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doomed-era · 4 days

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RAMBLING ABOUT CULTS TIME!!!

HELL YES

OKAY SO! CULTS. if any of this is interesting to you and you like weird indie animation movies or comics uhh you could check out the final exit of the disciples of ascensia and joe vs. elan school nooo im not shilling things i like nooo

OKAY. LET ME MAKE A LISTICLE. though there are clear indicators of cultlike behavior, the way the word cult is used is often relative and ill-defined. as a fair warning, i'm not an expert on any of this; it's just a casual interest of mine. feel free to correct me if i get anything wrong!

ONE. i think it's generally agreed upon that there's not much of a difference between high-control groups and cults. however, i think when people think of a cult, their idea of what that is is a lot more nebulous and associated with religion. cults do not have to be religious! also, i think high-control group in general suggests that it's just controlling, and so idk cults seem more like a subset of high-control groups to me i'm not going to argue about this if someone actually told me they are synanonymous (haha gotcha) but

TWO. ANYONE CAN JOIN A CULT. anyone could be vulnerable to a cult; it doesn't matter if you're smart or cool or famous or whatever. the primary reason people join is to be part of something, for acceptance and community and joining others under a common banner. people in cults are just as human as everyone else, they are not stupid or crazy or inherently bad. oftentimes, even though they may do horrible things to others, they were preyed upon themselves.

THREE. okay so I know I was like "you should look at the BITE model" earlier but it is a flawed model </3 namely there's things about it that seem to apply more to western cultural norms and i don't know if i'd apply them to others (for example, some cultures are more communal and less individualistic. the definition for what is a healthy amount of individualist or collectivist behavior depends a lot on who you're talking to.) also though there are definitely controlling religions if a controlling religion is considered an acceptable mainstream belief generally i would not consider them cults. a lot of these things are still relative.

FOUR. cults are all about control!! this above all else is what sets them apart from any other type of gathering or organization. they will isolate you from others and attempt to control you by any means necessary. some of these are more obvious, like physical isolation, keeping you from accessing information that isn't approved by the cult (they'll usually give a reason for this), or frequent monitoring. some of them are more subtle, like sending you out to "see the outside world" for a specific task to reinforce how "bad" the outside world is. there's very much an "us vs them" mentality going on. think of cults as a bit like an abusive relationship, except on a broader scale!

FIVE. cults often have a charismatic leader and a strict hierarchy! also honestly the things cult leaders do sometimes can be just so goddamn funny like these guys will buy 27 yachts and watches and sex fifty people while the rest of their group lives in complete squalor but it's fine because Reasons!!! they frequently break their own rules it's kinda funny. people further up on the hierarchy will usually get more privileges than those at the bottom. also if the cult leader writes a book they get bonus points from me because lmao

uh i'm kinda out of things to ramble out for now unless its something specific hope u enjoy

#glider rambles #yea. um

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woahajimes · 3 years

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the batfamily is stupid as hell and they're self isolating because SOMEBODY got covid (steph) and then SOMEBODY (cass-- who also has covid bc uh stephcass) sneezed on tim who drank from jason's cup without knowing it was jason's cup and anyways everyone in the manor got covid so ✨self isolation for 2 weeks✨

ANYHOW they were all bored out of their minds and jason was about to throw damian out the window bc siblings right

SO BASICALLY cass came up with the big brain idea of a competition (prize being complete immunization of sibling interaction UNLESS they ask for it-- eg. "hey can you open this for me")

teams were made (just two people per team-- duke/damian, jason/cass, steph/harper, dick/tim)

there were "rounds" and these consisted of

round 1: person a has to feed person b a whole jar of peanut butter and they could switch places ONCE (team to finish last was disqualified)

round 2: they had to recreate this picture and had ten minutes to do so, at the end every team compared pictures and alfred decided whose was the worst and that team was out

round 3: they had to run five laps around the manor with their team member on their back, first person to get through the finish line (for the fifth time, there was a picture taken each time they crossed it) won.

simple, right?

WELL NO

first round basically went like this:

jason: NO FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID PEANUT BUTTER cass: jason: okay okay ill go first

tim went first, harper went first, and duke went first (duke didn't want to go first but he lost to rock paper scissors so)

tim puked in the first two minutes but alfred had forgotten to clarify that if you puke you're out so basically he kept eating

cass and jason were the first ones to switch

dick and tim switched immediately after (they were waiting for someone else to switch)

steph and harper fucking DIED

"im never eating peanut butter after this"

"by GOD EAT FASTER ITS NOT EVEN A SOLID"

"CAN YOU NOT SHOVE THAT SPOON DOWN MY THROAT"

"IM NOT GOING TO LOSE IN THE FIRST ROUND FUCK YOU"

duke and damian finished first and when ppl asked how (they're the youngest ones, people were sure they couldn't handle it) damian was like "i simply moved all my internal organs to the side" and duke was like "tf you literally ate two spoons and a half"

STEPH AND HARPER LOST and tim laughed (his team got to the next round by literally a second) so harper and steph both threw him the containers and spoons

second round:

tim thought he had a big brain for calling dibs on being on the pool mat but nOOO (duke was on the pool mat, damian was the lightest so yeah--- jason was on the pool mat solely because cass called dibs on jumping and crushing him-- imagine all the chaos)

literally they(jason/cass) took 14 pictures total and all of them were fucked up because of jason (his hands weren’t in the right place, both his legs were picked up)

duke and damian couldn’t do it skjdfhskfh they were D Y I N G (every two minutes you heard a really loud scream/groan with a sudden splat and yeah)

steph and harper had never laughed harder

cass was so done with jason she literally shoved him off the pool mat

tim was literally dead they had taken the shot around 20 times and none of them looked good it was horrible (dick didnt even apologize for crushing tim 90934757894 times -- not every shot was decent so they deleted around 40)

when the timer went off, alfred carefully took all the phones (jason’s phone was somehow at the bottom of the pool and jason was tired(tm) so he asked cass to get the phone pls and cass just got in the pool and shoved the pool mat over (and then got out)

after around 20 minutes of alfred going through the pictures, he decided that the best ones were dick and tim’s (how i have zero idea but)

and then the worst ones were duke and damian’s (so jason and cass made it to the third round)

cass asked alfred why theirs weren’t the best, and alfred said “well master jason’s arm looks very off and he looks genuinely scared” and cass was like “GODDAMNIT JASON” and lost her shit

LAST ROUND:

so they did think this through and basically cass on jason’s back and tim on dick’s back

jason: HA! YOU’RE NOT FASTER THAN I AM! dick: i don’t need to be??? you’ve got CASS on your back. you know what that means? jason: .... you wouldn’t.. tim, on dick’s back: *snorts* YEAH OKAY

cass: what are they talking about? jason: NO NOTHING jason: you might want earbuds or something to like... block the sounds... they’re gonna be wanting to distract you cass: yeah well. I’m not distracted easily

the timer goes off, tim on dick’s back, and they’re pretty even for the first two laps, but then tim’s shoe falls off and tim’s like “WAIT MY SHOE” and dick goes “WHAT THE FUCK”

and tim is like “whoa youre right KEEP RUNNING”

cass on jason’s back: HEY STEPH CAN YOU PASS ME THE PRETZELS

update: cass does get pretzels and gives jason a few jason: CASS THATS MY NOSE cass: OH OOPS LOL

dick: tim i think its time to pull out our secret weapon tim: yeah you’re right tim: tim: HEY CASS *starts humming to ‘levitating’ by dua lipa* tim: 🎶 if you wanna run away with me- 🎶

jason: NO jason: NOOO CASS COVER YOUR EARS DONT LISTEN TO THEM cass: 🎶 IF YOU WANNA RUN AWAY WITH ME I KNOW A GALAXY WHERE I COULD TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE 🎶

(you may ask how this distracts jason but it just DOES)

dick takes this as a head start and runs faster (theyre on their third lap now- both)

tim gets a bit too excited and leans too much and makes them both fall over (they were abt half a lap ahead)

tim: GET UP GET UP dick: THIS IS YOUR FAULT TF YOU MEAN

cass: 🎶 YOU WANT ME 🎶 jason: 🎶 I WANT YOU BABY 🎶 *runs past them* dick: HOW jason: JUST DONT FIGHT IT

karma’s a bitch (and dick paid steph) and jason slipped, causing them to fall almost the exact way that tim and dick fell

dick and tim have now caught up to them, as jason and cass pick themselves up

jason: we should switch cass: yeah alright do you want me to momentarily kill you so we can distract the others and then you wake up and we run jason: ...no cass: jason: ... maybe

*two seconds later*

cass: HE’S DEAD! MY POOR BROTHER HE’S DEAD! steph: YEAH WE KNOW YOU MOMENTARILY KILLED HIM GET UP cass: ok jason lets go stand up

they keep going and dick stops for a second (theyre ahead) dick: hey its your turn now tim: dick: yeah i know you cant cmon climb on

COMEPLETE HEADCANON jason and cass won anyways thank you for coming to my ted talk

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lalosalamcnca · 3 years

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The Originals 2x01-2x08 Review

So I watched TVD during quarantine last year, and even though I swore to never watch another Julie Plec show again, I’m watching TO! I thought I’d share my thoughts, let people know how much I love Elijah Mikaelson in a suit or how I enjoy diabolical planning. You can find my reviews of S1 on my blog.

2x01

AWW REBEKAH’S TELLING HOPE A STORY, THIS IS SO ADORABLE

I 100% get why the Mikaelsons are isolating themselves but I hope they bounce back

My man Elijah back in a suit...why does he have to look so good

The opera music...kinda ominous

Nope, it’s just Klaus being a drama queen

KLAUS, C’MON, TALK TO HAYLEY. PRETTY SURE YOU BOTH CAN RELATE WELL TO EACH OTHER

The bayou grounds look so sad...

WOAHHH I GUESS CAMI AND MARCEL ARE OFFICIALLY A THING

Should I be freaked out by Cami’s new advisor??

Well, I’m glad Davina’s getting back to a somewhat normal life, she deserves it

HELLO DANIEL SHARMAN...AKA KOL MIKAELSON

I guess if I was Ms. Guerrera then I’d be frazzled too

Klaus watching Cami as she looks for him in the compound...I’M LIVING FOR IT

Davina, I hope you realize resurrecting Mikael is ALREADY a bad idea

Klayley partnering up...LET’S GOOO

I LOVE SOME GOOD DIABOLICAL PLANNING

Wtf has Jackson been doing this whole time

I do feel for bad for some of the werewolves, but it has to do more with the ones who were put down for decades, not the Guerrera family

KLAUS DRAWING WITH BLOOD LOL LOVE THAT

THERE’S NO BARRIER SPELL, ELIJAH’S ABOUT TO RIP APART THE GUERRERAS

YESS GO OFF HAYLEY

Ms. Guerrera had her death coming, but I’m sad to see her go, she was a good villain

Ok, I will admit, Davina and “Kaleb” have chemistry

DAMN CAMI ALREADY ENDING THINGS WITH MARCEL?! Didn’t expect that to come so quickly

Klayley having their moment and teaming up, the EXCELLENCE

I FUCKING KNEW THAT CAMI’S “ADVISOR” WAS SOME SORT OF BAD GUY

OOH ESTHER HINTING AT AN INCOMING FAMILY WAR...IM SO HERE FOR IT

2X02

Kol just causing trouble with his magic is very on-brand for him, I expected nothing less

I appreciate that Elijah’s trying to help Hayley, but at the same time…let her do what she wants??

FLASHBACK: AWW WE’RE BACK WITH YOUNG MARCEL

FLASHBACK: Kol in the same house as Young Marcel?! can’t see anything good coming out of this

Mikael’s sassy comments, I see where the Mikaelson kids get the attitude from

KOL GOT REALLY CLOSE TO MIKAEL HOLY

Cassie’s actress is doing a great job as Esther!!

I’m LOVING all this Klayley content

FLASHBACK: KLAUS THREW KOL UNDER THE BUS SO QUICKLY LMAOOO

I like that Davina and Marcel are cool again…pretty sure this meeting is gonna end badly tho

ELIJAH KNOWS DAVINA HAS THE STAKE…HIS INTELLIGENCE

FLASHBACK: NO NO NOT YOUNG MARCEL HAVING TO WATCH PEOPLE DIE FOR REAL AND YOUNG MARCEL HAS VAMPIRE BLOOD IN HIS SYSTEM?! OH GOD

Ok, Klaus has only really killed ONE person that Davina cared for, it’s not that deep

Esther has no right to bitch about vampires…what a hypocrite, YOU CREATED THEM

KOL’S DIG AT FINN…JUST SIBLING STUFF LOL

EXCELLENT FIGHT SCENE, MIKAEL IS A TRUE BEAST

OH NO THE BRACELET, GIRL GET IT BACK ON

ELIJAH SAW MIKAEL THE SECRET’S OUTTT

YESSS THE REVEAL, PRETTY SURE KLAUS KNOWS “CASSIE” IS HIS MOM NOW

Oh no…Klaus learning about Mikael…

FLASHBACK: NOOO ELIJAH DON’T PUSH YOUNG MARCEL AWAY, MY HEART HURTS

WHY IS KOL LYING ABOUT SEEING MIKAEL, IT COULD BE A BIG PROBLEM

Looks like Elijah and Gia are gonna spend some time together…

2X03

LOOKS LIKE WE’RE ATTENDING A FAMILY DINNER

FLASHBACK: This is a sweet moment between Klaus and his mom…too bad it’s now tinged by bitterness

OH DAMN WHAT A SPELL, THIS VINCENT GUY CLEARLY HAS STRONG MAGIC

Oh no, Lenore’s meeting Finn…

FLASHBACK: Oh god, Esther lied about the necklace by saying it was “special” to a young Klaus

Why is Finn such a mama’s boy?

Poor Lenore, people really just get screwed over by the Mikaelsons

I like Gia, she seems fierce

I’m hoping that the topic Mikael will come up at some point in this family dinner

I highly doubt Kol has “accepted” the error of his ways, he probably just wants to be alive

Klaus and Finn definitely had a interesting dynamic, actually Finn probably has an interesting relationship with all his siblings

FLASHBACK: MIKAEL LITERALLY STABBED KLAUS?! WHEN HE WAS HUMAN?! He might as well have tried to kill Klaus

Yup, Klaus has issues, and they’re completely warranted

“You are the author of everything I am” WHAT A POWERFUL LINE

ESTHER’S JUMPING INTO ANOTHER BODY, DAMN THAT WAS QUICK

Thank god the spell worked at least before Esther jumped

Ok, putting someone in another body is not “healing,” the bodies were people too, they had a life

So Elijah’s a bourbon man too

Elijah and Gia…they’ve got their appeal

Esther has fucked up logic, that’s for sure

2X04

OH Josh is setting up a dating profile

THAT’S AIDEN, I KNOW HE AND JOSH END UP GETTING TOGETHER

Looks like Finn is trying to collect info from Cami

Cami talking about Klaus during her session…it’s sweet

I do not like the implication that Klaus needs to be “saved,” especially by the love of a woman

Ooh Klaus already deciphering Davina’s location

Oh no no no, these kids have to kill someone?! I’m guessing one of them is Aiden’s brother

Davina doesn’t have to listen to Mikael but he’s kind of right about her learning how to fight properly

Elijah teaching Gia how to fight with his sleeves rolled up?? Basically my religion

ELIJAH AND GIA HAVING A MOMENT…I’M INTO IT

Finn preaches righteousness but he’s forcing children to kill someone?! What a rat

KLAMILLE’S HOLDING HANDS THIS IS NOT A DRILL OH MY GOD THEY’RE DANCING NOW YESSS

NOOO KLAUS LEFT CAMI C’MON MAN

Davina’s ankle looks so inflamed, jesus

Davina, don’t fall for Kol’s tricks! You’re smarter than this

Kol making a deal with Mikael! I knew Kol wouldn’t just go along with Esther’s plans

FUCK NO IS ELIJAH ABOUT TO BE CAPTURED

I’m kind of hoping Oliver will live

Aiden and Josh…I’m watching you two

Damn you, Cami, just let Klaus kill Mikael!!!

KLAUS AND MIKAEL SHOWDOWN OH SHIT HERE WE GO

OH SHIT THE TUNDE BLADE IS INSIDE MIKAEL NOW

THIS KLAMILLE CONTENT IS FEEDING ME SO WELL

JOSH LOOKS SO NERVOUS AW BABY

FUCK YEAH AIDEN AND JOSH ARE MEETING UP I ALREADY SHIP IT

WHY IS MIKAEL ALIVE AGAIN WTF

OH HELL NO, MY BABY ELIJAH IS BEING TORTURED

2X05

HELLO NINA DOBREV, IT’S GOOD TO SEE YOU

Elijah has definitely killed people before, not sure why Tatia would be any different

The actress who plays Lenore/Esther is also doing a great job

NO NO NO GIVE KLAUS BACK THE WHITE OAK STATE, NOW HE’S DEFENSELESS

KLAUS KNOWS IT’S KOL, HELL YEAH

OH HELL NO, MIKAEL’S GONE AND SO IS CAMI

I hope Davina slaps Kol when she wakes up

I highly doubt that Kol has anything remotely under control

I like that Cami’s pointing Mikael’s issues but it won’t do Cami much good

I like these Marcel and Hayley interactions, platonically ofc

FLASHBACK: so clearly the Mikaelsons didn’t relish killing in the beginning! Klaus finding out Mikael isn’t his father…it’s kind of heartbreaking

Wow, Mikael is so dramatic, forcing all these people to basically give a whole speech to Klaus and pose

Yup, beat Kol’s ass, Davina

I like Kol but he deserves it

Esther’s plan seems to be working out very well

THIS IS A FIERCE FIGHT BETWEEN KLAUS AND MIKAEL

FUCK NO, COME BACK TO LIFE, KLAUS

DAVINA’S SPELL IS WORKING YESSS

YAYYY MARCEL TO THE RESCUE

HAYLEY’S HERE TOO, HELL YEAH

Mikael really knows how to roast someone

Marcel has a right to be pissed, Davina is being careless and idiotic

HAYLEY SAVING ELIJAH, WE LOVE TO SEE IT

THEY’RE MAKING OUT NOW, THAT’S HOT

ARE YOU KIDDING ME, IT’S AN ILLUSION?! FUCK THIS

2x06

Oh, poor Oliver, I may not like him but he’s been through a lot

I cannot stand Esther’s holier-than-thou attitude

The development, Klaus said he’d save Hayley!!

Hayley finding the wolves’ alpha, I’m guessing Jackson might be coming back into the picture

How on earth is Esther breaking down her sons into nothing going to bring back her children

ESTHER FINALLY KNOWS ABOUT MIKAEL

LOOKS LIKE ESTHER AND KOL WILL BE HAVING AN INTERESTING CHAT

Cami figured out the truth about Finn!!! Smart girl

Sorry, Mikael doting on one kid does not make up for him abusing the rest. If anything, he should’ve held them closer since Freya “died”

So Jackson’s just been hiding out in the bayou this whole time…coward

STOP SAYING HAYLEY IS SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR WIFE, JACKSON, IT’S AWKWARD AND CRINGY

How is it that Klaus’s birth mended the rift between Mikael and Esther but Klaus was clearly abused the most

FLASHBACK: What a horrible moment, finding your bio dad dead after being lied to all your life

Ooh, looks like there’s an operation to take down Finn!

STAB FINN, CAMI

Oliver’s speech is a tad hypocritical but I’m still cool with it

KLAUS IS GONNA MEET HIS DAD OH MY GODD

THIS IS KIND OF SAD, KLAUS IS LIKE A CHILD AGAIN

WHY U GOTTA BE SO CRUEL TO BIO DAD, KLAUS, HE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING WRONG

LOL Marcel’s reaction to Cami thinking Finn likes her

Oh no, Oliver’s cursed…he wasn’t exactly a good man but he didn’t deserve a painful death

ESTHERR JUST LET KLAUS AND ELIJAH GO C’MON

Why can’t Esther just explain her deal with Dahlia to Klaus?! It’s not that complicated

2x07

YESS, LET KLAUS HELP YOU, ELIJAH

Klayley has come a long way and I like it

OOH LOOKS LIKE HAYLEY’S ABOUT TO TARGET FINN AND KOL

Come on, Jackson, I know you can be a leader! Pull yourself together

WHY AM I LAUGHING AT CAMI ASKING OUT FINN

Leah Pipes is too pretty

I HATE that line “you’re not like most girls”

I guess Klaus and Ansel are going to spend some time together

Davina, there’s no way that you’re being charmed by Kol’s lines

I respect that Klaus doesn’t shy away from the bad things he’s done

Klaus and Ansel definitely have the same sort of temperament

I like Davina’s apprehension towards Kol, it’s warranted but I don’t understand why Kol is genuinely acting nice towards Davina

Nevermind, apparently he just wants her help AKA Davina’s being used by yet another man

Oh shit, Ansel knows about Hope

JOSH IS KINDA AWKWARD AROUND AIDEN IT’S SO CUTE

What a terrible, heartbreaking moment. Killing your bio dad, the one that could’ve loved you…so traumatic

HAYLEY, JUST KICK FINN’S ASS, STOP TALKING

FINN HAS BEEN SUBDUED, THANK GOD

FIX ELIJAH PLEASE, GET HIM BACK IN A SUIT

I THINK KLAUS IS GETTING THROUGH TO ELIJAH, WORK YOUR MAGIC BABY

ELIJAH WOKE UP HE WOKE UP HE WOKE UP EAT SHIT ESTHER

STOP WITH THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE ROMANTICIZATION, IM SICK OF IT

Klaus confiding in Elijah about Ansel…the feels, I’m soft

OH MY GOD, I DIDN’T REALIZE KLAUS BROUGHT ANSEL’S BODY TO ESTHER’S LAIR

KOL AND FINN HAVE BEEN CAPTURED, OH YES, THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET INTERESTING

2x08

REBEKAH AND BABY HOPE, TOO PRECIOUS

REBEKAH START RUNNING, DON’T LET ESTHER FIND YOU OR HOPE

Elijah’s flying off the handle…

Ooh, Klaus and Elijah switching roles!! An unexpected but funny change

DAVINA, YOU DO NOT KNOW KOL BETTER THAN MARCEL, IF AT ALL. STOP FOOLING YOURSELF

Davina, just give up on Klaus, stop trying to kill him

I love Davina saying Aiden’s hot when the actors are dating in real life

What exactly counts as “Klaus’s wretched cause?” His methods are definitely gory but all he’s really trying to do is stay alive

How can the logic be that the marriage vows have to be honoured but they happen for political reasons?! How is that a foundation for love

I like this Cami and Hayley friendship

WAIT…ARE THOSE THE MARKS USED FOR POSSESSION SPELLS ON CAMI’S BACK?!?!

Josh seems so happy!! Love this relationship for him

AWWW THEY KISSED, THE MUSIC SET IT UP SO PERFECTLY AND WHAT A TENDER MOMENT

I don’t think Kol is going to break Davina’s heart, it would be accurate for him to drain her blood

Elijah…I have a bad feeling about him being in this diner

I’ve missed my fave Rebekah

Oh god, Elijah….GO TO THERAPY, YOU CLEARLY NEED HELP URGENTLY

Davina and Klaus definitely have an interesting dynamic

I THINK HAYLEY’S ABOUT TO AGREE TO A MARRIAGE WITH JACKSON

I almost feel sorry for them…Hayley clearly doesn’t love Jackson, and he won’t fully have her heart…

FUCK YEAH, SLAP FINN AGAIN, CAMI

NO WAY IN HELL WILL REBEKAH BE IN CAMI’S BODY

Hayley, be honest about Elijah with Jackson, he deserves it if he’s gonna MARRY you

A touching moment between Klaus and Kol, love these Mikaelson interactions

Poor Finn having to go back in the coffin…he must have some insane claustrophobia

2x09-2x16 review coming soon! Please, DO NOT POST SPOILERS OR HATE COMMENTS. I don’t expect people to agree with my opinions, but being rude is not going to get me to change mine. I haven’t seen the show before, my opinions are probably going to change over time as I keep watching. If you want longer notes on any of the episodes, opinions on a TO ship, my overall thoughts on S1 or these past episodes; please ask or message me, I’d be happy to share them.

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categoricalglitches · 7 years

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So, I’ve been meaning to type this up all week and just kind of never got to it because of reasons, but since the new episode’s about to be out and the prospect of the oncoming aftermath is bothering me to the point that it has me sort of dreading watching it, yeah.... You know, this is not actually going to help but, well, screw it, may as well vent away anyway.

Cut for spoilers (next few episodes, the rest of Leviathan Wakes and vaguely the other books), length, and a lot of italics-fueled ranting.

The issue for me here is not the events of last episode as such, but rather Holden’s upcoming reaction to them, just as they did in Leviathan Wakes. Because honestly? I think Miller made the only decision possible in that moment as the scene is presented and Holden’s reaction (never fucking mind everyone else’s) is idiotic.

I don’t even really, rationally (emotionally my heart fucking broke for Miller, let me tell you) care that Holden kicks him from the crew and of the ship. I care that fucking everyone acts as if this one specific murder is so random and unforgivable somehow. And, I mean, fuck. In my book it’s pretty damned far down on the list in terms of brutality and unjustifiability in the category of people Miller shot in that period.

And, for the record, it seriously bothers me that I do have to agree with Miller here, because in general I am totally on team Holden (let them rot in jail for all of eternity) and on top of that the scene just... doesn’t work for me. At all. Like, even beyond the fact that I hate the understated, supposedly über-charismatic villain who can make anything sound “reasonable” and not that bad and/or a necessary evil and who makes other characters genuinely doubt themselves even though their plan is insanity on the order of BUT WE COULD CONTROL THE REAPERS FOR HUMANITY, SHEPARD!!! (or any of the other bullshit he tries to convince you of while maintaining he just miraculously had nooo idea what all those rogue cells committing all those atrocities aaall of their own accord, yup, were doing, for that matter--yeah I hate TIM, ask me how much) or, you know, the blatant fucking pile of lies Dresden tries to sell as he’s caught red-fucking-handed and all their talk in those scenes manages to elicit in me is aggravation and a desire for them to fuck off already because I cannot stand them and it hurts my immersion in the narrative. (Wow, that specific complaint got a bit out of hand. Sorry.)So, anyway. I don’t think the scene works on its own merits and fails to justify Dresden’s (frankly ludicrous) rationalization--brief reminder, for the murder and then some of 1,5 million/100.000 people--working.

His rationalization, you know, for the murder and then some of tens of thousands resp. over a million people. Yeah. And all he has to say for himself is that it was super duper urgent to identify the oh-so acute danger presented by the protomolecule which had been chilling as a moon of Saturn for literally billions of years and therefore could never have been a weapon intended to harm humanity for obvious reasons. And just think of everything we could do with it to improve humanity! Hypothetically, of course, because it’s not like we know what it is or does. We kind of just released it on a civilian population first to see what would happen, ’cause we’re not interested in the evolutionary potential of bacteria since we here at Protogen are professional, serious scientists! Who by the way are actually totally doing this for humanity! Honestly! And anyway they’re all already dead so ~make their deaths mean something, man! I am a trustworthy individual who you can definitely trust and they were all just Belters, so who cares.

And then everyone just falls for it anyway, as confirmed directly by Holden and Miller and now in the show, Fred Johnson too. He is literally in the process of fucking somehow talking himself out of this travesty when Miller well-deservedly shoots him in his fucking face and shuts him up permanently. Is it justice in the sense of him having been convicted in court? Well, no. Point Holden, in theory. Is it at all even a remote possibility at this stage that he will end up in a court for a judge to convict him? No, not at all. I don’t think it makes any sense, mind, but he’s already talking his way out of unleashing an unknown biological agent (that for all he knows will build a fucking zombie moon if fed enough bio-matter) on a civilian population for science! and fun and profit, so. But, like, HDU! or whatever. Meh.

(I am actually pretty sure those aren’t even all my initial reasons, either.)

And the way the show seems to be handling it makes all this even worse to me, for three main reasons (and one minor one, because I do think Dresden was miscast even though like I mentioned, his little sales pitch failed to work for me in the book as well).

The first is Kenzo. He never asked for this. (Sorry, sorry.) But I do mean it. As annoying as he was (and he was a lot annoying), he was an insufferable annoyance that got caught up in this mess because he was conveniently nearby enough to put into place as a spy. And he totally did betray them, and it’s not as if I think they should have taken him along or anything or, hell, even that Holden shooting him in those circumstances would have been totally unjustifiable.

But Holden didn’t shoot him. He chased him off and left him to die a death that wouldn’t have been out of place in a list of the more unpleasant Dead Space game overs and an undeath as part of the protomolecule hive mind. He couldn’t have known about the tentacles, true. He couldn’t have known about what happens after you die of protomolecule infection, also true. But fuck the entire fuck off, it’s not better to leave someone to certain (and he did know that obviously) horrible death than to actually kill them yourself. In fact, IMO it’s worse, especially if you then try to take the moral high ground because hey, at least you didn’t kill them!

And actually, even then I never had that much of a problem with it (that certainly put him out of my misery and it showed off some neat stuff about the protomolecule and it looked cool). But uh... I do have a problem with this happening and then Holden still having the same/a similar reaction to Miller’s execution of Dresden as in the book.

How, exactly, does he think that was any better or more justified or fucking anything? Because I am not seeing it. As far as I can tell, it’s pure hypocrisy on the level of it’s okay when I/we do it like with Amos and Clarissa (yeah, sorry, still don’t like either of them--unpopular opinion, I know). I mean, unless he thinks personally annoying traitor who nearly led to their death > evil mad scientist responsible for a six-figure number of deaths and still almost succeeded in having them killed, which I doubt.

The second is that in the show, Holden never gave Miller the ultimatum that he did in the book. So in the book, Holden pretty much tells Miller after Eros that if he kills one more person without his say so, he’s done and out (which is fair enough; his ship, his rules and all that) and so that ends up happening. I don’t think it would’ve worked like that in the show (and actually, that one kind of went to Amos in the show already now that I think about it). But still, that helped ground (I guess? I mean, like I said, I also think it was kind of stupid all round) the decision and its absence hardly helps.

And the third is that now, Miller was the only Belter in the room as this went down, and, I mean, like okay... wow. I think this is the most important factor, and actually one that applies to the book as much as the show. Dresden/Protogen/Mao-Kwik are purposely targeting Belters for their experiments because they’re a series of isolated populations who have little to no rights in the first place.

Miller is a Belter. Holden is an Earther. And, like, you take that moral high ground there, guy whose people are at a zero per cent risk of suffering the same fate!

In that very moment, the lives of all the people of Eros is being used as a bargaining chip. By the man (an Earther) responsible for--at least--the on-the-ground “conduction” of that “experiment”. Successfully. In a negotiation with the leader of the mainstream political wing of the OPA, who is also an Earther.

And then Miller shoots him, which apparently the entire crew of the Rocinante agrees is the worst thing ever and anyone who should do a thing like that cannot be associated with in good conscience.

Yeah, okay. Sure. Makes all the sense in the world!

#the expanse #leviathan wakes #miller #holden #cass writes meta #cass rants at length

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