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randomfoggytiger · 2 days ago

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The Field Where I Died: The Tragic Flaws of Glen Morgan and James Wong

My thoughts on The Field Where I Died are divided into neat little categories for this episode: frustration for what we were given, acceptance of its existence, anger at Glen Morgan and James Wong's behind-the-scenes revelations, acknowledgment of their feelings, determination that the end product's truth was different than what was originally conceptualized, and genuine understanding of others' love for its creativity and vision.

But those thoughts are inseparable from a broader perspective of Morgan and Wong's work on Season 4.

I'm going to be pulling a lot of information from an interview here; but to save time (and sanity), I'll emphasize the quotes in italics instead of continually citing my source.

"I CAN DO BETTER" VISIONARIES

(Credit to: @sleepyscully.)

It's no secret that Morgan and Wong always wrote-- shall we say-- angsty episodes that drove a wedge in Mulder and Scully's relationship. Sometimes that was executed brilliantly-- Squeeze, Beyond the Sea, Home, Never Again-- and sometimes that was executed... badly. Their bent is the nature of conflict, and its potential resolution; or ideals and tarnished realities; or things we thought we knew and understood but never really did. And those are powerful tools... if, like all tools, they're wielded effectively.

They're the difference between the ridiculous conceit of Musings of a CSM-- an episode that set everyone against each other (we'll get to that)-- and Beyond the Sea-- and episode that wowed Carter (convincing him to keep Gillian on the show), fans, and critics alike.

I've already tackled how The Field Where I Died could work here (how Scully broke the cycle) and here (Scully, snakes, and reincarnation.) I have no qualms with the idea that Mulder and Scully themselves aren't romantic soulmates in every lifetime: that was never the magic of their relationship, to me. And I do love the concept that Melissa serves as a contrast for Mulder: as Morgan says,

One reason why I wrote Melissa that way was my notion that if you’re Mulder and you found your soulmate, the love of all your loves, within the body of this unappealing person, what would you do? I don’t know if we totally explored that. I don’t know if Duchovny would agree with me – he knows more about Mulder – but I think Melissa is the type of women that Mulder would be attracted to. Someone like Bambi in ‘The War of the Coprophages’ is good for a joke, but I don’t really see Mulder going after her. There’s something sad about Melissa. There was a secret within her that was important for him to get at. That mirrors his life, and his own search for his sister. He is a character whose whole drive is to help everybody, but he’s so unsuccessful at that, and with helping himself. All he wants is to find one person that he can rescue – but he’s not too good at it.

No matter how despairing Mulder is, Morgan said, he would not be tempted, like Melissa, to end his life. “I looked at Melissa as if she decided reincarnation might be true, and that if she had chosen this life, at that point she realized, ‘This is a bad idea. This is a miserable life and I’m not getting much out of it. I’m just going back to heaven and I’ll wait for you.’ She wanted out. But Mulder, as much as he’d love to go to the other side to see what’s there, is a life-affirming character. He’s going to keep on looking. He’s not going to quit. Mulder has questions for this life.”

That rings true to me.

What I do have qualms with is that Mulder and Scully's incredible, undeniable, written-into-canon-at-this-point connection (that was established in the Pilot, purposefully, by Chris Carter himself, post here) is boiled down to a destined, warped tri-connection that is part of and secondary to his (chemistry-less) connection with a woman that doomed him in every lifetime. A woman who is an unreliable narrator, and who could easily be swaying Mulder into believing her story because of her own form of mental instability and fragility. It could be a beautiful love story, and it's undeniably beautifully shot (and mostly beautifully written), but it's not Mulder's-- it's Morgan's:

For Morgan, an episode about reincarnation and eternal soulmates was not just a good story for Mulder, but a personal expression of the thoughts and emotions he had experienced during the past year, when his relationship with Cloke grew from friendship into romance (they are now engaged), “I had gone through a failed marriage in which I had really believed,” Morgan revealed. “I had always wanted to believe there is somebody out there for you, and I had been in a situation where that didn’t come true. And I thought, ‘It’s a lie. That person you think is out there for you is a lie.’ But then I met Kristen and I was rejuvenated by that. I really thought. that you can be reborn in this life, not just life after death. I regained faith that there is one person for you, one person who, by being in your life, can motivate you to change the crappy things you were doing before. In this case, it was Kristen. I knew she did a lot of characters and voices, so I wanted to incorporate that.. I wanted to write something for her that challenged her. Also, I wanted to write something for David Duchovny that challenged him.”

("Challenged", indeed.)

And that... that rubs me the wrong way.

NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU

I'm not here for Glen's romance, I'm sorry. I'm here to be persuaded that Mulder might have a soulmate, that Scully might be a soulmate, that all three could be bound in this doomed pattern for lifetimes; and if that cycle was broken with Melissa Ephesian's death. (More importantly: does Mulder and/or Scully believe it's broken?) What we were given instead was a memoir to love in general that shoehorned itself into the show without regard for canon.

I'm not angry with TFWID as much as I am other episodes (most of Existence and canon onward, for example) because Mulder and Scully's characterization never strays-- Field may have been carelessly wedged in, but it was skillful with its emotional exploration. Further, the events and facts presented so summarily contradict each other that there's no real "threat" propped up by its existence. And, while I can't excuse the cringe-inducing acting from Morgan's wife, I can explain why DD's turned out so "badly" (read: jarringly):

Bowman’s director’s cut ran so long that Morgan and Wong were forced to trim twenty minutes out of the episode.... Morgan felt that the emotional impact of Mulder’s hypnosis session might have been marred by the cutting, since it interfered with the flow of Duchovny’s acting throughout the entire scene. “I called David and I said, ‘I’m cutting it this way.’ I could hear that he was upset. I know what actors go through to prepare, and then to have to sit in a chair for a couple of hours in front of a bunch of grips and gaffers and people that they hang out with everyday, and cry – it’s just like taking off your clothes. And then to find it’s been cut out. I had to come home and tell Kristen, ‘Look, this part is coming out.’ She was upset and David was upset. Jim was off prepping ‘Musings of Cigarette Smoking Man’ or doing something and I was just very alone.’

(For context, the hypnosis scene was originally twelve minutes long.)

While I might be tempted to sympathize with Morgan, he didn't extend that sympathy equally to his wife or Duchovny, instead turning this combined loss into a one-sided self-pity party.

MULDER THE SACRIFICE, SCULLY THE SAVIOR

I also have a theory that Carter was writing Scully as a savior and Mulder as a sacrificial lamb for the mainline series (until he made William a magic baby and ruined eight years of build-up), post here.

There's a reason that The X-Files is told through Scully's perspective; and that Mulder is often compared to Ahab chasing the White Whale, to a man on a fated quest, to a boy who lost his sister and can't live freely until he has that closure. There's a reason that Scully is Mulder's "one-in-five billion", his salvation ("But you saved me!"), his constant, his touchstone-- and his "human credential", as David Duchovny put it. There's a reason that Carter banked an entire series off of a chemistry and bond he wrote into the graveyard scene, and maintains that that is when Mulder and Scully fell in love (though to what degree is up for fanon interpretation.) There's a reason that the CSM was wrong to picture Mulder as a Christ-like figure, and Scully was right to walk into Mulder's subconscious and rescue him with the truth ("Get up and fight.") There's a reason that Mulder's rescue in Deep Throat underscores his and Scully's partnership from then on out: he in danger-- be it from Jersey Devils, moth men, fated love triangles, Houston bombs, brain surgery, alien abduction-- and she his rescuer (discussed a little here.)

Why is this important? Because The Field Where I Died's concept is not without canonical merit: Mulder running headlong into danger, Scully holding him back long enough to prevent the cycle from repeating. And it ties into the mytharc's ad nauseam question of Fate v. Freewill (posts here and here.) TFWID could even work if you factor in the theory of Scully's immortality (post here.)

But the reality is, Morgan and Wong were not going for canonical adherence.

THE WONDER OF THE SUPERNATURAL, THE FAILURE OF THE HUMAN CONNECTION

Episodic timeline goofs and gaffes aside, the problems in The Field Where I Died lie deeper than which woman Mulder loves and which one he perpetually makes friendship bracelets with. The greatest problem arrives, settles, and stains with the introduction of soulmates: the recontextualization of the infamous MSR dynamic.

Morgan was focusing again on Mulder and Scully as humans; but he fumbled, amplifying then explaining away their "unspoken" as a supernatural connection rather than the meeting of uncannily similar minds:

Apart from personal considerations, Morgan and Wong wanted to reorient the show’s attitude towards the paranormal, which they felt in the third session had been expressed far too often as something evil or wrong. “The paranormal isn’t about death or evil,” Morgan said. “It’s about wonder.” In line with this approach, he and Wong wanted to avoid writing a conventional villain; instead, the principal conflicts take place between Mulder and Scully or are internal, with both Mulder and Melissa haunted by their pasts, in this life, and perhaps previous lives.

Morgan and Wong wanted to zero in on two humans, and all their complications as such, brushing up against the unfathomable, neutral force beyond their comprehension... but then ruined that message, that build-up, by justifying the personal, human aspect-- their connection-- by making it inhuman, unnatural, and supernatural, too. All the while, of course, telling us (and believing themselves) that fans were upset because they introduced another romance for Mulder.

(As a side note: why do I excuse-- for lack of a better word-- David Duchovny's similar sentiments towards TFWID and its reception? Firstly, he, and others, genuinely loves it; and I'm happy for him. To David, it seems, love is more powerful when it is guaranteed for a lifetime and beyond-- the insecurity of someone falling out of love, platonically or romantically, is more powerful than a finite and fickle love that can be lost or tarnished. That being his interpretation-- and Morgan's intention-- I can see why he'd love TFWID. It's a powerful sentiment. More importantly, the man doesn't hold it against fans-- he thinks they misinterpreted its intent-- like Morgan thought they did-- understands why it would disgruntle, but maintains that he loves it, regardless. I can respect that position, even if we disagree; because the heart likes what it likes. I, for one, have my own likes that others might hate.)

LAZILY WRITTEN

The greatest mistake of all-- one Morgan humbly recognizes-- is the faults in the writing. Well... more accurately, that he and Wong failed to keep a complete vision that would (most definitely, guys) translate better to audiences. His ideas, I concede, were intriguing; but like all mediums, the final product is what audiences are left to judge and believe in. For TFWID, it was mixed up before the scenes were filmed, and hacked apart after the footage was wrapped-- so much so, that Morgan kept realizing the magnitude of his mistakes after the fact:

Under hypnosis, Mulder describes a scene of death and destruction from the Warsaw ghetto; in this past life, he is a Jewish woman, Scully is his father, Samantha is his son, and the Cigarette Smoking Man is a Gestapo officer.

Next he [Mulder] becomes Sullivan Biddle, already dead in battle, Scully is his sergeant, and Melissa is there, as Sarah. He has no information on the bunkers, all he sees is death. Morgan wrote these scenes to express the overwhelming sense of loss that Mulder has felt his entire life. The scene was shot in extreme close-up, inspired, Morgan said, by his love of Ingmar Bergman’s films. “To spend three quarters of an act, six or seven minutes, in close-up, on television, is wonderful,” he said. “On TV, we’re always cutting back and forth. We’re always blowing stuff up. Jim and I participate in that. Act Four of ‘Home’ couldn’t be more different than act three of ‘The Field Where I Died.’ I’m proud of that. ”

(And you might have blown it, Glen.)

Morgan’s enthusiasm for the scene was not matched by a good number of the show’s fans, who felt the scene was overwrought, both in the writing, and in Duchovny’s performance. “I think both Kristen and David did a great job,” Morgan said. “David just can’t win. If he walks around going, ‘Scully, I’m going here. Oh. Extreme possibilities,’ everyone says, ‘...that guy just mumbles his way through.’ If he emotes, people don’t want to see that. People can say his acting was bad. I don’t think that it was, but some felt it was obviously ‘acting.’ It’s in a close-up, it’s a long monologue, so it points to acting.

(An unnecessarily long scene that, unfortunately, had to be chopped; and was chopped so badly that, consequently, it lost its nuance and made Duchovny look like a fool by proxy.)

Bowman’s director’s cut ran so long that Morgan and Wong were forced to trim twenty minutes out of the episode, including eliminating one of Melissa’s personalities, a crude loudmouth named Jobee, as well information that supported Scully’s viewpoint, and large sections from Melissa’s and Mulder’s hypnosis sessions

“If we’d focused on Scully’s viewpoint more, we could have thrown up the idea that maybe Mulder’s wrong, maybe this is just wishful thinking,” Morgan added. “I know this sounds really bad, but to me the hypnosis scene is more important than a teaser. I was desperate to cut out time, and in favoring emotional content over plot content, I might have blown it.”

[Morgan]: "... I read a post online asking why Scully was always a man in the past, and I hadn’t thought about that. I wish I had altered that; it was a mistake.”

And it wasn't just TFWID that was littered with inconsistencies in service to Morgan and Wong's vision.

TFWID, "MUSINGS", AND THE BLAME GAME

When Morgan and Wong returned from their other writing projects, they had to decide whether to leave the studio-- angry at its interference-- or take a deal and partly work for The X-Files and Millennium. Obviously they chose the latter, and rejoined after a hiatus of one or two years. In that time, the X-Files had become a hit. But M and W had changes, and plans to execute those changes, in mind: they both thought that the show had strayed from its original vision-- again, the "wonder" of the paranormal and supernatural-- and would be set to (better) rights with their input and direction.

Not all of their work was flawed-- Home and Never Again were tightly written-- and not all of their ideas were self-involved. For example: when joining the show, they and the other writers were told this season's purpose was to drive a wedge between Mulder and Scully, and framed Never Again around that idea:

“My understanding at the beginning of the year was that we were going to drive to a point where Mulder and Scully didn’t trust each other,” Morgan said. His own scenario for plotting out the season was somewhat different from what Carter and the other writers came up with this year, but the fundamental issue was the same: trust. “I would have slowly split Mulder and Scully up over the course of the season, then in the last episode have Scully put Mulder away for his own good, which he would perceive as the ultimate betrayal,” Morgan said. “And then the next season, they would have had an entire year’s healing to go through.”

That's not an entirely unreasonable direction to take, either.

The other writers had other plans. For good or ill, it was Chris's show; and Chris wanted to steer it in a certain direction. Those who joined and added their thoughts cohesively helped construct the mainline arcs that bloomed into Season 4's cancer revelation and Season 5's lack of faith, as well as building up Fight the Future concurrently. M and W, however, felt bruised when their visions were either tweaked or countermanded; and left the experience disgruntled. For good or ill, Chris Carter, Glen Morgan, and James Wong all had good and bad ideas; but only one of them had created the show-- something which the latter two couldn't, at times, accept.

Case and point: I detour to Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man because that episode-- from its conception to its creation to its execution-- explains clearly what led Morgan and Wong astray.

Home was successful, The Field Where I Died much less so. For both episodes, Chris Carter seemed content to let Morgan and Wong do whatever they wanted. However, a shift occurred when fans fell out of sync with M and W's vision (TFWID); and that shift manifested when Glen and James immediately wanted to jump into a CSM backstory, the mytharc domain of CC. Both writers felt the big bad of The X-Files had become gutless; and they wanted to inject some terror into him by killing off Frohike in the end. Per their original vision, the narrative element was excluded and CSM would reclaim his villainy via a Forrest Gump monologue then follow through by gunning down an innocent man. Chris Carter, meanwhile, did not want Frohike killed and did not think that CSM would care to waste time murdering a relative nobody to his life and work. William B. Davis, CSM's actor, was also insistent this version of CSM was not his character; and was so dissatisfied with it that he called up CC himself. Carter tried to appease all sides with a compromise: letting M and W write what they wanted (within limits) and reassuring himself and WBD that this episode wasn't canon:

Davis promptly called Carter to ask if this was the real history of the Cigarette Smoking Man (Carter told him no).

...“The Cigarette Smoking Man’s flashbacks were my idea, because I indeed wanted the episode to be a memoir,” Morgan said. But the idea that Frohike could be the real narrator was a Carter-imposed addition to the script, to make it seem as if the events of the episode were not real. Carter even changed the name of the script, from “Memoirs of a Cigarette Smoking Man” to “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man.”

[Wong]: ...“The line where Deep Throat says, ‘Maybe I’m not the liar’ was another change imposed on the script so you could make the leap that perhaps this is all. a dream, or the ramblings of Frohike.”

If that weren't potentially explosive enough, Morgan and Wong went behind Chris's back, consulting others on set to create their vision, anyway. When CC turned down Glen's dogged request, twice, to film an alternate ending, Wong took matters into his own, unauthorized hands:

Morgan and Wong felt so strongly about this issue, that they decided to try an end run around Ten Thirteen. They figured that if they filmed the scene their way, and cut it into the episode, it would be so powerful that Carter would have to agree with them. Morgan called Wong up in Vancouver and told him to take a few crew members while everyone else was at lunch, and get some shots of blood spattering on the sign to the Lone Gunman offices. Wong decided against the stealth approach; instead, he filmed William B. Davis pulling back on the trigger, and Tom Braidwood, as Frohike, getting a bullet in the head. Morgan nearly panicked when he heard what his partner had done; he was certain word of it would reach Ten Thirteen down in Los Angeles. His fears were justified.

Carter, meanwhile, allegedly proved how cleverly his fingers always remained on the pulse of the show:

Wong recalled: “I was in the editing room, and I said to the editor, why don’t we print up the B negative? We’ll cut it in and show Chris. [The “B” negative was the negative with the footage of the Cigarette Smoking Man pulling the trigger and Frohike getting shot.] And the editor told me, ‘You can’t do that.’ I said, ‘What do you mean, we can’t do that? Just print the B negative.’ He said, ‘Well, it’s been taken out of the lab. It can’t be found.” In a move worthy of a scene from an X-Files episode, someone had deliberately removed the negative without telling Morgan and Wong, and they had no idea where it was.

(And how do we know this was CC's doing? Because every single actor, writer, and director interviewed always marveled at his inhuman ability to be aware of every single, teeny tiny detail on set.)

Apparently, the incident blew over wordlessly, so much so that Chris asked Glen and James to help flesh out Millennium and called them up, years later, to craft the Revival with him (and sat nearby while Morgan teasingly alluded to the above incident, just a few years ago.)

To tie it all back to The Field Where I Died: the work they created-- while beautifully written-- was sloppily fitted into the show they were hired to write for:

And then there were the timeline inconsistencies, which Morgan and Wong didn’t even know about until the episode aired and Morgan logged on and was bombarded with dozens of internet posts complaining that the events of “Musings” couldn’t be for real, because they contradicted the teaser to “Apocrypha.” In the “Apocrypha” teaser, which is set in 1953, a young Cigarette Smoking Man (already smoking), a young Bill Mulder, and a third man, all in civilian dress, question a horribly burned submarine crewman who had encountered an alien in a flashback shown in the previous episode, “Piper Maru.” Morgan’s version proposed an entirely different history, with the young Cigarette Smoking Man and Bill Mulder, both Army officers, first meeting in 1961 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The Cigarette Smoking Man doesn’t even smoke, until he takes his first nervous puff late in the first act. Although Morgan and Wong had seen “Apocrypha,” they didn’t remember the events of the teaser. “Okay, we’re sloppy,” Morgan admitted.

To top off the battle of egos, Glen and James laid a portion of the blame at the nameless feet of some faceless "other" rather than taking it upon themselves... or having the guts to point the finger at one person in particular:

“But somebody should have told us. They all read the script. It was the same thing that happened to us on ‘Little Green Men when we showed Samantha’s abduction.'” Added Wong: “If somebody had said, ‘Hey, you know, in the third season, this was said and this doesn’t make sense anymore.’ And we would have changed it. But nobody told us that And the internet people go, ‘This doesn’t make sense,’ and now we look like idiots. We have part of the blame obviously; we didn’t know. We didn’t catch it.”

(It's easy to feel for them and their position... until you realize that there is no evidence-- that I have found-- of them asking if there was a show bible or other resource to consult. Meaning, again, that M and W have to take some blame for this grievance, as well.)

And last but not least, they-- particularly Glen Morgan-- martyred their pain instead of fully accepting and owning their own part in this ever-evolving disaster:

But their disappointment over the changes they were forced to make “Musings of Cigarette Smoking Man” caused them to withhold the ghost story and look for something else. “I had done a lot of research and I had always wanted to write a feature about Lincoln’s ghost,” Morgan said, “But I felt they didn’t want my heart and soul anymore, so I wouldn’t give this one to them."

CONCESSIONS

While these two scalawags contributed their fair share to frustrating and complicated behind-the-scenes shenanigans, their instincts weren't completely wrong, nor all their conduct unrighteous.

They were right on the money with Home--

“Thematically, Sheriff Taylor was doing the same thing that the brothers were doing. They didn’t want things to change,” Morgan said. Scully conducts an examination on the baby, and when the DNA tests come back, she is shocked to find results impossible to believe; they indicate the child had three fathers.

“It was much more controversial than we thought it would be,” Wong said. “Some fans were repulsed beyond analyzing the show; they were just kind of sickened by it. They were pretty turned off. Some people loved it. There was a lot of really, really negative reaction.”

“I have really been stung by that whole reaction,” Morgan admitted. “To me, the show must have become so big while we were away. I think a lot of people hadn’t been exposed to what we did when we were first on the show. They were going, '...what are they doing?’ and we go, ‘But, this is what we always did!’ We had “Squeeze,” or episodes like Chris’ ‘Irresistible,’ these shocking, horrible shows. Act four of ‘Tooms’ I think is on a level with ‘Home,’ so we were going, ‘What is all the ruckus about?’ We figured a lot of people don’t know that earlier stuff, or certain tones that we were going after then.”

-- and Never Again--

“He’s been caught off guard by not knowing something about her,” Morgan said. “A date with someone in Philadelphia, someone he’s never heard of, someone she’s never told him about. He’s unnerved by his lack of certainty about her, with her being wrong about Ed.” The episode ends with Scully telling Mulder firmly, “It’s my life,” and Mulder saying, “But it’s…” and suddenly stopping. Why didn’t he finish his sentence? “It was our way of saying to the other writers, ‘Here’s where Mulder and Scully are, and now the ball is in your court,'” explained Morgan. “That’s what I always felt was our role. In the first couple of years when we were on the show, we might hand it off and then have to pick up the ball ourselves a couple of episodes later, but knowing we were about to leave and would have no input whatsoever, we just said, ‘Well, here’s this thing, how about this? Now it’s yours.’ I feel that Mulder had come to respect that there’s more to this than just him, that Scully is now a part of his life and he’s a part of hers. I think that she learned the danger of exploring the rebellious side, and that it has to be accompanied by responsibility. What she did almost got her killed. So I think that she probably has it a little in check, and yet she’s always carrying the memory of it on her back. It isn’t anything for her to let go of. But next time she’ll be smarter about it, and she won’t let it get so far away from her.”

--and were misunderstood both times.

They were also wrongfully done by here or there--

Morgan had the unhappy task of telling an understandably upset Anderson that the scene she specifically requested had been cut.

Morgan and Wong were frustrated once more when the network decided to move “Never Again” out of its post-Super Bowl slot, and substitute “Leonard Betts,” the episode that was originally scheduled to air after “Never Again.” “Leonard Betts” ended with the wrenching realization by Scully that she might have contracted the cancer that afflicted the other female abduction victims she met in second season’s “Nisei.” This revelation impacted the rationale behind Scully’s behavior in “Never Again” in ways never intended by Morgan and Wong. “I felt horrible,” Morgan stated. “Those are not her motives for her actions in this episode. The motives in ‘Never Again’ are completely altered by posing that she has a disease or a death sentence...."

-- but did wrong themselves, despite unprecedented creative freedom (see the previous section.)

The trouble, it seems, is an inability to differentiate the criticisms they receive. The pearl-clutching, deaf-and-dumb moralizers over Home are not the same crowd scratching (nay, banging) their heads over the blatant and illogical inconsistencies in The Field Where I Died and Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man. (In fact, the last episode mentioned aged nicely, if the IMDb numbers haven't lied.) And that trouble compounds when they can't understand why a behemoth ship, constantly taking on mounting expectations and schedules, might halt for pit stops but won't change course for inconsistent passengers.

Lastly, while I can sympathize with the emotions both Glen Morgan and James Wong felt for having their work constantly tampered with, that sympathy dwindles when contemplating a few factors:

They were working for someone else's show, not their own.

They were given unlimited creative freedom upon their return, and were only reigned in after their projects continued to falter.

They were butting heads against two factors that the show runner himself wanted to keep ambiguous or under hat: CSM's backstory and Mulder and Scully's lives outside of work.

Having one's spirit crushed by back-to-back disappointments can't solely fall on the shoulders of the network or show runners when the first two ventures weren't touched, tampered, or changed (except for a run time you knew you had going in); and they can't fall solely on fans when the end results provided were lackluster in quality.

And an important last note: I do not feel that Glen Morgan or James Wong acted maliciously-- carelessly, mostly; overly self-involved here or there, most probably. Their focus remained on fleshing out the characters, exploring the ramifications of their actions, and digging up and handing over imperative context for canon-- attempting to iron out Mulder and Scully's split-up, William's adoption, and Charlie's estrangement in the Revival, for example. But they're not saints; and they still have an edge against criticism and interference that clings to and eats away at the quality of their work. In short, we are only glimpsing one aspect of Morgan's and Wong's lives during an intensely frustrating moment in their lives-- but it was important enough to The Field Where I Died's lore that I felt it was crucial to share.

CONCLUSION

For me, I'm glad Morgan and Wong messed up so badly that Gestapo CSM was still alive when canon CSM was born. To me, I think Morgan was way too eager (kindly, I shall reframe from saying 'self-involved') and way too disinclined to ask for necessary criticism for his projects. To me, I'm certain Morgan and Wong cared more about their concepts than the canon they were writing for-- making Mulder and Scully platonic (but could become romantic?) soulmates without providing essential explanation or further clarity. To me, I think focusing only on what Mulder gets out of this arrangement-- instead of exploring how this would affect Scully, as well-- was a cheap maneuver to vehicle in Morgan and his wife's love story (the same impulse that drove Morgan to write Melissa Scully as a romantic option for Mulder, that inspired the death of Frohike, and that butchered Maggie Scully's deathbed in Home Again: the impulse of wanting things his way.) For me, I'm glad this episode was too long, was chopped up very badly, and was ultimately exposed as a vanity project by fans' negative reactions. And, to me, I believe that negative reaction was largely brushed aside-- ignorantly, though not maliciously-- by Morgan because "fans just wanted Mulder and Scully together."

And, lastly: to me, Glen Morgan and James Wong-- while wrong to some extent-- at least take (partial) fault for their vision going awry. We're all human, we all make mistakes; we all learn and grow.

The rest I leave to you to draw your own conclusions.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

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ellena-asg · 6 hours ago

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@itsadmiralactually

I agree with your point about James being a good choice as "a man who totally would do that job". Cause you're right, he's absolutely responsible and has sense of duty etc.

The reason why I am against him being captain of THAT ship is James' life situation. Both in movies and in Sins of the father book. All his life is literally serving and obeying other people. His shitty father (who treated him like a toy/tool), people with power, society rules and so on. He's under someone's control since childhood. All his life looks like duties, duties, duties. Navy, navy, navy.

Always doing things for others. Always repressed. Always so lonely. The Dutchman? Just another duty and obeying Calypso's rules (more noble than serving in the navy - cause you help poor dead souls - but still, it's something that became a curse, it's a job with cruel "you can't go to a land (...)). It's a job you have to do cause you stabbed a heart (no one wants it, even Jack changed his mind). It's a job... hey, Calypso, how about you doing it? 😉

It's years that will make you feel alone. All what James knows is feeling alone. He deserves a change. A life he never had. He deserves to have someone, friends. Someone who will want him for him and not for "being useful". The vision of Lizzie, Will, Jack & Co living there on land/Pearl and having their happy moments while Jamie is alone (or with some random crew/ghosts) and all time on the sea, in other part of the world, working and working... It's too sad. It's... unfair.

I think that what he needed whole his life was... freedom. The Dutchman is not a freedom. But there are other ships that are. And there are people who would want him in their family. Oh, they would, I believe! And there is a place for him there. There is a place for him learning and embracing his redemption.

Where I do see him? On the Pearl. On the ship that means freedom. On the ship with friends (Lizzie, Will, Jack). Him being their friends would be such a change. Him having freedom and doing things for himself (oh!) but also still for others - but this time with free will and for a good reasons. Him building a new place, new rules, new world for himself and his new allies, friends.

Him on Pearl again (DMC my beloved) but this time he truly sees himself there, he feels a part of this ship, this crew/found family. Him respecting and maybe even loving now the Pearl - a ship he once chased and wanted to destroy. Him joining Jack - a man who maybe is so different but also mirrors him so much. They're both victims of their fathers/families and the system. Both trying whole their life to prove they're worthy (as a Captain and Commodore/Admiral) because they weren't enough in people's eyes. Others made them each other's enemies, they had to fight, James thought that "all pirates are evil". But now? Him seeing all the bullshit, seeing all the mistakes, seeing how he, Jack and other people were hurt. Him finding friends on the other side of old conflict. Him being friends with those who he "hated". Him fixing things together with them. Oh, redemption being a big lesson. Gosh, him being friends with Will after all that mess! Him being besties with Lizzie like they deserved! Him having Gibbs again on his side! And Jack, oh gosh! And him fixing things with them, helping all people who were hurt on both sides, maybe even fighting with the rich power and Beckett-like guys? That sweet irony of life 😄

To be clear: I respect your view sooo much ♥️ I just wanted to explain my feels. And I wanted to say that I know James would be a great captain and would do that task and yeah, he's one of the finest men there and he would want to help poor souls. I just think that his anxious past makes him also a bad choice. I mean, he doesn't deserve to be lonely, serving and not knowing what a happiness is (and how a truly free life tastes). The Dutchman isn't it for me (but it's just my opinion and I know many people will disagree with it and also with my feels that James has a great potential to be a good pirate like Willabeth and Jack - and it's totally fine ♥️♥️♥️).

I want to see him with people who know him and respect him, who will say "come with us, Jamie". I want him to smile, laugh, having free days, adventures, little pleasures. I want him to feel the warmth. To be needed as him, as James. Him enjoying a simple life. Him being a sailor (man on a ship) but with freedom. Sailing when and where he wants to sail. Him focusing on the sun, wind, sea, birds, his friends. On what he can do (to quote Jack 😉).

P.S. Also, agree that it (Dutchman plot) would be better than his death 😭 Btw, it would be a great chance for Willabeth, Jack & Co to try to help him and take him away from there 😉 (something what 5th movie tried to make with Will's son, Jack & Co in Will's case - just imagine his reaction when Calypso is like "Oh, niiiiice, looks like some people miss you and wanna fight me for you. Go, boy, go to them" 😭).

#pirates of the caribbean #Jamie my beloved

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cosmicjoke · 2 days ago

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Ackerman Relationships and Why Comparing Them is Invidious and Pointless:

It really, really pisses me off when people say the relationships between Kenny and Uri, Levi and Erwin, and Mikasa and Eren are "the same", that they're meant to parallel and mirror each other, because it's always this agenda driven stupidity of trying to "prove" some preconceived idea that they've already decided is the objective truth. They love to claim that the "Ackerbond" is real, that it's their blood that makes them loyal, or some magical bonding process unique to Ackerman's that makes them this way, all as a means of proving that either, a. Levi was "in love" with Erwin and put him above humanity, or b. Mikasa was really the hero all along because she was able to "let Eren go", while Levi supposedly wasn't able to do the same with Erwin.

I mean, never mind that Levi very literally let Erwin go. They never consider how it was this moment in the story, Levi letting Erwin die, that set the example for Mikasa to eventually be able to do the same with Eren. God forbid they acknowledge that Levi served as a mentor figure for all of the 104th and that they all learned from him, including Miksasa, and became better and more enlightened people through their association with him. You know, like any young person should from their association with an adult. These people also never seem to be able to answer what it is about letting Erwin die that actually benefited Levi, but I digress.

They always do the same, stupid thing, resort to the same, idiot argument, quoting a single, vague answer given by Isayama in a random interview about how Levi and Mikasa are like "knight" figures, and using that as some kind of irrefutable proof and evidence that Levi's relationship with Erwin is meant to be exactly the same as Mikasa's relationship with Eren. The thing about this claim that's so irritating is that, as usual with these sorts, they completely ignore this little thing called context, again, to push their agenda. They quote Isayama, and think that alone is all one needs to understand the dynamic between these six, different characters, completely foregoing consideration of the actual events of the story, or the fact that Kenny, Levi and Mikasa are all distinctly individual, characters, who's reasons for being loyal to their respective "people" are unique to them specifically. They completely ignore their individual personalities, they completely ignore the unique circumstances and reasoning behind their loyalty, and simply reduce it down to "Ackerman bonding, lol". It's so fucking stupid. Not only has Isayama himself debunked this notion in an interview (one which these people conveniently ignore when talking about this), but it was debunked within the story itself by Zeke. There is no Ackerbond. There is no magical link or bond between Ackerman's and anybody that's dictated or related in any way to their heritage or blood.

Levi, Mikasa and Kenny have individual, unique relationships with other characters, and those relationships are defined by their individual personalty traits and the unique circumstances surrounding the formation of those relationships. It has nothing to do with any of them being Ackerman's. It has nothing to do with their blood.

So I'm going to go over each of these situations, and lay out why it's an invidious comparison between all three of the Ackerman characters, and how it leads to misconceptions and wildly off the mark interpretations when one approaches analyzing these characters with the assumption that they're meant to "be the same".

Let's start with Kenny and Uri.

People love to present this idea that Kenny was "in love" with Uri (lol), again because it pushes their agenda of trying to prove Levi was in love with Erwin, either because they're incapable of viewing Levi through anything but a shipping lens, or because they want to paint Mikasa as somehow superior to Levi by claiming she was able to let go of the love of her life, while Levi wasn't. Kenny wasn't in love with Uri, though, and wasn't beholden to Uri through some magical bonding process driven by his Ackerman blood, the same way Mikasa wasn't beholden to Eren and Levi wasn't beholden to Erwin through any such magical connection, either. Kenny was "loyal" to Uri because he considered Uri to be the ultimate embodiment of power and believed it was that power that allowed Uri to be compassionate. Kenny knew he himself was a bad person, and he wanted to know what it felt like not to be. He wanted to know what it felt like to care about other people. He mistakenly believed that what made Uri a compassionate person was his power, and so he decided his own, best chance to become like Uri was to do his bidding in the eventual hope that it would present him with a chance to become a Titan himself. That's literally the reason Kenny worked for Uri. It wasn't because he was in love with Uri. It wasn't because "Uri was his person". It wasn't even because he cared about Uri. Kenny didn't care about anyone but himself. Something manifest in the very fact Kenny sought a way to feel compassion. Because he couldn't. And his inability to grasp on any level what compassion actually is or where it comes from is proof of this in and of itself. Kenny aligning himself with Uri was because he knew if he worked for the royal family, he would be able to get closer to finding a way to steal the power of the Titans. That's it. That was Kenny's reasoning. It's why he continued to work for the Reiss family even after Uri died. He was pursuing his goal of becoming the ultimate power in his misguided attempt to be a better person. Do I even have to lay out how the reason behind and nature of Kenny's relationship with Uri is completely different from Levi's with Erwin, or Mikasa's with Eren? I shouldn't have to.

Okay, now onto Levi and Erwin.

I've talked enough about Levi's relationship with Erwin that I don't have to go into great detail here. But just like people love to do with Kenny and Uri, and for the aforementioned agenda, they also love to say Levi was "in love" with Erwin, and they often use this claim to paint a picture of Levi as a selfish person who was willing to "sacrifice humanity" for the love of his life. Blah, blah, blah. I've gone over this a million times, so I won't do it again. I'll just lay out the actual reason Levi was so loyal to Erwin. It wasn't because he was "in love" with him, it was because he believed in Erwin as a leader. He saw Erwin as a superior person to himself because he believed Erwin was able to see something he couldn't, that he had a vision that Levi didn't, and that, as a result, he was someone worth believing in and following as a leader. He saw Erwin as capable of leading humanity to victory over the Titans. It's important to make this distinction, though. He didn't see Erwin as essential to saving humanity (we know this because Levi was twice willing to let Erwin die to save Eren), but he saw him as someone capable and important in that fight, as someone worth following because he had what it would take to make victory possible. He let Erwin die, he felt safe in making that choice, because he also believed in Armin the same way. He believed Armin had the capability to become a leader for humanity. Levi's loyalty to Erwin had nothing to do with love or personal, romantic feelings. It had nothing to do with obsession or blind devotion. It had nothing to do with a personal dream or desire to be with Erwin. It had to do with trusting in Erwin's judgement as a leader and believing that following him could both lead humanity to victory and also allow Levi a means by which to help people himself. Erwin showed Levi a path by which to help others, and so Levi chose to follow his lead and allowed Erwin to utilize his strength toward that end. That's it. That's Levi's relationship with Erwin in a nutshell. That's why Levi was loyal to Erwin. Again, I shouldn't have to explain further how totally different this is to either Kenny's relationship with Uri, or Mikasa's relationship with Eren.

And finally, Mikasa and Eren.

Mikasa is in love with Eren. That's the nature of their relationship. Mikasa feels this way about Eren because he saved her life and gave her a new family after she'd lost her own. Mikasa followed Eren, not because she believed in him as a leader, and not because she thought being around him would gain her power or help her become a better person, but because she had a personal dream of them ending up together in a romantic relationship. She had a personal dream of Eren returning her affections and them getting to live happily ever after, as a family. It's that simple. Mikasa joins the Survey Corps because she cares about Eren more than anything or anyone, and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect him, including imperiling her own life by joining the most dangerous division of the military. Mikasa's relationship with Eren is what so many people mistakenly think Levi's relationship with Erwin is. Mikasa is willing, for almost the entire story, to kill anyone or destroy anything if it means keeping Eren safe. I've already laid out how entirely unlike Levi's relationship with Erwin this is. Levi was always willing to let Erwin die if it was necessary to the mission of the Survey Corps. Mikasa wasn't able to do the same with Eren until the very end of the story. Why? Again, because unlike Levi with Erwin, Mikasa prioritized Eren over humanity. Levi joined the Survey Corps to fight for humanity, not Erwin. He fought for humanity under Erwin's guidance, to be sure, but it wasn't for Erwin. It was for humanity. Mikasa joined the Survey Corps to keep Eren safe. She joined the Survey Corps for Eren. Again, I shouldn't have to explain further why this makes Mikasa's relationship with Eren incomparable to either Kenny's relationship with Uri, or Levi's relationship with Erwin.

It completely takes away any complexity or individuality from these characters when you group them all together and say they're all meant to be alike, or meant to be a mirror of one another. It robs them of their individual personalities and motivations and reduces them down to some monolithic avatar on which to project your own, personal desires and fantasies. It ignores their individual characterization and circumstances within the narrative of "Attack on Titan" all in the name of confirmation bias. You want Levi to be in love with Erwin, well, then, you have to compare his relationship with Erwin to Mikasa's with Eren, or Kenny's with Uri, and say all three were rooted in the "blind devotion" of love. You want Mikasa to be "the real hero" of AoT, then you have to also claim Levi was in love with Erwin so that you can then compare his supposed failure to let Erwin go with Mikasa's heroic sacrifice of Eren in the end. These people aren't looking at these characters with any kind of objectivity. They approach their understanding of them with their minds already made up about who they want them to be and what they want to personally believe about them and the story, and then twist their actions to fit their preconceived notions, instead of assessing these characters on an individual basis, considering their individual personality traits and motivations, or their circumstances within the context of the story itself, and then forming an opinion on them.

You can't compare any of their situations, because all three situations and all three characters are completely different to each other. Kenny's relationship with Uri is nothing like Levi's relationship with Erwin, or Mikasa's relationship with Eren. Levi's relationship with Erwin is nothing like Kenny's relationship with Uri, or Mikasa's relationship with Eren. Mikasa's relationship with Eren is nothing like Levi's relationship with Erwin or Kenny's relationship with Uri. Why? Because these three characters aren't the same people. They have completely different personalities from one another, completely different motivations, completely different outlooks and completely different circumstances they're facing. It's not fair to any of them to claim they're all alike, all driven by the same thing, or the same purpose. It reduces all of their characters to something they're not when you do that. It robs all of them of their essential core as characters. It makes them boring.

You have to assess all of these characters individually, on their own terms, with consideration to their unique personalities and motivations and circumstances. If you can't do that, then you aren't ever going to be able to form an accurate understanding of who any of them are.

I'm sure that one moronic Mikasa stan that keeps coming into my inbox will see this, so I dedicate this post especially to you, asshole. Maybe one day you'll learn to love your favorite characters objectively and without having to tear other characters down or grossly mischaracterize them in some pathetic attempt to make your fav look better. But I kind of doubt it. In the meantime, have fun continuing to delude yourself.

#Levi Ackerman #Mikasa Ackerman #Kenny Ackerman #attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin #Erwin Smith #Eren Yeager #Uri Reiss #analysis #meta #commentary

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rustedhearts · 5 hours ago

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the one where you forget to call boxer!steve when he’s away for a fight and he freaks out (flashback, 1989)…

tags: jealous/possessive!steve (what's new), they're both just egging each other on lol, ending is lame because I just wanted to finish this el oh el.

rolly's blurbs

. • ☆ . ° .• °. *₊ ° . ☆ . • ☆ . ° .• °. *₊ ° . ☆ . • ☆ . ° .• . • ☆ . ° .• °.

“this is libby! sorry, i can’t come to the phone right now—“

“fuck.” steve slams the phone back into the cradle and scrapes his nails over his scalp.

it’s the seventh call he’s made tonight. seventh. when the alarm clock on the motel nightstand flashed 8:00, he eagerly turned toward the phone and watched through pulsing, bloodshot eyes—waiting for it to ring.

8:05.

8:10.

8:30.

you never called.

so he called. once, twice, seven fucking times. the third had his blood boiling, but the seventh is sending him up the fucking walls.

steve pushes off the edge of the quilted bed and heads toward the bathroom. the lights are harsh and have an orange hue, and he glares at the bruised and bloodied reflection in the cracked mirror. he didn’t even bother cleaning up after his fight, too excited to speak to you and hear all about your day at the library or about town.

it was the first time you hadn’t called at your agreed time since he left. and now it worried him. did you not want him anymore? did you find someone else while he’s been away? did he do something to upset you? were you with another man right now?

the thought alone has the mirror fogging, and steve blinks hard to clear it. but the anger boiling and bubbling in his chest is harder to make disappear.

the speedstick on the bathroom counter flies across the room and steve barely even remembers throwing it. nor can he recall his knuckles slamming into the tile, but the ache that gathers in them afterwards is enough of a reminder.

his shuddering breaths echo through the bathroom like a cold front.

and then the phone rings. shrilling through the suffocating room at a deafening pitch.

steve’s quick to his feet, snatching the phone from the cradle with fumbling fingers.

“hello—“

“hi, honey. sorry i didn’t—“

he sinks down onto the edge of the bed. “where the fuck have you been?”

a pause buzzes through the phone. in your bedroom back home, you frown down at your knees. still wearing your dress from today, shoes barely shucked off on the carpet.

“sorry, i…holly wanted to grab dinner after work and we…just lost track of time,” you coo. your fingers twist at the ruffled hem of your comforter anxiously.

you hear him huff through his nose. the line buzzes again. your feet are aching beneath you, and as you picture yourself and holly sitting under the dim lighting of the hide away’s sticky, peanut-shelled tables, a warmth comes to your face.

would steve be upset if he knew? if he knew you’d gone to the bar with your friend in only your tiny work dress? you ran your hand over the hem. it was one he likes, at least. pleated, navy blue, buttoned down the front.

“just holly?” he asks.

you nod, nibbling on the skin around your nail. “yeah, just holly. dad’s teaching nick how to drive with my car so holly gave me a ride, and we were hungry so…”

over explaining came easy with steve. it was better to lay it all out at one time than have him question later.

in his motel room, steve bounces his leg so quickly that the bed shrieks.

“okay,” he mumbles, nodding to himself. “okay…was just worried, baby.”

“i’m sorry,” you chirp through the phone. your voice went up real high when you felt bad.

steve scratches at his temple. “s’ okay, baby. uh…is holly there with you?”

he listens to you shuffle for a minute. “um…no? wh—why would she be here?”

he shuffles. a heavy breath crackles through the receiver and you wince.

“i don’t know.”

suspicion hangs heavily between his words. you wrinkle your nose up, the touch on your comforter turning harsh. your nails zip over the pink cotton.

and maybe you're fueled by the vodka cranberries, or the good time with your friend that deflated the moment you picked up the phone. sometimes being with steve felt like turning music off halfway through a song. like reaching to take the next step only to find you're chained back.

"you think i have some guy in my room, steve?" you snarl.

on his hotel bed with the hard springs and faded quilt, steve mirrors your snarling scowl. his teeth scrape the receiver pressed beside his mouth.

"well now i fuckin' do."

"jesus," you scoff. "you're ridiculous—"

"am i?—"

"yeah! you know i'd never do that to you!"

steve grinds his nails into the top of his scalp, buried under the heap of hair. his eyes bounce to the deodorant near the bathroom door, lid cracked off and half broken. another hum fills the silence on the line.

"you really don't trust me?" you're much quieter this time. softer. there's a sleepy defeat in your voice that makes steve squeeze his eyes shut and sigh.

"I don't know," tumbles from his mouth before he can snuff it out with a lie.

you scoff again. "whatever. I went out drinking with holly, is that what you want to hear?"

steve's eyes pop open, narrowed in on the deodorant and the ugly hotel carpet again. "so you lied."

"yeah, so what? so fucking what, steve? you're a thousand miles away, doing god knows what, with god knows who, and i have a life!"

steve rips the phone away from his ear, holding it with a tight fist at his knee. gives it a little shake, veins bulging in his forearm. he can hear you squawking on the line like a peanuts character, muffled and high-pitched. he's seen red many times in his life, but something about this rage is oddly pink. fueled by romance and lust and longing and his ache for you.

love curdles when it intertwines with rage.

"'doing god knows what?'" steve brings the phone back to his ear, pushing to his feet. "then you don't trust me, either! you think I'm out here fuckin' girls like groupies?"

"well, we all knew who you were before me—"

"fuckin—"

steve's first instinct is to throw the phone. but big's already told him they can't afford to replace another one, and then he won't have a way to call you back and finish this. so, he spins sharply on one heel and places a heavy palm against the wallpaper. he doesn't want to break that, either. he can't afford his own anger sometimes.

"i'm glad to hear we have so much faith in each other, sweetheart."

his voice drips with such malice that you actually flinch. back into the pillows, gripping a heart-shaped frilly puff like a teddy bear. some sort of comfort, because despite all your anger-laced words strewn through the telephone, you were throbbing with hurt.

you just missed him. in fact, you spent the whole night whining about it to holly, who plied you with more vodka cranberries in hopes it would fog you up so bad, you'd forget all about steve. it only made you ache for him more.

"well..." you whisper, toying with your bottom lip. if steve were in the room, he'd instantly know what the gesture meant. tears bubbled at your lash line in a warm, stinging assault.

"i'm going to bed, before we both say something we might regret."

"no, don't fuckin' hang up," he groans, collapsing on the corner of the bed again. "you know i'm not fuckin' anyone out here. or anywhere for that matter, jesus."

"well why would you think i am?" the harshness of your voice congeals into something whiny and pathetic.

steve rubs his finger into his eye, leg bouncing again. "i don't know—i-i don't. just...don't even want anyone even lookin' at you. i hate not being right there with you."

his own fist comes sailing down into his thigh. his expression of pain releases with a long huff and a scrunched nose.

"I know. but you know i don't even care about anyone else."

steve bounces his leg a little faster to offset the throbbing in his thigh muscle, swallowing thickly. "y-yeah."

you sigh, sliding down against the pillows. "i'm sorry i lied."

he nods, resting his knuckles on his leg. "I know, baby. just...fuck, you know? want you here."

you smile at that, curling your arm tighter around your pillow. "you miss me, champ?"

steve huffs a chuckle, shaking his head at his lap. "yeah, angel, i miss you."

the statement alone causes you to wriggle and your hand to creep toward the hem of your dress.

"you drive me fuckin' crazy."

that night, you make very good use of the telephone.

#rolly!#boxer!steve harrington #steve harrington #steve harrington blurb #steve harrington fic #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x fem #steve harrington angst

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skyfallscotland · 16 hours ago

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i saw you debunk the truth sayer theory, i’m curious to see what you think her second signet is then👀👀

Hooo, boy! Here we go...spoilers for Onyx Storm below the cut.

I think her second signet is one of two things, and the most likely option (I think) is kind of boring, and Rebecca's previously said she thinks we're going to be disappointed, so that tracks. I think she's going to make her an inntinnsic.

It was made very clear to us in Iron Flame that what Violet needs most is information. Look at these two lines side by side:

Xaden’s most pressing need is information.

(from when she figures out his second signet), and right before that, Violet says this about herself:

"I am a person who needs information to center myself.”

See the duality of this? The duality of them? Light and dark, they're mirrors of each other in the most cliché way, and I think that extends to their second signets.

I think this could also be backed up by one of the first epigraphs from Onyx Storm, leaked the other day:

The rarest signets, which appear once per generation or century, have been documented twice simultaneously with an equal counterpart, both during critical times in our history.

As much as I'm not stoked with this, I see it as being the most likely option.

If it were to be more fun though, my first thought and gut instinct when I originally read Iron Flame was soothsayer, in that her dreams were clearly prophetic—or the General was in her head.

“And the longest night has yet to pass.”

These were not just nightmares. I know a lot of people think she's seeing Xaden's dreams, but she isn't. Xaden is told he'll turn for love, and he did. Violet is told she'll tear down the wards for love when the time comes, and I think she will, we just haven't seen it yet.

It's also clearly (who we assume is) General Daramor in both their dreams and not Naolin, to debunk a second theory. He literally says he's lived centuries. Naolin died six years ago. (And Tairn does say he died specifically, it's Brennan who waffles about it).

So again, for lack of evidence so far that the venin can be in their heads from a great distance, through wards even, I'm going to assume it could have something to do with Violet.

Plus, signets are a chemistry between dragon and rider and Andarna's feathertail gift was time manipulation, and Andarna herself supposedly has seen the future.

"—and I knew. You would have the mind of a scribe and the heart of a rider. You would be mine.” She leans into my hand. “You are as unique as I am. We want the same things.” “You couldn’t have known I would be a rider.” “And yet, here we are.”

I think both of these are more likely than truth-sayer, given that Violet admits she never asked questions because she didn't want the answers, she didn't want to know those particular truths. Honestly, I don't have a solid, solid theory, I just think personally, based on the book I read, if Violet is a truth sayer, it will bomb her characterisation entirely.

Anyway, that's it! I could be proven wrong in two weeks and I'll cop it on the chin. (I won't, I'll throw the book across the room). xx

#onyx storm theories #onyx storm spoilers #fourth wing #the empyrean

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mamawasatesttube · 2 days ago

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i'm thinking about them again. like in the early tt03 era they're both dealing with so much external pressure - cassie with having to be a hero and live up to donna's legacy, kon with having to figure out how to have a civilian life for the first time. they're spiraling in opposite directions. but while they're doing it they're safe with each other, bc even if they Cannot acknowledge it out loud, they both see each other going through the same thing from the other end, and they go ah. yeah. i know he/she gets it. they're each other's rocks, in a way.

and that's how the comp het confuses them!!! because maybe yeah they feel a little awkward kissing each other, but that probably is just jitters or something because they Know they love each other. right??? it's just jitters. they love each other and they know it.

like, cassie goes to kon when she needs to hide from the pressure of heroism, and she knows she can curl up and lay her head on his shoulder and ask him to tell her about what he's learned about farm tools. that's a refuge. and kon knows he can go to her when he's overwhelmed by how much he doesn't know about being a normal teenager, and he can ask her to go flying with him and race her through the clouds and play catch with a boulder, until they accidentally knock down a tree and feel bad, but then they're both laughing about it. they're each other's sanctuary!

like who cares if they get a little awkward about kissing sometimes, right??? they know they love each other so that awkwardness will probably dissipate with time, they figure. right?? it has to be romantic. right? everyone says, superman and wonder woman could have a romance, so of course superboy and wonder girl... it just makes sense, right?? if they love each other this much, it must be romance. there's the confusion, but it takes a back burner because the love is real.

and then kon dies. and cassie doesn't have her rock, her mirror, her refuge anymore. he died in her arms and she couldn't save him. of course she goes off the deep end about it.

nobody even gets koncassie like they exist in my rich inner world. theyre gay/lesbian solidarity. when they dated they just didn't know that. it was never romantic. but they still felt like a kind of haven to each other - they were safe for each other. kon, with all the trauma of being groomed twice over, felt safe with cassie, his friend, his peer, his equal. cassie, under all the pressure of public scrutiny and constantly feeling like she failed to measure up to the wonder girl legacy, was safe with someone who saw her trying to force herself to present super feminine and conform and told her no, you don't need to do that. not for me. i've always thought you're beautiful. like. in a world where they were both in the public eye and crumbling under the pressure, they were each other's sanctuary. like, even if they didn't understand that they weren't actually into each other, the love was so real. do you guys even get it????

#rimi talks #cassie #kon #koncassie #i just think that kon&cassie have such an important bond. and people love to downplay it by just calling them comp het #and they ARE comp het. but theyre also best friends. they love each other so much and their relationship is foundational to their character #its huge for both of them. they both needed it!!!#and im in my feelings about them today. aough!!!

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caffeinatedattorney · 3 days ago

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Things I liked about the new issue (All In Two Face #2):

Some things just. jumped at me, overall.

Feels good to know there's acknowledgement he mirrors / foils Batman's detective abilities? idk i'm happy he's not just considered "the murderous coin-flipper" rn

This does confirm Harv has always been there, doesn't it? also love the whole chess thing. They're plotting agaisnt each other. And all while Harvey has crumbling cases he has to piece together, his scooby doo team-up with Cantwell, avoiding being Found Out (mentally ill edition), avoiding being found out (criminal lawyer edition) and killed by the ppl he's trying to keep from destroying the city and themselves, all while nursing an existential crisis. Man's doing it all

interesting,,,, this confirms what I thought, Harvey thinks he's compartmentalizing, but Harv knows the truth.

I wonder who this kid is supposed to represent?

yum. killer profile, too (he has gorgeous panels)

Dent, Harvey Dent.

And last but not least, Harvey knowing batman from a glance lol, no prob, no prep, no vision, got bamboozled at least twice and he could still tell.

Oh, also Love that the "The shadow hand" had to essentially retreat and regroup bc Harvey is Too Good.

#harvey dent #two face #batman #dc comics #comic panel #wednesday spoilers #oughg can't wait for more

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caitlynmeow · 11 months ago

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no no it's how they have the same pose and the exact same smile you can totally tell they spend A LOT of time together they basically act the same way

#house dimitrescu #resident evil village #cassandra dimitrescu #daniela dimitrescu #resident evil 8 #re8 #bela dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #true sisters #and this is not me coming up with things these are game screen shots #cass and dani are close to one another and it warms my heart #i'm sure they're not aware of it but anyone can notice #likey they'd be in different rooms / locations yet they do the same things #not knowing that they're mirroring each other #just think of cass teaching dani how to hunt properly #and dani recommending books that she knows cass will like and they spend some quality time in the castle's library just reading and spendin #time together #THE PRECIOUS BABIES

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silentsockfeet · 2 months ago

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so when are we as a society going to talk about how cait hitting vi and then leaving her sobbing on her knees is a direct parallel to vi hitting powder and then leaving her in season 1

#i haven't stopped thinking about it all day #cait says vi has jinx's madness and vi responds saying look in the mirror #when they're all goddamn foils of each other #arcane #arcane spoilers #not to fuckin mention what that moment means for cait and vi as a partnership #'begs the question young kiramman.. what are you shooting for?' as she hits vi with the rifle that was meant to protect people #as she hits vi wearing the enforcer uniform that enacted so much violence on vi throughout life #looking down on her with zero remorse or care all the while knowing exactly vi's history #god im not fucking over it #caitlyn finally became another asshole criminal in a fancy uniform #my posts

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shikai-the-storyteller · 2 years ago

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Who is Luzu?

Luzu was just announced as a QSMP member, and since he's a very important character in Karmaland and a VERY important person to Quackity's character, here's a quick rundown of Luzu and his lore for folks who aren't familiar with him:

Luzu is played by LuzuVlogs, a Spanish Twitch streamer who's good friends with Quackity!

IRL, they're such good friends that Luzu once accidentally called his real life son "Quackity"

Luzu is bilingual and can speak English and Spanish.

Luzu's character used to be a very kind, friendly, and loving man who helped everyone

HOWEVER, during Karmaland 4 (the season before Quackity joined) when he campaigned to be mayor of Karmaland, he was betrayed and mocked by his friends and the person he loved (who then ran off with someone else)

Luzu before the elections vs. after the elections

These two animatics sum up his K4 lore pretty well if you want an even shorter TLDR: Lemon Boy, Karma (an animatic approved by Luzu himself)

As a result, Luzu is a very vengeful, distrustful, and all around tragic character

Luzu canonically has an evil side, and he made a deal with "dark gods" in the past to take revenge on the people who've wronged him.

Despite all his past heartbreak and lingering anger, he immediately took a liking to Quackity when they first met.

Luzu and Quackity's Karmaland characters are parallels to each other

Luzu and Quackity were canonically in love with each other, but they were too emotionally constipated to confess their feelings despite their many, many, many romantic and borderline sexual shenanigans.

Luzu warned Quackity not to trust anyone in Karmaland except for him. But despite Luzu's deep mistrust of other people, he trusted Quackity immediately.

Luzu is a very possessive man, and very protective of Quackity.

He calls Quackity "Quacks" (both in and out of character)

He and Rubius have a long-standing rivalry, and they normally don't get along very well.

Luzu and Quackity had 4 (adopted) kids together.

When campaigning for mayor of Karmaland, Quackity asked everyone what they wanted most, and Luzu's response was, "I want you to be happy, Quackity."

HOWEVER, the day of the election, Luzu joined as an opposing candidate at the last second and stole the election from Quackity, fearing that the position in office might leave Quackity with the same trauma he had in a previous life (a life which he can only half-remember).

Luzu says everything he did, he did to protect Quackity.

TLDR: Luzu trauma-projected onto Quackity, who then started a revolution that nearly destroyed Karmaland in retaliation.

For a good TLDR of the revolution arc, “I Can’t Decide” is a good one to watch.

Even though he was furious with Luzu, Quackity told Rubius not to kill him. He’s referred to Luzu as “My 100%”, and “the best person I knew in Karmaland”, and even expressed his gratitude that Luzu was always so kind to him to Luzu himself, despite the war and despite knowing one of them would probably have to kill the other to end it.

Luzu said the song that best fits his character during the revolution arc is Bloody Mary by Lady Gaga.

Edit: This isn’t about the character, but I just saw what Luzu said in response to people asking him if he knew about the invitation:

Luzu: A mi Quackity me invitó desde hace bastante, me dijo si quería participar, así que llevo tiempo calladito, calladito, para no spoilear nada, aunque yo soy invitado no sé nada jaja, lo lleva todo Quackity, así que veremos con qué nos sorprende nuestro querido Quacks.

Translation: My Quackity invited me a long time ago, he asked me if I wanted to participate, so I've been quiet for a while, so as not to spoil anything, although I'm invited I don't know anything haha, Quackity takes everything, so we'll see what our beloved Quacks surprises us with.

Other info posts:

Who is Spreen? | Who is Sapo Peta? | Who is Vegetta?

#Luzu #Quackity #QSMP #Luckity #Karmaland #karmaland talk #OK LISTEN REALISTICALLY I KNOW LUZU WAS GONNA BE INVITED #BUT IT WAS SO STRESSFUL NOT KNOWING FOR SURE #It seems like my Sapo Peta post helped a lot of people so I hope this helps folks too #Also here's my hot take #I know everyone compares Luzu to Wilbur but they're not alike at all #Luzu and Quackity are the two most similar characters #Wilbur and Quackity are each other's yin and yangs #but Luzu and Quackity are a mirror #qsmp talk #QSMP info

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t-u-i-t-c · 1 year ago

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Giftober 2023 │ Day 18: Romance

Beauty Zonnette & Red Racer │ Vanity Mirror Fanbelt & Kyosuke Jinnai

+ bonus

#giftober2023 #carranger #gekisou sentai carranger #kyosuke jinnai #jinnai kyosuke #beauty zonnette #vanity mirror fanbelt #red racer #super sentai #tokuedit #please do not repost #umbrella.edits #umbrella.gifs #umbrella.posts #these are in sequential order #they're cute both have such difficulty working things out but in the end they love each other #i didn't include dream sequences here but do know they both dream about marrying each other #also kyosuke is zonnette's one true love according to her

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clowningaroundmars · 9 months ago

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morales twins vigilantes: getting found out pt 2

okayyyy this part's a slight bit longer but hopefully, uh, worth it lol

kinda made myself tear up a lil at the end ahahaha

also pls don't ask when this takes place, like either in between istv and atsv or atsv and btsv.... idk bro LMFAO this is technically a whole other au in and of itself soooo yuh

disclaimer: i'm a whole ass anarchist, however miles and milo are two teenage boys who've grown up with a cop dad and they play a lil lip service to the police force during their big speech so... yeah i don't support the existence of the police force, but it is what it is. characters don't reflect author's beliefs and all that

>1st part here<

Jeff happened to be lucky enough to be pardoned for the rest of the night, and he also opted to use some PTO on this very very important occasion, so he sped off in the squad car with his sons in the back immediately after visiting the police department and signing off on some papers. He did not utter a word until they all got back home safely.

In the car, it was eerily silent as Jeff fumed in the front. Miles practiced what he was going to say over and over in his head, picking at his suit and avoiding his twin brother’s eyes. Milo held what remained of his mask in his hands, gauntlets off and tucked between his feet on the floor of the car. They both hung their heads low, counting down the minutes until they got back home and had to face their inevitable death sentence.

They were in so much trouble. Yikes. This was exactly what Miles dreaded for so damn long now, and it almost felt like a dream the way it happened so quickly.

Back home, both boys were sat down in the dining room area behind the couch, waiting for their mother to come back from her night shift. Milo was given an ice pack for his head and some painkillers, and then they were both sternly ordered to take off their respective suits.

Miles turned inquisitive eyes towards his dad.

“If your mom comes in and sees you two wearing those outfits right after work, that woman will have a heart attack and faint. Take ‘em off,” was Jeff’s sharp explanation.

They were not gonna argue with that. To the bedroom they both went.

“And then you both come right back out the second you change, got it?”

“Yeah dad, got it,” was Miles’ unenthused mumble before closing the door.

Miles turned back around with his mask in his hands, and immediately threw it at Milo.

“What were you thinking?!?!” he hissed, arms flying up into the air, making grabbing motions at his twin brother’s neck. “You absolute idiot, my god, we are so. Freaking. Dead!!”

Milo ducked back, scowling. “Me?!” he hissed back, keeping his voice at a harsh whisper as well. “What did you want me to do, pendejo, just let our dad fry, just like that? I didn’t see you moving to stop the guy!”

They were both snapping at each other, hands flying everywhere as they argued in harsh tones and whispers. They only stopped when they heard a loud knock on the door.

“Don’t take all night, either,” came their father’s booming voice from behind the wood.

Miles hung his head. Milo rolled his eyes and moved towards the closet, ripping his jacket off and kicking off his shoes. “Yes dad,” they both intoned at the same time.

A few glares were exchanged as clothes were tossed onto the floor, and Miles sighed loudly as he pulled on a pair of pajama pants, throwing himself onto his bed to get them up his legs all at once. He glanced at his bedside alarm clock, knowing his mom would be home any minute now. He felt his heart beat in his chest much louder and faster than usual.

Milo pulled on a hoodie over his head, gingerly easing the fabric over his bruised chest.

“Did the blast hit your chest too, man?” Miles asked quietly, eyes playing over the mess of a bruise over slightly-scarred skin, wincing a bit.

Milo exhaled sharply. “Shuddup.”

Miles frowned. “You have to let mom know about that soon. Don’t ‘shuddup’ me.”

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.”

Miles knew his brother was sulking, but that really looked… bad. If he was responsible for not only dragging his brother into vigilantism, but also putting him in the hospital as well, he had no idea how he was getting out of this one alive. He was probably never going to see the light of day until college. Maybe not even then.

Once ready, both boys stood side-by-side in front of the door, hesitating. They both glanced at each other, then back at the door.

This was it, they both thought. The moment of truth. This was the night where it was all gonna go down, and their painstakingly-kept secret would finally be revealed to their parents. D-day. My god. He didn’t even know if the speech he prepared in the car on the way home was even gonna suffice against their mother’s explosive anger. She was gonna have a cow the second Jeff told her. Damnit.

Guess I can kiss the whole Spider-man thing goodbye, Miles thought, the very idea leaving a very heavy weight in his chest that he just couldn’t ignore. He leaned forward to turn the knob and swing open the door. With one last glance back at his brother, he stepped out. Then his brother followed him slowly, ice pack pressed to the side of his head again.

It was like a funeral procession the way they marched solemnly back to their chairs placed side-by-side by the table. Jeff leaned on the doorway to the hallway with his arms crossed sternly over his chest, still in his police uniform, hat already hung up.

As if on cue, Rio’s keys jangled against the door, and she stepped inside once the lock clicked open. Her slightly tired expression changed in an instant once she hung up her bag and walked into the apartment.

“Hello boys, I’m home!” She announced, a bit surprised. Not only were her husband and two sons all home at the same time, but they were all hanging around to watch her come home after work at such a late hour. Granted, it was summertime and the weekend, but still. Weird.

Jeff had texted her that something important came up and that she needed to be home ASAP, but didn’t elaborate further. She didn’t know what to expect when she got back. She crossed her fingers and hoped that it wasn’t that bad, if her husband texted her instead of calling. If it was an emergency, surely he would’ve called.

Right?

Her eyes widened once she saw the ice pack Milo held against his head, and quickly made her way over to him.

“Qué pasó?” She kneeled next to her boy, checking him over quickly.

Milo winced and tried to dodge his mother’s hands, holding a protective arm over his chest that no one missed. “Ma, stop. I’m fine, seriously. It’s… it’s fine.”

“Is it? What is going on, why is everyone so… so sad right now, and what are you two doing sitting here like this? Jeff…?” She turned to face her husband but he was already making his way back to the boys’ bedroom, scooping up their respective vigilante costumes and heading back out with the incriminating evidence in both hands.

Once he got back to the table, he tossed them onto the surface and crossed his arms again.

For a second, no one moved. The whole world held its breath for one precious moment.

Then, with deadly calm in her tone, Rio slowly stood up and placed her hands on her hips. “...What are those things?”

Both boys braced for impact.

“Well?”

Miles swallowed hard, hands gripped together tightly. “Uhm. They’re. They’re… our outfits. Y’know… for fighting crime.”

Rio gaped at her sons.

“He’s Spider-man, mom. Miles is Spider-man,” Milo clarified solemnly. His chin was at his chest now, avoiding eye contact with his mother.

“...And you’re the Prowler.” Rio finished.

She took a step back and exhaled, running her hands through her hair and rubbing her face. “Oh… oh my god. Dios mió, me voy a morir. I knew it, but still... me voy a morir!” ¹

Finally, Jeff spoke up behind her. “They’re not Halloween costumes, either. Guess where I found ‘em tonight?”

With tears in her eyes, Rio looked back at her husband, a pleading look on her face. “Don’t tell me,” she begged. But Jeff continued anyways.

“I took tonight’s shift on as a bit of extra, and when I was called to take care of an electric freak close to downtown, I found these two at the scene already.”

Finally, Rio exploded. “What?!?”

The twins flinched.

Jeff exhaled and pressed on, licking his lips. “Yeah, and not only that, but Milo here took on a direct blast of electricity to the face. He jumped in front of me and put himself in harm’s way!”

Scandalized, Milo leaped up from his seat, wincing only a little bit. “Wait a minute, I did it to protect you! That’s my job!”

The anger fizzled out immediately once both parents swung their withering glares around back to him, rage hot enough to almost burn two holes into his skull. Miles pulled Milo’s hoodie sleeve and quietly hissed, “stop making it worse!”

Milo clammed up and quickly sat back down, pouting.

“Your job?” Rio shot back incredulously, laughing angrily.

“That is not your job, Milo! That is mine! My job! I wear this badge every single day so that I can protect the people of Brooklyn. You are a kid with homework and chores to do, not fighting dangerous bad guys on the streets like some kinda—” Jeff worked himself up but then stopped, as if he suddenly ran out of steam. He placed his hands over his head, clearly stressed, and exhaled loudly.

“How long?” Rio’s tone was sharp.

They were definitely not getting out of this alive. Damn. Rest in power, Morales twins.

Miles shuffled his feet, hesitating. “Uhm—”

“Speak up, Miles. How long have you two been running around behind our backs and lying to us like this? Huh?”

Miles sighed. “I, uhm. We’ve been doing this… for a while now.”

“A while?”

“…A -a year.”

“A YEAR?!”

“I mean I’unno about Miles, but I’ve only been doin’ this for like a couple months, so…” Milo mumbled half-heartedly beside his brother. That comment earned him another set of glares, including one from Miles.

“A year. A year! A year, that’s how long you’ve been lying to us?” Jeff was pacing now, clearly stressed out. He was mumbling things under his breath that both boys would rather not know anything about.

Miles jumped up from his seat, seizing the opportunity when he could. “Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait, guys. Mom, dad. Listen to me, please,” he begged, hands splayed out in front of him.

He took a breath. He opened his mouth.

“Until college.” Rio interrupted, holding a finger up. “Both of you. Grounded! Until college! You will both be adults before you ever go out without my permission ever again!”

Miles deflated. “O-kay but mom, please! Hear me out first!”

Rio held a hand up. “I don’t wanna hear it! I cannot believe that both of my sons would lie to me like this! For an entire year, no less! Dios, dame paciencia, coño!” ² She shook her head as she held her face in her hands. “Do you two know what you’re doing to me? Look at me, I’m getting grey hairs as we speak!”

Jeff immediately took her side. “Do you realize what you’re doing to your mother? You’re killing her! And you--” he rounded on Milo all of a sudden, jolting the poor boy into sitting up straight. “You are killing me! You’re going around wearing those godforsaken gloves around, punching bad guys just cuz you wanna feel like a big man, huh? Do you know what that does to me?!”

Milo visibly prickled up, hunching in on himself. “I’m not doing it for me,” he bit out angrily.

“Then for who, huh?”

“I wanted to save the little guys on the street... when the cops couldn’t. I wanted to help Miles.” Milo sounded tired, and for a split second he looked much older beyond his years. Both of his parents softened for only a fraction of a second before Jeff rubbed his eyes and turned back to Miles.

"And who made you Spider-man all of a sudden? What happened a year ago? Tell me the truth. I don't want any detail left out!"

Ah, interrogation mode already, Miles thought humorlessly.

He sighed and dutifully got started on the whole backstory, careful to leave out the fact that he was with Aaron the moment he got shot, skipping to the part where he "found" his uncle's nearly lifeless body in that alleyway that fateful day. It was a harmless enough lie… Miles presumed. Right?

"Did you… then... h-how did you see who shot Aaron, Miles? Were you there?" Jeff asked quietly, also looking as tired as Milo did. Miles paused, not expecting the question.

Rio shot him a look. "Jeff, mi amor, please. Now is really not the time." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Right now, we have to talk about this... this... situation we have going on here. What's next?"

Miles shrugged, palms facing forward as if to say and the rest is history. "I'm... pretty sure you guys know the rest. Dad... you were uh, there. At the collider. I stopped Kingpin and then I just. Well, yeah. Y'all have already watched all of the news stories and the videos. So," he finished lamely.

Then, a surge of confidence as he looked at the concerned expressions dawning on his parents' faces. It's now or never.

"...B-but I love being Spider-man! Dad, you've seen me out there, the way I fight, the fact that you guys have less to deal with cuz I'm out there kicking ass!"

Oops. Wrong words.

Miles' confidence deflated as soon as those concerned and sympathetic looks turned into ones of anger.

"Kicking ass?! More like getting your ass kicked, little boy! How many NewTube videos are out there of you getting crushed by cars," Jeff started to count off of his fingers, "hit by buses, tossed in the air, punched and flung halfway across the block--"

"Jeff, please!" Rio cried, wobbling a bit. She pulled out the chair closest to her from the table and slumped down into it, rubbing at her temples.

"S-sorry, hon..." Jeff placed an apologetic hand on his wife's shoulder.

Rio sighed deeply.

"I get it. I know. But dad..." Miles steeled himself this time. "When you put on that badge every single day and you go out into those streets to protect the city, you think you're never gonna get shot at? Jumped? It is literally your responsibility to put yourself in the way of danger so no one else has to." He turns to the table and grabs his mask.

"For me," Miles continues, "this is my badge. Okay? I put this on every single day and swing out into the streets so people can shoot at me, or ask me for directions, or wait for me to get weird guys in stupid costumes away from the train tracks. I do this every single day, because if I don't, who will? Peter is dead--" ...wow, that feels weird to say.

"Miles..." Rio's big brown eyes gaze sadly at her boy, standing tall with this awful mask in his hand. A mask that she desperately wished wasn't his.

"Mom. Peter is dead. He is. Okay? If I don't step up and take his place, knowing what I can do? Then I might as well not even be alive at all." He tosses his mask dramatically back onto the table to punctuate his point. "I can shoot webs from my wrists and I have strength like y'all wouldn't believe. I can stick to walls and do everything that Peter Parker was able to do before he passed away. If I just sit here doing nothing with these abilities while everyone struggles to live their lives every single day, letting bad guys with superpowers do whatever they want, then what's the point of anything? The exact same reason why I put on this suit to go fight crime is the exact same reason why you do, dad." Miles turns to his father now. "You have your suit, I have mine."

Milo jumps in, enthused. "And the reason why I put on my mask is because of him. And the civilians, too... of course. But it's not because I 'wanna feel like a big man', dad. It's because it drives me crazy seeing my own brother taking on all of this responsibility on his shoulders all by himself. Miles is gonna do crazy things now that he got bit by a super-spider, right? We literally cannot stop him, even if we tried. Trust me. Might as well go along with him and support him so he doesn't get himself killed out there. That's why I do this. Every single day."

Jeff opens his mouth to say something, but is then cut off by Rio's own small, sad voice. "... Why does it have to be you two?" She asks quietly.

She looks so small sitting there on their wooden dining room chair, and a million times more tired than when she came in through the door. She wasn't even out of her own nurse's uniform yet, either. Miles felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Miles... did not know the answer to her question either. He really didn't. Why was it him-- out of all of the people in Brooklyn-- that got bit by that spider? Clearly, the universe had a grand, elaborate joke planned for him. That was really probably the only explanation for it all. But, no. No, there had to be something else in the cards for Miles. After all, he was bitten by the spider while out with his uncle who was secretly the Prowler, and he was present for not only Peter Parker's death, but that same uncle as well.

He squared his shoulders. And then told the truth.

"I... don't know," he admitted. "But... I do know this. Growing up, I always knew Spider-man was there to answer the call no matter what. He didn't pick this life of battling bad guys that wanna tear the city up all the time, a spider bit him, too. But he made me promise something before he died, and I have to live up to that promise. What else am I gonna do when I'm able to pick up cars with my bare hands?"

Granted, it was only a promise to stop the collider from opening a black hole inside of the city they lived in, but. Details. Anyways...

Rio hid her face in her hands again.

Miles softened his tone, sitting down. "This is something I worked really, really hard for and it's important to me. Milo... is kinda right. You can ground me. Until college. Or whenever. But as long as I've got these powers," he held his hands open, propping his elbows on his knees and meeting his mom's eyes, "and there's people out there that need saving? I gotta do what I gotta do, mami."

Milo leaned forward, too. "Yeah. Same here. He's not alone. The same reason we do this stuff is cuz... ever since we were little, we also watched you guys answer the call, no matter what. I never met Spider-man, before... y'know, but it doesn't matter. We do this for New York City."

Neither of their parents spoke for a bit, digesting all of this information in solemn silence. The anger from earlier all but melted away as they ruminated over all of this. All this time, their little boy was running around in a spandex costume, swinging around, punching bad guys and lifting fallen buildings off of people. There was... a hint of pride underneath all of the fear and anger and betrayal and anxiety, even Rio couldn't lie.

But god, how would things ever be the same again after knowing that the very hero who swung from building to building and knocked villains down before webbing them up was the very same boy with the brightest brown eyes they've ever seen; the boy who brought home A's on his test like he won a medal, the same boy who sang horribly off-key while doodling all over his sketchbook, who refused to tie his shoelaces and drove Jeff up the wall when he found graffiti and stickers all around the city in Miles' name? It was impossible... Rio's heart broke into two pieces.

And Milo... a tougher counterpart to her little ray of sunshine, but just as sweet. The same boy who would feed stray cats on the block, beam like a ray of light after winning a boxing match against a tough opponent, who would hide behind Rio at parties and join her happily to watch the latest episode of the new telenovela they both got hooked on... that same boy was wearing those gloves, swinging around the city looking like a bad guy himself. Rio's shattered heart gained another huge crack before finally breaking into three pieces.

Finally, she sighed again.

"You have superpowers?" She asked, hesitantly.

"... I... yeah, I do." Miles answered, fearing that this was a trick question.

Rio nodded sadly. "Of course. Of course..."

Jeff spoke up, now kneeling beside his wife, caressing her hand clasped in between both of his. "Just because you have superpowers, doesn't mean you're invincible. Miles, we do this because we care about you. Maybe we won't be able to stop either of you from putting yourself in harm's way... I mean, hell, nobody can stop me. But... god, isn't there any other way?"

Miles raised a brow. "Any other way to...?"

Jeff blew out a breath. "I-I dunno, can't you use your super strength to... well, maybe help the transportation department move some tracks around, build some new stations... that'd help the city. Swing around and deliver medicine to people for free? God, I don't know. I just don't want either of you to jump in front of bullets for other people... man..." he shook his head.

Miles and Milo exchanged glances. "I... I know it's tough to accept this," Miles started, unsure of what to say. "Maybe I can scale back the dangerous stuff some but... I... can't just stand around directing traffic when someone's getting mugged. Or a bank is getting robbed. Dad, I just can't. Maybe you guys will hate it every time I put the suit on and swing outside but... I can't give this up now. I'm sorry." He dipped his head apologetically.

Another long stretch of silence.

A clock ticks on the wall in the kitchen, and the ice maker in the fridge starts humming again. It's all so painfully domestic, painfully ordinary, it's almost an insult to the people living in this apartment facing these serious revelations all at the same time. It sure is a sharp contrast to the solemn mood settling all over everyone right now.

Rio looks deeply into Miles' eyes, then Milo's. After a while, she turns to face Jeff. "Jeff. You will not like what I'm about to say."

Jeff returns her look with one of confusion. "Honey..."

Rio shrugs, a small gesture but one that makes Miles and Milo's hearts skip a beat. "Mi vida, these are our boys. They have... this big responsibility now, to the people here in this city. Just like you. Just like me," she swallows and continues. "You and me? We've seen what Miles is capable of. Well, the both of them. And as much as it hurts, it would probably hurt even more if we kept them both back from being the heroes they need to be. What we need to do now is... we need to support them. We love them. They need us. We need them! Qué más puedo decir?" ³

Jeff looked deeply into his wife's eyes and then inhaled deeply. Not quite a sigh. That was maybe a good sign?

He stands up.

"...Boys."

The twins took their cue. They both stood up, too. Milo quickly discards his ice pack on his chair. Rio joins them, leaning on Jeff for support.

"When police officers get sworn in, they usually just have to do paperwork nowadays. Not too much of the whole bells and whistles due to high turnover rates, but tonight... if either of you want to continue to fight crime in this city, you both have to put your right hand up. Right now."

Miles could cry. Milo bit his lip to try and hide his grin, and they both dutifully raised their right hands at the same time. Jeff does the same, and reaches his left hand out to take Miles'. Rio takes Milo's.

"Pretend we are the Bible. Not paperwork. The Bible."

Both boys nod with all the seriousness they could manage, looking their father in the eyes.

"Do you solemnly swear on your mother and father's life that you will uphold the law and do right by the citizens of Brooklyn, New York, so help you God?"

"I mean... the law law? Cuz sometimes we--" Milo started, immediately earning an elbow to the side. He shut up.

"Yes, the law. I will not be having the DA of New York City up in my home lookin' for you two in case anyone gets badly hurt. I don't want him in my office, either." Jeff gives them both a look.

Miles pipes up. "Yes, we swear, so help us God."

"Milo?"

Milo nods emphatically. "Yes, I swear, so help me God."

Jeff nods once.

"Mijos. You will both be allowed to go and fight crime outside, con mi bendiciones. But. But... you will both also do it under two conditions. If either of you break my rules, you will have wished that spider never bit you," Rio glared at Miles. Then to Milo, "and you will have wished you never stole your uncle's gloves from his apartment. Got it?"

Both boys nodded, still holding onto their parents' hands.

"So, my two rules are this. Only two. Easy to remember, okay? Number one. Milo, you will take care of your brother as best as you can. Miles, you will take care of Milo as best as you can. Both of you will always be seen together when going out and doing hero things, do you understand?"

"Yes, mamí" the boys say simultaneously.

"Never, ever go out alone, ever. Neither of you will be alone for even a second, especially during the nighttime. Promise me this."

Miles puts his right hand down to take his mother's other hand in his. "Yes, mom. I promise. We both promise."

Rio bows her head. "...And as for my second rule."

"Do we have to have a curfew?" Milo asks quietly. Everyone shoots him a look again.

"No, no curfew." Before the boys could get excited, she quickly adds, "except for on school nights." They both calm back down.

"Your education is always, always more important. Don't forget this," she lets go of their hands to hold up a finger. "But as for my second rule? No more secrets between us. All of us. Okay? You tell me exactly when it is you leave to go and do what you need to do, and exactly when you come back. Promise me this, too."

This time, it was Miles' turn to start saying something dumb. "I meaann, like every single time? Cuz sometimes it's not really a one-and-done kinda thing, like a shift or--"

Everyone glares at Miles. Miles promptly shuts up.

"...Sí, mamí. Te prometemos todo eso." ⁴ Milo answers seriously.

Rio sucks in a breath. "Okay. Okay..."

She looks as if she's about to burst into tears, so everyone draws in tightly for a group hug. Rio sniffles against Milo's shoulder and Jeff leans his chin on Mile's head. Miles laughs wetly.

"Geez, y'all are crying? Man, for what? Ain't nobody dying or anything..." Milo interjects suddenly, causing the whole mood to dissipate all at once. Everyone laughs incredulously.

"Boy, if you don't know how to read a room..." Jeff starts, a warning tone laced into his playful grin.

"Man, I was just trying to lighten the mood! Damn, I mean shouldn't we be celebrating? Miles literally has super strength, you guys. Like c'mon, right? That is literally the coolest thing in the whole world!"

Rio groans, tossing her head back. "Mira esté, 'coolest thing in the whole world'... déjame agarrarte, maldito cabron..." ⁵ she mutters sarcastically, moving to grab at Milo's neck in the exact same way Miles did not even an hour earlier. He playfully dodged out of the way, putting his arms up to block, out of habit.

"Cabron?! Mom, you're so mean!" Milo complained.

"C'mere!"

Jeff leans in and interrupts their banter. "Milo. Son. You have to sit with me on the couch now, cuz we have to have a little chat about how you got your hands on those gloves, actually..." He grabs at one of Milo's arms, his smile just a tad bit too wide. Milo gulps.

Jeff continues, steering them both away from Miles and Rio. "And we also have to talk a bit about the history behind those things, too..."

Rio turns to Miles and cups his cheeks in her hands, looking into his eyes. "Do you actually, actually swear to me that you will try your hardest to stay safe?"

"Yes, mom, I do! We said it like a hundred times."

"Your father was right. Just because you have super strength now--"

"And super-healing."

Rio stares at him for a beat.

Miles squirms nervously. "...What? I do!"

"Super-healing, sure. Uh huh. If I catch you with bullet holes inside of you, I am not taking you to the ER then, Mr. Invincible."

"Ouch. Harsh."

"I warned you! I'm smiling like I'm joking but I'm really not!"

"Okay, okay, geez. C'mon, ma. It's really not that big of a deal. I don't get shot at as much as you'd think! Seriously! I'm fast. And... and I've been doing this for a while now. You have to trust me, okay?"

Rio sobered up. "I know. I know. I just... mi amor, I am your mother. I worry about you. You know... I've been taking care of my two little boys for so many years now. I just... I care about the both of you even when you two drive me completamente loca! I trust that you can both handle yourselves, I really do. It's just hard. It is. I-it'll... take some time to get used to."

Miles nodded. "Growing up is tough. I get it."

Rio smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ow! What, it's true! We're all growing up right now, I'm not a little kid anymore and... and you're not the mom of two little kids now. It's just... it's a transitional period! Life's tough!" Miles shrugs, smiling warmly.

Rio smirked, crossing her arms. "Uh huh. It sure is."

Then, she opened her arms for another hug from Miles, which he happily returned.

"I mean it, Miles. Whatever happens, I want you to keep yourselves safe. And ask for help. Papí, your father is a police officer. And whatever you need, whatever you need... I'm here, too."

Miles beamed at his mother with tears in his eyes.

"I know, mom. Thank you."

☆ translations:

¹ "my god, i'm going to die."

² "god, grant me patience, fuck!"

³ "what more can i say?"

⁴ "yes, mom. we promise you all of that."

⁵ "Lookit this guy, 'coolest thing in the whole world'... lemme get my hands on you, fucking bastard..."

#miles morales #miles g morales #spiderverse #i'm getting soft..... deadass tearing up at the end while writing and editing GOD how embarassing #ugh anyways #hope all that wasn't like ooc or anything #i know miles will eventually have to reveal his identity in btsv so i'm not even going to attempt to imagine that #but writing TWO hero identities getting revealed was actually more fun than i imagined #also did yall like the movie lines i slipped in there? ahaha #yes i HAD to make miles' speech mirror gwen's cuz... well yeah #they're both spiderpeople and so they obvi mirror each other in a lot of ways #esp cuz they both have/had cop dads #so anyways hope yall enjoyed this one :)#will i write more after this? who knows #i MAY have more hc posts up my sleeve for the future but We Shall See #oh yeah also the aesthetic pics used as dividers in both posts are not mine ofc #i mostly found them trawling thru pinterest and tumblr 🤙#thx 4 reading ♡#mi writing

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