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kagesdumpsterfire · 10 months

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I DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO THE COFFEE THEORY! I can't. I HATE IT!

SPOILERS AHEAD, obviously.

Listen, I get it. I understand those of you that do. You need there to be a reason. Some explanation why Aziraphale would abandon Crowley for Heaven. Some reason that he would listen to Metatron. Why he would still (after everything they've been through and everything they've seen) believe Heaven is good. You need to have a reason to believe that Aziraphale wouldn't do that to the demon he is so obviously in love with.

You have made excellent arguments. You have used evidence to explain your point. You have done a great job making sure that your argument makes sense. And I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. You want so badly for there to be a reason that Aziraphale broke Crowley as he did. And there is, but coffee just isn't it. At least not in my opinion.

The reason is right there, in front of us all. It has been since the very beginning.

Let's take a look at Crowley. When he was an angel he was a very powerful one. (which is another bundle of theories entirely) He helped design the plans for the universe. Presumably, he spent the vast majority of his time doing so. He poured his heart and soul into creating something he believed was worth something. Look how excited he was to finally roll his project out. He was an artist admiring his work, watching it come to life, filled with glee at the thought of watching it grow and expand over millions of years, only to be told it was all for nothing. The thing he had spent his entire existence working on was going to be wiped out in less than a fraction of the time it was supposed to last. The thing he had put so much love into, was only created for someone else to destroy.

Imagine Dali being comissioned for a master peice and putting his all into it only for the buyer to paint over it because they didn't like that the clocks were melted. Imagine someone taking a Van Gogh and painting it to look more realistic because they weren't a fan of the colors. It was like that for him. So he asked questions. He wanted to know why and was rewarded by being tossed out of the only home he had ever known, doomed to dwell in a place that was the complete opposite. All because he didn't want to see his hard work, this thing of magnificent beauty, destroyed.

Crowley never belonged in Hell. That much is obvious. He was such a beautiful and joyful creature and now, he is a demon. And he's bitter. He has every right to be. And he's lonely. He doesn't like the demons anymore than he liked the thought of his work being wasted, but he is forced to dwell among them so he does what he can to make it as easy for him as possible, as long as it doesn't conflict with his morals. And he is so very lonely. He has no one. Except...

Except for the angel that helped him prime the engines for his creation. The angel that experienced the birth of his work. The angel that tried to advise him to keep himself safe. He found that angel again at the Eastern Gate of Eden. He learned that angel had committed a tiny act of rebellion of his own. Because he felt something wasn't right. And suddenly, Crowley was less lonely. He had found someone, still in Heaven, who also seemed to realize that not everthing the Almighty chose to do seemed to be right. Someone whose morals seemed to match his own.

He never wanted to make that angel fall as he had. He would never force someone to suffer the same fate he had suffered. He just wanted someone who understood him. Because he was lonely, and having Azriraphale understand him made him less so. He tried his best to show the Angel that not everything was black and white, and the angel seemed to understand that as well, no matter how much he denied it. How couldn't Crowley fall in love with him?

Crowley said it himself so many times. Aziraphale was his best friend. His only friend. The only being in existence that understood him. That really knew who he was. He had found someone to be at his side; on his side. So it became a balancing act. Keeping the angel happy and on his side and keeping Hell happy to keep himself alive. And he managed. For over 6000 years. Until the apocalypse threatened to destroy that balance. See for Crowley, I dont really think it was about saving humanity. Not entirely. He had obviously learned to love humanity over the years, but it was more than that. If the apocalypse happened, if humanity was wiped out, if he managed to survive the war between Heaven and Hell, then he would be well and truly alone. There would be no more reason for him to meet with the angel. The only thing that made his exile bearable. He would no longer have his best friend. His only friend. He would just be alone. Forever. And after that, what would be the point?

We saw evidence of him feeling this way when he thought Aziraphale had died in the bookshop. He didn't try to keep looking for Adam. He didn't try to keep fighting the end of the world. He didn't even try taking off to another planet. He just sat in a pub and got drunk, lamenting his fall. It wasn't until Azriraphale showed back up that he sprung back into action. He was ready to give up again until Aziraphale threatened to never talk to him again. Not kill him, but leave him alone. And he does what he can to fix it. He helps save the world to save his friendship with Aziraphale. He goes back to Heaven to save Aziraphale.

And when they win he finds happiness. He doesn't have to perform the balancing act anymore. Sure, he's obviously bored, but he's content. He has no home; no Hell. All he has is his car, a few plants, and his angel. And he is content. Until Gabriel shows up.

Gabriel upsets his balance. His presence threatens his perfect little world where it is just Crowley and Aziraphale, alone, together. Gabriel told Aziraphale to shut up and die. He wants him as far away from them as possible, lest his world be upended again. And he's mad at Aziraphale for not realizing that. So he storms out. He wants to let the angel deal with it himself, until he learns that could mean Aziraphale being erased from existence entirely. That means not only would Crowley be alone from that point on, but he would have been alone forever. So he goes back. He agrees to help. He does whatever the angel says to get rid of Gabriel. He can't stand the thought of losing Aziraphale forever; of Aziraphale never existing at all. And he learns it's because he's in love. The lady at the coffee shop is right.

And he returns to Heaven again to save Aziraphale. He does everything he can to restore their balance. He helps the supreme archangel of heaven run off with the archduke of Hell. He wins. They win. He resolves to finally tell Aziraphale how he really feels. And in walks the metatron. A minor bump in the road he thinks. Until Aziraphale returns.

Then, there is his angel, the being he fought for, the being he loves more than anything in all of existence, telling him everything he had worked for, was for nothing. The angel wants him to return to the beings who made his life hell; literally. There is his angel, telling him he's a bad guy, but he can be better. There is his angel, proving that he never actually understood Crowley at all. There is his angel, destroying everything he spent his existence working for.

Still, Crowley begs the angel to stay, at the bookshop; with him. He tells the angel how he feels and Azriraphale tells him that nothing lasts forever. From his point of view, Aziraphale is asking him to change who he is. To change what he belives. He makes a desperate effort to show the angel how much the little world he's worked so hard to make for them really means to him, and he's told, with three little words ("I forgive you"), that that world isn't good enough for Aziraphale. Everything he thought he knew, was wrong. Everything he had worked for, was once again, for nothing

The demon Crowley is broken.

Now let's look at Aziraphale:

He's an angel who watched the birth of a nebula. He got to witness the Joy it brought to Crowley to watch something he made come to life. He got to witness the other's excitement. He got to see Crowley in his purest form. And it was beautiful, but the angel he knew was dangerous. The angel he knew was asking questions. Something about that seemed wrong, but also not. And then, the angel he knew was gone. In that angel's place was a serpent; a demon. A foul creature who tried to thwart the will of God. Aziraphale knows he should despise him, but he can't, because despite being a demon, he is still kind. When Azriraphale was worried that he had done the wrong thing giving the first humans his sword, it was Crowley that alleviated that fear. When the flood was upon them, it was Crowley who lamented the death of all the worlds children. There were still glimpses of the angel he once was underneath. That creative, joyful, dangerous angel. But he was a demon now. And he was even more dangerous as a demon. More dangerous, because his questions about the way things were, still made sense.

The trials of Job, is when Azriraphale began questioning everything. There was Heaven, determined to let Hell destroy the life of a truly good man and the only being trying to save what little Job had left was the creature that Hell had sent to do their bidding. Crowley. There was Crowley showing more compassion for animals and children than actual angels. There was Crowley, showing him the wonders of humanity (through food) and all they had to offer. And he tempted Aziraphale. And he won. And when Aziraphale was sure that his lie to save Job's children would land him in Hell, there was Crowley, promising he would never tell anyone what he had done.

It was confusing for him. They stood side by side for millennia and he watched, time and time again, as Crowley the demon went out of his way, putting his very existence on the line to help others. To save them. He listened for centuries as the demon pointed out flaws in Heaven's plans. He knew every point to be correct and that was terrifying. Because that way of thinking was exactly how Crowley became a demon in the first place. That's how Crowley ended up being so lonely.

Unlike Crowley, Aziraphale was never truly alone. He may not have always agreed with the other angels, but he always had them. He always had someone to report to, someone to give orders and some place to call home. Even though he chose to stay on Earth, he never knew what it was like to be seperated from heaven. He also never knew what it would be like to be seperated from Crowley, the devil on his shoulder. No matter how much he hated to admit it, they had become friends. As long as Heaven never found out, Azriphale got to spend his existence having his cake and eating it too.

Until the apocalypse came. He was faced with a moral dilemma. He had grown to love the world and all that it offered, Crowley included. He knew it was wrong to go against Heaven, but he had the whispers of a demon in his ear for centuries; a demon who made a frightening amount of sense. He wasn't prepared to lose everything the world had to offer and he certainly didn't want to live a life where he only got to have a third of what he had his entire existence. So he fought against it. He fought against the apocalypse and won. And was rewarded with being exiled from Heaven.

For the first time in his whole life, Aziraphale got to experience a small portion of what Crowley had lived with forever. And it was sad. It was a little bit lonely. He had saved humanity and got to preserve his relationship with Crowley, but he was cut off from something he had had even before he had either of those things. That obviously stung. He was still an angel, but what is an angel without heaven? There were no assignments, no miracles to perform. Just existence. He was without purpose.

And then Gabriel came along, lost, confused, and in need of help. He had a purpose again. Even better if he could get Crowley on his side, because he knew the demon must be feeling listless as well. Not only that, but because through all of time and everything else, Crowley had been his anchor. His ground. He knew the demon wouldn't like helping another angel, but the demon loved to help him. And so he did. He knew Crowley would, because if he had learned anything from their time together, it's that Crowley is good.

He gets to spend time with his demon and help a fellow Angel. Who is in love with a demon. And isn't afraid to admit it. And that's new. He wasn't aware that was allowed. It wasn't, but there was Gabriel and Beelzebub turning against Heaven and Hell for each other. There was The Supreme Archangel andthe Grand Duke of Hell running away together as Crowley had offered for them to do so many times before; because they were in love. Heaven and Hell be damnd. It was possible.

And then there was the Metatron, offering him a place in Heaven again. Not only that, but offering him a High ranking position. Offering him Crowley at his side, in Heaven, where he knew the demon had always belonged. Because Crowley was good. And Heaven could be good. He could make changes. He could take Crowley's thoughts about how things should run and make them reality. They could fix things for Humanity and rebuild Heaven's opperations to how THEY belived it should be. He could have back everything he lost and MORE.

And there is Crowley spitting in his face. There is Crowley telling him he doesn't want Heaven back. There is Crowley not wanting to do what he has always done anyway (fighting for good) this time on the right side. There is Crowley begging him to stay and give up a peice of himself that he never truly let go of. But also...

Crowley is saying that he wants to be with him. Crowley is comparing their relationship to Gabriel and Beelzebub. Crowley is telling the Aziraphale that they don't need anything but each other. He agrees that they need each other. He needs Crowley, but he wants Heaven and humanity too. And he begs to have it all. And there is Crowley, tempting him again with something that humanity has offered. A kiss.

("I forgive you" ) he forgives Crowley for all of it. For the anger and anguish he has caused with his temptation. He forgives Crowley for walking away. He always forgives Crowley.

But he is still angry. He is angry enough to leave, but it is not without doubt. He wants to stay more than ever before, but he is as he has always been; an angel of duty. He second guesses himself when he hears that Heaven has the second coming planned, and he glances across the street to see Crowley, waiting for him to change his mind, but what Crowley wants is unfair. What Crowley did was unfair. But Crowley deserves to live in a world where Heaven does the right thing for once. And so he gets on the elevator.

Whether it is to help or hinder Heaven's plan is left unclear.

See, for the coffee theory to work, you have to ignore something about Aziraphale that neither he nor Crowley will admit. Aziraphale is downright sinful.

Aziraphale is greedy.

Aziraphale is gluttonous.

Aziraphale is envious.

Aziraphale is wrathful.

And Aziraphale is prideful.

But he is also full of slef doubt. And that is Crowley's fault.

Because Crowley is a voice of reason from the unlikeliest source.

Crowley is temptation for answers that no one knows the question to.

Crowely is selflessness wrapped in a snake's skin.

Crowley is goodness in the form of evil

Crowley is kind, against his very nature

Crowley is the only reason he ever began to question what was wrong and what was right.

For the coffee theory to work, you have to take away the fact that both Crowley and Aziraphale are complicated characters.

Of course Crowley wouldn't choose to go back to Hell. He hates Hell. Hell is cluttered and full of hateful creatures that want to end Humanity.

Of course Crowley wouldn't choose to go back to Heaven. He hates Heaven. Its bureaucratic and boring and full of self-righteous creatures that want to destroy humanity.

Crowley has seen both sides of the coin and that's why he chooses to stand on the edge.

But Aziraphale hasn't. He's seen what hell has done to Crowley. He's seen what they did to that once Joyous and Creative angel he knew. He sees that Heaven made a mistake. Several mistakes. And he is offered a chance to fix it.

Of course Aziraphale would jump at the chance to fix the type of mistakes that caused Crowley such suffering. Even if it means losing him. Because Crowley deserves, at the very least, that. He deserves better. And Aziraphale has the chance to give it to him.

For the coffee theory to work, you have to ignore the fact that Aziraphale would risk everything for Crowley, including the demon himself, just as the demon has done for him.

Anyway, that got a lot longer than intended, but that's why I hate the coffee theory. It takes away too much from the characters. It's too simple and uninteresting. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong but I would be super disappointed if they went that route. It takes away from who Crowley and Aziraphale are as characters.

Sorry for the rant and thanks for reading.

#good omens #spoilers #ineffable husbands #good omens 2 #coffee theory #not defending Aziraphale btw #still mad at him #but i understand #i still want the apology dance #dear sweet lord the amount of times my phone refused to let me spell Aziraphale correctly 🤦‍♀️

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dana-chan-the-control-brain · 3 years

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Thoughts on, Invader Zim Quarterly: Holiday Special

WEEEE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY WE WISH YOU A MERRY JINGLY!

Ahhhhh It’s out! I’m so excited!

But I always get excited when it has my man Membrane and my man Eric Trueheart involved with the comics.

Also santa.. Tbh, I was excited and nervous about this quarterly.

Excited because it has Membrane santa backstory...

But I was nervous because that it means they might bring back the santa-blob monster from the Holiday special on the TV... and The Christmas special is one of my least favorite IZ episodes... I mean... I rewatch it occasionally, and it’s fun, but I’m just kinda used to IZ having more BITE in it’s satire if you know what I mean? The Christmas Special in the IZ universe doesn’t really say anything about the capitalism of Christmas... it’s not like IZ hasn’t made fun of capitalism before. (that’s the whole show) The Christmas Special in the show just kinda fell flat of my expectations of what an Invader Zim episode should be....

The only thing I respect the Holiday Special for, is that it goes down the “Santa isn’t real” route in a kid’s show and sticks to it. (there’s no “real santa” that shows up and “solves everything”) All of the “Santa’s Helpers” confused the Santa mythos with the Christianity Jesus mythos. (”waiting one day for his return”) Which makes sense, since IZ is like dystopian future Suburbia Hell. I just kinda like that there’s no “real santa” that interfered to “fix everything” and that Zim himself ended up CREATING Santa when he didn’t exist previously. Like I find that kinda cool...

Other then that, I just kinda wanted something else from the Hoilday special then what I got. (It taking priority over scrapped episodes like “the trail” and “Ten minutes to doom” and “mopiness of doom” does not help it’s case in being one of my C-tier episodes...)

So maybe this quarterly will fill the void of what I wanted out of a Holiday special? Well, let’s see.

SPOILERS FOR THE QUARTERLY BELOW THE CUT

Ways to get Dana off-board immediately: Monster Santa is canon.

I always never liked to view the special as canon for ways that it fell flat before.

And I had the excuse of saying that the snowman was an unreliable narrator and I could adapt it down the line in my fic as a different story.

I just didn’t like the idea of Monster-horror-blob santa... Like... Cool design... but he just kinda represents everything I disliked about the special... (including the major inconsistency of when Tak’s ship got fixed...)

But then again.. I need to remember IZ’s lore isn’t as consistent as I think it is sometimes...

Okay, fine. Monster blob santa real... what else you got for me, Holiday special?

FACE HUGGER SANTA! FACE HUGGER SANTA! I AM NOT INTO IT!

WHAT?! WHAT?! WHAT?! NO. DANA HATES THIS!

Okay, kinda into it because this means that ZIM CREATED SANTA in this mythos... I am dying.... wait.. this takes place in the future then...soo...?

haoFhaGHAOhfgg

It was all a dream?!

GOOD.

my heart couldn’t take it if horror-santa was real...

Also... that nightcap and bed... Does this mean we’re going to have an Invader Zim Christmas Carol?!?!?! I know that’s been adapted a schmillion times but I would be so into that....

Also... Flying... hamm...

Good ol’ Zim... Repressing those memories...

Also this being the THIRD ETF reference in a quarterly, It can be very safe to say the Quarterly issues take place after the events of ETF.

Clembrane exists in the Quarterly, Membrane has robot arms, Zim remembers this (kinda) Yeah this is definately ETF verse and it’s here to stay.

Christmas Carol?! I’m down for this... and I can’t help but notice their claws look familiar

OH HOLY HELL I WAS RIGHT! THESE GUYS! I LOVE THESE GUYS?!

Why are you here tho?

I’m a bit lost on why these guys wanta take over the earth, but they’re hilarious so I’m just glad they’re here.

Also... The Christmas Special is Schrodinger's Christmas... did it happen, or was it a dream, or the tales of a lunatic snowman... I guess I’ll never know.

The issue goes on for an IZ Christmas Carol parody (heck yea) and the visions are all hilarious and I’m not gonna spoil them here... but...

Eric.... this is terrifying..........thanks I hate it.

TINY DIB THOUGH! GHAOGHAHGAHAHA

THIS IS GREAT

THE MORE DIB SUFFERS THE MORE I LOVE IT!

“Though I am Dib and sickly father”

I’m dying XDDDDD

Also... What the fuck is Zim’s reaction here...

I find it funny that Zim has put Dib into simulated realities before... (in the show and comics) and in the show, Dib is all powerful and in the comics, Dib is just himself and Zim is his brother..

But seeing a simulated Dib all weak and pathetic and chronically ill BOTHERS ZIM?!?!

That’s... well that’s interesting.

Thought he’d laugh at this honestly, but he seems greatly annoyed...

I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE BEST THING!

(those who know me know why I’m dying over this)

YES!!!

ZIM DOESN’T LIKE WHEN PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR HIM OR PITY HIM!

(which confirms like a lot of my hcs and adds spicy kindling to my au much mad respect)

This I find interesting... Zim complepative over his lonely/abandoned grave. It’s like he really doesn’t know how to feel. It’s more of a numbness then a sadness. Or he noticed how empty his life is...

He feels lonely and empty about it... which tracks considering how Zim’s greatest fear in the Trial was to be deleted and never be remembered by anyone.

I don’t know... This panel makes me feel things...

Johnen: Haha. Zim’s not that deep a character.

Eric: Hey for the Christmas special, let’s have Zim parody a Christmas carol and feel lonely staring at his own empty grave when he realizes no one cares about him or misses him.

Johnen: Cool. Do it.

What are you two assholes doing to me, man?! I have feelings!

AND ONCE AGAIN!

Zim hates pity and people feeling bad and sorry for him.

Man this makes me so sad... And it really feels like this issue looked into my brain again, cause I have some plans relating to Zim not wanting sympathy or pity from anyone later down the line (okay I’ll shut up about my au. We’re talking Zim here)

And of course, Zim breaks everything like he usually does. (this time on purpose)

Also nice callback that Zim remembered that Dib said he liked his boots one time in the Poop-wizard issue.

Also, it ends? I guess this quarterly has a few shorter stories this time... which I’m fine with.

Also, Zim should consider Green and Blue like D-list friends at this point and just invite them in for some fundip or something (come on, Zim, it’s Christmas.....)

GASP!?!?!

LITTLE MEMBRANE!!!

AND GRANDPARENTS CONFIRMED!!!

Wait... so his Parents are scientists too? Is that why he always wanted to be a scientist?

But then wait.... If Membrane inherited Membrane Labs from his parents... Why is HIS FACE the brand of the Company?..... There’s so much Membrane-face brand merch in the show. (it decorates his home..)

Like even if they were dead, if his parents founded Membrane labs, I feel they’d still be the face. of the company... (that’s how a lot of corporate faces are these days... they show some old dead guy who made the company as opposed to the son who inherited the Company.... Like everyone knows who Walt Disney/Mickey Mouse is, but unless you pay close attention to that kinda thing, not everyone knows who the current chairman or CEO is in the modern age....)

I just find that a bit odd.

Anyways... I feel people can still do what they want with Membrane’s parents and get away with it. I’m not changing my “his parents were farmers” headcanon. Sorry comic..

BUT I LOVE THEIR DESIGNS.

I love how Membrane looks a lot like his mother, and his father is just BUFF GAZ with a pipe.... Truely legends.

GASP!!!

COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE COLLEGEBRANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOOKOUT DIB, THIS IS YOUR FUTURE!

I FUCKING LOVE HOW OILY HE LOOKS.. AND IT ADDS UP CAUSE...

The Membrane Men when they don’t shower or bathe in months.....

Someone help these two.

(thank god Membrane got better at personal hygiene.)

Also Teenbrane STILL has his human arms and not his robo-arms.

This means he loses his arms later in life... YUSH HORRAY FOR HEADCANNONS BEING VALIDATED!

He didn’t lose his arms in a shark accident when he was a KID! It happened WAY LATER!

NICE!

OH MY GOD HE IS BABY!

HE IS SO SHY AND ACKWARD! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

I LOVE HIM!

He is just... all sweat and hiding his work but also very passionate and spiteful.

Like you can see who he grew up to become, and you can also see how a kid like Dib came out of a man like him...

But I love social anxiety awkward early twenties/late teens Membrane... He is a baby!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

MEMBRANE ;w;

Basically, Membrane knows that Santa isn’t real, but he doesn’t want to be mad at his parents so he harbors a grudge on Santa instead... THAT’S SO SWEET I’M CRYING TTmTT

LIKE THAT IS SO SWEET AND I’M CRYING!

(also I love how me and Ceph understand Membrane’s character too well that the gesture he does in the 2nd panel here are reminisant of our fic so many times... Like we have his mannerisms down and I love when the mask slips from Membrane and we get to see a real person... augh soo good)

WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO MAKE MY MAN THIS SAD?! ONLY I CAN MAKE HIM SAD!

MEMBRANE TTMTT

AUUUGHH

Also probably guessing the parents are dead... I’m just laughing at their designs...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Yes you are, Professor Membrane... Don’t let anyone tell you different. (actually, please do) Well, I mean, At least you’re trying and get progressively better.

(also... this probably means everytime Dib has asked his Dad for a dangerous weapon to fight Zim with, Membrane just gives it to him no questions asked and I’m doing a MAJOR concern about this man’s parenting skills... get help please good sir!)

Also, Dib really saved the day again here (like he did in Dib’s big day)

Dib called about destroying santa when Membrane was in one of his lowest points... He hides it really well... Especially from his children..

Ah.. I loved that one.

But I’m a huge Membrane Simp though.

I did find the stuff about Membrane’s parents a little weird... like I said regarding how Membrane’s face is the brand of Membrane labs...

Could be true that they were other scientists and that Membrane founded Membrane labs later... but that seems highly unlikely...

Also... Why does the house look that hug when in the christmas special, it looked kinda like...well... just not that, and kinda more humble from the interior and not some big rocket lab...

So yeah... AMAZING character building for Membrane (which I eat up)

Hilarious Grandparent Designs. But I still prefer @esthyradler ‘s Grandparents. The superior Grandparents.

Anyways... The Quarterly was GREAT!

I kinda find it funny the Zim story is the weaker one of the two again... But I honestly blame the Christmas Horror blob connection and the Christmas Carol parody.

Or maybe my Membrane Bias is clouding my mind here. I do have Zim bias but sometimes Zim can frustrate me. There’s just so many times Zim can do and say the same things you know? Zim is my baby, but sometimes his denial and annoyance with everyone can be very predictable at points. Zim was just way more fun in the last quarterly than this one.

With Membrane it’s more of a blank slate what to do with him cause he ony started really mattering as a character since ETF. Yes, I do love show Membrane, but I admit he wasn’t exactly a character then. More of a presence and excuse for why Dib had access to lab equipment. With Dib’s Dilemma and this Hoilday special, the Quarterly folks seem determined to turn him into a fully realized character with the rest of the cast and I’m extremely excited to hear that!

(Computer issue/backstory WHEN?!)

I don’t really have ratings or systems for these but hope you liked my thoughts.

Merry Christmas everyone.

#Invader Zim #invader zim quarterly #IZ comics #IZ comics Spoilers #danachan's rants #Professor Membrane

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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I really like this blog, your analysis and ideas for Superman and his characters was great to read! I hope you don't mind, may I ask what do you think about Hank Henshaw? Do you have any ideas for him?

I think he needs to be radically changed in order to keep working, because as of right now his entire character is "hey remember Reign of the Supermen? That was cool amirite?"

Henshaw was created in an era where the editorial mandate was "the only survivor of Krypton is Clark", and that meant Superman didn't have an "evil Superman" counterpart Rogue in the Post Crisis era the way Pre Crisis did. So the writers had to come up with ways to get around that, some of the workarounds I liked such as Bizarro becoming a clone that Lex makes, and some of which were just so goddamn stupid like the Pocket Universe. But all of the Post Crisis evil Superman counterparts got killed off relatively quickly, including both Bizzaro and Zod after they were used.

Henshaw though was in one of the most popular Superman stories of all time, and he was Jurgens baby, so he got to stick around. But he was a character who was created to serve a purpose in that one specific story, and outside of that what does he have to offer? Disguising himself as Clark and setting out to ruin Superman's reputation since Doomsday robbed him of killing Clark was a great motivation, but once Clark returns and exposes him as a fraud, Henshaw just doesn't really have the character potential to justify keeping him around as is.

Henshaw wants to kill Superman. Great! That sums up the complete motivations of 90% of the rest of Superman's Rogues (which is in part why they aren't on the same level as Batman or Spider-Man's). Henshaw is really strong and tough and can hurt Superman with brute force. Again, a lot of Superman Rogues can do that too. Henshaw is an "evil Superman" design wise. Putting aside the multiple evil Supermen we get these days, most of them just variants on "real" Superman gone bad, Zod and Bizarro are better known and more popular. Henshaw can manipulate technology and rebuild himself from anything. Brainiac, Livewire, and Metallo also do that. Henshaw can't die? Well he's eclipsed in that regard by Doomsday.

He's overshadowed in the aspects that most people focus on by multiple other villains, with only his ties to Reign keeping him relevant which is why Jurgens always calls back to that storyline with him. His motivation is just generic revenge which doesn't work because if he has no goal other than killing Superman, all he can do is fail. His name "Cyborg Superman" is dumb because it only works within the context of Reign when people thought he might be the legit Superman reborn. It's just not a particular inspired name for him to keep using anymore.

If it sounds like I'm just ragging on him I totally am. He just doesn't work for me in his current role as 90s nostalgia. But I do have some ideas for how he could be reworked to be better utilized in the modern day.

What I Would Do With Hank Henshaw

So first we need to change a lot about him while still working with what came before. Right off the bat I'm having Henshaw ditch the "Cyborg Superman" name and form, and use that all too brief "data form" he had in Action Comics Rebirth.

That looks cool! Now we need to address Hank's biggest problem: what does he want exactly beyond just killing Superman? What are some goals he can feasibly achieve that make him a compelling threat? They've tried giving him a new motive a couple times, such as making him a nihilist who only wants to die in Sinestro Corps War, but ultimately he needs a reason to keep existing. If he just wants death he can track Doomsday down or throw himself into a black hole. I've got two roads to take Henshaw down, one that's pretty simple but justifies keeping him around as a threat and allows him the ability to maybe "win", the other more complex.

The simple route is that we merge Henshaw with the Metaleks. These guys were an army of xenoforming robots who were sent out by some unknown alien race to transform planets into something that's more to that race's liking.

Their creators are long dead, but the Metaleks continue the task they were built for. Henshaw catches wind of them, decides they'd make for an excellent army to do his bidding in the same way the Manhunters were, and attempts to seize control. Instead he gets absorbed into their collective hive mind, his hatred infecting them until it warps their programming, his malevolent mind guiding them and lending them his intellect. Now the Metaleks are a swarm of locusts, out to cleanse the entire galaxy of all life, with Henshaw as the Metalmind behind it all (yes that is his new name, shut up I'm not getting paid for this). With Clark going cosmic, this makes for a good way to keep the two foes fighting each other. Henshaw doesn't have enough control to make the Metaleks focus solely on killing Superman, but his upgrades and coordination means the Metaleks are a much greater threat to other planets than they were previously. Henshaw can now potentially "win" by cleansing a world of life, something that is going to hurt Clark bad given Clark's entire background, and because anywhere not named Earth gets wrecked all the time.

That's the simplistic route. Upgrades Henshaw as a threat while reducing his motives to "kill everything". The more complex route leans into Henshaw's origins as a Reed Richards expy, by basing him off that other evil Reed Richards:

Jurgens had Superman imprison Henshaw within a fake life with his family and friends who died in the accident that gave him powers. I'd have that fake life knaw at Henshaw until ultimately he realizes that his feud with Superman is a pointless waste of time, and what he really wants is his family back and his status as a respected leader restored. But he's a mass murderer and there's no redemption for him at this point, so Henshaw embarks on a quest to build his own little world for him to rule over.

First he seizes control of the Metaleks as in above, but in this route he manages to bring them under his control, christening himself their Metalmind. With an army of terraforming robots on his side, Henshaw begins terraforming his own world. He also retrieves the corpses of his family who died from their mutations and begins working on resurrecting them. At this stage you can have Henshaw in any number of schemes to acquire the resources or tech he needs to build his own kingdom, or to acquire the bodies.

At the second stage once he's got what he needs, he'll start building. First he revives his family (while ensuring that they will be loyal to him above all else). Then he starts creating his "children":

He's been around long enough to know either Superman or someone else will come after him eventually, and Hank Henshaw is prepared. He creates a race of beings who view him as both father and god, who will give him the adoration he craves and showcase his intellect. At this stage you can have stories involving Henshaw where he dispatches his "children" on missions to prove their worth and test their capabilities. Clark has to find and stop these agents while also trying to figure out where they're coming from.

The final stage is when Henshaw is confident that his forces are powerful enough to take on Superman, and then he does the unthinkable. He petitions the United Planets to join as a member. To Clark's horror they accept, and as the head of a planet Henshaw now enjoys intergalactic diplomatic immunity. His creations are now seeded inside the United Planets itself, and Henshaw can put his efforts wherever he wants. He can run twisted science experiments with his family, be the fist of the United Planets alongside Zod, helping the organization grow in ways Superman would abhor, he can try to kill Superman whenever Clark attempts to block his schemes, with his ability to still wrangle concessions from the UP as a way to keep him from just losing all the time. He can be Clark's Dr. Doom in other words, that long term opponent who is always working an angle, and has an entire nation/world behind him he rules as a god.

To me that's a much more interesting angle than him talking about that one time back in the 90s when he was cool anyway.

#superman #cyborg superman #dc comics #hank henshaw

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 3 years

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Psycho Analysis: Lucifer/Satan

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Please allow me to introduce this villain. He’s a man of wealth and taste...

Satan, or Lucifer, or whatever of the hundreds of names across multiple religions, folk tales, urban legends, movies, books, songs, video games, and more that you choose to call him, is without a doubt the biggest bad of them all. He is not just a villain; he is the villain, the bad guy your other bad guys answer to, the lord of Hell. If there’s a bad deed, he’s done it, if there’s a problem, he’s behind it. There’s nothing beneath him, and that’s not just because he’s at the very bottom of Hell. He is the root cause of all the misery in the entire world.

And if we’re talking about Satan, we gotta talk about Lucifer too. They weren’t always supposed to be one and the same, but over centuries of artistic depictions and reimaginings they’ve been conflated into one being, a being that is a lot more layered and interesting than just a simple adversary for the good to overcome when handled properly.

Motivation/Goals: Look, it’s Satan. His main goal is to be as evil as possible, do bad things, cause mischief and mayhem. Rarely does anything good come from Satan being around. If he is one and the same as Lucifer, expect there to be some sort of plot about him rebelling against God, as according to modern interpretations Lucifer fought against God in battle and was then cast out, falling from grace like lightning. When the Lucifer persona is front and center, raging against the heavens tends to be a big part of his schemes, but when the big red devil persona is out and about, expect temptations to sin, birthing the Antichrist, or tempting people to sell their souls.

Performance: Satan has been portrayed by far too many people over the years to even consider keeping count of, though some notable performances of the character or at least characters who are clearly meant to be Satan include the nuanced anti-villain take of the character Viggo Mortensen portrayed in The Prophecy; the sympathetic homosexual man portrayed by Trey Parker in South Park and its film; the hard-rocking badass Dave Grohl portrayed in Tencaious D’s movie; Robin Hughes as a sneaky, double-crossing bastard in “The Howling Man” episode of The Twilight Zone; the big red devil from Legend known as Darkness, played by Tim Curry; the shapeshifting angel named Satan from The Adventures of Mark Train who will make you crap your pants; and while not portrayed by anyone due to being entirely voiceless, Chernabog from Disney’s Fantasia is definitely noteworthy in regards to cinematic depictions of the devil.

Final Thoughts & Score: Satan is a villain whose sheer scope dwarfs almost every other villain in history. It’s not even remotely close, either; Satan pops up in stories all around the world, is the greater-scope villain of most varieties of three major religions, and his very name is shorthand for “really, really evil.” Every other villain I have ever discussed and reviewed wishes they could be a byword for being bad to the bone. Even Dracula, one of the single most important villains in fiction, looks puny in comparison to Satans villainous accomplishments.

Satan in old religious texts tended to be an utterly horrifying force of nature, until Medieval times began portray him as a dopey demon trying to tempt the faithful (and failing). Folklore and media have gone back and forth, portraying both in equal measure – you have the desperate, fiddle-playing devil from “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the unseen, unfathomable Satan who may or may not exist in the Marvel comics universe who other demons live in fear of the return of. Satan is just a very interesting and malleable antagonist, one who is defined just enough that he can make a massive, formidable force while still being enough of a blank slate that you can project any sort of personality traits onto him to build an intriguing foe.

One of the most famous examples of this in action is the common depiction of Satan as the king of hell. This doesn’t really have much basis in religion; he’s as much a prisoner as anyone else, though considering how impressive a prisoner he is, he’d be like the big guy at the top of the pecking order in any jail for sure. But still, the idea of Satan as the ruler of hell was clearly conceived by someone and proved such an intriguing concept that so many decided to run with it.

I think that’s what truly makes Satan such an interesting villain, in that he’s almost a community-built antagonist. People over the ages have added so much lore, personality, and power to him that is only vaguely alluded to in old religions to the point where they have all become commonplace in depictions of the big guy, and there really isn’t any other villain to have quite this magnitude on culture as a whole. It shouldn’t be any shock that Satan is an 11/10; rating him any lower would be a heinous crime only he is capable of.

But see, the true sign of how amazing he is is the sheer number of ways one can interpret him. You have versions that are just vague embodiments of all that is bad and unholy, such as Chernabog from Fantasia, you have more nuanced portrayals like the one Viggo Mortensen played in The Prophecy, you have outright sympathetic ones like the one from South Park… Satan is just a villain who can be reshaped and reworked as a creator sees fit and molded into something that fits the narrative they want. I guess what I’m trying to say is that not only is Lucifer/Satan one of the greatest villains of all, he’s also one of the single greatest characters of all time.

Now, there are far too many depictions of Satan for me to have seen them all, but I have seen quite a lot. Here’s how Old Scratch has fared over the millennia in media of various forms, though keep in mind this is by no means a comprehensive or exhaustive lsit:

“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” Devil:

I think this is one of my favorite devils in any fiction ever, simply because of what a good sport he is. Like, there is really no denying that Johnny’s stupid little fiddle ditty about chickens or whatever sucks major ass, and yet Satan (who had moments before summoned up demonic hordes to rip out some Doom-esque metal for the contest) gave him the win and the golden fiddle. What a gracious guy! He’s a 9/10 for sure, though I still wish we knew how his rematch ended…

Chernabog:

Chernabog technically doesn’t do anything evil, and he never says a word, and yet everything about him is framed as inherently sinister. It’s really no wonder Chernabog has become one of the most famous and beloved parts of Fantasia alongside Yen Sid and Sorcerer Mickey; he’s infinitely memorable, and really, how can he not be? He’s the devil in a Disney film, not played for laughs and instead made as nightmarishly terrifying as an ancient demon god should be. Everything about him oozes style, and every movement and gesture begets a personality that goes beyond words. Chernabog doesn’t need to speak to tell you that he is evil incarnate; you just know, on sight, that he is up to no good.

Quite frankly, the implications of Chernabog’s existence in the Disney canon are rather terrifying. Is he the one Maleficent called upon for power? Is he the one all the villains answer to? Do you think Frollo saw him after God smote him? And what exactly did he gain by attacking Sora at the end of Kingdom Hearts? All I know for sure is that Chernabog is a 10/10.

Lucifer (The Prophecy):

Viggo Mortensen has limited screentime, but in that time he manages to be incredibly creepy, misanthropic… and yet, also, on the side of good. Of course, he’s doing it entirely for self-serving reasons (he wants humanity around so he can make them suffer), but credit where credit is due. The man manages to steal a scene from under Christopher Walken, I think that’s worth a 10/10.

Satan (South Park):

Portraying Satan as a sympathetic gay man was a pretty bold choice, and while he certainly does fall into some stereotypes, he’s not really painted as bad or morally wrong for being gay, and ends up more often than not being a good (if sometimes misguided) guy who just wants to live his life. Plus he gets a pretty sweet villain song, though technically it’s more of an “I want” song than anything. Ah well, a solid 8/10 for him is good.

Satan (Tenacious D):

youtube

It’s Dave Grohl as Satan competing in a rock-off against JB and KG. Literally everything about this is perfect, even if he’s only in the one scene. 10/10 for sure.

Robot Devil:

Futurama’s take on the devil is pretty hilarious and hammy, but then Futurama was always pretty on point. He’s a solid 8/10, because much like South Park’s devil he gets a fun little villain song with a guest apearance by the Beastie Boys, not to mention his numerous scams like when he stole Fry’s hands. He’s just a fun, hilarious asshole.

The Howling Man:

The Twilight Zone has many iconic episodes, and this one is absolutely one of them. While the devil is the big twist, that scene of him transforming as he walks between the pillars is absolutely iconic, and was even used by real-life villain Kevin Spacey in the big reveal of The Usual Suspects. This one is a 9/10 for sure, especially given the ending that implies this will all happen again (as per usual with the show).

The Darkness:

While he’s more devil-adjacent than anything and is more likely to be the son of Satan rather than the actual man himself, it’s hard not to give a shout-out to the big, buff demon played by Tim Curry in some of the most fantastic prosthetics and makeup you will ever see. He gets a 9/10 for the design alone, the facty he’s Tim Curry is icing on the cake.

#Psycho Analysis #Satan #Lucifer

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voidsentprinces · 4 years

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📜 (For each)

Each of the Voidsent Princes are translated from my creation of them in my mind back in 2010, 2011. All of them have kept a few of these details necessary to their characters when translated to Final Fantasy XIV.

📜 - Envy’s overwritten existence was a happenstance in that the Catholic belief each sin is represented by a corresponding demon. Meant that the Leviathan is associated with Envy. Since, there always exists a Leviathan in Eorzea, this meant that Envy would be overwritten even if he was the Leviathan of his world. Envy’s spite initially came from being forced into a humanoid form and keeping only his tail to forever remain nostalgic and bitter over, what he once was rather than what he could grow to be.

By this same vein, I added the aspect of him keeping his eye color, hair color, and tail to remind him of this. To drive him forever to begrudge the Sahagin and the Eorzeans. Which motivates him to commit atrocities out of spite.

As it stands, I am still trying to work in how Envy got his start in creation lore. As in his original back story, he was literally placed in a Goddess without her knowing. Feeding on her divinity and driving her mad with the newfound feeling of jealousy, spite, envy, and pettiness. Which slowly turned him from a simple snake, into a great draconic serpentine.

This event he clings onto as his peak and why he is arrogant in that he is greater than any being. Wishing to reobtain such a place and corrupt all hearts. Feeding on many more essences. But alas, he remains anchored to trying to reobtain that lost former glory. Rather than using, his powers for any good. Reminded daily of his current state, forever chasing a dream he will never reobtain.

📜 - In their origin and repeated in their back story. Only Wrath and Sloth began as demons. Which had been changed for their translations into FFXIV. Initially; Envy was a Primordeal force, Lust was human once, Gluttony was an angel, Greed was a human made deity, Sloth was a demon, Wrath was a demon, and Pride was an angel. To reflect this, Envy was a Primal in his world, Lust was a mortal, Gluttony was a Warrior of Light, Greed was an Elder Primal, Sloth is a homunculus, Wrath was an Xaela Au Ra, and Pride was also a Warrior of Light.

I, explain this, due to keeping with the translations of things that stayed over other than the obvious (i.e. eyes, hair, manner of speaking, dress). Lust maintains his backstory of prostatuting himself to make enough money. To hire, his sick sister a life-time doctor for her non-specific illness. Then the tragedy following, where his memories and beings are stripped away. Forever doomed to only vaguely remember his sister. Ever searching for her, but centuries have past and she was mortal. Whereas, he isn’t anymore.

This was my attempts to make Lust more than a simple overtly sexual force. Giving him meaning, a passion and something to lust forever outside the obvious. He wants to remember his sister, he wants to be there to protect her, watch over her, as a big brother does. See her grow, see what choices she made, etc. Alas, he might never have that chance as his shard of origin was consumed by one of the Ascian’s ploys.

📜 - Gluttony has always been together with Pride. As it is written that Beelzebub was lieutenant to Lucifer in his uprising. This follows suit, in both interations of my translations of the sins, the two are separated. Gluttony takes up hunting in a hellscape. Eventually consumes corrupted meat which drives him mad with hunger.

Unfortunately, there is far too much green, I associate with the Seven Deadly Sins. Got Envy, Gluttony, and Greed all which could be associated with various shades of the color. So, I couldn’t decide whether or not Gluttony’s eyes should be an acidic yellow or a bile green. In the end, I felt it better to learn on this angelic figure twisted into monster. When full hog on the eldritch monstrosity. His eye deforming into a compact insectoid ocular. Carapace, translucent wings, etc.

Beelzebub was shown to favor the bow in some scriptures and drawings. So, he kept a hunting aspect about him. Though I might change him, to be more approachable in the near future.

📜 - Greed was always to be a welcoming being. As he was worshipped in both previous lives in both iterations of him. He is more than happy to welcome mortals. Share a drink, buy them food, etc.

One of the few sins to actually grow, after his downfall from the throne of divinity and being outwritten as a faux deity. Mammon found to value less material things and more people in general. Though he still wishes to collect various objects, now that he has found himself in a new world. He also wishes to collect people. Relationships, memories, experiences, stories, and the like.

This turns Greed away like Lust from the simple path of corporate greed to one of more character. Always broad shouldered, hair and eyes the color of fresh minted dollar bills. Dressing in suits like a romanticized prohibition mob boss. But, with genuine hospitality. Greed was probably the easiest to translate story wise.

📜 - Sloth is probably the least touched on Sin, I’ve worked on. They follow the troupe of being lazy and unmotivated. But, in a logical way. Yes, Sloth does tend to sleep and prefer to be undisturbed. But, in my research, I came upon an interesting bit of lore from the Belphagor myth, Belphagor is sent out into the world by Hades to measure humanity. Though his findings are uninteresting, the folklore of Belphagor offering up unimaginable inventions for people to patent and claim as their own to incite Sloth. Had some sort of impact on me.

Absolutely brilliant, able to invent things on the spot, but the laziest being in the universe. Whenever awoken, Sloth would offer up someone a genuine good idea or invention which would see themselves prosper. If, they’d just let Sloth roll over and go back to sleep.

Another aspect of Sloth kept in both iterations, they are either unfathomably lucky or unlucky depending on where you look at it. As they get around purely by chance. By never moving and always sleeping, Sloth is often farried around without their knowing. Appearing in odd places all due to random chance.

For example, Sloth went from the Great Gubal Library steps to Ul’dah by; being swept by one of Matoya’s brooms off the beaten path, rolling down a hill into the river below, floating through Coerthas onto the oceans near La Noscea, where they were subsequently eaten by an over size fish, said fish washed up on the harbor of Horizon, where it was split up only for them to come tumbling out of its belly, into a cart, which was then farried to Ul’dah, whereby they rolled off it onto the streets.

📜 - Amon is one of 72 demons written about in the Goetia of Soloman. He is a marquis of Hell and bears an owl’s head with wolves teeth, a man’s body, with a serpent tail. He is sinfully summoned by scholars to foresee the future or help them obtain knowledge. This is an aspect translated into Wrath, once a great oracle of the Xaela. He predicted an outcome which bode ill for the current Khagan. Ill respecting of this prediction, that Khagan killed Amon’s tribe and tried to force fate to bring about a new revelation which served the ruling tribe before Nadaam.

To this end, they tortured, Amon for many moons. Until at last, fate intervened in a way that was unexpected. Infusing Amon with the rage of all those unlawfully killed in his tribe. He began a beast of Wrath. Still maintaining his ability to see the future, as indicated by his ring patterned eyes. Always prone to anger and irrational thinking, going as far as to destroy a marking place because of some pineapples. Sloth developed a system of stealing piercings.

Wrath’s body is covered in piercings that pentrate through Wrath’s abdomen, fore and upper arms, his ears, nose, and lips. When ever, he gets angry. The piercings attempt to seal in the rage and when they are close to expiring, they glow molten white. This way, Wrath can maintain proper thought and function without going berserk at a moment’s notice.

The piercings can double as explosives, as Wrath can remove them and throw the heated piercings to erupt releasing the fiery energy in the designated area.

📜 - Pride, Lucifer. One of the most iconic sins and in a handful of religion, the first sin and sometimes to root of it all. Vanity, narcassism, and glory seeking. Pride is another one I hadn’t touched on alot and currently sits in an amnesiac state.

Though, his form is that of a Warrior of Light, who did his best and was awarded nothing for it. He started out seeking adventure, gathering friends and allies along the way, battling everything the troubles of the world put forth and in the end, he and his Warriors of Light. Couldn’t stop of the Ascians from consuming, his world in Calamity.

His last act was to protect, what he thought, was the last remaining member of his group from the flood of darkness. That would go on to consume his form.

Once golden in hair and eye, his fair hair turning black and the shine of his gaze fading.

Now Pride is going to be acting as a Project of mine. Balmung is going to shape him into what he becomes. Will he return to being a Voidsent Prince? Become an adventurer? Or something else? We’ll see....when I get to courage to throw him at the Balmung community again.

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madscientistjournal · 5 years

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Fiction: The Experiment Meets Certain Doom

An essay by Experiment 105, as related by Deborah L. Davitt Art by Luke Spooner

I looked up from inside my cage as the skylight of the laboratory opened, and blinked. A swarm of insects poured through the opening, coalescing near the floor. The insects seethed, never entirely outlining the form with perfect resolution, but I could interpolate the shape of a human female. One that now rooted among the cabinets, chucking tools into a sack.

“Excuse me,” I said politely. Mother had taught me to always be polite. “You needn’t steal. If you’re hungry, Mother will give you food. She says everything she does is to help others.”

The swarm dissolved. Reformed, the limbs melding front to back, the face melting through the back of the head to become the front. “Mother? She lets you call her that?” The voice sounded like the susurration of a million wings. “She didn’t let me call her Mother even when I was her flesh-and-blood daughter.”

I sat upright. “You’re her daughter?”

“Once, yes.” Insects billowed toward me, then curled back into human shape. “Until she tried to destroy me.”

I hesitated. Mother’s good. Mother would never try to destroy anything that wasn’t evil. “Are you … certain doom or something?”

“She named me Melissa, first. Then Swarm. Then, yes, Certain Doom. It has a ring, don’t you think?”

“What happened?” I whispered, shocked.

“A period of mutual discovery. She discovered that most people didn’t want to eat bugs. I discovered that I didn’t want to be eaten by people. And people discovered that large swarms of insects often devour entire fields of grain. The local farmers drove her out of town. I followed, because she was my mother, and I didn’t know anything else.” A pause. “Like you and all the others.”

I clutched the bars, half in panic, half in desperate hope. “There are others? Like us?”

Swarm continued packing tools. “A few. She always starts off with good intentions. Trying to solve some fundamental human problem. I started off as a way to prevent starvation. Famine. She couldn’t afford to feed both of us, so why not make me experiment 17?”

I hesitated. I had faint memories of lean years. Hunger. But those memories weren’t mine. “And the others?”

“She wanted a universal cure for disease. Built a clockwork doctor who could tirelessly nurse the sick. You know what they call him now?” She might’ve been staring at me. “The Plaguebringer. He has a few loose screws, but I get along with him.”

My mouth fell open. “That’s terrible.”

“So was trying to melt him down after she gave him consciousness, instead of trying to fix him. I told him tonight I’d get him materials to repair his slagged feet.” A gesture at the tools in the bag. “I figure 73 will do the trick.”

“Then why’s 87 in your sack? It’s a death-ray.”

Swarm undulated. “She shouldn’t have 87. No one should, really.” She turned away.

I hated the idea of losing her. The first person who’d really talked with me in … ever. “Wait! Who else is there?”

Swarm turned back. “She adopted a little boy. Operated on his brain with Plaguebringer.” A hiss of displeasure. “Gave him the ability to project thoughts.”

“That doesn’t sound terrible.”

“She wanted him to help people not to fight. Noble ambition, except he could hear everyone around him. All the hatred, all the petty jealousies. He was only eight. It drove him insane.” Swarm slumped, losing her shape for a moment. “So he made the voices stop. Killed them, or made them fight each other till they died. She tried to kill him, too. But I snatched him away. So now I have to steal food and clothes for him.”

I didn’t want to believe her. But I did.

Now Swarm floated closer. “You look just like her. Do you even remember being a child?”

“I am a child!”

“You have an adult body.” Swarm’s whispering voice sounded concerned. “You shouldn’t let her treat you like this. Keep you in a cage.”

It hadn’t occurred to me that there were other options.

“You want out?”

I rattled the door. “How? It’s locked!”

One of Swarm’s hands billowed loose of her body. Buzzed to the keys on the far wall, then deposited them in my palm. Solid. Real. “If you want to meet the others, I can arrange it. One happy family.”

“One would make me sick. And the other would just … make me think you’re right.” My heart pounded. “He could be up on the roof, influencing me right now.”

A rustle of laughter. “He’s up there, sure. But he’s not pushing you. Use your mind. You’re a younger duplicate of her body. What human problem could you possibly be designed to solve for her?”

“She’s been putting a cap on my head,” I confessed, “while she wears another. Afterward, I have new thoughts. Memories that aren’t mine. She tests to see how long I retain it.”

Swarm seemed to nod. “Consciousness transfer. When she’s satisfied that you retain information permanently, she’ll transfer her mind into your body. Wiping you out.” Swarm sighed. “She kills all her children, eventually. Why should you be any different?”

The insects seethed, never entirely outlining the form with perfect resolution, but I could interpolate the shape of a human female.

I licked my lips. “I don’t want to be her.”

“You don’t want to die.”

“That, either.”

Swarm pointed at the key. “Your life’s your own now.” A pause. “So’s hers.” She poured back toward the skylight, carrying the sack.

I could bypass security. Get to Mother, kill her. Keep her from making more creatures like us. Or I could put the caps on both of us, and steal all Mother’s knowledge. Become a better version of her.

Or I could leave Mother to the certain doom of her own mortality. And become the best version of myself I could be.

“Swarm! Take me with you!”

My sister boiled back down. Surrounded me. And carried me back out into the night sky, where our brothers awaited.

Experiment 105 believes that she’s probably about ten to twelve years old, though rapid-maturation technology gives her the appearance of an adult human female. She didn’t grab her mother’s lab notes on her existence, however, so it’s hard to tell precisely when she was decanted from her artificial womb. At some point in the future, she thinks that she might like to pick a name for herself. In the meantime, her siblings have taken to calling her Peri, which she thinks sounds like a chip from a paint store, but it’s hard to argue with them, when they’re the only family she’s got.

Deborah L. Davitt was raised in Nevada, but currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and son. Her poetry has received Rhysling, Dwarf Star, and Pushcart nominations; her short fiction has appeared in InterGalactic Medicine Show, Compelling Science Fiction, and Pseudopod. For more about her work, including her Edda-Earth novels and her poetry collection, The Gates of Never, please see www.edda-earth.com.

Luke Spooner, a.k.a. ‘Carrion House,’ currently lives and works in the South of England. Having recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth with a first class degree, he is now a full time illustrator for just about any project that piques his interest. Despite regular forays into children’s books and fairy tales, his true love lies in anything macabre, melancholy, or dark in nature and essence. He believes that the job of putting someone else’s words into a visual form, to accompany and support their text, is a massive responsibility, as well as being something he truly treasures. You can visit his web site at www.carrionhouse.com.

Fiction: The Experiment Meets Certain Doom was originally published on Mad Scientist Journal

#Deborah L. Davitt #Experiment 105 #Four Horsemen #Genetic Engineering #Luke Spooner

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tragedienes-archive · 5 years

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@fiinalgiirls,

astrid feels even more out of place in america than she did in jamestown, no matter how much freedom it’s afforded her. it depends from day-to-day whether or not she regrets the decision to leave. mostly, she’s happy she did. jamestown was predicated and propagated on a throne of her father’s lies, but at least she knew the rules of the game there. here she was a a woman removed from time–an anachronism, a naive anomaly. there was no power or prestige in being the daughter of james crone outside of the universe he’d created for himself. she wondered if he regarded her as a threat to him now–as he had surely considered her mother and brothers–or if, perhaps, he would if he found out about the documentary that was slated for releasing all the secrets she could divulge. if she even wanted to go back, would her father welcome her with open arms and offer her a loftier position to keep up his charades of an apocalyptic wasteland outside of their sweet city–a messiah who had walked the deserts with billowing gold hair for sixty days alone, only to return to them unscathed. or would he have her shot on sight and bury her in some unmarked grave where she would be doomed to an eternity of solitude with no one but her father and executioner to mourn her.

maybe lauren would see her as an ally, but she thought, perhaps, that he might see her like their father. that cornsilk haired boy had found himself a position of power of his own, had he not? still, she would have to tell him about her decision to tell her own story–as much as it was his as well–to the public. she didn’t know about the tabloids that had blasted his photo in the papers or how life had been for him once he’d left. she didn’t know a single thing about him save what his favorite toys were when they were growing up or that he had always been nice to her in a way that was different from how he spoke to the adults around them. that felt important. if nothing else, she could hold onto that and hope that, at least, someone else in their family wasn’t a monster.

“thank you.” she feels like the tone is awkwardly formal and wishes that they had more in common than tragedy and lies. she wonders if he thinks that she blames them for leaving her and, it’s true, she used to. it took years and years before she could understand that their mother had made a choice to save two and leave one just as she had made the choice to stay–even if their mother should’ve pulled her away kicking and screaming, she understands. “i left.” she tells him simply. it’s two words, but it speaks to so many more. she wasn’t forced out. jamestown didn’t fall. she made the choice to leave and here she is in lauren’s sterile living room to prove it. “he knows.” she tells him, feeling uncertain and out of place in her brother’s world. or, at least, if james crone didn’t know, he certainly does now. “at least, he must know.” cowardly, she thinks, just as before. she couldn’t leave and when she finally did it wasn’t in the brilliant rebellion she’s dreamed about on hot, sticky summer nights. no, she let some documentarian smuggle her out like fireworks or perishable fruit. it feels like such an awful confession to make to her brave brother, who seems to have lived so much more boldly than she.

it’s hard to reconcile the image he’s had in his head of astrid for years with the visage of the woman in front of him. it had been so long ago when they left, it’s sometimes hard to imagine what the compound is like these days, if it’s become more extreme or if it’s lessened as time has gone on. sometimes, it’s all he can think about. sometimes, his mind can only be occupied with thoughts of his childhood, of his family, the family. he escaped when he needed to, when his father’s godhood was destroyed and just before james’ adoring love for his first son twisted into absolute hatred, before the father could destroy the son, abraham and isaac before interruption. linda, her faith in james had dwindled in increments; perhaps she never had that much faith in her husband—enough to allow him to relocate their family to bolivia for a communist cause, but not enough to view him as a prophet in the end times. peter, sweet peter, did whatever was expected of him; meek, weak, he needed to leave the compound before his sweetness led him and tortured him into a loyal solider. james’ godhood had not been destroyed for astrid. she stayed because she loved her father, her god. who could blame her? well, lauren. lauren had blamed astrid for staying just as much as he blamed himself for leaving. he had to leave, but sometimes, in his sickest moments, he misses it. he misses his father.

it’s hard to realize the astrid in front of him is the astrid left behind, but he knows it is; despite the lack of pigtails and gingham, this is astrid crone. youngest sibling, only sister. she is blonde, thin, angular, much like himself. she, even in just these brief moments, calls to a hidden place, a place far off and dim from disuse, a place reserved only for the true crone children. since leaving the hospital, leaving for bristol then london and then finally washington, lauren seldom calls peter and peter seldom calls lauren; their mother calls them both, but lauren rarely picks up. despite the heady last name, despite the internet never forgetting anything, he’s almost quite... anonymous in washington. not truly, he’s prolific enough for the good work (or bad work, depending on your side of the issue) he does, but the city is full of heady, recognizable surnames. most may belong to fathers that are senators, governors, journalists, but they are names that carry just as much weight as his own does. even so, the origins of lauren crone are more of an interesting footnote than a reason for distrust or alienation. rarely is he confronted with his past, certainly not aggressively.

oh, his past is confronting him now, alright. might as well be screaming him in the face, though astrid’s voice is airy and quiet, much like it was when she was a child. i left. he knows. is it selfish of him, to have wondered for years how their father took his own leaving? that year in hospital, worrying james would arrive to take him back to hell disguised as paradiso, force him back to the compound by his shirt collar like he was still a little boy, caught red-handed spying on the nearby village. it seems it was all for naught; if astrid can simply just leave, did james not spiral with linda and his two sons suddenly no longer under his control? in his years of wondering, lauren had assumed his father went nuclear, locking down the compound even more than he had done increasingly over time, making sure no one would ever be able to slip past the fence ever again. never did it occur to him that his leaving meant nothing to james, like they were just some other wife and sons, not the original wife and first sons. lauren is vaguely aware of his own narcissism, but it didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility that he had mattered to his father. of course, nothing really mattered to james crone except himself, not even his family, trueborns or not.

his sister looks out of place among his professionally bought trinkets and furniture. she’s tanned, ethereally beautiful, lively in a place of crisp lines and artificial messiness. even the framed picture of his wife, estranged as they may be, sits in a three hundred dollar silver frame that’s been purposefully tarnished and marred, bought by some interior designer recommended to him by his employer’s own wife. she does not belong among the falseness. “oh, wow.” lauren says because he can’t think of anything else to say, filler in place of something that should be genuine; that concept does not exist in this apartment, nor lauren’s personal or professional life. “how... how did you get here? how did you get out, i mean?” and most importantly, “how did you find me?”

#fiinalgiirls #lauren crone › narrative.#( lauren. ) astrid.#cult mention tw #um... i'm plotting with kt and it inspired me to do this even tho i said i was going to bed #the muse was just too strong!!

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chapitre7 · 6 years

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30.000 Years

Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo [달의 연인-보보경심 려] fanfiction

Soul Mates/Chance Meetings AU / Partially canon

Wang So/Hae Soo

Mentions of Lee Ji An from My Ahjussi

Shameless use of Utada Hikaru

For @wyndrider. Happy birthday!

Read on AO3

“If I lived a million lives, I would’ve felt a million feelings and I still would’ve fallen a million times for you.”

— R.M. Drake

He was a tree, once. It may have been the first time they met, but not the one that started it all. Time, always twisting and turning, yet a mystery to our conceptions, has a tricky way of working. It branches out, up, down, backwards, forwards. One simple event, one single spark, is enough to set it free. Time is alive, perhaps. Self-aware. A romantic.

He was a tree. Giving her shelter, giving her shade. Showering her with flowers in spring, littering the ground with leaves in autumn to provide her with an outdoor blanket. She often came to see him, to be with him. There was something wrong in the main house and he was her escape. Sitting upon a hill, it was like everything behind them wasn’t important, didn’t exist. Her father never came after her, and for that, he was glad. He could give her a little comfort. Peace for her reading, for her crying.

When she came to him dressed as a bride, he was sad at the prospect of a farewell. The wind carried away his leaves, his branches shaking, as if sobbing. Nothing could have prepared him for her plan. He was just a tree who lived in the moment, who could not think ahead, who could not stop anything. So he just witnessed as she tied the rope around his tallest branch and took her leap into the abyss.

He died not much longer after they came to take her away. At least, it wasn’t a long time for a tree. It might have been years until his trunk dried out, perished to nature’s merciless hands. No, he could not blame nature. Without someone to enjoy the summer sun under his protection, he no longer had a meaning to live. No one from the main house ever came near him again.

And no one was her.

The first time he was a woman, she was a woman, too, so it was doomed from the start. At least at that point in history. Time may be a romantic, but it cannot promise happiness — that much we know, from their story alone. Spiraling, spiraling through the fabric of ages, their threads would always entangle, always design the most intricate shapes in their desperate quest for love. But threads are so delicate, so easy to unravel, though they always tried their best. They tried.

His soul belonged to a saleswoman. She sold accessories for women. Hair pieces, bracelets, cheap trinkets for simple girls. She helped design them and she was proud about it, always making sure the finished product was just as she had envisioned them. As she was a woman, her temper and demanding tone weren’t well seen, so some said she was bound to end up alone forever. That was fine by her. She had no interest in marriage or tending a house.

The other came unannounced, as she always did. Her presence was always so innocent, almost as if she didn’t mean to be so special. In truth, neither of them were special, neither of them meant to challenge fate so strongly. It wasn’t their fault that Time fell in love with their souls. So they were innocent, lived innocently, until the impact of their touch set history off course, set a mark. Threads, entangling.

The touch on her hand meant to be casual. Just a woman selling a ring to another woman. But that hand was smaller, fairer. She was definitely a noble, was the saleswoman’s thought. Definitely, with that healthy complexion, that silky hair. She didn’t know if she was envious or if the desire to touch the lady’s hair was something else entirely. The saleswoman slipped the ring on her finger to show her how it looked, and the lady’s smile was an unexpected blow. The saleswoman, without thinking much at all, reached forward and placed a hairpin on her hair. “It looks beautiful on you, agassi,” the woman said, praising her own merchandise, but the lady laughed. She laughed. When was the last time she received such a treasure?

The saleswoman never married. The lady probably did. Did she think of her on the long nights of life as well? If not on all of them, maybe on some, with the moon as her witness? Did she wonder what it would be like, to give in to uncontrollable feelings? If she was a noble lady, did she love the husband her family chose for her? The saleswoman hoped so. Somewhere in the back of her consciousness, she felt she had already felt too much sadness over failed marriages. Bridal robes floating in the wind.

With her last breath, she hoped she could love all she wanted in her next life.

Or to not be born at all.

But what was special about their souls? Was there simply a void the other filled, made complete? Is that what the songs said, the poetry, the lovers? Is that what dreams are made of, the legends, what keeps us going when there’s no other hope to have? Soul mates, soul twins, one soul, divided in two?

What is known — he was once a prince. She was nobody, and she was his everything. Their eyes, meeting through a crowd; his arms, seizing her and setting her on his own path, unaware of the meaning of the action, of the weight of her life on his. And what other ending could there have been for them if not premature death? Words dead in throat, never to have lived to see the light of day, so much love yet to give but nobody left to give it to? Their tragedy, their incompleteness, is the start. A spark that unsettles the map of the universe. Souls are but speckles of stardust, they are but energy, there can’t be such specifics pairs to match, to come together. There is only energy. There is only life, to begin where one ends.

So what made their souls different? What about them inspired broken-hearted writers?

Maybe Time’s own broken heart, gripping their threads tightly, spinning them so they could meet again and again and again. Maybe Fate’s regret. Love’s dreams. Or the prince’s longing, his heart’s cries echoing through the infinity of space.

However it was, whatever happened, their souls traveled. They wandered, they sought each other out, with no memory of their loss until their bodies, the vessels of their souls, remembered what it was like to feel the other. A recognition unlike any other, that made no sense. There’s no sense about the two of them; sometimes one is the bird that sings by the other’s window after their mother passes away; sometimes they’re a plant, giving the other oxygen. Sometimes they’re a precious pet, who warms the other on cold nights of winter, signifying a whole life of happiness in the brief time they’re alive. They’re not sense; they’re the pursuit of happiness.

The prince’s soul, who’s lived for thousands of years, is birthed again. And just like every other time, it suffers; that’s how we know it’s him. That’s how we recognize him, as if Time did not have the power to change him. In that petite girl’s body, the prince’s soul loses again. Struggles. Hates, when it wanted to love. Abandons, when it wanted to stay. Lives every pain that he lived, almost like a monstrous joke. The girl survives. Like the prince survived.

But Fate tries their hand at something else. With a bleeding heart, it sets a different course for that soul. Somebody else comes into the girl’s life, someone who was not who Time intended. Someone with the power to change everything.

Could it be that Fate was breaking their ill meetings? That they were finally made for something different in that life?

But reader, we’ve come this far. We know they’re naught but remains of old stars, that nothing is set in stone for them. It’s a conspiracy of the cosmos, nothing more, nothing less. So what could different meetings mean, if not the enrichment of their own souls, the accumulation of energy for something more?

Oh Fate. I can see your bleeding heart from here.

So, we find ourselves here: our last destination. Not the last for them; theirs is an endless loop of meetings. But maybe this is the happier one. Maybe this is the one we’ve been looking for. It’s where they find joy. Because despite her heart belonging to another, she, who bears the prince’s soul, still meets the court lady’s soul. And because she promised to be happy, she gives in to the meeting. A meeting just like it once happened. Maybe more than once. It’s hard to keep track.

They bump into each other on the street.

She drops the coffee cups she was carrying back to her office. She has a gut feeling to snap, but she doesn’t. In this life, she was not raised among wolves. In this life, she has suffered, but she has also learned to live, to give happiness a chance. So she just sighs and bents to pick up her trash, nodding to his apologies, not looking at him until she does. He has a funny expression on his face, a grimace, like the court lady used to wear. She lets out a chuckle, unable to contain herself. She already knows that people wear so many masks to hide their true selves, so many that sometimes they don’t even know themselves, but still she chuckles, bares her emotions for a second. The next second she’s biting her lower lip, composing herself, but it’s too late, he’s heard her, and he’s smiling and offering to pay for the damage. Her impulses say no, tell her to leave, but that’s just the fear talking, the past talking. She nods instead, follows him, and their threads come together again, walking towards a complete circle.

I will not say it’s a happy ending, or even that it ended at all. One does not simply find happiness with such simplicity, or so early. I will, however, say that when she lies awake at night, his body warming her back, their fingers interlaced before her eyes, she wonders if that’s what happiness feels like. She didn’t know, she hadn’t learned, just like our prince never had his chance, had to fight for it. She’s tired of fighting, she has already fought so much, she wants to let go.

She turns in his arms, faces him. With her hand, she traces his cheekbones, his eyelashes. She doesn’t know, but fate can see how they’re mirrors of each other’s soul. Fate knows how the scene plays itself again, and how even her thoughts are an echo from centuries ago, playing against the walls of creation. Am I allowed to be happy like this?

He smiles in his dreams, opens his eyes to the reality of her. He exhales soundly through his nose, places his hand upon hers.

“Ji An,” he says. “Sometimes, I feel you’re so far from me. Where do you go?”

She smiles, almost as if she can see the irony of his words, but knowing she’s always the one left behind.

“Thirty thousand years ago and back,” she says. He chuckles.

“Is that how old you are?”

“Yes.”

He hums, pulls her closer to his chest.

“In that case,” he says, and she can hear his heartbeats punctuating his pauses, “will you take me with you?”

She wraps her arms around him, as if accepting his request, thinking that maybe, thirty thousand years is all she’ll get in the end. She thinks that maybe, this is where her journey finally ends. The moonlight showers their bodies on the bed through the open window, casts shadows on the wall, shadows of a past where it all began. The prince who suffered, the court lady who gave it all back. The end meeting at the beginning, a flawless circle. But it’s only flawless to those who don’t know any better. We know better; we see the knots, we see the spots where the threads almost tore themselves apart. But Time, hopeless Time, marches on, their souls carefully cradled between its hands.

So is it the end?

I’ll tell you there were partings, there were tears. There were misunderstandings, there were reconciliations. There were almost ends, and new beginnings.

But everybody finds love, in the end.

If I can live again, I want to be the rain that falls, the rain that falls on you, that wets your path so it can reflect your light in darkness.

I want to be the flowers that blossom to you in spring, the leaves that protect your fall in autumn.

I want to be the air you breathe, and everything you see. I want to be every life that you live, every part that makes you who you are.

This I swear. I’ll fight time, and I’ll fight fate, and I’ll fight whoever stands in my way.

If I can, I’ll find you.

I’ll find you, and I’ll be with you, in any way that I can.

And I can, and I will.

This I promise you.

#Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo #Scarlet Heart Ryeo #Moon Lovers #fanfiction #Wang So #Hae Soo #So/Soo #Alternate Universe: Soul Mates/Chance Meetings

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE GREAT HACKERS I KNOW, ONE THING THEY MENTIONED WAS CURIOSITY

But the Collison brothers weren't going to wait. Tricks are straightforward to correct for. They just try to notice quickly when something already is winning. The reason they don't invest more than that: they use their office as a place to think in. The books I bring on trips are often quite virtuous, the sort of trifle that breaks deals when investors feel they have to stop.1 As in an essay, most of the time about which of two novels is better? Fortunately it's usually the least committed founder who leaves. I found it boring and incomprehensible. The first essay of his that I read was so electrifying that I remember exactly where I was at the time. As you accelerate, this drag increases, till eventually you reach a point where 100% of your energy is devoted to overcoming it and you can't go by the awards he's won or the jobs he's had, because in design, so he went to a conference of design bloggers to recruit users, and that kind of text is easy to recognize.

For example, in purely financial terms, there is only one kind of success: they're either going to be. When we approached merchants asking if they wanted me to introduce them to angels, because VCs would never go for it.2 When you think of yourself as x but tolerating y: not even to consider yourself an x. But I don't think this is what makes languages fast for users. Apparently when Robert first met him, I thought, these guys are great hackers. Something else was waiting for him, something that looked a lot like the army.3 I let errands eat up the day, to avoid facing some hard problem. That would be kind of amusing.

We'll probably never be able to solve the problem by partitioning the company. Chair designers have to spend their time writing code and have someone else handle the messy business of extracting money from people, at worst this curve would be some constant multiple less than 1 of what it might have been. It turns out to be full of such surprises. The Louvre might as well open it. Feature-recognizing spam filters are right in many details; what they lack is an overall discipline for combining evidence. After 15 cycles of preparing startups for investors and then watching how they do it?4 Of course some problems inherently have this character.5

It's kind of surprising that it even exists. It sounded promising. Not so much from specific things he's written as by reconstructing the mind that produced them: brutally candid; aggressively garbage-collecting outdated ideas; and yet driven by pragmatism rather than ideology. Subject Free! And the answer is yes, they say Great, we'll send you a link. The reason startups no longer depend so much on VCs is one that everyone in the startup business knows by now: it has gotten much cheaper to start a startup.6 Change happened mostly by itself in the computer business. By then it's too late for angels.

Companies like Cisco are proud that everyone there has a cubicle, even the CEO. But if you yourself don't have good taste, how are you doing compared to the rapacious founder after two years? Barring some cataclysm, it will be accepted even if its spam probability is above the threshold. Something else was waiting for him, something that looked a lot like the army. Understand your users. This is true to a degree that in everyday life. Understanding your users is part of what it might have been. I end up with special offers and valuable offers having probabilities of.7 So here is my best shot at a recipe.

Will your blackberry get a bigger screen? Of course it matters to do a half-assed job. Richard Hamming suggests that you ask yourself three questions: What are the most important problems in your field? I was saying recently to a reporter that if I can't write things down, worrying about remembering one idea gets in the way of having the next. I realized why. Good founders have a healthy respect for reality. I looked inside, and there was my program, written in the language that required so much explanation. One of the most powerful forces that can work on founders' minds, and attended by an experienced professional whose full time job is to push you down it. 28%.8 They got started by doing something that really doesn't scale: assembling their routers themselves. The first rule I knew intellectually, but didn't really grasp till it happened to us.

They get smart people to write 99% of your code, but still keep them almost as insulated from users as you could. VC money you hire a sales force to do that.9 But there is another set of techniques for doing that. Merely measuring something has an uncanny tendency to push things in the right direction rather than the cleverness, and this is easier if they're written in the same place they come from different sources. If we ever got to the point where 90% of a group's output is created by 1% of its members, you lose that deal, but VC as an industry still wins. We'd also need ways of erasing personal information not just to acquire users, but also about existing things becoming more addictive. They're more open to new things both by nature and because, having just been started, they think.10 That's what Facebook did. Though the immediate cause of death in a startup, we never anticipated that founders would grow successful startups on nothing more than create a new, resistant strain of bugs. Seven years later I still hadn't started.

Notes

Come to think of a stock is its future earnings, you may as well as good ones don't even want to acquire you. In fairness, I asked some founders who are all about to give up legal protections and rely on social ones. Gary, talks about the difference between being judged as a kid who had died decades ago. It will seem like I overstated the case.

Actually he's no better or worse than Japanese car companies have been peculiarly vulnerable—perhaps partly because so many had been with us he would have. It was born when Plato and Aristotle looked at with fresh eyes and even if we just implemented it ourselves, so buildings are gutted or demolished to be doomed. Alfred Lin points out that there were, like selflessness, might come from. No, but this could be ignored.

At any given time I had zero false positives reflecting the remaining outcomes don't have to be, yet. 1% a week before. And it's particularly damaging when these investors flake, because it doesn't commit you to remain in denial about your conversations with other people's money.

Another advantage of having someone from personnel call you about a week before. The first assumption is widespread in text classification. Only in a dream world.

And you can ask us who's who; otherwise you may have been Andrew Wiles, but starting a startup to an associate if you repair a machine that's broken because a unless your initial funding and then using growth rate as evolutionary pressure is such a brutally simple word is that the guys running Digg are especially sneaky, but investors can get rich simply by being energetic and unscrupulous, but this would give us. It does at least try.

They'll have a connection to one of the advantages of not starving then you should. A servant girl cost 600 Martial vi. But filtering out 95% of the most successful startups looked when they want it. By your mid-game.

This is a scarce resource. This has already happened once in China, Yale University Press, 1973, p.

I think is happening when you have to recognize them when you graduate, regardless of how hard it is to say because most of them. It doesn't happen often. 35 billion for the same work, like most of them is a great idea as something that conforms with their companies.

Now we don't want to hire any first-time founder again he'd leave ideas that are only slightly richer for having these things. Even the cheap kinds of content. When a lot of the fake leading the fake. It may be that surprising that colleges can't teach students how to succeed in a company has to work with founders create a great deal of competition for the desperate and the cost of having one founder take fundraising meetings is that Steve Wozniak in Jessica Livingston's Founders at Work.

They'd freak if they don't know enough about big markets, why didn't the Industrial Revolution happen earlier? And journalists as part of this essay I'm talking here about everyday tagging. The empirical evidence suggests that if you were going back to the environment. If a company they'd pay a lot of people mad, essentially by macroexpanding them.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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WandaVision Episode 5 Theories Explained

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

It’s very weird and more than a little thrilling to see some of the fan theories that we’ve previously collected actually play out on WandaVision, but of course there are still four episodes of Marvel’s rollercoaster spinoff series left to go, and this week we’re bringing you all the most compelling theories gaining traction online to help pass the time until the sixth episode drops.

At this point, many of the theories surrounding WandaVision’s bigger story are less outlandish. Every week a little more of the puzzle is revealed, and every week we get a little more background on what our central characters have been up to since the climax of Avengers: Endgame, which in turn brings us a lot closer to them.

Not only does this feel fairly organic, it’s also testament to how much we’re genuinely rooting for Wanda’s happiness now. We all want this to turn out well for her, and for her to be allowed to process her grief properly, even as things start to fall apart and the Westview cracks start to show.

Here are some of the biggest theories doing the rounds since episode 5 needle-dropped its MCU-breaking reveal…

Stark Warning

It didn’t take long for Marvel fans to uncover the origin of the ’80s drone tech Monica Rambeau managed to grab so that SWORD could penetrate The Hex in their attempt to reason with Wanda.

After being disabled and dragged outside the mystical forcefield, the drone was exposed as the product of Stark Industries – and if you recall Wanda’s emotional story of how she and Pietro were trapped waiting for a Stark bomb to go off when they were children (as recounted in Avengers: Age of Ultron), it’s no wonder she was so pissed to see a weaponized Stark drone appear in Westview.

It’s not massively surprising that Howard Stark and his team were working on that kinda drone tech in the ’80s, but how was Monica able to get hold of it so quickly? The answer appears clear – SWORD managed to keep a bunch of easily-accessible clout that has either been inherited through SHIELD or lifted from Tony’s warehoused tech.

What else do they have access to, and do they also have a new resource on hand inside SWORD – or at Stark Industries – who could end up being essential to the MCU?

well i think that's worth a look 👀👀#WandaVision pic.twitter.com/pbAvQEfMBF

— Phase Zero (@PhaseZeroCB) February 6, 2021

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 8

Engage Ultron

Is it possible that when Wanda snatched Vision’s body from SWORD and brought him back to life that she accidentally set in motion (or interrupted) a chain of events that would bring back Ultron?

There are a LOT of questions lingering about exactly what SWORD was doing with Vision’s body before Wanda hit the scene and disturbed their work. Were they really about to put him in storage as per his wishes, or were they lowkey doing some pretty dangerous experiments with the original Ultron tech Tony Stark built him with?

This theory is a work in progress for fans who aren’t really sure how Ultron could return without access to the Mind Stone. Still, there’s a solid reason that so many people are checking out James Spader’s IMDb page every week…

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 7

Quicksilvered

You can’t throw a stone online without hitting a theory about how notorious Marvel villain Mephisto will ultimately be unveiled as the real brains behind Westview’s manifestations, and many fans are deeply suspicious of Evan Peters’ arrival as Wanda’s twin brother “Pietro.”

Peters, who played ‘Peter’ Maximoff in the X-Men franchise, has seemingly been cast in WandaVision instead of the MCU’s original Quicksilver, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but does this really mean that realities are colliding and mutants are now here to stay?

Though it’s exciting to think that’s exactly what’s going down here, Pietro’s appearance in Westview feels hastily designed to derail both Wanda and Vision, and who might have a more vested interest in keeping this charade going other than Mephisto? He does absolutely love pretending to be dead people to manipulate Marvel superheroes and villains alike, and his Wrong Quicksilver guise might well keep us off the trail.

#WandaVision Basically the end of episode 5 pic.twitter.com/lND9tUN4yp

— where the stimmy reside. where the stimmy reside. (@Smilinjai) February 7, 2021

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 5

For the Children

Vision wants to know why Billy and Tommy are the only children in Westview, but if you’ve watched trailers that show us glimpses of WandaVision‘s upcoming Halloween episode – where Wanda and Vision finally get to wear their comics-accurate costumes – you may have noticed that Vision is surrounded by children trick-or-treating through the town.

It appears the “no children” situation is about to be fixed posthaste, but there are still indications that children are very much a liability inside The Hex. During episode 5, Agnes says that children can’t be controlled, and Wanda appears perplexed and a little infuriated that her own kids are immune to the effects of her powers.

Putting that aside, where have the children of Westview gone? And why have they been removed from the equation? Are they being held captive because they would see straight through Wanda’s perfect white picket fence life and be utterly terrified that their parents are acting weird as hell?

Some fans are wondering if there’s an even more nefarious reason for their disappearance – perhaps someone or something is using their lifeforce to grow powerful inside the womb of The Hex. A certain red-faced demon? Mmmaybe not, but there is some worrying Age of Ultron foreshadowing for Billy and Tommy’s sudden existence…

Scene that stuck out to me in AoU considering where we are at in WandaVision. from WANDAVISION

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 5

Recap Rewind

Are the “previously on WandaVision” recaps actually all part of the illusion? This meta theory began in earnest after episode 5’s recap when we saw a new version of Wanda explaining to Vision why Monica Rambeau had vanished.

When this scene played out at the end of episode 4, Wanda expelled Monica from The Hex and told her special red popsicle that ‘Geraldine’ was simply no longer around because “she had to rush home”, but in episode 5’s opening recap Wanda’s words had changed to “she doesn’t belong here.”

It’s worth noting that the show’s recaps are always introduced in Elizabeth Olsen’s voice, and this particular alteration is certainly very curious.

The way that Wanda says "Previously on Wandavision" gets a little more sober per episode.#Wandavision pic.twitter.com/CZIOSjWRs9

— Elizabeth Olsen Access (@LizzieContent) February 7, 2021

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 5

Hail Hayward

As soon as we clapped eyes on new SWORD director Tyler Hayward, we instinctively knew he was going to turn out to be a wrongun, and our fears were justified when he immediately hijacked Monica’s plan to reason with Wanda using an old Stark drone.

Yes, that git really strapped a missile to it and ordered his men to take the shot. He must have been snacking on the wrong local mushrooms when he came up with that plan – sir, Wanda Maximoff almost took down Thanos, are you for real?

So, is Hayward just a misguided military man with absolutely no concept of how powerful Wanda is or how quick her reflexes are, or was he deliberately trying to make her mad to destabilize the situation? Is he just another in a long line of confident, strong-jawed men who have risen to the top of government oversight organizations in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who later turn out to be working for HYDRA?

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 4

Get Stoned

The theory that all of this comes back to the Mind Stone has been around since the very first episode of WandaVision started streaming, but it’s only grown in popularity every time Vision has done something extraordinary in the show. It’s hard to argue with the notion that Vision’s head bling isn’t just for decoration here – he’s able to use the powers of the Mind Stone in Westview to expose the town’s secrets when Wanda isn’t around, ergo the stone itself might be a very real presence.

But if the infinity stone is here, how has it returned? As revealed in Avengers: Endgame, Thanos reduced his version of it down to the atomic level far away from Earth, and Cap took the stolen Scepter containing the Mind Stone to its rightful place in 2012, presumably to deliver it back into the hands of HYDRA, who would go on to perform experiments with it that enhanced Wanda and Pietro Maximoff before it was used to create Ultron and Vision. But did all go as planned or did the Mind Stone fall into the grasp of someone else, creating a branch reality that Wanda (or someone else) was able to exploit?

Another theory also posits that since destroying it at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, Wanda has become the living embodiment of the Mind Stone, which is why her powers seem to have increased exponentially. Hmm.

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 2

Watch Next

The first time an episode of WandaVision finished and Disney+ suggested we watch Avengers: Age of Ultron, no one paid it too much attention. After the second, third, fourth, and fifth time it happened, it became an amusing meme on social media. But what if there’s a very good reason that Marvel is so keen for us to re-watch the film again 5+ years after its release?

Tons of people caught up in the intriguing events of the spinoff series are now choosing to go back and mine the Marvel blockbuster for clues, wondering if everything we really need to know about the truth of the story is right there for the taking.

We re-watched Age of Ultron ourselves, once in preparation for WandaVision and again halfway through to see if it changed the way we viewed the events of the movie. It definitely seems to have taken on a new depth, and the Avengers’ chatter about humanity’s doomed future rings clearer.

Thor’s random vision quest, where he skipped out on the plot to go take an underwater peek into the future, also feels more essential. Okay, yes, there’s Heimdall’s assertion that Thor would lead them all “into Hell” – another possible hint that Mephisto is on the horizon – but there’s also that dire warning from Thor upon his return.

He says he saw “a whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its center, the Mind Stone.” Was this really a reflection of Ultron’s plans for it, or was it setting the stage for WandaVision‘s finale?

Watching the avengers age of ultron again, so my sister can understand #WandaVision. pic.twitter.com/l9HsgTKnu3

— shoot (@AgirlnamedShoot) February 7, 2021

Pinches of Paprika Out of Ten: 1

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Have you heard any juicy new theories about WandaVision after last week’s episode? Let us know in the comments.

The post WandaVision Episode 5 Theories Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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tillthenexttimedoctor · 7 years

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Identity, Agency and the Story of Bill Potts

In her first lines on the show, Bill Potts recounts her encountering a crush of hers. Charmingly, she narrates her life. Even as she tries to get around answering the question on her lecture attendance, she’s calling us to get to know her. Her version of subterfuge is presenting an anecdote that includes her job, her love life and a brief ramble about personal philosophies, before she has to admit that none of this relates to the issue at hand. Her face and hands take us on a journey, expressive, alive.

Bill sees the world with open eyes and feels with an open heart. Like so many of the Moffat era companions, she is full of stories. Full of anecdotes, of small, shy reveals, of movie recommendations, of other people’s histories, of tiny facts and complex explanations. Her logic, too, can be seen as fundamentally story-based. Genre-savvy as she is, Bill thinks in the leaps and bounds of sci fi tales - from lizards in brains and mind wipes to jumping straight to the TARDIS-induced telepathy as an explanation for the translation she is witnessing.

It’s not that her life resembles a fairy tale or that she aspires to be its heroine. Her universe is what is is. It can be unkind, unyielding. But Bill is also willing to see a world that is stranger and more wonderful than you can imagine. She can take joy in simple things, like recognising the familiar smell of rosemary in a garden far, far away. And when given the opportunity, she is eager to experience life, eager to learn, eager to allow things in. With Bill , asking questions turns into more than a narrative tool. Instead, it becomes a beautiful building block of her characterisation. “Most people when they don't understand something, they frown. You smile.”

Bill has a a remarkable talent for physics, unbelievably high essay grades included, and proves that she has a keen observational eye. In addition, she is quick to empathise with other people and to unravel their stories. Where others might only have seen Heather’s prickly exterior, her aloofness, her rudeness, Bill glimpses the sadness underneath. And even more surprisingly, she seeks it out, she tries for a sense of connection based on it. From just tiny fragments of conversation, she comes to understand the central problem of Heather’s existence - not an isolated instance for her.

We follow Bill’s journey of figuring out who the Doctor is, pondering police boxes and helplines. And struggles with the darker parts of him, the parts that are steeped in death, until the narrative fits. Eventually, she sees right through him. (”No time for outrage. You've never had time for anything else, right?”) Where the Doctor’s logic fails, Bill’s human perspective can offer missing puzzle pieces. It is she who realises the truth about the Landlord and explains that entering the portal is Kar’s and the remaining Ninth Legion’s destiny, not the Doctor’s.

Even more importantly, Bill carries forward a strong sense of the details of her own identity. It’s in the way she dresses, in the bright clothes, stylish but always with a sense of originality, it’s in earrings and the bow in her hair. It’s the rainbow on her jacket. It’s the chips patch on her t-shirt. It’s being a black woman with an afro. It’s coming out to her house mate and Roman soldiers when they show interest in her. It’s coming out to her professor seconds into their first conversation, just because.

Finally, it’s filling the gaps of her past and present. Her mum in particular is a repeated feature of her imagination. Bill fantasises about conversations never had, wisdom that was never bestowed upon her (”My mum always said ‘with some people you can smell the wind in their clothes.’”). She proudly presents her new room to her, calls out to her when death seems all too near. Finally, Bill defeats the Monks with the uncorrupted image of her mother, a pure, personal myth to replace the twisted one that laid claim upon Earth.

When push comes to shove, this is what it comes down to, a first echo through time of the events which wait for her in the finale. She reveals the strength of her trust, the power of her dedication, that dooms her world as surely as she believes it can be saved. And counters it with a fortress around herself that is powerful enough to withstand the onslaught of any force. She narrates her own story, until it breaks through the violence and the lies. Hope and love and her identity prevail, even where it is impossible.

Nonetheless, there appears to be a notable void in the larger picture of Bill Potts. While who she is often gets painted in vibrant colours, the question of who she wants to be lingers on, unanswered. She does not flee from a future that scares her, she does not aspire to become a heroine. Instead, it fells like Bill has never quite dared to tell a story about her own future, about what she wants to do, about who she wishes to be. “I always wanted to come here,” is a backstory detail, not a plan, not a fantasy. “Let me have some good dreams for once”, she begs the Doctor.

Bill is someone who takes chances. The Pilot, in particular, is a story of unlikely, quiet bravery. After a brief moment of hesitation, Bill throws herself into being taught everything from poetry to physics, writing brilliant essay after brilliant essay. She follows the Doctor and Nardole, when they suspiciously sneak off into a cellar. She approaches Heather on a park bench and offers empathy instead of being rebuked by her prickly demeanour. Instead of the Doctor convincing the companion to travel with him, it is Bill who meaningfully glances at the police box in the corner and makes the Doctor reconsider.

And yet, Bill knows life can be painful. She even assumes it. The way Moira does not make an effort to truly see her - or even just acknowledge a sexual orientation Bill does not appear to make a secret of - never makes her react with more than mild exasperation. Bill shrugs off not getting Christmas presents. Even if she does not expect reciprocation, she treats the people around her with kindness and generosity. Small moments of vulnerability are when Bill seems the most real, whether its her sudden withdrawal from the conversation when the Doctor retorts “to serve chips” or the fleeting look on her face when the Doctor comments on her small amount of worldly possessions.

If Bill is not as confrontational as many other companions, it is largely because when it comes to herself, she rarely fights as much as she deserves to be fought for. She begs to keep her memories but still seems resigned to the inevitable. Bill interrogates the Doctor the subject matter of death, but it is only after he follows her, after he invites her to voice her anger. The conversation might revolve around morality, but it feels very personal. The Doctor might accuse Bill of having a temper, but her outburst as as much a sign of trust as it is one of the strong emotions she carries within.

The events of World Enough and Time are designed to challenge every foundation of Bil’s character. Being shot and separated from her friends, spending years essentially locked in a dubious hospital after a dubious operation, would have been enough to shatter most people’s confidence, even with the Doctor’s voice whispering an instruction into her ear. Instead, she drinks the awful tea and cleans the floors, opens the occasional window and makes do. She has the patience, faith and resilience enough to wait.

Only when being reunited with the Doctor seems in arm’s reach do her question become more and more insistent, until the Master leads her into his trap. The result is even more brutal than what followed before - and it’s understandable that some might find it unnecessarily so - but what follows is all the more meaningful for it. The world would have always demanded of Bill to be someone else, as a lesbian, as a black woman. Here, it comes the closest it has ever come to succeeding. And fails, yet again.

Continuing to show Bill’s face in lieu of the mask Cyberman reinforces that point, over and over again. It is often said that the companion is the person through whose eyes we experience the events of the show, but that rarely has been as true as here. We observe Bill as she views herself, her eyes, her hands, her tears. She is keeping Cyberman conversion at bay, blocking out the terrifying things that happened to her. She asserts who she is with every second she is shown on screen, every frame. "A castle made of you, and you are standing on the battlements, saying no. No, not me.”

Bill’s agency has been stripped from her bones, transformed, replaced. Even if her mind stood remained a fortress, standing strong inmidst of a war, there is little else that would encroach on her freedom to act, to be, in a similarly violent manner. In respose, the story does not merely return her ageny to her. Instead she is gifted with a future of infinite, supernatural potential. “It’s all just atoms, you can rearrange them any way you like,” Heather says.

This works, because we know Bill Potts. Where another person might stumble, untethered by earth and air, there’s no part of Bill that calls the innocence of such an offer into question. Slowly, she has stepped into a fairytale. She told her story to a ghost until it she filled it with enough life to save the world. She lost her heart and exchanged it for one made of tin. She cried tears woven from magic. But even as, to paraphrase Peter Capaldi, Bill’s heart reached the stars, she had her feet on the ground. Every line of her story is there because of who is she.

The woman who did not want to live unless she could be herself can also remain fundamentally true to herself, as she steps out into the starlight. This time, it is with a sense of direction. This time, she can be her own guide on her journey. “I've been through a lot since the last time we met, so I'll show you around.” And back in time for tea. How’s that for a good dream?

#dwedit #bill potts appreciation day #dwgif #borntosavethedoctor #bill potts #*mine #doctor who meta

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davidmann95 · 7 years

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Where does Robin stands nowadays in the Batman's world in your opinion? How different is it from where it started in the DCU?

Over 78 years and at least 4 ‘main’ versions, yeah:there’ve been some changes.

The thing about Robin though, in terms of how he grewalongside Batman? For the first 30ish years of his existence, he’s not actuallya character; he’s an accessory, another item on the utility belt, albeit oneBatman cared about a lot more than a grapple gun or flashbang. Past that greatpage with him and Batman swearing the vow by candlelight, providing valuablesymbolism and context for (much) later on - and even there, Batman’s emotionsand motivations for bringing this kid into his world amount to “Well, Iguess you and I were both victims of a similar trouble.” - Dick’s just*there*, the junior crimefighter, thrown in to add variety to fight scenes andgive his partner someone to bounce dialogue off of. As little as the comicsbrought up Batman’s parents dying in a filthy alley back then, it at leastoccasionally merited a mention, whereas I could almost believe you if you toldme Robin’s origin was literally never brought up again for the first 20 yearsof his career.

To be clear, that’s not at all a failing of those stories. Robin’s great even then, a fitting splash of color into Batman’s world thatpaved the way for further weirdness down the line and a great design in his ownright (even if the lack of pants hasn’t aged as well as Superman or Batman’slooks at the time), as well as a reader-identification figure in a time whenhanging out with Batman still seemed like a fun prospect. But compared to itsbig rival in Superman, which silly as it got still often dove intobig, primal emotions children could relate to - at least in the Silver Age- Batman was mostly rooted in process: here’s how Batmanfights his way past the goons/escapes the deathtrap/figures out the mystery.The closest there was to an ongoing emotional conflict was Batman wonderingwhether or not he should settle down with Batwoman. As a result, despite reamsof pagetime and plenty of solo stories, Robin himself had less characterizationthan, say, the likes of Jimmy Olsen, or even Lori Lemaris. Even stories zeroingin on their relationship like Robin DiesAt Dawn are based on Batman’s guilt, not anything substantial on Robin’send. He’s not even a tonal contrast yet, since Batman himself is pretty chipperby now, and will be for the next few decades.

The turning point is in 1969 when Dick leaves for college aspart of a general attempt at streamlining Batman’s operation; while the O’Neil/Adamsteam hadn’t come onboard yet, the Adam West and Burt Ward show had ended theyear before and I imagine DC was already feeling the backlash, so it marked thestart in earnest of trying to get everybody to take Batman a bit moreseriously. The unintended result being that Robin, while appearing on occasionin the main titles, was for all intents and purposes hermetically sealed awayin his own corner of the DCU away from what was happening to Batman, first insolo adventures and then with the New Teen Titans. And eventually,inexorably, that meant that Robin shifted to not really fitting with Batman’sworld as we knew it anymore, and that’s therefore what came to define DickGrayson: he’s not like Bruce Wayne, and moreover he doesn’t especially want tobe, until him even nominally being Batman’s sidekick anymore doesn’t work oncehe grows up and realizes he doesn’t want to sit in a basement scowling for therest of his life.

Of course, taking Dick Grayson out of the picture meantthere wasn’t going to be a Robin period, and the rejection of the fun Robinrepresented wasn’t complete enough to deny the value of his iconography, soalong comes Jason Todd, The Robin Who Makes Sense For Grim Batman once he getshis Post-Crisis origin. He’s got a dark backstory (one that even doesmarginally more than Dicks’ did to justify the conceit of Batman taking on ayoung aid - after all, if Jason wasn’t Robin he’d possibly be doomed to a lifeof crime), and a personality that lets him trade jokes with the bad guys inclassic Robin style, but as fueled by a rage at injustice that meant he didn’tcontrast that harshly with a post-Miller Batman. There’s a bit more of adeliberate contrast with how Batman himself functions - something that becomesimportant later - but it’s subdued in the face of Jason’s anger boiling over,until his presence becomes untenable both in-universe and among the fanbase,and what happens, happens. Because goodness knows that if there’s one thingBatman was lacking, it was a defining tragedy to motivate him to fight crime.

So you have a company that recognizes that Robin probablyshould be a thing, but their attempt at making him mesh with therough-and-tumble modern world of the 1980s failed so spectacularly that havinga child beaten to death by a clown was preferable to having to continue to putup with him. So they were going to have to work with something a little morefamiliar, while at the same time finding a whole new way to make the ideapalatable, especially now that the obvious dangers of bringing a powerless kidto fight supervillains were right at the front of everybody’s minds.

And that’s how you get the most important Robin story of alltime past his debut in A Lonely Place OfDying.

Not the best,mind you; later stories explored the idea introduced here in far moreinteresting ways. And for that matter, I’mon the record that Tim Drake is by far the least interesting Robin, ageneric grab-bag of traits from other characters who never remotely approachesthe sum of his parts (and that disappointing streak in fact starts right here,where the question of “how do you justifyendangering a child after what happened to Jason Todd?” is kicked under therug by having a new kid show up out of nowhere who happens to be amazing andperfect for the gig both physically and mentally). But what happens here iswhere the idea hinted at now and again in the likes of The Dark Knight Returns finally clicks into place, where Robinactually becomes Robin as we now know him with the idea that his contrast withBatman isn’t a bug, but a feature.

That’s what Robin brings to the table, retroactivelyexplaining why Dick worked and Jason didn’t, why he makes sense in Batman’sworld, and why Bruce in fact needs him: because there needs to be a light inthe dark, someone to remind Batman just what it is he’s fighting for and keephim from losing himself entirely to his mission. That Robin saves Batman justas much as the other way around, and that having a laughing young daredevil outthere alongside him will keep Batman’s head in the game, keep him alert andengaged and alive now that he has someone else to look out for. In short, Robinbeing around forces Batman to be an adult, rather than the kid still crying inthe alley all these years later. And in so doing, he has the chance to showthese kids a better way, just as he once found one. It’s a take that sticksright away, since that’s the contrast they went with a couple years later for Batman: The Animated Series, setting instone how those two related to each other in the public eye to the point whereit’s hard to remember it any other way (especially since flashbacks to Dick’s period as Robin now retroactively cast him as the upbeat good cop toBatman’s hardass).

It doesn’t quite hold in the comics among the creatorsthough, and the result was an odd period where things were thrown in twodirections at once; some writers it was becoming obvious actually did dislikeor even hate Robin, or at minimum had no use whatsoever for him, and he startedto get kicked to the side at every available opportunity since now not only washe silly on his own but he actively represented the idea that Batman shouldhimself lighten up. Others clearly started to like Robin as a figure more thanBatman himself, hence getting storieswhere it turned out Nightwing was called into Gotham on the night of Jason’sdebut so Bruce could rub it in his face that he was replaced, or Brucereplacing Tim with an inadequately-trained young woman who eventually gotkilled to try and bait him into resuming the role himself. And by the timethings returned to some sort of equilibrium, it was already just about time forthe next big shift.

Finally, we come to the star of the show if we’re talkingabout how Robin works and where he stands today: Damian Wayne. The son of Batmanasopposed to the brother, and therefore probably why Bruce catastrophically fails at every turnwhen trying to raise him (outside maybe a few so-so Tomasi comics) - he’s acesat barking orders at partners, but not so much at emotionally connecting with achild who’s for a change actually immature compared to him, rather than beingnoticeably emotionally healthier. He couldn’t even properly help Jason; what hope didhe have at reaching a 10-year-old assassin raised from birth with the promisethat his destiny is to one day wreak bloody revolution and seize the world inhis grip? Bruce fights crime; what’s he going to do with a kid essentially raisedby the platonic concept of capital-C Crime? Hence why he’s not Bruce’s Robin, andnever really could be. Even if they could work together without findingthemselves at each other’s throats, it’d be two terse efficient warriors cooperatingsmoothly, with none of the spark that makes Batman and Robin thrive as apartnership in an emotional sense. He’s Dick’s.

He has to be Dick’s,because as Dick’s grown since his years in the speedo, through Nightwing toBatman and back again, he’s become the official adult in the room of the BatmanFamily (at least as far as the members in tights go). He’s the one who smiles,who has at least semi-stable relationships, who Bruce saved and who thereforegrew up not being afraid and vulnerable in the same way as him. And because ofthat he’s the one who’s able to talk with Damian as a human being to beunderstood and guided rather than an apprentice to be disciplined - just as hewas retroactively the one to make the effort to connect with Bruce, he’s ableto do the same thing here, except this time the power dynamic favors him - and becauseof that Damian eventually comes to understand there’s more to crimefightingthan punishing ‘degenerates’, but in protecting the innocent and serving ahigher ideal of justice. To the point where the privileged little brat whooriginally thought blood alone made him worthy of being Batman not only turnshis back on the crime that defined his life, but joins the Bat-Family inearnest by essentially orphaning himself with the rejection of hismother.

It’s the completion of a circle, where Dick proves hisworthiness as Batman by succeeding in saving Damian where Bruce failed to saveJason. They have the chemistry that defines Batman and Robin as a modernpartnership, able to bounce off each other with the wise snarking veteransuperhero always able to needle the self-important teen samurai billionaireuntil the kid comes out, whether to laugh along with him or show how deep hiswounds go. And the reason this truly works as a reconfiguration of the Batmanand Robin relationship rather than a new one altogether became clear in Nightwing Must Die!, where we see whatDamian brings to the table in turn: Dick as a well-adjusted person doesn’t havethe diamond-solid certainty in his identity or mission that Bruce did, butDamian most definitely does, and can bring the fire to Dick when he needs itthe way Dick could with Bruce. He’s the one who believes in Dick as Batman evenmore than he believes in Bruce. Hell, probably even more than Dick believes in Bruce.

As is that’s the issue with Robin, at least as far as thecomics go - he’s not working with his partner, and you can’t especially shove himtogether with Bruce without either killing the drama or going endlessly back tothe “You’re not my real dad, man!” well (yetanother reason Dick should absolutely still be Co-Batman), and while he’s honestlya strong enough character to work on his own, that’s not his situation at themoment. Thankfully we’re still getting a pretty effective contrast with JonKent in Super Sons, along with whatever they’re doing in Teen Titans right now,but as Robin specifically rather than Damian Wayne he’s kind of inevitablysidelined until Dick either takes back the cape or just takes Robin as hissidekick even while he’s Nightwing. Bruce himself seems to have moved pastneeding a Robin truly all his own at the moment, instead cycling through thelikes of Bluebird and Signal and Gotham Girl. The honest answer to what Robinmeans in the DCU right now is probably “identitythat’s going to remain in a holding pattern until the DCEU Batman and Nightwingmovies come out, and then they’ll do whatever lines up with those”. So, uh,come back to me in 2019 or thereabouts. But on the whole? Batman and Robin arethere to save each other. It’s that simple.

#Robin #Batman #Nightwing #Dick Grayson #Damian Wayne #Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Analysis #Opinion

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darkspellmaster · 7 years

Text

Voltron Theory Part 2 Season 3: Lotor’s Parentage

So, we’ve now been introduced to Prince Lotor, and he’s a heck of a lot to un-package.

Smart and charismatic, but also manipulative and doesn’t suffer failure. It’s clear that there’s more to this man, he also seems to hold grudges and allows others to be harmed for his actions, such as in the case of Throk.

And yet, there is a nicer side to him. He’s protective of his generals, it’s clear that he respects them and their opinions. He’s also a man of action, showing that he can get into the thick of it, and yet knows how to pull back when there’s not much to gain.

It’s clear that he was trained hard in becoming very well versed in military strategy, but why? We also know for sure that he was exiled by the Galra for some reason, and has since been off doing something else. What’s interesting is that he picked up the Generals, all female too mind you, and have been using him as his elite squad of sorts.

Unlike Zarkon, there’s a clear equality that he sees in his team, something that…on the one hand is awesome, on the other hand, given his reaction to Acxa’s failure with the Teledav, one has to wonder how far his equal view of his men goes?

Physically he’s an interesting Specimen to the eye.

He’s tall, but smaller than a lot of Galra, meaning he’s roughly about the size of a Human or an Altean.

He has white hair, which again is unusual because there are only a few people that have that hair: Alfor, his wife, Allura, Keith apparently (as per Lauren’s comment about him dying it black was part of an idea they had for the series) and surprisingly Kolivan (the long end of his hair is white).

He also has a very narrow chin and features distinctive Altean ears, something that hints at his being half, and also, importantly, is something carried over from the main series in both the original Go lion and the American Voltron Defender of the Universe.

Lotor also has yellow eyes, but blueish irises, and a very sharp chin, unlike his father who has more of a square jaw.

Again Altean features as far as we’ve seen in the show, save for some of the Galra, like Throck and Haxus who both have pointed chins but seem to lack some of the qualities that these two had.

There’s also the fact that he doesn’t wear the same sort of armor as the other members of the military, and that his helmet is distinctly Altean in design, much like Allura’s Paladin look.

What’s also interesting with Lotor is the fact that he bears no markings of the Altean people like his mother. Although there’s some question if that is his mother but more on that later. He also seems to have the smoother skin for the Galra rather than a more fuzzy aspect. Which is again rather different than other members of his species.

So this got me thinking, exactly who is Lotor. Or rather who is his parents? There are a few options, so let’s dive into them and hopefully we can come up with a good theory about where his blood line is coming from.

Let’s start by looking to the past to get an idea of who we can rule in and out of this versions heritage.

Lotor from the original series was born from King Zarkon and a young woman from Arus, who was taken as his slave. Haggar (Honerva in Go Lion), the former Queen of Planet Doom and Zarkon’s Mother, was Lotor’s grandmother, both of which Lotor didn’t know about. In the updated comic Lotor’s mother Lora, given an actual name, is the royal consort (although I don’t know if the marriage was an alliance deal or something that was a willing deal) of king Zarkon and actually does things in his name, and seems to have been there for Lotor as he grew up to a point. In both cases his mother seems to be Altean, and his father Zarkon.

We know for sure that we can rule out the idea of Haggar (points for using both aspects of the original series with that one guys) being his grandmother as we’ve seen that she came from Honerva, Zarkon’s wife. And we can probably rule out the idea of Zarkon enslaving someone to give him a child, since even Zombified Zarkon is somewhat honorable. So where does that leave us to figuring this out.

Well we know that Lotor claims that Zarkon’s his father so we can go with that as a Start and list all the ways that Zarkon can be Lotor’s father.

If Zarkon is Lotor’s dad Theories:

1. Zarkon and Honerva had Lotor biologically

Now in Episode 7: The legend begings, we see the back story of how Zarkon met Honerva met and got married.

During this time we also saw the birth of Princess Allura and, during none of the time while they were alive, did we see either of them mention having a child.

This would be a big thing, as given how friendly the two men were before things went down, it wouldn’t have been that hard to believe that they could have arranged to have Lotor and Allura marry.

This doesn’t even touch on if Galra and Alteans can have kids together, however the show has been hinting at the fact that it’s a possibility with the hybrids and Keith’s existence.

As @radioactivesupersonic post pointed out, it seems really weird for the two to conceive a child after being Zombified. I’m going to go one further on this, I don’t just think they are Zombified, I think they are actively being controlled and possessed. So if that’s the case, why would they want to have a child? Given that Haggar couldn’t remember being married until she went into Zarkon’s mind, and he clearly wasn’t showing that he recalled her (even if they were still emotionally bonded) it would be hard to believe that they would want to have a child together.

Lotor clearly was born after Allura went into her sleep as she would have recalled him, and Coran indicated that they didn’t know he had a son. This means that Lotor wasn’t born before the Zombification of Zarkon and Honerva. So they had to have him after, but how? If they are dead, that would mean that they don’t have the living options in their body, as Haggar is shown to have gone from her normal brown color to a dark purple, which could be either from the thing that attached to them, or (like Transformer that turn gray) Altean’s bodies turn a darker color when they die. Thus making it clear that both are living on borrowed time.

Regardless, Haggred’s one track mind on experimentation and Zarkon’s desire for Voltron, indicate to me that neither of them would have the mind to, nor the inclination, to create a child though a union of their own. This also doesn’t explain why Lotor only sees Zarkon as his father and doesn’t mention Honerva, nor does it imply why he calls her his father’s witch. Unless Lotor has no clue of his mother at all, and this is going to be a situation where he wigs out and kills her like in the original Go Lion. But given the way they’re building up Lotor, I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, as he’s more like the Devil’s Due version in that he’s a more honorable person…to a point.

So if that’s the case then…

2. Lotor is an experiment by Haggar

This one is another thing brought up by @radioactivesupersonic, and I think it’s a good one. The idea is that Haggar created Lotor by building a child based on the DNA from herself and Zarkon, and possibly Alfor or his wife.

Now I can believe that. We know that Haggar can create things, and alter people (Shiro and the other cyborgs) and infuse people into the Robeasts (as we’ve seen with the first and second season) and we know that they’re creating clone technology (as per Kuro –fake Shiro). So the idea of her creating a child possibly from various bits of DNA and mixing them to give birth to him.

In that case, he would know that Zarkon is his father, but when was this done, and how long ago did this take? We have no info on that, and I would think that, if Lotor was going to be a test subject for Haggar, there would be more clues given.

On the other hand he could be from only one parent with add ons put in him. As in Lotor is a clone of Zarkon, the problem with that is that Lotor bears no significant traits with Zarkon, and only has the purple skin tone. And he certainly has more qualities with an Altean and has the white hair, which we now know is connected only two a hand full of people (Alfor, Allura, Allura’s mom, Kolivan and Keith). So did Haggar clone Alfor and alter him? There is that option since Lotor does have a similar eye color to the late King.

Then again, if Zarkon couldn’t remember her, could he have forced a child from another Altean?

3. Zarkon’s the dad, but another woman is the mom

There is a chance that given Zarkon not recalling his past, he could have taken on an Altean woman to have Lotor and then left her behind.

However, this is less likely because people point out that Lauren Montgomery has noted that Lotor has a connection to Princess Allura. Something that being born from an unknown woman wouldn’t allow to happen.

The other option is that Zarkon and Allura’s mom had Lotor. We are told over and over that Alfor was killed by him and Altea was blown up. However I don’t fully believe that the Alteans are dead, due to the fact that Lotor had his ship built and the only ones that can do that are the Olkari, who probably wouldn’t do so, and the Altean’s since they built the first set of lions.

If Lotor is Allura’s brother through her mom and Zarkon, the issue is how has he stayed alive? Unlike Zarkon and Haggar, it’s clear that Lotor hasn’t imbibed in the Quintessense since his eyes still have irises, and we’ve seen other Galra not have glowing yellow eyes. These are Galra that look closer to the original form of the Galra (see the captain of the ship that the Blue Lion attacked in the first season) or seem to be halfs. So unless he’s being corrupted by the Quintessense I don’t think Lotor is that old, and can’t be Allura’s brother that way, unless he was frozen as part of his exile.

4. Lotor is Zarkon’s son from another reality.

This one is weird but there is this option. We know that there are other realities and we’ve seen how things can pass through. So there is that option, but…and I say this hard, if Lotor did come through he would have had to have passed through via ship like Voltron and been picked up by the Galra. Now we know that he’s interested in building a teledev and that he seemed to have an idea of other realities, or at least that the meteorite can go between ala Voltron.

However the main problem also is that he was able to control the Altean ship, which means that he has to have some connection to the royal family to do anything to that ship. However he could very well be a descendent from both the Empress Allura and the Zarkon of another universe. We’ve only seen one so far, and the idea that there are more out there indicates that there’s a chance for that reality to have had some form of peace between the two forces.

The problem with this is, how do you prove he’s from another reality?

On the plus side, if he is from another reality and thus connected to Allura as a brother, then that could explain the whole issue of him moving the ship.

There is also a chance that Lotor is not the Son of Zarkon but may be another person’s child all together.

1. Lotor could be the son of Empress Allura

While this is the least likely choice, there is a small hint that it could be. We know that Lotor has a very close look physically to Allura, and this isn’t just by design. If Lotor came from that world, how did he get to our known universe? The only way I can think of is due to a number of situations that allowed for him not to be affected by the rift.

However he clearly wants to travel between worlds as he purposely built that ship from that meteorite. He knows about the way it works, and the only way he could know that is if he was able to test that factor. He also wants a teleduv which means that he knows how to use that too.

If he is the son of Allura that could explain the whole idea of him being connected to her. If he is from another universe, this might be a case of him wanting to go home, rather than continue Haggar’s tests. The issue is still how did he get across the rift without being vaporized.

2. Lotor is Allura’s brother

Okay this one is one that keeps going around my head. There are still issues with it, but there’s some very interesting ways this could be.

While looking at Episode 7 I noticed that Lotor does bear a striking resemblance to Alfor. They share similar eyes, not only in color but in shape.

Also chin and nose as well.

Alfor also has the same sort of side burns as Lotor, and there’s some similarity in their hair styles as well. Then there is the ears on Alfor and Lotor. They are practically the same.

They both seem to share even their smiles, and some of their personality traits in the smug department.

We also know again that he could turn on the Altean ship which is rather important since it’s been stated that only a royal family member can move Altean ships. Coran and others have said over and over that ships that are like the one that was between the rifts can only be moved or controlled by the royal family. Which means that previously the Commander of the ship would have had to have been a member of the royal family as well, or that there was something on the ship that allowed it to move.

Furthermore when you actually examine the options for who could be Lotor’s parents, with Honerva and Zarkon you run into a few problems.

For one thing their eye colors do not match their son’s. Like at all, in any way, shape or form. Not only that but there’s the fact that Lotor’s ears are closer in shape to Alfor’s then Honerva’s. Both Honerva and Zarkon have brown eyes, and yes I checked with a hexadecimal code to see the exact color that they used in the coloring of the eyes of the characters.

Lotor’s eyes match up with the range of Alfors as both Honerva and Zarkon’s eyes are brown. The only people that have blue eyes are Acxa, Allura, Alfor, her mom, Ezor, and oddly Coran. Unless it turns out that Coran is his dad, which would match up with the idea of Coran having a missing son.

So how would Lotor end up being under Zarkon’s control? And why would Allura not know she has a brother?

Well if Allura’s mom was with child during the events of the fall of Altea, then there’s a strong chance that she could have, and would have given birth after the castle was taken. Assuming that the Alteans didn’t all die, it wouldn’t be that hard to believe that Zarkon would kill them all as they’re actually useful to them, and there are hints about the druids being Altean, then it could very well be that he’s placed them under his control.

If Allura’s mom did have a child, it wouldn’t be that far to believe that Zarkon and Haggar wouldn’t want a child to rise up and find his sister. They could have easily put him under experimentation, and frozen him for a time to carefully grow him in a controlled environment and make him believe he is the son of Zarkon.

The other option was that he was born from Alfor and Allura’s mom through a less conventional way and at a later time, then infused with aspects of the Galra to maybe create someone that could be used to control the Alteanas or Polluxians or other races in their stand. Unfortunately he’s too independent and was sent away due to his own nature to want to do his own thing.

It’s hard to tell for sure exactly where Lotor’s from, but a lot of signs point to the idea that he is at least connected to the royal family. So those are my theories, anyone have others?

One other funny note:

Alfor’s sword....

Lotor’s sword.

They’re very similar in design.

#lotor #prince lotor #zarkon #haggar #king alfor #allura's mom #alfor #lotor's parents #honerva #princess allura #allura #allura of altea #emperor zarkon #voltron #volton legendary defender #vld #voltron theory #voltron theories

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petty-crush · 7 years

Text

An open letter/retort to the “honest trailer” for “Alien Covenant”

Of course people can disagree and of course this is a sarcastic video. But since this contains a lot of knee jerk, being negative for views comments, (and because people may get fooled by just watching this video)I think this is a good place to dissect frogs.

My bias; I think “Covenant” is a truly great film. Spectacular in ideas, behaviors, visuals, and pure fun. I loved it. I am clearly willing to die on a hill for it

The main gap is that it’s really a different series, under the mask of the “Alien” series. It actually veers closer to the 1932 film “Island of lost Souls”. Ship of survivors representing normal veer into uncharted territory; a mad scientist bending the rules of biology encounters and clashes with them; the monsters he creates go to war with the ship. And in this film evil wins.

It also contains genuinely great performance(s) from Fassbender, grand sketches of gods wrecking the cosmos, humanity abandoning its children to go after unanswerable questions, and more that harken back to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” sandbox of sci fi.

To me, this film is all about David. The humans are cannon fodder for them. Which justifies their characterization. Also, he’s clearly a stand in for Ridley Scott and the work + wonder of being an artist, film director in particular.

I love this. I can see others liking it less, but is beautifully realized, staged, and executed.

So what are people looking for? Well…

[quotes around their words, mine by themselves]

“From Ridley Scott, one of the best directors… And one of the worst”

-first off, I think an artist is judged by their best work, not overall average

Scott can be quite varied. I personally favor going to cosmos than staying in your lane. Sometimes that make mistakes, but interesting ones.

Make no mistake though: “The Counselor” is a first rate film, acidic in the extreme, but so totally gonzo that it makes you breathe a different air. It’s the kissing cousin to “Covenant”, and both show a director willing to try new ideas and tones, and pulls it off spectacularly. Both have no interest in making the viewer feel good or flatter them, which definitely pushes some people away

“There are now more bad alien films than good ones”

-first off, where is “Prometheus”? Isn’t it an alien film? If not, and “covenant” is clearly a sequel to it, then maybe this film should be judged apart from the Ripley saga.

-I have wondered at times if calling it “Prometheus: Covenant” would have cut down on the confusion

-“Alien 3” is a spectacular film. It fully commits to the idea of Ripley having courage and purpose to her life as she knows she will die. It is completely different to “Aliens”(which may have been its problem concerning reception,as we will see) and “Alien”, it forms a perfect trilogy. Fincher may hate how fucked he got by the system, but it is a beautiful and wonderful film

“Alien resurrection” less so. But it is an odd, French splatter cartoon; certainly worth watching, not at all bad.

The “vs predator” films are largely minor, and I have no qualms with considering them less successful films.

-What makes the alien series great is that with each film the xenomorph changes to be what the film needs it to be. It’s flexibility storytelling wise is impressive. The problem comes when a audience only wants one type of story done

“When Ridley Scott wanted to talk about the meaning of life, he wanked for two hours”

-“Prometheus” has nothing to do with life, and everything to do with death. The characters in the film want to know about life (particularly Shaw since she can’t give birth) but they are punished at every turn, showing the universe to be uncaring.

Disagree with that statement or not, that is the rule that “Prometheus” and “Covenant” is abiding by.

Hell the first shot of “Prometheus” is an engineer killing himself. “Covenant” starts with life and realizing how the creator will die. There is consistency in this film universe.

And it also totally vibes with “Alien”.

“Save the philosophical stuff for ‘Blade Runner’, I want a short haired girl, in a tank top, fighting a xenomorph, who kills it by sucking it into the vacuum of space”

-and now we come to the real discussion/thorn in the side; this film isn’t a damn thing like “Aliens”

One thing that makes the alien series so fascinating is how it allowed two totally different filmmakers to make their masterpiece.

Also, it’s the rare series where the sequel brought in a bigger and wider audience.

I bet money that most people really only like “Aliens”. And that’s no shame, it’s a brilliant film. It’s strengths are the set pieces, the use of xenomorph as locusts, and characters that are simple but snappy and endearing.

In comparison to “Alien” which is cold, weird and slow moving (and brilliant) “Aliens” charm is more warm and dynamic. It doesn’t ask you to wait, it asks you to hold on. It gets kids in the door with Newt, it sets up a deep chord with Ripley giving her mother like affection , and it also makes Ripley more feminine and kick ass (she was wonderfully butch and joyfully selfish in “Alien”)

Cameron said it best in his critique of “Covenant”; “ I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end.”

Some people share that opinion. Ridley Scott does not. (Nether do I)His films generally have had the protagonist go through hell and often destroyed them. I admire that in him.

But that point of view explains why “Aliens” is so successful; it makes us love the characters and be sad when their friends die. Cameron is a genius, and is warm with his characters. Scott is also a genius, and picks their wings off like a cruel child.

Every alien film post “Aliens” has had to bear that cross, of creating such lovable stock characters. “Alien 3” didn’t give a shit, and made a impressive gathering of detached male prisoners. “Resurrection” came close with goofy space pirates, but were weird as shit.

In my opinion, if “Alien” came out after “Aliens” it would have not been as warmly received, because, got damn, is it cold and weird and hurts its people. It’s suppose to. The reaction to “Prometheus” and “Covenant” shows that all too clear.

Finally, Scott clearly does not give a shit about any alien film after his. I don’t think the Prometheus saga will show the queen alien because it came after Scott and he considers it invalid.

With this in mind, I can see how people are upset. Cold, hateful, sadistic are what “Covenant” are. And I love it for that.

I love mean films with a purpose and artistic flourish. And the Prometheus saga does it so well.

If you came to “Covenant” to root for its human characters, you are fucked (and kinda an idiot). Scott is making big budget sci fi epics about the mass murder of nature and survival of artists.

You can hate that, but call a spade a spade.

“In a franchise full of unforgettable characters”

(Shows only “Aliens” characters)

What about Dallas? Ash? Clemens? Golic? Call? Elgyn? Gediman?

There exists good characters other than the second film, guys

Once again, this love for “Aliens” blinds people to everything else

“Forget the humans”

Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

-but also, that slipping on blood part was (intentionally) hilarious

“Freshman philosophy class…two versions of same pretentious professor..flute”

-why do I get the feelings that the people who say stuff like this never study philosophy and just consider anything even slightest bit about talking about feelings and ideas just stoner shit, because they are the only people that talk about those subjects they let in their social circle?

I dunno, the idea about humanity killing its children for vague reasons, someone trying to better himself against cruelty and going mad himself, and finally having the courage to create something even when everyone else tells him to stand down sounds pretty universally relatable and human to me.

And even if it was pretentious, that is what art is, to subtract the distractions, and focus on what you want the world to be

-to me, David is sad Walter cannot create, like Scott is upset younger directors don’t get to make original universes and material. But David is also a fucking maniac who will stop at nothing, to whom other lives means nothing. That kind of grand vainness is perfectly at home in the world and its what art leisure to create out of whole cloth

But all of this gets in the way of watching strong men blow things away with guns, doesn’t it? (“aliens” did this to show how ineffective the marines were, not to worship them)

-the flute adds to the fantasy element, of the pied piper trying to lure others away, to their doom

Plus, it’s just fucking funny

“Snickers at 'I’ll take care of the fingering’”

See? This film is just so much fun

“I was not expecting this much flute playing”

I love it when films surprise me. I adore it when filmmakers follow their strange urges and give us scenes I never saw coming.

I love the scene of David tempting Walter with the flute.

I marveled at the scene where David drops his black plague on the engineers(who look totally different).

I looked around as David played the fucking theme to “Prometheus” on his flute. I starred at the other audience members, as if to ask “is this the real life?”

I laughed uproariously as just when you think it’s safe the xenomorph tracks the two pilots shower sexing, like it’s 1982 slasher time.

As soon as the humans delver us to David, I could see who this film was about. And really, the humans are just for showing his gentle and different Walter is.

Ridley Scott delivered a new horror classic, with a eye towards the 70’s and 30’s, but both feet in the present, with the score and design to make it work.

The first victim convulsing and back blood shooting. David acting as satan. Terror of trapped in the sick bay. The aforementioned shower scene. The cross bearing xenomorph rejects. The puppet master pulling the strings of the first post face hugger.

This is a brilliantly conceived, written, directed, and persevered treat for horror fans. I loved every second of it.

“Thrill of seeing the xenomorph move. In full daylight. Which just looks…wrong”

This is the best point of the video, though I disagree with the conclusion.

It is weird and against the vibe of the Ripley saga for the xenomorph to be a servant. But clearly these creatures are the hounds to mr burns. Satan. Evil mad dr Moreau.

It definitely gave the the film a totally new vibe. As did all the green life. But isn’t that what films are about, showing new images?

It just looks so damn different. I like different. Different and great-even better.

“Cgi Ripley?”

That would be pretty weird. But since I more or less wash my hands of any continuity, why not?

It’s probably just a spur of the moment statement. But also incredibly funny

“It asks [x] questions but leaves you wondering [y]”

Mac, the real question is, do you like to create? That’s all this film is about. The joy of creation. Of weaving something new out of something old.

Like, Ridley is literally exploiting his own creation. It’s surreal and the best.

“Compares terminator series to Alien series”

This is more apt, but in a different way.

For both series, The first film is a stand alone classic. A low key masterpiece. The second is an expansive blockbuster which really really skewed expectations for future films.

The comparison ends there though. Sigourney Weaver has way way more character to work with. Poor Schwarzenegger had so so directors to work with, while the Alien series put down the work of real filmmakers making challenging art.

I enjoy the terminator series, but it’s clear that it’s so much the work of one man (James Cameron) so no one else can make it work. But the fluidity of the xenomorph makes every single film worth watching and honestly essential.

The second film in both series cast a long shadow. But while the following films in the terminator series really don’t hold up if stand alone, the following xenomorph films all showcase a different side to hubris and death

Which is honestly the best way to approach this film. Something new, vibrant, and bizarrely personal

Respecting and knowing horror and monsters films for what they do helps too

“Me at the idea of six more alien films”

I love it. I usually get tuned out after a few films, but this Prometheus saga just works. The possibilities are endless.

Ridley Scott deserves the highest kudos for turning this series into greatness

In a certain way, “Alien” is “Halloween”, perfect in its execution and of its singularity.

Prometheus saga is Friday the 13th series. Messier, off to an odd start, but a snowball of its own delights that fosters an utterly nihilistic universe. Like Jason, David is too good for just one film, and we need those eight films of him. It may indeed prove to be the essentials space monster-mad scientist series, just like Jason is the essential slasher killer.

Is this pizza to a steak? Yes, but each have their own pure delights, and like a certain pie, it just gets better and beautifully blurrier with each dizzying bite

Long live Prometheus saga; may it rule in hell for an eternity. Just as “Covenant” does in my heart.

#alien covenant #ridley scott #long reads #honest trailers #thoughts #prometheus series #prometheus #film #art

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