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discount-shades · 1 year

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Contract Spouse Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Realizations

A/N: This is a sad one. I've written Chapter 9 and only one chapter left to write!

Pairing: Jake Seresin/Reader (nicknamed Pip)

Warning: Angst, death of civilians, war, PTSD

Length: 3000ish

Summary: Jake does some thinking and we find out why he is like that.

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“What we need are those veterinary gloves that come up to your shoulder.” You have a roll of tape out and combined with elastics and a small garbage bag you are trying to waterproof Jake’s cast. After finally being released from the hospital after 4 days, Jake is in desperate need of a shower. “Then you could use your hand. I’m going to order some from Amazon.”

“Why do vets need gloves that come up to their shoulder?” Jake watches you struggle to carefully tape the edges of the bag to the skin of his arm, fighting with the extra plastic.

“You know the long gloves Ellie wears when she digs in the dino poop looking for West Indian Lilac in Jurassic Park?” Jake blinks at you in confusion, trying to remember. “Vets wear them for a similar reason.”

“Eww.” Jake checks the seal around the tape job you did. “How do you even know that?”

“Remember when I dated a farm boy in university?” Jake nods. He remembers thinking the kid wasn’t good enough for you. “Well in those two months we were together I went and helped them when they preg checked their cows.” You give him a little half grin, “I learned I am not cut out for farm life.”

You start the shower for him before carefully helping him remove his shirt. You wince when you see the bruises crossing his torso from the seatbelt harness of his jet. The brush of your fingers, featherlight over the bruises, burns before you abruptly leave the bathroom, telling him to call if he needs help.

Jake sighs and finishes stripping before getting under the spray. Everything hurts and the concussion makes him feel like he is in a fog. His head is a constant dull throb and what he really wants to do is lie down and sleep some more. He holds his left arm hand up at a right angle and does his best to shower mostly one handed.

Pulling a shirt on seems too difficult so he walks into the bedroom half dressed. You've pulled the curtains, so it is dark and he collapses into the clean sheets. A water bottle and his painkillers lined up neatly on his end table, as well as a few protein bars.

You’ve thought of everything, you always do, but you seem different since the accident and he can’t figure it out. Every time he tries to think his head begins to ache. You are more clinical, less warm. Maybe it is because he is injured, maybe he is imagining it.

He thinks back to the morning of the crash. Remembers waking up with you in his arms, how good it felt to hold you and talk to you. The hospital had been so lonely when they wouldn’t let you stay overnight.

He wanted you to stay in California. He wanted to come home and have you there to talk to, he could always call you before, but living with you was better. He loved watching movies together, cooking together, cleaning, and grocery shopping. Every mundane task was better with you.

He couldn’t ask you to stay. He was too much of a mess. He couldn’t sleep and the guilt of what happened was always there. You didn’t deserve to be pulled into that. He was sure that you would stay if he asked. You and your misguided sense of duty and the belief that you owed him something. But if he asked then he would have to tell you and if he told you you would never look at him the same way.

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he notices is your voice calling to him gently. His eyes flitter open and he can see you sitting on the edge of the bed. You are beautiful in the light filtering from the hall, and in that moment you take his breath away. “Doctor says you should be up and moving, so come have dinner.”

When you go to leave he curls his good hand around your arm and revels in the feel of your soft skin sliding through his fingers. When he thinks you are about to slip your hand through his fingers you catch his palm and give a gentle tug and he feels himself following you automatically.

“This can’t be what you are used to.” You say with a grin as you grab a shirt and help him into it. “Women are probably more keen to take your shirt off.”

“I’ll do anything if it's with you, pretty girl.” The words leave his lips before he can comprehend what he has said. Your sharp inhale makes him want to kick himself. Why did he say that? He never flirted with you. It was a line he refused to cross.

He can see the flustered look on your face as you stand to go. “Come on flyboy, you must be hard up if you are flirting with me.” He follows you down the hall to the table. That wasn’t completely fair. Why wouldn't he flirt with you? If you weren't his wife he definitely would have tried to pick you up in a bar.

That evening as you lie down beside him in bed you turn to him. “We have our first meeting with the couples therapist tomorrow, he wants to meet us separately first.” Jake had forgotten about the marriage counseling. “I think we should just say we want to keep our relationship strong, and I don't know, talk about how adjusting to living together is a challenge or something.” He just mumbles an agreement.

Jake has no idea how the two of you are going to sell being married to a professional. He thinks of all the ways this might go as you slowly drift off to sleep beside him. Once he can hear your steady breathing his mind starts to slow and as he falls asleep he rolls over so he is curled around you.

When he wakes the next morning he slides his arm across the bed feeling for your warmth but the sheets are cool. You are already gone. When he gets up he finds you making omelets in the kitchen.

“The contractor is going to be finishing up the repairs in the ceiling of my room today,” you tell him as you add the cheese. “You will have your bed back, free of my cold toes tonight.”

“Oh, ok.” Jake doesn't know what to think and it takes him a moment to realize he is disappointed. Last night was the last time he would sleep with you in his arms. He thinks about all the times he left you in the mornings. He shouldn't have run away. He could have just rolled back to his side of the bed and talked to you on those mornings, now he would never get the option.

You drive to the counselor’s and he spends his time in the passenger seat fighting his motion sickness. It's your turn first and you give him a worried look as you go, as he sits in the waiting room trying to get his head to stop spinning. If he says something wrong in the counselor's office he will just blame it on the concussion.

When it is his turn you squeeze his hand as you trade spots. He can't help himself as he pulls you into a hug. Jake presses his lips to your hairline. He should hug you more, he thinks.

You rarely initiate physical affection more than holding hands, and hug only on special occasions. He likes the feel of you in his arms, the scent of your shampoo, and the warmth of your skin. The way you melt into him is overwhelming before you pull away.

The session went well. A mixture of the truth and agreed upon lies slip easily off his tongue. At the end of the session Jake is given the same homework that you received.

“I want you to come up with a list of all the reasons you are in love with your wife.”

The homework is a fixture in his mind over the next few days. Jake can’t figure out why he keeps repeating the counselor's words in his head. He lists the reasons he loves you. You are smart, funny, tough as hell, your kindness, you are supportive, you are so easy to talk to and you always know what to say, you call him on his bullshit. You are capable.

He stares at the words he has written and feels they are not personal enough to sell it. You are beautiful, your smile makes his stomach clench, your laughter, you feel so good in his arms, how you being in his life made everything better. He stares at his list as the words play over in his head, ‘reasons you are in love with your wife.’

Jake drops the pen and buries his face in his hands as the realization hits him. “Fuck.” He is in love with you. When did that happen? Was it before you moved in or is it a recent thing? Sometime during the first or second year of the marriage he noticed he loved you. But it had always felt so platonic, a love of friendship, of convenience, and connection.

You have always been beautiful, and, if he was honest with himself, he had always been attracted to you, but with the nature of your relationship he had always locked those thoughts and feelings away. You were untouchable. But in the last month with you sleeping in his bed everything blurred. It didn’t matter when he fell in love, the only thing that mattered was that he is completely and irrevocably in love with you now.

It is weird to feel terrible about an emotion considered so positive. Jake stares at the closed door to the office where you are working from home. He can never tell you. You had only stayed married due to his inability to process his trauma.

He felt tainted, like you being with him would somehow mark you too. He didn't deserve you, he didn’t deserve anything good. And he loved you too much to let you be ruined by him. He wouldn't let you give up your life and the love you deserve. Because you need someone who is in love with you unconditionally, someone good.

The day he had agreed to marry you had told him that you would always be there for him and he had taken advantage of that over the years. Taken advantage of your kindness and good heart. Someone as good and kind as you would never stay married to him. He could never tell you he loved you. He wouldn’t be that guy, the man who thought he was owed something just because he had feelings for a woman. He would let you go even if it killed him.

– – –

Sleeping next to you didn’t stop the nightmares. They always came at the same frequency, mild ones a few times a week and the bad ones every week or so. What sleeping next to you did was calm him when he woke. Your breaths and the warmth of your skin would ground his mind and bring him back to the present like nothing else could.

Before you he would never get back to sleep after a nightmare. He would go for a run or go to the 24h gym. He sometimes would mindlessly watch tv or stare at his phone until it was an acceptable hour to get up. In the weeks after the concussion he couldn’t do that. Strenuous activity and screen time were two of the things the doctor told him to avoid.

Most nights he would just lay in bed. He had tried audio books but he could not focus on them. So he would lie there in the dark thinking about you, and everything that he loved about you, and torturing himself.

His post concussion nightmares were more intense than any he had before but he still hadn't had a bad one yet. He could feel it coming. Lack of sleep and anxiety tended to trigger the nightmares. Stress also played a role and the night before the second marriage counseling session it hit him.

Jake’s heart is pounding as he sits up in bed struggling to breath. The nightmares are rarely the same and his mind alway finds ways for his dreams to be somehow worse than what had happened, combining events and reimagining others.

You died tonight. The person he had killed was you, and even though he logically knew you were fine he needed to check on you. Stumbling, eyes bleary, he walks to your room and pushes open the door. The smell of new paint and construction is almost gone. Leaning on the door frame Jake can see you sleeping and he takes in the sight.

If he holds his breath and listens he can faintly hear you breathing from the doorway and he can’t help the muffled sob that slips past his lips. You stir and he bites his lips to keep from waking you but it is too late.

“Jake?” You lean up and look at him. “You ok?” he gives a jerky nod, unable to open his mouth. Afraid he would begin sobbing if he did. “Another nightmare?” He doesn’t know how you can tell. Maybe it is written on his face.

“Come here,” your voice is soft and you open your arms and beckon to him and he is moving his feet before he can think about it. Jake collapses on top of the covers and into your arms, head pillowed on your chest listening to your heartbeat. His eyes flutter closed as you rake your fingers through his hair and down his back. Your gentle movements calm him and steady his mind but soon it is not enough. There are too many layers between you.

He sits up and motions to the covers. “Can I?” he asks hesitantly, wanting to be able to hold you without the blanket between you. You nod and he slips beneath the covers and returns to his position with his head on your chest. Your hands resume their motions carding through his hair and stroking his back.

It’s still not enough. He sits abruptly and takes his shirt off before lying back down, slotting his body between your thighs and his head on your stomach this time. He needs to feel your skin pressed against his. He eases your shirt up so he can rest his cheek against your stomach. He can hear your sharp inhale but you don't say anything and for that he is grateful. You just go back to smoothing your hands over his bare skin. He doesn’t know how long he lays there with you beneath him, his hands curl around your rib cage as his thumbs smooth over your soft skin.

After a while of your hands moving over him he feels you pause. “If you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.” He shakes his head in denial, not wanting you to know. But when he feels your nails scratch his scalp and drag down his neck he starts talking.

“You know the military severely under-reports civilian deaths, right?” There is no change in you. Your hands keep moving in the same rhythm and your breathing is steady. “Every time we drop bombs we kill people and there is a chance we kill civilians. Mostly we don’t think about it. It is easier to drink the kool-aid. Accept the Navy’s narrative. But if you watch the news from other countries they will report it; show videos of civilians killed by American bombs.”

Jake stops talking, wanting you to respond, hoping you don’t. Looking for a clue to stop talking. You don’t give him one so he continues. “I shot another plane down, the first air-to-air kill in three decades. The Navy pinned a medal on me.'' Now that he was talking he couldn’t stop. The words he had never spoken to anyone pouring out. “No one mentioned that after I shot the jet it crashed into this community building. There were families inside. Sixteen people were killed, nine of them were children.

“They gave me a fucking medal for killing children. I saw the footage, the crashed jet and the injured people. There was this man carrying his dead son and I can’t get that out of my head.” Jake feels you shift and he raises his head to look at you but all you do is place a gentle kiss on his forehead before lying back down and resuming your motions.

“Please hate me.” He doesn't know why he says it; why he needs you to condemn him. As if your condemnation will justify everything he feels.

“No,” you say simply.

“Why not?” he can feel a sob building in his chest. “I fucking deserve it. How can you just learn all that about me and not care?”

“Javy told me years ago,” you confess, “actually I suspected. It was on the news that an American Navy pilot shot down a plane and what happened, I knew you were stationed in the area and you changed whenever we talked after, so I figured it was you and Javy confirmed it when I asked.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jake had been keeping his knowledge and shame bottled up away from you for so long; not wanting to change the way you saw him and to find out you had always known was gutting.

“I knew you would tell me when you were ready.”

“You should hate me,” Jake hates the way he sounds. Small, meek, hesitant. “I hate me.”

“I hate that it happened. It breaks my heart for those families, but I can’t hate you for it. You are responsible, but not culpable.” You say simply.

“Then who is to blame if not me?” You don’t have an answer for him, he knows there isn’t one, at least not an answer that will make him feel better. Some things you just have to live with. The tears start to flow down Jake's cheeks in ugly sobs as you pull him closer. He clings to you and finally lets himself grieve.

#jake hangman seresin #jake hangman x reader #jake seresin/reader #jake seresin x reader #hangman #hangman/reader #top gun hangman #top gun fanfiction #top gun x reader #topgun maverick #jake seresin

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youvegotrpmemes · 11 months

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Jurassic Park (1993) starters

I hate computers.

How long does this usually take?

That doesn't look very scary.

So you know, try to show a little respect.

Hey, [Name], if you wanted to scare the kid, you could have pulled a gun on him, you know.

What the hell do you think you're doing in here?

Who in God's name do you think you are?

Spared no expense.

I don't care for lawyers. Do you?

What kind of park is this?

You shouldn't use my name.

In forty-eight hours, I'll be accepting your apologies.

This shouldn't be here.

You did it. You crazy son of a bitch, you did.

They do move in herds.

Can't-- Can't you stop these things?

If there's one thing the history of evolution has taught us, it's that life will not be contained.

I'm simply saying that life, uh, finds a way.

They should all be destroyed.

I mean, how can we stand in the light of discovery and not act?

The world has just changed so radically, and we're all running to catch up.

Hold on to your butts.

Turn in your fear at the door and join the future, right?

Oh, God help us. We're in the hands of engineers.

Item 151 on today's glitch list.

I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do ask that they pay for them.

God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs... eat man. Woman inherits the Earth.

See, here I'm now by myself, uh, talking to myself.

Now I see her, she's the most beautiful thing I ever saw.

It could've been worse, [Name]. A lot worse.

I hate this hacker crap!

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Boy, do I hate being right all the time.

Don't move. He can't see us if we don't move.

I'm gonna run you over when I come back down.

Well, we're back... in the car again.

Well, at least you're out of the tree.

Remind me to thank [John] for a lovely weekend.

I'm fairly alarmed here.

Come on, come on, come on. We gotta get outta here. Now, now! Right now!

Think they'll have that on the tour?

What do you call a blind dinosaur?

I wanted to show them something that wasn't an illusion. Something that was real.

But you can't think through this one, [Name]. You have to feel it.

Creation... is an act of sheer will.

You've never had control! That's the illusion!

But I made a mistake too. I didn't have enough respect for that power and it's out now!

The only thing that matters now are the people we love.

That's what I said. You're a nerd.

I am not a computer nerd. I prefer to be called a hacker.

No, no, no, that's crazy. You're out of your mind.

Wait a minute. What do you mean, it worked?

They're, uh-- They're flocking this way.

Keep low and follow me.

Oh, God. Something went wrong. Something's happened. Something's wrong.

But, [Name], if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.

We can make it if we run.

Because we're being hunted.

Clever [girl].

I'll be back soon. I promise.

Where have you been?

Call the mainland. Tell 'em to send the damn helicopters.

It's gonna come through the glass!

After careful consideration, I've decided... not to endorse your park.

#meme #ask meme #rp meme #inbox meme #roleplay meme #sentence starters #jurassic park #jurassic park film

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alpaca-clouds · 10 months

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Should we bring back the dinosaurs?

I spoke about gene editing yesterday and about species going extinct the day before. So let us lighten the mood a bit and bring both topics together: Let's talk about dinosaurs and wooly mammoths!

We are actually getting surprisingly good with that gene tech thingie, even though you hear not so much about it most of the time. But yeah, no, we are actually getting pretty good at it and at understanding what certain genes are doing.

And at least with the wooly mammoth we have found some DNA frozen in the ice. While we do not have a complete genum for them, we have a bit of it. And we are actually technically speaking able to re-engineer quite a bit from elephant DNA.

Same goes with the dinosaurs. No, we probably aren't finding mosquitos with blood that still holds DNA. But we have some bird species that are descendents of certain dinosaurs. Consider the mighty chicken, that has kinda sorta descendet from the velociraptor. (Also, yeah, news flash, dinosaurs are closer related to birds, than they are to reptiles.)

Like, some guy playing around with CRISPR has managed to give a chicken teeth. So, yeah, we might actually be able to re-engineer some dinosaurs. No T-Rex, no brontosaurus and no triceratops. But some dinosaurs? Certainly a posibility. Not right now, but in twenty, thirty years? Probably not off the table.

But that brings us to Jeff Goldblum Ian Malcolm:

youtube

Should we do that? Should we bring back mammoths or dinosaurs?

Let me make one thing clear: No, they probably will not start reproducing uncontrolably and then turn against humans in a more drastic way than any other animal might do. Sure, they could become an invasive species........ but they probably won't, because the earth they have once inhabited was so different from today, that they could very certainly not survive. Especially not the mammoth.

So, yeah. No Jurassic Park and no T-Rex running through New York or whatever happend in Jurassic Park 3.

Nah. There are other reasons not to do it.

And those reasons are simple: What for? Why do we want to bring back dinosaurs or mammoths? Sure, it would be cool to see a living, breathing dinosaur (even if it was just a velociraptor) or a mammoth. But... what good would come from it? Why do not invest all those ressources that it would take to do that into something... more useful? Something that is actually bringing science forward. Because, guess what: No, Alan, even if we brought back the brontosaurus, the revived brontosaurus would not tell us, whether or not the species moved in herds 150 million years ago!

And, of course, there would be just the animal welfare aspect. Because whatever animal we would bring back from the dead would probably have a very, very shitty life. It would be kept in a zoo, not be allowed to do its animal things. Would be part of a lot of science. It would just suck for those animals.

With actual living animal species, we can have long discussions about the pros and cons of zoos. But we will never rewild the mammoth. We should not rewild the mammoth. Because it does not have any habitat left. Same for any dinosaur.

So, I am with Jeff Goldblum on this one. Maybe we just... should not do it.

(Even though bringing back species that we as humans drove to extinction in recent history would be an entirely different story.)

#jurassic park #dinosaurs #dinos #should we bring back the dinosaur?#wooly mammoth #mammoth #gene tech #science fiction #scifi #don't take this too serious #Youtube

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the---hermit · 1 year

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Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I've had this book on my tbr since forever. It's not the first book I read by this author, a few years ago I had read Eaters Of The Dead, which I loved. Even though I have seen the Jurassic Park movies mutiple times it's been so long I didn't really remember much, which made the reading experience even better. I must say I really like Crichton's writing, but I have mixed feelings towards this book.

It's very unlikely that you don't know the plot of this story, but here it is anyway. Thanks to the developments of genetics and science a rich old man founds this project for a future amusement park, in which the main attraction will be actual real life dinosaurs. The Jurassic Park is set on an island, fully dedicated to this projects, that several characters will end up visiting before its opening. This is very reductive, but it's the base line for what then happens. I have two main things I didn't love, firstly the fact that so many characters in this book read as incredibly stupid? I will add a few lines in the spoilery part under the cut, but there's a few scenes that left me speachless. It makes sense for Hammond to be ignorant and annoying, because at the end of the day he represents the rich man who does not care at all about the consiquences of his actions let alone the advices people give him. He has a project, he wants to make money out of it, and doesn't care about the rest. It's frustrating to read but it makes sense. Other things that happen do make sense because if it wasn't for them there would be no book, but one in particular felt a bit forced? (as I said look at the spoilery part if you want more context). So, overall I liked few characters, but that's alright the plot was very entertaining and it did its job as a book. The other thing I don't know how I feel about is the ending of the book. For some reason it felt a bit rushed? I don't know why honestly, but I found it very sudden and it was done in very few pages. maybe it wouldn't have made sense in other ways but it left me a bit confused. Aside from these two elements as I said I really liked my reading experience with this book. I wasn't expecting the theme of "this has only been done for financial gain" to be so prominent, but I very much appreaciated it. It's an overall entertaining novel, and the writing flows very well. I feel like it's a great book to escape without needing too much energy. I am not sure yet whether I will read the sequel, but I'll see in the future.

I read this book for the minimalist cover prompt of the jumbo reading challenge

This section contains spoilers

The main thing I thought was stupid is that the incredibly intelliget scientist who literally makes irl dinosaurs possible doesn't know that some animals can reproduce non-sexually or find a way to against all odds. I will say I for some reason was more thinking of asexual reproduction, but it definitely makes more sense that some of these dinosaurs changed sex like some frogs and fishes do (also trans raptors yaay, I loved them). But in general it felt a bit absurd that a scientist such as him didn't even remotly know about this. Okay, you might haven't considered when you were creating these dinosaurs, but when someone hints about it you should realize what is really going on right away. At least this is how I felt about it.

#i don't know if i edited this #my brain is not braining lately #if it's not edited and there's typos i'm sorry #but f i don't post it now i don't know when i will and i already have a bunch of drafts #2023 book #book #bookblr #booklr #book cover #book rec #book review #book recommendation #bookish #reading #mine #the---hermit

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missanthropicprinciple · 1 year

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miss anthro’s film recs: May 2021

Jurassic Park 1993: Watched this for the third time in a month today to celebrate it's release 28 years ago. Like most excellent films, it was created by a lucky intersection of talent. The remarkable premise was crafted into a brilliant script by David Koepp and author Michael Crichton; it was tight, clean, fast-paced - no plot holes and unnecessary scenes. Steven Spielberg really did a fantastic job of making a cohesive production and giving it a kind of emotional continuity. The cast is outstanding. I could write an essay about each one. Richard Attenborough brings pathos to John Hammond, the delusional tycoon. Sam Neill is perfect as Alan Grant, a jaded paleontologist who finds deeper compassion. Laura Dern gives a raw performance as the resolute and charming paleo-botanist Ellie Sattler. Jeff Goldblum stars as Ian Malcolm, chaotician and prototype "rock-star scientist." Bob Peck is wonderful as the sensible game warden Robert Muldoon. Samuel L. Jackson works his magic as sardonic chief engineer Ray Arnold. And of course, excellent performances from Martin Ferrero, Wayne Knight, Joseph Mazzello, and Ariana Richards. The special and physical effects are remarkable and most of them remain so nearly three decades later, including the life-sized animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex and just the right amount of CGI. Cinematography by Dean Cundey features god-tier-level use of scale framing. Not to mention great use of color, blocking, sound, costume, John Williams' beautiful score - you name it, this film really has everything going for it. Is this a perfect film? No, but it gets bloody close. Unmissable science-fiction that examines the horror unleashed by the arrogance of mankind.

The Birdcage 1996: This 25* year old film is a real gem. While the modern viewer (myself included) could find fault with some stereotypes, etc., the classic comedy has aged quite well. There’s a lot of slapstick and hysterically funny and clever dialogue. Williams and Lane are outstanding. There’s a very touching scene between the two of them which is very romantic and sweet. And of course the whole cast is perfect. I’m always impressed by this film when I haven’t seen it in a while.

The Moon-Spinners 1964: You don’t need to be a Disney fan to love this incredible classic. Hayley Mills is well loved but I don’t think she’s given enough credit for being not only a brilliant child actor but also a great actor as she aged. Her performance is stellar. The whole movie is fun and tense, bringing Mary Stewart’s novel to life in the great and beautiful country of Greece. It’s a fun adventure from start to finish with humor and romance.

Fairytale: A True Story 1997: Want to cry your eyes out about the Cottingley fairy hoax of 1917? You may not trust me but I recommend this experience. Honestly, this movie is life-changing. This is a depiction of a real life story involving historical figures. Usually no one gets that quite right but this movie kinda does. Peter O’Toole looks nothing like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but Harvey Keitel looks remarkably like Harry Houdini. Something about the music and what they do with this story gets into your bloodstream. I couldn’t possibly spoil for anyone who knows nothing about it, but I can say that there is some incredible CGI and a scene where someone faces retribution from an unexpected and shocking source.

edit 2023:

*now 27

I found this in my drafts. Clearly, life got in the way and I didn’t continue my recommendation posts (I have the templates drafted in text form.) Also, while drafting this edit I was attacked by a small beetle. I remain unharmed and have released the beetle into its natural environment.

#missanthrofilmrecs #jurassic park #the birdcage #the moon spinners #fairytale a true story #movies #movie reviews

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kingcanis · 6 days

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Feeling compelled to make a Jurassic Park hot take this morning. Ian Malcolm is a fucking idiot and franchise treating him like a prophet entirely misses his character.

Ian Malcolm is a dumb asshole whose whole gig is making predictions with zero context that have a statistically likely chance of being correct even tho8gh he can't tell you how or why.

He's like the venture capitalist version of a fortune teller who can read just enough context clues to give you a reading that's just vague enough to *feel* specific while also being vague enough that you can't hold him accountable for it.

His whole "life finds a way" line is delivered with the narcissistic certainty of a false prophet. Does he know that the dinosaurs can reproduce at this point? No! Does he know about Nedry and the issues if the parks personnel? Again, no. But he delivers that line in that way, and if he's right he gets credibility and if he's wrong he can wave it off.

And both the book and the movie *show* that he's an egotistical ass. "I'm always looking for a future ex-Mrs. Malcolm" like you couldn't have predicted how the complex social interaction of a marriage was going to work out you stale end piece of white bread. I don't have the book in front of me, but I remember reading it for the first time after watching the movie and. Eing really surprised how much I disliked the character.

To even further pick apart his bullshit, chaos theory is about the inherent unpredictability of complex systems. He uses the water droplet thing on the back of Dr. Sattler's hand to demonstrate saying that minute differences impossible for the human eye to perciev3 change the outcome of where the droplet will roll to make it inherently unpredictable.

Except that's not how the scientific method works. The system isn't inherently unpredictable, you've just failed to account for the variables that would allow you to predict the outcome. If you photographed the back of Dr. Sattler's hand, denoted the direction and angle of all the hairs, made notes for s ar tissue and placed the drop at precisely the same spot e ery time, you could build a baseline from which you *would* be able to predict the direction a drop of water was going to roll.

It's not unpredictable, you just haven't done the work to be able to predict it. In sum, Ian Malcolm's "chaos theory" is fundamentally un-scientific horse shit, and thus I suggest we stop engaging with him as a mathematician and more like a palm reader or snake oil salesman. He's very charismatic and very fun to watch/read, but he's always been a con man.

#jurassic park #ian malcolm #hot takes no one asked for #god i love this little slimeball #if JP had come out while tumblr was a thing he'd have been such a popular little blorbo #mathematician (derogatory)

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moonstone27ls · 1 year

Text

The Owl House Finale..

Warning spoilers....

Warning.....

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You’ve been warned.....

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.....Oh and warning of opinion. I ask no hate, disagree okay but I don’t want a fight. This is my opinion/my thoughts....

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Spoilers...........

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Last one............

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............ You’ve been warned....

First of all kudos to Dana Terrace and the animation team. Sooooo many amazing moments, its no wonder she had to take a break. Given the crunch time Disney put her on, she had to work SO hard to get what she wanted/or needed to make this finale great! Just everything was perfect! I was on the edge of my seat and all I wanted was for Luz and everyone to be okay (except maybe Belos... screw you Philip 8B)

Anything that surprised me... I guess that someone was right that it was a titan in that realm Luz saw. I also admit was somewhat surprised the Collector didn’t really know about what happened in regards to King’s species. Though it makes me wonder... what happened to their siblings. They mentioned them when Luz died... so ... what became of them...

Though speaking of Luz’s death... why did she die when touched by whatever that attack was by Belos? Buttt... not Raine? I mean granted he used it as an attack but the attack/fungi whatever was affecting Collector and they were genuinely worried for Eda when it spread. I mean I’m not complaining I wanted Raine to live for Eda. But I’m... “how come Raine wasn’t affected?” Raine was just put under restraint?oO

I admit Luz’s death really got me. On so many levels for her heart. And the irony, cause the Collector was only trying to do what she advised him on. (no not blaming him just saying big picture cruel irony). But also dang was somewhat impressed when Eda and King went beast mode on Belos for that.

And just random was also impressed that Amity was able to wake up/or fight that toy spell the Collector put on them. I dunno just did pointed out that Amity is stronger than she’s given credit as a witch. Luz’s ultimate titan magic/witch mode was both beautiful and AWESOME! Just fantastic design.

Loved King’s dad, lol. Feel like in another life King’s dad could had been roomies with Eda. LOVEDDDD the epilogue, just was glad to see Luz did finish school and got a writers scholarship :). Though.. seeing that Hooty photo... does that mean the human world knows about the demon realm? Or did they just do more visits now that the portal’s fixed. Also Hooty anime eyes so cute:3!

Also was happy that she and Vee graduated together. Because that meant Camila adopted Vee and loved her just like her own child. And omg they had a photo of Stringbean in a cute pet hat XD! Classic... though who was Vee playing baseball/or softball with... Masha? Loved everyone’s grown designs:). And the Flapjack tattoos so sweet:3 !

Sooo happy for Hunter that he’s got a happy ending. And I assume a family with both Darius and the Clawthorne’s. NO ONE will not convince me he’s become part of both families. And his new Palisman is a bluejay, sweet! Uhh thought it was funny/cute Lilith considered putting a disco room? (that corner was hard to read). That we also got to see her Raven harpy design? (she is a raven right?oO).

Also loveedddd her quinceanera party they did. A very Owl House style Cinderella dress complete with that adorable mouse XD. Loved how the Bat Queen has one of her kids going emo/goth?. Was I shocked the magic was returning/glyph wise... no. Not really magic’s not exactly nature. But it makes me think of that Jurassic Park quote “life finds a way”.

Also HUNTLOWWWWWWWWWW!! Haha sorry/not sorry.

That being said did I see anything I wanted done differently or wished could had been changed. Don’t get pissed I LOVED the finale. But I can admit it was rushed. But I’m also noting that I AM NOT blaming Dana Terrace or the crew/staff... who do I blame? YOU DISNEY! I FUCKING BLAME YOU!! AND I WILL CONTINUE TO BLAME YOU UNLESS YOU DO RIGHT BY THE CREATOR/AND STAFF.

Moving onnn... I’m just gonna say what I wish could had been done. Again I do not blame Dana Terrace. I know Disney did her an EXTREME wrong and she was not even given a PROPER third season. Unlike her other tv shows... like Big City Greens.. who got a fourth season and a movie >3>. I know she was crunched for time and was just dealing the hand that was given to her.

So to start....

I’m gonna bite the bullet and I admit the finale instantly made me wanna see ships explored/or finished.

Like Alador’s marriage... we never saw Odalia so I’m gonna assume he divorced her. And its clear the children have nothing to do with her but still wanted some clarity.

Also... was there suppose to be a hint of Darius/Alador.... I dunno. Felt like there was. I’m not against the idea. Could have gone with the flow that they were rivals/with chemistry. Plus heyyy new stepdad for Hunter.

Also... whats Steve’s relationship with Lilith? No not like ship... I think he’s too young(ages aren’t my strongest suit unless clarified better). Was he suppose to be her Luz?oO

Kinda wish The Blight twins could had been explored... would had like to had known Ed’s date who were theyyy...

Also what was Viney/Jerbo’s relationship. I don’t even care if they weren’t dating. Just was dying to know the story of why she was so pissed at him to call him traitor once oO

And hate to be the dummy but did Eda/Raine get married? oO I didn’t see a ring.. or do they do something else for Demon World?

Would Gus had found an love interest? Or Vee? Or Lilith... again I’m biting the bullet ship idea wise. Or were Gus and Lilith suppose to be asexuals? (will get to Vee later)

Wish we could had known MORE about the Coven Heads. We got a little but not much. I don’t even know why Vitmir wanted the throne? I guess I get why with Terra and Adrian dude.

We also don’t know what became of the rest of the Coven

How did Kikimora go from hating the group to putting her feelings aside and helping Lilith?

What became of the Bat Queen and the palisman during Collector’s brief reign. I never saw them turned into toys...also would Luz ever find her owner. Part of me almost wonders if it was originally the Titan(aka King’s dad)

Speaking of which wish he and King could had met.

In addition... IS NO ONE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW A HOOTY THING IS IN HIS EYE?!!Was that suppose to hint he made Hooty? Was Hooty there for him to guard King?

What became of Collector’s family? Are they the reason that Owl curse got spread.... What was that final print in Collector’s book... felt like they avoided that for a reason would it had summoned them? Or caused more harm?

Also why haven’t Eda/Lilith been free of the curse? I assume since Alador is finding a way to undo the draining spell, that means its possible for them to be free as well.

Anything else...

I admit I wanted to know more of what became of Caleb... Yes I know the rumor was Dana Terrace wanted to do a prequel going into his and Philip’s background... but Disney is a moneygrubbing little worm.... so unless they think they’ll make more money out of that.... I’m not holding my breath. Would have liked to know what became of his wife/girlfriend Evelyn? Were fans right is she the ancestor of Eda’s family.

And I’ll address an elephant in the room... Philip himself. I do feel his ending was a bit rushed for the finale. Yes he gave us a fight but his literal end felt... sorry “Starvstheforcesofevil/ Ludo” set. Kinda mooted if you get my drift..... what would I had wanted?

I admit I dunno... Unlike some of the fandom I have mixed feelings with Belos/Philip. On one hand he’s an amazing/ EVIL villain. On the other hand... I don’t have a lot of sympathy for him. I had more for the Collector. Now again this could had been because Terrace had more planned and that was crushed due to Disney. Its just I dunno how to explain it... I did see the possiblity of a “oh redeemable villain” it was done with Andrias from Amphibia... but Andrias had more hesitation even in his actions.... Belos didn’t really have that. We weren’t given a Darth Vader ending where he regrets or we see his “spirit”. And while I do think even if she wanted a prequel... I don’t think she was mincing words with us as fans. When she had King’s father call him out on his behavior. We can see what triggered/pushed him all we want. But at the end of the day, Philip gave up his humanity.

He quit caring, he may have been innocent once. But he threw it away for Christian radicalism, angry that his brother wasn’t following the script, and was willing to commit MASS genocide for it. At most I think those visions of his brother and the golden guards were the closest he had to coming to terms with his past and chose to ignore it. I dunno what I would have liked for his ending... maybe see that his plans would always fail? Maybe see a spirit of Caleb call him out one more time? Or I dunno something other than a simple stomp 8B. I dunno at most all I can say... would have LOVED to see Camila hit him for hurting her child.

Also... I do wish if the series had continued Vee could have been involved more. I feel like from that tarot card reading from Masha. That it wasn’t just aimed at Luz, I feel like the story hinted she would be involved with this story/fight against Belos.

see Vee/Masha end up together. Sorry/not sorry but they felt like role reverse Amity/Luz.

Wish Luz could have made friends with more humans, feel like due to the obvious storyline she wasn’t given a chance to bond with the new kids/or Masha’s camp friends and they felt like they were important. Heck they could have helped her. I think but thats my opinion.

I WANTED A HUNTLOW KISS!!! buttt I’ve learned from anime it isn’t all about the kissing. Just acknowledging can be enough. I think thats why we didn’t see Raeda kiss... or did I miss that?oO

Hmm I think thats it. Again no hate please. Will delete if I do 8B.

I am gonna miss this show and wish we had more. //le sigh//

Again thank you Dana Terrace and the cast/staff of Owl House for making that the best show! I wish we could have had more.

#the owl house spoilers #The Owl House

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banannabethchase · 1 year

Note

That Jeff Goldblum one...how do we think Lucha would react to Nick's thirsting?

1) Watching Jurassic Park and discussing Jeff Goldblum and that specific shirt he wears (we all know the one)

(you are THE WORST for this one HOW DID IT COME TO THIS IT WAS A JOKE)

In His DNA - also on AO3

Luchasaurus, it turns out, is a little jealous of the way Nick is lusting after Jeff Goldblum in That Shirt as they watch Jurassic Park.

You know the funny thing is I technically did this to myself by creating this prompt for Sarah.

Disclaimer: I don't know what Luchasaurus wrote his undergraduate thesis on, and I doubt it was on monastic same-sex intimacy, but mine was on gender presentation and the methods by which gender roles and expectations were subverted both in action and in the literature of the time, so we're pretending he did the same thing for the sake of authenticity.

Tittle from DNA by Little Mix.

It happens first when Jeff Goldblum shows up on the screen in the helicopter, Nick thinks. He shifts in his seat.

"Not into the movie?" Lucha asks, throwing his arm around Nick's shoulders again.

"I am," Nick says, almost too quickly. "Gonna see some of your relatives?"

Lucha laughs, almost darkly, and pulls Nick practically in his lap. Nick expects nudity within seconds, but Lucha turns his face back to the screen, focused. "Not quite," he says with a sigh. He moves Nick around on his lap like he weighs nothing, something that sends an interesting spark down into Nick's dick, but still, Lucha does nothing. Doesn't even try to cop a feel.

So Nick turns back to the screen. Lucha lets out a wistful sigh as the first dinosaur appears. Nick thinks, maybe, he understands it. He felt a similar way the first time he watched The Wrestler.

He squirms again when Jeff Goldblum starts saying, “Life, uh. Finds a way.”

“Jesus,” Lucha growls.

“Are you mad that I find Dr. Malcolm hot?!” Nick asks, incredulous. “Everyone thinks he’s hot!”

“He’s arrogant and his shirt is ridiculous.”

“He’s smart, not arrogant,” Nick says, settling back against Lucha’s chest. “And he looks good. With a chest like that, who wouldn’t show it off.”

“I like your chest,” Lucha says, nuzzling into Nick’s neck. Nick finds himself pulled down against Lucha, nothing but two tee shirts between skin, and he wants to grind down into Lucha’s lap, just a little, just to remind himself of what he might get later, if he’s nice. “And he’s nothing special, my little bird.”

“Oh, come on,” Nick says, because he will not stand for this Dr. Malcolm slander. “He’s the only one standing up to this rich guy! All of his arguments are right.”

"What, you think that's interesting?" Lucha asks. He grabs Nick's thigh and spins him so Nick has his back to the TV, thighs splayed across Luchasaurus' lap. "You like a man with his priorities in order and the guts to say what he means?”

"He's smart and hot," Nick says, trailing a fingertip down Lucha's face, down the mask. "What can I say, I have a type." He's sure to lick his lips, nice and slowly. "Intelligence turns me on."

"Want me to turn you on by talking about the imagery of Ganymede in 16th century monasteries as a representation of male-male intimacy?" Luchasaurus asks. "Or would you rather me talk about the archaeological progress made in the discoveries of dinosaur mating habits." He leans in, bites at Nick's neck.

"I think I know a whole lot about dinosaur mating habits," Nick manages, gasps caught in his throat as Lucha’s hand slides up his neck, circling him like a necklace. “Mm, like – like how some dinosaurs like to fuck their boyfriends over side of the couch.”

Lucha stills. “Boyfriends, huh?”

Nick processes what he’d just said. “Oh. Um.”

“Sure,” Lucha says. “I’ll be your boyfriend,” he laughs a little. “Long as you’ll still call me ‘Daddy’.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Nick says automatically. “Of course.”

Lucha hauls Nick up and throws him on his back onto the couch. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it, little bird,” he growls.

“No, I really do like Jeff -”

Lucha dives down and kisses Nick so hard his brain spins, tongue in his mouth with single-minded determination. Nick keeps his legs hooked around Lucha’s waist, a thrill up his spine as he can feel Lucha’s hard cock rub up against his thigh. “You’re fucking insufferable.”

Nick barely gets a chance to blink before Lucha pulls his shirt off over his head then wraps a hand around Nick’s. He looks up to meet Nick’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Nick says, breathless, “yeah, I hate this shirt.”

Luchasaurus rips the shirt down the middle, and the rush of cold air on Nick’s bare skin is immediately quelled by the raging heat as Luchasaurus presses the two of them together. Nick’s hands fly to his Lucha’s belt and he pulls it out of the loops, pressing the heel of his palm to Luchasaurus’ erection.

Nick grins at the animal sound from Lucha’s lips.

“You be careful, or you’re gonna get more than you’re hoping for,” he says, leaning down and sucking a devastating bruise into Nick’s neck. He arches into it, desperate to connect their bodies in more places.

“Not possible, Daddy,” Nick says with a wink.

Lucha pulls away. Nick’s miserable for a second, then elated as Lucha grabs him by the hips and yanks him off the couch, turning him so he’s half draped over the arm.

“Gonna fuck that attitude right out of you,” Lucha growls. He yanks Nick’s pants down without a warning. “Wait right there. Don’t move.”

“I – what?”

Nick turns his head to see Luchasaurus staring him down. “I said don’t move.”

“S-sorry, Daddy,” Nick stammers, but he does everything he can not to grin. “I’ll be good.”

“I doubt that.”

Nick watches as Luchasaurus leaves the room, and he waits. And waits. It feels like hours, though, logically, he knows it’s no more than a few minutes. He feels vulnerable, jeans down by his ankles, as the anticipation builds. All he wants to do is call out, check in with Luchasaurus.

But Nick was told to be good. And, even if he can’t do it, he’ll try.

Finally, Luchasaurus walks back in the room, looking like a Greek god as he stands, naked, in the doorway. Nick’s mouth begins to water as he gets an eyeful of Lucha’s cock.

“Look at you, little bird,” Lucha says, walking to him slowly. Nick almost feels hunted, like the characters on the screen. “You did as you were told.” He reaches out and slides his hand into Nick’s hair, pulling it back, just a little. “Good boy.”

Nick lets out a wanton moan at that, unable to keep up the act anymore. He wants Lucha and he wants him now, and anything but that might tear him to pieces.

“So pretty,” Lucha says, and Nick feels Lucha’s cock slap against his ass. He wiggles back against it. “Oh, no, that’s not what I want to see right now.” He palms Nick’s ass. “Don’t rush, baby, wait.”

“Please?” Nick whimpers. “I don’t wanna wait.”

Luchasaurus laughs, directly in Nick’s ear. “You don’t want to,” he says, “but you will.”

Nick whimpers again, but he says nothing more, knowing he’ll get what he wants if he just waits. It feels impossible.

There’s a wet, slippery sound, then Nick feels thick, blunt fingers slide between his cheeks, and something damned near relief washes over him as he realizes what’s happening.

“Can I, little bird?” Lucha asks in Nick’s ear. “You don’t know how badly I want to be inside you right now.”

“Yes,” Nick hisses, pressing back against the fingers. “Please, yes. Fuck.”

“Oh,” Lucha says, amused. “You do swear.”

He slides his fingertip along the rim of Nick’s hole, then slowly works Nick open with slow pumps of his hand, adding another finger, then another, all while Nick wails in desperation.

“Please,” Nick gasps. “God, please, fuck me, Lucha, I need it.”

“Who do you want to fuck you?” Luchasaurus asks.

“Daddy, please,” Nick practically sobs.

“Okay,” Lucha murmurs, “because you asked so nicely.”

Nick falls against the couch as Lucha ever so gently pushes his way in, as he finds himself filled in the way he’s been aching for ever since he get to Lucha’s house. “Thank you,” he hears himself saying. He doesn’t mean to, but, then again, he never meant to fuck AEW’s resident dinosaur, but here he is.

“You’re so welcome, baby,” Luchasaurus says.

His thrusts are slow and deliberate, and pick up once Nick gets some of his bearings back, like Lucha knows when Nick needs to be taken apart.

Nick forgets how words work for a while, wanting to speak but not sure how, and sinks into the feeling, into the mind numbing bliss of getting railed into oblivion by – by his boyfriend.

He turns his head to see Jeff Goldblum, sweaty and shirt open, and laughs.

“What’s so funny?”

“Just,” Nick gasps, “Dr. Malcolm looks hot in this scene, you know?”

Lucha gets rougher, harder, slides a hand into Nick’s hair and pulls him back, just enough to get that kind of ache in Nick’s spine. “Yeah? You want him? You wish he was fucking you?”

“No,” Nick says, eyes fluttering shut. “Only – only you, Daddy, only want you.”

“Yeah,” Lucha mutters, gently lowering Nick back down so he can lean on his arms. “Only me.”

Nick’s close already, but the way Luchasaurus gently runs his hand down the middle of his back, a touch so tender it feels like a promise, gets him seconds away so fast it’s dizzying.

“Can – can I, Daddy?” Nick begs. “I need to.”

Luchasaurus pulls Nick’s hips back, pulls Nick so Lucha’s cock sinks so much deeper into him, then wraps a hand around Nick’s cock. Two strokes, that’s all it takes for Nick to come all over the couch with a cry so loud he’d be embarrassed if he wasn’t in heaven.

“Mine,” Luchasaurus growls, and he pulls Nick onto his cock and comes, deep inside Nick. He can feel it filling him up, and he twitches, overstimulated.

“Yours,” Nick promises.

Lucha’s always so gentle as he pulls out, as he scoops Nick up and settles him on the couch. “Hey, little bird,” Lucha says, caressing Nick’s face. “How are you?”

“Great,” Nick says, a little laugh following his words. “So great. I – yeah.” He beams at Luchasaurus. “You’re kinda hot when you’re jealous, you know that?”

“Jesus, you don’t learn, do you.” He leans in and kisses Nick forehead, though, so Nick thinks he’s probably not in trouble.

“Look, Dr. Malcolm is lounging all slutty,” Nick says with a grin.

“You’re insufferable.”

Nick shrugs. “Yeah, you said that already. Do you want to tell me more about that monastery thing?”

Luchasaurus pauses from where he was about to walk into the kitchen, probably to grab Nick a warm towel like always. “You – are you serious?”

Nick nods. “Yeah, that sounds kind of interesting, you know?”

Luchasaurus lights up. “Yeah!” he says. “I wrote my undergraduate these on the same-sex desire present in the architecture and literature around monasteries.”

Thus begins the weirdest pillow talk Nick’s ever experienced. Lucha takes Nick’s hand and walks him to the shower, and washes Nick’s hair with surprising zeal as he says words like Ganymede and Hellenistic and oblation. Nick shuts his eyes, letting it wash over him, and makes affirming noises whenever Luchasaurus pauses.

“I love the enthusiasm,” he mumbles as he starts to feel the exhaustion wash over him, “but I want to remind you I was homeschooled and wrestled instead of college.”

“That’s okay,” Luchasaurus says, pressing a kiss to the top of Nick’s wet and clean head, “thanks for listening.”

“I always like listening to you,” Nick says, and he leans back against Lucha with a giant yawn. “Maybe you can tell it like a bedtime story.”

“Yeah, little bird,” Lucha says, turning him. He leans down and kisses Nick so gently Nick nearly swoons. “I’ll tell it to you like a bedtime story.”

Mini Playlist DNA - Little Mix Animal - The Cab Inside of You - Hoobastank ...and the Jurassic Park Main Title - John Williams

Working titles: Jurassic Pork Life, Uh, Finds a Way Hold Onto (Nick's) Butt!

#Sarah this fic is entirely your goldang fault #sarahcakes613 #LuchasaurNick #Nicrowlas #in which Sara writes #E for a reason people #Fuck almighty wrestlefandom has me writing Daddy kink WHO HAVE I #WHO HAVE I BECOME #wtf i like wrestling now???

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scaryscarecrows · 2 years

Text

Reporter

Elena likes to think she’s pretty prepared for just about anything life throws at her. Well, maybe not the rabid mutant Nazis–what was that, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Bullshit?--but just about anything else. Certainly mundane things like ‘soldiers slaughtering a drug ring to the last man in the jungle’.

But these guys are, as far as she can tell, a PMC. Their uniforms don’t match any army she knows of, and neither does the weird diamond insignia. They came out of nowhere; one minute she and Jeff had been filming quietly from the relative safety of the trees and the next, jeeps had roared into the place and there had been an awful lot of gunfire.

Talk about a story.

It gets weirder, and better still; not only are these guys (probably) hired to wipe out one of the largest drug rings in Brazil, their commander is some crackpot costumed guy that sounds a little like Darth Vader and looks a lot like Gotham’s Bat.

“You’re getting this, right?” she breathes. Jeff, who hasn’t moved an inch since the shooting started, peels his thumb off the camera in what could be a thumbs-up. Excellent.

Vader Bat (ugh, Nate rubbed off on her more than she would have liked, there’s gotta be something better…) and his men are moving through the sea of bodies, clearly checking for survivors. Some tiny part of Elena thinks they should leave, but she tells that part to shut up. If they can get footage of this guy back…

Someone’s still alive. She sees them moving, hand fumbling for a gun, and a second later the man spits, “Go to Hell, bastard.”

Vader Bat turns, head tilted in what might be confusion, and the man on the ground shoots him in the chest. The shot sends him back a few feet but otherwise seems to do nothing but piss him off royally; he strides over, grabs the shooter’s wrist and twists until the SNAP! echoes through the greenery.

“You pathetic dirtbags are all the same,” he snarls, hauling the man up by his neck. “You think you’re so goddamn clever. Lemme tell you something, amigo, I’ve dealt with bigger, scarier and smarter men than you could ever dream of being–”

He freezes, head swiveling in the direction of their hiding place. When the man in his grip won’t stop making gasped sobs of pain, he doesn’t even look down; he just adjusts his grip to the head and snaps his neck before dropping the body back to the dirt.

Who the hell is this guy?

“We’ve got company, gentlemen,” he says, and Elena’s blood runs cold. Surely not, surely it’s someone else, they haven’t moved, they haven’t even breathed too loudly. One of the men shoulders his rifle, kicks a body out of the way and comes over.

“Spread out and find them?”

“No.” Hysterically, Elena flashes back to Jurassic Park. Can’t see you if you don’t move, can’t see you if you don’t move… “I’m looking right at them.”

SHIT!

She gathers her legs under her to run when the man’s suddenly there, gun in one hand as his other rips the camera out of Jeff’s hands.

“Nice camera.” He hands it off to somebody. “Wipe that.”

“Hey!” Okay, so maybe mouthing off to him is a bad idea. She’s done lots of objectively dumb things and lived. “That’s mine, give it back!”

“When it’s clean, sure.”

“We’re not keeping them, sir?”

“Not worth the trouble.”

“Excuse you–”

Somebody laughs.

“What about recruiting?”

“No.” He gestures for them to come out of the trees. “Run, and I’ll make you wish I’d shot you.”

She believes him. Okay, okay. Maybe she can work with this. Clearly he’s got issues, maybe…maybe he wants to talk. To, you know, someone who’s good at listening. With a camera. Or at least a running tape recorder…

“We’re press,” she says, like the badge on her shirt isn’t clear as day. “I’m Elena Fi–”

“Elena Fisher, former host of Uncharted, current journalist, born March 23rd in…Florida. Not surprised.” The mechanical voice sounds almost bored. “Involved in the El Dorado incident–”

“How do you know about that?” She doesn’t mean to blurt that out, it’s just…nobody knows about that. It’s not like they could go and share about the zombie anthrax or anything.

“I have my sources.” The man hands the camera back. “You’re free to go. Turn up again, though, and I’ll have to kill you.” When neither of them move, he fires a sudden shot into the ground near their feet. “Get going!”

They go, Elena cursing the bastard for wiping all of her footage. Try as she might, she can’t find so much as a whisper about him, either, not for three more years. Then he turns up in Gotham and you know what, Elena is all about crazy shit, but not that kind.

Makes sense, though. She’s heard every ‘Florida Man’ joke there is, even made a few herself, but Gotham is just Like That. There’s a reason she went after Lazaravic over the Bat. Gotham’s just not worth the risk.

THE END

#oh god so self-indulgent #YOU CAN'T STOP ME #uncharted #arkhamverse #arkham knight #jason todd #elena fisher #fic #pre arkham knight #the squad is here but this isn't about them exactly #jason the scary militia commander

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cinemaseeker · 2 years

Text

Let's Review: Jurassic World Dominion

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION and JURASSIC PARK (1993)*

Life always finds a way, especially if it's a long-running and long-beloved movie franchise. And both of those things always have to end eventually, despite our best efforts.

Jurassic World: Dominion takes the story started in Jurassic Park to its logical conclusion, crawling determinedly across the finish line and collecting a last place medal (Do they even give out medals for last place? Maybe a participation award would be more appropriate). But at least it finished, and that can be an accomplishment in its own right. And I can guarantee that there will still be plenty of people waiting in the stands, even after all this time, cheering it on.

This latest installment finally gives us a true Jurassic World. Not only are the dinosaurs out of the park, but now they're out in our world, living around us and unbalancing our entire delicate ecosystem. But it's not exactly a post-apocalyptic scenario. Civilization as we know it is still technically up and running, but the main question here is: for how much longer?

The movie shows how humanity has taken various approaches to adapting to this new world order. Some like Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) have taken up dinosaur rights activism and are working to free them from illegal breeding operations. Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) has taken up the cowboy approach, rounding up herds and helping them find safer pastures. Others have used dinosaurs to create a booming black market with the purpose of fulfilling a perverse demand to sell and own these valuable animals (Did this element make anyone else think of Tiger King?). And then there's Biosyn, a company that is working on creating a sanctuary for dinosaurs and promises to use genetic engineering in order to, not make hybrids, but to find cures for genetic diseases. But, big shock, it turns out that they don't exactly have the best of intentions (Just wait until you see what they get up to here; your reaction will most likely be the same as mine: NOPE). Biosyn is led by *SPOILER COMING UP* clever in-joke Lewis Dodgson. And yes, it's that Dodgson, the one from the first movie and the memes.

This time around, Dodgson (Campbell Scott) has gotten the complete 2020s tech villain makeover, which includes a calm Steve Jobs monotone, matching glasses, and casual business attire (with the sleeves rolled up, of course). He's a pretty basic, forgettable bad guy who gets his fitting comeuppance in the end.

This image says it all:

Speaking of bad guys, this movie may make you question who you're supposed to be rooting for: the dinosaurs or the humans. In the first movie it was pretty obvious but now it feels like those lines are getting more and more blurred. On the one hand, yes, dinosaurs are dangerous and should not be left unchecked in the wider world of human civilization, lest they go around eating people, wiping out livestock, and causing all kinds of general mayhem. But on the other hand, the movie does take some time to try and convince us that these are animals and they deserve to live and be protected in the same way that we work to protect endangered species such as tigers. In terms of thematic material, it's not a very deep puddle but it's still a puddle that can hold some water (it kinda evaporates by the third act, albeit not completely).

It's so fascinating to see how movie villains and our notions of who gets labeled as the villain change over time. In a similar vein to how Native Americans were the undisputed villains of cowboy movies (i.e. The Searchers) but have slowly started to become well-rounded protagonists in their own right (shout-out to Reservation Dogs), the velociraptors, who used to be the undisputed villains of Jurassic Park, are now less vilified here and, although not exactly the heroes, they get to be allied with the heroes while still being the wild animals that they are.

There's a fantastic scene early on when *SPOILER COMING UP* we see the velociraptor Blue and her offspring, later named Beta, running around in the snow. The way that they stalk prey reminded me of Bambi going out with his mom in the meadow (thankfully there's no dead mom in this scenario).

Now imagine being able to take the empathy that we traditionally reserve for cute animals like Bambi and his mom

and apply it to velociraptors

Reminder: we've already done it before (Remember that cute baby velociraptor hatching from its egg in Jurassic Park?)

Now it can be tricky to spend too much empathy on something that is actively trying to kill you (which always eventually happens in these movies), but by the end the movie figures out how we could potentially co-exist peacefully with dinosaurs.

Quick side bar: If anyone wants to go off on this movie for being too "woke" for trying to address issues such as climate change and animal rights, this is the part where I remind you that this franchise has been grappling with the moral and ethical repercussions of bringing back dinosaurs since the beginning, so please take your complaints elsewhere.

Now that I've gotten you to start thinking about Ian Malcolm, I feel like now's the best time to mention that this movie sees the triumphant return of the OG Jurassic Park trio of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and of course Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), who keeps it real and gets some of the best lines in the movie. He's the only character who can convincingly pull off a line like "You made a promise to a dinosaur." and make it work.

That's, THAT's the magic of Jeff Goldblum.

The veterans and newcomers work off each other very well here (Claire and Ellie trauma bonding is a particular highlight). But if I could give out an MVP award, I would easily give it to DeWanda Wise's badass pilot Kayla Watts.

Now I was already pretty excited to see that DeWanda Wise was going to be in this movie. I'm gonna pull out my hipster glasses for a second and mention that I liked DeWanda Wise before it was cool, namely from her work on the Netflix series She's Gotta Have It, the criminally underrated TV adaptation of Spike Lee's 1986 film. I did have some reservations, namely that she would only show up for one scene before getting swiftly killed off. Fortunately, not only does she get to live, but she actually gets to be a cool character (with an arc and everything) and play an important part in the plot. I almost wish that there was another sequel coming out, or even a spin-off, just so I can see more of her. Or maybe an Indiana Jones reboot.

I don't know, she's already got the look and the vibe down.

Let's make it happen, people!

This movie definitely steps up in terms of diverse, feminist representation. There are significantly more people of color in prominent roles as both heroes and villains and, as you can see from the poster, there are more women in the main cast. This movie easily passes the Bechdel test (wherein two, preferably named, female characters speak to each other about something other than a man) and is able to achieve gender parity to such an astonishing degree that at one point, I was shocked to see that the female characters actually outnumbered the male characters (this NEVER happens, especially in big sci-fi blockbusters). Plus, I'm happy to report that everyone, male and female, is wearing sensible clothes and appropriate footwear (no high heels here).

If you're interested in reading more about this, check out this article. It was a fun read.

Now with that said, there could always be more WOC and BIPOC characters on screen, and sadly there is still no discernible queer representation to be found here, even though there's one line uttered by Kayla Watts that comes so tantalizingly close, that got me so excited and quietly fist-pumping in my seat over the possibility of seeing a queer woman of color in a Jurassic Park movie:

"I like redheads, too."

This is a line that refers to Claire, who shares several scenes with Kayla and, if you squint, you can sense some potential chemistry going on there. But unfortunately, nothing comes to fruition here.

But come ON, guys! Why would you throw in a line like that if you didn't want me to obsess over it?!?

For anyone looking to read more about this issue, check out this awesome article:

Although I'm glad that no prominent characters get killed off, it does bring up a glaring error with this movie: there is an overabundance of plot armor going around. For those of you who may not be familiar with this term, plot armor is a narrative phenomenon in which main characters are able to survive dangerous situations that no one should be able to survive, specifically because they are main characters, in order to serve the plot. But part of the excitement of the original Jurassic Park was that everyone was in danger and it felt like anyone could get killed at any moment. But I sense that, in a ploy to keep a PG-13 rating, the onscreen violence and chomping is significantly downsized, probably to avoid complaints from parents (God, can you imagine what this movie would've looked like if it had gotten an R rating? I can).

Now with that said, there are some great moments of suspense to be found here. I'll even go under oath and say that they are some of the most nail-biting moments in the franchise since the raptor kitchen scene in Jurassic Park. And *SPOILER COMING UP* both of them involve water. One is when Claire is in the wilderness, crawling military-style through the muck in order to escape the Giganotosaurus and ends up underwater, holding her breath for dear life. The other one involves Owen and Kayla trying to fend off a Pyroraptor whilst navigating across literal thin ice.

If this image is enough to make you want to hold your breath, then clearly someone is doing something right.

Bottom line: This is definitely a popcorn movie that you'll probably enjoy while you're in the theater but you may most likely forget about in a day or two, the same amount of time it would take for your popcorn to pass through your digestive tract. But I'm willing to bet that you still enjoyed that popcorn and therefore have no regrets.

And THAT's chaos theory.

I would like to end this review with a word to the wise from our favorite chaotician Dr. Ian Malcolm:

Thanks for reading!

My Rating: 2.5/5 baby velociraptors

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sleepymarmot · 5 months

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From the Wikipedia page for Ex Machina:

In Science Fiction Film and Television, reviewer Nick Jones says that while the definition of a Turing test given by Caleb—"It's where a human interacts with a computer. And if the human can't tell they're interacting with a computer, the test is passed"—is consistent with the modern popular understanding of how we define true AI, Ex Machina is depicting a test closer to Alan Turing's original proposal, in which the machine passes if it can convince a human it is not just human, but specifically female. Jones says what the film means is that today's digital culture "equates women with machines". Nathan tells Caleb that Ava's face is a composite based on Caleb's pornography preferences gathered while routinely spying on him, and the first practical use Nathan makes of his pioneering human-like machines is to exploit them sexually. Jones contrasts Ex Machina's pessimistic suggestion that AI and robots lead directly to the objectification and sexualization of female (by design) gendered servants of and for emotionally stunted men with the far healthier and compassionate, but still gendered, relationship depicted in Spike Jonze's Her (2013). Jones says we are shown "Ava's whispered unheard words to Kyoko before they murder Nathan" because Ex Machina "asks us imagine what our abused, exploited devices might do if they could start talking amongst themselves." The audience's sympathy for Caleb has been dwindling, and then he "gets his comeuppance", swapping roles with Ava, he now the prisoner and she the free agent offering him no more help than he did Kyoko. [Jones, Nick (2016). "Ex Machina". Science Fiction Film and Television. Liverpool University Press. 9 (2): 299–303. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via Project MUSE.]

The article in question seems interesting.

EDIT: found the article! Direct quotes:

While Ex Machina may hint at the utopianism of global technological communication – its ability to foster cooperation and enrich communal ways of being – it admits in its third act that this is not quite how the Internet is used on a daily basis. Nathan may be working towards artificial intelligence, but he’s also making sex toys: Ava is the latest in a long line of robotic slaves he’s built and imprisoned. The preceding model, mute housemaid Kyoko (Sonoyo Mizuno), pleasures Nathan on command, while other half-built prototypes fill mirrored cupboards in his bedroom, like Bluebeard’s dead wives (or, perhaps more pertinently, like the pieces of female anatomy American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman keeps around the house). This aspect of the film has opened Ex Machina up to feminist critique, depicting as it does the literal objectification of women and equating them with unfathomable artificial beings. However, while any treatise on the creation of artificial life marginalises women – fictions from Frankenstein to Jurassic Park (Spielberg US 1993) simultaneously make procreation a scientific, male pursuit and revel in the apparent dangers of such hubris – Ex Machina explores what might happen to gender relations under such conditions, and indeed what has happened to objectification in an era of cyberculture. The robots here are purely recreational: they cannot bear children, and Ava’s predecessor cannot even speak. Nathan even eventually reveals that he designed Ava’s face based specifically on the kind of Internet pornography Caleb himself watches (‘Hey, if a search engine’s good for anything, right?’ Nathan chuckles). In this way the film admits the misogyny of existing digital culture and extrapolates a chilling vision of emotionally stunted males who need not worry about relating to others since they can always find solace in their computers. Though it equates women with machines (as, in fact, did Alan Turing’s original test), Ex Machina does so in order to critique this equation and how it has been fostered by the masculine culture Nathan and Caleb represent. This, then, is a darker, more pessimistic vision of human–synthetic relationships than Spike Jonze’s mellow Her (US 2013). In its story of the burgeoning love between a divorcé and a sultry-voiced operating system Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), that film presented an ultimately familiar relationship, albeit one with an unorthodox participant. For all the references to Samantha’s immense intelligence, Her envisions the arrival of technological singularity – the point at which machines outrace our capacity to control or understand them, and beyond which pretty much anything is possible – as melancholic but benign: the tool says a compassionate farewell to the hand that formerly grasped it and absconds with hundreds of other tools to an immaterial realm of quantum possibility. Not so in Ex Machina. Ava’s whispered, unheard words to Kyoko before they murder Nathan ask us to imagine what our abused, exploited devices might do if they could start talking amongst themselves. Even our ostensible hero gets his comeuppance, Caleb rudely discovering that Ava was only leading him on so that she could secure her escape. Imprisoned in Nathan’s house at the film’s twist end, Caleb swaps roles with Ava, yet we do not feel much sympathy. Just because he convinced himself that Ava has a soul doesn’t mean his desire to have her for himself was any less base than Nathan’s.

If in Ex Machina’s last moments Ava appropriates traditional emblems of femininity (long hair, a white dress, immaculate skin), at least she does so on her own terms after savagely marginalising the two bullying men in her life. The film’s consistent visual contrast of the coldly artificial and the organically natural – exemplified in the architecture of Nathan’s house and an early close-up of a knife slicing through salmon – remains unresolved. We are acutely aware that Ava is still a machine, and moreover one capable of fierce self-defence. Her escape into the world should prompt us to ask ourselves whether there might already be Avas in our midst, and if so whether they will ever forgive us for how we have treated them.

I also made a Letterboxd list with all of the films mentioned in the review.

#ex machina #spoilers #gender and sexuality #blah blah blah #observation

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ask-hannah-blog · 7 months

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I went to this party last night, and I think some jerk spiked the punch with goof juice!!! HELP!!!

My nose is super big, my eye brows are so bushy, I keep on crossing my eyes if I don't focus on them, and my head feels really foggy...

OH GOD MY FEET PLZ HELP WHYYY MEEE

Yup, sounds like goof juice to me.

The good news if you’re smart enough to write this the night after, you got off pretty easy. Goof juice reacts very quickly and is usually done changing people within an hour. So this is as bad as it’s gonna get unless you get another dose.

Bad news is you’re a goof. At least bimbos have sex appeal to get by. Goof are just intentionally grotesque. They’re a caricature of womanhood and I hate them!

Not you specifically of course, just these losers who can only get a girl by lowering her down to their level.

Oh, right. Advice… well if you have a boyfriend you’re in luck. Goofs have some weird pull on men. So you can get him to massage those big feet in no time. You guys are going to be great!

If you don’t have a man then you might want to find your mommy.

What’s a mommy? So glad I get to explain this again!

Goof juice was made in a lab. That’s where the powder comes from. But it’s grown so out of control because it can reproduce in the wild like the dinosaurs from Jurassic park! If a goof gets pregnant instead of a baby she swells up with goof juice. Women who drink the juice becomes goofs that resemble this new matriarch. She become The Mommy of all the goof that spawn from their juice, making them smarter and more dominant. Goofs who serve their mommy report satisfaction with their life, grotesque and demeaning as it might be.

That’s all assuming you get worse. You seem pretty well of right now. You came here you’re speaking in full sentences, so that’s hopefully. The head fuzziness does clear after a few weeks. It’s possible they only had enough for a single dose, and poured it into the punch bowel. So you might have a very mild case.

I’d say go about a normal day, and see how your routine is different now. Can you wake up in the same way, has anything affected your hygiene regimen, can you get dressed? Do you need new shoes? Can you make yourself breakfast? Do you remember your passwords, do you know where you kept them?

Keep notes of EVERYTHING That’s changed, and start making plans on how to compensate for if. Give yourself five more minutes a day to tweeze your eyebrows, find new shoes. If you’ve forgotten something about your life see if a friend or loved one can fill it in.

Stabilize yourself first. Then think about getting treatment.

Also file a report and ask other people at the party if they’ve noticed changes too. Other women might be going through this too.

But BE CAREFUL. If a group of goofs hangs out enough one of the will spontaneously become the group Mommy, and that’s going to change everything for you if you fall into their orbit.

So talk to others for support but resist the goof urge to have a gal’s night!

Of course despite my outrage for you, you’re still a person. Despite the juice’s best efforts, you’re a person. Fight for that. Don’t let the change isolate you from your support group. Let your family and friends know what happened to you, tell them you’re scared, tell them what you’re afraid of.

This biggest cause of identity death in transformation victims is loss of their support group. So stay connected, and that will go a long way in keeping you connected.

Ms.Hannah

#goofjuice #transformation #mind control #feet #hypnosis #ask blog

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rakumel · 9 months

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Raku Plays Her Faves, Ys VIII, Chapter 4: Badly Abridged

Let’s see if I can squish Chapter 4 into a single post. On one hand, it’s a lot shorter than I remember. On the other hand, I generally can’t shut up when talking about this game.

Also: major end of Chapter 4 spoilers at the end of this post.

Hummel shows back up and joins the party permanently.

From the summit they can see some ruins and a massive tree, but no clear way to get to said ruins. Still, turning back’s not an option, so down the other side of the mountain they go.

They camp for the night at the foot of the mountain. Adol fesses up about his highly detailed dreams, where he’s actually experiencing things as Dana, not just seeing her.

The group doesn’t know what to make of that, but they stay supportive. I’m 99 percent sure no one at Falcom meant it this way, but in my dumbass imagination, I can’t help but wonder if at least one person in the party wondered that night if Adol was trying to come out as genderfluid. I don’t know about y’all, but I’d buy every Ys game made until the end of time if they were bold enough to do that.

He has another very vivid dream that night, where we play as Dana again in the royal capital of Aegias. It’s fuckin’ ornate and gorgeous, and none of the way too many touristy-style screencaps I took can do it justice.

If you saw the title The Lost World and immediately thought of the Jurassic Park movies, you’re not alone. In the screenshot you can kind of see the ruins in the distance, but to get there, they’ve got to cross these plains full of Primordials, most of which will stomp your party flat if you try to pick a fight with them at this point.

If you love the found family trope, you’re in for a treat in this camping scene that takes place after they’ve crossed the plains, but just before they get to the ruins. Ricotta’s always wanted a family like the ones she saw in the books she and her dad collected, and with this group, she feels like she’s finally getting her wish. And everyone else is all, “Heck yeah, we’ll be your family.”

This isn’t a major plot point or anything, but I shared it anyway because it gave me both the warm fuzzies AND the happy sniffles.

Back in the past, Dana sees - through Adol’s experience - that he and his group have made it to some ruins, but a big chasm’s keeping them from actually entering them. Also, oh shit - she recognizes the ruins as what’s left of Aegias. Apparently something happened between her time and Adol’s that destroyed the capital city.

Remember back in Chapter 3 where Dana planted a sapling in the past that grew into a big-ass tree in the present, allowing Adol’s party to cross a canyon and get to the mountain where they couldn’t before? She basically does the same thing here.

Back to the present day, and....

After exploring the ruins a bit, they finally find Thanatos Beldine (kind of...more like he finds them) and turns out he’s both older and goofier than they imagined. He’d been captured by a flying Primordial, but managed to barely escape with his life. Unfortunately, it left him stuck on the wrong side of the mountain. But at least now Ricotta’s finally reunited with her adopted dad :)

Speaking of goofy, the story’s been told very well and very sensibly so far. So even though this part’s a stretch, I’d say they earned the right to have a little silliness. As a treat.

So turns out the reason Hummel came with the party this time was to deliver a suitcase to Thanatos. And its contents turned out to be...seriously, y’all might want to sit down for this if you’re not already...a jar of pickles and blueprints for a ship. And the reason Thanatos got those things was because, on a whim, he wrote that request down on a note and put it in a bottle, then threw it out to sea. And Hummel found it, and apparently that’s good enough to count as a contract.

(Yes, I have many, MANY questions about all of that.)

But yes, Hummel’s been walking around with blueprints for a ship this entire time. God damn it. (For the record, he also canned the pickles, and according to Thanatos, they were damned good.)

To Mr. Beldine’s credit, he generously gives Adol the ship blueprints to take back to Castaway Village so that everyone, himself included, can get off the island. Once they take care of the giant squid problem, of course.

So. MAJOR SPOILER TIME.

But first, I’m posting two images of really big fish catches, because a) I want to give you ample time to turn back if you don’t want to see the spoilers and b) damn it I nearly killed my thumb again trying to reel these big stupid scaly bastards in, so I’m showing them off.

(Wait...464.1 cm? You’re telling me Sahad landed a fish that’s over 15 fuckin’ feet long with only a homemade fishing rod??? God DAMN)

Er...anyway. Once again, major spoilers for the game and the end of Chapter 4 ahead. Everyone still here, you ready?

So Thanatos mentions to Adol that there’s a temple in the ruins, at the foot of that massive tree they saw way back on top of the mountain, that he should check out. But, there’s yet another gap in the ruins they can’t cross. So there’s yet another trip back to Dana in the past, who plants another sapling near the temple. (Dana does a lot more besides that; I’m glossing over so much exposition and shit here, it ain’t funny.)

So once again, plot tree to the rescue. After making their way through the temple and fighting off all the monsters that have taken up residence in it over the years, guess what Adol and company find?

Another tree! No, wait...something’s in the tree.

Did I say something? I meant someone.

Holy balls, IT’S DANA. Like...really, actually, physically there.

She wakes up and recognizes Adol, but can’t remember why she was in the tree, or how she got that red tattoo-like mark on her shoulder. Dana’s still groggy, which is understandable for someone who’s been asleep for god knows how many years, and hasn’t had anything to eat since. The party quickly agrees to take her back to Castaway Village, and that’s where the chapter ends.

Well...huh. Damn.

I’ll admit that characters having amnesia in games like this isn’t exactly breaking new ground storywise. BUT, I still love the breadcrumb way Ys VIII tells its story. Mysteries arise, then get solved, but the act of solving them opens up more mysteries, advances more of the story, reveals more about its characters. Even sidequests that in other games would be wholly separate and self-contained contribute to the story.

For example, there have been notes left behind on pirate skeletons that we’ve been finding since way the hell back in Chapter 1. We get a full explanation of those in Chapter 5, PLUS a thing at the end of the pirate story that’s necessary to the main story.

And, jar of pickles with ship blueprints aside, none of it feels unnatural. None of it feels too rushed or too slow. None of it feels like filler. Even the optional quests you do for the characters don’t feel pointless or like a waste of time. Since Adol’s the main character we’re meant to project onto, he unfortunately remains mostly a blank slate, but almost everyone else? Feels as multi-layered as actual people.

Considering we’re now up to over 20 characters, that’s fucking amazing to me. And there’s still a few more of ‘em to come. Aaaaand by the way, we’re not done with past Dana, even though she’s been found in the present. Yep, Dana’s such a badass that she continues to solve mysteries while existing in two different timelines.

This game, y’all.

#ys viii #lacrimosa of dana #ys viii spoilers #raku plays her faves #raku plays her faves: ys viii #I'm skipping over so much stuff and I don't like it -_-#I didn't even get to talk about gladiator grandma :(#or any of the stuff going on in Dana's side of the story #but eh...just gotta be more careful with the screencaps next time #I've made it to the beginning of Chapter 6 btw #and it's going to be insanely difficult to discuss without spoiling the game #in fact it's probably impossible #so the next few posts won't focus on the story so much

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