#ive never had interconnected dreams like this until now

[chimerabytes]

Fuck it if i dont fall asleep by 3am im going to go draw myself cuddling and/or kissing Ruin. I'll succumb to my oddly intricate dreams for now

[winter-turtle]

I know this wouldn’t happen since your fic is a no power au, but you saying you love sick fic peter with protective iron dad in your other ask made me wonder, what WOULD Mob boss Tony’s reaction to the bite be? Especially if Peter got REALLY sick like some fics have him be. (Probably many, MANY, unalived oscorp employees, that’s for sure)

You, my friend, got me thinking. So despite me being busy whole day, I still went and wrote something short for this tumblr exclusive (I always wanted to say that) AU of an AU.

Or "what if" of The Ties That Bind Us/Grow As We Go

It's way past one in the morning, so please excuse any mistakes and enjoy these 850 words.

Tony was worried sick. But his “worried sick” had nothing on Peter’s “actually sick”. He shouldn’t have allowed Peter to go on that god-forsaken field trip to Oscorp.

“What do you mean you can’t figure out what’s wrong with him?! Why the hell am I even paying you for then?” he’d yelled at Strange and Cho from the top of his lungs.

His kid was in pain. That much was obvious.

It had all started after the dinner. Peter hadn’t eaten all that much in the first place – which, okay, combined with how pale the boy looked, Tony had assumed Peter got a cold or flu or something – but after he’d excused himself and said he was going to bed, he didn’t make it five steps before he collapsed.

They called in Strange, Cho as well, but even with their combined forces they couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Peter. The only lead they had was a red spot on Peter’s hand and the abnormal bloodwork results.

It wasn’t until the team had looked through Peter’s camera for clues that they discovered another lead. Radioactive spiders display.

A quick hack to Oscorp’s security feed had shown Peter slapping something from his hand before he went to catch up with the group.

That’s when Bruce got called in.

That was two days ago.

Besides quick trips to end the lives of various scientists – already bloodied scientists that had received treatment from the rest of the team – who had something to do with the project and even the owner himself, Tony faithfully remained at his barely-lucid son’s side.

The too-high fever, the labored breathing, the seizures – it made Tony feel like ripping his own hair out. If given the chance, he would’ve gladly taken Peter’s place if it would take the pain away from the teen. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, so all what was left for him to do was to gently wipe the sweat from Peter’s forehead with cool cloth.

Damn it, he just got his son into his life, he couldn’t lose him!

Peter sighed at the coolness, barely peeled his eyelids open before they slid shut once again. His skin was so hot that if given enough time, you could fry an egg on him.

Tony shook his head, dunked the cloth into the water, squeezed most of it out before resuming the now-too-familiar motions.

Tony was reluctantly dragged into shower when Peter somehow stabilized the next day.

Peter woke up… feeling better than expected if he was being honest. He had some vague recollection of intense pain, but there was no trace of it. He also woke up in company of passed out and very tired-looking Pepper in the armchair next to his bed.

So, as quietly as he could, Peter unhooked himself from the IV, got from under the light blanket and headed to the door.

“What the…?” he muttered when his hand remained on the handle as if it was glued there. He tugged and tugged, but the hand didn’t budge. It was only then that he noticed the blanket stuck to his other hand.

The sound of his struggling must’ve woken Pepper up and she had to alert others because the next thing Peter knew, he was surrounded by his family.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Tony – who looked like he just woke up – asked worriedly.

“Dad, someone- someone glued me to the door! I can’t get my hand free- whoa!”

Several people had to jump out of the way of the door that got ripped out of its hinges. Even if Peter tugged hard, there was no possibility that he’d tugged that hard. He opened his hand, but the handle was still stuck to his palm. Everybody looked as surprised as him.

“Isn’t that… heavy?” Clint asked, breaking the silence.

“It’s… not…” Peter replied as he waved the door around. “I know it’s supposed to be, but… wait, is this a dream?”

“Kiddo, if this is a dream, then we’re all somehow interconnected,” Tony said. “And I know for sure that no glue is strong enough to do… that. Okay, uh, maybe try to relax? It might make the door unstick?”

True to his words and several shakes later, the door fell on the ground with a loud bang.

“Kid—”

“Don’t!” Peter cried out as he backed away. “Please, don’t come any closer. I don’t know what’s happening, but I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.” They all stared with mouths hanging open. Peter’s jaw fell too once he realized what position he was in. He was pressing himself against the wall.

But a foot off the ground.

He began to hyperventilate.

“Pete,” Tony said gently as he approached, “don’t worry. I know for a fact that you would never hurt us. Whatever this is, we’ll figure it out.” Tony reached his hand. “Together.”

Peter, managing to calm down, tentatively reached his own hand towards his dad. Upon seeing that nothing bad happened, he wrapped himself around Tony’s front like a koala, burying his face in Tony’s neck.

“Together.”

[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek The Next Generation Season 1 (3 of 6)

As we draw close to crossing the first month of 2021 off the calendar to make room for February, which in my view is only of use for Pancake Day and nothing more, I’m back with yet more reviews from the first season of Star Trek: TNG.  Will these episodes prove any better than those of the first two rounds, or are we looking at more lemons with warp engines?  Let’s find out…

Episode 10: Hide and Q

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is en route to Quadra Sigma to aid colonists caught in a methane explosion when Q re-appears and demands that they abandon their mission to compete in a game. He teleports Commander Riker and the bridge crew, with the exception of Captain Picard, to a barren landscape and appears in front of them wearing a uniform of a Napoleonic era French marshal. He explains the rule of the game is to stay alive, and after Lt. Yar refuses to compete, he transports her back to the bridge of the Enterprise in a "penalty box".

 Q returns to the bridge too, to talk Picard into setting a wager. He explains that the Q Continuum is testing Commander Riker to see if he is worthy of being granted their powers. Picard, having the utmost faith in his First Officer, takes the bet, as winning it would mean Q would get off their backs. Meanwhile, Riker and his team are attacked by what Lt. Worf reports as "vicious animal things" wearing French soldier uniforms from the Napoleonic era and armed with muskets that fire energy bolts instead of the classic projectiles. Q returns to Riker and tells him that he has granted him the powers of the Continuum, and Riker promptly returns his crew mates to the ship but remains behind with Q to ultimately reject the powers. Q brings the crew back to the landscape, this time without their phasers and with Picard. The crew are attacked once more by the aliens, and both Worf and Wesley Crusher are killed. Riker uses the powers of the Q to return the crew again and bring both Worf and Wesley back to life.

 Riker makes a promise to Picard never to use the powers again and the ship arrives at Quadra Sigma. A rescue team beams down and discovers a young girl who has died. Riker is tempted to save her, but in the end, he refuses to do so out of respect for his promise. However, he quickly shows signs of regret at this decision, which he expresses to the captain. Tension between Picard and his first officer grows as Riker now seems to be embracing his powers, and his behaviour toward the crew begins to change. At Q's suggestion, and with Picard's blessing, Riker uses his powers to give his friends what he believes they want, turning Wesley into an adult, giving La Forge normal sight in place of his visor, and creating a Klingon female companion for Worf. All the recipients reject their gifts, however, with Data even anticipating and declining Riker's attempt to make him human. Picard declares that Q has failed, and when Q attempts to go back on his word, he is forcibly recalled to the Continuum. Picard is pleased to see Q gone, and praises Riker for confirming his trust in his "Number One". 

Review:

There are two main reasons to enjoy this episode; Q and Picard.  This is the first time since the pilot that we’ve seen Q and Picard interact, and it’s much better this time because both the actors are a bit more at grips with their characters.  The scene in the Captain’s ready room between the pair where they both quote Shakespeare is one of the real highlights of the first season, a veritable miniature diamond in a season-long run of rough.  In some respects, it’s almost a pity Picard-Q meet-ups aren’t more frequent, but ultimately, I think that they have to be done as little as possible to retain some impact in the later seasons.

 Unfortunately, the episode lacks sufficient subtlety in trying to convey a story about power corrupting.  The key reason why the Dark Phoenix story in the X-Men comics is a classic that no adaptation has ever effectively captured is because it involves Jean Grey being corrupted by power slowly, inch by inch, until circumstances push her over the edge.  When the Primarch Horus is turned to Chaos in the Horus Heresy novels that form part of Warhammer 40,000 lore, it’s not an overnight transformation from the noble being he was to the power-mad tyrant laying waste to Terra years later.  It’s a slow, gradual seduction by power, and a single episode of any TV show doesn’t give that.

 As a result, the idea of Riker’s shift in character and attitude seems too rapid and falls flat.  The only thing that doesn’t fall flat is how the rest of the cast reacts when Riker tries to act with benevolence.  It’s a testament to each of them how they resist being granted their supposedly fondest wishes.  I especially applaud Geordi and the autistic-like Data for their choices.  I never like stories that try to push the idea that characters who are somehow differently abled, either blatantly or through the metaphor of a genre-specific concept, should always want to eliminate that difference.  Maybe Geordi can’t see like everyone else, but considering all the different things he can see with his visor, it’s not like the vision he has is any better or worse. It’s just a pity his reason for saying no was more about not liking a Q-style Riker than about accepting himself and all the goodness inherent in that. 

Add in Troi not being around at a time when her character could be very annoying without much effort, and you’ve got an episode that has many saving graces propping up a poor execution of a decent core concept.  End score for this one, probably 7 out of 10.

 Episode 11: Haven

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Haven, where the ship's half-Betazoid Counsellor Deanna Troi has been summoned by her mother Lwaxana. Deanna had previously been set into an arranged marriage to the young human doctor, Wyatt Miller, and his parents have since tracked down Lwaxana to enforce the marriage. After Lwaxana and the Millers are welcomed aboard the Enterprise, the parents argue over whose cultural traditions will be honoured at the ceremony. Deanna and Wyatt attempt to get to know each other but find it difficult, as Deanna is still in love with Commander William Riker. Wyatt has had numerous dreams of another woman with whom he has fallen in love, and had initially believed her to be Deanna communicating telepathically with him.

 The Enterprise then learns of an unmarked vessel approaching Haven. Captain Picard recognizes it as Tarellian, a race they thought to have been wiped out by a highly lethal and contagious virus. When they contact the ship, they find a handful of Tarellian refugees who have been travelling at sub-light speeds to Haven in hopes of finding an isolated location to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Picard insists that they cannot go to the planet for fear of spreading the virus, and has the Tarellian vessel placed in a tractor beam. Wyatt discovers that one of the Tarellians, Ariana, is the woman from his dreams, and she too recognizes Wyatt. Wyatt tells Dr Crusher that he will transport some medical supplies to them, but transports himself along with the supplies. When the crew discovers this, Wyatt's parents demand that Picard bring Wyatt back to the Enterprise, but Denna insists that he cannot return, as Wyatt would now carry the Tarellian virus. Wyatt promises his parents, Deanna, and the rest of the crew that he knew that this would be his destiny, and is happy to try to help cure the Tarellian virus. Wyatt convinces the Tarellians to leave Haven and search for help elsewhere. Picard orders the tractor beam to be dropped and allows the vessel to depart the system. 

Review:

When it comes to Majel Barrett in the era of the TNG-DS9-Voyager shows, her best work as a guest star is her voice work as the voice of any given Starfleet computer.  Her worst work is when she’s guest-starring as Deanna Troi’s mother. Her whole character is the very definition of nails on a chalk board, and it’s very rare if ever that an episode featuring her can be anything good.  That said, her presence does help to improve Deanna’s character just because it means Deanna’s suddenly no longer the most likely to irk you with her characterisation.  Basically, anytime Deanna’s on the screen at this early stage in the show, all I can think is “please don’t have her go all over-sensitive like she did in the pilot.”

 Leaving the Troi family aside, the episode isn’t much to get excited about.  Just a run-of-the-mill b-plot about a plague ship that interconnects with the main plot nicely to save us from the Trek equivalent of a shotgun wedding. Frankly, I’d have preferred it if they’d done a plot exploring the arranged marriage idea and casting it down as the terrible idea it is, but then I suppose it wouldn’t be politic to do that with a culture that is part-and-parcel of the Federation instead of being the guest-race-of-the-week.  I’d give this one about 3 out of 10.

 Episode 12: The Big Goodbye

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise heads to Torona IV to open negotiations with the Jarada, an insect-like race that are unusually strict in matters of protocol. After practicing the complex greeting the Jarada require to open negotiations, Captain Jean-Luc Picard decides to relax with a Dixon Hill story in the holodeck. Playing Detective Hill in the holo-program, Picard takes up the case of Jessica Bradley, who believes that Cyrus Redblock is trying to kill her. Picard decides to continue the program later and leaves the holodeck to affirm their estimated arrival at Torona IV. He invites Dr Beverly Crusher and historian crewmember Whalen to join him in the holodeck. While Crusher is still preparing, Picard and Whalen are ready to enter the holodeck when Lt. Commander Data arrives, having overheard Picard's invitation. Entering the holodeck, the three discover that Jessica has been murdered in Picard's absence. As Picard explains that he saw Jessica at his office the day before, Lt. Bell brings Picard into the police station for questioning as a suspect in her murder. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is scanned from a distance by the Jarada, causing a power surge in the holodeck external controls. Dr Crusher later enters the holodeck, first experiencing a momentary glitch with the holodeck doors, and joins her friends at the police station.

 The Jarada demand their greeting earlier than the agreed time and are insulted at having to talk to anyone other than the Captain. The crew tries to communicate with Picard in the holodeck but finds it impossible; the Jarada signal has affected the holodeck's functions, preventing the doors from opening or allowing communication with the crew inside. Lt. Geordi La Forge and Wesley Crusher attempt to repair the holodeck systems. While inside the holodeck, the group returns to Dixon's office. Mr. Leech appears, having waited for Picard, demanding he turn over an object he believes Jessica gave him. When Picard fails to understand, Leech shoots Dr. Whalen with a gun, and the crew discovers that the safety protocols have been disabled, as Whalen is severely wounded. As Dr Crusher cares for his wound, Picard and Data discover that the holodeck is malfunctioning, and they are unable to exit the program. Mr. Leech is joined by Redblock, who continues to demand the object. Lt. McNary arrives and becomes involved in the standoff. Picard tries to explain the nature of the holodeck, but Redblock refuses to believe him. 

Outside, Wesley finds the glitch; however, he cannot simply turn off the system for fear of losing everyone inside. Instead, Wesley resets the simulation, briefly placing Picard and the others in the middle of a snowstorm before finding themselves back in Dixon's office. With the reset successfully clearing the malfunction, the exit doors finally appear. Despite Picard's warnings, Redblock and Leech exit the holodeck, but dissipate as they move beyond the range of its holo-emitters. As they leave the holodeck, Picard thanks McNary, who now suspects that his world is artificial and asks whether Picard's departure is "the big goodbye", to which Picard replies that he simply doesn't know. Picard reaches the bridge in time to give the proper greeting to the Jarada. The Jarada accept the greeting, heralding the start of successful negotiations.

 Review:

The Big Goodbye has a special place in the era of holodeck era of Trek as the first example of a “holodeck-gone-wrong” episode.  Later episodes of this series and the spin-off shows Deep Space Nine and Voyager would return to the premise of holodeck malfunctions time and again as either minor or major plot points.  Unfortunately, the holodeck is already going wrong as a plot device in the show just from a technical realisation standpoint.

 The basic idea of the holodeck is that it creates 3D images that resemble whatever is programmed into the computer, with some kind of force-fields giving the images substance while other aspects of the technology fill in the proverbial blanks (e.g. special programming to create interactive characters, localised environmental controls, etc.)  However, everything that exists within the holodeck can only exist within the range of the room’s tech; if anything created by the holodeck moves beyond its walls, it should instantly cease to be.  However, in the Farpoint pilot, Wesley Crusher fell into water on the holodeck, and when he walked out into the corridor, he remained wet and dripping when all the holographic water should have disappeared the instance he walked through the exit. 

Likewise, in this episode Picard picks up a lipstick mark when he first tries the holodeck’s new upgrades, and that should have disappeared when he later briefs the crew in the observation lounge. Instead, Dr Crusher has to wipe the lipstick off for the captain, despite the fact it should have disappeared from Picard’s face long ago.  It’s an annoying issue, and one that could have been easily fixed even back in the 1980’s when this show was made; evidently, this was just another example of how bad the show was at this stage.  If TNG ever gets the kind of reboot the original series did, I sincerely hope any use of the holodecks pays attention to and rectifies this error in the application of the holodeck concept. 

Otherwise, this episode doesn’t do much more than give Brent Spiner a bit more to do with Data by having him impersonate a 40’s-style gangers and give Patrick Stewart someone else to be besides the captain of the latest version of the Enterprise.  It’s a fairly well-made episode for season 1 of this show, and it really sells the illusion of the holodeck program for the most part.  The people who made the show just needed to learn that anything that gets made in the holodeck stays in the holodeck.  I’d give it about 5 out of 10. 

Episode 13: Datalore

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

While on the way to Starbase Armus IX for computer maintenance, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Omicron Theta, the site of a vanished colony where the starship Tripoli originally found the android Data. An away team travels to the surface and finds that what had been farmland is now barren with no trace of life in the soil. The team also finds a lab which they discover is where Dr. Noonien Soong, a formerly prominent but now discredited robotics designer, built Data. The team also find a disassembled android nearly identical to Data and return with it to the ship. As the course to the Starbase is resumed, the crew reassemble and reactivate Data's "brother" in sickbay. He refers to himself as Lore, and explains that Data was built first and he himself is the more perfect model. He feigns naiveté to the crew, but shows signs of being more intelligent than he is letting on. Later, in private, he tells Data that they were actually created in the opposite order, as the colonists became envious of his own perfection. He also explains that a crystalline space entity capable of stripping away all life force from a world was responsible for the colony's demise.

 Lore then incapacitates Data, revealing that he plans to offer the ship's crew to the entity. When a signal transmission is detected from Data's quarters, Wesley Crusher arrives to investigate. He finds Lore, now impersonating Data, who explains that he had to incapacitate his brother after being attacked. Wesley is doubtful, but pretends to accept the explanation. Soon after, the same crystalline entity that had attacked the colony approaches the ship. Lore, still pretending to be Data, enters the bridge as the object hovers before the Enterprise and explains that he incapacitated his brother by turning him off, causing Doctor Beverly Crusher to be suspicious, since Data had previously treated the existence of such a feature as a closely guarded secret. Lore then explains that he can communicate with the crystalline entity and suggests to Captain Jean-Luc Picard that he should show a demonstration of force by beaming an object toward the entity and then destroying it with the ship's phasers.

 Lore's attempts to imitate Data are imperfect, though initially only Wesley is suspicious, and his efforts to voice these concerns only draw rude rebukes from Picard and his mother. However, Picard does ultimately become suspicious, especially when Lore does not recognize Picard's usual command to "make it so". Although Picard sends a security detachment to tail him, Lore overpowers Lt. Worf and evades pursuit. Meanwhile, the suspicious Dr Crusher and Wesley reactivate the unconscious Data, and the three of them race to the cargo hold to find Lore plotting with the entity to defeat the Enterprise. When Lore discovers them, he threatens Wesley with a phaser and orders Dr Crusher to leave. Data quickly rushes Lore and a brawl ensues. Data manages to knock Lore onto the transporter platform, and Wesley activates it, beaming Lore into space. With its conspirator no longer aboard, the crystalline entity departs, and the Enterprise resumes its journey to the starbase.

 Review:

This episode very heavily relies on answering the mystery of Data’s origin and giving him a villainous brother in a manner similar to the Thor-Loki dynamic of Marvel superhero lore (pardon the inadvertent pun) to make it worth watching, because goodness knows it falls down everywhere else.  Spiner is remarkable playing the treacherous Lore alongside his regular character of Data, and it’s fun to see him make the best of what ultimately becomes a poor episode on other fronts. 

I know some reviewers have stated they don’t understand Lore’s motives for allying with the Crystalline Entity, but as a Marvel fan, it’s actually fairly easy to deduce.  Much like Loki in Marvel’s Thor franchise, Lore is a bit of a trickster, an android Q but without the pseudo-godhood or ultimately benign motives of Q.  Also like Loki, Lore is the unfavoured son, one who was basically cast aside in favour of something supposedly better, so he’s turned against the humanity his brother admires and emulates out of jealousy and the pain of rejection.  It’s not a hard motive to grasp, but with Lore not explicitly saying it, you need that knowledge of another fictional reference to make the deduction.  Given that Marvel lore was largely overlooked by the adult world until superheroes were made into a legitimate cinematic genre at the turn of the century, it’s unlikely many original reviewers would have made the link. 

However, as I’ve noted, the episode falls apart in other respects.  The crew’s haste to reassemble Data’s brother mid-flight is very risky behaviour more akin to the cowboy antics of Kirk’s crew from the original series than Picard’s more measured approach, and they are remarkably stupid in failing to catch onto Lore’s threat.  Only Wesley shows the requisite insight and intelligence, but expresses it poorly because at this time no one on the show could write Wesley with any kind of competence. As a result, Picard ends up looking like a total git for his outburst at Wesley, Wesley’s mother comes off almost as bad, and when it turns out that, as ever, Wesley was right, there’s no apology from Picard at all.  On balance, this episode rates about 5 out of 10, which can be taken as the anti-Wesley acting having a severely detrimental impact on a great Spiner performance, or a great Spiner performance saving the episode by some horrid Wesley-bashing. 

Episode 14: Angel One

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Angel One, which is ruled by an oligarchy of women. The ship is looking for survivors from the shipwrecked freighter Odin, over seven years after having been evacuated. The freighter was missing three escape pods and the only planet in range was Angel One. An away team consisting of Commander William Riker, Lt. Commander Data, Lt. Tasha Yar, and Counsellor Deanna Troi beam down to the surface. They attempt to negotiate with Mistress Beata, the "Elected One" of the native inhabitants, to let them search for the survivors. Time is of the essence however, as the Enterprise must travel to a Federation outpost near the Romulan Neutral Zone (where a group of Romulan Battlecruisers has been detected) as soon as they resolve their investigation into the Odin survivors.

 Beata reveals that they are aware of four male survivors of the Odin who have caused disruption in their society, and are considered fugitives. Beata requests Riker stay with her (and later requests that he order Troi, Data, and Yar to track down the survivors' camp and their leader Ramsey, while staying and dining with her). After some back and forth, Data concludes Ramsey and the survivors of the Odin would have platinum with them, and Angel One is naturally devoid of platinum, allowing the Enterprise to easily detect them. Meanwhile, Riker dresses in the garb given to him for his dinner with Beata, Troi and Yar tease him for dressing in clothes that sexualize him and, in some ways, demean him. He responds by saying he is honouring the local customs, and acknowledges Beata's beauty, and that the garb is rather comfortable.

 The Enterprise searches while in orbit around Angel One. Doctor Beverly Crusher relieves Captain Jean-Luc Picard of duty after he and most of the crew have fallen ill to a random virus on board. The Captain leaves Lieutenant Geordi La Forge in command (Geordi's first time in acting command of a starship). Shortly after, they find Ramsey and transmit his location to the Away Team, who beam directly to there. 

When confronted by Data, Yar, and Troi, Ramsey and his men, having taken wives and started families during the seven years, refuse to leave. Data points out that as the Odin was not a star fleet vessel, its crew is not bound by the Prime Directive and the Enterprise cannot remove them against their will. Geordi informs Yar of the medical situation on board, and that more Romulan ships have been detected near the Neutral Zone. Riker gets close to Beata as they compare how gender roles differ between Angel One and the Federation. On the Enterprise, systems are becoming harder to maintain with more crew succumbing to the virus. Geordi (after a friendly reminder from a sniffling Worf) remembers that in command, he must delegate tasks so he can stay on the bridge. Dr Crusher finds that the virus is an airborne organism that produces a sweet smell, to encourage inhalation, after which it becomes viral inside the body. 

Riker gets up to date with the situation, and decides that while Ramsey and his group are at large and refusing to leave the planet, there is little they can do. Before leaving they find that one of Beata's fellow mitstresses, Ariel, has married Ramsey, and was followed by Beata's guards to their camp, where they arrested the survivors and their families. The Away Team attempt to explain to Beata the reason for Ramsey's refusal to leave. Beata and her council reject his reasoning, and threatens to execute them the following day. After failing to convince Ramsey and his group to leave with them, Riker contacts the Enterprise in hopes of transporting Ramsey and his group without their consent (despite it being a violation of the Prime Directive, and almost certainly an end to his career).  However, Dr Crusher (while treating an incapacitated Geordi in the Captain's chair) refuses to allow anyone to beam aboard for fear of them being infected, but allows Data, an android, to return. Riker orders Data to take command and get the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone before it's too late.

 The following morning the Away Team is invited to witness the execution of Ramsey and his followers. Moments after Riker rejects their invitation Data makes contact and informs them that there is a 48-minute window in which Dr Crusher has to find a cure, and Riker must defuse the situation on the planet before the ship must leave for the Neutral Zone. On the planet, Ramsey and his men are prepared to be executed by disintegration despite Ariel's pleas, while Dr Crusher discovers a cure for the virus. Riker is prepared to have the away team and the Odin survivors beamed to the Enterprise, but makes a plea that execution will do Angel One’s society little good. He contends that Ramsey and his men have simply become a symbol for pre-existing dissatisfaction with the current society on Angel One, an evolutionary change that execution may only accelerate by turning Ramsey’s group into martyrs.

After deliberating with her fellow mistresses, Beata announces that she will stay the execution and banish Ramsey, his men, their families, and any others that support them to the far side of the planet. She explains that their banishment will not stop the fall of the oligarchy, but will slow it down enough that Beata will not be around to see its end. The away team return to the ship and Picard, already recovering from the virus but hardly having a voice, orders the ship to the Neutral Zone at high warp. 

Review:

Apparently, the idea of this episode was look at South Africa’s apartheid system, but using a gender-based schism in a female-dominated society to explore the concept along gender lines rather than being more direct and using anything akin to a racial divide.  As a result, the intention is lost behind some very horrendously sexist rubbish that makes the show seem more like a bad parody of feminism.  The episode also has a lousy b-plot of a virus story that adds nothing to the episode, and again showcases how badly the holodeck concept was being handled at this time.  A snowball from a holodeck skiing program should not be able to go through the holodeck doors to hit Picard and Worf in the corridor.  2 out of 10 is all this episode deserves.

[aceofwhump]

Do you have any Lucifer fic recs? Especially anything involving wings?

Do I!!! I have so many Lucifer fic recs (161 to be precise) and that includes 31 fics involving his wings. This includes him cutting them off, him being insecure about them, his grooming them, team lucifer seeing them, etc.

Free the Devil from Pain by Navaros: “Looks like those sick bastards sewed the prosthetics onto his back.”Sick indeed. Chloe wanted to vomit at that thought, the bile already rising in her throat.“Give me a few more minutes, I’ll free the wings too. I can’t cut them loose in this position.”And with that the young forensic expert was back at work.

The Breakdown by SilverWolf7: Raphael visits Lucifer early in the morning to apologise to Lucifer. Lucifer lets out emotions he has been holding in for a very long time. Wing grooming.

Fluffy Blankets and Crossed Fingers  by procrastinatingbookworm: In the God Johnson episode, Lucifer ends up being so high on the haldol that he can’t hide his wings. Besides dealing with this incredible revelation, Dan, Ella, and Chloe have to get a very loopy and not-at-all-helpful winged civilian consultant out of the building before anyone realizes he has wings. Bonus points if their methods for doing so involve a fluffy blanket and a lot of crossed fingers.

I’m Sorry by StrayDevil15: In the aftermath of 3x24, Lucifer is having a really hard time. Ella comes to the rescue. Self harm tw.

Castaway  by ariaadagio: The Devil is real. A sentence Chloe Decker never believed until Lucifer Morningstar burned out her skepticism with his hellfire eyes. It’s a “Hell” of a reality shift, but Chloe realizes she may not have time for gradual acceptance when she discovers that one of the bodies in her most recent murder investigation isn’t human. Worse still, the next target might be Lucifer. A story that begs the question: who prays for Satan?

Malediction by orchidcactus: Chloe and Lucifer must face the consequences of 3x24, as well as dealing with new events that unfold around them.

It’s Only Me by mishasan7: She started to back up, back away from him, her eyes never leaving his face, and gasped, “It’s all true.”Lucifer felt a prickle of unease. What was true? She already knew Pierce was the Sinnerman, how could this possibly be a surprise to her now?“Detective?”What was wrong? Why was she looking at him like that?

Lucifer’s Protector by JAKishu: Trixie and Lucifer have been kidnapped, locked in a small cell and used as leverage against Chloe and her case.

Detour (with Jigsaw Puzzles) by HiroMyStory: An accident leaves Chloe and Lucifer snowed in.

Revealing  by shadowolfhunter: He’s badly hurt. Chloe’s seen his true face, and Lucifer thinks she doesn’t want to know him any more.Ella’s mapped the scene. She knows what has to have happened. There’s only one answer she needs. She goes back to Lucifer’s loft apartment.

Ashes  by theleafpile: Lucifer burned his wings, severing his connection to Hell.And Heaven.He vastly underestimated how much it would affect him.

And There Was Light by ariaadagio: When Lucifer Morningstar is found half dead in the desert, Chloe Decker is determined to find out why. The problem is … not even Lucifer knows the answer. As Chloe’s world is flipped upside down by incontrovertible evidence of the divine, Lucifer grapples with feelings of violation and futility. God’s meddling has started a chain reaction, but to what end?

Cleanse by ScooterThyme: After the chaotic events in the loft, Lucifer flees back to his penthouse. Once she’s dealt with the fallout at the scene as much as humanly possible, Chloe follows.Lucifer changes his mind about his wings.

Domini Canis by WhenFandomStrikes: When a strange and mysterious group of religious zealots known as the Domini Canis come to Los Angeles in search of the divine, they manage to kidnap Lucifer, Amenadiel, Charlotte and Chloe. The results of which brings a lot of secrets out of the dark and into the light.

The Bitter End by lucidwaking: SPOILERS FOR 3.24 this is my take on what happens next. Title may be deceiving this is coming out a lot less dark than I thought it would. I just had Blind Pilot stuck in my head when I named it.

After by apparition: Chloe comes face to face with the Devil. She’s terrified, but it’s his vulnerability that reminds her that he’s still the same Lucifer.

Broken Inside by fandomoverload: Chloe and Lucifer end up at a survivor’s meeting and Lucifer decides to tell a story. He gets a lot off of his chest, and Chloe draws the wrong conclusions. A one shot for now, more notes in the story.

Knives and wings don’t mix, Luciben8615: Lucifer groaned again, then inched the blade further into his traitorous muscle. Nearly there, just a bit more-The demon blade hit a clump of nerves, and Lucifer’s vision whited out as he screamed.

Home by Navaros: After waking up in the middle of nowhere, burned, exhausted and with those stupid, useless, feathered appendages on his back, he had no idea why they were back or who knocked him out. But that wasn’t important right now. He wanted to go home. The long forgotten and atrophied muscles screamed when he tried to move the wings more than just to open them or lay them against his back, and even that was painful.

Devil’s Advocate by Praemonitor: Non-chronological though interconnected ‘minisodes’ to catalogue the misadventures of Lucifer and Chloe, squeezed in-between their respective and occasionally overlapping day jobs. Minisode I - Lucifer babysits. That’s all.Minisode II - Lucifer and Chloe weather a storm.Minisode III - Lucifer earns back his wings in a bloodier fashion.Minisode IV - Chloe learns a thing or two from Dante’s Inferno.Minisode V - Maze and Chloe take on the original she-devil.Minisode VI - The Christmas Minisode. My personal favorite.Minisode VII - Chloe meets the family.Minisode VIII - Enter a certain petty dabbler in the dark arts.Minisode IX - Lucifer fractures a wing.Minisode X - Lucifer and Chloe go to Hell. Literally.

A Mutual Friend by jumble_of_fandoms: Pierce finds out some information about Lucifer that changes everything. If the Devil himself is going to break his deal, then Pierce is determined to do everything he can to break Lucifer. How far will Lucifer go to protect the woman he cares for?And how far is Pierce willing to go to break Lucifer?

Fever Dreams by Antarctic_Echoes: Lucifer isn’t about to let an odd chill stop him from seeing Chloe. He wants to tell her everything…. No more going backwards.And so he reveals himself – just not in the way he intended.

I Cut My Wings Off: A Lucifer TV Fanfiction by Anna_Erishkgal: Irritating, arrogant, and full of himself, Chloe goes to Lucifer Morningstar’s apartment to see if he made good on his promise to set up a meeting, but what she finds there only leaves her with more questions than answers. A one-shot drabble (at least for now).

Sympathy for an Angel by FearTheSpock: In the aftermath of the Season Finale, Chloe wakes in the middle of the night to a very clumsy home invasion.

If I Lose Myself by BurningUpASunJustToSayHello: If Lucifer’s fall from Heaven was a tragedy, then falling for Chloe was a goddamn sin.

Avenging Angel by Chlucifiction: It’s not Lucifer who finds the auctioneer, and his wings. Instead, Chloe beats him to it. (New story - not related to previous works). Comments encouraged :)

Wings are for Chickens by FearTheSpork: When Lucifer does a good deed for Chloe and Trixie, he’s rewarded. Although he isn’t too sure if he likes what he’s got.

Damnatio Memoriae by iceQueen1: Chloe tries to solve the riddle that is Lucifer Morningstar. Dan even manages to help. When mysterious ritualized killings start showing up, Chloe suspects Lucifer may know more than he lets on. Problem is, she doesn’t know what she thinks she does. Eventual Lucifer Whump.

A Walk in the Desert by Yunnaros: After waking up in the desert, Lucifer fly back to Chloe’s house to find a surprising number of people concerned by his disappearance.

Faint by chashkieh: Prompt: The pain of injuries and amputation never really go away. When Lucifer cut off his wings there was likely phantom pains of a lost limb in the immediate aftermath that faded as he adjusted but occasionally rears its ugly head on a rainy or hot/humid like most injuries. One day it flares in the middle of a case and is aggravated by one of Dan’s casual clap on the back. Basica

[gardenplow3-blog]

Reading Recap: October 2018

At the end of every month, I take a look back at my reading journal and share the books and my thoughts on them here. The comments below are excerpts from my full reviews on Goodreads; you can always keep up with my reading in real-time over there.

The books I read in October were all over the place—a lyrical, lovely historical novel; a thrilling fantasy-adventure; a collection of moody short stories of the English countryside; two dark and spooky novels, an elegant investigation with Miss Phryne Fisher—plus two thoroughly engrossing audiobooks.

I’m still thinking about the Tiger’s Wife.

In fact, I gave it 4 1/2 stars, but maybe it’s 5. Maybe it will eventually be bumped to my all-time favorites list because I keep thinking about it.

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht | 4 1/2 stars I don’t want to give too much away about the events of this book because the way it unspools as you read is so… perfect. And it’s a difficult book to explain because it’s definitely a novel, but it’s also a collection of beautifully told, interconnected stories.

The basics are in the flap copy: Natalia is a young doctor in an unnamed Balkan country; from the descriptions, you can sort of figure out that it’s Serbia. She’s dealing with the aftermath of the civil wars when her beloved grandfather dies. As she’s trying to understand the circumstances surrounding his death, she tells stories: about herself, about her grandfather and retells stories that he’s told her… about a magical tiger and the tiger’s wife. As Natalia eventually learns, the stories her grandfather has been telling her are not fairy tales, but true stories of his life and the other villagers in Galina. Just as her grandfather’s youth was shaped by war, so was Natalia’s and her reality as a teenager during the Balkan wars echo the fable-like stories of his past.

This books takes you directly into Balkan villages—to WWI, WWII, as well as the fraught 1990s—and casts a spell while it explores the different kinds of love, secrets and dreams, the way the fallout of war spirals from the past into the present.

Favorite highlight: “Like everyone in the village, he had faith in the rituals of superstition. He gave money to beggars before traveling, put pennies in the shrines of the Virgin at crossroads, spat on his children when they were born. But, unlike his fellow villagers, he was renowned for having a deficit. He had been born in a lean year, without a ducat under his pillow. To make matters worse, an estranged aunt had once allegedly lifted him from his crib and praised heaven for what a beautiful baby, what a gorgeous, fat, blessed, rosy child he was—forever sealing his destiny to be impoverished, crippled, struck down and taken by the devil at some unexpected time, in some terrifying way.”

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss | 4 stars This is a rollicking adventure with lots of feels thrown in along the way, which is my very favorite kind of story. It picks up where The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter left off. Our five kickass heroines, aka, The Athena Club—all the offspring of literary characters who are… SURPRISE!… real people in this alternate version of London—are off on a mission to rescue Lucinda Van Helsing from an insane asylum. The action involves, in no particular order, a daring asylum escape, sleeper cars on the Orient Express, hiding in a traveling circus, crashing a meeting of the Alchemical Society, and eating cake in the art nouveau cafes of Budapest. I love the Saturday-afternoon-serial feel of the narrative—coupled with lovely writing and characters I want to spend my time getting to know.

There are genuine emotions here among all the action, too. The girls, all technically monsters in their own way, struggle with their humanity and wrestle with what it means to do the right thing, how to find balance between toughness and tenderness, and making peace with themselves and the found-family they’ve formed together.

This would be a fantastic read-along with Dracula because there are plenty of smart, sly references to that novel. I read them back-to-back unintentionally, and it was a brilliant experience.

Favorite highlight: “If you have been up all night, escaping from a burning mental asylum or fighting men who refuse to die when you shoot them in the forehead, or both, coffee is the perfect beverage.”

Help the Witch by Tom Cox | 4 stars This is a collection of short stories from one of my favorite nonfiction writers. Tom Cox is the author of books about cats that are not books about cats—they’re about nature and living in the country and the power of walking and family and basically everything that makes life good. Now he’s written a collection of spooky and eerie, unsettling—not scary—stories that put you right there in the moody Peak District of central England. The writing on his web site is also brilliant.

Favorite highlight: “Outside, the dark is very dark. But in the day, the whiteness is very dark too, sometimes ever darker.”

Melmoth by Sarah Perry | 3 1/2 stars I’ve been thinking about this book since I turned the last page, and here’s where I’ve landed: It has a perfectly spooky gothic tone that I was super into. Throughout there’s some very moody, supernatural-ish stuff going on that was spine-tingly. I read this book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. It was an ignore-everything marathon of reading because I needed to know how it would all play out.

This novel is a series of stories told by different characters about the darkest times in their lives, and the stories they share are DARK, but not in the virginal-maiden-locked-in-a-castle way. They’re dark in a peoples’-lives-were-ruined way that was not fun at all. It was horribly sad. And I feel like that kind of serious subject matter is in direct contrast with the isn’t-it-spooky tone of the novel. Ultimately, I found the whole thing really depressing and when I closed the book, I was sorry that I’d devoted an entire day to it. But it’s so well crafted and well plotted, I feel like a jerk with my criticisms.

And there you have it. I still don’t really know how I feel about this book except that I for-sure won’t be reading it again. But also, I will never forgot some of its scenes.

Favorite highlight: “The Silence is something more than the absence of noise. If it is possible to hear silence, Helen hears it: a thick, soft sensation against the drums of her ears.”

Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood | 4 stars I adore Phryne Fisher—in print and in the TV series ‘Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries—because she’s a super feminist and her politics—and the politics of the book—are very progressive. The juxtaposition of 1920s slang and fashion with ultra-modern opinions is irresistible, and I cannot resist a found-family. Phryne has created a lovely family for herself with her assistant Dot and her housekeepers, Mr and Mrs Butler. In this particular book, there’s a murder at a manor house, which is like catnip for me: lots of listening through doors, scampering to lovers’ bedrooms in the middle of the night, forced cocktail hour… it’s fab.

Favorite highlight: “It took determination to be really strange. That, or absinthe before breakfast every day.”

The Witch Elm by Tana French | 3 stars I think Tana French is excellent at what she does—I couldn’t put this down because I needed to know what was going to happen, and I had no idea how it was all going to resolve itself. Really, the writing craft should get 5 stars.

But man! this was really not for me. Even though I compulsively turned the pages, I didn’t enjoy the experience or the characters at all. The only character I liked died.  I thought everyone else was horrible: duplicitous, selfish, whiny, untrustworthy. I am grateful I don’t know people like this in real life, and I don’t enjoy spending time with them, even if it’s pretend and on paper.

Favorite highlight: “Hugo’s road has that effect; it gives the impression of being there only on alternate Thursday or to people with they mysterious talisman in their pockets, invisible the rest of the time and instantly forgotten when you leave.”

Dracula by Bram Stoker (audiobook) | 5 stars

I’m a sucker for epistolary novels, so before even opening the pages the first time I read this book, I was pretty much on board. Then when I got to know Mina and Jonathan, Dr. Seward and Van Helsing—I was smitten. This is a big, sweeping adventure story, and although it was published in 1897, it’s surprisingly modern. Unlike, say, the Brontës, which require a little work sometimes to get through the prose, this is very readable and the action moves at a good clip. But it’s not all desperate carriage rides and stake stabbings; there are a lot of genuine emotional moments in this book, and I love the way Mina turns out to be the heroine of the whole enterprise.

This audiobook version is fantastic. The voice work is very compelling and really brings the story to life.

Favorite highlight: “It is a strange world, a sad world, a world full of miseries, and woes, and troubles. And yet when King Laugh come, he make them all dance to the tune he play. Bleeding hearts, and dry bones of the churchyard, and tears that burn as they fall, all dance together to the music that he make with that smileless mouth of him. Ah, we men and women are like ropes drawn tight with strain that pull us different ways. Then tears come, and like the rain on the ropes, they brace us up, until perhaps the strain become too great, and we break. But King Laugh he come like the sunshine, and he ease off the strain again, and we bear to go on with our labor, what it may be.”

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova (audiobook) | 5 stars I’ve read this book in print at least once, maybe twice? And I loved it for the reasons the NYTimes review didn’t… the beginning, before it gets into the heart of the story from the past, is a travelogue/love letter to Bulgaria—and that voice is part of what I loved so much about Elizabeth Kostova’s first book The Historian. This one has so many things I love: a mystery, foreign travel, a little romance, the love of a found-family, things that are not what they seem, shocking revelations over food, and regular people following mysterious clues to dangerous conclusions. At every moment I thought, “This is exactly what it would be like if *I* found myself caught up in a mystery” and since I’m always secretly hoping that will happen, I loved this story. There are plenty of surprises—I actually gasped a few times and shed a few tears. The big reveals aren’t obvious, but when they happened, I was, like, “Oh, yeah… that makes sense.”

The voice acting in this audiobook is awesome. Each character gets its own voice and is immediately recognizable. This is particularly effective when a character tells a story from the past—the accents, the aging voices, the emotion… it’s lush and moving and all-together engrossing.

Favorite highlight: “Always thinking. Thinking too much, and then sometimes not enough. You read a lot of books, yes?”

FIND ALL THESE BOOKS AND MORE IN MY AMAZON STORE!

What have you been reading recently?

Source: https://meljoulwan.com/2018/11/29/reading-recap-october-2018/

[nemesis729]

Caroline the Vampire Slayer: Chosen

Notes: I’m starting a collection of interconnected oneshots that feature Slayer!Caroline. Eventually, there’s going to be klaroline but I’m working my way to it. Thank you, @lynyrdwrites for being patient, listening to me brainstorming this plot bunny, and helping me write this.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Vampire Diaries.

Summary: When Caroline Forbes woke up in the hospital after the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, she didn’t expect to find someone looking like her best friend, Elena Gilbert, to murder her with a pillow. She also didn’t expect to stop the Elena-lookalike by tossing her across the room like she was a tissue.  

“So, here’s the part where you make a choice.”

The unfamiliar words poured out of Caroline’s mouth in a voice that wasn’t her own. Light filtered through the sheer white curtains as she stood in an unfamiliar living room, facing a sea of faces that belonged to several girls and five men. They stared at her, looking to her for guidance as though she was the general of an army, leading them into battle.

Warmth filled her and her voice became muted but her mouth kept moving. Something rang in her ears that increasingly got louder. Just as quickly, she heard herself talk.

I’m dreaming, the seventeen-year-old realized.

“Every girl who could have the power, will have the power. Can stand up, will stand up. Slayers. Every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?”

The warm feeling intensified until it became searing hot and engulfed her entire being. She gasped as her eyes opened. The teenager rubbed her eyes as the smell of disinfectant filled her nose.

Oh, god, she thought panicking. I’m in the hospital.

She turned in her hospital bed. She stopped when she saw a familiar brunette girl standing a few feet away from her bed.

“Elena?” Caroline asked.

“Hey, Caroline,” the brunette girl said.

Caroline laid back against the pillows. She brought her hands to her face and groaned. Her senses screamed. Something prickled at the base of her neck and traveled down her spine.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, groggy. Strength returned to her limbs, her body healing. Her internal alarms kept ringing.

That’s not Elena, her instincts screamed.

The other girl approached Caroline’s bed. “My name is Katherine,” the Elena imposter said, leaning over Caroline. “I was hoping you could give the Salvatore brothers a message for me.”

Caroline fidgeted in the bed, bracing herself.

Let her think you’re weak, her instincts instructed.

“What are you talking about?” the teenager demanded. “What message?”

“Game on.” Katherine said.

Armed with a pillow, Katherine raised her arms. Before the brunette could suffocate her, Caroline grabbed the other girl’s wrists and, with strength she didn’t know she possessed, broke them, causing the brunette to scream. Without wasting her momentum, Caroline punched the other girl with a fierce right hook, flinging her against the opposite wall and knocking her out.

Ripping the IV attached to her arm, Caroline sprung out of bed and checked the other girl’s pulse. There wasn’t one.

“Oh, my god.” Bile rose in Caroline’s throat. “She’s dead.”

Grabbing her clothes and fleeing to the bathroom, she stood in front of the mirror, her hands braced against the sink. She stared at her reflection. A blonde teenager stared back at her, a panicked expression on her face.

“What the hell am I?” she asked her reflection. “I just killed someone!” She closed her eyes, her mind racing. She exhaled a breath to calm her mind.

“Now is not the time to be panicking,” Caroline scolded herself. “We need to get the hell out of here before someone discovers the body.”

Nodding at her reflection, she hurriedly dressed. Opening the door and ignoring the slumped form of her friend’s doppelganger, Caroline fled the hospital.

2

Familiar blue eyes bled red as incisors became fangs and white, hot pain radiated from her neck. Caroline lurched out of bed, her chest heaving. “Oh, god,” she moaned, rubbing her hands on her face as the terrible memory lingered.

It had been a week since the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. A week since the car accident. A week since the Elena-imposter, also known as Katherine, tried to kill Caroline. Since the attempted murder and Caroline’s showdown with the imposter, Caroline’s dreams became more vivid and intense.

And her memories started to return, filling in the gaps she’d been having since meeting Damon Salvatore.

Caroline stared at her full-length mirror. A vision of her in her underwear the morning after she had sex with the tall, dark, and arrogant monster rose in her mind. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand to her neck.

It wasn’t the first time Caroline dreamt something so realistic, so intense, that it felt like it was a vision. She was always someone else, a different girl from a different time, usually fighting monsters.

It started when she was fifteen going on sixteen. She was learning about China and the Boxer Rebellion in her AP European History class when she fell asleep studying for the test. She didn’t remember much from the dream, only that she was in China, during the Boxer Rebellion, fighting a blond vampire. The details were a blur, the only thing that stood out was that the vampire had an English accent and said, “Sorry, love, I don’t speak Chinese,” before a sharp pain erupted from her neck and he killed her. She had started keeping a dream journal ever since.

“Damon’s a vampire…and Stefan’s one too,” Caroline whispered, not for the first time. Her heart raced, itching to be pulled out. Raw energy coursed through her, craving some action.

Panic rose like a tidal wave. In the week since the accident, since she realized their supernatural status, everything about the Salvatore brothers made her instincts scream predator.

With her memories returning in the week since she left the hospital, Caroline saw all of her conversations with her friends through new eyes. It felt like waking from a sleeping curse. She wasn’t sure what was worse—the fact that Damon was a vampire who repeatedly violated her or the fact that her friends knew about it but did nothing to stop him.

Elena was horrified when she saw the bite marks on my neck…but she didn’t look surprised. She and Bonnie had secret conversations but would suddenly grow quiet whenever I was near them, the blonde recalled.

Heat flowed through her veins. Panic gave way to anger.  

“Those bitches!”

They knew what was happening but they did nothing!

Caroline jumped out of bed, getting her things together. Hauling her duffel bag and her luggage onto her bed, she dug through her closet. She needed a change of scenery. It was time to visit her dad.

Suddenly, the front door slammed. Heavy boots shuffled across the wooden floor.

“I just got home,” her mother said. “Are you sure it’s another vampire attack?”

Silence followed. Caroline paused in grabbing the clothes from her hangers. Her heart lurched.

Mom knew? Fire rose in her chest as her mind processed. She knew and never told me?!

“No, it’s okay,” her mother reassured. “Caroline should be asleep by now.”

Shaking her head, Caroline gathered her clothes into her arms and marched out of the closet, slamming them next to her suitcases.

Mom knew about the monsters but never told me. Bonnie and Elena knew about the monsters and never told me. Did she tell them that vampires exist? Why wasn’t I good enough to even know? What made Bonnie and Elena so special? WHY DIDN’T SHE TELL ME?!

Something solid sank inside her. Caroline rummaged through her dresser, getting her toiletries.

“I can’t stay here anymore,” she whispered. “Damon has free access to this house. And if Damon could rape me of my memories, he could do the same thing to Mom. I’m not safe.”

She continued to pack, ignoring the hurricane her room became.

I need something to buy me some time, Caroline thought. Panic, terror, and anger welled inside the blonde teenager, an unholy trinity driving her.

She went to her desk, disconnecting her laptop and packing it with her things. With a piece of paper, she penned a quick note to her mother, letting the older woman know that she was going to see her father. Satisfied, she placed it on her bed and grabbed her duffel bag and suitcase.

She stood in front of her bedroom window and quietly opened it. With one leg out the window, she paused and looked back at her room. Her eyes landed on the note.

Should I really do this? Caroline wondered. Doubt began to plague her.

They kept you in the dark, her mind whispered. How can you trust that they would have your back if they never even told you about the wolves at the gate?

She opened her eyes. Resolve settled over her, dampening the panic and the terror bubbling inside her. Before she could change her mind, she slipped out of the house.

Her phone was still charging on her desk.

3

Not for the first time, Caroline paced the main lobby of the Hyperion Hotel. She arrived in Los Angeles three months after she ran away. She had always wanted to go to LA—before the drama her life became, her goal was to go to UCLA. Now, she was there for another reason.

Cordelia Chase.

Ever since Caroline kept a dream journal to write all of her vision-dreams, she started a habit of pouring over all of her entries to look for clues about what she was becoming and what else was out there. She had to survive and, to do that, she needed to research. (She learned that the hard way when she fought a newborn vampire a week after she ran away; she barely survived that fight.) As she searched her journal entries, there was one word that kept popping up.

Sunnydale.

And Cordelia Chase was her only lead on Sunnydale.

Caroline paused in her pacing and stared at the ragtag group that made up Angel Investigations. Her senses told her there were two vampires, a demon, three humans, and two half-demons.

They stared at her in morbid fascination.

“So, let me get this straight,” Caroline said, gesturing vaguely. “You guys are real. Like, Sunnydale was a real town before it got blown off the map. And Cordelia, Angel, Spike, and Wesley were there at one point in time. Everything was real?”

“That sounds about right,” Cordelia said glibly.

Caroline nodded. “And you guys happened to show up while I was fighting a vampire nest that was feeding from the homeless because you had a vision of me,” the blonde teenager told the older brunette woman.

“Yeah.”

“You’re a Seer.” That brought Caroline up short. “Huh. I had you pegged for a half-demon.”

The others in the room tensed.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Angel demanded.

“Nothing offensive,” Caroline replied. “It’s just that I can sense the supernatural people in this room. I don’t think that applies to Seers. It would make sense for Seers to be half-demons and demons too, right? It’s not just humans who have the market on that. I mean, Seer-dom is equal opportunity.”

“Caroline,” Angel interrupted the blonde’s rambling, “how are you knowing this?”

“I don’t know!” Caroline cried. “I kept having dreams of being another girl in another time but they felt very real. And then, three months ago, some girl who looked exactly like my best friend tried to kill me when I was in the hospital. And I threw her off of me like she was a pillow!”

“Did you just say, ‘another girl in another time’?” the scruffy British guy, Wesley, asked.  

Caroline nodded. “Yeah. What does that have to do with anything?”

Wesley stood up and walked over to the brunet vampire. “Angel,” he said, “we need to talk.”

4

“Are you sure she’s in LA?” Dawn asked. The seventeen-year-old teenager glanced at Xander in confirmation. They were in a rental car, driving from Virginia to California on a cross-country road trip to look for an elusive Slayer.

Almost a year had passed since Buffy’s battle with the First and Sunnydale becoming a sinkhole in the aftermath. In the aftermath, Dawn and the others relocated to England to start a new, revamped version of the Watchers Council.  

“Yes, Dawnie, I’m sure,” Xander said, his eye focused on the road. “The Devon Coven told us there’s a Slayer in Los Angeles. And that phone call Buff got from Deadboy confirmed it.”

Dawn groaned at her sister’s best friend. “The Devon Coven also said that there was a Slayer activated in Mystic Falls. Look where that got us.”

When they arrived in Mystic Falls to find the Slayer, one Caroline Forbes, it was too late. According to Liz Forbes, town sheriff and Caroline’s mother, she was dead.

That was three months ago.

Xander sighed. “I know, Dawn. But I have a good feeling about this. We’ll find her. Hopefully before some Big Bad comes after her.”

Without another word, Xander pressed harder on the gas pedal. The two rode in silence, hoping they weren’t on another goose chase.

5

Caroline sat in Angel’s office. She stared, disbelieving, at Angel, who sat behind his desk, and Wesley, who stood next to the vampire. A week had passed since she first met the Angel Investigations team and she had been staying at the Hyperion Hotel with them.

“So, you’re saying that I’m a Slayer,” Caroline said, processing what the British man had told her that morning. “And, you were a Watcher in Sunnydale. But now you’re not.”

“Listen, Caroline, I know it’s a lot to take in,” Angel said, rushing to reassure her, “but I called some people who can help you learn more.”

“Angel?” Cordelia barged into the office. “Xander and Dawn are here.”

“We’ll be out in a minute.” Angel turned to the blonde teenager. “Do you want to meet them?”

Caroline nodded. Without another word the trio left the office and walked into the main lobby. Cordelia was chatting with a girl who looked about her age while Gunn was talking to a guy.

“There he is,” Cordelia shouted. The girl and the man turned their attention to Caroline, Angel, and Wesley.

The girl was lean, willowy, with a fair complexion, green eyes and long legs. Her hair was long, straight, and dark brown. She looked as though she was Caroline’s age. The guy standing next to the willowy girl was older, maybe in his twenties, with unruly dark hair and an eyepatch on his left eye.

Caroline didn’t know their names but she recognized their faces. They were in her dreams.

“Xander,” Angel greeted as the other guy.

“Deadboy,” Xander replied.

“Hey, Dawn,” Angel said to the brunette teenager.

“Angel,” Dawn said. She fidgeted. “So, who’s your friend?”

“I’m Caroline Forbes.” She gave her best Miss Mystic smile and waved. The others had left to give the trio their privacy.

“Wait, what?” Xander asked. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“What are you talking about?” Caroline asked. “Who told you?”

“Okay, let’s back up. I’m Dawn Summers.” Dawn interrupted. She pointed to Xander. “And this is Xander Harris. We’re from the International Watchers Council, Version 2.0. We were looking for you three months ago but your mother told us you were dead.”

“Why would my mother think I’m dead?” Caroline asked, puzzled. “At the very least, she would think that I ran away.”

“Maybe it had to do with your friends thinking you’re a vampire,” Xander explained.

Caroline made a face. “How did that happen?”

“The CliffsNotes version: Katherine tried to kill you but you managed to stop her,” Dawn said. Before Caroline could ask, Dawn shrugged. “I was chatting up your friends, Bonnie and Elena, when Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum appeared. I think they’re called the Salvatore brothers, right? Well, anyway, there was a whispered conversation, that I may have eavesdropped, where they think you’re a vampire since you supposedly died with Damon’s blood in your system.”

“You’ve met them?” Caroline enquired.

Dawn shuddered. “I don’t want to think about it.”

“Anyway,” Xander said, “they figured you were a vampire since you managed to knock out a 500-year-old vampire.”

Caroline closed her eyes, bringing a hand to the bridge of her nose. “Okay, one thing at a time.” She opened her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know what I am. What’s a Slayer?”

“In every generation, there is a Chosen One,” Dawn explained. “She alone wields the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.”

“At least, that was how the prophecy was until a couple of months ago when Buffy changed the rules and made all the Potential Slayers become Slayers,” Xander said.

“What do you mean?” Caroline asked.

“Buffy’s my sister,” Dawn began. “She was the Slayer. Back then, for another Slayer to be called, the current one has to die. Buffy kind of threw off the balance when she died the first time at the Master’s hands. She was dead for five minutes but that was enough time for another Slayer to be called; Kendra was her name. When Kendra died, another Slayer was called. Faith. So there were two Slayers.”

“Recently, there was an attack on the Slayer line,” Xander continued. “While only one Slayer could be called at a time, there are a lot of Potential Slayers—girls who could one day become the Slayer after the previous one had died. There was this Big Bad who started to kill Potential Slayers before he could kill Buffy. Anyway, there was this big epic battle where Buffy decided to break the rules and allow every girl who might be a Slayer to be a Slayer.”

Everything fell into place. A flame flickered to life inside the blonde teenager. A look of determination flashed across her face.

“Tell me everything.”  

[viralhottopics]

Here’s why The CW’s ‘Riverdale’ isn’t just ‘Dark Archie’

Pictured (L-R): KJ Apa as Archie, Camila Mendes as Veronica and Lili Reinhart as Betty in ‘Riverdale’

Image: Katie Yu/The CW

When Luke Perry was growing up in small town Ohio, sharing a tiny bedroom in a trailer with his brother, he took sanctuary with a stack of comic books piled high in his closet. Hed pull issues from his stash and read them diligently by flashlight, and amid the many superheroes and sci-fi epics there was another favorite a staple of the medium since debuting in 1941: the quaint, relatable, all-American adventures of teenager Archie Andrews and his high school pals, rivals and crushes, set in the idyllic town of Riverdale, U.S.A.

Today, Perry no stranger to series centered around iconic locales, thanks to his stint on Beverly Hills 90210 is among the cast of Riverdale, The CWs ambitious and decidedly edgier take on the 75-year-old comic book series.

Veering away from the wholesome vibe that many associate with classic Archie, the drama adds a Twin Peaks-inspired aura of mystery, danger and controversy to the small town proceedings.

For instance, in the pilot episode, our redheaded, freckle-faced hero, played by New Zealander K.J. Apa, indulges in a steamy backseat tryst with his teacher Miss Grundy reimagined from the comics silver-haired spinster into the much younger, more curvaceous form of actress Sarah Habel. Not only that the site of their forbidden dalliance soon puts them in uncomfortable proximity to the season’s unfolding murder mystery.

I was the biggest skeptic, Perry admits to Mashable of the more adult take on the Archie gang. I said, Im the guy youve got to convince. I grew up reading Archie I am that guy. So show me what is different about this. And they did.

KJ Apa as Archie and Luke Perry as Fred

Image: Diyah Pera/The CW

“They” are the production team led by writer-producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, an accomplished playwright and veteran scripter of popular television series including Glee and Big Love, whos also enjoyed an acclaimed second career in the comic book industry.

A stint at Marvel Comics writing top-tier characters including the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man ultimately led Aguirre-Sacasa to an opportunity to write the 2013 comic book miniseries Afterlife with Archie. The endeavor represented a bold step for publisher Archie Comics in which the company combined their longtime characters with a zombie apocalypse narrative drawn by emerging fan-favorite artist Franco Francavilla.

It is a five-year-old Robertos dream come true, Aguirre-Sacasa tells Mashable. Ive always loved the characters. I read them from when I was a kid.

Like Perry, the writer was among a second generation of Archie devotees that discovered the now-iconic characters Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and Reggie, as well as spin-off headliners like Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina the Teenage Witch over a quarter century after they first debuted.

Ashleigh Murray as Josie

Image: Katie Yu/The CW

In 1941 a few years after rival publisher DC Comics had launched the superhero genre with Superman MLJ Comics had been riding that pop culture wave with their own powered-up characters, including the patriotic, pre-Captain America hero The Shield.

But publisher John L. Goldwater was looking for a new comic book genre that would feel fresh yet familiar. Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of the wholesome, funny, relatable teen antics of MGMs Andy Hardy screen franchise, starring a young Mickey Rooney, he gave over a six-page portion of the twenty-second issue of an established title, Pep Comics, to the earliest incarnation of the Archie gang.

Though not even mentioned on the cover of its debut issue, the Archie feature, originally written by Vic Bloome and drawn by Bob Montana, was quickly established as the hottest and much imitated new genre in comics, so popular that within a few years MLJ formally changed the books name to Archie Comics, and Archie himself appeared on every cover from 1944 onward.

Over the decades, circulation soared to nearly 300,000 copies, and Archie-mania was born: Several of the ever-expanding Archie-verse characters headlined their own solo series; Dan DeCarlo, who moonlighted drawing sultry pin-up girls for pulp magazines, became the definitive Archie artist and developed the signature look of the comic; The Archies, a prefabricated pop group of anonymous studio musicians (packaged as Archies garage band) scored an enduringly popular hit song in 1969 with Sugar, Sugar; past issues were collected in conveniently miniature digests; progressive new minority characters were introduced into white-bread Riverdale; and the characters became widely commercialized, appearing on TV shirts, lunchboxes, Saturday morning cartoons and a hit primetime sitcom starring Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Although the Archie lines mainstream appeal would gradually wane to cult status among comics fans in the 1990s and 2000s, the characters would endure as iconic figures to multiple generations of readers.

Through it all, though the hairstyles, hemlines, hotrods and hi-jinx evolved, the Archie stories rarely wavered from their core conceit: the misadventures of an average American high-schooler pursued by a pair of beautiful, competitive girls, constantly vexed by his rivals and consoled with good humor by his offbeat, free-thinking best friend.

By 2010, more opportunities were arising to tap the ongoing goodwill toward the Riverdale mythos.

I love the characters. Id grown up reading the characters. I always kind of went back to the characters, says Aguirre-Sacasa. I always wanted to write them even when I started writing for Marvel Comics. I was exclusive to them for years. And in fact, I broke my exclusivity with Marvel because I had a chance to write an Archie comic, Archie Meets Glee, which was the first thing that I did for Archie, and that was a dream come true.

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Even as he was bringing the characters slightly outside of their traditional comfort zones, it was clear that Aguirre-Sacasa was simpatico with the essence of the Archie gang, and he quickly assumed greater custodianship of the characters, eventually being named Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics, overseeing a critically and commercially successful re-launch of the core titles by top-tier comics creators. At the same time, he began shopping new and left-of-center takes on the properties to Hollywood.

I really want to help bring these characters to life in a way thats never really happened successfully, he says, explaining how he promised publisher Jon Goldwater, the son of the original Archie Comics head, that theyd have to create a slow build of heat on the publishing side before turning Hollywoods head.

Though theres always sort of heat on Archie, he adds. When they make a move and they get tons of press. I know that my friends at DC and Marvel were always like, Why do you get so much ink? People love the characters.

Afterlife With Archie, a surprise sensation in the comics world, demonstrated that after three-quarters of a century that the tried-and-true Archie format had more malleability than expected.

Image: archie comics

We were really nervous about putting the Archie characters in quite a hardcore horror story with a lot of gore, and violence, and some pretty wild ideas, says Aguirre-Sacasa. But we found out two things: one is that the characters could withstand that kind of caldron of stuff; and two, the fans loved it the fans loved seeing the characters they loved in different situations, and they were emotionally invested in what happened to the characters. They were sad when characters were eaten by zombies.

It of course has a little bit informed Riverdale, says the writer, who teamed with executive producer Greg Berlanti no stranger to successful comic-to-TV adaptations thanks to his success with DC Comics and The CWs interconnected superhero series, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and DCs Legends of Tomorrow to infuse a similarly shadowy sensibility into the television take.

When we start pushing at the boundaries, I think people get nervous, but I think when you see it, you see that its done with integrity, and care, and comes from a deep abiding love of these characters,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “No one wants to protect them more than I do. But you do have to evolve them, and you do have to push boundaries, and you do have to be more than just a story with a joke at the end.

My pitch to Roberto was, Number one, we have to find a form where in this can work as a TV show, Berlanti tells Mashable. Number two, can whats beloved about Archie and intrinsic about Archie and the Americana-esque, period element of it translate to todays audience? Thats the challenge we have to at least be aware of [Id tell Roberto] it has to be as much of his personality as possible, because youre a show creator, and youre creating this thing, and theres so many elements of things you love: you love horror, you love comedy, you love irreverent stuff. It has to be as evocative of you and your personality, as Afterlife with Archie really was too.

As we moved along, he wrote a script that was terrific and had that magic thing, Berlanti adds. Im not sure I knew until I read his draft of the pilot script that we developed that it was a real TV show.

One misconception that is out there is that this is Dark Archie, this is dark, gritty Archie, and Rated R Archie, chuckles Aguirre-Sacasa. And in fact the show is a mix of light and dark. The show honors what is Archie, and then subverts it. For me, the sweet spot is the tension between Twin Peaks, and the tension between the 1950s sock hop Archie right in between that is where stories work on both levels. They work as good Archie stories, but they work as good noir, or mystery, or moody stories as well.

KJ Apa as Archie, Camila Mendes as Veronica, Cole Sprouse as Jughead, and Lili Reinhart as Betty

Image: Katie Yu/The CW

Roberto loves these characters, and I dont think anyones salacious to be salacious, Berlanti says of the elements that may sound eyebrow-raising to anyone who hasnt read Archie Comics in a while. That is not our goal. That being said, the show wants to deal in the tropes of these kinds of shows, and comment on those kind of things, and have that be a part of it. Im sure that wont be the first time we have a subject matter that makes people [take pause] – but I can say, in terms of our heart being in the right place, we dont start from that place of like, ‘this is going to get us some people to watch.’ We love these characters, and you dont want to assassinate them either.

Though the characters may be in dark, adult, morally-compromised, scary situations, the characters are still true to their essences, says Aguirre-Sacasa. Those characters are basically the characters they are in Archies Double Digest, just put in a crazy, messed-up situation. Theres trial and error, but I think thats where the show lives in the tension and the juxtaposition of those things.

I would say weve been met with guarded optimism, Perry who ultimately signed on to play Archies father, Fred Andrews says of the Archie fanbase. They dont want us to mess Archie up, but they do want to see it in a new way. They do want these characters to have a new life thats the sense Ive got. So were going to try to give them that without messing up the other.

Riverdale airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

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