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lynderman · 2 years ago

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𝙂𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙨𝙚 𝙊𝙛 𝙐𝙨 (Robin Arellano) Pt.2

Pairing: Robin Arellano x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1,412

Date Published: 8/6/22

Tags: Angst, AU, Alternate Universe, Heartbreak, breakups, (past) fluff, eventual Vance Hopper X Reader, time-skips, flashbacks, confessions, fighting.

Description: (This AU Has no grabber what so ever. It's just with the characters. I'm also making them all 16-17 just because it seems better to me lol.)

You and Robin had been dating for quite a while. It all went downhill When he began to get into fights again. A bit later, you get with someone else. How will Robin handle seeing you with someone who isn't him?

Full Chapterlist

(taglist)

@jackie-xoxo

@jadearellano

@wowwontonsoup

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

'𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴

Your Chemistry teacher Mr. Clark, hadn't arrived yet. That was pretty typical of him considering he lived on the opposite side of town. Your class normally got a good 10 minuets of freedom before he showed up. Today, it felt like he would never get there. Or maybe it was the fact that you could still see Robin beating the shit out of Moose. It didn't help your table was right in front of the door either, so you had a perfectly good view of everything going down. After Moose stopped moving, Robin seemed to be satisfied enough to get off of him. You saw his mouth move, but everyone was talking too loudly for you to understand him. All you heard was something along the lines of: "You say some shit like that again, and you won't be getting back up."

You'd definitely heard better ending lines from him.

As the small crowd around him dispersed, you could see the ungodly amount of blood dripping from his fists. It took everything in you to not walk- no. Sprint. Sprint to him to make sure he didn't hurt himself too badly. But you couldn't do that. Could you…? Well, you most definitely could have. That's if Paige hadn't beaten you to it.

Paige Smith.

She made your blood boil. The sight of her. The smell of her expensive perfume. Even her name made you want to throw her to the ground and beat her unconscious. You hated everything about her. Her long auburn hair. Her perfect white teeth. Her clear porcelain skin. Everything. But the thing you hated most? Was the fact she used to date Robin. For a while to say the least.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

(Flashback)

𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴

You and your mom had moved to Denver shortly after your 12th birthday. The two of you had traveled from Texas after your father passed away. As stereotypical as it may sound, your mom had wanted to give you a 'Fresh Start'. What she was really saying what that without your father, she didn't have the money to keep you in your current school. It was one for 'troubled teens'. She didn't have the discipline your father did either. So she hoped that moving might change that.

It did for a while.

When you did move, it wasn't close to being disciplined at all. Your mom picked up a new job that took all of her time. So it was just you again. You didn't exactly love the idea of switching to a new school either. Sure, you had no friends to begin with. but it would be even harder to restart again. At least none of the kids knew anything about you here. Hopefully.

Your first day of 7th grade was interesting to say the least. The first thing you saw after walking to the main building was a kid beating up some other kid. I mean, beating up. You soon discovered that it was Robin who was beating up Moose. It seemed to be a pattern. You watched from behind a girl who was cheering for Robin the entire time. After the fight was done with and everyone was leaving, some boy accidentally bumped into you when he was catching a baseball. That caused you to be pushed forward onto the girl in front of you. The girl fell onto the grass. She whined loudly as she got up and turned to face you. Her white dress now had a dark grass stain in the center.

If looks could kill, you would have been 6 feet under. You just looked at her and began to walk away. That was before she grabbed your wrist a bit too hard. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?" You shoved her off of you and shrugged. "Like what?" She scoffed. "Sorry maybe?" You sighed and forced a smile. "I'm sorry." Paige opened her mouth to say something but you cut her off. "Sorry you look like Lucielle Ball on crack." The look on her face was priceless. She took a step forward, trying to shove you but all you had to do was step out of the way.

So you did.

She fell. Again. This time, in some rain puddle from the storm last night. She screamed for Robin and he came over. He looked around as a smaller crowd formed around you. "Who did it?" He asked. Everyone pointed to you. His eyes turned to meet yours. He was probably expecting some equally snobby girl who looked like Paige. Not a 12 year old girl who was was the same height as him with equally distressed clothing. He took a few steps towards you and stopped. "Are you gonna apologize?"

"Why would I?"

"Because that was rude." You scoffed. "And you beating that other dude senseless wasn't?" You ask. He doesn't say anything. "That's different." You raise an eyebrow. "How?" Silence again. "He was talking shit." You shrug. "It's not my fault some kid ran into me." He opened his mouth again, but you cut him off. (Again.) "Look, I'm sorry that your girlfriend here is an entitled brat who can't stand up for herself so she needs her miniature sized boyfriend to take care of her problems for her."

You should be 12 feet under with the glare he was giving you.

Robin rose his fist but hesitated to punch you. "What? Are you gonna stop cause I'm a girl?" He hit you after you finished your sentence. Not in the face though. Just in the shoulder. It did hurt, but you weren't gonna let that get to you. Robin swung again, but you dodged him. Instead, you turned around and kicked the back of his left knee, making him fall. He turned over on the ground attempting to get up. But before he got the chance, you kicked him in the groin which made him stop right then and there. You stomped on his stomach for good measure. But not too hard. Just enough for him to stay down.

There was no cheering. No clapping. Nothing. Just silence as everyone watched one of the toughest kids in school lie defenseless on the grass. You looked between the two of them. "Now I expect an apology from both of you for waisting my time." Neither of them said anything. Before either of them could do anything, you walked away and made your way to the nurses office.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 ��'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘈 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴

"Awww Robbie!" Ever since you met Paige, she had always called him that. Even when it was You dating Robin and not her. You could tell he hated it. The way it made his body tense and him shrink in his stance. She didn't seem to though. You watched as Paige made her way to Robin. He tried to dismiss shoo her away. That was until he saw you looking over at him. Right after he did, he was all over her. Putting his hands in hers, using her for support to walk. Anything he could think of. You could've sworn you saw him smirk.

You'd be lying if you said that didn't Hurt. It didn't hurt that he was doing anything. It hurt because you didn't know if he was doing It to make you jealous. Or if he had already moved on. You prayed it was the first one. Just as Mr.Clark walked into the lab, you saw Robin whisper something to Paige. The two of them soon walked off towards the basement bathrooms.

Halfway through Chemistry you needed to go to the bathroom. Mr. Clark dismissed you and you left. As you walked through the halls, you debated your options. Did you want to go to the first floor bathrooms where the line was all the way out the door? Or risk it and head to the basement bathrooms. You didn't want to be late to 2nd period so you took your chances with the basement. As you rounded the corner, you could hear Paige's giggling and the sound of laughter.

𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥?

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

#the black phone #tbp #xreader #reader insert #angst #robin arellano #finney blake #female reader #slow burn #Robin Arellano x reader #the black phone x reader #x reader series #series #robinsrelic

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backhurtyy · 2 years ago

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if the stranger things characters [whichever ones you feel like talking about] were in the atla universe, what kind of bender would they be If they were a bender? nonbenders? do any of them have avatar vibes?

OOOH I LOVE THIS QUESTION OKAY!!! starting with my most beloved blorbos and then moving into the rest of the fruity four and the kiddos. the rest are under the cut, because i couldn’t stop talking about them :)

steve harrington: nonbender. steve is… okay. i just feel like his love for everyone, his determination to protect them, goes beyond any element. he just gives and gives and gives so much of himself to everyone. even in situations where he doesn’t think he really has anything to contribute, he gives everything he has. and also he’s so understanding and caring and kind, that being a nonbender would put him in the position to connect with everyone— with benders (with his kids), he can believe in them when they don’t believe in themselves. with nonbenders, he can help them realize that they don’t need to be able to bend to stand up, or to protect, or to be brave— they just have to care, and he helps them care.

eddie munson: airbender. he is at heart a lover, not a fighter. he would rather defend himself than attack anyone, and he’d really prefer to avoid ever getting to that point. he is warm and kind and lighthearted, and he brings a sense of lightness and joy to everyone he talks to, even in the most serious of situations.

dustin henderson: nonbender. a little like teo and sokka, dustin reshapes the world with his hands and his brain. his friends may rely on their bending to get them through, but he’s always there to get them out of situations with nothing more than his own intelligence, his tools, and his hands.

el hopper: she would be the avatar, 100%. like even outside of her role in the show, which is the superpowered child with the world on her shoulders, she just has that vibe. like she is kind and compassionate, and she wants to protect people, and she’s also willing to do whatever it takes to keep the bad guys from winning. she spends a lot of the show trying to find balance, so… avatar.

will byers: airbender. see will is interesting because while el would be the avatar, will is a bit more like aang. like he’s just a little kid, shoved into something so much bigger than he is. and he tries to hand onto his youthfulness and joy and innocence, but he can’t quite ever shake the fact that he’s had to grow up so much faster than he should have. anyways, beyond his similarities to aang, airbending just fits him. like he’s the mediator, he tries to avoid conflict, he’s focused on his friends and family, he’s focused on the offense…

mike wheeler: earthbender. he’s a stubborn asshole.

lucas sinclair: waterbender. lucas is always sort of the most underestimated, the most understood. but he’s always there, watching and thinking and jumping ten steps ahead of everyone else, using their own ambitions and weaknesses against them to save those he cares about. he’s very fluid too, willing to see things from new perspectives when everyone else gets stuck in their own minds. he’s just… he’s a waterbender through and through.

max mayfield: FIREBENDER. EASY. she is hot headed and unyielding, but she’s also determined and compassionate. she’s alway fighting to find peace within herself, like a lot of the firebenders we see.

nancy wheeler: earthbender. nancy is very grounded and sturdy. where everyone else gets caught up in everything going on around them, she always keeps her head on straight and her eye on the prize. she’s strong and steady, just like the earth.

robin buckley: firebender. she’s not as hotheaded, but she’s bright and vibrant and passionate, always moving and jumping feet first into things. she’s energetic, but balances that out with shrewd intelligence.

#THANK YOU COREY #also shoutout to kaylynn for helping me when i got stuck on some of them hehe #answered #corey tag

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kaypeace21 · 4 years ago

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Crash-course for all the evidence of Will creating the mindflayer/upsidedown

* Honestly I’ve talked about this stuff in my did theories- where I explained how the upsidedown/mf/ the lab subjects/ and russians all connect back to Will creating them. But since so may people assume that Will got his powers from the upsidedown/mf rather than Will creating it all subconsciously (with his powers). Thought i’d do a short analysis of just that connection (without boggling it down with those other plot lines that are interconnected) . *So I’m not mentioning the lights -because it interconnects with the numbers/lab.I’m just going to list every example in short succession from every season for brevity’s sake (so it won’t be structured as eloquently as prior analyses).

refresher of how Will influences the mf/upsidedown ...

S1)

Will ( in s1e1) says to Dustin if he could have any comic it would be the xmen. Dustin later says "do you think - el was born with her powers like the xmen? " Will plays a d&d game saying the demogorgan got him -so it does irl. Will writes stories where bad guys weakness are fire so the mf/ demogorgans are lit on fire in s1-3 (and it's their weakness). Will watches poltergeist so Will is forced to be the child character in that film- who was trapped in a alternative dimension and could only speak to their mother through tech. The demogrgan is said to resemble a shark by nancy-mathcing Will’s Jaws movie poster in his room. in s1 Mr clarke describes the vale of shadows (later the upsidedown) as being created by “necrotic” (’dead’-zombie boy) and “shadow” (shadow monster/mf) “magic”. In d&d the Vale of Shadows, is as a lush valley hidden in the mountains that holds a sacred pool with the power to make dreams reality. In d&d the demogorgan is literally called the "deep father" in d&d Nancy also says the demogorgan is like a “lion” the meaning of the name Lonnie- is literally “lion”. We see it attack Will when using lonnie's gun (in lonnie's shed). And it knocks the bat out of Jonathan's hand too. (Baseball/hunting were taught by their dad lonnie). The demogorgan also hurts a deer- mirroring Jonathan's story about how Lonnie forced him to kill a rabbit and how this upset him as he was a fan of the rabbit character from the film bambi.. El when she first sees the demogorgan also sees it eating it’s own eggs-aka symbolically the father hurting his own children. Will's password for cb is rhadagast a wizard who protects Wildlife (the opposite of Hunter-lonnie/the demogorgan).

Duffers cited as inspo the silent hill videogames): And in s1 Hopper named dropped the character Alessa’s last name. “The bad guys faked Alessa’s death. Kaufmann prepared a substitute body of alessa; and performed the fake autopsy (like Will) . Alessa had precognition (future/intuition-like will the wise is said to have in s3) and pyrokinesis (firepowers mentioned Will the wise has in s1). Alessa’s latent psychic abilities are triggered and she shrouds Silent Hill in fog and an altered reality to prevent her ab*sive parent’s schemes from advancing. Many of the drastic changes that befall the town in the game, such as the horrific creatures that come to inhabit it, are conjured from her imagination and delusions. “

Will also says in s1ep1 he wants xmen 134-about the dark phoenix saga. ‘dark phoenix’ - has pyrokinesis ( fire powers-like Will the wise). And the dark phoenix also “was able to warp reality on a universal scale”. One of the phoenix’s host was even the god Thor (god of lightning-an element Will is associated with a lot in s2)

(in s1 Will also spit up a slug- in d&d putting a slug in a humanoid can create/turn that humanoid into a mf. foreshadowing Will being posessed/becoming the mf in s2. ).

S2)

Will plays digdug (a videogame about underground tunnels) so the mf creates tunnels. Will's dog dies so demogogans become demo-dogs. He also watches Ghostbusters- where a character is possessed by the ‘gate keeper’ and can control demon dogs. So this happens to Will too -similar to s1 with poltergeist .In s1 , Hopper even mentions the book Cujo about a violent dog, who is replaced by a new dog named ‘Willie’ (to allude to this).In s1 we see Mike holding a drawing of Will’s- where Will's wizard has lightning powers (coming from his hand). everytime Will uses tech in s1, the phones explode and lighting appears out of them- hopper makes a BBQ joke about the burned phones.later in s2 the mf has these same lightning abilities and the lab technician makes the same BBQ joke.Joyce even describes the tunnels of the mf/ that Will’s draws as “like lightning.” We also see the russians eviserated by lightning next season too.

A lab tech calls Will a wizard-and they monitor his brain waves, record him on video, just like they did to El .(when the mf first appears at Will’s house- the lab techs even notice ). The drawing of the mf is next to a baseball (Lonnie ref) and Will says it was a drawing for a story he wrote. In s2 Nancy describes the mindflayer (but she’s actually describing Will).“So this thing is like a brain that’s controlling everything.”Because it’s not the mindflayers’ brain - it’s Will’s brain controlling everything. ( a “hive mind” aka the mf/WILL share a brain ). Owens in s2e1 (BEFORE the mf possession) says Will's ‘anniversary affect’ would make him remember “tra*matic memories” and “OPEN the neurological flood GATES” (aka Will’s neurological GATES are the gates between the real world and upsidedown - which are connected to the mf).

Owens in s2e1 (after mentioning the ��gates”) even says Will's ‘anniversary affect’ / “tr*umatic memories” would cause temporary “personality changes”for Will (the later mf possession) . I mean... Owens wasn’t entirely wrong was he? Will even feels the back of his neck in s2 and says it has to do with “memories” ...and in s3 feeling the back of his neck meant Will was sensing the mf. Similarly, before his possession-mr clarke mentions phineus gage who after an accident had a “complete change to his personality” (and the shot pans to Will).

Nancy even calls the mind flayer the “mind-flamer”- hinting at it’s connection to Will the wise who has fire powers). And Dustin says the mf “takes over minds with it’s highly developed psyionic abilities “ And to “summon an undead army... cause the mindflayer loves brains ” ( and in s3 the mf creates a undead army by taking over people’s brains). Hopper even says “So how do we kill this thing shoot it with fireballs ?” (which destroys the flesh-monster in s3) ”

S3)

Will (the “zombie boy”) writes a story about juju zombies after watching a film about zombies at starcourt in s3 - then the mf creates a undead army -which was also foreshadowed in s2 (and similar to Will’s s3 d&d story). We also see Will wrote this d&d story in front of "the thing" poster. So the mf creates a flesh monster resembling the creature in that film too. We also see someone get bit (el) like in Will's story and when his friends retcon his ending to be about “sacrificing themselves via explosion (Hopper).” Will just says “fine you win” (so it ends that way).Also, the shadow monster is now called the Mindflayer - and mimics the mf from d&d (both can control rats with their powers in the show/game).

Will in s2-3 grabs the back of his neck and he attributed it to “memories”, “dreams”, and sensing the mf. Will created castle byers after his dad left and he grabs the bat in cb which was next to the Will the wise drawing (similar to how the baseball was next to the mf drawing in s2) and destroys cb with said bat . Then Will touches his neck and admits the mf has returned. EVERY moment Will senses the mf can be loosely connected to Lonnie. Lonnie used to call him h*mophobic sl*rs so anytime he subconsciously thinks of his feelings towards Mike the mf appears-1st time it’s on one of their ‘movie dates’, 2nd time when Mike and El walk off together down the hill to make-out, 3rd time right after he smashed castle byers after Mike says “it’s not my fault you don’t like girls”, 4th time (after the fight with Mike) when Billy is yelling to open the door (a trigger) and confides in Mike, 5th time when Mike asks him to go away so he can talk to El in the hospital waiting area, and 6th time when Mike says he loves El. The 7th time is when Jonathan is fixing up a car -something Lonnie used to do.Lonnie fixes up cars as a hobby-showing his remodeled car to Jonathan in s1 . Will then senses the mf and grabs his neck-which he said are connected to old “memories”. max and Mike are silent until Jonathan says says “got it (the distributor)”. Then Mike screams for his older sibling. We also see in s1 Jonathan checked to see if Lonnie threw Will in his trunk- something the mf does to some of his victims in s3.

Dustin and susie sing “never ending story”- which is literally about a seemingly normal boy named Sebastian with a bowl cut (from a single parent home) subconsciously making a fantasy world being invaded by a dark force (representing the loss of hope/dreams) that only his imagination powers can fix . “make believe i’m everywhere ... what you dream will be...Rhymes that keep their secrets Will unfold behind the clouds.And there upon a rainbow Is the answer to a never ending story” . Cough-Will’s rainbow ship he CREATED.Both times the lyric plays “Rhymes that keep their secrets WILL “ ( it pans to Will).

The film also follows a false chosen one who everyone says is supposed to save fantasia- named Atreyu (el). Specifically, for that plotwist that Sebastian (Will) has to be the one to do so , not Atreyu (who sebastian subconsciously created). In the novel/film-Atreyu ( the child who was deemed the ‘chosen one) is knocked from Falkor’s back, and into the sea of possibilities. There he wakes on the shore of abandoned ruins.

“There Gmork (The Mindflayer) reveals himself, having been lying in wait.And then latches his jaws onto Atreyu’s leg.”

-Before the duet, Susie tells dusin she’s reading “ a wizard of earthsea” and says ged is about to save his world. The book is about a boy-wizard named Ged (Will) who casts a powerful spell, but the spell goes awry and instead he releases a shadow creature! The new Archmage, Gensher, describes the shadow as an ancient evil that wishes to possess Ged. But the ‘shadow’ turns out to be a representation of the darkest aspects of his personality. And the only way for the world to be saved is for the 2 to merge and for Ged to accept himself .

-Will says he’s a wizard ( writing on a music tape in s3 “will the wise-wizard mix’ and having his password for castle byers be ‘rhadaghast’- a lotr wizard). The way they describe d&d Wizards matches Will/mindflayer perfectly “Wizards are adepts and magicians who combine according to the type of their spells. Relying on the subtle weaves of magic that permeate the universe, wizards are able to create spells of explosive fire, sparking lightning, subtle deception, and gross mind control. Their magic summons monsters from other planes of existence, predicts the future, and turns defeated enemies into zombies. Their most powerful spells can transform one substance into another, summon meteors from the sky, and open portals to other worlds” (all these powers Will the wise/mf are implied to have)

- Stranger things d&d comic (published post s3) : Will creating a illusion army of monsters -as Will the wizard.

- stranger writers twitter reffed several movies which discuss artist/writer WILLiam Blake who helped make the art exhibit “worlds turned upsidedown”

possible reason for the flayed eating chemicals& fertilizer (in s3)

full link/credits here. Lonnie’s gf has a biker shirt from Harley davidson- with the eagle logo and their saying “live to ride’. Which would imply lonnie is also in such biker circles. Harley davidson in the 80s had dr*g gangs too (primarily m*th).

One reason m*th is so prevalent in rural areas is that it can be formulated, or “cooked,” by small producers and one of the ingredients is readily found on most farms – anhydrous AMMONIA fertilizer. Both farmers and chemical suppliers have experienced thefts of anhydrous particularly in the Midwest.“

WHICH REMINDS ME OF the FLAYED EATING FERTILIZER AND CHEMICALS IN S3 . Nancy even says farmers/chem suppliers are having fertilizer stolen! And she later thinks flayed tom was on drugs- “A mysterious case of the missing fertilizer- a Nancy Drew Mystery”. This is also in the same season one character (who looks a bit like Lonnie) is a biker is corrupting the town.

Will creating /basing the supernatural from suppressed memories -means it’s from a very young child’s perspective . young Will would equate people eating chemicals, ammonia fertilizer, and ammonia... to using those SAME chemicals to create m*th and then physically consuming them . Why we see mrs driscoll eating fertilizer & Billy drinking ammonia.

The reason the flayed started behaving differently is probably because in s2 Will was forcibly injected with a needle & woken up with ammonia by Hopper-jogging some of those old memories.

EVEN Nancy’s proof Tom is on dr*gs is a symptom of m*th use or withdrawl from it-excessive sweating (like all the flayed in s2-3). M*th causes hyperthermia (body is at a higher temp than usual)-so they like it cold!!!!! Even clammy hands that she mentioned is a symptom of m*th use. in children it can even cause seizures- like Will :(

And when m*th is made via fertilizer it first is made into a highly corrosive liquid which is sometimes green-like the Russian lab.“six pounds of toxic waste is created for every pound of m*th manufactured. The waste is often dumped on farms, in rivers and and is harmful to the environment.” Like all the chemical leaks relating to Hawkins lab/mf that affected the crops in s2/this pic of water in s3.

m*th was even called ‘bathroom crank’-which is sketchy given the bathtub is what mf fears and how the sensory deprivation tank is also called a ‘tub’ by el . Becky even said Brenner would get terry high and throw her in the tank/tub.

It also does take some chemisty knowledge to COVERT various substances (including fertilizer and other chemicals) to make m*th- which reminds me of the kids saying they can convert one substance into another (when explaining why the possessed are eating chemicals)- they say they’re making a new chemical “in themselves”

other hints

Will’s b day is march 22 . Which is when “fire burns most brightly” and his ‘birthday number is number 7′ (”it was a 7 the demogorgan it got me′) . The number 7 is specifically associated with “wisdom and psychic abilities”. His b day even adds up to 7 (3+2+2).His horoscope is also influenced by the shadow god-ketu (who is also associated with wisdom and psychic abilities too).

* There’s way more details/depth/ other st inspirations in my DID analyses -specifically pt 2. (where i discuss how the mf/upsidedown connects to the numbers/russians- and also specifially Will).But this is just a crash course about the flayed/upsideown/it’s creatures connect to Will.

People will dismiss all of this as just the Duffers liking to reference random things they like/ and foreshadow via d&d without any in universe reason. but I really think that’s a disappointing explanation/outcome. Especially the predictable cliche theory that the mf is just experiment #1. Not only is it boring, cliche, and predictable af- but it doesn’t line up as well with the mental health themes mentioned in ever season.Will created everything via tr*uma cause of his dad- and overcomes this: is not only a “twist” that will make rewatching more enjoyable given all the hints- it’s more narratively sound given how much the series touches on themes such as overcoming tra*ma, mental health, and problematic fathers. The #1/ex experiment=mf theory doesn’t explain why they made the supernatural connect to Will in this way . And with such a boring cliche ending it would quickly be forgotten like other big sci-fi/fantasy shows that quickly lost relevancy after being popular: like heros, g.o.t, etc.One makes the show cliche another makes it remembered for decades (ex: jacob’s ladder).

#will byers #stranger things #byler #byeler #stranger things theory #did theory

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lesbianrobin · 3 years ago

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What do you think are the good and bad aspects of each season of ST?

ok 1. thank u for this question omg and 2. this answer may or may not be a mess, but either way it’s long (almost 7k words lmao) bc i’m insane, which is why it’s under a cut. it’s still by no means an exhaustive list but these are the things that just kinda came to mind.

also i realize you asked “good and bad” and i wrote this whole post as “strengths and weaknesses” which um. is not Exactly what you asked. but close enough <3 i also ended up including a lot of au ideas ksjdckmn bc like i personally hate when people say a certain plot or whatever was bad without suggesting anything that could have improved it yknow so whenever possible i tried to provide Some idea for fixing the issues i had with the show!!

season 1

strengths (this is probably gonna be the longest section but that’s because a lot of these strengths also apply to s2/s3 by default)

nostalgia and authenticity

this one’s pretty simple, but i think that season one did a good job of blending classic eighties media homages (such as the many many e.t./el parallels) with explicit pop culture references (such as mike’s yoda impression, mentions of the x-men, etc) to create a show that’s essentially dripping in early eighties nostalgia without it feeling too forced. before st, i think the most popular depiction of the eighties in mainstream media was that overly exaggerated neon scrunchie aesthetic from the mid to late eighties, and it was usually done in a comedic sense first and foremost. st took a different approach, instead focusing on the early eighties, a time that’s often ignored in favor of going either Full Seventies or Full Eighties, and i think that this choice likely resonated with adults who lived through the eighties and hadn’t yet seen something that felt quite so accurate to their own adolescence. a lot of young people who watched st were totally unfamiliar with this period of time, unfamiliar with books/movies like “stand by me” that st borrows from heavily, and i think st lent more seriousness to the eighties than most young people had experienced so far, and this was refreshing and interesting!

the use of dnd in the show is also quite genius in a way i’m not sure i can articulate?? it isn’t something Everyone would have played at the time, but it’s something that existed within a different context back in the eighties than it does today, and it really lent a sort of authenticity to the naming of the show’s sci-fi elements. like, of course these kids would name parallel dimensions and monsters and superpowers after these similar things in their favorite game! it just feels so real and it grounds st in our reality moreso than you might expect from the typical sci-fi or horror universe.

utilization of existing tropes

almost every single character in st clearly originates from some popular trope. the plot itself is riddled with classic eighties movie tropes. almost every single element of stranger things can be clearly traced back to some iconic eighties film or just to, like, overused horror/sci-fi/mystery/coming-of-age movie tropes in general. this might sound like a bad thing, but it really works in st’s favor! starting off with familiar tropes gives st the ability to easily create a lot of complexity and make a big impact by selectively deviating from those familiar, comfortable tropes!! while el’s whole plot, hopper’s character, etc, are all examples of this in action, i think the steve/nancy/jonathan plot is the greatest example. even from the start, the fact that good girl barb dies while nancy is off having sex with her asshole boyfriend is an incredibly thorough inversion of the most well-known horror movie trope in the book. how often do girls in horror movies have sex for the first time, walk home alone in the dark of night, and live to tell the tale? nancy and jonathan’s dynamic at first glance is a sort of classic “good girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, discovers he’s actually got a heart of gold” thing, but instead of following this well-trodden path, st diverged. nancy is brash, impulsive, and at times downright insensitive. jonathan is angry, bitter, and actually a bit of a creep at first. while they have the capacity to emotionally connect and support one another, they can also bring out each other’s darker side, which is not what we’ve come to expect from that initial tropey dynamic.

in addition, steve, the popular rich asshole boyfriend, is actually... a human being! unlike the cartoonishly evil jocks that we’ve come to expect (especially from eighties movies), steve has complexity. despite his initial immaturity and selfishness, he’s also kind to barb, he backs off when nancy says no, he’s gentle and sweet when they sleep together, his first big Dick Move of the season is in defense of nancy, he realizes the error of his ways after the fight and does what he can to fix it, he’s worried about nancy when he sees that she’s hurt at jonathan’s house, and to top it all off, he ends up saving both nancy and jonathan’s lives when he could have just walked away, and the three of them all work together to fight the demogorgon. like... steve began as the most stereotypical character of all time, and by the end of the season, he had one of the most compelling and unique arcs among the whole cast!

finally, at the very end of the season, instead of dumping steve for jonathan as expected, nancy ends up getting back together with steve, and they’re both on friendly terms with jonathan. i realize that i just kinda. summarized s1. but my POINT is that i don’t think the dynamics between the monster hunting trio would be nearly as fun and interesting had the characters of nancy, steve, and jonathan not been set up to follow certain paths that we already had charted in our own heads. like, within the first couple episodes of s1, it’s pretty obvious that nancy and steve are gonna break up, nancy will get with jonathan, and steve will either die or go full evil or just never be seen again. like, duh! you’ve seen this story a million times! you know that’s how it’s gonna go! so, when the story DOESN’T go that way, the impact of each character’s arc and the relationship dynamics become stronger due to their unexpected complexity and authenticity.

distinct plotlines separated by age group

this one’s rather obvious, but the way that the adults in s1 were essentially in a conspiracy thriller while the teens were in a horror flick and the kids were in a sci fi power-of-friendship story and all three converged at the end... wow. brilliant showstopping etc. not only was it just really well done and unique, it also gave stranger things near-universal appeal. like, there’s genuinely something for pretty much everyone in season one!

casting

obviously this applies to every season sorta by default, but when i think about what made season one So successful, i always think about the cast, and not just winona ryder. yes, she’s absolutely amazing in the show and it’s very doubtful that st would be as big as it is today without her name being attached to it from the start!! however, i think the greatest determining factor in st’s success is the casting of the kids, particularly millie bobby brown. like... el is just absolutely incredible. she’s amazing. this has all been said many times before so i won’t harp on it, but millie and the other kids are all So talented and charismatic and i think their casting has been instrumental to the show’s success.

strong visuals

the way that multicolored christmas lights which have been around for decades are now kinda like. a Stranger Things thing. jesus christ. those lights are probably the biggest stroke of stylistic genius on the show.

atmosphere and setting

this is probably like. the least important one here for me sdjncdsc because i think s2 and s3 both had like Even Better atmospheres and shit but s1 was good too and it laid the groundwork!! i know a lot of people would have preferred st be set somewhere more Spooky with lots of fog or giant forests or whatnot, and while i do enjoy thinking about alternate st settings and how they might alter the vibe, i think hawkins indiana was a good choice. as the duffers have said, placing stranger things in a fictional town allows them more flexibility than if they’d gone with their original plan of using montauk, new york. besides that, i think the plainness and like... flatness... of small-town indiana just Works. like, the fact that hawkins is never really scary on the surface is a big part of the horror in the lab’s actions and their impact. hawkins isn’t somewhere that people just disappear all the time. it isn’t somewhere known for strange occurrences (prior to s1, that is). it isn’t somewhere shrouded in mist and secrecy. hawkins on its surface seems like the sort of place with no secrets and nothing to fear, and that’s the point! the lab is out in the open! it’s right there! everything is so close to the surface, yet so far out of the public eye, and i think that really works.

the byers family’s whole deal (specifically the joyce/jonathan dynamic)

this is going here bc i miss it so bad in s2 and s3. i’m not one of those people who believe The Byers Are The Whole Point of the show, because st is and always has been an ensemble, and el, hopper, and the wheelers are just as instrumental to the plot as the byers, but ANYWAY, i do think the byers were one of the most interesting aspects of s1. joyce’s difficulties with supporting her sons as a poor and (implied mentally ill) single mother, jonathan’s stress as a result of having to earn money, care for his brother, and keep the house in order when his mother is unable to do so, and the resulting tension between them when will’s disappearance and supposed “death” brings the situation to a tipping point? holy shit! it’s so good! that argument after they see will’s “body” is just incredible and gut-wrenching. their relationship feels so real and messy and i think it’s just... good. also winona ryder REALLY acted her heart out and she carried a lot of s1 which i think people often forget to mention so i’m saying it here.

weaknesses

pacing/timing

ok so pacing is probably going to go in each season’s weaknesses, to be honest, because i think they all had a blend of some good and some bad pacing. good pacing is invisible pacing, though, so i probably won’t be putting it in any of the strengths sections and will only be focusing on it in the weaknesses. i’m also probably not going to talk about weird day/night cycle things, just because i don’t want to get nitpicky on timelines because that would require going back and rewatching things to double check timing which i don’t wanna do at the moment lmao. anyway, when i think of bad pacing in season one, i primarily think of two things: nancy’s little trip into the upside down and subsequent sleepover with jonathan, and the sort of staggered nature of the climax in the final episode. the latter is simple so i’ll explain it first: while i understand that each group’s respective climax is like part of a chain reaction and that’s why each big moment happens separately and at different times, i think that st is strongest when the whole group is together, and i think that makes the stakes feel higher too, so i’m not In Love with the way s1 separated everyone and gave each group their own climax.

okay, now on to the nancy/upside down thing! idk if i’ve ever talked about it before, but i think the worst decision made in s1 by far is the inclusion of nancy’s brief trip into the upside down, wherein she dives headfirst into another dimension with absolutely no backup, watches the demogorgon chow down, freaks out and runs around for a minute, and then leaves. like... what the fuck? even putting aside what an idiotic decision this was (because i do think nancy’s tendency to rush into things headfirst is an intentional and consistent character trait), it just kind of destroys any remaining suspense surrounding the demogorgon and the upside down, and it accomplishes basically nothing besides scaring nancy enough to have jonathan sleep over, which is lame. i will break it down.

like, first of all, nancy just getting to waltz in and out of the upside down and get a good, long look at the demogorgon makes the entire thing far less mysterious, and by extension far less scary. like... before this scene, we the audience haven’t got a good look at the demogorgon. we’ve seen its silhouette briefly and we’ve seen a blurry picture of it, but nothing more, and i think that is far more effective at building fear than this jaunt nancy goes on which gives us a full view of the thing and makes it into less of a horrifying nightmare and into more of a humanoid animal. like, maybe this is just me, but i found the demogorgon far less intimidating after that scene than before. it also lets nancy and jonathan know For Sure that they’re right without providing any crucial information that they need to fight the demogorgon (aka it’s unnecessary to the plot), which removes a very compelling story element (the faith nancy and jonathan need to have in order to keep going against a vague and poorly understood enemy, the doubt they might have about each other and their own sanity, the possibility that they might be wrong, the trust they need to have in each other) a bit earlier in the plot than i believe is ideal. at the end of episode 5, nancy goes into the upside down and jonathan doesn’t know where she is and it’s intense!!! you’re thinking like, oh fuck, not only is nancy missing and fighting for her life now too, jonathan might be implicated in her disappearance!! some people already think he’s the one who killed will and people know that he took creepy pictures of barb and nancy before they both disappeared, maybe this is gonna cause some serious problems for him!! maybe nancy will find will in the upside down and she’ll help him survive!! fuck, maybe she’ll actually die!! this is huge!! and then episode 6 starts and they’re immediately like oh nevermind jonathan found the tree and got nancy out and she’s fine. my point with all of this is that nancy entering the upside down could have done A Lot in the grand scheme of the plot, but all it did was just... get jonathan to sleep over so he and nancy could have some awkward romance moments and steve could see them together and pick a fight. which could have honestly happened at Any point while nancy and jonathan were working together to hunt down the demogorgon, without ruining the demogorgon’s and the upside down’s mystique. so yeah <3

weird behavior and dumbass decisions that make no sense (aka the whole camera thing)

gonna go off about the teen plot again sorry but: why was nancy so unbothered and quick to forgive jonathan for taking those pictures? girl what the fuck are you doing? why wasn’t that a bigger deal? why was jonathan’s motivation for doing it so weak and why did they just kind of forget about the whole thing? why did nancy TRACK HIM DOWN AT THE FUNERAL HOME while he was PICKING OUT HIS BABY BROTHER’S CASKET to be like hey can you tell me what’s in this creepshot you took? it’s insane. it’s so insane. i mean i think the funeral home thing is hilarious and i don’t mind it being in the show necessarily but like my point here is that i think a lot of character decisions in s1 just kind of.. happened because they Needed to happen for the plot. like, they wrote this plot that required jonathan to be secretly taking pictures of the party and required him and nancy to work together after seeing something odd in the pictures, but they didn’t like... really consider what that event would mean for their characterization and relationship. the whole thing was sort of just dropped with minimal discussion and i think it did both nancy and jonathan’s characters a disservice and was really mishandled.

lighting and saturation/color grading

i am literally begging horror/sci-fi shows to let me see shit. i GET IT okay i understand that when you’re doing cgi effects it helps to keep the lights down and i’m not mad at any of the lighting in the demogorgon/upside down scenes!! i’m really not i think the demogorgon scenes in s1 all look sick!! but like... dude. the colors. where are they. why does everyone look like a vampire. i know blah blah this was probably an intentional stylistic choice intended to mimic film at the time blah blah but dude a lot of old movies are very colorful!! please just let people have color in their faces so everyone doesn’t look like a sheet of paper!!! also i’m white and not a professional lighting designer so yknow grain of salt but i think lucas was kinda poorly served by the lighting sometimes in s1. not Hugely so, not to the degree that i’ve seen poc be poorly served by lighting in other shows, but there were some times where it felt kinda like the lighting setup was just not designed with darker skin in mind.

horror

i just personally don’t find s1 very scary like... ever. i don’t think they were really Trying to be extremely scary yknow so i’m not counting this as a big deal, but i do think that each season has improved on the horror aspects. i think s1′s horror lies more in the mystery and the unknown than in what’s seen onscreen, and as i’ve said already, i think s1 kind of fumbled that suspense ball.

season 2

strengths

the possession plot

i’ll warn u rn this whole s2 strengths section is probably gonna be really short bc idk like. how much there is to really say i feel like it’s all so self-explanatory skjncmn. anyway yeah the possession plot!! eerie as fuck, and noah OWNED. so did winona tbh and finn and sean etc but like. noah. wow! i think the possession plot helped the show maintain a good amount of tension and suspense throughout the season, and a lot of scenes with possessed!will are flatout disturbing to watch. in a good way. i think the mindflayer and will’s possession were far more genuinely frightening than s1′s demogorgon, and it provided a new layer of depth and intrigue to the antagonist besides just “bad monster want eat people.”

tone and aesthetics

halloween season... literally halloween season. halloween season. that is all.

actually i will elaborate a bit and just say that i think s2 did a good job of having the sort of foreboding vibe that s1 was often going for, but without the annoying darkness and desaturation. so points for that.

also st2 is like one of the best Autumn pieces of media ever like it just. like steve and dustin on those train tracks with the fallen leaves all around them.... god. god the vibes are unparalleled. all of the halloween stuff also really contributes to the nostalgia st runs on yknow it makes you think about childhood and trick-or-treating and you kind of get transported like damn... i remember going to the rich neighborhoods to score the good candy..... idk i just think the whole thing is incredibly effective.

“babysitter” steve

by sending nancy and jonathan off together, the show created a problem: what to do with steve? this problem pushed them to create the unconventional and unexpected duo of steve and dustin, and the world is so much brighter for it. seriously though we all know steve and dustin are great i don’t need to argue that point. all i’ll add is that i think allowing steve to grow in this way, serving as a mentor figure and becoming genuine friends with someone so unexpected, really took the originality of his character to the next level. no longer content just to defy his archetype, in s2 steve begins branching out in ways that never would have been considered in s1, creating an incredibly complex and interesting person from the sort of character that most shows would have simply written out or killed off for convenience’s sake. and it works and steve and dustin are such a joy to watch and i love them. <3

the lucas/max plot

so first of all max mayfield is the most perfect baby girl on god’s green earth and idk what i would do without her but anyway. i think lumax is the best romantic relationship in the show and not just because they’re the only ones with like an age-appropriate approach to the whole thing. it’s also because their relationship accomplishes more than just putting the two of them in a relationship!! lucas and max spending time together motivates billy to do his evil shit, providing more conflict in the narrative, and it also helps establish max as part of the group in a relatively natural way while giving both her and lucas a great subplot. lucas (and dustin) has a crush on the new girl, they start spending some time together, and lucas ends up needing to decide whether he’ll keep the secret of the upside down and lose her, or risk both of their lives by telling her the truth. that’s a pretty big, character-defining decision that he gets to make!! max has to choose whether to trust this boy she barely knows and endanger herself, or to walk away and stay safe, yet another great character-defining choice that also contributes to the sense we get as an audience of max as somebody who’s incredibly lonely and desperate for love and connection. this post is way too long already and i have a ton more to say so i’ll stop now but yeah i think lumax really Works in the show without ever distracting or detracting from the overall plot and narrative in the way that some other ships (coughjancycough) often do.

balance between the normal and abnormal

s2 i think did a pretty solid job of melding daily life with more fantastical sci-fi horror elements. i enjoyed seeing so much of the kids at school in the first few episodes!! you really get a strong sense of where they’re at in life, what their daily lives are like, and you get a sort of gradual shift into madness that makes everything feel more grounded than i think it would if they had just leapt straight into the horror shit, yknow?

the el and hopper dynamic

go back and rewatch s2 and tell me that’s not one of the most moving portrayals of parenthood and trauma and growing up that you’ve ever seen. you can’t. or well you can but i won’t listen. i really can’t imagine stranger things without el and hopper’s relationship, and it’s my absolute favorite part of s2. their whole dynamic is so beautiful and complex, and gives them each amazing personal arcs in addition! the black hole scene is literally one of the show’s greatest moments of all time. any given scene between the two of them in s2 is just guaranteed to be heartwarming as well as heartbreaking, and i think that makes for an incredible show.

weaknesses

flashbacks

okay this applies to Every season they All have too many flashbacks but in s2 specifically... please stop showing me shit from season one. i watched it. i know what happened. you don’t need to spoon feed everything to me!! flashbacks can be a really helpful way of delivering information to an audience, but st has a bad habit of not only being kinda demeaning in how often they flash back to shit that the audience already knows, but they also have a bad habit of using flashbacks almost as a crutch to avoid having to deliver information subtly and naturally.

you know i gotta say it... the lost sister

this is so sad. the lost sister really is like a great concept for an st episode, and i’m not mad about the idea of st taking a break from the normal action to focus on one story for a full episode, but the execution of it was just dreadful. kali and her crew feel very over-the-top and stereotypical, and its placement in the season totally kills the tension and excitement that was built in “the spy.”

i think the lost sister honestly could have gone over far better, even with the stereotypical fake-feeling gang kali has, if they had just swapped it with “the spy” like... ok, the end of episode five has el setting off to find kali and will collapsing on the ground seizing. right? imagine if, instead of immediately following will to the lab, we’d followed el. we don’t know what’s happening with will, but it’s a very simple cliffhanger that leaves us on edge without making us feel cheated by the show cutting away. we follow el on her little journey, everything happens much the same as canon, and then at the end, el sees hopper in scrubs. she sees mike, screaming, sees that they’re both in danger. holy shit!!! what the fuck!!! what’s happened since we left will seizing on the ground??? we feel el’s fear and confusion. she decides to go home. and then... boom. “the lost sister” is over. now, we rewind, right back to will seizing on the ground, and “the spy” commences. we learn how they got into the danger that el saw in the end of “the lost sister,” and we sit on the edge of our seats all through “the spy” and “the mind flayer,” KNOWING that el is on her way back to save them but not knowing when she’ll arrive!! idk i don’t think that would have necessarily saved lost sister but i think it may have alleviated some of the issues that i and many others have with it, timing-wise.

the nancy/jonathan sidequest

once again, the idea of nancy going off on her own little mission to find justice for barb after s1 is like. amazing. genuinely i love that plot for her and i can’t imagine anything better for her to have focused on in s2. unfortunately though i think her and jonathan’s little trip to see murray was just kind of... lame. the whole thing just felt like an excuse to get the two of them alone together, yknow? which is fine i guess people contrive all sorts of situations to get characters alone together for romance reasons but in this case i think it just really doesn’t work for me because of what it’s juxtaposed with. like, will is POSSESSED, and jonathan is just off on a mini road trip and sleeping with his bestie, and jonathan never seems to communicate to joyce/will that he left town, and joyce never like... thinks to tell him that will is like sick and fucked up and they’re looking at him in the lab??? like it’s so weird i know joyce always forgets about jonathan when shit’s happening with will but jfc you’d think at some point in that like... 72-ish-hour period where jonathan was out of town she would have thought about him. like at least once. maybe i’m forgetting something and she mentioned him sometime and i missed it but even still, i hate the juxtaposition of nancy and jonathan just like cheers-ing at murray’s place and sleeping together and whatnot while everyone else is dealing with possession or trying to hunt down dart yknow? it feels really boring in comparison and i think it could have been done far better. like it was SO insanely easy for them to get into the lab and get an admission of guilt and escape with it!! i think it might have been a lot more engaging if maybe someone from the lab tailed them to murray’s place and they had to like lose the tail and race to get the recording out to as many news outlets as possible before they got caught, or something like that. the tension in their plotline is completely resolved in episode four!! episodes five and six are just them screwing around and addressing envelopes. while there were a lot of strong ideas in this plotline (i really enjoy nancy going out of her way to get justice, and the fact that they have to water down the story to make it believable), i just think the focus on nancy and jonathan getting together hindered it a lot without adding a ton to the plot or their individual characters.

season 3

strengths

starcourt mall as a setting

while i don’t think the mall was utilized quite to its full potential (something i could make a separate post about if anyone’s interested), i do think that starcourt was a genius addition to the series. i’ve said this before, but building a new mall is a literal Perfect in-universe justification for a significant leap forward in fashion and aesthetics, and it provides a great location for characters to just... be characters. idk how else to articulate this i just think that the mall is a great setting to let people interact with each other and to bring people together who may not have been otherwise (i.e. scoops troop). not to mention how sick it was to see the mall get wrecked toward the end kdjncdkm like they were able to do so much more with the mall in terms of like The Finale than they could with just the byers house or the cabin or the school or even the lab. i love all the back tunnels they run through it’s such a fun like acknowledgement of how this glitzy eighties mall is just a real place where employees get shipments and take out the trash and shit idk it’s all about the perfect facade and what’s hidden what’s underneath what’s hiding in plain sight etc etc i’m just saying words now. anyway.

willingness to experiment and go against expectations

gay robin. neon aesthetics. giant fucking meat monster. i know some people hate both the neon and the meat monster but i personally think they were kind of amazing and like. yknow regardless of personal tastes i think it’s impossible to deny that s3 had a lot of incredible visuals, and they’re all visuals that just wouldn’t have been possible if the show were too afraid to stray from its s1 aesthetic. robin being canonically gay (and her resulting friendship with steve) and the season’s striking visuals are two things that most everyone (besides like homophobes skjncdknm) can agree were great, right? and they were both departures from where the show began and what we all expected!! so yeah i think while some of the experimentation in s3 wasn’t ideal it was also that experimentation that allowed for some of the season’s strongest elements to come about.

the hospital sequence (and the season’s action/horror scenes in general)

this one is fairly self-explanatory. while they may have underutilized the “body snatching” element of the season, the hospital sequence with nancy and jonathan fighting off their possessed bosses did an amazing job of building tension and creating a genuine sense of really intense and personal danger.

in general i think that s3 melded action and horror rather well, particularly in the sauna test, the hospital, and when the mindflayer busts through the roof of hop’s cabin. horror can come from many things, and in this case, st elicited horror largely from the feeling of helplessness, and it was really effective for me personally. i think it worked better for me than s1′s brand of horror because it doesn’t rely so much on a lack of knowledge or a sense of suspense that inevitable disappears upon a second viewing.

the body horror we got in s3 was also really fun! that’s it i just think all the blood and guts and slime were fun and i would like more of them. once again, the impacts of body horror are less dependent upon the viewer being in the dark or unsure as to what’s happening, and as such i think it tends to be a little more effective at eliciting reaction in the long term.

timing and mechanics of the battle of starcourt/finale

i think the battle of starcourt is just fucking awesome, and beyond that personal opinion, i think it’s the most high-stakes and intense finale of all three seasons, and this is for two main reasons! 1. el is out of commission, and 2. (almost) everyone is in the same cental location. this means that (almost) everyone is in danger all at once, and they are all working together at the same time to fight the same threat. s1/s2 have their groups more fragmented for the finales, and while i understand why in each case and i wouldn’t call either season’s finale necessarily weak, i do think the centralized nature of the s3 finale just Works on another level. in s1 and s2, large segments of the cast are already perfectly safe by the time el dispatches the primary threat. in s3, however, everybody save for dustin and erica is still in danger up until the last moment, and el is seemingly (you can def debate how much power she still had in her when she peeked into billy’s mind and whether the memory broke the mindflayer’s hold on him or if she was actually controlling him to some degree) completely vulnerable. this increases the tension and raises the stakes, making the finale a real crescendo to fortissimo as opposed to a series of little mezzo forte moments. i hope everyone reading this knows music idk how else to phrase that my brain is stupid.

emphasis on friendship and adolescence (but in a different way than s1/2)

this is definitely a controversial one but i think that s3 really did like... show a side of friendship that had been more or less unexplored thus far in the show. el and max were amazing, and i think it’s really nice that we got an opportunity to see the kids have some growing pains as well as see them support each other through Normal Adolescent Stuff like boyfriends and breakups instead of just like. death and trauma. this is maybe just a personal preference, but i think it can be really enlightening and provide a lot of depth when you get to see how characters respond to normal everyday conflict and not just how they respond to giant world-ending conflict!! letting el use her powers for goofy teenage shit like spying on boys and messing with mean girls at the mall is not only fun for her and the audience, but it also really emphasizes just how much those powers are a part of el, making it that much more devastating when she loses them at the end of the season.

weaknesses

tonal dissonance

so this is like. obvious. but it must still be said! i won’t go on and on about it since we all know this so i’ll try to like talk about it from an angle people don’t usually? anyway. it seems to me like they were maybe a little worried about s3 being too dark. while the choice to really lean into humor was definitely driven by the sorts of eighties teen films from which s3 drew inspiration (like fast times at ridgemont high), i think it was also done in an attempt to alleviate the more troubling implications of some events in the season, particularly the russian bunker plot. like, yeah, st can be incredibly dark, but if they’d played the whole “children being stuck inside of a foreign military base, tied up, tortured, and drugged” thing completely straight without the humorous elements that exist in canon, it had the potential to be like... disturbing on a new level. steve and robin don’t have powers like el yknow their kidnapping/torture doesn’t have any sci-fi elements to sorta soften the blow. they’re just innocent teenagers being brutalized and traumatized by grown men. so anyway yeah i think maybe the writers were concerned about this storyline coming off as too dark and they wanted it to be a little more whimsical but they ended up pushing way too hard in that direction and creating extreme dissonance at times. this goes for joyce/hopper/murray/alexei too, but to a lesser extent. i think the ridiculousness in that group felt a lot more like... realistic. but still.

newspaper plot

once again i feel like i don’t even need to say this skjdncmn we all know it was insane how the show basically ended up delivering the message “while misogyny is a serious problem poverty and classism are not” and i’ve said it on this blog a million times so i don’t need to repeat myself. i’ll focus on another weak point of this plot: the fact that it completely separates nancy and jonathan from everyone else. once again, the show’s preoccupation with j/ancy held them back! like... can you imagine a version of s3 where nancy and jonathan both worked in the mall? i have a lot of ideas about this possible au and like how the plot could play out differently if they worked in the mall but first of all it’s just more realistic, second of all it further utilizes the mall as a central setting, and third of all, it would bring everyone together. as it is in canon, nancy and jonathan were unnecessarily isolated from the rest of the group, and this isolation was detrimental to both of their characters. like, they only ever get to interact with each other! if they’d gotten summer jobs in the mall, they could have had more interactions with the kids/steve/robin, and they absolutely still could have had a similar argument! maybe in this case, nancy notices the rat thing (or something else odd) herself when taking out the trash behind the mall, and she wants jonathan to ditch work with her to check it out bc she thinks it may be related to the lab. jonathan doesn’t want to ditch work because he needs his job, nancy argues that they’re working shitty mall jobs anyway and who cares if they get fired, and we get more or less the same thing as s3 without the cartoonishly over-the-top misogyny. i mean honestly i think the rat shit could have been cut entirely it didn’t rly... accomplish much of anything. in my opinion. like imagine s3 without the rat plot you literally would not be missing anything except it would be more surprising when the dudes melted into goo at the hospital. so yeah i think it would have been better if nancy and jonathan had jobs at the mall, weren’t isolated from everybody else, and were maybe absorbed into the party’s plot or the scoops troop’s plot from very early on, allowing them to interact with more characters and have a less... dumb.... plot. like god splitting up nancy and jonathan between the party/scoops troop would have been So Much better i just. sdkjcnksdmn anyway yeah.

briefness of group reunion/separation of groups

remember in s2 at the beginning of “the gate,” where mike and hopper had a confrontation and max and el met for the first time and el hugged everyone and steve and nancy had their sad little moment together outside... where’s that energy? obviously the s2 reunion wasn’t that long either, but it made space for some significant emotional moments to take place. s3′s reunion had some hopper/el/mike resolution, but besides that... there was nothing, really. i just think that the whole group getting together in s3 was SO exciting and powerful the way they did it (with both the scoops troop and the adults having their own Big Moment reconnecting with team griswold family), but the emotional potential was more or less squandered.

i also think in s3 at times they were really stretching to keep everybody separated even though it made no sense. and like... in s1 the separation worked bc nobody else knew that (x group) was experiencing weird shit too, and beyond that, each group (as i mentioned in the s1 section) was sort of operating within their own genre and bringing something unique to the season. they’ve stopped doing that though! now, the groups aren’t separate bc each plot is tonally/structurally different, the groups are just separate bc... they need to be, because it’s a big ensemble cast and you can’t just have them all be together for a whole season or it would be way too difficult to coordinate things and keep the show dynamic. all this is to say that i’m excited for s4 because the location differences make it so there’s a Reason for each plot to be separate at the beginning, and i think that’ll work better.

general ridiculousness

i dont mean like i think it’s bad that they made jokes this is just me lumping in all the dumb shit like hopper not worrying about el and not wanting to check on the kids, him and joyce bickering long after they both know they and their children are in danger, max seemingly forgetting that billy is a racist abuser, etc etc. i think many of these are just a symptom of the show 1. trying desperately to keep the groups split up a certain way even though it may not make any sense, and 2. trying to fit into a certain genre/trope mold when their actual characters are more complex than the tropes they’re imitating. this is so fucking long already i am not gonna elaborate further rn but i trust u all know what i mean.

soooo... yeah, that’s about all! i mean it’s not all there are definitely many more things i could talk about and i know i focused sorta disproportionately on the teens which is my bad :/ but i’m done for now. thank you for asking, and apologies for the delay in responding!! i’m sure some people reading (if anyone read this far) will disagree with some of what i’ve said and that’s alright like i’m not The Authority on st or anything i’m just trying to talk about like my own thoughts yknow? so yeah luv u all i hope someone enjoyed reading this!!

#asks #em talks #lesbianrobin.canon #stranger things #if u actually read all this i love u and im sorry #these r just my opinions!! and im sure i misremembered some shit my brain is swiss cheese #i did my best tho

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autisticshadowthehedgehog · 4 years ago

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The Babylon Rogues are Dimension Hoppers and I can prove it

[ID: The Babylon Garden flying through space, as seen at the end of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. End ID.]

I have several points to make in this theory, so I’ll make this intro brief. Here is what I will be attempting to prove in this fun little essay:

The Babylonians are not native to Mobius

They are, in fact, native to Blaze’s dimension

They used to be dimension hoppers, but after the fall of the Babylon Garden they had to cease activity

The dimension-hopping can be proven by looking at Blaze’s world, Sonic Boom, possibly Black Knight, and finally and most damningly, the Arabian Nights of Sonic and the Secret Rings.

Let’s continue.

Babylonians are (canonically?) not native to Mobius

Very quickly, let’s go over some important lore for this theory. This might seem a bit “boring” for the moment, but please give it a read for context.

[ID: Ancient ruins showing the legendary Divine Wings, as seen in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. The Divine Wings looks similar to a spaceship, with two orbs atop and four “wings.” End ID.]

A bit of detail is given in Sonic Riders as to the Ancient Babylonians, such as that they are believed to have been genies. (Remember that specifically for later.) Their incredibly advanced technology marked them as separate from the other ancient cultures.

As revealed in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, the Ancient Babylonians believed in a legendary bird known as the Divine Wings. From what we can gather from what Tails is aware of and Knuckles reads from ancient inscriptions, the legends say that the Divine Wings rode the gods through the heavens, but lost their plumes to the dark and fell to the ground. The plumes became “stars,” returning to the land- these “plumes” (the Arks of the Cosmos) being the power sources that were sought after throughout the game.

Tails eventually concludes that the Divine Wings was a spaceship, and that this “lightless black” that attacked the Divine Wings turns out to have been an actual Black Hole; while Tails believes it may have been programmed into the Arks as a warning “for people to step away from power beyond control,” what actually seems to have happened, though, may have been less of an intentional precautionary measure and more of a malfunction. It’s just as likely that the Arks went out of control either by themselves (as technology is want to do) or due to something in the planet’s atmosphere, threatening to turn their ship’s engine into the black hole.

Unable to control the Black Hole, the Babylonians then lost their ability for space travel; they disconnected the Arks from their ship, sending them into the planet’s orbit. Their ship, the Babylon Garden, crashed onto the planet; while it still floated, they were unable to leave the atmosphere, and thus wished for every “falling star” to be their Arks to help them return home. They only managed to recover two over time, both of which were sealed away separately until it was safe to relaunch their ship.

[ID: The Arks scattering throughout space, from Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. End ID.]

The Babylon Garden remained floating and the Babylonians resided there, eventually becoming notorious thieves, though they are also famous for their technology, including their magic carpet (again, note for later) and “angel wings” they gave a boy that gave him a bit too much power.

This “too much power” seems to have “incurred the wrath of the gods;” the Babylon Garden was buried beneath the Sand Ruins, while the Babylonians scattered, though the Key to the Garden was passed along. Their history, though, turned into legend.

[ID: Art showing an angel-like creature striking lightning down onto the Babylon Garden. End ID.]

So, here is the “proposed” timeline:

Babylonians are aliens

Crash land on Mobius

Become thieves

Gods get pissed and “tower of babel” them

sidenote, but considering the known gods of the Sonicverse are Chaos, Illumina, Light/Dark Gaia and Solaris... I’m literally losing my mind imagining this unlikely group banding together and saying “yeah. yeah these birds need to go”

But here’s a question... what if it wasn’t a spaceship at all?

What if the ship could hop not across different planets, but through different worlds?

The Babylonians were not aliens from another planet, but from another dimension.

And the first of my evidence is that Babylon has actually been seen in another canonical dimension.

Babylon Exists (but is abandoned) in Blaze’s World

Who here remembers Sonic Rush Adventure?

[ID: A stage logo from Sonic Rush Adventure. It reads “Sky Babylon” and features a purple jewel among leaves. End ID.]

Very clearly, a certain “Babylon” does appear in Blaze’s dimension (which we’ll call the Sol Dimension for clarity’s sake). And this isn’t just speculation; the pirates and Blaze refer to the ruins as “Sky Babylon” within the game.

From what Blaze says, Sky Babylon was inhabited by an ancient civilization, and was a continent in the sky. However, one day “it fell from the sky and crashed into the ocean.” Quite similar to the Babylon Garden, huh? After the continent fell, the people had to live among the land-dwellers, but longed one day to return to the sky, leaving keys to point the way.

Sidenote: Blaze later finds ancient writings discussing the ruins- eerily similar to how Tails and Knuckles found out about the Divine Wings in Zero Gravity. And the writing says “To reach our homeland, head north along the shallows.”

[ID: Screenshot from Sonic Rush Adventure, of the Sky Babylon stage. Sonic is swinging on a rope beside pillars. End ID.]

So, let’s review similarities between Blaze’s Babylon and Sonic’s Babylon:

Ancient Civilizations living in floating cities

The continent later fell from the sky and crashed, becoming lost overtime

The people had to live on the planet but longed to return to the sky

Keys were left; the word “key” refers in Blaze’s world to the signs explaining how to reach Sky Babylon, while in Sonic’s world the key is the ability to open the Babylon Garden, left to Jet.

Ancient Writings were left explaining the lore.

Now I’m sure you’re all thinking, “Gee, Connie, it’s probably just the other dimension’s versions of the Babylonians, just as Blaze is another dimension counterpart to Sonic and Marine is the counterpart to Tails.”

But something interesting- almost nothing in Blaze’s world shares the same name as Sonic’s world. Even ones with similar names have notable differences- Eggman is Eggman Nega, the Chaos Emeralds are the Sol Emeralds, etc. And that’s literally the only two things with similar names, unless you count the South Island/Southern Island thing. (Which are. very common names.) Babylon is exactly the same in both dimensions.

“But it’s Sky Babylon and the Babylon Garden, that’s different-” No, actually. The Babylon Garden were the spaceship, and only became a homeland after crashing. Sky Babylon is referred to exclusively as the Babylon Homeland. So what if Sky Babylon was their home base, and the Garden was their ship?

This also isn’t the only dimension with hints of Babylonians.

Babylonian Hints in Other Dimensions

Now these two may be reaches, but they’re just setup to when we hit the big guns, so strap in.

In a canonically different dimension to the main games, the Sonic Boom games have several floating cities with very little backstory.

[ID: The Sky Citadel in Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric. Though abandoned, it is in good condition, and features several stone pillars and hanging plants. The citadel is among the sky and vaguely foggy, as it stands above the clouds. End ID.]

In Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Team Sonic finds their final chaos crystal in the Sky Citadel, an enormous city located within the clouds; however, it has been long since abandoned, with only ruins remaining. In Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, Lyric imprisons Amy in Cloud Sanctuary, which are several floating islands joined by roads and hidden by the clouds. Once again, in the sanctuary are ancient ruins; there are no remaining people, only remnants of a lost civilization, with zero explanation as to what this city is or was.

It is assumed that both of those worlds are remnants from the Ancients like Lyric the Snake; however, unless I’m mistaken, there is no confirmation of this, only the news that the Ancients hid the Sky Crystal in the Sky Citadel in order to keep it from Lyric; there’s no word that they lived there. In fact, wouldn’t hiding a chaos crystal from Lyric in a place that he lived be a really bad idea? Not a great hiding spot, guys.

Another sidenote, but speculation: should, as I’m sure you’re inferring I’m implying, these lands have belonged to the Babylonians of the Boom!Universe, who is to say that they didn’t find the hidden Sky Crystal and steal it? They’re notorious thieves after all.

The Sonic Boomniverse also has ancients with insanely powerful tech... hmm.

Secondly, let’s bring in Sonic and the Black Knight. You see, on the modern Babylonians’ ship, a painting of a pirate hawk is hanging above Jet’s desk. It has been speculated to be Jet’s father, or at least an ancestor. In this portrait, this captain holds a sword.

Now, let’s, um. Compare that sword to Caliburn, one of the sacred swords of Camelot.

I’m gonna be honest; at least to my untrained eye, I believe that the Babylon Sword pictured here is very similar in color and shape to Caliburn. The connector to the blade may be a bit more rounded like Laevatin, however that may just be the blurriness of the portrait. Now how would a Babylonian locked in Sonic’s dimension get access to Caliburn?

Well, you say, Sonic was transported to another dimension in Black Knight, wasn’t he? So they could have been summoned at some point, that’s not evidence they purposefully hopped dimensions.

But let’s go back to that. Sonic was transported to another dimension in Black Knight... and also in that other Sonic Storybook.

Which one was that again?

The Big Guns: Sonic and the Secret Rings

[ID: Concept art from Sonic and the Secret Rings. End ID.]

Let’s talk about the source of the name Babylon for a moment.

Babylon was also a city on Earth; it was in ancient Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq. The name at the time derived from the Akkadian bav-il or bav-ilim, meaning “Gate of the Gods.” The city was featured in several stories within Abrahamic culture- the Tower of Babel (which I referenced earlier!), the enslavement of Jerusalem resulting in the famous stories of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In at least Jewish and Christian tradition, Babylon symbolizes oppressors and worldliness. The city is even personified in the Christian book of Revolutation as the Whore of Babylon.

But outside of this reputation, the city is known as an archeological marvel; very impressive architecture, an interesting code of law, and one of the seven wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a tiered garden.

Sources: Mark, Joshua J. J. “Babylon.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 23 Oct. 2020, www.ancient.eu/babylon/, also the fact I am and was raised Christian so I Know This Christian Stuff™ just trust me

There’s more I could get into, but I’m sure you’re already bored- yeah, yeah, Sonic Team named their cool ancient civilization after another cool ancient civilization, who cares? Here’s why I mentioned this, though: Babylon was in what is now Iraq. Iraq, as anyone with a georgraphy education would know, is in the Middle East of the planet. Know what else is in the middle east?

The Arabian Nights.

Know what the Arabian Nights influenced heavily, almost exclusively?

The first Sonic Storybook, Sonic and the Secret Rings.

[ID: A screenshot from Sonic and the Secret Rings, showing Shahra the Genie and Sonic having a discussion. End ID.]

Remember all the way back in the beginning when I mentioned genies and magic carpets being a staple of SonicWorld Babylon? Well, genies are definitely canon to the Arabian Nights World, with Shahra and Erazor Djinn, and the idea of a magic carpet, while not appearing in Secret Rings, is very much a middle eastern staple, which most modern people connect to Aladdin, which Shahra references first and constantly throughout the game.

Now, two very interesting dimensional instances are featured within Secret Rings. First off- the titular seven rings.

[ID: Three screenshots of a scene from Sonic and the Secret Rings; Sonic and Shahra are attempting to grab a blue water ring. Sonic says, “Looks like I’m the only one that can touch [the rings]. I betcha it’s because I’m not from this world. Does that mean these rings aren’t from this world, either?” End ID.]

The rings, though insanely powerful, cannot be touched by anyone but Sonic. While it’s never confirmed, Sonic theorizes that the reason for this is that the rings are also from another dimension, possibly even his own. Now how would rings from another dimension end up in the Arabian Nights?

The second dimensional fun thing is one of the bosses in this game- the Ifrit.

[ID: Screenshot from Sonic and the Secret Rings. The Ifrit Golem rises from a fire pit. Sonic is shocked, and Shahra exclaims, “It’s a djinn that controls fire... it’s called an Ifrit!” End ID.]

Now, I could go a lot into certain theories about the Ifrit, but my sister covered that topic pretty well with her kickass Infinite/Solaris theory. So instead let’s just cover the basics.

Ifrit’s name also has sources in Abrahamic mythology, though this one is specifically from Islam. It is a powerful demon, usually identified with spirits of the dead. The whole “death” thing isn’t really brought into this but, you know. Interesting.

In Secret Rings, the Ifrit Golem is summoned by Erazor Djinn in order to burn pages of the Arabian Nights. It seems to be vaguely robotic, but considering it was summoned and seems to be alive I assume it’s just possessing some kind of robotic form, but most importantly it is mostly brown and red and is able to control fire. When Erazor summons it, he claims it is condemned by Iblis (a powerful djinn in Islamic mythology, former angel cast out of heaven, but also literally half of a god in Sonic 06, which was in production around the same time as Secret Rings) and also says he summoned it from Jahannam, basically hell.

[ID: A loading screen from Sonic Rivals 2, showing the Ifrit there, breathing fire. End ID.]

Ifrit also appears, however, in another game released the same year; Sonic Rivals 2. And it is mentioned to, again, be from another dimension. It is summoned by Eggman Nega to destroy the world, but is defeated by the Sonic Squads™ and eventually left trapped in its own dimension. It is, once again, incredibly fire-based, colored red and brown, and actually has mind control powers now, so that’s cool for it I guess.

So in two games, released the same year, Ifrit is connected to different dimensions; Arabian Nights, Jahannam, its own hell-dimension (possibly Jahannam?), and also a bit of Mobius, as Gerald Robotnik was noted to have studied the Ifrit’s legendary power.

So Secret Rings has rings from another dimension, and a fire demon from another dimension. Also a blue hedgehog shows up and does some stuff there idk. Which means that Secret Rings is no stranger to other dimensions popping in and out.

What this whole tangent is leading to- Arabian Nights is clearly connected to dimension-hopping. And Babylon is connected to the Arabian Nights by several things- specifically, the name and history, the magic carpet, and the genies.

(Does that make Jet and Shahra distant cousins?)

Also another interesting thing: the Levitated Ruins.

[ID: A screenshot from Sonic and the Secret Rings. Sonic is running through the sky, and we see several manta-ray like creatures, called the rukh, with cities built upon their backs. End ID.]

The towns there are built on the back of flying rukh flying through the atmosphere.

Flying ruins again? Interesting.

Very fucking interesting.

Conclusion

[ID: Screenshot from Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. The Babylon Rogues look up at the sky, where the Babylon Garden is flying into orbit. End ID.]

So, let’s get down the facts:

Despite almost everything in Sol having a different name than in Mobius, the Babylonians have the same name.

Sky Babylon in Sol was considered the Babylon Homeland, but abandoned after it fell into the sea.

The Babylon Garden was some kind of ship, but it crashed on Earth.

The Babylonians in both dimensions longed to return to the sky and left keys for their descendants to make that possible.

The Babylonians are connected by visual cues to Sonic Boom abandoned cities (with no word on who lived there or where they went), and possibly even Black Knight.

Due to their name, similar technology, and the legends of genies, the Babylonians are also connected to the Arabian Nights.

Arabian Nights itself has a lot of dimensional shenanigans going on.

The Babylonians are connected to Sol, Mobius, Sonic Boom, Black Knight and/or Arabian Nights.

So. What conclusions did I draw from this?

Some thousand or so years ago, the Babylonians, originating in Sol, had the technology to hop between dimensions.

Considering they later became notorious Mobian thieves, we can assume that thievery was also in the picture during these ancient times. How easy would it be to be a thief with dimensional powers? You steal something, hop dimensions, and then hop back when the cops are gone.

Either the first dimension they went to or their main hangout was the Arabian Nights; they picked up a lot of the culture/tech, such as magic carpets and genie myths. Possibly due to this, the Arabian Nights has an open connection to other worlds.

Perhaps the Seven Rings actually came from Babylon, stashing these cool new gems into their inbetween world and forgetting to pick them up.

They set up some cities on flying manta rays, nbd.

They also hopped into the Sonic Boom dimension, where they made some sky cities to rest in inbetween dimension hops. Upon their ship’s failure, the sky cities were left abandoned.

They also may have visited the Black Knight dimension.

During one of their dimension hops, their ship, the Babylon Garden, goes to the Mobius dimension; however, something in their tech fucks up within this dimension’s boundaries/atmosphere.

This one’s just a wild speculation, but if they came from Sol, Sol and Mobius have different emeralds, so I think they may have different power sources.

In order to prevent a Black Hole from destroying them and this other dimension, the Babylonian travelers split their power and fall into Mobius. There, they live on their Garden until it falls.

Back in Sol, Sky Babylon also ends up falling; perhaps whatever caused the Garden to fall hit Sky Babylon, or perhaps some other disaster occurred before Babylon Prime could figure out what happened to their Garden.

The Sol Babylonians settle among the land.

Eventually they all either forget the dimension hopping or it becomes secret as fuck.

So what’s the full conclusion?

It’d be really funny if the Babylonians learned the Arabian Nights prophecy about a blue hedgehog saving their world and passed that story along forever but it just went completely over Jet’s head because the second he saw Sonic his gay kill bill sirens went off and he was like “I have to race him” and it takes him years to remember.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic riders #sonic riders zero gravity #jet the hawk #sonic and the secret rings #babylon rogues #sonic theory #connie theories #mine

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britesparc · 3 years ago

Text

Weekend Top Ten #481

Top Ten Pixar Villains

Those rascals and rapscallions at Pixar are famous for twisting our emotions, aren’t they? Perverse masters at making us cry with sadness or joy, often at the same time (I’m looking at you, Inside Out, with your yellow and blue marbles). Oh yes, they’ll stick the knife in and give it a good old yank, like John Travolta teaches his daughter to do in Face/Off when he’s not really John Travolta and it’s a bit icky but then she stabs him at the end of the film so it’s alright really.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Pixar, renowned for turning grown men into blubbering messes, mostly because an adult character was convinced to part with old toys he no longer plays with. But I’d argue that one thing they’ve done less well than their parent studio (that’s Disney) is crafting iconic baddies. I mean, we all know the Disney Villains; they’re so iconic and successful as pop culture icons that there’s an entire trilogy of movies based on what would happen if a bunch of them had kids (apparently they’d sing a lot). Pixar baddies though? Hmmm, maybe not quite so iconic. I can’t see someone making a live action prequel movie about Chef Skinner.

But that’s not to say they’re not great; in fact, rather than going down the route of snarling, moustache-twirling villainy, Pixar actually does a great job in creating antagonists instead. Sometimes they’re misunderstood; sometimes they’re not the person you thought they were! Quite often some kind of redemption is offered, and the villains are very, very rarely dropped off something tall. A lot of them aren’t even defeated, so to speak! A good deal of nuance and shade goes into a Pixar villain, and if they haven’t made as many all-time-great iconic ne’er-do-wells, it does seem as if their approach is starting to rub off on Disney mothership (the likes of Frozen II and Moana either don’t have, or at least subvert, the notion of all-powerful bad guys).

So what do we have? Well, hopefully, we’ve got a list of really cool villains from Pixar movies. most of them are presented as the film’s “big bad”, although there are a couple of lesser baddies. And I think we do see the pattern emerging, of more mundane levels of villainy; the selfish and greedy and damaged. It makes for great characterisation and some beautiful storytelling; some complex and pitiable characters. And, yes, a few absolute bastards too. Let’s tut disapprovingly.

Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty, Toy Story 3, 2010): a superb performance from Beatty as a seemingly nice, jovial old bear who’s really a manipulative, power-hungry, gaslighting bully. Realistically portrayed as damaged and bitter, he has a tragic backstory that feels real, and a sense of pain and loss that feels earned in this universe. Questions the nature of everything the movies are about, and is a genuine threat in more ways than one. Plus he literally leaves them all to die in the furnace!

Syndrome (Jason Lee, The Incredibles, 2004): Buddy Pine’s backstory is one of belittlement and rejection, so his switch to villainy is as well explored as many a comic book bad guy. But he’s interesting partly in what his character says about Mr. Incredible – in a way justifying the criticisms of superheroes, as Mr. I does ignore the admittedly-annoying Buddy rather than mentoring or respecting him – but also because he prefigures notions of toxic masculinity about a decade or so before they became, well, a threat to global democracy.

Al (Wayne Knight, Toy Story 2, 1999): Like how Lots-o can be seen as a dark examination of toy life (all toys are replaceable, kids don’t really love you, etc), Al also shows us another dark facet of toy-dom: namely the life of a “collectable”. Toys, in this world, want to be played with, preferably by children, so a big ol’ man-child who stores them in boxes or puts them on display is not ideal. It’s an inversion of what a toy is for; an object of joy reduced to a commodity. Is it entertainment versus art? Who can say? Also, he’s really just a massive jerk and a huge slob, so we feel no pity for him once he gets his comeuppance at the end of the film.

Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten, Toy Story, 1995): man, they nailed the Toy Story villains, didn’t they? Maybe there’s even more to come! But right out of the gate, Sid was a classic. An utter sadist in a skull t-shirt, torturing toys for kicks; adults can see the traits of a genuine sociopath (some serial killers start by torturing animals, remember!), and he’s portrayed like a character in a horror movie. Seriously, in 1995, Sid’s room was legitimately disturbing. I’m not sure what moral lessons his actions teach us, but just as a pure article of terror, he’s supreme.

Hopper (Kevin Spacey, A Bug’s Life, 1998): it feels a bit weird, if I’m honest, to celebrate a Spacey performance. But as a character, Hopper is excellent, one of the best things about the generally-overlooked-but-still-a-bit-lesser-Pixar Bug’s Life. Riffing on biker gangs, Hopper’s locust swarm in, revving their wings. Hopper’s a classic tough guy thug, dominating through violence and threat; a creature with a small amount of power determined to hold onto it, and ultimately eaten by a terrifying bird. Just don’t look at the cast list.

Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt, Coco, 2017): after the horror of Sid and the thuggery of Hopper, de la Cruz is a different, more insidious villain. He’s a thief and a betrayer who exploited and murdered his best friend, condemning him not just to death but to a forgotten obsolescence in the afterlife. He’s a perfect example of the gaslighting, friendly-seeming bad guy, more in the mould of Lots-o, but with the world on his side and a sweet guitar. Genuinely hissable.

Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammar, Toy Story 2, 1999): what, more Toy Story? Well, yeah. Don’t blame me, blame Pixar. And so Stinky Pete; a far more relatable and understandable villain, one driven to desperation through a lifetime of rejection and broken promises. Unlike the Machiavellian, power-hungry Lots-o, Pete just wants everyone to retire quietly together; he can’t accept the risks of freedom and only becomes sneaky and, indeed, violent after all else fails. But he does kinda get a happy ending, even if he doesn’t realise it; this is a villain who I feel could eventually be redeemed.

Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi, Monsters, Inc., 2001): Waternoose is the real baddy in Monsters, Inc., of course; a conniving capitalist who’s prepared to sacrifice the world’s children to keep his monopoly. But it’s Randy who sticks in the mind; his selfish, vain lackey, a monster with a huge chip on his shoulder. His design – lizard-like, snake-ish, with a huge mouth and invisibility – is seriously disturbing. Hearing Buscemi’s voice come from that form – an aggravated teacher, a furious accountant – adds something special, something darkly hilarious.

Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener, Incredibles 2, 2018): visually and conceptually, The Screenslaver (great name) is pretty cool, but when it’s revealed that the Big Bad is really under-appreciated tech genius Evelyn, that’s a great twist. A smart woman propping up her schmoozing brother, her criticisms of the heroes – like Buddy Pine’s – have resonance, although she’s learning the wrong lessons from tragedy. Her relationship with Elastigirl, from friendship to enmity, is very well-written and performed, and her belligerence at the end is a nice touch, denying the heroes of any catharsis from her capture.

Shelby Forthright (Fred Willard, WALL-E, 2008): I was originally going to feature the autopilot, but then I figured, if you can get Fred Willard in your list… and really, who’s the big villain here? It’s us, right? We killed the Earth. But Willard’s smiling, happy CEO is there, encouraging his customers to buy, promising them safety and security, promising them a repaired world… but really he’s shovelling them off the planet, secretly commanding the computer to take humanity far away and never look back. It’s a devious, horrible plan, giving the people unending luxury, making them want for nothing, turning them into fab, soporific blobs, basically because that’s easier than the alternative. It’s a horrible indictment of humanity (also: he’s the CEO of a company, but also – it looks like – that makes him rule the world? Creepy). So, yeah, the autopilot might be a baddun, but it’s the man in charge who’s the real villain of the piece, even hundreds of years later.

Sadly no room for John Lasseter, who may not have tried to enslave humanity or torture children, but still managed to be a huge jerk and a phenomenal disappointment.

#top ten #pixar #disney #villains #pixar villain #bad guy #movies #animation #toy story #incredibles #wall-e #monsters inc

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theprettyinthemundane · 4 years ago

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Who’s right about the myths and what does it mean to be culturally Christian? (using Pan as an example)

Thanks to @will-o-the-witch for looking over the part on Judaism!! : )

Disclaimer:

The ancient world was incredibly diverse and ideas about the gods themselves and the myths varied a lot across space and time, which is something I’ll be mentioning again later. I feel like it’s important to have a better understanding about the myths since they’re so prevalent in culture. Essentially, while many people today may tend to think there’s only one “right” way to see the myths or a god this was and is not the case for many faiths. To show this, I wanted to use Pan and his parentage as an example. This also connects to a broader idea: cultural Christianity (which isn’t “bad” or “good”, it’s just something to be aware of). This isn’t about Christians either, just about how cultural Christianity can affect peoples’ perception of other faiths. Whether or not someone is Christian themselves, growing up in a Christian place can incorrectly inform how they learn about other faiths which can lead to misinformation being spread. Sometimes it can (even accidentally) reinforce very harmful ideas that can contribute to bigotry like antisemitism, which we have to fight against! (Seriously, bigotry sucks! Also I hope the way I word all this makes sense because it’s something I care a lot about!)

So, who are Pan’s parents and who’s right?

Pan is often known as Hermes’ son, even the Homeric hymn to Pan says so (1). Hermes is widely known as the “second youngest Olympian”, which would make Pan among the very youngest if this genealogy is considered (2).

However, that isn’t the genealogy everyone in the ancient world used to describe Pan. There are many variations on his parentage, and I think it’s worth going over because of how interesting it is. Who Pan’s parents are often changes depending on who you ask or where you ask it. For example, at times he has been called the son of Hermes (1, 3: pg90,151), if you ask 5th century Athenians he is the son of Chronos (3: pg42, 88), he was also known as the son of Zeus and twin of Arcas’ (3: pg43), the great grandson of Pelasgos who was a mortal, bother or foster brother of Zeus (3: pg113) and in Thebes he was believed to be the son of Apollo (3: pg180). He was also called Son of Aix (the solar goat too bright to look at, equated with Amalthea nurse of Zeus) (3: pg100). There were likely other variations too that were lost to history.

One thing worth noting is that Pan originated in Arcadia and before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, his worship was mainly preformed here and it was only after that battle that his worship spread widely to the rest of Greece (4, 5). So, the myths of Pan from Arcadia are typically older and reflected older views that worshipers held of him. One example is that Pan helped Zeus in the war against the titans and these myths point to Pan’s father being Chronos (or at least placing him before Hermes’ birth):

Pan has been described as “the source of that "panic" fear with whose aid he helped the gods in their war against the Titans …” and the son of Cronos and a she-goat (3: pg42). In fact, Aeschylus believed Pan to be two gods: both of which had the power of panic and one of them fought against the titans with Zeus (3: pg42) this is interesting because in other myths Pan was able to split up into a swarm of pans, so Pan being a multiplicity of gods and also a single god isn’t unheard of (3: pg100). Overall, most people understood him to be one god (like we do today), but this just shows how much diversity there was in how people saw him.

And in Egypt he was viewed similarly to the Pan who fought in the war with the titans (as one of the oldest gods):

“…the Egyptians Pan is considered very ancient and one of the eight gods said to be the earliest…(6)”

Here he was identified with the Egyptian god Min, which may seem a bit problematic to some because otherwise they were revered as different gods (6). However, the practice of identifying gods with other gods (aka syncretism) was not uncommon in the ancient world; Hekate-Artemis, Selene-Hekate, and Selene-Artemis were identified with each other commonly (7, 8). Other syncretisms were between Isis and Demeter, Isis and Persephone, Isis and Aphrodite, and Isis and Venus (9: pg 20). I am not a classics student, but what I have taken away from this is that the identity of the ancient gods is somewhat fluid and many worshipers could have differing and even contradictory views without either of them being “wrong”, even though some likely did argue or disagree to some extent (6). I’m not claiming there wasn’t debate in the ancient world about the gods, there definitely was. What I’m saying is that people did not fight to discredit new or different ideas just because they conflicted with already established ideas. There was a great deal of variation in how people worshiped and most weren’t interested in a one “right way” to do things.

This isn’t only an ancient practice: it still happens today in Shinto in general and with the kamisama* Inari Ōkami (稲荷大神), who has been portrayed as a group of kamisama, as masculine, androgynous, and feminine (10). So in general this practice of seeing kamisama (or supernatural beings, or gods) in many different ways with acceptance is more common than one might expect (10, 11). This also happens today in Judaism, where debate is very common:

“Nevertheless, the general trend throughout Jewish history is to value debate and not to stifle it, and the history of Jewish texts supports that trend. (12)” Some examples of this are how many Jewish people debate the Talmud (a religious text) and how there are many different sects of Judaism.

One important thing for people who are interested in this subject and were raised in a Christian culture (even if they aren’t religious) is to not overextend the characteristics of Christianity onto other religions ancient or modern (this is often accidental, which makes it even more important to be aware of it). This is relevant to both ancient and modern religions such as Shinto and Judaism because misunderstanding these faiths can contribute to terrible things like antisemitism and xenophobia (more so with Judaism). So, we need to guard against bigotry like that by being open to learning and changing our opinions when they are wrong both for learning and fighting bigotry.

In fact, one scholar noted that even in Arcadia Pan’s cult and myth were not standardized although what I have mentioned before was certainly the more popular (13: pg 63) So, even though Herodotus heard from people in Egypt who worshiped Min, it is not unheard of or unreasonable to understand that some people did understand him that way. To answer the question I asked earlier: each myth about Pan’s parentage has some element of truth to it and none of them are completely “right” or “wrong”. For example, Hermes being Pan’s father echoes the fact that both of them are liminal deities and usually are shown being close to mortals (3: 178).

Conclusion:

Pan is commonly considered the son of Hermes, however there was immense variation in how others saw him, both across space and time. One specific idea- that Pan helped Zeus in the war against the titans and that he is among the eldest of the gods- would contradict the Hermes genealogy and was prevalent in some areas. This is the case in Egypt where he was conflated with the local god Min. While this could seem confusing to modern readers (both the Min thing and the various genealogy thing), many faiths both ancient and modern do not push for one “right way” of seeing things and this is important to understand when learning about these things.

Another way of looking at this concept is the idea of cultural Christianity. It does not matter if a person is religious or even Christian, by growing up in a culturally Christian place their assumptions about other faiths are automatically informed by Christianity, which does not reflect most other faiths. This is not good or bad, it’s just something to be aware of and work around so that we can better understand these other faiths. It is especially important to keep in mind today as misunderstandings about religions can contribute to dangerous bigotry like antisemitism, which we must stand against!

*In Shinto kami (or kamisama) are supernatural beings who inspire awe, they are the main object of worship in Shinto. Please don’t call Shinto kamisama “gods”, it’s inaccurate and doesn’t represent how people see them. Due to how Shinto and Japanese mythology are different from Western mythology we need to take care when talking about it to keep it in its original context.

Citations:

1: Hymn 19 to Pan Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Ed. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+19

2: da Costa Martins, P. A., Leptidis, S., & De Windt, L. J. (2014). Nuclear Calcium Transients: Hermes Propylaios in the Heart. Doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.010675

3: Borgeaud, P., & Atlass, K. (1988). The cult of Pan in ancient Greece. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 13: 9780226065953

4: GARTZIOU-TATTI, A. (2013). GODS, HEROES, AND THE BATTLE OF MARATHON. Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, (124), 91-110. Retrieved June 23, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/44216258

5: Haldane, J. (1968). Pindar and Pan: Frs. 95-100 Snell. Phoenix, 22(1), 18-31. doi:10.2307/1087034

6: Griffiths, J. G. (1955). The orders of Gods in Greece and Egypt (according to Herodotus). The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 75, 21-23. Doi: 10.2307/629164

7: MANOLEDAKIS, M. (2012). Hekate with Apollo and Artemis on a Gem from the Southern Black Sea Region. Istanbuler Mitteilungen, 62, 289-302.

8: E. Hijmans, S. (2012). Moon deities, Greece and Rome. In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History (eds R.S. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, C.B. Champion, A. Erskine and S.R. Huebner). doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah17276

9: Witt, R. E. (1997). Isis in the ancient world. JHU Press. ISBN-13: 978-0801856426

10: Smyers, K. (1996). "My Own Inari": Personalization of the Deity in Inari Worship. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 23(1/2), 85-116. Retrieved June 23, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/30233555

11: Lya. 2015. Interview with Gary Cox - Inari Faith International (VO) https://www.equi-nox.net/t10647-interview-with-gary-cox-inari-faith-international-vo

12: Mjl. Conversation & Debate. www.myjewishlearning.com. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/conversation-debate/

13: Ogden, D. (Ed.). (2010). A companion to Greek religion. John Wiley & Sons. Print ISBN:9781405120548 |Online ISBN:9780470996911 |DOI:10.1002/9780470996911

#pandeity #hellenic gods #cultural christianity #i hope i worded this well enough because i really care about this issue #happy to hear other peoples' thoughts too!#greek mythology #hellenic polytheism

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project-rebirth · 4 years ago

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Top 6 Kinoverse ships

This is quite an unexpected post from here don’t you think? Well don’t worry, you’re not the only one to think so.

Usually, at least for me, Ships have always been a secondary priority on this blog so I never really put as much focus on them as some others normally would, however, I feel as though they are important enough in their own right, especially when some of the more interesting storylines of certain characters have been built up as a result of the ships that are currently here, or are in deveopment, which makes one better appreciate them overall.

Today, we’re going to be taking a look at 6 of the ships I am fond of, or have been more prominent than some others. Some ships may not have the characters officially together yet, but will lean heavily towards that direction as their story progresses.

6. Rosalia x Bowen ( @tetsuwan-atom )

One of the earliest ships to be made in the Kinoverse, we have a powerful sorceress who can travel to most any place in the Multi-Universe and a guy who pretty much does the same thing for a science based organization. Since Raildex is the main setting for the Kinoverse, I like the fact that we have two people on the opposite ends of the spectrum, (that being Magic and Science) get along so well. Truly, these two embody the phrase, “When Sicence and Magic Cross Paths, a Story is Born!”

Admittedly, my musing for Rose has been low as of late, hence why she doesn’t make that many appearances as much as she used to, and I’m still trying to figure out her own backstory and whatnot, but when she does appear, I truly enjoy the interactions she has with Bowen, and mostly how he reveres her like she’s a queen lol. And who can blame him? She’s got the looks, she has the charisma, (something I wanted to explore a bit in the “Genesis Timeline” but I digress), and she also has a Childish side to her, which comes in the forms of the pranks she pulls on others, mainly Kamijou for some reason. Overall, I hope that there are more interactions between them in the future that is to come! These two are dimension hoppers and lovers, so there’s plenty of things to do as far as spin off stories are concerned!

5. Shido x Sayo ( @crystalmelodies )

This one is another favorite of mine, solely because of how Shido is basically attached to her. When I think about it, Shido has had the most dramatic changes in his character thus far, from being Aogami Pierce 2.0 to becoming someone more rigid, Shido has finally found someone that he genuinely cares for and will do anything to protect, he went through great lengths to save Sayo when she was fated to disappear as an angel and ever since then he’s become protective of her. In some occasions, whenever Sayo is gone for an extended period of time, he goes into worried dad mode/edgy mode and looks all over for her, only to feel totally silly when she returns and is fine, which i hilarious and kind of sad when looking at it more deeply.

Sayo is basically the only person in his life that he has at the moment, and there in lies a fear of, “what if she vanishes again” and that fear of losing her in one way or another is always in the back of his head. It’s also why he’s gone off the deep end as of late with something else that’s influencing him (but we will see how that goes if that becomes a future arc). Overall, their interactions are very wholesome when they do happen and its nice to see both of then happy together. Now we just need Shido to get snapped out of his dark lord phase so we can have more happy moments with theeeemmmmmm!

4. Touma x Lucia (crystalmelodies)

Another ship I am interested in seeing, even though the two have not gotten together, let alone confessed to each other, is Kamijou Touma & Nanami Lucia.

Here we have Kamijou Touma, the guy who has met an untold number of girls in his adventures from all walks of life, as per the “Kami-Yan disease” that his classmates call it, with a girl who seems as ordinary as they come, though in reality that isn’t the case. So what’s noteworthy about this particular pairing?

Well, a few reasons, but mainly its the fact that at first glance, Lucia is an ordinary girl that lives in a quiet seaside town devoid of crazy technology, and Espers that the metropolis known as Academy City has, so I’m quite fond of the idea of “An Average High School Boy You can Find Anywhere” being paired with a person that’s “An Average Girl You can Find Anywhere” that the two seem to represent. Not only that, but they both get along quite well and there has been hints, at least on Kamijou’s end that he has somewhat of an interest in her.

From Kamijou’s point of view, she differs from the other girls that he is antiquated with in the fact that she’s one of the very few people that doesn’t appear to react Violently whenever he gets thrown into a misfortune event. She also differs from the others in the fact that she is a “regular person” whereas the other girls have been everything from Espers, to Magicians, to Saints (Superhuman Magicians), and even Gods themselves, so the fact that he has met someone who not only tolerates his misfortune, but appears to be so far removed from the crazy sides of the world that he’s been constantly thrown into.

of course, we know that Lucia is not an ordinary human; she’s a Mermaid, a Princess, and a Magical Girl? It would be interesting to see how Kamijou reacts to finding out that not only is she all of these, but her circle of friends are as well and related. Overall, even if he found out about that, he wouldn’t see her any differently than he already does - because he would still see her as his friend, even if she were a Goddess. If she was in trouble or sad, he would definitely come running to her side.

On a side note, in the Genesis Timeline, he also showed interest in her Mermaid Persona, something that is also true for the Rebirth Timeline, so it will also be interesting to see how he reacts to finding out that Human Lucia and Mermaid Lucia are the same entity. For the time being though, this will be somewhat of a slow burner as Kamijou plans to wake her up from her coma as well as deal with his internal issues regarding his self worth, the identity crisis he has as a result of the destruction of his memories from Index OT 1, and the PTSD he has from being killed by Othinus to damn near infinity. These two will certainly be in for quite a ride as time goes on.

3. Zarama/Zelreich x Artemis ( @averageisms )

When Zarama was conceived as the primary Antagonist for the second half of the Genesis Timeline, he was originally going to be this power hungry tyrant that saw the universes and everyone within it as his servants, however, as I began to develop him further and better develop his motives, he eventually became a complex character that could be a villain that you can both hate and somewhat sympathize, given the back story that I had originally given him and what he was trying to do overall throughout Genesis Order. He was one of the characters I least expected to become shipped with someone, yet here we are, with it becoming among the top 3 ships I have.

There’s something about this particular pairing that has me coming back to it every time. It’s interesting to see how this powerful being who is so far removed from humanity, has taken an interest in the most human/average person you can find out there, which makes this reminiscent of something you would see in a Disney film or some supernatural drama. In the old timeline, Zarama’s attachment to Artemis mostly comes from the fact that he has been around beings who were so far removed from humanity for eons upon eons, that meeting someone who was normal was a breath of fresh air for him - someone who was uncorrupted by the supernatural and just wanted to have someone to come back home to.

In the rebirth timeline, Zarama is decidedly different as a character overall, as while he is not really a god like he was before, but rather a curious immortal that travels the Multi-Universe to study abstract concepts like The Essence and Bio-Energy as well as various magics. His attachment to her stems from the fact that for ages, he has wanted a companion that would remain at his side, as he knows the pain of isolation that his immortality brings and he feels a similar loneliness inside of her for different reasons. Yet he’s made an oath that he would never abandon her in the same way others have abandoned her.

This iteration of Zarama hasn’t gone down the dark path that his Genesis Timeline counterpart went through and doesn’t have some grand plan to save all of creation. He’s instead more focused on his research as well as just being with Artemis, as he sees her as the one his heart has been seeking for a very long time. Overall, I enjoy the interactions they both have and I can’t wait to see how this pairing further develops.

2. Makoto x Grete ( crystalmelodies )

At number 2, we have one of the more newer pairings in the form of Makoto and Grete.

This one is interesting because of how far we were willing to see Makoto go in order to ensure her happiness and safety. Ever since he saw that vision of her during the first week of their meeting, an attatchment has been formed between them, with Makoto wanting give her the happiness that had been stolen from her. Even though he was a bit caught off guard when she practically confessed to him, Makoto’s feelings for Grete wasnt fully realized until he was taken away to Academy City, where he came to realize that he had indeed developed some sort of feelings for her.

Although it wasn’t written, during Makoto’s final moments in Academy City, we would have seen him face off against Kamijou Touma and how he was willing to become a reprehensible person in order to ensure his future with Grete, which would have been interesting given how Grete is practically similar in that regard. Kamijou would have given him the question of if Grete would really be proud of the things he was doing in her name, asking that would she really be content with smiling by his side, knowing that he had hurt people along the way, which causes his resolve to waver a bit. Makoto would then go onto say that as long as MINUS has their hooks on them, then he had no choice but to be a villain. What would have transpired next would be Kamijou declaring that he will save Makoto from this darkness and return him to Grete’s side, and he would do so by destroying the Illusions that he was holding onto.

After that grueling fist fight, Kamijou would carry Makoto over to Academy City’s warehouse district where he would have Rosalia and her maid take him out the city and return him to the life he was take whisked away from, giving him a new found hope and resolve to being at Grete’s side. Now Makoto has to deal with the aftermath of his disappearance, and that means he will be staying by her side even more and to make sure that he never suddenly vanishes from her life like that again.

I really like this pairing, and I hope to see this develop more and see where it goes, because the story behind it, from his Makoto’s Precognition Ability, to his defeat and salvation at the hands of Kamijou Touma, and the possibility that Makoto and Grete may be long lost childhood friends, as it has been hinted at at least twice before!

1. Accelerator x Violent Violet ( @xbloodsoakedx )

I think we know by now this was obvious. After all, it is the most popular pairing in the Kinoverse so far, and the most active.

Initially, I wasn't that crazy about it due to a myriad of factors, both in-universe and out of universe that had my mind not in the right place, however as time grew I grew to appreciate this pairing and the wildness that comes with it. Accelerator was one of the muses who I least expected to get paired with someone due to his personality, but surprisingly, he and Violet complement each other quite well. You have two of the strongest people in the verse who have gone through some similar things in their past, mainly how they were experimented on to become the powerhouses that they are now today.

Although Accelerator isn’t keen on showing affection most of the time, he definitely cares about her and came to realize just how much she has changed his life, similar to Last Order. He sees her as more than just a lover, he sees her as part of his “family” whether or not he would openly admit such. We see this in how he reacts to Violet vanishing for a week during the Shura Arc and how determined he becomes to save her from the darkness that she was pulled into. You also have the fact that this came after Last Order had been kidnapped herself, so Accelerator at this point is tired of people targeting everyone that was close to him, a development we will see as the story moves forward with his desire of wanting to protect that family of his, be it Last Order, Violet, the two older women who are his “guardians” Worst, and the MISAKA Network Clones.

Something that’s also noticeable in Accelerators casual interactions with Violet is how he can be such a tsundere, in that Violet likes to cuddle and kiss him, yet despite looking displeased, he lets her do what she wants, similar to how he lets Last Order pester him. I think Violet and Last Order are the only ones who can get away with calling Accelerator a Tsundere lol

Ultimately, It’s thanks to this connection she has formed with Accelerator that she has blended into the city of bizarre science so well. Last Order was not initially fond of Violet, believing her to be a bad influence on Accelerator but that quickly changed and is now attached to her as she is to Accelerator, while Worst, Yoshikowa and Yomikowa were genuinely welcoming of her presence for differing reasons, but all can agree that they can tease Accelerator about Violet whenever the moment arises.

In the Genesis Timeline, Violet became a celebrity of sorts in Academy City, and you can expect the same thing to happen in the Rebirth Timeline, with many people taking an interest in her for varying reasons. Overall, this is certainly a pairing you want to keep your eyes on as the story progresses.

That also reminds me, two of the Three heroes are now in relation ships. Hamazura Shiage is with Takitsubo Rikou and Accelerator is with Violet, leaving Touma to have to contend with being single yet also having the world’s largest harem while being totally unaware of it. This can change though...once he wakes up a certain mermaid lol

And there you have it. 6 ships I enjoy in the Kinoverse. There may be others that I missed or neglected to include, but these are the main ones that have been on my mind when it comes to this topic. Will there be more? Possibly in the future, but for now, this is it!

#Off The Pages || Ooc

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 5 years ago

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See you at Enzo’s? Seven o’clock? (Sriracha, Part 30.)

Description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could keep you far away from all the trouble.

Part Summary: The summer of 1985 started just amazing - you were still in love with the same man, Eleven was in love and had a lot of friends and everything just seemed to be going great... That was until...

A/N: I don’t have any. I’ll be just crying in the corner, okay? Since I can’t really stick to the original, here, have Enzo’s - a date at Enzo’s. Also, this chapter may seem to short, but it is maybe the most important in the whole damn series. Inspired by Eulogy and Aftermath by Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein.

Word count: 1.6 K

Tagging: @nemodoren @creedslove @missdictatorme

Master list: H E R E

While Joyce, Murray, and Smirnoff were arguing in the back, Hopper was staring at the phone for a fair amount of time. It worked. It always worked. They fought the evil and they had one each round. Why was he so nervous? Maybe because he was in Indianapolis at Murray’s basement and not in the radius where you could just tell him that he's acting like a dumbass. Maybe it was because Eleven and the kids were somewhere in Hawkins and the Russians could harm them any time they would like to. Maybe it was because he was worried that the Russian Terminator might find you and harm you while he wasn't there to protect you. It could be multiple reasons. Or it could be because this time, it wasn't a monster they were fighting against.

The Russians were humans. Intelligent and dangerous like any other human being. This could be his final stop - the endgame. He was standing in the corner for a long time, playing with a Polaroid of you, him and Eleven sitting under the Christmas tree at Joyce’s dressed up in the ugliest Christmas sweaters you could get - it was just minutes before kids ran off to play with their new toys and went to have a snowball fight right after. And for the first time, in a long time, he didn't feel invincible at all. Jim felt terrified on the inside, he felt alone and strangely numb.

"Are you good?" - Joyce came into the room with a blank expression. She knew that something is wrong when she saw Hopper, the typical macho man, tearing up while holding a photo. He didn't answer out loud but he nodded, hiding the photo away in his wallet again. - "Yeah. Don't play the tough guy on me now. I know you're not good. I'm not good as well." - Joyce told him, walked next to him and leaned into the same table he was leaning in.

"But everything's gonna work out, Hopper. Don't be stressed about it, we can make it." - She held his palm in yours, smiling at him sadly. - "Y/N’s safe, El and the kids are safe, this is an inside and out mission." - She told him. She wasn't lying entirely - her best wish was for the things to work out as they planned to. And she was trying to convince herself that it is indeed going to work out.

"But you should call her, just to be sure. it will calm you down as well. Tell her that you love her and care for her because that girl’s still a fool for a jackass like you. And tell her I say hi." - Joyce patted Hopper’s shoulder and left to sit at the table with Murray and Alexei once again. Hopper tried to prepare himself for having a call with you, he lit up a cigarette, taking a shaky breath in once he started to ring the bistro’s number. You had a shift that day again. You always worked damn hard and that was a thing he grew to adore.

"Ada’s here, Marty’s Bistro, Hawkins. What can I do for you?" - Your older colleague asked with a light tone and for a moment, Hopper hesitated. Was he able to go through this... Sort of a goodbye call? Even if it was just to be sure if anything goes wrong.

"Yea, yea. Hopper here, may I speak to Y/N?" - He asked politely and he could hear his damn voice shaking after each word. You’d notice that something's wrong. And that was why Jim knew that you loved him.

"Hey, hey. Hi. I haven't heard from you in two last days. Is everything alright? You're calling on a busy day." - You said your greetings with such an energy that it made Jim scoff with a laughter a bit. You laughed back.

"It’s nothin’. Just work goin’ downhill, you know the drill." - Hopper answered with a bit happier tone, looking at the Christmas photo once again. You sighed.

"Are you sure that you're good? You disappeared out of Hawkins, you're nowhere to be found. Eleven’s running around with Max, she broke up with Mike and now I'm alone at my mom’s because either of you is at home. Is something going on? And be honest." - You begged quietly, trying to make a joke out of that, yet failing miserably. Hopper could tell you what was going on, but that would be just dumb and putting you in danger in the process.

Until that day, you still hadn't any idea that Eleven has superpowers, you didn't know where Will got lost in 1983 and what a Demogorgon even is. And with telling you all about the Russians, Jim would've to tell you about the Lab and the rest at well. So he just decided to shut up.

"I'm sorry about that, baby. Boys from the state just wanted our help with somethin’ and you know the cops from the state. You remember the fall of ’83." - He mumbled with a soft, quick and quiet laugh. And so you laughed in the same manner.

"I was just worried, Jim. When are you coming back? I thought that maybe we could go to see a movie to Starcourt with Eleven if you'd agree to." - You asked excitedly, clearly putting a lot of thought into that idea alone. You always put emotions into your ideas - you put emotions into checking on him one lonely night of the summer of ’83, you put emotions into turning your car back to Hawkins, not leaving him behind. You put your whole heart into assuring Eleven that you’re indeed your mom. You were just a wonderful person and it took his breath away every single time he had realized again.

"I was thinkin’ a dinner, maybe?" - He got out of himself after a while. - "Just you and I, havin’ dinner."

"What is this, Jim, a date proposal?" - You giggled to the phone and the panic inside of him got to a whole new level. What was he doing? Jim had to only assure himself that you're good and that the Soviets hadn't laid a single finger on you. This was similar to giving himself some false hope that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be better before he met you.

"Maybe it is." - Jim whispered, suddenly having a dry throat even if he was sweating like hell.

"I don't want to be the once whos breaking the things to you, but you and I, my dear Hopper, are dating for two years. We are, in fact, engaged, do you remember that?" - You laughed happily from the other side, but then you continued. - "But what about Enzo’s? That... Rings a bell. Sounds nice."

"On Friday?"

"Yeah, you're picking me up." - You sighed into the phone and he could just imagine how you're smiling at that moment, shaking your head at that. - "Around eight?"

"I have a daughter, ma’am and she likes to watch Magnum, so I can't be out that late. It starts at nine." - He made himself answer, not wanting the small moment you were having to end. But this conversation was almost over and you both knew it.

"At seven it is, sir, you have yourself a date." - You mumbled and yelled something at Ada, laughing at her response. - "Listen, I'm really sorry but I need to go. People are coming in like crazy, there's not an empty table, would you believe that, Hop?" - You asked with amazement. So the call was over. And Hop didn't know if he would get any other chance to call you again and to hear just your voice alone.

"Got it. I just... I can't imaging being around Hawkins without you, do you know that?" - Hopper asked and that rose a red flag for you. You told him that. You told him that Hawkins would never be the same without him in it. It was that one sentence that meant the whole universe to both of you, just a small one, but that universe was yours. And you got a feeling that this small universe is somehow threatened. But then you calmed yourself down. You doubted these things many times and you were just overreacting. Hopper was just missing you and he was being sweet for once. That was it.

"I've heard that somewhere, baby. So, Friday, Enzo’s, see you there. I love you, be careful." - You said and yelled something to Ada as you put the phone down. The line slowly went silent and Hopper just stood there, looking at that damn picture, trying to get a hold on his feelings, which was kind of hard.

You seriously hadn't any idea what you've caused at that moment. How could you? Everyone was leaving you in the dark about the true side of Hawkins for almost two years, so you were just a normal woman living there. What was unusual about your fiancé asking you out on a date? Nothing. It was just sweet. And maybe, he was just really missing you when he called you - that was he sounded like he's going through serious torture.

Neither you or Hop knew that this call was the last time you'd hear each other. If you knew, the call would go way differently than you rushing off to work. And to be honest, you hated yourself for it.

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megabadbunny · 4 years ago

Text

Cosmic Love and Monsters (3/?)

(Just how much has this place changed him? What has this place done to him?)

(sfw version on ff.net; full tags and info on ao3)

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

***

Chapter Three: The Empty Man

It’s surreal, how quickly they lapse into some of their old patterns.

(It’s strange, how they don’t lapse at all into others.)

After sprinting down a series of halls and staircases down to his workshop (or “the dungeon” as the Doctor refers to it), without so much as a glance back to see if Rose can keep up in her gown and heels (she can’t, so she slips the heels off and gathers them in her hand with her skirts while she runs), the Doctor pores over the dimension-hopper by the light of a crystal lamp. Breathless with anticipation, squirming in her uncomfortably tight bodice, Rose slips the shoes back on, pulling up her skirts and a stool so she can watch him work.

Swap out the gown for jeans and a hoodie, the surrounding stone walls for coral, and add a rumbling background hum, and they could almost be back on the TARDIS, chatting while the Doctor cobbles together spare bits into some kind of miraculous invention to help them on their adventure to Jupiter or Zrallor X or The Low Kirchief’s Gilded Mausoleum. Or more accurately, Rose tries to chat; the Doctor seems too intently focused on his project to provide satisfactory answers to very many of her questions, brow furrowed and lips pressed tight as he tinkers with the hopper here, makes adjustments there. A pity—after all her work on the Cannon, Rose might actually understand a bit of his technobabble for once (though her suggestion of such just makes the Doctor bark out a short and disbelieving laugh. Still rude, then). Eventually, Rose abandons any attempts to talk shop, casting aside technical anecdotes for information on the Doctor’s last few years, specifically how he ended up here.

(To say this task is like pulling teeth hardly does it justice; it would be more accurate to say the job is like trying to get an unwilling patient to admit they have teeth in the first place.)

“Okay,” Rose says, “so, let me get this straight. The stars going out was just a byproduct of your standard run-of-the-mill Dalek nonsense.”

“Yep.”

“But all that’s resolved now thanks to you, via the usual hand-waving and time magic.”

“Yep.”

“And now all the Time Lords are back somehow, too, cos why not.”

“Yep.”

“And as thanks for all your hard work, they exiled you here, to a prison planet?”

The Doctor heaves an impatient sigh. “Yes, quite. Good to see you’ve maintained your ability to memorize and regurgitate basic information over the years.”

Rose chooses to ignore the barb; if the Doctor has been imprisoned here as long as it seems, it only makes sense he’d have misplaced a couple of social norms—not that he ever kept particularly good track of them to begin with.

“Why, though?” Rose asks.

Shrugging, the Doctor slips on a pair of specs, squinting at the half-disassembled dimension-hopper splayed open on the table before him. Something about its guts exposed to the open air and shining bright beneath the worklamp reminds Rose of a frog being dissected in health class, makes her feel a little queasy.

“Fear,” the Doctor eventually replies, prying out a piece of the hopper with a pair of fine tweezers. “Fear, plain and simple. I have, on occasion, made things a little difficult for them, you see.”

“You? Never,” Rose teases, bumping his shoulder with hers.

Behind his specs, the Doctor’s eyes flash with something that could almost be annoyance, but maybe it’s just a trick of the light. “Couldn’t properly control me, couldn’t properly kill me—it never quite seems to stick, even if it’s a death of the supposedly-permanent variety,” he muses. “Not to mention you never know when a spare genius may come in handy. So, what do you do with the errant Time Lord who’s simultaneously responsible for your inconvenient time-death and subsequent joyous resurrection?”

The hopper lying in pieces in front of him, the Doctor scans each in turn with the sonic, which, Rose notes with a small pang, looks every bit as different from its previous incarnation as the Doctor does. “Why, you make an example of him, of course,” he continues cheerfully. “Strand him on some backwater rock full of barbaric rubes in some unknown corner of the universe, enclose the entire thing in an impenetrable looping EMP field that fries the gears of any kind of transport more technologically advanced than a rowboat, and point and laugh at him while he lives out his remaining regenerations without the ability to so much as reconfigure a Time Rotor, much less wreak havoc across the universe.”

He wrenches apart a spare component with perhaps more force than is entirely necessary. “The perfect punishment for the perfect fucking crime,” he mutters, grimacing in disgust.

The cursing surprises Rose a little—has she ever heard the Doctor properly swear before?—but even the Doctor has got his limits, Rose knows, and his time on this so-called barbaric planet must have taken its toll. She wonders exactly how long he’s been here in this nameless place, wherever and whatever here actually is.

(She wonders what has happened to him in his time here, how much a place like this could change somebody.)

“So, tell me more about this prison planet,” says Rose, glancing at the marble walls all around them, painted in flickering shadow by the crystal worklamps. “It’s all sort of posh for that, isn’t it?”

“I think you and I have got different definitions of posh.”

Rose laughs. “I think you and I have got different definitions of prison. Or do all Time Lord jails look like something King Arthur’d live in? And why all that bit out in the arena, anyway? Is it some sort of twisted Time Lord entertainment thing?”

“You really don’t let up with the questions, do you?” the Doctor says irritably.

Taken aback, Rose furrows her brow in concern, but she must have misinterpreted his tone, because not a second later he’s shooting her a wide, winning smile, one she can’t help but return. It’s like magic, the way her lips stretch to mirror his, like she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to. Thank god some things are still the same.

“What?” she asks, laughing.

“Oh, nothing.” He returns to his work, but his smile stays firmly in place, as if plastered there. “Had a bit of déjà vu is all. Scoping out evidence and piecing together the clues, just like the good ol’ days. Rose and the Doctor.”

“The old team,” Rose supplies.

“Holmes and Watson,” the Doctor beams.

“Elton and Bernie.”

“Jekyll and Hyde.”

“What on earth’d you want to be them for?” laughs Rose.

“Why not?”

“Isn’t one of them a beast? Just a wild animal in the shape of a man?”

The Doctor chuckles. “Well, that pretty much describes you, doesn’t it?”

“Oi,” Rose laughs. She’s a little disgruntled at the insult, but she playfully swats his arm all the same. “Don’t go saying any of that ape stuff again. That’s one thing from my first Doctor that I don’t miss.”

“Your Doctor?” the Doctor asks slyly, one eyebrow piqued.

Warmth blossoms across Rose’s cheeks as she registers the implications of her statement, his reaction after. But rather than scoot it under the rug like she would have done once upon a time, when she was so much younger and still had so, so much to learn, she simply looks the Doctor square in the eye, and smiles.

“Yeah, that’s right,” she says, her stomach flipping funny little somersaults in her gut all the while. “My Doctor.”

The Doctor chuckles deep in his throat, a funny little noise that would sound patronizing coming from anyone but him. “Been thinking like that for a while now, have you?”

“Might’ve done.”

“Rather possessive of you.”

“Pretty rich coming from He-Who-Glowers-At-Pretty-Boys.”

“Good point. Maybe it’s my Rose instead, ever think of that?”

Her stomach flutters. “Nah, my Doctor’s got a better ring to it.”

“Hmm,” he replies thoughtfully. Braiding together bits of wire, the Doctor furrows his brow in concentration, his tongue peeking pinkly between his teeth. Rose can’t help but wonder if he subconsciously absorbed the gesture from her. “Don’t know if I’ve ever belonged to someone before.”

“How does it feel?”

The Doctor glances up at her. “Risky. But I’ve always liked a bit of danger,” he says, with a wink.

Warmth floods through Rose and she beams at him like an idiot as the hopper beeps in his hands, a cheerful tweet-a-tweet-tweet that makes the Doctor whoop and slap his thigh. “And that right there, do you know what that sound is? That’s the new EMP-resistant multi-passenger pre-initialization process, letting us know we’ll be ready for a jump out of this hellhole any moment now,” the Doctor says gleefully. “That, Rose Tyler, is the sound of victory. We do indeed make quite the team, don’t we?”

He holds the half-disassembled hopper out to her expectantly, his smile radiating pure joy, and maybe it’s just the tightness of her corset taking her breath away, but it’s like all the air has left the room. He may look and sound like a stranger, his edges may be rough and his words too, but he’s the closest thing to the Doctor that Rose has seen in years—he is the Doctor—and Christ, does Rose want to kiss him—so that’s exactly what she does. On impulse, her heart hammering madly in her ears, she leans forward, accepting the hopper as she bridges the distance between them so she can press the gentlest of kisses to the Doctor’s lips.

Fighting the emotion that threatens to well up upon first contact—the nights of longing and waiting and pining and hoping, the brief handful of moments in which she allowed herself to imagine that any of this might be possible, what it would all look like, how it would all feel—Rose closes her eyes, preparing to lose herself in the kiss. To happily drown. But no more than a second after her lips touch his, the Doctor violently jerks back, punctuating the air with a knife-sharp gasp as he scrambles away from her.

The two of them stare at each other, wide-eyed, Rose frowning in confusion, the Doctor watching her warily, wide-eyed. He looks for all the world like someone who’s just had a nasty electric shock, a caged prisoner backing into the corner after a bad bout with a cattle-prod.

(Admittedly, she hadn’t given him much warning, but how had she managed to misread the moment so badly? How had she managed to so badly misread him?)

“Erm, sorry,” Rose says shakily, her toes clenching uncomfortably in their pumps. She runs a hand through her hair, her cheeks flushing flame-red from embarrassment. “I just assumed…”

Chest heaving with exertion, the Doctor watches her wordlessly, eyes wild and unblinking. Rose wonders. It’s a bit much, isn’t it, his reaction? She understands if her actions caught him a little off-guard, but surely a mere chaste kiss wouldn’t be enough to throw someone so violently off-kilter. She remembers Cassandra using her hands to draw him close and practically snog his face off, apropos of literally nothing, and certainly he was a little stunned afterward, but nothing like this. Nothing at all like this.

“I’m sorry,” Rose repeats.

(Just how much has this place changed him? What has this place done to him?)

“Doctor?” Rose asks when he doesn’t respond, concerned. “Are you all right?”

A quiet knock at the door breaks the Doctor’s manic silence, and secretly, Rose is glad for the distraction. “What is it?” the Doctor snaps, causing Rose to jump.

“So sorry, your Lordship,” peeps a timid voice on the other side of the heavy wooden door. “But you said if we had any news—”

Within several long strides the Doctor has crossed the room, yanking open the door to reveal a furry mammalian young attendant trembling in the hallway. It’s difficult for Rose to make out the Doctor’s words, his back turned to her and his voice as low as it is, but she can see in the sharp set of his shoulders that he’s working to hide tension, nearly trembling with the effort of keeping himself calm.

“What did I say about interrupting me here?” Rose can just barely hear him say.

The attendant shrinks away from him, unable to meet his gaze. “You said Never ever, your Lordship.”

“Excellent, so your hearing is unimpaired at least, as is your memory. Why, then, are you darkening my door now? Which part of never or ever escaped your understanding? What part of my instructions did your Cretaceous-era brain manage to so woefully misconstrue?”

The attendant’s gaze flickers down to the sonic, lying prone on the table where the Doctor dropped it, and she flinches. Rose wonders at that.

“But, my Lordship,” the attendant stammers. “You also said that—”

“It’s Your Lordship,” the Doctor snaps, and the attendant shrinks away from him. “And you would do well to remember that.”

He slams the door in the attendant’s face before she can reply, heaving an irritated sigh. For a moment, he just stands there, face to the door, muttering under his breath, ostensibly to himself, though Rose honestly can’t tell—she can’t make out anything he’s saying, now. She’s willing to bet it’s nothing good, though.

(Nothing about this feels good.)

Rose shakes herself. She’s being unfair. Surely that’s it. He’s just a little different now, that’s all this is. He’s a little different, new body, new personality, landlocked on a new and horrible planet, but he’s got all the same experience, the same memories, the same important stuff, and she’s just having trouble adjusting.

It’s not him. It’s her. It’s got to be.

Besides, it isn’t unlike the Doctor to be inconsiderate, rude, even a little cruel at times, much as Rose hates to admit it. He is, after all, the man who took her to see the destruction of her home planet for their first date, who touted the nonconsensual use of dead bodies as “recycling” and seemed to think that life as a paving slab was, in any way, acceptable—the same man who agreed to let her watch her father die in the street, who destroyed Harriet Jones’ life with only six simple words and no second thoughts. Surely this behavior isn’t any worse than what Rose has witnessed before, or there must be context that she’s missing, or his time on this planet has been harder on him than she knows. Maybe he’s rankled by his powerlessness here, or maybe he has grown numb to it all, yet another series of tragedies marring a landscape already pitted and scorched with death and loss. Maybe it’s the Time War all over again and he’s actually sad and weary behind that ever-present smile, secretly crushed beneath the great stone wheel of resignation as dozens or possibly hundreds of people die in the sand before him day after day—which is something he surely doesn’t have any control over, or surely he would have stopped it by now. Surely Rose is just overreacting to things.

Surely the suspicion slowly ramping up in her gut is wrong.

(Why would that girl look at the sonic like she was afraid of it?)

“Boy, I tell you, the help these days,” Rose says, forcing out the joke despite the nausea rising in her throat. She grips the hopper a little too tightly. “Downright shame, isn’t it?”

(Please, please let him know it’s a joke.)

She throws her hands up in the air helplessly. “What are you gonna do?”

“Tell me about it,” grumps the Doctor.

Rose swallows. “A little useless, aren’t they?”

“Preaching to the choir.”

“You’d think they’d have at least a little respect for your Lordship.”

A sigh. “Yes, you would think that, wouldn’t you?”

“Why do they call you that, anyway?” Rose asks, fighting to keep her voice casual. Inconspicuous. Her grip around the hopper is slippery with sweat, and suddenly her gown is claustrophobic, clinging to her, strangling the air out of her lungs even worse than before. “I mean, probably just because of the whole superior species thing, right? Everything just sort of falling into its natural order, you rising to your rightful place at the top?”

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Uh-huh. Except, I thought you said you were imprisoned here?”

“Oh, I was,” the Doctor mutters darkly. “I may be at the top of the food chain in this dungeon, but it’s still a dungeon, believe me.”

“Yeah, right,” says Rose, her breath tightening in her throat. “Is that why that girl was so afraid of you just now?”

The Doctor’s head quirks back in her direction, but he doesn’t turn back around to face her. Instead, his shoulders tighten, almost imperceptibly. “Couldn’t tell you, really,” he says. “Probably just your standard barbaric fear of tech and anyone associated with it. Likely the dratted thing hasn’t so much as come in contact with a toaster before I arrived. But it is little more than a circus animal, after all.”

“Makes sense,” Rose says coolly despite the several thousand alarm bells that have begun ringing out in her skull, because when has the Doctor ever referred to a sentient being as it? “‘Cept you said earlier that all your machines were gone. But you’ve got a sonic right there.”

The Doctor faces her with a shrug and a grin. “Just built a new one, didn’t I?”

“Of course, makes sense, what with all the materials available to you here, the barbarism and the nothing-more-advanced-than-a-rowboat and all.”

“Oh, you know me,” says the Doctor, plucking his screwdriver off the table. “I’m resourceful.”

“You’re off, is what you are,” Rose insists, stepping back.

Eying her suspiciously, the Doctor laughs. It’s a surprisingly nasty sound, nothing like before, and did his teeth always look so sharp, or so many? “What a curious little human,” he says, tucking the screwdriver away before wedging his hands in his pockets with a tight squeak of leather against wool. “Careful, now, or you’ll say something I’ll regret.”

“Sort of like calling the TARDIS a machine? Since when does the Doctor do that?”

“Since now,” replies the Doctor, his grin broadening.

“And since when would you let something like a missing TARDIS stop you from doing what’s right, anyway?” Rose asks, backing away further, watching the Doctor as he follows after. Slowly, like a lion in tall grass, stalking its prey. Rose doesn’t stop until the worktable is solidly between them.

“Why haven’t you stopped those fights in the arena, Doctor?” she asks.

She swallows. “Are you even really the Doctor?”

“What a question!” the Doctor laughs. “A man changes his face and his voice and his personality and all of a sudden he must be a new person, mustn’t he? What a narrow conception of personhood, what an over-simplified view of the world, what a narrow little mind you have, Miss Tyler.”

Then he leans in over the table, his lips stretching thin and wide like a cheap Halloween mask. “Though I will admit, I’m not quite feeling myself these days.”

Rose’s grip tightens on the hopper till her arm shakes with the force of it.

“Who are you?” she asks quietly.

Before the Doctor—or the man who used to be the Doctor, or the man pretending to be—has a chance to answer, the hopper chirps in her hand once more, another chipper tweet-a-tweet-tweet, tweet-a-tweet-tweet shattering the silence. Pulse roaring in her ears, Rose acts without hesitation, smacking the button that will take her home.

And—

Nothing.

Horror washes over Rose like a tidal wave as the man chuckles under his breath.

“Pity,” he murmurs, clicking his tongue in disappointment. “But you know what they say; If at first you don’t succeed—”

Rose bites back a gasp as the man’s gaze flickers up to hers, his eyes dark, now, boring into her like a pair of cold-burning fires.

“Shall we try again, my love?” he asks, mouth curling into a smile, and the second he lunges for her is the second Rose hurls the hopper to the ground and shatters it with her heel.

Quick as a blink, Rose darts off and grabs a tool off the table to chuck at the man’s face but suddenly white-hot pain lances violently through her neck and head, sharp enough that she drops her makeshift weapon with a clang as she doubles over. Glowing white tendrils arc through her vision like lightning before receding, taking the pain with them. Gasping, Rose tries to stand, to run, but the pain strikes again, so hard it throws her to her knees.

“What—” she tries to gasp out, but the pain surges again, like a fire spreading from her throat to her skull to each and every nerve ending in her body, leaving her spasming and helpless. Through the haze of hurt and shock, Rose looks up to see the man aiming his sonic at her—at her collar. The collar that’s so much like the one the attendants all wear, Rose realizes belatedly.

And that girl saw the sonic screwdriver, and she was so afraid—

Swearing, scrambling backward over the floor, Rose reaches up to tear the damned collar off her neck but the man hits her with another blast from the sonic, one strong enough to make her shout. The pain strikes like a lorry, twisting and wrenching her muscles and clenching the air from her lungs. Choking, Rose slumps to her hands and knees. Black bleeds into the edges of her vision, ink creeping in at the corners, and she knows she hasn’t got long before her body surrenders.

“Who are you?” she spits out, fighting for air, for control, for anything.

“Finally! A question worth asking,” the man chuckles. “Though to be quite honest with you, I haven’t really had a proper name for a while now.”

Rose can’t make him out through her darkening field of vision, but she can hear his footsteps approaching, swears she can hear his smile, stretching wide and vicious over rows of eager teeth.

“But,” says the man’s voice, suddenly very close now, “you can call me Master.”

His laughter is the last thing Rose hears before darkness swallows her.

***

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