#abused and used him and will now destroy him. just. augh.

[quietwingsinthesky]

im just saying that a guy whose worldview is inflexibly based on the idea that the only two groups of people in the universe are the controlled and the ones who have the power to control them, and that there is no other way to exist, and who has done everything in his power to make sure he’s always in the latter group. i’m just saying that it’s possible this is not unrelated to. that time when he was used as a child by rassilon himself. its possible.

[pilferingapples]

this is an invitation to infodump. i would LOVE to hear the thoughts you have on beggars at the feast, should you want to talk about them

AUGH ok ok let's see how well I can articulate...anything

OK so first: In the Letters server lately we've been talking a bit about how , in the book, Thenardier is WAY more the Human Nemesis than Javert is. He shows up earlier than Javert does; he's able to be a threat in ways Javert can't be, and to people Javert can't and wouldn't even try to touch ; he shares a TON of paralleling symbolism and class-blurring roles with JVJ; he's the last Personal Threat remaining in the novel, and the last thing we hear about him is that he's not only thriving , he's committing worse atrocities on a grander scale than anything we saw in the book, and getting nothing but social approval for it.

Thenardier is a nightmare, and he's triumphant, and as such he's a condemnation of society in an equal and opposing way to Jean Valjean. Valjean's story (and Fantine's , and the Thenardier siblings' ,. and the Amis , etc) says "look what we're destroying, look at the actions we punish". Thenardier's ultimate triumph as a literal slave trader flips it around and says "look what we support, look at what we endorse, look at what we elevate and approve." (now within the book I could take this farther , I could point out that the only thing within the novel that breaks any of the miserables free of their oppression to any degree is crime of some kind, be it revolution or theft or Being an Accomplice or exploitation, and the only thing that costs the (relatively) privileged their security and power is to truly ally with the miserables, but !! I'm talking about the musical)

In the musical Thenardier is softened a lot. Like... a LOT. The Thenardiers' exploitation of Fantine is barely mentioned ; their violent abuse of Cosette is turned into a joke; their abuse of Eponine is minimized (and their other kids are either Not Appearing in this Play or not obviously connected to them) ; and that final doomstrike epilogue, Thenardier becoming a slave trader, is gone. He's no longer the primary and most dangerous human antagonist; as in many other adaptations, that's now Javert.

So there's a different arc but it's there : From Master of the House and the Robbery , when he largely comes across as a gross but funny Comic Villain ; to the Attack on the Rue Plumet, where we finally see a bit of danger to him; to Dog Eats Dog, where he is really just acting on the same philosophy we saw in MotH but now doing something most people have a more immediate revulsion to, and the mask is really off; to , finally, Beggars at the Feast. If Beggars at the Feast is done RIGHT, This is Where The Villains Win.

They've gotten knocked around, sure, but they've also just gotten a ton of money, and, if done right, they are either blending in with the society party or, in the best staging * , they end up leading the dance. It's Master of the House all over again, only this time we're not being invited to laugh along with Thenardier's "band of soaks" ; this isn't the dregs of society, an easily stigmatized lower-class punchline.

This is Society, capital S Society, and they're just as ready to go along with him-- MORE ready to go along with him, even, because at least some of his inn customers usually get to be affronted and argue a little, but arguing with him risks some Unpleasantness, and isn't everything in Society so pleasant? Isn't it nice here, at the party? Let's not argue with the openly hateful people singing about how they want to destroy us all; look, they're dancing and singing! Let's just follow their lead. Won't that be nice.

And without getting into modern politics just because it's ALWAYS so current and I could never update the references frantically enough, I'll say that this is where Stage!Thenardier most echoes those Book!Thenardier Napoleon III vibes. Hugo knew what this dance looked like. He fell for it at one point.

(and hey, maybe it even raises some unease in audience members who laughed at MoTH and the child abuse and the Robbery without thinking about it-- maybe some people realize Oh Shit, We Fell For It Too. Not necessarily, but maybe?? ) And so it's fitting that it's this scene that has IMO a very clear sense of the book's incredibly specific political message ("Parisians, France, Please Overthrow Napoleon III, Probably With Barricades" ) , albeit in reverse. The Thenardiers gloat "Clear away the barricades and we're still here!" -- to them, a brag on how they endure all the changes around them.

But also implying: don't clear away the damn barricades. If you don't want the Thenardiers to run the show , help shore up that furniture wall and fight (for a modern international audience, this is probably going to be Not AS Specifically Involving Barricades).

So yeah. I'm not gonna say it's the most important song in the whole show , but it's important in ways I rarely see critics or commenters notice.

...Or it's just a funny musical reprise and you can have the Thenardiers be immediately thrown out of the wedding as frauds bc hahaha the poors thought they could play with their betters, good thing we're all so much smarter and cooler than that in the upper crust. That's fine too.

yes I have opinions; also I'm Correct

[tfw-no-tennis]

hhhhhhxh

more abt hxh bc my last post was too long n i had to split it off holla

so i left off talking abt when gon woke up....i love how polite gon is to pretty much everyone - hes such a good lad all the time. s/o to his aunt for raising him right (tho i think hes also just a rlly good boy inherently too)

also is he named gon bc ging was like ha ha im boutta be GONe lol seeya kid!!!! like ????

i find it interesting that kurapika and hisoka fought....we really havent seen them interact at all yet. also hisoka is so smirk-y i hate that bitch...what did he say to kurapika?????? 

this poor red shirt old guy lmao hisoka is SO clearly uninterested in fighting him and then he fucking dies. rip mdude

what did hisoka whisper to HIM??? guess we’ll never know #RIPLegend

oh mannnn if killua had just won against pokkle then he wouldnt have had to deal with illumi doing That to him :( my smug son......

leorio is such a good dude....also its so funny to me how tall and lanky leorio is, espec compared to the other 3 main characters lmaoooo

or maybe those 3 are just rlly short??? i mean gon and killua are literally 12, but whats kurapikas excuse

GODDDD I HATE THIS BIIIIITCH. FUCK OFFFFFFF tho the evil piano music slaps. but jeeeeesus illumi is so creepy and awful, and seeing him take off his disguise is not any better a second time...he and hisoka truly deserve each other wrow

does illumi have hair powers??? cause it kinda looks like it. or maybe hes just gay and dramatic 

ok but the sick electric guitar riff (?) that played when illumis face was revealed was lowkey kinda hilarious

man i was so wrong abt killua knowing that that was illumi :( poor kid

killua is immediately freaking out and meanwhile illumi looks bored as hell. dude ur the worst 

killua: [freaking out] illumi, completely blank-faced: hey 

I HATE HIMMMM even tho his catman design is regrettably kinda cute

why do illumi and hisoka both have such snatched waists i hate this

wtf so killua has another different brother??? i assumed he attacked illumi....how many fuckgin zoldyk sibling are there?????

leorio ur too normie for this conversation lmao. also wow fucked up family huh

killua looks so like...small and helpless, which is so at odds from what we’ve seen of him so far :( this poor kid

illumi totally has some weird brain powers man callin it now 

gon: wow killuas family sounds wack...  satotz: oh lmao you havent even heard the rest 

KILLUA ;_; 

this poor baby assassin :( :( :(

IMMM INCONSOLABLE. HE WANTS TO BE FRIENDS W/GON.......ARE YOU KIDDING....AUGHHHHHHHH

meanwhile gon decided he and killua are BEST FRIENDS like 10 mins after they met. GOD 

like in the recap ep he called killua his best friend ;_; and meanwhile killua doesnt even think they ARE friends god destroy me 

this calming classical music is throwing me off vbhjfjhbsdkgndks

i sense that leorio and kurapika are rapidly acquiring a new son

DAMN THIS IS SO FUUUUCKEDDDDD illumi is such a crusty bitch wow. leave killua alone asshole 

all that stuff abt killua like, only thinking he wants to befriend gon but really wanting to kill him....that sure sounds like some ‘worst fears’ type of shit for someone like killua....illumi is such a classic abuser wow

i have 2 know is satotz like, repeating this entire conversation verbatim in a calming monotone to gon rn. like....

LEORIOOOOO I LOVE UUUUUUUU AUGHHHH him telling killua it doesnt matter if illumi is his brother, fuck that guy, beat him up as usual and leave.....ooooughhhh leorio is such a good dude ;_; 

and the OF COURSE him saying the obvious - that gon and killua are ALREADY friends....i love this, i feel like leorio said all the exact things the audience is thinking...yet it still didnt get thru to killua bc hes so rattled by illumi appearing, and the abuse in general 

i think if gon were there things wouldve gone much differently 

of COURSE crusty bitch illumi is like oh ok now i have to kill gon.....biiiiitch i hate uuuuu 

also that just shows that hes lying to killua (which we already knew obvs), bc if it were inevitable that killua would kill gon to like, test himself or w/e, then why not just wait for that to happen? that would have a much bigger impact on killua than illumi killing gon....its obvious that illumi is just manipulating him, but killua is too BSOD to be able to tell (also, hes 12)

ok bitch illumi is preaching abt not needing friends but he and hisoka are definitely fucking and theyve been teamed up for the entire hunter exam it seems.....what a hypocrite. hate this guy

god im so glad we didnt rlly get to see whatever the fuck illumi did to that random hunter examiner guy’s face. jeeeeesus. also i cant tell but i wonder if him forcing that info out of the guy was the result of his freaky mind powers or if the guy was just like oof ouch pins in me face

LEORIO AND KURAPIKAAAA THE PROTECT GON SQUAD!! and joined by new member hanzo!!! who ironically beat gon up for 3 hours str8 like, a very short amount of time ago lmao. but still i love that sm

illumi u dumb bitch.....tho i dont buy for a minute that he didnt already realize that killing gon would disqualify him...he defs just wanted to get under killuas skin even more :^( 

KILLUAAAA ;_; when he goes to step back from illumi but illumi tells him not to....ughhh HATE this guy, leave this poor kid alone. no wonder he wanted to leave

illumi saying theres only 1 way that killua can stop him - does he mean by killing him, or something more specific, like some forbidden zoldyk murder technique? 

‘your beloved gon’ wow gay. theyre 12 and theyre dating ok. killua is literally that kid whos like wow i wonder if gon likes me...and meanwhile gon is like wow cant believe me and killua have been dating for 3 months now

leorio saying ‘we wont let him kill you or gon’ ;_; leorio ily sm...thats like the exact right thing to say - hes offering protection and reassurance as an adult figure...unfortunately killua is clearly too freaked out to even process anything outside of illumis gaslighting and abuse 

also illumi is defs doing something to killua w/his eyes via his freaky mind powers. js

illumi i hate you stop being weirdly cute. augh 

classic abuse tactics, being like ha ha nvm i wasnt gonna kill gon! jk!

killua just shutting down completely after that :( :( noooo

and then he kills that old guy and leaves, ‘proving’ that illumi is right....noooooOOOO

and now we boutta see gon go FULL shounen protag for the first time, oh FUCKKKKKK yesssss

this is the first time we’ve seen gon angry oooh man and of COURSE its on killuas behalf,....im so fuckign emo already looooord

god ok the episode preview where its gon saying ‘do leorio and i look alike?’ YES U DO LOL youre father and son so jot that down 

oof, gon and illumi have such fundamentally different POVs on like, family and life and morals, and you can tell by their 4-line exchange before gon does the ICONIC one-handed grab’n’fling

AUGHHHH gon saying hes gonna rescue killua....SO good...he recognizes that killuas family is wack as hell and killua shouldnt be w/them - the classic ingrained ‘found family is more important than blood family’ stuff

tho thats an interesting contrast to gon himself, whos looking for his deadbeat dad

‘but it wasnt his choice’ that so good ily gon BEST boy, hes so perceptive and good......he knows that killuas hand was forced and that he needs to be RESCUED (love that word choice) from his shitty abusive family

of course kurapika and leorio voiced complaints ;_; best parents 

kurapika should be a lawyer tbh 

leorioooo ;_; such a good dude, saying he should be disqualified instead 

HOW is leorio a stronger combatant than that old dude hvbajufjbsja that guy had some moves it seemed, and leorio has,....a knife? a briefcase? the classic premed attitude of ‘fuck it, i could die anytime, lets do this’? like.....cmon vhabjdfjbhsf i refuse to believe this man is of any use in a fight. ill believe it when i see it

pokkle pls ur not plot-important enough to be jumping into this convo rn

tho i am curious abt what hisoka said to kurapika. tho i agree that thats irrelevant to the discussion 

gon repeating satotz’s wisdom :’) and saying that killua will definitely pass if he takes the exam again...ough

gon is SO GOOD i cant get over it !!!!!!!!! AUGHHHH....recusing killua from his abusive family and making it so killua never has to see them again is like...so good. what a good good perfect boy.

also thats like, the perfect response to this. killing illumi would just start a ton of drama, and killua would be conflicted abt that....but removing killua from his situation is perfect 

ok ive ranted a lot ill talk abt the rest later woohoo

PREDICTIONS: 

i predict that hisoka will show up in this upcoming zoldyk arc somewhere bc illumis gonna be in it (i assume) and theyre dating. also hisoka is a central character so itd make sense for him to show up in the second major arc. tho tbh this could end up being completely false and i wouldnt be that shocked lmao

i think leorio is gonna get Big Sad someday bc hes like, so normal compared to the other MCs, and also hes suuuuch a bleeding heart (i love him....) so i feel like thats gonna lead to some sadness for him once his friends start doing crazy shit or w/e 

also i predict that if he gets nen itll be like healing nen or st. does that even exist??? idk jack shit abt nen lmao 

i think that illumi has hypnosis powers or something, even just based on design alone. it could defs be for aesthetic (character design in hxh is wild), but his eyes look noticeably different from any other characters. also he was doing some freaky shit to killua. also i held this prediction before seeing the part where this is brought up so we’ll see if its right lmao 

as for this upcoming arc -  ruth and i are wondering if itll be similar to the vinsmoke drama in one piece - character goes back to abusive family, squad goes to rescue them...and then character refuses to be recused. w/sanji it was partially bc the vinsmokes threatened to kill zeff, his TRUE dad, but i predict in this case it could be more like the zoldyks saying ‘look killua these 3 weirdos showed up looking for you, convince them to leave or we’ll kill them’ and killua will be like, oh shit bc like.....think abt it. the vinsmokes targeted zeff (and not the strawhats) bc they knew they could easily kill him. same goes here, i assume - a family of trained assassins vs Good Good Fishing Rod Smell-Power Boy (who hasnt thrown a single punch yet), Lanky Dr Man With A Switchblade We Havent Seen Him Use Onscreen, and Mx 2 Wooden Sticks, Bloodlust, and Arachnophobia - 3 For 1 Deal! its a no-contest. so thats one thing i could see happening, potentially 

im way too tired to remember my other predictions rip lmao

[momentofmemory]

THOUGHTS ON AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

OKAY SO, we’re starting broad and non-spoiler-y BUT IT WILL GET SPOILER-Y. There will be a cut and a verbal warning at that point, but still.

META: I was so impressed by the level of skill that they had to have to balance 70+ characters and not make it feel awkward af. Like the way they cut up the characters into various blocks made for a lot of fun and surprising character interactions that felt shockingly unforced. Also, PRAISE BE that the Russos are in charge of this like?? They’re such good directors and so much better suited for this than Joss was.

MUSIC: Fantastically done with plenty of cues that weave together without being annoying. So glad they brought back Silvestri (he did Avengers 1 Cap 1 and now this one and is responsible for the original Avengers theme). I like the clear introductions of the Guardians & Wakanda via music; my theater was pumped before the visuals even caught up.

TYPOGRAPHY: Much classier than Civl War’s AND NOW WE’RE IN A NEW PLACE AND YOU CAN TELL BECAUSE THE LOCATION FILLS THE ENTIRE STUPID SCREEN. The choice of a super thin serif font was unusual and I’m still not sure how I feel about it, but the extra leading definitely helped them to feel less in your face this time. Points for that.

END CREDITS SCENE: It exists but you gotta wait all the way to the end. I say this because after TEN YEARS we still got people walking out, why do they never learn

OKAY NOW ON WITH THE MOVIE. WHICH MEANS SPOILER TIME.

…LIKE LOTS OF THEM.

YOU WERE WARNED.

Thor’s intro with the Guardians was amazingly hilarious. I thought in general this movie was great at balancing comedy and drama without either detracting from the other.

Loki's final words "You will never be a god" was an A++ smack down and his and Hiemdall’s deaths were a great and terrible way to start off :( :( :(

I adored the Rocket "Rabbit" + Thor scenes. Everything about the “time to be the captain” scene was amazing; Thor’s smiling through his tears and heartbreak was uggggh (I love how he hides behind comedy to deal with his pain in contrast to how Rocket hides behind arrogance; Thor basically has Rocket’s character development but from three movies onward).

I also love that they had that moment where Thor says he has nothing left to lose, and Rocket suddenly realizes he "has everything to lose.” And then at the end he's the only Guardian left OH MY THOR WHYYYYY *sob*

I love Peter & Peter interacting, can we have more of that pls?

Star Lord being like "Am I supposed to say Jesus??" when Strange asked who his master is I DIED

teen!Groot using his arm to make Thor's hammer was a fantastic tiny moment of using someone in a small but character-specific way and I love that??

Speaking of, Bucky picking up Rocket and pinwheeling with both guns was amazingly hilarious and also possibly the only example of when double-fisting guns with good aim is possible since he’s technically still only aiming one?

Okay now CAN WE TALK ABOUT Steve Sad-Eyes Rogers™ managing to stay alive for this movie praise be mah boy’s alive for one more?? I FEEL SO ALIVE.

But really Steve is Depressed™ for this entire film but still as badass as ever and did they really have to have him watch Bucky die in front of him? AGAIN?? *insert LEAVE HIM ALONE gif here*

Also he’s sad™ in this movie which means when he dies in the next film HE WILL NEVER HAVE BEEN HAPPY SINCE 1945 and that is just devastating someone save my boy *channels inner Mama Byers*

Okay but then let’s talk about Thanos (arguably one of the best villains in the Marvel universe, second to Killmonger [Loki is so far from a straight villain it’s not even funny so he doesn’t count. I mean he’s funny. But not—you know what I mean]). Anyway I ADORE what they did with his character. He’s perfectly sadistic and twisted yet you almost kind of get it? He’s a logical, lawful evil kinda guy with a great, subtly done backstory and he’s actually pretty “chill.” Minus the whole murdering the entire universe thing.

Using Gamora as the emotional pull for Thanos to humanize him/provide motivation was genius and perfectly captures that love/hate abusive relationship. And I love that he “loves” her because in his way he does (even though his way is totally 100% evil, cool motive still murder etc.). 

Like in the throne room scene that’s such a clear parallel to “rebellious daughter comes home to misunderstood father” scene and it’s PLAYED SO WELL. Abusers are evil and, you know, abusive. But the thing about them, what makes it so hard to get out of those relationships, is that they do “care.” It’s that tiny piece of care that makes getting away from the infinitely larger evil so hard.

Even the scene where Thanos meets Quill is interesting in that light because it’s actually a “meet the parents” moment and Thanos doesn’t kill him basically because Gamora loves him? And even says he likes him?????

Quill losing it because of Gamora dying incidentally was a totally tragic but understandable character moment. Does he destroy half the galaxy because of it? …Yeah. Does it still make sense? …Yeah.

Okay but going back to Thanos, the genius of the Gamora + Thanos arc is that the entire emotional core for our baddie comes from Guardians of the Galaxy, the B-list movie no one thought would really work and almost seemed like an after thought to Phase II. And that “throwaway” “long shot” film wound up being the lynch pin to the entire series and I love that.

Despite the Vision/Scarlet Witch romance being relatively undeveloped I thought it still worked pretty well and that last scene where she has to kill him and then IT FORKING DOESN’T MATTER was like??? Devastating??? And she looked practically relieved to be one of the ones that dies???

And finally

I WILL NEVER BE OVER PETER STILL A TEENAGER PARKER BEING TERRIFIED OF DYING. EVER. SOMEONE SAVE THAT CHILD. Dear lord when he’s all like “I’m sorry” at the end I am slain. Tony Stark better have his stock in good shape ‘cause he’s gonna need to hire some hellagood therapists for him the Avengers AND THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE.

Just.

Augh.

WANTED: 1 Time Stone, 1 use only. May 2019. Willing to pay in blood & tears, most of which have already been spilled. 

[minijenn]

ONE MORE Crystal Falls Preview Thingy

AND THEN I’M FUCKING DONE GIVING AWAY PARTS OF THIS BECAUSE FUCK THIS SHIT IS HURTING ME TO WRITE LIKE I AM GETTING HEAVY JAILBREAK/SOCK OPERA FLASHBACKS RN ONLY THIS IS WAY FUCKING WORSE AND AUGH DAMMIT WHY DID I DECIDE TO WRITE THIS THING IT IS KILLING ME IN ALL THE WORST WAYS FUUUUUUUCCCCKKKK ENJOY ALL THE ANGUISH AUGHGHGHGHGHG

“Well, well, well… looks like things just got a lot more interesting…”

Dipper gasped as he found that the very first thing he was met with upon pulling himself out of the crashed ship’s wreckage was the pitchy voice of the demon who held domain over the entire Earth and all its vast empire. The very demon he had risked life and limb to escape from during his flight from that chaoitc planet, who should have been back on Earth seeing as how he had merely just sent two of his cronies to do his work for him. Yet now, Pacifica was nowhere to be found while Gideon simply stood by, fuming at how Bill was apparently ignoring his proposal to make a deal to take out the Pines family, as well as Steven and Lapis, who had been unfortunate enough to get caught up in all this. But instead, the demon’s singular eye now held focus on Dipper, who couldn’t deny the flash of terror that struck him as that imposing triangular form cast an oppressive shadow over him.

“Hey there, Pine Tree! I was wondering where you ran off to. Guess my hunch about you crawling back to this boring ol’ hunk of rock was right, huh?” Bill began quite effervescently, though as he noticed Dipper attempting to back away, he was quick to reposition himself right behind the boy in a flash. “Whoa, not so fast, kid! You don’t wanna miss out on what could very well be the best deal you’ll ever make, do ya?”

“W-what?” Dipper asked, not having the context to really know what the demon was talking about.

“Hey!” Gideon shouted in sudden outrage as he sent Bill an appalled glare. “I was the one who summoned you here, Bill! I thought you were gonna make a deal with me!”

“Oh, yeah, I was gonna do that,” Bill shrugged nonchalantly. “Until a much better alternative came along.” The demon’s tone dropped low and sinister as he pointed his cane over at Dipper, who was still completely lost amidst this unknown turn of events. “So… see ya, Gideon!” With another flick of his cane, Bill managed to completely take control of Gideon’s amulet, resulting in his own telekinesis being used against him to fling him far away from the Kindergarten crash site and  freeing the demon up to get back to business. “Now, Pine Tree, where were we…?”

“L-Leave him alone!” Mabel shouted as Bill started circling her brother almost threateningly. The only reason she hadn’t ran over to pull Dipper away herself was because of the steady hold Stan had on her arm, keeping her held back just as much as she had been held back the first time he had been stolen away from her seven years ago. Only now, with a threat so much more dangerous and unpredictable as Bill Cipher, her complete inability to do anything to help Dipper felt so, so much worse.

“So listen up, Pine Tree, cause I don’t like to repeat myself,” Bill said as casually as ever, ignoring Mabel’s fearful cry. “You may not know this since you’ve been all blind and buried for so many years, but back on Earth, I’m pretty much the most powerful guy around. Time manipulation, the ability to change anything and anyone with a blink of an eye, endless amounts of magic your feeble human brain couldn’t even hope to comprehend, you know, the works! But here on silly old Homeworld, things are a bit… different. This planet’s outta my hands, which is something I plan on changing pretty soon, but for now, to even interact with this place physically at all without a vessel. So I need a little… help, if ya catch my drift…” s on edge as he already was by the dream demon’s mere presence alone, Dipper slowly shook his head, finally realizing just how fast his heart was pounding as he tried his hardest to reconcile his complete and utter terror. Still, Bill simply sighed in exasperation and rolling his eye before he explained. “My drift is this: you let me possess you, let me take the reins and sit in your control seat for a while, so I can finally get rid of what’s left of your stupid, annoying family! Heck, since you’re so un-Pines compared to all the rest of them, I’ll even let you walk away with your life when it’s all said and done as my way of saying thanks! Sounds like a pretty good plan, doesn’t it, kid?”

For a moment there were no words that Dipper could find to describe just how absolutely appalled he was by this incredibly gruesome idea. The fact that Bill Cipher, of all the beings in the universe, wanted to use him as a tool to destroy his own family, that he wanted him to agree to let such a thing happen? It was beyond twisted and cruel. In fact, he was so shocked by it that he couldn’t even properly express anything but absolute dumbfoundment at it when he finally did manage to respond to it. “I… I don’t understand…” he choked, shaking his head once more. “W-why… what makes you think I would ever say yes to something like that?”

“Why wouldn’t you say yes to something like that?” Bill retorted calmly. “Think about this for a sec, Pine Tree. These three?” he threw a hand out towards Mabel, Stan, and Ford. “They let a bunch of Earth squares steal you away when you were only 5 years old. And then what did they do? What did they do while you were beaten and battered almost constantly for weeks on end? What did they do when someone ran a knife over your eyes until you were completely totally blind? What did they do when you were left for dead in that empty cell for seven years with nothing but a bunch of dumb old rocks and your own pathetic, unfulfilled dreams to keep you company? Oh, that’s right! They did nothing!”

Dipper shuddered at this, hating to admit that every single thing the demon was saying was true but knowing in his heart that it was. He had languished, suffered, hoped in vain for so long that they would come for him, but they never did until after all the hope he had left in him had long since died. And even then, they had only managed to stumble upon him on accident. Stan and Ford had even said so themselves that they had stopped looking for him only a year after his disappearance. This was something he had thought about frequently, ever since he had been set free, and every time he did, it only made him ache with the belief that his own family had cared so very little about him that they had just given up on him completely. And really, it was a large part of the reason he had already given up on them.

“Really, kid, it only makes sense,” Bill continued, fighting rationality upon seeing that his manipulation was seemingly working. “I mean, you don’t even wanna be part of their family anymore anyway, so why not just do yourself a favor and lighten this whole ‘rebellious legacy’ load off your shoulders? At least then, you wouldn’t have to keep running away all the time.”

“Dipper! Don’t listen to him! Please” Mabel cried once again, pulling against Stan’s grip, though it held fest, lest she break free and throw herself into the same danger her brother was in.

“Seriously, kid, he’s lying to you!” Stan shouted adamantly, wanting to believe that, despite all of the abuse he had been through in his young life, that his nephew was smarter than this. “You really think he won’t off you the second he’s through with all of us?! Because that’s not how that psychopath works, believe us.”

“Stanley’s right,” Ford agreed, the immense worry in his otherwise tight expression. “Dipper, you can’t trust him, he only wants to-”

“Hey, how about you three butt out for a sec and let Pine Tree decide here?” Bill cut their pleas off sharply before turning back to Dipper. “See what I mean, kid? The only thing they care about is saving their own hides. That’s exactly why they never bothered to look even ten minutes outside their own backyard for your. Guess they just didn’t think you were worth the effort.”

“No, we did think you were worth it, Dipper!” Mabel protested fiercely, though she kept at it as Dipper finally glanced over at her, clear conflict filling his expression. “I never wanted to stop looking for you! I always hoped that you were still alive and out there somewhere and I was right. A-and I know you’re mad at us for taking so long to find you, but you can’t do this. Please, Dipper… I-I can’t lose you again, not like this…”

Dipper could still scarcely even think of what to say amidst being pressed on all sides, but for what seemed like ages he kept his frightened, anxious, uncertain gaze on Mabel, who could only meet it with tears after she finished her appeal. She desperately hoped that it would be enough to sway him against such an awful deal, that he’d staunchly turn Bill down and finally come to stand with his family once more. Yet… it really didn’t seem to be enough, for instead of keeping his sights on her, he gradually glanced over to Lapis, who had simply been standing along with Steven in tense silence this entire time, neither of them having the faintest clue about what to do to stop this. As Dipper made eye contact with her, the most the blue Gem could do was softly shake her head, her eyes wide with unabridged terror at the thought of losing the boy she had just grown so close to like this. And yet, it was only as Dipper saw that terror that he realized what would happen if he said no to the demon’s twisted aspirations. Even if he refused, then Bill would always be able to find someone else, someone much more willing even, to carry out his sadistic plans. And then, none of them, no one on Homeworld at all, would be safe, including his family, including Mabel, including Steven, including Lapis. No one would be able to stop the insane demon from doing whatever violent, demented thing he wanted, including destroying anything and anyone who stood in his path of conquest and chaos. If he said no, then there would be no telling what might happen.

Which was exactly why he had to say yes.

“So, kid, have you made up your mind yet?” Bill asked with faux boredom. “Because I’m a very busy demon, what with ruling my own intergalactic empire and everything, and I haven’t got all-”

“I’ll do it,” Dipper spoke up, squaring his shoulders and putting on his bravest face as he thought about exactly what this would entail for him. Even so, he had a plan, one that was only really tentative at best and one that would only really lead him to even more suffering than he had already known, but at least this time, it would all be on his own terms.

Needless to say that the reaction to his staunch agreement was intense. Mabel was the first to lash out, finally pulling herself out of Stan’s hold as a loud scream of protest tore from her. Lapis wasn’t far behind, her wings summoned as she rushed forward, tears forming in her eyes as she hurried to try and stop this deal from going through by any means necessary. Unfortunately, while Bill didn’t have much power on Homeworld, he did have enough to erect a blue fiery barrier, one that easily barred Mabel, Lapis, and anyone else from breaking this arrangement while still giving them a front row seat to it all.

“Yeesh, so much drama with you rebels!” Bill rolled his eye caustically. “I gotta admit, I’ll kinda miss that about you chumps… but not for long! So, Pine Tree, are you finally ready to get even for all those long years of abuse and abandonment? Cause if you are, then all it takes is just one simple handshake…” At this, the demon held his hand out, blue flames sparking over it as he presented it to Dipper, who simply looked between it and Bill himself with cold acceptance. He was ready for this, whatever it was, he told himself. He had spent seven years in blinded emptiness, how could this be much worse than that?

And yet, he still looked over at the pair who had rushed forth in vain to try and save him, both of them looking to him tearfully and still begging him not to go through with this. His resolve nearly crumbled upon meeting Mabel’s miserable expression, but it came back to him when he saw Lapis’. For seven years he had dreamed of nothing but freedom, and now, he was going to give that freedom up, more than likely forever, just to save the two people he was still absolutely certain he cared about.

It was probably the most worthy sacrifice he could think of, if he was perfectly honest with himself.

So, with a deep breath and closed eyes, he took the demon’s hand, allowing his own to be pulled down in shake that locked everything in place. And from there, everything seemed to happen all at once.

[cwdcshows]

Supergirl - S5 E7 - Tremors

Why wouldn't you use your inception contacts on your would be assassin from a shadow organization? Wait, Lex never found the Fortress?  Didn't he though?  Does Lena just not know this?  I could have sworn Tess was there too....

I know, I know, Mitch Pileggi has done a lot other things besides X-Files; and typecasting is a terrible thing.  But not matter what else I see him in, or even if I like his other roles, he'll always be Walter Skinner. What's with the Millennial jibes so far in this episode?  First, Skinner's girlfriend makes a crack about "the Snowflake generation," which seemed random; and then Brainiac comments about Self-culture.  These seems like pointless asides; especially considering you don't need "self-culture" to have footage of the Leviathan attack, when it occurs at a fucking press conference or whatever the hell Lena was doing out there at a podium that she made some poor intern schlep out there for.  You're telling me know one was taking video or photos for this purpose? Noah's flood? For someone who's spent so much time convincing the world he doesn't exist, there's still a surprisingly significant paper trail following him throughout history. But come on, dinosaurs went extinct roughly 65 million years ago and humans did begin to appear until roughly between 5-7 million years ago - that's a hell of a gap to just hang around on earth being the literal lord of the flies....and tiny rodents, etc. Man, either Kara's really dumb or Lena's a truly master manipulator; and I just can't decide whi.....Kara's really dumb.  Seriously, it was bad enough when Lena tricked her into stealing Lex's diary from lock-up; now she's giving away trade secrets left and right. Okay, I admit, under any other circumstances it shouldn't seem so unusual for Kara to be so trusting of a friend as to take them to the Fortress; she's done it before.  Yet knowing what we know, Lena doesn't even seem to be trying that hard and Kara's just giving her everything she wants; and perhaps the most frustrating part is Lena being oblivious to the fact that Kara is willing to be that open and trusting of Lena and it's actually Lena who is abusing the trust in their relationship. "You're going to need a jacket." Come on Kara.... you could just help keep her warm..... 🤷‍♂️ Alex: Hey, this guy we've been looking for who's just casually out in the open where anybody and everybody who's looking for can find him; and he's not moving.  I guess we're just lucky and should continue to approach him with abandon.  On an unrelated note, did you know that the only answer I got wrong on my covert agents exam was the definition of the word "booby trap"?  Something about the word "booby" made my mind wander; and in hindsight, realizing my attraction to women probably shouldn't have come quite so much as a surprise to me.  What's that Brainy?  What do you mean, "bomb"?  I didn't bomb the test.  I told you, the only answer I got wrong was booby trap....haha....booby......" Do I regret the sophomoric turn this review has taken? Not really, no. Augh, this is, for the most part, not a criticism of the show per se, and it is what it is, because it's not like they're establishing something new, it's how they've always depicted the Fortress, but I am so sick and tired of every iteration of the Fortress of fucking Solitude looking like the Fortress from the Christopher Reeve movie.  It was fine for the time; especially given the logistical and budgetary concerns that necessitated making Krypton a frozen wasteland in that movie.  But God I hate the randomly strewn crystal spikes design.  I hated when they used it on Smallville and I hate it now.  This is supposed to be the architecture of an advanced race. How the hell does Papa J'Onzz know all of this about J'Onn's brother Steve?  Ostensibly Papa J is just some sort of psychic echo of J'Onn's father inside J'Onn's mind; meaning that he actually knows all of these things and he's essentially having a conversation with his subconscious, being told things he already knows and some of it he shouldn't be able to know.... I'm so glad the Fortress computer specified the Lex Luthor that was brother to Lena Luthor; otherwise I would have assume he was talking about the stockpile of Kryptonian killing weapons created by Lex Luthor, the CPA from Secaucus, New Jersey..... So Jarhanpur was a sister planet of Krypton?  Why?  That system seems to have been really fucking crowded, between Krypton, Daxom and now Jarhanpur. Man, Kara's really booty blinded by Lena; that's the best I can figure out. I'd have given anything for Lena to say, "Lex designed that to fit underneath his many mirkins...." "If there's one weapon I could destroy, it'd be that one." So why fucking don't you? Kelly: "I can't....." Yay!!!!!!!!!    🤸🕺🕺🤸 I mean..... awwwwwwwweeee............noooooo......say it ain't so............ Jesus, Leviathan apparently has the same security as Team and Arrow and STAR Labs.... What the fuck difference does it make whether it's the Fortress or Earth?  A) That's not how matter works, and B) Wrath of Kahn isn't from Earth to begin with - you just said he's from a sister planet of fucking Krypton! I absolutely expected Lena to use her inception lenses to make Kara forget their whole conversation. The scene between J'Onn and his brother was okay; a little maudlin, a few times it felt more like a soap opera; and I feel like they could have done more with Malefic's glimpse into J'Onn's mind. Oh, good, Alex and Kelly are making up.....I'm.....so.....happy.......(sigh)