#The Curtain series

[robotspock]

these aos bitches don’t know what they’re missing out on. “spocks room was minimalist and not very showy” oh girly do i have some news for you. this bitch has the most dramatic room i stg

[lithiumseven]

"Do you still measure time in minutes?" "We can convert to it." James T. Kirk I heard Spock tell you your arrival time in minutes two weeks ago and you know it, now please, stop fucking with 16th American president Abraham Lincoln, that's no way to treat a guest to your starship

[conbiniclub]

some charms ive been working on :3

[cocksley-and-catapult]

ISSUE 900: best nap of his life

13 december 2023

[tariah23]

THE fact that I’ve guessed this correctly from the very beginning as soon as Sukuna was introduced into the manga years ago lmfaoo. And that as soon as I as Yuuta’s domain, immediately thought “UBW!!!” I’m so smart….

[silverraes]

okay but can we all calm down about the a/b/o and talk about whatever the fuck is going on with Babe's house for a second

[risingchaos]

Every day I live in fear somehow one of my delusional shitposts will end up with Minecraft parkour in the background while an AI I don’t support reads my post like some sort of angry god.

[ljones41]

"LOST" Retrospect: "Who Ordered the Dharma Initiative Purge?"

Years ago, I had a written an article that speculated on which character from the ABC series, "LOST", was responsible for an incident called "the Dharma Purge". After a few re-watches of the series, I wrote this revision of the ARTICLE.

"LOST" RETROSPECTIVE: "WHO ORDERED THE DHARMA INITIATIVE PURGE?"

Seven years ago, I had written this article about a major incident on the ABC television series, "LOST". This incident happened to focus on the murders or "Purge" of the scientific research organization known as the Dharma Initiative. It happened on December 19, 1992; nearly twelve years before the series began and before the crash of Oceanic Airlines 815 flight.

In the Season Five episode, (5.10) "He's Our You", Oceanic Flight 815 survivor and later, time traveler Sayid Jarrah tried to murder young Ben Linus in 1977. In the following episode, another Oceanic time traveler, Dr. Jack Shephard, refused to treat the badly wounded Ben, who was near death. Eventually, two other time traveling castaways, James "Sawyer" Ford and Kate Austen, had taken Ben to the Others aka the Hostiles aka the Natives, a group of island inhabitants who served as its protectors on the behalf of the main protector Jacob, for treatment via Dr. Juliet Burke's instructions. Within a decade-and-a-half, Ben ended up ousting future billionaire Charles Widmore as leader of the Others.

Ever since the series had first aired, many fans had been uncertain of when Ben's tenure as the Others' leader had began - before or after the Purge. As I had stated earlier, the Purge occurred in December 1992, on the same day as Ben's birthday and during the same month as the Others' rejection of Widmore as their leader. Many fans and television critics had automatically assumed Ben had ordered the Purge. I have heard comments that compared Ben to Adolf Hitler. I have also heard comments that compared Ben’s younger self to a "young Hitler". Many people have claimed that it was Ben who had ordered the deaths of the Dharma Initiative members. However, I have my doubts.

During Seasons Three and Four, Ben had offered contradicting comments on whether or not he had ordered the Dharma Initiative Purge. In (3.23) "Through the Looking Glass", he had claimed responsibility of the Purge to Jack:

"Not so long ago, Jack. I made a decision that took the lives of over forty people in a single day"

Unfortunately, Ben had contradicted this claim in two other episodes. In the Season Three episode, (3.20) "The Man Behind the Curtain", he had said this to Oceanic survivor John Locke, while he displayed the remains of Dharma members at a mass grave:

"This is where I came from, John. These are my people. The Dharma Initiative. They came here seeking harmony, but they couldn't even co-exist with the Island's original inhabitants. And when it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be purged, I did what I had to do. I was one of the people that was smart enough to make sure that I didn't end up in that ditch. Which makes me considerably smarter than you, John."

Ben never claimed responsibility for ordering the Purge to Locke. He had confessed to participating in the Purge. That same episode made it clear that his participation involved killing his abusive father, Dharma Initiative worker, Roger Linus. In fact, Ben also made the same thing clear in the Season Four episode, (4.11) "Cabin Fever", when he had the following conversation with another Oceanic castaway, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes:

HURLEY: So... This is where you shot Locke and left him for dead, huh? BEN: Yes, Hugo, I was standing right where you are now when I pulled the trigger. Should have realized at the time that it was pointless, but... I really wasn't thinking clearly. [Hurley steps back a little] HURLEY: Is that why you killed all these people, too? BEN: I didn't kill them. HURLEY: Well, if the Others didn't wipe out the Dharma Initiative -- BEN: They did wipe them out, Hugo, but it wasn't my decision. HURLEY: Then whose was it? BEN: Their leader's. HURLEY: But I thought you were their leader. BEN: Not always.

Interesting. He had admitted to trying to kill Locke in "The Man Behind the Curtain". But he denied being the one who had ordered the Purge. Also, Ben had been truthful when he told Hurley that he had not always been the Others' leader. The series had featured three other leaders - the ageless Richard Alpert (who eventually became the future leaders' advisor), Eloise Hawking and Widmore. Although some fans remain convinced that Ben had ordered the Purge, there are a good number of fans who hold Widmore responsible.

Thanks to a flashback in the Season Five episode called (5.12) "Dead Is Dead" - viewers learned that Widmore had definitely been the leader of the Others back in 1988. And in another Season Four episode called (4.09) "The Shape of Things to Come", viewers learned in a flash forward scene set in London that Ben had taken the leadership of the Others away from Widmore:

WIDMORE: I know who you are, boy. What you are. I know that everything you have you took from me. So... Once again I ask you: Why are you here? BEN: I'm here, Charles, to tell you that I'm going to kill your daughter. Penelope, is it? And once she's gone... once she's dead... then you'll understand how I feel. And you'll wish you hadn't changed the rules. [Widmore shifts in his bed.] WIDMORE: You'll never find her. [Ben turns to leave.] WIDMORE: That island's mine, Benjamin. It always was. It will be again.

I found it interesting that Widmore had regarded the island as "his". And there were other aspects of Widmore that I found interesting. The Season Five episode, (5.03) "Jughead", had revealed Widmore as a member of the Others, as far back as 1954 (when he was seventeen years-old). As one of the Others, Widmore (along with Richard and Hawking) had participated in a previous purge - that of U.S. Army personnel, who had brought a hydrogen bomb nicknamed "Jughead" with them to the island. On other occasions, Widmore had this inclination to kill anyone he deemed a threat to the island's secrecy. He killed a fellow Other to prevent the latter from leading Locke, Sawyer and Juliet to Richard's location in 1954. The 1988 flashback from "Dead Is Dead" revealed Ben's refusal to kill Danielle Rousseau and her baby, Alex. Instead, he claimed Alex as his child and threatened Danielle to stay away. This decision had angered Widmore, who had expected Ben to kill both. Why were Danielle and Alex's deaths that important to Widmore? Ironically, Widmore finally got his way regarding Danielle and Alex, thanks to Martin Keamy, the mercenary he had sent to the island to snatch Ben in Season Four.

So, when did Ben Linus replace Charles Widmore as leader of the Others? Before December 19, 1992? Or after? The photograph below from "The Man Behind the Curtain" hints that Ben had remained a worker for the DHARMA Initiative during that period, despite joining the Others sometime in the 1980s:

But had Ben assumed leadership of the Others by then? If not, does that mean Charles Widmore was still leading the Others in December 1992? Both the LOSTPEDIA and the WIKIPEDIA sites claimed that Richard Alpert had led the Others' purge against the Dharma Initiative in 1992. But neither site made it clear who had ordered the Purge. And "Dead Is Dead" never gave a clear date on Widmore's exile.

One would assume my choice for the man responsible for ordering the Purge would be Widmore. And you would be right. There seemed a good deal of evidence making him responsible. He had already participated in an earlier purge back in 1954. Ben had revealed time and again his willingness to use violence - even kill those he deemed a threat to himself or for emotional reasons. But the series had also revealed Widmore's willingness to do the same and especially kill in the name of protecting the island. And that included ordering Ben to kill an emotionally unstable Danielle Rousseau and her infant child. Widmore had also sent the murderous Martin Keamy to the island in late Season Three-Season Four to snatch Ben. He had claimed to Locke in (5.07) "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" that he had done so to give Locke the opportunity to become the Others' new leader. Yet, his words to Locke contradicted his words to Ben in London, when he had claimed the island as "his". This scene had occurred nearly a year or more after the events of Season Four.

There is also the matter of whether Keamy had another agenda - namely to kill any of the Oceanic survivors that remained. In "Cabin Fever" he had demanded Sayid reveal the number of other Oceanic survivors and their location. Fortunately, the latter had refused. In a confrontation with the freighter's Captain Gault, Keamy revealed his intentions to "torch" the island. Some claimed that this had been Keamy's angry reaction to his men being attacked by the Smoke Monster. Yet, in (4.08) "Meet Kevin Johnson", Ben had accused the freighter crew of plans to snatch him and kill the island's inhabitants. The only freighter personnel in the room - spiritualist Miles Straume - had remained unusually silent. In the following episode, (4.09) "The Shape of Things to Come", Miles claimed that Keamy and his men were around to serve as security guards for a captured Ben. But there was the revelation that Widmore had set up a false location for the missing Oceanic 815 plane - with a plane wreck and dead bodies included. This is merely an assumption of mine, but I believe Widmore had sent Keamy to not only snatch Ben, but kill the remaining Oceanic survivors as well to maintain the narrative. I found a good deal of clues that led me to suspect Widmore had ordered the Dharma Purge.

After watching the series more than once, I find it increasingly difficult to hold Ben responsible for the Purge. His actions against the Oceanic castaways had featured spying, kidnapping, harassment, threats and manipulation. He rarely resorted to murder - aside from his attempt to kill Locke and his order to kill Sayid, Jin Kwon and Bernard Nader during the events in the Season Three finale, (3.23) "Through the Looking Glass, Part 2". If Ben was truly capable of ordering the Purge, he would have wiped out (or tried) the Oceanic survivors after getting Jack to remove the tumor from his spine. The man had proved incapable of following Widmore's orders to kill Danielle and Alex.

In the end, viewers know that Charles Widmore had been the leader of the Others in 1988-89, when he had ordered Ben Linus to kill Danielle Rosseau and her infant daughter. Viewers know that Ben had refused. Viewers also know that Richard Alpert had led a group of Others in the Purge against the U.S. Army in 1954. He also led the Others' purge against the Dharma Initiative on December 19, 1992. On that same date, Ben killed his father, Roger Linus, in a similar manner – by toxic gas. And viewers know that Ben had eventually replaced Widmore and exiled the latter off the island. Personally, I suspect Widmore had ordered the Purge against Dharma. But I suspect it was an order he had not issued lightly, given the number of years the Others had been in conflict with the Dharma Initiative.

But I cannot say with any authority that Widmore had ordered the Dharma Initiative Purge. If we only knew exactly when Widmore had been exiled, perhaps this mystery of the Purge will finally be cleared.

[aetherkidatheart]

Wan: *kissing Pleng's neck in the bath*

Pleng: Wan stop.

Wan: I know you like it.

Pleng: how?

Me: You're naked in a bath while sitting in her lap, buddy.

[your-name-is-jim]

Why does this episode start like this?

Why am I even asking?

[s3 e22 - The Savage Curtain]

[tprings-hair]

I'm sorry I just cannot believe that 3x22 the savage curtain introduced the dilemma of spock having to choose between following the actual personification of vulcan history and philosophy, or kirk, and then resolved it so quickly that it was barely even a source of stress for either of them. the answer was kirk, btw. in case that wasn't obvious.

SURAK: I will not harm others, Captain.

SPOCK: His convictions are most profound in this matter, Captain.

KIRK: So are mine, Spock. If I believed that there was a peaceful way out of this --

SURAK: The risk will be mine alone. If I fail, you lose nothing. After all, I'm no warrior.

SPOCK: The captain knows that I have fought at his side before and will do so now, if need be. However, I too, am a Vulcan, bred to peace. Let him attempt it.

spock is saying, let him do as he sees fit. let him follow his own principles. and let me stay by your side. kirk tells him to gather weapons in case surak fails, and spock does. he is casting aside the philosophy he was raised with in favour of war, and he's doing it for kirk.

KIRK: Your Surak is a brave man.

SPOCK: Men of peace usually are, Captain. On Vulcan, he is revered as the father of our civilisation. The father image holds much meaning for us.

KIRK: You show emotion, Spock.

SPOCK: I deeply respect what he has accomplished.

KIRK: I hope he accomplishes something here, and soon.

kirk is complimenting surak, and I do think he genuinely means it, but the way he says it comes off like an apology. like he knows what spock just let go of for him, and he wants to make sure spock is okay.

spock says, men of peace, and he is not counting himself as one of them. I think that's what makes kirk look up like that. throughout the show, he does use violence, but outside extreme situations he does it sparingly and elegantly -- the nerve pinch, the simple side step of a punch -- and usually advocates for a more peaceful solution. now, he's admitting how he has changed. he values peace. but he can't call himself an instrument of it.

and now he's comparing surak to a father image. christian implications aside (and that is difficult with star trek sometimes), he is standing beside kirk in spite of surak's and his own vulcan father's teachings, too. he sharpens his spear and looks frustrated with himself. he shows emotion. and he doesn't deny it, either! he says sincerely that he respects surak's accomplishments, and kirk stares at him, because that's more emotion than he generally cares to show, especially after it's pointed out to him. (early in the episode, surak points out his emotion on seeing him, and spock begs forgiveness. he is no longer looking for that from surak. spock has made his choice.)

he's angry at himself. and as a peace offering, kirk says he hopes surak has managed to broker peace here and now. even though you can tell from his tone and the fact that he's still making his own weapon that he isn't optimistic.

(and all of this is putting aside the fact that surak is definitely a jesus figure and spock rejecting his philosophy and forgiveness for an imperfect man is another kind of huge character choice. this has to be pointed out.)

idk how they managed to air this in the 60s. but I'm very glad they did.

[lifeof-pink]

when i first learned about how the fourth wall worked (making him view reality as a novel) the first thing i said was “…so he’s mentally ill. duh.”

because like????? “everything is awful and i am in terrible physical and mental anguish. i know how to make this better!” *enters derealization but like. magical*

[hotasfahrenheit]

No matter how many hundreds, thousands, or million days...

No matter how long it will be...

May our love last forever.

[1000 Years Old, 1.01, 1.02, 1.12]

[cindyslesbian]

dare i say kathryn hahn fancast for nerissa benedict?

[unhetalia]

Hetalia sexuality headcanons:

Tumblr ate an ask that was sent to me? I have no idea where it went, only that it was about Philippines/Ningning being aro/ace. Anyway, I wanted to do headcanons for Hetalia characters I talk about often/will probably talk about.

America, aka Alfred F. Jones: Gay demisexual. As I've mentioned before, this man does Not really think about sex because he's so busy Doing Stuff. Probably a virgin. Or like, has had two sexual partners in 400 years. It depends on my mood.

Philippines, aka Liwanag "Ningning" Dalisay: Cis woman, aro/ace. Has a lot of fun talking about hot people and giggling over abs and strong thighs and so on, but it's all just talk. More interested in other people's romance than her own.

Taiwan, aka Lin Yi Ling: Cis woman, bisexual. Low sex drive. She has dated and had sex, but very infrequently, and almost with an air of "I need to see what this is about I guess".

South Korea aka Im Yong Soo: Trans man, bisexual. Pretty complicated relationship with sex and has therefore become pretty avoidant of relationships. More interested in other people's romance than his own.

India, aka Devi: Cis woman, straight. Has been in love with the same man for hundreds of years. He happens to be her ex boyfriend. It's Complicated. Frequent complainer about having had no sex and "drying up", but will take no action to change it and will in fact run from any situation that looks like it might lead to her having sex.

Japan, aka Kiku Honda: Cis man, bisexual. Has been in love with Alfred for a long time, but doesn't want to pursue it. Outside of his feelings for Alfred, he's quite aro, so he only pursues sexual relationships (and he tends to go for humans, who won't gossip and who he wont run into 100 years from now).

Mexico, aka Maria Soledad Hernandez Xicotencatl: Cis woman, complicated aro/ace. It's not that she hasn't fallen in love or isn't sexually attracted to anyone. In fact, if we go by her feelings alone, Maria is a straight woman. However, her early experiences of men - Arthur, who took her brother away, and Antonio who colonised her country, translated into a deep inability to trust men who aren't her brothers. In fact, Maria has spent time as a nun in the past in order to escape notice as a single woman, and it was fine, though deeply boring.

Canada, aka Matthew Williams: Cis man, I see-saw between straight or bisexual depending on whether or not I'm writing darker Matthew or not. My general Matthew is straight, but my darker Matthew has feelings for Alfred, and is therefore bisexual at least in that instance. General Matthew FUCKS, he is not like Alfred or Maria at all. I have a soft spot for Matthew and Ukraine together, so they're endgame, but he had a history of sleeping around before that.

England, aka Arthur Kirkland: Cis man, bisexual. FUCKS FUCKS FUCKS. He fucks to the point where Francis feels threatened. Those two have competitions. His sex drive is CRAZY and so is his stamina. And he is DAMN good at sex, plus he's a perfect gentleman in the morning. Will return anything you leave in his hotel room. He gets five stars on sexy Yelp.

Russia, aka Ivan Braginsky: Cis man, gay. He's... complicated. He uses sex to let out steam, but also dislikes sex without feelings. Even more so hates looking for sex knowing it will be an empty act. He pays for sex a lot in order to avoid having to explain his lack of passion and also so that he doesn't have to go through actually looking for a partner who may have expectations. Very good at sex, something he's worked on as an almost apology for everything else.

Prussia, aka Gilbert Beilschmidt: Cis man, exclusively Austria-sexual. This man fell in love at first sight and has never ONCE strayed.

Austria, aka Roderich Edelstein: Trans man, bi/demisexual. Was very used to using sex and marriage for politicking (until Gilbert got his act together). Before Gilbert, it was all very much a chore that he didn't particularly love doing. Didn't even really believe in love? And didn't really enjoy sex? Mostly he was unable to experience falling in love because everything was about treaties and etc., his romance with Gilbert was such a slow burn of being enemies to friends to lovers. He NEEDED friendship first in order to fall in love, and he needed to be in love to find sex interesting and fun and good. He gets there.

Belarus, aka Natalya Arlovskaya: Cis woman, straight asexual. At times sex repulsed, weary towards romance in general. Distrusts any man who expresses attraction towards her, even if she reciprocates their attraction.

Ukraine, aka Kateryna Kozak: Cis woman, straight. I tend to pair her up with Canada.

Belgium, aka Laurel Dupont: Cis woman, straight. I tend to pair her up with Scotland.

Scotland, aka Alisdair Kirkland: Cis man, straight. I tend to pair him up with Belgium.

Wales, aka Alwyn Kirkland: Cis man, aro/ace.

Northern Ireland, aka Aidan Kirkland: Cis man, gay.

Ireland, aka Erin Morgan: Cis woman, lesbian.

France, aka Francis Bonnefoy: Cis man, bisexual.

Hungary, aka Erzsébet Héderváry: Trans woman, bisexual.

[unforgivablego]

Just some interesting experiments…