#Johnny has to have a family he had to have a life before rapture

[something-in-the-seas]

I think there is untapped potential for all of Sinclair’s plans being derailed by Delta’s family. Johnny being identified by authorities leading to a sea of family swarming the hospital. It’s not even just his immediate family, it’s aunts, uncles, cousins, friends he knew as a kid, it’s complete and utter madness.

Maybe it ends with everybody being split up for a bit and Sinclair is miserable watching Eleanor and Johnny (and Grace) go with his family.

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

Bioshock Rebirth Playlist

I made this edit 4 days ago(That I recall. I tried to make it as professional or fitting as possible.) and it’s in a different draft. Being inspired by seeing some people make playlists. While I don’t have Spotify and I don’t know how to link songs showcasing the songs and titles. The only person I’ve told about this idea is @feckinatlas​ who I am grateful to discuss a lot of Bioshock with and other things. 

While I do think this playlist may be a bit too serious. Yet you will get the feel for this AU or you ever wanna check it out. Hopefully you don’t mind some of these choices. Including I listen to a lot of stuff .But I wanna chose the ones I feel that are fitting here. Including some ones I looked for while making this.

I took a break from this once and it’s 5:29 am....a bit nervous to post this. I’m gonna add the keep reading thing. Be warned it’s long. I even looked to see how long Feckinatlas’s Atlas playlist was before then. Hope you folks enjoy this if you wanna check this out.

1. Beyond The Sea by Bobby Darlin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OlDPqYBLw

2. Something In The Way by Nirvana. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXFiaJr9los

3. I Am by Digital Sons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5SF4mt-xmU

4. I Am Machine by Three Days Grace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flq30E6LI9E

5. The Dark Of You by Breaking Benjamin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc_S9jqXb5Q

6. Papercut by Linkin Park. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y-RmfB4hY4  Archie’s theme for part 2 in this AU.

7. Tourniquet by Breaking Benjamin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wahmfx54lhU

8. Torn In Two by Breaking Benjamin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyTIT0Bt-0Q 

9. Gravity Lies by Red. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ6nUKNpJfg

10. Wasting Time by Red. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_rE2Z1gw64

11. Who We Are by Red. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxPX3dOEHo4 Delta and Archie’s theme for part 2 in this AU.

12. Not Alone by Red. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXwTCG6zAqI Delta and Eleanor’s theme for part 2 in this AU.

13. I’m Alive by Disturbed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqlbDMLBArs Johnny Topside/Subject Delta’s theme.

14. Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysho2xTWUYo Despite whatever my plans are for Booker. Let’s just make this his theme.

15. And Your World Will Burn by Cliff Lin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyF2XTAgqos

16. Bong Squad by Blues Saraceno. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLVyTR6ckQU

Instrumental songs. 

17. The Ocean On His Shoulders by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp6QpMWaKpE

18. Welcome To Rapture by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEFIZh_Zscc

19. Elizabeth by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JO8MqT4cCE

20. The Songbird by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wojIYpwUpmM The theme of Bluto, the Proto-Daddy.

21.  Big Daddy Level 3 Super from PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koMyj3TX9ZU

22. Lost Soul by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ0-aIt_DrM A Man Chooses. A Slave Obeys. A broken slave has no purpose.

23. Coup De Grace by Lorne Balfe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_5-Y2B7E-Y Atla’s betrayal and true identity.

24. Revelations by Sean Murray. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TkgNEYtwVU Nearly dying because of the Code Yellow command. Archie’s life flashes before his eyes, hallucinating and seeing things. While Tenenbaum, Elizabeth, and others try to save his life. Archie starts remembering EVERYTHING and EVERYONE that changed the course of his life forever. Along with remembering certain characters he met along the way. But also remembering the man who was responsible for him being what Ryan called him, “A broken slave.” That man was Johnny Topside.

Bonus. “I Need To Know” by Hans Zimmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8CNAc8GW-4 And, “Beautiful Lie” by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9BL59uiAz8 I feel these tracks are better to capture the emotion of Archie discovering the truth of what happened to him. Especially finding out who Johnny Topside was and how he changed his  Jack’s fate.

25. Sandman Confesses by Christopher Young. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwp1SYeghs8 Enraged by Tenenbaum lying to him and taking part in ruining his life. Finding out he’s Jack Ryan. He wants to kill the woman. With Elizabeth desperately trying to stop him. Despite Brigid telling him his gun was empty because she thought this would happen. Brigid tells the truth about Johnny Topside. That all he wanted was for Jack to live a normal life. Because he saw Jack as a human being. Including Brigid admitting she was involved in Jack’s rebirth. Despite not asking for forgiveness, Archie forgives Brigid. Because throughout his life, she was the closest thing he had for as a mother. Afterwards with Brigid and Elizabeth embracing him as he breaks down. Because they see him as a human being as well.

Bonus. “The Rest Of My Life” by Hans Zimmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdEoP7swYdU Another fitting yet emotional track to highlight the feeling of Johnny risking his life for Jack to some how have normal life. And that Jack had lost the one person that was basically a REAL father to him. Especially since some of Johnny’s personality traits passed on to Jack during his, “rebirth”. With the two women comforting him. This shit makes me tear up.

26. Retreat And Reveille by Lorne Balfe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKZRl32PAJk On a mission to kill Frank Fontaine AKA Atlas and save Elizabeth. End the Rapture Civil War. Showcase to Fontaine his greatest mistake was his, “Ace In The Hole” going against him.

27. Protocol by Lorne Balfe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMNov4oWNHs Archie vs Fontaine. The Ace In The Hole vs Rapture’s Boogeyman. The brutal fight between a super soldier and a con man who is half transformed by injecting himself with lots of ADAM. Granting Frank powers to stand a chance against Archie. Fontaine fights and tries to kill the one man that was the closest he can get to having a son. But also hating him because Archie represents everything he despises. The fact Jack had become similar to Johnny Topside. Including Archie admitting that Johnny was more of a father than Frank of Ryan ever were which angers Fontaine. The fate of Rapture and it’s citizens is decided by whoever wins.

28. End Fight by Lorne Balfe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDM5WnHxcMU The death of Frank Fontaine. The end of the Rapture Civil War.

29. Pairbond by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DV9kg-M1RJw The theme of Delta and Eleanor. But also the overall theme of Johnny/Delta himself. The sadness and outcome of Johnny’s life in Rapture.

30. Two Worlds from King Kong the 2005 video game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjEMedxfvUQ The tragedy of Johnny Topside. Leading into his eventual transformation into Subject Delta.

31. Eleanor’s Lullaby by Garry Schyman. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8rmU0PDS2o The end of the conflict between The Rapture Family and the Vox. With Eleanor freed and Delta saved. But also Sofia being allowed to live, and Archie winning over his internal battle with the Atlas hallucination with the help of his family.

32. Victory Big Daddy A from PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYYtC1yJqCw

Bonus Tracks.

33. Afterlife by Magnum Opus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6Iytor-qbk

34. Rise Of A Hero by Sonic Symphony. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWlwRiDTbOE

35. Rapture Rising Reimagined by JT Music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvI9JmC7TkU

36. Daddy’s Home by JT Music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq5PMJ-pn48

[redscharlach]

Then quite unexpectedly, some Dracula meta appeared

While rewatching Dracula (again, ahem), I had a few thoughts about how the ending of episode 3 is foreshadowed by ideas from episode 1, and thought I’d cobble them into a semi-coherent post in case anyone was interested. So below the cut, you’ll find a brief bit of Dracula meta about sunlight, symbolism and sex.

(By the way, I mention a couple of things from the BBC’s Obsessed With Dracula podcast, which is a fascinating listen if you want to hear Messrs Gatiss and Moffat talk more about the ideas and imagery behind the series.)

Anyway, here’s a relevant quote from episode 1, then those who wish to dive further may do so:

“The castle was a monument to the architect’s lost love and the sunlight to which he would never return. And what else is sunlight but the face of one’s beloved?” – Jonathan Harker, The Rules of the Beast

Ol’ Johnny Blue-Eyes means this metaphorically, but, in episode 1, we hear Dracula talk about the sun as if it’s literally his long-lost love (“I haven’t seen her in hundreds of years. Describe her to me.”). At the start of episode 3, he’s even moved to tears by seeing “her” on TV. We’re shown throughout that sunlight is a source of fear to him, but the sun itself is described using the imagery of romantic longing. “She” is his unattainable beloved, whose touch would mean death to him (or so he thinks).

Now, in Obsessed With Dracula part 3, Moffat and Gatiss talk a bit about the idea of merging or conflating two or more characters. It’s an idea that previous Dracula adaptations have often used, and they openly borrow it: for instance, this show’s version of Jonathan Harker is a conflation of the novel’s Harker with Renfield (even though Renfield appears as a separate character later). But they also use symbolic merging of characters within their own story, most obviously with Agatha and Zoe. In real life, a great niece can’t turn into her great-aunt, even if they look alike, but fiction makes the merging possible, so the same actress can play both roles and both can play the same dramatic role in the story.

Is the woman in the last few scenes of episode 3 Zoe or Agatha? Symbolically, she’s both, connected by family blood and melded via Dracula’s. And Dracula, who was already merging them in his own mind, spots that the merging has begun to actually occur when he spots Agatha’s accent coming out of Zoe’s mouth.

But just as the show conflates Zoe and Agatha, Dracula also conflates Agatha/Zoe with the third unattainable “lady friend” in his life, the sun. The show echoes this idea visually as well, most blatantly in the bloodletting scene, as you can see here.

Yes, two minutes after Zoe has threatened to break Dracula with a sunbeam, she’s shown positively glowing with sunlight. Meanwhile, he stares at her from the shadows with rapt attention, rather in the same way he stared the sun at the TV earlier.

In the same scene, we find out that because Zoe has cancer, her blood would kill him. So it turns out she’s like his beloved sun in two ways: 1) so bright and fascinating that he can’t help but gaze in rapture, and 2) potentially deadly.

The association reaches its peak when the merged Zoe/Agatha exposes him to real sunlight at the end. She basically IS the sun to him, now.

It’s also at this point that Dracula becomes aware that Zoe/Agatha is in pain (it’s Zoe’s cancer, but it’s Agatha’s voice speaking), and thus she acquires another similarity with the sun: 3) something that can provoke Dracula into feeling a genuine goddamn human emotion for once in his 500-year-of-not-really-giving-a-shit-about-anything-much undeath. It’s not OMG TRUE LOVE, but it’s a pulse of compassion from a heart that everyone (including its owner) naturally assumed was long dead, and that makes it real and important. When he drinks her blood at the end, he’s NOT thinking “okay, I might as well just die now and this will kill me, goodbye world” – he’s acting solely on the instinct to take away her pain. And yes, doing so will probably be the death of him too, but he does it in spite of, not because of, that. For once, he’s actually thinking about someone other than himself. It’s not redemption, but it’s a baby step in that direction. And that’s more than he ever realized he could make.

And now, a minor digression into art history:

This is William Blake’s The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun (a painting that will be familiar to Hannibal fans, of course). The imagery is taken from the Book of Revelations: the Dragon is the Devil, while the woman is usually associated with the Virgin Mary. The fact that the name “Dracula” comes from the word “dragon” is mentioned in episode 2, and he’s directly referred to as the Devil several times. Meanwhile, if we’re looking for a virginal female figure, a nun would seem to fit the bill pretty well. As for the “clothed with the sun” part, please step into this dream sequence.

In their climactic (pun intended) dream scene, Dracula is on top and Zoe/Agatha is on the bottom, merging with the sun’s surface. And when the camera pulls back, we see that she’s covered by artfully placed modesty bedsheets, so it looks like she’s literally “clothed with the sun”.

In a weird symbolic sense, then, Dracula is finally united in bliss with his long lost love: the sun. And by “united in bliss”, yeah, he is symbolically shagging the sun (now there’s a phrase I never knew I’d ever type). But it’s also an embrace of human life and feeling, of three things vampires aren’t supposed to have access to: sunlight, sex and emotional connection. If what he was doing before was living forever in shame, then now he is choosing to die in a blaze of humanity. Which is, to me at least, what makes those scenes extraordinarily touching.

TL;DR version: Maybe all I’m trying to say is that, in a highly metaphorical sense, “the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one.” Ah well, it’s a classic for a reason.

[arcade-emporia]

On Subject Delta and the role of identity in Bioshock 2

This is a long fancy title for what essentially was a YouTube comment that got waaaay out of hand. I love Bioshock 2 and the characters in it so I just sort of wound up spilling out all of my thoughts and wanted to share them. Hope you enjoy, if you decide to read them!

. . .

As much as I’d’ve loved to see what Delta really looked like before finding Rapture, I think that part of the profundity of his character stems from his anonymity, and ever showing it without the proper setup would just diminish the effects of his backstory.

Rapture took everything from him, but the one thing in particular that the story kept pulling focus back to was his identity. Even before he became a Big Daddy, he was nobody — no one ever knew his real name and just called him by the celebrity nickname that he never even chose. From the beginning he was defined by his use to others and how he was seen in the eyes of his fellows, not by who he actually was. Then Ryan thought he was a spy — another identity confusion — and threw him into a vicious cycle of experimentation and exploitation that eventually ended with his admittance into and ultimate erasure under the Protector Program. He was an experiment to the scientists who tested their plasmids on him, a nameless goon to the audience who watched him fight for his life for their own entertainment, a conveniently-absent donor father to Sophia Lamb, and then finally he just became Subject Delta: a voiceless, faceless machine, completely stripped of his identity and free will and doomed to spend the rest of his life protecting a kid that only knew him through the deluded lens of the same dehumanizing procedure that had stolen him away.

But then Eleanor really loved him. Really, truly loved the face behind the glass, not just as the protector that she was conditioned to follow but as a father who she’d chosen to adore all on her own. She loved him enough to spend years trying bring him back from the dead and trust him — not just as a guardian, but as a person — to come and rescue her once she succeeded. Eleanor was the first person to see Delta as a real human being after years of dehumanization and torment, looking beyond his name and his past and trusting the person he is underneath all that. Even if he kills every person in Rapture, Eleanor will still follow his example, still call him father and have faith that he knows what’s best for her.

Sinclair helped to open his eyes, too. Even though their history was far from spotless, Sinclair was the first one to openly recognize his autonomy and offer him any kind of choice after his transformation and ultimate resurrection. Sinclair lets Delta choose who to kill and who to spare, gives him options and trusts his judgement — again, for the first time in a lifetime — not based on programming or with the expectation of acquiescence, but with genuine trust in his decisionmaking.

Even in small ways like the nicknames your trio of allies give you — Sport, Herr Delta, Father (not ‘Daddy’ like she’d been programmed to say), Chief, Son — the people Delta chooses to trust are the ones who see him as a human being underneath all that standard-issue Alpha Series armor. To Lamb, he’s an irritant standing between her and her life’s work. To the Rapture Family, he’s a heretic to be hung for whatever crimes their leader decides he is guilty of. But in the eyes of Eleanor, Tenenbaum, and Sinclair, he was the dictator of his own identity, and they gave him the chance to prove that. To them, he’s not just another experiment, not just one out of the countless interchangeable Big Daddies waiting to die for their Little Sisters, not just one more nameless criminal on the Alpha Series checklist to be imprisoned and erased from existence, not even just the public’s beloved Johnny Topside, forgotten just as quickly as he rose to fame — he was, finally, a real human being again.

Subject Delta’s story is all about the loss and reclamation of a person’s identity, and the part of it that hits the hardest is that — even though there were the scarce few who let him decide who he was for himself — the people who took it from him won. We don’t know his name; we’ve never seen his face; we’ve never even heard him speak a word that wasn’t garbled by the things they did to him. Whoever Delta was is gone, and we will never see that person again. Instead, we must let him exist independent of his history and define his character through his actions in the present. That’s the kicker of his narrative: it doesn’t matter who Johnny Topside was. Subject Delta has rebuilt the identity that Rapture stole from him through his actions in-game, and no matter who or what he used to be, the person we played as is who he is now, and — after so long in the dark — that person is a man of his own making

I just love subject delta ok he deserves to be happy

[roseisread]

My Year in Movies: Favorite Non-2018 Feature Films (Part 3)

In case you missed it, check out part 1 and part 2! Now picking up where we left off...

28. My Cousin Vinny (1992, directed by Jonathan Lynn, country of origin: US)

I know, I know. I can’t believe it either. But I really hadn’t seen this one til just a few short months ago. Marisa Tomei is, of course, a megababe in it; and Joe Pesci wears the hell out of some ridiculous outfits as he portrays a very unconventional defense attorney trying to help his cousin and a friend beat a murder charge. I laughed and laughed and cheered and laughed some more. Best courtroom scenes I watched all year, (and I watched A Few Good Men this year so that’s saying something). If this is still a blind spot for you, or you just want to revisit it, you can rent it on Amazon for 99 cents right now. 

27. After Hours (1985, directed by Martin Scorsese, country of origin: US)

Talk about things that escalate quickly: In this movie, Griffin Dunne’s character Paul meets a fellow book lover/manic pixie dream girl type (Rosanna Arquette). However, when he accepts her invitation for a late night rendezvous at her place, she quickly turns into a manic pixie nightmare girl. By morning, Paul finds himself a fugitive on suspicion of burglary, sex crimes, and murder in a neighborhood it’s safe to say he will never visit again. It’s a more heightened, comedic take on the classic “wrongfully accused” genre, and Dunne plays every note of desperation perfectly. You can watch this for free on Vudu, or rent on other streaming platforms. 

26. The Big Clock (1948, directed by John Farrow, country of origin: US)

The Big Clock actually has a few things in common with the aforementioned After Hours--hardworking New York City guy agrees to drinks with possibly sketchy woman and winds up the prime suspect in a murder. The whole thing takes place over a 36-hour period, and as you might guess the Clock of the title is ticking. The cast is great--Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Sullivan--and the film balances humor and suspense with ease. Fun fact, the movie is directed by John Farrow, father of Mia. The movie is available for online rental through Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes.

25. The Doll (1919, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, country of origin: Germany)

I adore Ernst Lubitsch, who directed The Shop Around The Corner, To Be or Not To Be, Trouble in Paradise, and Design for Living. Before his English-language talkies, however, he got his start in Germany with silent films like Die Puppe (The Doll). Starring the effervescent Ossi Oswalda (basically the silent era’s Greta Gerwig), this comic fantasy skewers romantic conventions. 

Lancelot is a young prince who must marry in order to receive his inheritance; but he’s afraid of women (or possibly gay... it’s easy to read it that way). He buys what he think is a life-like doll to deceive his family and avoid marriage to a real girl; but little does he know Ossi is actually a real girl pretending to be a doll. It’s all very silly and over the top and winking, and also one of the most hilarious and charming rom-coms this side of the Hallmark channel. The physical comedy is outstanding, the social commentary is scathing, and Ossi is the hero we didn’t know we needed. There are a few versions floating around on YouTube or you can rent it for a few bucks on Amazon. I caught it on Filmstruck during a Lubitsch spotlight, and my life has never been the same.

24. Talk To Her (2002, directed by Pedro Almodovar, country of origin: Spain)

Pedro Almodovar can take the most seemingly absurd situation or plot contrivance and draw out something truly human and moving. He excels at shining a light on damaged but compelling characters, and doing everything with such style and panache that you let your guard down completely and before you know it you’re rooting for someone you ordinarily would scoff at from a distance. This movie’s story focuses on two comatose women and their caretakers, and delves into the limits of love and consent in fascinating, disturbing ways. I had no idea where this film was going but I was with it every second. Available for rent on most online platforms.

23. Crash (1996, directed by David Cronenberg, country of origin: Canada)

From the king of body horror, David Cronenberg, comes a movie about people who find eroticism where most people would find repulsion. Based on the controversial book by J.G. Ballard, this film follows a group of people who are aroused by car accidents and the injuries that result from metal and flesh colliding. It sounds macabre and at times it is, but under the surface are deeper themes that question what is considered “normal” versus “fetish” and why bodies that are whole and untarnished are worshiped while those that have distinguishing marks are tossed aside. There’s also certainly a critique of consumerism and cars as status symbols, and probably a lot more I missed on first viewing. Who better to portray a sexual deviant than James Spader? He’s joined by Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas (you’ll never think of Casey Jones the same way again), Deborah Kara Unger, and Rosanna Arquette. This is a tough one to track down--nowhere online right now, and it’s out of print on physical media; but if you see it at a thrift store or your local library, check it out. 

22. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, directed by Robert Wiene, country of origin: Germany)

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is one of those movies that gets referenced a lot but I still wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from this silent German Expressionist film. Sometimes watching such a revered classic can be a little daunting--will I like as much as I’m “supposed to”? Thankfully, I did. Basically all of goth culture could probably trace its lineage back to this weird, creepy, twisty film. The elaborate, off-kilter set design and mind-bending story got under my skin in the best way. I won’t say much about the plot--just watch it (on YouTube unofficially or rentable on various streaming services).

21. Duck Soup (1933, directed by Leo McCarey, country of origin: US)

My introduction to the Marx Brothers was A Night at the Opera, and I went gaga for their rapid-fire verbal gymnastics and their gonzo physical comedy. This film takes it to the next level and throws in some political satire for good measure. So many incredible, iconic routines; song and dance sequences; and dialogue that you have to watch at least 4 times to catch all the jokes. I’m officially a fan of the Marx Brothers after this. You can rent it on most streaming sources, but I’m guessing if you have a male relative over the age of 50 you could probably borrow it from their collection. It’s very popular with Dad/Uncle demographic, and I can see why.

20. They Live by Night (1948, directed by Nicholas Ray, country of origin: US)

Nicholas Ray is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite directors. Rebel Without a Cause, In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, The Racket, and now They Live By Night--just stunning movies about troubled souls who don’t quite fit in with the rest of the world. This film lays the template for so many that would come after it: Young couple, good girl falls for bad boy, they go on the run from the law, love is not all you need.

When things are good, they’re really good and lead characters Keechie (Cathy O’Donnell) and Bowie (Farley Grainger) are rapturously crazy in love. But they also bicker believably when the past begins to bleed into the present, leading to one of my favorite exchanges in the film. Bowie confronts Keechie about her whereabouts, and when she informs him she’s been to the doctor “about the baby we’re gonna have,” he bursts out, “That’s all I need!” She fires back, “You don’t see me knittin’ anything, do ya?”

This is a Criterion film, so you may have to get it from the library or catch it on TCM until the Criterion streaming service launches later this spring. Either way, it’s a must-watch, especially if you love movies like Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde.

19. Paprika (2006, directed by Satoshi Kon, country of origin: Japan)

Look, I love Inception as much as the next person, but now that I’ve seen Paprika I must admit Christopher Nolan owes a major debt to Satoshi Kon for the way he portrays dreams and reality intersecting in uncanny ways. The difference is Satoshi Kon did it with much more weirdness and color and unsettling body horror. Don’t ask me to explain this movie, I’m not even 100% sure it can be unraveled all the way into a linear structure; but it is zany and wonderful in the best way. There’s no Tom Hardy but there is a girl who turns into a butterfly and a band of frogs and a creepy clown and a really fat guy who’s in love with the smart scientist lady... I’m telling you, you gotta see this thing. You can stream it for free on Crackle; otherwise it’s a $2.99 rental from Amazon and Vudu.

18. Good Time (2017, directed by the Safdie Brothers, country of origin: US)

If you missed this in 2017, PLEASE watch it now. Robert Pattinson gives his career best performance as a fast talking petty criminal trying to get his mentally handicapped brother out of jail after making him an accomplice to his own crimes. The soundtrack by Oneohtrix Point Never combined with the Safdie Brothers mesmerizing cinematography make for a hypnotic, propulsive viewing experience. Newcomer Taliah Webster delivers an excellent supporting performance as an unwitting sidekick partway through the film. Watch for free on Amazon Prime or rent on Vudu or YouTube.

17. Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962, directed by Agnes Varda, country of origin: France)

My first foray into the filmography of Agnes Varda, and I loved it. Cleo, a French pop singer, spends a couple hours trying to distract herself from anxiety and dread as she awaits the results of a biopsy. She buys a hat, plays with her kittens, and argues with her male collaborators over song choices. 

Eventually she meets a stranger and they walk around Paris in a vignette that almost certainly influenced Richard Linklater’s entire milieu. Cleo mulls her possible fate and concludes “as long as I’m beautiful, I’m alive”--a notion Blondie would later reference in their tongue in cheek tune “Die Young, Stay Pretty.” But as much as she is fixated on her appearance, she finds herself struggling to be taken seriously by men who dismiss her because of her beauty. 

Special shout out to Michel Legrand, who we learned today has left the mortal plane: He composed the lovely score for this film and also appears in it as Cleo’s pianist.

I watched this on the now-defunct Filmstruck, but it’s part of the Criterion Collection so your best bet is probably getting it from the library or waiting for it to show up when Criterion’s streaming service launches later this spring.

16. Happy Together (1997, directed by Wong Kar-Wai, country of origin: Hong Kong)

Wong Kar-Wai captures unfulfilled romantic longing on film better than just about anyone. If you’ve seen In the Mood for Love or Chungking Express you already know this. Happy Together turns the director’s eye once again toward people on a collision course of love, lust, and disfunction. Leslie Cheung (RIP) and Tony Leung portray a couple hoping their toxic relationship will hit the reset button with a change of scenery when they relocate from Hong Kong to Argentina. At times their passion manifests as tenderness, as in a moving dance sequence; other times, volatility erupts into violence. When one of them meets someone new, the possibility of a simpler, sweeter kind of love  offers an alternative to the cycle of codependency and betrayal. This one is out of print right now on DVD, but check your local library or used movie store and you may get lucky.

15. La Dolce Vita (1960, directed by Federico Fellini, country of origin: Italy)

You’ve got sumptuous Italian vistas, Marcello Mastroianni being gorgeous, Anita Ekberg dancing in the fountain, and a bunch of hedonism that leads down a path of inevitable emptiness and/or destruction. Personally, I prefer this one to Fellini’s 8 1/2--it’s filled with  so many scenes that could work as stand alone short films; and there’s more humor and exuberance here than in his better known, meta film experience. The 174 minute runtime may seem intimidating but for me it flew by. Available with Filmbox on Amazon right now, also part of the Criterion Collection.

14. Cooley High (1975, directed by Michael Schultz, country of origin: US)

If you’ve enjoyed movies like Dazed and Confused, American Graffiti, Boyz N the Hood, or even Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, you should really watch Cooley High. Filmed in Chicago, it follows a group of friends in high school as they skip class in favor of visiting the Lincoln Park zoo, recite poetry, go to parties, make out with girls, get into fights, and navigate the tenuous border between youth and adulthood. Full of laughs, heart, and clear-eyed realism in place of the occasional sentimentality that seeps into movies about “young folks,” this must-see of Black cinema influenced independent filmmakers like Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino. You can rent it on Vudu, or pick up a physical copy on Blu-ray or DVD.

13. Poltergeist (1982, directed by Tobe Hooper, country of origin: US)

Out of all the major blindspots I caught up with in 2018, this is the one that both impressed me the most and made me wonder why it took me this long to see it. I think I just assumed that it would be super cheesy or super scary or somehow both? Needless to say, I was wrong. It’s a blast! Funny, scary (but in a way I loved), original, and one of the best portrayals of family I’ve seen on screen. I now plan to watch this at least once a year to celebrate Halloween the same way that I watch Independence Day on July 4th, Elf/Jingle All the Way/Christmas Vacation at Christmas, and Nightmare Before Christmas/Donnie Darko for Halloween. I’m sure that everyone else in the world has seen it, but if you by some chance have not, go watch it right now! It’s available for rent on YouTube, Amazon, and GooglePlay.

12. Arthur (1981, directed by Steve Gordon, country of origin: US)

This one really surprised me. I became vaguely aware of its existence around the release of the terribly reviewed Russell Brand version; but no idea what to expect when I impulsively clicked the “watch now” button on Filmstruck. At first, Dudley Moore came across as an obnoxious drunken boor, but as I kept watching I realized the levels to his character went much deeper than it seemed at first. John Gielgud immediately won me over as Arthur’s butler Hobson, who loves Arthur like a son despite his many shenanigans. Then Liza Minnelli shows up on screen and isn’t she cute as a button! If you only know her as Lucille II from Arrested Development, you really owe it to yourself to see her in her heyday. You might not think Buster is so crazy for embracing “our nausea.” 

This movie became one of my favorite romantic comedies, in some ways a Cinderella story and in some ways a coming of age story and in most ways something wholly original. It’s a very special film, and deserves a wider audience among today’s movie fans. It’s a $1.99 rental on most platforms right now, so you have no excuse.

11. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971, directed by Robert Altman, country of origin: US)

I knocked out a few Altman films last year, and they were all good but this one was my favorite. I’m not always a fan of Westerns, but this one, which finds Julie Christie’s Madam teaming up with Warren Beatty’s Gambler to open a brothel, well, it’s different. I have a feeling Altman (and maybe his cast) watched Johnny Guitar, an earlier entry on my list, because this is another case in which a powerful woman with a mind for business upends the natural order of things (aka men being in charge). 

The writing here is wonderful, especially the dialogue, which includes such gems as “You know how to square a circle? Shove a four by four up a mule’s ass!” but also some more gentle, sweet exchanges and voiceover. There are also some gorgeous shots in this film, unsurprising with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond on board (who also shot Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Deliverance, and Blow Out just to name a few). 

Watch it via rental on Amazon, GooglePlay, or iTunes.

Next up: The Top 10! Stay tuned! 

[mendo-r]

Kenneth Branagh: 'I want you to smell the steam of the Orient Express'

A new article about  Murder on the Orient Express from The Guardian

The actor-director’s latest film, Murder on the Orient Express, boasts a stellar cast, including Branagh himself as Poirot. He discusses magnificent moustaches, moral brooding and the passion of Agatha Christie 

“Women in wild places and mental instability run right through things, don’t they?” says Kenneth Branagh, leaning forward, earnestly. “She’s very, very sensitive, and I see the ghost of her as a heroine in what she writes, in terms of keeping body and soul together, and of being an adventurer.”

He’s talking about Agatha Christie, and giving a reading of the detective novelist’s fiction that is a long way from the more traditional view of her as a comfy West Country matriarch who churned out mysteries to support her family. “I think people have been pretty tough on her,” he adds. “They’re suspicious of the volume of her output. She herself admitted that sometimes she wasn’t proud of a book when she had finished it.

“Personally I admire the prolific nature of what she does … her ability to grab the audience’s attention is really striking. The surface of what she writes has led people to dismiss her as a second-rater. But I think she is far more than that.”

Branagh is talking about Christie as he gets ready to unveil his big-screen versionof her classic Murder on the Orient Express (the first cinematic interpretation since 1974), her story of a group of passengers and a dead body trapped in a luxurious train in a snow storm. He stars as the legendary Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

“I think people often feel this about Shakespeare – they’re annoyed by his bourgeois credentials,” he says.

“He retires at the normal age, goes back to Stratford, buys houses, gets involved in disputes about rent. It feels as though there’s a sort of middle manager quality in there; he was a businessman, a shareholder, yet he wrote all these plays. That makes people suspicious.

“With Christie, people essentially have her down as a sort of Miss Marple – a sexless, removed, bookish, woolly, very English sort of individual. And they are not aware of the intrepid, pioneering, passionate woman that she was.”

The lineaments of her life back this view. Christie had such a desire to travel – and to keep her first husband, the dashing Archie Christie, happy – that she set off on a year of travel with him in 1924, leaving her daughter Rosalind at home with her mother. She left Rosalind again when she famously vanished for 11 days after discovering Archie was having an affair; she underwent psychiatric treatment in the wake of the incident. After their divorce, she travelled alone on the Orient Express, to Istanbul and then on to Damascus and Baghdad. Her family worried about her on the trip but for her it was a way of discovering new worlds – and, coincidentally, a new companion in life since she met her second husband, Max Mallowan, on a dig in Ur. Despite her writing commitments, she worked alongside him, often in difficult conditions and exotic locations.

Branagh and I talk at Twickenham Studios. He is tired because of an exhausting schedule which is whisking him around the world, but he’s here to put the finishing touches to his film, which boasts an all-star cast: Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Derek Jacobi, Sergei Polunin …

The way the trailer is framed, with captions that reveal the type of character each star is playing, takes both the film and its director back to his youth in the 1970s and early 80s, when the posters for movies such as The Towering Inferno and indeed Sidney Lumet’s 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, starring Albert Finney as Poirot, were plastered across the streets of Branagh’s home town of Reading. To the boy who had moved there at the age of nine from his native Belfast, they represented a sense of possibility. “My first encounter was with their sense of glamour,” he says. “I was pretty intrigued by all the names on those posters.”

This liking for good performers coming together to make popular entertainment is perhaps what links the two contrasting sides of Branagh’s current career. There is the actor and director who is regarded as one of the best of his age; an eminent Shakespearean, the first man to film Henry V since Olivier, a talent who can gather a top-flight company of actors to perform a season in the West End which included heavy-weight productions of The Winter’s Tale and The Entertainer. Then there is the Hollywood film director, best known for the comic-book movie, Thor. And Cinderella. He grins when I point out the strange collision between Hollywood and serious stage productions.

“No one, quite frankly, is more surprised than me that I have been allowed to get away with it,” he says. “I had not anticipated or planned for suddenly finding myself in this studio groove. It is unusual, I must say. But it’s fun.”

Shot on 70mm film, his version of Murder on the Orient Express gleams as the camera dwells on the crisp table linen, the polished wood and the glistening glasses. “I wanted you to feel the snow and smell the steam – I wanted to have all the advantages of classic material and none of the disadvantages of over-familiarity,” he says.

For Christie fans, there are some changes – to characters, to locations, to motivation – that may surprise. But all the essential ingredients are faithfully reproduced, and Branagh has added considerable depth to his portrayal of Poirot, making him more active, more passionate and more lonely. “The screenplay caught a hurt and a more tangible isolation in Poirot,” Branagh explains. “There is a kind of vulnerability about this man who appears in The Mysterious Affair at Styles with a touching gratitude to England for looking after Belgian refugees. There’s the sense of someone who has already felt the bruises of the world.”

Did he not feel any trepidation about taking on a character who has already been portrayed by 20 actors, including Orson Welles, Peter Ustinov and, on TV, David Suchet? “It’s a lot isn’t it?” says Branagh with that disarming smile. “I guess that’s where my thickish skin comes into it. You do understand that the reason so many people have played him is because he’s a fantastic character.”

He stopped watching other incarnations when he knew he was about to deliver his own (“I wouldn’t want to get caught copying the other boys”), but recognises the various ways that the detective has burrowed into the collective consciousness. “With the amount of source material in the novels every actor is going to bring something unique and unusual, in the same way as would happen with a famous classical part. David Suchet is a fantastic Poirot, so is Finney and John Moffatt on the radio is excellent.”

Discussion about his own characterisation will, I suspect, be dominated by conversations about his moustache – grey and flourishing and twinned with a natty beard. “We probably spent about nine months on it. We started with something thinner than Charlie Chaplin’s, then something that went up, that went down. We looked at famous moustaches in movies and paintings. The luxury as an actor – and I had this before when I was playing Wallander – is that you can go back to the books and trawl for details.

“I loved Christie’s phrasing – ‘the most magnificent moustaches in England’ – and I enjoyed the fact that the risk you were taking was that you would potentially produce the impact that the moustache has on characters in the novels, who often dismiss or ridicule Poirot, or are embarrassed by him.”

That mention of Wallander – whom Branagh portrayed in the British television adaptation of Henning Mankell’s detective books, feels significant. Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express in 1933, on an archaeological dig at Arpachiyah in Iraq. Published the following year, it was rapturously received, though the audacity of its plot caused Raymond Chandler to remark that it was “guaranteed to knock the keenest mind for a loop. Only a half-wit could guess it.”

His damning view of the British golden age detective novel – “futzing around with timetables and bits of charred paper and who trampled the jolly old flowering arbutus under the library window” – and his preference for psychologically based novels where a “perfunctory mystery element [is] dropped in like the olive in a martini” underlines the division in the thriller market that has existed ever since.

But the dichotomy between the advocates of clever plotting and the lovers of a story that reveals a deeper truth about society or character is misleading when applied to Christie. She may write in simple sentences, but it is the way she imagines character that has ensured the longevity of her books.

Branagh, a fan of both schools of thriller, points out that there is not so much difference between them. “I enjoyed the meditative qualities of what the Wallander novels were doing. But there’s quite a moral brood in Murder on the Orient Express as well.

“There are not only the questions of who did it, how did they do it, and why, but also the question of what now represents justice. And that issue of what justice is – when concerning crimes born out of revenge – goes quite deep in analysing whether an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ultimately is a way to order civilised behaviour.”

He worked on the film at the same time as he was directing Hamlet, starring Tom Hiddleston, as a fund-raiser for Rada. “Curiously, both stories seem to me to contain the poison of deep grief, and that idea of loss and the death of innocence. I think there is a passionate depth to Christie, even though she sometimes said her writing is merely entertainment.”

Sensing that darkness beneath the surface sheen means that he has been anxious to avoid what he calls “heritage movie-making”. “I wanted to remove excessive theatricality – a sense of the sort of fluting, shrill shriek, of so called ‘larger than life’ characters. I wanted to feel that people were talking not much louder than we are now.”

Assembling his cast – consisting of old friends and colleagues and young talent – was a moment to remember.

“When they all met for the first time, they were very shy and excitable. And one of the things I was determined to do was to try to capture that energy as soon as possible. I wanted a quiver of real guilt and uncertainty when they are interviewed by Poirot, to feel as if they were people for whom the prospect of him getting it wrong and accusing them was a matter of life and death.”

Murder on the Orient Express is in cinemas from 3 November.

[adhdcharleybrewster]

I had a fix-it au I was gonna write once where agustus escapes with delta and all the little sisters and also delta makes it but he's in a coma for a while so I remember only bits and pieces But I remember elanor understood delta pretty well just by his like, posture or something simple, and agustus said it was nice to be able to see his face and that way they could at least communicate a little And anyway the plot was elanor and agustus spent a long time trying to figure out how to remove the suit without killing delta, ect, and it starts when he wakes up and sees elanor and he and elanor and agustus live in this little house on the beach and elanor learns that agustus calls delta Johnny and like he tells her stories about him from Before everything and delta starts to remember who he was before the big daddy program because of the stories and Agustus has this Big moment where he's asking for forgivness because he's one of the reasons Johnny ended up as delta and it took a long time to get a response cos Johnny has to write it all down cos he's mute and none of them have learned sign language well enough yet (that was another thing, them learning sign language) Anyway Johnny forgives him because if he hadn't been a big daddy he wouldn't have elanor and he probably would have died down in rapture and also Sinclair helped save him and bah blah turns out they had an almost sort of relationship before the big daddies program and Johnny starts to remember it and Sinclair has a lot of moments where he's upset because of the "things he had to do to survive rapture" blah ect And also elanor is really great and she and Sinclair got along really well during Johnny's coma because they both had a common goal which was bring back delta, and because they both cared about him so much, and blah, it just set a good foundation for them having a good father/daughter relationship and also they can both shot talk Sophia together sjdjshsksn But yeah it was just a thing, I hadn't worked out how Sinclair made it yet like, maybe he wasn't dead and he ended up being okay cos he was in his diving suit and he got to the surface the same way delta does in the ending Anyway all of the au was based off of the Good Ending but that was probably obvi And anyway, elanor (with a little instructional help from sinclair) is the one who figured out how to take his suit off and not damage him ect , she's a smart cookie And anyway, all the rescued little sisters either get returned to their parents if their parents were on the surface (like that one guy said in the logs how his daughter was kidnapped) and if they actually are orphans, Sinclair and elanor take reallly good care of them whole finding them good homes (all of that happening while delta is still in a coma) Anyway I just love the idea of sinclar, Johnny, and elanor living in a little house by the beach, being a happy family, with Sinclair telling them stories about when rapture was good/ life on the surface before rapture (since Johnny doesn't remember and elanor was born in rapture) and anyway they just all have a good time doing science and experiencing surface life and being a family And Delta/Johnny is just so fucking happy to have his daughter and Sinclair and not be alone and stuck in that suit where people can't even read his facial expressions or body language (there were a lot of jokes about the faces he made at Sinclair and eanoe I remember that from the small bit I wrote) Anyway eventually they all learn sign laungague and its all domestic bliss and elanor and johnny help each other through their ptsd, and Sinclair doesn't understand it the way they do/the way they understand each other but he's still supportive of them, mostlly, even if he still kind of is the same self serving business man he was before. For the most part, seeing what delta went through and spending time with elanor changed that And idk maybe elanor could show him all the memories she got from delta since like, Sinclair was a big daddy for a bit and elanor has her Powers and shit ... Either way Sinclair has changed a lot as a person over the course of the game's canon, and what happened before Johnny woke up Wow this post is long but I'm going to keep writing it cos this is for personal reference no one wants to hear my bioshock 2 Agustus Sinclair/ subject delta aka Johnny Topside fix it au and I just feel like talking about it Eleanor is growing up in a way her mother could be proud of if she hadn't been so intent on her child being the messiah If she was just happy with a smart, talented, extremely caring, imaginative, determined, and hard working daughter, like a good parent would be. Like Sinclair and Johnny are. They are very proud of her and she is very happy to be back with delta in a place where they're both safe and don't have to wear giant armoured diving suits and get constantly shot at just for having a bond that neither of them panned on in the first place. Sinclair, Delta/Johnny, and Elanor are all that's left of Rapture, (except perhaps gil alexander who might be able to survive and might be some kind of sea ceature I... Was never clear on exactly how that worked or what he was) and they have each other and they're picking up the pieces together and trying to get used to life above ground and Sinclair is trying to talk them through things BUT HE'S BEEN UNDERWATER A WHILE TOO, so things have changed. Johnny starts to remember things from above ground and helps him out some times. Eleanor is just in awe of everything about the surface and how different it is and like, making friends, seeing other people her age, that's also extremely new and good to her. Going to school and stuff. Sinclair makes a lot of money off a book about rapture, provably (now we're at the part where I'm making stuff up as I go) he and Johnny probably could have a little bit of fame going and Johnny doesn't want that, he's content just to live a peaceful life and have elanor back, but Sinclair is writing books and going on the radio and doing newspaper interviews cos Lord knows he loves a lil money and fame. Johnny just stays home reading, listening to the radio, cooking for elanor & augustus, doing monotonous things because he's had enough "excitement" for several life times. Anyway, Elanor is adjusting well, and when she has trouble, she's always got her father. Sinclair is doing well, and though he didn't get his private island and his bouquets made out of money, his press and living on the beach with Johnny is close enough. Johnny is just happy to be alive because he's almost died (or actually died) at least 5 times,, he's content just to keep the house up, go see a movie every once in a while, and spend his time learning whatever he can, because he's been gone a long time. Like physically and mentally, he hasn't been around in a while. Anyway this might be the longest post I've ever made, but.... Everyone's happy and alive, just a sweet, soft spoken, prodigy daughter, a mute hero father who has the routine of a retiree, and a boastful business man dad who actually didn't mind settling down a bit as much as he thought he would have.

[saffrongamer]

Bioshock Remastered Review

*SPOILERS*

Bioshock remastered is a fresh take on the 2007 hit by Take-Two Interactive. The original game received a lot of praise and awards throughout the industry. I completely missed the boat on it at the time since I didn’t own a PS3 or an Xbox 360. I was too busy with Pokemon Diamond and Mario Galaxy. I decided to enjoy the game for the first time through the remake of the original game. The remastered version can run at 1080p vs the original’s 720p. And that’s all I know about the differences. I will be judging it purely on my impressions of remastered.

The story of Bioshock involves your plane crashing over the ocean and you finding a mysterious entry to an aquatic elevator down to the town of Rapture. As your ride takes you down fathoms of water you are treated to a voice recording from Andrew Ryan; the city’s creator. He gives you a dramatic  speech of hard work and integrity as we gaze upon the stunning undersea city and the surrounding marine life around it. As we arrive, we see a man named Johnny killed by a mutilated woman with hooks for hands. She tries to break into your safe bubble, but she has no luck and decides to leave. You hear a some static on the radio near you and a voice asks if you would kindly pick it up. He introduces himself as Atlas and promises you that he’ll help you get away if you help him save his family. You come across a strange needle and put it into your arm. Atlas tries to calm you down as your fingers are sparking with electric and you fall over the banister and go unconscious. You lie there as two splicers investigate and then flee as a little girl and a monster come to look at you. Only to pass you up because you’re still alive while mentioning about something called ADAM. When you wake up, you discover your ability to shoot lightning from your fingertips. Which allows you to proceed through the hallway.

As Atlas guides you, you come across a monster rescuing a little girl from splicers. You’re told that they are big daddies and little sisters. They collect ADAM from corpses. A mysterious woman named Brigid Tennenbaum appears and offers you a deal. Save the little sisters and she’ll make it worth your time, while Atlas urges you to kill them for their ADAM. The ADAM functions as a means to upgrade yourself as you explore rapture. In this town it’s seen as a source of power and strength.

You proceed through the next parts of Rapture performing a laundry list of tasks to advance. Kill  a mad surgeon, take photos of mutants, and try to save Atlas’ family. As you arrive, Andrew Ryan destroys the bathysphere that his family was hiding in. Enraged, asks you to help him take revenge on Ryan in exchange for his escape.

Now that Ryan is very aware of your interference, he wants you out of his way. As you reach Arcadia he has all the trees killed. Destroying the oxygen supplying Rapture. You must then save the forest by collecting the necessary parts.

When you save yourself and rapture’s few inhabitants, you and Atlas are ready to confront Ryan. You hop in your bathysphere with intentions to take down the big cheese. Unfortunately you are intercepted and taken to Fort Frolic. A mad artist, known as Sander Cohen, offers you escape for helping to realise his artistic vision. His magnum opus. You take photos of his 3 traitors and he’ll grant you your freedom. He lets you go mostly unharmed, but you should be glad you’re not trapped in plaster like his other works of art.

As you’re reunited with Atlas, you’re back in the hunt for Ryan. However in order to enter, you’ll need to shut down the power plant as the entrance won’t let you through otherwise.

Upon your visit to Ryan’s office he has set the core to self destruct. He believes that the city is either his or no one’s. You head forward to Ryan and discover a wall of photos and red letters that read “WOULD YOU KINDLY”. A recording by Dr. Yi Suchong has the doctor instruct a little boy to kill a puppy after saying “would you kindly”.

As you try to understand the circumstances you proceed to confront Ryan. He reveals who you are in a dramatic monologue. He explains that you’re controlled by the phrase “would you kindly” And then ordered you to kill him.

After you kill Ryan you run over and turn off the self destruct. Atlas breaks character introduces himself as Frank Fontaine. He thanks you for your help taking down Ryan and he sends the security after you. You escape with the help of Tennenbaum and the little sisters.

Tennenbaum tells you what you need to do and you start your adventure towards Fontaine. Unfortunately this is where the story begins to feel like it’s already wrapped up. At this point in the plot, in my mind, I felt that you were simply getting beefed up to take on Fontaine. You receive the majority of your weapon upgrades and are even showered with supplies right before the final fight. This was the first time I had maxed out my wallet, and I didn’t even have anything to spend it on. We do get to explore a chapter where we learned about where the big daddys and little sisters came from. But that only leads right into the conclusion of the game.

Frank Fontaine appears and as you defeat him, a swarm of little sisters appear to purge him of the last of his ADAM. Depending on if you saved the little sisters or not, you will receive different endings. If you saved them all, you will get a cutscene where you escape rapture with the little sisters and live out as a father. You receive what none of you ever had; A family. However if you kill any of them or all of them, you view a cutscene where you take the power that you’ve gained and rise up on the surface with the splicers. Implying that you attacked the surface.

The most powerful aspect of Bioshock is it’s presentation. It’s such a stunning experience to see Rapture as you travel from level to level. Everything in this sci-fi horror tells you that you’re at the bottom of the sea. From the leaky halls, dilapidated rooms, and 1940s style architecture. The horror in this story directly comes from the atmosphere of the game. I was definitely creeped out for quite a while. But It dies down very hard after you defeat Sander Cohen. The first chapter is definitely the spookiest. I backtracked for supplies once and found a room that I missed. Then was jumped by a splicer that I immediately once shot on trigger.

Throughout the game, you come across recordings that citizens of Rapture have left behind. This is the main way that you are told the story of its people. The struggles of the lower class. The ideals of Ryan. And the power of Fontaine and his rebels.

My favorite recording is the demise of Dr. Yi Suchong. As we hear him speak of his failures with the big daddies, we hear him overcome and murdered. And we can look directly to a corpse eternally pinned to a table by a dusty drill.

Andrew Ryan was such a thrilling antagonist for the game. His dramatic speeches that he showered on you in your story made every moment more exciting. I quote him to my friends sometimes just for fun. I know Fontaine was the final antagonist, but he just seems to take a backseat to Ryan. But it is thrilling to know that there never was a family for you to find, and Fontaine called for you just to use you to rise up. After all, everyone thought Fontaine was already dead.

Lastly they leave director’s commentary film reels littered throughout the game. As you find them, you unlock the ability to play them from the main menu. I feel they should have been unlocked from the start or after you finish the game. They just kinda get in the way as you explore and take you out of the experience. I don’t want to go hunting for them while I go through the game. I’m usually only thorough in exploring on my first playthrough. But they do offer some cool insight into the development of the game and how some concepts came to be. And if you like giant commercials, Geoff Keighley hosts the interview.

My only other gripe with the presentation is the little quips that you hear from enemies. They’re creepy sometimes, but mostly just annoying. They can be very obnoxious when you are fighting a horde of splicers. Occasionally you can hear them through walls. Which I know is supposed to be atmospheric in some situations, but sometimes it felt like it was a bug that I could hear them

The mechanics of Bioshock are simple. You like magic sci-fi powers and guns? Well here we go. You get an array of guns and weapons at your disposal. I personally like using the shotgun, with occasionally the pistol or crossbow. You also have a chemical thrower, tommy gunn, grenade launcher, and your trusty wrench. All of these function exactly as you would expect. You’re given several upgrades to these weapons that can be quite helpful if you like that weapon. Such as power, ammo count, or knockback decrease.

Your other abilities stem from your plasmids. You can get abilities like electricity, fire, ice, telekinesis, wind, etc. Most of which range from being useful in combat to acting like a key to progress through the chapter. These plasmids are what gave power to the lower class to rise up and start a war within Rapture. And explain why there was such a desire for ADAM.

The game introduces you early on to the idea of hacking. See a security camera? Shock it to open up a hacking minigame. Then you can have security bots summoned to defend you from splicers. You may also hack turrets to shoot splicers for you. I feel that the hacking was used very ineffectively. You see you have to arrange the pipes to cause a flow of green something to get to the end of the course. It’s an easy enough minigame that only presents challenge when the developers increase the amount of traps or the speed of the flow. I think they should have introduced new ways to do hacks or more new pieces as the story went on. Instead you can only get upgrades that reduce flow speed or traps on screen. And tapping all these boxes to see what's inside doesn’t make it more fun to play. Don’t make me do that.

Combat wise it’s fairly basic. You see a mook. You shoot ‘em until they’re dead. Rinse and repeat for the entire game. Occasionally, you’ll come across a big daddy that requires some patience for you to defeat. Which is where the game shines when you have to struggle to take them down.

I noticed that the developers make some mooks easier to kill then others. I know it’s not me and my gun getting stronger. As the splicers in one room are weaker than in another. Sometimes taking just a single shot to kill, vs several shots.

By far the biggest offender is the final boss. Which apparently I’m not the only person to have complains about. Frank Fontaine appears like Jesus Christ from his cross while pumping himself full of ADAM. This final fight looks cool and all, but it’s extremely easy and Fontaine goes down with little issue. I think this boss needs a redesign or something.

Overall I feel that Bioshock is a thrilling adventure with impressive presentation, an interesting story, and a charming cast of characters. The original and the sequels had no impression on my opinions of this game. And I’m absolutely going to give them a fair shake as well.

This has been Saffron, thank you for listening.

[chorusfm]

Gang Of Youths – Live at The Forum, Melbourne, Australia

Gang Of Youths are Australia’s biggest success story in years. The Sydney-based band formed in 2012 and has enjoyed a steady stream of success, be it selling out larger and larger venues or recipients of critical acclaim. Flash forward to now, when Gang Of Youths had to announce a whopping 21 dates (all sold-out) for their Say Yes To Life Tour, with eight sold-out dates at Melbourne’s iconic Forum Theatre alone. Last year, the band received seven ARIA award nominations for their brilliant #1 album, Go Farther In Lightness. They won four of them (Album Of The Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album, and Producer of The Year – for Gang Of Youths & Adrian Breakspear). They even supported the mighty Foo Fighters for seven nights in the US during the band’s Concrete and Gold Tour last month! So, Gang Of Youths’ Say Yes To Life Tour is a big deal; for the band and their loyal, growing fan-base. It’s an absolute triumph: a homecoming for our dearest indie rock band, and a celebration of positivity and growth. If you rolled into Melbourne’s Forum Theatre early enough, Publique were there warming up the room. The five-piece from Sydney delivered a sweltering half-hour set of post-punk. New single, “Deprecate,” was a highlight of their set, seeing the band experimenting a touch with their signature sound. They had me enamored for the short time they had the stage. Publique certainly didn’t appeal to all members in the crowd, as a few rude patrons demonstrated, but I believe they’re brimming with potential. In a few years time, Publique could be Australia’s answer to IDLES, the formidable English post-punk group breaking ground just two albums into their career. Second support act Charlie Collins (ex-Tigertown) has joined Gang Of Youths every night of the Say Yes To Life Tour. She and her band were just delightful. Charlie Collins’ sentimental yet fresh brand of indie rock is sure to gain her tons of fans – and, god, her voice is marvelous. Donning an acoustic guitar and using the harmonica for two songs, Charlie Collins’ talent was undeniable. Her band was incredibly solid, effectively capturing the magic of obvious influences such as Fleetwood Mac and Johnny Cash. “Mexico,” her latest single, which she dedicated to her sister currently having a rough time, had the large crowd swaying and even singing along. At the end of her set, my sister turned to me and said, “we are so seeing her next time she’s here.” My sister and I felt the same thing on Monday night: Charlie Collins is destined for greatness. If you’re a fan of Kacey Musgraves, Angus & Julia Stone and/or The War on Drugs, then Charlie Collins is one to keep on your radar. The sold-out Forum Theatre was absolutely buzzing with anticipation when Gang Of Youths strode onto the stage. Opening with the Springsteen-esque, “Fear And Trembling” was a tremendous choice – Monday night’s crowd was already in for something exceptional. Dave Le’aupepe began the song solo, only with his acoustic guitar. He was greeted with deafening applause and cheers, and the first of many crowd sing-alongs. Following the first verse, all hell broke loose: the full band charged in, the crowd sing along grew somehow louder, and everyone began dancing. The band immediately followed “Fear And Trembling” with the equally blistering, “What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out?.” Again, it was pure madness. I’ve never seen such an enormous reaction from a crowd. Every member of Gang Of Youths shone that night. Le’aupepe’s voice was silky smooth. He often boogied towards guitarist, Joji Malani, sharing overjoyed grins. Jung Kim is an understated star on the keys. The rhythm section was also incredibly tight, with bassist Max Dunn holding songs together and providing a further layer of vitality, while Donnie Borzestowski crushed the drums for 90 minutes straight with the power Gang Of Youths are renowned for. With Le’aupepe’s honeyed vocals, long curly brown hair, cheeky smile, and sometimes-ridiculous dance moves, he’s already a superstar. Perhaps even a spiritual successor to the dearly missed INXS frontman, Michael Hutchence. After only two songs, Le’aupepe greeted us. Most importantly, he made sure to remind us all that: “everyone in this room should be comfortable. Look out for the people around you and take care of each other.” He didn’t have to say anything of the sort. But, as a young woman in the crowd looking out for my younger sister, it was comforting to hear that Gang Of Youths cared for every single person in the packed theatre. Of course, a majority of Gang Of Youths’ setlist comprised of their latest album, Go Farther In Lightness. However, nothing could’ve prepared me for the beautiful three-song-punch of “Keep Me In The Open,” “Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane,” and “Persevere.” Proving to be a genuine, down-to-earth frontman and individual, Dave Le’aupepe left us with some deeply honest monologues before both “Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane” and “Persevere” – about the experience of being labelled an atrocious band to see live, and of his family’s struggles before he was even born. Then, prior to “Persevere,” every band member except Le’aupepe left the stage. He sat by the grand piano and delivered such an intimate, stunning rendition of the song, that I currently struggle to hear the studio version. An older woman turned to me after “Persevere,” remarking how the men around her were “in their feelings.” She wasn’t wrong. Whether Gang Of Youths are capturing hearts with lovely ballads or inspiring thousands to rally against negativity with rip-roaring rockers, the result is the same: a Gang Of Youths concert isn’t simply another gig. It’s a life-changing experience. Go Farther In Lightness is only just over a year old. You wouldn’t know it by the rapturous sing-alongs witnessed on Monday evening! What might be the best thing about seeing Gang Of Youths live is simply watching everyone around you, and from my field of vision, here were some of my favourite unbridled moments: two teen girls singing smash-hit, “Let Me Down Easy” to each other, holding hands; a 20-something-year-old man resembling The 100’s Richard Harmon on someone’s shoulders, gleefully throwing his arms at the band during “The Heart Is A Muscle”; a 40-something-year-old man yelling at the top of his lungs for the chorus of devastating breakout hit, “Magnolia”; and beautifully, a group of four strangers with opposite ethnicities, arms around shoulders, chanting along to the refrain of “Say Yes To Life”. It was a night of exuberance, acceptance, and diversity; which is what Gang Of Youths have always been about. Four years ago, Dave Le’aupepe was in the darkest place he’s ever been in. He has expressed immense gratitude towards his bandmates for helping save his life. A huge portion of Gang Of Youths’ debut album, The Positions, tracked the tragedy that plagued him at the time. See “Magnolia,” the precise recollection of the night Le’aupepe would attempt to take his life. “Magnolia” could have easily been a song that dwelled on the darkness; Le’aupepe could have given up. But, he didn’t. On Monday night, he dove into the loving arms of the audience, all of us celebrating life with him. “Magnolia” was one of the first of several songs where Gang Of Youths would revere in making the most of life, setting the path in which the band has continued to follow. What I witnessed when I finally saw Gang Of Youths live a few nights ago was more than a concert. I’m fully aware that I was in the presence of a band poised to take the mantle from epic rock acts (who the band happen to be influenced by), such as Bruce Springsteen, INXS or U2. Gang Of Youths already have an incredible repertoire of ginormous rockers, as well as gorgeous, wholly unique ballads. What every sold-out audience beheld over the Say Yes To Life Tour is a fully-formed band. Love them or hate them, something I’m entirely sure of is Gang Of Youths are here to stay. Soon enough, the world will experience what thousands of Australians have during this tour: two hours of unadulterated bliss and walking out of iconic venues, gobsmacked. I can’t wait to hear more stories like mine. --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/features/gang-of-youths-live-at-the-forum-melbourne-australia/

[shutupxdance-blog]

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES! 2

『♬♬♬』

The scanline sun is setting behind Cíoroc, casting flickering light onto his face. “Here we are once again, viewers! Another day, another death, that’s just how it goes! It’s routine you came here for, and it’s routine we’re going to give you, baby! Two episodes is a decent amount of time to get invested in someone, don’t you think? But we didn’t even have a secret reveal motive to accelerate the progress of character development! So let’s take a look back and find out the story of the sun and the moon on another episode of 『THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!』”

“I am prabha!” Prabha — Agni’s — voice says, as stock footage of palm trees waving in the wind cuts to low-quality film of a young boy at a dinner table in a luxurious home, laughing at a joke told to him by his father as his mother looks on with an adoring smile, “I exude radiance!” A wave of static washes over the screen, and the same boy, slightly older, holds his mother’s hand as she guides him through a bazaar, looking around with a smile on his face at everything that catches his eye. “That’s… my mother,” Agni’s voice continues, his tone entirely different, “Her life is my price.” A rapid montage follows  — his mother running her fingers through his hair, singing him a lullaby, Agni and his parents out as a family, always smiling. Then another glitch of VHS static corrupts the grainy footage, leaving an area of white noise where his father was standing.  “After my father died, she just, I don’t know, stopped seeing me as her child,” the voiceover says as the Agni of the past attends a private school’s class, looking bored more than anything, “It was like I was a stranger. “I still love her, you know. She’s- she’s all I have left, I suppose,” and suddenly the words are coming directly from Agni on screen, sitting at an interview table across from a smiling Cíoroc. “Even if she doesn’t care for me anymore, she’s the only person on Earth I had.”

A glitch now erases the entire image, rolling over the screen to replace it with a young boy, the youngest of three, wearing pyjamas and knelt in a moment of prayer. Pluto’s voice — Jude’s voice — has been recorded over it. “There’s the planet Pluto, of course! It’s tiny, overlooked, and no one ever groups it in with the other eight.” The camera pans out, the grainy VHS footage showing a small, squat house backed by a thick, dense forest. “People only care about it because it’s left out- they pity it. They want it to be included so they can stop feeling bad.” Older, but still a young boy, the Jude on-screen is part of a choir, looking uncomfortable and out of place at first, but easing into it as he sings.  “But, Pluto is also another name for Hades! It’s the same principle! It’s evil hiding in plain sight. A demon right in front of you, hiding because people think I’m so. . . harmless. But I’m right here.” Jude’s brothers, holding a football, ask him something — there’s no sound to the audio, but he refuses, and they run off into a field without him as he walks up the stairs to his room.  “I’m right here, and I want people to see me. I don’t want to be tread over anymore.” Jude smiles at school, he smiles at his family, he smiles at church. In a bathroom, he crumples into himself, sobbing. “I mean. In this, like, sorta deal, y' always give up yer soul, don't'cha? That's what I did.” Jude, fifteen or so, is sat on a log at a summer camp while a preacher gives him a banal smile. “I'm leavin' it all behind. Ain't no hell or heaven where I'm goin'.”  

Once more, the jump in quality as the camera now shows footage from the show itself is startling. Jude picks flowers, carrying a veritable bouquet of roses as he walks out of the garden. Agni looks intensely at an outfit in the changing room, holding it up and examining it before putting it down with a shake of his head and picking up another one.

“M' prize?” Jude’s voiceover says as the more recent version of him on the tape smiles at something Agni says. "I wanna be someone else. Not, like, a new face or nothin'. I wanna. . . change into th' person everyone wants me t' be. Confident. Strong. Happy." The footage is suddenly intercut, the Jude of years ago smiling at a boy, a different boy, at camp. On a stage, some rehearsal for a play is going on, and the boy is dressed like a devil, making a face.  "I wanna be someone happy."

“Fame, recognition, glory. Whatever you want to call it,” Agni’s voice cuts in, the sound of a soft breeze undercutting the transition. He’s at a party, high society, talking to other people, similarly dressed in cutting-edge fashion. When he turns away, some of them start to talk behind his back, shooting him judgemental glances. “I want people to know my name, recognize my work. I want to be worth more than my weight in gold.” Then, it’s back to him and Jude, relaxing by the pool, a bottle of soda lightly held in his hand.  

“Hey, that’s quite a prize! Why don’t you tell us why you’re angling for it?” Cíoroc says, smiling from the other end of an interview table, the crocodile lulling the fish with his easy grin.

“It’s-frustrating. I’ve worked my ass off for this job that I didn’t even want,” Agni replies, as the footage cuts to Jude’s hands around his throat, Agni struggling desperately. His voiceover is as calm as ever — it’s from a different Agni entirely. “But all anyone can talk about his how similar my work is to hers, or how I’m probably just getting her to design it, as her son.” The Agni on screen, through all of this, just isn’t dying. “I can’t do this anymore, living in the shadow of my mother.”

The shadow of his mother looms over him in their ornate house as they sit in the dinner table, just the two of them, silence deafening. The footage fades, and Jude is kissing the boy from camp, water levels climbing around them. The lower levels of the watchpoint they’re in are already flooded. The water shimmers, and all of a sudden it’s pool water, and Jude — Pluto — is shoving Agni’s head — no, Prabha’s — underneath it. “I can't go on livin' like this,” the Jude being interviewed replies, cadence eerily close to Agni’s earlier response “I jus'. . . either I'm dyin' here, or I'm gonna do myself in soon. Livin' is just- it's hell, plain 'n simple. I ain't eatin', sleepin', I can't do nothin', and each day, m' head jus' gets worse. I wanna live. I wanna learn what it is t' live fer real."

Agni is limp. Jude gets up, eyes glazed, staring at something that isn’t there, and starts walking towards the villa. A rosary drifts through the pool water before being sucked into a filtration system. “My plan? Go back to work,” Agni comments, letting out a breathy laugh as on-screen, Pluto lays Prabha’s corpse out peacefully. “What else would I do? I can only take a break for so long. Besides, finally getting my well-deserved fame? That’s some real motivation. Oh, my next line will be the best I’ve ever released. Look forward to it.”

A cheerful, confident Agni winks cockily at Cíoroc across the table. The view dissolves, first to more of those swaying palms, and then to Jude, sat in the same seat, shrugging.  "Jus'. . . back home, I guess. I'unno if I'll go back t' school or nothin'. Might get back on th' stage. Might go 'n help out Theo when he takes over papa's shop. But. . . I know I'm givin' the whole family a big hug 'n sayin' sorry. I ain't gonna disappoint them no more. I'm gonna live."

And with those words, the show cuts back to Cíoroc, a portrait of Pluto spinning around in a 3D animated graphic that lands firmly on the grid of blue lines behind him, a shimmering moon at the center. “See! It’s ironic because he didn’t! Live, that is,” Cíoroc cheerfully explains, reclining on a beach chair and sipping a cocktail through a colourful straw. “It’s a shame when someone dies, because their story ends. But sometimes stories are meant to end! Sometimes you just need something to come to a stop once and for all instead of just trailing out, getting more and more boring, until nobody cares anymore! Maybe we’re doing them a favour? But hey, darlings, that’s not my place to say. Pluto didn’t manage to become a different person,” he continues, as similar portraits start to appear on the grid, “Just like Nadir from season two, Shizuka Gozen from season seven, Piedad from season ten, Runaway from season sixteen, Nanashi from season twenty-one, Cuckoo from season twenty-eight, Johnny from season thirty, and Hollow from season thirty-four.”

A sparkle of orange light erases the background, leaving behind an orange-red sun on a purple background, and a new line of portraits. “Prabha doesn’t get the recognition he wanted, and neither do Qing from season three, Magician from season eight, Set from season fifteen, Cornelius from season nineteen, Fantôme from season twenty-seven, or Askari from season thirty-five.” Cíoroc grins at the camera. “Man, didn’t we all have a lot of fun with them? Especially Qing, hahaha! I hope in a couple of seasons we can look back on this one as a classic. I mean, that’s all you can really hope for when you’re making TV, right? Hope to make a good impression and keep people talking about it as long as you keep going.” He stretches idly. “Tomorrow, our contestants will wake up to find out that it was all a computer simulation all along!” He winks. “Or was it? Stay tuned for very serious existential questions on HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN!”

The rest of the broadcast consists of Cíoroc very slowly drinking his entire cocktail to rapturous applause.   

[hexterah]

(This mix was originally posted on LJ in February of 2008. I’m putting all my old fanmixes online w/ the info here! :D)

IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED THE FIRST BIOSHOCK, THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS FANMIX (just a warning XD)

1960. Your name is Jack. You're the only survivor in a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Surprisingly, you find yourself near a curious tower jutting out of the water. You wade over, climb inside and find yourself in a sprawling underwater city, complete with clubs, apartments, factories and leaks. What was this place created for? Who created it? Why? How? It's a technical marvel, why hasn't it been all over the news? These are the questions you are searching for answers to, until more questions materialize, that is. Such as "Who is Atlas and why am I helping him?", "Why is my hand seething fire, insects and electricity?", "Why are these gigantic robots suddenly out for my head?" and "Oh dear god, why is that little girl chugging the red fluid she just needled out of that corpse?" Society here has collapsed, the people have gone absolutely out of their minds, everyone is jacked up on plasmids and now you're stuck in the middle of it. Welcome to Rapture.

Fanmix on Playmoss!: https://playmoss.com/en/hexterah/playlist/would-you-kindly-a-bioshock-fanmix (a couple of the songs won’t play on PM cause of the companies that have their music blocked -- they can be found on the actual youtube site though, if you wanted to hunt down the songs under the cut that the playlist skips~) 

bobby darin .. BEYOND THE SEA ... it's far beyond the stars it's near beyond the moon I know beyond a doubt my heart will lead me there soon ...

[ Take the bathysphere on down to your hometown. ]

................ 

Ignore the lies of Atlas and his parasites. Rapture is on the rise.

................

shiny toy guns .. STARTS WITH ONE ... only three i can’t seem to get enough anyway i can’t speak nothing to say anyway let’s show them the only way let’s show them our hearts ...

[ Don't mind the leaks or the bodies. Just watch your step. ] ................ Andrew Ryan asks you a simple question: are you a man or a slave? ................ temposhark f. imogen heap .. NOT THAT BIG ... I can cut my heart out just like you do and I can suck the life out of it just like you do i'm gonna pick myself up and pull myself together; never revel in recovery mode for when commitment is a dirty word you can't afford to ever slip or let down your guard ...

[ It might feel a little funny with the first injection, Jack. Just a little. ]

................ The Little Sisters Orphanage: In troubled times, give your little girl the life that she deserves. Boarding and education free of charge! After all, children ARE the future of Rapture. ................ the cure .. LULLABY ... on candystripe legs the spiderman comes softly through the shadow of the evening sun stealing past the windows of the blissfully dead looking for the victim shivering in bed searching out fear in the gathering gloom ...

[ Andrew Ryan is your God among Men. ] ................ Approaching a Little Sister is a criminal offense. Do not approach the Little Sisters. ................ gerard mcmann .. CRY LITTLE SISTER ... cry little sister (thou shall not fall) come to your brother (thou shall not die) unchain me sister (thou shall not fear) love is with your brother (thou shall not kill) ...

[ It's up to you, Jack, whether they're rescued or harvested, which means it's up to you whether the big brother in their chemically-enhanced fucked-up-beyond-repair family saves them or kills them and takes all the spoils as his own. ]

................ We all have bills to pay, and the temptation to break curfew to make a little extra ADAM is forgivable. Breaking the curfew is not. Stay on the level, and out of trouble. ................ three days grace .. NEVER TOO LATE ... no one will ever see this side reflected and if there's something wrong who would have guessed it and I have left alone everything that I own to make you feel like it's not too late it's never too late ...

[ People forget that the Big Daddies were once human too. ] ................ The smuggler is the friend of the parasite. It is your duty to report the smuggler. ................ radiohead .. ALL I NEED ... I am the next act waiting in the wings I am an animal trapped in your hot car I am all the days that you choose to ignore you are all I need you are all I need I am in the middle of your picture lying in the reeds ...

[ "Plasmids changed everything. They destroyed our bodies, our minds. We couldn't handle it. Best friends butchering one another, babies strangled in cribs. The whole city went to hell." ] ................ Rumor is the tool of the parasite. Fontaine is dead; Rapture lives. ................ videodrone .. ALONE WITH 20 BUCKS ... living, barely surviving freebasing life till its end divided soulless vices death before life could begin evil dollar bills, life stood still a tumor removed from your brain prescription refilled, a cure for my ill blood stains painted over again you tell me how to think you tell me how to feel cause I want to know what is real is anyone real? ...

[ If Ryan is Rapture's God, then Fontaine is his Lucifer. Once smiled upon for his actions, he's now Ryan's most prominent enemy. ] ................ Attention: A new curfew will be enacted on Thursday. Citizens found in violation will be relocated to Apollo Square. ................ dave gahan .. A LITTLE LIE ... I walk alone and you know I've never felt at home I'm so hard to please and I have everything I need ...

[ "Me family's in a submarine hidden in the foundation of Fontaine Fisheries. I'll meet you there." -- You'd better get used to being lied to, Jack. ] ................ Wanting an item from the surface is forgivable. Buying or smuggling one into Rapture is not. Stay on the level, and out of trouble. ................ joydrop .. BREAKDOWN ... and all the days you pushed around and all the times you lied to yourself and all the dreams we had just might breakdown ...

[ She seems to be the only one with a conscience on this sinking heap of metal. She also acts as yours. Listen to her. ] ................ Andrew Ryan reminds us: we all make choices, but, in the end, our choices make us. ................ kate bush .. EXPERIMENT IV ... they told us all they wanted Was a sound that could kill someone from a distance So we go ahead and the meters are over in the red It's a mistake in the making ...

[ Nothing holds back the experiments in Rapture. And nothing is saved from them. Plants, animals, children -- all up for grabs. ] ................ Wallet a little light? At Surgical Savings we'll happily work out an affordable payment plan for any major procedure. Potentially terminal illnesses won't wait until payday. Should you? ................ coheed & cambria .. THE HOUND (OF BLOOD AND RANK) ... come on, you've got to give it to me as though you want it too come on and set me free i'll dig it till we've made your grave oh, you've been a bad, bad boy i'll cut it 'til I carve it out and stick it in a sad, sad song why the bother, you're no brother you’re the wrong I need boy, we all found an audience while you found the worst of me ...

[ The body is a terrible thing to waste. So says the artist. One does the cutting and the carving and the other does the sculpting and the performing and they're two sides of one horribly twisted and beautiful coin. ] ................ Attention: Any public congregation of more than four persons is considered an actionable offense. ................ frou frou .. PSYCHOBABBLE ... do just what I tell you and no one will get hurt don't come any closer cause I don't know how long I can hold my heart in two make no sudden movements and no one will get hurt you're not coming over if you know what's good for me why would I be leaving you? ...

[ Andrew Ryan has a way with women, yes? Well, he also has a way with his children. A man chooses, a slave obeys. ] ................ The bottom of the ocean is our home, but it can also be a dangerous place. Any leak is a bad leak. Report any unexplained water promptly to the Central Council. ................ the birthday massacre .. PLAY DEAD ... thinking hurts and thoughts don't rhyme to those of us who've never tried to find a face behind our lipstick smiles and as our pretty faces die our plastic hearts will wonder why the make-up just won't hide the scars of time ...

[ "Now, would you kindly find a crowbar or something? Bloody splicers sealed Johnny in before they ... goddamn splicers." -- They were the citizens of this once thriving metropolis. Now they've been reduced to babbling, deformed maniacs who are only out for another high. ] ................ We all move the Great Chain, and the Great Chain moves us all. ................ moving units .. THE KIDS OF ORANGE COUNTY ... a suburban tease you can see their dirty knees you can see them bounce off a wall like a racquet hits a ball but they always come back again a Jamaican breeze you can smell the anti-freeze you can see the world is a maze when you're young and you're free to be anything you wanted to be ...

[ It's all about class, dollface, and you don't fit in! Parasite! ] ................ The parasite hates three things: free markets, free will, and free men. ................ brand new .. WELCOME TO BANGKOK [ instrumental ]

[ "Don't know what I was thinkin'. Never spliced up once the whole time I was down here in this aquarium. Figured it was bad to mix business with pleasure, but WHOOO! Forget all the nose candy and floor polish I been wastin' time with! THIS stuff is the mothers milk!" ] ................ "That's just the Plasmid Blues, Mary. You just need to slow down a bit on the splicing. Before you know it, you'll be as right as rain. Remember, a smart splicer is a happy splicer." ................ ambo .. BLUEBIRD ... and the sun was brilliant too ...

[ Maybe one day you'll see the sun again, Jack. ]

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

For Your Own Good

This is a story set within my Bioshock Rebirth AU. A reimaging/reboot of the Bioshock franchise. https://geekgemsspookyblog.tumblr.com/post/626141727587270656/bioshock-rebirth-timeline-this-is-a-timeline-of-an Just as a heads up if anyone is wondering about the context. I’ve had some stories in my drafts for a long time now and I’m finally publicly sharing them.

This has been in my drafts since August 24th 2020...this was one of the drafts I was very hesitant to share...even though I have shared this with friends and I’ve made some edits. It’s good one of my friends @fishtankinhouse liked it. Her support means so much like other friends who I have shared with this. But I worried too much of what my Bioshock followers would think of it...

But alias, I am a paranoid person. Including I have thought of just posting some of these drafts because I’m so focused on the FNAF franchise now. Especially this AU has it’s fans. So here’s one of the drafts I was very nervous to share with you all. 

Be warned. Including when I talked to Fishtankinhouse about this. This story while contains nothing extremely NSFW...but it’s on the focus of a man who is clearly experiencing PTSD and he does some things that are not good. Some aspects are the reason why I am not tagging it with other character tags. But that’s me being paranoid. 

The week when Sofia Lamb took over Rapture was a startling one. Including with the Vox trying to fight back. But due to the Big Sisters they can’t fully beat them. Now with Archie and others trying to save Eleanor Lamb from Sofia. Including to reunite Subject Delta with his Little Sister. But also to some how transform Johnny Topside into a normal human being again. The man that was the reason Archie had a normal life in a way. Right now things weren’t as intense. Yet unknown to everyone. Archie was suffering the aftermath his interactions with Atlas. Who had turned out to be Frank Fontaine. With Archie learning his whole life was a lie, and among other things. He tried to keep his PTSD to himself. Not wanting to worry the people around him.

But what got worse...it was seeing HIM again. He couldn’t understand if who he was seeing was real. He had killed him personally, he died right in front of his own eyes....yet he appeared like a ghost. What was worse...Frank wasn’t speaking in his real voice. But that Irish accent that Archie found comfort in hearing over a radio. Now it was a haunting memory that plagued him.

Today...Archie would be doing something he would regret for a long time. Despite his intentions were good. He was sitting on a table in the middle of Tenenbaum’s safehouse. Most of the little sisters were with Delta, Daisy and Grace. He just had his hands on his face thinking. Things had gotten worse. The paranoia was getting to him. There were two things that were important to him. Brigid and Elizabeth. The kids were safe but the memories of what happened to those two women a while back affected him. What happened to his, “Family” after he left them with Atlas.

He heard the door open from upstairs, and he put his head up. A person who had came down was Elizabeth. She smiled when seeing him.

“Archie!” She said as she went over to hug him. But seeing him down made her question what was wrong. “Hey are you alright?” She asked him. “You look down....you wanna tell me something?” Elizabeth asked him as she sat in a chair near the table.

“No...I think I’m good. I’m just tired.” He told her. Despite what his actual feelings were.

“Oh okay....still you can tell me if you want. I can see your tired. But I thought you can go out with me search for other ways we can get to Sofia or something. Or even something to help Delta.” She told him. “We can help out some of the Vox if we can. I’d thought you can join me since we usually go together.” She continued on.

Hearing that made him nervous and he started to think some things. The paranoia was getting to him.

“Actually.....if you don’t mind. How about you stay behind.” He told her.

“....what?” She sounded surprised. “Hey it’s safe out there right now. There’s no Big Sisters or whatever else out there. Besides Grace is with us and it’s like a safe haven where those girls are at. We can visit them on the way if we can. Whatever you want to do. Besides I have your back like you have mine.” Elizabeth said.

“No...I really think you should stay in the shelter. While I go out. It’s better for you.” Archie told her. The look on Elizabeth’s face started to change. What was confused and then turned to a smile...turned to surprise and a little bit of disappointment.

“Why? Just...we’ve been going out of this safehouse for so long and now you want me to stay inside. Yet after what we’ve been through and you’re saying it’s better for me...I’m sorry I’m a little offended.” Elizabeth said sounding a little annoyed.

“No please understand I’m just trying to keep you safe. I’m trying to protect you-” Archie said.

“Well I’m trying to protect you too but I never said you should stay here.” Elizabeth told him. “That’s unlike you to say that. You have never said that. You never mind me being by you but now you’re saying that.” Elizabeth continued on.

“Listen please just say inside.” Archie told her.

“....no I am not. If you’re going out. I’m going to protect you like I always have. Like you always did with me. I don’t know why you’re wanting be a lone wolf right now.” Elizabeth told him sounding more angry.

“Jesus Christ just listen it’s for your own good okay now stop arguing with me!” Archie raised his voice a little.

“For my own good!? Are you kidding me? Don’t you dare tell me that it’s for my own good! You’re just like Ryan!” Elizabeth told him. Archie look confused. He didn’t know how to respond to something like that.

“Listen if you want to stay inside that’s fine. But I’m going despite what you’re saying.” She told him as she got up from the chair and began marching towards the stairs. Archie began to panic, he got up from his chair.

“Wait please just listen.” He said as he gently tries to stop her.

“JUST LEAVE ME ALONE PLEASE!” She yelled as she looked back at him. “I’M NOT GONNA BE TRAPPED AGAIN!” She yelled again as she was risking opening a tear in her anger. Seeing this he had to make a move. Either stop her, or risk the shelter being destroyed. He moved fast seeing this.

All of a sudden, both of her arms were grabbed and the tear wasn’t being opened. Elizabeth was surprised by this and started freaking out.

“WAIT ARCHIE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? LET ME GO! HELP!” Elizabeth cried out for help despite it wouldn’t of worked. She tried to get out of his arms. But he was unusually strong for who he was. He had a firm grip on her arms.

“I’M TRYING TO PROTECT YOU! YOU GOT THAT!” He raised his voice. She tried kicking her legs and moving as much as he can. But he had a very good grip on her. He held on to her and tried to find whatever to bind her. The duct tape on the table. He quickly used it to bind her arms and legs. But nothing extreme. He carried her and she was still yelling, he quickly took a strip of duct tape put it over her mouth.

“STOP DOING THIS HELP-MFPFGH!” Elizabeth cried out before being gagged. He just carried her, she tried squirming. Then they both heard someone.

“Elizabeth!?” It was Tenenbaum. She had gotten back safely from the train. Archie had to think quick. So he went to the room he and Elizabeth slept in and left her there. He closed the door and then to see Brigid walking fast down the stairs.

“Archie! Did you hear Elizabeth? She was yelling for help! Where is she at?” She asked him. “Wait did someone took her? How?” She continued on.

He couldn’t answer her, and then he tried to. “Elizabeth needs to stay here for her own safety. Trust me it’s for her own good.” He told her.

“What? No...that doesn’t make sense. Why would she need to stay here? It’s safe out there right now-” Tenenbaum talked before being interrupted by a kick to Elizabeth’s door and muffled screaming.

“Archie...is she in there? Archie what did you do?” Brigid started to ask him. Her voice started to get more worried as he face of fear slowly turned to anger.

“Listen just please understand she needs to stay here.” Archie told her, with him sounding worried.

“Archie! Did you tie up Elizabeth!? I’ll tell Sinclair or whoever else! Let me go in there to see Elizabeth!” Tenenbaum started yelling at him and then she noticed the duct tape he was holding. She should of noticed earlier.

“Archie...you didn’t! ARCHIE!” Tenenbaum said as she started insult him in Russian and German. He started to panic but thought quick. So he quickly ran towards her and grabbed her.

“ARCHIE!” She yelled out in confusion and anger. Archie didn’t want to hurt her. She was yelling and he grabbed her. Brigid couldn’t find back. But compare to Elizabeth, Brigid was tougher. So Archie had to really think about binding her up. He amazingly taped her thighs and calves together, forcing her to hug her knees and taping up her wrists to her legs and around her back like a ball. She kept yelling for help and insulting him in Russian and German. But he quickly went to the kitchen where he grabbed a sponge from under the sink. The sponge she even used to clean Delta if he was here. Brigid saw what he was gonna do.

“ARCHIE PLEASE DON’T STOP-MFPGH!” She said as he put the sponge into her mouth. He quickly wrapped the tape around her as best as possible. But he didn’t want to get that tape on her hair.

“My God I’m so sorry Brigid. Please forgive me.” He said to her as she was trying to yell through her gag. After he finished wrapping the silver tape around her mouth, he carried her to the pantry. She kept squirming. “Listen understand why I’m doing this. I’m trying to protect you two okay. You’ll be safe here. I’m gonna make sure Elizabeth doesn’t escape.” He told her as he put her down and closed the door on her. But he could still hear muffling screaming.

After that he went to the room Elizabeth and him would share. After Elizabeth was ungagged, she asked what he did to Brigid. He told her he tied and gagged her as well. She tried to get away but she couldn’t. Yet he wanted to make sure she was comfortable. In the room there was a soft armchair in that same room. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable while she was gone.

At first, Elizabeth was angry and fuming at him when he first bind and gagged her. But now during this as he sat her in the chair and her legs were still tied. Her tone changed. As she had become more sadder and scared for him. Especially when he started to tape her wrists to the arms of the chair. She couldn’t move them and he made sure they kept her there.

“Archie...I don’t know what’s gotten into you...but please let me go. Including let Brigid go please. We won’t tell anyone just please stop.” She told him as her voice sounded more sad.

“No you’re staying here. Please understand why I’m doing this.” He said as he done taping her wrists then going to a small table where he could find a small rag to gag her with.

“Oh God please no don’t. I won’t scream. I’ll be quiet please just please stop-mfpgh.” She was begging him before he gently put the gag in her mouth. He didn’t wanna make her feel uncomfortable. So he was careful with gagging her. After that he ripped a strip of duct tape from the tape roll. He smoothly placed the strip over he lips with his hands. Making sure it would stick on there. It was perfect. Just smoothing it with his thumbs. She was thoroughly gagged.

“No I’m sorry I’m not risking it. I know you would try to call for someone. But don’t worry I made it as comfortable as possible.” Archie told her. He stepped back to get a full look at her. She was in her usual student look or so. During that moment as she just stared at him. There was no longer anger. But right now, she was feeling hurt inside. That someone she loved so much and trusted did this to her. It felt like a betrayal of the deep trust they had.

She tried muffling to him and soon started to cry. But unknown to her as Archie just stood and watched her. He saw someone pop up to the left corner of his eye.

“Ah boyo....I’m proud of you honestly. Didn’t think you had it in ya. Gonna say that’s some fine work you did there. While I would of been rougher with her bounds. But still Arch...you make me proud.” Atlas was at his left side and saying this.

He knew he wasn’t real. This was just in his mind. But it bothered him. Archie tried to ignore it. Not even wanting to give the man attention.

“I’m also impressed you tied up Mother Goose. She was a tough cookie but good job lad. I loved how you put a sponge in her mouth. The one she actually used to clean Topside. I thought I was nasty gagging her with something that had my saliva in it. But you know Arch I was thinking. Your girl is tied up here. This is a once in a lifetime chance...unless she got taken again.” He was saying and then walked behind Elizabeth.

“I mean this is your chance right now. What about you do what any man would do.” He smugly looked at the young man as Atlas admired the terrified and sad young girl. “I mean nothing extreme right now. Maybe play with her boobs or look up her skirt. Or even give her a big messy kiss on that gag of hers. Trust me, I’m sure she’ll secretly love it.” He started to come back to Archie. “She’s just secretly trying to be desperate. I’m sure her big teddy bear would love to make out with her while she’s safe.” Atlas said as he walked around him back to his left.

“Please just shut up.” Archie then told him.

“Ah come on she had you tie her up once. This is just the next phase of that. Instead of you giving her a big soft hug as she just loves being close to you. How about be a little rough with her. It’s what I would of done. In fact how about give Tenenbaum a nice time. I’m sure she’ll love it too that our son started making up with her.” Atlas said with a smile.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Archie yelled at him....but there was nobody there. He just yelled at the wall. After that he then turned back to Elizabeth who started to whimper because of that yell. Her eyes were closed and she was actually crying.

“Please that wasn’t towards you I didn’t yell at you.” Archie walked to her to comfort her.

“MPFGH!” Elizabeth turned her head to the left and had her eyes closed. She didn’t wanna look at him. At the moment she felt terrified right now. This hurt Archie inside personally. Seeing that yell got her to be afraid.

“Please....understand that wasn’t towards you.” He said as he put his hands on her shoulders. She slowly started to look back towards him because of what he said. “I was yelling at someone else but I don’t know if you would understand.” He really wanted to make sure she felt safe. He just looked into her eyes for a good 10 seconds.

After that he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Then stroked her hair and wiping her tears with his fingers. “I love you so much....I never wanna hurt you. You mean so much to me. I’ll make sure that I’m careful as possible out there. I’m gonna search around in Rapture. Once things are safer, I’ll release you. In fact I’ll have Sinclair check up on you to keep you safe.” Archie was just holding her face. She felt that softness he usually brought her. “You’re going to be fine. But you have to say here. I don’t want you to be hurt.” He told her sounding sad in his voice.

After that he soon started to leave and turned off the lights, closing the door as Elizabeth started to whimper again.

As time went on, Elizabeth could only think to herself as she was stuck bound and gagged. What did he mean that he was yelling at someone else? Why was he acting like this? He never acted like this before. “Oh my God...why did he do this?” Elizabeth was thinking to herself.

She tried getting out of her bounds. Including she tried yelling through her gag. Hoping someone would hear. But it wasn’t working. He made sure the tape was bound tight and her gag was good enough. She felt thankful he didn’t make it tighter. Yet her mind was thinking so many things. But she wanted to understand his real reasoning behind this.

“HLPFHGH! HFLGHPH!” She yelled through her gag and started sobbing. She was so confused. But frightened as well. Yet even after that, she worried for his safety. She always worried about him. Because she watched his back and he watched her. Now for the next hour she would just have to sit there. The other thing on her mind if Brigid was hearing this.

In the pantry, Brigid tried getting out of her uncomfortable state. Being bound and gagged in a some what dusty and lightless cramped space. She needed to clean it. She tried yelling through the gag. Even trying to yell to Elizabeth in case. “ELIFHGZBEGHG!” The woman tried yelling her name. Because she was deeply concerned about that young woman.

She cared for her little ones despite how she thought of herself. But Elizabeth mattered too. It didn’t matter if she was 16 years older than the girl. She was like another daughter of hers. Someone who she knew from birth and watched her grew up. The fact Elizabeth showed kindness to her despite everything Brigid did said so much. They were different women. But like her little ones, she had this maternal instinct over the young woman. Especially when she saw Atlas get too close to her. Saying certain things and not wanting her to go through the same things she went through with Frank.

Especially she felt responsible about Elizabeth’s mother dying during birth. She wasn’t supposed to die, but the guilt grew with Brigid. She felt responsible to take care of that child. Including she was the reason she suggest Comstock for her last name.

The other thing she had worried about why Archie did this. The person who was the closest she had to an actual son did this. She started having her fears. Was he still being brainwashed? She tried her best to make sure he was in a normal state. What if Fontaine had a backup plan for him to do something. What if this was that result. That possibly if Frank was killed. Jack or in this case Archie was his back up plan. Yet he acted like he wasn’t being controlled.

She tried her hardest to get out of those bounds. Using every ounce of her strength. Especially to make sure Elizabeth was okay. Including the fear of what if Archie planned to tie up her little ones. But because of her trying so hard. There was growing pressure on her bladder. She was in a panic about wetting herself if she was found. She then decided to ease down on trying to get out of her bounds.

Brigid didn’t wanna panic so much. But was bringing up so many memories. She soon stopped yelling through her gag. Now she was just sitting there. But as she did, she felt the taste of the sponge. It reeked of salt, rust, oil, and other chemicals. God it was gross....but she was reminded of Delta. Thinking of the Big Daddy made her feel comfortable. Now she wanted him to come back and find her. Now Brigid was sitting there. Just thinking of Topside put her in ease. She didn’t wanna wet herself. Now she was just waiting, trying to think of what to do next.

An hour had passed. Sinclair wanted to check out what was going on here. He hadn’t seen the three in a bit. It seemed empty, but he went in. Including he brought back some of the Little Sisters who were with the others. As they were in the train.

“Well...I guess they aren’t here now...hopefully they wouldn’t mind me going into that pantry of there’s.” But once Sinclair had said that. He heard some muffled talking. “What?” As he opened the pantry he found Brigid. Still bound and gagged.

“Well....my my Tenenbaum.....I see you’re being a bit kinky right now.” Sinclair smugly told her.

“Mpfgh!” Brigid muffled through her gag. Of all the people to find her like this. It had to be Sinclair....someone she didn’t really get along with.

“I’m just wondering darling....did you do this to yourself if Delta came in here? Were you hoping to get that good ol Big Daddy aroused? I mean...I’ve sold some kinky things back in the day.....but I find it some what funny that of all people you would do that. I will admit...I like you better this way.” Sinclair was telling her. He was enjoying that for the first time, she wasn’t yelling at him.

“Mpfhg mfplgh!” Brigid muffled in annoyance. But with that Delta comment, she actually blushed. She hated being in this moment. Then Sally appeared behind him.

“Mama Tenenbaum?....are the grown ups playing a game Mr. Sinclair?” The young girl asked him. Behind her was Miranda. Seeing the two greatly concerned Brigid. She didn’t want her little ones to see her or Elizabeth this way after what Archie did.

“I don’t know little one...maybe....hey how about you two go back in the train. Me and....Mama Tenenbaum are speaking. She’s maybe fine.” The girls listened to him. Thank God he told them to go back into the train. “Seriously I do wonder what’s with you like this. Honestly I feel like this seems to be a tread with you...again I love seeing you this way. You aren’t yelling at me, or whatever else. So maybe you being like this is great for you.” Sinclair told her.

“MFPGH!” She yelled through the gag as she was becoming more annoyed.

“Okay okay doc! I get you want me to take that gag off. But how about you be more civil about it. If I take that gag off. You’re not gonna yell at me okay sweetheart?” Sinclair asked her. Brigid just looked to the ground, and she nodded yes when she looked back at him.

“Alright good darling. Well then you gagged yourself good. But you didn’t touch your hair.” He told her as he was taking the tape off. “Holy moses a sponge....well that’s something. Uck that’s something huh?” He continued on.

“Archie did this.” Brigid finally said something after he took the sponge out.

“Wait...Archie? You mean soldier boy? The young gentleman? He did this.” Sinclair asked sounding very surprised.

“Yes....he did....please just untie me. He tied up Elizabeth. Now please get the rest of this tape off. I need to piss.” Brigid told him. She sounded so tired.

“Oh my...just.....I don’t even know what to think with that information.” Sinclair said.

“Please just get this tape off. I need to go.” Brigid told him.

“Alright doc I can do that.” He told her as he got the rest of the tape off. He helped get her up. “Want me to walk you to the bathroom since you’re feeling frail. You’re not even that old yet. But I mean....don’t know if you’ll like you’ll piss yourself on the way there.” He told her as a perverted comment.

“You’re a dumkopf!” She says to him as she shoves him away. Besides...please call Archie. I can handle myself.” Brigid told him.

“I can do that. Besides I think it be best for me to call him while you handle yourself.” As she went to the bathroom. He started talking through the radio to get to Archie.

“Hey son it’s me Sinclair......yeah I just wanted to call you after I let Tenenbaum out of the pantry....now slow down kid. Listen while I’ve been friendly with you. But right now because Tenenbaum told me to call you. She’s pissing in the bathroom.”

“YOU’RE A DUMKOPF!” Brigid yelled at him.

“Yes I know honey. Now listen because you’re out there with Delta. Please get back here. I think you need to have a talk with these ladies you consider family......kid....I’m not gonna say this once. And this isn’t a request. I DEMAND you to get your ass back here, untie Elizabeth, and make amends so you can handle this like actual adults. I’m only gonna say this once soldier boy. Because hearing you tied up that really nice young lady you love...I’m sorry I’m just disappointed because I appreciated how kind you are. Just get back here please.” Sinclair told him through the radio. Sounding like a disappointed parent. Because of being disappointed that Archie of all people would of done that.

“What’s a dumkopf?” Miranda asked. She was still around along with Sally. When Brigid heard this, she felt so embarrassed.

“Dumkopf means nothing dear. Just go back outside with the others. Everything is okay.” Brigid said as she pushed them along. Despite what the real situation was. After that she went back to the bathroom and closed the door.

Archie came back in 20 minutes and untied Elizabeth. Some of the Little Sisters had came back. But after Archie came back. Brigid started spewing German insults at him, and telling the Little Sisters to stay away from him. They were really confused of what was going on. With Tenenbaum saying he was in trouble. What made it worse that Sally and Miranda said it looked like they were playing a game of cops and robbers or something. That maybe Archie forgot to untie them after he was done. This saddened Brigid hearing they were discussing this.

He kept away from the kids. Even after he untied Elizabeth, she didn’t wanna look at him. She kept away from him and stuck with Brigid. Now after many hours since that. With the girls sleeping. It was 8 pm now during that Wednesday night. The three were in Archie and Elizabeth's room. Brigid was just pacing a bit with her right hand on her chin. Elizabeth was just sitting on the bed, with Archie just standing looking at them.

"Listen I can explain Brigid please understand-" Archie tried telling her but was interrupted by her.

"How dare you do that to her! After everything we've been through and what you've done for us! Did you plan on doing that to the little ones!?" Brigid said in anger.

"No I would never-" Archie said before being interrupted again.

"Imagine if they saw you doing that to me or Elizabeth!? They were scared and confused why you couldn't be around them. Including Sally and Miranda were talking about it and they think we were playing a game. But they don't know the full truth. They were heart broken they couldn't play with you....I'm actually heart broken too." Brigid sounding more sad now.

She tried calming down a bit more. Trying to not wake her little ones.

"Archie if you were anyone else I would shoot you right now." She said sounding angry. "But to my little ones you're like the big brother they never had. I'm just disappointed in the example you set....I'm just shocked. You say it's to protect us but how is that?.....is the WYK programming still affecting you?" She asked him.

"What just I just....no you made sure I couldn't be controlled." Archie told her.

"We don't know that for sure because I'm worried Fontaine may of done something. I'm just scared of how you would be around the little ones....I just...I'm disappointed...I really am." Brigid started to sound more sad.

Then Elizabeth stood up from the bed. She wanted to say something finally.

"Archie.....I still love you. I can still see you're a good person. But what you did today I feel kind of ruined my trust with me.....you saw how scared I was?...you saw me actually crying." Elizabeth told him. Sounding upset.

Archie didn't say anything. He just looked at her.

"Archie you were the first person to treat me like a human being. You didn't care that I had these powers or this giant Proto-Daddy guarding me. You looked at me and saw a person. You wanted to make sure I was okay when I was with you. Because you kept me safe, and I kept you safe. And when you found out you weren't who you were exactly. Me, and Tenenbaum were there. We wanted to make sure you were okay. You gave us support, you gave me support. It was my turn to help you." Elizabeth continued on.

"Archie I can forgive you. But I was really hurt by what you did today. I was hurt by the fact you didn't trust me enough. Maybe if we remained calm and you could teach me to fight. I still love you....but still." Elizabeth was about to talk more and reveal why it really hurt her. "What you did reminded me so much of how Ryan and Frank treated me. I was scared, and I thought you wouldn't of come back. But you did. The way they treated me, bound, and gagged me. Yet you came back. You make me so happy. Because you make me so comfortable that the world isn't really a horrible place. I even let you tied me up once and maybe more because I trusted you. You made me feel safe." Elizabeth said as it seemed like she would of started crying.

"Wait...you actually went through with it?" Brigid asked. Being shocked by the fact that Elizabeth admitted about the consensual bondages session she had with Archie. "Oh my...." She said.

"Yes I did. Because I felt safe with you Archie. You made me feel like the world to you.....like I actually had someone watching over me." Elizabeth said as she had tears forming in her eyes. But sounding angry.

It was silent for 10 seconds. Then Archie finally said something.

"I am so sorry......but there is something wrong with me....I've been seeing Atlas in my head....Frank." Archie told them. The two women both got surprised looks on their faces.

"I don't know why I am seeing him. But considering what you said about the programming Brigid....maybe that's why he's in my head. He says things that make me upset. He was the one I was yelling at after I tied up Elizabeth. He was telling me to do what any man would do...to playing with your boobs or see up your skirt. Or even give you a big messy kiss on your gag or have a good time with Tenenbaum! Oh God I hear hearing that Irish accent.....I hate hearing his voice. I don't know why he's in my head I KILLED HIM!" Archie started yelling as he put his heads on his head.

The two women flinched at that one yell. They were shocked and felt very uncomfortable hearing that. Elizabeth instinctively touched her mouth in fear when she heard about a threatened gag kiss. This brought up memories when Atlas revealed who he was. It felt like she was reliving that moment. Brigid looked at Elizabeth. Then back to Archie to try to calm him down.

"Archie...it's okay.....don't yell...please don't wake up the children." Brigid told her.

"My God I've been traumatized by what happened. I kept my emotions in. I thought everything was going good till Sofia took over Rapture. I'm terrified if something similar happens to you two again. I said too much I just want to be honest with you two. Oh my fucking God! You two make me so happy. I'M JUST SO PARANOID!" Archie yelled again. His PTSD was kicking in. He was finally breaking yet again. He actually started crying.

The women flinched again. He didn’t raise his voice like that at them. But Brigid quickly broke away from her filched state. The man wasn’t in a good state.

"Shh shh Archie stop it's okay." Brigid walks towards him. She put her hands on his face. "Archie......look at me please. If you were my biological son. I would be proud of you. You've done so much good. But please be honest with me. Don't hold all those feelings in." Brigid tried comforting him.

"I was trained not to share that stuff. I mean the place were in." Archie told her.

"I understand that but this isn't the surface. This place is different than being up there. I understand why you wanted to do. But if you really want us to be safe. Please let us speak. Be honest with us. Bind us only when we want to be bound." Brigid told him and comforting him. "I love you. Elizabeth loves you. So many people love you. Please just talk to us. Don't put that weight on yourself." After Brigid told him that. She hugged him.

Elizabeth just watched. She decided to walk over there and joined in the hug as well.

"Archie...again I love you. We all trusted Atlas....don't think we don't know how you feel. You're so selfless to make sure we don't go through that again. You don't have to go through this alone." Elizabeth said.

"I forgive you Archie." Brigid said as well.

"Even if I'm still upset...I still forgive you." Elizabeth said as she hugged him tighter.

Archie just stood there being embraced by them. With tears down his eyes. He finally said something. "Thank you two...so much." As he embraced them as well.

The three just stood there embracing each other for a good minute. Then Archie finally said something. "Hey Elizabeth.....do you want me to sleep alone tonight?" He asked her.

"Don't worry I'm still gonna sleep with my teddy." Elizabeth said with a warm smile. Confirming they can still sleep in the same bed as her. Then surprising to them the door opened. It was Sally who opened the door.

"Is everything okay?" Sally asked with Miranda right behind her. The three just looked at them. Brigid broke away from the hug to go to the two children.

"Is it okay my little ones. The grown ups were having a grown up conversation. We're sorry that we woke you up. Would we like me to read you a story?" Brigid told them.

"Hey Brigid." Elizabeth came behind her. "How about I read them a story. I think you need some rest anyway. Besides I enjoy reading to them." Elizabeth said as the two little girls got excited when they heard that. The idea of reading them a bedtime story always made Elizabeth happy. It's what she needed right now. Everyone needed rest that night.