#ch. barbara. ⟐ ⌜ YOU SHOWED ME A WORLD AND WHAT IT COULD BE MADE OF. ⌟

[alice-angel12x]

The secret world of Tevayt (Ch.2)

Part 1 (here)

As Lumine and Aether enter the renovated Inn, Xiangling happily greeted her long-time friends. She ran and happily pulled the twins in a tight bear hug.

“I’m so Happy You guys are here! How are you doing Aether?” Xiangling asked him as she let go of the twins.

“I could be doing better,” He said with a weak smile.

“Oh Is your heart not getting better?” Xiangling asked with a sad expression.

“There's going to be an operation to help his heart in a couple of days,” Lumine said.

“Well, I can���t wait to make an epic banquet when the operation is successful,” Xiangling smiled softly.

“Thank you, Xiangling,” Aether smiled weakly.

“Oh let me show you to your rooms,” Xiangling said as she helped with the luggage.

As the twins and Xiangling made their way down the halls, two little girls laughing and screaming came running down the hall. 

“Hurry Nahida, the tiny people are moving,” A girl dressed in red said excitedly.

“We have to get the food ready for them,” The girl in green added as she chased the red girl.

“Who were those two?” Lumine asked with a chuckle.

“Oh, those are Alice’s kids. The girl in red is Klee and The green one is Nahida. They kind of live here, when their mom is away,” Xiangling explained. “But at least their aunty Gold is always around.”

“Gold?” Aether asked.

“Yeah, she lives in the attic turned laboratory,” Xiangling smiled. “She says she’s an alchemist of sorts. Oh, there she is over there.”

Xiangling pointed to the stairs, and there was a smart-looking woman heading up to the attic. She had a strange beaker in hand.

As The three continued on, a room to the left was fulling of singing and music. Xiangling explained that the room belong to three girls who wanted to start a group. Barbara, xinyan, yunjin. They met many new people in the Inn. Like Ms.Jean the manager, college students Layla and Faurzan, the housekeepers Noelle and Thoma, and the regular visitors of Ningguang and Beidou.

Eventually, Lumine, Aether, and Xiangling made it to Ather’s room for the week. It was a simple room when Aether noticed a beautiful doll house in the corner of the room. Looking inside the furniture and decor were immaculate, this house must have been very expensive. 

Unbeknownst to the humans in the room, through a tiny crack in the wall, a pair of tiny eyes were surveying them.

_______________________

“Two new humans,” a red-haired borrower said. 

“How many?” a blond borrower asked.

“Two new humans, Mika,” the red-haired borrower said

“Right I will write this down Diluc,” Mika nodded.

“We should head back to come back with a plan. One of them looks sickly, so he probably won't be much trouble,” Diluc said as he made his descent down the nail stairway in the inner sides of the wall. Mika quickly follows since Diluc is the one with the lamp.

Back in the Colony, Everyone was gathering in the living area. Sitting, resting, talking, eating, and all sorts of things.

“I can’t believe Zhongli just agreed to just let you tag along with the Borrower team,” Kaveh sighed as he placed the silk flower down in the living room. “ It’s incredibly dangerous, and you still haven’t officially chosen your role yet.”

“And you chose a role you hate,” Y/n pointed out.

“Yes, but that’s because the Ei didn’t see interior design as a useful role in the colony, so I chose Post guard,” Kaveh sighed as he sat down at a nearby counter. “Just be careful okay? Humans are dangerous for a reason.” 

Y/n nodded when Keqing came to the living area. 

“Hey, this is the last call to write down what you need to be borrowed. If you don’t fill this out soon you’ll have to wait 2 weeks for the time,” Keqing said sternly, holding up a paper. 

“Wait I need tissue paper!” Kaveh said as he quickly rushed over to Keqing.

Soon more people started to gather around Keqing and began to write on the list. Soon Diluc and Mika returned and Zhongli greeted them as they began to discuss.

“We found 2 new humans in the house. However one of them looks a bit sickly,” Mika explained.

“He most likely won't be much trouble, and go to bed early,” Diluc added.

“Great job you two, oh, and Y/n will be joining your crew tonight,” Zhonghli said to them.

“Y/n? Have they finally chosen their role?” Diluc asked.

“No, but they would like to try this out before finally settling on one,” Zhongli explained.

“We’ll keep a close eye on them,” Diluc promised with a nod.

Zhongli calls Y/n over and introduces her to the caption Diluc.

“Hello, Diluc. I’m very excited to see what your work is like. I will do my best to stay out of your way,” Y/n promised.

“Just keep on your toes and stay out of sight,” Diluc said simply. “Get ready, we’ll be leaving in 20 minutes.”

“Right!” Mika and Y/n said.

—--------------------------------------

Y/n stood before Zhongli’s borrower team. It consisted of Caption Diluc, scout Mika, Scharamouche, Gorou, Kuki, Heizou, and Hu toa. As The group made their way to the main exit, the colony saw them off and wished them the best of luck and a safe return.

“Y/n! Be safe!” Childe called out from a window.

Y/n waved back as a gross creature started to sneak up behind them. Childe gasped and quickly drew his bow and shot at the cockroach. Y/n quickly turned to see the large creature, they quickly drew their bat and started to slug the roach. With a screech, it quickly scurried away into the dark.

“Nice work Newbie,” Heizou said as he clapped his hands in congrats.

“It’s just a roach Heizou, nothing to get excited about,” Scaramouche scoffed.

“No need to be such a downer, it’s nice to know we have a capable potential member joining us,’’ Heizou arguedwith a smile as he rests his arm on Y/n’s shoulder.

Scaramouche just rolls his eyes and walks off to catch up with the group. Heizou sighs and gives Y/n a friendly pat on the back as they caught up with the rest of the group. As Diluc stayed back to make sure everyone crossed the nail bridge safely, he turns to Y/n with a nod. Y/n looked down at the edge, it was a far drop. The nails were wedged into a wood beam, each nail spaced out just far enough for a large step between each nail. With calm strides, they made their way across the nail bridge as Diluc followed behind to keep an eye out for them.

At the end of the bridge, Kuki held out her hand to help Y/n off.

“How much farther to the first stop?” Y/n asked.

[marauderundercover]

Taking Chances Ch. 29: Happiest Place on Earth (Vacation/Roadtrip)

AO3

Prev

Marinette blinks at her dad, trying to make sense of what he’s saying.

“B, you have a private jet. Why the fuck are we driving?” Jason asks, and Marinette swears his eye twitches.

“I thought it would be nice to do a family vacation the normal way, complete with a road trip.” Her dad says and Marinette frowns. Now? Now is when he decides to be normal?

“Father, we can not all leave. Someone must stay behind to patrol and watch over Gotham. As much as it pains me, I will stay.” Damian says, and Marinette resists the urge to whack him. It wasn’t going to hurt him at all to get to stay, he was doing it on purpose. She wanted to go on vacation with her brothers and dad and Selina, but she also wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with them being so close to her for over fifteen hours in an enclosed vehicle.

“No need. Clark said he would make sure to listen for any extreme trouble, Stephanie and Barbara will still be here, and if all else fails we’ll use the Zeta tubes to get back.” Her dad says, his tone filled with finality. This was serious. He was really going to do this to them.

“Well, I’ll drive the second car. And I call Pix-”

“We don’t need to take two vehicles, Jason. Selina and I went out and bought a new car that will seat all of us perfectly, and there’s plenty of room in the back for luggage.” He says, and Marinette makes eye contact with Damian. His face says ‘fix this’, but all she can do is shrug. There was no way she was going to be able to save all of them from this one. Their dad looked way too determined. Alfred had somehow managed to plan his own trip to England to line up perfectly with their trip, which meant he was saved from the inevitable horror the trip would bring.

---

Marinette was willing to bet that her dad had never been on a road trip before. She honestly doubted he’d ever seen a movie with a road trip before, because if he had, they would most definitely not be on one. Even movies with road trips show how awful they are. Sure, the family is smiling by the end, but that’s because they’ve come up with a foolproof murder plan. Marinette frowns and blinks. She’d definitely been spending way too much time with Damian.

She had even tried to convince her dad to use Kaalki, even though he hated magic. In fact, Kaalki had begged as well. But no. So Kaalki was riding in the spare tire shell on the back of the car, unwilling to sit with her brothers for so long. Not that she could blame the Kwami. They were only an hour into the drive (that was scheduled to take fifteen hours and forty five minutes, not including breaks or traffic). She wasn’t too upset with the seating arrangement, but it had been calm so far. Too calm. Her dad and Selina were, of course, in the front. The next row, which also contained bucket seats, had Dick (he claimed one of the seats as the oldest) and Tim (who had to sit there because he got horribly carsick). That meant that she was stuck in the very back, sitting between Damian and Jason. But that was fine, they’d gotten along so far. They could keep it up for another fifteen hours, right?

---

They couldn’t even keep it up for another five minutes. Jason reached behind her and whacked Damian, which made him let out a battle cry, one that was way too loud for the car, before turning and attacking Jason again. She wasn’t sure how Tim was still asleep, even with his headphones on, but she supposed it was for the best. She really didn’t want to deal with her brother’s car sickness this early in the trip.

“This family is a fucking nightmare!” Jason yells, kneeing the back of Dick’s seat. Marinette glares at him and his dramatics. He was definitely trying to get their dad to turn the car around and switch to the jet. But Marinette had a feeling that instead of turning around, he’d drive even slower.

“Jay, I love you. But if you don’t stop screaming, they’ll never find your body.” Marinette whispers with a smile. Jason frowns, elbowing her gently.

“What’s wrong with you? I thought you’d be all over this shit.” He says with a huff. Marinette narrows her eyes.

“What, annoying shit?” She whispers snarkily, and Jason blinks. She frowns, until she realizes what she said. “Don’t tell dad!” She begs, latching onto Jason’s arm.

“Bruce!” Jason yells. Marinette yelps and covers his mouth.

“Jason, I am begging you not to do this.” She says, making eye contact with her dad in the rearview mirror and smiling awkwardly. “He was just guessing for, um, uh, I spy!” She yells, sighing in relief as he just nods and turns back to talk to Selina more. She’s about to give Jason an ultimatum, when he licks her hand. She gasps, yanking her hand back and wiping it on her pants with a frown.

“Karma!” Jason declares and Marinette huffs.

“No, it was just gross you mega jerk.” She says.

“Could I have the aux cord?” Dick asks suddenly. Marinette watches amusedly as Jason lunges forward to try and rip the cord from him.

“No, B, why would you give it to him?” He yells, trying to reach it, but unable to because of the seatbelt.

“I think you’re old enough to take turns, Jason. It’s not the end of the world letting Dick use the aux cord.” Dad says, and Dick cheers, plugging the cord into his phone. It’s completely silent for a moment, before ABBA suddenly blasts through the speakers. Marinette turns to Damian, her face stuck in a deadpan expression.

“I know you have a knife. Kill me, please. Or at least stab me badly enough that we have to stop.” She instructs, her eye twitching as Dick starts singing off key.

“If I had two, I would. But I refuse to allow you to escape this hell and leave me to deal with it by myself. If I am stuck here, ukht, then so are you.” Damian says, his tone just as flat.

“Nuh uh. Either all of the resurrected bitches get to die, or none of us do.” Jason pipes up and Marinette sighs.

“Completely unfair, but whatever.” She says, as a horrible thought suddenly crosses her mind. “Oh my god.” She says.

“What?” Damian asks. She pinches the bridge of her nose, and lets out a long breath before looking at her brother sadly.

“We have to drive all the way back, too.” She says, and chaos erupts in the backseat.

---

Jason glares at Bruce in the rearview mirror, waiting for the man to look back and notice him. He finally, finally does, and Jason just grins at Bruce’s responding sigh.

“What?” He asks, and Jason frowns.

“What, can I not just glare at you for no reason?” He asks, snorting at the overly done look on B’s face. “Okay, okay. I was just gonna ask you to stop at the next gas station. I need to walk around, my legs are literally dead.” He says.

“How? I thought Marinette was lying on your legs?” B says and Jason huffs.

“Yeah, she is, but I’m also scrunched up back here because Replacement just had to have the other good seat. I have long legs, B, I’m dying.” Jason says.

“Tt. If you were dying, I would not be forced to hear your voice.” Damian snarks, not even opening his eyes. Jason opens his mouth to argue, but is stopped by a finger raising slowly into the air.

“Shhhhhhhhhhhh.” Pix says before dropping her finger back down and shifting around. Jason just rolls his eyes, trying hard not to smile at his baby sister. Maybe he could wait to walk a little longer. He leans up against the window, letting the soft noises of the car lull him to sleep.

---

Marinette Dupain Cheng was not dressed to impress as she walked into the random McDonalds, somewhere in North Carolina. Her dad had wanted to drive the whole way in one day, so at the last stop before she fell asleep, she’d changed into a pair of leggings, fuzzy socks and one of Jason’s old hoodies. Add in slides and a messy bun that could be mistaken for an abstract art exhibit, and Marinette was not willing to talk to anyone. At least, not until she had some coffee. She’s barely able to order her food before she’s following her brothers to a table in the corner. Sitting in the seat between Tim and Jason, she doesn’t even blink at the oddly stick table. It was six in the morning, the cleanliness of a table wasn’t exactly her number one priority. She narrows her eyes as Dick tries to say something to her, not quite able to comprehend his words. Just as she thinks she’s going to fall asleep on the sticky table, a huge cup is placed in her hands. The smell makes her sigh in relief before she takes a giant swig of the coffee, barely registering how hot it is.

“-nette! God, that was definitely too hot.” Dick says. Marinette blinks, the pain in her mouth finally helping her to register the fact that the coffee was too hot. Way too hot.

“Ouch.” She says quietly, eyebrows furrowing together.

“Kid, you’ve gotta be more careful.” Dick says, passing her another cup. She glances at it wearily and he sighs. “It’s a glass of ice water. It’s gonna feel a lot better than the coffee right now.”

“But, coffee.” She says and Dick gives her a look.

“It’s not going to kill you to drink the water. Now eat up. B wants to get back on the road as soon as possible.” Dick instructs and she groans at the food he passes her.

“You are such a dad.” She mumbles, picking apart the weird hash brown patty he’d passed her, eating small pieces of it.

“I officially hate road trips.” Damian says in a matter-of-fact tone. Marinette glances at him sleepily and grins.

“Just wait til we get to Disney, petit oiseau. That’ll be your own personal hell.” She promises him, snorting at the look on his face. In fact, she doubted any of the family would actually enjoy Disneyworld, given the fact Mar’i and Starfire were off planet again. Well, she knew she would enjoy it. But she doubted her brothers or dad would. Selina would enjoy it, until someone inevitably pisses her off and she steals from them and then gets in a major fight with her dad and- yeah. This was definitely one of her dad’s worst plans ever.

---

Dick insists on taking a family picture at the first rest stop inside Florida. He’s grinning at the palm trees and dolphins painted on the ‘Welcome to Florida’ sign with so much excitement, Marinette almost starts to think that this plan wasn’t awful. Almost. Because three seconds later, Damian is charging at Jason with the katana that he had somehow managed to sneak into the car. Which should have been impossible. She purses her lips as she tries to figure it out, when she sees Kaalki and the wide smile on their face.

“Did you open a portal so that Damian could get his sword and attack Jason?” Marinette asks Kaalki tiredly. She was relieved that her dad had decided they would spend the rest of the day at the hotel (once they finally got there, they were still currently stuck at that stupid welcome sign) instead of trying to go to Disney today. She was exhausted, and right now, the Kwami was not helping.

“I only helped him. He’s so small, and he is your brother, you know.” Kaalki says and Marinette snorts.

“So is the one that he’s currently trying to kill, Kaalki. But okay, sure.” She says, rubbing her face tiredly. She did not have the energy to deal with this right now. She sighs as Jason yells, turning on her heel and rushing after Damian.

“Get the fuck away!” Jason screams at Damian.

“Damian, no, drop the sword! Damian, please!” Marinette yells, rushing after him.

“Todd insists that he’s bunking with me. If he’s dead, I don’t have to worry about that.” Damian calls back, continuing rushing towards Jason. Marinette groans, running faster after him. Apparently, he was excessively crabby when tired. Joy.

---

“Do you think I could get away with wearing these all the time?” Dick asks, pointing to the Toy Story themed ears on his head.

“Might make some aspects of life a little hard.” Marinette points out with a grin as she imagines him, in his Nightwing uniform, with Toy Story ears on.

“We’d definitely amuse more villains, that’s for damn sure.” Jason adds with a smirk.

“Like yours are much better.” Dick says with a pout, pointing at Jason’s bright red Lightning McQueen ears.

“At least I’m wearing one of the better Disney characters.” Jason counters, glancing at Tim. Tim just frowns at him, sleep deprivation clear on his face.

“Goofy is one of the original Disney characters, Jason, I will not be accepting criticism.” He says flatly. Marinette giggles.

“What’re you laughing at sparkles?” Tim asks, pointing at the sparkles and huge bow attached to her ears.

“Nothing. Nothing at all, Timmy.” She says with a grin. She glances down at her watch, wondering what’s taking her dad so long. “Mo-Selina, do you think Dad’s alright?” Marinette asks, barely catching herself. She hadn’t asked Selina, or her Dad, if it was okay to call her that. And she didn’t want to be the kid to ruin the vacation. She currently had money on Jason being the one to ruin things, and she didn’t want to self sabotage that bet.

“Oh definitely. He’s probably just having trouble finding the perfect ears. After all, animal ears aren’t really his thing.” Selina teases, giving Marinette’s shoulders a quick squeeze. She grins and leans into her, content as she stands there and watches the door waiting for- yup. That was her dad. Walking out of a store, in public, with Mickey Mouse ears on his head. Oh this is amazing.

“Nice ears, B.” Jason teases and Marinette giggles. Sure, his ears were the most basic out of everyone (just plain black) but it was still hilarious to see her usually serious dad with mouse ears on his head.

“Tt. I cannot believe that you insisted we all wear them.” Damian complains, but Marinette can tell he likes his ears, even if he won’t admit it. They were Stitch themed, which was Damian’s favorite Disney movie. Really, it was one of three that she’d found that he could tolerate.

“I think you all look adorable.” Selina teases, her ears, like Marinette’s, were on a headband rather than a hat. And Selina’s were white with a veil. Marinette adored them.

“Can we please go get some coffee at Friar Nook’s?” Tim asks, looking dead on his feet. She frowns, slightly worried. They’d only been at the park for half an hour and he was already ready to pass out?

“Did you not sleep at all last night?” She asks, her tone slightly teasing but still concerned for him.

“Blame Dick. He snored all. Night. Long.” Tim complains, sighing deeply. Marinette winces.

“Why don’t you switch with Jason? He can sleep through anything.” She suggests.

“Absolutely not.”

“I would rather chew off my own foot.” Tim and Damian speak at the same time, turning to glare at each other before huffing.

“Come on, let’s go do some rides or something.” Dad suggests, and Marinette agrees, trying her best to hype up her brothers. Even though she’d been wary of the trip, and she was still NOT looking forward to the trip back, she could tell her dad wanted this to go well. He was obviously trying to let them have once nice (normal) vacation together. So she was going to do her best to make sure the rest of the trip was as amazing as possible.

Next

Tag list:  @maribat-bdbwm @vixen-uchiha @stainedglassm @liquid-luck-00 @laurcad123 @waiting247 @jayjayspixiepop @mizzy-pop @jjmjjktth @trippingovermyfeet @queenz-z @thepaceperson @iloontjeboontje @toodaloo-kangaroo @ritacrow-blog @deathssilentapproach-blog @kittenmywaythrulife @nerd-nowandforever @tazanna-blythe @jaybird-and-co @jumpingjoy82 @lady-bee-fechin @corporeal-terrestrial

[me1ancho1y-b1iss]

Her Robin and His Little Ladybug Ch. 5

Chapter 1   Chapter 2   

As Marinette started to calm down she realized maybe this would be a good thing. She could receive help and have actual allies other than Chat, who although he tries hard sometimes makes himself immobile during fights (it's hard with only two people). 

The boy with green eyes, Robin was what they called him. (Marinette remembered briefly Alya mentioning Gotham’s Vigilantes - Batman being one of the founding members of the Justice League) had started walking towards her mumbling about needing a katana and more training. Marinette would have started giggling if it wasn’t for the fact that as soon as their arms touched when Robin walked by to get to the training arena, a bright light colored both a crimson red and pine green flashed around the room. 

Marinette stumbled back as images flashed through her mind. They didn’t seem like flashes of other people's lives and seemed more like distant memories of her own. Marinette saw in some memories a very familiar yoyo on her hip with the red and black spotted clothing fighting while in others saw a man with striking green eyes looking at her like she was her whole world (it was always green). A lot of Marinette's memories held death and gore, she was used to it, after all half of Paris’ population died on a weekly basis. Tiki was present in a lot of Marinette's memories. Some were happy, like when she held her first born child while others were sad. Marinette also saw memories from her present lifetime, like when first met Tikki and dining the suit for the first time, to when all her friends abandoned her. 

Marinette felt herself start to tear up. It was like the memory flashes were a jump start. She started to remember all her past lives. The very first time in all existence when Tikki’s miraculous were worn and when she met her black cat, a very similar light show was presented. The memories became ingrained in Marinette’s mind, she could remember all her past lives, her black cat. 

… 

Damian was upset. The little girl that teleported to the batcave randomly seemed like a good fighter besides the fact that she wasn’t trained however she was also alone. He was going to train to get and come back and see if there was a plan his family made for the girl, when he passed by the girl and brushed his arm against her. All of a sudden a bright light composed of red and green flashed throughout the room. Damian started to see flashes of what he realized were his own memories from past lives. In a lot of his memories he saw himself wearing a full black garment with a retractable baton and small peculiar floating cat in others. Damian also saw a girl in almost every memory that flashed through his mind, although her appearance seemed to change throughout the ages but her bright bluebell eyes were a constant. 

A few of the memories Damian witnessed brought a small smile to his face, it felt like he was reliving some of the happiest moments throughout his entire existence, while others brought a melancholy frown upon his face. 

Damian also started to tear up; he realized that all these memories were now back. His love, his ladybug was back. 

… 

When light erupted around the room in bright colors of red and green all the members of the batfamily started staring at the youngest in the room. Their faces seemed to go through a myriad of emotions. 

Bruce, Jason, Dick, Tim and Barbara all gathered at one side of the room to watch what was happening. The kids seemed to be in a trance like state and there was no getting them out of it. The family started to wiper among themselves when the light refused to fade. The colors of red and green swirling together the longer the scene went on. All of a sudden Jason yelled in a harsh whispered tone. 

“What. The. Actual. Fuck. Is. Happening?! I’ve seen some weird shit but this definitely among the weirdest” 

A beat passed 

“Holy Shit. Is Demon Spawn crying?!”

All the bats turned towards the pair at Jason’s sudden exclamation and sure enough Damian had tears leaking out of his eyes. 

… 

 When Marinette finally opened her eyes, groaning a little from the sudden intake, she came face to face with green eyes, eyes that were so strikingly familiar, eyes that Marinette has seen in the past millennials, the eyes of her cat or in this case the eyes of her robin 

…  

Damian opened his eyes after a moment to take in the information that washed over him like a tsunami and left him gasping for air, when he found himself staring at bright bluebell eyes, the eyes of his ladybug, his little ladybug. 

… 

“D-dove?” Marinette hesitantly choked out in half-laugh half sob

Damian nodded. He remembered that nickname fondly, it was one of the first she’d call him when the earth was still young. She mentioned after an intense battle how when he swooped down to attack it reminded her of a dove. The name stuck. 

“Hello Priya'' Damian said. Priya meaning love, Sanskrit was one of the first languages. Of course they learned many languages over the years due to the fact that they were always spread across the earth. Damian also liked to occasionally use Arabic nicknames; he’d definitely be using them this time around. 

Marinette gasped and ran into his open arms. Marinette kept repeating how sorry she was, sorry that she left him alone. The last battle that they had together was hard, the bug took a hard hit. She died. Damian remembered how grief stricken he was. Tikki informed him once she popped out of the jewelry that he’d see her again 

Damian pulled the girl back and wiped the tears that were streaming down her face. “It’s okay habibti. It’s not your fault.” 

“Okay does someone want to tell us what the fuck is happening?” 

A/N: Ok. it finally got exciting. That took a while. Honestly this whole plot twist came to me out of nowhere, my original plan for this fic was that it was supposed to be a slowburn, but this works too. (they probably still wont get into a relationship right away tho, I want them to get to know eachother better in this time period)  

Taglist: @bumblebeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee @toodaloo-kangaroo @aespades @mochegato @daminette5074 @yannowhatigiveup @sekhmet5 @alyssadeliv @kking13 @callmewhatyouwant00  (if you to want be added, ask and I’ll add you)

[altervit-blog]

tag dump 3/?

[lizziestrongauthor]

Bullets For Your Ex- Victor Zsasz Ch. 4

Fandom: Gotham

Rating: PG - Mentions and descriptions of PTSD

Summary: Victor Zsasz hasn’t seen Pandora Mills in a few years. Not since before this all started. But now that she’s back, he can tell… she’s back for revenge. Maybe she’ll spare a few bullets for her Ex.

Chapter one // Chapter Two // Chapter Three

Victor Zsasz X OC

Tags: @aya-fay​, @birdiekittybird​ , @themasterplanner​, @taintedmarker​, @klbwriting​ (If you want to be on my tag list, inbox me, I’m adding as I go)

~~~~~

Chapter Four:

Victor stared at his phone, his fingers over the call button on the screen. He anticipated calling, the sound of hearing their voices again. The only two people he kept from his past and they weren’t even his people. They were hers. Pandora’s parents, Theodore and Savannah Mills, lived just within the city. If they knew that she was back, could they convince her to stop. Theodore and Savannah never approved of Victor, despite Pandora’s persistence that he was great. Theo could always tell Victor was a monster, a killer. He said it took one to know one. Pandora had once believed her parents were just too worried about her. Except, when Victor Zsasz forged the enlistment papers for Pandora, and sent her packing off to boot-camp, he never expected to hear from them again.

He received a short text from Theo, stating he knew what Victor did and that he was glad. The military would be good, to structure and contain her, teach her valuable lessons.

Her mother, however, showed up at his doorstep and begged him to bring her back. That she would be drawn into the same place that her father barely crawled out of.

Victor would have never thought for one second that Savannah would be correct over Theo. Sure, Pandora was more mature now. Much more in control of herself, definitely walked the walk… but at what cost.

He hit the button and put the phone up to his ear. There was a moment where he expected they wouldn’t pick up. Then the call was answered by a gruff Theodore and the words “What do you want Zsasz?”

“She’s in the city.” He blurted out as he sank into the dining room chair he paced around. There was a soft breathing that came through the phone. He could hear it in Theodore’s sigh, that he was afraid of this.

“You have seen her?”

“She came to me, and Mayor Cobblepot… she’s working again…” Victor wasn’t sure why his throat felt so tight. Why did this hurt him to tell them. It wasn’t like it would hurt Pandora, this was good for her. Maybe it wasn’t about hurting her? It was all the backwash of things that came with hearing her parents voices again.

“How-... well…. How is she?” There was hurt in his voice. The pain of a man knowing the child he loved so dearly made no effort to tell him she was back in the city. Victor wished he had more answers for Theordore. Better answers. That Pandora was just planning to surprize them, that she was working some desk job that isn't damaging, that she was fine. But she wasn’t, and Victor Zsasz wasn’t a liar.

“She’s not okay, Theodore. She’s cracking. She shot a man then broke down in an alley.” Victor held back more as he heard the stifled noises of a hurting father.

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know, yet… but I will find out.” Victor whispered. “If I do, will you come get her?”

“Victor, it’s not that easy. If she doesn’t want to come home, I can’t force her. You of all people should know that.” Victor frowned. He knew the truth, but he had hoped for more. “But I will try to convince her to come home.”

Victor was silent for a moment, his free hand pressed to his mouth as he stared at the empty floor where a kitchen table had once been. It had been forever since he’d eaten at home. The last time a table had been there, had been when Pandora lived with him. She bought it from ikea and built it with her own hands. She looked so proud when he came in to see it, her covered in sweat and the floor covered in bits and pieces. But she had been so proud.

The look on her face was burned in the back of his brain as he broke and tossed that table out the window the day he ended their affair.

“Give me 24 hours, and I’ll give you her address.”

Victor Zsasz hung up the call that moment and stood up. He pushed the chair back against the empty wall and ripped open his front door. Locking it behind him, he felt frozen inside as he marched away from the building. If anyone knew where Pandora lived now, it might be her newly acquired buddy Barbara. After checking the lounge and shaking down one of her employees for her location, just to talk of course, they told him. Barbara wasn’t due to come into for a few hours. Pandora was nowhere to be seen.

Barbara, Who was at her own loft right now, wouldn’t be happy to just talk.

Victor drove the whole way in silence till she was at the large empire like suite and apartments. Barbara had the top floor, of course, and the floor below it. Was Pandora staying there? Was she staying in a hole in the wall? Pandora was capable of both.

Victor forced his way up into the building and onto the elevator. He was greeted as they opened to Pandora herself, pistol aimed at the doors, Barbara behind her with a gun of her own. As Victor stepped out of the elevator and onto the floor, Pandora put her pistol away.

“What are you doing here?” She cocked a brow.

“We need to talk.” He motioned to the elevator.

“You can talk here… actually.” Barbara cut into the duo by pushing past them. “I was just leaving,”

Victor eyed her the blond who shot him a wicked look. Then she sauntered into the elevator and was gone as black and crystal encrusted doors closed before her. Victor waited till it was obvious that it was going down before he turned back to Pandora.

“Let’s talk about the other night.”

“You came here, shook down a bartender, just to find me and talk about nothing?” She cocked her head.

“You call breaking down nothing?”

“I have no-”

Victor snatched Pandora by the arm and twirled her around. Her back was soon pinned to the expensive elevator doors and Victor had both her hands in his, pulled into his chest. Her pistol dropped to the floor as he looked down at her.

“You couldn’t look me in the eye. We both know you’re not afraid to challenge me.”

“Victor, you need to leave.”

“You come back into the city, threaten to ruin me and this city, and haven't even told your parents you’re home, and I need to leave?”

“How would you know about-”

“You come back with a vendetta that will get you killed, and you know it, and acting like this city is your problem when you know very well that isn’t your problem. Don’t act so childish.”

“I’m not acting childish. I’m doin-”

He could see her face progressively getting redder and redder as he pressed into her harder.

“And how much of a hypocrite are you to taunt me for working for mobsters when you’re living here under one of their roofs? Do you even now what Barbara has done to this city? You may have grown up but you’re still as naive as you once were.”

“I AM NO-”

“Don’t deny you have no idea what you’re doing-” Pandora ripped her hands from his and planted them onto his throat. Victor’s eyes went wide when she lifted him off the ground easily and tossed him across the floor. He felt the coffee table shatter before he heard it. He saw Pandora in angry tears before he heard her scream. The shock hit him all over as she stormed over and landed a blow to his right cheek.

“SHUT UP!”

Victor snatched up her next blow and rolled her onto the ground. He felt tiny shards in his arm as he threw her hands above her head and held them there. “THEN TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG?”

“THEY DIED….” Her voice was hitched in her throat. Her eyes were wide and wild as she looked up at him, tears trailing her cheeks. “My team, they made me kill them and then they sent someone after me. I murdered the only people who wanted me in this world and then I was let go like some sort of toy. … and I went through all of that… because of you.”

“I did not make you do that.” Victor breathed as his grip over her hands loosened.

“You signed my paperwork. I knew who did it as soon as I signed it. You put me on that bus with no idea what was going on, and now… I can’t stop until someone pays.”

Victor pulled back, looking down at her. There were no words as he saw the tears and rage in her. Her eyes searched his face and he realized this was a mistake. Her hands found his as he sat there just above her. The way her lips fell open as she breathed heavy, her hair a mess on the ground. How her hands brushed along his skin.

This was a mistake.

“Say something.” Her whimper brought him to rip away. He pulled back and snap to his feet.

“Call your parents.” He backed up, throwing two chunks of glass from the side of his pants. “Tell Babs I’ll replace the table.”

And he forced himself to leave. Right then and there. Because the backwash was back. The feelings, the fuzzy brain and pull in his stomach. He couldn’t feel them again. He refused.

[tardisgirlepic]

Ch. 1: “Oxygen” Analysis Doctor Who S10.5: Blindness, Moral Bankruptcy, Dying Well

I don’t have much time to write, but I wanted to post something.  This is just going to be a bunch of thoughts, so you’ll have to excuse the flow.  Things really are happening at breakneck speed in Season 10 because there is so much story left to tell that has been in the subtext for the 12th Doctor for many years.  I’m really concerned about how this will play out because I’m feeling like we are going to get shortchanged, as everything is getting very condensed since Capaldi is leaving.

 The 12th Doctor, the Fluid Link & the 1st Doctor

We know the Doctor lies, but the 12th Doctor seems to be taking deceitfulness to new heights in “Oxygen.” 

NARDOLE: Fluid link K57. Removed it from the Tardis the other night after your lecture.

(Ah, the good old fluid link. Does it need any mercury this time?)

DOCTOR: That is very untrusting.

NARDOLE: You took an oath, sir. The vault cannot be unguarded.

DOCTOR: Oh, listen to Mister Boring.

NARDOLE: I'm acting under your orders!

DOCTOR: See how reliable I am?

BILL: What's a fluid link?

NARDOLE: No idea. But the Tardis can't go anywhere without it.

DOCTOR: Who told you that?

NARDOLE: You did.

DOCTOR: Exactly. (snaps his fingers) Teach you to trust me.

Actually, the heights aren’t new.  He’s acting like the 1st Doctor did, especially in the very 1st Dalek story “The Daleks” where the fluid link (K7) first shows up.  (The 1st Doctor really does have to show up with all the 1st Doctor references we’ve been getting.  I’ve only mentioned a few to you.) 

It’s in “The Daleks” where the Doctor looks totally devious, as he tells Ian, Barbara, and Susan that he needs mercury for the link, which he says most likely would be in the Dalek city on Skaro.  It was a ploy, so he could investigate the city.  The 4 of them are subjected to the radiation the Daleks unleash when they explode neutron bombs.  Strange things soon start happening to them, especially Susan and the TARDIS in subsequent episodes.

At the beginning of “Oxygen,” the 12th Doctor is mirroring, to a great extent, the 1st Doctor. 

In the 2nd Dalek story, the Daleks are using humans to build human cyborgs that look like they would become the forerunners to the old Cybermen.  However, the Doctor intervenes and takes control of them.  

 Capitalism Runs Amok Again

“Oxygen,” for one thing, is an allegory of capitalism taken too far where human life has no value at all. This becomes the end point where capitalism dies.  Continuing in the vein of episodes, such as “Thin Ice” and “Sleep No More,” “Oxygen” shows us a situation of moral bankruptcy.  This time Ganymede Systems charges its workers for the oxygen they use.  When the workers become a liability, the company kills them.

 I keep coming back to my question of whether Caecilius, who in “The Fires of Pompeii,” wanted to get rich. Did the 10th Doctor sparing him cause this and other problems in the universe?  In fact, the subtext in many episodes says that the Doctor, as a human, is responsible for building dangerous machines or businesses and putting profits over people or other sentient beings.  Here are just a few examples:

“A Town Called Mercy”  

For example, we saw that Kahler-Jex was a mirror of the Doctor in “A Town Called Mercy.”  Jex used deceitfulness to trick Academy students into volunteering for what they thought were peacekeeping missions. However, he turned them into cyborg war machines.

“The Next Doctor”

In another example, in “The Next Doctor” both the 10th Doctor and Jackson Lake, who thinks he is the next Doctor (and really is a mirror of the Doctor), are ironmongers in an episode where Cybermen as well as child slaves are helping to build a giant CyberKing Dreadnought-class ship.  Here’s the 10th Doctor next to the Ironmongery sign.

Here’s Jackson Lake below with a different Ironmongery sign next to him.

“Human Nature”

In a third example this time from “Human Nature,” we see an Ironmongers sign next to the 10th Doctor and Joan.

“Deep Breath”

Yet another example comes from “Deep Breath,” where the 12th Doctor talks about the metalwork of the half-faced man.

DOCTOR: Well, it would need a constant supply of spare parts. You can tan skin, but organs rot. Some of that metalwork looks Roman. Wonder how long it's been around, how much of the original is even left? The eyeballs look very fresh, though.

Here’s a reference most likely to Caecilius and “The Fires of Pompeii.”  Roman metalwork could also be a reference to the Roman god Vulcan, which we’ll examine in a few minutes.

“Oxygen”

Even “Oxygen” provides examples.  In fact, the SmartSuits are labeled “Ganymede Systems Series Twelve SmartSuit.”  Twelve is an important number here, referring to the 12th Doctor.  In fact, in a similar way that we saw him mirroring the Emojibot from “Smile” and Rory mirroring Rorybot from “The Girl Who Waited,” the 12th Doctor is mirroring the suit, shown below.  Of course, suit has a dual meaning: the actual SmartSuit and the business people at Ganymede Systems, who are exploiting their workers and killing them.  As a human, the Doctor did some things he would never dream of as a Time Lord.

However, the Doctor, playing multiple parts, also mirrors the zombie in the SmartSuit, shown below.  Check out how the tilt of his head matches the zombie, someone who is being controlled. This suggests, like so many other things we’ve seen, that the Doctor is being controlled.

This all is not surprising, as we’ve seen how the Doctor, before waking up through the Great Work, was used to do some terrible things in the subtext. Through “Oxygen,” you can see some of the terrible things he was made to do, like killing people through the SmartSuits.

Other Examples

Some of the villains like John Lumic of Cybus Industries are mirrors of the Doctor in the subtext.  They build up large corporations who take advantage of people.  Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth built up a monopoly in many areas in order to fund his ship to return to his people.  Is this similar to what happened to the Doctor?

 Building the Stone Computer: Gallifrey & the Library

I believe the whole capitalism gone amok idea idea plays into building the stone computer, which on Gallifrey turns on the people who built it.  It’s a theme that was played out in “Smile” with the Emojibots and Vardy.

Either a mention of the stone computer/circuit board or imagery of one shows up in at least 3 episodes. In “The Fires of Pompeii,” Caecilius is a marble tradesman who mines, polishes, and designs the stone.  He makes stone circuit boards to meet the chief augur’s specifications.  Then, during “Forest of the Dead,” we see a different stone circuit board behind River when she dies in the Library.  Most important, the Doctor talks about a database and stone circuit boards in “Hell Bent” when he and Clara are in the Cloisters on Gallifrey.

A Cybus Industries Cyberman reaches for Clara in the Cloisters.

DOCTOR: Keep away from them! The Matrix can use them as a defence. It means the secret exit must be close.

CLARA: What's to defend in a crypt?

DOCTOR: It's not just a crypt. More like a stone circuit board. This is the Matrix database.

(They arrive at an area with a glowing interlocking circles pattern on the floor without actually noticing. Clara stands in the middle of it.)

CLARA: Database? What do you mean, database?

(The Doctor realises where she's standing.)

A short time later, the Doctor finishes his thought:

DOCTOR: When Time Lords die, their minds are uploaded to a thing called the Matrix. This structure, it's like a living computer. It can predict the future, generate prophecies out of algorithms, ring the Cloister bells in the event of impending catastrophe. The Sliders, they're just like the guard dogs, the firewall. Projections from inside the Matrix itself. The dead, manning the battlements.

CLARA: Was I supposed to understand any of that?

DOCTOR: The Time Lords have got a big computer made of ghosts, in a crypt, guarded by more ghosts.

Before all of this above, the Doctor and Clara come across an entangled Dalek.

DALEK: Exterminate me.

CLARA: Is it trapped?

DOCTOR: Don't worry, it's been neutralised. Those aren't vines. In your terms, they're fibre-optic cables, they're alive and growing. We're inside the biggest database in history.

The implication is that the stone computer ties together the 3 episodes.  In fact, while Gallifrey has the biggest database in history, the Library planet has the biggest hard drive, as the Doctor says in “Silence in the Library.”

DOCTOR: It's a world. Literally, a world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed.

While the largest database in history does not necessarily mean it needs the largest hard drive, I’m taking it as such.  The Library and Gallifrey would then be mirrors, which aren’t surprising, since we saw that both the Library and Gallifrey were part of the Eye of Harmony.

Because Caecilius (the Doctor enslaved) helped build stone circuit boards, the Doctor most likely helped build the stone computer on Gallifrey.  Not only that, he helped build up society whether it was in Pompeii or on Gallifrey. How much did he contribute to building the corrupt system when he was enslaved?

 How Much Does the Doctor Know Ahead of Time?

In “Oxygen,” the Doctor lectures about space, instead of crop rotation, and Nardole sees the warning signs.  Also, the Doctor knows about the distress call from the space base when he asks Bill to choose where to go in space.  However, does he know about it when he lectures about space?  There may very well be more than it seems that is pulling the Doctor to take off in the TARDIS with Bill.

He doesn’t refuse the distress call, so he actually is in a Catch-22 situation about leaving Earth possibly open to attack or definitely letting people on the station die. However, the situation has a broader implication, reaching across galaxies. 

NARDOLE: Is that really the best you've got? Revenge?

DOCTOR: Not just revenge. It's revenge as bright as the sun. It's revenge you can see across galaxies! Not bad for a blind man.

So is the Doctor having to decide Earth vs. many planets and multiple galaxies?  The subtext suggests that he knows there’s something he has to fix, so he takes the chance.

Interestingly, at the end of the episode, the Doctor talks about what he remembers of the resolution of capitalism gone amok.  We learn the revolt against corruption was a fixed point in history.

(The Doctor is sitting with his feet up on his desk, wearing his shades and playing with a yellow yo-yo - not very well, truth be told.)

BILL: Does it work?

DOCTOR: Does what work?

BILL: Making a complaint to Head Office.

DOCTOR: No idea. Never had a head office. But as far as I remember, there's a successful rebellion six months later. Corporate dominance in space is history, and that about wraps it for capitalism.

Are the other station crew really dead?  Because I found this exchange below quite odd.

NARDOLE: There's nothing we can do! She's dead.

DOCTOR: She's no more dead than you are. Than I am. Than everyone on this station is. Get me to a keyboard.

Is he only talking about those living?  It doesn’t sound like it to me.  If not, what happened to the other people?

 Part of the Plan & Whose Fault?

Once again, we see a horse in the episode, shown below, this time in the TARDIS, so going to the mining station is part of the rescue plan.  Interestingly, the horse is on the other side of the divider from Bill, and there’s a blurry part on the right side of the image.  The Ghost may be the Architect here, or whatever is in the Vault.  From the trailer, it does sound like Missy is in the Vault.  However, is it really that simple?  Right now, I suspect it isn’t.

It’s interesting that Nardole brings up the whole not-your-fault about what he assumes was Bill’s death to which the Doctor responds

NARDOLE: Doctor, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have saved her!

DOCTOR: You know what's wrong with this universe? Believe me, I've looked into it. Everyone says it's not their fault. Well, yes, it is. All of it. It's all your fault. So, what are you going to do about it?

NARDOLE: There's nothing we can do! She's dead.

DOCTOR: She's no more dead than you are. Than I am. Than everyone on this station is. Get me to a keyboard.

Is the Doctor speaking literally when he says it’s Nardole’s fault?  Or is it figuratively, meaning himself, as Nardole is a face of the Doctor? Or maybe everyone is complicit, as in one is either part of the problem or part of the solution?  I’m taking it as all of the above, referring not just to Bill’s apparent death at the time, but also to the whole capitalistic system gone awry.

He’s taking responsibility for what he did in the past by answering the distress call, but he’s impulsive and very emotional, which can lead to other issues.  Also, he takes responsibility for Bill’s terrible situation and risks his own life by giving her his helmet.

 More Racism, Species-ism, Etc.

Racism and species-ism come up as our continuing themes.  In a twist, Bill is accused of being a racist by Dahh-ren for her reaction to his blueness.  Also of interest are the Doctor’s questions about the AI in the suits:

DOCTOR: But can they learn? Evolve? Grow? Maybe get tired of carrying pesky humans around? Know the feeling?

(Nardole nods, and Bill is taken aback.)

It’s probably a reference to the Star Whale being a slave to humans, as well as the Emojibots and Vardies.

 Broken Promises, Devastating Consequences & Blindness

Once again, we see the Doctor yearning to be out among the stars when he’s looking out his office window. The urge to leave Earth is just too much for him.  As we saw above, it’s part of the rescue plan, and once again he breaks his promise in order to rescue people from a system that has become corrupt to the point of moral bankruptcy.  If he did help create the system that he is now railing against, he would feel especially responsible for fixing the problems. 

Since Earth can be a metaphor for himself, leaving it vulnerable means he could also be placing others before himself.  I don’t mean to suggest that he is always totally selfless; we know he’s not.  However, I believe the situation is not as simple as it looks.  And he is being driven, in part, by other motives that are more obscure than the text suggests.

Regardless, he and Bill suffered devastating consequences, just as the subtext in the previous episodes said would happen.  The Doctor, for once, is not immune, just as the landlord wasn’t.  Is the Doctor’s blindness really permanent?  It doesn’t look like it from the trailers for the season. Will the Doctor do a partial regeneration to heal his eyes?  That seems likely from the trailers, or is the Doctor able to use some other method to see?

How will what happened affect the Doctor and Bill’s relationship?  Nardole and Bill’s relationship?  Nardole and the Doctor’s relationship?

 It’s a Good Day to Die

The Doctor wanting to die well and make his death have a lot of meaning does go along with him dying in battle like Nelson’s falling column suggested.  If not a battle, per se, he will go out fighting like he was doing in “Oxygen.”  Whatever he will do, the foreshadowing here suggests his death will be big and make a big statement.

Ganymede Has Multiple Meanings

In “Oxygen,” Ganymede Systems is the company that created the SmartSuits.  However, Ganymede has other meanings that have importance to the Doctor.  Besides referring to the largest moon of Jupiter, Ganymede is the name of a divine hero in Greek mythology who was the subject of a painting by Rembrandt (so is connected to the Doctor) and a character in a Shakespearean play, which also has multiple ties to the Doctor.  Additionally, there is a connection to the Vatican, and in the next episode, the clips show the Pope.

The Divine Greek Mythological Hero

Ganymede, who was thought to be the most beautiful mortal, was a descendant of river gods.  In one source of the myth, Zeus spotted Ganymede herding his sheep on a mountain and abducted him for his beauty.  Either Zeus turned into an eagle or summoned one to fly the youth to Mount Olympus.  Ganymede became the cupbearer to the gods on Mount Olympus and gained immortality, the only one of Zeus’ lovers to do so.  Zeus later put Ganymede in the sky as the constellation Aquarius, which is associated with that of the Eagle (Aquila). It’s another form of immortality.

Gaining immortality is suggested in “Oxygen” when the Doctor is looking at one of the zombies (red arrow), shown below, who was killed by his SmartSuit.  And he quotes the First Epistle to the Corinthians from the New Testament: “Death, where is thy sting?”

 I Corinthians 15: 54-57

54.       So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55.       O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

 The Doctor, Rembrandt, and The Abduction of Ganymede

Interestingly, Ganymede is the subject of a 1635 painting by Rembrandt, and we’ve already seen that the Doctor is associated with Rembrandt.  Because of this connection, Ganymede and the painting become very important.  Rembrandt painted The Abduction of Ganymede, which, shown below, shows the eagle carrying an unwilling Ganymede to Mount Olympus.  The master painter chose to make Ganymede a young child, dispensing with the homosexual nature of the myth.  

Rembrandt’s initial sketch informs us of the changes he made in the painting. Initially, there were people below, who were trying to reach for the child.  However, in the painting, Rembrandt omitted them.  Instead, the child’s abduction brings darkness and despair on the Earth.  The interpretation of the painting is that the child was abducted from life too soon. 

Is this abduction connected to the one we saw with the 10th Doctor and the abducted Scottish boy in “Tooth and Claw”?  Whom the subtext suggests is the Doctor or a face of the Doctor.

Does the Doctor’s blindness represent the darkness and despair in the painting?

Ganymede & Shakespeare

I’ve been wondering about mistaken identity for a while in DW, and Ganymede shows up in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which is a comedy of mistaken identity.  Rosalind, the heroine, dresses up as a boy, Ganymede.  According to Wikipedia, “She plays on her ambiguous charm to seduce Orlando, but also (involuntarily) the shepherdess Phebe. Thus behind the conventions of Elizabethan theater in its original setting, the young boy playing the girl Rosalind dresses up as a boy and is then courted by another boy playing Phebe.”

The themes of the play are love, usurpation and injustice, forgiveness, and court life vs. country life.  The play is also a religious allegory to Eden.

So is there mistaken identity going on in DW?  Since the subtext suggests the Doctor was duplicated in “The Zygon Invasion” and “The Zygon Inversion,” it’s possible. 

Also, mistaken identity could have to do with the Doctor having to hide himself as a human.  In fact, not only does Missy say the Doctor was a little girl, the 10th Doctor’s own watch with his Time Lord consciousness in “Human Nature” had the female voice say, “Merge with the faces of men,” as we saw in my meta/handbook Fairytales and Romance “Chapter 10: Explaining the Doctor Who 2016 Christmas Special 2nd Trailer.”  What exactly does that mean?  The subtext suggests the Doctor is hiding his true identity.

Also, the 12th Doctor episode “In the Forest of the Night” has little Maebh Arden talking to the trees that magically grew overnight.  The Arcadian Forest of Arden is the magical setting of As You Like It.  Arcadia happens to be the Gallifreyan city that people thought was the safest city on the planet during the Time War.  An allusion to the Garden of Eden is also in this episode

MINISTER [on TV} The Government emergency committee, COBRA, has formulated an action plan. We will create pathways through the trees using carefully controlled fires. This will facilitate the movement of essential services.

COBRA is a reference to the snake in Eden, of course.  The committee would have destroyed Earth if the plan had worked.

Ganymede and the Vatican

Since the Vatican is involved in the upcoming episode “Extremis,” the Vatican connection may be important with Ganymede.  In a Vatican museum, there is a 2nd century Roman copy of the eagle and Ganymede sculpted in marble, which was created from a bronze original by Leochares of the 4th century BCE.  Does the death of capitalism or Ganymede Systems have something to do with the Vatican and what is going on?

 Does mistaken identity have some other significance?

Mistaken identity must be important because in “Face the Raven,” we see mistaken identity with a link to Season 10 episode “The Pilot.” 

“Face the Raven”

In “Face the Raven,” we first see Anah, who supposedly died, inside some odd stasis device.

The Doctor has a conversation about her:

DOCTOR: She's a Janus.

ASHILDR: She escaped slavery. She fled here with her child.

DOCTOR: The child. A daughter?

ASHILDR: No, a boy.

CLARA: Is that bad?

DOCTOR: No, it's not bad, it's just unhelpful. A daughter might've seen who killed her mother.

(The Doctor nods to the back of Anah's head. Clara steps forward to see a second face there.)

DOCTOR: The female Janus is psychic. One face sees into the future, the other looks behind her, into the past.

CLARA: I think we saw her son outside.

A short time later, we learn about the mistaken identity when Clara and the Doctor talk to Anahson, shown below.

(Clara and Anahson are sitting on the settee.)

CLARA: She dressed you as a boy to protect you, but really you're a girl. You have the gift.

ANAHSON: It is no gift. I'm safe as a boy. This is the first place I've ever been safe, and you want me to throw it away? To admit what I am?

Anah and Anahson are both mirrors of the Doctor because they both can see into the past and future, like he can.  BTW, adding “son” to Anah is a very Norse way of naming boy children.  Anah and Anahson add more proof to Missy’s claim that the Doctor used to be a little girl, who may have had to hide as a boy.

BTW, before the Doctor, Clara, and Rigsy find Trap Street, we see a statue of anti-slavery campaigner John Batchelor.

“The Pilot”

In “The Pilot,” Heather is in the puddle on the strange Ood-like planet.  The subtext says she is a Janus because she has 2 faces (red and yellow arrows) like Anah and Anahson.  This isn’t surprising.  All 3 characters are mirrors of the Doctor.

Crustaceans: The World Is Your Oyster

The Doctor said, “The universe is your crustacean.”  That’s an odd statement.  The crustacean is an interesting choice of words.  It does relate to fish and sea creatures.  Also, it relates to the wood lice in “Knock Knock,” since they are non-aquatic crustaceans, related to crabs, lobsters, shrimp, etc.

From the context, I gather the Doctor is referring to the line from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, “The world is your oyster.” He’s in the position to offer people opportunities that life has to offer.

 “He’s In Section 12”

When Nardole told Bill the Doctor paid a price for giving Bill his helmet, he told Bill, “He’s in Section 12.”  The AI then targeted Section 12.  However, does this have a broader meaning?  Especially with the possible mistaken identity?  This might be likely. 

When we are talking about learning to read subtext, we have to consider that references may have broader meanings in the bigger context.  It’s just a hypothesis right now.

NARDOLE: Listen, about the Doctor. He walked in a vacuum for far too long. He's mostly okay but, he paid a price.

BILL: What do you mean?

NARDOLE: He's in Section Twelve.

The SmartSuits have heard that.  They register Nardole’s line, shown below, and search for Section 12 on their internal maps.

I can’t help but think this means more than we think.  Does it mean the hidden identity of the Doctor, a face of the Doctor, or someone close to him is foreshadowed to be discovered in canon?  

 Nardole

Nardole gave us some interesting information about himself.  How much is real?  And how much is a joke?

He got his face on the run.

NARDOLE: I haven't seen my true face in years. Swapped it for this one on the run.

He seems to know Velma, the voice of the SmartSuit, and seems to have dated her. 

NARDOLE: Ooo, recognise that voice. Yes! Nice girl, actress, bit orange. Left me for an AI in a call centre.

Nardole talks about stealing.

NARDOLE: What are you mining? Is it worth stealing?

ABBY: You think this is a robbery?

DOCTOR: Well, killing you'd be a good start if it was.

NARDOLE: It's how I'd do it.

(They all stare at Nardole.)

NARDOLE: If I was to do that sort of thing. Which, actually, I probably wouldn't, so please don't worry.

What is clear is that he is the conscience of the Doctor.  

 Star Trek & “Frontier in Space”

The opening line to “Oxygen,” is the beginning of the line from the opening credits of Star Trek: “Space, the final frontier.”  In “Under the Lake” and “Before the Flood,” we saw how the original Star Trek series was referenced in the mural on the wall and the Enterprise-B was referenced in the flood door. 

The opening line in “Oxygen” most likely is also a reference to the 3rd Doctor story “Frontier in Space.”  In the story, the Master is working to provoke an all-out war between Earth and Draconia, and the Doctor is caught up in a web of intrigue. 

Is Missy and/or the Master working to provoke an all-out war?  It certainly seems that way.  Using Clara, Missy pushed the Doctor over the edge.  Therefore, Missy has been controlling the Doctor for quite some time, steering him toward revolt and the events outlined in the Ood episodes.

 Why Star Trek?

The Doctor (as Caecilius) is a marble craftsman, and the 10th Doctor is associated with ironmongery. Both trades are associated with the Roman God Vulcan or the Greek equivalent, Hephaestus, who is the god of fire, metalworking, stone masonry, forges, the art of sculpture, and blacksmiths. Hephaestus’ symbols include the hammer, anvil, tongs, and volcano.

Wikipedia says, “In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the son of Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of the gods.  In another version, he was Hera's parthenogenous child, rejected by his mother because of his deformity and thrown off Mount Olympus and down to earth.”

Zeus’ and Hera’s Roman counterparts are Jupiter (here’s a connection to Ganymede) and Juno.

Hephaestus is lame, and he is known by many epithets, one of which is "renowned artificer."

“Artificer” is an interesting archaic word that describes how the 12th Doctor in “The Caretaker” described himself to the Skovox Blitzer.

DOCTOR: Stop! Skovox Blitzer!

BLITZER: Awaiting orders.

DOCTOR: Superior Skovox Artificer. Analyse stop analyse stop.

BLITZER: Superior recognised. Pattern one one oh, Orders orders.

The word means a skilled craftsman or inventor.

The Doctor, therefore, is associated with Vulcan and Hephaestus, and, of course, the volcano.

Caecilius bought the TARDIS in “The Fires of Pompeii” for modern art, which could be reference to Hephaestus and the art of sculpture.  Also, tongs are interesting because tongs, a symbol of Hephaestus, are associated with the Bells of St. John and, therefore, the St John Ambulance symbol.

 The Vault

So who is in the Vault? It does seem like it would be Missy, especially since she will appear in the upcoming episode.  If she is in there, it would probably seem underwhelming as the Vault mystery, since we know she will be in the next episode.  Or will there be a twist?  Things could always be different than they appear.

[alphysmd]

HERE IT COMES!! A POST WHERE I RAMBLE ON ABOUT CARTOONS??? ARE YOU EXCITED???

seriously though, under the cut i ramble about cartoons in a post that took me like an hour to type up, i didnt proofread any of it, thats my warning

ok but seriously. lets talk cartoons. there is a a lot that’s been on my mind as of late, i think we are on the changing tides of cartoons and we can be in for a great couple year of toons or we might hit another...dry spell.....

let me start with Cartoon Network, since they seem to be cleaning house over at their network, Regular Show is over, Adventure Time has little less than a year, i forget the exact amount that is left, like 40? at the upfront that just happened it sounded like ANOTHER mini series was about to come out, picking up right where Islands left off, which makes me wonder what is left of the show? is the rest of the episodes just going to be plot based? or do we have some one-offs and goofy adventures left? im not sure what i want but i’m really hoping for the best possible ending for the show and im crossing my fingers the theatrical movie is still coming out! i would really love to see one final adventure on the big screen, cartoon network hasn’t done a film since Powerpuff Girls, (well, i don’t think the Aqua Teen movie counts, i think that’s considered a Williams Street film), and I think theatrical cartoons like that are just like a thing of the past and it makes me sad. that being said, it’s been confirmed that Clarence is on it’s final batch of episodes, a show that i fucking adore and i feel never really got a chance to shine. i know so many people refused to watch the show after what happened with the creator and it was sad because Clarence is such a pure hearted kids show, it’s filled with really lovable character and i just think it sums up what it means to be a kid so damn well. I’m really glad it got as many episodes as it did (looks like it will probably have just over 100 when it ends!) but i’m really sad to see it go because there hasn’t been a show like this in a real long time. with everything besides We Bare Bears (a show i never got a chance to get into), Gumball (a show i fell off years back for no real reason) , Steven Universe and Teen Titans Go ending, I wonder what direction they are gonna head in? I wonder if CN is going to fall into fan pressure and cancel SU? I mean I still love the show to death and think most of the criticism is bat-shit insane but I wonder with the cancellation of the two shows (adventure time and regular show) that brought CN back into a golden age if they are gonna kill the only other show that has close to the size of the fanbase either of those shows did? i mean i say this because CN is still pushing TTG as the best show on their network, and don’t get me wrong if you are a fan of that show, but it’s really not fair that it takes up like 85% of the networks air time. i hope CN sticks with SU because i think it has a lot of steam left in it (i thought the same with AT, RS and Clarence but I DIGRESS), and i think such a positive show like that deserves to be on the air more often.

on the Adult Swim side, things seem to be picking up. Samurai Jack’s new season is beyond incredible and for me is setting a new standard of what adult cartoons can be? i mean we see action shows from japan all the time but there hasn’t been anything this adult and this well put together from western animation in ages. I’m hoping that Adult Swim/Toonami starts pushing for new series like this, and it seems like they might, with those new FLCL episodes coming out in the near future. it’s also pretty obvious now that Rick and Morty is Adult Swim’s new flagship series, and I’m gonna be pretty shocked if that gets the axe anytime soon. Based on Season 3′s first episode, i think the show is still going to be pretty great, i was a bit worried about it because it seemed like from interviews that Justin and Dan were arguing a bunch and trying to make it the best they possibly could. I hope they can continue to go on weird adventures and try out new things, and based on the final several mins of the new episode it looks like things are changing, and maybe even getting a lot darker, which i’m all for!  i’m still sad that Aqua Teen got canceled because they still have not found a proper replacement for that classic Adult Swim absurdity. i think the closest they have come was Mike Tyson Mysteries, right down to that old school Hanna Barbara style, it felt like they almost from the ground up made one of those “recycled properties” shows that Adult Swim was filled with in the early days. if you are a fan of the real absurd, that real classic contrived plots that filled shows like Aqua Teen or Sealab, check out Mike Tyson Mysteries because it makes me laugh my ass off. i guess the other night (UNLESS IT WAS A PRANK) they said season 3 of Mike Tyson was coming in May, but they also announced that Hot Streets and Apollo Gauntlet were picked up for series which is great because those are more in the realm of weird cartoons that Adult Swim is known for. (PLUS while it’s not FULLY a cartoon Dream Corp LLC is getting a new season which is GREAT because i think that show really finally became it’s own in the final few episodes!)

the other big news concerns this piece of news about Nick ( http://deadline.com/2017/03/spongebob-loud-house-sherlock-gnomes-1202054433/ ) it seems like Nick is about to go all in on theatrical cartoons again which im HYPED for. I’m really shocked that The Loud House is getting a movie but i’m really excited because I thought I was the only one who was really enjoying that show. You can never know how a show is doing on Nick since all they play is Spongebob reruns and that’s why shows like Harvey Beaks got killed so early on. While I never watched Harvey Beaks, I honestly saw no promotion for it from Nick and when it died I thought a similar thing was going to come for Loud House. I hope these Nick Movies go well because I want to see more feature cartoons from big companies like Nick, maybe this will give Cartoon Network the nudge to get in on the big screen game too. But with the Loud House movie in the works, I’m CROSSING my fingers it’s in the vein of something like A Goofy Movie, you never see those classic cozy road trip cartoon movies anymore, it always has to be some big loud SAVE THE TOWN/WORLD like story, i would love to see more down to earth things and I think with The Loud House it might be a perfect fit. I feel like I should note that the article lists that two UNNAMED NICKTOONS are getting feature films as well, and I may be spitballing or dreaming big here but remember a few months back when CH Greenblatt said that Jhonen Vasquez was working on an Invader Zim movie with Nick and then promptly removed the post about it? i mean i was just thinking that he spoke too soon and it was going to be like the Hey Arnold TV movie that’s happening this year or that Rocko’s Modern Life TV movie (1 hour special as i see it being referred in some places) but WHAT IF, i mean hear me out, Nick is really going to go all out and do an Invader Zim theatrical film. I mean....fuck. I would die. I would straight up die.

OK THAT’S ALL THE CARTOON TALK I GOT IN ME FOR NOW, I WAS JUST GOING TO MAKE A FEW TWEETS AND CALL IT A NIGHT BUT I COULDNT SO SORRY FOR A LONG POST NO ONE WILL READ OR CARE ABOUT but if you do read all of this and want to respond please do i love talking cartoons like the big idiot i am, and i’ll probably respond and write even more about cartoons, thanks bye.

[bethestaryouareradio]

Remembering 9/11, Walking with My Angels, Behind the Be the Star You Are! Series

You remember where you were and what you were doing if you were alive during major events in history: the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the death of Princess Diana, the terrorist attacks of 9/11. It’s been 18 years since the Twin Towers fell and thousands of lives were lost in NYC, the Pentagon, and in the crash in Pennsylvania. We will talk about how the world has changed since this tragic disaster.

Do Angels live amongst us? Who or what are angels? do they have wings or are they caring humans and animals? Whether you believe in heavenly helpers or not, author Keith Leon S. could change your life for the better with his book, Walking with My Angels.

The trilogy of Be the Star You Are!® books all debuted in various years in the month of September. September 2001, September 2009, and September 2018. How did the series evolve and why are they so empowering? Author, Cynthia Brian sheds light on living, loving, laughing, and learning to make a difference. https://www.CynthiaBrian.com/books

Bio: Keith Leon S. is a multiple international best-selling author, he owns a successful publishing company and he's a speaker/trainer who's well known as, "The Book Guy." Keith authored the best-selling book, Who Do You Think You Are? Discover the Purpose of Your Life, which featured 10 people from the hit movie, The Secret. Keith has appeared on many popular radio and television broadcasts, and his work has been covered by Inc. Magazine, LA Weekly, The Huffington Post, Published Magazine and Succeed Magazine just to name a few. He has spoken at events that included Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Neale Donald Walsch, Barbara De Angelis, John Gray, Michael Beckwith and Marianne Williamson. He's also a talented musician who has made music with Stevie Wonder, Ben Vereen, Nancy Wilson, Keb Mo, and Carl Anderson. Keith has been led by angels since his early childhood, and now he shares his message with those who are ready and willing to hear it. One of his passions is teaching people how to go from first thought to bestseller and to create what he calls, "The World's Greatest Business Card.” https://www.walkingwithmyangelsbook.com

Listen at Voice America Network, Empowerment Channel: https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/116919/angels-remembering-911-be-the-star-you-are-series

Be the Star You Are! 501 c3 charity offers help, hope, and healing for women, families and youth in need.

BTSYA Operation Disaster Relief. Please donate. http://ow.ly/ks8A30lekGe

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Make a DONATION through PAYPAL GIVING FUND and PAYPAL with 100% going to BTSYA with NO FEES:  https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/1504

Read our BTSYA newsletter: 

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Celebrating 20 years of Service: https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1314/Local-literacy-nonprofit-celebrates-20-years-of-service.html

Press Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2019/09/07/be-the-star-you-are-501-c3-celebrates-20-years-serving-the-world/

It's appropriate that Be the Star You Are! is being honored in the press for 20 years of global service today on 9/11. BTSYA was one of the first charities to offer relief to the survivors of the attacks. The THREE books in the Be the Star You Are! series were all published in September. Congrats to all who have served and supported this literacy and positive message cause. WooHoo!  http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4441606

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Small DONATIONS Make a Big Difference to Others: Decrease Violence. Increase Literacy. 

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Donate via Paypal Giving Fund

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JUST PUBLISHED: Be the Star You Are! Millennials to Boomers Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World and Growing with the Goddess Gardener. Available at www.CynthiaBrian.com/online-store

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Check our Book Reviews at our literacy partner, The Reading Tub: https://thereadingtub.org/books/be-the-star-you-are/

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Shopping online? #StartWithaSmile at https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3333882 . Amazon donates to Be The Star You Are, Inc..

Giving Assistant-Shop at over 3300 stores and save BIG:  https://givingassistant.org/np#be-the-star-you-are-inc

Show your support for your favorite nonprofit by making a generous donation. You will be making a huge difference in someone’s life! Be the Star You Are! is a TOP NON-PROFIT http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/profile2/be-the-star-you-are-inc

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When you are looking for upbeat, life-changing, and mind-stretching information, you have come to the right place. Host Cynthia Brian takes you on a journey of exploration that will encourage, inspire, and motivate you to make positive changes that offer life-enhancing results. It's party time on StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!®. And YOU are invited! Join us LIVE 4-5pm Pt on Wednesdays or tune in to the archives at your leisure. Come play in StarStyle Country. Catch up with all broadcasts on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/starstyle-be-the-star-you-are!/id669630180?mt=2

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Get inspired, motivated, and informed with StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!®

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If you are a fan of the authors, experts, celebrities, and guests that appear regularly on StarStyle®-Be the Star You Are!® radio, you can now be sure to never miss an episode. Embed this code into your WordPress site or any site and you’ll always have Cynthia Brian and all of your favorite pioneers on the planet at your fingertips.  Upbeat, positive, life-changing talk radio broadcasting live each week since 1998. Lend us Your Ears. We are Starstyle®-Be the Star You Are!®

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