Since Kojima’s been saying that the Death Stranding film is going to tell a story that can only be told through the film medium, I really hope it’s a prequel to the game. There are a lot of background events represented through text and dialogue that wouldn’t translate well to a video game format on their own.

It’d be really cool to see the start of the Stranding, Victor and Igor’s backstory (as seen in the DS novelization), snippets from Sam’s childhood/early years with Bridges, the development and construction of the chiral network, and most of the events described in Higgs’ journals.

Coffin’s decision to leave her family behind, start a terrorist uprising by radicalizing the porters who unknowingly abetted human sacrifices by delivering BBs for the chiral network, and the decision to adopt Higgs as her protégé? That story alone would be worthy of a film.

Thoughts on a Resident Evil TV Show

I’ve been playing through the Resident Evil 2 Remake lately since I don’t have the RE3 Remake yet and it’s got me thinking about a Resident Evil TV show. There has been rumors and talks of one on and off but nothing consistent or reassuring.  This a long post. These are just my thoughts/something I’d like to see. Some spoilers for the RE Universe if you like don’t know anything. 

First and foremost, the show should remain as true to the source material as it can while having the flexibility to explore and create it’s story. 

Plot/Focus/Theme: The story should focus on The Umbrella Corporation and the people behind/working for the company. It should show the corruption and secrecy within Umbrella along with how the company turns people into monsters, allows us to explore the character and morals of the researchers working for Umbrella. Ideally, it would focus around a set of four characters as the raise up in the ranks. They are Albert and Alex Wesker, William Birkin, and Annette. These are some of the most prominent people behind Umbrella aside from the founders (who we’ll see but are often the mysterious puppeteers behind the scenes.)  Theme would be how our environment, the people we work with, change us for better or worse. While also exploring the morals and philosophy of science and eugenics since Umbrella was created as front for a bunch of old white guys to create the perfect society/race.

 Setting: The show should take place in the 1900’s, 1970-90s I think is the correct time frame. I think it’s important the show takes place around the same time the games did which took place during the time they were developed in the late 90’s. This will keep with the horror of the show but also allow us to see how advanced Umbrella really is and how powerful the company is. One of my favorite times we see this in the Resident Evil 2: Remake when you first enter the Umbrella lab and you see how clean, how futuristic the lab is compared to the rest of Raccoon city. Keeping the separation during that time is key to the story of Umbrella. There of course could be time jumps and there would be flashbacks to the creation and founding of Umbrella.

           The primary location would be the Umbrella Executive Training School and Laboratory with the Arklay mansion being constructed and by proximity the Arklay mountains/forest. This would allow us to fully explore the early stages of T-virus and Progenitor virus development and the parts the characters played. Raccoon City would exist as primarily an escape for our characters along with allowing us to explore the hold Umbrella had on the City and see the corruption with the officials.

 Characters: Albert Wekser- One of the most well known and popular characters in RE, Wesker was a part of a secret project by Oswell Spencer to create the perfect race. Exploring Albert’s background and how he became the man he is would be fun, especially considering Wesker is one of the people to betray Umbrella and bring the corporation down. Wesker, like most of the characters, would start of a young researcher, (late teens, early 20s) planted into Umbrella alongside Alex by Spencer. Albert is Spencer’s favorite and expects much from Albert. We’d be able to explore if Wesker was always the manipulator who didn’t trust even though he and Birkin are often considered friends so were they or did Albert just use William? We’d be able to explore his relationship with Alex, a relatively new character who like Albert has a lot expected of them. I like to think that are rivals and while they do “care” for each other in some way, their sibling relationship is nowhere near the relationship of Alexia and Alfred’s. Perhaps their relation is better than the Ashford twin’s relationship, especially considering the twins relationship could be seen as “abusive” with how Alexia treats Alfred as a solider and Alfred worships his sister. That’s just something the show explore along with Albert’s military training and the creation of S.T.A.R.S while building up his distrust and exit of Umbrella. He remains loyal to them but at what point did Albert start to question not only Umbrella but Spencer, the man who had him created, who “raised” him and gave him everything he needed to succeed? What exactly was his relationship with William like? Was Wesker always so serious and mysterious or was he carefree at some point? Why does he wear sunglasses? We can infure in later games they are to hide his mutation as a result of the virus he used in Resident Evil, but why did he always wear them? Were they an intimidation technique or did he need to wear them because the way he was created made his eyes extremely sensitive to light? There is so much to explore with Wesker like did he have any romantic relations with anyone? He has a son so when and who was that mysterious person or was Jake created like Wesker himself?

 Alex Wesker- Alex is similar to Albert but she wasn’t as praised by Spencer. Maybe it’s because she had a stronger love for literature and philosophy instead of virology or science? She stuck with it and rose in Umbrella because she was expected to, but maybe she didn’t love it. Exploring her character and background would be a lot of fun. She’s a new character connected to a lineage that has a strong history throughout the game so being able to explore her more and see how she differs from Albert would be a lot of fun. It’s also curious to note that she discovered the truth behind her and Albert’s creation so how does that affect her? Does she tell Albert? We see in RE: 5 that Albert didn’t know until he confronted Spencer and he didn’t handle it well so how did Alex handle it? I don’t have much to say about Alex considering she’s still so new but also because I feel like her mystery and the fact she’s always been overshadowed by Albert, and others, could help to develop and make her an interesting character.

 William Birkin- A child prodigy taken in by Umbrella. The biggest things the show should explore with William is his relationship with Annette, how betraying Marcus affects him and eventually causes him to leave Umbrella as he become more paranoid about his own work being stolen. Exploring how he discovers G and rises in the Umbrella ranks would also be fun. Exploring his friendship with Albert. Much like Albert, William has a lot of pressure on him to do great things and he has a bit of an ego because of his genius and, up until Alexia shows up, being the youngest person recruited by Umbrella. I think William sees both Albert and Annette as equals. As I mentioned before I think a big part of William’s character we’d need to explore in the show is how not only he becomes the perfect, immoral Umbrella employee but how he becomes more and more paranoid that the same thing that happened to Marcus will happen to him. His life work is going to be threatened so he has to do everything he can to stay in Umbrella’s favor, to make sure he stays on top. Alexia, a new prodigal child shows up and threatens his intellect and work so maybe he tries to have her killed but fails because Alexia was expecting it. William is a genius but as we’ve seen in his appearance in Resident Evil, he is also an extremely emotional man. Exploring how William goes from being the most hopeful, Umbrella Student, to just another immoral scientist to one completely consumed by Paranoia and obsessed with his work to the point where he begins to neglect his family would allow for a great and tragic character arch that will leave viewers feeling sorry for William cause we all know how his story ends, he becomes a literal monster as a result of his time at Umbrella and we have no reason to sympathize. He was just another immoral Umbrella scientist playing god. Yeah, he had a family, but he didn’t seem to care, all he cared about what his work. Exploring his rise and fall would give fans that connection, it would make them care so that when they see/hear what happens to William and the Birkin family in Resident Evil 2, they can sympathize.

 Annette- We don’t know much about Annette’s history prior to Resident Evil 2, so being able to explore her background and how she and William started dating would be interesting and fun. I like to think that Annette was the first person that William saw as an Equal instead of a rival. Albert was a friend, a rival, a conspirator, Alexia was a rival, but Annette was an equal that William could confide in, could trust with their work. I also like to think that while William may have been the genius behind G, Annette was the driving force, the one who pushed William and helped him with his success by being the clinical eye to their work. We see this in the Resident Evil 2 remake with how Annette is taking constant notes and observations on a mutated William while also taking responsibility to destroy the creature. William was the brains, Annette was the heart and together they were unstoppable. I think the relationship between Annette and William would be the only romantic relationship the show would have. We could explore options with Wesker, he does have a son after all, but William and Annette are the biggest known couple within Umbrella so exploring their relationship and seeing if there really was a love there or did they just marry because they were only ones they could trust with their work? I like to think that despite the affect Umbrella had on the two, they did love each other but as the years went on and they came closer to a breakthrough with G and William began to lose himself to his paranoia, their love began to die thus making them “married to their work.” That love is still clearly there as Annette struggled to kill William before he fully mutated but it’s possible their relationship was already on the rocks and the only reason they were staying together is because of Sherry and they felt they could only trust each other. Perhaps the two weren’t very expressive with their love and emotions, only showing them during times of triumph or success, such as discovering/creating G. I’ve always wondered, if the two were so committed to their work, why did they have a child? They are both very intellectual people so they must’ve known having a child would take them away from their work. They are upper class so they could have a nanny but still begs the question, why bother having a child in the first place? It’s possible Sherry was an “accident” something conceived as a result of one of their few moments of passion, expressed love as a result of something greater. Being an optimist, I like to think Annette and William did love Sherry, but Umbrella forced them to be distant, so they didn’t endanger her. Exploring Annette’s character outside of her marriage to William should be the first most thing, Annette is a strong character outside of her marriage, but it’s also important to explore that relationship because like I said, the Birkin relationship is the only real relationship we know of and we need that connection so we can better explore how Umbrella destroys lives.  

 Alexia and Alfred Ashford- The Ashford twins are only going to show up for maybe a season or a few special guest episodes. Simply because they are young and they got their own stuff to go through that doesn’t concern everything happening in the Arklay mountains/Raccoon city. I can see the two showing up one season, being brought by their father to show off Alexia to Spencer and the rest of Umbrella to prove he isn’t a failure for maybe a week or a couple months. Alexia, being a genius, would of course begin to make strides and overshadow our main cast while Alfred is simply there to help. Maybe there is a plot by William to kill Alexia, something Albert doesn’t advise, but he goes through with. Alexia expects it and simply is unphased by the attempt and uses it to further her own research/goals before she and Alfred leave. Alfred would primarily be there to support Alexia. We could also explore their relationships. They are very close and dependent on each other so seeing their teamwork would be a fun counter to perhaps how William and Annette work or how Albert and Alex’s relationship isn’t normal or perfect. It would also be interesting to explore if growing up in Umbrella is what made the twins so sadistic or was it the abuse of their father. It can be inferred that Alfred was more abused than Alexia, Alexia being the favorite because of her intellect with Alfred only being above average, so exploring that would also allow us to see how being raised in an environment where morals mean nothing can turn young great minds to crazy scientists. We’d obviously see a lot more of Alfred’s co-dependence on Alexia in their youth during their time on the show and how Alexia manipulate Alfred and turns him into the perfect loyal solider. Their relationship could be shown as creepy in that maybe their love for each other goes beyond sibling love or was it really there out of a need to survive? Alfred shouldn’t be shown as an idiotic lackey. He is intelligent, just not as intelligent as Alexia. His intellect could be shown in military skills, in his adult life he is a commander, and his ability to manipulate people just as well as his sister. It’s also possible Alfred is a bit more sadistic than Alexia, finding joy in tormenting those that threaten or oppose his sister. Alexia shows off while at the labs, but she’s bored by how simple and easy everything is. It doesn’t challenge her. They can, and should, be shown as spoiled brats but it shouldn’t be obnoxious, they do have manners and honor due to their family name and linage, but they do think that makes them better than some people. Maybe Alexia finds what she is looking for to complete her T-Veronica virus in the mountains or maybe it’s where she has her epiphany about ants. Like I said, the Ashford twins are a season, two at most but it’s important to include them because they are part of the Umbrella legacy and Umbrella problem.

 The Founders: The background and history of the founders up to the creation of Umbrella and after should be explored as it’s key to the corruption and evil within Umbrella but the entire show shouldn’t focus on them.

Oswell E. Spencer- Spencer can be shown and explored but much like in the games, Spencer should be more of a strange, shadowy figure controlling Umbrella and manipulating it to fit his goal of creating the perfect race and making him a god.

James Marcus- Perhaps the only founder we’ll see the most of, Marcus is the mentor to our group and the one pushing them to excel while doing his research into T-Virus. He shouldn’t be shown as a father figure or a good guy, he is a manipulative, science/research obsessed mad man who is just as bad as Spencer. He influences Albert and William, making them as corrupt and evil as he but his death, his betrayal should impact the two, and others, because that should be the moment that even their positions in Umbrella isn’t secure. The death of Marcus should be the point that really changes the cast as they continue to grow and work for Umbrella and realize the evil of the company and as they become infected with that evil.

Edward Ashford- is dead by the time of our story so most of our exploring of his character will be in flashbacks as we explore the creation of Umbrella and as he is mentioned by the Ashford, Spencer, and Marcus. Like the other founders, he’s not a good person but he is the first one to die, murdered by Spencer, so exploring how that affects Spencer and maybe even all of Umbrella could be a fun venture.

Alexander Ashford- I’m throwing him down here because when he is shown with the twins, he isn’t that important, he’s just their to kinda flaunt, throw blame, and demand more respect because he’s kind of a joke within Umbrella, even though he’s a genius because he manages to clone a person and creates the twins. He’d also be there to show why the twins do what they do to him. Yes part of it is because they were upset about being clones, being created just to feed Alexander’s ego and prove to the world and family that he isn’t useless, but I also believe that Alexander wasn’t the best father. He puts a lot of pressure on the twins to be prefect, to be intellectuals and save the family name, to serve it, with little care to them outside of that goal so it makes sense that the twins would turn him into an experiment.

 Other characters: We can show and mention other Umbrella researchers or show characters like Chief Ions, a young H.U.N.K. who has yet to earn his name, that John guy Ada manipulated for the third party organization (which should be explored more because we know very little about them other than the fact they are a competitor to Umbrella and hire people to infiltrate and steal secrets) ect. They can be seen, mentioned, and have important roles, but outside of the characters mentioned above, they don’t really serve much purpose except to further show how terrible and evil the Umbrella corporation is. It’d be fun to explore their relationships and how Umbrella affected them, but they should never pull focus from our main cast.  

 Last little thought: There can be mini outbreaks, there can be experiments that go wrong or escape but there should never be a major outbreak. We can hint at what sets off the events in Resident Evil Zero/1 but we should never have something that shows Umbrella could fully contain the situation. Umbrella’s own hubris and the corruption within is what brings the company down so while having stuff like a zombie or a hunter on the lose could be fun drama, it should never be a threat to the whole operation. It would also be a fun way to show how much power Umbrella has over elected officials and the media. Spies, corporate espionage, and other horror/science show drama can ensue to keep the show momentum going.

The Holy Fool: Chapter 1

What the Waters Giveth

Word Count: 1.7k Warnings: Mentions of infant death, murder, and infidelity Rating: M Description: An Arcana AU set in a Vesuvia that is half-noir and half-fantasy.

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When Liuyin Mei nearly kicks down the door to the shop at dawn, Asra Alnazar immediately sensed, deep in the dregs of his instinct, that something foul was afoot.

For one, they were dressed, not in the high-collared and pale blue blouse that at this point was customary of them, but rather, in clean, simple linen, a pale figure outlined by the light of early morning. They were wearing white-- funereal colors, though on Liuyin, the veil and robes made them look like one of the immortals or angels or gods that lived atop the snowy mountains, aloof from worldly troubles.

For another count, it was dawn, when Liuyin was a habitually bad sleeper and a chronically late riser, and every moment before the sun was in the midst of the sky that they spent awake, they also spent cursing and looking like an alley cat rescued from the rains.

“Asra,” the white-garbed sorcerer had said, and in that space between sleeping and waking that he was surfacing from, the sound of his voice in their accent made his heart leap into his throat and stick there for a beat, two beats, before the rhythm reestablished itself in the wake of the tension held in those two syllables.

“You need to come down to the docks with me,” they’d said instead-- and turned to walk out the door entirely-- detained only by Asra, who’d reached out, clutching at the wide hem of their sleeve and feeling the fabric texture beneath his fingertips, magic rising to meet it-- magic seeped with death and decay, smelling faintly of that incense Liuyin sometimes burned.

“Have you eaten yet?” He’d asked, a question wholly unnecessary, a token of his concern nonetheless.

Liuyin shakes their head, and he’d nearly offered to take them to the bakery, before he recalled the urgency in their voice. “Let’s go.”

He’d tugged on a shawl and stumbled out into the streets in the early morning mists blanketing the town, distorting everything into a fanciful version of itself. Meanwhile, Liuyin forged on ahead, floating almost like a ghost in white.

For a moment, his heart was struck by a hidden foreboding, redoubling his pace and walking closer to his companion, letting the warmth radiating from their figure and the bitter-sweet scent of herbs reassure him.

As they paced down the street, only their breathing and the sounds of their shoes against cobblestone and the rustle of fabric to accompany them, Liuyin spoke up.

“My aunt received a client last night. Very wealthy, with stress on discretion being of utmost importance,” they’d reported.

“What services?” Asra couldn’t help but ask, but seeing Liuyin in their current garb, he had a good clue as to the nature of the house call.

For divinations, charms, and funeral rites, visit Liya Zheng and Associate’s today!

Namely, Aunt Liya and Liuyin ran a business that did some work on the side in blessing, cleansing, cursing, or otherwise invoking the spirits for their clients. Of course, this expanded into burial rites, especially for those matters that were more tinged in scandal-- a jealous lover shooting someone’s husband, a bastard daughter who’d been offed by the stepmother, the such. Said rituals were meant to prevent the deceased from coming back to haunt the wrongdoers.

(“That seems terribly corrupt,” Asra had declared, making a face.

Liuyin laughed. “No more than politics is. And it brings in better money, too.”)

Liuyin threw him a sidelong look that indicated the fact he ought to already have an idea. “Someone died. A child or baby, I believe, from the size of the coffin. Either that or there wasn’t enough of them left to bury-- we were tasked with banishing any traces of resentment or lingering malevolence it might have had on its person. I’m assuming a rather abrupt death, and the secrecy of it makes me suspect foul play in some form or another.”

“But you’ve no leads?” Asra asks, raising a brow. That was unlike Liuyin, who could suss things out with unerring accuracy akin to a bloodhound, as his own master, Old Fox, had once mentioned.

Liuyin shook their head. “I didn’t have the chance to-- someone stole the coffin before I could.” Their face took on a grim set, like one of the marble statues of the Scourgelander family.

“Then,” he drawled, the key points coalescing into a simplified timeline in his mind, “I suppose they recovered the body at the docks, then, if we’re headed in that direction?”

Liuyin let out an involuntary shudder, and Asra made to tug off his shawl and drape it around their shoulders instead-- before they’d given a tiny jerk of their head to reject this help. “They recovered more than that.”

The briny scent of the sea air was clearer now as they made their way down the empty streets of Goldgrave. “How many?”

“Not a body, just an arm,” Liuyin corrected. “A metal prosthetic.”

Involuntarily, Asra felt his eyes widen, thinking back on a visit to his offices three nights prior, the sharp scent of lavender lingering, the amused, wine-dark eyes and the silhouette of an elegant figure. “Do you think it might be…?”

Liuyin’s answering glance was grim. “Extremely possible. Who else around these parts has a metal prosthetic?”

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Three days prior

Old Fox had gone travelling again, Asra noted with half a spark of annoyance after he’d returned from another house call-- someone wanted him to look into their husband, having gotten suspicious of his hours kept in the commerce district, and he’d taken one glance around the man’s study before he’d informed the lady of the house that Lord Sforza was having an affair.

It was really, nearly tragically obvious, and he didn’t even need to pull the tarot deck from his pocket to confirm this suspicion. The clashing notes of perfume were not a smoking gun, it was a crater on fire that someone had fired a cannon at.

Sometimes, he lamented the fact that his business had evolved from “Asra Alnazar, Magician and Diviner” to “Asra Alnazar, reader of tarots for bored nobles and finder of unfaithful spouses and eloped heirs”.

At least, as Liuyin had quipped, it brought in good money.

He’d slung his shawl over the coatstand by the door, and his satchel on top of it, then pauses when a figure rises from the chaise in the corner. “Asra Alnazar, I presume?” a silky voice accompanied the movement.

“Who’s asking?” Asra calls, a bit hesitantly, given the unanticipated nature of this visitor.

The woman inclines her head towards him as he snaps his fingers, illuminating the shop with a few dim lamps and allowing him to see the elegant planes of her face, furrowed with worry. “Nadia Satrinava.”

“Young Miss Satrinava,” Asra had bowed by reflex, in a gesture of courtesy.

The youngest daughter of city councilwoman, Secretary Nasrin Satrinava, their family was as wealthy and powerful as they came-- of her six sisters, all were exceptionals-- one was their mother’s aide, one was an ambassador, one was a silent film actress, one was a naval lieutenant, one a philanthropist, another a doctor, the list went on and on… 

They were a veritable political dynasty that had their hands in every aspect of the public affairs in the city, how could one not know about them?

Speaking of which--

“Miss Satrinava, what brings you here today?” Asra asks as he rounds a counter and takes a seat in the chair opposite Nadia. “Is it not the day of your engagement party?”

And then there was Nadia, the youngest of seven, a journalist who, till recently, had been more or less out of the public eye, all of it thrown out the window when an engagement was announced in the Vesuvian Star, the premiere morning news of the city.

Nadia Satrinava, the youngest daughter of councilwoman Nasrin Satrinava, was to marry Count Lucio Morgasson.

As soon as the news broke, the rumor mill positively churned, from speculations of a passionate young love, to more outlandish rumors such as political alliances and scandalous accusations of premarital pregnancies. Asra was too polite to inquire into any of them, but the look on Nadia’s face spoke volumes.

“It is,” the woman confirmed hesitantly, almost diplomatically, before she scrunched her nose and curled her lip in something akin to distaste. “At least, till we couldn’t find my darling fiancee in time for his speech. You see, we’re pretending nothing is amiss-- my mother claims that if it were to come out the Count’s vanished, the ensuing panic cannot be a good thing. I left the party discretely to find you. My driver is parked in a secluded front a few stores down.”

Something in the intonation with which she’d said fiancee made him inclined to think it wasn’t an arrangement of love.

“Have you gone to check his residence? Or any of his usual haunts?” Asra asks. The Count’s reputation as a carousing hedonist was well-known throughout the city, another reason why the sudden engagement was so surprising to so many people.

“His servants said he’s left two days ago, and hasn’t returned since…” Nadia says, pauses, and then frowns deeply. “And all his companions with whom he usually revels with were all present at the party…”

“Is it possible he’s merely gotten cold feet over the betrothal with the engagement party drawing so near?” Asra prompted delicately. “A case of a runaway groom-to-be?”

“I’ve learned over the years to never ignore my intuition,” Nadia replies with a good deal of confidence. “And it’s telling me something is very wrong, Magician.” 

Asra worries his lower lip in between his teeth absently as the woman stands, the folds of her velvet gown rippling out-- indeed, it looked as though she did come directly from her engagement party, or at least, there was no time to change before coming here.

“I’m willing to pay handsomely for your services and discretion, of course. Name the price and it will be yours. Think on it, Magician,” she’d said, draping a houndstooth jacket over her shoulders. “I leave the decision in your hands.”

With that, she departed into the night on a lavender breeze.