shield up, but in the process Steve basically locks the Ultimates out of Earth.

The Unity Squad touches down by the Defenders, where Rogue mentions something about guessing they’re Avengers again.

[I know this team got rocked recently, but I forget why. Do they know that Steve is Hydra..? Or just don’t trust him?? I gotta read up on them again.]

For a minute it looks like they all won. [But as I said. Steve locked the Ultimates out of Earth and, he makes this betrayal apparent soon after.]

He even allowed his own Hellicarrier to be brought down by Hydra Agents who invade the place.

They all arrive before Steve and Sharon and aim their guns at her. He orders them not to shoot and to stand down, which confuses Sharon.

...This thing gets all over the place after that. With Carol and the Ultimates finding out that they’re officially screwed and left for dead as more and more Chitauri waves come for them, we’re given an interesting caption. “Stage One. Alpha Flight Space Station.”

Then we see that Zemo is outside of New York on a speedboat with Blackoutm as he holds the Darkholde book. [Ah come on man. That’s just pandering to casual S.H.I.E.L.D. TV fans...]

Zemo and/or Blackout initiate Stage Two, which is putting New York City in darkness, isolating it via a Darkforce Dimension.

We see Doctor Strange try to stop it, but it is unknown to us at this time if it did anything.

Then, we get to see our ‘Actual’ Avengers, the Champions and Spider-man move into action, as everyone starts to notice that something is up.

Tony A.I. calls “All Avengers” into action.

“If you can hear this, your services are required immediately-- We are under attack.... This is threat level red, Defcon Infinity Stuff here, people-- We need you to get to Washington D.C.!!!”

On the last page, we see Hellicarriers hover above the White House and a caption read, “Stage Three. Washington D.C. Objective: Hydra takeover. Mission: Underway.”

-To Be Continued!-

So yes. A lot is going on.

And the end was very exciting.

But what the Hell am I reading Spencer??

And why did Marvel think this was the direction we needed to take???

Now. I’m not gonna complain until I get more of a feel for what’s going on here.

So far this is definitely different.

But, I feel like Marvel is definitely throwing all of the wrenches in the cogs at this point, because they’ve promised apparently that this will be the Last Event for a while. Thank God.

[I never thought I’d say that, because I love events. It’s what got me into collecting in the first place. But at this point, it’s clear that they’re a cash grab and not a story enhancer. And not for nothing, but none of these Universe-changing events hold any weight when we know they’re just gonna get changed again in 3 months.]

So yeah. In that regard, I am looking forward to wherever this event goes.

Because if Marvel inevitably hits the Reset Button again? It’d be nice to see them stick to a plan this time... And maybe.. Stop with the damn New #1′s.

...Until Secret Empire #1!

[This issue definitely felt like a #1...]

#Secret Empire #Issue 0 #Nick Spencer #Marvel Event #Summer 2017

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