#lucas' influences

[the-far-bright-center]

Dystopian themes in the Prequels

“Looking back is helpful in understanding his work. Lucas started out in the 1960’s as an experimental filmmaker heavily influenced by the avant-garde films of the San Francisco art scene. Initially interested in painting, he became an editor and visualist who made abstract tone poems. His first feature, THX 1138 (1971) was an experimental science fiction film that presented a surreal, underground world where a dictatorial state controls a docile population using drugs. Love and sex are outlawed, procreation is controlled through machines, and human beings shuffle meaninglessly around the system.”

—Anthony Parisi, 'Revisiting the Star Wars Prequels'

The bolded parts in this description correspond with the Coruscant Underworld, the Jedi Order’s code, and the creation of the clone troopers, respectively.

Notably, in THX 1138's setting, emotions such as love and the concept of family are taboo:

I’ve always found it so interesting that Lucas incorporated the dystopian elements of his earlier sci-fi into the Prequels, taking place as they do in the context of the final years of the Repubic, with all its colourful and sumptuous visual spendour. In comparison, the post-apocalyptic ‘Dark Times’ of the Original Trilogy would seem on the surface to be the more outwardly ‘dystopian’ setting of the two—however, the actual story of the OT is a mythic hero's journey and fairytale, complete with an uplifting and transcendent happy ending. The OT's setting may be drained of colour, and its characters may be living under the shadow of the Empire, but as a story it is far from bleak or dystopian in tone. Rather, fascinatingly, it is the pre-apocalyptic era of the Prequels that is presented as the more dystopian storyline:

“On the surface, [The Phantom Menace] is an optimistic, colorful fantasy of a couple of swashbuckling samurai rescuing a child Queen and meeting a gifted slave boy who can help save the galaxy from the slimy Trade Federation and its Sith leaders. But beneath that cheerful facade is a sweatshop of horrors.” —Michael O'Connor, 'Moral Ambiguity: Beyond Good and Evil in the Prequels'

This is referring to the state of the galaxy during the Prequels era, including the fact that slavery is known to exist, but is largely ignored by the Republic and the Jedi alike due to being too economically inconvenient to combat. It also refers to how the Jedi of the Old Order come across as cold and distant atop their ivory tower on the artificial world of Coruscant, far removed not only from the natural world but also from the true realities of the people they claim to serve. And then there is the additional revelation in Attack of the Clones that love and family are 'outlawed' within the Jedi Order, creating an environment in which their own 'Chosen One' is unable to flourish, leaving him vulnerable to the Dark Side. Finally, there's the fact that the characters end up so distracted by fighting a civil war (something that goes against their own principles and involves the use of a slave clone army in the process), that they are blinded to the entity of pure evil that is guiding their every move...until it is too late.

“Without a clear enemy, the Jedi Order, the Galactic Senate, the whole of the Star Wars galaxy bickers and backstabs and slides around the moral scales. But there is one benefit to Palpatine’s pure evil crashing down upon the galaxy; against its oppressive darkness, only the purest light can shine through.” —Michael O'Connor, 'Moral Ambiguity: Beyond Good and Evil in the Prequels'

If anything, the Dark Times allows for the OT generation's acts of courage and heroism to flourish and succeed, because they are not hampered by the Old Jedi Order's restrictive rules, nor by its servitude to the whims of an increasingly corrupt Republic—so corrupt, in fact, that by the time of RotS, it is practically the Empire in all but name. Indeed, one of the key features of the Prequels, and what makes them so tragic, is that the characters are already living in a dystopia...they just don't know it.

There is, paradoxically, a level of freedom to be found in the midst of the Dark Times which had not been possible during the Twilight era, which allows Original Trio to rise above the tragedy that befell their predecessors. They are able to act as free agents (not as slaves of a corrupt government), serving only the fight for the liberation of all the peoples of the galaxy (not just citizens of the Republic), and are likewise free to live (and love!) on their own terms. Free to act on their positive attachments to one another, without having to hide the truth of their feelings. It's particularly telling that *this* is, above all, what makes the Prequels era so dystopian—the characters' inability to freely and openly participate in normal familial human relationships.

[bylertruther]

50s or 60s au idk where homophobia isn't like um. real <3 and will is a poor prep and mike is a rich greaser and it's all cute and gay.

will wants mike to give him a ride on his motorcycle and pouts at him until he relents (as if mike hasn't been daydreaming abt this scenario for ages). mike's brain short circuits the first time he feels will hold on to him, and his heart threatens to leap out of his chest whenever he starts giggling and woo!-ing in his ear.

they often share a milkshake at benny's burgers where will talks and talks and talks and mike makes the conscious and incredibly valiant, taxing effort to pay equal enough attention to both him and his lips. (will flicks some of the milkshake glass's condensation at him and tells him my eyes are up here, mike.)

mike lets will eat the cherry n kisses away the whipped cream from the corner of his lips. he very chivalrously and mercifully does not comment on how red will blushes after, because he's a very good boyfriend. (he waits until later to bring it up ofc, specifically when will's gotten a little smug and off-guard.)

will is always locking arms with him and mike is always putting his arm around will's shoulders. mike gives will his leather jacket when will's cold and will ignores mike's many protests and just shoves his still-warm sweater over mike's head whenever he's CLEARLY shivering but refusing to so much as admit tht it's even a bit nippy outside.

will fixes his hair for him after and tells him while giggling that he looks like an angry bird right now. mike just blows his hair out of his face and glares at him without any bite to it bc he turns into a softie around will sure but also bc he's kind of screaming inside at the fact tht will's sweater smells just like him which means he'll smell just like him now and it's so warm and Oh My God He Was Wearing This And Now I'm Wearing It And That's Kind Of Like A Hug If You Think About It And—

[artiststarme]

College is for me but only if it’s us

No angst today, I just got accepted into my master's program so I'm thrilled! All humorous/fluff/good vibes stories today. I hope you guys like it and please leave your thoughts in the comments!

~*~*~*~

It took Eddie three long years to graduate high school and even then, it was by the skin of his teeth. He barely scraped by with straight D’s and even then, his grade in history threatened to hold him back for his fourth senior year. Luckily though, with Nancy’s flashcards and Steve’s motivation while studying, he was able to pass all of his finals and his classes. Eddie army-crawled across the stage, ignoring the anger and slurs from the self-righteous townsfolk,  as he received his diploma. He waved to the Party sitting in the audience and smiled at his uncle. Eddie didn’t think he’d make it here but here he was

He, Max, and Steve were in the hospital for weeks following their Spring Break from hell. Eddie had had daily blood transfusions and enough skin graft surgeries to last him for a lifetime. There were still moments where he would feel ice-cold pain flash across his body in a spot deep enough he couldn’t reach it. 

Max was in a coma for two weeks before her blurry eyes opened to a world she would never see quite clearly. She still had to attend near-daily physical therapy sessions to be able to walk without the assistance of a walking aid for balance. She would probably never skateboard again.  

Steve was in a bad way too despite his reluctance to accept treatment. His wounds from the demobat bites caused him to develop sepsis that nearly killed him. He had to get his system flushed with saline for days to fight off the septic infection and he needed several surgeries to repair the damage done to his sides. 

Even still, they all made it. They were moving on with their lives and Eddie had finally graduated. His friends and Uncle Wayne were of course thrilled. They knew he’d graduate with time but he could tell that they were glad his attempts finally paid off. They expected him to devote more time to his music or get a full time job out of town or something. 

No one expected him to go to college. 

But when Steve expressed interest in enrolling in a local community college and some apprehension in doing so for fear of what their friends may say, Eddie jumped at the chance to take the heat off of him. And boy, did it. 

When Steve announced to the Party at one of their regular gatherings that he was going to college, he got some mixed reactions. Some of the Party gave uninterested grumbles, some asked if he was serious, and some pointed out that it would probably just be a waste of money since he wasn’t good at school. Robin was the only one, besides Eddie, that congratulated him on moving onto the next step. 

Eddie wasn’t impressed with any of them. No wonder Steve was afraid of their reactions, no one seemed to care and those that did were pointing out how ‘dumb’ he was. So Eddie did what he did best and created a distraction. 

“I’m going to college too. Steve and I enrolled together and if we increase our GPA’s enough, we might be able to go to a state school later. We might even move in with each other and get our own place.”

That caused an uproar. Mike and Max were arguing about why he wanted to go with Steve, Uncle Wayne was cheering and toasting him with his beer, Dustin and Will were congratulating him, Jonathan and Nancy were looking suspiciously between him and Steve, and El and Robin were looking on in confusion. But Steve was beaming at Eddie. He’d never seen smile so broadly, so happily. 

Eddie watched as Steve ignored all of their friends and stalked up to him. “Hey Big Boy, sorry to steal your thunder-”

All thoughts left his mind as Steve grabbed both sides of his face and brought him in for a deep kiss. Holy shit, Eddie felt like he died and went to heaven. If Eddie knew that this was what would get Steve Harrington to smooch him, he would’ve made plans to go to college with him a long time ago. 

Once Steve pulled back for air, Eddie started hearing all of the comments that their friends were making. He pulled back to see a variety of expressions. Some of their friends were supportive like Nancy and Robin who were cheering and wolf-whistling. Others were somewhat offended or disgusted. The most notable voice of the group was Murray who was screeching at Hopper. 

“I fucking knew it! Didn’t I fucking call this, Jim? You said I was out of my mind but I was fucking right!” 

“Murray, shut the hell up,” Hopper hissed at him. 

“Very much like you to doubt the truth, Jim.” 

“What is that supposed to mean?” He asked him. 

When Eddie made eye contact with Dustin, the kid leapt to his feet and pointed an accusing finger between him and Steve. 

“What the hell is this?” Dustin yelled in confused outrage. “You’re not even friends!”

“We clearly are, dude. And more,” Steve told him in a tone that said it should be obvious. Dustin just opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water in response. 

Meanwhile, Mike was throwing up behind some bushes muttering nonsensically about Steve ‘doing it again’ and ‘hooking up with his brother too’. He obviously wasn’t over Steve dating Nancy all that time ago. 

Steve just shook his head at all of them and pulled Eddie in again. “I’m really looking forward to going to college with you.”

“I can tell, Big Boy. Kiss me again.” At his request, Steve kissed him again. They ignored the pitiful protests of Hopper, the fake gags of Max and Lucas, and even the supportive cheering of Joyce and Wayne. With Steve’s lips on his and his arms around him, nothing existed in the world but them. 

Sure, they had some talking to do and some shovel talks to hear. But they would get through it all just as they had before. Things were only looking up for them now. ‘86 really was Eddie’s year.

Permanent Tag List: @doubleb11 @nburkhardt @zerokrox-blog @newtstabber @i-less-than-three-you @carlyv @pyrohonk @straight4joekeery @trippypancakes @conversesweetheart @estrellami-1 @suddenlyinlove @yikes-a-bee @swimmingbirdrunningrock @perseus-notjackson @anaibis @merricatty @maya-custodios-dionach @grtwdsmwhr @manda-panda-monium @lumoschild @goodolefashionedloverboi @mentallyundone @awkwardgravity1 @anzelsilver @jestyzesty @gregre369 @mysticcrownshipper @disasterlia @lillys-weird-world @messrs-weasley @gay-stranger-things

[mauv-the-bluest-cat-ever]

yeah there is literally nothing wrong with him

[mayahawkins]

stood there and watched you walk away from everything we had but I still mean every word I said to you

idea cred: @strangeswift

[simgerale]

finished writing chapter three!! there are currently 10 posts planned, along with the "growing up" post so 11 total in the works! excited for you all to see what i've been cooking (^:<

[ickypuppi3]

ok as much as i hate the babysitter steve thing i do think it can be fun when you add billy into the mix like

billy pointing to will and el and being all “ok well these are mine.. and i guess i’m stuck with maxine so uh- you can have the shitty boys”

and steve being all “ok first of all why the hell do i have to have mike like.. that’s so unfair? second of all-”

[youssefguedira]

luca marinelli character FIGHT: Round One Part Two

ARGUMENTS (spoilers below, and feel free to reblog with your own!):

Mickey Miranda:

"This is Luca's most manipulative, selfish, and NEARLY unredeemable character. But... if you had his absolute bastard of a dad, you would be a nightmare, too. He is the only watchable part of this whole mess. He's glorious. Just the hair alone."

Milton

an actual soldier, so has that going for him

remarkable ability to Not Die when he should. there are like three points in this movie where he should, reasonably, die, but does not. i think this could be utilised in the fight to his advantage

[mogekolover]

i was tending to some plants when it suddenly hit me: From where does manwha Lucas get his egocentric, lazy and irresponsible traits??

From the novel version of him, I know from where he gets them, but the manwha never makes it clear with him, while with other characters(Athanasia, Ijekiel, Jennette and Claude) we know at least the main thing that makes them act the way they are:

Athanasia: She acts sure of herself, is energetic and materialistic(although responsible and studious) because of her living in poverty in korea. Having so much money makes her energetic and carefree, which adds to her materialistic trait. her want to study comes from that lack of resources, and her responsibility too.

Ijekiel: He's what Roger wanted him to be, he likes what Roger approved he could like, and acts the way it's expected(and also Roger expected) for him to act. It's made clear when he himself says "He finally had something to call his" referring to his first meeting with Athanasia. Ijekiel was a puppet, he was destined to be Rogers poppet, and although this was broken by this unconventional meeting, he still acted the way Roger said to him he should.

Jennette: Basically the same as Ijekiel, just that Roger decided to go on a different route with her. While his son was supposed to be the most capable and notable person on the empire because of his achievements, Jennette was to be "The Kind-Hearted long lost daughter of Emperor Claude". She was supposed to be kind, gullible(because how else was he going to make her his second poppet), social and lovely. She was never supposed to be remarkable like Ijekiel, as we know Roger started pressuring her in her studies when he met Athanasia and learned she was nearly as intelligent as his son.

Claude: We all know his backstory. The abuse he suffered in his childhood and teenage years just made him an ice cube. Then Diana came along, he fell inlove and was happy, then she died and he was even more traumatized :D

But Lucas... In the manwha he's like, jesus christ or something, he just poofed into existence(according to him and what his master/teacher told him... wtf), so, does that mean that The World Tree(TWT) made him? If that's true, why did TWT *let* him develop such a personality trait?

We could say that the previous magician of the black tower may have done something for him to develop such a trait, but in the only scene we see of them together, Lucas is completely unable to understand nor feel empathy for the grief his previous master/teacher is suffering, and that's pretty contradictory if it's true the theory that TWT made Lucas.

If Lucas was supposed to be Jesus Christ of wmmap world, why let Lucas, not only completely ignore the messages the Tree sends him without receiving any type of punishment, but also being able to do harm to the Tree itself(Also without receiving any type of punishment)? Doesn't really make sense to me.

I mean, Lucas could be his first(?) successful attempt at making a human doll to make whatever-something happen, but that would be so incredibly grim if you think about it. Because that would mean that TWT NEEDED:

Lucas to, somehow, make Aethernitas(ESPECIFICALLY HIM) so mad at him to stay petty for 200 years.

From that pettiness, make Aethernitas dabble into dark magic.

Have Aethernitas target Anastacius(for what? Who the fuck knows) to then control/brainwash(?) Anastacius into being a piece of shit to Claude(and also dabbling in black magic).

This prompting him sleeping with Penelope and colluding with her to get rid of Claude(AKA making Jennette)

This making Claude despise him so much as to make a rebellion and basically wanting to kill him

Thus making Claude emperor and him meeting Diana, which makes Athanasia happen

WHICH THEN PROMPTS

Athanasia dying three fucking times, being abused in different ways in her first and second lives and dying not only hated by everyone and charged of a crime she didn't commit(WITHOUT A TRIAL BEING MADE) but also in such a forgettable(bc the news aren't going to cover that story, she's just a number in the total of people who ended up "dying from from the cold" that night) ways in both of those lives. AND LETS NOT FORGET how TWT only blessed Athanasia IN HER THIRD LIFE. Like, YOU LET HER DIE 2 TIMES TO BLESS HER AND SAVE HER FROM HER SUFFERINGS?!?!?!?!

And all for what?

Nothing.

Because it also doesn't make sense with the way TWT acts/thinks. Spoon herself showed us that he's always sending Lucas requests to go save some country from epidemics, floods, famine. That means the Tree cares for humans.

That's why I think it doesn't make any sense the way Lucas is so egocentric and so incredibly full of himself :D

Note: Can we just talk about how Lucas is so sure of his feeling towards Athanasia when he comes back from TWT? Is like he got his software updated and learned what "being in love" is lmao

[lukebeartoe]

Ok, so in this deleted scene Luca's having a nightmare about being made into cat food in a Vespa factory:

...But the implications.

They only lightly alluded to it in the finished film, but Alberto's family as a whole being seen as the bad family just feels...right? Like what did they do? Is that why he doesn't just go to the seafolk village after his dad leaves?

It makes sense how much of the separation and "badness" he's internalized later, even though nobody calls him a bad influence to his face.

Christ, this movie.

[wibble-wobbegong]

okay well while we’re talking about it i truly do believe ST is mike’s story as there are very few characters and storylines that he isn’t directly tied to and they’re never major plots/characters. the characters are well fleshed out of course but we’re walking in mike’s feet amongst all these amazing people who he adores (especially will and el who help connect us to the supernatural) and you would be incredibly hard pressed to change my mind. i am writing a paper on this btw

[cutiromer0]

RICHY AT THE U21 GAME FHRNFNF

[delicatebluebirdruins]

Mia and Evie (Alan and the Bakers)

transportation and creation of bioweapons is inherently bad especially considering the t virus doesn't kill it's victims they look dead but aren't actually dead. They're simply rabid the researchers will is a file you find in RE1 that says something to that affect i think

Graves Diary I had thoughts about it and its in the tags mostly and the last line of the Scientists dying message from RE3R put it down word for word and in Not A Hero Blue Umbrella is made from old Umbrella employees

i have no idea what this is mostly a collection of dialogue and files that cover these characters in relations to each other with a little bit of analysis thrown in for spice. this is purely self indulgent rambles of things that made me go *blink* (I swear I will try to keep the repetition to a minimum so forgive the amount of links to my own posts and the wiki). Needless to say its my own thoughts and if you have a problem make your own post don't clown on mine (hint if you want to comment would you say the same thing in person?)

RE7 wasn't really focused on story but rather bringing back the gameplay of survival horror? with the franchise as a whole the game did not have the means and ways to dive into the pyshcology of Mia and Evie and everyone really. this is also a soft reboot and everyone can see the similarities of the game with the RE1 hd remaster the same one that introduced 14 year old Lisa Trevor and her family that were kidnapped and used in experiments (her parents were considered failed experiments and died but Lisa survived all the way until the mansion incident 1998 some researchers were volunteered to pretend to be Lisa's mum and it did not go well... and when we defeat her as Chris we get an achievement called "an end to the poor girls misery")

I probably missed some dialogue bits oh well (RIP gaming scripts wiki)

beginning: all we can do is speculate how Alan and more importantly Mia got given the very important and not doomed from the start job of transporting Evie and heck started working for the connections to begin with (btw it adds a flavor to my thoughts that Evie's sales pitch was to end all wars and think of the context of the re universe just in games let alone everything else. And I said this in the tags of my graves diary post but what organisation airs their criminal exploits of the bat?)

thing of note in the official paid for guide book for RE7 has Mia down as starting to work for the connections in 2010 early on but working with Evie herself in 2014 and Evie needing to be moved quickly (and without packing what she needs to not go off the rails) was in October 2014. Take this with a grain of salt because the guide is in japanese.

daughters

giving the clothes to Evie (well trying to) Zoe: "Alright, little girl. Let's get you cleaned up." Eveline: "They're mine now."

mine meaning: belonging to or connected to me. in this usage I would say both because Evie has started taking control of them and also they are connected to her through the mold

finding Marguerite over the bath: "Zoe? Come look. Come see her gift. Look at all the pretties my little girl has given me!"

we don't get to see how Evie see's her powers but as we see Marge viewing them as a gift it is safe to say that Evie does as well

thing i wrote before was jack's saying "i have to show her how devoted I am" but more things (and one repeat I so badly want to know WHEN Miranda decided Evie wasn't good enough for her)

Zoe: "Daddy? Stop it!" Jack: "Don't you worry. It's a whole lot worse than it looks. Cleanliness is next to godliness and your mother's pretty fucking close to meeting him right now. She wants me to do this. I have to show her how devoted I am. She wants us all to show her our love." Zoe: "Daddy…" Jack: "You don't wanna disappoint her now, do ya? We can't do that." Zoe: "Who are you talking about?" Jack: "Your new sister Evie!"

expectations and what Evie wants from the Bakers fulfilling her purpose

path to the bad ending: Marguerite "Zoe! "I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me." Zoe: "Mama..." Marguerite: "Stay away! Don't touch her! Don't hurt my family!" Zoe: "I don't understand, Mama—what's going on?" Marguerite: "Here, take it. Take it! Go!" Zoe: "Don't worry, Mama. I'll go get help."

I love the call back like Mia echoing what Alan and Jack said to Ethan. Marge is telling Evie to stay away from Zoe trying to protect her but it doesn't work Marge joins in hunting Zoe soon after.

Jack "shut up you ain't real hysterical laughter" this makes me sad for a few reasons but mostly because he is fighting Evie mentally but can't stop himself physically (stabbing himself further with the broken bottle)

Bad ending of Daughters: Jack: "What? You're just gonna up and leave us?" Marguerite: "Don't you wanna meet your little sister?" Jack: "Now you're just being rude! And I... cannot... abide... by... rudeness!"

last moment of this is brutal. that's all i can say

good ending: the only thing I have to say about the cutscene for this is Evie calling Zoe "sister" twice at the start and at the end. its the letter from Mia that makes it interesting (second post)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

loving message and the warning (comparison of the partial one and the full version of the warning):

1 Mia: "Hey baby! I just wanted to send a quick "hello" and "I love you". Oh! Good news! I'm gonna be coming home soon! Yay! I cannot wait to be done with this babysitting job—And come home to my loving husband. I miss you. I gotta get back to work. I love you, Ethan. I miss you so much. I'm sending tons of kisses. Bye baby!"... Mia: "Ethan… You were right. I did lie to you. I shouldn't have, but—All I can say is that if you get this… Stay away."

again I wonder how long this not doomed to fail babysitting job was supposed to be done. and wondering where she did it because there should be a little sway right? And I wonder the gap between this video and the warning. How much did Ethan know or was told? And Mia wasn't sure that it was going to get through to Ethan (a fair enough assumption because I don't think sending things from a boat in the middle of a storm would lead to a good connection you know?)

2 on the road... Friend: "Oh hey, you alright? You just disappeared the other night." Ethan: "Yeah, yeah. No, I'm good, I'm good. It's Mia. She's not dead, she's alive. She's back." Friend: "They found her? How? What happened?" Ethan: "I don't know. I don't know how, but she's back, she's back somehow. Maybe it's a prank. She wants me to come and get her." Friend: "Where is she?" Ethan: "Dulvey. Dulvey, Louisiana." Friend: "Dude, it's been three years!" Ethan: "I know, I know. But what if it is her? I have to find out what happened."

Ethan was out with the guys when he got the email and left straight away. A lot of faith Ethan is putting in a email (we don't know its a email at this point we find it in the inventory when we start the game and I would not trust it much to be honest) "maybe its a prank" I wonder if there had been false alarms before or people coming in wanting 15 seconds of fame pretending to be her (because this made the news we see it at the start of Daughters like imagine if they had waited imagine if they had called the authorities and decided to not wait to go into town with Mia/ Evie/ both. I wonder how much the media had to play in the inital invesitagtion when Mia was just MIA and not considered dead, because they thought she was dead!)

3 Ethan arrives: "accept her gift"

4 finding Mia:

Ethan: "Mia! Thank God I found you. It's me. It's Ethan!" Mia: "Ethan? Ethan!" Ethan: "Are you alright?" Mia: "You shouldn't be here." Ethan: "What do you mean? You contacted me." Mia: "No, no. I wouldn't. Did I? Did anyone see you? Did he see you?" Ethan: "He? Who else is here? What's going on?" Mia: "Daddy's coming. We need to go." Ethan: "Daddy?" Mia: "We need to go—now!"

immediate confusion upon waking quickly turning into concern for Ethan and if Evie through Jack saw him (he did in the swamp and then Jack vanished). Also Mia grabbed his hand and led him out of the cell.

eta 17th July "where are you taking me?" Mia: "someplace safe"... Carlos says "lets get you someplace safe" to Jill when they first meet in RE3R

4 "we're going to be a family now that you're here" a little bit of evie peeking through there (side note i love the voice acctress for how she differentiates the different modes of Mia's la la land when Evie is in her head- I can't believe its taken me until this most recent playthough who am i?) Also Evie was talking about that Ethan being the most pivotal piece of having Mia fall into line and accept her)

5 Mia attacks

a first: Mia: "I can hear her… I can feel her clawing her way back inside of me. Get out! Leave me alone! I've been bad. I deserve this." Ethan: "What the fuck are you, Mia?"

I wonder how long Evie was whispering in Mia's head before completely taking her over and attacking Ethan the first time. I love the use of "clawing" because the word itself is violent in relation to animals but also desperate and with difficulty

b second: Mia doesn't say much but what she says is important Mia: "Leave me! Go!" like it shows the two sides of her the part that Evie is controlling and the part of Mia that is still herself because she is trying to not drag Ethan down with her (she was trying the entire time but Evie/ Lucas interefered) and "shouldn't have come Ethan now you have to be dead too" as I have said Mia drowned in the Annabelle (moment of confusion if you think of the post with @mushroomwithsomeink many moons ago)

side note: Zoe's first call is showing the hive mind because how would she know? i doubt there is CCTV cameras everywhere and like think of how Jack knew of the people Zoe was trying to help and where they got too.

c. chainsaw: Mia: "Ethan! It's OK. It's OK, it's me. I know you didn't mean to hurt me. But you shouldn't have done that! It fucking hurt! Now let's see what you feel." and when it goes to Ethan cradling his stump "... "Its my job. must burn it all down"

99% Evie at this point (as we can see her holding the screwdriver behind her) the entire reason Mia was in the cell from late 2015 in the first place is because she got violent. And this last playthrough I heard her say that and because of the colour of the subtitles and Ethan's distorted hearing I don't know exactly what she says but its fun right? (also as I'm writing this 16th July um its really funny that Nimona has Ambrosious from Nimona idk how to spell says cutting someones arm off is not a love language and yeah humor)

d and third (best place to get this dialogue is in madhouse because you are running scared most of it) "leave me please..." and "I don't want your help (Ethan)" and "what are you hiding Ethan? what don't you want me to know?" and "go back home" and "everyone is relying on me"... "the core must be destroyed" and "must contain outbreak"

we don't know Ethan's past how he gets Chris Redfield on his case and we all know Ethan knew something was off with Mias job and we know he would have wanted to help her before all she went missing and now he wants to help her but also on the back foot (and everyone's relying on me the bakers are puppets for lack of a better term they're aware but can't quite control themselves and they can't quite make any concrete plans because the others would see it in their heads)... "core must be destroyed" in this instance its Evie but consider what the thing is in Village core is a synonym of root. and when you're playing as Chris tossing the detonator into the fungus there is a achievement for it called "the root of the matter"

16th July 2023 putting Jack down for sleepy time when's stalking you and watching him get up again he says things "dozed off there for a minute" and "okay back on my feet" and if you attack him again "cut it out" (only attempt this with infinite ammo I do have screenshots)

6 Mia tape:

starts with Mia saying "Ethan, if you find this—I know I can't expect anything from you1. Not after what happened. After what I did. But I just want you to know that wasn't me. I don't know what happened. There's so much that you need to know."

looking at that first line and again I wonder about the relationship at the start and whenever she started working for the connections. the last line always confused me a little but thinking on it now

gameplay: "over here Mummy" calling the mold a gift and Marge being somewhat privy to what Mia and Zoe had planned specfically for Ethan though I wonder if that applies to the others Zoe tried to help. Marges line I haven't thought more on it so here we are.

"I don't understand you at all. this is a gift" Marge and Evie I think Evie has been trying to get Mia to accept her for three years and can't understand why she wouldn't

"this house has seen more than you can imagine and it knows" no thoughts just Hill House

"I know you and zoe are plotting. I know you are scheming. you think i don't know what you want to do with that boy Ethan"... they can't outright plan or do anything because Evie will interfere (Zoe tries to help people but can't fully leaving cryptic help and clues around and on the phone is the best she can do)

"you think little Evie is going to put up with your shit forever bitch?" the first time bitch is used in this game (I think?) speculation that this is Marge warning Mia that Evie's going to grow tired of her

"there are known unknowns here and you are not paying fucking attention" this is a really good line and I have no idea what to make of it

7 hide and seek (name from the wiki alternate name totally not rehashed in village... honestly one of the things I was not expecting was the similarities between Jack and Moreau but here we other similarities in the boathouse Jack calls out for Marguerite AND he also says a few times "nobody loves me")

Jack: "I was gonna be her father. But now she says he will be her father. No-no-no-no-no-no-no. I will find him and I will make him suffer. And you my friend will help me."

thoughts: rejection is a strong emotion and Jack has been Evie's father for years and now he (and Marge though she never thinks of it) are being replaced by Ethan and Mia (much like in Village Rose replaced the lords as a stand in for Eva)

8 zoe call 4: Zoe: "Yes, now listen carefully, Ethan. My family and I… our bodies are contaminated. I can't leave the property unless I get it out. Same goes for Mia." Ethan: "Is there a way to get it out?" Zoe: "We need the serum. It should clear whatever this stuff is out of the body. As long as you're not too far gone."

ahem as I have said before this serum its a basic bitch ass serum that works best when you are just infected not having lived with it for three years or (or died at anytime during that because Mia drowned and it partially worked but well we all know what happened to zoe) it has a expiry date or both

9 brief reunion Mia: "Ethan?" Ethan." Ethan: "No more bullshit, Mia. I want some answers." Mia: "I know. I know. You're right. And I always wanted to tell you—but, I just—I can only remember a little and the rest is just gone!" Lucas: "Daddy, right? You mind if I borrow Mommy for a little bit? Well, don't just stand there—do something! Mia: "Ethan! Help!"

always wanted to tell you but I just...? this is interesting as we well everyone who reads my thoughts know that I have said many times that Ethan already suspected Mia was up to something but didn't know what. And I have also wondered if the connections didn't trust Mia (okay what criminal organisation would trust anyone 100% especially someone who has family outside of the organisation) and that's part of the why they put on Eveline's team in the hopes of Evie imprinting on her and possibly taking out a future thorn in their side (when they disappeared I doubt they left Ethan alone at the same time the police did).

I wonder what she remembers at this point her attacking him or the last moments on the tanker or very random flashes that no one would be able to piece together?

Ethan: "Haven't found any, but I did find out what we need to make one. A D-series head and an arm. This can't be right…" Zoe: "A head? I think I have that around here somewhere." thought which is sarcastic "I wonder why you have the head near you"

10 Marge fight: "mess with my family" and I missed the rest I am sorry but the general gist is protective mamma bear (mama bug?) mode

Marge actually says a lot in the greenhouse but only once mentions Evie "poor little Evie is going to be heartbroken"

11 note "somethings wrong with her" who wrote this and why "Evie: "stay away" genuine warning not out of concern but to stop Ethan messing with things. also the writing on the wall after you grab the d series arm the only bit I can make out is "daddy I will not..."

12 Lucas: "That's family business, Ethan, and not your concern, understand?" Now, if you want the head, feel free to come on by anytime. I'll give it to ya! But only if you participate in a little… activity I've put together—just for you... Ethan. E-than. Ethan, Ethan—hold on, hold on, hold on. I got something for you. Looky, looky what I got. You know what this is for? You know what Zoe wants to do with this? She thinks this thing is special. No, Ethan, that ain't special. This—this right here is special. You see, Ethan, not everybody wants to turn back the clock. What? What, Eveline? I'm just trying to show him. I'm just trying to show him that not everybody wants to go back to how things were. Zoe's a stupid bitch! She doesn't understand that I don't wanna go back to how things were before my father found y'all. Not everybody wants to turn back the clock. So—so, Ethan. Ethan? You can, uh—you can, um, crawl around underneath that filthy, rotten house all you want looking for them ingredients, but you ain't gonna find a goddamn thing, Ethan. You wanna make that serum? Ooh, baby. You're gonna have to come through me. You hear? Well, come on, Ethan. What do you say?"

It is hard to put on a scale who is most loyal to Evie at any given time like it changes. with Jack we see flashes of concern and him saying "stop" before laughing hysterically. Marge we don't see that at all she only knows one thing and that is protect what was put under her care. Mia is somewhere between Marge and Jack. (Zoe is the most normal as I don't think she got put on the same level of infection of the others which is huge physical trauma) .Lucas is just interesting we don't know yet how horrible Lucas really is but we'll get to it as time goes on Lucas is essentally putting on a front for Evie and the connections. He is not under Evie's control but still infected and with that we know he is watching Ethan take out his parents and the other molded and compiling and selling the data for unkown third party. And simply put Lucas enjoys all of this he enjoys the power and being able to experiment. Also what was Evie saying to Lucas when he yells at her

barn fight: Lucas "how you deal with hardships in life is what makes you a man ethan" this is Lucas quoting Jack at some point in the past. their relationship before Evie wasn't good (Lucas having a fuck you list)

13 meeting: Ethan: "Right here. This should be enough, right?" Zoe: "If we make 'em fast enough. My father and Lucas aren't far away." Mia: "He's coming. Daddy's coming." Zoe: "Good, there's enough for two." Ethan: "So, after we make the serum, what's next?" Zoe: "There's a boat outside. We'll take it through the swamp. But neither of us'll get very far without the serum.

Mia has a better grasp on where Jack is as she is closer to his level of infection. Zoe can feel him as well but isn't as accurate. Also combining a head and arm into a serum would not be as easy as it looks I wonder where (we know where Mia) more importantly when taught her this (and the importance of the watch). Also I would love to know what Ethan was going to say before Zoe interupts

14 Jack appears and his fatherly side comes out briefly when scolding Zoe ("get your ass back to the house I will deal with you later"). but in the fight itself he mourns Marge and says "no one loves me"

15 Choosing Mia (partially wrote on this) Zoe: "It's fine. It was foolish thinking I could escape." Mia: "But Zoe—" Zoe: "Go. Both of you just go!" Mia: "Come with us. I'm sure there's someone who can help—" Zoe: "This is my home. Apparently, I belong here."

I would love to know what Mia was about to say to Zoe before she cut her off (damn it zoe we're missing out here)

16 on the boat: Mia: "Ethan, thank you." Ethan: "Who the hell else was I going to choose?" Mia: "Ethan!" Ethan: "Mia, I know you've been through a lot. But we need to talk. You had something to do with all of this, didn't you? Look, I just wanna know the truth." Mia: "Ethan, I honestly don't remember." Ethan: "Try! Is that the boat? How the fuck did that get here? You're OK. What the hell was that?..."

I love this bit as there is element of expectations in your spouse and Ethan again asking for answers and getting nothing really

17 Evie leading the way again "Mummy this way". Mia being surprised at the flashes inside the wrecked ship. writing on the wall from ship workers "she's inside me" and "she is not my child" the latter is interesting as it implies Evie refers to mutliple people as parental figures

Evie: Are you remembering? Mia: what are you?

Mia is still not there yet but she knows that little girl is powerful to some capcity and Evie is still luring her deeper into the ship

18 "you said we could be a family... you said" Mia: "wait" Evie running off again saying "I am tired of waiting" Evie has been wanting Mia to be her mother for 3 years and Evie thinks she has got the piece (Ethan) to make Mia comply with her desires (it doesn't it backfires)

Evie asking Mia to watch the tape: "you need to remember so we can be a family"

19 the Tanker tape (going to skip a little over this as I already wrote about it here its the Mia and Alan post)

Mia: "Alan, you're getting worse." Alan: "She must have infected me during the attack. And I'm too far gone anyway. But it serves me right. It's my fault she got out." Mia: "Yeah, it is your fault. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you die." Alan: "She didn't attack you?" Mia: "It's part of her imprinting protocol. I can't believe this is happening." Alan: "Here, take it. It has her tissue samples. You find her—you fix this." Mia: "OK, Evie. Where are you?"

what kind of attack? its the vomiting (which is where the molded spawn from they describe that action as vomiting again in not a hero in the evie obersvation log). How do they mean Evie got out? like the picture from before Mia gets on the boat has Evie holding her arm and that's all we get and of couse at some point Jim see's Evie so they're not keeping to themselves in their quarters (the only image I can think of is Evie wearing a toddler harness and wriggling her way lose)

(considering this picture and what Evie and Mia are wearing and the picture we find in Village I am fairly confident in saying Miranda decided Evie wasn't good enough just before she left- said it before and I'll say it again i want to fight Miranda for so many people Clarke Griffin as she never really got true vengence on her cult leader Donna, Evie, Mia, Rose, Ethan the villagers who trusted her. Eva herself because she had to have watched this all unfold)

20 mid scene: Evie: "are you mad at me mummy". " Mia: "no Evie I'm not mad. Wait what did you call me?" Evie: "I don't want to live at the lab anymore. i want a house and I want you to be my mummy" Mia: "okay Evie I'll be your mummy. come back with me right now" Evie runs off and the sirens start blaring

1 never make a impossible promise especially to a child 2 Mia and Alan were caretakers for Evie on this titanic endeavour and this is seems to have been the first time Evie called Mia mummy as Mia is suprised by it.

21 death of Alan: "Where's Evie?" Mia: "She's out of control. Without the treatments, she's deteriorating."... Alan: "She trusts you. That little bitch, she never—No, Evie, I—Evie—I didn't mean to call you that, Evie." Mia: "Alan, listen! She's trying to take control. You have to fight her. Eveline, stop! Stop right now!" Alan: "Don't touch me!"

this is when Mia gets infected when Alan was coughing Mia reached out to support him and that's all it took. and we can tell how Alan really feels about Evie at this point and he should never have worked with kids because he talks about Evie trusting Mia then calling her a bitch then he gets cut off "she never" what? trusted Alan? kids aren't dumb and can tell how people feel about them right? Evie knew that he saw her as monster (I do want to know what he was going to say after that though part of me thinks that this would have been a great time to mention Miranda)

calm before the storm/opening message part 2 (Ethan knew Mia was lying to him) Mia: "Ethan… You were right. I did lie to you. I shouldn't have, but—All I can say is that if you get this… Stay away. Forget that you ever knew me. Have a good life Also I am not sure how the message would have got to Ethan during a storm and then the tanker got destroyed both of those things can't lead to get a good connection

tanker: Eveline: "We'll be together forever."- tanker is destroyed Mia drowns

after tape finishes: Eveline: "Now do you remember?" Mia: "Yes, Eveline, I remember." Eveline: "Can we be a family like before?" Mia: "No, Evie. We can't be a family. We were never a family. We will never be a family." Eveline: "Then I don't need you anymore."

Mia remembers the important things and as I said this backfires on Evie. Evie hurt/killed/turned people despite being asked by Mia to not to do that to come back (yes Evie is a child in a environment that didn't teach her anything at all and then the connections also let people who knew nothing about kids and how to handle them transport her), caused Mia to drown, and caused the suffering of many more people for three years. And then dragged Ethan into Mia's hell. Which got him hurt and infected. It's no wonder Mia completely rejected her after all of this happened and stopped trying to placate her.

interacting with the cameras and finding where Ethan is: Evie "liar" Mia: "fucking hallucinations where is she?" the projections of young Evie gets around and i wonder why she chose this moment to interact with Mia and grabbing her arm (old Evie gets weeled around by the molded wearing birthday hats from Jacks bday)

arriving at the mold: Evie "he's waiting"... "I need you to do something for me" Mia: "Ethan"

the "he's waiting" always makes me twitch on the two occasions I played the bad ending as I had watched this game first then played it myself and it just has the image of helpless prey.

the sad truth (love this scene)

Jack: "Ethan. Ethan... I know, I know—I'm not going to hurt you. Hell, I never would have if I could have helped it." Ethan: "What do you mean?" Jack: "I'm no killer, son. Neither is Marguerite, nor my boy, Lucas. Or even Zoe here. That girl, Eveline. She did this." Ethan: "What the hell is she? Now what did she do to you?" Jack: "She infected us with her gift. That's what she calls it. I found her near a busted-out tanker in the bayou. Everything changed after that." Ethan: "So she infects you, and then she takes control?" Jack: "No, not exactly, son. She just--she forces her way into your mind and your soul and… you can't fight back. You are connected to her, and you can't resist the urge to… You're a different person after that. Ethan: "Just like Mia. So Mia sent me that message because of Eveline." Jack: "Listen, the girl just wants a family of her own. She's the key, alright? You find her and you stop her. Ethan, free my family—please."

I wonder how long Ethan was sitting in this room with Jack waiting for him to wake up. I wonder what Jack was thinking and what he was choosing to say (was Evie listening in) Evie does think of her powers as a gift and because of that it makes me wonder how she came to feel like that (Miranda? probably i so want to fight her can you tell? yes part is because of the 100 and what they did to Clarke but the similarities are there and they are horrible when you think about it) the perspective Jack has on being taken over by Evie and wanting to show her how devoted he was makes me so sad. And the moment of sympathy from Jack about Evie wanting a family but he wants to protect his family so he asks Ethan to "free them" I wonder if Jack does genuinely consider Evie family despite what she did to them and others. Jack was in the army and he knows that you can feel for others as much as you want but when they are actively causing a shit load of harm they have to be taken out (they got lucky that Evie didn't want grow her family more than she did what if she decided she wanted to go into town? or a city?) also I really wish Jack was the one to talk to Ethan about him being dead

Mia: "Eveline, stay away from him." Eveline: "Why? He doesn't love you. I can make him love you." Mia: "Don't—Don't hurt him." Eveline: "Silly—I told you. I'm not going to hurt him." Mia: "Don't you dare." Eveline: "Or, what? You're not my mommy—remember."/// Mia: "There's no time. You have to get out of here and find her. Here, take this." Ethan: "What? Wait—wait—what are you doing? What are you doing?" Mia: "Saving your life. You need to go. I won't be able to resist for much longer." Ethan: "No—" Mia: "Now, go kill that little bitch." Ethan: "No—no. Mia—no!"

cracks knucles: Evie naturally misunderstanding Ethan and thinking love is control and another attempt on her part to get Mia to do what she wants outright using Ethan as bargaining chip?. Mia thinking Evie will hurt him in doing so and I wonder how much worse can this be? Ethan has already lost a hand and gotten his head curb stomped... the final time someone says "find" Evie. Alan was somewhat resigned, Jack pleading and Mia desperate because she was on the edge of a cliff about to drop. Also Mia has the tissue samples that she hands to Ethan the entire time the moment you wake up at the ship you will find that in her inventory. I doubt Evie knew its significance as why would she leave it be unless she didn't know. Mia's use of little bitch is purely baiting Evie (also in the scene you can see Evie to the side) the last time someone called her that died Mia was fully expecting to die here I think and buying Ethan time

writing on the wall "all your fault" this hits hard on bad ending route but still on either route you read this and you wonder what exactly your fault is the death of the Bakers? or Mia specifically I am considering it to be the latter

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bad ending notes:

choosing: Ethan: "I'm sorry. I really am. But Zoe will be able to guide the two of us to safety, and then I can come back for you." Mia: "Go. I don't wanna hear it. Both of you just go!" Ethan: "Mia." Mia: "Go! My place is here—with her." Ethan: "Don't be ridiculous." Mia: "You forget. I still have a job to do."

world of difference here between Mia resigning herself to being left behind with Ethan saying he himself will come for her (I don't know how a 100% normal civilian would be able to go back into the danger zone- he would Chris would try to stop him but alas that never comes to be does it?)... and the "You forget. I still have a job to do" is a badass line and I am mad at capcom for putting it in the bad ending

zoe dies: Ethan: "I wanna know what all of this is about. Starting with Mia." Zoe: "Mia came here with Eveline. That's how it started." Ethan: "Eveline… the kid. I knew Mia was hiding something." Zoe: "That—there's the boat that Mia came with Eveline on." Ethan: "What the…? They came on that? Let's go take a look." Zoe: "I'm not going back there." Ethan: "I gotta know what Mia was up to. What the hell?" Zoe: "It's her. Eveline doesn't want us to leave. No—No! Evie—Please, Evie! I'll be good. I promise." Ethan: "Zoe?? Zoe!! What the fuck?!"

Ethan doesn't see Evie at this point (not at that stage of infection) but he does hear her.

mia attacks

midway through Mia says 2 things (and Evie in the back ground going "kill him")

1 did you and that slut have a good time?

jealousy and insecurity

2 I thought you loved me

3 I can't believe you picked her over me

misunderstanding and the most Evie- like things to say in my opinion

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SALT MINE end is in sight good god radio in the shack before the mine itself

"if you see eveline your orders are shoot to kill"

self explanatory really but I wonder who was using it to listen in before Ethan ultimately did

(well after it because other than "die" no one says anything)

floating in between

Mia: "Ethan! It's OK. It's OK, it's me. I know you didn't mean to hurt me." 1 Eveline: "Kill him, Mommy." Mia: "But you shouldn't have done that! It fucking hurt!" 2 Eveline: "He doesn't want to be my Daddy? 3 Then he can die. Now it's Mommy's turn to kill you."

1 Evie is provoking Mia. 2 Ethan has no idea what happening so how would he be able to decide to agree to a surprise adoption? 3 its the last part that interests me as look at it. It could be a translation error. It could be that Ethan is already dead (through shock also fun thing of note in some instances after Mia slashes his hands his blood looks black) or on his way and this will finish him off (if you go back into the room with secret compartment to ladder that is blocked off and you can't go back that way- it could be a way to funnel you where they want but also the ladder Ethan falls off is sizeable)

2 Eveline: "You're gonna be one of us. Then maybe you'll play nicely." Ethan: "I'm not playing." Eveline: "No! Get that away from me!"

at this point Ethan is 100% infected (first he heard her then he saw her) and Eveline doesn't think of that and thinks if he were then maybe he will be more willing to play

so if you go upstairs in the guest house before the Evie fight we hear Mia say "Ethan, help me" what I only found out today however (19/07/23) after showing Evie the serum (Mia said "leave me to die" I waited a bit and she said that) I went back into the living room to get a screenshot of the bed infront of the little door. This time halluncination Mia was lying on it then jumped up and attack and she said somethings

"I don't want to hurt you" and "I don't need your pity" this one I am not entirely sure where we are but heres the screenshot. And my thoughts the first one is her wanting to keep him safe. The second is a matter of pride. And it is Mia was good enough to be chosen to transport Evie (you all know my feelings about the mission but you know she was trusted with a very important mission) but not good enough to convince her to stand down and keep Ethan and everyone safe (pity means: Sympathy and sorrow aroused by the misfortune or suffering of another. A matter of regret.). and finally "you don't understand" this is interesting and it was the last thing i heard from Mia (Idk if there was anything more) so I wonder what the context is here. as we don't know anything other than these are echoes of what happened? before as she is actively attacking us with the chainsaw so it was interesting my brain is mush I might have something more to say on it later

3 "why does everyone hate me" after injecting her with serum: she is a child and doesn't grasp that controlling people and then being freed from that control doesn't instill good feelings. "I just wanted a family" a simple wish she couldn't have gone around it in a better way at all

Chris appears more speculation and a little analysis

Chris: "I'm Redfield. I'm glad we found you." Ethan: "The fuck took you guys so long?"

after picking up Mia I wonder what that was like? was she guarded or on her own? partially dying? not in good shape considering how out of it she is in the heliocopter.

why was Ethan expecting the gang to turn up and clear up? because going in he didn't know exactly what he was getting into (he was expecting something but those expectatiosn got tossed so far out the window they currently in space) and it takes awhile to mobilise the troops and its either Chris is there because he knows Ethan/ Mia is there and what Mia was up too (the events could be happening concurrently and the radio message we over hear lends to that and Ethan's reaction is part of his personality shining through?) honestly I think its a little of both

ending reunited

Mia: "Ethan?" Ethan: "Mia—You made it. I'm glad." Mia: "Did I?"

Ethan (narrating): "They say that when one door closes, another opens. Well, a door closed tonight. And what a long night it was—but not just for me. Mia and I weren't the only victims here. So were the Bakers. It was that… thing, Eveline, who made them that way. But now Eveline's dead. And these guys are here to clean up the mess. I had just come to terms with losing Mia. But now she's back and wants to start over—put all of this behind us. Maybe this is where the next door opens."

I love how simple it is and Mia being confused and not sure "did I?"

Ethan's narration: "i had just come to terms with losing Mia" he's not wearing a wedding ring. "she's back and wants to start over" that conversation went fast (ride or die... ride and die?)

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if you read all of this have a cookie or cookies (on my behalf as I can't have cookies or anything crunchy right now) and a rest

the files from the game and not a hero and end of zoe and cutscenes from not a hero and end of zoe will come sooner or later

[timebranded]

((Honestly, the fact that at least half of Lucas' main Sinnoh team consists of friendship evos is probably my favorite thing ever.))

[antisociallilbrat]

The way the Suffer Brothers tell the story of Stranger Things is very much 'winging it' mixed with 'planned to the last detail.'