#I know some spoilers so I know he was raised in a lab rat situation but tbh I wonder if his complete lack of boundaries

[agnesandhilda]

the superhero genre as a whole is full of male characters who are unusual in how explicitly they're meant to represent hegemonic masculinity (side effect of the superhero genre being fundamentally based around empowerment fantasies) but homelander is really in a class of his own

[aion-rsa]

Utopia US Remake Ending Explained: Who is Mr Rabbit?

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Warning: contains major Utopia spoilers

With newly invented characters and a whole new world wrapped around bad guys/pragmatic planet savers The Harvest (the US version of The Network), Gillian Flynn’s Utopia makes considerable changes to the Channel 4 original. It’s faithful though, in most of the ways that matter – Jessica Hyde, the unforgettable Arby, Wilson Wilson and more are all kept intact, just transplanted from London to Chicago. There’s some very close translation of a few memorable scenes, as well as a good amount of invention. Flynn rewrites the backstory to weave in new setting ‘Home’, and new players, chief of which are John Cusack‘s Dr. Kevin Christie and Rainn Wilson’s Dr. Michael Stearns (the latter a sort-of combination of the original’s Michael Dugdale and scientist Donaldson).

Flynn’s series takes the bold step of taking us inside the shady global organisation pulling the strings of global virus outbreaks, and building an unsettling cult mythology around it with its own tagline: what have you done today to earn your place in this crowded world? Well, in our case, we’ve sorted through the many threads of the Utopia remake finale to explain anything viewers may have missed the first time around… Major spoilers ahead.

Who is Mr Rabbit?

‘Christie and I have parted ways, he just doesn’t know it yet.’

It seems that both Christie and Milner are ‘Mr Rabbit’, i.e. the head of shadowy bio-warfare/new society group The Harvest. Both have the Chinese symbol for rabbit carved into their torsos, and both worked together on the production of viruses for use as germ-warfare post 9-11. The mysterious Milner (The Wire‘s Sonja Sohn), however, told Jessica that she and Christie had parted ways, though he didn’t know it yet, pointing the way to a potential rivalry should there be a second season.

What is The Harvest?

It’s the organisation started by Christie and Milner, which is behind the introduction of man-made viruses into the population. Its ultimate purpose, or at least, Christie’s purpose, is to sterilise the global population for three generations, thereby forcibly reducing overpopulation and the strain it places on the planet’s natural resources.

What is Home?

‘A new society, a grand social experiment’

The headquarters of The Harvest, where children (especially twins – matching pairs are useful in genetic studies) are shipped in from impoverished countries all over the world and brainwashed in Christie’s beliefs. Some are experimented on, some are trained –like Arby – to be assassins, others are trained to sacrifice themselves as martyrs. They’re all taught to respect the ‘purpose’ assigned to them, and to end each day by asking what they’ve done to earn their place in this crowded world.

What is hidden inside the Flu vaccine? 

‘You won’t be having any children’

A sterilisation gene that’s passed down for three generations, stopping anybody who got the vaccine from having children during that time. It’s part of Christie’s Thanos-alike plan to reverse global overpopulation and reduce the pressure it puts on scarce natural resources, which he predicts would lead to the “war of wars”.

What happened to Jessica in that yellow house?

‘Your father created you for me’

She was gassed and experimented on as a child, her body used to test viruses, vaccines and genetic behavioural modifications. The ‘presents’ she remembers being delivered were crates of children purchased from their parents in poverty all over the world, there to be used as lab rats, or trained as soldiers or martyrs. When ‘Mr Rabbit’ used to give Jessica cookies, presumably they were infected with various flus against which she’d been vaccinated. (Or maybe they were just cookies? He does love kids, after all.) Jessica lived there alone, being experimented on by her father, until Artemis (a combination of UK character The Tramp and Jessica’s unseen trainer/saviour Christos, whom a 15-year-old Arby tortured to death) broke them both out, hiding Jessica’s father in an institution and taking the girl on the run.

Who was the man in Jessica Hyde’s basement?

‘My dear, he didn’t care about you at all’

Jessica’s father, the scientist who drew the Dystopia and Utopia comics, and who manufactured multiple viruses during his time working for The Harvest. When Artemis sprang young Jessica and her father from Home and took them on the run, she hid Jessica’s father in an insane asylum (the same one Dr Mike was checked into by his Harvest sleeper agent/wife Maureen), before Milner presumably had it burned to the ground, taking Jessica’s father and imprisoning him in the basement underneath the yellow house.

Read more

TV

Utopia Review (Spoiler-Free)

By Lyra Hale

TV

Utopia: How the US Remake Changes the UK Show’s Most Controversial Sequence

By Louisa Mellor

Is Milner Jessica’s biological mother?

‘I’m not Homeland, I’m Home’

There’s nothing to suggest that Jessica wasn’t simply part of a shipment of children, raised by her scientist ‘father’ in the same way that Dale was given twins Charlotte and Lily to raise as his own. However, there’s a chance that she could be her father’s biological child, and if so, there’s also a chance that Milner is her biological mother (though at this stage, we’re only in the realm of mad speculation.) Arby does call Jessica his sister, but presumably he’s talking figuratively in light of their shared childhoods as lab rats.

Why did Arby/John betray The Harvest?

‘Every child needs love, I think’

Because he read the Utopia pages he’d taken from Grant, and realised that The Harvest had subjected him to experiments as a child that turned him into an unfeeling monster able to commit brutal acts without feeling remorse. Arby (a modification of the initials R.B, which stood for Raisin Boy, the name the Harvest scientists gave him because of his fondness for chocolate-covered raisins – he didn’t even have a name) realised that Harvest had mistreated him, and so decided to choose his own name – John – and his own purpose: to help his ‘sister’ in experimentation, Jessica Hyde.

Why was Wilson Wilson with Thomas and Christie in the end?

‘Everything I do is a cure for our current situation.’

Because (unless he’s playing the double agent game) Wilson Wilson had come around to Christie’s way of thinking, and so betrayed the group. As its most fringe member, and a believer in conspiracy theories, Wilson felt that Christie was right about global overpopulation (remember his frustration about Dr Mike and the rich oligarch whose house they crashed at having too many belongings?). Wilson, we can assume, has now joined The Harvest as one of Christie’s followers, despite The Harvest having murdered his family.

Why didn’t Dr Mike destroy the vaccine’s mother egg?

‘Whoever holds the egg holds the power’

When Dr Mike destroyed the eggs in which the vaccines were stored, it was assumed he also destroyed the mother-egg containing the source of the sterilisation vaccine that Christie Labs were preparing to send out all over the United States. The last we saw Dr Mike, he was driving out of Chicago with the mother-egg intact. After being used and manipulated by Christie and The Harvest, he’s taken the vaccine mother-egg to use as a bargaining chip. 

How did Jessica get the T-shaped rash flu and why didn’t she die? 

‘Your blood is slowly saving you.’

On the drive back from destroying the bunnies at the travelling petting zoo that was spreading the ‘Stearns’ flu around US schoolchildren, Jessica was bitten on the finger by the white rabbit the gang had taken for Dr Mike to test. She was thus infected with the flu and started to develop its characteristic T-shaped forehead rash. Dr Mike discovered that the rabbit was infected with flu, but it was a different strain to the one he’d developed a vaccine for. That told him that the vaccine in production at Christie Labs wouldn’t cure the T-shaped flu – that was all just pantomime to get Americans clamouring for the vaccine – so it must have been designed for another secret purpose (see above).

What were all those marks on Jessica’s back? 

‘Thanks to you, humans will be immune from acting with greed.’

The constellation of different shaped marks on Jessica’s back, like her ‘starburst’ arm mark, are scars from various vaccinations and experiments her father and Milner performed on her. Milner and Jessica’s father were working on genetic modifications to human behaviour, forcing people to “act correctly” by taking away their free will. Inside Jessica Hyde’s blood is a whole bunch of vitally important genetic information, which is why Milner needed Jessica herself back at Home. The Harvest’s search for the Utopia manuscript was only ever intended to bring Jessica back after Artemis smuggled her and her father out when she was a child. 

How did Becky contract Deel’s Syndrome?

‘What we are doing is far bigger than death.’

She was deliberately infected with it by The Harvest when they sent the disease out into US schools in order to test whether they could introduce a virus into humans that would then be passed on genetically, as a dress rehearsal of the sterilisation plan.

Where did everybody end up?

‘We won, we wiped you out.’

Jessica is currently being held captive by Milner, along with her father, at Home. Becky was captured by Thomas, Christie and Wilson Wilson, who appears to have gone over to the dark side. Grant (still wanted for the killing of Cara’s family) was captured by the police. Alice and Ian were left on the run together. And Dr Mike was last seen driving out of Chicago with the ‘Stearns Flu’ vaccine mother-egg in his possession. 

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Utopia is available to stream now on Amazon Prime.

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[danganromps]

V3 OC idea!(spoilers)(Really long post)

Note: Due to length and plot spoilers, I’ve added a read more link. There are no spoilers above the cut.  For those on mobile, I’m aware that the links don’t work, so I’ll give you a warning when you get to it! - Alice

Name: Arara Nakamura

Talent: Ultimate Diplomat

Notable physical traits: Vertical scar across left eye, black hair that obscures his left eye/scar, slightly below average height and well built from self defense training.

Outfit: Trench coat on top of a black suit/pants.

Background: Arata was born into a family of renown diplomats. His family ensured he was trained from a young age. Raised more so by the diplomatic world then his own family, Arata didn’t care for much else but his work until he met the daughter of a diplomat that solely works on peace negotiations named Himari while on a separate job. As the first person to show interest in Arata the person, rather than Arata the diplomat, the two grew close(Himari meets few people her age since she constantly travels with her father for his work). However one night, Himari asks to meet in Arata’s room so that she can tell him something important. Once they meet, Himari embraces him and asks him to tell her that everything will be alright. After Arata complies, she tries to assassinate him. This wasn’t the first attempt on Arata’s life, so he’s able to avoid lethal damage, only receiving his trademark scar. After the attempt fails, Himari, her father, and any trace of them disappear by the next morning. After this event, he becomes paranoid about being betrayed.

Personality: Intentionally hard to read around others with his “Diplomatic Mask”, as he believes his unpredictability is his greatest strength. Seems friendly, but at times unnerves people with how comfortable he is with the situation and how blunt he can be about certain things(he is against Kaito’s philosophy of blind trust, for example. Instead he advocates “healthy suspicion” rather than what Kokichi or Kaito would.) Doesn’t openly show it, but is unable to trust people after his experiences. He does acknowledge however, the necessity of cooperation to escaping their situation and tries to keep the group at least that much together. He is simultaneously approachable and distant, following his policy of “Healthy suspicion” because of his fear of being betrayed. Notably apathetic about actually escaping himself, but cares about getting everyone else out(his less savory diplomatic work and his experiences with Himari has led to an attitude of self depreciation and a guilty conscience)

**Plot spoilers are on the next two paragraphs**

Influence on the plot: secretly investigates Maki during the events of chapter 2 because of how she acts regarding her lab. The assassin defense training he underwent allowed him to observe undetected(though he couldn’t tell that Maki was the Ultimate Assassin), and he accidentally saw the conversation between Ryoma and Maki regarding Ryoma’s motive video. Concerned about what Ryoma would do with his motive video, he puts the Maki investigation on hold and follows him instead. He then witnesses the conversation between Ryoma and Kirumi and realizes something is amiss. He intercepts Ryoma on his way to the meeting, and diverts him away(“Hey, Kirumi asked me to help you guys with cleaning the tennis lab and told me to grab some supplies, but I don’t know where they are. Can you find them for me?”). He meets with Kirumi, discovers her intentions and her setup, and forces her into a deal. She works with him and doesn’t attempt to murder anyone, in exchange for his silence on her actions. He claims to have already told someone else about the situation already and that if something happened to him or Ryoma they’d immediately suspect her and catch her(a bluff). When asked why he’s blackmailing her rather than ratting her out, Arata says it’s just because she’s useful(a lie). In actuality, it’s because Kirumi’s policy of selfless devotion reminds him of Himari, and he can’t bring himself to rat her out(“I could’ve stopped Himari, I’m not letting Kirumi die a senseless death”). Resulting intervention prevents either Ryoma or Kirumi from dying in chapter two. Kirumi’s plot is exposed much later by Kokichi in an attempt to fragment the group, but Arata defends her(this division amongst the group of a “traitor” is a motive for once not given by monokuma and simultaneously a throwback to DR1 with sakura.) Arata dies this chapter after willingly taking a trap intended for Kirumi without her knowledge. Kirumi is suspected, but her fervor during the investigation and trial convinced the remaining students she’s changed.

Relationship w/ Kirumi: Initially tense/hostile after Arata blackmails her. Arata helps Kirumi with her various errands in an attempt to permanently dissuade her from her idea of murder to escape. Also does it because he sees Himari in her and wants to help her. Arata teaches Kirumi to treat herself sometimes(“My request is for you to learn to relax”) and Kirumi helps Arata get over his self hate over what happened to Himari and his less savory diplomatic jobs. Kirumi eventually learns about Himari/Arata’s scar when she catches him training at night by himself in Tenko’s lab. After Arata tells his story, Kirumi begins to understand his true intentions and genuinely care for him. She eventually abandons the idea of escaping by herself if it means sacrificing Arata. Arata is under the impression that Kirumi hates him for blackmailing her until his death. He believes she’s just helping him because he’s got leverage or that she’s just being nice because of her duty as a maid, not because she wants to. It doesn’t deter him from helping her though. Arata develops romantic feelings for Kirumi because he respects her dedication and kindness towards helping others, something he can’t see himself doing to the same extent due to his own distrust in others. Kirumi develops feelings for Arata when she discovers what his past is and how far he’s willing to go to protect her from committing murder/being murdered. She realizes his selflessness is admirable.

**OK, you’re good to read again if you’re avoiding plot spoilers**

Wow, I’m seriously impressed at how well you’ve done with creating a good backstory and storyline in V3 for him - it’s really thorough, engaging and believable.

His personality seems quite reasonable, and I think he is quite goal-orientated, and willing to do exactly what is necessary to get there: no more, no less. This is something that’s going to serve him well throughout his life in a killing game, though how well it serves everyone else..hmm..

I can see how loyalty is an important concept - which I think makes sense given his Ultimate Diplomat status. When negotiating, trust and loyalty are essential, so it’s no wonder that these continue to have importance for him

I’ll gloss over his participation in V3 so as not to have spoilers here, but I think his influence would have quite an effect on the game. Whether he intends to do things for the good of the group or for his own good, he does some positive things, and I like that.

Thanks for sending him in, I really enjoyed reading through!

-Alice

[kn-has-ocs]

anyway I don’t ever expect this blog to EVER get any attention but just in case I think I might as well actually explain who the heck these guys are.

(note: this blog is basically, as the blog description says, just for “ramblings”. I reblog posts that make me think of my OCs to here and add on a few things.)

~

Yan, Kuro, Zhen, and Jing are a group that I’ve dubbed the “Sinosquad” since they’re all from the Sinoquan Empire. ie, from the same world/universe and interact with each other at some point. Yan has two versions to his character though, which I’ve named RPspawn!Yan and AtG!Yan. This is due to..... complicated things; I might explain in a separate post at some point because this is supposed to be short summaries. AtG stands for “Around the Galaxy” which is supposed to be the name of the... world..? that I originally made him in. It’s a sci-fi world. Actually scratch that. It’s set in the Star Wars universe. It’s not an original world; it never was, but AtG encompasses all the linked characters and plotlines I’ve made (and it’s pretty huge).

Yan (full name Yan Wang; Chinese name 王延): eventual emperor of the Sinoquan (ascends the throne at around age 30). I have his entire life story plotted out from birth to “death”/downfall (he goes into stasis instead of dying when he’s around 50-60 so I can pick up his story again 1000 years later :)

Kuro (full name Kuro Honda; 本田黑): Yan’s cousin, who’s more like his brother, and only exists in this role for the RPspawn!Yan.

Zhen (full name Zhen Sumuru; 舒穆鲁真): doesn’t have a consistent backstory/role yet, but is probably heir to ruling a fairly large/important region of the Sinoquan empire. the only consistent thing is that he’s supposed to be Yan’s love interest... eventually..... but that’s very late game and if this were ever a published work then it’d be “spoilers” that they actually end up together.

Jing (full name Jing Du; 都京): ah.... Yan’s “friend” during his teen/ young adult years. the only consistent backstory/role he has is that his mother is influential and he’s at least reasonably wealthy. Lives in the Sinoquan capital.

~

Eli and Sera are dragon-winged people. Product of genetic experiments; born and raised in a research lab/institute.

Eli is the first succesful subject (ie first winged human capable of flight). Actually most of the others died in early childhood, infancy, or didn’t even make it past fetal development.

Sera is the “second-gen” subject; has better/stronger wings than Eli.

They’re not treated like “lab rats”. I’m a STEM field student. I believe in painting an image that scientists are actual human beings, not monsters/robots in lab coats. They were raised in a kind environment by people who care about them, and they expect to be treated with respect by the people in the lab.

~

Jet and Dev weren’t created in the same universe (Jet’s technically a RotG OC) but I often merge the two to intertwine their stories. mostly because they were my first OCs and I was bored and wanted them to interact.

Jet (full name Jet Black): as mentioned, technically a Rise of the Guardians (yes the Dreamworks movie) OC. Pitch Black’s “apprentice”, sort of. (I’ve been trying to remove him from being dependant on RotG, in which case Pitch is known as Piceous instead). Has fire powers and mirrors/foils Jack Frost in many ways. Complicated backstory about the fire powers; it’s there but not gonna elaborate in this post (maybe some other time).

Dev (full name Dev Xavishk, or Xandevishk): a.... demon? devil? technically from a world where those things mean something slightly different from conventional definitions. Hell itself in this world is completely different from what it’s usually known as, with the only similarities being that it’s “underground” (sort of) and fiery/hot. There’s a bunch of incomplete lore on his world that I never quite finished up. Anyway, usually I have his role as some sort of government agent sort of guy, but he’s quite young on his first mission (~18?).

Jet and Dev are my two oldest “true” OCs (all previous ones being self-inserts of some sort, from when I had very little experience with or concept of “fandom” and just imagined stuff for fun).

~

Koris: independant OC from some generic fantasy world. has ice powers and lives in a mountain in a mansion by himself because, despite having nobles as parents, they were jerks who treated their servants poorly so after his parents died from illness the servants ended up ditching the place. He is very lonely actually please give him friens

~

Sierka: independant OC set in modern world with some superhuman elements. Sierka has life-drain abilities. story aspects are kind of shaky but they probably end up living by themself at a fairly young age, involving themself in crime and manipulating their way through threats. Except it’s just to extort money from crime lords. Basically the only thing keeping this dude from mass murder is their own conscience.

~

Sian (full name Sianyte Weil [pronounced as German, or just Vel]): I have forgotten this dude in previous group posts. Oops. I’ll try to remember them from now on.... anyway they have invisibility powers and also anxiety haha. The extent of their powers is that they can turn things that they’re “wearing” or are “on” them invisible. It has to be done consciously and it takes a lot more effort to turn something that they’re just holding invisible but it’s still possible. Probably set in modern “superhero” genre worlds. Works for whatever groups will pay them, usually for spying missions. His abilities only work when he’s silent (ie not speaking) though, and automatically stops working if he talks.

They also sort of have flying abilities to the extent that, one, they only work when he’s invisible, and two, he can only control vertical movement up and down. He can use any lateral momentum from pushing against solid things but can’t freely propel himself laterally.

Yeah I know his abilities are really weirdly specific; idk why either; don’t question it :\

~

anyway that’s about it. I should probably also make a post for their appearances (with images for the OCs that have ref images....)

I have plenty of fandom OCs, but I don’t usually mention them.... (I don’t count Jet as a fandom OC for some reason...)

Well, hmm, here’s a bonus. Klashta Neali: the OC that shares a name with my first pseudonym/alias. I can’t remember which came first: did I make the alias for myself, then later made the OC and lazily gave it that name, or did I first make it as an OC, and then lazily started using the name as an alias? I dunno. Either way, my using the name as a pseudonym is completely unrelated to the OC...

Klashta “Kayin” Neali: Star Wars OC with a long detailed backstory. Was Darth Vader’s apprentice at some point, in a situation very similar to Galen Marek, but then got ditched around mid-to-early teen age.... I had a very detailed timeline written, but that was a long time ago; I can’t remember now. Was a bounty hunter for the next stage of her life. Then eventually she just?? goes into exile???? there was something about finding Revan’s teachings and meditating a lot; idk it gets kind of random.

~

ok that’s it enough rambling while pretending I have an audience since that’s all this is (me talking about my OCs pretending I have an audience instead of just writing notes for myself since I know everything already)

[inanismortem]

SO SO I DUNNO WHAT THIS IS SINCE I HAVEN’T ACTUALLY WRITTEN THE BOOK YET, IT’S JUST A LOT OF SEPARATE SCENES BUT HERE’S LIKE A SNEAK PEEK AT SOMETHING I MIGHT NOT EVEN WRITE?

and this is related to my ocs so it’s here

sPoILERs

super sorry for the terrible writing

Phoenix could hear them.

Geraldine was screaming, her voice desperate.

"NO!" Leah shrieked, beating away at Versum as they kept her away from her sister. "GERALDINE!"

Roxanna was further away, slamming her knives into the unturned fey trying to kill her. To a lot of people, she probably looked calm but she was agitated. Phoenix could tell by the way she kept half turning her head in Geraldine's direction before snapping back to her current opponents.

Geraldine's scream of agony tore through the air and Leah cried back. "GERALDINE!" Roxanna's face twitched and for a moment, her face was drawn into what looked like a faint snarl.

"LEAH!" River shouted, barrelling into the Versum who had tried to take advantage of Leah's temporary distraction. "CONCENTRATE!" His strings whipped out, catching the Versum before they could touch Leah.

"Tch," Jordan scoffed, pressing a foot against Phoenix's chest to keep him down. "That angel lover of yours is persistent, isn't he?"

"River's not my lover," Phoenix snarled, trying to dislodge the older immortal.

"Ah, I guess not," Jordan agreed, striking down another fey who was trying to help Phoenix. "After all, what would such a tainted Lux want with someone like you?" Phoenix's temper flared at the mention of River's dangerous state. He shouldn't have reached it yet Phoenix had let him, not noticing it until it was so bad River could easily fall anytime.

"PHOENIX!" Leah sobbed as River hauled her away. "HELP HER!" Geraldine was barely moving and Scott raised his spear, a carnal smile on his face. Phoenix struggled to get Jordan's foot off his chest, oh how he'd love to beat the other immortal's ass but Jordan had years of experience on him and easily kept him down.

Phoenix needed help. Desperately.

As if on cue, Kyle leapt out of nowhere with Nicholas in tow, slamming into Jordan with a whoop of joy.

"EAT DIRT YOU IMMORTAL DOUCHEBAG!" Kyle shouted joyfully. Phoenix felt a moment of relief, chuckling a little. Trust Kyle to brighten up any situation.

"Go help-" Nicholas started before Geraldine screamed again, only this time in fear.

"ROXANNA!"

Leah let out a similar cry of despair and even River halted, his eyes widening before he heaved out a shout.

"ROXANNA!" Leah wailed. "NO!"

Geraldine had no choice but to teleport away- When had she gotten healed- before Scott stabbed her again.

"So," Jordan asked jovially, catching Kyle's side with a knife. "Looks like you'll be losing the clone instead." Kyle head butted Jordan and Phoenix winced, knowing it'd only knock the other immortal back, not break a nose.

Phoenix glanced over again and he saw Roxanna's navy blue armour, covered in mud and... Blood. Too much to be good.

River let out an enraged roar, watching Scott's spear yank free of Roxanna's body, the blade dripping with blood. She made no noise but Phoenix knew, knew she could hold in so much pain.

"Hey," Nicholas grunted, shifting into a defensive stance. "Go. We can handle this braleur." His eyes glittered but Phoenix hesitated.

Nicholas was capable, but this was an immortal that had killed countless of their best warriors. Nicholas had a wife and two children at home.

Specifically, Phoenix's sister and nieces.

"Look-"

"I'll be fine," Nicholas snarled. "I married your sister and am still alive, corrigez-moi si j'ai tort. I'll live." Phoenix knew he wasn't budging so he turned and ran.

Phoenix charged at Scott, praying he could save Roxanna. He skidded to a stop, feeling like someone had taken his heart and crushed it.

No.

No.

No.

Roxanna lay on the ground, unmoving but conscious with wounds Phoenix knew she wouldn't survive. Roxanna had lived through many wounds, many situations but even her regeneration couldn't heal wounds like that.

"Ph-Phoenix!" Roxanna rasped out, her eyes glazed over with pain. Blood was already spilling out of her body, staining the ground. "Don't."

"Ah, it's you," Scott greeted Phoenix with a sweet smile, twirling his spear in his hands. "What are you going to do? Kill me?" he asked mockingly.

"I will," Phoenix snarled. He was, one way or another and he'd gladly let anything else help as well.

"Phoenix," Roxanna choked out. "Go help the others."

"When did you," Phoenix gritted out. "When did you..." When did you become the type of person to sacrifice yourself?

"PHOENIX," Leah screeched urgently. "RIVER!" He heard the more cries of pain. Phoenix spun around, feeling like the universe was hitting him with everything it had at the moment.

River was falling. His wings were becoming the black Phoenix dreaded seeing, black veins creeping over his skin.

River's panicked turquoise eyes met his, a hint of desperation in them.

Look away, they said.

"Ah, the angel," Scott sounded amused. "I've never seen one fall, he'll be a fine specimen." River convulsed, his eyes squeezing shut. It was Leah's turn to attempt to fend off the Versum except she wasn't doing too well.

Phoenix's temper flared, the thought of River's being someone's lab rat, test subject or being holed up in a facility while being studied for someone's sick interests enraging him. He attacked and Scott grinned at him, challenging him.

Phoenix knew even if he was immortal, Scott could still beat him.

Natalya lay still not far away, the effects of a knockout spell apparent.

If Scott didn't touch him, he'd be fine. Scott seemed to know what he was thinking, head cocking to the side and he smirked.

"Oh, I'll be able to touch you alright."

He disappeared with a crack and Phoenix cursed, narrowly avoiding the hand that soared toward the back of his head. Out of all the powers, Leos were the hardest to fight against for him. Wheeling around, he had no time for a counterattack, only barely managing to block the next attempt with his spear. Scotts's other hand clamped down on the spear as well, the spell he attempted to work on it fizzling out.

Phoenix thanked Dark for working such intricate spells into his spear or else it would have been long gone. Scott tried again and part of the spear splintered.

Dark was going to have an aneurysm. Or he was going to find a way to beat Scott from where he was because he hated when something he tinkered with failed.

Phoenix jumped back just as Scott's hand barely grazed his face. It didn't matter. Even the slightest touch would have some effect on him.

Point proven when his limbs locked up, his body feeling sluggish.

Immobilization spell.

Phoenix struggled to stay standing, using his spear to stop himself from letting his knees collapse. He needed at least thirty seconds to fight off the effects but he didn't have thirty seconds. Scott's hand was already starting to cover his face.

Roxanna shifted, her hand suddenly coming up and a glint of silver buried itself into Scott's side. The movement was too much, Roxanna hacking up blood, struggling to draw in air.

Scott staggered away, screeching. Phoenix would've gone after him, but Roxanna was sounding worse and worse, her eyes barely blinking open again.

"Roxanna," Phoenix sunk down next to her, cradling her head in hand and trying to press down on one of her many wounds with his other. "Hang in there, Cam won't be l-"

"Phoenix," she cut him off, eyes glazed over with pain but full of determination. "You can save him."

"Who?" Phoenix wasn't thinking of anyone but her, about how he could possibly save her, heal her wounds and let her live.

"River, you can save River. He doesn't need to fall."

"How?" Phoenix gasped out, raising his head to look at River who was curled up amongst the carnage. "There's no way to halt a falling-"

"He needs an anchor. Something-" Roxanna coughed again, her hand gripping Phoenix's tightening briefly before she relaxed again. "Something h-he ca-cares about."

You.

Roxanna didn't say it out loud, she didn't need to.

"O-Okay," he stammered, looking wildly around for Cam before realizing Cam wasn't coming, Cam couldn't because his leg was broken. All the other medics were busy, scattered, spread so thinly across the battlefield. "We need to wait for a medic-"

"Nix," she wheezed softly, Phoenix froze, she only ever called him by a nickname when she was too tired or giving up. "Th-That will t-take too long. I... I won't... Make it anyways," she finished, a wry smile spreading across her face, her head falling to the side.

"No!" Phoenix shouted. "You're going to live, you have so many things to do in life!"

Roxanna gazed back up at him, her eyes clearing for a moment and she raised a shaking hand to caress his face.

"N-Nix... You h-have to ch-choose. St-Stay with me... Until I-I die... Or saving... Saving the... The on-one you care ab... Bout..." Phoenix's chest constricted.

Yes, yes he loved River. More than he could ever love someone romantically. But he loved Roxanna too. As an older brother, he couldn't abandon her.

River let out another wail of pain and Leah was sobbing not far away, angrily slashing at the Versum.

"He-Help Leah... S-Save River... M... Ake sure... Make sure... Make sure everyone else is happy," she said strongly, eyes shining with tears.

"Roxanna, please, please don't go," Phoenix pleaded, feeling his tears slip down his face. "We won't be happy without you."

I won't be happy, he thought bitterly. I just found you, got to know you.

"I've... I've heard... That... A... Lot," she murmured faintly. "I-I am s-so sorry... I... Didn't mean to hurt you... I," she took in another painful breath. "I... Don't want to hurt... Anyone else..." She sounded heartbroken, on the verge of tears.

Phoenix could see the blood flow slowing down, which meant she didn't have enough in her body. He could feel it, the warm blood still coating his hands. Roxanna was drifting in and out of consciousness, he knew no amount of healing magic or medical attention could save her.

"Nix," she let her hand fall to the ground with a full thud. "Yo-You have to g-go... Or e-else it'll b-be too la-late..." Phoenix wanted to scream.

Curse the world.

Why had it handed him this choice?

To leave his sister alone in her final moments and to save one that he loved.

To stay with his sister in her final moments and to let one he loved die.

"I-"

"Go," she urged. "I'll be fine." Roxanna, for all her claims of being unemotional, selfish and uncaring was selfless. She cared. Too much. She had emotions. She felt them. She hid them.

"I... Love you," Phoenix whispered brokenly, brushing her hair out of her face, noticing how young she looked with her hair down.

In the end, she wasn't twenty yet.

In the end, she was still a child.

In the end, she was just like every fallen fey except she wasn't.

In the end, she was still his sister, clone or not and she didn't deserve to die.

"Me too," a tear slid down her face. "T-Tell the oth-others for me?"

"Of course."

"I-I'm sorry... C-Can... I... Can I be selfish?" Roxanna was many things. Selfish was not one of them

"Of course." Phoenix swallowed thickly.

"Don't... Don't tell them? N-Not yet?"

Phoenix knew what she was doing. Leah would fall apart as soon as she learned about Roxanna's death and Geraldine wouldn't be much better.

She didn't want to cause them more grief.

That was not selfish.

But, but if he did, then it would be even worse when they did find out.

"Of course," he replied, shutting his eyes. "Of course."

She'd never asked of anything of him and this, this, was the only thing she had ever requested.

"Thank you. G-Goodbye Nix."

She smiled.

The stupid smile Phoenix abhorred, the smile she always used to cover her emotions, to tell everyone she was fine even though she wasn't.

She was trying to comfort him.

Phoenix's tears blurred his vision.

"Goodbye Roxanna," he choked out and he got up, turning away, letting her hand slip out of his. "Hòu huì yǒu qī," he uttered softly, using a phrase Geraldine had taught him, trying to pronounce it the best he could.

A broken laugh floated from her blood painted lips and she squeezed her eyes shut before looking at him one last time, tears filling into the corners.

"Bǎo zhòng," she replied.

Take care.

Phoenix ran.

Ran and didn't look back.

He let the tears fall.

-

Roxanna shut her eyes, feeling Phoenix's comforting presence fade away.

She was alone again.

It was okay.

It was okay.

It was okay.

No, it wasn't.

She cried.

Goodbye.