#completing my revenge fantasy by living vicariously through them

[cosyvelvetorchid]

After watching a romcom with Tommy (who mentions offhand that nobody has ever romanced him like that), Buck activates his inner romantic (ie Season1Boyfriend!Buck) with one mission in mind: to completely and utterly sweep Tommy off his feet.

Tommy is this cool, confident and unflappable guy 24/7, and Buck has this need to see him blush.

Flowers, a candlelit meal, slowdancing in the moonlight. The whole shebang, and Tommy melts.

Im so sorry that this took an absolute age to get to! Lots of stuff going on and illness blah blah blah ANYWAY! Here it is, I hope you like it.

As Always if you have a bucktommy or saltommy prompt send to my ask box. Smut, fluff, whump.. whatever you want

🩶

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RATING: T

TW: 1 use of the f-slur

WORDS: 2,432

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Buck knew that Tommy loved a romcom. He liked lots of genres of movies, and all for different reasons. But romcoms he loved because of the fantasy of them. He’d told Buck once that growing up with a father like his, and then spending the majority of his adult years firmly tucked away in the closet, that he’d wholeheartedly believed that a true love or romance was not in his own future. That living vicariously through two people on screen, even if they were straight, was the closest thing he’d get to a happy ending.

He’d very much changed his mind since he’d met his Evan, but still Buck had been determined to give him all the romantic moments he’d missed out on over his life.

It started with surprising Tommy with a candle lit dinner ready when he came home from work.. Which ended with Buck being bent over the table as dessert. Not quite the emotional response he was going for, but hey who was he to say no to that!

Tommy mentioned once a book he loved as kid and Buck spent three weeks hunting down a first edition. He was certainly blown away by Bucks thoughtfulness and showed him immediately by getting on his knees. Again Buck was happy to oblige - he always was - but it still wasn’t the response he was truly hoping for.

He wanted to sweep Tommy entirely off his feet. Woo him to the point of breathlessness. Make him feel so unbelievably cherished and loved that he forgets out to speak.

And then the idea hit him.

Oddly, while watching Carrie.

“Man, the worst thing that happened at our senior prom was Mikey Jacobs spiking the punch. I still can’t drink Jack Daniels” Buck reminisced.

“Better than pigs blood, babe. Or, you know, the revenge by telekinesis.”

“True. What about you? What was yours like?”

Tommy sighed. “I, uh, didn’t go to mine.”

“Really?” Buck looked at him in surprise. “I mean granted you were secretly gay, but I know the girls would have been killing each other to get the Tommy Kinard to take them to prom.” The idea seemed to bring such joy to his Evans face that Tommy almost didn’t want to admit the reality.

“I appreciate the support, babe, but I wasn’t exactly drowning in dates with girls.” He laughed “I was 6’2” by the time I was 15 but I didn’t know how to build muscle or even eat right for my body’s needs. I went from 5’8” and over weight to 6’2” and skinny, which my dad just loved to point out constantly. I was super insecure and had zero confidence to ask a a girl out.” A look of sadness flickered across his face.

“Did people not go stag at your school?”

Tommy huffed a cold laugh. “Only fags and virgins go stag to a prom, Thomas.” He mimicked his father’s voice. Buck gently rubbed Tommys arm.

“I’m sorry you had to hear shit like that from your dad. You deserved so much better than that.”

“I know that now and mostly because of you.” He pressed a chaste kiss to Bucks lips and smiled.

“Good.” He smiled back, already formulating his next plan to woo the shit out of his boyfriend.

This one took a few weeks of planning but Buck was certain it would knock Tommys socks off.

Tommy was surprised that Lucy had suddenly turned up at Harbour on what was supposed to be her day off. Even more surprised when she offered, nay - insisted - that she take Tommys remaining 24 hours of his 48 hours shift.

In the end their Captain had to practically shove him out of the harbour doors to get him out. He eventually relented and left for home.

Approaching their front door he noticed a note in handwriting so bad it had to be Bucks. God did he love him but the man’s penmanship looked like a doctor’s. A drunk doctor’s. Wearing a plaster cast. Thankfully after almost a year together he’d learned how to decipher Evans scribbles.

“Go straight upstairs.

Shower and get dressed..”

“Huh?”

“Don’t “huh” me, Kinard. Just do it. Then meet me in the dining room.

P.s: love you, Your Evan.”

Tommy chuckled to himself but did as he was asked and walked straight up the stairs to their bedroom. He was surprised, and confused, to see his tux freshly pressed and laid out on their bed.

After showering and dressing he made his way back down found himself knocking on his own dining room door for permission to enter.

“Come in.” Evans voice called from inside.

Tommy opened the door his mouth and eyes opened wide at what he saw.

The table had been pushed to the side wall, with a black cloth draped over the top, atop of which was a punch bowl filled with an orangey pink liquid. Surrounding it was lots of bowls filled with candy and chips and other kids favourite snacks.

A shiny disco ball hung from the ceiling with paper decorations swinging from the Center of the room and up to the corners. Twinkling lights hung all around giving the room a gorgeous warm glow.

And standing in the centre of the dining room, under the disco ball, in a tux that fit him so fucking perfectly was the most beautiful man Tommy had ever seen.

“What’s.. what’s going on?” Tommy asked not being able to hide his smile.

Evan took a few steps toward him and held out his hand. “Thomas Kinard. Will you go to prom with me?” Every time Tommy thinks he can’t fall in love with Evan any more, he’s proven wrong.

For the next two hours they do nothing but dance like idiots, drink spiked punch (tequila instead of Jack Daniel’s this time - buck would actually like to remember this prom), and snack on junk food.

Tommy couldn’t remember the last time he had let loose like this. Or even smiled this hard. Evan was by far the greatest joy to ever come into his life. He reminded Tommy of what fun was, what joy was and what it felt like to be truly unashamedly himself - something that nobody had ever made him felt safe enough to truly be.

Buck knew he’d achieved his task of sweeping Tommy off his feet tonight already, but there was one more thing he decided, last minute, that he was going to do.

Buck picked up his phone and searched for the perfect song, settling on Songbird by Eva Cassidy because it was on the soundtrack to Tommy’s favourite movie Love, Actually. He didn’t even need to do anything because as soon as the opening bars played through the speaker Tommy instantly knew what it was and pulled Buck into a slow dance.

They swayed slowly and silently for a few moments just breathing in the perfect moment with each other with Tommys arms wrapped around Bucks waist and Bucks arms around his neck.

“So, not that I’m complaining, babe, what with all the romancing lately?” Tommy asked.

“You deserve it.” Was Bucks simply reply. Tommy looked at him with a mixture of adoration with a hint of confusion. “You go out of your way to show me how much you love me and to do all these sweet and romantic things for me, but you deserve them too. You deserve to be shown how much you mean to me also.” Tommy was looking at him with those eyes again - the big bright ones Buck first saw right before Tommy had kissed him for the first time - and he had to use every bit of strength to hold back from jumping him, because he needed to say this before his courage disappeared.

“I see how you look at these little moments in the romcoms you love and I hate that you never got to experience them, so I wanted you to have some of them of your own. Our own.

“Plus, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to tell you just how much I love you. To tell you how unbelievably happy that you walked, well, flew into my life. To tell you that I have never in all of my life thought that I deserved to have someone so beautiful and kind and wonderful and just fucking incredible as you. And.. and to ask you to marry me.”

Tommy blinked. Did he hear that correctly?

“Wh-what?”

“I know, it’s.. we’ve not even been together a full year yet, and full disclosure I didn’t even know I was going to ask until like 10 minutes ago so I don’t have a ring, and-“ Tommy grabbed Buck either side of his neck and pressed his lips firmly against his. When Tommy pulled back his cheeks were wet with tears cascading over his beautiful lower lashes. Finally, Buck thought.

“Hold that thought.” He said simply before quickly leaving the room. He took 2 steps at a time as he hurtled upstairs, before running back down seconds later back to Buck still stood in the center of the dining room.

He lifted up his palm on top of which was a dark blue velvet box, opened, with 2 tarnished silver bands of differing sizes, each with a shiny silver strip running around the centre of each of them.

“You bought.. how long have you..” Buck could barely get the words out. His eyes kept flicking between Tommys beautiful face and the rings in his hand.

“About a month. Well, I ordered them custom made about 2 months ago but I’ve had them for a month.”

“Custom?” Was all Buck could get out.

Tommy pointed to the shiny part of the rings. “A couple of years ago I had this rescue and the husband of the woman we were life flighting was telling us about how they met. Anyway, he said that his family had this tradition of putting something sentimental in the band to give to your partner as.. sort of as a piece of you.

You know that piece of metal that sits on my desk in the study?”

“Y-yeah. It’s part of the blade from the first chopper you flew when you transferred to harbour.”

“Right. Well, it now has a little chunk missing.” He laughed. “Transferring to the 217 was the first piece of me finally becoming who I always wanted to be. You’re the last piece, Evan.”

Buck had this whole night planned - minus is own spontaneous proposal - and had wanted Tommy to be the feeling pleasantly surprised and loved.. yet here he was himself being loved so fucking beautifully it was taking everything within him to not break apart right there.

“What’s-what’s in your ring?” He asked.

“Well, that was.. a little trickier. And full disclosure on my part - Maddie knows because I had to enlist her help.”

“Okay..”

“It’s kinda difficult to pick something when your boyfriend loves so many things,” he teased “and then Maddie.. she gave me a little silver bracelet that she was given as a kid and-“

Buck inhaled a breath when he realised what bracelet Tommy was referring to. Immediately his whole chin began to quiver and tears fell from his eyes.

“The one that Daniel gave to her.”

“Yeah.” Tommy said softly. “She told me how he’d seen it one day when he was with your grandparents when he was 6 or something and insisted he give to her for her birthday.” Buck nodded, not being able to find words. “She said that this would be something that would be special to you because you never got to know him. Is-is that okay?”

Buck looked from the ring back to up Tommy; eyes completely blurred from tears pouring out of him.

“I.. this..” He could always find peace in Tommy eyes but this was all so.. it was overwhelming and.. he took a deep breath to try and calm himself.

“Tommy, this whole night was-was supposed to be about you.. a-and showing you just how much to mean to me and then..” he blew out another breath trying to center himself “and then here you are with the most beautiful fucking gesture, I.. I can’t..” The tears flowed once again and this time he threw his arms around Tommys neck and held on tight. Tommy, as he always did, reciprocated and held him tightly back.

“I love you so fucking much.” He cried into Tommys neck. Tommys own tears were flowing too, now.

“God I love you, too, Evan. More than I could ever even show you.”

“I don’t know-“ Buck pulled back with a laugh “I think you hit it out of the ball park with this one.” He gently thumbed Tommys tears from his cheeks. He looked closer at the rings.

“Are there inscriptions?”

“Only on yours.” Tommy replied, sniffing.

“For my Evan. Always.” Buck read out loud. Tommy wiped away Bucks next tears that came. They were the only type of tears he ever wanted to illicit from his Evan.

“I thought you would what to decide what to inscribe on my ring. Can I put it on you now?” Tommy asked.

“Uh, technically I should be putting on you because I asked first. Actually, you haven’t actually said yes by the way..”

Tommy reached up an gently placed back an errant curl that had fallen onto Bucks forehead and looked at him with those big earnest eyes again.

“Yes.”

Buck took the ring out of the box and slid it onto Tommy finger, then Tommy did the same with Bucks ring.

Buck gripped the lapels of Tommys tux and pulled him into a kiss. They both sighed into it. It wasn’t a kiss that they’d shared before; this one was full of promise, of hope, a future - the rest of their lives as husbands.

Tommy pulled back for a second “By the way, I did promise Maddie that the second we became engaged that we would face time her. Where’s your phone?”

“She can wait a little bit.” Buck replied aiming his lips at Tommys neck.

“You sure? She might be mad.” Buck lifted up and looked Tommy in the eyes.

“Tommy, there’s only one thing I want to do right now and it absolutely does not involve my sister.”

“She can wait a little bit.” Tommy repeated wrapping his arms around his Evans neck and pulling him in for another deep kiss.

[pathologising]

Angel! One of the characters in my new game is having her joker arc and she’s so sexc and hot and hot like awooga I want to be her lampshade

I love when women in media go apeshit like yes kill death murder slaughter etc etc you know

[jdarm]

Chris Jackson - October 28 2013

[x]

'Miss McGrath isn't here at the moment I'm afraid," says the man behind the desk at the Covent Garden Hotel, mispronouncing it "grath" as in "wrath", as so many Englishmen tend to do.

He directs me toward the avocado-coloured bar where I wait upon a comfy floral print chair as rich olive-skinned guests sip on cocktails and beer at a marble-topped bar, backed by a large fanlight mirror, which seduces shameless stares of vanity from a few.

The wait is short as Katie strides in, searching the tables for me, smiling at strangers, until she finds me. She greets me with a hug and before I have a chance to say anything she's ordered tea, soda and a small bowl of macadamia nuts, which she then devours in not too short order. She's not one to stand on ceremony.

Katie's in London promoting the latest television adaptation of one of fiction's most popular characters, Dracula. From the producers of Downton Abbey, Dracula is a major British and American co-production, primed to capture audiences across the world.

She leans back against the wall pulling her left knee into her body, as if at home on her couch, rather than in the bar of a five-star London hotel. She speaks in a low voice with the soft and steady cadence of a person of some cultivation, save for the odd swear, which only serves for emphasis. I ask her about her Dracula.

"With this Dracula they've taken the story and they've flipped it. They've made it more modern. There's a modern comic-book element to the story.

"The Dracula of this story is playing a role, that of an American industrialist, to exact revenge on those who wronged him."

It is, like others, a departure from Bram Stoker's original, although, as Katie points out, the Dubliner may have warmed to an adaptation where Dracula and two other main characters are played by Irish actors – Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Victoria Smurfit are the other two. (Katie, like Stoker, is an alumni of Trinity). She plays Lucy Westenra.

The Lucy Westenra of Bram Stoker's original was the embodiment of youthful innocence, the counterpoint to Dracula. I ask her what we can expect from her Lucy.

"My Lucy is a complete departure. In Stoker's Dracula she is a paragon of virtue. She is the idealised Victorian woman. She's sweet, kind, soft and gentle. She's the archetype of goodness," she says, stopping shortly before each sentence with a pregnant pause. She is polished in her speech.

"My Lucy, however, well, she's more of a high society 'It' girl. She seems vapid and vacuous at first. Then you see she has problems of her own, problems which will completely change your outlook on her. She's not the sweet girl of Bram Stoker's novel."

Katie is keen to point out that the departure doesn't stop there and that her Lucy is, like herself, an independent woman.

"She doesn't take sh*t from no one. She's the one in control, blonde strumpet that she is," she says.

Stoker's Lucy is a woman pursued by multiple suitors, but Katie is reticent on the subject of her own suiters.

She betrays the discomfort of someone who is not used to attention, someone who is still coming to terms with their success. It's understandable, she never saw such a future for herself when she was younger.

Katie McGrath was not a typical teenager. She had pink hair, listened to Green Day, and worked in a Tattoo Parlour. She was someone who you could imagine in a Kevin Smith or Richard Linklater film – a Goth, an Emo, a Rocker, an outlier. She no longer sees herself in such terms.

"I don't see myself as alternative anymore. You get to a point in life where you're comfortable with who you are and exist in your own world. I'm just me, walking around and trying to do a job without failing, although I do miss the pink hair."

Her path to stardom was unforeseen and unusual. An average student at Trinity (she studied history), she, like so many, did not know what she wanted to do with her life post-graduation. She played with the idea of a career in fashion and worked for Image magazine to achieve her left-field dream of being Vogue magazine's China editor. She then swung a job as a seamstress, though she couldn't sew, on the set of The Tudors, which was filmed near her home in Wicklow.

As she says "they needed a busty wench" for a love scene with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and she was happy to oblige them. Within a year she was cast as Morgana in BBC's Merlin, acting before millions of viewers in more than 150 countries.

The young woman whose life was without clear direction before was now on a path to great fame and fortune. It's little wonder she refers to herself as "having won the lottery".

As Morgana, Katie became a favourite of fantasy fanboys (the polite term for nerds), who can be quite obsessive. Often some of them live their lives vicariously through shows and their characters. She's experienced it first-hand, receiving, among other things, penned stories, pictures and dolls of herself as Morgana. She came face-to- face with many of them at San Diego's annual Comic-Con, a Mecca for fans of fantasy, sci-fi, and comic books, one of whom was Katie herself.

"It was amazing, it was like a place of joy, it was like a giant air-filled hangar of joy" she says with a broad smile, in between eating more macadamias. "They're all pretending to be someone, be it Princess Leah or Green Arrow, but at the same time that is who they are.”

"It's both bizarre and wonderful to see all these people pretend to be others and be so comfortable doing it."

Not all the parts she's played have been as successful. Take Madonna's directorial debut, W.E., in which Katie was cast. W.E. was panned by critics and was barely seen by anyone, taking less than $900,000 at the box office (The King's Speech, a similarly themed film, took more than $400m the year before).

"I think W.E. was a good film. I think critics were always going to be tough on it because it was Madonna's film. If it had been any other first time director I think they'd have been far more supportive of it" she says sincerely.

In spite of the failure of W.E. Katie's career has kicked-on, and last year she was cast in Channel 4's Labyrinth, an adaptation of Kate Mosse's best-selling novel of the same name, in which she was again required to wear a corset, a requirement made of her again in her latest ole, which, in one way, sees her career come full circle.

"I started as crew with Johnny, when I first met him I worked in wardrobe, now I'm starring opposite him. Sometimes I stop and think 'sh*t, I won the lottery'."

Her friendship with him means much to her, both personally and professionally, particularly given his extra experience.

"It was great having him there. This show is a big deal, with big money and big networks behind it. When you walk into a room with 20 high-powered producers it's great to know you're walking in with a friend, one who's got your back."

It's understandable that she seeks such support. Her acting apprenticeship was served in front of an audience of millions and it wasn't until she started to shoot Dracula that she felt confident in what she was doing.

And yet, in spite of the depths with which she has been cast, she has emerged. Katie is not one for the future anymore, she is one for the present, although there is some downside.

"People have great difficulty pronouncing my name. I've given up correcting people" she says. I say nothing of the man behind the desk.

[theridiculousangharad-blog]

How Post-Apocalyptic Parents React to the Loss of a Child, From Walking Dead to Pacific Rim

“Got all these widows and orphans,” we hear Beth Greene say to Michonne, “but what do you call someone who lost a child? You’d think someone would have given that a name.”

The Walking Dead: Warming Up or Getting Tough

If season three of The Walking Dead is any indication, we as a culture are obsessed with watching the world go up in flames. Do we get a vicarious thrill out of watching the world we live in implode into terror? Or maybe zombies are just a really perfect allegory for the problems we relate to in this this modern age.

Whatever the case, Apocalyptica is a trend that has been cropping up for the past several years. A common thread running through it  is how the characters handle the death of a child. “We read fantasy to find the colors again…” says George R. R. Martin author of Game of Thrones, “to taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang.” While escapism is sometimes frowned upon by the court of public opinion, fiction as a whole can help viewers cope. The most terrible pain that can be felt is the loss of a child. What does the way post-apocalyptic fiction handles this situation tell us about ourselves?

The Walking Dead utilizes the zombie apocalypse not only to show juicey zombies, but to postulate that the true evil is humanity. One of the most heartbreaking stories is that of fan favorite Michonne.

First seen holding two “walkers” with chains and her trusty katana, Michonne was first considered a mystery. “Got all these widows and orphans,” we hear Beth Greene say to Michonne, “but what do you call someone who lost a child? You’d think someone would have given that a name.” Michonne trudges through the zombie apocalypse like she is one herself.

In a truly spectacular tragic fashion as only The Walking Dead can provide, it is revealed that Michonne’s infant son was killed in an attack on her former camp due to her boyfriend’s neglect. Our only entrees into her mind are the guilt ridden dreams of the life she lost. When Rick starts to hallucinate that his dead wife is back, Michonne says succinctly, “I used to talk to my dead boyfriend,” almost in solidarity. This is the most she has said, showing that she is healing and becoming a more open person.

The death of her infant boy took a piece of her that made her just as dead as the walkers. And even though that piece is gone forever, she can find redemption and love in the new group that has made just as many mistakes as she has. As Michonne warms, slowly but surely, to the group and in particular Rick's son Carl, she demonstrates a way to move on.

Carol also lost a child. A former abuse victim, Carol was forced to watch her twelve year old daughter transform into a monster into and killed in front of her. Carol then had a transformation of her own.

While fundamentally different from Michonne, the death of her daughter causes her to change. Michonne becomes more open while Carol, who used to be under the thumb of her brutish husband, becomes one of the most fierce and independent warriors of the camp. Where Michonne gained a heart, Carol gained a skin.

The 100: Finding Faith

Chancellor Thelonious Jaha of CW teen drama The 100 has not only the mantel of single parenthood on his shoulders, but is also responsible for protecting the human race from extinction. The 100 takes place 90 years after a nuclear war ravaged Earth. 100 juvenile delinquents are sent to Earth to see if it’s survivable for humans. Three episodes in and Wells Jaha, the son of the chancellor, is murdered.

Jaha carries around the death of his son on his shoulders. It makes him resigned, so apathetic that he is even prepared to sacrifice himself to get the rest of his people on the ground. He will be the only one left on the Ark - the space station - left to suffocate and starve. But strangely, the death of his son also did something else. It has gave him faith.

In one of the most terrifying and stressful scenes of the show, Jaha hears the cries of a baby. Realizing that he must save its life and not leave it to die, he insulates it in a space suit so he can vault himself on a missile that will take him to Earth. (Stay with me here, it gets good.)

After his space helmet cracks and he almost misses his trajectory, he lands in the airlock and unzips his suit to find that the child is gone. Though it was already not terribly difficult symbolism to follow, The 100 makes it easy. We realize the child only existed in his mind, as his dead son comes to him in a hallucination and tells him he must carry on and not give up yet. (Cue all of us crying.)

Jaha launches the missile and lands in the middle of Earth’s “dead zone” - a horrible and desolate desert, of course. But what Jaha still has after everything is his faith. His continuing mantra is “it’s not our time to die.” He has faith that he is supposed to live on. And before he vaults into unknown territory, he recites the common motto of his people to the visage of his dead son. “May we meet again.”

Battlestar Galactica: Distraction

Sci-Fi is written to examine problems of the day in a removed setting. While Battlestar Galactica is not a new show by any stretch of the imagination, from the first episode, it is clear that this is not, well, your mother’s Battlestar Galactica. Not only because of the truly the antagonistic Cylons, but, because of its relationships.

When the show starts, Commander Adama of the Battlestar Galactica - an ancient space battleship - is already struggling with the death of his son. Adama deals with this loss the way you would imagine a military commander would have to: distraction. Surrogate daughter Kara says “we only speak about it two or three times a year, but he struggles with it.” When you’re a high ranking military official, isn't repression just kind of part of the package? But when his surviving son Lee returns, Adama must face all of the mistakes that were made that led to Zak’s death.

This has less to do with moving on and more to do with mending bridges with the son that’s still alive. The Cylons completely destroy the home planet and only by chance is this ancient battlestar that was headed for retirement not destroyed and must be the ones to keep the Cylons at bay. And in this sort of scenario, does anyone really have time to deal with the death of their son and their ugly estrangement from their other child?

Snowpiercer: Blind Revenge

A child may not just be killed to be lost in Apocalyptica. In fact, it is almost more tragic or indecent when they are not killed at all. Some of the most nefarious things seem to happen in these worlds. The world has ended because things have become twisted and ugly.

In independent film Snowpiercer, the use or, more accurately, misuse of children is subtle and silent, but disturbing all the same. The action takes place after an attempt to combat global warming with a cooling agent. This cooling agent backfires and covers the world as we know it in ice, making the remaining population live on their remaining days on a never stopping train. The poor in the last car are forced to eat rations made out of cockroaches.

The human race lives on and procreates, as is evidenced by Timmy and his mother Tanya, played by the underutilized and wonderful Octavia Spencer. Only five years old, Timmy is taken by the front of the train at the beginning of the film and is never seen by his mother again. A strong female character, even all the male characters attempt to stop her from going to save her son. “I’m stronger than your skinny soldiers,” Tanya throws at hero Curtis defiantly.

This is a priority higher than any sort of overthrow of government. This is the fate of her five year old child. A strong character that could have brought a lot to the story, Tanya is of course killed in the battle for the train’s soul. She isn’t the only one, but her death is looked over and dismissed just as quickly, despite her blind devotion to her child. This represents another coping: blind, self-destructive devotion to revenge.

Pacific Rim: Pride

Nothing is more unbelievable than giant robots fighting alien monsters. But that is the joy of Pacific Rim. Despite the fact that it is effect-heavy, action, blockbuster bait, that’s not all it is. This is not just a gratuitous action movie.

Herc and Chuck are a father-son alien fighting team in their giant jaeger called Eureka Striker. Before the final battle, father Herc is injured so he cannot participate in the final climactic battle that is present in all action flicks. His son Chuck must sacrifice himself in the final battle. Herc understands this. He honors what his son has done, although his son has been taken from him. He continues his fight and stays in line, using his sons sacrifice to elevate him to something greater even than he was in life. He becomes the father of a martyr for the human race, the proudest distinction a parent can have.

Parents will do whatever they can for their children. A post-apocalyptic world just makes these decisions more important. The love a parent has for a child cannot be eclipsed by anything. Although Apocalyptica deals with unbelievable scenarios, these are feelings that are very real.

In a world where survival is paramount, it almost seems that mourning a child cannot be a priority. Yet these characters manage to represent the full range of practical grieving. They keep living, even in an impossible and horrific world. The mere memories of their children make them fight and live on, though in entirely different ways.