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jelreth · 4 years ago

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THE ENTIRE DREAM SMP, SUMMARIZED IN A SOMEWHAT LAZY WAY

for Silver :)

everything that i know about the smp! hope its useful.

NOTE THAT IT MIGHT NOT ALL BE ACCURATE. I JOINED 10/20/20, ONLY REALLY GOT INTO IT AROUND 11/10/20. TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.

Drug Van: Van used for making drugs, made by Wilbur and helped by Tommy and Tubbo! The start of L’Manberg was at this point i think

Disc War: Dream and Co. versus L’Manberg bois: Eret’s betrayal. Tommy and Dream dueled near the end and Tommy lost, but in exchange for independence and official recognizance as a country he sacrificed his discs. First time L’Manberg blew up

Election Arc: Schlatt ran against Fundy and Wilbur+Tommy in a coalition government with Quackity and won, making him Pres and Quackity Vice Pres. He immediately exiled Wil and Tommy. Tubbo worked as somewhat of a spy along with Fundy, all under Schlatt. Quackity and Schlatt had somewhat of a romantic dalliance. Start of Wilbur’s insanity, “let’s be the bad guys”.

The Red Festival: Tubbo was executed by Schlatt. They won a fight or somethin I think? Wilbur gave in and pressed a button, was killed by Philza (his canon father). Technoblade spawned 2 withers. Second time L’Manberg blew up

Reconstruction Era: Tubbo is president now, new people join. Wilbur comes back as an amnesiac ghost called Ghostbur. Ranboo and Tommy burn George’s house, prompting Dream to demand Tommy’s probation and later exile. Tommy attempts to blackmail Dream with his dead horse, Spirit. “I don’t give a FUCK about Spirit. I don’t give a fuck about ANYTHING on this server, actually. I care about your discs.”

Exile Arc: Tommy is exiled, forced out of the Dream SMP. Ghostbur stayed for the first day, making a city called Logstedshire.Tommy is visited regularly by Dream, who demands his armor and gaslights him into thinking he was his friend. Tommy becomes suicidal. In L’Manberg, Fundy, Tubbo, Quackity, and Ranboo form a gang called the Butcher Army. They put Phil under house arrest and seek Technoblade out, attempting to execute him. Technoblade takes one of Quackity’s canon lives and escapes mostly unharmed.

Anarchy Arc: Tommy lives in Techno’s basement, the two occasionally commit minor acts of terrorism. Dream finds out Tommy lives with Techno, claims he doesn’t care. Techno owes Dream a favour (since the Totem execution incident, favour not used to date). Ends when Tommy realizes that Tubbo is more important than his discs. End of exile when he joins L’Manberg in prep for Doomsday.

Doomsday Loyalties: Many loyalties are undecided after Ranboo is revealed as “a traitor” for being friends with both Techno and Tommy. Many characters remain neutral, such as the Eggpire, Fundy, Niki, Eret, and HBomb. Tommy, Quackity, Sapnap, Captain Puffy, Jack Manifold, and Tubbo all fight against Dream, Techno, and Philza.

Doomsday Events: Techno infiltrates L’Manberg with Phil and an army of hounds. Phil waits for a signal to start spawning withers. Techno fights L’Manberg nearly SINGLE-HANDEDLY for 25 minutes. He sets the signal off, and Phil spawns around 6 withers. Then Dream sets off TNT from an obsidian and redstone grid in the sky. L’Manberg is blown to bits, making a crater blown to bedrock. This is the third and last time L’Manberg blows up

The Aftermath: Ranboo lives with Techno and Phil. Jack and Niki plot to kill Tommy. BadBoyHalo and Antfrost recruit for the Eggpire, an empire (or cult) revolving around a red egg underground. The vines from it start to spread, and Captain Puffy tries to oppose. the Prison is built by Sam.

Snowchester: Tubbo makes a new country! Foolish, Jack Manifold, and Captain Puffy all own property. Tubbo makes nukes.

The Season 2 Finale: Tubbo and Tommy receive a message that Dream would fight them for the discs, one last time. They arrive and outsmart Dream only for him to reveal that they were not the real discs. He takes them to the Prison, where he plans for Tommy to stay. They’ve almost lost when almost everyone from the SMP arrives by portal, led by Punz. Two of Dream’s lives are taken by Tommy before he reveals that he can revive the dead. Dream is taken to his own inescapable Prison. Wilbur comes back momentarily to tell Tommy that he’s proud.

The Eggpire Arc: Ranboo is unsure of whether he is in control of himself. BadBoyHalo and Antfrost collect Punz, Ponk, and nearly Awesamdude to their Eggpire. Tommy starts to build a hotel with the assistance of Sam Nook, who makes Animal Crossing noises. Tubbo tests his nukes while Niki tries to lure Tommy into the crossfire. She fails to kill him. Captain Puffy is actively trying to stop the spread of the Eggpire. Quackity is an active enemy of the Egg, Tommy is unaffected by it.

The Prison: Dream is in solitary confinement. Tommy and BadBoyHalo have visited while awake. Ranboo has possibly visited while enderwalking. Awesamdude is the Warden.

I think that’s about it! that’s all i know :)

#long post

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kensboytoy · 5 years ago

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The Elimination Game

Title: The Elimination Game Fandom: Sonic The Hedgehog (2020) Pairings: Doctor Robotnik/Agent Stone Ratings: Explicit

When Agent Stone was first assigned to his new mission, he never imagined it would be with the Doctor Robotnik. He had only heard murmurings of the man in the darker parts of his training when shadows spoke about destruction and chaos. Being that he was new, Stone didn’t think he’d ever be working under someone with so much power. His drone tech was the reason why America didn’t bat an eye at frequent political attacks from other countries. Why worry when you had single-handedly had the best defense in your back pocket?

Stone had heard that the Doctor didn’t keep anyone with him for longer than a week. He spouted about their incompetence like clockwork and broke the lesser men and women down until they were forced to resign. This didn’t deter the agent in the slightest. He wasn’t wet behind the ears and fresh out of training. He had taken years to rise up the ranks. While on the outside he seemed dopey and the friendliest man on the street, there was a steel core protecting him from the hardships he had faced.

Killing people was never fun, but an agent did as they were told by their government without question. So becoming a personal assistant to a man who had aided war? Well, Stone had no qualms about it. It was just another Tuesday afternoon to him.

The mobile laboratory unit rolled up to the base and he, along with several other agents, stood at the ready. Quickly, the large door shot open to reveal the man of the hour, stairs popping out so he could stride down them to meet the new recruits.

Stone’s heart nearly jumped right into his throat at the sight.

[Read More or Read on AO3!]

Doctor Robotnik was an older gentleman - 50’s but with a rubbery and spry face that made him look younger than that. Dressed in all black with red trim, he looked like a gangly supervillain if Stone had ever seen one. The small black shades on the man’s face covered his observant eyes scanning the fresh meat on his doorstep. Robotnik’s finely groomed moustache ticked upwards as he smirked at the sight.

He would have these idiots screaming and out of his hair in a week.

“Well. You all must be the glorified babysitters that the government has decided qualify to assist me on my mission.” Robotnik plucked off his shades and tucked the tiny pair of glasses away in his coat’s inside pocket. “I’ve read every single one of your files and I know that you-”

The Doctor pointed a gloved finger to the agent standing beside Stone.

“You-”

Another agent, this time three bodies away.

“And you.” He pointed to the last agent that Stone couldn’t quite make out. “Are all dismissed effectively immediately.”

All three stared incredulously at the doctor and began to protest. Stone’s eyes fell to the Doctor’s hands and watched curiously as the madman ran his fingers along a hidden control panel in sequence. There was a soft mechanical whirr from the lab behind him and three egg-shaped robots ascended from the top of the trailer. The red lights of their sensors honed in on their threats and targeted the foreheads of the singled out agents.

“I suggest turning tail now before I make sure to wipe you from all databases, Agents,” Robotnik sneered.

Frustrated, each took their turn filing into line and heading back to headquarters. Stone felt relief at the fact that he hadn’t been so easily eliminated. It would have hurt his ego more than he would have liked to admit.

Doctor Robotnik laughed at the sight of the remaining agents, now a number he could count on one hand. He was amused that a few of them were quaking already. Fear was so delicious when it was palpable like this. His attention was promptly turned to the only man standing with a firm look on his face that hadn’t faltered as he singled-out his comrades. Impressive.

“You,” he cooed dangerously, stepping closer to Stone to circle him like a vulture to its prey. Robotnik scanned the agent’s vitals and noticed that he was an even harder nut to crack with his usual initiation tactics. “You seem to have the most brains in your ragtag group to not so much as flinch as your fellow flunkies are picked off.”

Stone simply nodded, eyes locked onto the Doctor’s to establish his rank to the peculiar man he’d be serving. After all, he was chosen by the government to aid him, but would the Doctor accept that decision?

“Are you in charge of these imbeciles?” Robotnik inquired, determined to get a right answer from Stone or send him packing.

“No, Doctor. You’re in charge.”

That made the Doctor pause, an inhuman smirk crossing his face and making it look almost cartoonish. Even with the mustache and the stubble, his face seemed to be made out of rubber with how it contorted and twisted.

“Seems at least one of you college drop-outs knows his place. Very good, Agent…?”

“Stone.”

Robotnik nodded to himself and stood back to his full height in front of Agent Stone. He pulled up his records on his control pad to skim through as he showed the rookies their new assignment. Of course he hadn’t read up on any of those weirdos before they came - why waste the time or brain cells on it? This man deserved at least the small fraction of a second it would take to consume everything about him - from search history to his track record working for the government. Robotnik bet he could break the man in a week.

Training for Agent Stone came almost second nature. He was quick to make detailed notes about how the lab operated on a daily basis. Robotnik didn’t leave much room for things he deemed to ‘slow him down’. This meant eating and drinking was solely through nutrient pouches he had on hand, Robotnik easily reaching for one to suckle on when his hands were busy. It appeared that maybe he had some childhood issues that Stone wouldn’t dare pry into.

However, Stone came to the realization that Robotnik’s lack of empathy for others may be playing into the fact that he treated himself like a machine. If you oiled it and charged it to the bare minimum, it would run. That was precisely how Robotnik operated. Stone couldn’t even think of a time where he caught the Doctor winding down for the evening or just relax.

It wasn’t until the week was over and Stone remained the only one standing did the Doctor even acknowledge him again.

“Agent Stone?” the crazed doctor spoked up, sitting in front of his flashing monitors scanning for the strange readings that had popped up during their small mission.

“Yes, Doctor?” the man piped up, perhaps a bit too eagerly. To be quite honest, he was pleased as punch that he was the last man remaining.

Robotnik swiveled around the man, circling him just as he had their first meeting. His clever eyes took in every detail of the seemingly average agent. It was getting to Robotnik that he hadn’t made this one break. He had ten more hours until his own mental deadline to send the man screaming and running back to his mommy. This was Robotnik’s true test.

“I want you to do me a favor, Stone. Go into that hallway over there and polish my Badniks.”

The command seemed unusual to Stone. Robotnik loathed when people touched his ‘babies’. This was a trap. He hid his smirk as he spoke up again.

“Would you like them shined enough to see your reflection in?”

Robotnik’s face soured.

“Yes, Stone. Hop to it!” He loudly clapped his hands in front of the agent’s face, who immediately turned on his heel to do just as he was told.

It was degrading work. Stone wasn’t about to sit there and complain about unjust labor practices. He was going to prove to the Doctor why he needed to keep him. It was more than just a pride thing. Agent Stone was beginning to grow fond of the asinine ramblings of this madman - no, of this genius - and he wasn’t ready to be dismissed yet.

There had always been a deep-seeded need for approval in Stone’s mind. Childhood trauma made it easier to break a young boy’s spirit faster than usual. Being around Robotnik was like walking on eggshells. No doubt in his mind that being Robotnik’s right hand man could cause Stone to lose a grasp on sanity or even a blow to his self-worth. However, what he was faced with now was a task. A task that would make any other simple-minded agent of his caliber to only do what they were told.

Agent Stone was determined to make Robotnik praise him just once. Once and he would know that he was capable of anything.

The cleaning didn’t take very long. He had made every note he possibly could previously about how Robotnik tended to the only things he’d let close to him. Stone knew that fucking this up would squander every chance he had in cementing his place here. This were like children to Robotnik. Cared for endlessly by fidgeting hands. Firmware upgrades were nearly daily with the doctor trying to outdo himself each time.

But Stone did not forget that these were highly dangerous weapons. If Robotnik so much as tapped the button on his controls, Stone would be wiped from history without a single thought. The scientist often reminded him of that fact. It wasn’t as if Stone was willing to test that theory. Doctor Robotnik had destroyed cities with these robots. Murdered people in cold-blood. While there was no records of him doing so, Stone could see the unhinged look in the dark corners of his eyes. Those beautiful orbs of creamy brown…

Snap out of it! he chided to himself.

These daydreams were starting to get out of hand and making Stone believe that perhaps he wanted more than just praise from Doctor Robotnik. Those chapped lips often looked inviting, especially as they twisted into a snarl as Robotnik barked out orders. The thrill of winding the esteemed scientist up was just so tempting. Stone knew when to reel back - the Doctor was easy to manipulate when trying to show off. Lines had never been crossed to the point where Robotnik would even notice that Stone was goading him to get so worked up.

What could the agent say? He liked a little bit of crazy with his coffee in the morning.

Talented hands waxed the sterile white shells of each Badnik nestled in the racks of the lab. These were the secondary machines that Robotnik continued to perfect his new technology on. Not just scouts but turrets. With a simple flick of a switch, they would circle around their prey and eviscerate them. He had seen the demonstration. It wasn’t pretty. So Agent Stone was very delicate while handling them.

It only took half an hour for them to look like tiny mirrors with how reflective they were. He smiled at his handiwork and tucked his handkerchief carefully into his pocket.

The Doctor was looming over him, body shaking as he too stared at the quality of the man’s performance. To chastise him for an impeccable job would be foolish. Anyone could call his bluff. But Robotnik was just a mere few hours away from losing his own bet. If he couldn’t humiliate the man here, this was game over. He’d be stuck with a government lackey for the foreseeable future. Robotnik loathed to be stuck with a babysitter from Uncle Sam. They questioned the legality of his actions too much for their own good. This black-suited brat would be no exception if Robotnik kept him around.

Doctor Robotnik’s hands clenched into fists as he leaned in, a hair’s breadth away from touching the edge of Stone’s earlobe. The sudden heat of the older man’s breath caused Stone to pause.

“You think you’re done, Agent?” the venomous whisper trickled into his ear.

Stone nearly lost composure. This was close even for Robotnik. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared straight ahead into the reflection of the pearly white shell to see the Doctor’s face close to his own. He could smell the aftershave and machine oil this close to his boss. It was heavenly.

“I’ve polished them to the best of my abilities, Doctor.” He swallowed dryly.

“With your fancy cleaners, hm? You know, they say a little spitshine makes these things more personal, Stone.” There was a wild look in his eyes as his grin began to tug at the corners of his lips. “My babies deserve a special touch, Agent. And you’ll provide them with that, won’t you?”

The realization began to dawn on Stone as he processed the words. Robotnik wanted him to polish these things with his mouth. A ping of arousal shot through Stone like white hot lightning zapping every nerve in his body. He fixed his posture and adjusted the cuffs of his jacket nervously. There were two choices: accept that this man was a nutcase who pushed things too far and leave right there or stay, clean these things with his own mouth, and call out Robotnik’s bluff. Stone knew that by accepting Robotnik’s orders, the labrat would have no choice but to concede and make Agent Stone his assistant.

Stone’s breath hitched for a moment as his body took the step forward on its own. His eyes fluttered closed as he got on his knees to stare at the Badniks eye-to-eye. They were more intimidating even with their sensors a low red glow. It felt like all eyes were on him as he began.

To be quite fair, there wasn’t an easy way to handle this. It would look silly either way but he would do it with finesse. His tongue darted from his mouth, wetting his lips just before he swiped up around the ocular unit of the robot. It swirled talentedly around, careful not to disturb the hibernating unit, almost as if he had a lot of practice doing things like this. Stone would admit to being trained for anything.

It was Robotnik’s turn to be caught by surprise. This… this wasn’t what he thought would happen. Most people would hightail it out of there at the absurd request, citing that Robotnik simply went too far in his power over them. He thought Stone to do the same. But he was a fighter wasn’t he? Despite the obvious heed into submission, Stone was gaining the upper-hand by baffling the scientist in his display.

He watched in sheer bewilderment as Stone continued to freely humiliate himself by cleaning each Badnik with his tongue. The agent didn’t falter for a second. He used that mouth like his life depended on him and stayed on each unit until every inch of surface had been met with his mouth. Stone could feel Robotnik’s stare burn into the back of his head, almost like he was pushing him to keep moving. Fueled by his determination and, well, his own arousal, Agent Stone diligently moved until each Badnik was cleaned with his tongue.

When he was finished, his mouth popped off the cold metal with an audible sound before he wet his lips again. There was a flush on his face as the reality of his actions sank in. Perhaps it felt lewd even to him.

A shaky, gloved hand reached out to catch his jaw. Stone stared up at Robotnik, puzzled by the sight. He was trembling, chest heaving now as his eyes visibly twitched. Stone was about to ask the Doctor if he needed him to fetch some water but then his eyes caught the very visible object pressed tightly against Robotnik’s slacks. His cock was hard. Painfully so, it looked like from just how much it was straining against the fabric. Stone’s eyes fluttered at the sight before his head sharply turned back up to Robotnik’s glowering face.

“How primitive, Stone,” the Doctor’s voice was barely more than a snide whisper. “Channeling your more carnal desires onto my machines like that. Are you perhaps… fantasizing it was something else?”

Stone knew the Doctor was projecting his feelings. It was an obvious tactic that the genius had used plenty of times. However, Stone enjoyed the filth pouring from his lips in such a precise manner that only Robotnik could successfully pull off and make it sound attractive. The agent stared at Robotnik carefully while still resting on his knees, practically just a few inches away from his cock.

“Yes, Doctor.”

That gloved hand moved to thread carefully in Stone’s well maintained hair and tangled harshly in it. Stone gasped softly as he was urged against Robotnik’s thighs. The older man was trembling with his own arousal overtaking him. Stone surmised that the Doctor had never done this before and was quite nervous. He’d have to celebrate the power trip in his mind later.

“Well then. Shouldn’t you do something about it, then, hm?”

Stone’s eyes flickered to Robotnik’s face.

“I only answer to your commands, Doctor. Acting on my own urges isn’t what I’m here for.”

The response made Robotnik shiver. Of course that stupid, pretty mouth would say precisely what he wanted to hear. It was almost unfair how well Stone knew him in just this short time alone. If he kept him around, Robotnik wondered what potential the agent could have. Maybe he was more than just some stiff in a black suit. Not like he could talk - his cock was obviously the main attraction at this current moment. He needed to let off all this steam that Stone had riled him up with.

“Then be useful and take care of my problem, Agent,” Robotnik hissed, shoving Stone’s face directly against his prick.

Agent Stone made quick work of unzipping the Doctor with just his teeth, eager hands slipping into the scientist’s boxers to fish out his prize for doing so well. He was surprised at just how well equipped the older man was. The length alone was nothing to sneeze at, but the girth was enough to make Stone’s heart flutter in his chest. Something like that would be tougher to handle than a Badnik. This would take some getting used to.

Stone was nothing but eager as he kissed the head of the uncut prick, lapping up a bead of precum at the tip before he wet the rest of his length for an easier time. The hand in his hair pulled him back up before he could reach the doctor’s sack, Robotnik needing him to get to the root of the matter. Eagerly, Agent Stone welcomed in his warm, waiting mouth with no protest. The taste of the older man was delightful. It was the only thing about him that seemed to be at all human.

Indeed, even a cold-hearted man like Robotnik adored the attention being paid to him. While it was for purely selfish reasons, he had never thought to do this with another person. That’s what robots were for! They could handle him with just enough durability to last a lifetime.

What the Doctor was quickly realizing was that flesh felt more fun. Being inside of that sweet mouth of Stone’s that always peppered him with eager responses was almost too much to handle. It was as if the Doctor’s circuits were shorting out. He’d be loath to admit in enjoying such animalistic behaviors with someone so beneath him, but in this instance, Stone was simply proving his worth to him.

At least that’s what the logical part was trying to convince himself.

Unable to hear the inner dialogue of the scientist’s mind, Agent Stone was simply focused on the task at hand. The Doctor was hard and he needed to resolve the issue. He tried not to get distracted by the cute way Robotnik’s face was contorting on its own as the older man began to buck needily into Stone’s waiting mouth. He merely took it as a sign to speed up the process. With his hands planted on Robotnik’s thighs, his hungry mouth fell lower and lower down Robotnik’s prick. It was easy enough to take at a pace like this, but Stone knew that he would have to make it all the way down to the base to drive his boss to the point of no return.

The way Robotnik’s hands curled in his hair felt so wonderful. He was trying his best to remain dominant, but his own arousal would be his undoing. Stone kept the smartass remarks to himself as he watched the Doctor slip fully into a more carnal state of need.

“I don’t have all day,” came the guttural growl. Stone’s head was unceremoniously shoved straight down to the hilt with some resistance from the agent. “That’s it, Stone! Now we’re making progress!”

Tufts of brown hair swung to the side of Robotnik’s face as he rhythmically started to fuck his new toy’s face. He was determined to achieve orgasm his way and caed very little about the comfort of Stone. The agent wanted to start this? Robotnik would finish it.

Which he was already so close to doing. This was an entirely new experiment that Robotnik didn’t even have a hypothesis for. All of this was purely acted on in the heat of the moment. The nature of its humanity would have normally disgusted the calculated man, but Robotnik was desperate. He needed Stone to prove himself to be a valuable asset.

The man was doing just that. His eyes were half-lidded as he took the Doctor’s cock in stride. He hummed happily, vibrations from the sound rattling his boss into further animalistic need. It wasn’t fair how well-equipped Stone was to handle all of these things tossed at him. Robotnik hated that handsome face looking so sweet as he took cock beautifully. It wasn’t fair how he had managed to get him so worked up in the first place!

“I would advise you to finish quickly, Agent Stone. I don’t have time to dilly-dally,” Robotnik mocked in his bratty tone.

Stone smiled to himself. He wouldn’t have the Doctor be any other way for him. It was pleasure enough to watch the great and powerful man come undone with a government lackey like him just sucking his cock. He pushed harder and persevered. Sweat dripped down his brow as he took the man’s dick like a champ. Those skillful hands slipped straight to Robotnik’s ball and gave him a reassuring squeeze that he would make him cum in no time.

Frantic, twitching hands pushed Stone further along. Robotnik could no longer sit idly by and let his orgasm be controlled by someone lower in the food chain. Roughly shoving the back of Stone’s head against the nearby wall, he had him pinned helplessly as he fucked into the younger agent’s mouth. He could feel a garbled sound being choked by his cock, Robotnik’s lust fueled at the sight of the squirming man. This was power. This was absolute control over another living being. Having machines was all fine and dandy, but having a human rely on you for common as air? The thrill of it delighted Robotnik.

Stone clawed at the man who had quite literally knocked the wind out of him. His eyes watered as he was deprived of a basic necessity. Robotnik eventually let him breathe, Stone greedily inhaling before his mouth continued to be used as nothing more than a glorified fleshlight. Losing control to the Doctor felt nice. For once in Stone’s life, he was letting someone take his life into their own hands to mold him into something better. This was his place. He wanted to be the assistant to arguably the most powerful man. Stone had won! No one had taken this indulgence with the Doctor before and now he could claim victory. All he needed was Robotnik to say that he was his and the deal with the devil would be sealed.

Robotnik, oblivious to such a simple request, only focused on his desire to achieve orgasmic bliss with this organic matter. This feeling was foreign to him that it was sending his nerves to do unspeakably odd things that he’d have to document later. The rational thoughts in his mind slipped away the closer to climax. His thrusts became more sporadic as he pushed harder and harder into the agent’s throat.

All at once, his body stopped. It felt like his legs had locked up, fingers as tight as they could be in Stone’s hair as Robotnik truly lost himself. Fire burned in the pit of his stomach as all the determination of ruining this man’s life slipped away.

His orgasm was unlike any he had ever experienced in his lifetime. It was powerful. So powerful that he nearly wept as rope after rope of hot spunk left him. Robotnik trembled at his release, finally letting go so Stone could gain some semblance of control back, which he used to hold steady and take every last drop. After all, he was determined to prove useful to the Doctor.

Once his load had been deposited into that waiting mouth, Robotnik stumbled backwards and frantically tucked himself in. He smoothed back his hair and straightened up to look presentable again. Loudly, he cleared his throat and looked to the agent still on his knees.

“Agent Stone?”

“Yes, Doctor?” Stone murmured, still in heavenly bliss from the sight of his flustered boss who had finally yielded to someone ‘lower’ than him.

“Tidy yourself up. You have paperwork to sign in my office.”

Agent Stone’s heart skipped a beat, a smile breaking out across his face. He had won the Doctor’s favor.

“I expect you there in no less than five minutes - Hop to it!”

Flustered, Robotnik turned on his heel to finish the government’s transfer request to him that had been sitting on his desk since the recruits’ arrival. Perhaps it was best to keep one of them around after all.

#Doctor Robotnik #Agent Stone #Stobotnik #Works of Oz #Robotnik

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diveronarpg · 5 years ago

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Congratulations, PARKER! You’ve been accepted for the role of LAERTES. Admin Minnie: It’s absolutely not a secret that we’ve been waiting for Lawrence for a long time, and boy did you deliver. Your characterization was distinct, your voice was so clear and your plots — Parker, your plots had me so excited and literally vibrating in my seat to see it all unfold. And trust me, I just came back from a long day of meetings and hours of driving and a flight; it took a lot for me to feel energized this evening. The way you brought Lawrence to life was so vivid and unforgettable in your application, and I have no doubt you’re going to do the same on our dash. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Parker

Age | 19

Preferred Pronouns | He/him

Activity Level | So here’s the tea, right? I’m a college student who never learned how to set up a schedule that doesn’t suck and am highly involved in student government because I am poor and it pays for my housing and meals. So when it comes to the school year, I’m busy. I’m hella busy, so I’ll probably do replies on the weekends and at ungodly hours in the morning for the vast majority of the year. However, this semester is coming to a close and as long as I survive finals, I’ll have five weeks where I can be on every single day!

Timezone | Mountain Standard Time (MST)

How did you find the rp? | My cousin showed it to me during Thanksgiving, of all the wacky things! She’s big into RP and she knows how much I love Shakespeare, and she thought I’d like this group. I thought I’d try and enter her world and see if I also like RP’ing/actually writing consistently with a set goal in mind.

IN CHARACTER

Character | Laertes - Lawrence Alvise Vernon. I absolutely adore Kendrick Sampson as Lawrence, so no faceclaim changes from me!

What drew you to this character? | So, I have a gut feeling this is going to get pretty long, so please bear with me. I think the first part that attracted me to Lawrence was the character he’s based off of. Hamlet was the first Shakespeare play I read, liked, and understood (though not in that order I don’t think). It was really awesome to see a character from something that had such a huge impact on me and what I want to do with my life still open and available! And Laertes is so important to that original story, even if the tragic Danish boyfriends overshadow him in the general story and in the fandom. The OG story doesn’t function as a tragedy without Laertes and the emotional impact of that last act and a half is only tear-inducing, to me, if Laertes was there. The story just needs him there, you know? One of the reasons I picked him to apply with is because I hoped the same could be said about the story of Diverona and I wanted to play that kind of role in a group filled with characters I think are awesome.

But it isn’t all source material that lead me to pick Lawrence, oh no! Lawrence is, as his bio shows, driven by a near all-consuming need for approval. He’s willing to keep pushing towards and striving for goals that would be completely out of reach if it wasn’t for his absolute, burning need to prove that he is capable of meeting those goals and surpassing them. For Lawrence, he expects that one receives love only if its been earned. He was never told that he was enough on his own merit and so the idea that he, as a person, is worthy has never crossed his mind, which is an absolutely tragedy! However, it’s something I understand and looking at that aspect of his character, I felt I’d be able to do it justice because I deal with a very similar thing far too often for it to be healthy.

However, there was one part of the bio that convinced be Lawrence was the character I had to try and get into this group with. Lawrence is a genuinely good person that has had to push that goodness aside to become someone his father prefers and someone his father would give the underboss title too. He isn’t, as you stated, cruel, but he has learned that in order to advance, he has to step on people, he must control every little itsy thing, and he must, above all, be perfect. But! Despite all these lessons, he is still a good egg! A good bean! I really appreciated you all making sure that was evident in his bio and it was really the thing that convinced me to apply for him!

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

Plot One - Little Sister, You’re All That I Know: So, we’re starting off with the most important plot of all, said from the perspective of another older brother to a younger sister. From what I can tell, the Vernon siblings are both extraordinarily in love with people, but not because of any other reason than the fact that they’re people. Or, at least, they were, up until Lawrence got so angry at Verona for daring to kill his father that he single-handedly took up the pitchforks and torches to make those responsible for that death pay. In the meantime, he’s managed to completely smother and override his sister’s opinion and free will which is so incredibly not good, even if it is well-intentioned. I want Lawrence to learn to back off, to trust his sister, and to learn that as strong as he is alone, he’s much stronger with his sister at his back. I imagine the jumpstart for this would be Odessa doing something really awesome, maybe even saving Lawrence’s life. By proving in a very direct way that she would be able to look after herself, that would allow Lawrence to begin backing off, to release the reigns of control, and trusting her to take care of herself in a way their father never imagined. Unfortunately, Lawrence is stubborn. He won’t change unless someone else kickstarts that change by being extremely impressive. Which is… Not ideal but it is, however, the only way I see that change happening.

Plot Two - Throw Me in the Delorean and it Never Happened: The thing about anger is that it is all-consuming. The thing about vengeance is that it is blinding. And the thing is: when you’re running on both and only on both, you are going to make a mistake. Lawrence is so desperate to be perfect that realizing he made a mistake would be devastating. So you know what I want? I want him to make an absolutely disastrous mistake and I want him to kill the wrong person that he was convinced was involved in the plot to kill his father. Think of it as his own blind stabbing through a curtain without checking to see who was on the other side. I want it because there is nothing like realizing your oopsie resulted in the loss of someone that should have seen the next sunrise to shake the foundations of your conviction. It would be perfect as it would show Lawrence he isn’t infallible and he isn’t perfect, no matter how hard he tries to be Personally, I’d love if he makes a go at a Montague and is forced to also check is loyalty and conviction to the family he’s worked with since he was a little boy. This could easily evolve from him keeping an eye on someone and completely misinterpreting what they’ve been up to and acting rashly. I feel like his failure of judgement would leave the Montagues shaken and reeling and it would further destabilize the city, which is frankly a big yes please from me. I also want Lawrence to try and cover his failure up and fail miserably. That’s really just because I feel like it would be a very interesting character study to see how Lawrence deals with trying to hide the evidence of his imperfection and doesn’t have a lot to do with Verona as a city, but alas, I am just a humble writer too focused on the golden boy and recognize that aspect of this may not come to play at all.

Plot Three: The Beauty of a Broken Bust: In the biography, you wrote that “he was put on a pedestal so high that a fall might’ve shattered him”. That foundation he’s on isn’t the sturdiest of things at the moment, considering the person that made that base is now dead. So, I want him to shatter and break apart. I want the pieces that had made him up, the pieces that he has forced to make him up to go flying to who knows where, leaving Lawrence with nothing else to do but to rebuild himself entirely without his father’s influence. This would change his perspective on the war as well as his relationships with nearly every character in this RP. It would also force him to confront the actions and choices he made while trying to become someone his father would be proud of. I truly believe this is something he must eventually go through because the person he is trying to be for a dead man isn’t sustainable nor is it healthy! Something has got to change and that something is code for Lawrence. I can see this happening because of the death of his sister, a very personal betrayal from inside the Montague family, or from the plot I mentioned directly above. If Lawrence stays the way he is, however, he’s going to burn himself out before he can give the Vernon name any sort of justice and he has to accept that. The issue with this plot is that he’s so stubborn and this happening would require a push so strong I’m not entirely sure I want to see it. (That’s a lie, I absolutely do want to see it, but my internal dramatics insisted that I state it that way.)

Plot Four - Now Would You Kindly: Now, I know y’all said three plots and I hear you, but I have more ideas and I want to share them! The first of these extra ideas is that it is a truth universally acknowledged by Montagues, Capulets, and Vernons alike that Alvise was not a good man. Lawrence knows this, Roman knows this, the pigeons that litter the city know this. I want evidence of his wrongdoings to come swinging back and to slap Lawrence so hard that he’s forced to question if the footsteps of his father are ones worth following. Maybe it’s in the form of letters of blackmail or an investigation into how many innocent people he helped kill, but I want it to happen and I want the evidence to be so overwhelming it almost drowns Lawrence. He’s spent a very long time pushing down what he wants to be for what his father wants him to be and I want Lawrence to question if it’s really been worth it, if that kind of person has been worth the outrageous effort he’s put in to make it happen. And maybe that person isn’t someone Odessa wants to be related to, which is something I think would absolutely impact Lawrence’s decision. She is his last living blood relative, after all.

Plot Five - I’m the King of the Castle: In Lawrence’s mind, I have no doubt that he believes he should be the Montague underboss now that he is back in town. He has, after all, fought for it, cried for it, and killed for it. However! He is not the underboss and that has no doubt rubbed him the wrong way. So, I want him, in his crusade to avenge his father, to also do his best to prove how perfect he is for the underboss role. I want him to leap into impossible jobs and to push down his morals yet again and brush on a mask of cruelty because he wants it, he deserves it, and it his in his name and therefore his legacy that he has the blasted title of underboss! He needs to fight for it and I want that fight to be obvious and also just flat-out brutal to observe. I don’t know if I actually want him to get it, if I’m being completely honest. Him having the title also raises some issues about what he did to get there, issues I want to explore, however I feel that such a role would push Lawrence too far in one direction on that vague scale of morality and loyalty he currently exists on and I kinda want him to keep waffling on it for as long as possible. This could change however! Especially with plotting. And I recognize that, so I will say that the core of this plot is his fight for the role of underboss and less about what would happen if he got it.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Yeah, I’m ok with that! It would really suck, especially given how the Vernon family has been absolutely just. Destroyed. Uprooted. Left unmoored and drifting in the wind like last week’s laundry. But that same instinct that tells me that killing Lawrence would a) sprinkle in some awesomeness that is the original source material in a very satisfying way and b) would upend Verona even more than its already been, giving and taking motivations from people and maybe driving the rest of the Montague family just absolutely over the deep-end, which I would pay actual, real-life money to see. The slow destruction of the Vernon family is the slow destruction of Verona herself which means there is some drama to be had in Lawrence’s death! And I do love drama.

IN DEPTH

In-Character Interview (I only did two, please let me know if you want more!):

“What has been your biggest mistake thus far?”

Lawrence swallowed, face kept carefully still to give nothing away. Answers sprung to the tip of his tongue, eager to leap forward like hounds released from their kennel, but opening that door would destroy a lot more than just Lawrence’s reputation. Indeed, the perfect tool should not have so many answers to that question, but perhaps, Lawrence mused, his time away had done something to his obedience.

He stalled for time by taking a sip of the drink he had been neglecting in the warm Italian air. It was now unpleasantly lukewarm as the golden heat of the day made its way into the glass but it was better than nothing. It was only as he took a small sip that an answer sprung to mind, one that was both truthful and good for the image he was attempting to maintain.

“I have to say it was leaving the city,” he commented, returning the glass to the table. “I… left for reasons I am proud of, especially because there’s nothing wrong with being educated in this world. But if I had stayed, I could have done something!” Lawrence’s fist hit the table, making the glass and girl across from him jump. The sudden burst of temper was gone as quickly as it had arrived as his hand opened and his shoulders relaxed. “If I had stayed, this all wouldn’t have happened and a great man would still be with us. But I didn’t and now my father is dead.” He shrugged, meeting the girl’s eyes and hoping she wouldn’t see the emotion carried in them. “If I had come back earlier, Verona would be a very different place.”

“What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?”

His jaw clenched so tightly, a particularly attentive listener could hear his teeth protest the treatment. Lawrence’s hand held the chair like it was the only thing keeping him from leaping across the room to punch the smugly smirking man in the nose. “Just because I’ve only recently returned,” he gritted out, “does not mean I have gone turncoat. There is nothing,” he spat out, “nothing in this city more justified or honorable.”

His body eased the tension that it had so rapidly adopted as he noticed the nervous twitches and aborted movements to concealed weapons that had begun filling the room. As he eased, the rest of the room did too. “But you’re wrong,” Lawrence continued quietly, though there was no mistaking the vehmance leaking from his mouth like poison. “This isn’t a war. This is justice long overdue and more than earned. To call it a war is to imply the Montagues are not fully in the right.”

Lawrence took a deep breath, exhaling some of the passion he had been speaking with not long before. “I wish it wasn’t the loss of my fath–” His voice cracked and Lawrence swallowed, once, before continuing. “Alvise that had caused it, but it is only makes this city all that more dangerous for the Capulets. Because now I am back in Verona and I am coming for every single one with Vernon blood on their hands.” Perhaps it was dramatic, but the ice-cold certainty that hung in Lawrence’s voice stole any humor from the proclamation.

In-Character Para Sample:

He was eight years old, holding a pistol in shaking hands barely large enough to operate the thing. A slowly expanding puddle of red licked at his new shoes, staining them from cream to what would, by tomorrow, be an ugly brown. The shoes were what Lawrence focused on, the shoes and their new color. Because if he didn’t, if he looked up, he’d see the man slumped against the wall like a marionette without strings. If he looked up, he’d see the evidence of his actions.

Larger hands took the gun from Lawrence, trying and failing to be gentle. He wasn’t large enough to stop Alvise, though he wouldn’t even if he could. If his father took the gun, he could also take the body and the unbearable weight of its existence. Lawrence knew his father could fix anything, make any problem go away, and so he let the gun go. Maybe his father would fix this too. The two said nothing to each other as large men quietly entered the room, cleaning it, restoring it under the watchful eye of a king of Verona. Lawrence kept his eyes on his shoes.

Before long, Lawrence had been bundled into a car. The gun and body were gone as were his shoes. The next morning, there would be a new pair of shoes, cream and pristine, sitting at the foot of his bed. They stayed there, untouched, until Lawrence outgrew them.

He was thirteen at a new school, all restless energy that danced under his skin because, for the first time in his life, he was allowed to play a sport. He chose football, of course, but the black and white ball came with strings he never anticipated. Fitness was never the problem, it was balancing practice with everything else. Which bruise came from cleats and which came from fists during sparring was never an easy distinction, but as he got better at the sport, he began to look more and more like a poster child for the American Child Services.

It was a lack of sleep that ultimately did him in, made him sloppy. Alvise pulled him aside one Sunday morning before the sun graced the tops of Verona’s rooftops and told him to choose, choose between the sport and his last name. It was presented as a choice freely given, but the look in Alvise’s eyes made it clear it was anything but.

Lawrence quit the football team the next day, despite thinking that if he just kept with it, he could have made the national team. Somewhere, in a shoebox in the back of a closet, are a barely-used pair of cleats.

He was sixteen, armored inside a jacket of patches and studs, the handmade messages stitched to the outside screaming his fury at the world. There was a funeral scheduled that afternoon and Lawrence wasn’t going to be able to make it. The jacket weighed heavy on his back as he cursed Verona and the Montague name for letting his friend, the only one not tied to his father’s world, die because of it anyway.

But Lawrence was needed elsewhere that afternoon, Alvise’s steady gaze still hanging heavy across his back though the man had left some time ago. That coffin was going to go into the ground and with it, the boy affectionately nicknamed “Ray” by the body in that coffin was going to be buried too. The patches that the two had spent so long on, the quiet acts of teenage rebellion and freedom would join the nickname, and Lawrence would once again become the son of Alvise.

No one among the Montague family was going to mourn the dead civilian from two weeks before. No one but Lawrence, and he screamed it from the rooftop. It was only when his throat ached and the fire inside him was less of an inferno that he left the roof and changed into a suit. Alvise needed him elsewhere, and he was never one to disappoint. Lawrence pretends he lost the jacket, even though he knows exactly which trunk it’s collecting dust in.

He was twenty-two when he took the role of captain, the final stepping stone before Alvise’s throne, it seemed. It struck him like a plank of wood across the face when he realized being a Vernon wasn’t enough. His soldiers would listen, and yes, they’d do what he’d ask, but they lacked the respect they gave his father. For the first time, he needed to be more than a Vernon and he rose to the challenge with relish.

He never learned to address them like his father, a man who had perfected the harsh bark that made every muscle in a body snap to immediate attention. That seemed to be a skill reserved exclusively for the man Lawrence knew he needed to become. He never perfected it, but he did learn how to get close enough to command respect and the focus of a room. Then the Vernon name dripped from those around him, praising him for how like his father he was. But that wasn’t enough anymore.

He was twenty-four when he left Verona, determined to outshine his father. It wasn’t enough to just be a Vernon, he had to be better than that. He doesn’t talk about that time with Veronans, the free laughter and the hours spent in a library, writing essays on things he only cared about because they were things to outdo his father. But even as Alvise hung like a ghost over his shoulder, he was still thousands of miles away. His weight that had hung over Lawrence was lifted, and it was only when it was gone he realized it had been there at all.

He would never say it, but his time out of Verona was possibly the happiest times he’d ever had.

He was twenty-eight when Lawrence got the phone call that his father was dead. He is twenty-eight still, but his hands still shake when he fires a gun. He is twenty-eight, and he sneers when someone on the national team fails to score a goal. He is twenty-eight, but anger towards the Montague family still overtakes him at times, clawing at his throat and heart, begging to be released. He is twenty-eight and he has still not learned how to deliver orders like Alvise. He is twenty-eight and despite it all, Lawrence Vernon is his father’s son. He carries a torch alongside his father’s name and even though he is not Alvise, he has never let him down and he has returned to Verona with a bag of clothes and the Vernon name. Wars have been fought with far less and Lawrence has been fighting every day of his life for his father. He just never thought he’d have to fight Verona.There was a time for goodness, but now is the time for success.

Extras:

This app was submitted through Lawrence’s mock blog, so feel free to peruse it!

#accepted #accepted: laertes

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absolxguardian · 6 years ago

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Master and Apprentice Propechy Analysis

Alright, with Master and Apprentice giving us snippets of Jedi prophecies, it’s time for one of my favorite things, analyzing them with not just the hindsight of over 60 years of events on the characters, but with the knowledge that narrative imperative means that the prophecies cover events in the main story. So let’s go:

“She who will be born to darkness will give birth to darkness.”

I can very confidently say this refers to Leia. She’s Vader’s biological child, and her son will be Kylo Ren. The original prophecy was also in Old Alderaanian, making it even more relevant to Leia. Qui-Gon brings up a possible interpretation of the prophecy having already passed, referring a Malastaran duchess with an evil father and a Dark Jedi daughter. I’m going to say narrative imperative makes it about something the audience already knows about. And something involving the family of the likely Chosen One is going to give the events more weight to the Force, if you want an in-universe explanation.

“When the kyber that is not kyber shines forth, the time of prophecy will be at hand.”

Qui-Gon ends the book believing that the false kholen crystals on his mission indicate that his mission starts the time of prophecy. I don’t really agree with him. To start, there’s nothing about this mission that makes it more prophecy-like than any other mission Qui-Gon went on with Obi-Wan. It’s not their first, and it’s not the one right before TPM. Qui-Gon does have visions that end up being correct, but he didn’t even have them before the mission. And visions aren’t really prophecies.

If you assume the time of prophecy is the time periods covered by the movies (again narrative imperative and the Chosen One prophecy), either TPM or ANH/Rogue One starts the time of prophecy. Qui-Gon’s first vision after seeing the kholen crystals consist of them turning red, like bled crystals. I could see bled kyber crystals not being considered kyber because they’ve been damaged. If that’s the case, then TPM will mark the first time the wider Jedi order encountered Sith lightsabers in a thousand years. And so that’s when “kyber that is not kyber” shines forth. Or if the “time of prophecy” is the OT then the activation of the Death Star would be when kyber that is not kyber shines forth. The laser is powered by kyber crystals, but the modifications and impersonal activation of them could make it so they’re no longer true kyber. I don’t really have a preference for either marker, but I don’t really agree with Qui-Gon.

“When the righteous lose the light, evil once dead shall return.”

Obviously, this could be about the complacency of the Jedi Order leading to the return of the Sith and most likely is, but there’s another more specific reading for this prophecy. And that’s Maul. This would make the Jedi losing the light when they enter the Clone Wars. Now if the prophecy said evil once dead would return because of the righteous losing the light, then I’d say it’s definitely the Sith, because the survival of the Sith comes directly from the Jedi’s problems. Maul’s return is a less direct cause and effect, but the prophecy doesn’t require the return to be because of the Jedi’s problems.

“The danger of the past is not past, but sleeps in an egg. When the egg cracks, it will threaten the galaxy entire.”

Yeah, it’s the Sith. I don’t think there’s any deeper symbolic meaning of the egg part, it’s just that things grow in eggs, but can’t hurt anyone while inside one.

When Qui-Gon is musing over the whole idea of prophecies, he thinks about a prophecy that “said the Sith would disappear yet appear again”. We don’t know the exact text of the prophecy, but I could see it as being either of the previous two. Jedi studying that prophecy agree that it references to a possible return of the Order, which it obviously does. Qui-Gon mentions that it could be about Darth Wrend, a Sith who was assumed dead but then returned to fight the Jedi. Again, I think narrative imperative requires it to be former. I also think we can say that Qui-Gon studying this prophecy is why he’s so confident Darth Maul is a Sith.

“One will ascend to the highest of the Jedi despite the foreboding of those who would serve with him.”

Qui-Gon believes the prophecy refers to him, but since he never accepts the position of the council, it can’t be. And it’s clearly about Anakin. Thank you random Jedi Seer for having such a straightforward prophecy.

“Only through sacrifice of many Jedi will the Order cleanse the sin done to the nameless.”

The most obvious interpretation is that the destruction of the Jedi somehow “cleanses” what they did to the clones. I’m not sure how the Jedi Order falling makes up for what happened to the clones, it certainly doesn’t improve their situation. The only thing I can think of is that it’s somewhat implied that Order 66 only works once (Tiin was only able to pull his Order 66 trick because the clones with the inquisitors were new, but Bilabla’s clones keep hunting Kanan. On the other hand, the few Imperial clones we know of aren’t obsessed with the Jedi anymore), and so with it fulfilled, they’re finally freed from the inhibitor chip. But it seems like a pretty bad deal, but I could imagine the Force or the Seer considering freedom from possible literal mind control enough.

Another reading I could think of is that the masses of the galaxy: slaves, clones, and exploited poor beings are the nameless because no one pays much attention to their plight. With the Jedi Order reset, the sin that was their complacency and being bound to the Republic is destroyed. You see that with Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka, but Luke clearly falls into the same trap. Qui-Gon says that the prophecies can be filtered by the Seer’s basis (so it’s a tool to learn about how they see the world), so it’s possible that the Seer just saw Rey’s new light-side Order as Jedi, or maybe Rey ends up calling them Jedi. Of course, this is if it does turn out Rey does the likely thing of forming a new and improved Jedi-like order.

“When the Force itself sickens, past and future must split and combine.”

The stuff about past and future made me think of the World Between Worlds, but nothing about that time really strikes me as making the Force sick any more than the Empire after Rebels. They were single-handedly causing climate change on Lothal, and with the Loth Wolves, the planet seems to be very important to the Force, but I can’t really see Ezra’s time travel as “splitting and combining”. Maybe the Force was just worried about Ahsoka, since she holds the spirit of the Daughter.

However, there’s another way to read this. With the Cosmic Force “awakening” in TFA and Luke noticing a change in the Force when Rey arrives, it’s implied that the events ST trilogy is affecting the Force itself. With them returning to Jakku, where the definitely dark-side abyss is located, it's possible that part of TROS deals with the Force being sick in some way. Rey learning from the Jedi of the past, but also using her own morality and ideas to create a better order and that’s past and future splitting and combining. Take what works from tradition, but make your own future. If my second guess is true, then it means that this prophecy has actual predictive qualities for us, and that’s pretty cool.

“A Chosen One shall come, born of no father, and through him will ultimate balance in the Force be restored.”

So you know how I’ve said that I wouldn’t make a Chosen One theory without the actual text of the prophecy, well here it is. It’s also simpler than the several page mostly-censored version from legends. Well to start, unless there’s some translation gender weirdness (like the original language of the prophecy had no gendered pronouns and the translator’s own basis influenced them), Rey isn’t the Chosen One. But don’t get excited, Kylo Ren can’t be the Chosen One either, because the identity of Kylo’s dad is pretty important. In fact, the only way I can see the Chosen One being Luke is that “born of no father” isn’t literal, but instead, it's about how when Anakin fell and Padme rejected him, he forfeited the right to be Luke’s true father. I like that reading, but the ending of ROTJ seems to imply Lucas doesn’t agree with me.

In fact, I’m now firmly in the “Anakin is the Chosen One” camp, and I’ve left my “series of Chosen Ones” headcanon. The main reason is the “through him” part. It implies that it’s not Vader’s actions that cause balance in the Force, but that it’s an unintended consequence of his actions. Now people have joked that the two-ish Jedi and two-ish Darksiders after ROTS mean that Anakin balanced the Force then, and Rael even brings up that same idea, that balance is when light and dark are equal. But when the Empire rose, it was only the numbers of Sith and Jedi that were equal (and they weren’t even that equal, with the Inquisitors, short-term surviving Jedi, and the almost Jedi like Ahsoka). The Sith were clearly more powerful. However, as I mentioned before, there’s a good chance the Cosmic Force “fell asleep” after ROTJ. And there have been hints that extensions of the Cosmic Force like the Ones or Force Ghosts are actually aberrations. Anakin brings balance to Mortis by killing all of the Ones, and the Father seems confident Anakin will do the same to the wider galaxy. Now he may be wrong, but I’m more inclined to trust a Force god over someone like Maul. And Qui-Gon’s story in FACPOV makes it clear that when a Force ghost manifests, it’s an unpleasant and unnatural separation from the Force. Somehow, the end of the Sith caused the Force to smooth out the aberrations that are consciousness independent from the whole. Well, until TFA. And if that is true, it explains why the Force Ghosts couldn’t give Luke advice until TLJ.

“He who learns to conquer death will through his greatest student live again.”

Obviously “he who learns to conquer death” is supposed to be Qui-Gon, but the question is, who’s the greatest student? Qui-Gon becomes the master when he teaches both Yoda and Obi-Wan after his death, but I wouldn’t describe anything of what Yoda or Obi-Wan does counting as living again. Neither of them really live up to Qui-Gon’s temporal goals. Also, who is supposed to be the greatest? Obi-Wan was Qui-Gon’s only temporal student, and you can’t be the greatest when there’s no competition. But Qui-Gon only taught one thing to Yoda.

The fact the obvious interpretation doesn’t quite fit has led me to another reading, one that also predicts the future from our view as well. And that is that Luke ends up conquering death a lot more metaphorically through Rey. The TROS trailer has, what we have to assume to be Luke’s Force Ghost saying “we have taught you all you know- a thousand generations live in you now.” It sounds like Luke is somehow speaking for other Jedi spirits or at least the contents of the Jedi texts. As I discussed earlier, Force Ghosts are aberrations in the Force. So Luke conquering death is more metaphorical. His beliefs in both the failings of the Jedi, but the need for the Jedi to exist will come to fruition in the form of Rey’s reborn Jedi. And Luke has had many students, but since they all either fell or died, Rey is certainly his best one.

#sw #star wars #pt #st #qui-gon jinn #master and apprentice

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 3: Marvel and MCU Easter Eggs Guide

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains The Falcon and the Winter Soldier spoilers and potential spoilers for the wider MCU.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 3 might end up being remembered as the turning point of the series. A slow burn first episode led to some bigger revelations in the second one, but the third episode of the Marvel series is a bona fide sequel to one of the biggest MCU movies of all time in Captain America: Civil War. With a truly triumphant return for Sharon Carter and the re-introduction of Baron Helmut Zemo in a form that should feel much more recognizable to fans of the comics, there’s plenty of Marvel action to be had in “The Power Broker.”

Here’s what we found…

Dr. Wilfred Nagel

Wilfred Nagel was first introduced in Truth: Red, White, and Black, the same story that introduced Isaiah Bradley to Marvel Comics canon. The comics version of Nagel worked on the super soldier project back in World War II. After Professor Abraham Erksine’s death, Nagel was the one in charge of trying to recreate the process. He was the monster who killed hundreds of Black soldiers until succeeding by turning Isaiah Bradley into a super soldier.

And while Nagel’s comics super soldier program is designed to evoke the horrors of the Tuskegee Experiments, his description of his research in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sounds more like a different injustice perpetrated on a Black subject: Henrietta Lacks.

Nagel describes working from “blood samples from a semi-stable test subject.” Henrietta Lacks was a young Black mother treated for cervical cancer in the early 1950s. The cancer proved fatal, but a collection of her cells sent to a tissue lab were remarkably hale, growing in the lab where other tissue samples would die out within 24 hours. The cell line cultivated from that sample would go on to be mass produced and used for a ton of biomedical research, even playing a critical role in the discovery of the polio vaccine.

Of course, all this was done without hers or her family’s consent. They didn’t even find out the cell line existed until 1975. That has led to a fight by her descendants and medical ethicists to give her the recognition she deserves for the part she’s played in helping human society, a movement that has only really taken off in the last decade.

Captain America: Civil War

Falcon is annoyed that Bucky won’t move his seat up. Their roles were switched during Captain America: Civil War.

Of course, that’s the only reference to Captain America: Civil War this episode. Just kidding!

Baron Zemo

This is the first time we see Zemo wearing his trademark purple mask. In the comics, Helmut Zemo was horribly burned by adhesives during a fight with Captain America and would hide his mutilated face with that mask.

When Bucky first enters Zemo’s cell, there is a reprise of Henry Jackman’s Captain America: Civil War score. Zemo was the central villain of Cap’s third MCU instalment, and Jackman returned to compose the Falcon and the Winter Soldier score for Marvel.

The Russian code words Zemo immediately uses – “longing, rusted, seventeen, daybreak, furnace, nine, benign, homecoming, one, freight car” – no longer activate the Winter Soldier, but Zemo attempts to press Bucky’s psychological buttons throughout the episode in other ways, and also tries to sow doubt in Sam’s mind about just how “healed” Bucky is from his time as HYDRA’s deadly assassin.

Zemo reveals he is currently reading the works of influential Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher and writer Niccolò Machiavelli. This is spectacularly on the nose, as Zemo is just about the most Machiavellian Marvel Comics villain there is – known to use his powers of deception and treachery to play all sides in almost any equation.

Wait, Marvel just dropped the entire “Zemo is royalty” backstory in there like it was nothing! The Baron has officially joined the MCU – with all that entails.

Zemo says that Sokovia has been gobbled up by neighboring states after the Avengers’ battle in Avengers: Age of Ultron left its city in rubble. He rhetorically asks whether Bucky and Sam have been to the memorial, and naturally they haven’t. We’ve seen a glimpse of Helmut standing in front of a memorial statue in trailers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so he may go and pay his own respects at some point.

We also see that some time spent in the slammer has done nothing to change Zemo’s mind on the legacy of superheroes and super soldiers. He still believes they must be wiped out, and murders Nagel in a heartbeat when he thinks he has a chance to end the Super Serum line. Make no mistake, Bucky has a target on his back a mile wide where Zemo is concerned, and we don’t think Zemo will hesitate to kill Bucky as soon as the time is right.

Bucky as Captain America

This is the first time Bucky has suggested that he wield the shield. Not only has this happened in the comics for a time (with Zemo being part of his downfall), but previous Captain America movies have planted the seeds by regularly having Bucky wield the shield in the heat of battle.

So Bucky doesn’t just have a notebook like Steve’s, it IS Steve’s. Wonder if Zemo saw his own name in there?

Sharon Carter

The Sharon Carter we catch up with in episode 3 is much, MUCH closer to her Marvel Comics counterpart – in that she’s badass af – but this Sharon is also extremely jaded after going on the run, and is clearly involved in some other murky business that us viewers are being kept in the dark about, for now.

This is the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier written by John Wick franchise creator Derek Kolstad, and Sharon Carter becomes the MCU’s version of Wick. Just when she thought she was out, they pull her back in, and she has the unenviable job of fighting a series of Madripoor’s most eager assassins single handedly.

The Power Broker

In case there’s any doubt who holds a lot of influence in Madripoor’s Low Town, there’s some prominent graffiti that promises “The Power Broker is Watching”.

The Power Broker wants that Super Soldier Serum pretty bad, and with Nagel now dead thanks to Zemo, Karli Morgenthau is suddenly holding a lot of bargaining chips.

Any guesses on who the Power Broker might be? There are still three blank slots during the end credits. One of them is surely for whoever is playing the Power Broker. Who could the other two be for?

John Walker

We don’t spend a ton of time with John Walker in this episode, but we see the character’s harder edge increasingly creeping through. His “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM” feels very much like how the character used to behave during his early post-Captain America days as the U.S. Agent in the comics. John has a bit more nuance here on the screen than he did in the comics, but they clearly aren’t going to shy away from this aspect of the character.

Madripoor

Madripoor is one of the most famous fictional locations in all of Marvel Comics history, first appearing back in New Mutants #32 in 1985. It has pretty much always been primarily associated with the X-Men throughout its history (especially Wolverine, who liked to use Madripoor as his favorite personal vacation spot), but plenty of other Marvel heroes have found trouble in Madripoor through the years (including both the Clint Barton and Kate Bishop versions of Hawkeye, so don’t be surprised if we return here during their series). Of course, there are still no firm plans about how mutants will eventually be introduced into the MCU, this would be a fine place to start looking for clues.

The monkey sign was probably the entrance to the Brass/Bronze Monkey Saloon, a bar we visited back in the very influential Gruenwald Captain America run. Crossbones took Cap’s kidnapped girlfriend, Diamondback, there as he was running from the hero.

When talking about Madripoor, Falcon compares its ominous description to Skull Island, home to King Kong. Funny to drop that reference on the week of Godzilla vs. Kong‘s release. Unless this is referencing a totally different Skull Island. Did the Red Skull have his own island in the MCU?

The Princess Bar

If you’re looking for any big X-Men mutant clues, you should probably start with The Princess Bar itself, which in the comics is owned by Wolverine. But other than that, we didn’t get much in the way of mutant stuff out of these scenes.

Introduced in Chris Claremont and John Buscema’s story in 1988’s Marvel Comics Presents #1, The Princess Bar is owned by a man named O’Donnell and home to a bunch of Wolverine espionage shenanigans. At some point, Wolverine bought a silent partnership in the bar under his Madripoori alias Patch (Wolverine in a white tux with a patch over one eye, in the worst cover identity since that time Zooey Deschanel got rid of her bangs). These days in the comics it’s owned by Krakoa generally, as Captain Kate Pryde and her crew of Marauders are putting in quite a bit of work in Madripoor.

Snap Wilson

Falcon is annoyed because his Madripoor outfit makes him look like “a pimp.” For a time, Marvel retconned it so that when Steve Rogers met Sam Wilson originally, he was actually a pimp named Snap Wilson. Some time later, Marvel decided that this was in bad taste and undid the retcon. It has since been explained away as Red Skull trying to alter time and space with the Cosmic Cube, as he has been known to do.

Anyway, Sam’s “pimp” outfit is because he’s supposed to be masquerading as…

Smiling Tiger (Conrad Mack)

Smiling Tiger (Conrad Mack) is an archnemesis of the New Warriors who has, for a time, helped run the criminal underworld of Madripoor. Fittingly, while people may see Madripoor as the first step in seeing Wolverine show up in the MCU, Smiling Tiger’s comic incarnation has a noticeable resemblance to the famed X-Men member.

Trouble Man

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Sam once again brings up Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man soundtrack album, which he has been talking about literally from his first minutes onscreen in the MCU. He’s right, by the way, this album rules. Funny enough, this episode airs on April 2, which would have been Marvin’s 82nd birthday. Go listen to this album specifically or Marvin in general in honor of the man.

Black Panther

Bucky follows a trail of tech breadcrumbs at the end of the episode after previously warning Sam that Wakanda hasn’t forgotten the killing of King T’Chaka during an attack orchestrated by Zemo in Captain America: Civil War. Waiting for him in a quiet side street is Ayo (Florence Kasumba) second-in-command of the Dora Milaje from Black Panther, who is less than happy about Zemo’s freedom. We wrote more about what this is gonna mean for Sam, Bucky, and Zemo here.

The post The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 3: Marvel and MCU Easter Eggs Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

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invctus · 4 years ago

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“also, how could you eat an entire box of poptarts and still be this hungry?”

Thor does not have a particular opinion on PopTarts, be it one way or the other. Darcy’s remark at the diner was born of Thor ingesting an entire box, true, but did not touch upon the fact he was viciously hungry. After his failed coronation, he threw the feast table laden with food ( set aside as a replacement for the feast that likely would have been held had he actually been coronated ) across the banquet hall, spilling what food was on it without actually consuming any of it.With empty plates and only decorative, but still edible, fruits on the table, it’s clear to see that the feast had not actually started and, given how quick Thor’s temper was and still is, there would have been only a short amount of time between his being told Asgard would not go to war with the Frost Giants for their incursion and the incident with the table, he likely would not have eaten anything between the scene in the Weapons Vault and the scene in the banquet hall.

Presumably, he had eaten prior to the coronation, but the film does not say how long had passed between him eating and the start of the coronation. Based on courtly etiquette of the medieval period and “the royal prerogative [of the Vikings] connected with the patronage of merchants and the safe conduct of goods, the very circumstance that trade could not take place except under A HELM OF POWER...” ( Jones, G. a history of vikings. pg. 154), it would not do for a prince of the realm and soon to be king to appear at his own coronation stained with food or still chewing; it does not promote the idea of “a helm of power” nor continue the idea that Asgard is a “beacon of hope, shining out across the stars” with a slovenly king ready to take the helm, so we can assume it was a fair while between Thor’s last meal and the coronation.

After the coronation, Thor ventured straight to Laufey’s court and took up arms against the Frost Giants, killing several platoons of Frost Giants, summoning a lightning bolt powerful enough to rupture the frozen rock and cause an earthquake/landslide from Laufey’s court to the plateau where the Bifrost landed, and killing a Frost Beast single handedly in less than 4 minutes. From there was returned to Asgard, exiled, and “sent” to Midgard ( in the sense he was blasted there and slammed against the car window hard enough to crack the glass while forced to live as a mortal), where he was:

hit by Jane in her car

tasered by Darcy

sent to a hospital where he accosted the doctors, being unfamiliar with their practice of phlebotomy, was eventually pinned down by several doctors and forcibly sedated.

broke free of the restraints almost straight after coming round from the sedative.

hit by Jane in her car again.

The box of PopTarts was the first thing Thor had eaten between prior to his coronation and being hit by Jane the second time. Considering Jane’s poor eating habits ( in the scene where Thor comes to see her at night, Jane is eating a bowl of cereal; presumably, given how busy her work is, she tends to eat more sugary things that have a lot of instantaneous energy and snack on them throughout the day rather than “wasting” valuable time cooking a ‘proper meal, with the exception being the eggs she cooks for Darcy, Selvig, Thor and herself when the Warriors Three arrive), the PopTarts are most likely hers and appeared to Thor to contain the most immediate source of nutrition. He had no prior knowledge of them and is not, by any means, a fierce fanatic of them. They were simply the most nutritious foodstuff available to him and he was a starving warrior who had gone through a hell of a lot between his last meal and that one.

#headcanon. › thor.

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iolrachs · 5 years ago

Text

“also, how could you eat an entire box of poptarts and still be this hungry?”

hit by Jane in her car

tasered by Darcy

sent to a hospital where he accosted the doctors, being unfamiliar with their practice of phlebotomy, was eventually pinned down by several doctors and forcibly sedated.

broke free of the restraints almost straight after coming round from the sedative.

hit by Jane in her car again.

#headcanon. › thor.

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portablefrailty · 7 years ago

Text

Michael

The Allies knew it was coming. The October Revolution had put Lenin in power and, true to his word, the first Soviet leader made peace with the Germans, closing down the Eastern Front. From their the trenches, the British and French shuddered at the prospect of hundreds of thousands of shock troops in grey boarding west-bound trains to reinforce the armies that had already held them at bay for three and a half years. Sure, the Yanks were coming, but Germans would get there first. The French were spent. Their army had mutinied en masse the year before and almost abandoned their trenches. This had left the British to do the brunt of the fighting. Only four months earlier the BEF had endured one of the most horrific battles in human history—Paschendaele, another attempt at breakthrough that ended when torrential rains turned the battlefield into a soup of mud so deep that the wounded literally drowned in filth. In short, the Allies were just hanging on.

OHL, the German high command, named the offensive Michael, after the angel who had driven Lucifer from paradise. Recognizing the fragility of the Allied coalition, Luddendorf, the chief German general by 1918, attacked at the point where the British and French armies joined. These were the old Somme Battlefields, where on July 1st, 1916, the British army had endured the greatest number of casualties on a single day in its entire history. Like most World War I battles, it began with an artillery barrage, sudden, terrifying and devastatingly effective. By 1918 both sides had learned how to fire accurately on enemy positions without wasting ammunition or forfeiting the element of surprise through trial and error.

Winston Churchill was inspecting one sector of the line when the barrage erupted: “And then, exactly as a pianist runs his hands across the keyboard from treble to bass, there rose in less than one minute the most tremendous cannonade I shall ever hear...It swept round us in a wide curve of red leaping flame…the enormous explosions of the shells upon our trenches seemed almost to touch each other, with hardly an interval in space or time.” In five hours the Germans had fired over a million shells. Then German infantry came on. Waves of them with rifles, grenades and flame throwers, supported by cannons shooting just over their heads. Within days the British had abandoned their front line positions and the stalemate of the Western Front came to an end as the German army plunged headlong into allied rear. Within weeks the unthinkable was contemplated—the fall of Paris and loss of the war. To punctuate this the Germans brought up the largest cannon ever built and began shelling the French capital from 40 miles away.

One of the most compelling elements to the story of the Great War is how close the Germans came to winning. In the last months of World War II in 1945 the Nazis were spent. They had staged a stunning rally over Christmas of ’44 at the Battle of the Bulge but few doubted the outcome, even in the thick of that battle: the wermacht were retreating in all directions and the Fatherland would inevitably be crushed like an egg. In 1918, though, the German army had stood its ground for three years, holding off three great powers almost single-handedly. Now one of those powers had been driven into ruin, the other two were exhausted and for the first time since 1914 the Germans had the numerical advantage. And yet in less than eight months the very same Germany would come begging the Allies to put an end to the killing.

It all happened with amazing rapidity. By April Michael had ground to a halt at Amiens. Three successive follow up offensives then achieved smaller and smaller gains. The final attack in May would be stopped with the help of the Americans along the Marne—including the legendary attack of the Marine Corps at Belleau Wood. The Germans achieved terrific gains, true, but they now had to defend a much larger front line, knowing they had failed to end the war, knowing they would never again have the advantages they had on March 21st, 1918. And the Americans were here. By the hundreds of thousands, with millions more on the way. When the Allies counterattacked at the end of the summer, they faced an enemy already beaten.

#WWI #Michael Offensive #spring offensive #the great war

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aion-rsa · 8 years ago

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The 15 Best Hidden Treasures in Watchmen

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons‘ comic book masterpiece, “Watchmen,” is one of the most densely written comic book series ever. The level of detail that Moore and Gibbons devoted to every panel is astounding. Due to this amazing level of detail, there are plenty of small references that even an astute reader would miss on their first read of the book. These hidden gems come in the form of references, bits of subtle foreshadowing and even easter eggs, there for the reader to find on subsequent readings of the text.

RELATED: The 15 Best Doctor Strange Easter Eggs

Here, we have collected the best of these easter eggs from the original “Watchmen” comic book series (we’re using the art from the “Absolute Watchmen” edition of the book because the image clarity is the best). Thanks to the WatchmenComicMovie Forum for the inspiration for a number of these! See how many you’ve noticed before!

WARNING: SPOILERS of “WATCHMEN” AHEAD!

ENOLA GAY AND THE LITTLE BOYS

The first issue of “Watchmen” debuted in 1986, when the United States and the Soviet Union were still at a tense point in the Cold War, though even by this time, there was the beginning of a “thawing” between the two; the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was only a year away, for example. However, the threat of nuclear war was still very present.

Thus, the threat of nuclear war is pervasive in “Watchmen,” which was set in 1985, when things were even more tense between the two countries. So, we get clever little references to nuclear war throughout the book. For instance, when Rorschach is walking through the seedy side of town in “Watchmen” #2, there is a marquee for “Enola Gay and the Little Boys,” clearly some sort of burlesque show, but a reference to the B-29 bomber the Enola Gay that dropped the very first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. That bomb was nicknamed “Little Boy.”

BLOODY BADGE #1

The most iconic symbol of “Watchmen” is clearly the bloody smiley face badge. It appears on the cover of the first issue of the series and a close-up shot of it appears on the cover of the most popular mass market trade paperback collection of the series. It is a badge that the Comedian began wearing some time in the early 1970s (after wearing a different symbol during the 1940s). The smiley face badge became such an important symbol for Comedian that he even wore it on his robe at home. He was wearing it when Ozymandias broke into his apartment and beat him badly before throwing him from his apartment window.

Throughout the series, Moore and Gibbons would cleverly evoke the bloody symbol in surprising places. We’ll see a few on this list. The first one we’ll look at happened in “Watchmen” #2, when we see how much of a sociopath the Comedian was during the Vietnam War. He was seeing a Vietnamese woman during the war, but when he got her pregnant, he refused to acknowledge her or his unborn child. So she slashed him in the face and the blood fell on his badge in the exact same place it would fall when he is killed by Ozymandias 14 years later.

BLOODY BADGE #2

One of the areas where “Watchmen” differed the most from the real world is in the technology present in “Watchmen” that came about due to the fact that the world “Watchmen” obviously had an actual super-powerful being in it. Doctor Manhattan changed a lot of things in the world. One of the areas where he had a great impact was that he used his powers to synthesize the necessary elements and chemicals to create electric-powered cars for the masses. Adrian Veidt, Ozymandias, quickly capitalized on Doctor Manhattan’s newly introduced power system by patenting “spark hydrants,” essentially powering stations for cars.

The spark hydrants appear throughout the book, as Bernie (the young comic book reader who is reading comics throughout the series) warms himself by sitting on one of them. In “Watchmen” #12, when the “alien” attack on Earth wiped out most of New York City, the top of the spark hydrant is knocked off and its sockets look like the eyes on the smiley face badge, along with the blood in the same place as it is on Comedian’s badge (with the curved edge of the socket mimicking the smile of the badge).

SNOOPY

As noted earlier, the threat of nuclear war persists throughout the series and Moore and Gibbons do an excellent job showing just how bad things are and how much it affects the mindset of everyone. As crazy as Ozymandias’ plan ultimately is, you can tell that he is legitimately driven by worry of the nuclear threat. It might have made him nervous enough that he mentally snapped, but the basis for the worry is legitimate enough.

In “Watchmen” #5, we see how much the worry is affecting others, as a Buddhist became so worried that he slaughtered his two young children before slicing open his own throat (note that the blood splattered on the poster of the Buddha greatly evoked Comedian’s famous bloody badge). Almost too tiny to tell, the daughter’s sandals have Snoopy on them, from Charles Schulz‘s classic comic strip, “Peanuts.” Here is a detail of the sandal, flipped for easier viewing…

QUESTION BECOMES RORSCHACH

As you may or may not know, the story that eventually became “Watchmen” originated in a much different form by Alan Moore. The idea was generally “just” an elaborate murder mystery involving a superhero being killed and all of his colleagues being suspects. Moore believed that for the story to have the most power, the characters should be ones that people were already familiar with. He initially formalized the idea with Archie Comics’ superheroes (The Shield, the Fly, etc.), but the idea didn’t get past “What if Captain Strong showed up dead?”

Later, he decided to pursue the idea again, only this time using the Charlton Comics characters that DC Comics had recently purchased. This set-up was a lot more formalized. However, DC wouldn’t let him use their new characters, mostly because “Watchmen” would not have put them back into nice, easy-to-use places). So, Moore developed new characters based very, very generally on mostly the Charlton characters. Obviously, though, Doctor Manhattan went places Moore would never have gone had he used Captain Atom. Same with Rorschach instead of the Question and Nite Owl instead of Blue Beetle. However, in “Watchmen” #5, Moore and Gibbons do a clever nod to Rorschach’s origin by having him form his famed Rorschach symbol using a question mark to start.

WHAT BECAME OF VIETNAM?

Besides technological advances, a significant area where Doctor Manhattan changed the “Watchmen” universe was by being the driving force of the United States military. He pretty much single-handedly made sure that the United States won the Vietnam War. He also served as a solo nuclear deterrent; if the Soviet Union ever launched bombs on the United States, he could stop a good chunk of them and then annihilate most of Russia by himself. This allowed the United States and the Soviet Union to maintain an uneasy detente, while intensifying nuclear activities all over the rest of the world (to answer Doctor Manhattan).

In “Watchmen” #2, we see what has happened to Vietnam since the war ended. As it turned out, Vietnam became part of the United States! Forgetting the logistics of adding Vietnam as a state, this is a clever example of showing how different this world is than ours (another notable one is how Heinz has 58 varieties in this universe, rather than our 57).

ALL HEL

A recurring approach that Moore and Gibbons do throughout the series is to use smoke and other items to obscure letters in words so that the remaining letters spell something different. There is a notable panel in “Watchmen” #12 where a concert marquee is obscured to now read “inert.” The first notable example of this approach, though, was on the cover of “Watchmen” #3, where we see a Fallout Shelter sign, only the F is intentionally cropped, so that it initially reads “Allout Helter.” Helter means “undue haste, confusion, disorder,” which surely describes the world of “Watchmen” at this point in the story, as unease grows over nuclear fears.

However, the smoke then gives a secondary meaning to the cover, as “Allout Helter” becomes “All Hel” after the smoke obscures the other letters, showing the end result from the undue haste towards nuclear war (this is also a reference to the title of the issue, which is a reference to Genesis, “The Judge of All the Earth.” Nuclear war turns “all the Earth” into “All Hel.”

SUPERMAN?

As noted before, the only true superhuman being in the “Watchmen” universe is Doctor Manhattan. Ozymandias does seem to possess some almost-superhuman abilities, but presumably they’re just meant to show him being at the peak of physical prowess. All the others either just use brains, brawn or weaponry to fight crime — only Manhattan actually uses super powers. The United States obviously is grateful to be the only world super power with an actual super-powered asset, so they treat Manhattan well. He is housed at Rockefeller Military Research Center, where he worked on new technology and lived with Laurie Juspeczyk.

As an acknowledgement of Doctor Manhattan’s unique situation as the first superhero on this world, the logo for the Roosevelt Military Research Center (as first shown in “Watchmen” #2) is the logo of the first superhero period, Superman. It is displayed in an atomic bomb, which is in keeping with the recurring nuclear war symbols throughout the book.

OR ALL DIE

As mentioned in the “All Hel” entry, Moore and Gibbons would often use obscured words to form new words and phrases. This was clear in “Watchmen” #12. A building that was shown very often throughout “Watchmen” in the Institute for Extraspatial Studies. Extra-spatial dimension theory is part of superstring theory where there must be a bunch of dimensions around us that are very, very small. At the end of “Watchmen,” Doctor Manhattan clearly embraced the idea of multiple dimensions.

In any event, after the “alien attack” on New York City, the name of the Institute of Extraspatial Studies is obscured so that only “Or Al Die” are visible. However, rather than having another partial word like they did with “All Hel,” here Gibbons goes the extra mile and brilliantly has another piece of debris form the second “L” in “all.” So it now reads “Or All Die,” which follows the dark subject matter of the end of the series well.

CRUCIFY MY LOVE

In “Watchmen” #11, during the famous “I did it thirty-five minutes” ago speech, we see a painting behind Ozymandias…

The painting is of Alexander the Great (Ozymandias’ idol) cutting the Gordian knot. The Gordian knot is a legend about Alexander that celebrates “thinking outside the box.” There was a famed knot in Gordium that no one could unravel. It was a test for many. Alexander, however, solved the knot by simply cutting through it with a sword. He was celebrated for taking a different look to solving a problem. This is obviously how Ozymandias viewed his attempt to unify the world, by faking an alien attack on the planet.

However, going further, Ozymandias also saw himself as a martyr, sacrificing everything for the good of the world. Moore and Gibbons brilliantly displayed this aspect of Ozymandias’ personality by showing him celebrate his “victory” by putting his hands in such a position where, combined with the painting in the background, it appears as though Ozymandias is being crucified, with Alexander’s sword and the wooden pole standing in as nails through his hands/wrists.

WHAT THE VEIDT METHOD CAN DO FOR YOU

Firstly, yes, that does look like a Flash symbol to the upper left there. But that’s not the Easter Egg we’re here to discuss. One of the famous parts of “Watchmen” is the back material of each issue. Each chapter had newspaper articles or snippets from books. These pieces of information greatly inform our understanding of the world of “Watchmen.” Among the things that we learned from extra material is just how Ozymandias became such a dominant figure in American society.

In his non-superhero identity as Adrian Veidt, he became extremely wealthy for his spark hydrant technology, but he also makes a lot of money selling himself, specifically “The Veidt Method,” a magazine explaining how to improve yourself mentally and physically. In an extremely clever reference, after the Ozymandias’ “alien attack” killed millions in New York City, we see an ad for the “Veidt Method” on the back cover of a comic book. The slogan is “I will give you bodies beyond your wildest imagining.” That, of course, is exactly what Veidt did, just in a much bloodier way that anyone would have imagined.

BY THE POWER OF SMOKE SKULL!

The bleakness of the “Watchmen” world is also made evident on the cover of “Watchmen” #3 in an area beyond just the “All Hel” phrase.

If you look on the left side of the cover, Gibbons has used the smoke to form not only a skull, but a skull that appears to be screaming, just for extra effect. Smoking, by the way, is done differently in the “Watchmen” universe, likely intended as yet another little reminder of the ways that this universe is different from our own. People in general seem to smoke using interesting looking pipes that almost resemble crack pipes. This could be part of a response to Doctor Manhattan’s futuristic technology or perhaps it is just a weird little quirk of this universe. Or maybe “Watchmen” predicted Vaping way before it was an actual thing? There’s a great bit later in the series where Laurie considers quitting smoking because it is a dangerous habit. This is contrasted with the fact that the world faces nuclear annihilation.

BLOODY BADGE #3

As we have pointed out, throughout the book, there are many hidden bloody smiley face badges. One that we did not mention is when Ozymandias is attacked, there is blood on the yellow flower in his lapel in the same place as the blood on the smiley face badge.

However, the craziest hidden bloody smiley face badge happened in “Watchmen” #12, following Rorschach’s murder at the hands of Doctor Manhattan (after Rorschach refused to go along with the cover-up of Ozymandias’ “alien attack”). Throughout the last two issues, we continually see the tunnel entrance to Ozymandias’ antarctic retreat. The tunnel is yellow. After Rorschach is killed, the explosion of his body sends some red mist into the air. The red mist passed by the entrance of the tunnel right in the same place as the blood on the bloody smiley face badge. An icicle forming on the entrance of the tunnel forms one of the eyes on the badge. Rorschach’s speeder forms the other eye. And the lines of the tunnel forms a cracked version of the smile. What an amazing piece of detailed work by Moore and Gibbons.

OZYMANDIAS FORMS A CLOCK

Another iconic piece of imagery used throughout “Watchmen” is the “Doomsday Clock,” which is actually a real thing. It is a symbolic clock maintained by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board that gets moved closer or further away from midnight the closer or further away the world is from nuclear destruction. Nowadays, climate change also factors in to how close the clock gets to midnight. At the time “Watchmen” was released, the clock was just three minutes away from midnight, a mere minute away from the closest the clock has ever come to midnight. It hit two minutes in 1953. After getting as far away as 17 minutes from midnight in 1991, it returned to three minutes away in 2015.

Throughout the series, the clock gets closer and closer to midnight. Here are the final panels of “Watchmen” #5 and #6. Look at how the clock moves…

In the end, though, Ozymandias’ “alien attack” has unified the world, so he has succeeded in stopping the clock before it hit midnight. After he enacts his plan, though, see that Ozymandias’ successful glee is reflected with him forming a clock himself. Also note that the clock is still very close to midnight, suggesting that rather than truly succeeding, Ozymandias merely reset the clock. It will keep ticking towards midnight.

FEARFUL SYMMETRY

The greatest easter egg in “Watchmen” is literally an entire issue long. “Watchmen” #5 is named “Fearful Symmetry” after a line from William Blake’s “The Tyger.” However, just as the cover shows the symmetrical Rs, the issue itself is entirely symmetrical. That is to say, the first page is a reflection of the last page, the second page is a reflection of the second to last page and so on and so forth, until the book meets in the middle, which is a double page spread with a V in the middle….

See how the panels on each page mirror each other? That goes on throughout the comic! So, if, say, Laurie is in the foreground of a panel and Dan is in the background, then later in the comic, their mirrored panel will have Dan in the foreground and Laurie in the background. You could spend hours just examining the almost insane level of detail that Moore and Gibbons put into making the issue match throughout the book. Admittedly, some panels match better than others, but it is incredible what the team here managed to accomplish. “Watchmen” is truly one of the most remarkable pieces of comic book work ever.

Can you think of some good “Watchmen” Easter Eggs that we missed? Let us know in the comments section!

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