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art-blogge · 7 days

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FGO/PM Mirror-World

Master Candidate number 48. The young man stood in the hallway of Chaldea, almost pouting, having been kicked out of orientation by the Ms. Director. He'd barely gotten to meet one of the other candidates before passing out, and he was being punished for it. That wasn't how things were supposed to go for his first day, but something about it also felt oddly right. The Flow, as he called it, called for him to go elsewhere. The other candidate- What was their name? Dante?- Had suggested he go lay down for a while with a sneer, so he may as well. He could always catch up on the orientation later.

He'd barely gotten to meet Doctor Garnet before alarms blared. Central Command had caught fire, and the Doctor had already run off. Then and there, the young candidate decided to go with him. The Flow be damned. People needed help!

There! In the rubble, Dante's body!

He tried his best to push it off of them, but it was no use. Their head was probably crushed, but they were still moving. As the computer continued to read off scripts, he grabbed Dante's hand. He could at least be there for them, even as everything went black.

He heard a clock in his ear, yet didn't. He heard words, but no voice.

<"Wake up! Do I use the official title?? Master Vergilius?? Wake up before I kill you!">

That woke him up quickly.

"What?"

Dante had a bright red clock for a head with flames completely dissimilar to the fires surrounding them. He forgot what they looked like before, but it wasn't that! The ticking was new, too.

<"Uhm. Sorry, I don't know where that came from!">

They rubbed their neck and turned their entire head to look at the ground. They hadn't been in combat garb earlier… Just lab gear. And were they being… Nicer than before?

<"Please work with me! We have threats coming in!">

According to Dante, they had fused with a Servant at the last moment, but they didn't recall much prior to that. In exchange for their memory, they'd been granted the power of a Servant. Servants needed a Master to survive, and they'd chosen him for their Master.

Him, a Master… A real, proper Master! The things he could change as a Master were countless, to say the least!

They survived, and he was the last Master alive. The fate of the City was on him, now. Him, and the rest of the staff. Doctor Garnet was promoted to Temporary Director, there being almost no one else alive. Despite his cowardice and inexperience, he had the makings of a good leader.

There was Caster Lapis, who he hadn't met before this point. She was brutally honest with him, and he liked that. She was now Second-in-Command, despite being a Servant.

And then there was Dante, who had been following him around like a lost puppy since they'd gotten back. There was nothing anyone was able to do about the memory loss- That'd been their own decision- But they seemed to retain faculties just fine despite the clock.

The Flow didn't stop. It would be followed until it ended.

----

"We're going to settle this now, Dragon Witch!" Ruler Faust cried.

"Shut up! Let's fight!" yelled Faust Alter, "Will despair win, or will hope win? Will murderous intent win, or will pity win? Let's see if you can surpass me, Me who gave up everything!"

Hope would win, of course. Vergilius was certain of that, and Dante resolutely stood by his side. They would win. The Flow continued on."

----

Are you going to stand in my way?" the opposition named Jia Huan calmly asked, staring Vergilius straight in the eyes.

"That's why we're here."

"I'll stand in your way as well," the still-living Hong Lu agreed, brandishing his spear. "The world is brimming with beauty. Flowers, songs, jade, love… And you'd destroy it all? Isn't that wasteful?"

Dante was still by his side, chained shield at the ready. They would win. The Flow continued on.

----

The enemy mage, the crazed Captain Ahab, had overwritten her last crewmate with the Identity of a Demon, and it now towered over them all with its hundreds of eyes on it's pallid body. Queequeg was no more, replaced with the monstrosity of the sea.

"If it can be hit, it can be defeated!," Captain Ishmael (Rider) declared, reloading her pistol. She could see it's heart, and she knew that it was her true target- Not the pathetic mage that summoned it.

"Come, Dante! This is our last battle together!"

She clapped her free hand on Dante's armored shoulder, a wide grin on her face.

"This is it! Be brave! Laugh those fears away! "

"Let's go, Dante!" Vergilius announced, pointing at their enemies.

<"Yes, Master! Commencing correction!">

They would win. The Flow continued on.

----

"Something is manifesting!" Dr. Garnet warned, "Something" is coming! It's an unknown phenomenon! Not a Servant manifestation! Unknown? No, it's actually more like a Rayshift? But that's impossible. Only we have that technology!"

Next to Vergilius, Dante shivered despite their coat.

<"Senpai, something's wrong here. I can't detect anything, but I'm freezing.">

Before them, the true enemy approached, wrapped in shadow. Vergil's companions of the Singularity all flinched away… And moments later, a branch had beheaded the nearest one.

Beside them, Saber Gregor cried out and threw himself at the manifestation that had named itself "Solomon". A single entity swatted him aside as easily as one would a fly.

"The only one that interests me here is the one with the clock," Solomon stated plainly. "Out of respect for your pure heart, I'll only bring four of them here with me. Show me everything you can do."

They wouldn't win, but they would survive. The Flow continued on.

----

"Let's get it started," the Effloresced man stated, his scythe at the ready.

"You don't intend to hand over the Bough, do you?" Assassin Yi Sang asked, already knowing the answer. His knife was already prepared for combat.

"Of course not. It's time to harvest the rewards I've rightfully earned. The past will be replaced."

Vergilius didn't need to be told that this was the final battle of the Singularity. Beside him, Dante stood as always.

<"Let's go, Vergil! Bring us victory again!">

They would win. The Flow continued on.

----

"I have this duty to stop you!" yelled out Heathcliff, brandishing the sword that would soon end his life. "As the Heathcliff that will end this accursed cycle! You won't take my Catherine from me, you fake deity twat!"

The opposing Catherine in white simply tilted her head as if she didn't understand. She didn't understand why Heathcliff had tears running down his face, or why she was being opposed. This was for everyone, wasn't it?

"Give me your final orders, Sir Vergilius! Let us end this. No one else should have to go through this."

Vergil looked at the ground briefly, then back to Heathcliff. Neither of them knew that Heathcliff would become a Servant after this by the will of the river deity, but this had to be done.

"If that's what you want to do, we're with you."

<"I'll do anything to help you, my Heathcliff!"> Dante chimed in, holding the burnt Holy Bough like a weapon, <"Our final enemy here is Ever'y Catherine! Let's finish correcting this mansion, Master!">

They would win. The Flow continued on.

----

"From the fiery abyss, I come, and only death do I bring. My name is Ryoshu, and you will be part of my canvas."

"I can't believe this!," Dr. Garnet chimed in from communications, pushing Lapis off screen entirely, "It's able to be killed now! Now, now! Vergilius, now is the time!"

"We've found the weakness!" Lapis announced offscreen, "It's the head! That Abnormality's weak point is in it's head!

"And now that she knows that she is mortal, she is fleeing," Grand Caster Meursault added, the tiniest smile gracing his usually stone-cold face. "Now is the time. This is the last chance we get. The storm is closing in. We can speak later. Prepare to fight."

<"Of course, Sir! This is the final battle of the Seventh Singularity! This is for all our friends who believed in us, and for King Outis! Let's do whatever's necessary to defeat that ALEPH!">

"Of course!"

On the sidelines, Mistress Rodion had finally regained control over her icy underworld. She willingly gave full permission to fight for the first, and possibly last time. Humanity would survive this.

They would win. The Flow continued on.

----

"Be careful, Vergilius! He's right in front of you!" crowed Lapis over the comms, panicked.

"I know," Vergilius responded, watching the false Solomon approach. "Solomon", true name Jumsoon, slowly strode up to him despite the failure of his lab, fully Distorted.

"We've both lost everything here," Vergilius plainly stated, holding Dante's shield at the ready. Garnet had sacrificed himself moments before to foil Hermann's plot, and Dante had been incinerated saving Vergilius' life. He barely had any reason to want to go on, but failing to would be a waste of the sacrifices.

"Everything here has been a waste, yes," Jumsoon agreed, his tail irritibly flicking about.

"I am all that remains here. There's nothing left but for one of us to be hung on the portrait wall, and the other to live. …My sworn enemy. My hatred. My destiny. I want you to witness this. This brief moment is now my story. This brief but precious time has given the creature called Jumsoon true life."

With all he wanted said, Jumsoon Effloresced.

Of course he won, and the Flow directed Vergilius to the Rayshift point. He wasn't going to make it-

<"Master, take my hand!!">

They both survived. They had won, and yet… The Flow did not stop.

Oh. OH.

With one success, a new threat emerged, wiping all progress and the City with it. The only survivors were "The Red-Gaze" Vergilius, Shielder Dante, and a few crew members. All Servants had been wiped away. Lapis had been killed in combat.

She'd predicted this and left a clone of herself to act in her stead, codenamed Charon. Charon's job was to drive New Chaldea's transportation- Named the Mephistopheles by Faust- to clear this new threat.

"This drags," Lancer Rodion complained from her seat, filing her axe.

<"HOW ARE YOU HERE?!"> Dante screamed, jumping so high that they nearly escaped their bandages.

"A bunch of us are," Rodion laughed, gesturing to the door at the back.

As Vergilius threw it open, a bunch of Servants they'd befriended poured out and ganged around him.

"Sir Vergilius! Tis fortunate to see you again!" yelled the Lancer Don Quixote of the second Sub-Singularity. She was so loud he couldn't hear anyone else.

<"You guys made it!!"> Dante cheerfully rang over her, and the Servants started to gang them instead.

Vergilius sighed in relief. Not everything was lost yet. It had come very close, but there was still some hope. They would win. The Flow continued on.

----

It was so, so hard. Millions of people killed just to restore the City they knew. The deaths were on Vergilius' hands. It didn't feel worth it to be a Grand Master with a title anymore. He never wanted this, but the Flow never stopped. He had to, they all had to Sin to get back the world they knew.

Next to him as always, Dante rested their head against his shoulder. They didn't need to speak. Vergilius knew what they were going to say. That they could do it. That everything would be right in the end.

Vergilius was so, so jaded compared to when he'd started, and yet… He knew they were right. It would end eventually. The Flow hadn't stopped, so they would win. They would survive, no matter what.

#writing tag #limbus company #vergilius #dante lcb #fgo

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dukeswonderousmenagerie · 1 year

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Oh man, about Zeni (zeni's my favorite- I could rave about this goofy fictional inspector for hours).

This is gonna be long, btw- but you said you were okay with that last time I sent an ask so I'm goin' all in >:)

I really like what you have planned so far (even if it's just an outline)! As for what he can do, he could tie into that legendary zombie hunt mechanic you mentioned a bit ago.

Maybe while you're out doing hunt missions or exploring the world in general, you can hear rumors about some sort of mystery loner zombie hunter figure. They've killed a lot of monsters, saving even more folks in the process, and have become a sort of campfire story-esque figure, many not sure if they're even real.

As you continue to progress through the game, you can learn they've garnered an enigmatic moniker and that their identity is a complete mystery; no one's seen their face or heard an actual name before. Jumping off your Captain Ahab comparison, maybe this figure is genuinely nicknamed Ahab. Of the few people who managed to talk to this hunter, rumor says that they only ever talk about/ask for info about that one specific zombie that killed Yata. Hunting monsters is literally all they do, they're the best at it, and if you get in their way you can't even guarantee your own safety.

While you're bagging zombies on these hunts, you can catch a glimpse of this figure watching from afar; but even if you're playing as Lupin, you can never seem to catch up to them, or if you scope in on them as Jigen, you can never get a decent enough look to glean anything you haven't already heard from the rumor mill.

Then you get to the final hunt of the zombie hunter mission chain. Or rather, you think you've gotten to it.

Okay, I'm gonna cut away real quick to explain a game mechanic idea. At the end of hunts, maybe you get a "kill quality rating"- it'd determine how salvageable the kill is for research data, or for getting usable/high-quality loot from the corpse, or whatever else (kinda like Red Dead).

Certain zombie types have certain vulnerabilities and/or resistances (fire, acid, etc) and can be damaged differently depending on what weapon type you use (heavy, medium, light, melee, arrows). Depending on the combination of weaponry you use, hitting weak spots, how quickly you kill it, etc... all of that stuff culminates into your rating. The higher the rating, the better the rewards and rep.

Obviously, in canon, you'd only ever kill these legendary zombies once; and if they kill you (since they're special enemies), they get kill animations on you like in Resident Evil 3 or whatever other game has that sort of mechanic. But in-game you can restart and respawn, re-encounter these zombies, and go for higher-quality kills and farm loot/crafting supplies, increasing your rating.

Once you get a high enough rating on all of the kills, you're given a final boss-esque zombie hunt. Now, the zombies you've fought before were challenges, don't get me wrong, but this one's REALLY challenging. It's rough- like "you're planned to die" rough because that'd be the actual case.

So the player (either Jigen or Lupin, depending on who you're playing as) puts up a good fight, but it's not enough. You can't escape. The kill animation is about to go off, and the zombie's winding up to skewer you like a kebab, barf acid on you, or just pummel your skull into pulp (I'll leave it up to you to determine which type would be challenging enough). Until suddenly, the cutscene's interrupted. Someone lassos the zombie and yanks it off of you. Wild guess as to who saves you-

That mysterious zombie-hunting figure.

They fight the zombie single-handedly with practiced ease, throwing a few more restraints with ridiculous accuracy to immobilize it further, showing some surprising strength by grappling with it to take it to the ground, before landing the killing blow with some sort of improv weapon that looks like it was designed to take out that specific type of zombie.

All the while you're still on the ground, Lupin/Jigen watching this scene play out practically stunned. Once the zombie's dead, this Ahab figure walks up to you, lifts/helps you up off of the ground, and... brings you in for a massive bearhug? What???

Then the figure lets you go, backs up a bit, takes off their mask AND IT'S ZENIGATA! BOOM! They can have a little "Holy shit, POPS?!" "LUPIN/JIGEN! Yeah, it's me!" exchange and aughh, it'd be great.

Hopefully, it isn't too far-fetched for the player to assume that Ahab is Zenigata or, at the very least, someone that Lupin/Jigen might already be familiar with. Between what you hear about the obsessive hunting, the loner syndrome, and the ruthless zombie-killing efficiency (tying into Zeni's absurd competency in canon against anyone (or in this case anything) that isn’t Lupin), one might assume Goemon at first- though the lack of any mention of a particular special sword might make you think twice. But by design, I think the player should figure out pretty easily in the actual cutscene that the figure is most likely Zenigata.

So back to looking at this from a gameplay standpoint. He'd say that he's been watching you kill all of these challenging zombies to see if you could handle something like the monster he's going after now, asking if you were interested in joining him. Since he likes Lupin and Jigen enough to trust them already, he would still want to be absolutely sure he wouldn't be putting them in any danger (despite knowing that they're capable on their own) by bringing them along, hence the player's need to earn the high kill quality ratings.

At this point, you'd have unlocked the real final raid zombie mission that you can accept whenever you feel like you're ready (i.e. level/equipment-wise, because you probably used some stuff when fighting that zombie earlier :/ ).

If you don't accept right out of the gate he'll just chill out at your base or something. I don't think he'd be suicidal enough to go after this thing solo- he'd want to guarantee this zombie's death and he knows he can't do that if he's dead. If you take too long to get back to him, maybe he'd leave? Or if you've found Goemon at that point, maybe he'd just go with him? I dunno. But if you accept, you go with Zenigata to hunt and kill the monster that killed Yata (and probably a ton of other people too, I'm imagining this thing as a real apex predator-level menace).

So that's what I have for ol' Pops. Like I said, I think he's neat and I want the best for him :D

Rewarding Lupin and Jigen (the player) for putting in the time to complete long mission chains by reuniting them with Fujiko, Goemon, and Zenigata (on top of earning some high-quality gear/special equipment, ofc) seems really wholesome to me. Maybe if you complete all of the missions to fully reunite the gang you can get a special ending to the game's story...?

Anyways, I hope this helps- especially if it makes figuring out what to do with/how to introduce Fujiko and Goemon any easier!

OhohohohohohohohohooooOOOOO!!!

OH FUCk I Love this!

oh I love how you remembered that mechanic thing I was talking about! And I love how you incorporated it!

I never thought of using Zeni for the monster hunting aspect, but now that I think about it I love it so much!

Hey question, do you have a discord, I would love to discuss any more ideas you have in full detail!

#tacky optic #thanks for the ask!#koichi zenigata #lupin the 3rd #lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin iii: run n gun

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adropofrain · 3 years

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writing secondary characters

source: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-supporting-characters#what-are-supporting-characters

What Are Supporting Characters?

A supporting character is a person who plays a role in the life of a story’s protagonist. Novelists and screenwriters don’t anchor a story around supporting characters, but they use them in the process of worldbuilding to create a compelling backdrop to the main character’s story arc.

A well-written supporting character will have a character arc, a strong point of view, and clear personality traits. In many cases they will be the types of characters a reader might recognize from their own life and—like main characters—they will grow and change over the course of the storyline. Characters who don’t change are known as flat characters, and while certain bit parts work just fine as flat characters, the majority of your secondary parts must be dynamic and engaging to a reader or viewer.

Margaret Atwood’s 7 Tips for Writing Supporting Characters

Your secondary characters are formed by their life experiences. Character and event are inseparable because a person is what happens to them. This is true for main characters and minor characters alike. Even if a secondary character only appears sporadically throughout your novel, short story, or screenplay, supporting characters exist insofar as they experience events.

Secondary characters must be three dimensional, just like main characters. Your job as a writer is to learn about your character by observing how they interact with the world around them. Characters—like real people in real life—have hobbies, pets, histories, ruminations, quirks, and obsessions. They also have a backstory, just like the protagonist does. It’s essential to your novel that you understand these aspects of your character so that you are equipped to understand how they may react under the pressures of events they encounter.

Keep a track of your secondary characters with a character chart. When Margaret writes, she makes a character chart on which she writes each character, their birthday, and world events that might be relevant to them. In this way, she keeps track of how old characters are in relation to one another, and also how old they are when certain fictional or historical events occurred.

Make your characters interesting. Characters, like people, are imperfect. They don’t need to be likable, but they must be interesting. For example, Moby-Dick’s Captain Ahab was certainly not likable, but he was compelling, and that is Margaret’s bar for writing characters. Sometimes the characters in supporting roles are the ones who are easiest to push boundaries with. You should aim to create an interesting character that directly abets or stymies the protagonist’s goal but in a way that doesn’t necessarily conform to a worn-out archetype.

Every character needs to speak with purpose. When your characters are speaking, they should be trying to get something from one another or make a power play. As you draft each scene, ask yourself what your characters are trying to get. What are they trying to avoid? How do these wants inflect their speech and guide what they say—or don’t say? As you compose dialogue for your supporting characters, be mindful of their character roles within your primary storyline (as well as any subplots). Use their conversations efficiently to contribute to worldbuilding, character development, and the escalation of plot.

Take time to get dialogue right. To get dialogue right, you must understand how your characters speak. This is likely influenced by where they come from, their social class, upbringing, and myriad other factors. Speech and tone are always bound up in what has happened and is happening to a character. Shakespeare was exceptionally deft at encoding his characters’ speech with these social markers. In your own story, if the lead character is from Colorado and his best friend is from New York, their dialogue shouldn’t sound the same. Just as their worldview and personality traits must be distinct, so too must be their way of speaking. Most first-time authors tend to get their major characters’ dialogue correct, but it’s supporting characters’ dialogue that can separate great authors from those who are merely decent.

Choose secondary character names wisely. Be sure names are distinct, Margaret cautions, so that readers can tell characters apart. In cinema, the original Star Wars trilogy does a great job of this. Assuming Luke Skywalker is the protagonist, supporting character names like Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Obi-Wan Kenobi are all distinct from one another, which aids a first-time viewer who is new to the Jedi universe.

#writing #writing tips #masterclass #Author #instagram #just writer problems #writers on tumblr #writers of ao3 #writerscorner #writeblogging

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jellybeanforest-a-go-go · 4 years

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Fic Snip

This is from the upcoming fic “The Apple of My Father’s Eye.”

Summary:

Tony Stark has never gotten along with his father. Though Howard admits Tony has limitless potential, it’s wasted on the boy. He’s too unfocussed, too wild, and much, much too clingy. If he is to take over Stark Industries from his old man one day, Tony needs to buckle down and get serious, man up so to speak. Like Captain America. Now that right there was a real man and patriot, or so Howard is always telling Tony on their annual sojourns to the Arctic. Tony stops attending them when he is 18, thinking Howard to be an obsessed old man, Captain Ahab after his white whale.

And then Howard actually finds Captain America in the summer of 1989 and brings him home, treating him like the golden son he’s always wanted, much to the annoyance of his actual flesh-and-blood.

Fic Snip:

“And where are we going again?” Rogers had asked for the second time. He doesn’t quite look at Tony, who is shamelessly changing in the tight space beside the uptight senior citizen in the backseat of their private car.

“We’re going to a club,” Tony explains as he shimmies up a pair of tight pants.

When Tony momentarily stops squirming, Rogers hazards a glance at him, quickly returning his gaze towards the black divider separating them from the driver when he sees Tony with his front fly unfastened, trying to zip up. A pretty flush spreads across the apples of his cheeks.

Tony rolls his eyes, unbuttoning his stuffy shirt and shrugging it off to replace it with a more stylish band tee. He completes the look with leather jacket.

“Is there a dress code, or…”’

“In a matter of speaking,” Tony glances over at Cap’s outfit. He’s a young man wearing grandfather chic, but it sort of works for Rogers, in an I-just-got-off-the-bus-from-Ohio sort of way. Tony would have brought clothes for him as well, if he thought there was a snowball’s chance in hell that anything he owned would fit over the man’s arms, much less his broad chest. “You’ll be fine. You’re with Chris now.”

“Who?”

Tony flips open his wallet, showing him his fake ID. He then opens the billfold, flashing his wad of cash and a couple condoms to pull out a fake for Rogers. “You’re Roger Stevens, born July 4, 1962. I kept it simple. Remember that date, because if Arlo is running security tonight, he’ll quiz you.”

“Okay, I can see why I’d need a fake ID. No one is going to believe I’m 71, but why do you need one? Your name isn’t Christopher Allen, and you told me you’re 19.”

Tony clicks his tongue. “Nuh-uh-uh. None of that. Tonight I’m Chris, and I’m 22. Don’t narc on me, Roger.”

“And the condoms?”

He gives him a rakish grin. “You know the boy scout motto: Always be prepared. I’m usually BYOC, but if you meet a nice honey, then I’ll be willing to part with one. It’s been what? Forty-four years for you? I’m surprised you can walk with that terminal case of blue balls.”

And now the blush is undeniable and kind of adorable. “Sex isn’t everything.”

“You sound like a virgin,” but when Rogers doesn’t protest the assessment, Tony does a double-take. “Wait… are you a virgin?”

And now the man is huffy. “I’m 71, not dead.”

“Funny how that wasn’t an answer to what should have been a yes or no question,” Tony quips, but when Rogers refuses to engage with that line of conversation or offer further denials, Tony simply shakes his head and lets the subject drop. The man is allowed his secrets, especially pertaining to his rather perplexing (lack of) sex life. “Just let me know if you need a condom. Hell, you can have both of the ones I brought tonight if you can swing it with your… um, supercharged stamina.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.”

“You said it yourself: You’re not dead yet, Cap.”

#Stevetony #Stony #Tony Stark #Steve Rogers #Howard Stark's A+ Parenting #Howard Stark finds Captain America #Age Difference #Steve Rogers violates the bro code #Daddy Issues #The Apple of My Father's Eye #Fanfiction #Fic Snip

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apicturewithasmile · 5 years

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Fishful Thinking

or: What the hell is up with all those fish references?

As I was working on two gif sets (1, 2) showing all (or at least most) of the times Red talks about fish in one way or another, I couldn’t help but wonder if there’s some pattern to these stories. I decided to sort the fish references into the four following categories and put my literary analysis degree to good use

Category 1: There’s always a bigger fish.

Category 2: self-recognition through the fish

Category 3: Beware The Fish!

Category 4: Is this the real life, is this just fanta-sea?

Though some fish references could be put in more than one category, I chose to sort them according to how I’d like to interprete their relevance to the show and Red’s character. Because of the vast amount of fish stories and references throughout the years I cannot possibly talk about all of them but I will still list them all under their respective category for the sake of completeness.

All of that under the cut because it’s long (sorry @ mobile users):

Category 1: There’s always a bigger fish.

1x01 Pilot Red: Zamani was a small fish. I’m Ahab. And if you want the whales on my list, you have to play by my rules.

3x11 Gregory Devry Red: I don’t know. What I do know is if he’s called a meeting and the members are gathering, he’s a very big fish. […] Follow this fish, and you can net the entire school.

5x13 The Invisible Hand Big Willie: Nash? Come on, man. You want to go up against those guys? You’re a big enough fish? Why risk that? | Red: I’m not a big fish, William. I’m Moby Dick.

The first of many fish references happens no sooner than in the Pilot (1x01) itself. Red calls his first Blacklister Ranko Zamani “a small fish” – as opposed to the “whales” he offers up to the FBI in exchange for immunity. Interesting in this scene is that Red refers to himself as “Ahab”, the Captain from H. Melville’s novel Moby Dick. In the book, Ahab is driven by his manic – and subsequently fatal – desire to hunt and kill the big white whale named Moby Dick. In the end this venture costs Ahab his life as well as the lives of all but one of his crew members.

When looking at this scene separately from the rest of the show it’s easy to think of it as ~just a TV show pilot giving us an easy way to characterise their protagonist – and yes, partially that is a purpose this scene serves (note it’s also the scene in which Red gives the show its name, referring directly to his list as “The Blacklist”). However, if we take into account what happens as the show progresses, even just in season 1, the Ahab-reference gains a little more weight, as Red’s “whale hunt” nearly gets him killed (1x10) while also leading to the death of two of his team members, Luli Zeng (1x09) and Newton Philips (1x11), as well as the murder of Task Force member Meera Malik (1x22). All of that for the hunt after the first season’s big fish and main antagonist Berlin, along with (as we will later learn) the undeniably even bigger fish: The Cabal.

Juxtaposing the Ahab-reference is Red’s remark from the episode The Invisible Hand (5x13) where he refers to himself as “Moby Dick” instead of Ahab. On one hand this serves the technical purpose to remind Red’s scene partner (and us, the audience) that Red isn’t just any fish – big or small – in the large tank full of criminals. No, he is in fact the biggest of them all, a legend and he will bring everyone down who tries to harm him. On the other hand it offers up an interpretation of Red knowing that his project – The Blacklist – will inevitably be his own downfall. He is both the hunter and the beast which means the question is less “who will win in the end?” rather than “is there any way out of this other than through his own death?”. This also ties in with the speculations amongst fans that Red himself will turn out to be the No. 1 on the Blacklist as the series comes to an end.

The third and final fish reference in this category is in the episode Gregory Devry (3x11) where the episode’s Blacklister gets called a “big fish” by Red. It’s possible to just brush that off as a somewhat common allegory to think of criminals as big/small fish but I find it noteworthy that it just so happens to be used for the Blacklister who claims to be the ~real Raymond Reddington. Describing Devry as a “big fish” also puts that label on Red by extension. And following ~our big fish Red also leads to the netting of an entire school of criminals aka The Blacklist.

*****

Category 2: self-recognition through the fish

1x21 Berlin Red: I was once on the island of Ko Ri, free-diving in the Andaman Sea. I felt terribly ill stung by a lionfish. I was dehydrated, in excruciating pain. I had lost all sense of time and place. I was completely disoriented. But I knew I was dying, so I readied myself for it. And in that moment, at death’s door, I looked up, and standing over me in the brightness was this landless Moken sea gypsy just standing there, smiling. She and her tribe nursed me back to health, good as new. And when I left the island she kissed me. It was like a burst of sunlight on my cheek. It was – It made nearly dying well worth it. That’s how I feel now.

2x09 Luther Braxton Red: In Mexico, there are these fish that have colonized the freshwater caves along Sierra del Abra.They were lost. They found themselves living in complete darkness. But they didn’t die. Instead, they thrived. They adapted. They lost their pigmentation, their sight, eventually even their eyes. With survival, they became hideous. I’ve rarely thought about what I once was. But I wonder if a ray of light were to make it into the cave, would I be able to see it? Or feel it? Would I gravitate to its warmth? And if I did, would I become less hideous?

4x12 Natalie Luca Red: Losing someone we love is painful. Agonizing even unto death. The Japanese call it tako-tsubo – a grieving surge of abnormal electrical waves that causes the heart to deflate and contort until it resembles a a fishing pot. Hollow and cold, an empty vessel at the bottom of a fathomless sea. I’m sorry for your loss. You have suffered enough of that in your life.

In this category I have grouped together instances in which fish-metaphors or fish-related stories are used to express Red’s inner conflict.

First I want to focus on the two monologues from seasons 1 and 2 as they complement each other very well and can be discussed together. The scenes not only share textual but also structural similarities: both of these monologues are spoken by Red to Lizzy in situations where he or both of them are in a dangerous and/or threatening situation; and they are both part of a season and mid-season finale respectively, which often are episodes with greater exploration of character motivation and inner conflict than there would be time for in a regular episode.

The hideous fish monologue in Luther Braxton (2x09) has been subject of great in-depth discussion in the fandom time and again; especially the Lizzington shippers keep coming back to it, as he is clearly talking about Lizzy when he mentions the “ray of light” and ends with explaining that he didn’t want her to follow him because it would put her in danger. [Sidenote: Anyone who still doubts that he was talking about Lizzy being his “ray of light”, I’d like to direct towards the episode Karakurt 2x21 in which Red invents an alias for Lizzy: “Ginger Lumiere” which literally translates to “Red Light”.]

You can also find a light-reference in the fish story from Berlin (1x21) when Red says “[…] she kissed me. It was like a burst of sunlight on my cheek. [...] It made nearly dying well worth it. That’s how I feel now.” as he is looking up at Lizzy, essentially telling her that despite all the pain and hardships he has gone through and will be facing in the future – it’s worth it because of her. With those two fish stories combined he paints us a pretty cohesive image of how he views himself – the hideous fish who adapted to the darkness that surrounds him and thrives in it; and what Lizzy is to him – a burst of sunlight, the warmth that could have the power to make him less hideous, and arguably even the sea gypsy nursing him back to health.

Interestingly the fish that stung him in his 1x21 story is a lionfish. I’m pointing that out because that same species will get mentioned again in season 4, so I will come back to that when talking about the next category.

In Natalie Luca (4x12) he talks to the young woman who has just lost her boyfriend and it’s evident that he’s not only talking about her loss but also about his recent experience of losing someone he loved – namely when he thought Lizzy had died after giving birth to Agnes. On a textual basis it seems like he’s just talking about Natalie but the camera is positioned in such a way that Natalie’s image is reflected in the window behind which Red sits, effectively merging the two characters together, making it clear that when he’s talking about her, he’s also talking about himself. Thus it is reasonable to assume Red is empathising with Natalie on the basis of grieving their romantic love interest (despite Lizzy having come back from the dead in the meantime, Red is still struggling with the pain Lizzy’s actions have caused him). He then describes Natalie’s and his pain as the heart resembling “a fishing pot. Hollow and cold, an empty vessel at the bottom of a fathomless sea.” Red feels like he has lost his “ray of light” and thus his heart has dropped to the bottom of the sea, into even deeper darkness than ever before, causing him to make decisions as hideous as shooting Kate Kaplan.

On a sidenote, the scene in which Natalie Luca’s boyfriend dies parallels Lizzy’s (fake) death scene very well in terms of camera angles and movements – Natalie being the stand-in for Red; the boyfriend being stand-in for Lizzy.

*****

Category 3: Beware The Fish!

3x15 Drexel Red: Right. Which is why we’re here now. We’ve come for the fugu kimo. | Dembe: Fugu kimo? | Red: Blowfish liver. Contains a poison 1,200 times deadlier than cyanide– so lethal, a single fish can kill 30 grown men.

4x05 The Lindquist Concern Red: Perhaps another go with the candiru fish. I understand they burrow into the most impossible nooks and crannies.

4x07 Dr. Adrian Shaw Red: Have you ever been spearfishing? You should go spearfishing. I love spearfishing. On the Ambergris Caye, there is a reef– | Liz: If there’s a reason you felt this story couldn’t wait, I’d love to hear it, but quickly if possible. | Red: I have a Blacklister for you. They call him The Coroner. | Liz: I just got my baby back, my husband, my family. This can wait. | Red: Lionfish. | Liz: Lionfish? | Red: An aggressive, invasive species threatens the local habitat, leaves destruction in its wake. Sound like anyone we know?

These three make up the group of fish as some form of a danger. Here we see fish used as a torture device by creative torture expert Brimley in 4x05 and mentioned in the form of a potentially lethal meal in 3x15.

The most interesting reference in this category though is the one from Dr. Adrian Shaw (4x07) because as I’ve pointed out above the lionfish which has first been mentioned in 1x21 makes another appearance here. 4x07 is the first part of the mid-season finale and in the beginning of the episode Red makes a point of equating Kirk to the invasive, aggressive and destructive nature of lionfish.

In the second part of this mid-season finale Red will then be tortured and almost killed by Alexander Kirk – a man who believes himself to be Lizzy’s father. In his attempt to get revenge and compensation for the years Kirk has lost with his (thought-to-be) daughter he goes to great and often violent lengths. This culminates in Kirk ~becoming the lionfish from Red’s season 1 story. Kirk injects Red with multiple substances that all build up to Red being in “excruciating pain. [losing] all sense of time and place” and being “completely disoriented.” just like in his story from 1x21. This then leads to Red saying whatever he thinks Kirk wants to hear in order to survive. The result is a (false) confession that Red is Lizzy’s father as well as some (yet-to-be-revealed?) secret whispered into Kirk’s ear which eventually convinces him to let Red walk free. The next time we see Red, he shows up at Lizzy’s doorstep, to visit the burst of sunlight that made nearly dying well worth it (whether that is still Lizzy at this point or the title has been handed over to Agnes is open for speculation).

*****

Category 4: Is this the real life, is this just fanta-sea?

4x09 Lipet’s Seafood Company Red: Marlin– that’s not a very common name. I knew a Marlin when I was young. Marlin Trout. One boy, two fish names. Funny.

4x22 Mr. Kaplan Conclusion Red: Ho Chi Minh City! That’s it. I got away from you aboard that catfish trawler on the Saigon River. My God, the humidity. But fun times indeed. More to come, Agent Gale. More to come.

5x15 Pattie Sue Edwards Red: Smokey, as you well know, Heddie did not take a powder. She’s lying in her bed right now, sneezing and wheezing, swollen up like a puffer fish. I’m afraid all the dogs and cats finally got the best of her.

5x22 Sutton Ross Liz: I’ll get you for this. | Red: You’ll try, but there’s a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore, looking like an idiot.

6x03 The Pharmacist Red: On a side note, I once went fly fishing for a cutthroat trout in the Roaring Fork Valley, where, inexplicably, I stumbled upon Justice Antonin Scalia may God rest his soul and, boy, did we have some real barn burners. My word, that man could argue. Six hours, hip deep in whitewater, and with all the yelling, neither of us got so much as an alevin.

7x01 Louis T. Steinhil Red: But I’ve been paralyzed before. The spine of a blowfish pierced my wet suit off Pit–

Some fans have wondered how much truth there really is in stories such as “Marlin Trout” (4x09) or fly fishing with Justice Scalia (6x03). Even the lionfish story from 1x21 can be up for debate. Did Red really experience all this or is he making it up for the sake of a nice metaphor, to buy himself time, distract his opponent? Is it realistic for one man to be stung by two poisenous fish (a lionfish and a blowfish) on two separate occassions? And how did a former KGB agent (if we assume he really is Ilya Koslov) know a Marlin Trout when he was young and presumably growing up in Russia?

But what all the fish-references in the fourth category have in common is that they are used for comic relief. I guess it’s also safe to assume that after so many seasons and fish stories to which the fans reacted positively, some of these later fish references are purely there as Easter eggs for fan service and one can hardly blame the writers for that. The most recent one from Louis T. Steinhil (7x01) was a good example of using a fish reference just so the fans could cross that off their Blacklist Bingo chart.

Especially the bit from The Pharmacist (6x03) sticks out as it is a very obvious nod towards James Spader’s previous TV show Boston Legal in which his character goes fishing in Nimmo Bay where he later gets married by Antonin Scalia in the final episode of the show. Since Red spends the first half of season 6 in prison and we keep getting scenes of him defending himself in court, the writers saw their opportunity for an Alan Shore homage and they took it. Well done.

*****

That’s it, I hope some of you made it all the way to the end. There’s not really a conclusion to this except that I don’t think there really is some deeper meaning behind the many fish references other than the writers and/or James Spader obviously being into fish very much. The fish world offering a vast selection of potential metaphors and stories also fits in nicely with (the real) Raymond Reddington having been a Naval Intelligence Officer.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

#The Blacklist #Raymond Reddington #fish stories #tbl theories #the blacklist theories #Maddie writes #yeah like... that's what I did today #made 16 fish gifs #and then wrote an entire essay about it #what did you do?#I love being an almost 30 year old lady

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theskyeandsea · 4 years

Text

Class is in Session || Ricky & Skylar

Location: Ricky and Winston’s House

Summary: Skylar and Ricky meet and talk to each other, seal to seal.

TW: Chronic illness and depression mentions

It had taken far more convincing than Ricky thought it would, but, he had finally managed to convince Skylar to come to terms with what she was. Which meant now of course that he had to start putting together a curriculum for Selkie 101 apparently. Dragging himself laboriously from his spot on the couch he stumbled his way into the kitchen, wincing as the healing wound on his side tugged against its stitches. “Fuckkkkkkkkk” He muttered as he rifled through the cabinets for the coffee, grinding enough beans to start a pot and then leaning against the cold wood of the countertop as he waited for it to brew. It wasn’t terribly long before he heard the sound of tires on the driveway, just in time for him to pull two mugs down and set them on the counter, “Door’s unlocked!” He called out, not wanting to make the trek from the kitchen to the entryway, “I’m in the kitchen.”

Stepping out of her car, Skylar juggled her keys from hand to hand, staring at the house with trepidation. She didn’t want to be here, definitely not after everything that had happened at the dinner only just a few nights ago. But… she needed answers. Ricky had been right about everything, about her teeth, her food, being color blind, the fatigue and fevers and everything. He knew it all. And she knew absolutely nothing. She had to find out the truth. Her backpack thumped against her spine as she let herself into the house at Ricky’s invitation, the weight of the pelt a reminder of what was at stake. She made her way into the kitchen and saw Ricky setting two mugs on the counter top. “Hi… How are you doing, is there anything I can help with?” She asked anxiously, fingers fidgeting with the edge of her shirt as she stood in the kitchen.

Tugging a hoodie from a nearby chair, Ricky shrugged into it and zipped it up gingerly, “Cream or sugar? You shouldn’t really, too much will fuck with your stomach but a little now and again never hurt anybody.” He poured two large mugs full of the delicious smelling coffee and settled into a seat up on the counter, “Come on. Put the bag down and make yourself at home. This is scarier in your mind than it is in real life.” He hadn’t bothered to put his teeth in that morning, he hadn’t been planning on leaving the house and so he flashed Skylar a smile full of his pearly white fangs, “So. You’re a selkie. Like me. Welcome to the family.” He pushed the mug of coffee towards her and took a sip of his own, humming in delight, “Ah caffeine. Sweet delicious life giving caffeine. Thank god it exists.” He’d never really had cause to talk to other selkies who were less experienced than him, and felt like he was stumbling his way through this. Best he could do was just be a friend.

Seeing Ricky’s teeth in the daylight was a shock. Skylar had seen them before, she knew what they looked like, but it still threw her for a loop to see it in the light of day. This was real. It was all real. “Black’s just fine. Um… I guess I can take these out.” She said, gesturing to her mouth before she removed the veneers from her teeth. She tucked them away in the little case she kept in her backpack. It was always a nice relief to have them out; she was used to having them in, but it always felt just a little uncomfortable. Lifting the mug to her lips, she blew on the liquid to cool it before taking a sip. It just gave her something to do other than acknowledge the whole, selkie situation. “Mhm.” She nodded, not really sure what else she could say. Her backpack was still resting on her shoulders, safe and secure. She didn’t want to let go of it, even if Ricky said it was okay. “So… you’re a selkie?” She asked, the word foreign to her mouth.

Ricky watched somewhat nonchalantly as Skylar removed her teeth and tucked them away in a small case from her bag. “Always feels better to have them out. I can always hear just the littlest shade of a lisp when I’ve got them in. I’m just used to talking without them.” He listened to the long stretching silence, determined to let her take the lead on any self discovery that might happen “We…” he correct gently, “We are selkies. Since I’m now more than reasonably confident in that assessment.” Another sip of coffee and he stretched his legs out before tucking one under him, “But yes. I”m a selkie. There’s probably some latin species name for us, but…. Selkie usually just does the trick. Subspecies of therianthrope, or shape shifter, much like a werewolf, though in far more control.”

Skylar took a seat at the counter next to Ricky, staring into her mug as he spoke. They were both selkies. She was a selkie. She was… a seal person. And as much as she wanted to protest against it, to turn off her hearing aids and just pretend she’d never heard any of this, she couldn’t. “I… How. How does it work? If we’re not like werewolves, how does it work?” She asked. “I’ve never been a seal. I wasn’t lying when I said that, I’ve never been a seal in my life. I think I’d remember turning into a blubbery fish eating… animal.” She shook her head. Even as she said that, the confused memories of waking up in her bathtub with the pelt next to her came back to her.

“Well… for one, selkism can’t be passed on through a bite. It’s simply genetic. As to how it works? You’ve got a skin. Your real skin. You simply……. Step into it and return to being a seal. Which I know sounds a little reductive but, that’s what happens. Your body secretes what is essentially lube, and you just pull it on and you’re back to being a seal again.” Another sip of coffee and he nodded slowly, pushing uncooperative curls out of his face, “that… doesn’t surprise me. It sounds like you spent a lot of time not knowing, which means your body put itself into some pretty dire situations to keep itself alive. Which isn’t ideal. That can’t be good for you long term. But… that is in the past now. Now that you know what you are, you can start to live in a way that makes it easier for you to live in comfort.”

“My real skin?” Skylar echoed, the weight of her backpack pressing down against her shoulders. The seal pelt. It was hers. Her skin. That she was meant to just slide into. That wasn’t possible, that couldn’t be real. There was just so much for her to process. “I don’t know anything about this.” Skylar said quietly before taking a long drink from her mug. Staring at her hands, she wrestled with how to talk about her family. “I’m not… My family…” Her words caught in the back of her throat, but she forced herself to continue. “Ricky. I didn’t know any of this because no one in my family knows any of this. I’m adopted. And, less than a year ago, I found out that when I was a baby, my mom found me on the beach with,” Skylar gestured to the bag, “a weird pelt wrapped around me. That was it. No one else was around, there was no note, nothing.”

Taking a long sip of coffee, Ricky nodded slowly as Skylar told her story, “That sounds about right. Makes sense that you wouldn’t know anything about how to survive as one, then. It’s real easy for us to pass as human, teeth not withstanding, but we do require some upkeep.” He hobbled over to the fridge and pulled out the omnipresent place of smoked salmon, “help yourself.” Resuming his seat on the counter he thoughtfully chewed on a piece of salmon while he listened, “Well… it’s functionally pointless to try to figure out the why of all of that. It happened, it’s unfortunate and I can’t help but think there could have been a better way but it happened. Now we gotta figure out how to get you good and ready to face the world as a selkie.”

Not one to pass up the offer of fish, Skylar took a piece of salmon and popped it into her mouth. She hummed in response to his words. There was a lot in her past that she really didn’t want to get into and it was a relief that Ricky didn’t seem to want to hear about it. He knew what he needed to and now… he was going to Mr. Miyagi her into being a selkie? Or something like that? “You said that vampires and werewolves and stuff were real too. Does me being,” She took in a deep breath to steady herself, “A selkie, does that put me in danger? Does it put the people around me in danger? What does it even mean for me to be like this? Am I supposed to go out and just hop into the harbor and turn into some seal thing? Do I need to start learning whale calls? I don’t-- I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this information.”

A lot of questions tumbled out in short order and Ricky couldn’t help but chuckle to himself a little bit, “Woah woah woah killer. Slow your roll.” He polished off the mug of coffee and refilled it, “You being a selkie puts you more in danger from humans than from other members of the supernatural community. Except vampires, who love us. We got extra blood. We’re like a supersized combo for them. The biggest danger will always be human hunters. Always.” He ate some more of the salmon and chuckled again “Do I look like I know whale calls? Look at me. But yes. You are. Generally in the middle of the night, and only in places where you know you’re absolutely alone. Consider this your superhero secret identity.”

A superhero identity. Yeah, right. No superhero she’d ever read about turned into a big ball of blubber. And had fangs. Sighing, Skylar rubbed her temples, trying to process everything. The supernatural community. Which meant there was more to it than just the magical stuff she’d seen Winston do and the basics of what Ricky had told her. There was a whole… secret society of people. Supernatural people. And she was suddenly apart of that too. “Human hunters? What do you mean by that? Someone going Captain Ahab on us?” She said, choosing to ignore the thing about vampires turning her into a happy meal. She would deal with that later. “I don’t,” Skylar squirmed in her seat, not sure how to say this. “I’mafraidoftheocean.” She confessed, the words coming out in a quiet jumble.

“Yup. Human hunters. Some of them have some weird pseudo-religious rabid need to cleanse the earth of the monsters…. Which is just weird and wrong on so many levels, and some of them just like to sell shit on the black market. And selkie skins are hella valuable.” That second part threw him for a loop, though. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard of a selkie who was afraid of the ocean. “Well…. That’s new.” He scratched at the stubble on his jaw thoughtfully, “Not the end of the world though. We can get you in a swimming pool or pond too. It’s really more about wearing the skin than like ocean deep dives. But…… we might have to work on fixing that fear.”

“A black market? There’s a black market-- wait, they’d sell my skin?” Skylar asked, voice cracking slightly at the idea of the pelt, her pelt, getting taken away from her. She’d spent so long without knowing any of this, of never having her skin. The thought of someone stealing her skin, keeping it from her forever, it filled her stomach with dread. “The ocean freaks me out because of these,” She said, pushing her hair back to show her hearing aids, “I can’t get them wet. If they get wet, I’d have to replace them and I don’t have the money to do that. I need my hearing aids to work.” At Ricky’s reassurance that they could go elsewhere, Skylar shut her eyes, cringing a little. “And… if I told you I don’t know how to swim..?”

“There’s a black market for almost anything. But yes. They’d sell your skin. They’d kill you, and leave you dead and skinless, and your family would have to bury you in the ground because you didn’t have your skin with you. You couldn’t be burned and scattered to the tides, like selkies should be when they die.” No small amount of heat crept into his voice, and he took a deep breath and tamped it back down again, “well. I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know how hearing aids work with the transformation. My hearing is bad and all, but I always just leaned on lip reading. Can you remove them? Or are the stuck in like cochlear implants are?” He couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit at the last confession, “Believe me. The seal knows how to swim. The woman might not, but the seal does. They’ll take care of you in the water.”

Skylar could hear the emotion in Ricky’s voice and she reached out to hold his hand, rubbing the back of his hand reassuringly with her thumb. The fate he described sounded awful, it sounded worse than anything she had ever imagined. And it seemed like it was something he knew too well. She didn’t want to pry, though. So instead, she nodded. “Got it. Keep my skin secret. And avoid hunters.” She said before pulling her hand back, her face warming with slight embarrassment. Skylar knew she didn’t always like being touched by other people and here she was, violating his personal space. “Ah. Sorry. Um… I can take them out. It’s just kinda scary being outside without them.” She admitted. His words about her seal side knowing how to swim were probably meant to reassure her, but all she could think was, What if he’s wrong? What if she’s not a selkie and all of this is just a delusion?

Skylar reached out to take his hand and Ricky held it tightly, sighing to himself as he nodded, confident she’d understood the gravity of human hunters and the extreme danger they posed. He couldn’t help but make a quiet noise to himself as she talked about the fear of being without her hearing aids and a small smile crossed his face, “Do you know why your hearing is so bad? Why mine is? Why every single member of our species has some level of auditory impairment? Our ears aren’t made for hearing in air. My hearing is amazing underwater. I can hear the sounds of schools of fish moving through the water, the telltale crunch of shifting stone…. There’s no impairment down there. So. I get that fear. But… the other side of the coin is that once you do conquer it, the impairment doesn’t exist below the waves.

As Ricky described what it would be like underwater, a part of Skylar couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like. What it would feel like. To have her eyes opened to a whole new world, to a world that she’d never known she was a part of. The idea of just being able to be free-- it was tempting. It was so tempting. But, as she thought about it, the other side of the coin became readily apparent. If all of her challenges in life were because she was a selkie… if her hearing and her depression and the pain that wore her down and exhausted her every day was part of being a selkie and never knowing… Tears began to well up in her eyes. How could her parents have let her live like that? “You’re saying that if I go underwater, if I turn into a- a seal. I’ll be normal?”

Ricky’s heart broke a tiny bit at Skylar’s question and he took her hand again and squeezed it “Well…. No. Because you’re a seal and the general majority metric isn’t. But. Why would you want to be? You won’t be normal. But you’ll be a new part of yourself.” Refilling both their coffees and smiled, “you’ll be putting another piece of the puzzle in, one that’s going to help you feel more whole. But definitely your health is going to improve. Depriving yourself of the transformation is similar to not eating right or not getting enough sleep. You do it for long enough it’s going to start wearing your body now. But now that you know, you can stop feeling like that because you know the cure for it. “

Skylar bit the inside of her cheek, her fangs pinching together in a reminder of just how different, how strange, how not human she was. All she had ever wanted was to just be normal. To not be a burden. And now, no matter how she tried to spin it, her definitive abnormality was staring her right in the face. Staring at herr coffee mug, Skylar did her best to absorb everything Ricky was telling her. She was in it now and, if she wanted to get through this new life of hers, she would need all the help she could get. “Okay. Okay. I can… I can try. I can try to do that.” She said, unwilling to say the word, “My skin. How do I keep it safe?” Skylar asked, her free hand moving to clutch the strap of her backpack instinctively.

Knowing that this was a monumental amount of information for Skylar to absorb, Ricky sat quietly on the counter while she did, one foot swinging listlessly as he enjoyed the bitter taste of his coffee. “Trying is always a good start. It’s not going to come right away, this is still a big adjustment, but, you can keep trying and keep trying and keep trying and eventually it’s going to be second nature to you.” Hopping down from the counter he trudged over to retrieve his phone from where it’d been charging, bringing up an email confirmation that he went to forward onto her. “There’s a small fireproof safe that’s going to arrive sometime this week. It’s the same kind that I keep mine in. Try not to bring it with you places. Keep it safe, keep it secret, bring it out when you need to transform or if you’re travelling. Never travel outside the city without it. Even if you think it’s just an overnight trip. You want it with you in case you get waylaid or stuck somewhere.”

When her phone buzzed with the email attachment, Skylar stared at it in confusion. A fireproof safe? He’d ordered one for her? He didn’t even know her and he was giving her that? And, and all of this information? It was too much. “How much do I owe you for the safe?” She asked, sliding her phone back into her pocket. “That all makes sense.” God, the fact that she was even saying that was insane. “Keep it locked away and, and, if I go on a road trip, make sure I’ve got it with me. Uh huh. Yeah. That… that makes sense.” She said before resting her head on the cool, clean counter top, her eyes squeezed shut. God. “Fuck.” She mumbled quietly.

Ricky’s brow furrowed for a moment. “Nothing. You owe me nothing. This is something your clan or your family was supposed to do. Teach you this. Help you figure out how to be safe. You apparently don’t have one. So. As the only other selkie in White Crest… you’re part of mine now. If you want to be of course.” Leaning forward he squeezed her shoulder lovingly, “You’re not alone anymore, Sky. You’ve got me… and the giant rambunctious family that comes with that” it was true. His mother’s family was loud and sometimes annoying, but they would have never abandoned a pup on the beach like somebody did to Skylar. “This only seems like a lot because it’s happening all at once. But. It’ll even out and life will be as it was. Just with the addition of frequent transformations.”

When Ricky squeezed her shoulder-- a gesture that would normally make her flinch away-- Skylar found herself relaxing at the touch. Something about it just felt… familiar. Even though she didn’t know him any better than she knew anyone in this town, his reassurance meant so much to her. “A clan?” She echoed. “A family?” The words felt so strange to her, because they meant that the people she had considered her family for so long were anything but. They’d kept the truth from her, caused her nothing but pain and hurt. They weren’t her family. And whoever her… true family, her true clan had been, they didn’t care about her. They’d left her all alone. Unable to say anything more, Skylar reached for her hearing aids, pulling them from her ears. She couldn’t bring herself to listen to this anymore. It was too much.

It was clear to Ricky that they had long since past the point where Skylar was emotionally able to process the conversation they were having, and her removal of her hearing aids confirmed that for him. He refilled her coffee and patted her knee gently, gathering his own mug to head out to his workshop. Before he left though, he caught her eye one last time. Stay as long as you want, my home is yours, he managed to sign out in clumsy sign language. It was a lot for her to take in, but, hopefully she knew she had a place where she was always welcome.

#p: ricky cordero #p: ciis #chronic illness mention tw #depression mention tw #//figured id rather be safe than sorry

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amplesalty · 5 years

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Day 12 - Chillerama (2011)

The last drive in...

As is tradition around these parts, we like to toss in the odd anthology film just for some variety. Now, it has been a while since we properly covered one since the last few I watched were in that blind period where I’d be watching stuff but not blogging due to laziness, namely Trick ‘r Treat, V/H/S and Tales from the Darkside. Between those and early entries like Creepshow I/II/III and the Twilight Zone movie, I feel like I’ve hit upon the bigger names of this sub-genre. I think the other big one would be Tales from the Crypt, which occupies this space in time between the comic and the TV show. I will freely admit, I’m watching this for one reason alone which we will get to.

Things start with a guy digging up a corpse and getting his dick bitten off before exclaiming that he’s ‘late for work’. I suppose that’s one way to avoid answering any awkward questions in the office. ‘Good weekend?’ ‘What did you get up to last night?’. No one ever asks you what you did before you came to work, clearly the best time to get your necrophilia ways in.

I don’t get the significance of the blue blood though, other than maybe it standing out because it’s so unique? It’s not like they’re trying to tone down the movie or anything, doing a Mortal Kombat turning the blood grey and calling it sweat. We will see later that this movie gets very graphic.

Turns out he works at a drive in movie theatre that is shutting down, tonight being the last night. This serves as the framing device to tie all the other stories together, cutting back to the drive in between segments to catch up with some of the main characters.

Up first is ‘Wadzilla’ the story of Miles, whose swimmers aren’t so strong if you know what I’m saying. His doctor, played by Ray Wise, prescribes him some new medicine that hasn’t been approved for market yet but he would make a good test case for. It wont help him make any more sperm but it will give what he does have a little more pep.

Or in actuality, cause him to grab his dick everytime he so much as feels the slightest arousal and have a look of the guy from the ‘Jizz in my Pants’ video.

Turns out that new medicine is causing his sperm to grow massively. Look at the size of that thing, must be like passing a kidney stone. The good doc advises he cease taking the pills and, should this happen again, he needs to jerk off as soon as possible to get the little bleeder out.

Unfortunately, Miles heads out on a blind date and catches sight of his date’s cleavage so has to rush to her bathroom to rub one out. What ensues is a chaotic scene in which the released sperm starts scurrying around the room like a lost gerbil and Miles trying to stop it. He even wrenches the shower curtain off the wall and tries to harpoon the gooey troublemaker like he’s Captain Ahab. Well at least we avoided that horrible trope of the date blocking the toilet.

Or so I thought, as Miles tries flushing his wasted offspring, only for it to cause the toilet to backup and spew water everywhere. Miles’ date wonders just what the hell is going on in there, only to get attacked by the beast which has even spawned teeth by this point. It even tries to fulfil it’s destiny of getting inside her, only for Miles to intervene and launch it out of a window.

This sperm doesn’t stop growing though as it starts to go on a rampage through the city like it’s the T-Rex is Jurassic Park 2, starting by eating this Worzel Gummidge looking hobo.

Pretty soon it’s destroying buildings and the army have been called in. But even they can’t stop it from what it wants to do...

Hump the Statue of Liberty.

It even has fantasies of the statue doing a sexy dance. LADY LIBERTY’S TWERKING, MAGGLE!

This calls for General Bukkake, played by Eric Roberts, to call in an airstrike which destroys the creature and the statue, even if that means he ends up living up to his name in the resulting explosion.

Our two love birds even get to finally share a kiss, though it’s a lot closer to snowballing under these circumstances.

Blocked toilet tropes aside, my most hated of tropes, this one was pretty fun. Definitely has that 50’s b-movie quality down with some fake film grain, green screen and practical monster effects.

Meanwhile, back at the drive in, dickless the clown is in the store room and the implication is that he’s jerking off. But I don’t know what he’d exactly be jerking off at that point except a small stump. The only other thought is that he’s trying to clean the wound or something but there’s a definite jerking motion going on. Either way, he sticks his hand in the popcorn butter so he can rub it where his junk used to be. Unfortunately for everyone intending to eat that night, one of the staff comes in to restock and chooses that can. This doesn’t end well.

Segment two is ‘I was a Teenage Werebear’, Werebear being a sub-genre I feel Hollywood has not explored sufficiently. The best way I can describe this one is Grease if it was written by Chuck Tingle, with some supernatural elements thrown in. Pounded In The Butt By My Closeted Lust For The Local Greaser Thugs Who Happen To Be Werebears. Just a strange mix of musical, horror, LGBT and beach movie.

Cosplay James Dean and his girlfriend here are in the middle of song when she promptly gets run over and surprisingly not killed. She’s just left in this sort of half brain dead state for the rest of the segment where she’s spouting random nonsense. This isn’t all bad as it lets him focus on his real love, Cosplay Albert Wesker.

What he doesn’t know is that leather daddy here is a werebear and, during a wrestling match, he gets bitten on the ass and infected with the werebear curse. There’s worse things you can be infected with through the ass. This does lead though to a homo-erotic argument cum slowdance set to the remarkably catchy ‘Love Bit Me on the Ass’ sung in a 1950/60’s rock and roll style.

But it’s a love that cannot last and Ricky knows he has to save the good people the only way you can stop a werebear, by sodomising them with a silver pole.

This one is certainly...different, I’ll give it that. I certainly wasn’t expecting a coming of age story dealing with the confusing world of the developing sexuality of the hormonal teenager so kudos to it for pushing some boundries.

Now, onto the reason I picked this one out, ‘The Diary of Anne Frankenstein’. My gosh, what a glorious pun. I should have known just from that that I shouldn’t take this movie seriously so I’m not sure why I was so surprised when it turned out to be a goofball horror comedy but oh well.

I don’t know quite what I was expecting from this but I still feel letdown slightly. It just feels like an excuse to poke fun at Hitler by making him a bit stupid but I feel we already explored this idea quite thoroughly in the Producers. Still, I guess they had to make things up a bit considering this involves creating a Frankenstein monster from the limbs of concentration camp victims. Christ.

It does end with the Monster beating Hitler to death with his own arm before dancing over his decapitated corpse so it does have it’s upsides.

We then get faked out with the next segment ‘Deathication’, a movie so scary it will make you shit. Only, the projector starts playing up and the movie cuts out. I for one am glad because the 30 seconds we see of this was bad enough, I don’t think I could have taken a whole segment of it. Te come to find that the drive in owner is being attacked by dickless who has turned full zombie. Turns out his special brand of butter has contaminated all the popcorn and turned the patrons into zombies as well.

That is to say, randy zombies that engage in a blood orgy that would make the people in Event Horizon blush. People are giving blow jobs to intestines, stump fucking, spit roasting people before tearing them in half and engaging in even more stump fucking.

It feels like someone else wrote this section specifically because it turns into the drive in owner going out in a blaze of glory, bandoliers and weapons strapped to his body as he tries to save the last few kids left alive. All the while he’s just speaking almost exclusively in movie quotes, most notably when he sodomises one of the zombies with his shotgun and invites it to say hello to his little friend. Lot of sodomy in this flick.

I’d say this matches what I’ve come to expect from anthology movies, strong book ends with an indifferent middle. Wadzilla is a cheesy take on the old giant monsters and the zombie outbreak at the end is a bizarre spectacle. If you’re into those Troma type movies, this one is worth looking at.

#Halloween 2019 #Chillerama

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reallyawesomecostumes · 5 years

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Dean Winchester in his Coffin

A comparison between Queequeg’s coffin in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and Dean’s coffin in Supernatural

(screencap from Home of the Nutty)

In Supernatural 14x11 ‘Damaged Goods’, Dean Winchester builds his own coffin.

It’s not really a coffin, it just looks like one. The box is a ma’lak box designed by Death herself to secure Dean and AU-Michael at the bottom of the Pacific for all eternity*. We as viewers of a long-running episodic television show are pretty sure the Winchester boys will find a way out of this mess in the next couple episodes, but Dean built it, so we have to talk about it.

There are closet metaphors inherent in this coffin-building (I recommend @drsilverfish here); there are show-internal parallels to Amara being locked away, Adam’s current fate in The Cage, the wall in Sam’s mind in season 6; the list goes on. I wanted to talk instead about how Dean’s coffin-building compares to some coffin-building in classic American literature: the story of Queequeg’s coffin in Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.”

Moby-Dick, published 1851, is a book that many of us were forced to read in high school or college. I escaped this fate but had to read “The Scarlet Letter” and “Bartleby the Scrivener” instead. I did watch the Patrick Stewart TV miniseries version as a teenager, of course. For some dumb reason** I became a Moby-Dick reader because I was a Queequeg/Ishmael shipper, so know that I have a fairly biased perspective on the book as a whole.

In Moby-Dick, our narrator Ishmael (a depressed unemployed Yankee) meets Queequeg, a cannibal

(Queequeg as a character is a jumble of noble savage tropes, the author’s own knowledge of Pacific Islanders met during his whaling experience, and ideas pulled from other contemporary books both fiction and non-fiction), when they become accidental bedfellows at Peter Coffin’s inn (Coffin is a prominent name among the whalers of Nantucket, in real life and in the world of the story). Ishmael wants to go whaling, and Queequeg’s a guy who is very good at whaling. They have similar life goals, if not similar life experiences . They’re textually married***.

Queequeg catches a chill crawling around belowdecks on the Pequod moving barrels to find a leak (the hold is described as an ice-box). While he’s dying Queequeg says he doesn’t want his body to be wrapped up in his hammock before being thrown overboard like an ordinary sailor, but put in a canoe-style coffin like the harpooneers from Nantucket use. He convinces the ship’s carpenter to make one for him. Queequeg kits the coffin out with food and water and his (most precious possessions) harpoon and paddle, and puts earth from the hold at the foot of it . He lays in it, and Pip the cabin boy sings nonsense briefly (a la the Fool in King Lear). Ishmael sort-of suggests that watching this guy die would make him start a religion. But then Queequeg decides not to die. He throws off the fever with his own will, and recovers (for plot reasons, but also so Melville could add more Noble Savage tropes). He uses the coffin as a clothes-chest. He starts carving the lid with the pattern of the tattoos on his body (these tattoos are religious in nature, but are unknown and unknowable, ‘a complete theory of the heavens and the earth’), making it into a sort-of body double for him.

Some time passes. A guy falls from the rigging, and the stern life-buoy is thrown to him, and both the man and the old, rotting cask that serves as a buoy sink and drown. It is suggested that the nice new well-built no longer needed coffin can be made into a new life-buoy. This re-purposing is lampshaded in text:

“Here now’s the very dreaded symbol of grim death, by a mere hap, made the expressive sign of the help and hope of most endangered life. A life-buoy of a coffin! Does it go further? Can it be that in some spiritual sense the coffin is, after all, but an immortality-preserver! I’ll think of that.”

-Captain Ahab, in a theatrical aside, Chapter 127: The Deck.

After the whale drags Captain Ahab down and sinks the Pequod, the very well-made coffin/life-buoy shoots to the surface, and the only surviving crewmember (Ishmael, our narrator) clings to it until another ship picks him up.

While Queequeg’s coffin is intended for mundane use (to preserve his body from sharks after death) and is eventually used for mundane purpose (Ishmael’s life preserver), Dean’s pseudo-coffin-building serves a more esoteric purpose - to lock himself and his angel double away from the world said angel wants to destroy (“for all angel is not’ing more dan de shark well goberned” - Fleece the cook, Moby-Dick). The ma’lak box is Dean and Michael’s “immortality-preserver”. We have two pairs of characters, and two death-coded vessels that serve to preserve them.

Remember that time Ishmael and Queequeg got married? Some authors have characterized this wedding as "the first portrait of same-sex marriage in American literature". That it causes some readers 'uneasiness'. The line 'our heart's honeymoon', describing the time post-marriage, was censored in the original publication. Other readers have taken the marriage esoterically, relating Ishmael and Queequeg's earthly marriage to the internal marriage of the self to the Jungian shadow-self.

Shadows**** follow the two protagonists of Moby-Dick, Ishmael and Ahab. Ishmael accepts and marries his shadow, Queequeg the cannibal, and learns the customs of the whaling-ship from him. He admires the unknowableness of the ocean and sky as well as Queequeg's unknowable tattoos. He frees himself from his initial depression, and is literally saved at the novel's conclusion by Queequeg's pseudo-body. Ahab, conversely, pushes away Pip the cabin boy (who serves as Lear's fool through the story, and speaks unknowably) and turns towards Fedallah the Parsee (described as Ahab's shadow in the book) who speaks concrete but awful truths. Ahab rejects reality and stays on a path of revenge even though warned multiple times that he will fail. He eventually dies, and brings most of his crew down with him. His lack of acceptance of his good shadow and of his true place in the world brings about destruction. Self-actualization results in being saved.

The (current) protagonists of Supernatural have shadow selves as well. Again @drsilverfish has an excellent post about this. Castiel's shadow is The Shadow/The Empty, which has appeared in his own form, and wishes only for sleep and nothingness. Dean's shadow, AU!Michael, only wants to destroy the world that Dean keeps sacrificing himself to protect. Sam's shadow, Nick, went through the same dark experiences Sam did, but unlike Sam wound up horribly twisted and murderous. We haven't seen Jack's shadow-self yet, but I suspect current sweet and kind graceless!Jack will have a foil in future uncaring soulless!Jack. The idea of marrying oneself to one's shadow, in Supernatural, is nearly unthinkable: they are destructive, inhuman entities. However, in 14x11 Sam managed to accept the reality of his shadow self and release himself from responsibility for Nick.

At this point Dean's plan is to death-wed himself to Michael for eternity, sharing one body and one coffin-bed at the bottom of the Pacific. We know from Jung and from Melville that the only way to survive the confrontation with the shadow is to accept it - to 'Know Thyself', without misconceptions about your place in the world. 'Gain[ing] the perspective on [your] soul and the universe that will make balance possible.' The coffin will become a life-buoy.

I suspect the ma'lak box will be used to trap something other than Dean or Michael (soulless!Jack, probably) at the end of this season. Even if it's current purpose is untenable, it is a tool that can be used in the future.

Comparison between Moby-Dick and Supernatural can occur on a number of different levels. Ishmael and Dean (and Castiel whose human vessel, Jimmy Novak, is of the line of Biblical Ishmael) are the heroes of the bildungsroman part of the story and are hangers on to Ahab/John/Sam's Shakespearean revenge quest. Each story is a very American depiction of a masculine world. Each mirror the world in a smaller vessel, a ship and a car. Jung's concept of the shadow self, however, holds as the key to this season through all of these eleven episodes, and the shadow self is one of many keys that promote understanding of Melville's Moby-Dick. Self-actualization saves the day.

* Note that geologists cry whenever people suggest indestructible things sent to the bottom of the ocean will stay there for all eternity.

** It was Yuletide, and I’d just binge-read the entire Aubrey-Maturin series.

*** I wrote about this last year when Yockey dropped Led Zeppelin’s Moby Dick into the story. Moby Dick, song, has nothing to do with Moby-Dick, book, except their mutual length, but Supernatural and Moby-Dick share quite a few themes.

**** yes, Melville does make the shadows of his white protagonists literally dark-skinned

References:

@drsilverfish, “A Fridge-Locker, An Enochian Puzzle Box, a Ma’lak Box… and the Closet (14x11 Damaged Goods)”, http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/182296360214/a-fridge-locker-an-enochian-puzzle-box-a-malak

@drsilverfish, “The Shadow (14x08)”, http://drsilverfish.tumblr.com/post/180906003584/the-shadow-14x08

Brashers, H.C., 1962, "Ishmael's Tattoos": The Sewanee Review, v.70, n.1, p.137-154, http://wwww.jstor.org/stable/27540756

Halverson, John, 1963, "The Shadow in Moby-Dick": American Quarterly, v.15, n.3, p.436-446, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2711373

Horton, Margy Thomas, 2012, "Melville's Unfolding Selves: Identity Formation in Mardi, Moby-Dick, and Pierre": doctoral dissertation, Baylor University

Melville, Herman, “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale”, project Gutenberg ebook, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2701/2701-h/2701-h.htm

#spn 14x11 #spn meta #spn spoilers #my meta #moby dick #yep i actually wrote it #themes are for eighth grade book reports #and also for relating personal experiences to fictional experiences #as well as higher concepts #spn #supernatural

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spookyscullies · 6 years

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Moby-Dick, Milk, and The Spy

based on this post by @mulderswaterbed :

“In school, Mulder would be that tall nerd kid who has jeans a bit too short for him and sits alone at lunch because no one wants to hang out with this spooky kid whose sister went missing, until this new kid in school arrives and she sits with him because she notices he’s reading Moby Dick. Her name is Dana Scully, her dad’s a sailor and she asks him which character is his favourite.”

in short, i just couldn’t help myself. i hope you all enjoy !

(set about a year after Samantha’s abduction)

rating: G

Fox pulled some crumpled bills from his pocket and handed them to the cashier shakily. He licked his lips and dragged his hand across his too-short pale wash jeans, wiping away the clamminess. He could feel the impatience of his classmates behind him as he gathered his things: a tray of his food, a milk carton, and his book, Moby-Dick.

He read often at lunch, he was used to it. He always sat alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, all students avoiding contact with him. He was an outcast, a loner. He’d heard the whispers as he crossed the halls, while he was sitting in class. “Spooky”, they’d called him. It had all begun happening after his sister, Samantha, disappeared about a year ago. He had never been one to exactly fit in, but after his sister disappeared, it had only gotten worse. The strange looks he’d received and the sneers of discomfort thrown his way.

He encountered all of those phenomena as he passed his peers on his way to his regular lunch table. He tucked the thick book under his arm and carried the tray all the way to the table with no accidents. He’d learned after many of incidents and rude names he’d been called that the best way to carry your lunch and a book was to put the book under his arm. He set his tray down, then his book, propped it open, and began to read, absent-mindedly fiddling with the milk carton’s opening.

Fox was startled out of the world of Moby-Dick at the slamming of a tray across from him. He glanced up, confused, as a girl sat down. She had bright red hair, big, blue eyes, and freckles dotted all over her face. She was... pretty. Well, pretty intriguing...

“That’s my favorite book,” The girl said, nodding at it’s splayed open pages.

Fox just stared back, unsure of what to do. He was still messing with the milk carton, but she pushed his hand away, her fingers brushing against his. His hands got clammy again. She opened the milk carton with immeasurable skill, taking less than two seconds.

“Do you have a favorite character?” She inquired, sliding the milk back over to him. He eyed her suspiciously. He’d never seen this girl, this pretty... pretty intriguing girl before, and here she was, striking up conversation with the school’s most unwanted student. Surely this was a prank, surely she was a spy.

“Uh... who are you?” Fox cautiously took a sip of his milk, as if she might have laced it with something.

“Oh, right. I’m Dana Scully. I’m new here,” Her cheeks flushed with pink as she realized she had forgotten to introduce herself. She grinned, nevertheless, holding her hand out to shake his. He accepted warily, cursing himself for not wiping his hand off on his jeans beforehand.

“I’m Fox Mulder. Um, are you sure you want to sit here?”

She took a bite out of a ripe, red apple, munching thoughtfully. After swallowing, she replied, “Well, no one else was sitting here, and you obviously have good taste in books, so yes.”

“How do I know you weren’t put up to this by Jeffrey over there?” Fox discreetly pointed toward Jeffrey Spender, resident bully. “Or Alex?” He moved his finger to point at Alex Krycek, Jeffrey’s right hand man.

“I guess you don’t.” Dana answered simply with a shrug. “But if it helps you believe me, I could tell you who my favorite character in Moby-Dick is and why I like the book so much.”

Fox shook his head yes, eager to hear more from this new girl despite his misgivings.

“My father is in the Navy, so his favorite place is the sea. He read it to me when I was little. We started calling each other Ahab and Starbuck; he’s Ahab, I’m Starbuck. My dad said he considers me like Starbuck because I’m hard-headed and strong-willed, like how Starbuck is the one to object to Ahab’s motivations. It’s kind of obvious why my dad is like Ahab. He is a Navy captain, after all. So, I guess my favorite character is Starbuck because he’s so much like me.” Dana stabbed at the vegetables on her tray aimlessly, with no real intention of eating them.

“I like Ahab. He’s determined to do what he sees as just and is willing to fight for his cause.” Fox truly aspired to have that kind of tenacity. It was something to be admired.

“I won’t spoil the ending for you, but that could be where Ahab goes wrong,” Dana raised an eyebrow at Fox, vaguely hinting.

“I could see that, but I’m only about a third through the book.” Fox pulled out a bookmark decorated with alien heads on it and stuck it inside, closing the book. He liked talking to this girl, Dana. Moby-Dick could wait a while.

“So, Fox. Interesting name.” Dana rested her chin upon her hand, catching him with those cool, blue eyes.

“Honestly, I prefer that people call me Mulder, but no one ever listens.” Fox confessed, taking another sip of his milk.

“Well, if I call you Mulder, then you can call me Scully.” Dana propositioned.

“Deal, Scully.”

“Alright then, Mulder.”

Mulder smiled. She was pretty... pretty intriguing.

#msr #msr au #young!mulderandscully #txf fan fiction #msr fan fiction #scully #mulder #fox mulder #dana scully #txf

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shipburner · 6 years

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Fallout: Atlantis

A Fallout game by somebody who has never played Fallout and is just now reading the wikis

So, I took @tyrantisterror‘s “Your Own Personal Fallout” post way, way too seriously for someone with no connection to the games.

Name and Location of The Wasteland: the Tidewater Expanse (the Chesapeake Bay plus several feet of sea level rise). Distinct from the Capital Wasteland due to the 30 miles and water barrier separating them.

Time Period: the more I try to learn about the Fallout timeline the more my head hurts

Primary Slice of Americana: Kitschy tourist traps, the way some states have urban and rural areas abutting each other so closely (the Tidewater Expanse transitions very quickly from settlement to farmland/waterways/waste), a soupcon of Moby Dick-esque whaling yarns

Central Thematic Conflict: Identity: who are you, in a world of chaos and change? What do you choose to center yourself around? Do you find solace in ideals? In aesthetics? In challenges? People have different answers to that question.

PC’s Title: The Reporter

PC’s Motive for Exploring the Wasteland: You're a newspaper with a staff of one, but by gum are you going to make your paper the best ever! You travel around the Tidewater Expanse looking for people's stories, interviewing them and possibly doing journalistically unethical things by involving yourself in their stories.

Bestiary

Recurring Creatures and Robots: ‘Cause it’s not Fallout without radroaches, Deathclaws, and ghouls

Humanoid:

Ghouls

Super Mutants: Some dipshits tried to keep FEV at the Aberdeen Proving Ground and made super mutants again, proving that we never learn from our fucking mistakes.

Synths

Mammalian:

Brahmins, which curiously have red-and-white or black-and-orange patches

Dogs

Radstags and yao guai, which likewise have the Maryland flag pattern

Reptilian:

Gulpers, which are human-sized, fast, brightly colored, and hide in the undergrowth/under logs and buildings. They're referred to as burners, since some of them can breathe fire.

Lakelurks/mirelurk kings, evolved diamondback terrapins. Referred to as landlurks, they can use tools, have language, and are treated as people in the Tidewater Expanse, often retrieving things from the drowned cities.

Pinkclaws, deathclaws whose shrimp-rich diet has made their keratinous structures bright pink. Their horns have fused into head-crests that vaguely resemble beehive hairdos. They are found exclusively as the battle mounts of the Hons.

Arthropod:

Bloatflies

Bloodbugs

Giant ants

Giant mantises

Mirelurks (referred to as baylurks), since they're canonically blue and horseshoe crabs.

Radroaches

Wanamingos, using @bogleech's flea-wanamingo idea.

Robots:

Eyebots

Mr. Handys/Gutsys/Nannys

Assaultrons, protectrons, sentrybots (found at the Aberdeen Proving Ground)

New Creatures and Robots:

Various kinds of giant fish (pumpkinseeds, eels, perch, killifish, and whatnot).

Bagels, shrieking flocks of seagulls which lower your Karma when you kill them as a "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" reference.

Bugbears, giant jumping spiders taken from the Bogleech Fallout bugs article, occupying the same "killer rabbit" role as wig-wigs in the Edge Chronicles.

Chessies, otter-like creatures that are actually Chesapeake Bay Retrievers mutated to live in a watery environment. They mob your boat, although sometimes it's out of affection.

Crabkens, colony organisms made of hundreds of thousands of blue crabs, which wrap tentacles made of crabs around boats and pull them to the bottom of the Bay.

Goblins, hairless raccoons that dig through ruins.

Hugbugs, giant, mutated lovebugs, the corpses of which can be made into goo bombs and the living of which will swarm you and cook you to death like Japanese honeybees.

Iron crabs, aquatic spy robots that look like crabs.

Loxo zombies, humans infected with a mutated version of Loxothylacus panopaei, with larva-bearing barnacles on their guts. Loxo zombies are obsessed with the propagation of their larvae, but often retain their original personalities.

Misties, island-dwelling wild horses with the ability to turn invisible.

Pentecost lice, a mutated version of Cymothoa exigua found in various fish and in some humans. They have human-sounding voices, and some claim they are oracular.

Snakeheads, humanoid snakehead fish who wear human masks and try, buffoonishly, to infiltrate our society.

Snallygosters, vaguely birdlike/dragonlike creatures with one eye, metal beaks, and a fringe of tentacles surrounding their beaks.

Factions

Faction 1: The Watermen (The Well-Intentioned But Flawed One)

Leader: Captain Cate Claw, a salty-mouthed woman who runs a fishing boat and uses a mirelurk claw as a hook

Goal: To care for the Tidewater Expanse and survive off its bounty

Distinctive Visual and Behavioral Theme: The Watermen all wear stereotypical yellow hats and raincoats, often with some sea-beast trophy. While they make an effort to care for the Tidewater Expanse, there are many who backslide into overfishing.

Faction 2: The Proven (The Obviously Evil (But Partially Justified?) One)

Leader: Jack Utsumi, a severe-looking and internally tortured scientist

Goal: To utilize the technology of Edgewood (see below) to bring order to the land and possibly restore it to its former glory. Utsumi doesn't want conflict, but many of his henchpeople do.

Distinctive Visual and Behavioral Theme: The Proven are very clean-cut, and enjoy white garb and well-maintained equipment. They incorporate the Brotherhood of Steel's tech thing, but with a less shiny aesthetic than regular Fallout: their tech is black, boxy, and flat, with a somewhat ENIAC switchboard look. The Proven aren't xenophobic, but they do buy heavily into the myth of "make it on your own", ignoring that they're the ones who found all the fancy toys.

Faction 3: The Hons (The Amoral But Not Necessarily Evil One)

Leader: Attila the Hon, a powerful, motherly woman with a scarred face, stilted way of speaking, and flamboyant feathered overcoat

Goal: To make the world a safe space for arts and performance

Distinctive Visual and Behavioral Theme: Think Baltimore "Hon" culture meets old sword-and-sandal films. They employ press-on claw gauntlets, detachable beehive hairdos filled with angry bees, and floral-patterned lorica armor. As previously mentioned, they ride pinkclaws.

Faction 4: The Criers (Actually Interesting Fourth Choice)

Leader: Mr. Raven, a ghoul and former Edgar Allan Poe reenactor, who tries to use "Nevermore" at any opportunity he can get

Goal: To remember history that would otherwise be forgotten

Distinctive Visual and Behavioral Theme: The Criers dress like a mishmash of historical periods, having been cobbled together relics from historical reenactment societies. They research the history of the Tidewater Expanse, both before and after the Great War. Many of them stay permanently in character.

Companions

Male Unaffiliated Companion: Carl Cramer is the smiling-crab-logo-shirted proprietor of the Crab Mart, the convenience store in the Cape (see below). He can be convinced to come adventuring with you to give the Crab Mart a proper mail-order service. He has no fear, but also no sense of self-preservation, and his morality is heavily centered around whether or not people will be able to acquire snacks and household goods with ease and efficiency.

Female Unaffiliated Companion: Ori Paimana, a tall and friendly woman who runs the Cape Marina, and is perhaps overly eager to talk to you about spears, harpoons, and other implements of pointy death. She makes a mean clam chowder. She can be convinced to come adventuring with you to cover any perceived ineptitude with boats or fear of bay monsters.

Robot Companion: Joanna, a synth who wants to leave Kent (see below) behind and find her own way in the world.

Canine Companion: Dwayyo, a loner, a rambler, a rogue, a Captain Ahab with a twinkle in their eye and significantly better intentions than Ahab. Dwayyo is a humanoid dog-thing on the trail of Schnell Geist (see below); think the Kate Beaton "Nemesis" comics.

Third Nonhuman Companion: Dr. Dinky is a landlurk and a skilled science educator. He is also extremely small and frequently falls on his back. It is implied that he is centuries old and can remember his life before the Great War. (There is a real Dinky, a denizen of the education center at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD.)

Evil Companion: vehicle and weapons dealer Big Bill Hell isn't a bad person, necessarily. However, he is incredibly foul-mouthed, claims that he'll fuck the spouses of people he dislikes, and will cheat you out of every cent you've got. Has a horrifying "Challenge Pissing" attack.

Faction 1 Companion: Barnacle Billie, an ecologist working for the Watermen. She may or may not have deliberately become a loxo zombie in an ill-thought-out if effective attempt to transition.

Faction 2 Companion: Babs Eldridge, a computer programmer with the Proven. She has a mother and a sister to provide for, and wants them to be safe.

Faction 3 Companion: Sweet Sal, a beehive-sporting protectron who talks in a LARGE, HAMMY VOICE about GLORIOUS COMBAT. May harbor a crush on the Reporter.

Faction 4 Companion: Samuel Smythe, a minuteman with the Criers who fights with an oversized town crier's bell, and loves the idea of spreading news to the Tidewater Expanse.

Other NPCs:

Violetta Vaughn, one of the Criers in Naptown, who's trying to build airships to ease travel in the area.

Schnell Geist, a giant albino Snallygoster. Reputedly intelligent, Schnell Geist is the Moby Dick of the area.

Natty Boh, the flamboyant, one-eyed mayor of More, and Domino, his hulking assaultron bodyguard. Mayor Boh is head-over-heels in love with local desalination plant owner Ms. Utz, but is absolutely terrible at words, leaving Domino to play the Cyrano.

Locations:

Starting Town: the Cape (Cape Saint Claire, an Annapolis suburb). The Cape's primary conflict is a Hatfields-and-McCoys-esque conflict between two families whose initial conflict is implied to have been competing soccer moms.

Small Town 1: the Glen (Glen Burnie). Here you'll meet the Proven, accused (in one case rightly) of atrocities by some local Watermen. There's also a collection of Criers trying to focus on exploring the ruins of BWI.

Small Town 2: Kent (Kent Island). Kent is a Stepford Wives-esque community, with synths (some of whom don't know they're synths) turning out cheerful, idyllic trinkets for people using what remains of the island as a stop on the water routes.

The Big City: More (Baltimore). More is the bustling metropolis, and the trade hub and entertainment center of the Tidewater Expanse. It is the headquarters of the Hons, and where you meet Sweet Sal, as well as Big Bill Hell.

The Less Big City: Naptown (Annapolis). Naptown is abuzz with activity from the Criers, looking to recover historic items, and home to some very good crab places. You'll meet Barnacle Billie here.

The Sketchy City: Edgewood (Aberdeen Proving Ground). Edgewood is full of weapons dealers, mercenaries, and folk seeking to plunder the stores of the Aberdeen Proving Ground. You'll meet Babs Eldridge, and the rest of the Proven, here. The Proven look down upon the rabble of Edgewood.

Faction 1 Headquarters: The Academy, formerly the Naval Academy and now repurposed as the largely pacifist and scientific academy of the Watermen.

Faction 2 Headquarters: the Arsenal, a former army compound near Edgewood.

Faction 3 Headquarters: Hon Street, an enclave located within More, patrolled by pinkclaws and actually a nice, if very loud, place to live.

Faction 4 Headquarters: the Historic London Town and Gardens, remarkably well-preserved.

Scary Sidequest Dungeon: Druid Ridge. A drowned catacomb beneath the former cemetery. Something haunts it. Something powerful and monstrous. Something that you'd mistake for the statuary. Something artificial that came back to its namesake's old resting place…

Funny Sidequest Dungeon: The Maryland State House, final goal of a National Treasure-esque mission the Criers send you on. Its puzzles are … pretty dang goofy.

Tedious and Enormous Sidequest Dungeon: Crabcracker Cove. A giant mirelurk nest where you have to collect samples from every single mirelurk you kill. It takes a long-ass while to get them out.

Super Weird Sidequest Dungeon: Long Bridge. A covered bridge in the north that is far bigger, far darker, and takes far longer to cross than by rights it should. Contains the holographic ghosts and ghost people from Dead Money, way too many crying baby noises, and a Goatman.

The Obligatory Vault: Vault 18. Vault 18 was designed to protect the culinary knowledge of the world, and taught its denizens to treat recipes with ritual importance. Its denizens wear yellow metal armor and plague doctor masks filled with 18 sacred herbs and spices.

I fucking hate Old Bay seasoning.

#fallout #fallout: atlantis #maryland #your own personal fallout #nausicaa writes

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clegacylabs · 5 years

Text

A Friendship isn’t So Petty

(Post X3 (Longish Drabble))

It was late into the night as two women walked on the paths next to the busy roads of the inner city. The world was high off the success of repelling once more a major Maverick threat. The months of fighting were long, multiple engagements were made globally, but in the end, the Hunters prevailed. Because of that, tonight was a night for celebration, even if an official end just meant more work of a different kind. It was only at the badgering of her best friend and X’s, her commander, insistence, that Inessa pried herself away from the things still left to do.

Hours of bar hopping later thanks to a human with an iron liver, there the pair were. Erika could barely walk straight anymore, so the reploid woman ended up having to carry the blitzed human on her back. The life of the city thrummed around them with speeding cars, flashing signs, and the occasional obnoxious holo-ad.

“Wooo yeah!! Hahaha! Urp!! Fffffff-” The red-head swayed on her friend’s back as she tried to cheer with both her arms. Erika immediately regretted that. Her stomach was poised to exit her mouth and the world spun dangerously behind her eyes. She fell forward, letting her chin rest on Inessa’s shoulder, arms coming wrap themselves around the reploid. Her friend’s low laugh rumbled through her.

“You’re lucky I don’t like to drink nearly as much as you do,” said Inessa. Erika barked a laugh.

“Man, that’d be a helluva sight. Pfftt. Human scientist and 17th’s second-in-command just stummblin’ around drunk. Can’t even make it home!” she exclaimed, words slurring some on her tongue.

“Mortifying.”

“Hilarious!” the human insisted. They lapsed into a companionable silence. In the quiet between them, the human Russian turned pensive. The glow of celebration lagged behind them as they got closer to the HQ, still undergoing repairs from this past war’s opening act.

“Ya know,” she started. Inessa’s head inclined slightly towards her. “I honestly thought I was gonna die a couple months ago.” Erika felt her friend’s body stiffen slightly, though she walked as if unaffected. “I’m sorry. I wish I could have found you sooner that day.” Ugh, regret, that won’t do. Not where she was trying to take this conversation anyway.

“It’s fine. Ya kinda had your hands full with half the unit turning... Again. Well, last time was more than that, but still. Then the rest of base was another story. Mavericks took advantage of the fact the most of HQ’s best were out on a big campaign, leavin’ secondaries ta hold down the fort ‘fore the cavalry showed up.”

“Where are you going with this, Erika?” Ah, of course. Always wanting to get to the heart of the matter. No point in beating around the bush now. Better to say, before she figures it out instead. Harder to steer the conversation that way. Plus, she’s got liquid courage in her, too, to keep her from chickening out again.

“Need ta ‘pologize to ya.” Erika was met with silence. She took that as her cue to continue. “Startin’ to think I’m just bad luck.” The human laughed, low, mirthless, hollow. Her words were considerably more sober when she stopped.

"When my husband died, we hadn’t been married long, but we’d known each other for so much time. I was already pregnant with Andrei when we filed the papers. Two short years, then a fire took him. It hurt, but I still had my boy. It was alright. I met you, worked in your lab, became friends with you and the others but...” The implication hung between them. The day of the attack and attempted kidnapping. Neither of them had seen a corpse in person before, much less the number and having known each personally...

Another bitter laugh. “And then he was gone.”

“Erika-” Inessa started, understanding her friend was heading in a dark direction.

“And then, because you’re you, and your stupid sense of duty, you follow me on my damn vendetta fueled trip. And what happens? We get split up. And you’re out there killing yourself fighting the monsters. The friends we made up until the first war die, turned traitor and die, or just fucking run off like the self-hating cowards they are!” Her voice cracks and she’s feeling heat in her face and ears.

“Eri-” The voice came at a higher pitch than her usual, sounding more like Dimitra.

“No.” She hisses, cutting the reploid off again. Erika’s hands clenched together in a white knuckled grip. “No, I watch us change into people so different from who we were and I can’t believe it took until watching Doppler’s sleeper agents getting literally frozen to the floor of R&D and cut down by you, in my face no less, to realize that. To realize I let my best friend chase after me while I turn into Captain Ahab, letting every Maverick be my Moby Dick.” The woman could barely catch her breath, vision swimming from her physically and emotionally compromised state. Inessa halts and Erika realizes distantly that they were on a park trail.

More silence. Erika wished that her friend would just put her down or something, because it’d be nice to read her face... As readable as it can be these days. An aggrieved sigh broke the quiet.

“Erika... Vengeance or not, I would have had to fight. I chose what would have made me happier.”

“... What?” Another sigh. Careful not disorient the human, Inessa walked towards a bench and set her down. The reploid slumped onto the wood next to her. Her face was angled low, bangs brushing past her eyelashes, sight, distant.

“I’m a first-gen Reploid, Erika. Everything about me was experimental. Including the lab. From the recovered footage of us fending for ourselves until the Hunters came, the Russian government would have obligated me to be drafted, or else. We were a brand new race plopped onto the world literally overnight.” Inessa turned to meet Erika’s eyes. “The science world would prefer breakthroughs in aquatic science and pollution control, but the powers that be want anything to stay as the powers that be.” She closed her eyes, shoulders drooping slightly.

“The Mavericks, especially ideological ones, weren’t completely wrong... but the ends don’t justify the means.” Erika feel could her mouth dangling open as Inessa turned to her again. “Following you gave me a choice I didn’t realize I could make. Don’t apologize, not when I feel grateful to you.” She sat up to her full height, meeting Erika eyes with a warm intensity. They stayed like that in the stillness of the park.

... ... ... ... ...

The human felt something bubble in her chest. Her shoulders shook and she started to wheeze. Before she knew it, Erika was cackling. The feeling one part hysteria, one part disbelief, one part relief.

“What the hell, all that and you go and say that of all things?” Wetness beaded at the corner of her eyes. Inessa shrugged, the lines of her face relaxing as the tension subtly left her.

“I’m not accepting an apology that’s pointless. There’s nothing to forgive. You and I’s perceptions are out of sync.” Erika scowled at her.

“Well then, I’m not accepting your gratitude then!” The human’s middle name was spite, in her mind at least.

“Okay”

“’Okay’?!”

“Yes.”

“That’s all you have to say?!”

“Yes.”

“Oh come on!” She threw her hands up. Inessa arced an eyebrow. “Is there a problem?” Erika glared before she cooled slightly. “No, I guess not, I just don’t like how you’re taking this so easily.” she grumbled. A small smile inched onto Inessa’s face.

“I’m rejecting your apology because I see it as pointless. You may have had influence, but you don’t control my actions. Even if you don’t accept my gratitude, that’s fine. I... just wanted you to know how I felt. Nothing more.” Finally, Erika slumped in her seat. “Are you even real?”

“Isn’t it too late to be discussing Plato’s “Cave” Allegory?”

“Ugh! Take us home! I’m so done with you!” The cat-like smile on the reploid’s face was all there was to say about that exchange. With that, they were back in the same position they started after they left the last bar. Calmer now, the sounds of running water from the creek and the rhythmic footsteps of her friend started to lull Erika to sleep. She let the world pass them by as her eye-lids grew heavy.

“Neshka?”

“Mnn?”

“Thanks for everything.”

“Hmn.” Erika felt the smile in the hum of acknowledgement. Her eyes closed and she knew no more.

#drabble #inessa #/alcohol mention #/death mention #/death of a child mention #is2g this was supposed to be shorter #the ladies got away from me #erika

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yakumtsaki · 6 years

Photo

Ok I knew I hadn’t posted Unions in forever but good lord. The screenshots after, not before, AFTER this.. are the previews for this. Like we’re literally talking ancient history here. Let’s dive right in and see if we can wrap this up sometime during a human’s natural lifespan. SO when we left off we were desperately trying to make friends for Wyatt’s final promotion, ‘desperately’ being the operative word. We’ve done some pathetic shit in our time but shittalking each other to Apartment Life nobodies is honestly peak gutter, so you know. our natural environment. Spoiler alert, the kids are teens now and Wyatt has still not gotten promoted! Truly the Picasso of incompetence.

Good ol’ uncle Gunther is also here for some reason which I’m guessing is ‘came over uninvited’ but at least someone is paying attention to Shajar for once. Beggars can’t be choosers and Gunther as a father figure is the equivalent of someone leaving a button and good vibes in your cup.

-So you see Shajar, life is nothing but a slow march towards our certain doom so who cares if your parents hate you?? My parents hated me till adulthood and I turned out amazing as you can surely tell by my stripes/plaid/indoor sunglasses combo!

-Think long and hard before procreating, brother, because there’s no guarantee you’ll even like your kids. Looking at you, Shajar.

-Um can I go now?

-Don’t know why you’re here in the first place and not in the crypt where we’ve set up your bed and everything! Kids these days.

Oh right, Brit Brit is also here so I guess I did invite these douchebags over. Way to go @ me.

-BRITTANY HOW COULD YOU TEAR THE MORAL FABRIC OF OUR WIFE-SWAPPING-BASED LIFE PARTNERSHIP LIKE THIS???? JUST STEAL ONE OF THEIR PETS LIKE AN UPSTANDING CITIZEN

DON’T YOU DARE BRIT-

Ugh nevermind, it’s Sophie aka Brittany in cat form. Take her!

And take Shajar too while you’re at it cause absolutely not @ Victoria dying but the gnome drama living on. ENOUGH. This almost makes me appreciate Cyneswith’s ridiculous 10 nice points for a split second..

..but then I turn around and see this. GOOD GRIEF. How did Jojo and Wyatt produce vegan Tinkerbell here not even god knows.

This alliance of obnoxiousness is but the first in what is gonna become a running theme of every annoying flop in this neighborhood looooooving Maxx. Can’t keep kindred spirits apart for long! Honestly this legacy is turning me from pet maniac to Captain Ahab, like on one hand you have fucking Maxx who hasn’t done anything yet but just you wait till he grows up-

-and on the other you have FUCKING VICTOR’S GHOST TRYING TO KILL US EVERY NIGHT. Apparently Victor + being a dick = a love not even death can tear asunder. Seriously tg kids can’t die cause these overactive freaks are up all night till the sun, are up all night to get some (entertainment), are up all night for good fun, are up all night to get lucky murdered.

This happens about 3000 times per night, I’m not even taking pics of it anymore, but it’s worth pointing out that everyone in this house, both alive/dead and human/non has a raging hate boner for Shajar in particular. It’s uncanny and depressing..

..and speaking of depressing, UGH. My poor, poor Shajar. I actually attempted to intervene and have them interact being the moron that I am:

JOJO WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM

.....................................WHERE IS VICTOR’S GHOST WHEN I NEED IT

Yea sure, waste your niceness reserves on fucking Goro here instead, who isn’t even the cat heir and is about to go live on the farm (not a euphemism, Daniel and Melody’s literal farm). This Jojo fuckery is seriously starting to bum me out on top of pissing me off, let me find something cute to look at to raise my spirits..

No.

NO.

Disturbing stuff.

Seems about right.

Old habits die hard.

No.

Ugh.

UGH.

OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE

FINALLY. THANK YOU CATS. Now let’s get back to this nightmare..

..and I mean nightmare in the technical sense of something not real occurring when you’re asleep, because Wyatt maxing a skill is truly the stuff of Taylor Swift-Wildest Dreams.mp3. It’s official, the only thing standing between us and Wyatt’s LTW is social ineptitude. But what if we revolutionize the friend game by approaching someone who can’t leave..

..because she’s contractually obligated to be here?? Go for it Wyatt!

-So Kaylýnn, you have the français maid thing going, I’m French and in need of a hag, c’est match made in les paradis!

-Yea sorry, Henry III, but it’s my professional policy to not fraternize with married clients I have no chance of fucking.

-But..but you’re just a face template fiasco!

-..I have some bad news for you.

Kaylynn left Wyatt dick in hand and went to pet the cats, so I guess the day has arrived for me to go from being the leading Langerak hater of this community to being the leading stan-

-and apparently the leading Jitmakusol stan as well, which as we all know is a large and very competitive group. DOWN WITH JOJO

Well at least you still have this invaluable stamp of approval! All I see in this pic is 3 bags of trash.

Look at this trove, treasures untold, how many assholes can one photo hold? The reason there’s more awful people in our house than usual is the “exciting” occasion of the Shajar/Wulf double birthday and honestly even by our standards this party was especially terrible. Like it makes the one where Komei and Marissa happened look like Project X.

When this is the situation 10 seconds in you know you’re in for a good time. I don’t think a single positive interaction took place this entire party and I’ve subconsciously (?) forgotten every birthday since. What a loss!

Wulf is up first, and of course since this is Wyatt’s literal one and only parenting-related job, it took 3 cakes to happen and no one is paying attention by the time it does.

Wyatt makes one last-ditch effort to kill his child via decapitation and obviously he thinks it worked thus the wide smile. But Wulf is named after the spawn of Satan, head spinning comes with the territory-

-as do incredible looks. Gunther hair + tuxedo, and you think your little yellow blazer is subversive?? Step it up.

-If the sunglasses weren’t blocking the power of my stare this child would be dead by my sheer resentment.

Happy birthday, Wulf! 2/2 surviving murder attempts.

Wulf gets this Don Corleone makeover because a) he also survived murder attempts b) wedding tuxedo c) trying to avoid a Gunther mental breakdown. He looks exactly like Wyatt, like I don’t think there’s a drop of Jojo in there..

..BUT MAN IS THE PERSONALITY PURE UNION. Another nice little addition to our ever expanding freakshow.

Shajar time and no one is paying attention now either but there’s no cake malfunction, they just don’t care! And why should they? What is she, their child?

Wyatt can’t even be bothered to stay standing for literally 10 more seconds. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a parent do that before but you can always count on Wyatt for this sort of innovation.

And this is what Shajar grows up to: Wyatt half-asleep, Daniel waiting to beat him up and the rest reacting to Wulf having shit himself. I don’t think any further comment is needed.

Now, having lived through the experience that was Daniel and having marveled at Shajar’s seemingly genetic unlikability, I’m sure we can all tell which is the one aspiration she should under no circumstances roll because it’s going to make nails on a chalkboard seem like a fun musical break.. Yes, this is not a drill..

..we have another trainwreck firstborn who can’t get their own family not to hate them roll popularity. AND DANIEL WAS NICE. Shajar is bringing 1 nice point to the table so all I can say at this point is fml.

And of course because the above wasn’t bad enough on its own and we always need the overkill, gaze upon whatever the fuck this is-

-YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR. GOOD GOD SHAJAR

LOL. Well with the custom sky this is an Under The Dome situation so technically you’re not wrong but still. fucking popularity? Leave the sky alone and aim for ‘slightly above ground’. Even that is pushing it.

Good, finally we return to reality and face the facts. Couldn’t agree more!

#ts2 #gen 2

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quranreadalong · 6 years

Text

A TALE OF TWO CITIES KINGDOMS, PT 2/4

We’re in the 900s BC, headed into the late 800s. There’s no sign of David and Solomon’s gigantic, prosperous united Kingdom of Israel, but there is a Kingdom of Israel shaping up to be a fairly major regional player. The Bible gives the northern kingdom’s backstory as the following: Solomon’s son Rehoboam callously ignored the demands of workers in the north, causing them to break away from the united kingdom (and inexplicably they took the “Kingdom of Israel” title with them). Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained in Rehoboam’s kingdom. All of this was YHWH’s way of punishing Solomon for taking foreign wives and allowing them to influence his beliefs.

But the Judean authors of the Biblical books of Kings make it clear that the Kingdom of Israel was an aberration, ruled by sinful and idolatrous men. Immediately upon declaring independence, the first king Jeroboam commits the worst possible crime:

Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.” After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.

The people of Israel fall into idolatry right away, worshiping golden calves representing YHWH. (The final version of the Exodus story obviously has a clear connection to this--it’s possible the the golden calf incident there was meant to demonize a real practice of the actual Israelites.) This sin remains part of their national character for generations, and it leads inevitably to the tragic destruction of the kingdom at the hands of the Assyrians. The entire saga was clearly written long after the events it describes.

Despite the Bible’s rants against their northern neighbors, the Israelites and Judeans seem to have largely had the same religious practices in this era. The Book of Kings blames this on Rehoboam again, doomed from birth because his mother was a foreign woman: “They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree”. The “high places” were places for sacrificing animals and generally worshiping gods (including but not limited to YHWH) scattered throughout the countryside; the Biblical authors saw this as idolatry, as the only proper place for such things was the temple of Jerusalem in their mind--and YHWH was the only god worth worshiping. His unique connection to the House of David and the city of Jerusalem, the Bible tells us, saved Judah from the total obliteration that he allowed to be inflicted upon Israel.

But the archeological record shows that Israel was not doomed because of its idolatry and sinfulness. It was doomed because it became too successful. And Judah was spared for the moment because it was not important enough to destroy.

The archaeologist Israel Finkelstein writes:

Israel was well on the way to fully developed statehood within a few decades of … 900 BC. … a territory governed by bureaucratic machinery … [It had] the distribution of luxury items, large building projects, prospering economic activity, including trade … a fully developed settlement system

There were large settlements in cities like Jezreel, Samaria, and Megiddo at the time, over a century before Jerusalem was even a fully urban settlement. Samaria was the kingdom’s capital, a 5-acre territory built on a hill. Its creation was sophisticated for the time, as it required moving tons upon tons of earth to create a suitable platform for the city, and a huge wall was built around the whole complex. Other archaeological finds, like a system for delivering fresh water through tunnels, shows that Israel in this era was no longer a half-rural pastoral land. It was a full-fledged kingdom. Boosted by new trade routes and advances in technology, like the ability to cut olive presses into the bedrock of the rocky, hilly part of Israel ideal for growing olive trees, the kingdom became prosperous.

It’s probably for this reason that the kings of Israel, despite being the historical Bad Guys, get the spotlight in the books of Kings and Chronicles. The adventures of their contemporary Judean kings are far less exciting and detailed. Often, they are described in relation to Israel itself. Rehoboam's grandson Asa is described in glowing terms, and in his time YHWH saves Judah from a southern expansion by Israel by providing them with an ally in the form of Syrians; several generations later, a Judean king marries one of Ahab and Jezebel's daughters and is punished for it via the Edomites taking part of Judah's land. Even ignoring the dubious historicity of all of this, Judah was clearly the lesser Jewish kingdom prior to the fall of the north. Israel was where the action was.

While the process had been ongoing for quite some time, the Bible glosses over Israel’s economic development in favor of showing all their rulers to be fuckups. It states that Israel fell into civil war almost immediately: Jeroboam’s entire family was killed by the third king, named Baasha. Baasha’s own son was then killed, and his murder triggered a conflict that resulted in a military commander named Omri claiming the throne. Omri is notable because he is the first King of Israel mentioned in historical sources--in fact, he is the first one associated with any “Kingdom of Israel” at all--and because Israel became a large, prosperous nation under his family’s rule.

The Mesha stele was written (the brown part is the original stuff) around 850 BC to commemorate the triumphs of King Mesha of Moab, a kingdom in Jordan. Part of it describes an era during which Moab was subjugated by “Omri of Israel”, who occupied part of that kingdom’s land.

Both the Bible and historical records state that the Omride dynasty built Israel into a powerful state and expanded Israel’s territory to a very large extent. Finkelstein:

The kingdom of Israel stretched from the vicinity of Damascus throughout the central highlands and valleys of Israel, all the way to the southern territory of Moab, ruling over considerable populations of non-Israelites.

Omri built two cities in Moab, Ataroth and Jahaz. With the destruction of the Canaanite centers in the lowlands, possibly during the raid of Shishak at the end of the 10th century BC, any potential northern strongman would have been able to gain control of the fertile valleys… into the territories of southern Syria and [Jordan], the Omrides … [established] a vast and diverse territorial state controlling rich agricultural lands and bustling international trade routes. It was also, of necessity, a multi-ethnic society.

That last fact is one remarked upon by Biblical authors with great disapproval--the presence of foreigners within the kingdom is a mark of shame against it. But Israel’s pluralistic society of Arameans, Phoenicians, etc is what turned it into a powerhouse in the first place. The city of Jezreel was the center of Israel’s Canaanite population, and at the height of the Omrides’ power, there were over 300,000 people in the territory, compared to less than a third of that in Judah, making it one of the largest kingdoms in the Levant. Even worse, from the perspective of the Biblical authors, Israel was not only inhabited by foreigners, it was influenced by foreigners.

Its rise to power coincided with the revival of the eastern Mediterranean trade and the harbor cities … were once again strongly involved in maritime commerce. Israel was an active participant in this economic revival as a supplier of valuable agricultural products and a master over … trade routes of the Levant

The coastal cities that had been destroyed in the previous Egyptian-inflicted disasters were slowly coming back to life, and various city-states in that region seem to have maintained close ties to Israel. Those included states like the Phoenician territory of Tyre, home of the princess Jezebel, who was married to Omri’s son Ahab--to the great displeasure of Biblical authors.

Ahab himself is presented as a lunatic under the sway of his evil foreign wife in the Bible, but historical sources present him as a successful king. Assyrian sources state that he brought Israel into an alliance against the aggressive Assyrian empire, and his contribution was not shabby: thousands of chariots and ten thousand footsoldiers from the kingdom joined the alliance. The coalition stopped Assyria’s advances for a generation, and brought together regional foes, including Arameans and Egyptians. (Judah is not mentioned as contributing anything to this effort, again indicating it was too rural and insignificant to do so.)

The House of Omri evidently began its downfall in the time of Ahab and Jezebel’s son Jehoram. What exactly happened is unclear. The Bible claims that he (along with his entire family) was assassinated by a military captain named Jehu, fulfilling a prophecy by the prophet Elijah. Jehu then killed all priests devoted to the Phoenician god Baal, which the Biblical authors approve of--but, they note, he failed to destroy those damn golden calves, and so he wasn’t good enough. And so YHWH was still displeased, and punished Israel with an invasion by the neighboring kingdom of Aram-Damascus (Syria).

Israel lost land to the invaders; they were taken back and then lost again over the next generations. Then things get really crazy. Jehu’s great-grandson was assassinated, then his assassin was assassinated. The Assyrians showed up and wrecked shit and Israel had to pay them a huge tribute. The second assassin’s son was also assassinated, by a military officer named Pekah, and it was in Pekah’s reign that Assyria came back and wiped out Israel for good.

The idea that Israel fell into civil strife and a string of assassinations before its destruction makes a lot of sense. But there is a slight problem here. If you remember the Tel Dan stele in the previous section, it states (with reconstructed text in brackets)...:

I killed Jeho]ram son [of Ahab] king of Israel, and [I] killed [Ahaz]iahu son of [Jehoram kin]g of the House of David, and I set [their towns into ruins and turned] their land into [desolation]

...that Hazael of Aram-Damascus is the one who killed Jehoram, along with the Judean king at the time (whose father was named Jehoram--they were two different Jehorams). Aramean records show that this invasion was serious: Aram-Damascus gained control of parts of northern Israel, including the city of Jezreel, and so Israel lost some of its fertile land. The territory was reclaimed only once Aramean strength collapsed with the new rise of Assyria, which attacked Damascus; the Arameans had to pay Assyrians tribute and neglected their territories in Israel. It was in this period that the king Joash took the territories back. The kingdom itself appears to have gone on chugging in prosperity in this era, though the Biblical authors continue to whine about their idolatry.

Whatever happened to Jehoram, it seems like the kingdom recovered from the earlier Aramean invasion quickly enough. Shit only really started hitting the fan around 750 BC, beginning the string of assassinations that ended with Pekah being the king. The Bible says he joined a regional alliance against Assyria, like Ahab had once done, but this time it was too late. Assyria under its leader Tiglath-pileser III had grown into a hugely developed, intimidating state intent on dominating the entire region. People were now afraid of stepping on Assyria’s toes, and the “coalition” essentially boiled down to Israel and the kingdom of Damascus. They were easily defeated. Israel’s cities were utterly destroyed as punishment, and Assyrian records state that around 15,000 prisoners were carried off into slavery, never to be seen again.

Pekah was assassinated during the disastrous Assyrian invasion by an understandably upset officer named Hoshea, who would unfortunately prove to be just as much of a noble failure as his predecessor:

The Assyrian noose was tightening with the accession of Shalmaneser V, an aggressive new Assyrian king. Hoshea proclaimed himself to be a loyal vassal … [but] secretly sought an alliance with the king of Egypt … [Shalmaneser] took Hoshea captive and invaded what was left of the kingdom … For three years the Assyrian king laid siege to [Samaria], eventually capturing it in 720 BC, “and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria…”

An additional fifth of Israel’s population, mostly middle and upper class people, were carried away. With the kingdom’s leaders dead, its major cities destroyed, and new settlers brought in from other Assyrian provinces, Israel as an independent entity ceased to exist. It was fully absorbed into the Assyrian empire, and its prized military institutions, including a chariot division, became part of the Assyrian army.

The great misfortune of Israel was a tragedy for its people. But it is more important because of what it resulted in, which was the growth of the Kingdom of Judah from a backwater into an important regional player.

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dfroza · 3 years

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the heavenly Ark of the Covenant

is seen in John’s writing in the book Revelation at the closing of Today’s chapter from the New Testament:

[Measuring the Temple]

Then a measuring rod, like a staff, was given to me and I was told:

Rise and measure God’s temple and the altar and count those who worship in it. But exclude the courtyard outside the temple, for it has been given over to the nations, and for forty-two months they will trample on the holy city. And I will authorize my two witnesses to prophesy, wearing sackcloth for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord God of the whole earth. If anyone attempts to harm them, fire will flow out of their mouths and consume their foes. All who seek to harm them will die in this way. They have authority to shut the heavens so that no rain will fall during the days of their prophesying. They have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague imaginable, as often as they desire.

When their testimony is completed, the beast that comes up from the sea will wage war against them and conquer them and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city that is symbolically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also crucified. 9 For three and a half days people from every ethnicity, tribe, nation, and language will see their corpses, because no one is permitted to bury them. The entire world will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange gifts, because these two prophets had condemned those who dwell on the earth.

After three and a half days God’s breath of life entered them and they stood to their feet, terrifying all who saw them. Then they heard a loud shout from heaven saying to them:

Come up here!

The two prophets climbed up into heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched. At that very moment there was a powerful earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed, killing seven thousand people. The rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Now the second woe has passed and the third is coming swiftly.

Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and a loud voice broke forth in heaven, saying:

“The kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom of our God

and of his Anointed One!

He will reign supreme for an eternity of eternities!”

Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell facedown before him and worshiped him, saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

who is, and who was,

because you have established

your great and limitless power and begun to reign!

The nations were furious, and you became furious,

and the time for judging the dead has come.

The time has come to reward your servants, the prophets

and the holy ones and all who reverence your name,

both small and great.

And the time has come to destroy those

who corrupt the earth!”

Then God’s temple was opened in heaven and the ark of his covenant was clearly visible inside his temple. And there were blinding flashes of lightning, voices roaring, startling thunderclaps, a massive earthquake, and a great hailstorm!

The Book of Revelation, Chapter 11 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 22nd chapter of 2nd Chronicles that documents the evil rule of King Ahaziah along with his mother, Athaliah. but a sign of protection as well with a boy name Joash:

[King Ahaziah]

The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king. Raiders from the desert, who had come with the Arabs against the settlement, had killed all the older sons. That’s how Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah became king. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, but reigned only one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri. He lived and ruled just like the Ahab family had done, his mother training him in evil ways. God also considered him evil, related by both marriage and sin to the Ahab clan. After the death of his father, he attended the sin school of Ahab, and graduated with a degree in doom. He did what they taught him, went with Joram son of Ahab king of Israel in the war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. Joram, wounded by the Arameans, retreated to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received in Ramah in his war with Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah paid a visit to Joram son of Ahab on his sickbed at Jezreel.

The fate of Ahaziah when he went to visit was God’s judgment on him. When Ahaziah arrived at Jezreel, he and Joram met with Jehu son of Nimshi, whom God had already authorized to destroy the dynasty of Ahab. Jehu, already at work, executing doom on the dynasty of Ahab, came upon the captains of Judah and Ahaziah’s nephews, part of the Ahaziah delegation, and killed them outright. Then he sent out a search party looking for Ahaziah himself. They found him hiding out in Samaria and hauled him back to Jehu. And Jehu killed him.

They didn’t, though, just leave his body there. Out of respect for his grandfather Jehoshaphat, famous as a sincere seeker after God, they gave him a decent burial. But there was no one left in Ahaziah’s family capable of ruling the kingdom.

[Queen Athaliah]

When Ahaziah’s mother Athaliah saw that her son was dead, she took over. She began by massacring the entire royal family. Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram, took Ahaziah’s son Joash, and kidnapped him from among the king’s sons slated for slaughter. She hid him and his nurse in a private room away from Athaliah. So Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and Ahaziah’s sister—she was also the wife of Jehoiada the priest—saved Joash from the murderous Queen Athaliah. He was there with her, hidden away for six years in The Temple of God. Athaliah, oblivious to his existence, ruled the country.

The Book of 2nd Chronicles, Chapter 22 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, february 19 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons about our True King:

The world might be in a frenzy over various earthly fears, but understand that the LORD God of Israel is upon the throne, friends. As it says in our Scriptures: "For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared, the great king over all the earth" (Psalm 47:2). Those of faith understand history - including the End of Days - as the expression of God's sovereign and providential hand. The gracious Savior always works "all things together for the good" of those who are trusting in Him. Ein od milvado (אין עוד מלבדו) - there is no power that can be exercised apart from God’s consent and overarching will. Indeed all authority in heaven and earth belongs to Yeshua, the “the Ruler of the Kings of the earth” (עליון למלכי הארץ). As it is written, “All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name” (Psalm 86:9). [Hebrew for Christians]

2.18.21 • Facebook

An email by Glenn Jackson:

February 19th

* ...."For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come".... Hebrews 13:14

The inconstant, fleeting nature of earth's most substantial and social things is proverbial. Poetry and fiction speak of it. It is part of the sad experience of life, and the hastiest observation confirms that earth is prone to change. Its fairest flowers fade away, and its most precious joys soon wither. But Heaven is enduring. It is not the pilgrim's inn. It is home; it abides and is settled forever. Heaven is a prepared city; it is ready and complete. Homes are already built, and no strenuous labour faces us. Everything is ready, anticipated, and furnished by a knowledge and ability that knows all our needs and stops at no expense.

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

February 19, 2021

With Christ

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3)

The apostle Paul, looking forward to the time when we shall “ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17), wrote: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:23-24).

The fact is, however, that we can be “with Christ” even while still abiding in the flesh, as Paul himself emphasized. This is the great principle called positional truth. “Positionally,” we are already “with Christ,” for that is where God sees us and how He relates to us. He has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

Before we could be raised up with Christ, however, we first had to die with Him. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). God even saw us as buried with Christ when He was buried, and this is the great truth symbolized in our baptism. “We are buried with him by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4).

“Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more” (Romans 6:8-9). He died for us, so our deserved death became His substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection becomes our own unmerited deliverance from death in eternal resurrection life. This is our position now, and our assured everlasting possession then, for we are with Christ, who “dieth no more.”

This truth is not only a wonderful doctrine, but as we see in our text, a focus for our thoughts, and real incentive for godly living. HMM

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shipcestuous · 6 years

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Etymology in Mr. Robot (Submission)

So this is kind of a long-winded etymological research dig on Mr. Robot, but I think some fans of Elliot x Darlene might like the implications:

In season one of Mr. Robot, Fernando Vera told Elliot to look up the meaning of his name. At the end of season three, Vera returns after going on a journey reciting his namesake of “Brave Traveler.”

This reiteration seems to be saying that the etymology of names might be important in the show, so I looked it up:

Elliot Alderson

Elliot is derived from Elijah, who was a prophet and miracle worker in Abrahamic religions. Note too, that restoring the data was to be seen an act of god, and he is pushed to act like a leader with a message (just like a prophet).

Interestingly, Elijah is also the name of the protagonist in Asimov’s Robot series, in which he has a robot partner.

His surname means “son of the noble/old army.” This is an interesting meaning, because it implies that Elliot is both the son of the man who worked for the 1% or the son of the man of the “old” army, perhaps meaning the rest of society. I think this dichotomous meaning is important due to the struggles we know Elliot has faced.

Therefore, it’s clear that Elliot’s name has an applied and purposeful meaning in the series.

Darlene Alderson

She too is part of the army Elliot is in (or rather leads). Her first name’s clear and obvious meaning is “My darling” or “dear little one.” English speakers know that “darling” is used to address someone much beloved, often a lover. If you notice during the show the only time Elliot refers to feeling love for someone, specifically that word, it is always directly referring Darlene.

She is, essentially, the most important person in his entire life.

On the surface, Darlene may appear to have no biblical or religious connection, which is rare among Mr. Robot names: Angela (Deliver/Messenger/Moses), Tyrell (Danish “Thor’s Power”), Phillip (apostle), Leon (early church), Shama Biswas (Candle, Believe In - She lit the way, and believed in Elliot).

Etymology has a strong part in Mr. Robot, which isn’t a surprise considered the strong archetypal symbolisms it has pushed, especially in season three.

But I want to point out something crucial too:

The Dark Army is now the true enemy. It is led by someone called Whiterose (real name Zhi Zhang, which basically means stretch of ambition or intelligence). In the language of flowers, the white rose is associated with new beginnings, very fitting with Whiterose’s time motif.

But there is something else important about the white rose - it’s a famous symbol of the House of York, whose heraldic animal is the lion.

I know, I know. You probably think this is the stupidest and weakest connection ever. Here’s why it isn’t:

The bible has something to say about lions and the word “darling.” Psalm 35:17 - “Lord, how long wilt thou look on? rescue my soul from their destruction, my darling from the lions.” Here there is a request for God to intervene and save the “soul” from the lions. While the psalm itself it referring to the author (or the person using the psalm as a prayer) this is an interesting choice of words knowing what we know about the show and its religious symbolism. I don’t think this is secretly a Christian show, but it uses the narrative marks of religion to inform the plot… which is common in English literature. The King James bible is very important to literature itself, which is where the word “darling” is used.

There is another similar psalm that also uses dogs instead of lions to mean enemies, which we can reflect back to the prophet Elijah.

Psalm 22:20 - “Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.”

If you remember what I said about the prophet Elijah, and that it is the name of a protagonist with some eerie connections to the show, the next part makes a lot of sense:

Elijah made a prophecy in the bible that Ahab’s wife would be eaten by dogs, which does happen. Ahab also has a famous literary reference of a sea captain hunting a “white whale” which is something Philip Price certainly thinks of White Rose and her project.

In the Robot series by Asimov, the character Elijah is actually married to a person named Jezebel. The meaning of Jezebel’s story and the common misinterpretation is made clear: Jezebel was a good wife and mother who loved her family and avenged her husband. The insult “painted jezebel” is not really an insult, but referencing her heroism, though some view her actions as vain - someone who uses their physical attraction for evil ends.

Which is what Darlene did to Dom. But we know what Dom doesn’t - that it was done for a good cause… at least from Darlene’s perspective.

This Jezebel point in Asimov’s book that isn’t mentioned only once… this is an important part of the book’s plot… and no doubt informative to the television show.

Jezebel in the Robot books also has a weird connection to the overthrow of the government, but I won’t get into that, though I think it’s clear that Jezebel is meant to represent Darlene (remember too Darlene’s connection to Lolita, and how Lolita is thought of as a Jezebel by Humbert Humbert). It’s just not a direct connection because I think it gives too much away. Jezebel is a strange name. Darlene isn’t.

But with all that in mind… why he she called Darlene instead of Jezebel?

Because Darlene isn’t supposed to meet the same terrible end as her biblical namesake. She doesn’t in Asimov’s book, and she won’t in the television show either.

In the psalms, darling is meant to refer to the speaker’s soul, but we know that in the show darling is related to Darlene, and if the central character or speaker of the television show is Elliot, he is hoping to save Darlene from her ultimate fate of being “eaten by dogs” (or rather, consumed by the dogs/lions of the Dark Army.”

Which he does in season three.

Also, according to Jewish folklore, when dogs are happy it is a sign that Elijah is near. What does Elliot do in the show? He saves a dog. Kind of random, only it isn’t. And that dog has a good relationship with Darlene… because Darlene’s ultimate fate is to be saved by Elliot’s action.

However, I don’t think platonic saving is the only point of Elliot and Darlene’s connection. After all, Darlene’s direct namesake, the turning of the Jezebel story, is related to the wife of Elliot’s namesake. And in the first season we get some weird romantic interactions with Elliot and Darlene that kind of only fuels the possible shipping connection.

I don’t know if the show is ever going to dare go all the way with Elliot and Darlene, but we need to be honest with ourselves: the show definitely implies that Elliot has sincere feelings for her in a romantic way. There are too many clues suggesting that is to the case to deny it.

This was pretty long-winded, but I think the etymology and plot connections within the show suggest that Elliot x Darlene is more canon than we initially suspected.

I LOVE your meta! It’s so great how deep you dug into this, and I have no doubt that Sam Esmail does very little unintentionally. We already know how much fun he has had with Easter eggs, with references - to Lolita, to Back To the Future, etc.

I have always felt like Darlene’s name was interesting. I think there must be a special meaning to it and you’ve definitely made your case. The connections to Asimov’s books really get one thinking.

Thank you so much for doing this research and writing this and sharing it with us! Season 3 was wonderful for Elliot/Darlene but it has been a long stretch since anything suggestive happened so it’s nice to have this to buoy us!

#asks #lieselstark2 #elliot x darlene #darlene and elliot #darlene and elliot: commentary #r: brosis #canon #tw: incest #mr. robot #submission #nr #commentary #noiv

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