#alien Keyes

[alienkeyes]

[nerds-yearbook]

In 1980, Eric Crawford had blackmailed the government into putting him in charge of the secret division that dealt with alien affairs since the Roswell, NM crash which was a position his father used to hold. Due to his paranoia over his multiple abductions, Jesse Keyes saught psychiatric help, which lead him to being in the grip of the military. Grown and married starchild Jacob Clarke reunited with his family due to his mother’s failing health. (“Maintenance” Taken, TV)

[ateliersss]

Blooming Family Part 1 - He Will Come

Pairing: Yautja x Fem!Reader Summary: You were caught three days after you and your son's arrival on earth by an organization called Project Stargazer. Now you both were treated like guinea pigs. No wonder, considering said son was a hybrid of human and Yautja. Cross-posted on AO3: here Warnings: English isn't my first language Word Count: 4,224 Masterlist

⇨ This is based on the scene in the lab where the sedated Yautja-human hybrid is being held captive (movie: "The Predator", 2018). The plot before and after this scene has nothing to do with the fanfic. Either way, I barely remember the movie. I just used the scene for my own scenario.

⇨ Want to join the tag list?

You had been stupid, so stupid. You should have listened to Mi'ytiar, should have listened to him when he told you to stay on the ship during your stay on earth while your son went hunting. You had insisted on coming with him, as you desperately wanted to see your home planet again.

Not that you missed it. You loved Mi'ytiar, loved to be his mate, loved your life with him and your son on Yautja Prime.

You had just wanted to leave the ship to get some fresh air and see the full moon, which you couldn't see in your new home, when you suddenly were surrounded by soldiers. You didn’t even think about defending yourself, not in your condition. You had let it happen when they grabbed you and put you roughly in one of the black SUVs.

So many questions swirled around in your mind — how did they find you? What about the ship? What did they want with you? Would they hurt you? And what about Akail? Was he hurt?

You hadn’t dared to ask the armed men who were in the car with you. They all had looked at you with different emotions on their faces — disgust, curiosity, anger. One of them wore a grin that made your skin crawl.

When they arrived at their base, you were dragged through many corridors and were examined by — and you thanked God for that — female doctors. They took your blood, forced you into a strange white suit, and put you into a sterile room.

Now you sat in a corner, huddled together. The door was in the middle of the wall on the other side of the room. A camera hung in the corner across from you from the ceiling and had an overview of the entire room. It reminded you of an interrogation room with windows to the left and right of the door, which looked like a mirror from the inside but allowed a glimpse into the room from the outside, and a table and two chairs standing in the middle.

You had pulled your legs to your chest as much as your swollen belly would allow and leaned your head sideways against the wall.

It’s gonna be okay, you thought to yourself, everything is going to be fine.

You didn't know if you were trying to calm yourself down or your pup, who could sense your agitation and responded to you with kicking. You sat up straight in a cross-legged position, wrapped your arms protectively around your belly, and caressed it soothingly.

Don’t worry, little one. We’ll be home soon. Your daddy will come and get us out of here. You have no idea how eager we are to meet you.

Not far from you, Sean Keyes greeted Casey Bracket.

“There you are!” He said as soon as Casey stepped out of the elevator. “Welcome, I–“

Before he could continue, Casey walked straight past him to look at the two metal helmets and something that looked like a gun, everything displayed behind thick glass. None of it was human.

“Alien technology.” She stated in disbelief. “Is that what you wanted me to see?” Casey's eyes wandered to the other showcases that displayed even more weapons and equipment. “Can I take a better look at it?”

“Ahh.” Sean laughed, “But you haven’t even seen the main attraction.”

Casey tore her gaze from an interesting-looking spear engraved with intriguing carvings and looked up at Sean. He had climbed the few steps that led to a glass wall overlooking a mix of operating room and laboratory, and gestured with his head for her to follow him.

Quickly joining him, they both looked down and into the room. It was occupied by many people who, from their appearance, were scientists. There were guards, eight in total, guarding all four doors. Screens hung on the walls and desks carried computers and strange gadgets.

The only thing that got Casey’s complete attention was the table in the middle of the room and especially what was on it.

“Doctor Bracket.”

Casey looked away from the creature and at the man who had spoken to her.

“Would you like to meet the Predator?”

Yes, that’s exactly what she wanted.

Still processing what she had just seen, she followed Sean Keyes into the decontamination chamber. She was given a suit that looked similar to the ones the scientists were wearing in the laboratory. The decontamination process didn't take long and she quickly slipped into the suit.

“Thanks for coming.” The dark-skinned man, Will Traeger, said to Casey as soon as the lab door opened and shook her hand. “I’m sure you have questions.”

“If I’m honest, only two.” Casey answered and followed the man down the stairs. “Why do you call it the Predator?”

They came to a halt in front of the table the creature was lying on.

“It’s a nickname. You know, the data suggests that it tracks its prey, exploits weakness. It seems to, well, enjoy it. It’s like a game.”

“That’s not a Predator. That’s a sports hunter.”

“Sorry?”

“A Predator kills its prey to survive. I mean, what you’re describing is more like a bass fisherman.” Casey simply answered, taking a step closer to the table.

“Well, we took a vote. Predator sounds cooler, right?” Will laughed and received approval from the surrounding scientists. “We found him and his ship. He’s heavily sedated.”

Casey had long stopped listening to him. She was completely absorbed by the creature, or Predator, taking in every inch of it. The physique indicated that it was a male. His height had to be over 2 meters. He had greenish skin that resembled reptilian-like scales. Its head was big and oval in shape. Instead of hair, what appeared to be dreadlocks grew out of it. His mandibles were the most eye-catching feature about him.

Could they be used for defense? And how did the food intake work?

She noticed that even unconscious, he was making a sound that closely resembled a cat's purring.

“You are one beautiful motherfucker.” She finally said.

“I’m gonna guess your second question is why you’re here.”

Casey looked up to Will and signaled him with a nod to continue.

“Our test results yielded something a little… odd.”

Sean, standing next to Casey, handed her a device. She looked back and forth between the two men before accepting it. The screen showed a more complex DNA structure than that of a human, without a doubt that of the Predator.

“Is this a joke?” She questioned in disbelief.

“We ran the genome sequence ten times. This specimen has–“

“–human DNA.” Casey finished stunned.

“Yeah.” Will nodded, “Look, we know about spontaneous speciation. Mostly plants and insects but–“

“But some mammals. The Red Wolf, for example, a hybrid of the coyote and the grey wolf.” Sean interrupted him this time.

“It’s possibly some form of recombinant technology.” Will added.

“I get it. You want to know if someone fucked an alien.” Casey summed it up, finally knowing her purpose here.

“Not necessarily.”

Casey looked questioningly at Will. "Meaning?"

“Meaning, we have a rough idea. We would just like to know the detailed procedure.”

Casey's eyes widened and she looked at him in bewilderment. “You don't seriously expect a woman to procreate with that thing. There's no way that–“

“Oh, there is no need for that.” Sean assured her, “Like I already mentioned earlier, we found his ship thanks to his equipment. But not only that.”

He turned to the largest screen in the room and nodded to a man who started typing on his computer and turned the screen on. It showed some kind of interrogation room. It wasn't long before Casey spotted a woman sitting cross-legged on the floor, slowly rocking back and forth.

“Who is that?” She asked and inched closer to the screen in curiosity.

“His mother.” Sean answered matter-of-factly, folding his hands behind his back.

Casey slowly looked from the screen over to the Predator, then back. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Not at all.” Will chuckled. “His DNA matches with hers. Although the father’s genetic heritage is more dominant than hers, you can still see differences between this one–” He nodded to the unconscious alien, “–and a homozygous Predator.”

“Wow.” Casey mumbled and returned her gaze to the screen.

The woman now walked in circles through the room, stroking — and the biologist had to do a double take — her growing stomach.

Holy hell, she was pregnant!

“Wow indeed. And not only that but her human DNA has been altered to resemble that of the Predator.”

“We believe it’s a kind of adaptation to the living conditions of his home planet.” Sean started, “According to the blood tests, and we did several because we didn't want to believe the results, this woman is over a hundred years old. We think she was born in the early 1900s, although she looks like she’s in her mid-twenties.”

Casey’s mouth fell open, her heart pounding against her rib cage. “I want to meet her.”

He nodded and smiled at her. “That was the plan. No one has spoken to her yet, not even the nurse who brought her food or was taking her to the bathroom.”

“While science can answer many questions and give us great insight into our being, there are still things that remain unanswered.” Will added, "We don't know when she left Earth or how it was possible for her to reproduce with an alien. We don't know how her DNA changed, and because of that, we don't even know who she really is.”

Casey nodded. “And you want me to get the answers to those questions from her?”

“Indeed.”

Casey was watching you through the one-way window. You were still pacing, one hand supporting your back and the other stroking your stomach in a circular motion. Even though you seemed nervous and scared, you also looked like a proud lioness ready to attack to protect her baby.

“Ready?” Sean asked.

Casey looked briefly at him and nodded.

“Great. We will wait here to watch and listen. In her condition, I doubt she will attempt anything for the sake of her child, but if she does it will only take a second, and security will rush the room.”

“Good to know.” She mumbled before heading to the door.

With a deep breath, she pushed down the door handle.

You caught that movement in the corner of your eye and turned to the intruder. “What have you done to him?!” You immediately demanded hysterically, growling at her like a wild animal. “Where did you take him? Where did you take my son?”

It was good that Casey was the first to speak to you. Probably no one out there had the slightest decency to treat you like a real person and would have strapped you to a table, too, careless of harm to you or your child.

“They took him to a lab and are holding him there. Nobody hurt him, I swear it.” Casey said, raising her hands to show you she meant no harm. “They just want to know more about him and his kind and why he is here, that’s all.”

You stared at her, softly caressing your belly as you pondered her words.

When there was no reply, Casey continued, “I just want to talk to you. We want to know how you… why you…”

“Why I got knocked up by an alien?” You suggested bluntly.

Casey nodded. “Yes. It’s practically unthinkable to come across an alien hybrid and its mother.”

“Where I went after his father took me from earth, it’s more of a rarity than unthinkable.”

Casey took a step forward and hastily asked, “Do you mean you're not the only one? Are there other humans who procreate with them? Are they also studying hybrids and their traits?”

You laughed at her eagerness and walked over to the chair closest to you, sitting down on it. You waved your hand at Casey to do the same, as if you were hinting you were going to cooperate to answer her questions. The biologist glanced back over her shoulder at the reflective window where Sean and Will were watching the conversation. She sat down in the chair opposite of you and looked at you expectantly.

“Before I say another word, I want to see that my son is okay.” You demanded, trying to suppress the tremor in your voice, the very first sign of weakness.

Casey turned back to the windows and waited for someone to come through the door. Instead, the reflective surfaces of the windows turned into screens showing one and the same image — the captured Predator, still tied to the table and asleep.

There was a whimper coming from behind her. When she turned back, she saw tears building up in your eyes and one hand pressed to your mouth. It was surreal to Casey for a human to have such an emotional reaction to an alien creature. On the other hand, this was his mother, unbelievable and absurd as it may seem.

You seemed to calm down, your eyes still fixed on the screen. You nodded to yourself before tearing your eyes away to look at Casey. The windows had returned to their normal state.

“We’re going to start with some easy questions, okay?”

You nodded again.

“Great. First I would like to know your name.”

“(Y/N) (L/N).” You answered.

“Would it be okay if I call you (Y/N)?”

“I would appreciate it.” You said, “It's a nice change from all the other names I've gotten so far.”

“What do you mean?” Casey inquired.

“Alien fucker. Alien whore. Desperate little bitch who thought a man’s dick isn’t enough for her. Nothing I didn't expect from men.” You shrugged, “It just proves once again that Yautja males treat their females with far more respect and honor than a human male could ever comprehend.”

“Yautja?” Casey asked, leaning forward, arms crossed on the tabletop.

“You call them Predator, but their kind is actually called Yautja.” You explained.

Casey nodded and started to play with her fingers, her next question burning on her tongue. “How did you get into this whole thing? How did you get in contact with them?”

You huffed. “It’s quite ironic, you know. On the contrary what you may have expected, he saved me.”

“Saved you from what?”

“Again, men. Four of them. They had followed me into an alley and tried to…” You had to pause for a second.

Almost 90 years ago, you had been afraid when Mi'ytiar had taken you from Earth to bring you to Yautja Prime. But looking back, that fear hadn't been as great as what you had felt at the thought of what those men would have done to you if he hadn't intervened.

“He protected me from those monsters… my own kind.” You let out a humorless laugh. “Yautja take their prey as a trophy after each successful hunt, you know. Not only did he rip their heads off and their spines out, but he also took me. I expected him to hurt me, to keep me as a slave, or… or to do what these men wanted to do to me that day in that alley. I found out later that I was really lucky that he, of all other Yautja, rescued me. It's incredibly rare that one of them takes an interest in a human being. Usually, they kill every last of them. Humans are too weak and too soft, but that’s exactly what he loves about me. That’s why he kept me alive.”

You let out a sigh, considering how much you should reveal about the Yautja culture.

“On the contrary to me, a Yautja female is rough and large, even larger than a male. After all, they are the ones who carry their offspring and ensure the survival of their kind. The males have to fight for dominance and if the male wins, the female deems him worthy enough for mating and submits.”

Casey shifted in her seat. “Did you… did he expect the same from you? Did he force you into submission to…?”

“Never.” You growled protectively, “He never forced himself onto me. Never. He was more patient and understanding than all the human males I ever met in my life. He treated me like I was the most precious thing he had ever seen. Never did he touch me without my permission.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Casey soothed you.

She had to be more careful and had to see this whole situation through your eyes — you were separated from your son and held at a facility that was examining you both while you had to worry about your unborn baby.

“Do you want to tell me about your relationship with him? Your, uhm…”

“He is my mate. My Life Mate.”

“Life Mate?”

“Female Yautja can mate with multiple males and give birth to their children, but some also choose a permanent mate. You could compare it to one-night stands and marriage, only you can't divorce. It's not called Life Mate for nothing. You are bonded to each other for the rest of your life and they live for hundreds of years.”

“Can I know the name of your Life Mate?”

You eyed Casey briefly, looked over her shoulder at the reflective windows then at the camera in the corner, and then back at her. “His name is Mi'ytiar. He is the leader of his clan.”

Casey sat up straight. “They live in clans? Like wolves in packs or horses in herds?”

You nodded. “With similar hierarchy dynamics, yes. There are many clans on their home planet, each living peacefully on their own. Sometimes clans visit each other, hunt together, celebrate together. That's how I found out that I'm not the only human on this planet.” You said, “But apparently I’m the only one who mated a clan leader. Most of them are expected to have a strong successor to take after them and Mi'ytiar, of all Yautja, ended up with a weak little human to bear his pups.”

Jackpot, Casey thought.

She finally got to the part that intrigued her the most — how was it humanly possible that you got pregnant, how was it possible for you to carry the child of an alien, and how did it not kill you?

“Since Mi'ytiar has fully committed himself to me, it was up to me to bear his offspring. The Yautja of his clan never dared to say anything. I’m the clan leader's mate, after all. But I noticed it in the way they treated me and looked at me. They knew it wasn’t possible for me to carry his children.”

You looked down at your baby bump and returned to caress it. It seemed to keep you calm.

“At that point, that fact made me really upset. I got to know their culture and learned everything there was to know about them. I even started learning their language. I fulfill any task assigned to a clan leader's mate. I make my mate happy and proud. But I couldn’t give him a child.”

You looked up and into Casey’s eyes.

“Mi'ytiar is very attentive and he soon noticed that something was upsetting me. Apparently, he was the only one who hadn't thought about his offspring at all.” You paused for a second to smile, remembering his reaction when he found out that you wanted to carry his pups. “The second he knew he wanted to keep me around when he took me away from Earth, he injected me with his blood. No matter how many times I've been called fragile and puny, the human immune system can sometimes work wonders. His blood had slowed down my aging and allowed me to survive on his planet. So we visited a healer to finalize my life as his Life Mate.”

Your cheeks flushed as you thought of how Mi'ytiar hadn't hesitated to drag you home and how you both had spent several days in your bed, or nest as he called it. There had been hardly a moment when he wasn't inside you. The image of his beautiful mate, his love, carrying his pup in her belly had made him feral.

It hadn't been long before his seed took. The other Yautja had a surprised but satisfied reaction when they saw that their leader was about to become a father. That’s when they finally started to treat you like a part of the clan. You had fully proved yourself, proved you could provide for the clan. You were finally one of them.

Akail's birth was hard. It felt like he was tearing you apart from the inside out. But thanks to the injections of Mi’ytiar’s blood and the additional help of the tribal healer, your body strengthened enough that you didn't die, even though it felt like it. You were crying and smiling with your mate at your side, holding your little bundle of joy in your arms.

He looked just like his father, no indication that his mother was human. However, his animalistic features were a little softer, difficult to recognize unless you were the mother. While you were being tended to, Mi'ytiar took his son in his arms to proudly introduce him to his clan.

Fondly, you thought back to one moment, a core memory — Mi'ytiar, lying on his side with you snuggled against him, both naked and partly covered in fur, and little Akail, just ten hours old, resting on your chest. At that point, you were so incredibly happy.

It sounded weird and absurd that this was your life and no human could ever understand, but you would never trade it for anything in the world.

“What’s the catch?” Casey asked after a while of watching you quietly stroking your belly.

“Huh?” You looked up.

“I don't think you're telling us all this without an ulterior motive. So what’s the catch?”

“I want to quench your thirst for scientific knowledge and in return, I hope you will release me and my son. There is no need to keep us here if you get all your answers from me.”

Casey started to shift back and forth in her chair. “I don’t think that will be possible. There are still things that we–“

“Listen, I have cooperated in the hope you will let me and my son go if you have what you want. You won’t like what will happen if we are not soon to be freed.”

Casey glanced over her shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time, unsure of what to do or what to say.

“I promised him to contact him every day, you know. My mate.” You said, pride permeating your body. “And do you know what it will tell him? The silence?” Your question was obviously rhetorical. “It will tell him that something happened to me and therefore also to his son because Akail would rather die fighting for his mother and his father knows that.”

Casey gulped. The threat was clear as the day.

“He will come and not alone. Do you really think you stand a chance against them?” You laughed, now more confident. “The human nature is arrogant, thinking they are superior to everyone. Eventually, that will be the reason for your extinction. Your haughty stupidity will be the death of you.”

“(Y/N)–” Casey tried, but she was interrupted.

“No, you will listen to me just like you've been doing for the last twenty minutes now. I have lived among them for decades, almost a century. I learned from them, I’m one of them. Stand between a Yautja and their Life Mate and it will end deadly for you. Stand between a Yautja and their Life Mate who’s pregnant and I promise you, you will beg for them to kill you.”

“(Y/N), there is nothing in my power to help you. I was simply summoned here as an expert to examine this Yautja, your son. I can’t–”

“You will. And I'm not just talking to you in this case.” Your eyes wandered from her face to the windows and nodded to the people you assumed to be standing behind the glass, watching you. “I’m talking to them, the ones who have the power. Set me and my son free and I promise you nothing will happen to any of you.”

Suddenly, a blaring alarm sounded, startling both Casey and you. Instinctively, you wrapped an arm around your stomach in a protective manner.

“Code Red. Subject Predator is on the loose.”

A shuddering sigh of relief left your lips as you slowly began to smile. You knew they couldn’t keep Akail immobilized for long.

One of the things he had in common with his father was that he was just as protective over you as he was. He would come to look for you.

Casey had already jumped out of her chair and was talking frantically to the people on the other side of the one-sided window.

You began to talk to your pup again, “Your mei'hswei is coming, sweetling. Soon the three of us will be back with daddy.”

continue with the second part He Is Here.

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy 

Zoltar

Berg Katse was created by the alien entity known as Sōsai X so to act as the leader of the terrorist organization called Galactor. Berg was tasked with marshaling the forces of Galactor in an effort to conquer and subjugate the entire planet.

Berg is a mutant entity created through the genetic fusion of a pair of fraternal twins while they were still in the womb. As a composite being, Berg possess greatly enhanced strength, speed and intellect.  An odd byproduct of the process that created Berg causes him to alternate biological sexes on a roughly annual basis.  Berg identifies as male and he has hid his alternating physical sex under a uniform and mask.  

As the leader of Galactor, answering only to Sōsai X, Berg regularly matched wits with the Gatchaman Science Ninja Team (or G-Force).  G-Force has been able to thwart Berg’s dastardly schemes yet they have never been able to apprehend him as Berg manages to always slip away at the last moment.  

Actors Mikio Terashima and Hiroko Mori provided the voice for Berg Katse in the original anime series.  In the English language dub, where Berg is renamed ‘Zoltar,’ actor Keye Luke provided the character’s voice.  The Villain first appeared in the debut episode of Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman, airing on October 1st, 1972. 

[lizbethborden]

I'm re-listening to True Crime Bullshit with some of the same criticisms/reservations that I had the first go around (including that the first season is almost unlistenable because of bad sound mixing). I never made it past about halfway through s3 so I don't know if this changes, but my #1 struggle with many true crime podcasts that attempt a degree of political analysis on the subject is that they rarely go far enough. I think in talking about failings of the justice system for minorities in cases like these, it's worth talking about white privilege and male privilege in an active sense. The host talks about missing and murdered Indigenous women and about the marginalization of sex workers (sic) and people suffering from drug addiction, but doesn't actively talk about Israel Keyes as a white man and the uses of that social position; not to mention that Keyes was in the US military. Maybe in an active sense to not alienate the imagined audience, or maybe because the host himself is a white man, it's just a big hole in the middle of the conversation with all the related social criticisms crowded around the edge

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Halo, episode 1

Things I Know About Halo:

The Master Chief is a badass supersoldier who Doesn't Take Off His Helmet.* (I thought it had turned out he was a woman and the fan base rioted but apparently I mixed him up with Samus Aran?) There's a couple AI people, Roland the orange dude and Cortana the hot chick. There's a guy named Arbiter, I think he's an alien? Aliens destroy a lot of planets. There's some sort of mystical Old Ones leftover tech? (Is that the Halo part?) Names I have heard: Miranda Keyes, Dr. Halsey, Makee, Thomas Lasky, Chyler Silva**

That established, let's give this thing a go!

Nice opening scene. The costuming and set design are good, definitely have that Star Wars-esque vibe but are doing some of their own specific things that ground the world. The characters definitely gave you that lived-in-universe feel of established relationships and community right away. (Also I'm delighted by their use of Korean and their made-up alien language. Again, nice worldbuilding.) I am, however, confused. There's also an entire rebelling against the galactic empire thing going on? No one told me this. How do these people find the time with all the aliens?

Oh shit, THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE ALIENS. Oh noooo.

The violence is really well done. The explosion plus blood splatter shot was great. Good use of camera work to minimize the more difficult to pull off FX shots while still getting the brutality across. The helmet-cam shots are a good storytelling choice while also being a fun nod to the games. I do not envy the stunt people fighting in these suits, though. They made them look powerful. They did not make them look dexterous, graceful or effectively designed for hand-to-hand combat.

Noooo they killed the little kid! ...and everybody else. Man, I liked those guys. Poor Kwan. (Is she in the games? Is she this ineffective? She was like, I'm going to help! and then just... didn't.) And then the Spartans just... walk off?

DO NOT TOUCH THE WEIRD ALIEN TECH. You're a Master Chief! I have it on good authority that keeping people from touching things they shouldn't is a major part of your job! Set a good example for your troops! Also, check your six.

It's Dr. Halsey! Mad scientist alert, this woman does NOT seem to adhere to ethical guidelines. Nice lab coat. I don't trust you. Why do you have a person in a pod? (Why do you have them right where your boss can see them if they're not supposed to exist?) Who's Miranda Keyes and why do you have beef with her? Departmental rivalry?

Wow, Miranda is a lot younger than I expected. Also, that was terrible. Take care of the girl, butter her up, THEN ask her for shit. And do it in person, the hologram thing was weird and off-putting. Not sure that Kwan thought this through-- there's a happy medium between agreeing to be their propaganda mouthpiece and openly threatening to lie and say they caused the massacre, sweetie.

Alien homeworld (or homebase, idk)-- very cool design, good effects-- why is there a human here? Oh, THIS is Makee? What is her deal? Great costuming.

HALSEY IS MIRANDA'S MOM??? Wtf. Also I like Miranda, I don't think she knows what she's doing outside of her (own) lab but it sounds like her heart's in the right place. Great parting shot at dad, but also, maybe that's why your parents worked (for however long. Are they still together or not?)

Great scene with Kwan and Master Chief over the meal. Humanize him with a joke and then WHAM, dead mom story. I like how they're not letting you assume that Madrigal's people were just wrong about the Spartans. Nope, straight up, this guy commits atrocities because he never questions his orders. (She implied that she was there? How did that part go down?) Fortunately teenagers question everything, especially orders! Just in time to make you question this one...

From here on out it's action action action, with a lot of quick character bits mixed in (Halsey and Captain Keyes exchanging looks, the Spartans all listening to Halsey above their orders, high command doesn't trust their own creations-- how many different ways of monitoring their own ships do they have? This is taking surveillance state to a whole new level.)

YAY for Kwan getting a useful moment! If human strength does not avail, use guns tools, that's what we invented them for. No, Kwan, this man does not have a plan. I'm kinda sad the alien artifact activated, it would have been entertaining to watch the other Spartans get involved. (John: "This is our new pet. No, we will not be handing her over to be executed. Yes, she hates us all for very specific valid personal reasons. Roll with it.") Aaaand off they go, escaping to where? Not sure they know and I, with approximately 1% knowledge of this universe, certainly do not.

Finally, hopping back to address the One True Issue that divides the fandom: the helmet scene. It depends on how much the Never Remove the Helmet thing is an irl game artistic choice vs an in-universe character choice. If it's not an actual THING for John-117 himself, then I don't have any problem with it. Different mediums and all that. If it's like the Mandalorian thing, then yeah, it felt a little rushed, but still a necessary moment for humanizing him and building trust ASAP with a hostile teenage girl with a gun.

In conclusion: this was much better than I was expecting! I really enjoyed it and will probably watch the rest of the season while I bake today. And honestly it's been so long since I watched scifi on TV that it was sort of nostalgic? I was just ridiculously pleased by things like establishing shots of Reach and futuristic teenager haircuts.

Thanks so much to ATBNL and @sarnakhwritesthings for talking me into this!

*Has anyone done a 'John-117 is a Mandalorian' crossover yet? Someone definitely has, right?

**The last two do not appear in the TV show and also one is dead, except they're actually alive and married because @authortobenamedlater is in charge here.

[enkisstories]

Karlie Keye with Bonny

Sponsor: The forest farmers association Allegiance: The Resistance

Sienna Grove with Flapjack and Juniper Grove with Luna

Sponsor: The homesteaders around Black Spire Allegiance: Residents of Batuu

Don Gooseman with Duke

Sponsor: Oga's Cantina Allegiance: Scoundrels

Squire Daniel Ren with Plum

Sponsor: The Knighs of Ren Allegiance: Himself, the Knights, the First Order (in that order)

Ensign Gavin Dree with Greylock

Sponsor: First Order Military Allegiance: Secretly The Resistance

Connor Sonderan

Sponsor: The Governor of Batuu (his father) Allegiance: Whichever faction can hurt the Knights of Ren best for having tossed him out

- Here they are, the participants of the Summer Race. There are no participants from outside the Black Spire region this year, due to the political situation that's teetering at the brink of a civil war. There's also only a single alien this year and much to the First Order's dismay he's the frontrunner.

- The technicalities of the summer race:

The sims enter a beginner race at the equestrian center (rabbit hole) and try to place.

Most likely everyone will place, so the sims who get first place will race again the next day.

Repeat until all ties are broken.

[book--brackets]

Future Competitions

In light of recent requests and submissions, once this competition is over, we'll be starting back up again with a whole new set of books! If you'd like to submit a title, check my pinned post and the list below to make sure your submission is eligible. I can no longer add to this list. Any further titles are being kept privately by me, but there are there, I promise! I am now tagging asks with the titles submitted.

A to Z Mysteries

Abhorsen

A Dog's Life

Adventure (Blyton)

Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

Adventurers Wanted

Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians

Alex Rider

All-of-a-Kind Family

The American Girl Books

Amulet

Anne of Green Gables

Animal Ark

Animorphs

Applewhites

The Babysitter's Club

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

Beacon Street Girls

Beatrice Bailey

The Belgariad

Bella Sara

Betsy-Tacy

Black Beauty

The Black Stallion

The Blackwell Pages

Books of Bayern

The Borrowers

Bridge to Terabithia

The Boxcar Children

Captain Underpants

Casson Family

The Cat Club

Catwings

Charlotte's Web

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci

The Chronicles of Dragon

The Chronicles of Prydain

The Circle of Magic

Clementine

The Clique

The Cloak Society

Cobble Street Cousins

The Cooper Kids Adventures

Coraline

Damar (McKinley)

The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Is Rising

Dear America

Dear Canada

Deltora Quest

The Divide (Kay)

Dork Diaries

Dragonbreath

The Dragonfly Pool

Dragonhaven

Dragon Rider

Dragon Slayer's Academy

Earthsea Cycle

East (Pattou)

Echo (Ryan)

Edgar & Ellen

Emily (Montgomery)

Emily Windsnap

The Enchanted Castle

Encyclopedia Brown

Esperanza Rising

The Ever Afters

The Faerie Realm

Fablehaven

Fairyland (Valente)

The Faraway Tree

Ferngully

First Light (Stead)

Five Children and It

Flat Stanley

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Gallagher Girls

Geronimo Stilton

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Giver

Goddess Girls

Goosebumps

Graceling

The Great Brain

The Greenglass House

Gunnerkrigg Court

Half Upon a Time

The Hardy Boys

Hatchet

Heist Society

Help, I'm Trapped...

His Dark Materials

Holes

How to Train Your Dragon

The Hunger Games

Igraine the Brave

The Immortals Quartet

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

Ingo (Dunmore)

The Inheritance Cycle

Inkheart

Iron Hearted Violet

Island of the Aunts

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Ivy & Bean

Journey to the River Sea

Julie of the Wolves

Junie B. Jones

The Kane Chronicles

The Kid Who Ran for President

Kiki Strike

Killer Unicorns

Kingdom Keepers

The Last Apprentice

The Letter for the King

La Quête d’Ewilan (in French)

Legend (Lu)

Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude (in French)

Leven Thumps

Liesl & Po

Little House on the Prairie

A Little Princess

Little Women

Lockwood & Co.

The Lost Conspiracy

Macdonald Hall

The Magic Thief

Magic Treehouse

The Magisterium

Magnus Chase

Malory Towers

Matt Cruse

Maximum Ride

Melissa (Gino)

Merlin (Barron)

Michael Vey

Miri and Molly

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The Missing (Haddix)

Mister Max

The Mistmantle Chronicles

Misty (Henry)

Molly Moon

The Moorchild

Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The Music of Dolphins

My Secret Unicorn

My Side of the Mountain

My Teacher Is an Alien

Nancy Drew

Nevermoor

The Neverending Story

Nimona

The Ogre Downstairs

Out of My Mind

The Penderwicks

Pendragon

Peter and the Starcatchers

The Phantom Stallion

The Phantom Tollbooth

Pillage (Skye)

Pippi Longstocking

Pixie Tricks

Poison (Zinn)

Pony Pals

Princess Academy

Protector of the Small

Rainbow Magic

Rain Reign

Ramona

Regarding the...

The Roman Mysteries

Rose (Webb)

Rowan of Rin

The Royal Diaries

Running Out of Time

Sammy Keyes

Savvy

School of Fear

The Search for Wondla

The Secret Garden

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Secret Series

Septimus Heap

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Seventh Tower

Shadow Children (Haddix)

Silver Brumby

Silverwing

Skullduggery Pleasant

Song of the Lioness

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Stardust

Stargirl

The Strictest School in the World

Swallows and Amazons

Sweet Valley High

The Swiss Family Robinson

A Tale Dark & Grimm

The Tale of Despereaux

Tales of Alderley

Tales of Magic

Ten Kids, No Pets

The Thief Lord

Tiffany Aching

Tillerman Cycle

Time Hunters

The Trumpet of the Swan

Tuck Everlasting

Tuesday McGillycuddy

The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Uglies

Un Lun Dun

Undertow

Unicorn Chronicles

Upon a Marigold

Upside-Down Magic

The Vengekeep Prophecies

The View from Saturday

The War That Saved My Life

Wayside School

The Westing Game

When You Reach Me

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wildwood Chronicles

Windsingers

Wings & Co.

Winnie the Pooh

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Worst Witch

You Be the Jury

[hanasnx]

sometimes i spend my evenings watching bad kevin levin edits on tiktok bcos nathan keyes killed his role in the virtually unknown live action movie ben 10: alien swarm (2009) and no one asked him to serve that hard

[helix-enterprises117]

Halo Reloaded: General Synopsis & Ideas.

Like the TV Show, Halo Reloaded is an alternate-universe that retells the story of the games while taking it in a new direction; it's like "Ultimate Marvel," but for Halo in a way. A lot of ideas from the show also seep into my story, like the inclusion of Silver-Team, Master Chief being "The Chosen One" and more diversity (Black Captain Keyes, Mixed Miranda Keyes, Indian Parangosky, British Halsey, etc...). Though, that's were the similarities end. The Halo TV Show went a 'Darker & Edgier' direction with the franchise, portraying the Spartans as brainwashed killing machines who are conditioned to follow any and all orders given to them. ONI is three times shadier here than they are in-canon, and the UNSC's war-crimes are much more prevalent. I'm going the opposite direction; Halo Reloaded is still based on the general grittiness of the expanded lore and TV Show (there's no way to make child-supersoldiers look good), but my AU inches more towards 'Mass Effect' in style and tone. Leaning more into the 'Space Opera Science-Fantasy' aspects of the Halo franchise by putting a greater emphasis on Forerunner Mysticism and the feats of the Spartans. It's 'Lighter & Softer/Denser & Wackier,' if you will. Speaking of: My AU sort if Reconstructs the Spartans (and their psychies) by making them not only 'supersoldiers,' but super-CIVILIANS.'

The Spartans:

The LINCHPIN of this AU is: "What if The Covenant arrived BEFORE the creation of the Spartans?" In an attempt to streamline the lore of the games, The Spartans weren't created in an attempt to quell human-rebels; The Covenant had been at war with humanity longer than The Insurrectionists have existed, prompting ONI to cross the moral-threshold and create supersoldeirs that are EXPLICITLY designed to fight this alien-menace. Using children is (unfortunately) the only way to make these said soldiers work, since using adults wouldn't be nearly as effective (the expanded lore explains that the same augmentations used on the Spartan-IIs, who were young and thus able to adapt to them, KILLED the adult-candidates of the ORION-Project). Doctor Catherine Halsey (who is much kinder here than she is in the show and games/expanded lore) does what she does in the game's lore: She rips the band-aid off and tells her Spartans (kidnapped children) that this is their new life. But I always found it odd that Halsey wanted to create a race of ubermensch-superpeople who are the "next step in human evolution" when all they're good for is warfare. Halsey may have done something morally bankrupt, but she's not a COMPLETE monster (like how the TV Show would like folks to believe); being the humanist she is, she believes that her Spartan's greatest strength is their humanity, and removing that would be counterintuitive to her entire plan, so she gives them access to extracurricular activities to help develop any new skills beyond stuff that would only benefit them in combat. She caters to their humanity and gives them a chance to be normal people who can contribute GREATLY to society if and when they decide to settle down; this, combined with the dire-situation regarding The Covenant, makes the Spartans' origins easier to swallow and their existance justified. As a result, I'd like to imagine that the Reloaded!Spartans are much more mentally and emotionally healthy, and turn out much well-adjusted, than the Spartans of the TV Show and main-canon (games/expanded lore).

@asimplesimpsimping

@authortobenamedlater

@mrtobenamedlater

@biomecharnotaurus

@cheezbot

@killer-orca-cosplay

@ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask

[bluehoodedmousebane]

"Master Chief? You mind telling me what you're doing with that ship?"

"Sir, OC x Canon is highly underrated-"

....I think im funny (No I dont)

Hate to sidetrack on a silly ask but why are all the Halo characters so good. Like in CE they’re all thought-out characters with their own goals and ideals. For no reason. It’d be easier to make them all have the same simple goal, like just killing the Covenant, but instead each character has their own agenda, a slight variation on everyone’s overarching goal.

A good bit of conflict comes from Keyes’ “I’ll go down with the ship” Cortana’s “this war has enough dead heros” and Chief’s “get it done” perspectives all rubbing against each other. It’s a depth of character that seems weird for an early fps. Half life didn’t do this! Doom didn’t to this extant!

I could argue that there are some pretty flat characters in CE, like how Johnson doesn’t have much of a motivation and is set up as comic relief. But. Even he is used to flush out the world of the game, like in the opening cutscene. Or the legendary ending, where yeah it’s just supposed to be funny, but it’s also explaining that the marines were spread out across the ring and that there were survivors outside of Chief.

And then Halo 2 comes around and gives the same depth to the enemies!

It’s fascinates me because you can see the same level of thought and effort being applied across the board. In the different enemy and friendly ai’s, in the worldbuilding, and the designs for the different races in the Covenant which. Is an entirely different rant for me. Why did they do it like this. Why’d they put so much effort into a game that reportedly had such a rushed production. Who’s the freak that kept adding inspirations from Alien.

Idk. I think all of this is just to say I’m scared to make a Halo oc because all of the characters are already so good.

[thezoraprince]

judging by the soft, kinda elegant music that plays in the domain and how they speak/"dress"/ architecture, i bet zoran music taste is probably like pretty tame? so anyway i think because hylians are closer to humans if we would introduce m to good old classics from us like vengaboy's boomboomboom or cascada's bad boy they'd shred to it as hard as we do, much to zoran dismay

poor bazz and sidon slaving away over the most boring diplomacies concievable trying to block out Link absolutely shredding it to new alien music in the plaza like he just discoverd cocain with the new stranger in town not a request, just shitposting in your inbox

Link is absolutely SHREDDING on a wildly crafted electric guitar. Tumbo is LIVING for this experience and is absolutely vibing with his sister Laruta. Keye is just waiting for everyone to get in trouble, as always.

Sidon and Bazz are looking out at the center of the domain, watching with a longing desire to join their friend, heads resting on the palm of their hands.

"Boys! Pay attention!!" Muzu snaps his fingers. he's already had enough of this obnoxious racket. "This meeting is of the utmost importance. Pay no attention to that..." he catches himself. "Pay no attention to Link."

they roll their eyes and continue on with the meeting. Sidon looks at Bazz, side eyeing Muzu. "Do you wanna just... go?" he mouths.

Bazz hesitates, looking around the room. "We can't just leave without reason."

"Sure we can."

this goes on for a few minutes. the boys are growing so tired of Muzu's ramblings of the domain, which they've heard every. single. meeting. the music from outside gets a little louder, and when Tumbo screams "YEAHHHH!!", that's when Muzu's had enough. "Alright, I'm taking this matter upon myself."

Muzu storms out, the boys following closely behind. "I guess we didn't need a reason, huh Bazz?" Sidon chuckles.

they all reach Link and the kids (Link looking like he's dressed as Hylian Guy Fieri). Tumbo and Laruta's smiles fade as Muzu approaches them. Laruta soon finds herself more focused on Sidon, though.

Muzu begins to speak, but is quickly cut off by Sidon. "Let me handle this."

Muzu nods. there's a moment of silence. Sidon towers over Link, and Keye is watching intently as the Hylian is about to be scolded.

but to everyone's surprise, Sidon gives Link the most pitiful expression, 'puppy dog eyes' to the max. "Can Bazz and I join you?"

"WHAT!??!!?"

Muzu is FUMING, head fins almost turning red. "WE'RE IN A MEETING!!"

Sidon and Bazz look at each other, and then back at Muzu with a shrug. Link hands them a couple more wildly crafted instruments, and the kids are screaming with delight.

"Rivan! RIVAN!!!"

the guard looks to them from the entrance.

"JOIN US!!"

the Big Bad Bazz Brigade is together once again, making happy memories (and absolute chaos).

[bloodgulchblog]

Love a fictional character the way Staten loved Johnson, between Contact Harvest and the stories from work inside Bungie, you can tell he really cared about him.

He was originally just placeholdered as "Sniper Sergeant" during development on CE (He made it out better than Keyes, who was "Captain Exposition") and was just "a very deliberate caricature of Gunnery Sergeant Apone, Al Matthews' character in Aliens."

By the time Halo 3 development rolled around, Staten stepped back (it sounds like a lot of key people did from the sheer exhaustion and frayed tempers after Halo 2) for a while and a bunch of story decisions were made without him and he had to just roll with them when he came back.

One of those was Johnson's death. (O'Donnell talks about it, he was the one who first put forward that Miranda Keyes and Johnson should die to give the plot more punch by having more deaths.)

Staten was really unhappy about it.

I love that even after that he was still thinking about Johnson when they were trying to think of a protagonist for another Halo game. Bless.

[authortobenamedlater]

I put the trailer on my TV and have more thoughts.

This was supposed to be a short post why does this show make me talk up a blue streak???? Putting everything under a cut for those who are tired of me, which is everyone except for about five of you.

The shot is dark and dusty, but I’m wondering if 1:16 is another Spartan team. Something about it just looks not-Silver to me, and we are meeting at least one other Spartan. I won’t be surprised if it is John and friends though and everything just looks gray because the planet is falling down around them and all.

I’m annoyingly certain the mystery blond lady at 0:54 is Soren’s wife with a radically different hairstyle. I wouldn’t have placed her at all except I’m annoyingly certain the kid next to her is Kessler.

I will continue to be the wet blanket and say Cortana is just Cortana. Shows often change up their characters’ looks from season to season. How many costume and hairstyle changes did Deanna Troi go through? Jacob Keyes, Riz, Laera (if that is her) and Halsey all look different, so it wouldn’t be much of a leap for Cortana to look different too. I won’t be shocked if it’s some other AI, but she’s Cortana until proven not for me.

I’m starting to wonder if Talia Perez (Cristina Rodlo’s character) is going to do the Noble Six last stand. She gets a lot of face time for a new and seemingly minor character. My speculation is Perez represents the rank-and-file UNSC. Not a Spartan or an ODST or a career officer, just a kid who wanted to serve and maybe get her student loans forgiven. She thought she was going to do four years and be done and now she has to fight what she knows is a losing battle. That could be a great side story, honestly.

If that last fight can’t go to Noble Six (I know we all want Noble but that might be too much new stuff to cram in, and I think we’d have heard by now), watching the lady who was a glorified radio operator a week ago charging at a bunch of aliens like “Yes, you’re going to kill me, but you’re going to look me in the eye while you do it” would be a fitting substitute.

Why is Colonel James Ackerson walking around out of uniform and what’s his deal with the artifact? Is he still pirating Halsey’s work running the S-III program? I’m confused about this now.

[byneddiedingo]

Isobel Elsom and Ida Lupino in Ladies in Retirement (Charles Vidor, 1941)

Cast: Ida Lupino, Louis Hayward, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Edith Barrett, Isobel Elsom, Emma Dunn, Queenie Leonard, Clyde Cook. Screenplay: Garrett Fort, Reginald Denham, based on a play by Denham and Edward Percy. Cinematography: George Barnes. Production design: Lionel Banks. Music: Ernst Toch.

Ladies in Retirement, a nifty little thriller included in the Criterion Channel's "Noir by Gaslight" series, centers on a steely performance by Ida Lupino. She plays Ellen Creed, a Victorian spinster trying to make a life for herself and her two eccentric sisters, Emily (Elsa Lanchester) and Louisa (Edith Barrett). The sisters have been living in London with a family that has become fed up with them, so Ellen is forced to persuade her employer to let them come live with her in a somewhat gloomy house on the edge of a marshland. The employer, whom Ellen serves as a kind of companion/housekeeper, is the imperious Leonora Fiske (Isobel Elsom), a retired "actress." (We later learn that she was only a fourth-from-the-right chorus girl, who managed to accumulate a small fortune from stage door johnnies and wealthy patrons.) Unfortunately, the sisters manage to alienate Leonora as well. Louisa is batty and hypersensitive, and Emily is brusque and a collector of things she picks up on her walks, like shells and birds' nests and even a dead bird, which she leaves scattered around the house that Leonora bullies the maid-of-all-work, Lucy (Evelyn Keyes), to keep immaculate. Ellen knows that she can't make a living for herself and her sisters, and she doesn't want them sent to an asylum, so she decides to take things, which means Leonora's neck, in her own hands. Curtain on act one. (The stage origins of the movie are apparent throughout.) Enter Albert Feather (Louis Hayward), a somewhat distant relative of the Creed women, who calls Ellen "Auntie" and charms the sisters. He also charms Lucy. Albert has been to the house before, while Ellen was in London collecting her sisters, and managed to flatter Leonora into giving him some money. But now he's on the lam, wanted for embezzlement from the bank where he worked. When he finds that Leonora is gone -- "on a trip," as the story goes -- he begins to suspect that Ellen is hiding something. And so the plot hinges on his quest to uncover Ellen's secrets, with the aid of the infatuated Lucy. It's a nicely paced movie, with fine performances, especially by Barrett and Lanchester as the weird sisters. Though remembered today more as a director than as an actor, Lupino, then in her early 20s, excels in a part that had been played on Broadway by the much older Flora Robson. Although Louisa and Emily are the more flamboyantly mad of the sisters, Lupino manages to hint that Ellen is the maddest of them all.

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Halo, Episode 5

Flashback time! Halsey and Keyes both on Eridanus II. Were they colonists? Stationed there? Why are they at the school? They just saw John, so clearly it’s too early to be school-shopping for Miranda’s sake. God, are they shopping for kids? Was Keyes in on it from the beginning? This school is supposed to be some idyllic Waldorf-style nature school, and I love that, but it is not OSHA-compliant.

Here in the present, they’ve set up a whole temporary base around the second artifact, which seems like an utterly terrible idea to me. Do you need this much crap to dig out one monumental rock and load it up? (I realize real scientists would want to study it in situ for 6000 years before moving on to step 2 and archeologists wouldn’t want to move it at all, but you have unstoppable aliens to deal with in this universe!) Also, was bringing Miranda out here a good idea? It seems contrary to giving her free rein while her mom is gone? I’m glad her dad’s on her side at least. John, you need to snap out of it, buddy.

Kwan and Soren stuck in the desert, bickering, when he handcuffs her and leaves her alone in the middle of the desert? Wtf, Soren?

Poor Miranda making good points and still getting sidelined by her mom and Adun the Creep. Kai is still the smartest person here. What DOES the Covenant want? I appreciate the shot of the little drone. It’s funny to think that those have gone from scifi to a toy people fly in their backyards in my lifetime. John the Master Chief spots Kai’s hair and knows what’s up instantly and is immediately an asshole about it. I adore Kai—she took one look at John removing his and instantly trusted it was a good idea, and more, it’s clear from her less-flat affect in ep1 that she’s always been closest to breaking free (even without a mystical connection to ancient alien tech). And she’s 100% dead on here, too- why the hell is she unfit, but he’s not? And good on Cortana for speaking up for her, too. John: “I can’t hear myself think.” Cortana: “I can and you’re not missing much.” HA.

I haven’t gotten into Makee’s alien politicking much, but it’s definitely interesting how they both seem to need her and yet distrust her at the same time. You raised her! But “corrupted/ going native” is a trope for a reason, I suppose. Or are there two camps of aliens here? Is she really the only being who can activate these things? Were there aliens who could do it but they’ve passed away, or is it a unique human ability? (Well, humans and whatever race created this stuff.) Where did the Covenant get its info about the tech to begin with? How accurate is what they think they know?

Kwan, meanwhile, is demonstrating her best feature—sheer determination. I cheered when she finally got free. But when is she going to go, stranded in the middle of the desert, presumably without supplies? (I mean, I assume she’s about to find the mystics, but that’s the meta-brain talking.)

Craaaaap, John’s confiding in Keyes, who immediately gives him a brush off with his “I’ll look into it personally” bs. Of course he goes straight to Parangosky and Halsey and backstabbing and manipulation ensue. They at least try to protect Miranda from all their dirty laundry, of course in a way calculated to piss her off. “Finally a parenting issue we can agree on”—what did that little jibe mean? It’s getting increasingly hard to picture Halsey as any kind of mother. Exactly what did she want to do with Miranda?

Using a laser on the artifact makes ALL HELL BREAK LOOSE, and then John just stops with a look? Is that what happened? Wtf. And of course the Covenant hear that. Great.

Just as I wonder what Miranda saw in the data, her dad walks in and takes her off the project. She immediately pegs that it’s his own dirty past that’s at stake, though how dirty I doubt she knows. Master Chief, who is at least somewhat less credulous than I gave him credit for, is getting suspicious as well. Aaaand apparently he believes in direct action, because he immediately heads over and touches the artifact. And finds out HALSEY KIDNAPPED HIM? WTF. (Is the plague story a coverup? Did she murder a whole colony to hide this???) Master Chief tries to kill her ass and I was hoping he’d manage it, but no, Cortana steps in. Rats.

A brief break back on Madrigal where Soren finds Kwan gone… and then she EMERGES FROM THE SAND AND TAKES HIM OUT. Go Kwan, that was so much smarter than just wandering the desert, well done!

The rest of the episode is the biggest battle yet. My notes just say “Oh crap OH CRAP” at the top. Seeing the ship crash was fantastic and a definite “You Are Ultra Screwed” moment. I of course laughed at Cortana giving Master Chief advice and him snapping “I know how the game is played, Cortana!” Yes, writers, you’re very cute. I once again question how many Spartans there are and why we only have four here? In this super important not-hardened base that the Covenant is actively looking for? Like, worth 100 marines each, that’s great, but getting separated and pinned down is still a problem! Especially in this area which is wide open with lousy cover!

Which of course is exactly what happens to Kai, which I choose to believe is why she went down, instead of her being overwhelmed by trauma like the Master Chief predicted while he’s just fine, just Heroically Angry. (That bit of writing annoyed me.) (Yes I know he blew it too, he just got to blow it in a way that’s very differently coded than she did.) Halsey gets her one good moment saving Miranda when I 100% expected her to leave her daughter to die. (I did think Miranda would live to be extremely screwed up about it, mind you.)

So the Covenant got away with the new artifact, crap. And they pull the exact same gambit with Makee as last time, and I have the exact same complaint. Human makeup and nice clothes and not a scratch? She does NOT look like she just escaped that ship during the chaos of battle after surviving durance vile! Like, I want a poster of her on my wall but I do NOT trust her.