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#Terminus Factor
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wyrm-with-a-why · 5 months
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I blame Terminus for Megatron’s manipulative behaviour he got when he grew up(I’m so delulu about protecting my babygirl from her allegations)
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elgaberino-mcoc · 1 year
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QUESTION
Jean Grey is top 50, but for the 1990s Jim Lee version
Jean Grey the MCOC NPC is ranked poorly
We already delisted Jean Grey (X-Men Red) as redundant
Should we remove this listing, too?
Poll
worth noting: 
the Wishlist also lists Dark Phoenix, Madelyne Pryor (Jean's sorcerer clone), and similar characters like Rachel Summers/Grey and Hope. That's a lot of Jean-ish-ness
Kabam just finally made Jessica Jones playable. She was an even older NPC
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notalkingbusiness · 1 month
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The Book of Carol & The Heroine's Journey - Part 3: The Ascent
The only way is up! The Ascent is where our heroine gets her happy ending.
Carriger's major beats for The Ascent include (1) the heroine succeeding in her search and creating a new or reborn familial network, and (2) the heroine negotiating and compromising for the benefit of all.
Let's think about how these beats could be used in The Book of Carol.
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(1) Success in the heroine's search results in a new or reborn familial network.
The beat we're all waiting for! The moment when the heroine reunites with her loved one - the moment when Carol reunites with Daryl.
I think it's really important for us to pay close attention to how Carriger talks about this beat: the heroine's familial network is reborn when she reunites with her loved one. In other words, there's a spiritual shift in the heroine's relationship with her loved one. A deeper and more profound connection is forged. The heroine's relationship with her loved one changes for the better. We can't say that Carol's had a full Heroine's Journey if her relationship with Daryl remains unchanged - we need to see emotional growth.
This reunion has been a long time coming, both in-universe and in real life. It feels like we've been waiting an eternity for Carol and Daryl to reunite so it's absolutely critical that this scene blows us all away. It should feel overwhelming, like a great tidal wave of emotional catharsis.
Emotionally rewarding reunion scenes place a heavy emphasis on physicality. These scenes are richly detailed, and every touch is imbued with deep significance.
The Terminus reunion is a great example of a reunion done right and it's a masterclass in physicality. There are so many physical details in this reunion, too many to catch the first time around. With each rewatch you can appreciate all of the different component parts of the reunion: Caryl swaying together, the delight on Carol's face when Daryl picks her up, Daryl cradling Carol's head, Daryl resting his head on Carol's shoulder and Carol's fleeting touch of his face before he pulls away. You're struck by how these two can't get enough of each other; they always want to be closer. They can't stop drinking each other in and you don't want to stop drinking them in either.
Scenes like the Terminus reunion have a high rewatch factor because they're emotionally authentic: these scenes inspire us to keep revisiting them because they feel true to the characters, and we feel good watching them.
Reunions like these are the gift that keeps giving for fandom. How many gifs, videos, metas, and fics were born from this scene alone?
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We all love the Terminus reunion because it's so physical and unequivocal. Caryl's mutual joy and relief is plain for all to see.
We need another wholehearted reaction from Daryl when he reunites with Carol in TBOC. His reaction should reflect the scale of Carol's journey: it needs to be big and it needs to break new ground.
We need both words and actions - we need strong physical and emotional responses from Daryl and Carol.
We need something that's going to be forever seared into our collective memory.
We need to see something which leaves both the audience and Carol with no doubt as to where Daryl's heart lies.
Reader, we need a Caryl reunion kiss.
(But you already knew that.)
Like I've said previously, if TBOC is taking Carol's emotions seriously, she's going to be emotionally vulnerable throughout her journey. Daryl can only give Carol the reassurances she so badly needs if he's in touch with his emotions.
I want to see Daryl restored to his emotionally intelligent self - I want to see the "man of honor".
I want to see Daryl being brave for both of them in an emotional capacity.
Not much fazes Caryl, they could fight their way through a sea of walkers before breakfast, but showing how they really feel? Talking about their feelings?
Petrifying for the pair of them.
Daryl was brave in taking the first step and telling Carol he loved her. He needs to be brave again in TBOC. He's got to initiate the kiss. He's got to show how grateful he is to have Carol in his life. He needs to show her just how much he loves her.
You've probably thought about Caryl's reunion a lot. Everyone will envisage Caryl going canon differently, but I'm sure we can all agree that the kiss should be heartfelt and sweepingly romantic. For my part, I want to see a kiss like the one described in The Princess Bride: “Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.”
We can only get "a kiss to leave all others behind" if McReedus are allowed to capitalize on their amazing chemistry, if the show allows them to just go for it.
On Romance is Dead: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Romantic Comedy, writer Scott Meslow notes: "There is something so delightful about watching two people fall in love. Especially if it's two actors who have chemistry. And I think chemistry is all important [...] it needs to be two people who seem like they actually like each other [...] Not to be corny about it, but that's a special effect that you can't replicate on a computer. That is real people having a real interaction on screen and you can feel it."
Meslow may worry about being corny. I have no such qualms - McReedus' chemistry is a special effect that you can't replicate on a computer. That's why the copycat Caryl beats in DD didn't work for anyone; you can't create chemistry by algorithm. You can't swap out characters/actors/storylines and expect us to feel the same way we did about Carol/Caryl. Not when we've been watching something unique and remarkable developing between two characters and two actors for over 150 episodes.
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I want to see and feel that realness Meslow talks about when Caryl reunite. I want something unforgettable for Caryl and something where McReedus can shine. I want a reunion scene that we're going to watch over and over again because it's *perfect*.
I'm hoping Norman makes very expressive choices because Carol needs to see Daryl's emotions unmistakably playing out on his face.
Personally, I think it would be really powerful to see Daryl cry, either upon Caryl's reunion or when he finally has a heart to heart with Carol. And I do mean actually cry, rather than just being tearful.
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We've seen Daryl close to tears in the "No Sanctuary" and "New Best Friends" reunions, but I don't think he's properly cried in front of Carol before. As video essayist Pop Culture Detective highlights in Boys Don't Cry (Except When They Do), it's extremely rare for men to cry in a healthy way in film/TV: male vulnerability has historically been met with shame and contempt. I want to see Daryl cry not because I want to see one of my favorite characters upset, but because I think he deserves to experience the whole emotional spectrum. Thus far we've only seen Daryl cry during/after majorly traumatic incidents (usually after witnessing horrifically violent deaths) and I think that's a real shame.
I want to see Daryl's happy tears, his tears of relief, his tears of emotional catharsis. If it's okay for Carol to cry, then it should be okay for Daryl to cry too. In fact, Daryl crying in a healthy way would actually be validating for Carol because it's testament to how safe she makes him feel. Daryl can cry in front of Carol and not feel ashamed because he can be vulnerable in front of the woman he loves.
Some scenes in TWD stopped me in my tracks. I'd be sitting there thinking, "Look how far they've all come!" In those moments, I'd feel weirdly proud of these fictional characters who'd changed for the better. I'd like to get that same feeling when watching TBOC as we witness Caryl enter a new era of emotional vulnerability and intimacy.
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Caryl's passionate reunion would end all ambiguity and be the start of something new. I've placed a lot of emphasis on the moment of canon here, but it should go without saying that we're going to need carefully crafted follow-through. The writing needs to be just as strong as the performances. I'm craving strong dialogue - let Carol and Daryl finally use their words to explain how they feel about one another. Let them talk about what they want for their future together.
Carol and Daryl want to be together in every way - their romantic arc should include sexual intimacy (although I think we'll have to wait until S3 for that). TWD was always quite modest when it came to showing sex on screen so I'm not expecting anything too crazy, but we do deserve parity with the other big ships (Gleggie and Richonne). There's obviously less time to play with in the spinoffs, but I still think a really rich and rewarding romantic arc is possible if TPTB use their time wisely. Carol and Daryl becoming sexually intimate is a big deal and the story should treat it as such. Carol and Daryl always kept some degree of emotional distance from their previous sexual partners, they've always held themselves back and they've never really allowed themselves to be emotionally vulnerable in a relationship. I want to see Caryl's sex scenes handled respectfully and sensitively, I want these scenes to feel emotionally authentic for Carol and Daryl. Naturally, we should also get fun call backs to Caryl's iconic sexual/romantic references from the flagship show, e.g. Daryl goes down first.
A romantic arc for Caryl would be like a kiss of life for Carylers. It would be a triumphant moment for all of us - something unequivocally good for Caryl fans everywhere. We deserve a win. Carol and Daryl deserve a win too.
Caryl's romantic arc would also push back against the abuse hurled at Melissa, Carol, and Carylers. Many Carylers have received hate from other parts of the fandom and this abuse is steeped in deeply harmful misogynistic, sexist, and ageist rhetoric. This hate goes beyond ship wars. It points to something very insidious about how women are treated, how they're supposed to be invisible and undesirable once they reach an arbitrary age threshold. I want TPTB to prove just how wrong those people are. I want them to celebrate Carol and Caryl. I want them to show a heroine who loves and is loved in return. I want them to proudly showcase their leading lady. I want them to call out the misogynistic abuse thrown at Melissa/Carol/Carol fans. I want them to elevate Melissa's voice so we can have a fantastic heroine's arc for Carol.
(2) The heroine negotiating and compromising for the benefit of all.
As you'll know by now, the heroine is not concerned with glory/revenge/retribution. She just wants to get her loved one back and move on with her life. Carol's probably not going to be negotiating/compromising with the people who took Daryl, but she could use her diplomacy skills with Daryl's new friends in France. I didn't watch S1 of the spinoff, but I understand that some of Daryl's new friends were trying to get him to stay with them rather than go home. It should be abundantly clear to Isabelle & co. that Daryl has no intention of staying in France when they see him reunited with Carol. They'll be sad to lose a friend, but Carol could soften the blow by offering them a sweet trade deal with the Commonwealth. Isabelle just wants what's best for her people, right? Strengthening the bonds between communities would help Isabelle's people enormously. I much prefer the idea of two women coming together to help each other than a woman expecting a stranger to come in and fix all of her problems for her. I haven't heard great things about Isabelle, but I'm really hoping she's given more agency and dignity in TBOC. There's absolutely no narrative need to pit Isabelle and Carol against each other. As our heroine, Carol can empower Isabelle AND bring Daryl home. She can find a solution where everyone wins.
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Final Thoughts on The Ascent
Ultimately, The Ascent is gearing up towards the heroine's happy ending. We need to ask ourselves, what does a happy ending look like for Carol? What do we want for her after TBOC?
Simply put, Carol's happy ending is having Daryl by her side. It's being with him in every sense of the word. It's being free to express her love for him.
Carol wants new adventures with Daryl, and I want to see those adventures on my screen.
Years ago, Carol and Daryl talked about running away together. I hope, after they've returned home and reunited with their family, they are able to do just that.
Let them explore the world on their own terms.
Let them explore it together.
Let them be equal and loving partners every step of the way.
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And there we have it! We've covered all the major stages of the Heroine's Journey.
My aim in writing these metas wasn't to be overly prescriptive, but to show that TBOC could have an amazing arc for Carol/Caryl. We just need TPTB to prioritize emotional authenticity and elevate their heroines (both on screen and bts).
They've got one chance to put Caryl and Carylers back on track.
Let's hope they take it.
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xadianglyphs · 13 days
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This is a repository of references for as many runes, symbols, and other writing as can be collected from The Dragon Prince and its supplemental materials. The intent is not to update very often unless new material is released, but please submit your own examples or requests!
TDP does not use a fantasy conlang alphabet, nor does linguistics (beyond ASL translation) a factor in designing the filler writing and decorative symbols used throughout the setting. However, because I am personally insane, I wanted a way to check if the various styles of glyphs could be grouped in any meaningful way. Which meant collecting and organizing every possible instance of writing in the entire show. So here we are.
By Appearance:
book one: moon, book two: sky, book three: sun, book four: earth, book five: ocean, book six: stars, book seven, credits sketch
tales of xadia, through the moon, bloodmoon huntress, puzzle house
concept art
By Identified Family:
primal rune, sunforge runes
By Culture:
human kingdoms, xadia, moonshadow elves, skywing elves, sunfire elves, earthblood elves, tidebound elves, startouch elves, order of the blood moon, celestial elves
moon nexus, sky nexus, sun nexus, earth nexus, ocean nexus, star nexus
By Primal Source:
primal sources, moon primal, sky primal, sun primal, earth primal, ocean primal, star primal
corrupted primal, dark magic, deep magic
By Surface Type/Location:
architecture, attire, books, handwriting, objects, weapons
claudia's spellbook, cursed coin, dragonscale amulet, magic mirror
Spells:
primal rune, unnamed spell
aquis spirare faucibus, arma virtutis, aspiro, aspiro frigis, eritque arcus ignis, fulgur mortifer, fulminis, historia viventem, infantis sanguine, lapis caeli, levare ventum, missilem ignem, noctu igne, pluviam praesidium, sepultura caelo, stratum caligo, tenebris praesidium, terminus ad glacium, umbra chorum, ventum angulus, ventum circulo, ventus validus, venus frigoris
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sunbeamstress · 3 months
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i jumped on the Walking Dead train really late, but i got to finish the show with the fans and i thought it was excellent. it also marks the second or third time i've binged a piece of acclaimed media that became noteworthy for fucking over its fans - the last time was when i beat the mass effect trilogy, a decade late. i thought that was excellent too.
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of course it's a lot easier when the game you're playing already has the patched-in ending option and all its DLC, and walking dead was definitely easier to get through since when season 5 ended, i could go right into season 6 without The Cliffhanger
it's clear that the show i watched wasn't the show that AMC presented. scrubbed of its social media gaffes and godawful pacing, it was honestly a thrill ride. it takes a little time to stumble its way through the first two seasons, and the third is definitely more of a slow burn of dread, but if you can punch your way through those you're rewarded with a tense thriller that rarely wastes its time - every scene demands your attention and reveals something new. the moment my life settles down again i want to binge-watch it all over again with a friend.
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in my early/mid twenties, i'd fallen in love with an artsy little tech-fetishist webcomic about a few kids struggling to avert the end of the world. you might have heard of it, it was called Homestuck. it would go on to balloon into a very different sort of work from the one it began (i miss the Amiga graphics and quotes from poets/novelists), but also it was the first time i looked around to realize i was in the middle of a fandom. and in those days it wasn't a lovely sight.
my problem was i hadn't been inoculated against this sort of thing yet. from the moment i discovered the MSPA forums, it was impossible for me to experience homestuck without also crossing over to get a life feed of how the fans were enjoying it, and that was uhh, complicated. i have a lot i could say about Andrew Hussie as a creator and maybe one day he'll get his very own rambling not-quite-essay from me, but i maintain that i didn't get to enjoy Homestuck the way it deserved because i am the sort of person whose opinions can be influenced by others. you are too, don't judge.
i hold fast to my conviction that the best way to enjoy something is to enjoy it pure and alone, or with at most perhaps two friends whose tastes you can trust. all too often i've seen people try to make it through the walking dead, or better call saul, or mass effect, or homestuck, or anything, while tapped into the overwhelming torrent of fandom opinion.
it actually makes things worse.
as the internet is fond of saying: the walking dead was a hell of a lot better without a bitch in my ear telling me it sucked.
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there's a lot to say about how they reused the same ol' same ol' plot: zombos force the crew to move, they get settled in, then they solve some zombo-related problems until the newest batch of Desperate And/Or Corrupt And/Or Treacherous Humans comes to prove that actually we were the monsters all along
except it's fucking dope? they bare-knuckle brawl a shitload of walkers in a prison and take it over? and then they fight a war with the neighboring town??
Terminus, to me, is a singular point in the show that stands out in my mind. it was the moment i was like "oh shit. i think actually like this show." nevermind the way they began cranking up the horror factor (watching them slit that guy's throat in the horse trough was wild), but then Carol shows up and fucking Judge Dredds the place?
and then we see Rick turn from do-gooder cop to feral den mother who is willing to rip a guy's throat out and fjksdhgfjkhgjkhg oh my GOD how did you people not like this show
and then:
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it was genuinely incredible watching Rick's role in the universe transform. we see him as an agent who is only ever acted upon: first by the emergence of walkers, then by a revolving door of people he can't trust, people he shouldn't trust but does, and people who have a funny way of doing the right thing just when you expect them to fail you the most.
but it's no way to live a life after the world has ended, and he has to get tough. his role changes, quite quickly, from agent to actor, and now he is the one with the control. he's the one sniffing out your bullshit, doing that unhinged lupine head-cock of his, and sending you to hell at the end of a colt python.
maybe if i was a man, i'd feel a little of what the fans seemed to have felt when Negan showed up. maybe i would have put myself in Rick's place, and found a little vicarious pleasure in the feeling of being a respected leader, building a new home with my bare hands; maybe i would have experienced disappointment or defeat or whatever the moment a bigger guy with a bigger gun shows up.
but what i saw was a hornet's nest being stirred; the natural reaction of a world much bigger than you just when you've begun to think you might control some of it. negan wasn't some Bigger Guy, he was a symbol, a walking metaphor for how things are always going to go when men like rick try to purchase peace with violence. if it wasn't Negan it was going to be someone else. i adamantly believe the fans hated negan because negan was holding up a mirror to them.
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when i go on about this show, i genuinely do love all of it (even the nightmarishly slow seasons 9 and 10), but the images in my head all come from season 5, especially when they raid the hospital back in the city. the walking dead does not disappoint with aesthetics. the sets were phenomenal.
long, dramatic shots of broken chain link fences, sun-baked highways, half-abandoned urban streets with boarded windows and nothing left but graffiti. honestly feels a little like my childhood. i'm an urbex bitch at heart and i never wanted ANYTHING so desperately as the chance to get in there with Carol and Aaron and Maggie et al, and go plumbing the tombs of Atlanta for rocket launchers and medicine.
and while i never want to see backroads or quaint country towns ever again in my life, i won't deny that the backdrops of rural georgia and virginia gave the walking dead a unique visual language, a kind of run-down western vibe that really helped cement the feeling that these were just regular salt-of-the-earth people, forced to do extraordinary things. most of my dreams now usually have the same hickory and pine trees that dotted the countrysides.
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i don't really know what i was trying to accomplish when i began this post (it's the only way i know how to write baby!) but to summarize, i fucking loved this show. i genuinely hold it to be one of the seminal works of modern zombie horror and also just an incredibly good survival soap opera about what it means to be alive in a world that has violently rejected you. i'm genuinely glad i gave it a chance and i'm so grateful my brother recommended it to me. i love you, bro.
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Black Guardian Trilogy Headcanon: What Did the Doctor Know?
But the confrontation with the Guardians at the end of Enlightenment, the Doctor acts as if he already knows everything about Turlough’s deal with the Black Guardian, even though we never see anyone directly explain it to him. By the time the secret is out, he already knows. So, when did that happen?
I think that by the end of Mawdryn Undead, he knew most of it, though I don’t think he knew that Turlough had been specifically sent to kill him.
Turlough makes it clear to the Doctor that he doesn’t really belong on Earth in 1983. He’s not what he seems. The Doctor pays attention to that.
Then, the Doctor sees the crystal. He reacts as if he discovered something significant, but I originally wasn’t sure he knew that it was specifically related to the Black Guardian.
So, I searched through the Black Guardian’s appearances on the TARDIS wiki. Thanks to audios and novels, the Doctor has stories that take place between The Armageddon Factor and Mawdryn Undead where he deals with the Black Guardian. In the VMA novel The Well-Mannered War, he actually deals with a guy who made a deal with the Black Guardian. The Doctor discovers a crystal just like the one Turlough has, which is apparently made of some weird material, so it’s distinctive and out of the ordinary. 
By Mawdryn Undead, the Doctor definitely would’ve known what that crystal was an what it meant. However, the guy in The Well-Mannered War wasn’t sent to kill the Doctor, just to trap him. When Five sees the crystal in Mawdryn Undead, his immediate concern is for the TARDIS. He first saw Turlough having somehow wandered into the TARDIS earlier. The most logical conclusion would be that the Black Guardian is after the TARDIS, trying to trap the Doctor again.
So, the Doctor knows that Turlough is an agent of the Black Guardian, but he doesn’t know that he’s been sent to kill him. He didn’t notice the rock murder thing.
The main reason people think the Doctor was unaware of the Black Guardian stuff is because “If the Doctor knew Turlough was working for the Black Guardian, why’d he take him on as a companion and insist to Nyssa and Tegan that he was alright?”. I think it’s the combination of not knowing what Turlough’s mission actually was and realizing that bringing Turlough with him might actually cause a problem for the Black Guardian’s plan.
The Doctor knows that Turlough is in the wrong place and/or time. If Turlough is stuck in the wrong place and/or time, the thing he’d want the most would be to escape 1983 Earth. The Doctor could guess that that’s what the Black Guardian offered him. The Black Guardian’s agent in The Well-Mannered War was an artist motivated by fame. Turlough is motivated by desperation, which though not a “good” motivation, is a better motivation than fame. This meant that Turlough himself probably wasn’t a bad person. The Doctor actually seemed to take a liking to him almost immediately, so there’s also that.
But, not only is what Turlough wants something pretty reasonable, it’s something the Doctor can give him. He wants to leave Earth. Fine. The Doctor can take him away from Earth. Turlough now has what he wants, the thing he made the deal with the Black Guardian to get. He no longer needs what the Black Guardian offered him. He has no reason to want to work for him anymore. Taking Turlough as a companion takes away some of the control the Black Guardian has over him.
So, the Doctor decides to Turlough with him and see what happens, basically. He doesn’t tell Nyssa and Tegan what he’s doing, because he doesn’t want them involved. The Doctor is the Black Guardian’s target, but if he had to go through his companions to get to him, he would.
This actually comes up in the novelization of Terminus. On Terminus, the Black Guardian is pissed that Turlough isn’t trying to find and kill the Doctor. Turlough says that he can’t do anything while Tegan’s around and he’s stuck with her. The Black Guardian tells him to kill Tegan. To Turlough’s credit, he makes no attempt to follow this order and tries to avoid screaming too loudly when the Black Guardian punishes him, so Tegan won’t hear, see the crystal, know too much, and die for it. 
So, yeah, it’s better if the other companions stay away from the Black Guardian stuff. The Doctor really should’ve told them that, but the Fifth Doctor hates explaining anything. Maybe not the best move on his part.
Anyway, Turlough’s second attempt to kill the Doctor (after the rock) is by sabotaging the TARDIS. This could also be interpreted as an attempt to strand the Doctor, not kill him, so the Doctor still probably doesn’t know that Turlough is the Least Deadly Assassin Ever yet. But, he does find Turlough on the floor in the TARDIS after the Black Guardian did something to him to punish him for his failure. It’s not quite clear what was going on there.
This is part of an interesting pattern. The Doctor never catches Turlough trying to kill him, but he catches the aftermath of Turlough being punished for failing to kill him twice. After the end of Terminus, there’s also the time in Enlightenment. The Black Guardian chokes Turlough and throws him to the ground. The Doctor and Tegan find him on the floor and he claims he just fell. This really doesn’t hold up, since Tegan can see bruises on his neck. While the Terminus incident was a bit confusing, this time it is blatantly clear that someone attacked Turlough and he’s covering for him. From this, the Black Guardian comes across as more of a threat to Turlough than to the Doctor. This is why the Doctor isn’t upset with Turlough at all. He’d been punished more than enough.
Turlough doesn’t attempt to kill the Doctor again after the sabotage incident. There’s also that “I’ll never serve you again!” line before Turlough jumps off the Eternal Ship in Space. The Doctor doesn’t react to this line at all, because he already knows who Turlough is addressing. Turlough is already at least trying to resist the Black Guardian. That means all the Doctor has to do is be supportive and wait for the problem to solve itself. The Guardian give Turlough a chance to choose to do the right thing and escape the deal he made and he does. The Doctor knew he could do it. The deal wasn’t doing anything good for him outside of offering him something the Doctor could just give him without asking for anything in return.
In the aftermath, Tegan still doesn’t quite get what happened and doesn’t understand why the Doctor could forgive Turlough so easily. At some point during the events of Enlightenment, the Doctor figured out that Turlough had been sent to kill him, but he didn’t care. He knew he wouldn’t go through with it. Besides, the Doctor saw what Turlough went through failing/resisting the Black Guardian. By taking away Turlough’s motivation that got him to make the deal in the first place, the Doctor could be partially responsible for the failure/resistance, so he even has reason to feel guilty about what Turlough went through and want to make it up to him. He still doesn’t explain anything to Tegan because seriously, the Fifth Doctor Hates Explaining Anything.
So, I rambled quite a bit there.
TLDR: The Doctor knew that Turlough was working for the Black Guardian before he’d even become a companion, as well as what the Black Guardian offered Turlough, but he didn’t know exactly what Turlough had been sent to do and probably saw the Black Guardian Trilogy as him rescuing Turlough from the Black Guardian, whatever the deal was.
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if-you-fan-a-fire · 7 hours
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"Reciprocity Benefits" cigar
"Uncle Sam - I'll smoke it, you may smell it."
From the Berlin (Kitchener) News Record, September 6 1911
[Context from my pal DN]: The 1911 federal election was the first "free trade" election. In office since 1896, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier's Liberals sought their fifth consecutive sweeping majority. President Taft's proposal of lowering tariffs became the central political issue. Wrapped in the Union Jack, Robert Borden's Conservatives opposed free trade and argued that Canada would be taken over by the United States.
The election was close but the Conservatives came out ahead. The entrenched Liberal machine built around Laurier ensured the Liberals carried Quebec, but with a significant loss of seats to the Conservatives. The Liberals also carried Atlantic Canada, but just barely, signalling the crumbling of the old opposition to Confederation in the 1860s in which it was correctly predicted that losing free trade with New England would result in Atlantic Canadian industry being swallowed up by Montreal capital. The predictions came true, and Nova Scotia in particular suffered through a wave of deindustrializatoin in the 1880s and 1890s as Montreal capital bought up local concerns and shuttered them in favour of greater concentrations of industry in Montreal and the St. Lawrence Valley.
In the new prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Liberals continued to dominate as colonization rapidly expanded the number of farmers who quickly found themselves locked into an east-west trade cartel controlled by the rail monopolies of CPR, Canadian Northern, and the Grand Trunk Pacific (the latter two would be nationalized and form Canadian National in 1919). The farmers were incensed that they were blocked from trading south to American markets at cheaper freight rates.
The Conservatives cut into Liberal support in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, but the bulk of its support came from Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia - the three Anglo provinces where industrial capitalism had taken hold during the "Second Industrial Revolution" that began in the 1890s. Not only that, but Ontario, Manitoba and BC were politically dominated by the most militant Anglo founders of Confederation. Through the Orange Terror of the 1870s against the Métis and their democratic allies, and a sustained political struggle against French language schooling rights, the bilingual and multicultural character of Manitoba had been legally and politically extinguished by the mid-1890s (and was a contributing factor to Laurier's Liberals winning the 1896 election, ending 18 years of Conservative rule).
Likewise, British Columbia was politically loyal to the project of Confederation. It had been aggressively established as a British colonial outpost in the 1850s for the Empire's project of a united British North America and establishing a British base in the northwestern Pacific. The 1860s was marked by a series of colonial wars and punitive expeditions by British gunboats, redcoats and settler terrorist groups. Colonial victory was achieved with the deliberate smallpox genocide of Indigenous peoples on Vancouver Island which spread to Haida Gwaii and the mainland. Estimates of 15,000 to 30,000 Indigenous peoples died in a year - half the Indigenous population of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. White people in Victoria, population 5,000 in 1862, were busy getting vaccinated, the smallpox vaccine having been discovered decades before available in the Pacific Northwest by the 1850s. By 1911, British Columbia had become a major coal and lumber exporter and the terminus of three new transcontinental railroads (CPR at Port Moody and Granville; Canadian Northern at Port Mann and later Pacific Central Station; Grand Trunk Pacific at Prince Rupert).
It seemed like the Conservatives had re-established their once-powerful "National Policy" coalition of British imperialists, Canadian capitalists and the Anglo working class. However, the Second Industrial Revolution, the two new transcontinental railways, and colonization of the prairies had radically expanded and altered the character of the industrial working class and the role of the state in society. The brewing rebellion of farmers, the Vancouver Coal Wars of 1912-1914, the great IWW strike of the Grand Trunk Pacific in 1913, and the success of state capitalist development (Ontario Hydro Commission - 1906, Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway - 1902, King's Industrial Disputes Investigation Act - 1907) were all harbingers of radical change that exploded with the pressure cooker of the Great War.
Farmers struck out on their own after the war with farmer parties taking power in Ontario (1919), Alberta (1921) and Manitoba (1922). The working-class insurgency of 1919 shook the ruling class and forged a broad and complex vanguard of radical working-class politics and action that formed a foundation for the great class struggles of the 1930s and 1940s.
The Conservatives, during and immediately following the war, were pressed to concede the vote of women, albeit through opportunistic means to win the 1917 election in favour of conscription, nationalize the CNoR and Grand Trunk in 1919, and lose its popular "producer" base that had won it power in 1911 and undergirded its electoral success during the first 30 years of Confederation.
Ever the opportunists, the Liberals under King abandoned the free trade mantra and spent the next 30 years overseeing the renovation of the Canadian state in the interest of capital while playing a ruthless game of stick, carrot and more stick against the growing insurgency of the "producer" classes which had grown too large and self-conscious to contain within a bourgeois two-party system.
The next seventy years would hold to this pattern until the economic base of the farmer and labour movements had sufficiently crumbled by the 1980s, at which point the Progressive Conservatives (a name courtesy of a 1940s merger of the Conservatives and a section of the farmer-based Progressives) pulled the plug on the National Policy of protective tariffs and home market development in favour of free trade with the United States.
With Mulroney's victory in the 1988 "free trade" election and subsequent refusal of provincial governments to challenge the free trade agreement (Bob Rae promised he would during his successful 1990 election campaign), the old 20th century political arrangements have collapsed. The small farmer class has disappeared to political insignificance. The working-class has been radically transformed since deindustrialization and free trade. The three-party political system that dominated the 1919-1990 period has collapsed and been remade with new coalitions of forces and factions - even if the party names carry forward into a new century.
With one "producer" class still standing - the working class - and the colonial and capitalist failures of Confederation coming home to roost at home and abroad, can a new vision and program for Canada be forged by a new working-class movement?
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mywingsareonwheels · 1 year
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End-of-season saving-each-others’-lives by my favourite disaster detectives. A list.
Here be spoilers for all seasons of Endeavour
Pilot: no life-saving, but Morse didn’t end up with a cracked skull on the floor of the mortuary which is nice.
(Bonus mid-series 1 (Fugue): Thursday deploys a coat blanket. Morse risks his life to save Thursday.)
Series 1 finale (Home): Morse saves Thursday. Then Thursday saves Morse (killing someone in the process).
(Bonus series 2 premier (Trove): Thursday saves Morse and ensures he’ll get care while recovering.)
Series 2 finale (Neverland): they have an heroic last stand but external factors do the necessary life-saving, and it’s not without cost.
Series 3 finale (Coda): Morse risks his life to save Joan; Thursday saves them both.
Series 4 finale (Harvest): together they save a large region of England, including each other.
Series 5 finale (Icarus): Fancy. *sobs*
Series 6 finale (Degüello): Morse saves Thursday’s soul from Box’s influence. Thursday, Strange, and Bright save Morse physically, and the four of them save Max. Then Box saves Thursday and Morse.
Series 7 finale (Zenana): Thursday risks his life to save Morse (killing someone else in the process), even though they’ve barely been speaking and he had to go to Venice to do it.
Series 8 finale (Terminus): Thursday saves Morse, risking his marriage to do so.
Series 9 finale (Exeunt): Thursday saves Sam. He does it in an understandable but very-bad-no-good way. Morse saves Thursday, Sam, and Win, and undertakes to look out for Joan and Strange, but sacrifices his closeness with them all (esp Thursday) in order to do so. Cue heartbreak.
(There was also further lifesaving, practical care, sweetness, etc. throughout. As well as less happy moments. And a complete lack of them ever using their words to say how they very very blatantly feel about each other.)
HOW AM I EXPECTED TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS.
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the-l-spacer · 4 months
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Hello asimov fandom here's my humble contribution to the fic pile (and obviously its about the mule)
-
He’d read once, in a book-film in the corner of an old shop on a backwater planet, that power corrupted. That absolute power corrupted — absolutely.
He had long since forgotten the name of the book-film and the planet on which he had read it; all discarded along with the memories of his earlier life, filled with nothing but degradation and misery. Yet, the lone sentiment remained, and Magnifico — The Mule — could not find it in himself to agree. 
How could I? , he thought, as his long fingers moved deftly across the Visi-Sonor, adjusting the multitude of contacts comprehensible solely to the one who played it. For power does not corrupt, it frees. 
His audience of Foundationers, dressed in their best in preparation for the fifth opening of the Time Vault, barely saw him, now. Barely saw the pathetic figure he cut on stage before them, in his colourful and ill-fitting costume, his awkward limbs and too-long nose. No — when he performed, they saw only what he wanted them to see. Thr Visi-Sonor conjured flashes of colour that exploded before their eyes and resolved into grand visions of gleaming kingdoms amid never-ending fields of stars, glimpsed in an instant and destroyed with the slightest turn of a knob, then rebuilt into something far greater. 
Beneath their base reactions, he could sense their minds, too, the emotions that fell sway to him as surely as the notes cascaded from his instrument, making them gasp and sigh and weep upon his command. He revelled in it; after so long spent at the mercy of others, the power, the control was dizzying, and he had yet to tire of the feeling in the time since the discovery of his abilities. For the duration of this performance, they were but playthings, his playthings, and soon— it would be soon, for he knew that his ships were nearing Terminus by the minute — the rest of the planet would follow suit. 
It was a delicate balance he struck, being on this stage, having been commissioned by the imbecile in mayoral garb to compose a Visi-Sonor concerto in honour of the great Hari Seldon. The piece was to rally the despondent citizens of Terminus as the shadow of the Mule hung heavy over them, to inspire renewed confidence in the far-off promise of the second and greater Galactic Empire, helmed by the Foundation itself. And so it did! He flicked his wrist decisively, and trumpets and booming drums sounded forth, exclaiming, Victory!
Yet, the performance had to be laced with an undercurrent of doubt, for that was why he was here on Terminus. Here, the minds of military leaders and politicians and citizens were his to alter as he wished, with almost no effort from his part – for only a civilization of fools would have absolute confidence in the calculations and projections of a man who had been dead for centuries. And as much as the galaxy had to say about the Foundationers, no one called them fools. All he had to do was find the fractures in their fervent beliefs, the unspoken: but how could psychohistory possibly predict this? , and widen them just so, until eventually, eventually , their psyches broke under the burden.
It was easier with the Visi-Sonor, and for that he was grateful. The sound of a single discordant pitch, too brief to take notice of but there all the same, an image of a seemingly-immaculate marble bust – with a small, hairline crack running through its centre. This and more he made real in the audience’s minds’ eye, and as they sat, rapt at attention, he almost let a wry smile slip across his face. Almost.
If only they knew that what they most feared, the one factor the great Hari Seldon could not predict, was there among them, an invited guest! 
He let the final, tremulous note linger in the air, until it faded into the background hum of atomic energy. 
Applause; some polite and others fervent, admiring, and all eyes were on him. One mistake, one wrong move.. and he would be at their mercy.
A good thing, then, that assuming the position of the fool came as easily to him as breathing — too easily. He let himself shrink back, let his body curl into that whipped-dog position he’d taken up so many times throughout his youth, more a defence mechanism than anything. 
How simple it was – to look and act a fool, and have everyone’s assumptions do the rest of the work for him. All while his ships inched ever-closer, ready and waiting to turn their guns and atomic field-depressors to the Foundation at his signal. 
I will beat you, and the rest of the thrice-damned Galaxy will fall into place , he thought, allowing his knees to shake, his eyes to widen in fear at the onslaught of attention. He took a step back, and another. 
Then – 
“Magnifico, you played wonderfully!” 
And then, there was Bayta Darell.
-
Her hand was in his, as they followed Toran to their assigned seats around the Time Vault. He clutched to it, her palm small and plump, a stark contrast to his knobbly knuckles and stick-thin fingers.
Their seats were far from grand – the three would certainly not be graced with Indbur’s view of the hologram front and centre – but they would suffice. As Bayta turned to an acquaintance she knew in university, now an important someone-or-other in Foundation politics, the Mule slid his hand out from her grasp with a murmured, “A thousand pardons, my lady,” and drifted among the gathered crowd of the Terminus’ greatest – with the exception of his humble self, of course. 
He had work to do, Foundationers to edge into despair and hopelessness. And while he set about his task, he let his own mind wander to Bayta.
She was someone he did not, could not understand, and it maddened him. Keen and assertive, yet unquestionably kind. Why did she, of all people, look upon him as a person, as a friend , when all everyone else could see was an object of ridicule? What made her seek his company, clear the clutter in her and Toran’s guest bedroom for his Visi-Sonor? 
The Mule was not naïve. Too much had happened over the course of his life for him to simply place his trust in someone, as if it was something to be given freely. He knew that she seeked to uncover the Mule’s identity, to stop his rapid conquest that threatened the home she so dearly loved; and Magnifico was the Mule’s clown, the closest thing they had to a lead. 
At first, he’d dismissed her genuine fondness of him – and even at the thought, a gentle shudder racked his slight frame – as a byproduct of that need for information. Treat the Mule’s servant well, and out would spill that despot’s secrets and weaknesses; a logical enough exchange in theory. But as time went on, and Bayta and Toran and Pritcher and Ebling Mis deemed his mind too addled with fear to ever produce anything of use, she still insisted that he stay. 
Perhaps, then, it was her desire for someone to take care of, in the absence of a child. Toran had jokingly pointed out as much on several occasions. But even if this was maternal affection, the Mule could not recognise it, for he had never known his mother, nor any figure who could have substituted as one in his long adolescence. All he knew were cold figures of authority who met the needs of that strange, mutant freak – barely – out of obligation, and turned him out as soon as they could. Then, the streets, the twisting sewers and alleyways of his home planet, spaceports and travelling fairs, the cargo holds of transport ships taking him to planets in unknown sectors, before the discovery of his power led him here. 
And Bayta, with her dark, tired eyes and soft hands, wanted him to stay.
He did not have a place he could readily call ‘home’, he mused idly as the lights around the Time Vault dimmed, and he returned to his seat, drew into himself. Yes, he derived some small amount of amusement from having his pawns spread rumours of his origin, so that the Mule could have come from the Sayshell Union, or from Trantor, or from the Foundation itself; even from that elusive ‘Earth’, the planet from which legends claimed all life in the galaxy stemmed. But in truth, even he had forgotten the name of the planet he’d been born on, for all civilizations with technology barely advanced enough for interstellar travel seemed the same to him.
The closest place that came to it was the back of a rusty spaceship, where he’d spent some time as part of a theatre troupe travelling in the Ariminum sector. He found no camaraderie there, and certainly nothing approaching affection, but he had been left alone, and after a lifetime of jeers and whispers, that was a novelty in itself. Over his time with them, he had taught himself the Visi-Sonor, and picked up the delicate, lilting phrasing of the Central Sectors after months of observation. 
It was in this learned dialect that he spoke, as Bayta turned her attention to him. “Do you suppose, my lady, that all these great ones were in the audience, perhaps, when I… when I played the Visi-Sonor?” 
The day he mastered the instrument he held at his chest was one of the few moments of his unhappy life when he truly felt joy . It had taken months and months of constant practice for him to make any sense of the knobs and switches that comprised its unwieldy body, and even more until he could shape a piece to his liking. 
And it was only after the fact, when he realised that humans were much the same as the dials of the instrument; a minute adjustment, a semitonal shift and their tunes could be transformed entirely. Anger could be moulded to placidity, derision to respect, and contempt to… to an emotion he dared not name.
Bayta had undergone no such change, and yet, she replied with a gentle patience that made him want to lash out, to break down and scream 'do you know who I am?’ . He did none of those things, however, as she reassured him that yes, the great minds of the Foundation had heard his performance, and thought him the greatest musician in the Galaxy, and he might as well act the part and straighten himself out. 
He knew that he was better than her, better than them all, and he let a modicum of that confidence seep into his posture. 
In response, Bayta grinned, squeezed his shoulder, and almost instinctively, the Mule reached out to her mind with the tendrils of his. 
Ah. It is pity, then, that motivates her.
It should have chafed, knowing that she condescended to him – knowing he was three years her senior, knowing who, what he was. Instead, his breath hitched, and he felt a thrill run through him. 
Could he take it? Could he accept whatever she had to give him, and stay?
No — no! With only a slight twitch of his shoulders to betray him, he banished the thought, and turned to focus on the matter at hand. What truly mattered. 
The lights dimmed further in the room, until all everyone could see was the empty glass cubicle at its centre.
The Mule took it all in; the excitement of the gathered crowd, their nervous anticipation, and of course, the seeds of doubt and dread so carefully sown over his weeks on Terminus. It would all be over soon… he only had to wait for the right time. 
And just then, the hologram of Hari Seldon materialised. 
With everyone’s anxious eyes turned to the old psychohistorian, the Mule finally allowed himself to smile. A small, hard smile that cracked the odd planes of his face, making it all the more grotesque – it was a mercy that the room had been plunged into darkness. 
Let the true performance begin.
-
In the end, it was easy. A well-timed swell of despair that he made ripple through the crowd, to the city beyond. An army – his army – that waited patiently at the gates for the sign to strike. A pulse from the ultra-wave sender he kept in his jester’s cap, activated when it became obvious that the old mathematician had gotten his predictions glaringly, disastrously wrong. 
And just like that, the Foundation crumbled. 
The Foundation was his.
The hologram in the Time Vault had long flickered out – whether due to the work of the Mule’s atomic disruptor, or the cannons from his warships, or simply because Hari Seldon had finished with what he had to say – no one knew, and no one cared. Not when the sound of warning sirens pealed all around them, when the Mule’s great black ships bombarded the harsh soils of Terminus. 
The crowd of once-respectable citizens surged around them, swarming for the exit (not that there was anywhere they could escape to, for the Mule’s territory encompassed all their neighbouring planets). For a time, Bayta and Toran had done nothing but sit there, stock-still among them all, as if in the eye of a hurricane. 
The Mule, too, allowed himself a moment to be still, to relish in that feeling of satisfaction, of utter superiority that came when he knew he had won.
At least, he had tried to. For there was something, now, that dampened that sense of victory ever-so-slightly. 
There was someone… 
He whipped his head around madly, until his brown eyes landed on Bayta.
Bayta – rooted to her seat in terror, fighting to keep a single tear from escaping her wide, hopeless eyes.
Despite himself, despite everything, a single, startling thought crossed his mind – ironically, making him freeze in horror from a source wholly different from the panicked crowds around him. 
Galaxy, what have I done?
It was Ebling Mis, that mad psychologist, who snapped them out of it. He hauled Bayta and Toran from their seats, and by the time his focus shifted to the Mule, he had slipped effortlessly back into character. 
“The Mule is coming for me!” 
Bayta tried to lay a hand on Magnifico’s shoulder, as she had done frequently in the past, but he batted it aside. That was a necessity, for he was sure that if she touched him, his resolve would shatter completely. 
Then, a resounding blow from Toran, and he let himself go limp.
-
Through the chaos that surrounded them, both on the streets and in the atmosphere above them, Bayta and Toran managed to reach their apartment. Panting, they slammed the door shut, and locked it behind them. It wouldn’t help, not against the Mule (they both knew that), but that afternoon, they found themselves willing to accept even the smallest semblance of safety and control over the alternative.
In the darkened house, Toran remained a flurry of motion. He shifted Magnifico off his shoulders, making his way to their study. 
The instant his feet touched the floor, Magnifico practically hurled himself into his favoured armchair by the couch, a trembling, huddled mass of bony limbs. Neither Toran nor Bayta seemed to pay him any mind. 
“We’ll need passports, credits, if we want to leave here by ship, try our luck on other planets in the system,” Toran muttered, rummaging through their drawers. 
“Torie.” Bayta said faintly. She was still standing at the threshold of their living room. 
“I have to get word out to my dad on Haven, too,” he continued. “The Traders need to know that the Foundation is under siege by the Mule, and to expect the worst.” 
Slowly, feeling as if she was moving through water, Bayta made her way to his side. 
“Don’t know if our tight beam transmitter works, but we may have a backup generator in the basement.“
“Torie, let me help,” she said. “You go see if you can get the power back up, I’ll get our things ready for if — when we have to leave.”
He turned to her, and finally registered her presence, or lack thereof; for in that moment, the woman who stood before him seemed to bear little resemblance to that self-assured, intelligent Bayta he’d first fallen in love with. “No, no, none of that,” he said, softening.  “You stay right here, with Magnifico. Make sure he doesn’t dash off to get caught by the Mule’s men. And… make sure that you’re alright, too.”
She began to protest, but the words died on her lips when Toran brought a single hand up to brush her dry cheek, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. 
Toran was right — that oppressive weight of terror and dread held her down, still. She needed to rest, to breathe, or she’d be of no help to anyone. 
With a sigh, she fell against him in an exhausted embrace, murmuring a quiet, “Thank you,” into his curly hair. 
Toran tightened his arms around her in wordless response. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and left. 
In his absence, the walls of their home seemed to expand impossibly around her, and Bayta could not help but feel utterly alone in the middle of it all. Alone, but for —
She slumped into the couch. Next to her, Magnifico perched on an armrest, as though ready and waiting to take flight at the slightest provocation. “Now don’t you go running off on me too,” she feebly joked. “Two men in a minute might set a record.”
As has become habit, The Mule had kept one eye on the couple, his mind alert for any sign that either of their suspicions regarding his true identity had been aroused. Always the guarded onlooker; observing others’ interactions through an invisible, impenetrable barrier. 
“Nay, my lady; for though the raging tempest I fear most has arrived at our shores, snapping at our very heels… I confess that I feel safer here , coward that I am. I – I will not run.” 
Magnifico’s fingers worried relentlessly at the threads of his ruffled collar, and Bayta caught them with her own, gently moving them to his lap. 
“Magnifico, I’m — I’m afraid, too,” she admitted, looking mortified as she heard herself say the words aloud. “My home is under siege. I don’t know how the Mule breached our atomic shields, but he’s here, now. Seldon, psychohistory… all of us had it wrong.”
The oddest impulse came over the Mule. A sudden, nearly overwhelming urge to stretch out a hand, and put it around her shoulders, echoing the gesture she’d shown so freely to him in the course of their acquaintance.
Ridiculous. It was he who was the source of her misery, and yet —
His hands twitched at his sides. He said nothing, frozen in indecision, until Bayta closed her eyes, took a shaky breath in, and let it out, slowly. 
That smile made its reappearance. Small and unsure, but there nevertheless. She shook her head slightly, and said, “But what am I saying… you have as much a reason to fear him as I do. More so, after everything he did to you. Are — are you well, Magnifico?”
Was he well? He did not recall the last time anyone had asked him that question, if at all. Still, he had to respond.
“My knees tremble and my heart hammers so against my poor chest, my lady, but…” He raised his eyes to meet hers, tried to mirror her smile with an upward twitch of his lips. “But as long as I am by your side, I feel sure that I will not come to harm.” 
And while you are with me, nothing and no one will touch you, he did not say. 
Bayta took his hand, and the Mule became aware of a strange sensation — a stabbing warmth in his chest. 
“That’s right. We’ll keep you safe, Toran and I. It’ll…” she hesitated, and her pinched expression relaxed, by just a touch. “It’ll be alright,” she said, almost more to herself than to him. “We’ll be alright.”
He gave in. Allowed himself to lean tentatively, questioningly against Bayta, and she rested her head on his shoulder in answer. 
Again, that squeezing of his ribcage.
And again, that dreadful, unwanted thought. 
What have I done?
He dared not move, or speak; in that instant, he found himself unable to look at her at all.
And it was there, against his thin shoulder, curled up on the couch, where Bayta eventually fell asleep. 
In the darkened living room, lit only by the occasional flashes of laser-fire from the warring ships overhead, he remained still against her. But the Mule’s mind — his mind raced.
Why, why that sudden moment of fear, of doubt? In the years after his mastery of the Visi-Sonor, and the art of manipulation of human emotion, he’d sworn not to regret a single atrocity he committed in vengeance against the galaxy. 
He closed his eyes against the onslaught of unwanted emotion. They were his puppets, his living dials, and he was master of them all. After twenty-two years of torment and isolation, with not a soul coming to his aid, wasn’t that justice? His power, a great cosmic compensation for his shortcomings – physical and otherwise?
Yes, power freed, and it addicted. For all his life, he’d been starved of it, and now, he had all that he would ever need. All of the Galaxy at his fingertips.
And yet –
Playful hands tussling his hair. Kind eyes, open in admiration as he plucked wild notes and dancing lights from the air. A weight and a warmth, asleep next to him. 
Was there something else, something more that he had missed? 
He wanted to growl in frustration, but reined himself in. Self-control, patience; if he had no redeeming qualities at all, at least he had these. 
It would have been better if I hadn’t approached them at all; better to have disregarded that couple on the beach entirely, and let Han Pritcher lead me to the Foundation instead.  
Even with his power, he could not change the past. But while psychohistorian he was not, at least his great mind could map out the near future with clarity.
On the eve of the Foundation’s surrender, there on the couch of the young, married couple, the Mule planned out his next steps – in accordance with Bayta’s wishes, he would stay on Terminus for now. To keep the Foundationers’ eyes off him; in case anyone suspected that there was more to the Mule’s clown, whose arrival heralded their civilization’s downfall. To uncover and destroy any plans for rebellion. To ensure that the atmosphere of despair he created remained absolute. 
To… to remain close to the Darells. 
To her.
For all his life, he’d been aware of the gaping hole in his being. He knew that something essential had been scooped out of him, and this – this difference , was what separated him from humanity. He’d attempted to fill it once, with music and performance in an attempt to make the crowds laugh with , not at, to gaze at him with respect instead of mockery. When that was not enough, and when he finally became aware of the power that set him apart, he turned to conquest. 
When all the Galaxy was united under his rule, when humans learned to respect his name so that he had nothing to fear from them ever again – then and only then would it be enough to fill that gaping pit inside of him.
A single hand ghosted lightly over Bayta’s troubled face, not quite touching her cheek, where a stray lock of hair had fallen loose. 
No, he thought, firmly. He had to purge the thought of her; that counterpoint impossible to adapt to, that confusing, frustrating improvised melody he was unable to underscore, the puppet that cut its strings entirely.
He knew what he had to do. And he knew that it would be enough.
It had to be.
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The Quarry has changed me, man. The claws. The werewolf claws. I saw them and I was never the same again. It's just... the body horror of it. It acknowledges that nails are not claws, and make horrible replacement for claws, and its answer is beautiful.
The werewolf's claws are just distal phalanges that have grown and grown, piercing through skin, and jutting from the fingers like spears of bone reformed to rend flesh. It's just so cool, at least to me, but I haven't seen anyone mention this cool fact. It's disappointing.
Anyway, I plan on taking this design choice and just playing with it. Instead of the claws just growing straight from the terminus of the distal phalanges, what if they grew from the bone more like actual claws, in a sort of curve? So, instead, they pierce through flesh and the nails, not removing the nail, but splitting the nail in half.
Not only would it give a good visual, the nails parting like two doors to permit the newly formed claw to grow, but it plays wonderful issues in the realm of healing factors. Sure, the bone-claw might recede, and the skin and flesh repair itself, but the nail is ruined. It's not going to heal, and now you either gotta a) wait for the nail to fully grow out to the point the split has left the nail bed (and therefore can be removed), or b) rip the whole nail out so it can regrow without the split. Either way, you're dealing with funky nails.
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dailyclassicwho · 1 year
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Doctor Who Stories
← BACK TO INDEX
Season 01
001. An Unearthly Child 002. The Daleks 003. The Edge of Destruction 004. Marco Polo 005. The Keys of Marinus 006. The Aztecs 007. The Sensorites 008. The Reign of Terror
Season 02
009. Planet of Giants 010. The Dalek Invasion of Earth 011. The Rescue 012. The Romans 013. The Web Planet 014. The Crusade 015. The Space Museum 016. The Chase 017. The Time Meddler
Season 03
018. Galaxy Four 019. Mission to the Unknown 020. The Myth Makers 021. The Daleks' Master Plan 022. The Massace of St. Bartholomews Eve 023. The Ark 024. The Celestial Toymaker 025. The Gunfighters 026. The Savages 027. The War Machines
Season 04
028. The Smugglers 029. The Tenth Planet 030. The Power of the Daleks 031. The Highlanders 032. The Underwater Menace 033. The Moonbase 034. The Macra Terror 035. The Faceless Ones 036. The Evil of the Daleks
Season 05
037. The Tomb of the Cybermen 038. The Adbominable Snowmen 039. The Ice Warriors 040. The Enemy of the World 041. The Web of Fear 042. Fury From the Deep 043. The Wheel in Space
Season 06
044. The Dominators 045. The Mind Robber 046. The Invasion 047. The Krotons 048. The Seeds of Death 049. The Space Pirates 050. The War Games
Season 07
051. Spearhead From Space 052. The Silurians 053. The Ambassadors of Death 054. Inferno
Season 08
055. Terror of the Autons 056. The Mind of Evil 057. The Claw of Axos 058. Colony in Space 059. The Daemons
Season 09
060. Day of the Daleks 061. The Curse of Peladon 062. The Sea Devils 063. The Mutants 064. The Time Monster
Season 10
065. The Three Doctors 066. The Carnival of Monsters 067. The Frontier of Space 068. Planet of the Daleks 069. The Green Death
Season 11
070. The Time Warrior 071. Invasion of the Dinosaurs 072. Death to the Daleks 073. The Monster of Peladon 074. Planet of the Spiders
Season 12
075. Robot 076. The Ark in Space 077. The Sontaran Experiment 078. Genesis of the Daleks 079. Revenge of the Cybermen
Season 13
080. Terror of the Zygons 081. Planet of Evil 082. Pyramids of Mars 083. The Android Invasion 084. The Brain of Morbius 085. The Seeds of Doom
Season 14
086. The Masque of Mandragora 087. The Hand of Fear 088. The Deadly Assassin 089. The Face of Evil 090. The Robots of Death 091. The Talons of Weng-Chiang
Season 15
092. Horror of Fang Rock 093. The Invisible Enemy 094. Image of the Fendahl 095. The Sunmakers 096. Underworld 097. The Invasion of Time
Season 16 (The Key to Time)
098. The Ribos Operation 099. The Pirate Planet 100. The Stones of Blood 101. The Androids of Tara 102. The Power of Kroll 103. The Armageddon Factor
Season 17
104. Destiny of the Daleks 105. City of Death 106. The Creature From the Pit 107. Nightmare of Eden 108. The Horns of Nimon 108.5. Shada
Season 18
109. The Leisure Hive 110. Meglos 111. Full Circle 112. State of Decay 113. Warriors' Gate 114. The Keeper of Traken 115. Logopolis
Season 19
116. Castrovalva 117. Four to Doomsday 118. Kinda 119. The Visitation 120. Black Orchid 121. Earthshock 122. Time-Flight
Season 20
123. Arc of Infinity 124. Snakedance 125. Mawdryn Undead 126. Terminus 127. Englightenment 128. The King's Demons 129. The Five Doctors
Season 21
130. Warriors of the Deep 131. The Awakening 132. Frontios 133. Resurrection of the Daleks 134. Planet of Fire 135. The Caves of Androzani
Season 22
136. Attack of the Cybermen 137. Vengeance on Varos 138. The Mark of the Rani 139. The Two Doctors 140. Timelash 141. Revelation of the Daleks
Season 23 (Trial of a Timelord)
143A. The Mysterious Planet 143B. Mindwarp 143C. Terror of the Vervoids 143D. The Ultimate Foe
Season 24
144. Time and the Rani 145. Paradise Towers 146. Delta and the Bannermen 147. Dragonfire
Season 25
148. Remembrance of the Daleks 149. The Happiness Patrol 150. Silver Nemesis 151. The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
Season 26
152. Battlefield 153. Ghost Light 154. The Curse of Fenric 155. Survival
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elgaberino-mcoc · 1 year
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POLL RESULTS — WHETHER TO KEEP THE JEAN GREY NPC / MARVEL GIRL LISTING
Summoner Poll: 8 to keep, 10 to delist Editor Poll: 4 to keep, 1 to delist, 2 abstain
Summed Results: 12 to keep, 11 to delist
Result: keep
Recent rank: 375
Go there and vote: http://shorturl.at/hNQTY
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lovelanguageisolate · 2 years
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Fukuyama's End of History and the Last Man is kind of a wild book because it doesn't surprise in one sense that it's written by a State Department employee in the pol-sci/international relations wing of the American foreign policy aristocracy Unlike, I dunno, what mid-century French political writing I've mostly bounced off of, it's not fascinated by abstractions for their own sake and is immanently concerned with practical political questions of design and realpolitik. It has the aspirations to cool objective analysis of some high modernist policy thing.
But at the same time, it cannot hide its own nature as an almost mystical work.
Like claiming that liberal democracy is the terminus of human political evolution but using freaking Hegel to argue this and not particularly disowning the mystical shit. Almost like those really weird euro-Marxist writings that claim class relations in light of how the economy is factored bring consciousness itself into being, or that the spirit of the working class is literally guiding history like some kind of political godhead.
Except in (Fukuyama 93)'s case, the spirit of humanity's salvation seems to be freaking Clintonism and McDonalds energy spreading isothymia and freedom to all.
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I suppose it makes since in the Hindsight AU that Orion would stay Orion. Megatron was a big affect on him. He would probably stay within the Archives without inspiration to act maybe never suspect he had leadership potential.
Meanwhile my heart broke a little for the parents. They all lost their babies.
Any ideas what happened to our other favorites? Is Arcee gonna accidentally involve one of the new cons in her search to make things right with the promise their child would live? Does Galavatron have a Cyclonus? Would Ratchet have joined with the Autobots or are they called something different here?
Like do we have any unexpected additions who sided elsewhere with the murder of children being the driving force along with corruption and Optimus's charisma not being a factor?
I have so many questions. I love alternative timelines.
Ok, SO! Orion's story veers off very, very differently from canon. It kinda draws from the 'feral Orion' ideas that circulated in the fandom awhile back. Because the war started so much earlier, Alpha Trion didn't find Orion until much, much later. He mever made it to being an Archivist. Orion grew up alone in the wilds of Cybertron, and was well into his youngling phase before he was discovered
Alpha Trion was one of the only council members that the Destructicons spared. Mostly because Senator Electroshock was still made to come into work on the morning of the Altihex bombing crisis. She had just been promised bereavement leave to support her wife and grieve the death of her son, but then the new emergency overrode that and she had to report for work. Alpha Trion basically went to her and said, 'Go home, I'll cover for you, it's completely fucked that they made you come in, we can handle this, just go rest'. He even said he's attend the memorial, if she'd have him. His compassion in that moment made her spare him later.
Alpha Trion isn't exactly a Destructicon, but he works with one of their branches. Due to the overwhelming grief of losing his son, sparkling and youngling protection is something Galvatron takes very, very seriously. There are a number of sparkling sanctuaries scattered across Cybertron, and offworld once the exodus finally occurs. Alpha Trion stays at one of the sanctuaries hidden under the surface of the planet, outside of the Iacon, helping protect the sparklings. On one of his expeditions into the wastes for energon or building materials or smthn, he stumbles upon feral Orion who is very, very much not into the idea of going back with this stranger.
Orion gives him hell for the next several momths or even years; taming him is hell. But, well, AT has been dealing with a gaggle of toddlers at the sanctuary for awhile now. Oh, he's biting me? He won't sit in a chair to refuel? He's trying to climb the walls and escape?? Yeah I bet he is, this isn't new behavior.
Even after Orion settles down (learns to talk, stops biting people, etc) he's still kinda wild and independent. He spent a significantly longer time alone this time around, with no interaction, no contact with society. He eats raw energon crystals and will fight even the largest meanest mechanimals with his bare hands. He kinda becomes the cool older brother at the sanctuary; all of the sparklings look up to him, and even after Cybertron goes dark, he remains there with his gaggle of like 20 kiddos and a couple caretakers, scavenging the wastes so he can take care of them.
Ok, next! Time tobanswer those other questions
Yes, Galvatron does have a Cyclonus, he serves as a high ranking officer and is head of aerial security under the Winglord. In the first draft he and Galvatron were actually mates, but I think Terminus fits the role of Megatron's sire much better.
Ratchet still became an autobot, though his choice was kinda made for him. He was already living in Iacon at the time, still a med school student when Altihex was bombed and the war technically started. He wouldn't see combat for quite awhile, but as things progressed and the Destructicon movement spread, the government began 'incentivizing' people to help. Aka they paid off all of Ratchet's student debt in exchange for him serving, and being young and scared and stupid, he agreed. Now he's an autobot less because his spark's behind the cause, more because there's safety in numbers and he wants to make sure First Aid is well fed and protected.
As for surprise faces, yes! A lot of loyalties have changed. Praxians ane Vosians are distant relatives, and regard one another kind of like cousins. The two cities had a treaty, and a symbiotic relationship: Vos's Rainmakers brought Praxus the acid rains that let their crystals grow (one of their kost important exports) and in return, Praxus supplied the flyers with energon. When the news of Vos' tragedy reached them, rhe Praxians were firmly on their side. As a result, Praxus stands until very near the end of the war, and the vast majority of their people ended up siding with the Destructicons. That means Prowl is on their side, and his ice-cold tactical skills are a great asset to them.
Another is Bumblebee! He was orphaned by the war and raised in a destructicon sanctuary. There are whole swaths of cons dedicated to child protection; their primary objective is to shield them from war and keep them safe and happy. A lot of the kids that grew up in those places became soldiers upon reaching adulthood, because the Cons are all they know. Their family, surrogate parents, of course they wanna fight for them. Bee is on earth, and is in fact the first person Arcee encounters upon returning to the present
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