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cherrybracelets · 4 years

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til the end of time

spencer reid x fem!reader / bau x platonic!reader

word count: 5.1k | warnings: typical cm violence, pregnancy and childbirth mention. other than that, all fluff and corniness

an: this is super stupid and corny; just sometbing i threw together !! i also wrote a lot of this on my phone if there’s typos don’t @ me

You had been imagining the day of your wedding since you were 12 years old, and attended your Aunt Maria’s wedding. It was the first wedding you had ever been too, and it was so much fun. Well, looking back, it was actually a very cheesy and poorly thrown together party in a cheap hotel, but at the time you were amazed.

You have attended quite a few weddings since then, much that were way nicer than Maria’s. Every one you went to, you gathered more and more ideas for what you wanted to do on your own big day (when the time came, of course.) You knew you wanted white roses in the centerpieces, vanilla raspberry cake was a must, and your dream venue was saved a thousand times on your Pinterest boards.

But, nothing ever goes as planned, right? When you started planning your wedding with Spencer, you know you would have to sacrifice a few of your ideas that weren’t exactly plausible. But you never in a million years thought you would be here.

It all started about a week ago, back in the lovely conference room of the BAU. You and Spencer sat next to each other, whispering away about wedding and honeymoon plans, the rest of the team scattering in and preparing to hear about a new case.

“I just don’t know what we’re going to do if my Uncle Mike brings his girlfriend…” you frowned, your stomach doing flips as you stressed more and more about the big day.

“Just have your mom call him and talk to him, he’ll listen to her,” Spencer assured you, squeezing your hand tightly, trying to pull all of your stress away. He hated how much anxiety all of this was bringing you. For him, your wedding was the brightest day of his future, it was all he could think about. And you felt the same, of course, but the planning was exhausting.

“Sorry to bring everyone in again, I know we’ve barely been on the ground a day, but we have a weird one today. Garcia,” Hotch motioned to the tech analyst, who smiled happily as she stood up and began her presentation.

“So, my friends, we are going to Spencer’s favorite place, Las Vegas!” She giggled, trying to bring lightness into a place that had seen so many horrors.

“Oh! I’ll have to call my mom!” Spencer smiled, always excited at any chance to see his mother.

“Let’s focus on getting this creep, first,” Garcia shuttered, pulling up multiple photos of dead bodies on the screen. “These are the two victims that we know of, Jenna Benson and Evan Perry.”

“What was the cause of death?” Morgan asked.

“Gunshot to the head. But, there are two ante mortem shots on each of the victim, one in the leg and one in the… nether regions,” Garcia shuttered, pulling up more pictures of the injuries on the bodies.

“Genital mutilation, that’s a statement,” you responded.

“And it was done before he killed them, so it’s definetly torture.”

“Do you think he could be trying to extort information? One bullet each time you don’t get a question right? You have three strikes to get it right?” JJ suggested.

“I don’t know, but these bodies were only killed a few hours apart, and chances are he’s already moved on to his next victim. Wheels up in 30.”

The group began to dismiss, Spencer’s hand still locked in yours as you left and went back to your desks.

“I’m gonna go grab our bags from the car and call my mom, you’ll be okay for a few minutes?” Spencer questioned, his eyes wide as he awaited your response.

“Yes, I’ll be fine on my own, Spence,” you giggled, rolling your eyes as you turned towards him and back at your desk, mixing thoughts of your big day and the big case racing through your mind.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

The plane ride was long, going backwards in time to reach the opposite coast always took a while. The team spoke for a bit about the case, before saying all that could be said and separating into their own comfort. You and Spencer sat close in the chairs, your head resting on his shoulder as he flipped through some case files.

Garcia had popped in earlier with the knowledge that the victims attended high school together, making these killings seem a lot less random.

“Jenna was a freshman when Evan was a senior, it’s probably unlikely they knew each other,” Spencer whispered to you, his brows furrowed as he tried to uncover something between the lines.

“I knew a lot of seniors when I was a freshman,” you shrugged, dismissing his theory.

“Yeah, but you went to a small school, everybody knew everyone. Vegas high schools aren’t like that,” he responded sharply, his knowledge of his hometown showing through.

You decided to let Spencer think silently; he tended to work best that way. You shut your eyes for a bit, only waking back up to feel the plane descending.

You didn’t know how you had managed to let time pass away like that, but the stress of everything must have been wearing you down. Spencer had fallen asleep too, his groggy eyes reopening as the plane hit the ground.

Hotch had already given you your assignments, you and JJ off to the second crime scene, which happened to be Evan’s house. The cars were there when you walked off the plane, and an extra car tasked with delivering your luggage to the hotel you probably wouldn’t have a chance to go to.

As you landed, Hotch took a quick phone call, his face making that familiar look when something happened.

“Another body?” Emily asked as he hung up the phone.

“Two. Let’s all go back to the station, for now. We need to sit down and go over everything. If he’s working this quickly, this is a spree. And we have a lot less time than we thought.”

“I’ll let the Detective know,” Rossi nodded, walking towards the car and hopping in the driver's seat. The rest of the team followed, you and Spencer walking side by side to the car that Derek had claimed as his.

“Glad I took that little nap on the plane, doesn’t seem like we’ll be sleeping for the next 48 hours,” you giggled, getting in the back seat of the SUV.

“Probably 72, if we’re being realistic,” Spencer teased, getting in the passenger's seat. He always got in the passenger's seat when the two of you were in the car with one other person. You never questioned it, but one day he let it slip that he just didn’t want the person in the front to be lonely.

You got to the Field Office about twenty minutes later, partially thanks to Derek’s driving. As the rest of the team continued to arrive, the three of you walked into the building to begin your work. You greeted the Agents and Detectives, avoiding small talk as you knew the urgency of this case. Luckily they had a room and boards all set up for you guys. Spencer and Derek began hanging evidence on the boards, as you called Garcia to get an update on your latest victims.

“Hey baby girl, what do you have for us?” Derek flirted, while neatly hanging photos.

“The two vics were actually killed previous to our two victims. Not graduates of our high school, but! One of them is Jenna Benson’s mother, Cheryl. But I cannot find a connection to the other one.”

“Her mother? So there’s gotta be some dirt in that family. What can you find?” You asked, twirling a pen in your fingers.

“I’m looking, but I can’t find much. Cheryl’s husband and Jenna’s dad, Clint, apparently left them when she was 15. Filed for divorce and just left. Other than that, they look pretty normal.”

“What about hospital records, medical stuff? Are there signs of abuse?” Derek asked.

Your phone started ringing loudly on the desk, which you quickly declined and put in your pocket.

“Sorry, go on Garcia,” you apologized, uncomfortably shoving your phone in your jacket pocket.

“Doesn’t appear so… oh, woah. This is odd.”

“What did you find, baby girl?”

“When Jenna was 14, she had a doctors appointment where they noted she was 6 months pregnant. And there’s no other documentation of it. No other ultrasounds, no birth or death certificate of said baby.” Garcia was clicking away, trying to find any trace of other evidence.

“What year was this?” You asked.

“1991.”

“So if the baby was born, they would be 29 now. Fits the profile of a spree killer,” Spencer shrugged.

“Yeah, but how is there no record of this child anywhere?”

“Children,” Garcia chimed in, her voice filled with dread.

“Come again?” Derek asked.

“According to her doctor, Jenna was pregnant with twins.”

At this point, the rest of the team had finally arrived, coming in just in time for the call. Garcia filled everyone in, each of you silently going over the facts. You tried your best to focus on the case, but your mind was still drudging over the details of your wedding. Your phone kept buzzing in your pocket, and you were certain it was some vendor or family member trying to take your money or beg for a plus one. But you couldn’t think about that, not now. You had to be here, be present. You had to catch this man.

“I have another information bomb that is going to blow your minds,” Garcia chimed in, her voice in shock as she awaited permission to talk.

“What is it?”

“In 1992, Cheryl and Clint Benson deposited two sixty-thousand dollar cash deposits in the same week.”

“That’s about how much a baby would go for on the black market,” Spencer added, his fact bringing you all to the same conclusion.

“We have to find Clint Benson, he’ll be the only one that can help us,” Rossi said.

“Do you think he’ll cooperate? That’s super illegal, he might not indict himself,” Emily added.

“We can offer him some kind of deal. If our unsub is one of the children, he’s the only shot we have at finding him.”

“I’ll work on finding the dad. I’ll talk to you guys soon.”

The team split up into smaller conversations, your phone still vibrating violently in your pocket. Spencer walked up to you, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you close.

“You doing alright, honey? You seemed distracted earlier…” he pouted, kissing the top of your head with ease, showcasing his clear difference in height from you.

“I’m just thinking about all the wedding stuff… it’s stupid,” you answered, shaking your head in defense. “It sure doesn’t help that my phone won't stop ringing!” You groaned, ripping it out of your pocket and slamming it down on the table. The team stopped what they were doing and looked towards you, but Spencer waived them away, as if to say, ‘I’m handing this, don’t worry.’

“I’ll answer, and take care of it whatever it is. You focus on the victims, see if we can find some more connections, okay.” Spencer gave you a reassuring kiss on the lips, holding your phone in his palm and walking out to the hallway to handle your never ending stress.

You turned towards the files, trying to take your finances advice and focus on the victims. You looked at the photos over and over, trying to see if there was something you missed. Something that would make this make more sense. And then you had a thought. Something that might make this make sense.

“What if he’s looking for the dad?” You shouted, hoping someone would be drawn to your thought.

“The two men have nothing in common,” Derek responded.

“No, no. I know. But, like…” you stuttered, trying your best to organize the words into your head so they would understand. “The old man is still an outlier. But this younger victim, Evan. He went to highschool with Jenna. What if all the information he had on his dad was he was a senior at her school. Maybe he had a picture, and he’s hunting guys who might be the one.”

“If he came face to face with his mom, though, why not just ask her directly? If he is shooting them to get information, why wouldn’t she give in?” Emily questioned.

You thought for a moment, but JJ came in with an answer before your brain could think of one. Thank god.

“Maybe she wanted to protect him.”

“How would he have gotten a picture of his supposed dad though? Why would she give him a picture and not a name?”

“We’re missing something here. And unfortunately the only way we’ll find it is with more victims,” Rossi said, crossing his arms in frustration.

“And there are. Two more bodies have been found, this time much more recent. Time of death is only two hours ago,” Spencer added, walking back in from the hallway.

“And identification on them yet?” Hotch asked.

“Yeah, they’re sending their names to Garcia. It’s two more men, though. Roughly the same age as Evan. Same look as well, according to the Agent that told me.”

The phone in the middle of the table started ringing, a sign that Garcia had important information to fill your heads. Her voice always brought a kind of sweetness to your thoughts, making the whole room seem brighter.

“Garcia, what’s up?” Rossi asked her, awaiting the key to unlock this case.

“Two more victims both went to high school with Jenna. And they do look a lot alike…” Garcia said.

“Okay, can I state the obvious here. If these babies were sold, what are the chances either of them make it to 29? Most creeps buying infants don’t want them for longevity,” JJ shuttered, feeling sick at the words she was saying, but knew it needed to be discussed.

“Actually, an alarming amount of babies purchased illegally are bought by real parents looking for children to adopt. The adoption process is incredibly lengthy and difficult, and it’s even more difficult to find a newborn. A lot of… more affluent couples take this route.” Spencer nodded quietly after he spoke, something small you had always noticed about him. It was almost if he was reassuring himself that he did okay, that he said all he needed to say.

“So the only shot at finding either of these babies is through Jenna’s father,” Hotch sighed, realizing again that almost all cases came down to one cruical final piece. Clint Benson was your final piece.

“Lucky for you, Aaron Hotchner, I have found our man of the hour. Clint still lives in beautiful Las Vegas, only about fifteen minutes away from where you are now. Sending the home and work addresses as we speak,” Garcia teased, a few of you giggling as your phone’s received her information. Spencer handed you your cell back and smiled, kissing your forehead.

“I handled everything. No one will bother you again,” he assured, making you feel relaxed for the first time in weeks.

“Well, people can bother me a little, it’s still my wedding,” you teased, pushing Spencer slightly as he rolled his eyes and walked back towards Derek.

“I think we should bring Clint here versus ambushing him at home. He may not know about Jenna and Cheryl yet. It only hit the news cycle an hour ago, and they aren’t even releasing the identities,” JJ spoke, her motherly instinct always kicking in in times like these. She was right, as she usually was. It would be better to hear that kind of news here.

“Reid and Derek, go to his house. JJ and Rossi, go to his work. (Y/N) and Emily, stay here and start working on a profile based on what we have so far. Hopefully we can present something soon after we talk with Clint.” Hotch nodded at you all, making sure you all understood your tasks. You blew a kiss to Spencer as he walked out, feeling calmed by his quick smile before he was gone.

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Clint Benson was devastated when he heard the news of his wife and daughter. He still loved them both, but the guilt and shame of what happened was too much for him. According to Clint, the whole thing was his wife's idea. When she found out Jenna was pregnant at 14, she was heart broken. It was too late for an abortion, because they had only officially found out when she was six months.

“Cheryl was humiliated. Pulled her out of school, locked in her room. Didn’t want none of our friends to see her, to know what she did…” Clint sobbed, his voice tripping over itself.

“Which is why she never saw another doctor?” Hotch asked, carefully poking around for answers.

“Yeah… I kept trying to talk to her, ask her what we were going to do. Telling her Jenna needed to see a doctor. But Cheryl just said she was handing it, was taking care of all of it. I… didn’t know what to do. And then when Jenna went into labor, I begged Cheryl to take her to a hospital… but she wouldn’t. She barricaded herself in front of Jenna… until it was too late. She had them… right in her bedroom… a boy and a girl. They were so, so beautiful.” Clint was crying more, his words sounding more garbled with each passing second. You felt sick, horrible for the man.

Times like this made you wish for the distraction of the wedding. You tried picturing the suit you had planned for Spencer. The colors were perfect for him, and would match the rest of the theme perfectly. But then you remembered the guest list, and the caterer not having enough vegan options, and the open bar messing up your signature cocktail… And don’t even start with the DJ!

“Where are the babies now, Clint?” Hotch asked, his voice now rough and full of urgency.

“I… don’t know exactly. There wasn’t much information passed. Just names and cash.”

“What were the names?”

“Uh… the girl… she went to a couple named Ashley and Brian. The boy… Danielle and Andrew…” Clint mumbled, trying to remember more.

“Wait…” you whispered to yourself, something finally clicking in this case. You ran into the interrogation room, interrupting Hotch, much to his shock.

“Do you remember Andrew’s last name? Or what he looked like?”

“Uh… I think his last name started with an M… He had glasses. Does that help?”

“Hotch… our first victim was Andrew Masters.”

“Yes! Masters was his last name! Wait… victim? Did something happen to him? Is this connected to what happened to Cheryl and Jenna?”

You and Hotch looked at each other, a silent understanding between the two of you. You both knew what was happening here. Andrew Masters was killed by his own son. He was one of two babies given away by the Benson family that fateful evening. But why start murdering your family out of the blue? There was still something missing here.

“Have Garcia find out everything she can about Andrew’s son,” Hotch instructed, nodding you away as he readied himself to continue talking to Clint.

You ran into the hallway and called Garcia, looking around for Spencer, trying to tell him about the break in the case. Whenever either of you found something vital to the investigation, you always told each other immediately. You had done that since your first day on the team.

“What can I do for you, beautiful?” Garcia asked, distracting you from your thoughts about Spencer.

“Andrew Masters, our first victim, can you find anything on his son?”

“Uhh, sure. I can do that... what am I looking for exactly?” She questioned, still typing away madly in the background.

“We think he may be the unsub. Any triggers, any red flags?”

“Hmm, well here’s something. Up until two months ago, he was engaged. Can’t find a reason why it ended, but almost two months ago exactly they cancelled the venue, vendors, everything…”

“For no refunds, I’m sure,” you giggled, knowing well how the wedding industry worked. “What’s the ex fiance up to?”

“Well, she moved back in with her parents, Ashley and Brian, who look relatively normal…” Garcia responded.

“Wait, say that again. What were her parents' names?”

“Ashley and Brian Gregg.”

“Holy shit, Garcia. You’re a genius. Thank you!” You kissed loudly into the phone, hanging up the call and running towards the conference room. Everyone except Hotch was there, but you texted him to meet you in the conference room- that it was urgent.

“Guys, you will not believe this,” you finally said, after everyone arrived and was quiet enough to hear you. “Our first victim, Andrew, was the father of the son that Jenna gave away. Now, Jenna also gave away a daughter to another couple. Now, what are the odds of this. These two kids grow up, fall in love and get engaged. Talk about a trigger, finding out the love of your life is your secret twin.”

“You’re joking… evil twins again? Didn’t we already do this?” Emily laughed.

“It’s most likely just the guy. I’ll call Garcia and get her to send us everything she has on him. We gotta find this dude,” Derek instructed, leaving the room to speak to Garcia.

“How did they find out, though? Chances are the parents didn’t even know they were twins,” Rossi asked.

“Most likely not. Clint said the babies were picked up on different days.” Hotch added.

“It doesn’t matter how he found out, what matters is that he’s gonna kill a lot of people until he finds his ‘Dad’. He wants to punish anyone he thinks is involved in this crime.”

“We’ll put his picture out all over the media, and an APB on any vehicles he has. He won’t be able to hide for long. He has a mission, he’ll have to complete it.”

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Hotch, as usual, was right about the unsub. He did not stay in hiding for long. The police and FBI searched for six hours in his comfort zone, almost giving up hope, until he finally caved and came looking for another victim. JJ and Derek got to him first, trying to persuade him to drop his gun and come with them.

When it was finally all over, you felt equally ecstatic and exhausted. You couldn’t wait to crawl up onto a leather private jet chair and take an amazing nap. You were sad you didn’t get at least one night in the hotel. Something about hotels made Spencer get in a certain mood… even if you got a night away, there wasn’t much sleeping happening.

But you were grateful to be going home, at least until the next case popped up. You and Rossi were the only two that stayed back while the team went searching, wanting to be here in case any new bodies popped up. Rossi was wrapping up some paperwork with the other Agents out in the main room, and you paced back and forth in the conference room, hating the silence that was left when you were alone.

Rossi walked casually back to the conference room, and you could’ve sworn he had changed clothes. Maybe it was the extreme lack of sleep, but you could’ve sworn he didn’t look so… nice when he left the room.

“You ready to head to the airport? Everyone is gonna meet us there.” Rossi said, holding the door open for you.

“Oh, uh, yeah. Sure,” you responded, slightly confused at why the team didn’t come back here first. They usually did. But, everyone was tired and there really was no need to come back, you and Rossi had taken care of everything you needed to do to leave.

You followed Rossi down to the car, making small talk as he got in the driver’s seat and began heading away. You had only ever been to Vegas on trips for work, so you’d never really seen much of the city. It didn’t help that every street looked almost identical. You felt lost as you stared out the window, wondering how a young Spencer Reid could’ve survived in this massive city.

“Oh, before we get there, I just have to make one quick stop,” Rossi said, turning the turn signal on and pulling to the side of the road.

��Oh, uh, right now?” You questioned, jolting up as he hastily parallel parked the car.

“Yeah, it’ll be real quick. But, this isn’t a great part of town, so maybe you should come in with me…” He instructed, turning the car off and waiting for your answer.

“Um… I think I’ll be okay, Dave.” You laughed, rolling your eyes and turning to look at your phone.

“I really think you should come with me.”

“Are you not gonna go unless I do?”

“Pretty much.”

“Fine!” You rolled your eyes, opening the passenger door and getting out of the car. You stood on the sidewalk, standing angrily as you waited for Rossi to get out and walk to you.

“What are we even doing here-” you asked, turning around and getting smacked in the face with one of the cheesiest and most stereotypical Vegas chapels you had ever seen. Neon flashing lights, Elvis decor, cheap paint. It was amazing.

“Why the hell are we at a Chapel? Are Emily and JJ finally getting hitched?” You laughed, staring at disbelief at the building.

“Why don’t you just go inside…” Rossi instructed, waiting for you to enter the building so he could follow.

“Alright…” you responded, walking in the door and being immediately bombarded by JJ and Emily. They were in dresses, which made you even more confused.

“Come with us! You’ve gotta get ready!” JJ said, grabbing onto your arm and pulling you towards a door down the hallway.

“What is happening? Did we drink too many Margaritas at the taco place again…” you said, still being dragged against your will to a secret room.

And then you saw it. Emily opened the hideously pink painted door to a small dressing room, and in the middle was the single thing about your wedding that had gone right.

The dress. You found it a few months ago, and immediately knew it was the one. It was one of the first dresses you tried on, but you knew immediately it was the one for you.

“How did you… what is happening…”

“You’re gonna put the dress on, and then you’re gonna get married. That’s what's happening,” Emily shrugged, pushing you in the room.

“But… no… what about… and…” you stuttered, sitting down on the cigarette infused couch, the smell of stale smoke so strong it made you gag when you sat down.

“Okay, let’s not sit on that,” JJ laughed, pulling you up and away from the toxic furniture.

“I can’t get married. I’m not ready!” You protested, Emily stripping your clothes as you stood shocked.

“Just get in the dress, everything will be okay,” JJ assured you.

“No… I can’t…”

“Get in the dress, (Y/N), or I swear to God I will have to hurt you,” Emily joked, her eyes trying to be serious but a tiny smirk made it obvious.

“Fine. But I’m not happy about this.”

But then you put the dress on. And they were right. Everything made sense. You loved Spencer, and nothing mattered except marrying him, promising your life to him. The location, the guest list, the food… it didn’t matter. Your love mattered. He mattered.

“I’m ready,” you nodded, a few tears flowing down your cheek.

You walked out of the worst dressing room of all time, your dress dragging on the cheap shag carpet behind you. Emily handed you a bouquet of fake flowers, which made you and JJ laugh as you opened the doors to the chapel.

On the other end of a long red carpet was Spencer Reid, the one person you loved most in this world. He had on his suit, the one you designed in your head. You weren’t sure how he made it possible- you weren’t sure how he made any of this possible. But you couldn’t stop crying, a gush of hot tears flowing down your face as you walked anxiously down the aisle to your new forever.

“You are the most beautiful person in the world,” Spencer whispered to you, taking your hands as you reached the end of the aisle. JJ and Emily sat down next to the rest of the team, the only other guests in attendance. It was perfect, though. You couldn’t have imagined it any other way.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the love between (Y/N) and Spencer,” the man said. “Thank you all for coming to this beautiful celebration. Spencer and (Y/N) have decided to share their own vows.”

“Um, I don’t have my vows,” you sighed, looking around awkwardly at the crowd.

“Should’ve memorized 'em, like I did,” Spencer winked. You rolled your eyes in annoyance, lightly shoving Spencer on the arm.

“Do we need to do all this? I mean… I know you love me. I know I love you, and I hope you know that. I know that every small thing you do makes me fall more and more in love. And I can’t imagine any day of my life without you by my side. Can’t we just skip to the I do part and get married!” You wrapped your arms around Spencer’s waist and pulled him closer.

“I just want to say one thing before I kiss the bride. Nothing has mattered more to me than you since the moment we met. I would stop the world for you if I could. I wanted to do something to take away all your stress, and although I couldn’t do it perfectly, I think this is going pretty well.” Spencer smiled goofily at you, squeezing on your hand.

“Oh, the rings!” You squealed, looking around for the small box.

“Right here,” Derek smiled, handing the box to Spencer. “Best man duties.”

Spencer slipped the metal circle around your finger, his hands shaky as he slipped it on. You grabbed his ring from the box, putting it delicately on his hand, your heart racing, still unable to process what was happening.

“Is that it?” Spencer asked excitedly, looking up at the ordained Elvis, hoping to be married already.

“Well, I have to say one thing. I now pronounce you married. You may kiss your bride!”

Spencer wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into him. He kissed you excitedly, his lips moving rapidly with yours.

tags: @gayprentiss @blakeprentiss @bitchyreid @spncersreid @yesimaunicorn @slutforthegubes

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds #spencer reid fanfiction

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dreamologisth2o · 4 years

Text

Analysis on c!Sam Based on c!Sam and c!Ranboo’s Conversation from Ranboo’s “He’s gone?” Stream

Ok, so, this is like, really really late all things considered but I’ve finally decided to post this here. A little while back I wrote a brief analysis on their conversation and posted it in the Syndicate discord and now I’m here to present a more polished version.

Disclaimer: This is an analysis on their dsmp characters, so assume any mention to be about the character and not the content creator unless specified. I do not watch cc!Sam’s streams so my knowledge of his character is fairly limited. All my analysis of his character will mostly be based directly on this particular conversation along with some supporting evidence from other relevant streams. More under the cut.

So! Summary about their conversation (at about 55 minutes into the stream): Ranboo confronts Sam over what happened in the prison and why Sam didn’t do anything to prevent it like getting Tommy out of the prison, especially since Sam knows about what happened between Dream and Tommy in exile. They talk about how Sam didn’t think Dream would kill Tommy and how he’s the highest authority in the prison at the moment, since the person who wrote the protocols is currently also the prisoner. They also talk about how visiting the prisoner works, and this is something I want to point out in their conversation.

Ranboo has just asked about how visitors leave the cell.

Sam: They leave without the lava ever going up, they, they-- the lava stays down. Once they go in it’s, it’s--. I have a very strict protocol that happens in the main cell, I don’t, I don’t just--”

Ranboo: Ok, ok so. Tell me if I’m wrong about this, tell me if I’m wrong about this. The way that the prison works, the lava goes down, the bridge goes out, the visitor steps on, the lava goes down. Then, what happens after to let the visitor out? Why couldn’t you have just done the same thing Sam?

Sam: Because what if Dream was waiting for me to do that?

Ranboo: Then you would, then you would be able to at least see that he wasn’t on the right side of the barrier, right? You could’ve, you could’ve seen that.

[pause]

Sam: Ranboo there was nothing I could’ve done.

[pause]

Ok! So lots of things to unpack here BUT lets start with the obvious. First off, Sam’s line about how visiting works. Here he explicitly states that once the lava goes down, it stays down. Which is true! We’ve seen how visiting Dream works multiple times and that to get out of the cell, the visitor is killed using a dispenser that shoots out a harming potion and respawns in the room outside the main cell. The lava is never lifted and the bridge is never sent across again. This prevents Dream from trying to escape using the way visitors leave. But what’s really interesting is Ranboo’s response. Ranboo says that Sam would be able to see if Dream was on the right side of the barrier. This implies that Ranboo thinks visitors get out the same way they come in, by the bridge. (which, makes sense since he’s only visited Dream while enderwalking, which he doesn’t remember, and the nightmare/hallucination he had about visiting Dream ended before he left the main cell.) And notably, Sam doesn’t correct him.

Summarizing the next bit, Ranboo asks Sam if there wasn’t anything he could’ve done, and Sam says if there was something he thought he could’ve done he would’ve done it. Sam then goes on to talk about what happened when Tommy died and how he’d tried to get there to stop it the moment he realized what was going on and that by the time he got there it was too late. He says he was screaming at Dream though the lava and that Dream only laughed in response.

Sam: I know I should’ve tried to do something but you have to understand I couldn’t let him leave.

Ranboo: [says something softly, can’t make out what]

Sam: What if Dream left with him, then where would I be? What it--what if when the lava was down Dream tried to kill him then and threatened if I didn’t let him cross he would kill him then I-- Tommy signed the books, he knew that there was a chance that everything could go wrong.

Ranboo: [softly] He could’ve used Tommy.... [pause] He could’ve used Tommy to not--to try to cross.

Sam: I know. And honestly I think if I had gone to do that. Had I--If he was holding him on the bridge, I would’ve had to have let him out. I--... I couldn’t let him go.

Now isn’t this interesting? Sam changes his story, he goes from “the lava stays down” to “when the lava was down”. Sam is playing into what Ranboo thinks happens when the visitor leaves. He even gives a hypothetical about how if Sam had tried to let Tommy out Dream could’ve threatened him into letting him out as well.

The rest of the conversation turns towards who might’ve been responsible for the TNT with Ranboo offering to help Sam if he finds any information on who it could be. (which, this can honestly be an entire analysis on it’s own but this one’s already way too long, what are you hiding enderboi?!). Near the end Ranboo also talks about how he thinks he’s at fault for Tommy’s exile due to his actions regarding burning George’s house down and the “butterfly effect”. Sam insists that it’s not his fault, and after convincing Ranboo to lend him his memory book, apologizes and writes down “TOMMY IS NOT MY FAULT. WHAT HAPPENED TO TOMMY WAS SAM’S FAULT. SAM IS RESPONSIBLE.” The conversation ends there with Sam telling Ranboo to let him know if he finds anything and they go their separate ways.

And I finally make it to my analysis 2 hours into writing this thing, help. Basically, boiling everything down into a few sentences: I believe Sam, who knows Ranboo has a bad memory, is playing into the fact that Ranboo is seemingly misremembering how visitors leave the main cell to create a plausible explanation for why he didn’t do anything to get Tommy out, possibly to help absolve himself of his own guilt. Because he definitely feels guilty about what happened. You can hear it in his voice, see it in the way he wants Ranboo to blame him by writing it down in his memory book. For Sam, saying that there was nothing more he could’ve done, would’ve justified his own inaction during the week (+ one day?) Tommy spent trapped in there with Dream.

So, if he’s feeling so guilty over leaving Tommy in there with Dream, then why didn’t he do anything? Why did he leave him there alone with Dream? Why was he so willing to break protocol, to break the contract and leave Tommy in there with Dream well past the 7 day mark? I’ve seen a lot of theories about how the Egg might be involved in this, and while I don’t think it’s a complete mind control brainwashing thing, I do think the Egg was/still is influencing some of his actions. (because isn’t it convenient that the one person who posed the greatest threat is now locked nicely and neatly away from whatever the Eggpire might be planning to do?)

There’s some evidence pointing to this, mostly, he didn’t seem particularly worried about Tommy being stuck with Dream during his tour of the prison with the new guards, the fact that he hired Ant and Bad as new guards in the first place despite their fairly recent conflict, and his own insistence in breaking protocol even with Tommy yelling at him from across the lava to let him out.

I think the Egg’s been subtly making him think, “Oh it’s fine to leave Tommy in there, Dream won’t hurt him. It’s ok for you to trust Bad and Ant, they’re reliable guards. You’re allowed to break protocol, you’re the Warden, you know what’s best, Tommy’s fine and Dream won’t hurt him, you just need to find the security breach.” It’s a “voice” in his head that sounds less like a demonic nightmare and more like his own, convincing him he’s done what he could, that he’s doing what’s right, that these actions are necessary for securing the prisoner, that everything will be okay.

And then Tommy died and Sam is now suddenly facing this, massive wake up call. Because the truth is he could’ve done something, should’ve done something but he didn’t. And he doesn’t know why.

-------

Wow, that got.... long. Anyways, I’m curious, what do people who actually watch streams from c!Sam’s POV think? ‘Cause this is just based off his.... half an hour long conversation with Ranboo, some clips from his prison tour stream, and what he said during Tommy’s death stream. I also actually have another analysis on Ranboo based of this conversation/stream that basically boils down to “Ranboo remembers more than he himself knows and that his enderwalk memories are subconsciously affecting his actions/decisions despite his many many attempts at denying it away.” I probably won’t write/post something about that because this took me 3 hours to do and I don’t know if I have the time/energy to write something this long again :D

#dream smp #dsmp #dream smp analysis #dsmp analysis #c!awesamdude #c!awesamdude critical #c!awesamdude analysis #c!ranboo #c!dream mention #c!tommy mention #egg #tw death #mention #tw manipulation #implied #my analysis

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canyouhearthelight · 4 years

Text

The Miys, Ch. 88

Sophia, the day after her conversation with Tyche.

Thank you to @satan-parisienne and @baelpenrose for keeping me going and on an even keel! Sorry the Author’s Note is so short... I didn’t realize until I had about 10 mins before I had to be back at work that I forgot to queue this for today *facepalm*

The next day was an entire education on new places I could be sore. A hot shower and analgesics only took the barest edge off, and I ended up needing a transport to get to my office instead of my routine walk. I did my best to ignore the grin on Conor’s face every time I moved too fast and winced. After the third time I scowled at him, I brought up my datapad and did some research, careful not to tap my legs as I gestured, which had become something of a habit.

“That snot,” I gasped. Conor glanced at me, so I clarified. “Tyche had me doing fencing footwork yesterday…. Intermediate footwork, it turns out. No wonder I’m so sore.”

“Least it wasn’t sparring,” he pointed out cheerfully, gently lifting my chin to get a look at my lip. “You should have let Noah heal that, love.”

I brushed my cheek against his hand. “I want the reminder. May even let her do it again once it heals.”

This time, it was his turn to scowl. “Not funny. That face has been bruised enough for one lifetime.” He gently rubbed my cheek as the transport stopped. “Okay, time to go be the boss. No fighting with the other kids.” Despite the joking tone, his eyes were serious as he leaned in to kiss me before he headed to his shift.

I realized that Alistair not only beat me to work, but could apparently hear me groaning as I tried to walk, because the door opened before I was even within three feet of it. True to form, he gave me an appraising look before his expression settled on my face. “Door get a bit mouthy today? Or did your feet decide you needed to stay home?”

“Tyche punched me, actually.” My tone was light as I inched my way to my desk. “For defending myself. And then she decided I need more ways to defend myself, so now I can hardly move.”

“Solid logic,” he deadpanned as he handed me a cup of coffee. “I feel obliged to point out that the coffee is hot, seeing as you display a disturbing propensity to get hurt.”

“Very funny.”

“You have been warned, et cetera, so on, so forth.” He waved a hand nonchalantly as he turned, bringing up my agenda for the day. “Your first meeting is the one to discuss medical testing ethics, criteria for volunteers, and determination of the necessity of the procedures. Then you have time set aside to review the status of the Galactic Core Curriculum, along with proposals for expanded learning topics and their existing analogues in the education systems of other planets - “ He paused and tilted his head. “I will never cease to be caught off guard when sentences like that exist.”

I restrained the urge to nod - or more accurately, my back twinged with a warning not to even consider it. “Believe me, I understand. Noah and I were talking about other species a few weeks ago. Did you know there is a species of avians out there who essentially live on a planet with no surface atmosphere?”

“The Preeyar, yes,” he sighed wistfully. “Knowing that Fermi was simply impatient has been quite eye-opening, so to speak.”

“Well, he wasn’t wrong,” I conceded. “We were too young for extraterrestrial civilizations, we weren’t listening properly, they apparently weren’t trying to contact us until recently… But they do exist.” A smile crept on my face at the idea that we really hadn’t been alone in the universe.

My office door opened without warning, and a familiar voice chimed in as Alistair turned with clenched fists. “I do argue that we are entirely too dangerous to have been contacted.” Arthur Farro stood leaning against the frame, and Alistair relaxed marginally. “At least we were until relatively recently…. Throwing nuclear ordinance at each other the moment killing each other in the thousands - rather than the millions - stopped scratching that vicious itch. Who does that? We’re like demented eight-year-olds who got bored of burning ants and started setting each other’s hair on fire instead.”

“You really should keep that door secured,” my assistant sniffed as he closed out my agenda, right around the time he caught Arthur squinting at it.

“He has the code,” I admitted.

“Or maybe that was accidental,” our resident history teacher continued, ignoring us. “I’m a big fan of assuming stupidity instead of malice where possible. And, dear lord, does our track record make it plausible.” Finally entering the room, he flicked a finger at my face. “That was not, however.”

Before I could stop him, Alistair took one glance between me and my friend, and strode to the door. “No.”

“Alistair…”

“I’ll clear your calendar. No. Have a good day.”

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Arthur asked as the door closed behind my soon-to-be-ex assistant.

“That he’s a coward,” I muttered.

“You know damned well that’s not what I mean.”

“Tyche already decked me.” I gestured at my split lip and the bruise that bloomed on my chin overnight. “So, yeah, I know - “

“No, you really don’t seem to.”

“Arthur, stop.”

“I will not.” He stepped forward and placed both his hands, palms down, on my desk. He knew I hated that gesture. “Bjornson’s entire narrative hinges on you being more dangerous than anyone realizes, and you putting up a display of false helplessness to make everyone trust you. By decking one of his followers, not only did you show that you do, in fact, have violence in you - meaning that it’s now entirely plausible you’re as Machiavellian as they claim - but you’ve also gone and indicated for whatever reason that Jokull is enough of a threat to drop that premise.” Straightening, he crossed his arms in clear disappointment. “If you wanted to give him more credibility, good job. You succeeded.”

I swallowed every bit of hurt I felt at his words, reminding myself they were nowhere near as barbed as the ones Tyche had given me the day before. Instead, I tilted my head and arched an eyebrow at him. “Are you done? Did you say everything you needed to say?” I paused, giving him a chance to respond. When he didn’t, I poked harder. “Feel better?”

“Not particularly, but big picture? I’m not a terribly gleeful person, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. But yes, it is your turn now.”

“Gracious of you,” I cooed sarcastically. “Tyche made the same points yesterday, after punching me in the face, with the added gravitas of a guilt trip served with that special seasoning of having watched me almost die and thinking I abandoned her as a child. Also three hours with a rapier, whipping my ass. So. Far more impressive, I assure you.”

“Foiled again by the smaller Reid,” he sighed dramatically before catching himself. “Rapier, you say? I was going to say no pun intended, but I’ve decided I did that on purpose. Yep. Totally intentional.”

I rolled my eyes before pulling up my tunic to show the bruises on my midriff. “I’m not very good at it, for the record.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, saber’s a better style anyway. And I’m not just saying that because it’s my favorite.”

“Uh huh,” I nodded, not entirely convinced. “As far as Bjornson… seriously. She gave me the scoop. I seriously fubared the entire situation yesterday. Apparently, our suspected cult leader only believes in physical attacks on those who would defend themselves. No honor in beating a beaten foe, et cetera.”

“Mmm hmmm,” he nodded, like I was a student he was letting reach her own conclusion.

“Which means I just made it open season on Sophias,” I groaned.

“Really, saber is much better for brawling tactics,” he hedged.

I laughed bitterly. “Doesn’t matter. My walking privileges are revoked until further notice. Must be accompanied by one of six people, or two out of another ten, and on a transport.” The last word came out like a profanity. It was a known fact I hated using them.

Hence why I was now being forced to, unfortunately.

“If you think there is any possibility that I’m going to argue against Tyche on that decision, I need to talk to her about that head scan,” he told me pointedly. “Then again, you and I have different definitions of the word ‘think’, but I’ll be clear - it’s not happening. Moving target, faster than a walking pace, with a protective attachment? Which roster am I on, again?”

“Very funny. You already know.”

His expression softened slightly when he realized I was actually upset. “There is some good news in all of this.”

I threw up my hands and spun in my chair. “Oh, do tell, great military historian and warlord. What is the shining silver lining to the fact that I just gave a man who thinks I am the only thing standing between him and his New Start a golden ticket to sic his followers on me?”

“Okay, first off, sassy shit, my main career is a school teacher. I only moonlighted as a warlord to pay those apocalypse bills. Not my fault I was good at it.” Suddenly, he got serious. “The good new is, if he was too stupid to realize that your talent for inspiring loyalty meant you were a massive problem for any takeover plan, and a problem he’d have to deal with sooner or later….. Well, he’s probably too stupid to keep his little cult together much longer. Leaders who don’t recognize more than one kind of strength never manage to build a lasting legacy.”

“My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair…” I said, half to myself.

“Yeah, our guy is no Ramses II,” Arthur replied. “Besides, those who seek power are rarely good at keeping it.”

“I would have given him my seat on the Council if he’d just asked,” I admitted.

“Besides the fact that you literally just proved my point, if he was suited to the Council, he’d be on it. It’s not like you were the only candidate.”

I shrugged. “No idea. I didn’t even know I was on the Council for the first week. I think it was a week.”

When I turned to look at him, I was met with a flat stare. “I know it was explained to you at some point. How does that search function work?” He reached forward like he was going to tap my head before I swatted his hand away. “You were appointed to the Council to replace Simon, you represent a specific population on board the Ark, when we arrive at Von, you will serve an additional two planetary standard years before elections are held, of which you cannot be a candidate….”

Ugh. “I was put forward as a recommendation by Simon. The other Councillors put forward their candidates. The population I represent voted based on my personnel file, since no one even knew any of the candidates at that point. We’d only been on the Ark about six months. Some of us, anyway.” Glaring, I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t know how you figured that out, but I have a feeling I’m going to kill someone.”

He waved a hand at me in a very familiar gesture. “I see other people do it all the time. Jog your memory, and some phrase or word triggers it. Cool to watch, though.” With a shrug, he continued. “Point is, Bjornson wasn’t even a candidate, same as me.”

“How do you know that?” I asked incredulously.

“Fuck, Sophia. You really need to keep track of your constituents.”

“Hey, I didn’t even want to be a - Wait. You are one of my so-called ‘constituents’!?”

“Even voted for you,” he grinned. “Didn’t know it was you-you, but… Communications background, peaceful but intelligent attributes to balance out our resident warhawk, fair enough to offset Huynh, and you seemed like the type to actually listen to Grey, Pranav, and Eino.” He shrugged. “To be fair, I was right.”

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#the miys #humans are weird #aliens #apocalypse #science fiction #original fiction #my writing #earth is space australia #humans are space orcs

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insipid-drivel · 4 years

Text

I’ve decided it’s time to break my silence.

My father was psychologically and emotionally abusive for as long as I can remember.

His moods were impossible to predict. He would fly from being perfectly amiable and funny to suddenly becoming a snarling bear of a man that would threaten my life for thinking I had spoken out of turn.

After my parents divorced, I was given the choice to decide who to live with as part of the custody agreement. I was only 9, had lots of friends, and loved my teachers. My house was a down-home little cabin set so far back in the woods that you couldn’t see it from the road. I lived in a rural area of Washington State full of verdant forests and beautiful paddocks full of horses and cows.

I liked my home. I didn’t want to leave it, and being a naive 9-year-old little girl, I thought that was enough justification to decide to stay living with my dad in our house in the woods.

It wasn’t long after the divorce that my father’s mercurial moods went from startling and confusing to terrifying. The deep-seated anger he had tried to hide from his family no longer had my mother as an excuse for him to keep it bottled up. And, as is the case with abusers in heterosexual relationships, when my mother left, I was the next viable female for him to unleash his rage on.

He never hit me, but he didn’t need to. He arranged for me to suffer through outside means in the name of plausible deniability. I lived in perpetual fear of him as soon as my mom had gone to live in an apartment in town. I never knew who was coming home at the end of the day. I never knew how bad each day was going to be; the things he’d find wrong the punish me for. Even if there was no tangible reason for his rage to manifest, he would manufacture one. In time, I ultimately took to hiding in the woods to avoid him until the sun went down. I was more afraid of him than I was of bears or mountain lions.

In the mornings, I usually had to wake up between 4 and 5 AM. My brother and I would then be forced to eat adult-sized bowls of malt-o-meal with little to no flavoring, and drink an entire adult-sized glass of plain, unsweetened cranberry juice. If we refused or tried to ask for something else, we would be punished, even though we had breakfast cereal in the cupboards.

I would then be sent to school not with the lovingly-packed lunches my mom would send me with. Instead, he would give me a SlimFast bar, which was nothing more than a nutrition bar for adults trying to diet. If I was still hungry, I would have to beg my friends for their leftovers at lunch, and if I told my dad about how Renee or Rachel split their pizza with me, I would get the riot act screamed at me for being ungrateful and unappreciative of the food he’d given me.

Then, when I started puberty between ages 10 and 11, he decided that the slight pudginess natural to a tween child was unsightly on me, and began forcing me to run for at least 30 minutes a night on his treadmill because I was “Getting fat from playing too many video games.”

I hadn’t even started wearing a training bra yet.

He had his twisted ways of buying himself permission to abuse me by presenting me with gifts. He bought an above-ground pool one year, but the day he decided he needed me to help him assemble it, I was sick with the flu and a high fever. It was summer and hot outside, but he forced me to stay out there for hours despite how the world was spinning around my head as the heat and fever forced me to lean on the pool’s siding so I wouldn’t collapse.

He installed a zip-line one year for my brother and I to play on, and again forced me to help him install it despite how, at the time, we had a problem with a huge infestation of red-headed ants that were extremely aggressive and bit anything that moved. I could barely clutch the handles of the zipline when it was installed because of the ant bites on my fingers from crawling into a tree riddled with those ants. I complained of being bitten, but he warned me to stay put, because he was trying to get the line level and if I were to move, it would throw off his measurements. I was more afraid of his anger at me botching his work than I was of having dozens of ants latching their sharp little mandibles into my bare skin.

His behavior only escalated as I got older. By the time I had just entered high school, he began warning me that if I were to try to date any boys, he would kill them. It wasn’t long after that that his death threats became directed at me. (Although the joke is ultimately on him; I turned out to be an asexual lesbian)

When I had finally had enough of his treatment of me, he still refused to quit. I told my mom that I was afraid of him and afraid for my life and needed to come live with her, and so she came and got me as soon as she was able. I still don’t understand why Child Protective Services were never called in, but they weren’t.

I was only allowed to pack my clothes and school supplies. He refused to allow me to take my consoles, games, or even my precious collection of delicate crystal figurines I’d been amassing since I was a toddler. If I wanted to see them again, I had to keep coming back.

I never saw most of my most beloved belongings again. What he didn’t pack away to hide from me, he lost or destroyed.

This is a bare-bones summary of the things he did to me and put me through throughout my young life living under the same roof with him. Nevermind the fact that he barely made the effort to take care of my little brother, who was hardly older than a toddler, but refused to live anywhere without me (He still sometimes slips up and calls me “Mom”). It became my job to make sure he was taken care of. It was my job to see him bathed. It was my job to see him fed. By the time I’d squirreled away a lunch for him for school in the morning, I didn’t have time to sneak extra food of my own, and so was continued to subsist off of a single diet bar and whatever I could beg off my classmates.

In the end, no one ever came to help me. I was forced to help myself by ultimately leaving, and I was too afraid of him to tell my mom the truth about the extent of what he would do to me until I was in my 20′s. I should’ve been put into therapy and gotten help after surviving what he did, but one of his final blows to me was that he threatened to retain custody of me and keep me from moving away unless I was cleared by a psychologist first. By then, I had savvied up enough to his abuse that, when I did get shoved into a juvenile psychologist’s office, I lied through my teeth about my mental health so the woman would tell my father that I was fine enough. His reasoning was that he suspected my mother was brainwashing me against him. I don’t believe he ever realized that he didn’t need any help in fostering both my fear and hatred. It took me until I was in my mid-20′s before I finally felt brave enough to seek out a psychiatrist and start therapy for my own sake, and not because I was being blackmailed.

I’ve gotten tired of my child-self being forced to carry the weight of a grown man’s secrets. Tonight, I decided enough was enough. I’ve tried to talk to him about the way he treated me before, but he stridently refuses to believe any of what I told him he did, and insists that either my mother made up stories and tricked me into believing them, or that I simply invented them myself.

So I wrote an email to my aunt; his older sister, and I’m going to tell her everything.

I won’t allow the truth of the man he was to only be known at his eulogy. He took away my childhood, my self-respect, my self-worth, and the person I should’ve become. Now, I plan to destroy the image of himself he cherishes so well before his family. He won’t have my silence to hide behind anymore.

#tw: abuse #tw: eating disorder

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mst3kproject · 6 years

Photo

Gamera vs Jiger (1970)

That’s right, Hollywood After Dark was actually so fucking depressing I decided the only thing that could cheer me up was a Gamera movie – and lo! When I typed our sabre-toothed saviour’s name into YouTube, up pops this film, which I’d never seen! Gamera vs Jiger was directed by Noriaki Yuasa, who brought us the other Gamera films, and features a really annoying noise and some even more annoying little kids!

The city of Osaka is getting ready to host some kind of world’s fair. Young Hiroshi is particularly eager to see it, as is his American friend Tommy, because their families are both intimately involved with the preparations. Hiroshi’s father, an inventor, is building mini-submarines for one exhibit, while Tommy’s, an archaeologist, is bringing in a mysterious stone statue all the way from Wester Island in the Pacific. The statue is called The Devil’s Whistle and the natives don’t want to let it go, because a legend says it’s the only thing keeping away something called Jiger. Boy, I bet that won’t come back to bite anybody in the ass, will it?

Turns out the reason the statue is called the Devil’s Whistle is because when wind blows over the hole in its top, it makes a really, really annoying sound that drives everybody insane – the crew of the ship transporting it, the audience, and a weird warthog-dinosaur-looking creature. Sure enough, this is Jiger, who sets out to destroy the statue and anything else it might happen to come across. Looks like a job for Gamera to me!

Now, the formula for these movies is to have Gamera get injured in an early fight, so that the people of Japan have to try to take on the monster themselves. They then fail, and Gamera miraculously returns, summoned by the whining of bratty children in tiny shorts, to save the day! That’s what happens here, too. So how does Gamera lose his first face-off against Jiger? Is he frozen, like he was by Barugon? Held at bay by a threat to children, like he was by Viras? Beat up and forced to retreat to the water to heal, like by Guiron or Gyaos?

Hell no! Jiger is much more creative. The first time the two monsters fight, Jiger fires quills into Gamera’s arms and legs so he can’t pull them into his shell and fly away, then rolls him over on his back and leaves him on a rocky island to starve to death! Then we have to watch Gamera try to flip himself over again using his tail, screeching out in pain the entire time, and it truly is the sorriest I’ve ever felt for him. Then at their second encounter, Jiger stabs Gamera in the shoulder with some kind of stinger, and Gamera staggers off in agony. There’s then this bizarre sequence where the kids take one of those tiny submarines down Gamera’s esophagus and find that Jiger has implanted a fucking embryo in his chest which is now devouring him from the inside out like one of those creepy spider wasps! Holy shit! Since when did Gamera do body horror?

Gamera spends so much of this movie in obvious pain, I think it would probably be rather distressing for a child to watch. The part where the embryo is growing inside him, and Gamera turns white with his skeleton briefly visible before his glowing eyes go out, actually distressed me and I’m in my thirties. I think this might be the only time I’ve actually seen the children in one of these movies give up on Gamera in what sounds like honest despair, when Hiroshi declares, “oh, he’s dead!” It feels weird to talk about a Gamera movie being dark, but this one gets there.

After the ridiculousness of Gamera vs Guiron, Gamera vs Jiger represents the series trying to regain some of its self-respect and the respect of its audiences (as demonstrated by the fact that the next installment was Gamera vs Zigra, it didn’t work). The dark content is probably an intentional part of this, and it sits a little uneasily alongside the cheerful absurdity that naturally comes of this being a Gamera movie. Sometimes it kind of works, but more often it really doesn’t. The miniatures and matte paintings are as terrible as anything in Mighty Jack or, for that matter, in previous Gamera films. The music includes classics like We’re Gonna Ride our Bicycles and of course the immortal Love Theme from Gamera, sung by a chorus of slightly tone-deaf grade-schoolers. The pun ‘Wester Island’ is kind of awe-inspiring in its sheer lameness, and the dialogue includes technical language like ‘it’s based on super-ultra-violent waves!’ The foleyed-in footsteps sound like all the actors are wearing tap shoes. The dubbing sucks. The dubbing of the children, particularly Tommy’s little sister Susan, is so terrible it actually manages to suck and blow at the same time.

My favourite nugget of silliness is the scene in which one of the scientists shows a slide of an x-ray of Gamera. How the fuck do you x-ray Gamera?! Imagine the host sketch in which Joel and the bots try to figure it out!

But Gamera movies, like all kaiju eiga, live and die by their monsters and the fighting between them. The Gamera of Gamera vs Jiger looks as dumb and rubbery as he ever did (I’m particularly fond of his belly-flop landings), but Jiger is actually pretty cool and mean-looking, with a surprisingly plausible quadrupedal gait – while Guiron always looked like a guy crawling around in a rubber costume, Jiger actually moves like a four-legged animal and I can only attribute this to a very gifted suit-maker. Some of Jiger’s powers, like its quill-shooting, are quite interesting and scary. Others, like its ability to fly by shooting steam out of its ears, are laugh-out-loud stupid.

The fights themselves are kind of interesting in that they are battles of wits, as well as monster fights. Both Gamera and Jiger are depicted as observing their enemy and learning from what they see. In the first fight, Gamera learns that Jiger will try to wrap its tail around his neck, and pulls his head into his shell at the last minute. Jiger learns that Gamera must retract his limbs in order to fly, and uses the quills to prevent this. The fact that both combatants are intelligent ups the ante quite a bit, without giving them the childlike human motivations that turned the monsters of Godzilla vs Megalon into cartoon characters. The brutality I mentioned continues into the final fight, culminating in Gamera impaling Jiger in the face with the statue that started the whole thing!

Just as often, of course, the fights are ridiculous. There is a bit where Gamera throws Jiger up in the air, but Jiger lands on the other end of the fallen tower Gamera is standing on, launching him into some buildings in turn like something out of a kaiju-fueled Rube Goldberg machine.

The setpiece sequence of the film, and the one that sets it apart from any other Gamera movie, is the Fantastic Voyage bit where the two boys go inside him with the submarine to remove the Jiger embryo. Fantastic Voyage was made in 1966, so I suspect it was indeed the inspiration. Unfortunately, Gamera’s innards are not nearly as cool as anything in the earlier film – and in retrospect, Fantastic Voyage doesn’t even look that cool anymore. Instead, the baby Jiger chases the kids around on an obvious stage set, among tunnels that aren’t nearly gooey enough to be something’s anatomy. The inside of Gamera’s lungs are made of inflated plastic bags with some algae inside them, and seeing the Jiger suit at its actual size is laughable. For all that, though, the sequence is sometimes pretty tense, and when it fails at that it’s at least amusing.

I do like Gamera movies in general. I mean, yeah, they’re not very good, they’re not particularly meaningful and they’re not gonna win any awards, but they’re fun to watch, fun to write about, and fun to heckle with friends. I’d even say that Gamera vs Jiger is one of the better ones. It doesn’t have the annoyingly irrelevant moral of Gamera vs Zigra, and a lot more money, effort, and creativity went into it than that movie or Gamera vs Guiron. It helps a lot that the kids here are a little older – Hiroshi and Tommy are specifically described as being twelve years old, instead of the five or six-year-old Kenny and Helen from Zigra. The kids do keep ending up in places they don’t belong but for once the adults respond fairly realistically to this.

In reviewing Gamera vs Barugon I noted that insofar as Gamera symbolizes anything, it’s probably childlike faith in good overcoming evil. Apparently I was right, because that is explicitly stated in the closing scene of Gamera vs Jiger – the adults admit that Hiroshi and Tommy were right about Gamera being the hero Japan needs, and that they should have believed in him. This is still a weird attitude to take towards a giant monster that wrecks almost as much shit as Jiger does, but I guess that’s just something you have to accept about kaiju eiga. There’s also some attempt at a statement with the world’s fair setting, in that what Gamera has saved is a place where all humanity can come together to learn from each other. Gamera movies do seem to be basically optimistic in outlook, positing that humans are basically good and higher forces are looking out for us, and that’s probably one of the things I like about them.

As one final note, the movie claims that ‘Wester Island’ is the last remaining bit of the lost continent of Mu. Godzilla vs Megalon did something similar with Easter Island and ‘Seatopia’, and was made only three years later… did one inspire another, or were Easter Island and Lost Continents just big things in Japan in the early 70’s? If the former, that represents a rather curious inversion: Gamera began his life as a ripoff of Godzilla, but many years later we find Godzilla movies stealing ideas from Gamera instead!

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #gamera vs jiger #70s #antiimperialist kaiju

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fantroll-purgatory · 6 years

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Phomet Burzum Review

Alternia

They’re they/them and where one of my original struggles was deciding whether they’re boy or girl, I think I’d rather keep it ambiguous. Not sure if the sprite helpfully evokes that. This is mainly playing into the idea that the Sabbatic goat possesses all sexual characteristics to be ‘both’ at once, and with how Norse Seidhrs (magic practitioners) were generally woman with magic being seen as a womanly thing. Despite this, Odin himself is shown to study and use Seidhr magic, so that’s fun.

I love that they’re nonbinary and tbh you don’t need justification for them to be nonbinary any more than you’d need justification for them to be a boy or girl. (Everyone please send us more nb trolls we have so few and I love them all dearly). I would…caution you about creating a nonbinary character using the reasoning that Baphomet has intersex characteristics, since those two things are neither synonymous nor even really related at all? I mean I love this androgynous kid and will die for them and will pour my heart and soul into the redesign in which I maintain their gender ambiguity but just. Y’know? And there’s still enough reasoning for them to be nb on the basis that subverting gender norms is very much a part of punk culture and that Seidhr does indeed have a murky history in terms of which gender “should” use it so it still holds if you need a narrative reason.

Name: Phomet Burzum

‘Phomet' is from a shortening of ‘Baphomet’ which is the goat-headed figure that has come to represent the Sabbatic Goat, tying to their symbol and minor Satanic themes.

Burzum is the word for ‘darkness’ in Black Speech from The Lord of the Rings series.

God I love that’s he’s a little bit similar to a troll I recently reviewed. Hecate Bafmet and Phomet Burzum: BFFs 4 LYFE (however short Phomet’s may be)! Skulking around in the dark! You’d better watch out, you’d better watch out, *you’d better watch out,* *YOU’D BETTER WATCH OUT*! These two unsavory characters are comiiiing to tooown.

Strife Specibus:Axekind for now mainly as a joke on an ‘axe’ as a guitar slang term. Could instead do ‘guitarkind’ and have it go into axes later a la Rose’s knitting needle kind acting as wands.

Fetch Modus: Cryptogram - Has to spell out words with musical notes. Probably gonna use the French method for simplicity.

Blood color: Rustblood - Blooooood. But no, they’re a rustblood kinda based off a concept I had. With the True Sign of Aries being a Time one, with the social pressures kinda forcing Time as a concept over the rust caste, I’m making a cult based off Death Metal aesthetics rather than juggalos. Some sort of redblood solidarity where they wear corpsepaint. It’s meant to be a kind of mirror to the Juggalo cult, who are mirthful and the highest land caste, whereas this Metalhead cult is more stoic, macabre and comprised of the lowest ladndwelling caste. Dunno.

I do know!!! That’s metal as FUCK. Also I’m DEF adding corpse paint to their sprite!!!

Symbol and meaning:It’s a goat head, referencing the Sabbatic goat.

As with the previous troll I reviewed, it reads well and matches Aries “sign language,” and I’ll see what I assign them after looking at their aspect and moon.

With that said, since I’ve now made a similar comment twice in a row I think it’s worth going back and establishing what exactly does make a sign fit its caste’s language in case anyone wants to do a fan sign beyond the extended zodiac that could still plausibly fit within canon…

Trolltag: Nothing yet, used to be ‘cantankerousGrendel’ but I’m not sure it’d fit them these days.

Given that you’ve worked them into a death cult, how about culminateGeneration? It also works with their Void aspect.

Quirk:They talk lyke thys tü be as BRÜTAL as possyble - They replace ‘I’ and the matching sounds with ‘y’ and replace ‘u’ and matching sounds with ü. This is meant to mimic the trends a lot of metal bands to to their names in order to look cooler.

hjfsdk;l when I said that with the umlauts it honest to god sounds like someone trying to do a goat imitation so PERF. Also brings to mind associations with Brütal Legend so I figure we’re gonna take this WAY over the top.

Special Abilities (if any):They’re a magic practitioner, and regularly communes with mysterious dark entites (Horroterrors) for song advice and inspiration. In return, their resulting music often carries a lot of eldritch effects to it, which Phomet doesn’t mind because it looks so BRUTAL.

Lusus: (I’m proud of this) Pentaram - It’s… a goat head with five spider legs. It’s species doesn’t live long, they can barely move around because they have five fucking legs to support a whole goat head. Not even big ones, they’re just about average. Phomet hates their lusus and thinks it’s completely lame. When it gets sprites and is this not bound to the cruel mistress of gravity, it looks WAY cooler. Mainly based on the Sabbatic goat again, this time with the goat-headed pentagram.

dhgsljk;lafjha;jeg I love them so much. They’re a Parentaram.

Personality: Honestly, this is kinda where I struggle the most. The most I can think of is Nathan Explosion from Metalocalypse. Their voice is a similar growly type.

The character you seem to have created with Phomet is one who is very attracted to the lük of things and not to the substance. I like that for a Void player! Their interests in stuff is initially superficial, ‘empty.’ This sets them up for a very interesting arc in which they will need to actually face up to what they’re doing, the good the bad and the ugly. Dig a little deeper into this theme! You can do a lot with it.

Interests: Magic, music (playing guitar, listening to bands, composing their own stuff, singing), occult studies, looking up brutal and gruesome things online (basically an average troll google), haircare.

Title: Knight of Void - Off the bat, I’m in the 'Knights are passive’ camp and that their class verb is 'Serve’. I often try and approach my Knight characters from different perspectives but they all more or less come to the same thing, so it’s cool.

(ʘ‿ʘ ) You have come to…a blog that does not actually subscribe to that verbiage so my advice from here on out may not apply…

Anyways, their interest and dabbling with dark, esoteric magic is a good link to Void in my opinion. Forbidden, unknowable things that are best left obfuscated. The Horrorterrors are very Void-coded, such as how people can interpret Rose’s Grimdark status as her acting as a Void player, as well as residing in the Furthest ring, furthest from the Light of prospit.

Phomet regularly communes and 'serves’ Horroterrors in the way similar to a Warlock from Dungeons and Dragons serves their patron. What Phomet gets out of this is some kickass riffs and lyrics whilst the HTs just get another emissary or plaything.

I…hm. I mean I think Knight of Void actually does apply here just not for the reasons that you do. Knights tend to be drowning in their aspect, and Phomet is definitely doing so here. They’re surrounded by secrets and horrorterrors and have almost no understanding of the depth of the forces with which they’ve involved themselves. Ideally, a Knight would grow to eventually wield the very things under which they’re being suffocated.

I’ve not really thought about personality in regards to this classpect, that’s what I’m struggling most with them.

Yeah, if we look at someone like a Dave or a Latula, Knights tend to come off as very superficially cool specifically because they don’t understand that they should be concerned by everything they’re overwhelmed with. I think you’re fine just making Phomet a punk #aesthetic kid like many of us were in middle school and letting them come into their own from there.

Land: Nada

Does this mean you didn’t assign one or that they don’t have one??? Because the latter would be really interesting if you want to give them no choice but to consort with horrorterrors; if they, for example, die before getting in and wake up on their moon after a kiss, they might find that their planet never manifested/was destroyed before they could enter.

Or, if you do ant them to have a planet, how about Land of Metal and Mirrors? It would fit their aesthetic really well and also be a sly dig at their own vanity, with mirrors that show warped reflections or aspects of themself that they don’t like. The way to reach the denizen would be to accept all reflections as true expressions of themself, allowing them to warp between mirrors (including one located at the heart of the planet, inaccesible by any natural means).

Dream Planet: I wanna say Derse, but Prospit would be a nice ironic fate for them.

I think this is a question of what you want to do with them. It’s not as simple as Prospit = nerdy goofballs and Derse = edgy coolkids, though that may be what someone gets if they initially saw the moons to which the kids were assigned. Vriska, one of Homestuck’s most famously murderous and grey-moral characters, is a Prospit player. This is because her character’s focus is on Destiny. She relies heavily on predestination and is all about living up to be the grand hero she knows she’s meant to be. If you want Phomet’s arc to be about breaking free of forces to which they’ve dedicated themself with little understanding, you’d go with Derse (which is my pick, personally, especially because it puts the horrorterrors right in their ear before they even get into the game). If you think that they have a destiny to fulfill (even a dark one like eventually becoming the horrorterrors’ permanent plaything), then you’ll wanna go with Prospit.

So. With A Void assignation and a Derse moon, we get Arittarius, The Sign of The Astronaut. And interesting pick, especially if we go with the concept that they don’t have a personal planet! So let’s move to the redesign!

So. You may have noticed that Phomet has undergone something of a transformation. Let’s go top to bottom on this.

Horns - I gave them a new set of horns to match their new symbol. We already have a troll with this symbol, but I didn’t want to repeat her horns on them and their new pair looks like the tops of eighth notes as a nod to their musical inclinations!

Hair - So the thing about death metal fashion is that the folks in it have great hair, but it’s not necessarily as neat as Phomet’s original style. Their hair also tends to be longer, and chin-length on a Homestuck sprite sometimes translates to ear-length in Hero Mode, so I really wanted to hit the length home. I pulled this straight from a fan-troll sprite sheet, then added some definition at the top. One of the little cowlicks got lost behind their horn, but I wanted there to be five directly surrounding their face to reference the pentagram.

Corpse paint - I pulled the colors directly off Gamzee’s face to further drive home the mirrored implications. I even mirrored Phomet’s own face paint to make it look a little like a Rorschach blot. Finally, I futzed with their mouth makeup until it kind of looked like the silhouette of a goat head?

Eyes - So part of maintaining an androgynous look is to make things a Little Unsure. Did I add eyelash definition to their eyes or did I just make them more diamond shaped? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Who knows. We’ve seen undereye makeup exactly ONCE on a troll but I liked how it made their bags stand out so I applied it over the corpsepaint.

Mouth - Hey :V Did you know goats don’t actually have upper teeth? That’s all just one gum, baby. I found this out while spriting Phomet’s mouth and now I have to live with that information and you do too. They have an underbite now, and just enough lip definition to make you cock your head. Is that lipstick? Are their lips just full? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Vest - I added some pockets to make them more utilitarian

Symbol - t b h this one just looks like a totally plausible variant of the symbol you already gave me.

Belt - It is. A SPIKE BELT.

Boots - constantly use fantrollartroom’s combat boot sprite???? MOI? Yes, yes I do, they have done a better job of spriting combat boots than I ever could and I love combat boots and they’re metal as hell so they get some.

So that concludes our review! Luv this scamp please get them a comb for me.

-TR

#ancientvacation #phomet burzum #phomet #burzum #rustblood #review #redesign #tr review #fantroll #submission

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wazafam · 3 years

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Very few protagonists get an arc as rich and rewarding as Klaus Mikaelson in The Originals. The Original vampire who first appeared in The Vampire Diaries undergoes a tremendous personal transformation and ultimately sacrifices his life so his tribrid daughter Hope could live on.

RELATED: The Vampire Diaries - 5 Times We Felt Bad For Klaus (& 5 Times We Hated Him)

An ancient dark entity known as the Hollow threatened the Mikaelson legacy and Klaus and Elijah essentially sacrificed their lives to protect Hope from being consumed by this malignant spirit. However, many fans were miffed with this ending as they wanted Klaus to live on. Here are a few reasons why Klaus’ ending was fitting and a few reasons why it made no sense:

10 Makes No Sense: It’s A Cliche

The Originals marked a lot of firsts in the treatment of the quintessential anti-hero. It was obvious that the show was never interested in glorifying its main lead and instead explored a more nuanced and mature look at Klaus’ personal history and his broader insecurities. It wasn’t just humane but also did a great job at making him a relatable protagonist, at least in some ways. Fans had hoped the show would extend this novelty when it came to wrapping up his personal arc. A death is a done-and-dusted formula for doing away with complicated storylines, so in a way, it's a cop-out.

9 Fitting Ending: Ends His Life On A Note Of Sacrifice

Klaus was introduced as an enormously self-serving person who had a vendetta against the world, including his family. So, to end his arc on a note of sacrifice definitely makes his personal transformation much more significant since he gives his own life to save his daughter.

RELATED: Twilight Meets The Originals - 5 Couples That Would Work (& 5 That Wouldn't)

Klaus takes in all of the darkness of the Hollows magic from Hope to save her from its power and ends his own life in the process and it can’t be denied that there’s a lot of poignance in this ending.

8 Makes No Sense: His Character Is A Shoo-In For Legacies

Klaus and Hope’s storyline is not just endearing but also a huge fan favorite, and showrunners could have easily included him in Legacies instead of killing him off. Of course, Hope needs a parent and a mentor and Klaus would be ideal since he has so much experience navigating his hybrid origins. But more importantly, Legacies needs more familiar faces from the franchise and some prominent names to anchor the storyline, which could really help the spin-off find more footing, especially with the loyalists of the franchise.

7 Fitting Ending: His Personal Arc Is Neatly Wrapped Up

Klaus had one of the best arcs in the franchise and he also found a certain kind of closure since it ended on a positive, redeeming note. Keeping it open-ended would have taken away from the poetic conclusion of his end and would also make things difficult for Legacies since it focuses on Hope who has been depicted as an orphan trying to find her own way.

RELATED: 5 Characters In The Originals Who Got Fitting Endings (& 5 Who Didn’t)

The spin-off showrunners obviously anchored the spin-off to follow a Mikaelson who has to forge her own path in the world and in a way it makes total sense that Klaus was killed off.

6 Makes No Sense: Daggering Him To Sleep Seemed Like A Better Idea

For a character as complex and intriguing as Klaus, death seems too final and too ultimate. The possibility of Klaus’ return definitely ups the ante for Legacies and future spin-offs. And even the fandom believes that Klaus’ death comes across as wasteful when he could have been put to sleep with a white oak dagger. Though the white oak ash dagger won’t work on him because of his dormant werewolf side, this problem could be easily fixed in the writer’s room and daggering Klaus to sleep for an indefinite time would have been a lot more plausible for the fandom than coming to terms with his death.

5 Fitting Ending: His Death Serves As His Redemption

Considering Klaus’ history of violence and wreckage over the centuries, the fact that he ends his life on a note of sacrifice obviously lends a sense of redemption to his arc which makes it richer. Since he gives his life so Hope could live, it brings forth a new side in him and could be considered his attempt at redeeming himself for all the wrongs he had committed over the years.

RELATED: The 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Episodes Of The Originals According To IMDB

It also concludes his storyline on a positive elevated note, so he could be considered a role model in the future, especially pertaining to his daughter.

4 Makes No Sense: Klaus Would Have Been Instrumental To The Academy

Klaus could easily take on a Professor X style mantle at The Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. The fandom is clearly interested in seeing how the Mikaelson heir, Hope, turns out as a tribrid and it seems odd that no Mikaelson is around her to mentor her. The school intends to teach young gifted individuals to deal with mythical creatures and there are so many supernatural characters they probably hadn’t encountered or studied, and Klaus’ thousand years of experience as a hybrid would obviously come in handy, even vis-a-vis defense and protection against the darker energies.

3 Fitting Ending: The End To Centuries Of Disfunction

There’s something Shakesperean about how the Mikaelsons’ death signified the end of centuries of dysfunctional dynamic - specifically because the family works together to fight the ancient evil known as the Hollow that was introduced during season 3. It threatened Hope and the Mikaelson legacy and the fact that they could only save Hope with the sacrifice of their lives marks the end to the toxic cycle that has defined the Mikaelson family legacy; it essentially makes for a really rewarding arc as a whole.

2 Makes No Sense: Klaus Should Have Been Explored As A Father Further

Klaus’ personal storyline was hugely driven by how poorly he was treated by his father Mikael, so the fact that Klaus’ positive or uplifting influence on Hope was explored so little makes no sense. They did spend some time when Hope was around six and then he disappeared from her life for five years and then died soon after. And though he did help her with her first transformation and does mentor her and teach her about her powers, Klaus’ arc as a father was quite underdeveloped so his untimely death made for a really unrewarding ending for fans who wanted to see Klaus settle into his role as a father.

1 Fitting Ending: Joseph Morgan Wasn’t Keen On Bringing Klaus Back

Joseph Morgan who played Klaus is very happy with how Klaus’ arc ended and even talked about how bringing him back would seem quite ‘cheap’ or too commercial. Plus, when it comes to deciding the fate of long-running primary characters, the actor’s sentiments are vital; if Morgan decided against returning as Klaus, things could get difficult for the spin-off. “Him dying, sacrificing himself to save his daughter, to me, was a fitting kind of him finally learning the greatest lesson and doing an ultimately selfless act. He came from such a selfish place. So I don't know what the pitch would be that would, you know, for him to show up in a flashback or as a ghost or something. I just feel like it would be a bit cheap to do something like that,” Morgan said.

NEXT: Twilight Meets The Hunger Games - 5 Couples That Would Work (& 5 That Wouldn't)

Vampire Diaries: Why Klaus' Ending Is Fitting (& Why It Makes No Sense) from https://ift.tt/3dvNNPx

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drink-n-watch · 5 years

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Hi Crow, how has your week been? Mine has been busy but generally all right. Did you read Karandi’s post on Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba? I think I’m generally more indulgent on anime but she brings up some fair points. It also made me realize that I may be approaching Demon Slayer from a slightly different angle than a lot of fans. And that angle is camp. When I was a kid The Lost Boys was one of my favourite movies, and it’s this same type of atmosphere and experience that I get from Demon Slayer.

Hi, Irina! Week’s been fine — insanely busy, but that’s par for the course! Yep, I read Karandi’s post, and I agree she brought up some fair points. I wouldn’t say we’re more indulgent in the approach we’ve taken. I’d say we’re so into the characters and the plot that the pieces that would other not work fade into the background.

So you see Demon Slayer as camp? I can see that. There are definitely times Tanjiro reminds me of Asta from Black Clover. Tanjiro has a little less of the over-the-topness I associate with camp, but the elements are there.

Oh, I’m bold this week — and you should watch out for spoilers!

why do I feel like I forgot something…

So far Demon Slayer has stuck to a tightly linear narrative. Each episode picks up the second the previous one ended, and sometimes a few seconds earlier for context. As such, we got thrown right back out on that crowded street with the unknown man turning into a demon while Kibutsuji was slowly walking away with his family. Were you as surprised as I was by how quick that transformation was?

Yes, I was. I started to wonder why he doesn’t just turn everyone into a demon. Then I realized he be creating competitors for his food supply, and he wouldn’t want to do that. That was a chilling scene…

Sort of makes you wonder what Nezuko’s transformation was like. Well, that’s a horrible thought.

let’s just not think about it

As I predicted the police did get called in but Tanjiro managed to stay out of trouble by being a kid and a little help from an unexpected source. Still, it was pretty lucky that Tanjiro didn’t get hauled off to jail, it’s not as if anyone could make bail for him and poor Nezuko would have been left all alone by the stand.

Yes, you did predict that! You aren’t reading the scripts in advance, are you? If you are, could you share? Tanjiro definitely needs to keep his responsibilities in mind. This city is a completely new world to him, and he’s not going to be able to recognize some forms of danger at all!

Hahaha … of course…what’s that over there?

you didn’t see nothing!

Both the freshly transformed demon man and his wounded wife got scooped up by a mysterious demon claiming to be a doctor, and her young companion. She has some hallucinogenic blood scent power that I didn’t quite get and that seemed a bit tacked on to me. Their appearance seemed a bit too convenient so I was suspicious. What did you think of Tamayo and Yushiro?

I don’t recall ever seeing a blood-based pheromone power before. Ants and other creatures use pheromones to communicate, even over distances, so I think that makes it plausible.

As for the coincidence of them happening to be there? Part of me wants to blame Karandi (jokingly, of course) for making us more sensitive to that kind of thing! Part of me wonders: Given what we learn about her motives later, was she shadowing Eviler Michael Jackson (err, Kibutsuiji)? If so, she’s awfully brave. That’s an astonishingly dangerous thing to do.

how am I supposed to feel about this? oh right: terrified!

This was just the opening scene folks. In the meantime, Kibutsuji just calmly walked away. I’m probably going to repeat this every episode but I really adore his voice and the delivery, as a matter of fact. I looked it up and he’s played by Toshihiko Seki. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen him in much except as Senketsu in Kill la Kill and I don’t remember the performance that well. Well, he’s certainly killing in here….Ha!

I see what you did there!

We have this almost instinctive tendency to equate a good father and husband with a good man. From the little, we see Kibutsuji is doting and caring to both his human wife and daughter. Careful to keep them out of danger and gentle. And yet he’s also the type of man who would brutally murder a group of drunk strangers over a stray word. He certainly does not like comments on his appearance.

Can we talk about his encounter with the drunks for a moment? When the drunk staggered into him and got irate, Kibutsuji tried to stay calm and even apologized! But the drunk pushed his luck, and the demon back-handed him so hard the impact against the wall killed him. He killed the other man, who turned out to be the dead man’s older brother, in an even more brutal way.

this is a reasonable reaction

But the poor girl? The way he killed her? I watched the episode a few hours ago, and I’m struggling to remember as brutal and horrific killing in any of the anime I’ve watched. Kibutsuji killed the first two out of anger. He was stone-cold when he killed the poor girl. For me, that was one of those “Welp, guess we’re not in Kansas anymore!”

Kibutsuji is one of the most dangerous types of evil characters: He can tightly control his emotions.

I think we may be staggering into the “unknowable” evil category. To him, killing is just an ordinary response and doing it so cruelly, simply a way to spice it up a bit. Like getting a breakfast sandwich instead of just a pastry for breakfast. But something triggered him.

I didn’t realize how present he was in the episode until I looked over my screencaps

Also, it seems that he has now decided to go after Tanjiro. Not directly, of course, but he sent a couple of hench demons. Is it just me or does Kibutsuji seem a bit flustered by Tanjrou’s presence? Why? From his perspective, he shouldn’t have much to fear…

Not from Tanjiro, maybe, but do you remember the flashback with the other demon hunter? The one with the same earrings as Tanjiro? Looks like his flash earrings are for more than just decoration!

I just thought that was the eyecatch….good thing you’re here.

Tanjirou goes back to pick up Nezuko and I am very glad to see they addressed the udon issue. Having families ripped apart, with loved ones brutally murdered is one thing, but wasting perfectly delicious looking udon….

I know, right? The poor stand owner was beside himself! I was very glad that Tanjiro ate two helpings. And both looked as good as the first!

yes, they did!

This is when the siblings meet up with Yushiro again who has come to lead them to Tamayo’s home and clinic(?). I really liked how Tanjirou just jumped to defend his sister’s pride! Well, Yushiro had no right disrespecting Nezujo. I mean, come on! Yushiro actually makes a pretty good foil for the rather one-note Tanjirou. I like their little frenemy dynamic and I think it brings out a much more fun aspect of our protagonist. What did you think?

Agreed. Though I’m still going to hold a grudge for how he spoke of Nezuko. <grumbling> “Eyesore?” What an idiot… </grumbling>

Crow wrote a scene for this episode

We finally get some good old exposition courtesy of Tamayo. It seems she, like just about every demon, was turned by Kibutsuji over two decades ago. In that time, she’s managed to modify her body to survive on nothing but small amounts of donated human blood. She also turned Yushiro into a demon to save his life but has never managed to turn anyone else. As a result, the boy is fanatical….let’s say “devoted” to her.

Tamayo is desperately trying to find a way to break the demon curse. Which is great news for Tanjiro. However, she needs to study a variety of demon blood to devise a cure, and that may be a bit tricky to come by. What do you think of this plan Crow?

I think we just saw a quest-type plot be born right before our eyes! Seriously, I think it’s a great way to focus on his journey. Not sure how it’ll interact with the missions delivered by his Kasugai Crow. And if his mission in Tokyo was to destroy Kibutsuji, then I don’t see how he’s going to succeed. Still, I think it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.

And do you have any idea why Tanjiro didn’t jump all over the idea of modifying Nezuko’s body so she wouldn’t be tempted to kill humans? To make her more like Tamayo? I think he should jump at the chance to let her speak again, at least!

Or am I missing something?

no, nothing

You know, the more demons we see, the more I realize there’s no reason for Nezuko to not be able to speak. She can easily take that bite out of her mouth just when she needs to say something.

When Tamayo mentioned that “something” must have happened to her during the to years she was hibernating, I couldn’t help but worry that it was brain damage. That’s why she’s acting like a child or small animal when she was a perfectly coherent girl before.

That’d be terrible, wouldn’t it? Something’s going on, because the way she reacted to Tanjiro stroking her cheek was adorable — but it bordered on puppy or kitten-type adorable. It wasn’t the reaction of a human sister. And the way she just laid on the floor with her legs in the air? I don’t think a young lady like Nezuko would do that. And the writers are too good for that to be an accident. Something’s up.

undeniably adorable

This scene also solidified the analogy between demons and vampires. We seem to be mixing and matching monster traits for an ultimate nightmare. I’m not against it.

The Lost Boys meet The Howling? Or maybe The Werewolf of London?

This episode was relatively calm, with none of the signature high action scenes demon slayer has been mesmerizing us with. Of course, that is all going to change next episode, as in the final moments, Kibutsuji’s lackeys find them all at Tamayo’s place and get ready to exterminate some earring wearing slayers.

We finally get a good look at these two and once again, I’m diggin’ the design. The garish shock of colours and blunt lines really works well to create unnerving yet very unusual looking bad guys. Did you like their first appearance?

The girl reminded me of Claire from Claymore — in a good way. They looked evil, and they looked like the enjoyed being evil. The tension of expectations between the pretty bouncy balls and their devastating impact on the house (and presumably on anyone they hit) was another nice touch!

I really like the colourful bouncy ball

Last thoughts? Predictions? Fears…..

My fear is that our guess about Nezujo’s mental state is correct. That would be an interesting for the plot, but yet another cruel stroke of fate for Nezuko!

Well, this is grim but there’s hope. Tanjiro finally has some powerful allies by his side and even a chance at a cure. That is if he can survive the next episode.

Want to read our past reviews?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 01: Cruelty

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 02: Crow will Protect Me

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 03: Sabito and Makomo

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 04: Final Selection

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 05: My Own Steel

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 06: A Friend fo All Humans

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Episode 7 – Not A Boy’s Hands And The Happy Family

that’s not how it’s spelled…

As usul I took a completely unreasonable amount of screenshots an I’ll share a few here. I’ve decided to upload them all to imgur because I think it will be easier for you guys to see the higher quality images there. If you are interested the gallery is HERE.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 8 – Vindictively of course Hi Crow, how has your week been? Mine has been busy but generally all right. Did you read…

#action #anime #Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba #Horror #shonen #supernatural

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mst3kproject · 7 years

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K09: Phase IV

Remember I said the movies were all coming together? Well, Phase IV is definitely a prequel to Overdrawn at the Memory Bank. Think about it – why are the people of the future nothing but replaceable cogs in a few giant companies, or colonies if you will? Why is individuality so strongly discouraged? Why does everybody hate anteaters? Because the world is ruled by ants! See? See? It's all part of one great ur-movie!

And honestly, that's as seriously as I've ever been able to take Phase IV. It's a shame, really, because despite lurid posters in which ants eat their way through a human hand, Phase IV really wants to be a serious science fiction movie. It's trying to imagine humanity confronted by an intelligence greater than ours, from the most unlikely source – man humbled before God's humblest creatures! The title apparently refers to all life on Earth eventually merging into a single super-consciousness. I can definitely see where they were trying to go. Sadly, when the journey isn't boring me to tears, it's making me giggle like a Tickle-Me Elmo doll at things that weren't supposed to be funny. Was Tickle-Me Elmo really over twenty years ago?

Dr. Hubbs is an entomologist studying a frighteningly intelligent multi-species ant colony in Arizona – or are the ants studying him? He calls in a cryptographer, Dr. Lesko, to help him try to communicate with the insects. For the next hour or so, the scientists do scientist stuff and the ants do ant stuff. Occasionally something happens. The ants tear a house down, and the people inside flee only to be accidentally sprayed with a massive overdose of pesticide. The scientists have praying mantises to keep the ants from getting into their little moon dome, but the ants take them out with ant assassins. Stuff like that. Eventually Hubbs dies of an ant bite, but the ants capture everybody else to do... something... to them... and then the movie's over.

For the most part Phase IV is deathly boring. We're either listening to the scientists talk about whatever, or watching ants wiggle their antennas at other ants that are never in the same shot because in the real world two different types of ants put together will either ignore or eat each other. Dr. Hubbs goes off on poetic flights about the perfection of ant society, and shows that he is the Mad Scientist of the movie by discounting the deaths of actual people. Dr. Lesko translates ant-language to come up with weird oscilloscope traces and geometric diagrams that might or might not mean anything. Desert Wildlife Stock Footage appears and there's a teenage girl named Kendra who has to hang around because going outside would mean crawly formic death. The soundtrack is kinda trippy but at the same time impossibly dull.

In fact, it's because Phase IV is dull that I often find it so funny. Since nothing much is happening, my brain wanders off on odd tangents with the sparse information the film gives me. We begin with Dr. Lesko's narration telling us that this was all caused by some kind of unspecified celestial event. Really? A conjuction of the planets created smart ants? Jupiter is in retrograde and Mercury is rising in Libra, so be conservative with your investments – and watch out, because this month's full moon is the perfect time for ants to suddenly develop a superintelligent hive mind!

Then the narration starts talking about ants 'doing things ants don't do', like holding meetings. This bodes ill for mankind, sure, but the word 'meetings' just makes me picture ants at tiny tables, sipping tiny lattes while they discuss how best to put the wasp nest under the porch out of business. Never mind that Lesko's voice is over footage of ants doing... well, exactly what ants do; grooming, fighting, and carrying stuff through tunnels. The shots cut back and forth from one ant to another of a different species in a way that suggests we're probably supposed to be imagining a dialogue between them, but there's not even any squeaking sounds dubbed in. I admit that this is realistic, because ants communicate chemically. It still looks ridiculous.

How about the bit where the ant queen (who I'm pretty sure is not played by an ant – the animal we see looks more like some kind of wasp) assimilates an insecticide, producing offspring that are immune to it? Sure, scary idea, but Dr. Hubbs intones, 'we challenge with yellow chemistry, they respond with yellow creatures'. Is that how that works? Because now I'm pondering the artistic possibilities of feeding Skittles to the ants.

Or how about when the ants decide to cook the humans in their hideaway by focusing solar radiation onto it? Revenge for all those kids with magnifying glasses, am I right? Or how Dr. Lesko blasts the tops off the ant towers to try to get a reaction? That seems a little extra, when any bored six-year-old knows much easier ways to get an ant colony moving. How about the fact that at the end everybody runs off into the desert in their bare feet when they know damned well there's seventy billion pissed-off ants out there?

The ants only get one moment in the movie that's really effective, when it does seem like there's a higher intellect at work behind these millions of mindless drones in perhaps the same sort of way as billions of neurons come together to create a conscious human brain. That's when the ants bring a sample of the yellow pesticide back to the hill for their queen to examine. One ant carries this as far as it can before the poison kills it, then another one picks it up and does the same. Individual ants are expendable. There are just so damn many of them that it makes no difference, and the colony can always produce more to replace what has been lost. This uses what makes ants scary even when they're not superintelligent, along with reminding us that their purpose here is to study our weapons and learn to neutralize them.

The dead ants laid out in rows like the aftermath of a battle is also sort of cool, but it has the opposite effect, actually humanizing the ants by depicting them as individual lost lives. Hubbs has already explained to us that's not how ants work, and if ants are individuals who care enough to gather up their dead colony-mates, they become a lot less alien and therefore a lot less frightening.

The behaviour of the ants also suffers from the same problem as a lot of killer animal movies, in which their intelligence seems to have come with a few lessons in electrical engineering. Intelligence does not automatically confer knowledge – INT is a stat, while knowledge is a skill! Humans have sophisticated brains, but much of what we do with them depends upon thousands of years of accumulated learning. Before we could build a generator, we needed at least a primitive understanding of the physics of electricity. It is true that destroying a generator is simpler than inventing it, but how did the ants even know what the significance of the generator was? How did they know what the air conditioner was, never mind how to shut it down? These ants have been sentient for a couple of months at best, and during that time they seem to have been too busy building towers and exterminating their predators (things that actually seem like pretty plausible ant priorities) to go to trade school.

These are all quibbles, though. The biggest problem with Phase IV is that it raises a lot of questions and then never bothers to even try answering them. Dr. Lesko makes some progress at communicating with the ants, and the fact that the ants bother to listen and reply suggests that they do want something from these humans... but what? Hubbs dies of the ant venom, but Lesko and Kendra are captured and taken inside an enormous ant hill, where the ants begin doing something to them that seems poised to begin a real dialogue. In the final moments of the movie we're on the verge of finding out what's really been going on... and then it just ends.

So what was all that leading up to? We don't know! And Lesko's final words of narration, we didn't know for what purpose, but we knew we would be told, just seem to rub the anticlimax in our faces – he found out, but we never will! I'm left with the impression that writer Mayo Simon didn't have any real idea, himself. I guess the point is supposed to be that the ants are such a completely alien mind that Lesko probably couldn't explain it to us if he wanted to. Fair enough, but still a lousy non-ending to a boring eighty-four minute movie.

All this movie needed was a conclusion. Not even a conclusion to the overall 'smart ants take over the world' thing, just a conclusion to the 'kidnap Lesko and Kendra and make them members of the hive' thing. Are the ants after human knowledge? Do they need human emmissaries? Human spies? Human slaves? Humans to play the slots in Vegas while the ants manipulate the machines to pay out big wins? A fertile couple to be the progenitors of a new race of Ant-People? See, there I go again, off on tangents trying to supply the entertainment this movie so conspicuously failed to give me.

There are people who really like this movie. El Santo of 1000 Misspent Hours says it's one of his favourites, because it makes him think. It made me think, too, but about all the wrong things.

#mst3k #reviews #phase iv #the movies are all coming together #70s

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