#wrapping things up plot

[intotheelliwoods]

I should also mention...

We are entering the Endgame Territory.

I am working hard on whats coming, which is definitely the hardest update I have ever drawn! I have been saving this final plotline for over a year now and I am feeling so many emotions about finally getting it on paper! (on... tablet? digital canvas?)

I hope you guys are excited! I also hope the wait for another update wasnt too bad!

[shepscapades]

Thanks to artfight, I’ve finally finished a detailed, official dbhc cub reference! :D

(I’ve put his Artifight description below the cut, which has a more detailed explanation of his timeline, lore, and aesthetics! >:3)

-ˋˏ ༻ ❁  OVERVIEW ❁ ༺ ˎˊ-

Name: C.B.F.N.4000 (Cub) Pronouns: He/Him Species: Android Height: 5’9’’ Associated Visual Themes: vex, ghosts, explosions, mischief, scientist aesthetic, potions, potionmaking, sleepy/tired aesthetic, conspiracies

-ˋˏ ༻ ❁  ABOUT ❁ ༺ ˎˊ-

CBFN4000 is an au version of MCYT Hermitcraft’s Cubfan, set in my DBHC (or Detroit Become Hermitcraft) AU! This au is inspired by the 2018 game Detroit Become Human, but not because it really has anything to do with DBH—I simply yoinked the android mechanics and incorporated them into the world of Hermitcraft. It began as a S8 au, and has roughly followed the hermitcraft timeline up to the present! 

Cub was the last android made during Season 8. While many of the hermit androids were made at the beginning of season 8 and a few were made for season 9, Cub was finished and activated mid-late Season 8, around the time when Hermits started noticing the Big Moon. Cub’s model ended up being a sloppy experiment in deviation, as Doc suggested they try to transfer deviancy to an android upon activation to try and avoid traumatic situations that might cause an android to deviate violently or upsettingly, such as Etho’s, Tango’s, or Mumbo’s experiences. While this went relatively well initially, it clearly wasn’t very thoroughly thought out, as Xisuma (who is normally so adamant and detail-oriented when it comes to assuring the androids’ safety with experiments like this) wasn’t truly himself due to external manipulation and mostly left a relatively young-deviant Doc to carry out the project himself. 

Cub, though adjusting to sentience rather well at first, very quickly became wrapped up in the Big Moon happenings on the server, new personality and inexperience to emotions like fear and ignorance completely overwhelming his young system. He became obsessive over the implications and consequences of the Season 8 Moon Apocalypse, joining the Mooners and spreading his conspiracy theories religiously throughout the server as he descended into madness. The insanity was like a virus to his programming, pervasive and all-engulfing, and Cub’s final attempt to free himself from the Moon’s impact with the Earth—to launch himself on a llama into space via potion-powered TNT(insane btw)— left his hands and feet singed and cracked to ruin.

The experiment, considered a horrific failure by a deeply shameful—and more awake—S9 Xisuma, left Doc and Xisuma with the decision to reset him for the new season, and they ended up pairing him with a hermit like they had done with the other androids, to give him a chance to find deviancy on his own terms. So, at the start of season 9 and fresh after a reset, Cub was paired with Scar. Naturally, because Scar is… Scar, Cub deviated almost instantly after being given to him, and very quickly adopted the iconic lazy, stoic, amused attributes normally associated with Cubfan. Scar’s tendency towards mischief and general shenanigans grew instantly on Cub, and the two were an immediate inseparable pair. So much so that when Scar began rambling one day about his Season 5 Hermitcraft Shenanigans (where deals with the Vex may or may not have been involved), Cub immediately stated he was interested in being in on it. Whatever “it” means. It’s unclear if Cub also made a deal with the vex or became connected to them in some other way, but… well, he got Doc’s help to trick out his eyes, hair, and back to best fit the part. Scar is very jealous that he can't magically make himself have the same features to match.

Cub is closest with Scar (there's something there, I think), but he gets along just as well with any of the other hermits! He’s close with Jevin and many of the other redstoners like Etho and Doc, who are the other two androids I’ve put on artfight!

-ˋˏ ༻ ❁  EXTRAS ❁ ༺ ˎˊ-

Cub's eyes can light up in the dark, and he’s the only android who has edited his programming so that the default state of his LED is white, not blue. It still will go yellow and red if his processors are working particularly hard, but he’s replaced the blue setting on his LED with white to better match the Vex vibe. Cub has all of the vibes of a fae. If that’s anything <3

[demi-pixellated]

a stray

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

october 1, 2021 10:30 a.m. shannon's house

[welcometogrouchland]

Noticing that TV and film will often have a character either have had an abortion in the past that isn't showcased on screen (and just used as part of the character's ~fucked up and twisted backstory~) OR contemplate getting an abortion in the present day but not to through with it. Just once I want to see someone delete that fetus within the events of the plot and not be like. Extremely majorly punished for it and/or be in the wrong

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Road To Ruin

start of a postapocalyptic fantasy series set in an Asian-inspired desert world plagued by dangerous storms

follows a courier who transports romantic letters between a prince and princess, who helps the princess escape across the wastes towards the prince’s safe haven

but they’re pursued by bounty hunters, and accidentally uncover some ancient secrets. and also she’s in love with both of them

dinosaurs, magical motorbikes,

bi MC, start of polyam triad

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s7 episode 1 "the sixth extinction" thoughts

it’s been 800 years… 

not really, but it has been, like, a week since i last watched an episode!!! and what a last episode it was!! while i’m not super invested in the aliens are god sort of thing going on, i do want to know how my friend scully can save mulder from this sticky situation, avenge skinner, AND defeat the evil combination of CSM and diana. with the power of science.

i anticipate a lot of hefty musing on the role of man in the universe superimposed over 90’s graphics of the earth. while i could spend time making other predictions, i want to jump in!!

(post-episode thoughts: save me, scully in a vest and glasses. save me, doctor indiana jones, translating ancient languages in your tent by lantern light. use that machete to fight for justice and honor.

ah, this was a good one. very centered on scully and skinner, which is a great treat for me, because we don't often get enough time to focus in on them and their internal torment.

but i want some answers. as much as i would like to dwell here and make guesses, i also want this arc to be over so i can know wtf is going on, and how they will all get through this!!! excellent skinner angst to dive into, though. blaming himself... and all of this happening after he said he wasn't doing enough... yeah)

but back to yesterday! when i had not watched this episode before! take it away, past me!

(previously on the x files….) 

i love a little recap. look at mulder back when he was well! how things have changed. 

AH. we revisit scully checking him for a fever. “what is it, mulder?” <-oh, yeah. this is catnip to a freak like me.

“he said i was the only one who’d believe him” “you’re a liar” YAAAAAAS!! we need to give scully another thorough round of yas-ing for that. for standing up to diana's bullshit dig that she is the only one who could ever understand him. and the heel turn and storm away. OOOH! good stuff. 

we begin with today's episode now. poor scully is in a business suit, finding a giant alien cathedral thingy on a beach in west africa… she couldn’t even show up in a sundress… it was simply too serious.

that, or she doesn’t own any, which is a terrible thought. oh! i must picture her in a nice sundress now at once to remedy such an idea

YEAH, MONOLOGUE MY QUEEN!!! “i’ve stayed on now, in spite of myself. in spite of everything i’ve ever held to be true” she hasn’t gone home yet!! that is wild!!! because she loves to be at home!! but even more than she loves home, she must find the answers!!!

OH…. her ponytail and glasses combo…… forgive me, for i am blushing. look at her!!! investigating!!!! in a nice tent!!!

SHE’S TALKING TO MULDER??? “i will confine here as long as i can, as long as you are beset by the haunting illness i saw destroy your beautiful mind” <- OH MY GOD….. “beautiful”. i’m gonna… i need to lay down. beautiful mind…… she thinks his is a beautiful mind… 

FUCK ME.

she says she feels it was not meant for her to find, but for him to make the connections. “connections, which, for me, deny all logic and reason”

so the rubbing comes from the craft (and it is a spacecraft, btw, not an alien cathedral like i thought, that is on the beach)…. and it somehow took him over. and also, it draws a moth to it. scully does not want to deal with moths hurting themselves at this time, so she turns off the lamp. 

ah! but she sees a guy! behind her! and he’s not actually there when she turns around. 

moths freak me out so bad. i would not want to film this.

SHE GRABS A MACHETE OMFG… she is NOT MESSING AROUND………. 

GAG!!! the moths are COVERING THE RUBBING LIKE AN INCH DEEP BLEUGHHHHHGGGGGGG NASTY NASTY. wait- they’re not moths!!! are they locusts?! of biblical nature???

what does mulder have in common with these bugs that makes them both go crazy from looking at the rubbing??

scully has a fucking machete and she’s ready to use it. trust that fact. but she doesn’t see anyone out by the sea. 

BLEUGH! when she returns to the tent, it is being SWARMED BY MORE BUGS!!! all over the place!!! burn the whole thing down. 

NO, LEAVE HER ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOO, NOT ANOTHER BUG ATTACK!!!! not after darkness falls!!!!!!! and not without mulder here for her to scream at!!!!!

i guess we were due for another bug infestation at some point. it has been 6 seasons since that one. but eugh. so.... visceral.

intro time…….. paranormal activity. government denies knowledge. baby agents with guns. the truth is out there. you know the drill!

OH! back to poor mulder. who has been quiet for 36 hours… despite this, his brain won’t let him sleep, because his temporal lobe is going sicko mode. skinner watches him on the camera- can he be trusted at this time. the doctors can only test him for short periods of time. but…. the doctor says his brain is just going to die. 

skinner looks at the doctor with great concern.

poor sopping wet cat of a man in his sad little hospital gown… skinner is coming to see him. mulder doesn't respond to his name. OH! he’s trying to explain that he is skinner! :( oh........ skinner. he may be working for krycek, but it's not on purpose, and he wants mulder to get better. i feel guilty for briefly doubting him.

i’m taken aback a moment here at the fact that this very serious scene is being played out because his brain was rotted by alien letters. which makes the whole thing seem silly if you analyze it too hard. so we won’t. just know the camp is never lost on me. 

oh, fuck!!!! skinner turns to ask if he can get mulder some fresh air- another pang passes over my heart- and he lunges at him!!! he’s pinning skinner up against the wall and then choking him against the ground!!!! skinner says he doesn’t want to hurt him…. two guys have to pry him off…….. and mulder starts screaming!!! while skinner walks out, wiping the blood from his nose!!!!

he must somehow know about krycek… even if he can’t use his words to explain why or how…

skinner wipes the blood from his glasses, and finds a note slipped into his pocket, written in blood: “HELP ME”

oh!!! so he can communicate somehow!!!!! and the attacking was a strategic cover for note passing rather than an unleashing of rage for the krycek thing!!! what is going on!?!!!

back to west africa. some guys in trucks roll up, one of whom points out scully’s seemingly empty tent. a woman steps out. and she runs into scully! poor scully with wet hair looks incredibly cranky!!! but i am happy she survived the locust swarm somehow.

who is this new character?? her name is amina ngebe, and she is here to see her discovery. scully is like, that was supposed to be secret! but it is a well-known secret, says amina. merkmallen called it the “african internet” <- lmao

she is a bio professor! but she says she isn’t qualified to figure out wtf went down here. fair enough. not sure if anyone is.

scully explains that she was working by lamplight, “and, uh, i saw a man who vanished, and then they just swarmed”

which sounds surprising coming from her. but she says it so matter of factly. yeah. sometimes you see guys that vanish, i guess.

amina says okay... just... don’t tell anyone that happened. the others will think this is a bad omen of what you’ve found. from god. 

yeah. i can't say i blame them.

oh shoot, the men are digging outside, but someone is screaming for help!! saying the water is boiling him! scully and amina run out to help.

i hope nothing bad happens to amina. i want to see these two science out.

oh…. he really is covered in very horrible burns. but it seems no one else who was in the water with him is??? why are only some people being bothered by this whole ship thingy…..

back in the states, skinner is lurking about, sneaking into mulder’s room!!!! he is asleep in bed, held in all sorts of restraints. skinner approaches…. cautiously…. and tries to talk to him

“i want to help you”, skinner says. mulder’s mouthing something, tapping something… skinner asks if he can write and he nods… i find myself at the edge of my seat!!!

OH SHIT!!! he writes right into skinner’s hand. “k r” <- OH. he knows.

back to west africa. scully says she feels mulder slipping away as she fails him!!!! no!!!! omg!!! she feels that she doesn’t understand…. she feels that the inability to cure him is her failure... omg... it hurts...

she lays awake as amina sleeps on the cot nearby. but a vehicle approaches. scully gets up to investigate, machete in hand!!! do not fuck with her!!!! god, she’s so pretty. is it krycek in the jeep? no. it is not. 

she doesn’t know what this guy is saying. FUCK!!!! BARNES IS HERE!!!!! girl. kill him.

amina wakes up, thankfully, asking who barnes killed, and scully says it was merkmallen. but barnes denies it. uh... yeah. i'm not buying it. we all saw that head in the trash.

barnes says he knows the craft is alien- “you don’t even believe in that” “nor do you. but here we are” <- oh, he gagged her a little bit. scully says she is ONLY here to help her partner, and he claims he can help, since can read the writing. i suppose it is time for a dubious alliance.

scully, if you held a machete at me like that, i would never complain again. 

yeah yeah yeah, this thing is the key to life itself, he says... idgaf. barnes, i don’t trust you. 

oh. the sea is turning to blood. that isn’t good either. and scully sees that man again!! off in the distance!!!

why the fuck does she look so good… i’m gonna gnaw my arm off. 

:( she’s worried. she might be seeing things. she blames herself for not finding a cure for mulder yet. she doesn’t know what to believe. she has to trust a killer. she even got attacked by bugs in a tent. my poor sweet scully.

back in DC, it is 5 am. we are at a place called “g street”. oh! mulder did not write “krycek” into skinner's hand like i thought! he wrote “kritschgau” <- our old friend!!! i never thought we would see him again!!! what an ambitious crossover event!!!

skinner knocks at his door and he opens up. he says he has to talk to kritschgau. he tries to shut the door in his face, but skinner does NOT allow it.

so kritschgau lost his government job because he was a whistleblower about the whole alien thing at mulder’s request. it sounds like he might not be the best person to help out if this is the case. skinner is saying mulder asked for YOU!!!!!!! and brings him to his hospital bed. 

oh shit… mulder is somehow anticipating what kritschgau is asking skinner. can he hear what people are thinking??? like gibson??? kritschgau says he MIGHT know why he asked for him

yeah, steal him!!! wheel him out!!! free the man!!

kritschgau and skinner are FIGHTINGGG!!!!!! kritschgau says skinner better be prepared to accept the responsibility of taking him out of the ward… gag… 

and then he hands skinner a needle and says he must inject mulder. skinner says he will NOT do this, but kritschgau explains he is on the wrong treatment. and while kritschgau isn’t a doctor, he’s seen his condition. was it in his son who died?

no, he says it was “in a study”. from the CIA!! he says that they had to slow their impulses to a normal rate after they had become “all brain”

yeah, sure, why not? i’ll roll with that. doesn't sound like it makes any real sense, but it's an alien show, so i can suspend my disbelief.

and he hands skinner the needle. skinner looks like he’s going to stab kritschgau….. but puts the needle in mulder instead… and no, i cannot look, thank you for asking- but he seems more normal!!! his face relaxes and he says “they’re coming”

ah, fuck. it’s diana looking for him. she says he isn’t in his bed… but when the nurse opens the door, he is right there with skinner. LMAO. trick the trickster. he claims he found him down the hall. 

“who are you?” “i’m his boss. and hers” <- BAHAHA yeah. remind her where she stands. and then he orders her to leave. BAHAHAHA!!!!!! get the fuck out.

he says “she knows”. she knows what?? that he can read minds somehow?? “no doctors. get me scully” <- OHHHH…. he wants his scully :(

but skinner doesn’t know where scully even is!!! because she had to fuck off to god only knows where when he and diana were lying to her!!

and mulder says he KNOWS that skinner has been compromised and that krycek will kill him. OH!!!!! so has he come up with a solution to that problem in his time laying in bed?

he says he needs kritschgau. he needs him to prove that it’s alien. kritschgau doesn't believe. which is why he needs him.

scully is piecing together rubbings of the craft!!! and barnes can translate a few letters. look at her translating. i want to put her in a blanket and wrap her up.

so, the rubbings from the top of the craft translate to words about genetics. but the workers who were working on the bottom of the craft were scared away by the evil signs. what little writing they have found on the bottom of the craft has been from all sorts of religions!! science and mysticism! with power in them!!! this is what scully says in her monologue!

scully won’t stop- she says she is only afraid she is too late.

amina comes in with more translated pieces. it is a passage from the Quran! teachings of the prophet on a spacecraft!!

and scully has more to show as well. a panel for each chromosome. perhaps a map of all genetic makeup. this sounds like it would be a huge deal for science as a whole and scully in particular.

they’re talking about how beautiful it is, how it is the word of god- and i do want them to be friends forever- but barnes barges in, saying they’re wrong. he looks wild. he declares there is no god- only that what is out there is what started the spark that cooked the primordial soup. girl, no one asked you. why would the primordial spark bother to write down what would become major world religions and the human genetic makeup? doesn't make sense, tbh.

amina says he is mad from the sun. and he replies that he is very sane and understands everything. it has all been written. 

scully tries to tell him he’s sick- and her vest and glasses combo is going so hard- but he pulls out the machete, asking if they think they’ll take the credit!!! noooooo. omfgggg, barnes, academia can WAIT. we need to save mulder’s ass first before you start thinking about your publications. scully once again says that she is only here to help her friend. and barnes declares that he got too close to its power- the ultimate power.

he then announces that no one can leave before he does. and sits by the door. 

OMFGGGGG.... NO ONE GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE RIGHT NOWWWWWW... barnes is off the deep end fr fr

back in DC, kritschgau is explaining his machine that shows random pictures to skinner- if mulder knows which pictures are UFOs without seeing them, he could be a psychic. and mulder makes a little joke joke before flopping the UFO spotting test. it is hard for ESP to perform under pressure!

mulder just wants him to prove that it’s aliens doing this, saying kritschgau doesn’t want to believe. he isn’t looking hard enough. so skinner says to speed the test up. 

and when it is sped up he can ACE the UFO test!!! he anticipates them!! yeahhhh!!

i hope he won’t stay psychic forever, though. he has enough going on in his life.

back to the ivory coast. barnes still sits by the door while scully and amina watch. he’s nodding off… scully has blood lust in her eyes. but the tent starts shaking….. barnes thinks the ship brought some fish back to life. when he grabs the fish, scully SLAMS HIM WITH A CHAIR!!!! HELLLLL YEAHHHH!!!

they make a break for it!!!! they steal the jeep!!! where can they go?! does amina know the way?? yes, she does. and scully sees the guy again!!! right in the road!!! she yells at amina to stop, but he’s not there.

AH FUCK. jump scare. now she sees him in the CAR with them. “some truths are not for you”, he says. WHAT!

she thinks it was the scary appearing and disappearing man who touched her head, but it was amina checking to make sure she was still alive!! poor girl is having a full on panic attack.

scully wants to go home now. i cannot blame her at all.

skinner is trying to get mulder out of the hospital. ohhhh, but skinner doesn't let kritschgau give him the medicine that works!!! he says he knows he’s out for revenge!! “how far should it go? how far would mulder go?” (skinner reluctantly hands him the vial)

ahhhh, they need to get out of here before diana…. ah fuck. she is here. 

FUCK. he starts going into seizure….. they’re trying to hold him. what is going ON. is kritschgau a traitor??? did he make him seize on purpose? did he give him the wrong dose? or a dose that is too heavy?

back at the tent in the ivory coast…. the driver comes to look for dr. barnes. and then he HACKS HIM TO DEATH??? saying he’s sorry….. HUH. are we doing sacrifice now?

diana, do not fucking touch him. she's monologuing to him as he lays in the hospital bed, unresponsive- but she knows he can hear her. “i know you know about me… that my loyalties aren’t just to you. but to a man you’ve grown to despise” GIRL??? get out of here.

“you have your reasons, but as you look inside me now, you know that i have mine” oh…. now what is THAT supposed to mean? what reason could she possibly have for working with the devil? what does he know now that he can read her mind?

“fox, i love you” <- HELLLLL NO. nah, i don’t even wanna write that shit down. she says she won’t let him prove it. now they can be together. HUH? don’t fucking kiss him????

what do you mean, she knows what’s inside of him? what do you mean the music is swelling like that? did she test him somehow when she went to his apartment, and that is why his brain is going wild??

scully rolls up to the FBI building!!!! and barges into skinner’s office!!!! she asks him where tf mulder is!!! and when he doesn’t cooperate, she goes to leave… but he says there’s been some trouble. scully walks in and whispers: “what kind of trouble?” 

he says he got kritschgau involved, and he takes full responsibility. scully does not believe he is dying. he is more alive than his body can stand. “and what’s causing it may be extraterrestrial in origin” <- AH! boom!!!! she said the alien words!!! “i know” he says. “but there’s nothing to be done about it”

“they’re going to deny you access” “maybe as his partner, but not as his doctor” <- OH SHIT!!! what does she have planned?!??

back on the ivory coast, barnes is…… picking stuff up off of the floor while the dead guy sits there. something approaches. he thinks the man who he slashed came back to life!!!

he grabs the lantern and calls out…. there are footsteps into the sea. AHHHH! the guy who was previously dead gets HIM with the machete!!! so can this ship bring people back from the dead? i thought the gag with the fish was just a genius scully and amina plot to distract him before getting smacked with a chair!!!

mulder is laying in his hospital bed. he can hear muffled voices, including scully’s! she’s here to see him!!! she says she knows he can hear him. she needs him to hold on. she says she found a key to every question that’s ever been asked.  and she knows it can save him if he just holds on.

she grabs his hand. and asks him please. hold on. 

barnes is found dead in the water!!!! amina stands with her hands on her hips, looking into the sea. is the craft no longer there?

and thus concludes the episode.

bro….. so much just happened.

not sure i even want to unpack the diana stuff right now. because i feel that more is yet to come. and if i try to untangle it now, more stuff will happen and then i'll have wasted time crafting a theory. however, i hope that the next episode is the last time we see her, because i've had enough. what did she mean about him looking inside her?? what could possibly justify her working with CSM?? how tf does she think that relationship would ever work out? "hi honey. i came back to our house after a hard day of helping your mortal enemy kill more innocent people. did you have a nice day in the office trying to stop him from doing exactly that? shall i make spaghetti for dinner?"

i lowkey think CSM is her father. but that is all i've got.

so scully might now be an alien believer. i mean, this was built up slowly over time, but it’s also not like she just gave in for no reason. she found incredible evidence. and said evidence might have disappeared back into the sea, but it’s hard to say. hell, if i found a spaceship covered in a very niche language that translated into tons of religious texts, i might also start believing things. or think that someone was REALLY committed to the fakery. 

wait. again. what the fuck are diana’s “reasons” that she spoke of??

scully was indiana jones today. and it suit her very nicely. i was deeply pleased. she was badass, genius, and she looked beautiful doing it. and she was feeling very angsty as she blamed herself for not being able to figure out what was wrong.

and she made a friend!!! i hope they can stay in contact with amina, but i have a feeling something terrible will happen to her. they never let the side characters stick around for too long.

poor mulder. so what’s kritschgau’s deal? he gave him way too much of the drug that he knew would help him in low doses because he wanted revenge??? if mulder knew he wanted revenge, or that it was even a possibility, why did he write his name on his hand?? he could read kritschgau's mind, so he had to have known what he was planning. what is he thinking?? it must be so infuriating to sit there, hearing everyone’s thoughts, unable to do anything about it.

skinner blaming himself for what happened……. for being tricked by kritschgau. taking full responsibility, just like kritschgau said he had to. poor skinner. he just can’t win. but GOD, does he love his agents. at the same time, though, he tried to tell scully there was nothing that could be done to help mulder. was that out of his own guilt? did he think he was sparing her getting her hopes up? was he surrendering to the idea that he may have killed one of his best agents, and is preparing to suffer the cosmic consequences? and his response to scully saying the problem might be alien- he says he knows. what does that imply about where he stands on the scully to mulder scale of belief?

gggaaaaaah, there’s so much to chew on here. scully…. scully save me. with your machete and your vest and your translation of science words. thinking it’s beautiful. thinking it’s an answer to all the questions ever asked. 

but what if it is a fake?? what if she opens herself up to the idea of something being real... and then it isn’t? how would she ever open herself up again?

i mean, seeing something that seems to have come from an alien and explains every answer to every question is not the same thing as believing that every single UFO sighting is legit, so i don’t think we should conflate the two. she’s using the scientific method!!! 

but i feel like since it answers so many questions, it can’t actually be real. it seems too convenient- maybe the ship is a syndicate fake? but then, if that were the case, why would krycek be getting involved to deal with something that isn't even real? the syndicate isn't supposed to be sloppy; they aren't supposed to kill unless they absolutely have to so they can avoid detection, which was why CSM got in so much trouble for the hit for scully that ended up killing melissa. so they wouldn't just kill merkmallen for no reason- unless it really was barnes that did that independent of them, and perhaps krycek was just egging him along.

i feel like if the ship were from a true alien civilization, it would be incomprehensible to us rather than the source of all human religion. like, bible and quran passage, the human genome- that seems like the sort of stuff that someone would translate in an effort to make a convincing fake. a really, really convincing fake. if they're aliens, then they probably have more pressing matters to deal with than humans on a different planet- unless it is somehow part of their long haul plan for colonization? get the people to believe this this and this, and document how they work, to better exploit them as slaves? why the focus on just humans if the galaxy has other things in it?

but then, if it WAS a fake, how did the rubbing have the power to make mulder go into his whole thing? and why does it seem to only be bothering him?? and some of the people who are trying to dig it up, but not all of them. and maybe also barnes, but it’s hard to say. and then barnes got killed!! because the guy he murdered came back to life!! so can the ship thingy do that? raise the dead?

lots of biblical references. plague of locusts, sea of blood, raising of the dead, etc etc. what does that mean for scully? does that lend credibility to the idea that life comes from elsewhere because there are elements that are familiar to the way she already believed the universe was run? or does the mention of other faiths in the writings shake her to the core?

there is so much to think about, and i will continue thinking in the morning, but at this moment, i am very tired and must sleep. and hopefully i shall dream of a world where they are all better. we get a restraining order against diana (who, if you recall, took her shirt off while going into mulder's bedroom while he was super sick last time, which i still am freaked tf out about), and then amina can laugh with scully over the phone, and they can talk about science while mulder sleeps over. because she won’t let him be away. yes. i shall think of this and sleep like a baby. 

[horsegirlhob]

not to keep complaining about bad severance takes but I just saw someone say this season was shit and all buildup and no payoff and I felt like I was having an aneurysm

[too-many-rooks]

Love revisiting a WIP and thinking oh maybe I can actually post this one, before getting to the end of the doc and it just. Stops. Would love to know what happens next. Alas.

[firestorm09890]

FUCK what I said about the majority of significant changes to dialogue in Re:CoM being to adjust Axel's characterization, the most egregious change is actually this

(GBA CoM)

(Re:CoM)

if I had to guess, the reason for this change was because in GBA CoM, The Superior was a spooky, unknown being at the head of this Organization we had very little knowledge on, and for Vexen, the guy who runs his mouth constantly about how much better he is than the others, to be terrified of him, he must be some pretty scary dude. But then after kh2 we know him, it's Xemnas, he's very dramatic, he likes to talk to the moon, and the effect of your mind filling in the gaps about what "The Superior" must be like is gone. So it wasn't really necessary anymore, right?

(rest under cut because it's long)

Except... the way they changed it is so weird. In the GBA version, what's happening is pretty clear:

Marluxia tells Vexen that his project is a failure

Vexen demonstrates that he does not give a shit about Marluxia's opinion

he does care very much about The Superior's opinion, though, and Marluxia uses this to blackmail him into eliminating Sora- an action which is nonsensical, as the entire point of what they're doing needs Sora alive, making it clear to everyone in the room that he is deliberately sending Vexen to die

and then after that, when Vexen shows up to fight Sora, he goes "if you want to fight me for real you've gotta do it in the memories from the other side of your heart lol bye" and Sora goes "huh? other side?" and then it cuts to a scene on the top floor:

and then this gets more into subtext but here, Vexen has realized he's totally fucked and his only hope is to mess directly with Marluxia's plans (well, they were the Organization's plans, but it's pretty obvious by now Marluxia's abusing his power for his own purposes) by giving Sora more information than he should know. This does get the traitor gang worried enough to send Axel to go kill him (as opposed to just letting Sora take care of him, which was presumably the original plan)- he very specifically cuts Vexen off to keep him from saying too much (this is retained between the original and the remake)

Anyway, what happens in Re:CoM sort of follows the same order of events, but everything is changed slightly in a way that just makes things more confusing.

Marluxia tells Vexen his project is a failure and Vexen demonstrates that he doesn't give a shit about Marluxia's opinion, as before

Marluxia threatens Vexen with a weapon, rather than threatening to tell the Superior

this, notably, does not seem to faze Vexen very much. he continues to run his mouth while having the scythe pointed at him.

Xemnas is still leveraged- Marluxia points out it was the Superior who entrusted him with the castle

...even though reasonably Vexen would already be aware of this, and has still demonstrated that he has zero respect for Marluxia despite it

the lines about betraying the Organization being a capital crime are retained, probably because it's super relevant later, but then that line of thinking is abandoned in favor of Marluxia and Larxene just taunting Vexen instead

The part where Marluxia says "do it. you won't" could be seen as a sort of threat... if not for Axel's line: "You give a challenge like that to Vexen and he'll seriously want to eliminate Sora." It frames it all as though Vexen went to fight Sora out of some sort of pride.

And look, Vexen may have a temper and a superiority complex, but he's not stupid. They're obviously baiting him. Plus, what happened to him seeing himself as above the others and countering things he doesn't like with "well actually I'm higher ranked than you and also you're an idiot"? Is he that insecure in his fighting capabilities? I could deal with characterization changes doing him dirty if it didn't also make no sense in the context of the plot.

So now we have Vexen going to try to kill Sora, something that really makes no sense to do, out of pride. What was the purpose of sending Sora to Twilight Town? Also pride, over the fact that he managed to get that information? Giving the writing the benefit of the doubt, I could say that these nonsensical actions can be explained as evidence that Nobodies can have hearts and people with hearts do strange and rash things, but that just feels like a reach, which is bad because what they had in GBA CoM worked perfectly fine and made sense without any reaching for the "idk emotions make you do strange things" explanation.

It continues. After Vexen gives Sora the Twilight Town card in Re:CoM and Sora wonders about what the "other side" means, this is that version of the conversation the top floor members have:

...what? "If Sora disappears, that would mess up the Organization's plans"? what are you worried about? the only reason Sora would disappear is if Vexen killed him. there's no way they think Vexen being in Twilight Town would give him an advantage, right? they know he's a pathetic fighter. "Vexen has clearly committed a treasonous act against the Organization" HOW? HOW IS IT CLEAR? they don't express any worry about Sora learning too much, up until Axel says "I came to stop you from talking too much" when killing Vexen- and that being there makes it seem like they were worried about Sora learning to much, but if that's the case, why would they replace the perfectly serviceable lines in the above scene? it's just... baffling that they would want to lean into the narrative that Vexen going to kill Sora (which he'd been goaded into doing) is the problem here, because it just makes so little sense compared to what it was originally.

once again giving them the benefit of the doubt: Marluxia's real plan was to take over the Organization, and he saw an easy way to pick off one of the members, so he took it. the motive for stopping Vexen doesn't actually matter.

buuuuut it's the same as with Vexen earlier. Marluxia may be too self-absorbed and power-hungry to notice Axel is scheming against him, but he, too, is an intelligent man. he's plotted for a while, getting into Xemnas's good graces in order to be put in charge of the Castle. this is incredibly sloppy for him. I guess it could be said that getting so close to his goal would make him sloppy, but again, if they'd just left things the way they were in GBA CoM, I wouldn't even have to be saying this

in conclusion: GBA Chain of Memories' intra-Organization strife subplot is so tightly woven with calculated moves on all sides that Re:CoM changing certain things without taking into consideration the consequences makes certain parts of the plot fall flat and become far more confusing than in the original story

[seagreenstardust]

Yuga as a foil for Izuku is so fascinating because they were both born quirkless but that’s where the similarities end. In every way Yuga was privileged while Izuku was disadvantaged. But Yuga’s privilege resulted in him basically being shoehorned into doing villainous things while Izuku was given the biggest possible helping hand despite his disadvantage.

And that’s why I’m so so SO feral over Izuku reaching out to Yuga and telling him he can still be a hero, no matter what he’s done in the past. Izuku was given the chance so he’s got to make sure others get it too.

[batw1nggg]

my issue with the danganronpa 3 brainwashing plot is that it takes away responsibility from class 77b. the “oh noo they werent fully conscious of what they were doing so its not their faultttt” direction danganronpa took really sucked 2 me cause like.

makoto and munakata's stances on the remnants were both supposed to be correct. the tragedy was supposed to be a complex and morally chaotic mess. but the brainwashing plot makes 77b lean more toward redeemable then irredeemable and washes out a really intriguing layer of nuance. choosing to go on living knowing you did so much evil of YOUR OWN ACCORD is so much more interesting and takes much more bravery

77b would’ve still been redeemable to some degree, because they’re not the overall mastermind of the tragedy — junko was. but they still could’ve been CONSCIOUS of their decisions. i wish danganronpa forced you a little bit more to admit that munakata was right.

[dirtytransmasc]

Yes, she decided. The moment she continued to go in his chamber, she could advice him to wed laena instead of trying to have a relationship with him, she could have remember him of his duty. She had a choice as everyone has

clearly logic is something that will not reach you no matter what I say but let's try again shall we.

first off, Viserys married for pleasure, not power or political gain. he knew his duties he knew what was best and had no interest. he married Alicent because that's what he wanted. it would be insanely inappropriate for a girl to advise a king on political matters AND it should not be the job of a 14 year old child to tell a king what he should be doing.

second off, she had a father to please, cause again, to reiterate, she was his daughter and she had a duty to him and her house. this was not a duty she wanted, but she didn't have a choice. she was young but se wasn't stupid she knew what her father expected of her, and if word got back from Viserys that she was actively advising him to marry someone else, she would then not only bring disobeying her father but going against him.

thirdly, and more minorly, "she should have pushed him to marry laena" isn't the gotcha you think it is. laena was even younger than her, and even if it was politically expected of him, still fucking gross.

lastly, cause I apparently can't stress this enough, SHE DIDNT HAVE A CHOICE, plain and simple. she had no agency, she had no power, she had no out, she was at the mercy of her father, she had to obey him, she had to do what he said, even if it meant walking herself to slaughter. once she met with the king, he took a liking to her and DEMANDED her presence, he the DEMANDED her hand. again, there was no point she could have said no. she couldn't say no to her father, she couldn't advise the king (he barely tolerated it when she was literally the queen, let alone if she had just been some girl entertaining him in his chambers), she couldn't deny the king of anything, she didn't have a choice.

she was 14 and scared, 14 and trying to survive, 14 and trying to please her father, 14 and sent to a man 3 times her age's chambers, 14 and lusted after by the king, 14 and knowing of her place in the world and what was expected of her. like every other woman in their history, she couldn't escape, she couldn't, there's no plainer way to say it. she faced her duty with poise and a stiff lip, cause that's what you had to do, but she was just a child.

you can't expect her to have been some radical icon, there were none, women who went against their station in life were punished or killed or put into god awful betrothals to lessen the shame brought to her family. she was a nobleman's daughter, she had a house to bring honor to. she did the heartbreaking thing of giving up, for the benefit of her father and house, doesn't mean she wanted it, doesn't mean it was ok, doesn't mean she isn't deserving of pity. giving in to your duty =/= wanting it.

"she had a choice as everyone has" she had a choice every woman has; accept it with grace, be forced into it, or damn herself to a fate much worse (and that's being generous, most didn't even have that many choices). it's the men who had choices, Otto offered his daughter up, he didn't have to, he had no obligation and nothing to lose if he didn't. Viserys had every choice, he could have married whoever he wanted, he could have denied her the second she entered his chambers. the men in her life had every choice to change her fate, yet they didn't take it, and you would rather blame her over them?

and listen, I know your set in your mindset of victim blaming a child bride who was raped until her husband didn't have the health or stamina to keep it up, and that you'll choose to blame her over the men in her life who damned her to such a fate. nothing I say will ever convince you, cause you clearly hate her past where logic will reach. you can keep sending asks with your terrible takes that have no backing or logic and actively ignore the political and societal state of the times and what it means for her as a young noble girl, and I'll keep answering them cause I have nothing better to do and I'll defend my girl to the grave.

[genderqueersammy]

Sometimes I make a post and then wonder if I’m truly saying something worthwhile and then I remember that some people genuinely think that in s12 Sam was trying to make Dean look bad in front of Mary (seen this with when Dean was sarcastic towards Mary when she visited them and Sam interrupted) or downplays his feelings or twists them (seen this done for the ‘mom is not a thing’ dialogue)…. Literally the most bizarre least generous interpretation of his character, it’s insane

[samuelroukin]

they need to do so much tip touching but there's so little time </333

[pumpkinrootbeer]

Aang being a shitty dad is fine, but it's the way tlok makes Aang a shitty I have a problem with. You're telling me a guy who's entire culture was whipped out and whole family was massacred wasn't overjoyed at the possibility of sharing his culture with his entire family?

Would Aang have given more attention to Tenzin? Probably, them being the only airbenders would have almost certainly fostered a complex dynamic between the two— even to the extent that it would damage the father/son relationship. I think it's also worth pointing out that Aang was raised in a culture without the nuclear family dynamic we see him participarting in with Katara and their kids, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that Aang would fall short of the expectations and responibilities being a typical father figure brings especially when he himself never experienced that dynamic. Especially, especially compounded with the task of rebuilding a struggling world and maintaining peace.

However, do I think he would neglect to show his kids his culture? Their culture? No. Certainly not the extent he did, and especially not when we see how excited he is to share it with his friends in the show. Why wouldn't he be excited to share it with his kids? With all his kids? How the writers of The Legend of Korra make him a bad dad is a complex series of failures not the least of which stem from racism, the unwillingness to even attempt an understanding of multicultural families, TLOK originally being a 12 episode miniseries that then got greenlit for another season and was suddenly taxed with building upon a world that was never intended to exist beyond its original scope, and a fundamental misunderstanding of Aang as a character.

tldr: see