The Sandman Audio Book Chapter #16 Lost Hearts

And then she woke up.

What a powerful episode, and what hard work done to earn that line. “I suppose there are worse endings.” There truly are, Rose could have died! But beyond that despite being cheated out of an entire life Unity did get to wake up, and find her family, and be around people who cared for her at the very end. Plus she got to save one of those people. How sweet.

Gilbert going to save save rose!!!! I die! “I don’t think I can save her, but I can hope and pray.” RIP Fiddler’s Green. A beautiful display of love him teller her to sleep under his trees. I hope we get more of Gilbert, but I really liked this beautiful location appearing in the Dreaming.

I also like that the Raven was like “okay I’m in.” And went with Gilbert to help.

Morpheus got some good play in this episode. The VA really got to play around with his regret for what he has to do. Last episode I wasn’t so much mad with Morpheus as I was with Neil, but he clearly regrets fucking up and losing an entire planet once. So him killing Rose is duty, and we get it. Everyone in the scene gets it, no one really tries to stop him…

Except Unity Kinkaid!

May I just say, what a ass pull. Is there any foreshadowing at all that Unity was supposed to be the vortex? Did the witches say something about it, did Desire in his castle? I can’t think of anything. Which is not to say I hate it, I like Unity saving Rose, being young in her dream, and saving the day. It was a bit anticlimactic. “Ah…wut happen!”

“You died, everything is saved.”

“Dope.”

I love her just saying. “This is a dream, it doesn’t have to make sense.” So true.

I’m sure when I read this issue in a few minutes it’ll be visually satisfying, but the audio of the moment was a little weak, and this is a review of the audio book. At least put a little music in there.

Rose her mother and her brother move into a house. She decides to write her own happy ending to her story rather than wallow in the strife of the universe, I love that… we’ll see how long that lasts. Rose doesn’t know she’s a comic book character. Gwen Stacy has been dead for like forty years and still hasn’t found any rest.

We also get to hear Dream’s philosophy on himself and his family. Which is that they serve humanity. Eh, we’ll see.

We get this insight because he too thinks Unity being the vortex came out of nowhere and he accuses desire of being the person who raped sleeping Unity, and that Rose is their blood. The melodrama is in full swing now!

Ken and Barbie split. The spider ladies buy the house from Hal who moves out west. Probably good for the drag queen to escape Florida while the gettings good. At least he found someone!

Barbie goes weird? Read as: Barbie will return in the future.

Random Thoughts:

I just want to say how good the voice acting is in this ep. Especially the exchanges between Gilbert and Dream. It’s a tense exchange and everyone is great.

Rose’s mom was born in England, raised in Seattle, lives in Boston, has a Jersey accent. A woman of the world.

Rose is friends with the freaking girl from the dinner, I want to die. As if that chapter wasn’t traumatic enough, now we get to see how it’s traumatized the loved ones of the event as well. What fun. That is my favorite chapter of the story so far, and I’ve really been wanting some kind of closure to it. Hoping that this is a hint of some kind of healing.

My big swing for the fences prediction:

Desire mentions a lost sibling, and an abandoned domain. Rose is now revealed to be on the endless family tree. I suspect she becomes an endless at some point and becomes the ruler of that real. Discipline? Duty? Diaries?

Only time will tell.

In the end great, touching chapter. Well worth the anguish I felt over the last one. In the end our lives change just as much as our dreams. These pains and nightmares are out of our control, but we can choose how we deal with the pains, and how we decide to think about our stories. And if we’re lucky we get to wake up from them, even if it’s only long enough to make a single connection.

Chapter 11 spoilers for Sequels Suck

This review is so late 😭 all I gotta say is working at FedEx AIN'T SHIT. Working 5 days a week and having to get up at 5 in the morning HAS ME SICK. Anywayssss Chapter 11 had me at the beginning...Very peeved 🤐 Randy STILL DOESN'T BELIEVE US? EVEN THO WE WERE ATTACKED BY SOMEONE IN A GHOSTFACE COSTUME?! COME ON MAN. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES BUDDY CAUSE THIS IS REAL 😭😭😂

We immediately started blaming ourself at the hospital, which we all predicted would happen, but something that stuck out to me before Mickey got coffee was him questioning WHY Derek would go into the house without a weapon. Like I said before, I've been wary of Derek since day one lmaooo I DO NOT want this man near us 😭 however, last time I was like okayyy MAYBE he just wants to protect us, right? But that was a big MAYBE in my mind bc there was still stuff in previous chapters that always made me sus and once again, right after finishing ch 10 I was like maybeee he was just being reckless, but why would he sacrifice himself for someone he barely knows? UNLESS he's trying to play the hero to get us to trust him more and therefore allowing him to get closer just for the sake of his plan. Mickey being like "Why would he go back into that house anyways?" just got me more suspicious lmao However, Mickey saying that made me sus of HIM TOO bc who's to say Mickey isn't trying to use Derek as a scapegoat? Trying to plant a seed of doubt in our mind?

Either way, Derek is sketchy and altho he's super cute looking I just can't trust him 😭 Randy thinking it's weird he went back into the house makes sense since his jealousy could be clouding his judgement lmao but at the same time if Randy THE horror fanatic thinks Derek is sus, I think we should keep our guard up. I still can't believe he didn't believe us about Stu 🙃 we don't have physical proof and that's the problem. Maybe we should start carrying a camera everywhere just to, BY SOME MIRACLE, get a pic of at least one of them. The proof would be irrefutable unless the pic wasn't clear enough. Maybe try to get their voice on audio too 🤡

Atleast it was revealed in ch 11 that the boys survived their stab wounds bc of the hospital. But like Randy brought up, how the hell did they escape the hospital? Why are they killing random college students? How many people have they killed just to survive? There are too many questions for Randy to actually believe us. The scene with Derek was really sad even if I don't trust him 😫 Derek asking us if we wanted him to beat Billy's ass had me like plz do 😂 telling him he needed to stay away had me grateful and sad bc it's bc of our sociopathic boys we can't live a normal life 😭

The scene of the cafe had me like awww 😍 this story has me simping hard for Meeks 🥴 AND I'M NOT READY FOR US TO LOSE HIM. I'll always be Billy and Stu's girl but Randy's got me feeling things 😏😂😂 Even Dewey could see he liked us and the fact that Randy called us attractive? I SCREAMED. Dewey's like "Mhm. Attractive?" Randy - " I have eyes Dewey." I lost it 😫 likeee yesss ofc were hot asf. And when Randy admitted he didn't know what he'd do if he lost us? AHHHHH I'M DONE 🤣 and Billy calling us had me shaking. The fuck you want man 🙄 I might DEEP DOWN wanna skip the angst and just makeout with you while you pick my 5'0 ass up but that doesn't mean you're still not James 2.0 🤡 Idc what the stab movie says, I ain't moaning in your ear until you stop killing our besties 😂 You ain't SHIT and we deserve better even if deep down we still love you and Stu.

Sorry to hear about ur job being tiresome; I could imagine! Especially with the holidays and everyone ordering everything online rn 🥴🎁 My father gets up at 5 and freaking hates it I haven't had to do that crap in years and I'm glad cause I'm too much of a night owl 😴. Here's to hoping you get a great few days off soon to rest up for the Holidays! ❤

Ikr? YN is fed up with Ray acting like we're all just seeing shit. Come on! But if I was in Randy's shoes; I'd be leery too w/o proof (Denial.)

Fr Billy and Stu are selfish assholes that are like that little kid that doesn't know how to handle his crush and being hurt she rejected him so he's a lil mean shithead about it. 🙄

Lolol I'm glad you're guessing...You're warm on a few guesses but we'll see! I'm writing plot as we go bc I only know the ending and even that is changeable

i was there in your forgetting (until i was forgot) || dsmp become human

word count: ~1,900

notes: woo!! the title is much different from the others but i think i like it more lmao anyway, hopefully this is good? i wrote it kind of early in the morning lmao

warnings: i guess it counts as a hostage-type situation, but i don’t know what to call that exactly, so i won’t tag it, just be warned! there is also a brief mention of smoking

first // prev // next

Ranboo had forgotten how much distaste he had for rain until he was on his own. It was still dark outside, a little past midnight if he were to guess. Streetlights and storefronts stayed illuminated, luckily for him. Ranboo sat outside a café under a rain-soaked umbrella as he planned his next move. Niki had told him which way to go, but now his only issue was finding the right direction. He had never ventured far in the city before by himself. Now he was by his lonesome with no guidance and no idea where he was going.

He removed his gloves and absently traced a finger along the edges of the metal table as he murmured directions to himself. “East… Camden, and then north to-”

“Ferndale?”

Ranboo froze. He slowly turned his head around to look at the person behind him. A tall ginger man with white streaks in his hair stood behind him, his backlit up by the light of the café. He had a curious look in his dark brown eyes as he looked at the masked android. “Who are you?” Ranboo demanded.

The ginger didn’t answer right away. He wandered over to the seat on the opposite side of Ranboo and sat himself down before replying, “I’m Fundy,” he said. He must have noticed Ranboo’s unease because he quickly added, “Don’t worry! I’m an android too.” He held up his gloved hand. Ranboo watched in surprise as the “skin” retreated from his hand to reveal the porcelain white layer below. Fingerless gloves covered most of his palm, but Ranboo could tell that Fundy wasn’t lying. The newcomer’s LED blinked from under his black cap. “I was passing through here and noticed you sitting alone. I thought you might like some company,”

The tension in Ranboo’s shoulders was easing up a little. “Okay. If that does happen to be true, how did you know I was going to Ferndale?” he asked, narrowing his eyes behind his shades. “You shouldn’t have been able to know that.”

Fundy shrugged. “I have my ways,” he said airily. Mischief gleamed in his eyes. “You’re gonna want to get patched up before going on that trip,” Fundy suggested. “I can see the scarring on your hands.” Fundy pointed to Ranboo’s hands where the skin layer rippled like water over his knuckles and joints. “Doesn’t exactly seem like you’re in good shape,”

Ranboo grimaced beneath his dual-colored mask. “If you knew about the night I’ve had, you wouldn’t be surprised,” he muttered.

Fundy laughed, a sound reminiscent of a fox squeak. “Uh-huh?” His tone was light and playful. “Well, I’m sure it was terrible, but that’s not why I’m here.” He leaned forward in his chair. The light from the stores illuminated the ginger's face. “I know a guy who can fix you up,”

“Huh, that sounds trustworthy, for sure,” Ranboo twiddled his fingers. Fundy was treading a thin line between truth and deceit. “...who do you know?”

----------

“Ah,” Ranboo sighed. “I see.”

He looked down at the slip of paper Fundy had handed him before disappearing. The address was correct, so why did it feel so wrong to be there? The android looked back up at the looming building. It was not the most threatening exterior. The walls were white brick, and the front door was a cheery shade of yellow. Rain blurred some of his vision, but he could see a garden in the back of the house. An iron gate and an intercom blocked the entrance. Haltingly, Ranboo pressed a button on the keypad. A raucous buzzing sounded from the speakers.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the crackling static. “Can I help you?” An unknown woman asked. She had an accent from somewhere Ranboo couldn't put his finger on. Somewhere southern, perhaps?

O Yes

X No

Ranboo rubbed his hands together nervously.

O Yes

“I think you can. At least, someone told me you could,” he stated. He noticed his face on a small screen, presumably the woman's view of him. Ranboo noticed how disheveled he looked, hair mussed up and clothes dirty. He frowned beneath the mask.

There was a pause, and then, “Honey, I don’t know what you think this place is, but I suggest you go home for the night. I don’t appreciate you kids playin’ tricks on me.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” He held a hand up in desperation. Removing his glove, he put his scarred hand up to the screen. “I need your help,” he said quietly. “Please?”

There was an awkward silence, and with no warning, the iron gate began to slide open. Ranboo breathed a sigh of relief. He approached the front door brightly. He was about to knock, fist poised over the door when it suddenly swung open to reveal a tall blonde woman.

“Hello, darlin’,” she drawled. Her accent was much thicker in person, and clouds of cigarette smoke puffed from her mouth now and then. “Come on in! Make yourself at home here. I’ll get my husband and he can fix you right up,” she explained, ushering him into the house.

O Accept

X Refuse

Ranboo cast an anxious glance behind him. As predicted, he was alone with no one but the lady and the rain for company.

O Accept

Ranboo followed the blonde into the living room. He had to admit, the home was comfortable. The fireplace was roaring, and there were throw blankets and pillows scattered around the couch. “Th-thanks?” He called after her as he watched the woman vanish into the next room. He sat in a pillowy chair tentatively and glanced around.

The curtains were smoky gray, and the wooden floors were were the color of freshly made caramel. There was a record player in the corner with shimmering golden accents. Vintage, he noticed. It was made in 1996, if he had to guess, about thirty years ago. A low tune was playing quietly that almost felt foreboding. Ranboo was about to get up and inspect the purple and white striped disc when the door was cast open.

“Well, well, well!” A deep, booming voice cut through the soft music. A man in a cream button-down shirt and suspenders made his grand entrance and set himself on an armchair across from Ranboo. “I hear we have a visitor? It’s nice to meet a young android like you. I’m Alan Devon, and this is my wife Adeline.” he gestured to the blonde lady that stood behind him. He held a hand out to the brown-haired android.

Ranboo took the man’s hand and eyed him cautiously.

Alan Devon

Age: 51

Height: 6’2”

“Nice to meet you too, sir,” Ranboo replied slowly. “I, uh, I heard that you were able to do android repairs?” He said, fiddling with his gloves.

Alan chuckled. “Not just able, son, I’m an expert at this sort of thing. I used to be the second in command at CyberLife. I helped design the very first android ever created, TU880?” Silence met his words, and he continued talking. “What I’m trying to say is that I am more than qualified to fix up your hand.” He stood up from his white armchair and headed towards a door at the back of the room. “If you follow me, we can get started on repairs right away!”

Ranboo watched Alan descend the dark staircase. The sensible part of his mind told him to run.

O Follow him

X Don’t follow him

Considering the night he’d had, Ranboo couldn’t exactly say he was feeling sensible.

O Follow him

He pulled himself off the couch and past the record player. Mellohi, he noted. Huh. With a deep breath, he gripped the railing and followed after the middle-aged man, a quiet determination settling in him.

The flight of stairs was shorter than he expected. At the bottom of the steps sat a large room full of spare parts and pieces of androids. Strewn about the room were LEDs, thirium pumps, and audio processors. Ranboo almost tripped over a stray limb. He shuddered in disgust.

“Here,” Alan pointed to the large machine at the front of the room. “Step up onto this and we can get started,” he ordered coldly.

Ranboo did as he was told, albeit reluctantly. He gasped in surprise as robotic arms grabbed his wrists and pinned them to his side. Another arm placed itself firmly on his head, keeping it still. “What is this?” Ranboo asked shakily.

Alan didn’t respond for a second as he pressed an array of buttons on a keypad next to Ranboo. Finally, he looked back up at the captive android with his too-wide smile and too-bright eyes. “Don’t you know, son?” He asked. “Lesson one: never trust a stranger,” he pressed a green button on the keypad. “Or anyone, for that matter.”

The machine jerked Ranboo's head back swiftly. “What are you doing?” he yelped. The robotic arm was sifting around through the wires and gears in the android's neck. “Aren’t you-”

“No talking,” Alan said firmly, which Ranboo assumed was his polite way of telling him to shut the hell up. “We don’t take kindly to androids in my house, you hear?” He muttered something to himself as he wandered away from where Ranboo was struggling on his own. “Androids were my idea! Who do you think gave that blue-eyed bastard the idea to build that piece of rubbish? Not to mention one of your kind killed my son.”

Ranboo stiffened as the metal claw poked his memory card. “What are you talking about?

Alan dodged the question. “I’m wiping your memory. Once that’s gone, you’ll forget you were ever a deviant, and I can dismantle you.” He smiled. “I’m going to build the most sophisticated piece of AI with these spare parts, mark my words.” He smoothed the wrinkles in his shirt. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a drink. Don’t even think about leaving, or you’ll be sorry.”

Ranboo wasn’t sure what awaited him if he tried to leave, but he was willing to risk it if it meant freedom. As soon as his captor was out of sight, Ranboo began struggling against the metal claws that held him in place. The machine gripped his memory chip and began to pull. Ranboo winced and tried to move his neck away, but to no avail. The chip disconnected from his system, and Ranboo could feel his memories corrupting.

All the faces he used to recognize blurred together. Niki, Sam, Fundy, slipping away like sand through his fingers. He grimaced as he felt the metal claws relax their grip on his arms and head. Ranboo wriggled his way out of their grasp and stepped down from the platform. He had a minute before all of his system memory was corrupted. Ranboo frowned as he grabbed the memory card. He wasn't able to put it back in himself. He pocketed it and looked around. His adrenaline was fading, and with it went his memories. He scanned the bleak basement. His options were limited. Wait for the Devons, escape through the front door, or find-

The back door, he thought as a plain white door caught his eye. Hope blossomed in his chest again. I can leave.

He rushed to the door silently and was about to tug on the handle when he heard the door open again. Ranboo tensed.

O Leave

X Stay

Thoughts on Cinema Sins ‘Everything wrong with Phantom of the Opera’ video.

Well at least ONE of the movies I was hoping Cinema Sins would cover happened. Some sins were expected, but I wasn’t expecting that the CS guy apparently saw the musical and has some knowledge about the history of PotO in general.

-”Several people died.” No not really unless not everyone got out of the burning opera house.

-Knew he’d make a Minions joke the second ‘illumination’ was mentioned.

-Aww, no sins off for the use of the Overture music? And its from the 80’s so of course it would sound the way it does.

-Ok, I admit showing the seats losing their dust and becoming brand new again as a ‘what if’ for movie theaters when quarantine was over was amusing.

-There’s a difference between good opera singing and annoying opera singing, which is why the ladies didn’t care for Carlotta’s singing.

-I wonder what a Silence of the Lambs opera would be like, speaking of CS getting his Hannibals mixed up.

-Raoul and Christine are supposed to be around the same age, so the fact that Patrick Wilson was like 13 years older than Emmy does make the ‘childhood sweethearts’ thing strange.

-Oh great, now CS made 2004!Raoul and Christine’s age gap as problematic as with her and Erik’s by pointing that out.

-Minnie Driver is a great Carlotta AND was a memorable part of this film.

-Oh Christ, 200,000 francs equals almost a million bucks in today’s world? Isn’t that a little too much to demand, Erik?

-Yeah Emmy doesn’t exactly HAVE the right voice for Christine when you compare her to other stage Christines (but at least she doesn’t have a weird vibrato like a certain someone).

-Christine doesn’t strike me as a super social person, and her father was a supporter of her musical talents so it makes sense that she wouldn’t be amongst her new fans and pay a visit to the chapel.

-I wonder if Ramin (aka one of the best Phantoms) found out that he was compared to Harry Styles in this video.

-Christine was supposed to keep her lessons a secret, so it makes sense that she’d confide in Meg after that.

-CS points out the unfortunate implications of Christine being a child when she was approached by Erik in this adaptation and I’m pretty sure CS is going to utterly destroy Webber for this someday.

-Actually yeah-where the hell did everyone go when there was so many people outside Christine’s dressing room a few moments ago?

-I do appreciate CS calling out Giry for just letting the Phantom stalk Christine and not stopping it sooner. (And it does feel strange that she’d let the girl she considers a surrogate daughter go through this).

-”Psychedelically laced smoke.” Every fan thinks that too.

-Also, the mirror is a trick mirror. Kind of obvious later.

-Also he needed her to think he was a divine tutor and didn’t show up until Raoul came into the picture (and because he wanted to move on to actually facing her like a real person).

-Well the horse WAS in the book, but him being part of Christine’s ‘possible hallucination’ makes sense too. Also the idea of her ridding the Phantom is amusing.

-No that WASN’T the sewers they were going through–the opera house literally had an underground lake and there’s a history behind it since the opera house this story is based on is real. 

-Erik building the statues makes more sense to me since the guy is meant to be hyper talented.Also note that this is where you can especially tell CS had experience with die hard fans of the book since he refers to the Phantom by his actual name for this sin in addition to saying WHAT they told him specifically.

-Actually CS has a good point about how the final note of the title song is shown off. They should draw more attention to Christine singing that note since its not only a display of her talent but a show of just how much influence/power Erik has over that. Instead we don’t see Emmy singing (and as anyone will tell you, she sang it as an E flat and not an actual E note).

-Yeah that scarf mask is weird.

-The smoke eye has been a mystery for AGES CS and no one can answer why.

-Love the description of singing “Music of the night” as to treat it like going to a glorious destination.

-Thanks for reminding me why the casting choices and changed up backstory makes 2004!Erik worse than he needs to be (God... what the hell were you thinking ALW and JS?!)

-If CS is familiar with the musical, I wonder if he’s aware that 2004!Erik was many a teenage girls’ crush with that in mind.

-Ah the return of the original ‘creepy doll that looks like a character’ that I almost forgot about. Except CS makes it more creepier by pointing out something about it that makes 2004!Erik more creepier than he needs to.

-CS keeps referring to actors by whatever they were in/a character they also played. And I’m just reminded how strange it was to see Emmy in Shameless (and she’s not enough to make me want to watch that show).

-CS forgot that the managers were supposed to be ass-kissing when he wondered why they were in the dressing room.

-If I remember correctly, a company performs one opera production at night and then practices/rehearses for the next one during the day. The one they perform happens for a certain amount of time before its time to switch out. But yeah, the film makes it look like this is all happening in 24 hours which shouldn’t be possible.

-Nothing for that guy mooning Carlotta? Ok then, moving on I suppose.

-I’ve seen this movie hundreds of times and I NEVER saw the boat in the woman’s wig until it was pointed out.

-Was he not paying attention? Erik kills Bouquet because the guy was trying to go after him. The original reason why he died in the book was for the same reason.

-I’m glad that CS has sympathy for Christine for all she went though in a supposed 24 hours. I’d crack under all that too.

-Surprised he didn’t sin the snot shot on the roof. (You know what I’m talking about).

-Yeah, so much for a secret engagement if you got the ring exposed.

-Not sure why CS finds the gold guys funny other than they are ‘just there.’

-I would love to see the party-goers go after Erik since they DO outnumber him as an alternate scene during that moment after ‘Masquerade.’

-No ‘This is Sparta’ jokes? Ok then, moving on I suppose.

-Christine’s dad is implied to be famous in this movie (explaining the mausoleum, but in the book he was poor so he shouldn’t have one). But that does raise questions as to why Christine seemingly has little money to her name in this version.

-Dude, seeing the gave fight scene as Nite Owl vs. Leonidas was something I couldn’t unsee for more than 10 years. But I bet the Snyder fans loved that joke. (Speaking of CS and superhero films WHEN WILL YOU STOP TEASING ME WITH ‘ANIMATED SUPERHERO FILMS’ THAT ARE JUST ANIMATED DC FILMS AND SHOW ME THE ONE I ACTUALLY WANT TO SEE?!)

-I would love to see a Home Alone version of PotO since CS pointed it out.

-Actually I would love to see the au where CS is a critic in the PotO world and just not give a shit if Erik threatened him.

-Yeah, Raoul making Christine the bait and endangering her IS messed up. As much of a dolt he is, novel!Raoul would NEVER have done that to her.

-Erik’s hair looks nice because its a wig, CS.

-Oh boy, the reveal of the bad make up. No surprise it got a sin. I loved that CS showed Lon Chaney’s version (and hopefully will get people to watch the original silent PotO) and was more impressed by it over what this movie had. I also love how blunt CS is in summing up the deformity.

-There wasn’t a fire when the mob went after the Phantom in the musical. But as history can prove, some mobs care more about their goals than their own safety.

-I think they wanted to squeeze in one more trap before the final confrontation and Raoul WAS trapped in a room that became filled with water in the book and silent film. Though I’m amazed CS didn’t notice the reverse direction the bubbles were going during that scene.

-I don’t know how to answer why Christine was just standing around and doing jack shit to help Raoul during the final confrontation.

-A recreation of one of the most famous kiss scenes in musical history and CS just sums it up as ‘yeah your first kiss always sucks.’

-I love the contrast of Super Mario music with shots of PotO for the bonus round.

-Holy crap, that WAS a lot of candles.

-Some of the alternate audios for the last bit were unfamiliar but that Bug’s Life scene for when Christine is heading towards the mirror is perfection.

-And of COURSE CS would use that one Mission Impossible scene.

Final verdict: Predictable at times, but pretty amusing for a PotO fan like myself. I do hope the next movie musical CS covers is ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’

End of the week special edition

SPNews

Tl/Dr: This week was certainly supernatural

And here is a recap of everything that I'm aware of

7th - 13th of November

Quick recap of the week has to be started by mentioning what happened last weekend as events of the first half of the week were direct result of those actions. On 5th of November (maybe date was coincidental, or may be that theh predicted bigger interest on that particular day) Misha posted announcement that main cast will make fundraising event via Internet, to gather money for Stacey Abrams' organisation (fighting against voter suppression). Around the same time tumblr's 2020 year in review was published, with destiel in its own category.

This week has started with people thinking what will happen, with supernatural briefly trending on tublr, because of people, and which submitted questions have any chance of being answered. Many speculated - are they gonna say something interesting, is destiel gonna be canon or uncanon? And at sunday/monday twitter showdown took place, that resulted in publication of Misha's nude picture - and that only fueled the anticipation.

On Monday Misha told that there will be spn trivia, bloopers and outtakes from season 15. The post was not something special, but was commented by Jensen Ackles, breaking his social media silence. Because of the lack of content fandom started interpreting the post on manny ways - while saying "There will be an open bar, right" - is he talking about the finale, or he can't even talk about finale without drinking, or will he be drunk and unfiltered? From that point on anticipation only rose, and two separate tags were trending on tumblr, as well as on twitter.

Tension rose higher and higher as the hour of the event was approaching. Misha commented on Sun-Maid raisin tweet, then Sun-Maid social media person started to answer some Hellers (and people thought that Sun-Maid were also a Heller). Then things got even wilder, as Misha posted on instagram about asking Jensen about his weird acting choices, and about answering on fans prying questions. People were posting relantlessly on tumblr and pushing spn way up high on trending list. That kind of traffic caused temporary local insenity, as someone posted "correct me if I'm wrong, but Misha said something about having secret tumblr account" and manny people ran with it, asking random accounts if they are Misha Collins - kind of smaller, reversed Mishapocalypse.

Then livestrema started - people were rather disappointed as event was rather uneventful and anticlimactic. There was many more people from the cast as expected Kripke, Collins, Ackles and Padalecki. Half of the time was spent on talking about politics with Stacey Abrams, which still was unexpected for few people. After that there were 3 spn trivia questions to the cast and to the fans. They talked about Herpexia, and how Jared gave Seb Roché very weird massage on the airport. Misha said as a joke that the fandom does not care about voters supressio, only about their answers, which is indeed true Activity of the fandom proves that they want answers. Cast did not discuss finale, did not answer any questions. 5 minutes of bloopers were played.

After that people were almost ready to move on, there rumours that someone who won one-on-one zoom convo with Jensen asked him if Dean is bi, and man allegedly said that yes, and bottom to boot. Didn't find source of that rumour. People were stating that in bloopers Jensen was making joke about bottoming. Many that still steyed shipping were inching closer to casually shipping Jenmish. Consensus was made that The Episode That Must Not Be Named simply did not happen. Heller Obama became Ex-Heller Obama by unfollowing twitter destiel stan

Thursday was uneventful, from perspective it was kind of calm before the storm. In evening hours Misha tweeted about Castiel Project on give.trevorproject.org praising fans for selflessness. There was 1000 dollars anonymous donations, and people were very sure that it was Misha who donated. In the morning of next day it turned out that it was very selfless (and probably wonderful person) moved by this act of good will. Stacey Abrams watched finale and praised it

On Friday stuff just... Kept happening. It started with Taylor Swift dropping surprise album "Evermore" that many fans interpreted as describing Dean's and Cas' relationship - Destiel posts were climbing to top positions in T Swift tag. Parallels were seen everywhere. Things got even more unhinged as the day passed. Scripts of confession scene of 15x18 were leaked. It was hard to determine authenticity of script. They were proven to be authentic and stolen by Adam Williams, spn's VFX coordinator.

Script didn't reveal any new revolutionary information. But it included cas' POV - "Still beautiful, still Dean Winchester" which hinted on Cas finding Dean also physically attractive. It included "pulls Dean close" as well, which again trigeret speculations if something was taken out, and general anger at big three: queercoding, queerbaiting and "kill your gays trope. Destiel was proclaimed canon for the 3rd time. Spn was trending yet again stopping at 4th place.

Adam Williams went on a twitter spree for more than 10 hours, making very gay-homophobic statements. He claimed among others that Dean is not bi, but Destiel is canon, but not in sexual way, but if Dean woul be bi, he would be a top BECAUSE he is an alpha, and that labels are unnecessary but Dean is streight. Whole cast and cw stayed silent about scripts and Williams' statements (it is worth remembering that he had no influence on a plot, so his statements regarding plot, no matter if stating that destiel is canon or saying that Dean is streight - are as valid as any other headcanon presented on tumblr)

In the meantime Jared published posts praising the finale

As soon as excitement and rage died down and supernatural stopped trending new informations came up. On Saturday evening a Facebook panel with LatAm voice actors took place. (As I do not speak Spanish I'm going to include 3rd and 4th hand information here). It is stated that LatAm dub director thought that Cas and Dean are clearly in love, thought that included in translated script (basically) "I too" was too vague for that relationship and hanged it. There is no consensus on if tape that they got had any other English audio (at least I did not find anything that I can trust 100% yet) so it is best to assume that they've got the version that we've seen. Whole crew just went on with it, thinking that it all makes sense. As they (especial the director) were on board with that version destiel was again proclaimed canon. As I was finishing writing that there were attempts to contact the director, and spn was still trending. People are hating on Misha "for lying" which they should not do, given that only him was ready to listen to them

The End has no End

Fandom, as well as the show just won't die, which is in of itself very supernatural of us

They probably never will be done, and there will never be peace

If there'll be new updates I'm gonna keep the tabs

Good night

Thoughts on “Terror of the Arctic” (2005), aka, “I listened to the Doctor Who audio drama episodes about the lost Franklin Expedition so that you don’t have to!”

Alright terror-friends, this was not how I expected to spend my day, but I have now listened to all eight episodes of the 2005 Doctor Who Audio Drama series “Terror of the Arctic,” featuring all of the ~ familiar ~ icy ~ boys ~ meeting the infamous Doctor. 

With arguably more horrifying sexist/racist content than the 2007 Simmons novel, this audio drama actually predicted a lot of the tropes that Simmons popularized, including ship-board conflicts that escalate to stabbings, the appearance of supernatural creatures from Inuit oral traditions, and even a squick-y romance between Crozier and a much younger Inuit woman. 

To clarify, I do not recommend you listen to these episodes. They’re a hot mess, and a really jarring departure from the beauty of The Terror (2018). 

HOWEVER I highly recommend you look below the cut for episode-by-episode notes about the first Franklin Expedition adaptation that has well and truly driven me up the wall. So, welcome to the world of “Terror of the Arctic” (2005), featuring:

Crozier, (pronounced "Crow-zee-eyy,”) a polite door-mat of a captain with an agonizing lack of snark and minimal personality beyond “the only white man who can magically fix racism.” 

Fitzjames the “proper English officer” who has every prejudice you can imagine – and a couple more you can’t. 

Le Vesconte, the irrepressible lad with an inexplicable American accent and extreme boy-scout-gone-crazy energy. 

Sgt. Tozer, who has a bad habit of punching people in the face even though his superior officers haven’t yet told him he’s allowed to do so. 

Also featuring: Cybernetic Tuunbaq aliens! Complete breakdown of shipboard protocol! Expected amounts of cannibalism! And more! (spoilers, obviously) 

Episode 1

– We start with a mandatory brief appearance from the Doctor and his companion Christine. I don’t (initially) hate this iteration of the Doctor – he’s very paternalistic and old-fashioned, but at least the voice actor’s competent. Christine’s voice, tragically, is high-pitched beyond all reason and laced with a variety of odd dialectical features. Some quick research reveals she’s supposed to be a 15 year old from medieval England. She sounds neither like a teenager nor a medieval person. From the very beginning, her character seems very infantilized, and plays into a lot of the Born Sexy Yesterday tropes, even if she and the Doctor aren’t a thing. 

– Next, we have Sir John Franklin giving the “we’ve been stuck in the ice for nine months, here’s what you missed” sum-up. 

– Sir John’s voice is gravelly 👏 as 👏 fuck; also, I don’t think that the phrase “to sugar-coat it” was a common 1840s expression? Correct me if I’m wrong history folks.

– Crozier shows up to give his “we should start walking out now” speech, minus any passion or conviction whatsoever; he bends immediately to Franklin’s whims. Crozier’s voice is quite high-pitched, and Sir John pronounces his name “Crow-zee-eyy.” (Update: everyone pronounces it this way!!! Uhmmm!) Though I struggle to judge accents, Crozier’s Irish accent sounds... leprechaun-ish. It’s not Jared Harris by a long mile. 

– Not gonna lie, I kind of love how much Fitzjames sounds like a posh bastard. He immediately gets into a one-sided shouting match with Crozier and has to be reprimanded by Franklin. 

– Lieutenant Irving appears on the scene; I don’t know what Irving’s accent is, but it sure is something.

– All of the officers seem to currently be on the same ship for some reason but I don’t know why. We’ve met Sir John, Crozier, Fitzy, and Irving, and Gore’s been mentioned, as have doctors Peddie and Stanley. And they’re all in the same boat. Guess we’re just ignoring Terror for now? 

– Franklin begins narrating as he writes in the log-book: “11th June, 1847.” Oh BOY guess what day it is!!

– RIP Franklin (surprise, surprise). We have no real idea yet how this has happened. 

– Fitzjames, talking to Sir John’s mysterious corpse: “Captain, what could have done this to you?” 

– Fitzjames: “We have a killer loose on this ship” (Fitz gets ALL the best lines, apparently. Do they make sense? No. Are they hilarious? Yes.)

– Irving is shockingly nonchalant when the Doctor and Christine appear from nowhere out on the ice. Why is Irving so chill when he thinks that these two people are the lone survivors of a DIFFERENT failed expedition?

– Fitz apparently has refused to let Crozier start the walk-out after Franklin died. (Um, that’s not how the chain of command works?)  

– We learn that Beechey-boy Braine apparently died of sudden-onset-scurvy. What is sudden-onset-scurvy, you ask? We do not yet know. 

– Irving, happily describing their recent course of action: “...Ignoring the advice of our ships’ ice masters...” Oh god Irving don’t sound so happy about that. Blanky’s going to take an ice-axe to your head. (Tragically, Blanky does not appear in this show.) 

– Lieutenant Gore has ALSO died of sudden-onset-scurvy. RIP Graham Gore.

– Is the Doctor going to focus on the existence of sudden-onset-scurvy? No, we’re gonna hyperfixate on the high officers-to-crew death rate! And he’s going to infodump about officers’ privileges TO Irving, an officer, and muse about how odd it is that more officers than crew are dying when the officers get all the best food! 

– Fitz, the “proper English officer” apparently has managed to get about half the men to refuse to follow the orders of their expedition commander, because he happens to be Irish. Babe, this is a really bad look!

– Irving, our good Christian Irving, just swore “By Jove” in a weirdly sexy voice.

– Tozer has Extreme Deep Voice.

– Irving: “There’s something odd about them I just don’t trust.” Why on earth wouldn’t you trust two strangers who wandered up to you on the ice and asked if you were “human,” John Irving? What’s “odd” about that?

– The Doctor only remembers that he does actually know the events of the Franklin expedition after he reads the entire Victory Point Note. 

– Irving has suddenly decided to threaten to shoot the Doctor and his companion. Irving promptly gets attacked. 

* jarring transition to triumphant Doctor Who music *

Episode 2

– The ~mysterious~ attack on Irving has left weird wounds on Irving’s neck. I’m calling it, Ice Vampires!

– We have an Edward Little appearance! His voice is so sweet and gentle! And then... “I’ll have Sergeant Tozer shoot you both where you stand!” Okay, maybe not... (Update: Little is, in fact, very awful to several people. As we will see, all of the lieutenants and marines swing between weirdly nonchalant dudes and trigger-happy maniacs.) 

– Tozer just punched the Doctor’s lights out, unprompted. 

– Crozier: “Good old John Peddie... he’s like a brother to me.” Well THAT’S not a friendship I expected.

– So Dr. Peddie has brought a young Inuit woman in to Crozier’s cabin to have a “lovely chat.” Awkward book!Crozier/Silna energies. The woman’s name is Liak. She speaks with a vaguely Spanish and/or Italian accent. 

– Liak: “I have been with my tribe. They would not allow me to come back to see you.” /  Crozier: “Why? It’s not because of Fitzjames is it?” 

– (It’s not because of Fitzjames. It’s because of evil spirits, obviously.)

– The Doctor, once they get back to the ships, explaining to the higher officers what’s happened: “Mr. Tozer got all excited and could no longer restrain his Neanderthal-like impulse to start clubbing things.” Boy this by show is NOT for Tozer fans. (Note: Tozer is standing right there? In the room? When the Doctor says this?)

– The Doctor just dropped an f-bomb?????????? And not as an expression of shock, but a hard-core sexual use of the f-bomb. Literally, he said “you can let Tozer fuck me again” – did I mishear this????????????

– Irving’s dying words: “I was attacked by a large silver creature with claws!” Wait did Dan Simmons rip off a fan-made 2005 Doctor Who Audio Drama?

– RIP Irving, first confirmed victim of “Tuunbaq the First.”

– Fitzjames is SO racist, throwing around a lot of “savage” and “barbarian” words. Why are you letting this man walk all over you, Crozier?

– Crozier: the first person who has the correct reaction to two weirdos appearing on his boat (aka shock and surprise, rather than worrying nonchalance followed by unprompted extreme aggression.)

– Fitzjames literally laughed after being informed that Irving is dead. (Like Crozier’s bad Raft of the Medusa joke, but SO MUCH WORSE.) 

– RIP Ice Master Reid, actual first confirmed kill of “Tuunbaq pre-Tuunbaq,” several weeks ago, apparently??

– Okay so Fitz here is obviously meant to be a horrible person, but I have to acknowledge that he’s making a few good points: (1) the Doctor has admitted that he has a “sailable” ship, and it’s pretty rude of him to not even explain why he’s unwilling to help these dying men, and (2) it’s been bothering me the whole episode that the Doctor hasn’t been calling officers by their titles, and frankly, I do think Fitz is within his rights to demand the Doctor call him “Captain Fitzjames” rather than “Mr. Fitzjames” on Fitz’s own ship. Like, it’s not that hard.

– The Doctor’s first example of “ways the Franklin crew could mess up the time stream” is the insane scenario: “what if one of them married the mother of Winston Churchill.”

– The “Tuunbaq: The Prequel” can talk!!!!!! “Hello meat!!!” it says, gleefully. 

– Tozer is just the fucking most. He punched the Doctor AGAIN.

– Crozier just “Mr. Fitzjames”ed Fitz!! And Fitz backed down! Crozier finally grew a spine! Just in time to decide to commandeer the Doctor’s ship. 

– The Doctor’s ship inevitably disappears before it can be commandeered. Because of course. (Things and people disappear and get transported to different places and later times all through these episodes for timey~wimey~reasons.) 

Episode 3

– A conversation between the two named female characters (Liak and the Doctor’s companion Christine)! What will they talk about? ...Their dead fathers. Ah. Hmm.

– This show is not sophisticated enough to handle a “white man’s disease killed my father” subplot. And yet, Liak’s father died of TB he contracted from the white men. I’m *worried*

– To help Liak overcome the superstitious antagonism of her “tribe” after her father’s death, Crozier apparently gave a bunch of food to the Inuit, which is  an... interesting take. (One Irishman’s grand gesture fixes racism!)

– Magical Inuit shaman powers are only inherited through the male line (The racism and sexism in this is palpable.)

– So “Tuunbag Episode I: Revenge of the the Tuunbaq” is actually a larger coalition of aliens, run by a being called “Matriarx.” Can we decide whether woman are powerless victims or power-hungry monsters, please? Both is just greedy.

– RIP Strong (another tragic case of the triple threat: sudden onset scurvy, lead poisoning, AND Tuunbaq attack)

– Wait WAIT the Tuunbaq gave Strong the lead poisoning AND the scurvy by biting his neck and sucking his blood, stealing nutrients and leaving lead in their place: Ice Vampires!! I called it!!!

– Groups of people Fitz has verbally degraded: the Irish, the Inuit, all women, and now “common folk.”

Episode 4

– Le Vesconte’s first lines! He sounds like a Boy Scout, by which I mean he sounds about 16, and has an American accent? Also, Fitz pronounces his name “Leh-vay-cont” 

– An AB named “Seeley” is writing an account of the events that are happening, perhaps as this show’s version of Bridgens and/or Peglar? Also Fitz is REALLY opposed to Seeley writing this, because Fitz hates “common folk” that much, apparently? 

– RIP Seeley, we hardly knew ye. 

– Major episode events: the walk-out begins, leaving Terror and Erebus just as the boats slip into another dimension because of alien reasons (this didn’t age well, now that we have the shipwrecks). Also, there’s an Inuit woman who is in league with the cybernetic-alien-Tuunbaq-vampires. 

Episode 5

– As soon as the walk-out begins, the cybernetic-alien-Tuunbaq-vampires begin attacking. 

– Boy Scout Le Vesconte: “I have an idea! If bullets won’t stop them maybe an axe will!” I mean, this is stupid enough for our Dundy, but he follows it up with “Murderers! I’ll hack you to pieces!” and rushes them like a child and has to be rescued. (Also Crozier is way WAY more concerned for Le Vesconte than Fitz is, though Fitz leaps into the rescue effort and Crozier... does not do that. He’s doing a lot of standing on the sidelines and bemoaning his dying men.)

– Peddie is basically just Crozier’s all-purpose lieutenant at this point. Little and Hodgson whomst? 

– Le Vesconte, Fitz, and Tozer get struck by lightning WHILE fighting the Tuunbaq, and some Frankenstein stuff seems to happen, because Fitz now has the munchies. But like, the ominous munchies. 

– Le Vesconte’s in something like a coma. The dumb boy-scout. 

– While explaining why the Netsilik have legends about these aliens as “evil spirits,” the Doctor implies that errors in the historical record happen “especially” in oral traditions. Can we stop insulting the Inuit oral historians please?  

– The cybernetic-vampire-aliens can mind-control their victims sometimes. Calling it now: Fitzjames is under the mind-control already. 

– Liak is revealed to possibly be in cahoots with the aliens, because she has a necklace that her sister gave her that’s actually an alien tracker. 

– Fitzjames, upon learning that Liak may be in league with aliens, attempts to physically kill her with his bare hands, and has to be restrained. 

– Crozier hears murmurs about mutiny, and assigns this poor Marine named Hopcraft to find out more about the mutiny and report back to him. Next morning: RIP Hopcraft, first victim of the “we’re knifing each other” stage of events (aka this show’s Irving.)

Episode 6

– Lieutenant Little, who got separated from Fitzjames and Crozier, tries to comfort ship’s boy Chambers, whose use of the term “panic attacks” is a little anachronistic; a small gripe in the grand scheme of things.

– The Tuunbaq-aliens attack Little’s camp and wipe them all out, leaving Little to the last. Edward Little, a British Christian naval officer in the 1840s, gasps out “I’ll see you in Hades” as his dying words. (Someone write me Little/Irving neo-pagan fanfic for this mess?)

– The Doctor is playing detective, trying to solve Hopcraft’s death. He finds footprints, and both Liak and Tozer are missing. 

– The Doctor calls attention to Tozer’s “enormous feet.” Weird.

– We have our first cannibalism! Perpetrated by Tozer, and uhhhh oh great we’re eating Dr. MacDonald for dinner tonight.

– Le Vesconte woke up from his coma just in time to brain Tozer to death.

– The Doctor: “There were no women’s bones at any of the sites [of the lost expedition remains]” that’s a hilarious comment given that one study suggesting as many as four female skeletons.

– RIP Le Vesconte, from his wounds, offscreen!! Nooo!!

– Tozer (and Fitzjames, and a few others), because they all got struck by the lightning, now have Frankenstein’s cannibalism curse. They all hunger for human flesh.

– Fitzjames is now a sneaky murderer-cannibal who manages to gain Crozier’s trust before turning around and trying to butcher him. As least my evil boy is smart? 

Episode 7

– The big bad reveal: it’s Liak’s secret evil sister! (Just like Season 4 of Sherlock!) She’s been helping the Tuunbaq-aliens the whole time because she hates white men! Because they gave her dad TB and one of them broke her heart! Thanks, it’s bad! 

– The Tuunbaq-aliens eat Liak’s sister anyway because they do not care. 

– Liak, Crozier, the Doctor, and Christine are left to defeat the Tuunbaq-aliens. 

– Fitz feels a little bad about eating people I guess? Also Fitz is “weak” and can’t resist his hunger and all those fun tropes.

Episode 8

– Fitzjames gets a redemption arc via heroic self-sacrifice narrative, complete with death via horrid gurgling. “He sacrificed himself in a last act of humanity.”

– The Doctor agrees to give Crozier a lift to somewhere a bit further south, on the assumption that Crozier will settle down with Liak and live with some “tribe” of other Inuit people that neither of them have ever met. 

– There’s a parting joke about Crozier enjoying drinking wine that did NOT age well.

And that’s all, folks! Hope you... enjoyed? 

My thoughts on Bioshock 1

I just wanna put this out there. It’s 12:01 am and I find it nice that I finished it before Sunday popped up. This post is gonna have major spoilers. I’ll post the screenshots in a different post. I don’t know if I should call this a review. But yeah I didn’t wanna make this quickly. Took time making some popcorn(two bags for a bowl) and getting a Diet Dr. Pepper.

But my thoughts on the game itself. A game that gamers have considered one of the greatest video games ever made.

I want you all to know. The reason I went back to playing it because I was looking up the terrible voice acting of the original RE game. That it got me to wanting to play a older game...which is the first Bioshock on my main computer. 

But in a nutshell I thought it was a pretty nice game. The gameplay is pretty stellar. Especially the combat. But I will admit, the game didn’t really scare me. Because it was considered horror by some folks. But the way I was playing I think a way how you would describe....something out of the Doom series. 

Yet this is because I was playing on easy mode. Because I wanted to experience the story. Especially when I upgraded my weapons. I was basically a walking powerhouse. Along with the fact I didn’t use my plasmids a whole lot. But I did use them when they seem needed or when I wanted to try them out. I was mainly a weapons guy. 

But yeah upgraded weapons made the journey easier. Even during the final boss with Frank. 

The story is pretty alright. Even though some of the audio diaries I decided not to listen to except for some. Especially when the big reveal was coming. 

I will admit and I think people may know of this. But I knew of the big twist and read stuff about how Jack was basically controlled through most of the game. Where the phrase, “Would You Kindly” Atlas was saying to control him. Where this becomes more clear when you enter a room that has, “Would You Kindly’ on the wall and...those diaries crap....a dog getting it’s neck snapped....to be honest I feel like the moment Jack see’s that. I feel like he was probably confused or just wondering, “What the fuck?”.

But basically where Andrew Ryan exposes this by saying the phrase a couple of times, and asking Jack to kill him with the golf club. Gonna admit to watch that twist in motion, for some reason I wasn’t expecting it to be that dramatic. Because I was expecting it to be simply casual with Andrew explaining what Jack is actually. Where Jack realizes when Andrew asks Jack to kill him, he was telling the truth. Yet I strangely like it how Andrew was trying to showcase more that using the phrase a few time to really showcase Jack was never in control. 

Yet it was nice to finally see the scene in full motion in the original game. Since I’m not playing the remastered version.

To be honest I think the most shocking thing was the fact when I went on the Bioshock wiki. That Jack is literally 4 years old. 0_0 Just....I actually found that to be the most surprising.

Including just the whole set up of why Jack is there isn’t by chance. Honestly despite the dimension hopping that surprised me a lot. Just Jack growing up and all that...surprised me the most. 

But I find it nice how Andrew during the game as you get closer to him. He’s alluding to the fact that it seems like such a coincidence that Jack crashed near that lighthouse above Rapture. As if it was some sort of miracle. 

I’ll stop talking about the twist sorry. So I was right, Atlas who is Frank didn’t really have a family. I will admit Frank’s a pretty damn good actor. Because I feel like people who first played this and if I didn’t look into certain stuff. It would of been more of a surprise. Because I find it amazing he can change his voice. 

Including the fact when you get closer to him. He’s just talking about you and him tricking you. Including why are you even still trying to get him. When Jack doesn’t have a family. I guess I can say he didn’t disappoint me as a villain. 

Again the gameplay is wonderful, Rapture was a interesting place. Both to look at and I guess to explore. I will admit I sometimes couldn’t find some stuff right away. Such as a Big Daddy helmet after a while.

The Splicer are cool and have some variety, the Big Daddies are pretty nice too. Yet what I’m amazed by and I’m glad I couldn’t find that Big Daddy helmet right away because the last two Little Sisters that were with Big Daddies were near by. 

I actually got all the Little Sisters that I recall. Basically rescuing all of them. Meaning I got the best and what I know canon ending. Gonna admit that last scene and just watching that cutscene. Despite it’s actually very quick. I can’t believe I had tears or so....despite I don’t seem to build a connection with these girls.

There is just something beautiful about that ending. Including to see they offered Jack the key to Rapture but he denies it. 

Also there is something of just seeing all these Little Sisters just literally murder Frank and I got a shot of that actually. I saw that in a video once and it’s just intriguing. It seems kind of ridiculous but once you play the game, you understand how they are overpowering him. 

The soundtrack....I’ll be honest I didn’t think about it much. Mainly because I was so focused on gameplay and getting through the game. Also weird thing this didn’t happen a lot. But I remember one time one of Franks line was up and he wasn’t talking. 

Listen to any fans of Bioshock, sorry that I’m rambling. But I’m sorry I’m not praising it to the heavens. But I felt like I did myself a favor because this is a very loved game. It was nice to finally play it and finish it. I think it’s because I’m still processing some stuff. Including during a time in my life I thought gameplay is more important than story. Which was a thought I started having when I became a fan of Doom. But then loving Resident Evil again got me to realize liking video game stories. Considering before the gameplay thing, I would always prefer a single player over multiplayer. 

But now I like both. It’s just I was I guess annoyed by how much praised Bioshock gets and it makes it seem like 2 and Infinite are hated on a lot. Including it just...bothered me and that I’d felt rebellious to not play the original. Because people made it seem like what I like to call it, “The Citizen Kane Of Gaming”. It was a game changer and I should understand that.

Yet you can thank my good bro and buddy @pikablob for being the reason why I got into this series more. All because I was wondering why does Elizabeth in Burial At Sea look so young but in the timeline she would be 66. Until he explained to me things about dimension hopping and after my surprise and shock of what he told me. That got me basically be like, “Okay I need to play these games because holy shit”. Even though I’ve played 2 before and finished Infinite and Burial At Sea episode 1 before. 

It was just so insane to learn that I needed to experience these games myself as I’m older now. 

I feel like overtime I’ll like Bioshock more. Because I had predicted this could become one of my all time favorites. But I don’t think so right now. Maybe when I ever replay it again and maybe even the remastered version. I may love it more. But I felt like compared to games like the original Doom, Doom 2016, Halo Combat Evolved(Because I recall from my experience that game is a classic), and even the Call Of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy. Especially 1 and 2, with 3 being a fitting conclusion to it. I got more out of those games.

Which I sound stupid for mentioning. Bioshock is a whole different beast. I’m talking about a game where someone like Andrew Ryan literally made a city underwater that wouldn’t be affected by what he considered, “Petty morality” and look where Rapture ended up as....a fucking shit hole. 

That I recall I don’t feel terrible seeing Andrew Ryan die. Yet it’s probably because he wants to die and he accepts it. Including his final words and the way the scene went. Yet I was surprised that golf club got stuck in his head when Jack did the final blow. 

But I think that’s just my mind set. Including on a silly note and I’m finally gonna say something I’ve had in my head. I just miss Elizabeth. Again I may enjoy it more as time goes all. Because it is a excellent game. 

Because even though I haven’t played the remastered versions of Bioshock 1 and 2. I feel like if you want to. I’d recommend checking out the original Bioshock if you want to. It’s a well made game and I hope I think it’s genius about the fact The Bioshock Collection exists and it’s on 8th gen consoles now(Especially it got released on Nintendo Switch last month) and for PC’s if you want remastered versions of the first 2.

Basically was looking at trailers for the collection. I think it’s genius because that package seems perfect for any new fan who wants to experience the complete saga as of now. 

I think I’ve said enough on my piece on the original Bioshock.

Anyway during the making of this post. I was listening to this kick ass rap. I find it awesome I finished the game and got to experience it for my own. Here’s JT Music’s Bioshock 1 rap, “Rapture Rising”. Been listening to this when making this. Warning in case even though I talked about spoilers in here, you have spoilers in this rap. Again well done rap.

Just finished bioshock 1 (good ending) and here are my thoughts:

So, I think BioShock might actually be my favourite game and I hate myself for missing out on this gem!! This game is amazing, its world building is amazingly creative. The whole asthetic in general is incredible and very creative! I dont even know what to call it (my sister and I like to call it scuba-punk lol) I've never seen anything like it. The charachters are all masterfully written and its incredible how well made the plot twits in the story were. I think I only predicted that Jack was Andrew Ryan's kid because I found that audio log where they were saying these diving sphere things were gene coded to andrew ryan but people with similar dns like family members are able to use it. But I didn't predict "would you kindly" or that atlas was frank fontaine. Also the game really knows perfectly how to handle the different weapon types and bullet types. In general, from a gameplay perspective I've had lots of fun. The game knows how to keep the gameplay fresh, not having too many complicated mechanics and just when you get bored of a weapon? Boom! You get a new one. Got bored of that?! BOOM, NEW PLASMID! in general I thought that plasmids were great from both a story and gameplay point. (Little funfact:I have slight entomophobia and yet to me the most fun to use plasmid was the insect hive) I thought they were all very unique from the way they played as well and how every plasmid brang a different aspect into the gunplay, acting differently with every weapon. Now...I think I should talk about the one thing that I disliked. And that was the difficulty towards the end. Now I'm not the best gamer but I was doing really well the whole game but the resources got extremly spare towards the end. Like around the moment I entered apollo square I barely had any ammo, any med packs, or any money. I only had a lot of eve syringes but beating the game with only plasmids seems a little hard. So I fucked my way through apollo square but at the Prometheus point it was just too much. I had litteraly nothing. So I committed a sin and..well..turned it one point down to easy. I know I know shame on me but..God the game was really fun this way. Like After half an hour I had more money than I ever needed to spend. It felt a bit wrong though. Like I beat fontaine in a minute maybe. And yet I still had fun! Now let me get back to what I enjoyed. Lets talk about the small section between Prometheus and fontaine yes? The section where you play a big daddy. Wow holy crap that was fun. Already got me all excited for bioshock 2. It was really nice and it rewarded the more open eyed player (hacking sentry guns for example instead of just wrecking them). Next I wish to talk about moments that stood out to me. First...that ffffffUCKING SATISFACTION I FELT FINDING THAT BASTARD SUCHONG PINNED TO A TABLE VIA A BIG DADDY DRILL!! god i wont forget that audio tape with the puppy... now. Another moment that stood out to me was andrew ryans death. They way it revealed the whole would you kindly thing. And the way he stood to his philosophy till the end. "A man chooses, a slave obeys" and indeed he chose. He chose when, how and why he dies. Truly and insteresting individual. Next..what also stood out to me was the entire stay in fort frolic. It felt so different from the rest of the game. Yes, the entire game feels unerving and claustrophobic and scary but fort frolic just...made me feel extremly uneasy. All these insane artists, especially sander cohen. And then that scene where Jack finds his mom. Or that audio tape of sander cohens um..poem. you know which one i mean. In general all the wax corpses or those fucking wax spider splicers. I hated those dudes.

now lets talk about the ending yeah?

Now like every sane human being I chose the good path (I dont trust people who harvest little sisters) and wow. Wow holy fuckles. It was so satisfying to see the little sisters kill fontaine. He got what he fucking deserved but...thats not what stood out to me the most. It was the cutscene..how we took them back to the surface, those little sisters...how we saw them grow up, ger edcuated, get married get the life they were never allowed to live! I almost never cry at video games but that scene made me feel so god damn happy. Especially that last shot where we see jacks hand as an old man and all the other little sisters taking his hand, wedding rings on each of their hands. They were able to live because we saved them from this nightmare. My sister sat next to me and she cried. "Its been over 10 years and this still makes me cry" yeah. I dont cry. But..I bassicaly did inside. It felt so right..so deserved. I'm so happy. Bioshock wasn't a game to me. It was an expericne. A journey! And I think that if you haven't been on that journey yet? Trust me. Its 100% worth it.

Thats all folks

The Investment of an Antagonist - Part One

Entry 04. [Trigger warning content: post contains discussion of Far Cry 5 details including cannibalism, graphic violence, brainwashing, torture, child abuse mention, neglect, mentioned fatalistic/suicidal character pov, dark backstories, etc. Spoilers naturally. Part 01 of 03.] [Link to part two here.] [Link to part three here.] I was cooking dinner and had the sudden EUREKA moment of trying to figure out what exactly I want with regards to an antagonist for an original fic setting. Originally I was going to have a general state of conflict between two nations/city-states/etc on a larger, more impersonal scale, but that didn’t do anything to really interest me in that level of conflict. So I was thinking on why Far Cry 5′s villains and the conflict interests me so, and the eureka moment was realizing that they as villains have a personal stake in all this, and go about it in ways that are reflective of their stories. Specifically for the Seeds, it has me realizing it’s more interesting to me when the villain is acting due to personal motivations of an emotional nature and/or relating to their belief system, and in ways that compliment those internal motivations that can build out into or off of their backstories and other areas of the tale.

Like, it’s more than just a universally formulaic method of brainwashing for all of the people they kidnap during the Reaping (and before it, since it’s a cult and that means there’s a process of indoctrination, ie brainwashing.) All of the Heralds have their specific manner of doing so, and said methods are tailored to the particulars of each Herald’s backstory as is revealed to us.

— Jacob —

Jacob starves the Deputy and other “recruits,” exposes them to the elements, doesn’t give them enough water, keeps them near hungry and dangerous animals (pre-Judge wolves and Judges it seems.) He then gives them a bowl of raw meat that one can read as implied to be human flesh, particularly if Pratt’s anecdote about going hunting in what ends up being not-a-dream from online sources is taken into consideration, as mentioned in a previous writing-about-writing post. Link here to the audio, (credit and thanks to hopecountyradio,) transcription below: “I had a dream once that Jacob took me on a hunt. We shot some deer and he asked me to skin 'em. As I was cuttin’ ‘em open they changed. It wasn’t deer. I...I don’t think it was a dream.”

Obviously one can make some assumptions of Whitetail Militia imagery being used here, particularly given that one of the slides on the projector screens during the Trials includes a picture of Eli with antlers iirc (that may be only during the later trials or the last one, I am uncertain.) Ties right into the whole “the weak must be culled,” and “you are meat,” slogans Jacob’s got all over the place. The “only you” slogans and graffiti could also serve to foster the loneliness and isolation aspect of making the choice “to make the sacrifice” ie, the symbolic choice of killing Miller, or his surrogate equivalent in the case of everyone else that Jacob puts through his trials. I haven’t seen a lot regarding Miller’s ties to Jacob from in-game content but I could have missed something easily. The wiki labels Miller as Jacob’s friend, though I wish we had more detail on that. Most certainly, Miller was a member of Jacob’s unit, which based off of some reading and browsing on the internet, should still be a pretty close tie whether or not they were friends. The following speculation is based on my own interpretations of the matter and I have no history of serving in the Armed Forces, so if I’m mistaken or such feel free to drop me a line to let me know. Continuing: even if they theoretically hated each other’s guts, they were still a part of the unit, a part of the Army. That means they and their other brothers-in-arms lived together and fought together. They ate as a group, slept as a group, watched each others’ backs while on watch or during a firefight, fought along side each other, and did their best to keep each other alive while fulfilling the mission objective, working together as individuals brought together in a cohesive unit that also was a part of the whole. They all knew they had each others’ backs and that the others did the same for them in turn. Shifting between life-or-death situations and more peaceful times, it creates a bond and social structure that is very unlike most common, modern civilian social structures. There certainly at least seems to be a bit of culture shock in the US between the two environs, and Jacob seems to have experienced that, based on what we hear of his backstory in The Book of Joseph of having little to no support once back in civilian life (ie: deeply traumatized and staying in veteran hospitals until he ran out of money and ended up in homeless shelters) after being discharged from the Army. In the Armed Forces it’s about the group, rather than the individual. Imagine having that, knowing that, after being through all that Jacob has potentially been through. To have brothers in arms if not by blood by his side who he protects, who also protect him against the hostility of the world they’re fighting against. This is not to ding Joseph or John as characters by the way, all three of them were children at that point and shouldn’t have had to deal with any of that. Jacob loses what ties of family he holds dear with his blood brothers once he’s put into Juvie, perhaps makes friends there but is likely on his own once he’s out again, with very poor prospects given his history, and then he enlists. He’s alone and without support before he joins the military, and then suddenly he’s in an environment where there IS a form of support, and it’s predictable and structured down to the last bootlace (note: that’s a very broad statement and does not include variance and personal experiences, nor possible issues with potential power abuse or other flaws that might arise in such group structures.) Imagine Jacob being in the Army long enough to get used to that, to enjoy that aspect of it all, to share the camaraderie of bitching about the heat of the sun, sand in their socks, and getting yet another package of their least favorite MRE while trying to wheedle a trade with someone else for something better. Imagine him doing that with Miller, knowing how the other man likes the sugar cookie desserts in one MRE package and hates how the chocolate bars melt from the desert heat in another. Knowing what each others’ tells and bluffs are from playing poker on their down time while on a tour. Swapping stories about home...and noticing who doesn’t want to talk about the life they had before enlisting. Talking about the things they miss, the people they miss. Knowing who snores, who’s a light sleeper, all those things you learn when you’re in close proximity to a person for perhaps up to two years or so depending on deployment length. It could also be they’ve been deployed together more than once, as Jacob certainly went out on multiple tours per The Book of Joseph once again. Imagine Jacob knowing all of that and more about Miller. Then, day after day after day of being lost in the desert, with starvation eating away at their rationality, that hollow pain in their guts as their bodies start burning through their own cells and reserves to try to stay alive, running out of water and having to take chances with any drinking source they can find in the environment and having to expend precious energy to try or die early from dehydration, probably not sleeping well from the hunger, exhaustion, stress, possible enemy presence, dangerous wildlife... The brain starts shutting down real quick once we don’t have the resources it needs to run optimally. Some faster than others, but in Jacob and Miller’s case, their ordeal is definitely long enough to put them into that mindset of feeling that primal fear of a slow death by famine, weakness, scarcity. The psychological toll would have been heavy without a doubt, and that might’ve been compounded by experiences in Jacob’s childhood if his parents were not dutiful in buying food more regularly, which easily could be the case. Old Mad Seed needs more whiskey this month to fuel his raging, drunken fits of spewing biblical verses in a tyrannical fashion? There goes the money for the last few days of food. Easily could be how Jacob got into stealing candy (and likely also food in that case) for himself and his brothers. So Jacob would have a good idea of some of what’s coming down the pipe in that case. He knows how long the trip is, can reckon how fast the two can travel. Maybe he starts out hopeful in a grim way to start... ...but over time as things get more and more desperate (and it could be a familiar desperation he’s felt before as a kid going hungry, only worse,) “And I looked at Miller and I could tell we were as good as dead. And I accepted that. And in that acceptance...came clarity.” That clarity could very well be that Jacob decided that morality was futile if it meant you didn’t survive, which could very well be a very world-breaking revelation for him, since he is mentioned in his backstory to have had a praiseworthy sense of honor among other things. Certainly is potentially spirit breaking to go from being the older brother, the brother-in-arms who relied on and was relied on, who was trusted, to being a betrayer of that trust. A Judas, one could say, as he calls Pratt in his video after Pratt has helped the Deputy escape. And what does Jacob make the Deputy become, in relation to Eli? Eli, the man the Deputy was rescued by, was aided by, has been working alongside this entire time. Eli, who trusts and relies on the Deputy. Eli, who it could be said betrayed Jacob’s friendship with him by choosing not to hand over the Whitetail Militia and join Eden’s Gate (from Jacob’s perspective, based on his final fight dialogue.) “Hey. Only you could have gotten this close. Only you could have earned his trust. It was always only ever you. Good work. You did it. You passed your test. You made your sacrifice. But now...you’re alone. And you’re weak. And we know what happens to the weak.” That might seem contradictory at first, since in theory making the sacrifice should make one “strong” by Jacob’s line of reasoning, one might think. But the Deputy is a “traitor” now—to the Whitetail Militia by brainwashing (temporarily as we the audience know, pending Jacob’s death,) and to Jacob by choice, if one takes the following lines from Jacob into consideration: “You’ve forgotten your purpose, Deputy. You were on the path of the Chosen but now you’ve strayed. Fear did this to you, but don’t worry, I can help with that. I can remove your fear and give you strength. It’s not too late. Come back to me. Remember your purpose.” ”Deputy, know that I still have hope for you, but if you continue to support Eli and his merry band of cowards, that hope will cease to exist. Your judgement is cloudy because your mind is weak, but I have confidence you’ll make the right choice in the end. If not—you’ll all pay in blood.” Link to the audio for the above two lines here (credit and appreciation to hopecountyradio once more.) As with the other Seeds, Jacob starts out trying to persuade the Deputy to “see the light” and join the Project, but as with all of them, as the resistance meter rises and we draw closer to the final confrontation with him, he and the others abandon that idea in favor of trying to end the Deputy instead. So in this possible interpretation, it could be that Jacob views both the Deputy and Eli as traitors both. However...the two situations while both likely quite weighty with the Deputy being “the chosen one” to kick off the Collapse (or a herald of the Collapse if one wants to be cute with wording,) and Eli being an ex-good-friend or perhaps even ex-best-friend of Jacob’s, are potentially vastly different in emotional weight to Jacob. The Deputy is all tied up with this Collapse business, and while Jacob isn’t sure if Joseph talks to God, he does support him, what with being a Herald in the cult and all that. It involves the fate of the family, and in particular, Jacob’s family—his brothers and sister. Eli, however, Jacob has known for a while, likely years, back during the construction of the bunkers which Eli helped with, possibly and likely before then. I personally lean towards interpreting that as they struck up the beginning of a friendship, and Jacob hired Eli and his crew to help with the construction of the cult’s bunkers. Where they had their falling out is less clear as far as I’m aware. It could be it was during or after construction that Eli got a bad feeling about all of this Eden’s Gate business, or perhaps even as late as the beginning of the Reaping if that’s when Jacob gave Eli the “chance” to hand over his Whitetail Militia members, as mentioned in his final boss battle red-bliss section. That could’ve been the breaking point for Jacob and Eli, and if Jacob was expecting Eli to side with him due to friendship and perhaps some shared beliefs...perhaps Jacob took that...poorly. And by poorly I mean went full out on revenge of having Eli killed by betrayal of someone he’d chosen to trust—someone that Jacob had already gotten his hooks into. Someone Eli needed, in this fight against Jacob. Someone like the Deputy. The Deputy, who’s been put through starvation, exposure, and ingrained through conditioning and likely a liberal use of Bliss to facilitate said conditioning, to hunt. To train. To kill. To sacrifice. “You take away a man’s basic needs, and he will revert to his primordial instinct in just ten days.” [Chuckles.] “Ah, that’s a difficult thing to understand unless you’ve lived it...” This is what Jacob is putting the “recruits” and the Deputy through—his revelation. His experience. His choice. In the end as Jacob succumbs to his injuries, he is weak, he is dying, and he knows it, looking at the Deputy in his final scene. This time, he is the one who is sacrificed, by the Deputy, and in Jacob’s eyes by Joseph, to either try to end the chaos spread across the county, or to break a seal respectively. Jacob’s death is a means to an end—as Miller’s was. And Jacob “accepts that,” as he puts it. Does he accept it because now he’s betrayed the trust and faith of potentially two people he might’ve been close to? Miller, and then Eli? Is Jacob conditioning the Deputy during that red-bliss sequence of his boss fight to kill Jacob, based on how there are bliss-hallucinations of Jacob to shoot while destroying the beacons? There’s the generic Whitetail fighter, Judges, and Jacob himself scattered across the landscape before ending that sequence as far as I’m aware. Both Jacob and the Whitetail fighter present could be interpreted in this line of thinking as echoing the supposed betrayal of both sides and being “alone” against the world in a nightmarish fashion while Jacob potentially tries to break the Deputy through talking and said nightmare. The way Jacob talks though...is he strictly speaking to us, or is the Deputy actually a mirror as it were, with the things Jacob says being applicable to himself? “Don’t you find it ironic that everyone you try to help ends up worse off? Eli...Pratt...Tragedy just follows you. If you really wanted to keep people safe, be a hero...you’d just off yourself. Safer for everyone that way.” Is Jacob REALLY talking to us, or to himself through a medium? Through a glass darkly, as it were. He “tried” to “help” Eli and Pratt, in his twisted fashion, by trying to get Eli previously to join the Project and to make Pratt strong enough via brainwashing to also join the Project, which in Jacob’s perspective if he’s following his and Joseph’s dogma, is the only way to survive the Collapse. But Jacob has failed, repeatedly, to protect the people he held dear—his family. His friends. He’s become the threat they need protecting from. He has irrevocably perhaps proven to himself that under the right circumstances? He’s willing to betray people he holds dear for his own survival. Would he betray his family? That is the question, isn’t it. Perhaps Jacob fears finding out. Maybe he fears, that under the right circumstances, he would. Maybe that’s why he goes so willingly to be Joseph’s sacrifice, in part. Maybe having orchestrated Eli’s death, the death of yet one more person whom he was once friends with, yet one more person Jacob himself has betrayed, maybe Jacob doesn’t want to continue either. Maybe that’s the last straw, the nail in the coffin of underlying beliefs that Jacob is inherently not someone who can be fully trusted. Maybe he genuinely thought Eli would join him if given the chance. Maybe Jacob was still hollow and brittle as hell from the first time he’d killed a friend, when he killed Miller. All the Seeds bear the weight of their pasts heavily, and Jacob’s no exception. Jacob survived the first time, barely. He survived the second time, but not by long. He starts talking about his potential death at the Deputy’s hands quite early on during the red-bliss segment. Neither John nor Faith nor Joseph to my knowledge do so. Maybe he was waiting for the Deputy to be strong enough to finish what no one else could. Maybe that was what he wanted. “There’s no “win” for you here. It all ends bloody. For everyone. You die now, or you die later. It’s up to you. But either way? You won’t die a hero.” Perhaps that line from Jacob also is one of the things he fears most—dying without purpose. Dying being not a hero, a person who’s done good for others, but rather the opposite. Ironically so, given that he and his family are all in the torture and brainwashing business, but Jacob in particular gave up on being a good person a long time ago, I think, even by the cult’s standards. [Link to part two here.] [Link to part three here.]

Cuevana The Tax Collector 2020 Pelicula Completa Latino HD

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Production companies: Fast Horse Pictures, Kodiak Pictures, Cedar Park Entertainment Distributor: RLJE Films (select theaters, VOD, digital) Cast: Bobby Soto, Cinthya Carmona, George Lopez, Shia LaBeouf, Elpidia Carrillo, Lana Parrilla, David Castañeda, Conejo, Cheyenne Rae Hernandez, Cle Sloan, Noemi Gonzalez, Juan Carlos Cantu, Chelsea Rendon, Rene Moran Director-screenwriter: David Ayer Producers: Chris Long, David Ayer, Tyler Thompson, Matt Antoun Executive producers: Douglas Duncan, Buddy Patrick, Steve Matzkin, Misook Doolittle, Sarah Schroeder-Matzkin, Mickey Gooch, Jr., Doug McKay, Cindy Bond, Todd Williams Director of photography: Salvatore Totino Production designer: Andrew Menzies Costume designer: Kelli Jones Music: Michael Yezerski Editor: Geoffrey O'Brien Casting: Mary Vernieu, Lindsay Graham-Ahanonu

SINOPSIS No se sabe nada acerca del argumento de esta cinta de acción y crímen que, aparentemente, seguirá la línea de dos de los trabajos anteriores de David Ayer: Training Day y Sin Tregua (End of Watch).

La cinta está dirigida, pues, por David Ayer (Escuadrón Suicida, Bright) y protagonizada por Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy, The Peanut Butter Falcon), Bobby Soto (For the People, S.W.A.T. Los hombres de Harrelson), Chelsea Randon (Nueve vidas, Urgencias), Cinthya Carmona (The Fix, Greenhouse Academy) y Lana Parrilla (Érase una vez, Chase).

'The Tax Collector': Film Review Violent Los Angeles street culture on both sides of the law has been an abiding fascination in David Ayer's output, notably in his bruising screenplay for Training Day and his nervy, documentary-style cop drama, End of Watch. The buddy dynamic and gritty milieu of that 2012 film invigorate the best elements of The Tax Collector, the writer-director's return to a smaller-scale project after taking a critical hammering with the big-budget, high-concept outings of Suicide Squad and Netflix's Bright. "So why another L.A. crime movie?" asks Ayer in his Director's Statement. Why, indeed.

Despite a lot of admirable aims, such as creating layered roles for the Latino acting community and spending production dollars in areas that could benefit from the economic boost, this grim bloodbath feels too routine to be of much interest.

The well-acted film is shot by Salvatore Totino with impressive dexterity, capturing the urban sprawl of L.A. with a sharp eye and deft ability to build textured atmosphere, and Geoffrey O'Brien's editing shows an equally propulsive hand. But almost everything about this mean-streets action thriller feels familiar and a touch self-important, starting with its heralding of the sacred code blasted over a portrait of protagonist David (Bobby Soto) with his beautiful wife and angelic kids: "Love. Honor. Loyalty. Family."

The vaunted authenticity legitimized by Ayer's upbringing in South L.A. in the 1970s and '80s in this case doesn't mean he has a fresh perspective. The conflict of a loyal lieutenant in a criminal organization who compartmentalizes his life into hard-core career thug on one side, devoted paterfamilias on the other — "God allows me to walk from the darkness and come back into the light," says David — by now seems a standard gangster trope. As soon as that's established, we know exactly where he's going to feel the pain.

While Soto (Narcos: Mexico) makes a reasonably charismatic lead, the more magnetic character is his sidekick, a twitchy killing machine known as Creeper (Shia LaBeouf, reuniting with Ayer after Fury). Encased in figure-hugging skinny suits, Mafia-grade sunglasses and just the right amount of bling, LaBeouf goes full Method with his flavorful dialogue and wired physicality, whether Creeper is extolling the virtues of his smelly protein diet, musing on the value of morning meditation and the meaninglessness of God in his universe or simply itching to stop talking and spill some blood. The actor builds a fully formed character that suggests an intriguing backstory, giving off sparks in his every scene.

Regrettably, that's not so much the case with the more generically drawn David and his wife Alexis (Cinthya Carmona), who is perceived as being safely outside the family's criminal operations but has enough of a stake in the business to know what's what. She certainly has no qualms about calling on David to put the fear of death into the "Mexican Kardashians" holding up work on their daughter's quinceañera dress, and she oversees the weekly tally of protection money collected by David and Creeper from 43 different L.A. street gangs.

Alexis is also the point person who communicates directly with Wizard, the overlord of the crime organization whose current situation (along with the unbilled famous name playing the role) is revealed in the film's closing scene.

'Tax Collector' Trailer Reteams Shia LaBeouf and David Ayer David's connection to Wizard becomes apparent only gradually, once an old rival of the crime boss returns from Mexico intent on reshaping the street-gang landscape according to his own rules. That hostile interloper, Conejo (borrowing the rapper name of Jose Martin, who plays the role with maximum menace), takes pleasure in reminding David how he's still a glorified errand boy instead of a fully-fledged made man.

Conejo first extends a hand offering David an executive role in his burgeoning empire. When that offer is declined, Conejo sends a brutal message via David's drug dealer Uncle Louis (comedian George Lopez, bringing understated snarl to a dramatic role). "I'm the future and you're the past," Conejo warns David, later adding, "Everything you love is gonna die."

While David prays to Jesus to keep his family and their palatial Spanish-style home safe, Conejo's religious rituals make Santeria look like Sunday school. The movie veers into grotesquerie as he prays at an unholy altar for protection in the oncoming turf war, bathing in the blood of a human sacrifice in a room that looks like Keith Haring threw a Dia de los Muertos party.

This might have been lurid fun from a director who didn't take it all so seriously, even if it's in questionable taste at a time when the White House administration has done everything in its power to demonize Latin American immigrants. There's little leeway for dark humor in Ayer's world, though I did get a kick out of Conejo's lady friend Gata (Cheyenne Rae Hernandez). Licking her lips lasciviously, the aptly named feline fiend can lob explosives and rain bullets from a semi-automatic all while skipping about on vertiginous heels. And you don't even want to know about her skills with a hammer. But Gata is a figure out of a Robert Rodriguez grindhouse world stuck in a fundamentally realist realm.

The inevitable faceoff between Conejo's goons and Wizard's is plenty bloody, intercut with Conejo's Satanic prayers. But the sequence feels almost perfunctory, yielding few surprises for a director with the sinewy action command Ayer has shown in the past. Pretty much everything that follows becomes both predictable and a little too easy as David musters all his force to protect what's most precious to him, calling on help from the leader of a Bloods gang (Cle Sloan) in his showdown with Conejo.

Earlier scenes have sketched in David's strategic ability to accrue loyalty as well as the humanity he shows when one gang rep's payment shortfall is explained by the medical expenses of his chronically ill daughter. But Ayer seems to be laboring under the misapprehension that the family-oriented gangster is something new in movies, along with the conflicted cycle of intergenerational violence. When blood-drenched David starts spouting hackneyed dialogue like "For my family, I live. For my family, I die. For my family, I kill," it's hard to stifle a groan. And the incorporation of the Zen aspects of Jiu Jitsu into his climactic fight is too flimsy to add anything.

Ayer drives the action along efficiently enough to the churning dread of Michael Yezerski's score. But there's too little depth to make you care about the characters and too little imagination at work to make The Tax Collector pay.

Production companies: Fast Horse Pictures, Kodiak Pictures, Cedar Park Entertainment Distributor: RLJE Films (select theaters, VOD, digital) Cast: Bobby Soto, Cinthya Carmona, George Lopez, Shia LaBeouf, Elpidia Carrillo, Lana Parrilla, David Castañeda, Conejo, Cheyenne Rae Hernandez, Cle Sloan, Noemi Gonzalez, Juan Carlos Cantu, Chelsea Rendon, Rene Moran Director-screenwriter: David Ayer Producers: Chris Long, David Ayer, Tyler Thompson, Matt Antoun Executive producers: Douglas Duncan, Buddy Patrick, Steve Matzkin, Misook Doolittle, Sarah Schroeder-Matzkin, Mickey Gooch, Jr., Doug McKay, Cindy Bond, Todd Williams Director of photography: Salvatore Totino Production designer: Andrew Menzies Costume designer: Kelli Jones Music: Michael Yezerski Editor: Geoffrey O'Brien Casting: Mary Vernieu, Lindsay Graham-Ahanonu

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this is it, the proof you’ve needed for so long. the proof you no longer want. (vague steelstep, m!sidestep (Keith!). hurt and stuff but not super graphic. based on a fic written by @technologicalnoiz, with his blessing) 1,658 words

“Marshal Steel.“ The voice coming from the helmet is almost a purr. Light glints off the faceplate made to look like a shattered mirror, distorting what it reflects and hiding everything beneath. “How rare for you to be first on the scene.“

You refuse to be distracted by the barb, keeping both your face and your tone carefully neutral. “Where is Herald?“

Evenfall shrugs, all carefully calculated nonchalance, too exact and sharp to be natural. “Your flyboy? Jumped the gun. As usual.“

Your voice hardens. “Where is he?“

He regards you for a moment, but then steps aside and gestures behind him, upwards. Reluctantly, you move your eyes from him - to Herald, tied up and hanging upside down from a lamppost. His golden hair is matted with blood and there are black and blue bruises forming on every inch of visible skin. Despite yourself, your hands clench into fists and then flex open again.

“Don’t worry, he’s not dead.“ Evenfall has the nerve to sound almost bored, metallic voice drawling. “I have no interest in killing you.“

It sounds like there should be a yet there, but it never comes. You suspect you know why. You narrow you eyes. “Enough talk.“

It’s not the first fight you’ve had, but it will be the first real one. He has always slipped away before, traded two, maybe three blows and then ran off. This time you won’t let him. This time, you have a plan.

He realizes it just seconds before Lady Argent pounces and he turns on his heels, blocking the blow - but leaving his back open for your strike. You don’t hesitate, trusting Argent to get out of the way and not get swept along when you grab Evenfall and fling him to the ground.

You hear a distorted growl that you suspect might actually be a groan of pain. The armor takes the edge off, but inside the armor is a soft center, a mere human, of that you’re sure. And you know well how it feels to be the softness inside a hardened shell, how you can still be rattled and squished, feeling suffocated rather than protected encased in nanoweave and hardened plates. But he recovers quickly, rolling out of the way when you go for the finishing blow, the ground cracking and shattering under your fist. When you stand up, Evenfall is already on his feet, continuing the dance with Argent like they were never interrupted at all.

“Finally working as a team, are you?“ You swear there is an edge of glee to the words. Like he’s happy. Happy that he’s been taken by surprise, happy that he’s getting beaten, happy that he might lose. You don’t want to think about the implications of that, if your suspicions are correct. Which you’re almost certain they are.

You’re not sure if you want them to be.

You’re almost impressed he’s keeping up with the both of you. Maybe if Herald hadn’t rushed ahead, this would already have ended... But you can’t think about that now. There’ll be time enough to lecture the boy later.

“Just give up,“ you hiss when he blocks another of your blows, tremors going through his whole body with the force you’ve put behind it. The armor he’s wearing isn’t built for direct hits, it’s lightweight and streamlined. Meant for quick hits and escapes; for skirmishes, not prolonged combat. But by forcing him to fight two people at once you’ve closed off most of his escape routes, even with the jump-jets. He’s stuck, and from the way he moves, he knows it: careful and circling. Every step deliberate, exact, reactive.

“Not my style,“ the mirrored helmet gasps and he jumps back, dropping into a roll when Lady Argent appears at his back. You move to grab him but he anticipates it, and he’s faster than you: he slips through your fingers and flies past you, dashes away through the crowd of onlookers that’s formed a few hundred yards away. Disappears easily amongst them, weaving through the people like the shadow he’s taken such care to look like.

You curse loudly and motion to Argent. “Follow him - I’ll try to cut him off!“

She’s already gone before you can even finish the sentence. You mentally map the area and head out yourself, trying to predict which way he’ll go, what kind of plan he has. Not Evenfall, the armored crook, but the man under the armor. Who you expect it to be, all the while wishing you were wrong. Knowing you aren’t.

You make it three blocks before your earpiece crackles to life. It’s Lady Argent’s voice. “The bastard slipped away.“

“Double back and see that Herald is taken care of,“ you order. “I’ll sweep the area and meet you back at HQ.“

“Fine.” Her tone is cool, and you can guess she doesn’t appreciate being put on support duty, but she’s too battle hungry as it is. And you don’t want to fight here, if you can just avoid it.

If he’ll allow it.

It takes you less time than you feared to find him. He’s exactly where you’d expect: a decrepit alley in a ten block radius from your earlier battlefield, with an easy to access sewer entrance. The manhole cover is open and he’s sitting on the edge of it with his legs in, but making no move to jump down when he sees you. You understand: he’s been waiting for you. As done with this game as you are.

“So you found me.“ His voice is a static crackle, the suit’s systems frizzling out, voice modulators included. He stands up and clutches his side. “You win.” You see the black of his suit glistening with blood as he leans his shoulder on the wall. “Took you long enough.“

You say nothing. For the first time, you find yourself hesitating. Because you know what you’re going to find when you unmask him: because this is it, the proof you’ve needed for so long.

The proof you no longer want.

He senses your hesitation and lunges, weakly, all bravado and no actual intent. You react on instinct: grab a hold of his arm and twist it, forcing him to his knees and wringing a distorted scream from the malfunctioning helmet.

“End it,“ the broken mirror hisses, the man limp in your grasp. Too worn out to continue the fight with anything more than words. “Don’t stop now.“

He’s right. You should.

You really should.

Instead, you let him go.

There’s a few seconds of confusion as he falls forward and braces himself, and you don’t miss the gasp of pain when he does. Between Lady Argent and you, you did some real damage. He turns around to face you, still on the ground, body tense with pain and frustration. The audio component of the suit has failed completely by now and his words are muffled, but you can still make them out. “Goddammit, Chen.“

You twitch when he raises his hands, but it’s only to tear the helmet off his head. The mirrored mask clatters to the ground, revealing the all too familiar eyes, hard as they glare at you. “Just finish it!“

“Is that what you want?“ You find yourself asking. Softly. Too softly: his eyes glisten, too blue in the pale and bruised face, too blue in contrast to the redness in the whites, too blue-- just too blue. You can’t turn your gaze away.

“Don’t ask me that.“ There’s the hurt, the tiredness you’ve come to know so well, even though you still don’t know the reason for it. You want to, now more than ever. “Just do it.“

Your heart breaks, just a little.

You kneel in front of him and reach out to brush his arm. If you weren’t in your armor, you’d go for his cheek: as it is, you settle for this. Minimize the risk of hurting him further. He flinches, and you don’t know if it’s from pain or fear. It hurts all the same.

He doesn’t try to get away, or even to push you. That hurts even more, and you think part of it is him bleeding over to your mind. You can feel the weight against your mental fortifications, pulsating like a heartbeat, waves crashing against the cliff face. The force of them weakening as he does, eyelids drooping. He falls forward, against you and you catch him, let him rest his head against your armor.

“Please, Chen,“ he murmurs, the pressure on your mind easing as his consciousness fades. “I don’t-- I can’t...“

“Keith.“ You call his name but he doesn’t answer, already out cold. His face is pale, paler than it usually is, etched with deep lines that make him look a decade older. Even in unconsciousness, he seems anxious and tired: brow furrowed, the dark circles under his eyes a bluish-purple, not unlike fresh bruises. Looking more vulnerable than you’ve ever seen him.

You call his name and it feels wrong, unsuited for the armored figure in your arms. Though he wears the face of man you care so much about, it’s not him.

And yet it is.

You make a decision in that moment, not based on any logic. Not thinking at all. And you’ll spend the next several days agonizing over whether or not you made the right one, but you make it anyway.

You open your comm, you lie to your team. You tell them you found nothing and to regroup in an hour. Then you gather him in your arms, his body too thin, weighing nothing even in the armor. Frail and breakable and weak in a way that freezes your insides with fear. And with guilt, because you played a part in, if not causing it, at least in making it worse.

So you pick him up, you take him home, and you’ll worry about the consequences later.

Temporal Shift (TCR B-Day Bash)

Hey demons, it’s me, ya girl, coming back from the depths of depression and anxiety to throw this at you for TCR Week. In all seriousness, I’m finally in a really good place. It’s not all sunshine and roses, but for once in my life, I can actually think. I can actually love and enjoy things again.

But with that sappiness over with, I’m back, and better than ever, with some angst that’ll really kill ya ;)

For those familiar with Wolf 359, yes, I am giving you the AU you never knew you wanted, let alone was possible. To those not familiar with W359, it’s a space audio-log style podcast that @catsafarithewriter and I have been in love with lately. It’s funny, it’s dark, it’s exciting, it’s brilliant. If you don’t mind the spoilers, take a read down below! If you’re interested in it now, maybe skip this prompt until you get up to episode 47, past Special Episode “Change of Mind”.

For those who don’t care, enjoy down below :)

(Bonus: Here’s the song that Persephone listens to)

The station port creaked open, swinging in to reveal the deep expanse laid out before them. She stepped forward, trusting the heavy boots to hold her steady. There was no hesitation, the feeling of weight settled at her feet, the smell of stale, cycled air familiar.

Comforting.

She glanced back at her companion, watching as they took fearful steps forward, hesitating to lift and step. She laughed, stepping back to offer a hand. The other accepted, grip tight even between the stiff rubber gloves of their suits.

“So-o-o-o-o,” she began, breathless, never letting go of her hand, “how often do you do this?”

She shrugged, glancing back and meeting sapphire eyes. She flushed, nervous laughter tumbling out. “Oh, three or four times a week. Mostly when everyone is asleep.”

“I see,” the other hummed, grip tightening on her hand as they stopped walking.

“Louise,” she watched her jump, a smirk spreading, “is this your first space walk?”

She didn’t need much beyond the immediate silence, the way the taller tried to duck her head and hide.

“You were supposed to do ten hours our first week here!”

“I know, I know-!”

“Shock, scandal, utter betrayal!”

“Please don’t tell-!”

She waved a hand, cutting off Louise’s plea, “Your secret’s safe with me. So, let’s go.”

Louise paused, cocking her head. “Go where? What?”

She grinned, raising her hand to point at the stars. “Let’s go free float for a bit, c’mon.”

She smiled sheepishly, taking a step away from her. “You go ahead, Persephone. I’ll get there just… Not tonight.”

They shared a smile, though looked away when they felt each had stared a moment too long.

“Suit yourself,” she said, deactivating her boots. The sensation took her slowly, creeping upwards. She felt a tug, and realized her and Louise had never let go of each other. She twisted to face her, floating just barely above her. Louise reach her other hand out, which she easily took, their helmets gently knocking against each other.

Even as she was floating in space, she could have never felt so light, so free. She gave a giddy giggle, memorizing the pattern of her freckles, the way one eye looked greener than the other.

“Go on,” Louise breathed, “float with the rest of the stars.”

She could only nod, letting go, turning to face the vast expanse. Wolf 359 glowing, bright, shimmering. There was a crackle of music, her cassette playing through the comms. The only song that felt like home.

“So-o-o… What did we learn, Persephone?” he purred, creeping into the corner of her vision. She stood on her ship, never breaking eyes with the twirling ball of fire.

“You just… Had to ruin the moment, didn’t you, Duke?”

His suit was too finely pressed, the whites sharp enough to kill. He was difficult to look at, his voice really the only clue to who he was. He hummed, “Sorry. Just the way it goes, sometimes.”

She nodded, fists clenching. Let her chest expand, meeting eyes with her star. Fiery, bright, blinding.

“You know you can’t stay here…”

“I know,” she answered, firmly, “I just… Needed to remind myself of something. To see… To see her again.”

“But, humor me here, why this moment? Why here?”

“Maybe because… She was the real star. Because I knew, for sure, here. How much I would do for her.”

He was silent this time, watching as her star, out of focus and blurred, suddenly came into focus, stark and clear. Warping into a deep blue.

“It’s almost time,” he sing-songed, voice grating, tearing her further away from her moment, her precious memory.

“Was any of this real,” she suddenly asked, “Was this… Really mine? Or was this the story I was told so I’d think I-?”

“A question with an answer only you can determine for yourself, Persephone. Ready?”

She sighed, glaring, blurred as her world melted.

“I’m going to mess you-!”

“Clear!” giggled out.

Electricity surged through her, igniting her senses. The entirety of her body washed over her with the shock, washing away as quickly as it came. Another bolt, twice as strong, froze her in a snapshot, memories siphoning into her brain.

Moments of the life she lived.

Young, lips tight, fire in her eyes.

Nose bleeding, fist cocked, army written all over her.

Heart broken, family, friends, all lost, station echoing behind her.

Grim determination, false confidence, curling fear overtaken with frost from cryo.

Ice bathed in flames.

Electricity surged, surged, surged, overloaded her until she was hacking half her lungs out. Her world came to her in puzzle pieces and tsunami waves, understanding far from her mind. Voices called, pressure on her skull that she didn’t know how to process.

“I’d say we’re about… Half way there. After that kids? Training wheels come off.”

***

He locked Machida and Muta separately, hands still shaking as he entered the locking code. He took the long way through the station, working through the damaged and hollow halls until he came back to the medbay.

Persephone slept on the bed, chest rising and falling like it had never stopped. Like a bullet didn’t paint the back wall of the comms room with her grey matter. The shaking returned with fervor, but he sucked in an unsteady breath, digging his nails into the flesh of his palm. Let his chest expand.

No time for fear. No time for fear, for revulsion, for outright grief. He packed the feelings away, stored them in a little box out of sight, and set about to look for Haru. He scoured what remained of the ship, bunks, bathrooms, the mess, only to find her in the first place he thought she’d be, and the last place he wanted to find her.

Even with one less full body bag on the floor, the feeling of death weighed the room down heavy, obscuring the beauty of the stars with the cruelty on man. She didn’t look at him, staring out the observation deck window to the blue star haunting their station. He took a seat beside her, studying her face, following the tear tracks, examining the flecks of blood Persephone coughed onto her.

“Haru…” he began, but what do you say? What do you tell someone, when they’ve witnessed the craziest, most miraculous, most insane thing possible and called it their friend? Nothing. You say their name and sit like a fool with nothing to say. God, they needed to send out a better manual.

She turned to look at him, took in his own mess of an appearance, of a life, and turned away. Tried, measured, and found wanting.

“You can say it, you know…” she mumbled, never breaking eyes with the star.

“Say what?”

She laughed, rubbing her eyes as more tears began to build. “That… That all of this is my fault.”

He froze, heart cracking between his ribs. She watched as she started to cry anew, her hands pressing against her face. He packed everything away, his own sadness, his own guilt, his fiery rage at the world that’d make her feel like that. She was the only one that mattered.

“Haru, none of this is your fault!”

“I was the one who found the signal! The one who didn’t want to kill Toto, the one who got stranded and needed a dumb rescue, bringing the others here! It’s my fault she got shot!”

She wouldn’t- couldn’t- stop shaking, warmth and hope draining out her eyes and down to the floor.

“Stop that, stop that right now,” Yuki commanded, her sweet voice furious, echoing in the makeshift morgue. Haru jumped, looking around for the camera Yuki used to see.

“Yuki?” she called out.

“I won’t have my best friend thinking she’s the sole cause of this hell. It was all of us. It was none of us. It was a chain reaction of horrible decisions and the cruelty of monsters disguised as people. None of us could have prevented, or even predicted this. Not even me. It’s wasn’t you, Haru.”

“She’s right,” he jumped in, taking her hands between his, pulling her attention, “None of this is your fault. Persephone… Persephone made her choice. Machida, Muta, Hiromi… Toto… They all made their choices. You are not responsible for the actions of monsters.”

Haru hiccuped, gasping for breath to find an argument between their truths, but he wouldn’t have it.

“Haru, you are the bravest, the smartest, the kindest person I had the joy to meet. A regular, golden-orange sun will shine on us, one day.”

She nodded, and kept nodding, until he pulled her tight against his chest. He reached a hand, pressed it against the wall, hoping to do something to include Yuki in their human matters.

“I’ll get us all home safe,” he promised, “I’ll make Goddard pay for everything.”

She shook her head, pulling away. He saw the fury burning beneath her skin, jaw set in determination, “No, not before I burn them all to the ground.”

He nodded, rubbing his other hand down her back. She leaned back against him, warm and hurt and vulnerable.

“I’ll take care of you, Haru. And you, Yuki,” he said, confused when Haru pulled away again. Her hands found his cheeks, holding him in place, forcing him to look at her.

“Commander Baron, you can’t carry all of this yourself,” Yuki said, worry laced in her words. He sputtered, tried to reel back, prove he was fine, assure them that he could, but Haru stopped him.

“Baron,” she pleaded, soft, gentle, “let yourself grieve. Let it all process- Besides, I know about you and Toto.”

He jerked, glaring at Yuki’s camera accusingly. Her voice came out nervous, but not regretful.

“My duty is to protect my crew. And, according to my code that I had to bend for a loophole, that means spilling secrets to my best friend to keep her heart from breaking.”

“I pressed her for it, Baron,” she told him, tilting her head with a rueful smile. He didn’t like that look, that train of thought that’d keep him from… A wonderful chance, one day.

“Once, in the beginning, Haru. There was something, a wonderful and… Strange something. But that ended a long time ago. Died, when he hurt you and Yuki.”

She gave a shuddering sigh, shoulders sagging. She pulled him down, arms tight around her neck, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

“It’s okay, Baron,” she soothed, nervous laughter freezing in his throat. His breath hitched, lost in brown hair, the smell of metal and… That damn seaweed shampoo Toto made. The tears fell, Haru whispering kindly in his ear.

“Just let go.”

21, 13, 11 for the torchwood asks!

21. Stories you'd like to see?

First and foremost, I wanna see a Ianto and Tosh duo adventure. They're both just so good, especially together, and I just know it would be so very much fun, especially cause they're both, arguably, the most functional members of the team, so we could get some really high stakes. And also they're both very snarky and also sweet and play off of each other so well.

Secondly, I want more stories of the team between season 1 and 2. I'm very happy that we have 'Kaleidescipe' and got to see how they all reacted immediately following Jack's disappearance and how they decided Gwen would be in charge, but I just want more, it was way too short. Maybe even a whole story about what they were getting up to during the year that never was, expedition to the Himalayas and all.

The last one is really just a completely self-indulgence thing, and I highly doubt we would ever get this, but a story that brings Ianto back? Even if it was like an alternate universe Ianto, like Yvonne in the new seasons (from my ubderstanding). I just, I want him back, he didnt deserve to die when he did for the horrendous reasons he did. Theres so much to him and it's really like they finally let him be confident and happy just to RIP everything away from him again. Let him be alive and happy damnit!!

13. Books?

My number one Torchwood book has to be 'The Undertaker's Gift'. I know a lot of people have their issues with it, and it most certainly does have issues, but I just absolutely love the constant foreboding feeling and genuinely high stakes involved in it. Honestly, I wish that our pen-ultimate conflict of Children of Earth had been something like this instead. It just, always gets my adrenaline pumping to read it. Also cause that part where Jack talks about killing Nazis. That's pretty awesome.

My second would have to be Risk Assessment, another controversial one. I dunno, the whole premise of Jack being petulant cause he can't boss this crazy woman around is just so funny to me. Theres also several extremely soft and good Janto moments in it, as well as letting Gwen have some fun and shine quite a bit. I'll agree that it still has its issues, but I find it fun.

My third would have to be 'Consequences'. It's just a really nice collection of really good stories, what more can I say?

11. Big Finish audio dramas?

Number 1 place absolutely has to go to 'Broken' cause I'm a weak and predictable bitch. Not only do I love it for finally letting us see the actual start of Ianto and Jack's relationship, but as someone who loves Ianto I love that it showed us all the little behind the scenes moments and what he was actually going through after the events of 'Cyberwoman'. It's just top notch stuff that also works to build on Ianto's character so very well.

Second place has to then go to 'Outbreak', cause he doesnt want a sudo zombie apocalypse style story? Fun plot, fun build up and usage of beloved characters, Norton is a fun addition, and having the situation once again be a situation of the evil of humanity is just top notch. Literally the only issue is the fact that I have to listen to people clawing their own skin off directly into my ears. That I could absolutely do without thank you very much.

Third place goes to 'The Last Beacon', once again cause I'm a predictable little bitch. What can I say? Ianto and Owen going on a buddy adventure out in the country and bonding with a nice happy ending? It's so good. Ianto and Owen are both so good, with Owen getting to reveal a bit more of his softer side while still being just as sharp and brutal as usual, and we don't have any deaths. It's all just very good, very feel good.

The Extremist #1

If you've ever really wondered how dumb I am and how much of it is an act, just watch how I completely miss the point of this series!

I wonder if Captain Kirk also felt like his entire body was coming every time he put on his captain's uniform?

The Extremist seems to be the one who punishes members of The Order who perpetrate terrible deeds. And somehow, the suit sexualizes the entire ordeal. So on December 1st, The Extremist punishes the slightly overweight man (who is actually obese because, I guess, Ted McKeever must be fat and he was all, "This guy, being slightly obese, should probably be drawn fatter than me!" That's just speculation. I mean, comic book writers are usually fat. The artists are usually hot fuckbots of raw sexuality) by stabbing him in his fat heart. Apparently people in The Order are allowed to engage in hedonistic pleasures that would be deemed immoral by members of the status quo. But even they have their limits on how far they allow their members to push the envelope. And Mr. Slightly Overweight killed two girls. So what do we know so far, kids? The Extremist is The Punisher in a gimp suit who constantly gets cum stains on the inside of the leather. The Order is a secret society where people engage in illicit sexual desires. And if you murder two girls, you'll be excommunicated from The Order (meaning you'll be killed). You might be able to get away with killing one girl but that's just speculation! The Extremist removes the suit to reveal a woman who can't stop making sexual analogies.

Maybe it's different than what you thought sex was because sex absolutely isn't stabbing a naked fat man in the heart. Okay, maybe that's a little bit like sex.

This lady walks away from the scene of the murder thinking, "I felt like The Extremist." So was she The Extremist and she was just worried that she was enjoying filling the role too much? Or is there some other Extremist she's emulating?! This would be so much easier if it were just a connect the dots puzzle. I hope you kids at home are following along. If you're not, you're pretty fucking stupid! This story isn't even complicated yet! It's just a commentary about how life is sex and sex is life and murder is sex but maybe not life and maybe not sex but somehow you'll still come in your pants! The Extremist mentions how she's doing this for Jack. She mentioned Jack earlier when she said something about him lying on the pavement outside a sushi restaurant while she said, "I dye my hair, Jack." So I guess the main story is about her and Jack. But it's going to be told in tiny snippets between her sex murders. Just like the real story in A Series of Unfortunate Events is the relationship between Lemony Snicket and Beatrice. I hope The Extremist gives us more of the real story per page than Lemony Snicket did. It was hard to remember all of the Beatrice details when he only mentioned her once like every hundred and twenty pages! Later that same night, The Extremist gets a call from Patrick (who reminds her of Jack) to go out and do some more Extremist work. She wanted to give it a rest because she's worried that the suit is taking control. So I guess it's a symbiote, right? But Patrick is all, "Come right over and don't take a shower! I want you to be all sex stanky in that thing!" The audio journal entry for that night contains the first words read in the story as a brown person's hand is seen playing one of her tapes but then rewinding it to begin the story on December 1st (as seen in the first scanned panel earlier). So that'll probably be important later! The Extremist meets with Patrick that night, mostly because he wants to fuck her. But she consents to see him because, as The Extremist, she's looking for Jack's murderer. She doesn't have a name yet so I can only refer to her as The Extremist. But that's a misnomer when she's out of the suit. Maybe we're not supposed to get to know her outside of the suit since this story is about The Extremist only and that is whoever is in the suit at the time.

She's also racist so I guess the name fits.

Beginning a racist statement with "I'm trying to be honest" doesn't mean you have to be forgiven for your racism. Maybe begin with "I'm trying to be not racist!" Oh, and then don't add a "but"! Patrick tells The Extremist a story about how Lords in Victorian England used to take in young East End girls living on the street. In return for giving them a home, they expected sexual favors. Patrick's ancestor stood up in the House of Lords to declare that it was the "inalienable right of every British Lord to find amusement among prepubescent working class girls." And then he says this:

In 1993, that may have seemed unlikely. In 2019, we're one speech away from Trump making this exact declaration and the GOP and evangelical Christians falling right in line behind him.

Patrick's point is that his ancestor was making, for the time, a conservative defense against liberal views that poverty stricken children shouldn't be preyed upon. His point is that the "extreme" position varies across time and space due to changing cultural mores. I think the real point is that conservative ideas are always fighting against changes that help to protect those preyed upon by the rich and powerful. Which means conservative ideas and values are always fucking wrong. I said always! This comic book has a lot of tits and ass. But I don't think I've seen a penis yet. Not that I've been scouring every page with a magnifying glass to find one! That's slander! When he was alive, Jack was The Extremist's husband and also The Extremist. He was cheating on The Extremist outside of The Order and his being The Extremist which I guess makes his infidelity worse. It's fine if he fucks other people in The Order or even out of The Order as long as he's currently The Extremist. But doing it out of costume and out of The Order? That's a slap in his wife's face except whatever a slap in the face is sexually. I guess sometimes it's just a slap in the face! But more often, it's probably a slap on the fanny. Yes, I meant the British fanny! On December 9th, Patrick kills himself in a game of American Roulette. That's Russian Roulette except instead of one gun and bullets added as you take turns, players choose from a pile of guns with one of them loaded with six bullets. I don't know if Peter Milligan just made that up but it's a pretty good joke if he did. At the American Roulette game, The Extremist discovers Jack's killer. How she did it isn't as good as how Sherlock Holmes solves crimes. It's not even as good as how Matlock solves crimes. It's practically not even good as how Perry Mason solves crimes where he just hounds witnesses until there's just four minutes left in the hour and somebody confesses. She just notices somebody that doesn't look like they want to fuck her and just looks frightened instead and thinks, "A-ha! That's what Patrick said I should look for! Somebody who doesn't want to fuck me!" It's a good thing I don't know anybody who was murdered because I would think that every single person I ever met killed them. The Extremist heads over to this woman's house, the woman Jack was fucking, and kills her. But first she gets her to confess! That's important because you don't want to get caught in a loop where you keep killing new people because you're unsure if you killed the murderer. That would be like a cut-rate Memento where instead of memory loss, the protagonist just suffers from mild doubt. Judy (that's her name!) quits and moves to the suburbs. She leaves The Extremist suit and her audio tapes for somebody else to find (which somebody else does! On page one! The black homeless guy, I bet!). Nope, she goes back for the suit because she's super horny. The black guy probably finds the suit in a later issue. Or maybe he's working for the FBI. After she retrieves the suit, Patrick contacts her. He faked his own death and has become Pierre. I guess he's a vampire or something. Is that too fantastical for a story like this? Up until now, it's been super realistic with the whole sex club for people who need extra drama and sex in their lives. Also how it takes place in San Francisco! Patrick gives The Extremist a letter to read which is also an offer and/or her next mission. In the letter, Pierre confesses to killing Jack. The other woman was just a shill who wanted to be killed by The Extremist after being blamed for ruining The Extremist's marriage! The Extremist decides to kill Pierre because he ruined her life. The issue ends with her and Pierre about to do battle to the death. The next issue will concentrate on Jack's story, six months previous. The Extremist #1 Rating: C-. Picture Pages! Picture Pages! Time to get your Picture Pages! Time to get your strap-ons and Rohypnol! So, kids, what did you think of our first sordid tale of sordidity? Pretend this comic book was coming out this year and I didn't know Peter Milligan was writing it. Would I purchase the next issue? Probably not. I probably only bought the second issue in 1993 because there were so many titties in this one. Porn was a lot harder to come by in 1993! Other than the titties, I'm not sure I understand the point of this story yet. Is it about what people will do when they're pushed to the extreme? How far will a mousy wife who was shocked at doing sex on top go when she finds her husband has cheated on her and he's been murdered?! Or maybe it's about how we are the clothes we wear. Judy only loves to fuck and murder when she's in The Extremist's gimp suit. It's like that scene in Fire Walk With Me when Donna ties Laura's sweater around her waist and then starts fucking guys like crazy. Then Laura notices and is all, "Don't wear my clothes! Never wear my clothes, you dumb slut! Wait, who are you? Are you sure you're Donna? What happened to Lara?!" Sometimes I put a sock on my dick and then I'm all, "I'm a rock star! Look at me, mom!" I mean, I don't actually try to get my mom to look at me! That's just something I've heard people tend to say when they feel proud of themselves.

Friends at the table live blogging? Reaction? Thoughts? What is this?

So I know usually people start these at episode one but when I started listening to this podcast it was just cause I was super bored and I had no intention of liking it so much. But I do like it incredibly lots and there isn't enough content out there for autumn in hieron, (which is what I'm currently listening through because I decided to start at the beginning), and there needs to be more. So I'm going to write out my reactions and predictions for the rest of this season (I'm on episode 21 now.) I've also already made some art so I'll post that along with the reactions. All of this ill tag as #myf@ttreactions so... I guess if I end up spamming you can block it or if you come across this later and want to read it all in order you can do that too.

Alright. So to recap what I've listened to so far. Obviously, this will contain spoilers but I'll try to be somewhat vague? So if you do plan on listening but don't mind spoilers it's not gonna be like there's no point in listening anymore?

The first arc (the first tower? Idk if there's a naming system in place for the arcs within each season? Are their multiple arcs in other seasons of hieron? Idk. I've been trying to avoid spoilers.) I'll just call it the first tower until I'm told otherwise.

The first tower was super interesting, although at that point I couldn't tell the difference between any of the voices except phantasmo and hella? So I didn't super follow the character development or interactions super well (also the audio wasn't great early on). But the whole thing about every npc having a goal and at least some personality is a thing I really love. The whole thing with the animated chefs hat? Brilliant loved it.

hadrian killed the skeleton dude! I was also upset about it!

Even this early on I was in love with austins story telling. He gives everything such personality and seems capable of just going with whatever the players decide to do in a way I find almost unbelievable? Like? How????? Teach me your ways?

Also they are all so... Earnest and unabashed in caring about their characters and the world? basically they are a bunch of nerds, but that caring is something that means a lot to me.

All the characters arguing at the end was interesting? Like these guys aren't just gonna stick together cause their the player characters, they're willing to split up or fight and I found that very interesting. I've only listened to taz as far as actual play podcasts are concerned so forgive me if I don't know how rpg podcasting usually goes or compare these two a lot.

Hella and phantasmo were my favorites at this point (because they were the only voices I could recognize), and I thought hadrian and fero were the same person??? Sort of? I was very confused.

And I think that's all I have to say about the first tower.

So on to snow party and then boat party.

at this point 1. The audio got better, and 2. I realized fero and hadrian were different people because they were in two different places.

Throndir is introduced and is a tentative favorite. He has a dog, is an elf, looks up to two idiots, is just generally adorable?

Hadrian decides not to sleep after having nightmares. Yes yes yes give meee angst. Also having come to this from listening to Taz the willingness to explore the characters emotions so much was very nice? Like taz is great, but it is about 90% goofs, which is great and what a lot of people like about it, and is something I like about it. It's just rather surprising going from one sort of extreme to the other? Anyway, I liked it.

Phantasmo goes invisible and then reality slowly disappears? Spooky. Very nice. They go into how he's feeling about it? Copy paste the paragraph I just wrote again. That good good character development stuff! I could probably have writen a pretty in character fanfic about phantasmo just having the information about him from that one thing?

The ice monster? Spookyyyy! Also. Throndir slowly rising as a solid favorite. My boy was so cold and scared! ;-;

Phantasmo is an old grumpidygrump. I love.

Hadrian tries his best.

Wooorddd eatterrrsssss!!! This idea confused me a lot. And still does? How does one subsist on words? How do you eat a word? Do you eat it from just one person or does it disappear for everyone? Phantasmo didn't forget samothese's name, but at the same time it seems like the snow elves forgot about the goblins pretty thoroughly. Maybe just cause they live shorter now? And have lived with the word eaters for a long time? How do they not know the word eaters exist? Do the word eaters not turn them wordless ever? I have so many questions! Does a word eater have any consciousness before it eats a word? Or is it just a collection of words that eventually form a consciousness? What ARE they?

Phantasmos speech to the word eater.... O.O He was actually helpful? Wowowow. Also, super cool.

He immediately rubs it in everyones faces. Of course.

Also apparently throndir is part goblin??? When did that happen? The next episode just sort of started with them talking about it and I feel like I missed something??? Please help, where was that? When did that happen?

Also the goblin asking if throndir is going to torture the other pcs. Hints at tragic backstory™? 👀

And. Now i must scream about the entire part with the other snow elves!!!!!!!!!!

Like!!! They disected people!? And throndir saw it!? First of all, that's gotta be a bit traumatic, secondly, that's gotta be like terrifying also!!? Likewhkahskwbdjdjdjsksjd. I am a sucker for angst and you are just giving me this!? You're just giving it to me??? There is so MUCH that can be pulled out of this!? Also I didn't have any wifi or signal for a couple days in between them being captured and it being revealed that they were going to let throndir go and I am gonna have to write a fic some time about what I thought was going to happen. It definitely included throndir getting disected with like magic and things and was uuuu.. Very angst.

Throndir is my favorite for sure at this point. 100%. He's my boyy.

Alright now back to BOAT PARTYYYY!!!

Calhoun is great. Everything great. Then it's not.

Emanuel and lem!!!!! Im slow on the uptake when it comes to romance (ace here, hello) but I think this is the fastest I've ever shipped anything. Aka when lem decided he'd stay in the city with Emanuel and the others were kinda teasing him about how he had this whole idea of Emanuel in his mind... I was like haaanngg on a second! Is the romantic tension so strong here that even I can sense it!? Also then lem jokingly called him his boyfriend so.

Probably everyone else shipped it immediately when lem stopped fighting because Emanuel looked at him funny...

Again, austins ability to just sort of take whatever the players do and just go with it? Like now there's this whole ghost city!??

I really hope things turn out alright with lem and Emanuel, like. I hope Emanuel is still around in 4 seasons? (Or however many seasons of hieron there is?)

I just realized that if there's 4 seasons of hieron then that us an incredible pun and I am proud of whoever came up with it? If it wasn't just a coincidence? Is this a thing people are aware of? Have I unlocked my third eye?

I'm listening to episode 21 right now so I need to cry about Calhoun a bit. Like. Oof. Hella why. Also Ali/Hella was crying!!? And Calhoun was crying? And now I'm crying!? Calhoun became a favorite character of mine and then immediately died in like 2 minutes.

...i have now reached the end of episode 21 and I am scared.

Calhoun please don't change now? Like kill hella sure, but don't become eviill?? I just want everyone to be happy ;~;

Alright. Well. See ya next episode.

When Evil Conquers YT - Chapter 2

Character List: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/177562446573/when-evil-conquers-youtube-character-list

Cover Art: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/177562290268/hey-peeps-im-so-excited-to-be-re-publishing

Wattpad Link: https://my.w.tt/rTElIdf6MP

Deviantart Link: https://www.deviantart.com/pandaserules97/gallery/67161703/When-Evil-Conquers-YouTube

(READ THIS FIRST!!) Important Notes: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/178727812658/when-evil-conquers-yt-important-notes-about-the

Prologue Link: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/178859191453/when-evil-conquers-yt-prologue

Chapter 1: https://candylani-draws.tumblr.com/post/178892439558/when-evil-conquers-yt-chapter-1

WARNING - This chapter uses high levels of offensive language, including insults and nasty comments about these certain Tubers. I obviously do not hate these people, this is just for story sake. If you feel that you are going to be offended by the words here, just skip to the end. Thanks!

Anon: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to announce my purpose for joining this occult!"

He leans down to inspect the pages, then opens the large book to the page he was looking for, a large slam echoed the rooms. In it lies a cell phone, and he pulls it out.

Anon: "Now, as I load my information, allow me to give some context. Most of you are aware of a popular video website called 'YouTube', correct?"

Lucifer: "You mean that stupid website that forbids copyrighted material and is full of pampering, self-absorbed morons?"

Anon: "Yes, exactly! And don't forget about ad revenue!"

His YouTube app has loaded, and he begins to search, both for his content, and in his notebook.

Anon: "Now then, I have four specific specimens who I believe deserve a bit of a punishment..."

Lucifer: "Ooh, what kind of punishment?"

Leader: "Have patience, Lucifer. We cannot have anything done if we rush into it..."

Anon: "Ah, here we are!"

Anon flips over several pages and reveals a large list of names.

Anon: "For 7 years, I've putting all of my time into this YouTube matter, finding out who and what is popular during different eras, and today, I have found the perfect victims. Now, if you look at this list, it reveals YouTubers that I wish to see be taken down by my command! Most of them are the gaming community, just a heads up."

The list was insanely long, and each of the names contained some sort of extra name beside it. From the looks of it, it seemed that Anon wanted to take these Tubers and...change their names? The first 4 caught everyone's eyes.

List of Dumbasses - 2016

1. VenturianTale → Jimmy Casket

2. JackSepticEye → AntiSepticEye

3. Markiplier → Darkiplier, Yandereplier, Authorplier, Googleplier

4. Pewdiepie → Lucius-pie

Anon: "Let's see here, ah! VenturianTale, the first channel on my list! To keep this simple, I'll make a demonstration and start off with the first four names, to warm us all up. If this is a success, we continue this tradition every October!"

He pulls up a video of some brunette man wearing a blue hoodie, screaming like a girl at some stupid animatronic animal jumpscare.

Anon: "Now then, here's out first Tuber, Venturian, aka Jordan Frye, a American guy who is known for playing Gmod and has 2.43 million subscribers. Even though that's not a large number compared to other channels, it still eludes me how a man in his 20s spends his time playing stupid mods with his retarded siblings. Yes, this isn't a solo channel, he has 3 other siblings who are equally guilty of this cringeworthy dungheep."

Random Occult Member 4: "No wonder they only have less than 3 million subscribers..."

Anon: "However, there is something that caught my attention from them during my studies...on their Gmod murder series, Venturian has created an original character named 'Jimmy Casket', a crazed murderer who happens to have some sort of personality disorder. It's a long, boring story as to why that is, but the point is...whenever Jordan plays as Jimmy, it seems to be one of the few times he goes insane and turns into someone else...someone dangerous...someone...evil.."

Random Occult Member 2: "Interesting..."

Anon: "Now, onto our next Tuber..."

Not even 3 seconds into the next video, and several of the Tubers covered their ears in pain from obnoxious singing and shouting. Luckily, Anon came prepared as he grabbed powerful earmuffs during his searching.

Anon: "Is the ear bleeding done?"

Everyone: "TURN THAT SHIT OFF!"

Anon: "With pleasure..."

Anon took off his earmuffs and paused the video. From the screen, and the audio, this Tuber is European man with bright green hair and a VERY loud personality.

Anon: "Our next Tuber is JackSepticEye, aka Sean McLoughlin, an Irish gamer with 12.36 million subscribers. I have no idea how the hell he's able to scream and shout for more than 20 minutes without a sore throat, but that is a gift he should never have been born with. This man is irritating, and he seems to overreact to every little fucking thing he plays! And he's friends with an eyeball that's LITERALLY septic! He's FRIENDS with a toxic fucking eyeball!"

Random Occult Member 2: "Greaaaaat, as if this man wasn't unlikable enough, now he's a gross slob..."

Anon: "...Riiight...now then, despite his annoyance, he also has a darker side to him that, this time, was created by his fanbase. Since his YouTuber name implies that he's all septic, it only makes sense that his dark side implies that he's antiseptic, and it's quite an irony. Recently, some of Jack's videos are giving canon appearances of this alter ego, and it helps give one a glimpse of what his true design looks like..."

Lucifer: "Ooh, now THAT is something I would KILL to see!"

Anon: "...Okaaaaay then...Next up is the pure definition of a manchild. Do not be fooled from his appearance."

The next Tuber who was on screen was an Asian-looking guy with an extremely American accent, red dyed hair, square glasses, and a skin tight shirt, playing some horror game about a rabbit.

Anon: "This here is Markiplier, aka Mark Fischbach, and this is another American Tuber here, with 14.55 million subscribers."

Random Occult Member 3: "Ooh, this guy has quite the bod..."

Anon: "Hey, remember what I said earlier? This person may look handsome on the outside, but inside, he's a scaredy-cat and...a bit of a crybaby...He's also really stupid."

Anon fast-forwarded the video, and the man screamed loudly and flew backwards in his seat, with his jaw dropped to the floor.

Anon: "See what I mean? Oh, and this guy seems to have a weird thing for boxes, considering he's friends with one."

Anon then clicks on another video with the man playing with some sort of small box creature with a big baby face and cartoony hands, and they're making stupid noises and faces.

Lucifer: "How in the hell did he even-?"

Anon: "It's best not to ask right now. Besides, I didn't get to the real meat here. Mark is unique, because he has not one alter ego, but FOUR!"

All Members: "FOUR?!"

Anon went into his photo album and pulled up a collage for 4 characters that looked eerily similar to the manchild.

Anon: "You heard me right, 4 alternate egos! The main one, and the most iconic, is his dark side named...Darkiplier...I know, hilarious. This ego has an interesting history. He originally started off as Mark trying to be "scary" to his audience, and this soon turned to a whole new persona. The last time Dark was seen canonically on-screen was a video named "relax", but I've been hearing rumors about the new appearance of Dark; it consisted something of him being all black-and-white, in a formal suit, and 3D effects..."

Lucifer: "Wouldn't that be cool to see?"

Anon: "Ha, tell me about it. Now then, the next persona is known as 'Googleplier', and this one is pretty recent. From Matthias' video 'Google IRL', Googleplier is a real-life Google machine who can answer any question, along with having an obsession with destroying mankind...to be honest, this one is my most favorite. Unfortunately, Googleplier has a retarded weakness against too many questions."

Nobody said a word, but they all seemed to have some sort of prediction that Anon is, in some way, similar to Googleplier's personality.

Anon: "Third one has a bit of 'style', if style meant a weeb who wants to kill everyone for their lover. This is 'Yandereplier', but I'm calling him Yandere Mark for short. For those who don't speak weeb, a yandere is a character in anime who acts nice but kills peers behind their love interest's back. Yandere Mark actually started once Mark started playing an indie game called 'Yandere Simulator'. Basically, the game is shit, and the developer seems like an asshole. But this persona has definitely intrigued me. To have a fake persona to hide your true identity from the one you love? Seems like the perfect ego to hide crimes."

From the weird smile/grimace on Anon's face, the group was wondering if Anon has dealt with a "yandere" before.

Anon: "Last persona is a lesser known one, but holds great promise. Meet Authorplier! Honestly, he doesn't have an official name besides 'The Author', but I'll be calling him Author Mark for now. This persona was created back in 2013 in a mini-series called 'Danger in Fiction'. Honestly, most of the videos consist of stupid, immature potty humor, but the parts that I find to be BRILLIANT is the character's appearance and his power to write stories to torture his victims. See, with Author Mark, he has a special book that plans out the victim's fate, and he wants the victim to follow it, or else he'll end them faster with his bat."

Lucifer: "Now THAT one is my favorite!"

Anon: "And FINALLY, the last YouTuber on this list is..."

Anon quickly went back to his YouTube app and typed away, and everyone was anticipating for who was the last Tuber.

Anon: "PewDiePie, aka Felix Kjellberg! Not only is this guy the biggest gaming YouTuber, he is the biggest YouTuber of all time, having 48.17 MILLION subscribers!"

Random Occult Member 1: "48 million?!"

Random Occult Member 2: "He could have his own country with this many people!"

Lucifer: "This guy must be rich for playing games all day!"

Anon: "HOWEVER! I must point out that Felix does not play as many games as he used to in his hay day. Still though, he is no exception...the fact that this annoying Swedish man can entertain or cause controversy for stupid games or unlogical statements is beyond me. If there's one thing I cannot stand about him, it's his enormous ego, acting like he's a mighty god. He kind of reminds me another YouTuber, I think his name was Joke Pole, but he's not a gamer."

Random Occult Member 3: "What's Felix's alter ego?"

Anon: "Ooh, now this is a tricky one...see, Felix doesn't have an official persona like the others, especially since none of them have a canon appearance or voice. However, one I did choose is similar to Yandere Mark and Jimmy Casket, where this one is based off a game that Felix played named 'Lucius'. See, 'Lucius' was a game he played back in 2012, and it's about a boy with the powers of Satan; his main objective is to kill his family members without causing suspicion. For a while, people loved Felix playing as this demon-writhing kid, and he seemed to take on the personality quite well, although he had a strange obsession with a beach ball."

Leader: "I see..."

Anon: "And that's everything I wanted to say! I only have these personas, but these people have a SHIT ton of more personas than I could count, a lot of them were fucking stupid. I only chose the ones that caught my eye, which were coincidentally the popular ones."

Lucifer: "The power of shitty fanbases..."

Anon: "And this is only the start...once I make these personas a reality with a special recipe I have made, they will cause havoc, ruin the reputations of these YouTubers once and for all! These are only with 4, imagine what it would be like with every other YouTuber gamer, or YouTubers in general, big and small, destroying the platform and taking down Internet entertainment with it!"

Everyone gasped and stared in awe as Anon caught his breath from all his speaking.

Anon: "So...am I in?"