#Do you know how much G he's stacked up from stealing and some murders

[justanechoflower]

I must ask did you like the powerless souls i gave you during petal assimilation and if you did should i sign you up for regular shipments?

(Found this on a fandom wikipage and thought it was funny:

[fandom-sheep]

Fundy 21 APR 21

OSMP Dr*g Lab Part 1/1

The boy is doing disasters!

And now he’s got his new computer! Hooray!

Let’s see if the stream functions. I doubt it but it’ll be funny.

I’m typing this and attempting to fill out digital paper work for my college. Let’s see how this goes.

Hooray cat! We love Boots. Look at that pretty kitty laying on her pillow! I need to do more art for Boots. I’ve done some in the past.

Fundy gets to annoy people with his appearance. Everyone in chat shouting no. I think it’d be funny.

I don’t want to do my work. I just want to watch the chaotic fox boy.

We’ve hit problem two. Woo.

The people demand an Ad.

Oh we get facecam! Oh never mind he’s stuck again.

Ah yes. The temporary facecam.

My stream quality is going to drop just cause it can. I’m calling it.

Poor Fundy wants his mic not to cut out, but its become a thing and we all love it. “Twitch Pr”

He’s trying to break the mic for us. LOL.

Oh things sound Funky.

Echo, echo, echo

Oh no. My poor head.

He’s just laughing at us now.

He’s wondering how he didn’t lose all his viewers, we’re loyal, sadly.

Fox with his lovely base. It always looks so cool.

Ah we’ve been abandoned.

Bless your soulza

Yuck. Normal Minecraft. Yuck Spiders.

Dodge those skeleton shots! Do it!

Enslave Berry Foxes!

He has become a slow airplane.

Posture check. I am laying on my back I have no posture.

The boy eats the valued things.

I almost want to dual wield streams and watch Phil’s reactions to all this, but also not seeing the reactions is funny.

Puns. I love them. RUN FOX RUN!

Fundy Just causing problems on purpose. We love our chaos boy.

Ha ha. Karma.

Fox go YOINK.

Boots? Pet the cat. I wish we could see the cat. Boots is being banished downstairs.

Aww. He’s trying to be helpful. but the zombies just going to burn. Oh he realized before he burned the zombie. Good.

What is crow father doing? Just kelping? Is Phil just ignoring him?

Oh Phil just watching Fundy save the slab.

And giving him a reward. I am seeing parallels between this and what I do with troublesome campers.

I wonder how the crows have been reacting to Fundy being a problem on purpose?

Wealth goes in the mouth.

Sadness. Zombie friend despawned.

I love how Fundy can go from “I am tough” to “I am weak” to “I am tough” its always funny to me.

Something happened with sticky keys but I’m not sure because I was making a hot pocket.

Not crash is typically a goal of driving.

no reusing jokes. Boo someone throw a tomato.

“R” well alright then.

Don’t put wealth in the mouth. Got it.

Chat goes zoom? He’s oh noing.

“I don’t have a phone” as you text on your phone.

Wat. Some donos make negative amounts of sense.

I’d listen to him play that in the background while I work.

Look at the crowfather making his achievements.

Why would a fox have gold nuggets?

Foxes will look at Fundy and go “ah big fox. He is our leader now”

Ooo another video? A game show?

Don’t mind me. Just nearly drowning drinking water because a skeleton dropped on the small fox.

Humans designed bananas. Natural bananas are tiny and seedy. I know, Ive tried one. It was nasty.

Are star fruit rounded?

Foxes are dogs with a cat attitude. Who steal. The thief animals.

Digsirton. Dogson. Dogust. III. What an interesting name.

He was a fox. Because.

Fundy in the ring.

BRB gotta go cover plants so they don’t die during the cold snap.

Plants have been covered.

I know you guys attempted to surf the void and failed and that’s about it.

Now the Fox is chatting with the inchling.

Oops. Didn’t time it right.

He is a spring.

How does everyone have so many diamond things.

Nice. Enderman one shot.

Guilt free trident.

Woosh! With a trident the fox can fly!

And he didn’t thief it. Proud of him.

I love how close everyone stayed near spawn.

Poor lil fox.

Someone get the fox a trident!

Oh Phil’s view was probably great.

We’re looking scuffed again.

Phil witnessing the murder of 1 (one) fox.

Sneeg is a bullet.

Poor Fundy wants to become stacked, but he doesn’t hunt for anything.

Ah the bee. And there he goes.

Secret chest. Lovely.

Storage Unit Fox. Infinite mouth.

Sizzle Fox

Sneeg and Fundy work well together.

I’m betting on “no” for his next death being burning. Someone’s going to stab em or something.

Rats. Oh well. It was just 10 points

Quality entertainment.

Up he goes. He made it! Mitsakes are made (error intended)

Fundy one shotting everything is so great.

Aren’t ghast sounds cat sounds made weird? Or is that just something I heard once?

I’m voting no again. I’ll probably be wrong but again it’s 10 channel points.

No sizzle fox please. He will, but I’m saying no.

He one shot the ghast, but he did sizzle.

All this fox knows is sizzle. Ooo that give me an art idea.

Oh no he’s going to feel bad about the people who donated multiple times when it was paused.

Hi 5up.

Wow calling his “lover” short. How rude. Lol.

Du du du du

The tortles were released. Poor Niki.

I hate the mouth sound effect so much.

Training Arc with the pounce.

I hoard channel points like some people hoard money.

Oopsy.

Because he coldn’t help it? Poor boy.

I’m not involved in the prediction but these people have no hope in our boy.

Bee boy!

Oopsy. He is dead. The predictors were correct.

Bye bee boy.

Bee boy is back!

Ender boy is here! It’s a party now!

Fox just wants a skull.

Also yeah chat no spamming VC. Have good etiquette. We don’t do that’s here.

Prediction once again was right to not believe in the fox.

Drug corner looking nice. We can officially drugs now!

Oh no. He said chat. He does that when he’s ending.

Ah we are ending. That was productive.

Shaders! Gorgeous!

Oh it’s night. I never know if it’s night or not with the fox.

A pretty fox hole.

Phil over there Fox proofing his house.

Ah were attacking Phil. Nice.

The Fundy raid is here!

Tubbo! Really? Oh well. At least there is the mouth.

Anyway. I’m off. Good luck out there everyone!

I’m back to say that Fundy attempting to jump and get Tubbo was great.

Come on Fundy! Get him!

Ah. There goes the low heart boy.

Ah and the bullet appears.

I’m going to chill until Fundy gets Tubbo.

“C’mere” -Fundy

We’re used to watching our streamer get murdered Phil. This happens a lot.

Oooooooooo

He did it!

Go Fundy! Put the Wealth in the Mouth!

Oh no. Tubbo hired the bullet.

The bullet strikes again.

Oh he mouthed the zombie head.

Proud of our streamer.

No Fundy. Quit making problems.

Bees and foxes. Natural enemies.

Oh others can always hear the fox.

Anyway. That settles that. I’m heading off for real.

[questions-within-questions]

Gale Reads Warlocks of the Sigil: Chapter Four

Warlocks of the Sigil is by Peri Akman and is available on Amazonand is currently on sale (!?) for Kindle at £3.07 and as paper back at £11.57 You can find my first post in this let’s read here. ++++++++

Is Kole just immune to magic? The Asim’s wind wouldn’t effect her, and now Tellack’s sounds aren’t either.  So Kole’s kind of tricked Quinn into doing the apprentice bonding thing, I mean, he agreed to be her apprentice, but she didn’t tell him that she was doing it NOW, rather than at the ceremony in an hour. It comes across as horribly opportunistic; like she didn’t trust Quinn not to change his mind.  ALSO Kole has this curse, or something, anyone who touches her skin might die in the space of a few months. This explains the bandages.  Quinn is angry that he’s not being told important stuff ahead of time. Too right! No one’s listening, in fact Teacher Brandie seems to be pointlessly taking Kole’s side on a technicality. Bleh. Who needs morals when you have rules to be obedient to.  Kole, again, agrees with Quinn, but, come on Kole, you can’t keep agreeing with Quinn without actually changing how you act, you’re just a hypocrite at this point. And offering Quinn agency over what city state they go to next or a pet is just a shallow bargaining rather than any real evidence that Kole is gonna stop pulling this shit. You even say out right that you’d be pissed if someone did this to you! Quinn’s being careful about what he tells Kole, I’m not sure if that’s because he’s suspicious of her, or because he’s eager to please, sadly, it’s probably the latter. Again, regardless, Kole throws Quinn’s effort back into his face “You trust me, wow you’re an idiot, I could be a murder.” Kole really does value being bitter and full of it more than, well, people. This honesty would be really refreshing for Quinn if it wasn’t so cruel and thoughtless.   Jeez, this is dark. So trying out magic without care and tutoring runs a risk of causing you to explode, like, a really big explosion, and Kole’s just wildly speculating that people might impersonate other warlocks to to acquire children to be used as bombs.  Kole jokes that this is what the government REALLY does with kids who age out of school, she clarifies that she was joking though. Mostly to gloat about how Quinn fell for it. Perhaps she felt bad about Quinn’s dismay, or perhaps she didn’t want to commit to that lie.  So Kole speculates, or seems certain of it, that the general populas is happy with how the government treats warlocks because it keeps them a safe distance from their houses; means you can sleep easy knowing your neighbour isn’t going to suddenly explode one night. It also adds a new meaning to aged out kids having to keep a brand one their face; so that the people feel empowered to avoid them. Makes me wonder why the villagers never made a massive fuss about Kay’s regular trips into town. Can the towns people vote for the government? Or is the voting population, who are so terrified of Warlocks, elsewhere? It also explains why Quinn and everyone’s parents would seemingly so easily give up their children. Also! Less than a hundredth of the population are Warlocks. Which, I mean, for a medieval-flavour society that’s a lot I’d guess, warlocks are not the rarity I first thought.   Earlier Kole mentioned that they could pick and choose what city state they went to, that’s a lot more freedom than I expected for a woman on parole. Not to mention ‘city states’ make me think they’re all independently governed, The Government with a capitol G must be a federal government then of some sort. I wonder if The Government does much outside of manage the Warlock population of a whole lot of different city states. 

Now the bonding ceremony is happening and I can see who got paired with whome. Kay (Who turns out is massive and stacked!) has Asim of course. Lyra has Sordidhe, and I’m already getting characters confused. Mackie has Han-Yue, BOOO! Mackie deserves better. THIS IS AN OUTRAGE. Hogarth has Lakinn, and I don’t remember anything about Lakinn. Actually Quinn can’t even remember the name of the next warlock. Yes Quinn, there are a lot of characters here I relate.  Asim is pissed at Kole doing the ceremony already. Just what is going on? Did Kole do it early to avoid giving Asim an opportunity to do something? I don’t know, I’m trying not to think about it; I’m not Sherlock Holmes. If Kole does or does not have skin disease Asim wouldn’t know either way because obviously the last time he saw her she wasn’t a mummy.  Most of the Warlocks who didn’t get wards took off before the end of the ceremony. Wow. Way to care about these kids’ futures guys. Kole isn’t entirely despised it seems; another Warlock does have a laugh with her about the fuss she’s causing.  Quinn is having a quiet sad moment realising he has nothing of worth to pack. Probably because the shit school he lives in never let him have any opportunity to be a person of the world with money or possessions or independence, but Quinn’s afraid it’s because he’s a boring person. Quinn resolves to steal his uniform because it’s good quality cloth and YES, bravo Quinn, steal that shit, you’re owed that and more.  Kole immediately points out that their living conditions travelling are going to be rough and a box isn’t going to hold up. Maybe you could BUY HIM A TRUNK. Kole you’re making your own life difficult by ensuring your ward has an inconvenient life. And don’t act like Quinn should be thankful you’re not yelling at him. Eat a turd. NO KOLE. Stop acting like you’re the victim in this! Quinn is a minor and shouldn’t be proving you with emotional labour! Kole you’re fucked up and I hate that you’re the only person who speaks any sense in this setting.  Kole rolls her Ls when she’s annoyed. It gives me warm pleasure knowing that Quinn has the ability to pick a nerve with her. And bravo Quinn for being brave enough to do it.  Quinn’s already figuring out how Kole’s emotions flip. Impressive considering she’s literally not visible under those bandages. I told you Quinn was good at people.  KOLE IF YOUR STICK CAN STORE UP TO FIFTY POUNDS OF ITEMS IN IT, why, why didn’t you do that straight away when you saw Quinn with his flimsy box? Why are you like this Kole. Why.  KOLE. KOLE. PLEASE. Please this is NOT an opportunity to hold all of Quinn’s possessions hostage. Quin at this rate you’re going to have to murder this gal. She’s a felon. No court of law will convict you, and even if they do you’ll just be forced to work for the government like you would anyway.  Quinn’s subtly noticed that Kole had already decided what their next stop is and her offer to let him decide was a lie. Yeah that’s right Quinn, you stay smart.  Quinn’s got an hour before they leave, I hope the next chapter is him getting to say some good byes. But at the same time I’m excited to actually see the world.  I might flick back a couple chapters and remind myself who Lyra and Lakinn and Sordidhe are, they may never turn up again, but I like to know who people are.  Anyway, Kole is pissing me off, and I can’t really pretend it’s not in an engaging way. I really hope Kole, or someone, anyone, is critical of the government for reasons beyond enjoying feeling superior.  +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You can read my let’s read of chapter five here

[imaginethemultiversedoms]

Animal Instincts Pt 1

Fandom: The Flash

Rating: G

Summary: Barry’s younger sister was also hit by particle accelerator explosion while helping take care of the animals at the animal preserve. Now, she has the ability to communicate with any animal.

A/N: This was an idea that has been playing about my brain for a while. I’m not sure how many parts this will have, but I love the idea of a meta having a connection with animals. This is also going to be in third person and the OC is named.

A year and half ago…

    "Animal symbolism is prevalent throughout many of the world's cultures. While some are revered as sacred symbols, others are seen as mischievous and cunning, bringing chaos wherever they go. The Coyote is one such animal that is a trickster in Native American lore, though the Raven, Crow, Spider, Blue jay, Rabbit, and Bear among others have appeared in similar trickster lore in some tribes. One animal can mean different things to different groups. While Malaysians said monkeys possessed artistic abilities and introduced writing and sculpture, Chinese legends state they perform brave deeds..."

    "Hey, whatcha up too?" Ava startled as her older brother, Barry, leaned over the back of her chair at Jitters, quickly reading the article she was studying. "Animals in mythology? Interesting. What's it for?"

    "A small assignment in my animal behavior class. We got to talking about how certain animals behave and how it correlates with how they are perceived in different cultures. While there are differences, some animals are portrayed the same way in different myths and lore. The assignment is to prove whether this is due to how humans have observed animal behavior in the wild, either by hunting or just observing," she answered quickly, barely sparing her brother a glance as she wrote down a couple notes. She did steal a small peek and smirked at the impressed look he was giving her.

    "I didn't realize how interesting animal behavior really was," Barry replied. She shrugged and smiled humbly.

    "Mr. Baxter likes to think outside the box on occasion."

    "Sounds like you have an awesome teacher, Ava."

    "He really is. Hey you going to that particle accelerator thing with Iris tonight?"

    "Nah, it's not really her thing." Ava couldn't help but hear the disappointment in his voice; her brother had been in love with Iris since childhood. Barry was her favorite person in the entire world aside from Joe and Iris. It was hard watching him pine after someone who was oblivious to what was right in front of them the whole time. "You want to come?"

     "I would, but I already promised Diane I would help feed. After Mark fired Jack for drinking on the job and harassing the animals, we've been short-staffed at the preserve. Sorry."

     "No problem. I'll take lots of pictures to show you later. Bye, Short-stack." He kissed her cheek as he grabbed his things. 

   "Love you, Sasquatch," she teased, grinning at her brother. Even though there was a four-year difference, the two of them were always close, practically in each other's back pockets. Ava didn't know what she would do without him. Having lost their mother and their father go away for murdering her at the tender age of six, she didn't want to even consider the thought of not having Barry at her back, protecting her as only big brothers could. He was her hero, best friend, and confidant all rolled into one giant pain-in-the-ass package she couldn't live without. The world just seemed darker without Barry Allen in it.

    After a bit more research, Ava packed up your things and headed out to the rescue preserve she volunteered at. Hopefully, in about two years’ time, she would be graduating with both a Computer Science degree and Veterinary Technician, both of which would be used at the preserve she loved so dearly. The owners/managers, Mark and Diane, rescued domestic and exotic animals from situations such as abandonment, neglect, etc. It was also a rehab center for animals that were brought in injured or blown in from storms. It happened quite often during tornado season. 

    Ava and Diane worked seamlessly in tandem, feeding and cleaning up after the big cats, horses, llamas, birds of prey, macaws, African Grays, foxes, snakes, and the huge tortoise Diane lovingly nicknamed "Crush" from Finding Nemo. It was dark when both finished. Ava were going through the final check when a large explosion echoed in the distance. Looking up, she was shocked and frightened to see a mushroom-shaped gold halo surrounding the middle of Central City...right where STAR Labs was. The particle accelerator was exploding and the effects were catapulting across the city. Soon, it would hit the preserve. 

    Ahead of her, Diane was already screaming for the employees to head inside for the tornado bunker. "AVA, COME ON!!" She bolted for the entrance. About halfway there, a tall figure bounded out of nowhere and shoved violently aside. Ava hit the side of the tiger enclosure with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Dazed and crumpled on the ground, she caught a hazy glimpse of a man bounding for the bunker. It was Jack Morgan; the guy Mark had fired two days prior. She wasn’t sure why he was back and right now it didn't matter; she needed to get inside. Dazedly getting to her feet, she stumbled a few steps before crashing to the ground. Ahead, she heard Diane screaming, Jack shouting, and then the worst sound you ever hear: the bunker door locking shut. Jack had forced his way inside, possibly hurt Diane, and shutting Ava outside. 

    Bastard, Ava thought. Looking up, she saw the gold halo of dark matter hurtling towards her, making impact in possibly five seconds. "Barry, Dads, Iris, I love you," she whispered, tears streaming. She barely had time to curl into the fetal position when the dark matter hit. 

    The world turned gold, then red, then white with pain. There was screaming all around: the tigers, the horses, the foxes, the wolves, hell even Nemo was somehow screaming. She could barely hear herself screaming with all the panic and chaos. Then, the roars and the screams and the whinnies turned into a cacophony of panicked voices, all screaming nonsense and words all at the same time. Her head was exploding with so much pain, she barely registered the panicked animals escaping. Gates busted open, fences came down, hooves stampeded, wolves howled, and a tiger roared a challenge from above. 

    Before Ava fully lost consciousness, she heard a deep, regal voice shout, "LEAVE THE CUB BE!" 

Present Day...

    A falcon soared across the dark skyline of Central City. It dodged around the skyscrapers, gracefully catching the air currents that blessed it with its unhindered freedom. Flapping a couple times, it looked around and caught sight of a few pigeons roosting on a nearby ledge. Gleefully, it tucked its wings and dove for the small flock, catching a current back up above the skyline as the smaller birds scattered, squawking angrily. Settling into the last leg of its flight, it peered back down at the ground. It caught sight of the red blur that had been so prominent the past three months. It belonged to a meta-human named by various bloggers and conspiracy theorists, The Flash. The Flash was a speedster, one of the first meta-humans of many to come out of the particle accelerator explosion nearly a year ago. There had been a few others who used their powers to create trouble, but The Flash was only one able to take them out and protect the city. Of course, those same metas were never heard from again, so anyone who was affected and not evil were keeping quiet, afraid of the retribution that might rain down. 

   Mentally shaking the dark thoughts from its head, the falcon caught a warm updraft and turned south. Within minutes, the falcon caught sight of a clearing, bordering a chain link fence. In the middle of the clearing sat a young woman, legs crossed and hands resting over her knees. The falcon tilted his wings back and dropped with a screech. He landed in front of her as she opened her eyes with a smile, easily pulling her consciousness back into herself.

   "Did you enjoy the flight with me?" a soft, melodic, male voice echoed in Ava’s mind.

    "I did. Thank you for allowing me to fly with you, Regan."  Ava stretched the stiffness from her back and legs; she and Regan, an American Kestrel Falcon, had been flying for close to three hours, the longest she had ever gone from her body. "I think it’s about dinner time now, if you would like to return."

    "Will there be any of those nice fat rats again? Seemed a shame to waste them on the snakes." Ava snorted as she allowed the falcon to hop onto her shoulder.

    "I'll see what I can do." Silently, the two of them walked back to the preserve. Dropping Regan off at his enclosure with the promise to bring him something special, Ava headed towards the building. A lot had changed in the year and half since the explosion. When the dark matter hit her that night, she was given abilities she only read in myths and fantasy books. While she hardly remembered anything that happened that night, Mark and Diane said they'd found her in the tiger enclosure with the breeding pair protecting her. It had taken some coaxing, but Chakrii, the male, had allowed Diane to get Ava and take her to the hospital. It wasn't until a few days later, what she thought was a hallucination from the concussion was the ability to understand animal language. A few months later, while her older brother was still in a coma from getting struck by lightning that same night, she realized she could also enter an animal's consciousness to use their eyes and ears. Mark and Diane, bless them, had taken the changes in stride and allowed the preserve to be a haven to explore her new "talents". And if it improved the wellbeing and happiness of the animals, well then, that was a perk.

    Ava told Iris after Barry had woken up. She handled the news with her usual grace, quickly becoming your confidant and the person to keep you grounded. But when other metas started popping up and causing trouble, she froze at the notion of telling Joe and Barry. What were she supposed to say? "Hey Barry, so I got hit with the same matter and even though you didn't get any abilities, your little sister can talk to her favorite animals now?" Yeah, that would go over well. For now, it was better to let things flow.

    She quickly got started on the feeding routine, checking in with the animals as she went. Regan got his special treat - a live rat she had managed to negotiate the boa constrictor in the reptile house out of - and were getting ready to go home when she saw Iris talking to Diane. "Hey Iris!" Ava called out, hugging her foster sister. "How was your first day as a big-time journalist?" 

    "Nerve-wracking honestly, but it went well," she replied. "You want a ride home?" Ava nodded, grabbing her backpack and clocking out. Both girls chatted about each other's day, Iris telling Ava everything about her new job as she drove. About halfway to the house, the conversation eased into familiar territory.

    "So, Diane told me you were at the clearing for three hours today."

    "Regan was due to stretch his wings after that hit he took. He allowed me to tag along and we flew over the city for a bit. His wing is fully healed. He should be able to be released soon enough," she answered, fiddling with a hole in your jeans. 

    "You know at some point you're going to have to tell Dad and Barry," Iris said softly, turning onto the street. Ava sighed, leaning your head against back against the seat. This was an old argument that wasn't even an argument. It was more of a disagreement of how stubborn they were being. She knew she had to come clean about this. There were aspects of her powers she didn't understand, such as how she could talk to the animals in the first place and how far her powers could even go. But she was scared at how her family, more importantly Barry, would react to their baby being a meta. She wanted to remain as Ava in their eyes: stubborn, energetic, and mischievous with a restlessness and independence that ran for miles. She was Barry's baby sister. It would crush her to see the pain and fear in their eyes. 

    She also knew that deeper part of her, a part connected directly to her powers, was uneasy at the idea of telling. They might shackle her, out of fear and over-protection, and not let her fly anymore. Oh, how she loved to soar. 

    "How? You know Barry's new friends work at STAR Labs, the whole origin point of all this. And they work with The Flash. How am I supposed to tell them about this?"

    "They could help you better understand what is going on!"

    "Or they could try to cure me of it. Or lock me away wherever they've got those other metas. Don't lie and say you haven't thought of that."

    "Okay, I have, but this is Barry we're talking about. Your big brother. You two have been in each other's back pockets for as long as I can remember! He's not going to let anything like that happen to you!" Ava sighed and stared out the window, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes. The car turned into the driveway and stopped, though the engine continued to idle. Iris reached over and took one of her hands, squeezing gently. "Ava, talk to me, what is going on?"

    "I don't want to lose this, Iris. This power...this gift. Being able to finally soar above the clouds, above the skyline, it's the best feeling in the world. I can't fully describe it and I know that I don't want to lose it. This is who I am. I can't lose that, Iris." After a moment, Iris reached over and drew Ava into a tight hug. She hugged her back tightly.

    "You won't, Ava. I'll make sure of it, even if I have to go and yell at Wells and his team myself." Ava chuckled at that, already feeling better about it. 

    "You are the best sister I could have ever asked for, you know that, right?" her voice muffled slightly. 

    "So are you," Iris replied, smiling. Both glimpsed the curtain in the window moving and knew they needed to head inside before questions were asked. "Come on. Dad said he was making lasagna. After dinner, we can go upstairs and watch a movie. Your tips look like they could use a refresher." She tugged at her blue tips cheerfully.

    "Cool. Legally Blonde?" Ava asked.

    "I was thinking of The Mummy Trilogy."

    "Brendan Fraser kicking mummy ass? Even better." Both got out and headed towards the front door. Hooking an arm around hers, Ava leaned her head-on Iris’ shoulder. "Thanks Iris."

    "Anytime." 

[metawitches]

Laurens: “In this world, the only real choice is between being the purchaser and the purchased.”

Kovacs: “We stick together, Rei. Never face the monsters alone.”

In this episode, Laurens invites Tak to a dinner party attended by all of Lauren’s closest friends enemies. Both spend the evening evaluating and testing people, though Tak is trying to assess how likely each is to be a murder candidate, while Laurens is assessing how likely they are to challenge his dominance or resist his authority. Laurens makes a point of publicly humiliating Tak, to remind Tak that he’s owned, because Laurens owns almost everything. Laurens also goes out of his way to humiliate Ortega, and to remind his wife that she belongs to him. He’s very possessive and territorial, and this hour drives it home.

Tak, on the other hand, begins assembling his own team in earnest, doing favors and making deals. Poe and Vernon are his first two prospective team members. He brings in another guest for Poe, Lizzie Elliot. Her virtual psychosurgery requires a large amount of Poe’s time and attention, just the thing for a lonely AI. That frees up Vernon to act as Tak’s back up at the party, once they’ve visited the friendly neighborhood arms dealer. Vernon gets to investigate Bancroft connection to Lizzie’s attack while he’s there, and Tak doesn’t have to face the monsters alone.

This episode’s flashback takes us back to Tak’s childhood on Harlan’s World, the world with two moons we’ve seen before. He and Rei sit in the dark and read tell each other a story so familiar that they know it by heart, about Mad Mykola, a miller with two children who he abuses. Rei wonders where the mother is, but Tak says there are never mothers in these stories. When the children faint from the exhaustion of doing all of the work, the miller throws them into the mill. Mad Mykola steals more children from the village, cuts them to pieces, and sews them together again into one giant person, the Patchwork Man.  The Patchwork Man turns on the miller and rips him to pieces, then goes out to wander the world. But he’s continuously falling apart, so he’s always looking for more children to kill and make a part of him.

As the story ends, Tak’s parents come into view, arguing. His Slavic father is telling his Japanese mother that she shouldn’t complain so much, now that they live on a new world. Their father looks a lot like the mad miller. Their mother tries to backtrack and apologize for her complaints, but it’s too late. Their father slaps and beats her in the background, as Tak tells his sister, “We stick together, Rei. Never face the monsters alone.”

We switch to current day Tak in the shower, because the man has a thing about spending too much time in clothes, okay? His skin needs to breathe.

But, seriously. This is one of the rare times that we see current Tak reveal his true, vulnerable self. His expression is complicated, with both memories and thoughts of his current dilemma swirling around. His deep depression and fierce determination also lurk in the background. Joel Kinnaman does incredible, subtle things with his facial expressions.

He gets out of the shower and dries off, being careful not to look directly into the mirror until the very end, when he slowly slides his eyes up to look at his face. This face is not just a stranger’s face, but a face that reminds him of his father’s hated face rather than his sister and mother. It haunts him to see Mad Mykola staring back at him with his own eyes.

As Tak is getting dressed, Poe brings him an invitation to a dinner party that Laurens is holding that night. Poe also informs him that the hotel was hacked the night before, and a spy drone got footage of Tak and Miriam having sex. At that moment, Laurens calls to ask why Tak hasn’t responded to his invitation. Tak half-heartedly tries to get out of attending, but of course this is a working party. Laurens has inviting everyone he knows who might want to kill him. Tak will have a chance to observe and talk to all of them.

Tak decides that he needs a wingman for this job. Poe can’t take the job, since, as an avatar, he can’t leave the hotel. He can go anywhere in cyberspace though, a very useful skill. Tak asks Poe to become qualified in psychosurgery to help a friend- not Tak himself.

Ortega is tapped to monitor the fight which will be the entertainment at Laurens’ party. She’s angry, because it would normally be done by a beat cop, not a detective. Laurens requested her specifically to harass her again. Captain Tanaka tells her to suck it up for the night and kiss the ring.

Tak pays a visit to Vernon, disarming him and offering a trade. He’ll pay for psychosurgery for Lizzie if Vernon will be his wingman at the party tonight. Vernon is skeptical, but agrees.

  They bring Lizzie’s stack to the Raven, where Poe appears and introduces himself as Tak’s partner colleague the proprietor of the hotel the hotel itself. Poe has a VR suite ready for Lizzie, but Vernon won’t be able to talk to her at all during her treatment. Vernon says that he understand that sometimes you have to get burned to pull someone out of the fire, and consents to the procedure, putting Lizzie’s stack in Poe’s hands. Then he promises to destroy Poe if anything happens to Lizzie.

Ortega goes over Laurens’ guest list. Many of the attendee’s are potential suspects in Mary Lou Henchy’s death. She asks Aboud to help her by scanning the cars at the party, while she interviews suspects.

Tak and Vernon visit the neighborhood arm dealer, Flake, who also sells candy to children from a street cart and wears furry pants. He shows them his top of the line weapons. Tak gets an Ingram 40 flechette gun prototype from CTAC R&D. It uses flanged armor-piercing rounds, has a ten round clip, with homing tech onboard. He shoots a flechette into the wall, then has the machine call it home. When you reverse the field generator, the plasma homes through a plasma chamber, and autoloads right into the mag.

Flake notices the weapon Tak’s carrying, and recognizes it immediately as a modified second series Nemex. Tak declines to be specific about where he acquired it.

They look at knives next. Both Tak and Vernon go for Tebbet knives- twinsies 👬- with a tantallum steel alloy blade, flint in the pommel for weighting, and runnel (or blood groove) coated with Reaper/betathanatine, a bioweapon scientists created to study near death experiences. The deeper you stab, the bigger the dose. Vernon adds on a Sunjet 2320 classic firearm.

The Sunjet 2320 sends Tak into a memory of using one during his Envoy training with Quell. They use a combination of martial arts moves and their weapons as she lectures the Envoys.

Quell: “You must learn the weakness of weapons. This sleeve is a tool. It does not control me. I control it. The true strength of the wolf isn’t fangs, speed and skill. It’s the pack. Whatever world you needlecast into, build a pack. Find ways to inspire loyalty in a few capable locals, even if many of them will ultimately be expendable. We are Envoys. And we take what is offered.”

    Back at the Raven, Poe is making progress with Lizzie’s treatment. He’s slowly converting her spot on the street in front of Jack It Off into a bedroom, with a warm pink glow. Tak says the pink is Poe’s idea of non-threatening, while Vernon thinks it looks like the inside of someone’s stomach. Vernon is watching the process on an old TV from the 1950s.

Lizzie moves from lying on the street, surrounded by rats, to sitting on a bed. She never lets go of her baby doll. The camera makes sure we get a good look at it. When Poe turns on a small bedside lamp, Lizzie grabs his arm. He kneels in front of her, and tells her that he’s there for her. She says, “They took Mommy away because she stole stars from the sky. They ripped her soul out through her eyes and froze it. Now she just spins around and around, a dancer in the frost. She has icicles in her hair.”

Poe is mesmerized. He responds: “I will let nothing harm you in this place.”

Let’s hope some of that is metaphorical. Some of it likely means there’s more to Mama Elliot’s imprisonment than we’ve been told. I wonder if Lizzie’s words meant something in particular to Poe.

After that the TV feed dies.

Now that Lizzie’s settled in, it’s time for Laurens’ party. Tak reminds Vernon that he’s invited so that he can watch Tak’s back, not to go after Laurens. Vernon solemnly swears to fulfill his duties as Envoy wingman.

Speaking of pink, Tak packs his weapon in his favorite pink backpack, but has to leave both at the coatcheck. Vernon is acting as a server for the evening. The Meths are all wearing white, pale silver, or pale champagne. Tak is in black, as are the staff. Kristin wears a bit of color, making her stand out as the most vibrantly alive person in the place, and someone who doesn’t care about the Meth’s unwritten rules.

Miriam approaches Tak, and comments on his unusual fashion choice. She wonders what he brought for his unique item, but no one told him that they were each supposed to bring an item for Show and Tell. The reason why will become obvious later.

Tak tells her that there was a spybot watching them last night. She looks mildly surprised, then mildly uncomfortable. Laurens joins them to ask Tak to meet him in his study to discuss business.

Ortega uses her com connection to Aboud, who’s back at the station, to get him started on checking the party guests’ cars. Then she goes to the fight arena to check the credentials of the evening’s entertainment- a married couple who fight to the sleeve death in zero G. Their winnings include new sleeves, which they wear home to their 5 and 7 year old kids.

Tak follows Kristin to the arena and joins the conversation. When the couple say that their kids are used to Mommy and Daddy coming home in new sleeves, Kristin and Tak agree that the kids actually aren’t.

When they get back down to the party, Kristin asks Tak why he’s there, when there’s no case. He informs her that someone bugged his room last night. Since he was with Miriam Bancroft, it seems like something’s going on. Kristin is angry with him for sleeping with a suspect, but Tak reminds her that there are no suspects if there’s no case. She walks away in a huff.

Tak goes upstairs to meet with Laurens. As they stand on a balcony overlooking the party, Laurens says that he’s been thinking about who the most likely suspects are. Tak replies that he thought maybe Laurens was going to talk about his habit of renting biocabins and brutally beating women. Laurens didn’t think it was important, since he’s careful to never injure anyone to the point of real death, unlike Tak, whether it’s his sexual exploits, knife fighting, or gambling.

It doesn’t occur to Laurens that people who are still alive can grow resentful and want revenge. Or that sometimes it’s kill or be killed, and you can’t always pay someone else to fight for you.

Laurens’ son Isaac causes a disturbance. Tak wonders whether Isaac should be a suspect. Laurens scoffs at the idea. He thinks Isaac is too weak to get up the nerve to pull off a murder. Tak notes that by staying alive for centuries, Laurens has disturbed the natural order of things. Isaac has never gotten to grow up completely and inherit the kingdom. Laurens thinks that’s a ridiculous point of view.

Laurens tells Tak that he could have all of his lost comrades and loves back if he lived in this time period. No one has to die. Tak insists that it’s up to God to decide who lives or dies. Laurens declares God dead, and himself and the others like him the new gods. Tak wonders why they need him then. Laurens says that all Gods have minions.

He sends Tak back to the party to use his Envoy Intuition. I think Laurens actually very much enjoys their little chats. He probably hasn’t had anyone stand up to hin this way in centuries. At least not someone who he valued enough to hold back on squashing them like a bug.

Tak works his way through questioning the guests. None of them care that Laurens was shot, but they do care that it could happen to them. The guests are appalled that someone got to a Meth so easily, and covered their tracks so well.

Kristin sees the Asian man who was watching the drone’s footage and asks Aboud to ID him. But there’s no one on the feed Kristin is sending Aboud.

Tak sees Miriam slip upstairs and behind a secret panel. He’s suspicious, so he follows her. He discovers “Miriam” having sex with Curtis, part of the security staff. Curtis leaves the room so they can talk privately.

Tak has figured out that someone else is wearing Miriam’s sleeve. It turns out to be Naomi, the 67 year old 12th daughter who’s taking Mom’s state of the art sleeve out for a joyride. Tak wonder’s if Miriam could have removed the particle blaster from the safe to shoot Laurens, but she explains that if Laurens dies, the rest of the family gets nothing. They’d be penniless.

Tak returns to the party and finds Isaac telling racist jokes to his father’s Japanese business associates. Tak apologizes for Isaac’s behavior in Japanese, and drags Isaac into the next room, where he slams him against the wall. He begins to question Isaac, asking how drunk you have to get to go Oedipal on your father. Isaac responds seriously, looking completely sober. He says he’s not stupid. He knows they’re all backed up.

That wasn’t a denial.

Prescott and a friend rush in to stop Tak’s interrogation. They quickly send Isaac away. Whatever the cover up is, Prescott is one of the chief people making sure no one ever discovers it. Isaac slips his spoiled, drunk rich boy persona back on as he leaves.

Prescott’s companion, who introduces herself as Clarissa Severin, dealer in art and antiquities, tells Tak that she expected more from him than pushing Isaac around. Maybe she was wrong about him when she brought him to Laurens’ attention. Laurens has been obsessed with Quell for forever. Clarissa received a hefty finder’s fee for Tak.

Tak gets that look on his face again, like he literally wants to jump out of this sleeve. He’s been turned into a commodity once again by these people. Did he fall under art or antiquities, I wonder? He needs to find a way to buy his own sleeve, as quickly as possible, much as I’m in love with Joel Kinnaman. Tak needs to make sure he doesn’t owe anyone, anything, most especially the Meths and their toxic culture of hanger ons.

After Clarissa leaves, Prescott reiterates that he needs to behave and not make waves. He’s just there as a useless novelty. She won’t allow him to get in the way of her plan to become a Meth.

So, whatever’s going on, she’s not just covering it up, she’s in on it, in exchange for a rise in status. If she’s not murdered first, to keep her from talking or using the plot for blackmail material.

It’s time for Show and Tell. Isaac’s up first, with a dessicated human hand he claims belonged to Konrad Harlan, founder of Harlan’s World. He has the hand give the finger to the crowd as a message, undoubtedly meant for Tak or Laurens or both.

Clarissa has a 6 foot long snake around her neck that she says is the sleeve for a rapist and murderer named Janus. Putting a human into an animal is illegal, but Clarissa thinks the laws don’t apply to people like them. Janus was about to be erased when she convinced him to come with her, but she didn’t tell him the details about his new sleeve. She put him back into a human once, but he just writhed on the floor, so he remains a snake.

Laurens is last, bragging that he has the most unique object of all, something no one but he owns. He introduces the last Envoy, Takeshi Kovacs. Tak looks uncomfortable, while everyone applauds. Laurens sends the crowds into the arena for the next round of entertainment.

Vernon slips down into the control room to offer the security guard stationed there a drink. As the guard drinks, Vernon pokes the man’s shoulder with the tip of his knife so that he gets a tiny dose of Reaper. The guard falls unconscious, with Vernon giving him post-drug use care instructions as he’s going under, like any good assailant. Vernon taps into the Sun house records and downloads the surveillance files for the night of Lizzie’s attack.

Laurens walks by Tak on his way to the arena. Tak says, “I thought you didn’t want to own me.” Laurens replies, “In this world, the only real choice is between being the purchaser and the purchased.” Then he keeps walking.

Laurens introduces the fighters, saying, “Tonight, combat to sleeve death, between a married couple who love each other.”

So, maybe he knows something about Tak’s childhood. Plus he gets the two-fer of threatening Miriam. If that’s the real Miriam now? I’m not clear on if it’s been her most of the time, or not at all. If anyone has figured it out, let me know. I think it was Naomi who said hello in the beginning of the party, but it’s the real Miriam now.

“Miriam” feels the show is in poor taste, But Laurens feels that no one’s forcing them. Ah, yes, the rapist’s excuse. It was only sorta coerced. There was no gun to their heads, just starving children to feed. They could be doing some of those other, nonexistent, jobs. Just like I’m sure Laurens would let Miriam or his children leave him.

The couple beat each other brutally, falling out of zero-G and fighting inches away from Tak. That was, of course, Laurens plan all along. Tak finally can’t stand it and reaches out a hand to stop the husband from punching his wife in the face repeatedly. Laurens quickly calls out that he’ll upgrade them both if they can take out the Envoy.

As soon as Tak enters the arena, Kristin insists that the fight be stopped. The man at the control panel says the fight sequence is locked. Laurens says it was an unfortunate accident that he didn’t turn in paperwork on the Envoy. But after all, Tak is legally his property.

The fight is graphic and bloody. It’s tense and exciting, since it’s in zero-G and two on one. After a few minutes, Laurens throws a ninja star in, saying that should make it more interesting. The wife catches it and uses it to slice down Tak’s back. Painful, but no finesse.

Tak calls Vernon on his com, but Vernon is still in the control room downloading files, and doesn’t know what’s happening. He hangs up on Tak. So much for back up. When he finishes, he rushes up to the arena and pulls out Tak’s gun. Kristin sees him and grabs it. She shoots out the control panel, disabling the zero-G and sending all three fighters crashing to the ground.

Kristin: “Gun just went off. One of those unfortunate accidents.”

Laurens just stares at her. I love her so much.

The husband’s leg breaks badly when he hits the ground. His wife loudly complains that his sleeve is ruined. Tak tells her that they fought an Envoy and lived, they should be happy. She tells him that, since no one died, they don’t get paid. She can’t afford to fix her husband’s injuries. Tak throws the ninja star into the husband’s heart, killing him, and says that the couple can have his winnings, including upgraded sleeves for both. Unless Laurens is going back on his word? Laurens says he’ll pay. “It’s only fair.”

Laurens and Miriam watched that entire exchange avidly, like it was the most interesting part of the show. A real person, with real concerns, and an honorable man who fought and died to protect freedom from being bought and sold, having a conversation about how the wife would take care of her husband and feed her children. Laurens and Miriam were like some kind of vampires. Nothing truly makes them feel anything any more, so they have to force out feelings in others, then feed off of them. Or sets up tests, to see how long it takes to corrupt good people, or to break them. Anyone caring about anything beyond themselves and money is fascinating to them.

Tak finds Laurens a little later. Laurens wants to be clear with Tak. He’s to stay away from Miriam. Tak assumes that Laurens was the one who spied on them the night before, but Laurens seems surprised by the accusation. He says he doesn’t need to spy on her.

Laurens: When you’ve been married to the same woman for over 100 years, you know what she does, and you know what she can’t help doing.

Tak: Why do you care what your wife does in her spare time, considering what you’re doing in yours?

Laurens: Your limited life experience can’t possibly encompass what it is to love another person for over 100 years. You achieve something close to veneration. How does one match such respect with the basest desires of the flesh?

Tak: So you love your wife too much to f*ck her?

Laurens: I certainly love my wife too much to let you f*ck her. Now, do you have anything to report on your investigations tonight?

Tak: No. Great party, though. Thanks.

Sometimes, I’d like to join the plot to get rid of Laurens. Also, we still don’t know who sent the spy drone.

Tak, Vernon, and Kristin meet up outside. They agree that the way the Meths live disgusts them. Kristin and Vernon introduce themselves to each other. Kristin returns Tak’s gun and tells him to stay out of trouble for a while. Tak gives Vernon a hard time for being terrible back up, then goes on to his next meet up. Vernon asks if Tak needs back up. Everybody gives Vernon a look. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

    Tak goes to Jack It Off to see if Alice has anything new for “Ava”. Alice stumbles out from behind her screen, covered in bruises. She grabs Tak’s shoulders and tells him they made her do it. He asks her what’s wrong, and what they made her do, just as she injects him with a giant syringe. He slowly drops, spectacularly shattering the glass screen as he falls through it. Tak hangs onto his backpack for dear life, but slips off his Oni before he loses consciousness.

The security goon with the spinal apparatus comes into the room with another man, saying he knew she’d do it. Then he slits Alice’s throat, and let’s her drop to lie on something furry next to Tak as rivulets of blood run down her neck. Can’t have violence done to Tak if there isn’t violence done to a mostly naked woman as well.

Vera Hall’s Death Have Mercy plays over the scene.

  Tak wakes up strapped to a gurney, being wheeled into a lab facility. A woman behind a desk asks how long he’s going to take. A Russian accent answers, “As long as we need. He’s waking up. Dose him.” A technician injects something into his neck.

Tak remembers telling his little sister, “We stick together, Rei. Never face the monsters alone.”

Has he been taken by another Mad Mykola?

  Laurens is incredibly condescending to Tak throughout the episode, as he assumes he’s so much older than Tak. Does Laurens, or anyone alive other than Tak, know his age? His history before he became an Envoy doesn’t seem to be common knowledge. Tak could be only 100, or he could be the human who’s been awake the longest. Either way, Laurens was purposely insulting during most of those speeches, when he talked about long term love and what not. It seems like Tak’s relationship with Quell wasn’t public knowledge, which is just as well, because it would be used against him now.

Laurens is a master at controlling people and keeping them in their places. I don’t think he even completely realizes he’s doing it anymore, in the moment, it’s such an ingrained habit. He certainly doesn’t see why it might breed murderous levels of resentment, even though he thinks of himself as a god. He really should read more Greek mythology. Or the history of any royal dynasty. Or just some Shakespeare.

Tak is visibly more comfortable in this body than he was in episode 1, especially as far as his physical use of the body, but he still has a hard time looking in mirrors. This is a great way for the show to continue to illustrate the cognitive dissonance that he has from being in a white man’s body. It brings out Tak’s inner thoughts about the sleeve that are represented in the book, but harder to show overtly onscreen.

His morning routine is used to show us how alone and lost he really feels in this alien future world. Every shower can be compared to the first shower of the series, which he shared with a female partner. Once he’s dressed and facing the world, his Envoy armor mostly covers that up. But the one thing that young Tak wanted from life was to never face the monsters alone.

The Mad Mykola story and surrounding scene explains Tak’s psychology, and the cultural psychology of stacks and sleeves. The regular people are worked to death to provide for a few wealthy people. The Meths are at the top of the heap, and they take not just the products of labor, but the children themselves- the young people’s bodies- and use them as new sleeves. The desire for sleeves is never-ending, meaning your life and your body aren’t really your own. If a wealthy person wants your sleeve, they’ll find a way to take it.

Like all fairytale mothers, Tak’s mother might as well not be there physically, because she’s unable to protect her children. Tak still feels safer with women than men, and prefers to work with a female partner.  He carries that pink backpack for a reason- it’s a symbol of the women he’s lost and couldn’t protect. It also reminds him of the qualities he doesn’t want to lose in himself. He easily recognizes how Poe is using pink during psychosurgery, while Vernon rejects its softness.

Pink codes female in this show. Not in a pejorative way, just as part of the show’s visual language. It’s frequently used for prostitution in particular in its various forms, but Poe rewrites it into symbolizing other traditionally female traits- safety, warmth, nurturing, protection. It stimulates Lizzie to speak for the first time, and the message is about her lost mother, who’s been frozen.

Lizzie says her mother stole stars from the sky. Stars actually belong to everyone and can’t be stolen. That suggests she found out something someone didn’t want her to see. Or she hacked something that particularly angered the Meths, the obvious metaphor for stars in the sky. She probably caught a Meth stealing. They ripped her soul out through her eyes, the traditional windows to the soul. So they interrogated  and tortured her. She’s spinning around and around- she’s caught in a trauma loop, like Lizzie, spinning but never spun up. Now she’s a dancer in the frost, with icicles in her hair- put on ice, like Tak was for 250 years, but apparently not completely asleep the way he was.

Was Ava taken as part of the attack on Lizzie? Are they connected? Did Bancroft tell Lizzie details about what happened to Ava, and what she was accused of? Was she framed/used?

All of these perfect sleeves have to come from somewhere. Imprisoning anyone who has a body a Meth wants seems like one good solution. Where do the fighters’ replacement sleeves come from, if clones are so expensive? The sleeve business and the rise of the Meths have turned everyone into a commodity to be bought, sold, used, displayed, and discarded, all at the discretion of their owner.

Even violent domestic abuse like Tak grew up with could be written off. Just compensate the victims with a new sleeve, the same way Laurens compensates the women he legally kills. They’ve convinced themselves that the violence, exploitation, and psychological damage don’t matter if it will all appear to be better by morning.

I believe, at this point, that we are seeing so many images of victimized women for this reason. (But I reserve the right to change my interpretation after I’ve watched more.) The Altered Carbon attitudes toward women don’t appear to be substantially different from our own. Women hold positions of political power, they work in everyday middle class fields, they own businesses and are respected professionals. They are wives and mothers.

They also are exploited sexually in every way possible, and the possibilities expand as technology develops. Society feels this is beneficial, because people who act out their urges under controlled “fake” circumstances supposedly won’t move on to commit real crimes.

The acts perpetrated on the women involved in the sex trade aren’t considered criminal, even though they might be if they happened in a private setting. Showing up for work is considered consent. But the sexual acts that started out as people living out their darkest fantasies have become normalized and fashionable. All women are expected to participate, and there’s major social pressure to consent.

A strictly classist society means that some women will have little choice but to end up working in the sex industry, meaning their “consent” is questionable. In an existential sense, and sometimes an actual physical sense, the consent of women can be questionable when having sex privately, since the expectation is so reinforced from birth that women will cooperate and make themselves available.

This is all celebrated by the culture, while the sexual violence that women in all walks of life experience is denied or seen as normal and fine. By showing us the victims of sexualized violence, over and over, and making them pretty, the showrunner is showing us what the future culture, and our own, does to women by oversexualizing them and making violence a normal part of sex. She’s showing us that this isn’t okay. Women can be traumatized and damaged beyond repair by this violence and abuse, but still look “pretty” to everyone else on the outside.

She gives us alternatives in Kristin and Quell, who aren’t oversexualized (so far) or prostitutes. They are people, not overly feminine or masculine, but still recognizably women. They do and fight for what they think is right. They are passionately alive, even though they’ve suffered. They have risen above their damage, and can’t be bought or sold by the people in power any longer.

That’s the true meaning of “We are Envoys, and we take what is given.”

      Altered Carbon Season 1 Episode 3: In a Lonely Place Recap Laurens: "In this world, the only real choice is between being the purchaser and the purchased."