#the names shown in the quotes are their real names while the ones in cannon are like their stage names to look more noble and saviour like

[thendlessvoid]

Im bored and currently procratinating an art piece, so have some incorrect quotes for False Beasts, False Ancients

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Light Milk (pre-silver tree): Burning, gather the others. We need another False Vanilla-is-doing-something-stupid-again-and-we-have-to-stop-him-before-he-hurts-someone convention

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Pyritian Cheese, grinning: before you were what?

Burning Spice: before I was-

Pyritian Cheese: what?

Burning Spice: before I was inter-

Pyritian Cheese: before you were interrupted?

Burning Spice: cut me off one more time and I swear I'll-

Pyritian Cheese: what?

Burning Spice: *deep, annoyed breath*

Mystic Flour, nervously: stop that. Before he hurts you

------

Eternal Sugar: I am strong! I beat Light Milk at arm wresteling

Prestine Salt: anyone can beat Light Milk at atm wresteling

Light Milk: HEY!

------

Pyritian Cheese: what is everyone gonna be for halloween?

Null Cacao: dragon...

Fermented Berry: clown, i guess?

Pyritian Cheese: so we dont need to get you a costume then?

[lex-2002]

The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem. Poet Langston Hughes calls it the Heartbeat of Harlem in Juke Box Love Song, and he set his work "Lenox Avenue: Midnight" on the legendary street. The Savoy was one of many Harlem hot spots along Lenox, but it was the one to be called the "World's Finest Ballroom". It was in operation from March 12, 1926, to July 10, 1958, and as Barbara Englebrecht writes in her article "Swinging at the Savoy", it was "a building, a geographic place, a ballroom, and the 'soul' of a neighborhood". It was opened and owned by white entrepreneur Jay Faggen and Jewish businessman Moe Gale. It was managed by African-American business man and civic leader Charles Buchanan. Buchanan, who was born in the British West Indies, sought to run a "luxury ballroom to accommodate the many thousands who wished to dance in an atmosphere of tasteful refinement, rather than in the small stuffy halls and the foul smelling, smoke laden cellar nightclubs ..."

The Savoy was modeled after Faggen's downtown venue, Roseland Ballroom. The Roseland was a mostly white swing dance club. With swing's rise to popularity and Harlem becoming a connected black community, The Savoy gave the rising talented and passionate black dancers an equally beautiful venue. The ballroom, which was 10,000 square feet in size, was on the second floor and a block long. It could hold up to 4,000 people. The interior was painted pink and the walls were mirrored. Colored lights danced on the sprung layered wood floor. In 1926, the Savoy contained a spacious lobby framing a huge, cut glass chandelier and marble staircase. Leon James is quoted in Jazz Dance as saying, "My first impression was that I had stepped into another world. I had been to other ballrooms, but this was different – much bigger, more glamour, real class ..."

The Savoy Ballroom was named after the Savoy Hotel in London as those who named the ballroom felt this gave the ballroom a classy, upscale feeling, as the hotel is a very elite, upscale hotel.

The Savoy was popular from the start. A headline from the New York Age March 20, 1926, reads "Savoy Turns 2,000 Away On Opening Night – Crowds Pack Ball Room All Week". The ballroom remained lit every night of the week.

The Savoy had the constant presence of the best Lindy Hoppers, known as "Savoy Lindy Hoppers". Occasionally, groups of dancers such Whitey's Lindy Hoppers turned professional and performed in Broadway and Hollywood productions. Whitey turned out to be a successful agent, and in 1937 the Marx Brothers' movie A Day at the Races featured the group. Herbert White was a bouncer at the Savoy who was made floor manager in the early 1930s. He was sometimes known as Mac, but with his ambition to scout dancers at the ballroom to form his own group, he became widely known as Whitey for the white streak of hair down the center of his head. He looked for dancers who were "young, stylized, and, most of all, they had to have a beat, they had to swing".

Unlike many ballrooms such as the Cotton Club, the Savoy always had a no-discrimination policy. The clientele was 85% black and 15% white, although sometimes there was an even split. Lindy hop dancer Frankie Manning said that patrons were judged on their dancing skills and not on the color of their skin: "One night somebody came over and said, 'Hey man, Clark Gable just walked in the house.' Somebody else said, 'Oh, yeah, can he dance?' All they wanted to know when you came into the Savoy was, do you dance?".

The northeast corner of the dance floor, nicknamed "Cats' Corner," was monopolized by the best and boldest dancers. Some sources claim only Whitey's Lindy Hoppers were permitted to dance there, while others are less specific. Competition for a place in Cats' Corner was fierce, and every serious hopper awaited the nightly "showtime". Other dancers would create a horseshoe around the band and "only the greatest Lindy-hoppers would stay on the floor, to try to eliminate each other". On 140th street was the opposite, mellow corner which was popular with dancing couples. The tango dancer known as The Sheik frequented this corner.

Many dances such as Lindy Hop (which was named after Charles Lindbergh and originated in 1927) were developed and became famous there. It was known downtown as the "Home of Happy Feet" but uptown, in Harlem, as "the Track" because the floor was long and thin. The Lindy Hop is also known as The Jitterbug and was born out of "mounting exhilaration and the 'hot' interaction of music and dance". Other dances that were conceived at the Savoy are The Flying Charleston, Jive, Snakehips, Rhumboogie, and variations of the Shimmy and Mambo. Capitol Records released at least one album devoted to the club, The Home of Happy Feet, from 1959.

It is estimated that the ballroom generated $250,000 in annual profit in its peak years from the late 1920s to the 1940s. Every year the ballroom was visited by almost 700,000 people. The entrance fee was 30 to 85 cents per person, depending on what time a person came. Thirty cents was the base price, but after 6pm the fee was 60 cents, and then 85 cents after 8pm. The Savoy made enough money by its peak in 1936 that $50,000 was spent on remodeling.

The ballroom had a double bandstand that held one large and one medium-sized band running against its east wall. Music was continuous as the alternative band was always in position and ready to pick up the beat when the previous one had completed its set. The bouncers, who had previously worked as boxers, basketball players, and the like, wore tuxedos and made $100 a night. The floor was watched inconspicuously by a security force of four men at a time who were headed by Jack La Rue, and no man was allowed in who wasn't dressed in a jacket with a tie. Besides the security staff, the Savoy was populated by "Harlem's most beautiful women": the Savoy Hostesses. They would be fired for consorting with patrons outside the ballroom, but inside the hostesses would teach people to dance and were dance partners for anyone who purchased a 25 cent dance ticket. Roseland Ballroom hostesses often visited the Savoy on their night off; this inspired Buchanan to create Monday Ladies-Free Nights. Other special events began during the week, including the giveaway of a new car every Saturday. The floor had to be replaced every three years due to frequent use.

During the 1930s, Chick Webb was the bandleader of the Savoy's most popular house band. Ella Fitzgerald, fresh from a talent show victory at the Apollo Theater in 1934, became its teenage vocalist. Webb also recorded the 1934 big band song and jazz standard "Stompin' at the Savoy", which is named for the Savoy. The Savoy was the site of many Battle of the Bands or Cutting Contests, which started when the Benny Goodman Orchestra challenged Webb in 1937. Webb and his band were declared the winners of that contest. In 1938, Webb was challenged by the Count Basie Band. While Webb was declared the winner again, there was a lack of consensus on who won. Earle Warren, alto saxophonist for Basie, reported that they had worked on the song "Swingin' the Blues" for competing and says, "When we unloaded our cannons, that was the end".

Floating World Pictures made a documentary called The Savoy King about the ballroom. It was shown at the 50th New York Film Festival. Other prominent Savoy house bandleaders included Al Cooper, Erskine Hawkins, Lucky Millinder (with Wynonie Harris on vocals), Buddy Johnson, and Cootie Williams.

The Savoy participated in the 1939 New York World's Fair, presenting "The Evolution of Negro Dance".

The ballroom was shut down in April 1943 as a result of "charges of vice filed by the police department and Army". Its license was renewed in mid-October of the same year.

[pianosmp]

Who was Pandora’s Vault originally for

(Because I have been thinking about this for far too long)

(Sorry if some of these are a little old, I forgot I made this like a month ago so I cleaned it up and here we are)

This list will go from most likely to least likely character.

Likely

- Technoblade (arguably the most likely option simply because when you mention “powerful enough to be a problem” the first thing you think of is Techno. He’s notoriously strong and unafraid to oppose Dream. Also seeing as the prison ‘changed purpose’ it implies Dream no longer saw the original intended prisoner as a threat, or at least as much of a threat, as Tommy)

- BBH (Dream’s old friend, implied more powerful then a regular human. Plus by this point the egg plot on the Dream SMP had already started. There may have been ‘good intentions’ originally. As dumb as it sounds, I’d also count putting the egg itself in jail here)

- Wilbur Soot (revived, of course. It’s been established that a revived Wilbur would be more dangerous then ever, and if Dream had any inking of this beforehand the prison would be the best way to fully utilize his power. Those not in the know would be blackmailed to keep him safe, and Wilbur could also provide some added chaos to the SMP as a whole, which may end up working in Dream’s favor. And now that he is revived by Dream, we know he’s a threat in some capacity, though seemingly not to Dream himself. Don’t forget, anyone who tries to break out Dream may be hunted down and placed in the prison themselves (or, as in the contract for visiting, “killed until they’re completely dead”))

- Ranboo (Ranboo is tied to Dream in some significant way, seeing as he was used by Dream in some of his plans in some capacity. While a help, I’m sure it could also have been turned into a threat of the wrong things were to get out. Also for meta gaming purposes that get him higher on this list, Dream and Ranboo have collaborated with lore in the past and clearly trust each other to carry the torch. Furthermore, with current Ranboo Enderwalk lore, we’ve learned that rather then just being a servant for Dream, there’s a chance the Enderwalk state was manipulated by Dream who perhaps claimed he was doing it for the greater good of the server. But more introspection on the Enderwalk state is a post for another day)

- Karl Jacob (time travel implies two things. Power and unpredictable nature. Seeing as Karl keeps most changes to himself though and seems to be self destructing either the prison is no longer needed for him or he was never considered a real threat in the first place)

- Philza Minecraft (Phil is notably dangerous, though less then Technoblade. He’s got big hostage potential due to his one life predicament and big use potential due to his knowledge in Minecraft)

- Foolish__Gamers (a literal god, and has recently shown godly powers. This would either involve pre planning on someone’s part though, which the Dream SMP isn’t particularly known for, or making this the original prisoner in a retcon “we’ll figure it out later” manner. It would be interesting though, as the prison may have been repurposed after Dream realized Foolish was at this point in time a big pacifist)

- Quackity (he’s dangerous with his tongue, but I don’t think his physical strength is enough for there to be a whole prison containing him. Not to say he doesn’t play to his other strengths- I bet he’d have an easier time convincing someone to break him out then most. And if anything else, Dream’s worries about him as a threat are now justified due to the whole ‘torture every day’ thing)

- Shlatt (a similar situation as Wilbur, but at the bottom because he’s useless as a hostage and currently still dead)

- Dream Himself (okay, so his reluctance to be in the prison makes it seem like he wouldn’t want it to be for him, but if he’s playing like the super long con somehow and the Prison is either to keep threats like the egg out or to make it seem like he’s powerless...)

Maybe?

- Dream XD (wild, and like Foolish, Dream XD wasn’t a lore concept until later in the prison’s development, back when Techno and Phil were building their Anarchy Table, but it would be an interesting twist. Especially because we don’t know if the two have any connection beyond their names)

- Jack Manifold (yeah he died and came back, but that doesn’t change the fact that he died in the first place. Plus he just hasn’t really gotten to Dream with any of his antagonistic attempts)

- Captain Puffy (mysterious past pog. But in all seriousness, she’s seen as being likable and just, doing her best to do the right thing even when making the decision to become a Villain later on with the Eggpire arc. And while she started as a ‘janitor’, she did join the server before the prison began its construction)

- Niki (she’s dangerous now but not to Dream whose locked away and gone from her ire. Also again wasn’t a threat before the prison was planned, though who knows how much Dream knew of everyone’s mental states back when he was planning)

- Fundy (also doubtful, but coder man do be coding, especially with mods now allowed on the SMP. And now with the revelation of his prophetic dreams, there’s a chance this may be the power Dream feared, especially if said powers were in the works beforehand)

- Hbomb (idk he’s got good strategy as seen with Vault Hunters and MCC and stuff but he doesn’t really use it on the Dream SMP as he prefers parkour challenges or just chillin. Perhaps would only be locked up because the Maidbomb is too powerful)

- Eret (yeah they are a monarch who doesn’t like Dream but they really do have no control and no one on their side so unless the Herobrine thing comes into play this one doesn’t make much sense either)

- Ponk (like Eret he doesn’t have much influence over others. More importantly though, all the trouble he’s made so far has been just annoying at worst. His biggest strength is probably how stubborn he is, and how long he’s been around. To quote Eret, “He’s like the John Wick of the Dream SMP.”)

- Antfrost (only if the manhunt series is cannon in the Dream SMPand Dream has flashbacks to when cat boy killed him with a potion like a chump. Though I will say there’s a non zero chance Manhunt is cannon from the comments all the hunters have made during lore bits)

- Hannah Rose and Purpled (TBH both of them are grouped here since they’re most notably physically strong due to their Bedwars experience. But Purpled is rarely ever on, and Hannah joined after prison construction had already started)

- Punz (the only reason the prison would be for him when he knew explicitly about it and could have won is Dream was threatened by his speedrun skills)

- Sapnap (objection your honor that’s too sad. For real, this is probably higher on the Mabye list due to being a big threat, as seen by the ‘I’ll hunt you down if you escape’ exchange he had while visiting Dream. Sapnap makes his decisions based of what he feels is fair, rather then loyalty (a majority of the time anyways) and furthermore he’s one of the people that knows the most about Dream. However, it’s this low because if it’s Sapnap I’d simply cry maybe)

- Mexican Dream (Dream did dislike the guy. However, he lost all his canon lives in the span of one afternoon so how much of a threat was he really?)

For sure not

- Tommy (confirmed by Dream it wasn’t originally for him during the final disk confrontation)

- Tubbo (also confirmed by Dream it wasn’t originally for him during the same confrontation)

- Skeppy (why would he have a prison in Dream’s funky dungeon if he had a better prison elsewhere?)

- Conner, Slime, Lazar, Vikk (simply not on enough for an intense prison lore stream)

- George (too pretty)

- Callahan (too cool. Also part-time is the server)

- Awesamdude (he was recruited to build the prison and be its warden when the time came. Literally the worst person to put in the prison)

- Michaelmcchill (bro he was added today)

[multiverseforger]

Fav game character

Tina and her parents were sold to Hyperion to become test subjects for Jack's slag mutation experiments, an event which led to the deaths of her parents. She escaped their fate using a grenade that she had hidden in her dress at her mother's insistence, and once she was free of Hyperion's reach she vowed revenge on the man that had sold her family: Flesh-Stick.

Involvement

Borderlands 2

Tiny Tina's demolitions expertise is called into action when a Hyperion supply train believed to be carrying a Vault key needs to be stopped. With that objective in sight, she then sets the Vault Hunters to the task of finding two rockets (which she refers to as 'badonkadonks') to carry a 'suicide'-bomber toy each, and then to set them on target.

Her collaboration with the Vault Hunters continues when she has them gather items and guests for a very special tea party. During the final mission Tina will contact the Vault Hunters and wish them luck in stopping Hyperion and even reads them a poem repeatedly telling the Vault Hunters to 'kill Jack'.

Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage

Tina appears in a supporting role in Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage. Initially she is hired by Mad Moxxi to help the Vault Hunters train prior to battling Motor Momma, but also asks their assistance in obtaining the autograph of her third favorite mass-murderer, Sully the Stabber, as well as walking her "puppy", a Badass Fire Skag named Enrique. She also provides commentary on many of the Vault Hunters' actions throughout the course of the DLC.

Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep

Tina takes on the role of the 'Bunker Master' for the game 'Bunkers & Badasses', where she is shown to be bad at this, by fumbling in such ways as creating impossible fights early on and not balancing the gameplay in certain areas. The real problems underlying Tina's mental state (at that time) start becoming more apparent as the player progresses, being obsessed with eating only crumpets and constantly trying to insert a manifestation of the now deceased Roland whenever she wants to, to the dismay of the other Vault Hunters. Tiny Tina's character develops over the course of the campaign and she learns to accept Roland's death.

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Tina makes her first appearance during the game while Lilith was interrogating Athena, inviting the Vault Hunters to play another round of Bunkers and Badasses, but was turned down. Later, after Athena finishes telling her story, Tina introduces herself and requests Athena to tell a story about fighting a raid boss. As she had no idea what a raid boss was, she "came up" with a story about fighting one (in this case, the raid boss being an enhanced version of The Sentinel). After that, Tina requests Athena to tell the story of her working for Handsome Jack again.

Borderlands 3

At the time of Borderlands 3, Tina is presumed to be around 20 years old. She is still part of the Crimson Raiders B-Team along with Brick and Mordecai. The team is hired by Wainwright Jakobs to rescue his partner Sir Hammerlock, but after they fail to report back on their progress, Jakobs requests the Vault Hunter to go The Anvil to investigate setting up the story mission Hammerlocked. Tina's code name during the mission is 'Crunk Bunny'. Tina requests 'ingredients' for her 'Pizza' (bomb), composed of 'sauce' (nitroglycerin), 'onions' (wires) and 'ham' (a detonator). She then asks the Vault Hunter to deliver the pizza, which is to blow up the door to the structure where Hammerlock is being held. After successfully rescuing Hammerlock, she declares that the B-team's work is done and they leave Eden-6. Tina is found later on Devil's Razor back on Pandora, where she or Brick will give the mission Boom Boom Boomtown. She asks the Vault Hunter for help in winning back their new home and base of operations, recently named by Tina as "Boom Town", by fighting off COV that have been sneaking in thru a tunnel that Brick is keeping the COV locked inside.

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Appearances

Borderlands 2

Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage

Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep

Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Borderlands 3

Quotes

"Come on iiiin, you are missing the Fuun!"

"All around the Sta-actus plant, the stalker chased the bandit, the stalker thought 'twas all in fun - POP! Goes the bandit!"

"Oh haiiii!"

"Roland told me you were comin' - I still owe him for all that buttcrap with General Rancid. So, you gotta hijack a train, hunh? Chiiild's play! Lemme introduce you to my ladies."

"Runnin', runnin', runnin', I'm runnin' over here, run, run, run-run, run."

"This here's Mushy Snugglebites, and this is Felicia Sexopants. These fiiiine-ass womens could stop that train for yas, but I'ma need their badonkadonks first, and they got stoled by the bandits a few days ago. Go get 'em!"

"Naptime!"

"That's right, bitches - my big brudder's about to teach you some MANNERS. Nobody steals Mushy Snugglebites' badonkadonk and lives!"

"That's Mushy Snugglebites' badonkadonk. She's my main squeeze. Lady's got a gut fulla' dynamite and a booty like POOOW!"

"Got the badonkadonks? Best day evaaaa. Bring 'em back here and I'll use 'em to make some fine-ass damsels who can hijack that train for yas."

"Hey I told ya'z to get outta heeya, get out or do I gotta shank a bitch?"

"Get-outta-my-shop-or-I'll-punch-yo-butt. That's-how-Tiny-Tina-roll."

"(Singing) Put a little bomb in the hot ass damsel, blow stuff up and make people die."

"I'm a little teapot, bloody and cut. Here is my handle and here is my butt.*explosion noise* Oops."

"Squishy. Squishy squishy squishy."

"Oh daaaaaayum, you lookin' good, ladies. Let's get to work."

That's right. Twin sisters, man. Hhhahhhhhh. Take 'em. Take 'em take 'em take 'em take 'em."

"Just put my damsels near the choo-choo track and set 'em off! Good plan? Great plan!"

"You're cordially invited BITCH!!!"

"When you are ready to begin the Tea-Party, please smack Mister Flesh Stick in his bitch face."

"Gonna eat so many goddamn crumpets, it's going to be a Crumpocalypse."

"Ten... Nine..." *launches rockets* "I got bored."

"BURN ALL THE BABIES!!!!!"

(Cute yawning noise)

"Make it RAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!"

"Sup, sucka? It's Tina. I wrote you a poem and it goes a little somethin' like this BREAK IT DOWN. Ahem. Kill Jack. Kill Jack. Kill Jack kill Jack kill Jack KIIIILL JAAAAACK! Kill Jack. A poem by Tiny Tina."

"Climb the pipe to the train or you'll go insane wut wut. That's a rap song I wrote."

"Get some cookies, so you can eat 'em and grow up big and strong and kick Piston in the butt-butt."

"Real badasses eat chocolate chip cookies, I'ma gonna get that tattooed across my back in Old English font."

"Wait a minute. Those cookies weren't chocolate chip. Those...are...raisins. WHYYYYYY-HY-HYYYYY?! SHAWTY, DESTROY ALL THE FOOD DISPENSERS! WIPE THE RAISIN ABOMINATIONS OFF THE MAP! I JUST WANTED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?"

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. Do you know who just arrived in Beatdown? SULLY THE STABBER! He's my THIRD favorite mass-murderer in the ENTIRE WORLD! You HAVE to go get his autograph for me."

"Get his signature on this. Please. PLEASEpleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! If you don't get his autograph I'm gonna DIEEEEE. He's my favoritest. He killed every living person on the Bathymas with nothing but a rusty butterknife. If you don't take it I'm gonna start crying. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. [making a song out of it] oh-baby please please PLEASE! That was 'Please' by Tiny Tina with Vault Hunter on bass."

"He said...no? Well. There's only one thing to do -- look him in the eye, nod politely, and KILL THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF HIM!"

Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary

While idle

Some of the idle chats are mission related and can't be heard again once the mission in question is completed.

"You come up in my face, and you DON'T GOT BOMB PARTS, you KNOW I'm throwing hands."

"Oh, hello! I didn't see you there. I was just on an important mission to save my friends and AREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE DOING THE SAME THING?!"

"Gonna go blat-blat-blat on the vine-freaks. \n Rat-tat-tat till their brain leaks. \n Chill, girl, just droppin' some bars. Go do the thing."

"I wanna shoot the cannon again! AGAIN! But Lil said no. BLEEPING CURSE WORDS!"

"You kiddos killed that butt-bot so, so good! (cackle) Butt-bot."

"Come on, Mordy. You got this! You gonna be all right."

"MORDY'S ALL BETTER AND ELLIE FIXED THE CAMP'S COFFEE MACHINE AND I CAN'T STOP YELLING ABOUT EITHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS!"

"Yo yo yo. You kill that vineyman up on vineyville yet?"

"I left some reeaaal sexy bombs back on Sanctuary. Oh, just thinkin' bout 'em... come on, think about 'em with me. Yeeeeeah. Together now. Hohhhhh."

"That. Was. The BIGGESTEST BOOM OF ALL TIME! Gotta give it to Lilly-of-the-valley, she knows how to kill a baddo in style."

"Seriously, though. Vaulty-Vault, you was there for me in the dark times. That's fo' life."

"So, just saying, it's probably my birthday, and you ain't got me nothing. Mini-moonshot cannon. Just wanna put that in your head."

Notes

The photo of Tina and Roland

She is introduced as an old friend of Roland's and she has a picture of them together in her room. Roland also mentions beforehand that, "I've saved her life a few times, and she has saved mine more times than I can count."

In Borderlands 2, there are a few unique weapons that are associated with Tiny Tina. These weapons include pink hearted camouflage and/or stuffed bunny image decals.

Teapot

Cobra

Boom Puppy

Tina's voice is performed by Ashly Burch, sister of Anthony Burch - lead writer of Borderlands 2. (The two are also a part of the web series Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?.) She is also credited with the voice of the cursed gun, Bane.

Tina has unusual gender-specific dialogue, referring to both male and female Vault Hunters as "girl". She also makes a number of sexual comments in an appreciative manner in regards the female members of her tea party, whilst during the Assault on Dragon Keep storyline she confesses to liking Maya in The Siren's invitation, asking if Maya likes her in turn. Additionally, her original motivation for helping the Vault Hunters train for Mad Moxxi was going to be due to her having a crush on Mad Moxxi.

Tina switches verbal mannerisms frequently. Her speech styles include a stereotypical inner-city American speech pattern, little girl speech patterns, stereotypically pretentious British English speech, to randomly violent and murderous speech, and others.

Trivia

There is an Easter egg related to Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? in the Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage. On the back of Tiny Tina's bus is a pixel drawing of Papa Burch riding a unicorn from the HAWP episode 'Sleep Is Death'.

Roland recognizes her as one of the greatest demolitions experts on Pandora and a picture of the two can be seen inside of her home.

Tiny Tina is mentioned by Brick on a mission in Sawtooth Cauldron as he recalls carrying her on his shoulders as they fought together. In the end credits, it is shown that they worked together again in this manner cleaning out the remaining Hyperion forces.

ExotropiaTina has an intermittent exotropia (lazy eye) in her left eye. This was originally due to a glitch, but the developers enjoyed it, so they purposefully left it in. This has also passed on to Borderlands 3, as her left eye will occasionally twitch while talking.

In NowGamer, an interview revealed that there is part of a mission removed from the main game involving Tina. Originally, when telling of Roland's death, the players were to head out to Tiny Tina's home and tell her the sad news. It described her being deeply affected by it, thanking the players for telling her, asking them to leave, and locking herself in her workshop to mourn. Anthony Burch, lead writer and the source of this news, says they regret they could not include this scene into the game. It was supposed to be the only moment in the game she loses her peppy mania [1].

Her tea party place card is labeled "Lady Tina of Blowupyourfaceheim"

On May 24, 2013, Tina took over the @ECHOcasts Twitter (previously owned by Krieg).

Tiny Tina's parents have officially been confirmed dead as of the sixth episode of Inside the Box, entitled "Fart Jokes and Tragedy".

In the Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary DLC, Tiny Tina, Mordecai and Brick form a team simply named "The B-Team".

Tiny Tina refers to Brick as "Brick-papa" and Mordecai as "Mordy-mom". This is further mentioned when Brick says "Don't talk like that to your mom." to Tina.

It is revealed in Sheega's All That that Sheega is an ex-girlfriend of Tiny Tina.

ECHO logs in Devil's Razor reveal that Tiny Tina has dated multiple individuals, broke up with all of them, and staged a wedding to make money from the wedding gifts sent by her exes.

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[kaypeace21]

The Mind flayer’s motivation and Will’s destiny to defeat him (deep dive analysis/theory)

Before I get into my theory/analysis I must preface this by saying that I will be using references not only in the show, but of the cannon comic book series, as well D&D wikia. Any paraphrased quotations about the background of the mind flayer or supernatural powers are from there.

1.So I first have to explain all the cannon evidence (in the show) of Will having powers before the upside down incident.The easiest way to do so is by comparing him to EL. They both could communicate through different dimensions (Will exploded 2 phones , El exploded a radio at the school). Both of their moms’ had “crazy aunts” - powers are genetic. Both had their brain waves monitored at the lab and their measurements were off the charts, plus they were being unknowingly recorded on video. El and Will are the only people who could touch, speak, and hear each other in the void. They both tore through walls (with that pink gunk between the normal world and upside down). Both communicated psychically by transferring their conscious- El to talk to Mike in his basement using the void (in s2) & Will to his mom in the living room (in s1). And they are the only magical d&d characters (mage & cleric).Also before Will goes missing , he asks Dustin for his X-men comic- later in reference to El ,Dustin asks “Do you think El was born with her powers like the X-men?” And when Mike says El is “channeling him (Will)”. Dustin says “like professor x”. clearly hinting that they were both born with powers, like the X-men.

And in s1 Will was described to be “shadow walking” . In D&D Shadow walking is – “ largely illusory, but  quasi-real. characters can use this spell to travel rapidly by stepping onto the Plane of Shadow, moving the desired distance, and then stepping back onto the Material Plane.” This quote perfectly summarizes Will’s power - which he was shown to be using in s1 & s2 (before his possession)- he can be partially-present and can physically interact with both dimensions at the same time. This explains how he was standing in the real world next to Mike in the field,  while the mind flayer took possession of him in the upside down version of the same field.

In fact the comic verifies Will was born with several powers: shadow walking, teleportation, and invisibility. All 3 of these powers in D&D are powers of a wizard/sorcerer - which is synonymous with the term mage (which is used to describe El).According to D&D invisibility is a level 1, teleportation is level 5, and shadow walking is a level 6 in order of increasing difficulty. It wasn’t until Will’s possession that Will truly became a cleric (which I’ll explain in detail later).

Will always had powers and  was unaware he was using them (before the upside down incident)- the only powers he used at the time were invisibility and teleportation.Do you guys remember when Jonathan said Will was “good at hiding” cause teleportation and invisibility seem like something a kid who hid from his abusive father might of used accidentally A LOT! In fact the comic overemphasizes his ability to hide

The comic also verifies his ability to shadow walk. Out of fear, he powers-up from level 5 teleportation to level 6 shadow walking.He sent himself accidentally to the upside down (the lightbulb glowed just like all the lights in Hawkins did when El closed the gate to the upside down in s2).  

This is made even more clear in the fact that the demagorgan is far away from him at this moment. And the comic also verifies that the demagorgan attacks people before sending them to the upside down.

The fact that Will is a Wizard and not a cleric at this time is emphasized in the comic as well. Clerics have different sources for their powers and different abilities than wizards.Season1 says Will is a cleric but the comic makes it clear that he is not one yet.

Mike corrects Lucas and says they can’t change classes now because “it’s fate” Will will become a cleric. But before this, the comic shows he’s indeed a wizard (with all the innate, born abilities that entails). Also, in the show the password Will picks for castle byers is ‘Rhadagast’ (a wizard in lord of the rings)

Also if you still don’t think Will has powers this boy literally closed his eyes and imagined lights (in another dimension) flickering and got them to do so!

2.  So now I’ll discuss how Will became a cleric. It’s because of the Mind flayer- “they are evil and sadistic aberrations, feared by sentient creatures in many worlds across the multiverse due to their powerful innate psionic abilities.” The upside down is an alternate dimension/universe the mind flayer previously took control of.

“These beings sought to expand their dominion over all other creatures, controlling their minds to use them as hopeless slaves (demogorgans and demo-dogs).  

“A mind flayer who decides to follow the path of WIZARDRY transforms into an ‘undead’ Alhoon- this is a mind flayer who combines powerful wizardry and sorcery with his innate skill of psionics to become a new threat. He becomes this ‘new threat’ by creating an undead elder brain (from the minds of others) and then merging his own sentience into it. Most of apprentices are destroyed in this arcane ritual” (except Will).

A Mindflayers’ religion states, “the greatest wish of a mind flayer is to conjoin/form into an elder brain,  obtaining immortality by having its life experiences merge into the consciousness of those he’s sacrificed”.  He essentially used these people to gain immortality and to become more powerful. Now that the mind flayer is this new ‘undead’ immortal entity/a god of sorts -he as the elder-brain is now “capable of granting divine powers to his followers.” In this case, Will, his apprentice.

The Mindflayer never intended to sacrifice Will. He thought he was special.The Mind flayer used his various powers to kidnap Will . Mindflayers have a power called scrying  where they view a subject at great distances and even across other planes of existence (when the gate opened he saw Will and knew he wanted him as an apprentice). He took possession of a demorgan (who chased Will down) even though they are supposedly only attracted to blood (and Will wasn’t bleeding at the time) . And in ep1, this is the only time we see a demagorgan use telekenesis to unlock Will’s house door. This is because it wasn’t a normal demogorgan,at the time, it was possessed by the mind flayer. Also it’s interesting to note that , mind flayers can detect invisibility- a “ spell that allows a caster to see invisible creatures.”

The comic alludes to the idea of him thinking Will is special by  having an unknown voice say things to Will such as “do not fear... ” and  in reference to Will the mind flayer says “I want him to live forever”. And even more telling “ Do not be dismayed... am your... will strengthen you... with my righteous...”

My assumption is the mind flyer believes Will’s abilities to travel to alternate dimensions without the need for a portal makes him special and this is why he wanted to become one with him, in order to possess his powers (trying to do so in s1 and 2). He possessed Will because he wanted them to become one entity together- to become a god. The mind flayer’s main purpose in life is to “take dominion over dimensions” so with Will’s power they would be unstoppable.

3. However, since the mind flayer could never complete his possession over Will’s mind. Will is left with remnants of the mindflayers/elderbrain’s powers - and this is when Will becomes a Cleric.

“Clerics are given their powers by a god” (in this case the elder brain/mindflayer)

Typical Powers of Cleric include

-Plane shift- the shadow walking was accidental but plane shifting allows a cleric (and up to 8 people who are holding hands in a circle ) to travel to the other plane of existence or an alternate dimension (that could come in handy)

- detect chaos and evil (Will was able to do this in s2)

-Scrying- “a mindflayer can view a subject at great distance and possibly across the planes of existence...Clerics have a similar spell they call magic font.”

There are also various subcategories of clerics (the closest to Will’s description was a )-Light Cleric. “Light clerics- are infused with the radiance and power of their god and charged with chasing away lies and burning away darkness (in this case the upside down). Fire features prominently for the spells and abilities of Light Clerics.”

Note that in the first ep Will was told to use a “fire ball” to kill the monster- and the mindflayer and its minions have a weakness to heat/fire.The power that the Mindflayer gave him will be his undoing. Especially because now that the mind flayer is an “undead elder brain”. The fact that clerics can destroy/control the undead will make Will a powerful adversary.

Infact in D&D lore,  “there was famous Elder brain who had many mindflayer apprentices and 1 human apprentice . The human apprentice killed over 2000 mindflayers who were about to sacrifice her to a dark deity- and there were rumors she was a dragon in a human disguise” (*cough association with fire).

So by s5, Will is going to be the one who destroys the upside down once and for all!  The meaning of his name means "resolute protector" after all.

[keyofjetwolf]

The Chosen: All the notes and answers to shit you wondered about for years

Hey. Hi there. How are you? I’m good, thanks for asking.

So, you remember when, at the beginning of the year, I said I was officially retiring my Buffy the Vampire Slayer continuation, The Chosen? If this is the first you’re hearing of it, a) SORRY TO DROP THAT ON YOU, and b) you may want to read this post first.

All caught up? Awesome.

I told you guys I’d share my stuff. This right here is that. I’ve searched through countless backups, terabytes of data, the remnants of three computers, AND MY SOUL (not really my soul; it doesn’t have a convenient find option), and I think this is everything. If there’s anything left of The Chosen that isn’t contained here, then it’s almost certainly lost to time and I wave it a fond farewell.

But don’t worry. There’s a lot here.

What I have for you are all the notes, plans, and ideas that I had written during the time when The Chosen was pretty much my entire world. From late 2003 to mid 2005, I was on my Buffy creative shit, and OH THE PLACES I WANTED TO GO. I’m not sure I’ll ever not be sad that, in the end, I couldn’t do it the way I wanted. Still, I’m glad to finally be showing you where we were heading.

I’ll try to give this as much order as I can, but my notes were strewn across a mass of files, and in some cases, I straight up can’t remember what the fuck I even meant any more. Feel free to ask if you have questions! Just be prepared that the answer may have to be an apologetic shrug.

I’m not sure what to wish for you all in the reading here. Closure, of some kind, I suppose is what we’re really all after. So closure it is! Happy closing, friends.

Thank you so much for allowing me to have captured your interest and attention, and for accompanying me and these characters I loved on the journey toward the ending I hoped for them.

** Any comments from present-me will be marked in this format. Otherwise, everything is untouched from how I wrote it whenever-the-fuck ago. Section headers are either as I named them at the time, or taken from the file name.

S8 Ideas

General Ideas

Rogue Slayer girl ' 'Full Circle'; Faith-centric.

Possessing demons ' personification of control ' W&K breakup episode.

Xander gets powers, but in exchange for his humanity. Comes to realize that his humanity is what his friends need, and he gives up the power.

Dawn's key powers are reawakened ' ability to unlock and enter doorways to parallel dimensions/realities and back again. Episode where this happens and she visits a parallel world (where she is the Slayer?). Possibly triggered by Doc, seeking to reawaken Glory?

Monster that eats body parts to rejuvenate them.

Emotion sucker.

Incubus that tries to seduce Buffy in her dreams.

Siren/rock group ' playing in club.

Faith/Buffy/other Slayers hunted for sport.

Super Slayer, enhanced by the DC. Big Bad? Guinea pig.

Legion of Super Slayers, created from life force of girls who reject the offer to join the DC.

Things to Name and Figure Out

The name of the new town.

New town is in center of three-Hellmouth triangle, consisting of Cleveland, Ohio, Syracuse, NY, and Washington DC. The gang is settled in a fictitious town in Pennsylvania, not far from Williamsport.

Name derived from three? Trinity, Trillium, etc.

The name of the Bronze replacement. (The Vortex?)

The name (and personality) of Kennedy's new Watcher.

The name (and personality) of the turncoat (the girl Giles talks to in Ep #1)

The name (and personality) of the girl Faith recruits (future cannon fodder)

Better name for the Dark Council.

Better name for the Dark Coven.

Assorted Ideas and Quotes

Scene: Someone shopping at a local bulk warehouse place. How much to Slayers eat? A LOT.

Possible use for the drug from "Helpless" that neutralizes Slayer powers?

Scene: Junior Slayers fighting monster. One says "You ARE the weakest link... Goodbye!" The others make fun of her for using such an outdated pop culture reference. She pouts that they should add a class about banter to the Slayer curriculum.

QUOTE: "D'you ever think sometime we should, you know, run AWAY from the blood curdling screams?"

QUOTE: Buffy doubts Tara's return. Willow: "What, you hold exclusive resurrection rights?"

QUOTE: Tara and Dark Coven guy. Tara: "She'll kill me. After I do this...Buffy will kill me." DC: "After you do this, will you care?"

QUOTE: "Excessive? I think you and excessive have already met in a head-on collision and exchanged insurance information."

QUOTE: Tara talking about doing stuff with Dawn: "You know, shopping, getting our hair done ... girl things." Willow: "I like your girl things."

QUOTE: Someone's sick, but denying it. They cough, get an accusing glance. "I just have something stuck in my throat." "Yeah, it's called ILLNESS."

QUOTE: Faith to somebody, possibly a young Slayer, who goes on at length about what they're going to do to a bad guy or deal with some serious challenge or something similar. "You're full of crap, you've got no idea what you're talking about. (beat) But you mean what you say, so that's gotta count for something."

Notes

1st ep

fate of SS's

Dawn's powers

X taking Watcher's courses

G distancing

W going to grad school

B/T going back to school

prophecy bits

G gets ring

Buffy bit - blood

Ante released

Season 9 Ideas

based on 7 samurai - group of people want to come in and hire the seven to clean something out

something happens where buffy or dawn disappears and the other goes to find them

core four have notoriety as evil forces (four horsemen) with some other community

sdhs reunion episode

"Demon that draws strength from guilt, hate, love, etc. Especially bad if it gets hold of Faith..."

---

I had a really cool thought about Buffy and relationships while I was in there though, which I think I'll have to work into The Chosen.

A common thread in each of her big relationships (Angel, Riley, Spike) is that when she tells them she loves them, they don't believe her.

Well Angel does, but he doesn't think she loves him enough. When he leaves, it's despite her telling him over and over that she loves him enough that him being a vampire and them not being able to do "normal" things doesn't matter. He doesn't believe her, and so leaves.

Riley tells Buffy during their big pre-him-leaving fight, that when she says she loves him, he "doesn't feel it". His disbelief in her and her words causes him to leave.

Then there's Spike. Final episode, Buffy finally tells him that she loves him. "No you don't. But thanks for saying it." And then he dies.

At this point in Buffy's life, there are a lot of reasons why Buffy wouldn't want a relationship in my opinion. But not the least of which is the fact that she MUST be able to answer the question of why none of these guys she loves ever believe her? (Even if you don't think she did love Spike, to Buffy I doubt that would matter -- HE didn't believe her EITHER [and how dare he not believe me, by the way!]).

It's a concept I just managed to sort out (in the shower, of course), and I don't think it's an "obvious" connection, but I do think it's an extremely valid one. I think before I'm done, I'll have to work this into the story somehow. And not resolve it, because I don't think it's easily resolved, and I think it's an issue outside the scope of what I'm trying to do, but I think the issue should be raised.

Season 9 Episode Ideas

Episode where everybody speaks in rhymes. Possible reintroduction for Faerie character?

De-aging episode, Giles' 50th birthday. Courtesy of Ethan Rayne. ("Many Happy Returns"?) Zaps Giles, Willow, Buffy and Xander back to four or five or so, leaving Tara, Faith and Dawn to look after them.

Episode dealing with the murderers in the group: Faith, Willow and Giles. Finch's son/daughter hunts down Faith to (confront? get revenge?) for his death. Sub-plots for Willow/Warren and Giles/Ben. Interesting to note that Faith is the only one who has ever shown any regret for her murder.

Herculean labors parallel. Xander? ("Labor Day"?)

Seven deadly sins with each main character embodying one of the sins? The one least like themselves?

Buffy: Greed

Willow: Sloth

Xander: Pride

Giles: Envy

Tara: Wrath

Dawn: Lust

Faith: Gluttony

Some other Slayer in the past, fighting an enemy that arises today. The gang have to read through the old Watcher's diaries to learn about him and how she defeated it. Shows this old Slayer and her Watcher via flashback. Maybe our Big Bads?

The characters get sent into Faerie Tales where they're forced to sort of act out the tales they're in.

Inanimate creation of some sort (puppet like) who makes other inanimate objects come to life. Specifically mannequins, by switching them out for real people. Some Scoobies, of course, fall victim to this.

Xander getting set up on blind dates. Amusing segment where Xander explains to date after date about what happened to his eye, each reason becoming more and more outlandish. Finally he just gives up and tells the truth - "It was gouged out by a crazy preacher man." The date laughs: "You're so funny!" Could end with Xander getting fixed up with the girl we introduced in S8 and possibly have seen a few times since then - Xander's love interest.

Revisit ideas: nameless, faceless army for the good guys, what are we doing with our army?

Tara dealing with family issues. Why am I back? Madrigan as new father.

Banan the collector

Alt world where Core4 seen like 4 horsemen (Title: "The Four"?)

Conversation where some characters are guessing who would've been the next successor to the Slayer line.

"Other side" episode with dead characters

Buffy/Dawn ep about Buffy's role in Dawn's life. Seeing the others intreract with her, wondering what her place is in Dawn's life. Parallel with flashbacks about VS and her sister. Starts with Buffy finding Grip and Dawn making out, leads to Buffy giving Dawn "the talk" and failing miserably. ("Sometimes, after you and a guy ...... they CHANGE.") Dawn learns nothing, goes to Tara from there, who knows nothing about having sex with a guy, but is supportive and encouraging. Buffy overhears and then begins to try to find how she fits into Dawn's life. We learn at the end that although B/D are vastly different from the VS and her sis, the bond is still just as strong.

Willow (and Tara) meeting up with Willow's parents again.

Big Bads

Vampires, return to the simpler times a bit. Not apocalyptic, but personal. Female vamp with a real mad-on for Buffy. Pissed because Buffy failed to save her? Also possibly some sort of vampire army. Fem is a modern-day Sun Tzu, right hand to this guy in charge of everything.

Addition (3Jul04): After some discussion, we're leaning toward making the femvamp a Slayer who was turned waaaay the heck back when. Possibly held or captured by some other vampire later on in life, and she was released by the head of the army, thus earning her allegiance. Maybe she's Japanese and thus very honourable? If we take her from 1600 or 1700's Japan, that might work out well. Might also give added weight to why her soul has no bearing on halting her quest for vengeance - honor demands that her sister's death be avenged. Possible imagery: maybe she was tortured by whoever held her? The mental image of big ol' cross scar over her eye is intriguing.

Season 9 Episode Chart

Notes

Need to work out (soon!) everybody's hell stuff so it can be incorporated into earlier episodes.

Willow versus hacker vamp idea. Why? What's at stake? Possible fill for humour ep at 9x16?

Corollary: Replot Willow's arc through S9 and possibly into S10.

Get new prophecy for Giles.

Work in at least one other prophecy stanza this season. Important to figure out soon. Who, when, how?

** This was a chart which doesn’t translate well to Tumblr, so I’ll break the cells apart and show column separation with ||

Updated - 22 June 2005

Ep # || Monster/Conflict || Plot Developments || Focus

9x01 || Vamps || Buffy kills Hitakno || Group

9x02 || Dante || Faith comes home || Faith

9x03 || Slone || Sunnydale HS reunion in LA || Group

9x04 || Vamps/Demons || Yuugana arrives in Trillium, Xander quits the Council || Xander

9x05 || Belastung || Tara goes home. || Tara

9x06 || Ethan || Giles birthday, Scoobies regressed  || Giles

----------------- NOT YET AIRED -----------------

9x07 || Slayer || Demon girl on run from Slayer. Buffy and Slayer at moral odds. Dawn key powers awaken fully. || Buffy/Dawn

9x08 || Amy || Amy cashes in on Willow's debt. (Fake) Buffy accompanies. || Willow

9x09 || D'Hoffryn || Xander makes a wish that Anya hadn't died. || Xander

9x10 || The Furies || The Furies drive Finch's child to revenge. While they're here, they decide to spread the love. || Faith/Giles

9x11 || ??? || Funny episode - Camping trip? || Group(??)

9x12 || Yuugana || Faith visits Hazel's parents (Xander accompanies). Upon return to Trillium, is attacked and nearly killed by Yuugana. || Faith/Xander

9x13 || Yuugana/General || Sister's parallel. Buffy and Dawn, Yuugana and Hitanko. Yuu's backstory. General arrives, drains Willow and Dawn. || Yuugana/Buffy

9x14 || Yuugana/General || Buffy insists that the gang re-ensoul Yuugana. They do so; it makes no difference. Buffy attacked, put in coma. || Buffy/Group

9x15 || Antediluvian || In an effort to save Buffy, Tara, Xander, Dawn and Kennedy go in search of Ruth, and the Antediluvian. || Tara/Group

9x16 || ??? || Funny episode - ??? || Willow(??)

9x17 || The General || The General's plans come to fruition. || Group

9x18 || Giles' Demon || A demon Giles thought defeated years ago comes back to continue their arrangement. || Giles

9x19 || 7 Sins || The Seven Sins are unleashed on the Scoobies. || Group

9x20 || The General/Yuugana || The General releases Yuugana and they formulate a new plan involving Dawn. Yuugana kills the General and takes Dawn as bait. || Group(?)

9x21 || Yuugana || Part 1. Yuugana takes Dawn into the Private Hell place where she was recently kept. The Scoobies must follow. || Group

9x22 || Yuugana || Part 2. The Scoobies fight their way through their personal hell. Buffy vs Yuugana. || Group

Original Chart

** “VS” stands for “vampiric slayer”, so Yuugana before she had a name.

Ep # || Monster/Conflict || Plot Developments || Focus

9x01 || Vamps || Buffy kills the VS's sister || Group

9x02 || Serial killer || Faith comes home??

9x03 || ?? || Sunnydale HS reunion in LA || ??/Group(?)

9x04 || ?? (vamps?) || VS arrives in Trillium || ??/Group(?)

9x05 || ?? || Tara goes home. VS denied immediate revenge. || Tara

9x06 || Amy || Amy collects on debt. Wants Will to help her get a book. ||  Willow/Buffy

9x07 || Ethan Rayne || Giles birthday/regression || Giles

9x08 || Doc || Dawn & Doc - Key powers fully awoken || Dawn

9x09 || Finch's child (furies?) || Murderers haunted by past || Faith (lesser: W, G)

9x10 || D'Hoffryn || Xander's wish (Anya) || Xander

9x11 || VS/?? || Sister's parallel episode || Buffy/Dawn

9x12 || Monster in woods || Camping trip (Tara and blade of grass) || Group

9x13 || VS || Buffy vs. VS -- VS ensouled, Buffy drained || Buffy

9x14 || VS minions(?) || Buffy injured. Group goes after Antediluvian || Tara/Group

9x15 || ?? || "Labor Day" (Kenn still around) || Xander

9x16 || artifact || 7 Deadly Sins || Group

9x17 || Computer Program || Willow and the computer program || Willow

9x18 || ?? || Faith visits Hazel's parents || Faith/Xander

9x19 || Demon || Demon that's possessed Giles. Comes every 10(?) years. || Giles

9x20 || General || Fight with General - General loses || Group

9x21 || Demon Dimension || Four Horsemen ("Four"?) [Abortive attempt by VS to separate Buffy from her strongest allies?] || B/W/X/G

9x22 || VS || Big battle -- Buffy vs. VS || Buffy/Group

Yuugana

need: how does Buffy come to believe what she does about Yuu? Conversation beforehand? Difficult. Why doesn't Yuu just kill her? Could make threat, but then Buffy is gambling with everyone, and makes no sense why Yuu nearly kills Buffy later. (Especially as threat will come when Buffy falls unconscious.)

Buffy must be able to draw conclusions ahead of time. Paint picture of Yuu that Buffy will be privvy to. Draw parallels b/w Buffy's life and Yuugana's life. Buffy will internalize.

NEED: When/How will gang find out that she is Yuugana? When will this name be dropped? How? May be good if we can draw General as being very, very powerful. They're afraid of him. Getting Yuu on their side would be huge in fighting him.

Idea: General nearly kills Dawn, draining key powers. Yuu saves her. Buffy thinks it is because Yuu knows what it's like to lose a sister. In truth, Yuu isn't ready for Dawn to die yet - that will be the most painful blow of all.

buffy believes -- utterly believes -- that Yuugana will be good if given her soul. Spike was good, Angel was good ... maybe all vampires can do good if given the chance? Who is she to be judge, jury and executioner?

Internalized: this could be me. What would I do if someone killed Dawn?

** I found two sets of Season 9 character arc notes. The first set are what I think what I was mainly working from, but I’m not 100%.

Character Emotional/Plot Arcs – Season 9

Season Theme: Consequences

Buffy

Will be target of the Big Bad’s wrath as a consequence of killing the BB’s sister early in the season. Buffy’s primary emotional arc will be in the realization that every action, even the most seemingly natural or inconsequential, has far-reaching repercussions, that affect not just Buffy but those she loves.

Willow

Willow’s emotional arc returns to one that was never resolved or given enough attention (or mangled thanks to magic=crack) – control issues. Throughout Willow’s history on BtVS, she’s exhibited time and again a deep NEED to control the things around her. Her need for this never changed, save for her becoming so paranoid she was afraid to breath for fear of killing everyone in S7. Her catalyst for these deep-seeded emotional problems re-emerging stem from a few basic changes. 1) Tara’s back, and Willow doesn’t think she can take losing her again. 2) The Big Bad has made things very, very personal. And Willow remembers only too well what happened last time a Big Bad vampire took things personal. 3) This Big Bad is smart. Really smart. In some ways, even smarter than Willow. And for all the enemies they’ve faced, Will’s never had to go against someone who’s been able to out think her before. And she freaks.

We’re going to have to be careful with this one, though, because we don’t want a return to “Willow Uses Way Too Much Magick” again. We’re therefore going to have to find others ways in which Willow exercises that control trigger finger. Her computer skills could certainly help out to a degree, as well as her smarts, but we’re going to have to be careful. We definitely don’t want a rehash of S6’s problems. Willow is – or very much should be – wiser than that now. And while Will has sort of always had a bad case of “the ends justify the means”, we don’t want a rehash. So care is needed.

We could help to show this by maybe having Willow do something like casting a really powerful protection spell that somehow backfires. What will be vitally important here is taking care to make it very clear that Willow isn’t relying on magick for every little thing (no spells for decoration or closing curtains) … the magick is simply her most powerful tool for keeping everyone safe. This should NOT be about black magick, but about a need for control.

NOTE (4Jul04): After discussions, will probably meld Will's character arc with the fact that Buffy and others (Tara and Giles probably excepted) don't fully appreciate or realize the pressures they put on Willow to come up with the answers and be the big gun, while simultaneously not wanting her to go too far. Magick is bad, except when they need it. They don't accept their own consequences for the actions they push her toward. This still feeds into Willow's character flaws above - her need to protect everyone, to be the best, to keep the nasty stuff at bay.

Xander

Xander, being the human element, will have the root of his emotional arc derive from one of the most basic of human desires: to live forever. Not in the biologically immortal sense, but by wanting to live on long after he’s died. Xander realizes that of all his friends, he is the one that history is least likely to remember. The odds on him being studied in school centuries from now are next to nothing. Buffy will be recalled as the world’s most successful Slayer. Willow as the witch whose spell changed the world. Giles as the founder of the new Watcher’s Council (and new world order?) Any history mentioning Willow is almost guaranteed to include Tara as well. Dawn and her Key potential is fascinating and going to be mentioned … but Xander? There’s nothing so remarkable about Xander, he feels, and thus begins his quest to somehow ensure his own immortality to history.

This might somehow be triggered by the emergence of a new sort of threat. With Slayers all over the world, there’s absolutely no way that NOBODY is going to notice them. Even if people in the Buffyverse have shown time and again that they’ll simply ignore what they either can’t or are unwilling to understand (gang related, PCP), not everybody is so willing to pull down the veil. Thus begins the emergence of a conspiracy theorist, someone who somehow has managed to trace his story to Slayer Central. In doing so, he somehow manages to put a level of importance on each of the Scoobies … except Xander. Which stings.

Xander would eventually come to realize that while history may not remember him, those he loves certainly will, and when all’s said and done, that’s enough for him.

Giles

Giles’ arc will come out of an inevitability – his age. One of the earliest episodes will be reflecting on the fact that Giles is now 50. He’s done such a good job with the Council that much of the bureaucracy continues without his direct involvement. He’s not really keen on that side of things anyway, so he���s not sorry to see it go. But what he does want to do instead is get into the thick of things physically. But, unfortunately, he simply can’t anymore, and it’s a lesson he very much doesn’t want to learn. Giles will ultimately come to realize, however, that while he can’t swing a sword to match the Slayer, what he DOES have is his incredible mind, which will certainly be put to great use in the confrontations with the Sun Tzu-like Big Bad. The fight could not be won without Giles’ intellectual input.

Tara

Tara will spend much of her arc wondering about her place. When she was alive, she had some difficulty in fitting in. And it wasn’t until just before her death that she really started to come into her own. A year and a half has passed now, however, and things and people have changed. Tara aspires to be more than just an extension of Willow, and as voiced in “Family”, she wants very much to feel useful to the Scoobies.

But Tara’s need to find where she fits extends beyond simply within the Scoobs. Tara has a very definite sense of nature and balance, and her being brought back from the dead is something of an abhorrence to her. She can’t quite shake the feeling that in order for her to have been brought back, something had to go out in her place to keep the balance. What that may have been disturbs her beyond words.

How exactly these issues become resolved is currently unclear. Tara should certainly remain the moral and emotional center of the Scoobies. She has more power now, but power was always Willow’s contribution, not Tara’s. On the death thing, perhaps something mystical helps her? Maybe the big Wicca chick we bring in at the end of S8 can help somehow? Show that Tara’s coming back was, in its own way, as natural as her passing was UNnatural. Her return is, in and of itself, a righting of the scales.

Dawn

This is a big year for Dawn. She’s a senior in high school. She’s turning 18. She’s becoming an adult. Oh, yeah, and she’ll finally figure out that she’s got all those Key powers still. Dawn’s story will be about transitions. From childhood to adulthood, from being just a normal (as normal as she could be) girl to having all those powers as the Key and whatever that implies for her. We will also need to decide this year where Dawn’s going to college (her awakening Key powers could be a good excuse to keep her local).

Faith

Faith’s story is going to be about guilt. Hazel’s death at the end of the previous season happened right before we ended the whole thing, so at that point we will have gotten to see precious little carryover. This is the time to dwell on that. Faith would feel tremendous guilt over Hazel’s death – Faith is the one who recruited Hazel, who brought her there. She was Hazel’s mentor, and Hazel sacrificed herself for Faith. We don’t want to retread over the “do I belong here?” line, since we’re dealing with that in S8, but Faith should certainly be questioning whether or not she should be leading little girls into dangerous battles. It’s one thing for Faith to risk her life night after night, but another entirely to be responsible for the lives and deaths of others. Unsure how this will resolve, but it seems the logical arc for Faith given the closing of the previous season.

Big Bad

NOTE: We’re going to have to come up with a really good reason why Willow just doesn’t ensoul the vamp chick … or she does and it makes no difference at all. Could be an interesting commentary about vampires and souls. Hm.

The more we’re discussing this, the more we’re liking this idea. The notion of souls in the Buffyverse has always been sort of hazy at best. Loosely, they seemed to be of the opinion that getting a soul somehow made you good … but there are countless number of humans in the world (and the Buffyverse – look at Warren) who are human and, one therefore assumes, have a soul. Yet they are still capable of great evil. Even more so than some demons that they encounter. So despite however neat and pat Buffy likes to make it sometimes, a soul does NOT automatically mean that someone is going to be good. And maybe that throws her for a hell of a loop. Willow ensouls the BB, but it doesn’t make one bit of difference. Vengeance is, after all, as much a human emotion as anything else, and the BB still wants Buffy to suffer horribly for what she’s done. At most, the BB may feel some measure of guilt for the people that she’s had to kill over the past 300 or 400 years (however long she’s been vamped), but as it turns out, she doesn’t. She looks at it with the detached, cold impracticality possessed by Slayers – she did what she had to in order to survive. Maybe she wasn’t a fan of torture (we’re painting her very logical and such, so this should work okay), and simply did what she needed to. The Slayer in and of itself is very predatorial and most definitely a survivor – there’s not necessarily much difference between them, and this will further demonstrate that fact.

This could also further add to Willow’s continued feeling of being out of control. This SHOULD have worked and didn’t.

Season 9 Character Arcs

Buffy:

Buffy's arc will deal with a continuing gray area between what is good and what is evil. What is a soul really? Does having a soul make you good by default? The vampiric Slayer will prove that's not necessarily the case. Additionally, Buffy will be trying to sort out a few things about her life. What does she ultimately want to do? She could very well be the first Slayer in history to die of old age. Does she want to be involved with that all her life, or does she want more? Would Buffy maybe like to return to school? (Might be fun to have her and Tara going back to school together.) Around midway point, Buffy is nearly drained to death by vamp Slayer, she must rely on others to take care of her - doesn't always have to be the strong one.

Willow:

Willow will come to the realization that her magick is of no use against the Big Bad this year. What is Willow without her magick? What else can she contribute? Progressively, other things may fail as well, so that Willow is systematically deconstructed and having to find her true purpose and how she can contribute outside of her raw power.

Xander:

Xander will explore his roles this season. He's said that he won't be forgotten or shoved aside, so then the question becomes, how will he contribute? It's up to Xander to answer this question. He tries his hand at a variety of roles - maybe a Watcher, maybe a husband (though he's already "failed" at that one). Come the end, he realizes that his role is support, and it's the role he's always fallen into naturally.

Giles:

Giles is pulling away from the others. He's beginning to see the Slayers as nameless, faceless people. He realizes that he'll have to sacrifice them - and some part of himself - again at some point in the future, so he's subconsciously distancing himself from the pain. He's slowly becoming the Old Council. Comes to realize that while he may have to distance himself from the body as a whole, it doesn't mean he shouldn't have any attachments at all. And that he can be those two people - the one that can love them, but still sacrifice them for the greater good if necessary (which will work, as Giles will ultimately sacrifice himself, NOT for the greater good but because he doesn't want them to die).  ** Which may be a good time to point out that I was going to kill Giles next season, kisses.

Tara:

Tara's quest this year will be for her place. She's died and come back, but this isn't "right". There is a balance in things, and she feels she's upset that balance. She'll explore her past and her family to find out why, in a grander sense, she's back and how she fits in now.

Tara and Willow:

Tara discovers that Willow has somewhat enshrined her as a result of her death and return. Willow caves to Tara almost constantly, and it's beginning to affect them both, but Willow can't bring herself to fight with Tara as a result of what happens every time they fight. She doesn't want Tara to go away again. They must fight, they have to learn that it's okay. Tara pushes it with Willow and makes it happen. Maybe when Tara goes to visit her family, that's the catalyst.

Dawn:

Dawn becomes victim of the time-old adage, "be careful what you wish for". She's always wanted to be a Scooby, but now that's beginning to conflict with her other desire to be a regular teenaged girl and her other big desire: to be an adult. All these worlds are colliding and Dawn's not sure which is more important. Blows off Scooby things for friend-things sometimes. Blows off friend-things for Scooby-things.

Re Grip: They're getting closer, but she keeps having to put off things with him due to Scooby situations. Grip notices and (kindly) confronts her, wondering if she really just doesn't want to see him anymore but doesn't know how to tell him. When he finds out about the baddies, he'll back away, needing time to process. Poor Dawnie.

Faith:

Faith will spend the season getting back onto the redemptive path she's been on for years. She doesn't feel bad that she killed Judith and is wondering what the means (somewhat like when her mother died). She'll learn that just because she's stumbled doesn't mean she's fallen. She begins in England, hiding out from Trillium. Thinking she should go solo, it was easier when she didn't have anyone else to worry about. Doesn't want to go back, but Kennedy pushes her. Once back, Faith avoids everyone. Should Giles maybe get Faith into therapy?

Buffy agitated that Faith isn't really being punished. Faith points out that a lot of people around Buffy are killers and they've never been punished either. Buffy needs things black and white, Faith is another shade of grey and it's getting harder and harder for her to do her job.

Xander gets to the heart of things too much, and Faith doesn't want to deal with that. Finally it's Willow who lets Faith know that there's someone who DOES understand. It's the first step in getting Faith back into things, but she still doesn't want to teach.

Maybe at some point in the season, Faith takes off? If so, Xander should probably pursue. (Might tie in nicely to Xander's "what's my role?" arc. Perhaps he has a job interview or something that he can't miss out on that will further define him, but he misses it because he has to help Faith, and that's the choice he makes) Could be where Hazel's death gets resolved. Goes to Hazel's house and parents for that?

Faith's murder issue will probably come to a head when she's face-to-face with Finch's child. Kid wants revenge, and Faith understands that. States how it won't make anything better, but gives up and says that if s/he wants it so bad, just take it. S/he doesn't, of course, which would probably disappoint Faith to a degree.

Maybe show Faith just starting to teach again at the end of the season, rather than some big culmination. Maybe she's forced into it when the VS keeps the other Slayers occupied? Buffy would be elsewhere at the time.

  The Big Bad

** These are some of my earliest notes, as reflected in how I’m using my placeholder names like “Dark Coven”. A lot of it deals with what happened in S8, but it outlines the larger arc, which would have come to a head in S10.

What the Bad Guys Want

The Dark Coven is seeking to reawaken The Old Ones. As per Giles in “Welcome to the Hellmouth", the Old Ones were driven out when the lost their "purchase" on this reality. The last vestiges of the Old Ones fed on a human, mixed their blood, and created the first vampire. This proves that humans were around during the time of the Old Ones. He also states that vamps, demons and some magicks are leftovers from the time of the Old Ones.

The Dark Coven is a group that has been around since the time of the Old Ones. They are in allegiance with them, and are currently seeking to free them. In their current incarnation, they are very, very close (comparatively speaking). The Old Ones are sealed away somewhere by a series of extremely intricate locks, well nigh impenetrable. But they actually are already well on their way to opening them.

More than anything else, the DC is a master of manipulation with OODLES of patience. They've been working on freeing the Old Ones since their imprisonment. As is eventually revealed, they have been twisting events with the Scoobies for years, bringing them to the point where the Old Ones are ready to be freed.

When the Old Ones Roamed

They were, quite simply, lords of their domain. They are few in number, but unfathomably powerful. As with many nigh-omnipotent beings, however, they became bored and complacent. They began to tinker with things and began creating demons, unleashing them on the world. The demons, however, were little more than slaves, and no matter how evil, nothing much likes being enslaved. The demons, together with humans (quite possibly including the Shadow Men from "Get it Done") were able to ensnare the Old Ones -- you can't kill them, but they were imprisoned. Once the Old Ones were gone, their power slowly vanished, diminishing their partners/lackies/etc. (like the DC), and leaving the created demons and humans to fight over the rest of the land.

Season 6 Manipulation

The DC, although powerful, are themselves, collectively, unable to open the remaining locks (if they could ever open any at all). However they soon discovered one girl, Willow Rosenberg, who had the innate ability to channel the energies necessary to set things into motion. She just needed the right motivation to get the power.

Exactly how far their manipulation into these events goes, we don't know. What is for certain is that they fixed it so that Tara would be shot and killed by Warren's stray bullet. (The reasoning for this idea: there's absolutely no way the bullet could have possibly killed Tara in the way it did. Warren was in the backyard, running away and shooting upwards. Tara was standing by the bedroom window on the second story. The bullet shot through the glass, and through her, at no angle at all. Obviously in-show this was done for dramatic purposes, but they left a door open for outside creative interpretation and I’m going through it.)

As they knew it would, this prompts Willow to become hell-bent on revenge and absorb enough power to destroy the world. She goes to Kingman's Bluff, raises the effigy of Proserpexa, and begins to funnel her energies into it. Had she done this enough, she would have raised one of the Old Ones herself (or Proserpexa could have take the next step in unlocking one of the doors), however Xander interceded and saved Willow before this could happen.

NOTE: Perhaps Xander's interception is what was actually needed here? I always found it interesting that he completely blocked and seemingly absorbed all that power Willow was throwing at the effigy without even blinking. Was this maybe super-charging him for something? Could this maybe be key to what they will need to save him from later on? (S10 stuff.)

The Proserpexa angle maybe have been removed, but the DC didn't mind -- Willow had now unlocked enough of the power within herself to open another lock.

Season 7 Manipulation

This stems from a whole lot of S7 never really standing up to much scrutiny. Take, for example, the scythe. Caleb and the First spend SO much time and energy in uncovering the scythe, claiming to know how very important it was to NOT allow Buffy & Co. to get it -- when if they hadn't even been trying to get it, Buffy wouldn't have ever known it was there. This in and of itself seems to make ZERO sense, particularly since it never seemed to be that the First could use the scythe himself -- it was all about keeping it from the Slayer. So, very stupid to not only sit on the darned thing, but to ACTIVELY BRING YOUR ENEMIES TO IT (the "trap" in "Dirty Girls" leads Buffy and the Slayers to the vineyard, They never would have bothered going there otherwise).

My reasoning: The First is also an Old One. And he set his plan up specifically to fail. He himself is immortal, he cannot die. And he doesn't really give a crap about ubervamps and Bringers. Their plan all along was to make the Scoobies unleash the scythe to awaken all the Slayers.

Why? As mentioned in "Get it Done", there is a well of Slayer power. That well is usually filled nearly to capacity. It was, after all, only being used by Buffy, and then Faith. The fact that the emergence of a second Slayer did nothing to diminish either's power indicates that it's not shared on that kind of level. In addition, the awakening of all the Slayers at the end of "Chosen" didn't seem to cause any sort of power drain. Instead, we theorize that the well is deep, but has a finite capacity. When Willow did the spell, she in essence pulled the stopper on the well and drained it dry. This well, however, happens to be one of the keys to freeing the Old Ones, and once it drops to a certain level, the "door" that it locks is open.

Moving on -- The Chosen

When Slayers die now, one is not called in their place. There is a finite number of Slayers in the world now. When they die, their Slayerness returns to the well. Only once it reaches a certain level (presumably it's "default" state, pre-spell) will the "natural" process resume. The DC obviously don't want this to happen, as once it "refills" to a certain point, the door will close again. Hence their working with the Assemblage of Merodoch (previously, "Dark Council"); by harnessing and funneling the Slayerness into an already existing Slayer, it does not return to the well, hence no refill.

But that isn't the only reason the DC are working with the Assemblage. The AoM also has another key: an angel that they're keeping chained up in the deepest sublevel of their headquarters. This angel has, perhaps, been around as long as the Old Ones themselves. Perhaps he even aided in imprisoning them. He was captured shortly thereafter, however, and has remained that way ever since (we're talking pretty close to pre-recorded history here, as long as the Slayer line has been in existence, possibly longer).

Idea: The angel can only be freed by a descendant of one who imprisoned him in the first place. Maybe a Giles?

He is a key -- maybe something he says? His true name, perhaps? The DC want him, but the AoM have him and won't give him up. They have said, however, that once Order is restored to the world, they will provide the DC with the means to do whatever they need to do with him. The DC is okay with this -- they're currently getting something from the Council (someone to alert them to the need to funnel Slayer energy and someone to keep all that tiresome business together while they focus on the really important stuff).

Like good ol' Willow Rosenberg.

They call Willow "The Sangerand" ("the bloody"), and they should absolutely not be done with her yet. Willow's independent further role, we don't yet know, but she commands their greatest amount of attention. Her, and Tara. ("The Curat", or "the pure"?)

When they resurrect Tara, it is ostensibly under the guise of killing Willow. However the true reason is to fulfill Tara's part of this prophecy (which includes her death, resurrection and making the choice to not kill Willow), possibly including the sharing of power that Willow will need to do to save them.

Thinking on it, it would be cool to have each Scooby play an important role somehow in all of this. Sort of like their being together in this way was a fated thing. "The Chosen" indeed.

**ADDENDUM** I really like this idea of each Scooby playing a particular role. This could still lead up to the eventual death of Giles, which in and of itself will provide the beginnings of the Coven's downfall. They do whatever they're doing to Xander, which will kill him - but that won't matter because his role in unlocking the door will be done. Will is going to be doing the spell to save him, which will kill her in turn, but that's okay too because her part is also played in releasing the Old Ones. Giles, however, has NOT yet done his part, and he completely surprises everyone when he takes Willow's place, thereby saving both Will and Xander. This totally throws the Coven for a loop, though obviously they must still be able to do what they need to without Giles, else their plans are over with right then and there. It's crucial that his sacrifice NOT be part of the DC's plans, else it takes away from its poignancy.

Will need some sort of prophecy-type thing detailing what is needed to be done to release the Old Ones. Should be nice and vague, but with meaning once you figure it out.

Scooby Designations

Willow: The Sangerand ("the bloody")

Tara: The Curat ("the pure")

Xander: The Vedere ("the sight"), The Asar ("all-seeing eye") -- "The Baani" ("The Architect" - Urdu)

Buffy: The Kusari ("the chain"), The Revenire ("the returned"), The Gula or The Bau ("Lady Who the Dead Bring Back to Life")

Giles: The Verhaal ("the history"), The Shoukin/The Infria, ("redemption"), The Shin'ar ("Land of the Watchers")

Faith: ("the dark"), ("the restrained"), ("the wild")

Dawn: ("the cherished"), ("the gateway"), ("the portal"), ("the key")

The Prophecy

Opening Quatrain

Buffy :: The Trimarga :: Three Path A heartbeat thrice begun A death mark thrice given All roads lead to the town of three When her spilled blood shall spill again

Willow :: The Sangerand :: The Bloody Blood flowing, blood taken Forces awoken, decline and ascent Blood given, life exchanged Freely, she will fall

Xander :: The Baani :: The Builder Grief and rage, life's destruction Mind and body, life's cohesion Heart and spirit, life's devotion Melding, merging; essence anew

Giles :: The Tezan :: The Way Forger of paths, the first and his kin The demon wields the plague of black Summoner, banisher Pierce the barrier, paths renewed

Tara :: The Curat :: The Pure Birth and rebirth, the cycle complete Connected to evil, untainted Power innate and power borrowed Through the light she will free the ancient one

Dawn :: The Amelatu :: The Gatekeeper Living energy made flesh and form Younger in life, older than death Truth altered, life shed And the walls will fall

The Slayer Well Solitary hunter, night's enemy She alone will stand When the well is drained and strength is shared One becomes Many

Closing Quatrain And so it is written Seven locks hold fast The masters expelled, the world cleansed Until the Chosen play their part

Seven keys for seven locks From the first to fall, five score and one If all locks turn, the door lay open And the Old Ones shall reclaim the Earth

Buffy: The Trimarga ("three path" :: the triple path of Knowledge [jnanayoga], Devotion [bhaktiyoga] and Action [karmayoga]). Three times her heart has started beating, three times she's been marked by a vampire (Angel, Dracula and the Vamp Slayer [yet to happen) and in town of threes(??). Something to do with blood - some of it needed to open the lock. Blood of a Slayer is already potent, and Buffy's was obviously enough to close the portal in place of Dawn.

Willow: The Sangerand ("the bloody"). Willow will cast a blood-sacrifice spell, that will enable her to willingly exchange her life for another. It has to be this spell based upon how Mads and the others are killing Xander. Very, very powerful, only she can do it. The flow of the energies will open the lock.

Xander: The Baani ('the builder"). Xander is the "incuabator" for two very powerful magicks. They don't impact him directly, but it is his nature - his very self - that will enable them to merge within him to create something new. The first blast came from Willow on Kingman's Bluff. The second, from the orb destroyed in "Win, Lose or Draw". Madrigan will take Xander around the mid-point of S10 to extract the magicks from him. It will kill him in the process, but that's of little concern.

Giles: The Tezan ("the way"). Giles' role is to obtain a ring that has been in his family for generations upon generations. Unknown to those recently, the jewel of the ring actually contains a demon - a demon that was the original cause of the Black Plague in the 1330's. Giles' ancestor, a powerful warlock for the Council, was the first human to pierce the barrier between this dimension and a demon dimension where he summoned a demon and bound it to his service. The demon was sent to China, where it was supposed to take out a group of other demonic creatures trying to open a Hellmouth there. It did indeed do that, but not before starting the plague. The Council, rather than destroy the ring and banish the creature, said "We'll control it better next time." The ring's purpose was eventually lost,. Giles is supposed to release and then banish the demon, again piercing the dimensional barrier and opening that lock. ** He dies instead, sacrificing himself to save both Willow and Xander. Oops.

Tara: The Curat ("the pure"). Tara's lock will open upon her freeing the Antediluvian. The Antediluvian is an angelic creature that was captured by Robespierre's ancestors. Its imprisonment means the lock is sealed - its freedom opens it. Tara is able to free it due to her lineage as a witch, her purity of spirit, her completed cycle of birth and rebirth, and (by binding with Willow) her immense white magick power creating the necessary conditions. Ruth, Tara's grandmother or great-grandmother, was also thought at one time to have been the Curat, but was not. However she does recognize the qualities within Tara. (Perhaps the Antediluvian, despite its imprisonment being a good thing, can do great good if it's released?)  ** Later in S9, Tara and Co. would have freed the Antediluvian to save Buffy after Yuugana’s attack.

Dawn: The Amelatu ("the gatekeeper"). Dawn herself is able to open the lock. Not a lot of detail here. We'll need to sort out somehow or another that Dawn will do this ... or perhaps she already has? There seems to be little better time for Dawn to have opened the necessary lock than when all the dimensional walls were coming down.

Additional Lock: The well of Slayer power being drained. This was done by Willow in S7, but is not Willow's specific key.

Additional Info: Once any lock falls, there is a "timer" of 100 years for the rest to fall, or they all lock again.

** It may not escape notice that Faith is not part of this prophecy. That became by design, not oversight. I loved how this idea of “The Chosen” worked into the larger series theme, but I also hate the ideas of fate and destiny being controlling factors. Faith was going to be my argument against all that. When all the prophecy pieces were revealed, Faith would (rather defeatedly in her Faith way) note that she had no part to play. But she is the embodiment of being Chosen, as the characters choose to have Faith by their side and fuck prophecy anyway. Their unreserved acceptance of Faith, and Faith’s acceptance of THAT, would have been the culmination of her character arc in S10 (and my series).

S10 Ideas

Something to do with tarot cards, with each member maybe being a particular card?

Several characters get thrown back in time to an earlier season. Dawn especially should go, as she wasn't around then.

stained glass idea. couples. Buffy left free. Valentine's day ep.

"The Impossible Dream" - Man of La Mancha lyrics

Faith having conversation with Kendra -- result of illness, injury, or prophetic dream

** An episode I was definitely going to do, but frustratingly can’t find any notes for (making me feel there must be SOMETHING else out there somewhere but fuck me if I know where) had Willow and Tara going to Los Angels and visiting Lorne’s bar, Caritas.

S10 Ending

Everyone ends on a thematic note, their actions in the final battle bringing together 10 years of development:

Giles's sacrifice makes victory possible - by finally following his heart rather than his duty he saves the world.

Xander, by virtue (and surprise) of simply being Xander, strikes the final blow.

Willow succeeds only by keeping herself in check, refusing to break and believing that she can win.

Buffy's victories come from not only sharing herself (mentally to Willow and physically to Faith and Kennedy) but truly, finally, accepting that she's not in this alone.

Dawn makes the sacrifice she was destined to make from the moment she was created.

Tara is the touchstone, giving the strength and support to everyone else and the lifeline that ultimately saves Dawn.

Faith has no greater role handed to her by fate -- but she's here and kicking ass so screw you, fate.

(work on Kennedy, she ends up fighting w/ Buff and Faith, but does she start there? maybe she and Faith start with Tara and Dawn?)

IDEAS

Seneca final battle. He's winning. Standing over Buffy, gloating smile. Then he finally speaks. Something like, "I've waited a long time to--" Then he gets skewered (Faith or Kennedy, maybe both.) He can't say anything else, just gurgle.  He dies, and the Slayers stand over him.

Buffy: "Blah blah blah. You know, just once I'd like to meet a bad guy who knows how to keep his mouth shut."

Kennedy: "No lie. Still, I wonder what he was going to say?"

Faith: "Who the hell cares?"

Buffy HAS to be part of final Madrigan fight. She goes initially with Xander and Willow. Xander gets struck down by Mads, seemingly dead. Buffy gets nailed too. Willow needs Buffy to get through this though, and Buff gives Will her strength (flashback to "Same Time Same Place" as well as early Chosen w/ Willow and Buffy being so attuned -- see, not a throw-away plot point! Planned all along!) Leads to good "final" conversation/bonding with them as they search for Madrigan in the mental plane.

Earlier in the season, Madrigan extracting the magick from Xander. Very painful for Xander. Madrigan talking to him though, very chatty, very casual. Xander trying to dig for info, Madrigan clearly seeing through it. He likes the cliche though (exposition while acknowledging how clunky and stupid it is to have exposition here). Mads being real bastard (passively though) to Xander this whole time, noting how Xander isn't even really important in and of himself, it's only what others do with him that counts (maybe include little side wink-nudge point, it's what's inside Xander that matters). Mads ends the conversation by apologizing. "Sorry dude, this has gotta suck for you. Hey, you know what I like to do when I'm down? TV! You like 'Murphy Brown'? I've been Netflixing it." He and Seneca proceed to sit down and watch while Xander is essentially tortured behind them. Mads just turns up the volume.

Season 10 Final Fight

Buffy, Kennedy and Faith will go after Seneca.

Willow and Tara will be walking along in the facility when they're attacked. Tara is thrown away from Willow, who is then going to be caught behind an impenetrable shield with Madrigan. He wants to face her alone on an astral plane of sorts. Tara can't join her. Willow is depowered somewhat as a result of the spell she was casting to save Xander. Madrigan wants to fight her, however. Will surprises him - she thought like him and figured he would do this. As a result, Xander is piggy-backing with her, and she's not alone. Madrigan says that he knows Xander, and Xander won't kill him. He's wrong. X: "He don't know me very well, do he?"

Meanwhile, the door to release the Old Ones is opening and they can't stop it. Or they think they can't. Dawn realizes that she, being the Key, can. She begins to do so, but it's taking so much power, it's essentially killing her. Dawn is reverting to pure energy form. Buffy screams at her, tells her not to, but Dawn says she's spent the past five years wondering - feeling, even - that she should've died on that tower. Now she knows that she wasn't supposed to die, she was supposed to live to do this. "This is the job that I have to do." Buffy can't stop her. Tara fights though, won't let Dawn go. Tara eventually passes out and Dawn disappears. The energy is gone and so is Dawn, but the door is closed and locked again.

Not long after, Buffy goes home. Willow and Xander are with Tara at the hospital (she’s drained but okay). Buffy seems to be alone. She's completely dispirited - Dawn is dead. She enters her room, only to find Dawn there. B: "What are you doing here?" Shades of Dawn's first appearance. Turns out (as we'll learn in the final episode) that Dawn has given up all of her Key powers - for real this time. She is now, completely and utterly, a very real, very normal girl.

** And finally, I give you all with this. It’s a rough sketch of the scene after Giles has died, so would have come about 2/3rd of the way through Season 10. I wrote this in 2004, about a week after the death of my grandfather. I like to think that, if I’d gotten that far, this would have been one of those moments that would have stuck with you. I certainly would’ve tried.

Giles Death Reactions

These are a sequence of silent scenes.

We first see Faith in a darkened training room. She's punching a punching bag.

We're in Giles loft, the lights all dark. The door opens, and Hannah's standing there, on the threshold. She doesn’t enter.

We're in a hospital, private room. There are two beds. The one on the far left contains Xander. He looks gaunt, pale, near death. But breathing. His heart monitor gives a steady readout. Dawn sits next to him, inbetween the two beds. Tears are streaming down her cheeks – simply falling, she's not sobbing. She watches Xander with a fearful, worried expression, then turns to the next bed. There's Willow, also pale and drawn. She doesn't look well either, though not quite as bad as Xander. Tara sits on the other side of the bed, as close to it as she can possibly get. One of Willow's hands is held up in both of hers, Willow's fingers resting on Tara's lips. Tara's eyes are red – she's obviously been crying too. She meets Dawn's gaze. Neither smile.

We're in Giles' office. Buffy is standing in the doorway. Her face is blank.

We're back in the loft, Hannah's position mirroring Buffy's. She walks inside and finds herself drawn toward Giles' stereo system. She runs her hands over the CD collection, full of albums and songs from their past.

Faith's punching of the bag increases. She's venting, her jabs more vicious, more focused. Over her shoulder, we see Kennedy watching.

The hospital. Dawn runs a hand through her hair and wipes her eyes after watching Xander intently. She turns to Willow and watches as Willow opens her eyes and blinks. Dawn watches in surprise, and Willow seems to sense the scrutiny. She turns to Dawn and smiles – just a small smile, a pained one, but it's something. Dawn's face breaks into an expression of pure joy and relief, and she says something. Tara has either been locked in thought or asleep, Willow's hand clutched to her forehead, but her head jerks up at Dawn's words. She focuses on Dawn for the briefest of moments before her eyes go back to Willow. Willow is already looking at her, and she smiles again, a bit stronger this time. Willow says something too, and it causes Tara to laugh. The laugh turns into a sob of relief though, and Tara kisses Willow's hand several times then leans over and kisses her forehead. Will is weak, but is able to give Tara a one-armed hug, kissing her on the cheek, then turning to Dawn and extending her other arm. Dawn is there in a heartbeat, also crying in relief.

Giles' office. Almost trancelike, Buffy moves further into the darkened office, which is lit only by the lamp on the desk. As she walks, her eyes are drawn to things. The rows and rows of books that Giles surrounded himself with. The bookcases that Xander built, not only filled with books but also decorated with knickknacks – various small statues and effigies and an Owl plushie. She looks to the opposite wall, where hangs a variety of pictures, but dominating them all, easily the biggest and with the proudest placement, is a picture of Giles, snapped at a moment none of them were expecting. He was obviously the victim of a random group hug attack – Buffy, Willow, Xander, Tara and Dawn, all hugging him fiercely. Giles has that look on his face where he's trying hard to be annoyed with them, but is secretly loving every moment. Buffy's movement into the office hasn't halted, hasn't slowed from its already snail's pace. She's at the desk now. Bathed in the warm glow of the lamp, she sees a cup of tea, only half-drunk, as though Giles will be returning any moment to finish it. Most prominent, however, are the sealed envelopes on the desk, several of them, each bearing a name. We see Buffy's name on the top one, and can see hints of other's beneath: Willow, Xander, etc. Giles' glasses rest nearby.

Faith is almost in a frenzy of kicks and punches now. Her teeth are clenched and she looks like she wants nothing more than to have the bag turn into the Grim Reaper himself so she can pound the crap out of him. A hand rests on her shoulder, and Faith whirls around to see Kennedy there. Faith looks like she might just start beating the shit out of Kennedy as well, but then Kennedy takes Faith's hand and puts a stake in it. Faith looks down at it questioningly, then looks to Kennedy. Kennedy holds up her own stake. Faith's eyes narrow and she nods, just slightly.

Hannah's by the window in Giles' loft, simply looking out, looking at nothing in particular. She hugs herself and her head drops as she starts to softly cry.

In the hospital room, Willow casts an anxious look at Xander still motionless in his bed. She looks first to Dawn, then Tara, who says something that causes Willow to relax considerably. She smiles, but soon realizes her smiles aren't being returned. She again looks questioningly from one to the other, but neither speak. She's getting really worked up now, scared, and Dawn starts to say something. She doesn't get far, though, before she can't speak any more. Willow turns immediately to Tara, who picks up where Dawn left off. Willow watches, still afraid. Then the fear turns to disbelief. She's starting to cry now and she shakes her head in denial. She looks to Dawn, looking for someone to tell her that what she's heard isn't true, but Dawn can only cry. Willow looks back to Tara again and says something, begging for it not to be true. Tara can only look at her with sympathy and matching pain as Willow dissolves into tears.

Giles office. Buffy is sitting in the corner, her back against the wall, curled in on herself. We can't see her face, but her shaking shoulders tell us all we need to know. She's hugging the Owl plushie for dear life. 

CUT TO BLACK

** And that, my friends, is that.

[mandaao]

Behemoth Timeline! 

You guys, some of the things y’all were saying in the tags of my last post were seriously so nice. I am glad you found it interesting. It made me really happy. 

So here we go again :) 

Monday, August 10

The book starts off on this day with Deryn and Alek fencing on the spine. Then the Goeben and the Breslau attack. Hirst shoots Alek. Newkirk’s Huxley catches on fire and Deryn saves him. (Chapters 1-4)

Tuesday, August 11

The next day Deryn and Dr. Barlow visit Alek in his stateroom. Deryn worries about Alek being accused of mutiny. Then she delivers a message to Count Volger for Alek. (5-6)

Wednesday, August 12

Alek gets back to working on the engines. He and Volger are called to the bridge where the captain informs them that Britain and Austria-Hungary are now officially at war. (7)

Thursday, August 13

At just after 3am, Alek sneaks off from egg duty to look for a way for him and his men to escape the ship. Deryn follows him and ends up telling him about her father’s death. 

Later they arrive in Istanbul. Deryn, Newkirk, and Dr. Barlow take a ride on the Dauntless and we meet Eddie Malone for the first time. The Dauntless is attacked and Deryn does cool stuff™ with spices. (8-12)

Friday, August 14

It’s Bovril’s birthday!!!!!

So in the middle of the night Bovril hatches and Alek, Baur, and Klopp escape. Volger and Hoffman stay behind. 

The next morning Deryn brings Volger breakfast. They drink tea together and talk about Alek. Volger offers to give Deryn fencing lessons. Deryn and Dr. Barlow ride the Stamboul and meet the Kizlar Agha. They go to the sultan and present one of the loris eggs, which gets crushed. Then Dr. Barlow offers the Leviathan as a gift. (13-18)

(so I mentioned in my other post that some things didn’t add up. this is where that happens but this is my best guess. i’ll explain it a bit at the end.)

Sunday, August 16

We first see Alek in the hotel. He and Bauer go out to the Grand Bazaar where we learn a bit more about the relationship between the Germans and the Ottoman Empire. They run into Eddie Malone and talk for a while before they have to leave when German soldiers come looking for them. Alek agrees to meet with Malone again the next day. During their escape, Alek meets Zaven. (19-21)

Monday, August 17

Eddie Malone and Alek had lunch together (not shown, only mentioned). Deryn is awarded the Air Gallantry Cross and is given a mission. She runs into Eddie Malone and takes him to Count Volger to deliver the message from Alek. Alek wants Volger to join them, and Volger tells Deryn that he needs her help, revealing that he knows her secret and threatening to blackmail her. Later she begins her mission with a keelhaul drop. (22-24)

Tuesday, August 18

The mission goes on overnight, eventually carrying into the next day. Deryn puts the vitriolic barnacles onto the kraken nets and loses all of her men. She decides to head back to Istanbul to find Alek.

Alek meets with Malone again and hears a bit of what Volger and Deryn said the day before. He is trailed by Lilit on his way to meet with Zaven. They meet with Nene and Alek tries piloting the Şahmeran. Meanwhile, Deryn spent the day hiding on a cargo ship. She swims to shore and, hiding from Germans, sneaks onto the Orient Express. She jumps off somewhere and sleeps in an alley. (24-28)

Wednesday, August 19

Deryn goes to a library to find out Alek’s mother’s name. She then uses this information to find the Hotel Hagia Sophia. She reunites with Alek and meets Lilit and Bovril for the first time. (29-30) 

Thursday, August 20

The squad leaves the hotel. The taxi situation goes down. Deryn meets Zaven and Nene. They concoct a plan to use spice bombs on the night of the revolution. Alek realizes that they will not be able to stay in the hotel any longer after the taxi incident, but he left the scroll in the hotel room. He asks Deryn to go back with him in a week to find it. (31-33)

Thursday, August 27

Alek, Deryn, and Lilit return to the hotel to retrieve the scroll. While Alek and Deryn are alone in the room, they discuss the fact that Lilit is into “Dylan.” Alek tells Deryn about the contents of the scroll and him possibly becoming the emperor. Deryn almost tells Alek her secret (again, smh) but tells him about her mission instead. They run into Eddie Malone yet again. Alek convinces him to delay any publishings about the revolution in exchange for interviews about himself. We also learn about the Tesla cannon being built. Lilit figures out what Deryn’s mission was all about and they plan to tear down the cannon. (34-36)

 Saturday, September 19

The night of the revolution. They all go out in walkers to take down the Tesla cannon. Zaven sacrifices himself. We see the Behemoth in action. We bid farewell to Lilit. She kisses Deryn and flies off in her body kite. Deryn convinces Alek to come back aboard the Leviathan with his men. Once they are back on board we meet the other loris and learn that the Kizlar Agha kidnapped the sultan. (37-42) 

Sunday, September 20

The next morning Alek and Volger have a chat. We learn that the Leviathan is headed towards Asia. The book ends with Alek learning that the pope has died and basically questioning everything around him. (43)

So as for the things that don’t quite add up, there are a couple of quotes that are incorrect if we assume that these dates are correct. 

In chapter 24, on the night of Deryn’s mission, we get this: “Deryn realized that this was her second lost night of sleep in three days.”

The only lost night of sleep that we are aware of is when Alek and his men escape. This happened four nights prior to Deryn’s mission in the timeline that I have made. 

So it’s obviously impossible to read anything that I have written on here in this picture. But here’s a visual of what I’m saying. 

The blue line is the night of the mission. So the quote implies that the purple line is a night in which she does get sleep, and the pink line is another night in which she doesn’t. The yellow line is the night that I have Alek escaping. 

I can’t find a way around this and there is no reason that Deryn wouldn’t have slept on the night of the 15th. In fact, I don’t have anything marked as happening on the 15th, which is kind of weird to me. I’ll get to that in a minute. 

The second quote is in chapter 30 when Deryn says that Alek has been in Istanbul “only three barking days!”

This happens in my timeline on August 19th. But Alek leaves the Leviathan on the night of the 13th. So he has been in Istanbul for longer than that.  

So both of these issues are similar in that they have to do with some extra days being spliced in there. And like I said before, I have nothing on the 15th. There’s a weird gap. With these three factors, it seems like I’m making a mistake somewhere, which I might be. But I keep trying and I cannot figure it out. Basically, the events of the 10th are confirmed to have occurred on that date, and the events on the 18th are confirmed as well. Closing the gap would shift everything and inevitably mess up one of those dates. I don’t see a way around it. 

I tried real hard you guys. I even got my dad to look at it. But it’s all good. It was still fun. Hopefully you enjoyed it xoxo

[sublimegentlemanalpaca]

For the fandom ask; Doctor Who, Disney's Atlantis, Inkheart or Shakespeare. Just answer with the ones you're comfortable with!

Okay then. I’ll try and answer all these. 

Doctor Who: Favorite Male Character....the War Doctor? I just really like John Hurt. I haven’t watched any prior to Nine...so.... Favorite Female Character. I have no idea....probably Donna Noble? I like her. Didn’t make her fall in love with the Doctor so that’s a major plus....haven’t seen any of the episodes with Bill so don’t have any real opinion on her. Least Favorite Character...hm....probably Amy Pond? maybe Rose?....hm it’s been ages since I’ve watched Doctor Who. Favorite Ship......No clue. No clue at all. Favorite Friendship.....um....The Doctor and the Brigadier? I don’t really know. Maybe Eleven and Amy? They had an alright friendship at times if memory serves. Favorite Quote...probably that one from the end of the Doctor and Vincent. That was the first episode of Doctor Who I saw so....This Made me So Happy you have No idea. John Hurt as the War Doctor. That was pretty sweet. Saddest Moment..can I say that moment in An Adventure in Space and Time when William Hartnel says he doesn’t want to go? Does that count? Fav Location: Hm...not sure.

Disney’s Atlantis: Fave Male Character: Milo Thatch. Favorite Female Character: Kida. Least Favorite Character....Rourke I guess? Everyone else was pretty cool. Favorite Ship.....uh...Milo x Kida? Are there other ships? Favorite Friendship: Milo and the Crew? Favorite Quote: Atlantis is Waiting. 

This Made me So Happy you have no idea....the initial launch of the Ulysses . Saddest moment. The death of the King. Favorite Location: Atlantis...duh. More specifically the Crystal Chamber.

Ink Heart. I’m guessing you mean the whole series. Going with that assumption. Fave Male C: The author. I forget how you say his name. Or Dustfinger. Favorite Female C, definitely Elinor. Least Favorite character...I don’t know. It’s been ages, and I’ve never been to great with answering least fav...maybe that other Silver Tongue character. Orpheus? Favorite Ship...uh...I don’t know. Maybe Maggie and Farid? Fave Friendship, Elinor and Darius. Favorite Quote, I’m not sure. This moment made me so Happy...again difficulty remembering. Perhaps when when the Adderhead died? Or ....hm. Don’t know. Saddest moment: When Dustfinger sacrificed himself to save Farid. Favorite location. No freakin clue. I must admit, it’s been some years since I’ve read them. Sorry. Feel free to note another Fandom like FMAB, ATLA, CotIG, or some other anime. If I’m familiar I’ll answer to the best of my ability....

Shakespeare. This one will be easy in some regards, and the most difficult thing ever in others. Favorite Male Character. Feste from Twelfth Night. With Falstaff, Richard the Third, Lear’s Fool, and Lear on his heels. Favorite Female Character...I’m thinking....Beatrice from Much Ado about Nothing Rosalind from As You Like It in a close second. Least Favorite character...I have a great dislike of Antonio from Merchant of Venice, and a greater dislike of Pertruchio of Taming of the Shrew. There are many Assholes, Bastards and horrible pieces of Shit to be found in Shakespeare, but Antonio of Merchant and Pertruchio come instantly to mind. And that’s including liars and murderers like Richard 3 ,Edmund, and Iago....they have likeable traits. Pertruchio begins with their being potential...but it goes down hill pretty damn quickly. Favorite Ship...Beatrice and Benedick. No question they are perhaps the best ship in Shakespeare. And I’m not just saying that because the ship name would be BeaDick. Not at all. Favorite Friendships. This is tough....trying to think of genuine friendships..one might think Bassanio and Antonio, but I’ve already stated my dislike for Antonio...hm. Probably King Lear and his Fool. I don’t know, I’ve always imagined them as friends on top of their relationship as King and Jester.?

This Moment made me so happy you have no idea. The scene between Feste and Viola/Cesario at the beginning of Act Three Scene one from Twelfth Night. It is likely my favorite scenes in the entire Cannon. Or at least one of my favorites. 

Favorite Quote.....favorite Quote? For one thing I’m terrible at remembering quotes with some exceptions, one of which being Shakespeare. But with Shakespeare....there’s just so many. There’s Falstaff’’s speech on Honor, all those monologues which are understandably recited. But my favorite? Such a difficult task. Hm....Wit if it be thy Will, put me into good fooling. Those Wits that think they have thee very often prove Fools, and I that knows I lack thee may pass for a Wise Man. For what says Quinapilus? Better a Witty Fool than a Foolish Wit. Basically just about anything uttered by a Fool, Clown, or what have you. They’re my favorite bits usually and have some of the best lines. 

Saddest Moment: again another difficulty. I could list one of the many deaths...or I could note poor Malvolio’s treatment in Twelfth Night. Though I think one that makes me sad when it happens is whenever Lear’s Fool is shown to die. It’s not set in the text he’s to die. He may just leave, or stay til the end in some capacity taking the lines of another, but seeing him die in productions is very Sad. There is also Hal’s Disowning of Falstaff (even though Falstaff was admittedly a horrible and negative influence). The Forced Conversion put on Shylock while not shown to be sad in the original context....just.....I lack the words. There are many reasons to cry in Shakespeare.

Favorite Location. This is difficult since the locations are set, but they are not necessarily fixed. Being what it is you can replace Verona with New York, or Scotland with Feudal Japan or tons of others...which makes picking a favorite Location very difficult. I think....either the Grave Yards of Elsinore, the Boar’s Head...or Prospero’s Island.

Hope those were sufficient. Anyone is free to ask regarding other fandoms. If I’m familiar with the thing I’ll be sure to answer to the best of my ability.

Make of this what you will.

Al, the Chronographing Cottager.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Dear White People (S01E01) Chapter 1 Airdate: April 28, 2017 @netflix @JSim07 Ratings: Privatized @DearWhitePeople Score: 7.5/10 TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Dear White People, Brown People, and any People who are reading, listening, watching, or paying attention... Eventually it was coming. Eventually this series had to be addressed. But how? The last thing a Sexually Fluid, White Scotch-Irish, Ginger Male in an 11 year+ gay relationship, living in an Argentinian neighborhood within a city that has massive pockets of square miles with +80% people who speak Spanish as a first language... Or large numbers of neighborhoods with Haitian-Creole voices blasting loudly from friendly faces throwing friendly waves from a group of old men, who for some reason are always sitting at a major bus stop in North Miami Beach (but never going anywhere or taking any busses), wants to be labeled as is a 'Pseudo' or even a 'Hardcore-Leftist' who's desperately out to prove that he isn't racist. You won't be getting that article from me. You won't be getting anything of the sort from this 10-Piece Project that I assure you I will be taking my time on. I am not Left. I am not right. I'm barely in the middle. This isn't political, though it might have political undertones and repercussions. That's on interpretation, not me. By now you know that Spotlight Saga never reviews anything in a traditional manner unless it's an everyday type series that doesn't carry a particular tense or emotional impact. We go at our own pace and I prefer existential challenges, but all are welcome. I had made promises to write articles to accompany 'Dear White People', brought to us by the new & true, multitalented Justin Simien, to multiple readers, but I was waiting for the right time. Sure, I have an army of unreleased articles and reviews ready to shoot out of an iOS cannon when I'm not feeling particularly inspired, but that just hasn't happened lately, so expect last second 'Big 4 Network' reviews to start spewing out sometime in September, because everything from 'Gotham' to 'Lucifer' to 'Colony' awaits you. Oh boy. Now let's get something straight, particularly to the people on Social Media whining and crying about the show's polarizing title, claiming to cancel (or to the ones who actually did cancel, though I doubt it) their Netflix subscriptions because the title evoked some sort of feeling of uncomfortable paranoia, or what they felt was divisive rhetoric, even though it was them who were attempting to divide themselves from Netflix and causing a stir... Ultimately giving the show free promotion in the process. DWP isn't a series that is out to make anyone feel shame, wagging a brown finger across your noses, or smacking you over the top of the head with a rolled up newspaper, preferably Sunday (because there are some people who actually deserve it). The show's main protagonist narrates the thoughts of Justin Simien directly and quite accurately, right off the bat. "Dear White People is a misnomer. My show is meant to articulate the feelings of a misrepresented group outside the majority." @jsouth71 on Twitter, one of many racist, idiot keyboard warriors (I'm personally singling out him because he no longer seems to be active - guess he came, he typed, and he successfully looked like an idiot), responded to the original trailer (legit on March 12, 2017, the show didn't even air until April 28th) with multiple hashtags claiming that Netflix was racist. His most hilarious claim (to me anyway) is the one claiming that the show, what it stands for, and those that support it are all full of #LiberalBS. Well what now, Joey Southworth? I'm not even Liberal, Black, or some sort of seemingly desperate apologist... I have no agenda, except to review a Netflix TV Series in a way like no one has ever done before and while doing so, tell you all MY story, my letter to White People, because there is one thing I won't do... Tell someone else's truth... Unless they ask me to, I am for hire, y'all. Ironically, Lionel (DeRon Horton), says something eerily similar to what I've just said and said before a million times. Some people, *coughAVCLUBcough*, don't understand that telling someone else's 'truth' isn't necessarily the point of journalism, but sometimes it does involve telling another person's story from your OWN perspective, after a little help from gaining a bit of someone else's. So let's kick this thing off, shall we? It's going to be a doozy! Samantha White aka Sam (Logan Browning - ah, yes we see the ironic juxtaposition of those names already, especially since the character is biracial) attends an Ivy League school called Winchester University and hosts a radio show on campus called 'Dear White People'. As the aforementioned quote pulled directly from Sam's mouth would suggest, she really just wants to be a voice not normally heard without some sort of filter or applied lens to trickle out what people feel safe with. Sam isn't prejudice or even remotely a bigot, she doesn't seem to be whatsoever. As a matter of fact, Sam's reactions to environmental stimuli and certain situations remind me of me. She is shown often attempting to pull back when faced with a possibility of reacting off of an emotion, but when that emotion becomes overwhelming, she caves and takes control by spiraling out of control. There is a blackface party on campus and it is quickly revealed by the end of the episode that the campus crew, Pastiche, had their Facebook hacked and invites were sent out after the school's administration had already shut down the idea of the party even going forward. Did Sam send it? Please remember we're talking E1, and I don't go beyond that. She claims to have sent the email in an emotionally provocative, genuinely stirring speech she delivers after her radio show is pushed to the sidelines. She had shown up for her time slot and someone else had taken her place due to the recent controversy. This all forces Sam to make a split, snap decision, overthrowing the DJ booth like a straight up BOSS... A prime example of what I mean when I say she 'takes control by spiraling out'. Sam is also seen videotaping the party and later editing & going over the footage. So far, 2+2=4, but if she did indeed do what she said she did, then she's not the only one playing games to prove a point. She's outed to have a white boyfriend, Gabe (John Patrick Amedori), who she seems to genuinely like and in turn he is definitely enamored with her. Yes, by the way, one can be racist and have a significant other of an alternate race (as we covered in an article in S2 of the E4 & Netflix series 'Chewing Gum' after talking with and interviewing several women of color from the Caribbean)... Thats related to the fetishization or perversion of race, skin color, or anything of the like, but that isn't what it looks like what is going on here. There's definitely some real life chemistry brewing. Of course, some of Sam's peers look at her with disdain after Gabe puts their ongoing, once secret relationship on blast with an Instagram pic and a hashtag... Amazing what hashtags are capable of these days, ammirite? Well, in this case it's less the hashtag and more of the 'tagging' of the pic done by Sam's arch nemesis, Coco (Antoinette Robinson - who my white, CW loving ass recognizes from the God-awful 3rd season of 'Hart of Dixie', yeah I see you, Lavon's Niece!)... All of this confusion and animosity is what Coco wanted but this isn't what she necessarily got, not in the exact form she was aiming for, at least. Here comes the fun part! Through self-reflection and talks with her best friend, Joelle (Ashley Blaine Featherson), Sam realizes she does in fact like Gabe and decides to embrace the couple's outing... Bringing him along to her usually, black only, weekly viewing of 'Defamation', a hilarious satire of Shonda Rhimes' (who might just answer this cheeky mockery, since she just scored herself a Netflix contract) ABC political thriller, or just plain dumbed down (sorry Rhimes' fans) version of 'Scandal' (as if it could go any lower). Ouch! Anyway, according to Sam, 'Defamation Wednesdays' are the cornerstone of black college campus life.' It's just that, well, Gabe is obviously feeling a bit 'fish out of water'... Come on, white people, think about how you feel when you are the only white person in the room, you get it right? Well, that's more than likely how your good friend of color feels when you invite them out and they are the only black person to show up at your Baby Shower, Birthday Party, 'Girls Night Out', whatever the event may be. It takes time. It's admirable that Gabe came, it truly is, but this isn't exactly the same situation that I used for environmental comparisons. Sam has a show called 'Dear White People' for Christ Sake, she has an obligation to stick to her guns, sure... But love is love, and as long as there is no perversion of skin going on, who the fuck cares? Mind your mother fucking own! Oh, but that's a tale as old as time, people just love to give no fucks about this or that, while simultaneously giving all kinds of fucks about who someone lays next to at night. I can attest to both of these things, or some version of it, at least... As I live in a part of the States where I'm the only white guy that's not a Euro-Tourist in an incredibly wide radius, also being in a gay relationship, I get quite a few double takes... And the giant Red Beard doesn't help. Yet, I've come to a point where I've been here so long and become so accustomed to a different environment, being amongst other white people makes me a tad uncomfortable. More on that another episode, another day. Reggie (Marque Richardson) isn't too happy about Gabe's presence at the 'Defamation' viewing party... I'm guessing it's a lot less because he's white and a lot more because Reggie feels like he should be the one holding Sam's hand. Reggie comes off as a bit of a jackass, then again, Gabe is not only encroaching on what appears to be Reggie's love interest, but he's also aggressively inserting himself into the group. It's not that Reggie, or most of Sam's friends and acquaintances are prejudice of intolerant, quite the opposite, really. It actually seems more like a 'too much, too soon' situation. Take race out of the equation for a second, take out that fact that Sam's ideals are being broadcasted over the radio, representing a whole lot of people. EVERYONE eyes the 'new' guy or gal in a group, especially if that new person is also a new significant other, I don't care who you are. It's always best to sit back, shut your mouth, and let people come to you... Not stick out your hand and affirm loudly that, 'Hi, I'm Gabe, and I'll be taking a prominent role here now, whether you like it or not.' I love the fact that just like we all have a long way to go as a society when it comes to understanding where everyone is coming from, why people feel what they feel, so do the characters of 'Dear White People', all of them... Black, White, and everyone in between... Especially the girl in between! Yes, it appears that Sam is telling the truth in her guerrilla takeover, emotionally charged, campus wide, broadcasted admission... And if she wasn't she appears very much ready to to take both the praise & the heat (something not yet shown in E1) that she was the one who hacked the Pastiche Facebook and sent out the invites, encouraging the culturally ignorant to show up in Blackface and other embarrassingly idiotic, culture appropriated, misfortunes of human error to a party that had already been given the axe... But the show is still playful in its righteous delivery. The narrator (Giancarlo Esposito) points out a white girl and guesses that she's in a Nicki Minaj costume... Later on, while in her feelings, Sam quickly switches her music from a soft, feminine country crooning track, Suzanna Spring's 'Some Blue Sky' to 'Black' by 'Innanet James' on her way to the radio station when passing a group of Black acquaintances... It's ok to laugh, it's ok to point out the confusing parts of a sliding identity. It's ok to be who you are as long as you are true to whoever that is... Unless your a fucking hateful asshole, then Fuck You. *Somebody cue a 'Run The Jewels' track, please* *********Written By: Kevin Cage********** http://www.tvtime.com http://www.facebook.com/spotlightsaga http://www.spotlightsaga.com http://www.facebook.com/groups/artsentertainment

[matthewivezaj]

How likely are you to get hacked? Cyber security and you

Equifax is a name that is popping up now and then because of their poor cyber security habits and irresponsibility they have shown to their clients, also adding to the list of organizations are names such as Target, Yahoo, JP Morgan, and Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. Honestly, everyone is vulnerable to an attack, no matter what you do, how skilled you are, or however high your IQ is *clear throat Trump * excuse me, where did that come from. As 4-star Admiral Michael Rogers, Director of the NSA, leader of its Military components, the Central Security Service, and Commander of United States Cyber Command has said, “Vulnerability is an inherent nature of the technical world that we live in today, and if your desire is to live in a world without vulnerability, I would say that is probably highly unlikely”. A common bad habit that many people practice is using a “weak” password, in respects, passwords should be at minimum of 12 characters in length, they should include a combination of; numbers, letters, and special symbols; using a different password for everything, and please remember that a password should be kept up here (point to head), not written down on a sticky note. While browsing the web, do make sure to check to see if the lock emblem is in the address bar to ensure of a site’s secure connection, configuring routers can allow for access for your IP address only, using VPNs, Using wired LANs vs wireless LANs, it does not hurt to search up cyber security news to keep yourself informed on particular topics, and with that, a plethora of other things that I won’t get into now, those are just your basics to staying semi-safe. Ivezaj 2 Many of you probably think of hackers as bad, but not all hackers are bad, here are the main categories of hackers; Black hats, which are the ones that commit crimes such as robbing a bank; Grey hats, were black hats, now consider themselves turned, but are still loose cannons; red hats, who act as security consultants whom serve the roles of hacking/penetration testing; Blue hats, who are part of a firm outside of the organization that conduct attacks on a system before the launch; Suicide hackers, these individuals are so driven that they will sacrifice everything to complete the mission at hand, whether hacking the political system, operating a terrorist heist, or personal gain; White hats, who are the good cyber professionals whom serve to protect, bringing the fight to push back criminals, aka ethical hackers. Then each member of one of those groups are sub-divided in 3 categories of their own, based on skill set; Script kiddies, who rely on programs to do their hacking and have no idea what is going on in the background; Intermediate hackers, whom of which understand some of the concepts that are going on in the background, but like the script kiddies, still rely on programs; Elitists, these are the professionals who often write programs for the script kiddies and intermediate hackers to use in their attacks, these people can hack someone and make it look like someone else did it. The way they make it look like someone else has committed the hack is through MAC (Media Access Control) address Spoofing, which changes your devices physical IP address on the NIC (Network Interface Card). Ivezaj 3 A MAC address is a sequence of 6 octets of 2 characters containing a combination of letters between A through F and/or numbers (different than IPv4 which has 4 octets containing 3 digits in each octet except that an IPv4 address can be out of 32 bits in size (2^32), containing 4,294,967,296 IPv4 addresses, IPv6 which are 8 octets of 4 characters, a combination of letters and numbers, following the same rules that a MAC address is limited to, and is 128-bits which can contain 240,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 (that is over 240 octotrigintillion) IPv6 addresses; IPv4 communicate with IPv6 through dual stack configuration, for those of you wondering). Now this is pretty interesting, MAC address spoofing is also used to gain privileges of the intended device which you spoofed. Now, a pretty interesting thing that I learned back in the fall is that you can spoof a MAC address belonging to a device from home to use your cables internet on the go, provided the device is turned on, however keep in mind, it does suck that we can hit our usage caps at about 20-30%, however there is a way to broadcast your own Wi-Fi using a modem, router, switch/hub, and a few other components, which would make cable pointless because you could just use a Roku, firestick, or one of those types of devices for free TV with your self-broadcasted Wi-Fi (however there maybe are a few components missing from that and one of my Old Professors said he would let me know what those are when he gets time), though you did not hear that from me. Another plus to MAC spoofing is when you get IP blocked for entering many incorrect passwords which I know that many if not all of us do at times, if you spoof your mac address, your physical IP address changes, causing the system to think another computer is connected from a different location, allowing you to try again. Lastly it is a useful technique that works by keeping yourself anonymous online. Ivezaj 4 An example of a notable hacker (AKA hacktivist) that did not use his abilities for evil is Aaron Swartz, who fought to make the world a better place by allowing all excess of information to flow freely, here is a quote from Aaron “Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations.” In case you don’t know Aaron, here are some facts about him, at age 12 he created a website named “The Info”, which is the precursor to Wikipedia and that won him the first-place prize from ARS Digita, At age 13, Aaron helped to Co-Author RSS, lastly at age 19 he Co-founded Reddit, making him a millionaire. Aaron was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, all for trying to make information free and accessible for all. His crime was sneaking into an MIT closet and downloading a bunch of free journal articles to release to the public, this involved MIT, JSTOR, and Aaron. Charges from JSTOR, whom suffered the most damage had been dropped, MIT stubbornly stood their ground even though they did not face real damage, plus MIT supports hacking. The Attorney General of Massachusetts had incurred charges on him, namely Stephen Heymann, the assistant Attorney General, he compared Swartz to a notable hacker of the name Jonathon James, who at 15 hacked into the department of defense, he later committed suicide. Aaron was given two plead deals that spanned a few months to a half of a year, he declined them, so, the United States government gave him a final offer of…35 years to make an example of him to all future activists. Aaron hung himself, not from the fear of having his freedom taken away, but because he wanted to serve in the Secret Service and Ivezaj 5 you cannot serve if you have a felony against you, that I know well. I know that he broke the law, making him bad, but his intent was pure. Here is a quote from Elizabeth Warren, the senator that would not have been elected if it were not for Aaron, “When I met Aaron Swartz in 2010, I discovered a young man who was passionate, sharp, a little shy, and, above all, warm and good natured. He seemed like the kind of person who couldn’t hurt a fly — he just had that kind of presence. Aaron made remarkable contributions to our world, and his advocacy for Internet freedom, social justice, and Wall Street reform demonstrated both the power of his ideas and the depth of his commitment. The world is a poorer place without Aaron.” Lastly, Here is a passage that Aaron wrote, “I think deeply about things and want others to do likewise. I work for ideas and learn from people. I don’t like excluding people. I’m a perfectionist, but I won’t let that get in the way of publication. Except for education and entertainment, I’m not going to waste my time on things that won’t have an impact. I try to be friends with everyone, but I hate it when you don’t take me seriously. I don’t hold grudges, it’s not productive, but I learn from my experience. I want to make the world a better place”. I’m sure that many of you have heard of Aaron, you may not remember it now, however, the night of January 11 th 2013, social media blew up with everyone paying respects to Aaron, I chose to talk about Aaron because I believed he offered a lot to the world, and in a lot of respects, I find that we are very similar in our thought process, and look pretty similar in terms of appearance, also, at least that is what I am told. In conclusion, the future is bright for those who wish to journey in the realm of Cyber Security, with according to many news organizations, around 1.5million jobs predicted in the United States, and according to organizations such as Forbes, 6 million predicted unfilled spots Ivezaj 6 by 2019, globally. Especially for women, I honestly think that the world of Cyber would look a lot better if there were more women in the ranks of the Cyber Security lineage, because women only make up around 10% of Cyber at the moment and bringing more of a variety to the field is in great need. Here is another quote from Adm. Rogers, “So to me, I urge people look, don’t be intimidated by the technical aspects, don’t be intimidated by this is different in some ways than the traditional fields some of us have experienced, because I argue, Cyber is an operational domain in which we do a variety of…missions and functions, many of which are very traditional, we do Reconnaissance, we do fires, we do maneuvers, we have key terrain, all of those things that I was constantly going back, hey, how can we frame this in a way that brings a broader sense of recognition and makes it easier to integrate this, don’t make this thing so special and so unique that it just gets pushed to the side, that will sub optimize our ability to perform cyber operations and negatively impact, at least in my view anyway, the operational outcome, which is the whole reason we are doing this in the first place, if it doesn’t have operational outcome, it is a waste of time and a waste of an investment”, and it goes on for a while, I just wanted to include that. Some important topics in Cyber that I think to go over are understanding; Linux for everything is Cyber because it is used to conduct administrative control in networks, is used in routers, a ton of programming resources, free support, accounts for over 70% of the worlds servers, a false statement that some say is that Linux is less secure than windows because of vulnerabilities, which is undeniably false, but if that were actually the case, why would Edward Snowden have used Linux Tailes to evade the NSA during the time that he did? Linux users are also monitored by the NSA in further depth, using Tailes automatically gets you marked as an extremist. Once malware gets on a windows system it can automatically spread Ivezaj 7 to every other file on the partition, whereas in Unix like operating systems like Linux, stops at individual packages, because Linux breaks programs down into packages and Windows offers them as bundled suite; I think that you should also know, IP protocols, configuring routers for security, everything on IP addresses/subnets, SSH commands, utilities, probably learning how to use SSL and TLS connections to a server and to encrypt/decrypt messages (with terminal or command prompt, whatever your weapon of choice is), understanding ports, and a variety of other things, I’m not going to bore any of you any further however. Work Cited Ivezaj 8 Rogers, Michael “NSA Chief Adm. Mike Rogers asked about Apple vs. FBI, encryption “, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9miS0fwmdE, 5 April 2016. Swartz, Aaron Albright, Jane “How likely are you to get hacked? Cyber security and you” http://www.wral.com/how-likely-are-you-to-get-hacked-cyber-security-and-you/17266197 18 January 2018. Warren, Elizabeth “Aaron Swartz’s Suicide Triggers Response from Top U.S. Lawmakers http://business.time.com/2013/01/16/aaron-swartzs-suicide-triggers-response-from-us- lawmakers/

[gyrlversion]

March To Leave heads to Westminster as Met deny water cannon claims

Brexit protestors have slammed the ‘Brexit Day betrayal’ by MPs, as Theresa May deal is voted down in for a third time by a majority of 58.  

There were cheers from some factions in Parliament Square after the defeat was announced, but elsewhere the reaction was muted with many people expecting the vote to fail. 

Thousands of pro-Brexit marchers have stopped the traffic around Parliament Square, chanting ‘we shall not be moved’ as well as ‘Brexit now’ and ‘Bye bye EU’.

Pro-leave protestors banging drums on a float with a ‘liberty bell’ did a lap of Parliament Square following the vote result. 

The March to Leave procession set off earlier than expected today, with hundreds of demonstrators walking from Fulham to Parliament Square. 

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage joined the route near the Tate Britain, less than a mile from Parliament Square. Asked about when he wanted Brexit he said: ‘Tonight at 11 o’clock.’

‘Believe in Britain’: Brexiteers make their voice heard as they arrive in Parliament Square, with banners including a Harry and Meghan wedding poster, Union flags, and a ‘Parliament versus the people’ banner

Pro-Brexit protestors take part in the March to Leave demonstration, as they walk along the River Thames with many holding ‘Believe in Britain’ banners

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage MEP was spotted joining the march near the Tate Britain, about a mile from Westminster. Asked when he wanted to see Britain leave the EU he said: ‘At 11 O’Clock tonight’

Female protestors stand in front of a police officer by the gates to Westminster wearing capes of national flags. A sign behind the girls claims ‘a Brexit delayed is a Brexit betrayed’

A Brexiteer confronts a Remainer in front of Westminster. Met Police expect protests to last through the day, and have announced preparations for road blocks

Aerial shots show protestors begin to fill Parliament Square and block off traffic on the roads around Westminster. Brexiteers have been heard chanting ‘we shall not move’ and ‘Bye bye EU’

An aerial view of Parliament Square shows the numbers of protestors who flocked to central London to express their anger about the state of Theresa May’s Brexit plan 

The European Commission released a statement following the result of the vote saying a no-deal on April 12 is now the ‘most likely scenario’. 

The statement reads: ‘The Commission regrets the negative vote in the House of Commons today.

‘As per the European Council (Article 50) decision on 22 March, the period provided for in Article 50(3) is extended to 12 April.

‘It will be for the UK to indicate the way forward before that date, for consideration by the European Council.

‘A ‘no-deal’ scenario on 12 April is now a likely scenario. The EU has been preparing for this since December 2017 and is now fully prepared for a ‘no-deal’ scenario at midnight on 12 April. The EU will remain united.

‘The benefits of the Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, will in no circumstances be replicated in a ‘no-deal’ scenario. Sectoral mini-deals are not an option.’ 

Tommy Robinson addressed crowds outside Parliament to announce Mrs May’s defeat this afternoon 

Brexiteer campaigners were spotted converging on the road in front of Parliament to stop a pro-Remain van with a display screen showing quotes from Nigel Farage, which had been circling Parliament square all morning. 

The mob then pointed and shouted ‘shame on you’ at the van, which continued to display the quotes.

The Nigel Farage-backed group are on the final day of protest walk from Sunderland to Westminster, arriving in time for the UK’s original EU departure date. 

Scotland Yard has had to dismiss claims from UKIP that a water cannon could be deployed at protests to ‘provoke Brexiteers’, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been seen on a controversial bus tour around the capital. 

Police began ushering people to the pavement and created a blockade around the protestors to let taxis move through as the chaos continued. 

Later this afternoon ‘Oh Tommy Robinson’ chants began ahead of his arrival at a rally.

The former BNP leader, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, addressed crowds outside Parliament to announce Mrs May’s defeat, saying: ‘So Theresa May has lost her vote. Many people will be asking what does that even mean.

‘It means we were betrayed. Today is supposed to be our Independence Day.’

The crowd were then shown a documentary made by Robinson on a 50-foot screen.

He said of his documentary: ‘Panodrama proves everything, every single one of you already know: propaganda, slander, collusion, demonisation against every single one of us.’  

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage MEP makes an appearance at the protest in front of Parliament surrounded by supporters holding Believe in Britain placards

The calls of protestors for both a no deal and a no Brexit are expected to continue right through the day as the Commons debates Theresa May’s Brexit deal 

Protestors, one with a purple and yellow Ukip rosette, march through Whitehall holding a ‘Long Live The Queen’ Union Jack 

One man in a Union flag shirt holds an American flag over his shoulder as the Brexiteer group march down towards the media area at College Green. Protestors had staked out their territory around the green from the early hours of today

Nigel Farage congratulated the pro-Brexit marchers who had walked the whole distance from Sunderland, saying ‘it’s a bloody long way’. 

‘It’s a hell of an achievement and the symbolism couldn’t have been greater. I would’ve liked to have done more, I’ve just been too busy,’ he said. 

Brexit Party MEP for Scotland David Coburn, formerly of Ukip, said of the march: ‘Excellent, isn’t it? It’s like Cromwell’s Army.’ 

Mr Coburn, wearing a kilt and wielding a Saltire flag, said: ‘It’s ridiculous, May has no intention of giving us Brexit. It’s now an argument between the establishment and the people.

‘The trick has been shown, people see they’re not going to get what they voted for. It’s unacceptable.’

Mr Coburn said he resigned from Ukip as it had been ‘infiltrated by the wrong sort of people’. 

Protestors begin to arrive at Parliament Square after the 14-day trek from Sunderland comes to an end. One woman, wearing a Trump MAGA hat stretches out a sign reading ‘For Britain – For Brexit’

A statue of Winston Churchill (right) watches over the gathered crowd. Hundreds of British flags appear to outnumber the turnout of European flags this morning

Hundreds of Brexit supporters converge of Westminster as the latest day of protest gathers pace. Signs reading ‘No deal or no Tories’ and ‘Respect the referendum and do your duty can be seen’ waving through the crowds

Ukip protestors make their way towards Parliament holding Union Jacks, party flags and ‘Believe in Britain’ flyers

A massive Leave Means Leave banner is unfurled in front of Big Ben as one England supporter helps lead the march around Parliament Square

London’s Metropolitan Police are pulling in extra officers to deal with the 13 planned protests due to take place today as the UK was supposed to leave the European Union

The last stage of the March to Leave route took less than three hours to begin trailing into Parliament Square from Chiswick in west London. The route took in the banks of the River Thames, Fulham FC and Chelsea Harbour

Many on the march have been seen holding Union Jack flags, placards and banners, with several seen wearing hi-vis vests.

Conservative party member Colin Grostate, 67, said the vests were ‘a symbol from France’.

The former black cab driver said: ‘We support the populism. Germany, France, Spain, they’re all starting the same thing and now the British are too.

‘Yellow vests means you’re in distress; when your car breaks down you put it on.

‘Our politicians are not listening. Too many people are trying to stop what people voted for.’

Barry Lockey, from Sunderland, was on the March to Leave on its first rain-soaked day in the north east two weeks ago.

The 60-year-old lifeguard said of that first day: ‘It was horrible mate, and pensioners were on it so I take my hat off to them.

‘Down here in Parliament they’re in their bubble with their votes with little margins and this and that.

‘For me it’s democracy at stake here and that’s why I’ve come down, absolutely.’  

Younger members of the march hold up banners with the slogan ‘Leave Means Leave’, a play on Theresa May’s slogan ‘Brexit means Brexit’ as Imperial Wharf at Chelsea Harbour

One marcher holds a sign aloft reading ‘Respect the vote’ as Union flag-wrapped Brexit supporters take part in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally on March 29

Marchers fill the street beside Imperial Wharf. The long walk from Chiswick to Westminster is the final stretch of their 14-day hike that started on a rainy day on the North Sea coast near Sunderland

A man who gave his name only as Miroslav said he left the former Yugoslavia for the UK in 1990, adding: ‘I’ve lived in a dictatorship before and I don’t want to live in a dictatorship again.’

The engineer, 55, was holding a large banner on the March to Leave procession with detailed caricatures of British politicians being controlled as puppets by senior EU figures.

Walking along the Thames opposite Battersea Park, he said: ‘It cost a lot, but democracy has no price.

‘I love Europe, but the EU have lied, they have ignored referendums, there’s no democracy there.’

He compared certain EU methods of choosing its top officials as ‘worthy of Hugo Chavez or Vladimir Putin’. 

A Brexit supporter demonstrates outside the Houses of Parliament on a tense day of voting for the government, as Theresa May’s Brexit deal goes before the Commons for a third time

A large banner unfurls to read ‘Honour the vote’ – Protests are expected to block off the streets surrounding Westminster as dozens of Leave and Remain supporters have already arrived in Parliament Square to stake out their territory

The group has increased in size compared to the 80-strong crowd walking from Sunderland, police temporarily blocking off roads to allow them to pass through west London

The Metropolitan Police dismissed suggestions from Ukip leader Gerard Batten that water cannons could be deployed at today’s protests, saying reports it could use them were ‘baseless and false’.  

Mr Batten is due to speak at a rally alongside ex-English Defence League chief Tommy Robinson against ‘Theresa May and her traitorous Tories’ on Whitehall on Friday afternoon. 

Westminster Council said it is aware of up to 13 separate scheduled protests and the Metropolitan Police said ‘appropriate policing plans are in place’.

The procession, which left Sunderland two weeks ago, is due to arrive at Parliament Square at around 4pm.

Hundreds of people were pictured at the start of the march toward Parliament earlier today. The March to Leave’s previous walks had been mocked for a lack of numbers

The procession through London started in the Chiswick area of west London earlier than expected this morning

Starting the march in Fulham, leave supporters carry signs saying ‘IKEA have better cabinets than this’ and ‘MPs versus 17.4m leave voters’

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, businessman and Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin and broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer will speak at the ‘Brexit Betrayal’ rally.

Organisers have said ‘it is now clear the Westminster elite are preparing to betray the will of the people over Brexit’, adding: ‘Failing to deliver a true Brexit will permanently damage the British people’s faith in democracy.’

Westminster council said it was aware of expected rallies from groups including: the DFLA (Democratic Football Lads Alliance) Brexit Party; Stand up for Democracy; EU Leaving Party; March of Freedom; Proud British; A Night of Demonstration and Liberty; United Under Yellow; Rally to Rejoin the EU; Fridays for Future and Critical Mass.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan speaks to supporters next to his ‘We are all Londoners’ bus which had been touring London earlier today

UKIP supporters arrive earlier today, as leader Gerard Batten claims that the Met Police will use water cannon against them to ‘provoke Brexiteer’ despite the force not owning any of the machines

A sharply dressed Brexiteer wear of Union flagged suit holding placards of new slogans created by the leave campaign

The Metropolitan Police said ‘appropriate policing plans are in place’ to cope with ‘a number of demonstrations and protests’ on Friday.

A spokesman said: ‘We will always provide a proportionate policing plan to balance the right to peaceful protest, while ensuring that disruption to communities is kept to a minimum.

‘To date, protests have been largely peaceful and we have no intelligence at this time to suggest that will change.

‘We would like to reassure the public that officers will be ready to respond should any incidents or other spontaneous protests arise.’

Dozens of party planners will go ahead with their Brexit Day celebrations tonight, despite the UK not meeting the original deadline to leave the EU. 

One ‘Brexit leaving drinks’ event which apparently has 2,600 attendees said they had to cancel due to low ticket sales after the Prime Minister May decided to ‘postpone’ Brexit.

LondonSwedes, who were co-organising the event at Number 90 Bar & Kitchen in Hackney Wick said they ‘are still keeping the champagne on ice for the actual date’.

LondonSwedes founder Charlotte Ågren said: ‘The postponement of the event was not an easy decision – but we felt a bit strange going ahead with ‘Leaving Drinks’ on a date that isn’t necessarily close to our actual departure date…or indeed if we’re even going to leave at all.

‘We tried to approach the event with as much positivity as possible for something that’s become quite complex and full of some fairly nasty rhetoric coming from both sides of the argument.

‘Just from the viral reaction on Facebook, it seems that there’s a genuine appetite to put differences to one side and come together to celebrate – whether it’s the need for a stiff drink to ease the pain of leaving or indeed toasting this brave new dawn we’re about to embark on.’

A ‘UK’s leaving drinks’ event had attracted thousands of potential attendees to the party in Hackney Wick tonight, but organisers said it was cancelled because the government ‘couldn’t get their act together’

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[kaypeace21]

The Mind flayer’s motivation and Will’s destiny to defeat him (deep dive analysis/theory)

Before I get into my theory/analysis I must preface this by saying that I will be using references not only in the show, but of the cannon comic book series, as well D&D wikia. Any paraphrased quotations about the background of the mind flayer or supernatural powers are from there.

1.So I first have to explain all the cannon evidence (in the show) of Will having powers before the upside down incident.The easiest way to do so is by comparing him to EL. They both could communicate through different dimensions (Will exploded 2 phones , El exploded a radio at the school). Both of their moms’ had “crazy aunts” - powers are genetic. Both had their brain waves monitored at the lab and their measurements were off the charts, plus they were being unknowingly recorded on video. El and Will are the only people who could touch, speak, and hear each other in the void. They both tore through walls (with that pink gunk between the normal world and upside down). Both communicated psychically by transferring their conscious- El to talk to Mike in his basement using the void (in s2) & Will to his mom in the living room (in s1). And they are the only magical d&d characters (mage & cleric).Also before Will goes missing , he asks Dustin for his X-men comic- later in reference to El ,Dustin asks “Do you think El was born with her powers like the X-men?” And when Mike says El is “channeling him (Will)”. Dustin says “like professor x”. clearly hinting that they were both born with powers, like the X-men.

And in s1 Will was described to be “shadow walking” . In D&D Shadow walking is – “ largely illusory, but  quasi-real. characters can use this spell to travel rapidly by stepping onto the Plane of Shadow, moving the desired distance, and then stepping back onto the Material Plane.” This quote perfectly summarizes Will’s power - which he was shown to be using in s1 & s2 (before his possession)- he can be partially-present and can physically interact with both dimensions at the same time. This explains how he was standing in the real world next to Mike in the field,  while the mind flayer took possession of him in the upside down version of the same field.

In fact the comic verifies Will was born with several powers: shadow walking, teleportation, and invisibility. All 3 of these powers in D&D are powers of a wizard/sorcerer - which is synonymous with the term mage (which is used to describe El).According to D&D invisibility is a level 1, teleportation is level 5, and shadow walking is a level 6 in order of increasing difficulty. It wasn’t until Will’s possession that Will truly became a cleric (which I’ll explain in detail later).

Will always had powers and  was unaware he was using them (before the upside down incident)- the only powers he used at the time were invisibility and teleportation.Do you guys remember when Jonathan said Will was “good at hiding” cause teleportation and invisibility seem like something a kid who hid from his abusive father might of used accidentally A LOT! In fact the comic overemphasizes his ability to hide

This is made even more clear in the fact that the demagorgan is far away from him at this moment. And the comic also verifies that the demagorgan attacks people before sending them to the upside down.

The fact that Will is a Wizard and not a cleric at this time is emphasized in the comic as well. Clerics have different sources for their powers and different abilities than wizards.Season1 says Will is a cleric but the comic makes it clear that he is not one yet.

Mike corrects Lucas and says they can’t change classes now because “it’s fate” Will will become a cleric. But before this, the comic shows he’s indeed a wizard (with all the innate, born abilities that entails). Also, in the show the password Will picks for castle byers is ‘Rhadagast’ (a wizard in lord of the rings)and he’s drawn himself as a wizard.

Also if you still don’t think Will has powers this boy literally closed his eyes and imagined lights (in another dimension) flickering and got them to do so!

2.  So now I’ll discuss how Will became a cleric. It’s because of the Mind flayer- “they are evil and sadistic aberrations, feared by sentient creatures in many worlds across the multiverse due to their powerful innate psionic abilities.”The upside down is an alternate dimension/universe the mind flayer previously took control of.

“These beings sought to expand their dominion over all other creatures, controlling their minds to use them as hopeless slaves (demogorgans and demo-dogs).

“A mind flayer who decides to follow the path of WIZARDRY transforms into an ‘undead’ Alhoon- this is a mind flayer who combines powerful wizardry and sorcery with his innate skill of psionics to become a new threat. He becomes this ‘new threat’ by creating an undead elder brain (from the minds of others) and then merging his own sentience into it. Most of apprentices are destroyed in this arcane ritual” (except Will).

A Mindflayers’ religion states, “the greatest wish of a mind flayer is to conjoin/form into an elder brain,  obtaining immortality by having its life experiences merge into the consciousness of those he’s sacrificed”.  He essentially used these people to gain immortality and to become more powerful. Now that the mind flayer is this new ‘undead’ immortal entity/a god of sorts -he as the elder-brain is now “capable of granting divine powers to his followers.” In this case, Will, his apprentice.

The Mindflayer never intended to sacrifice Will. He thought he was special.The Mind flayer used his various powers to kidnap Will . Mindflayers have a power called scrying  where they view a subject at great distances and even across other planes of existence (when the gate opened he saw Will and knew he wanted him as an apprentice). He took possession of a demorgan (who chased Will down) even though they are supposedly only attracted to blood (and Will wasn’t bleeding at the time) . And in ep1, this is the only time we see a demagorgan use telekenesis to unlock Will’s house door. This is because it wasn’t a normal demogorgan,at the time, it was possessed by the mind flayer. Also it’s interesting to note that , mind flayers can detect invisibility- a “ spell that allows a caster to see invisible creatures.”

The comic alludes to the idea of him thinking Will is special by  having an unknown voice say things to Will such as “do not fear… ” and  in reference to Will the mind flayer says “I want him to live forever”. 

My assumption is the mind flyer believes Will’s abilities to travel to alternate dimensions without the need for a portal makes him special and this is why he wanted to become one with him, in order to possess his powers (trying to do so in s1 and 2). He possessed Will because he wanted them to become one entity together- to become a god. The mind flayer’s main purpose in life is to “take dominion over dimensions” so with Will’s power they would be unstoppable.

3. However, since the mind flayer could never complete his possession over Will’s mind. Will is left with remnants of the mindflayers/elderbrain’s powers - and this is when Will becomes a Cleric.

“Clerics are given their powers by a god” (in this case the elder brain/mindflayer)

This idea is reaffirmed in the comic. when the mindflayer tells Will  “ Do not be dismayed… am your… will strengthen you… with my righteous…”

Typical Powers of Cleric include

-Plane shift- the shadow walking was accidental but plane shifting allows a cleric (and up to 8 people who are holding hands in a circle ) to travel to the other plane of existence or an alternate dimension (that could come in handy)

- detect chaos and evil (Will was able to do this in s2)

-Scrying- “a mindflayer can view a subject at great distance and possibly across the planes of existence…Clerics have a similar spell they call magic font.”

There are also various subcategories of clerics (the closest to Will’s description was a )-Light Cleric. “Light clerics- are infused with the radiance and power of their god and charged with chasing away lies and burning away darkness (in this case the upside down). Fire features prominently for the spells and abilities of Light Clerics.”

Note that in the first ep Will was told to use a “fire ball” to kill the monster- and the mindflayer and its minions have a weakness to heat/fire.The power that the Mindflayer gave him will be his undoing. Especially because now that the mind flayer is an “undead elder brain”. The fact that clerics can destroy/control the undead will make Will a powerful adversary.

Infact in D&D lore,  “there was famous Elder brain who had many mindflayer apprentices and 1 human apprentice . The human apprentice killed over 2000 mindflayers who were about to sacrifice her to a dark deity- and there were rumors she was a dragon in a human disguise” (*cough association with fire).

So by s5, Will is going to be the one who destroys the upside down once and for all!  The meaning of his name means “resolute protector” after all.

Sorry, had to repost this old theory since it disappeared from all the tags